Chapter 250
I sent the head chef away and approached Louise from behind, but she didn’t react at all. I hadn’t even tried to sneak up on her, yet she just kept fiddling with the dough. She’s not usually this dense.
In fact, she wasn’t even making the dough properly. It was more like she was kneading a liquid monster than dough.
“Louise.”
“Yes, yes!?”
I gently tapped her shoulder, and she jumped, turning around in shock. It was a bit embarrassing. It reminded me of clapping loudly in front of a cat that’s napping.
Realizing my embarrassment, Louise awkwardly smiled at me and began to breathe a little faster, clearly startled.
“Oh, Oppa! You’re here?”
“Yeah. I just arrived.”
I took a quick look at the dough disaster. I might not have talent in baking, but I had been the advisor for the baking club for two semesters.
“That’s not going to work.”
At least I had a discerning eye for ingredients, right?
“Ahaha… Right, that’s a shame…”
Of course, she knew it just as well as I did. Louise laughed in a way that suggested she was feeling a little shy while stealing glances at me.
I knew what she wanted to say. Thankfully, the head chef had already given me a heads-up, or she’d be wondering why I was even there at all.
Today had to be a happy day for Louise. I had decided it would be.
“I can actually eat cookies now.”
So, no need to beat around the bush. I didn’t want to avoid the topic and let misunderstandings pile up. After all, wasn’t Margherita’s teary eyes a rather vocal reminder of what happened due to lack of communication?
As I smiled with that intention, Louise’s eyes widened in surprise. She probably didn’t expect someone like me to be so direct.
“Can we talk for a minute?”
As I wrapped my arm around her waist, I noticed her face instantly turn crimson. But I didn’t care. Today was supposed to be a happy day for Louise.
Just as I was about to exit the kitchen, the head chef in the corner gave me a thumbs-up, almost as if cheering me on.
‘Well then.’
Despite his rough exterior, his genuine heart nearly made me chuckle. Truly a man with the body of a beast and the spirit of a gentleman.
Of course, I responded with a thumbs-up of my own. I had to return the gesture!
I contemplated heading to the garden, but since the wind was chilly, I opted out. It might end up taking a while, and making the lady shiver outside would be a cruel act.
So instead, I went to the drawing room. The memory of using it was faint, but it was spotless, as if the staff had been diligent even in my absence. Everyone was really on top of their game.
“Now that you’re here, you should relax. Aren’t you tired?”
I sat Louise down and spoke. After days of hardship in Wulken, she goes straight to the kitchen? She’s either really diligent or just really loves baking.
“Everyone has been treating me well, so I wanted to give them a gift.”
Seeing Louise’s beaming smile made my heart swell. Who could possibly tell her to stop feeling grateful and wanting to repay them? Even the butler was delighted.
And it was sad to see how much effort she was putting in, so I couldn’t exactly blame her!
“So, what were you trying to make?”
She shuddered slightly at that.
“I thought about making cookies… but switched to bread instead…”
As she hesitantly spoke, glancing around anxiously, it seemed she was recalling all the cookies she’d forced upon me in the past.
Honestly, there was no need for her to feel that way. I had willingly eaten everything she made.
But apparently, she didn’t see it that way, as her eyes darted around in uncertainty. If I had left that alone, things might have blown up, but thankfully the head chef saved the day.
“I love cookies. Have I ever forced myself to eat any?”
I sat down next to her, prompting her to shake her head vigorously. She was so enthusiastic that her lovely pink hair brushed against my cheek.
Still, Louise’s face was a mixture of confusion, guilt, and sadness. The head chef said I don’t eat cookies, and here I was saying I love them. One of us had to be lying here.
It must be complicated for someone like Louise, who doesn’t suspect anyone. She found herself in a situation where someone could deceive her, and she might end up doubting someone else. If she were alone, she’d probably shed some tears over it.
“To be fair, the chef wasn’t wrong. I really haven’t eaten cookies.”
To ease her worries, I quickly added, “But it’s not because I dislike them. If I did, I wouldn’t have eaten the ones the Executive Manager gave me.”
As I gently patted Louise’s head, she gradually lowered it.
Is she feeling shy? No way— I’ve pet her enough times that this wouldn’t normally make her feel bashful. She’s just adjusting her posture so it’s easier for me to pat her and receive my affection more comfortably.
‘Capybara.’
That name popped into my head out of nowhere. Capybaras are friendly animals and love being petted by others.
“I’m going to talk about something a bit boring now.”
Watching Louise like that, I opened my mouth once more.
I had resolved the initial misunderstanding. The chef hadn’t deceived Louise, and I didn’t dislike cookies. We could leave it at that.
But the fact that I hadn’t eaten cookies remained unchanged. That question also needed to be resolved for a proper closure.
“Will you listen?”
“Yes.”
Her immediate response brought a small smile to my face.
“Lift your head.”
“Oh, right.”
Her clear response was contradicted by her still lowered head. At least we should look into each other’s eyes while we talk.
