Chapter 29
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Chapter 29
That evening.
What greeted me upon returning home was a peculiar bluish-purple bread of indeterminate ingredients, and....
"Come now. Go ahead and taste it, Vivian."
The creator of this culinary mystery was none other than Dias Hessen.
I regarded the strange bread before me and my father in turn with a dubious gaze, then asked.
"What exactly is this, Father?"
"What do you mean? It's a new signature menu I've painstakingly developed over several days for our Shop."
"I understand it's bread, but.... What on earth did you put in it?"
How could bread possibly turn blue? What ingredient could possibly produce such a color...?
"I used medicinal herbs that bloom only in summer, but since plain bread seemed a bit dull, I decided to add some food coloring."
...Of all colors, why blue—the one known to suppress appetite?
"Since other colors are already common, I thought a unique shade might become our Shop's signature, don't you think?"
There's a reason no one has made blue bread until now, and it's not because they hadn't thought of it!
Watching my father stand there with such hopeful expectations over this monstrosity, I pressed my palm to my forehead.
'Ugh. He's expecting so much—I suppose I should at least taste it out of respect for his effort.'
Suppressing a sigh, I placed a slice of the bread my father had cut into my mouth.
"Mm...."
With those medicinal herbs, it tasted like I'd be furious if I didn't become healthier for it....
"Well? How is it?"
I chewed the bread in my mouth while gazing steadily at my father, who waited with hopeful eyes.
That radiant face, which carried off even a loosely draped white shirt and a pink rabbit apron with perfect grace.
As I objectively examined that face for once, I suddenly recalled what the Duke had asked me today.
[Then does your father have any other interests or talents?]
I'm not sure what Father enjoys, but he certainly seems talented with his face.
'Considering he's managed to make a living from the Bakery all this time with that ability.'
Having completed both my tasting of the new product and my appreciation of my father's appearance, I exhaled a serious sigh and shook my head.
"That won't work. We can't make a living from our Bakery."
"What?"
"You need to make a living with that face of yours. Like, for example, a theatrical actor."
"Vivian! Where did you pick up such a precocious thing to say...!"
At my blunt assessment, my father clutched his chest with a wounded expression.
But to me, our livelihood mattered far more than my father's feelings.
"So whenever female customers come in, you absolutely must smile brightly. Understood?"
I demonstrated by flashing a bright smile, as if showing him how to do it.
But my father, unable to accept this harsh reality, looked dejected.
'Hmm, was I perhaps too blunt?'
Feeling belated regret, I picked up another slice of the still-unappealing bread and chewed it while gently steering the conversation elsewhere.
"Or how about this, Father. What if you entered the House of Edelwein?"
"Entered the House of Edelwein?"
"Actually, the Duke mentioned today that he'd like to take Father on as a servant of the House of Edelwein. He asked what kind of work Father does well."
"...The Duke?"
"Yes! What do you think, Father?"
I waited for his answer, my eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Of course, I expected he wouldn't give me an immediate response since this wasn't a matter to take lightly.
But contrary to my expectations, a swift answer came back.
"I'm not going to the House of Edelwein."
And it was a flat refusal at that.
I had thought hiring Father as an assistant to the Chef at the House of Edelwein was a bit much, but taking a position as a servant doing other work seemed reasonable.
'Since Father can't fight or cook, but he's good at other household tasks.'
So naturally, I assumed Father would accept this proposal... but why?!
Faced with this unexpected answer, I stammered and asked again.
"Why, why? If you're employed by the House of Edelwein, you could earn more money than now, and live in a grand Estate?"
"Even so, I don't like it. Having one's life subordinated to someone else... is an incredibly tedious and dreadful thing."
As Father answered, his eyes seemed unusually sharp, yet also distant.
But soon he composed his expression and returned to his usual playful self.
"Father prefers living with just our little princess. Don't you like that?"
"Huh, what?"
Truth be told, the daily carriage ride to the Villa was a bit of a hassle.
And if he were employed as a servant, I could live under the same roof as Rachel as part of the household, growing closer.
'But well, we're already getting along well as it is.'
There's no real need to move into the House of Edelwein.
Besides....
'Father dislikes it so much—I shouldn't push the matter.'
Now Father's only remaining family—though he'd severed ties with his other relatives—was just me, so I wanted to respect his wishes.
"Oh, no. I'm fine with anything as long as I can live with Father. That thing about the Duke earlier was just... you seemed to be struggling, so I asked."
"Is that so? Ah, our daughter. You're already worrying about Father—you've grown up so much, haven't you."
Father was moved by my answer and gently stroked my head.
"You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? Father made some soup—shall we eat dinner now?"
"What's for dinner?"
"There were some leftover medicinal herbs from baking bread earlier, so I made soup with them."
He used those herbs in food too...?
Father set the table for dinner as if he'd been waiting.
And true to my ominous premonition, a soup generously laden with medicinal herbs was placed before me.
Unable to resist Father's hopeful gaze, I took a spoonful of the soup....
As expected, the soup tasted terrible.
'But I'm a dignified child who understands the effort of the cook....'
I began eating while convincing myself that this would make me healthier.
Father, watching me with satisfaction, suddenly asked.
"What did you learn today?"
Ever since I started attending classes with Rachel, this had become a standard question at every dinner.
"I had History class today."
"Hmm? Our princess is quite interested in history? You mentioned history class last time too."
"Yeah, history is fun! Stories about people from the old days!"
In truth, with memories from my past life, history books felt like reading novels—which made them all the more fascinating.
"How far have you gotten? What from today's lesson stuck with you the most?"
"Umm..."
As I chewed the food in my mouth and recalled today's lesson, a name suddenly came to mind, and I blurted it out—
"Dane Lowsweed!"
"Pfft!"
Father suddenly spat out the water he'd been drinking.
"Oh! Father, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Cough, hack... I'm fine... *cough*..."
"Drink some water, water!"
I hurried over to Father, patting his back as he coughed, then refilled his cup and handed it to him.
Only after taking another sip did Father finally calm down.
"I must have choked on something. Haha."
"Are you better now?"
"Yes, thanks to you. But Dane... isn't he a recent historical figure? Are you already studying modern history?"
"We haven't gotten there yet, but today the History Teacher mentioned him briefly when discussing the Demon Race. Do you know him too, Father?"
At my question, Father avoided my gaze and stammered awkwardly.
"Uh? Well... yes. He's famous, after all."
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