*
My dear brother, who wanted to talk, remained silent for quite some time.
But I didn’t rush him. He would share whenever he was ready. Right now, he was probably pondering how to start.
“Four years ago… you know about the Grand Hunt War, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
I was a bit surprised by the unexpectedly serious start but didn’t show it. I didn’t want to make him hesitate and retreat into silence again.
“During that time, I met my first love.”
I couldn’t help but react this time. First love from the person I care for so deeply. If someone didn’t react to that, they’d seem like they were void of feelings.
And the fact that this first love happened during a war made me uneasy. His first love, yet one he had never met.
‘Could it be…’
A word flashed through my mind, but I quickly brushed it away.
“I left because I felt unworthy.”
But Oppa continued, his lips curving into a faint smile while his eyes betrayed an unmistakable sadness.
He kept speaking, smiling while sharing tales of his bureaucratic life, starting as a member of the Information Department, his sudden promotion to team leader, and the hardships that began from his abrupt involvement.
“Really, it’s amazing where they found all of them.”
His smile broadened as he recalled stories about the legendary Six Blades mentioned in textbooks. It was as if those memories were the happiest moments of his life, reminiscing about a time he could never revisit.
“I wasn’t exactly sane, dating among that crowd.”
However, when he spoke of one of those Six Blades, Hecate, his smile transformed into a radiant grin.
Seeing that, a pang of jealousy struck me. Hecate had truly been cherished. She must have been someone Oppa adored deeply. Simultaneously, my chest hurt. How did it feel to part with someone you loved that much?
Yet, I kept my silence. Pitying Oppa like that would truly be a disservice to him.
“…Ah, I forgot to mention something important.”
Lost in reminiscence, Oppa suddenly shifted topics as if he had just remembered something.
“As I said earlier, I didn’t eat cookies during the war until I came to the Academy.”
As soon as I heard that, my body stiffened involuntarily.
If someone suddenly stopped eating something, it usually signified some significant event. And whether intended or not, I had offered cookies to someone who had experienced such a past.
“Even during the war, desserts were still supplied. For the sake of morale, you had to consume sweet food.”
You can’t just eat tough bread; that wouldn’t give you strength, right?
I nodded at his remark. Oppa didn’t seem to be looking for a response, immediately continuing.
“Among those supplies were cookies, but they were hardly worthy of the name. It was more about pouring sugar into flour and baking it.”
I instinctively imagined the kind of cookies he described. A lump of dough with nothing but added sugar.
Could that really be called a cookie?
“But still, since it was sweet, I had to eat it, even if it meant rationing it.”
Oppa chuckled, although it seemed like he was trying to complain. His expression indicated he was enjoying it after all.
“And Hecate really liked them. Knowing that, everyone else let her have their share, and she would then share some with me.”
“…A precious cookie, then.”
“Yeah, it really was.”
Now I understood. Hearing that made everything too clear to ignore.
For Oppa, cookies weren’t just snacks. They were imbued with memories, reflecting his love for his first love. And from Oppa’s perspective, it was a cursed food he couldn’t bear to touch after losing that first love.
‘You fool.’
I bit my lip, feeling my eyes sting with unbidden tears.
I had committed an enormous blunder. Hiding behind the shield of ignorance, I had torn at Oppa’s heart all along. From the first moment we met until now, I had been continuously chipping away at it.
I couldn’t cry in front of him. It would be cowardly to shed tears in front of the true victim.
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t.”
The delayed apology was cut off by his finger on my lips while still holding a smile.
“From then on, no one was there to offer me cookies, so I didn’t eat them. There’s no other reason.”
“B-but I didn’t mean to…”
“Honestly, I was glad to eat them again after such a long time. Who would ever care for me with cookies and things like that?”
Seeing Oppa laugh, my restrained tears flowed freely.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I shouldn’t escape from my cowardice through tears. I couldn’t just gloss over my apology with this!
“Thank you, Louise.”
And hearing him say that made it even harder to withstand…
But Oppa held my hand, looking straight into my tearful eyes.
“I’m not just saying this casually. I really appreciate it.”
I couldn’t bear to look into his eyes.
What right did I have? I had just salted his wounds, lost in my delusion of caring for him while I fed him cookies daily. Even though it was just as poisonous.
“The memories that were cut off have reconnected. I could put the past behind me and see the present.”
But when he gently touched my chin to lift my gaze, our eyes met once more.
“You helped me, someone who might have been trapped in the past forever.”
With a warm smile, Oppa produced a small case from within his robe.
“You might think it was just chance or a mistake, but it truly helped me.”
He began to untie the pink ribbon around the case.
“So now, I have to return the favor.”
My hands started to tremble. When I saw what he pulled out of the case, I lost my composure completely.
It was a ring. A bizarre shape, split in half, but all the more delightful.
That was a style worn by nobility. A beautiful ring that joined two rings together.
“Will you accept it?”
Embarrassed, I burst into tears.
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