---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------

Episode 12
'Oh right, before I eat, I should praise how the chocolate pudding turned out today first!'
Jeff, of course, and now even the other cooks ‌‌were subtly creeping closer. I could see their ears perking ‌‌up even as they pretended not to listen.
I cleared my throat with an ahem and tapped Pompom's head as it waddled along behind me. Then I enthusiastically ‌‌‌‍delivered my praise.
"It melts so smoothly, kyaa, slippery-yummy!"
As I threw both arms up in the air, the people ‌‌‌‍who had been smiling ‌‌at how adorable I was quickly shifted their gaze toward Pompom.
-The sensation of melting ‌‌‌‌the instant it touched my tongue was exactly like sliding on my belly ‌‌‌across a fluffy carpet!
Spot on! How does it understand my words so perfectly?
"Sweet and a bit tangy-bitter, and the demon next to me would've definitely asked for just one bite too."
As I nodded with ‌‌a serious expression, ‌‌the people once again turned their eyes toward Pompom.
-The sweetness balanced with just the right amount of bitterness kept it from becoming cloying, and I'm sure even a demon would've begged for a taste from the sidelines.
Pompom's speech was mechanical, but it was more than enough to convey the meaning.
"Oh, such high praise again...!"
"Truthfully, since cacao fruit has been scarce, our head chef has struggled greatly to bring out the pudding's full flavor."
"And now the young mistress recognizes and commends that effort so generously."
Several cooks, moved by emotion, set down the ladles they'd been holding and wiped away tears.
'I'm not sure why they're getting so emotional, but....'
In any case, I decided to finish the praise I'd started.
"Caramel and chocolate toasted crispy-crunchy. Crunch-crunch-crunch it came running to me!"
-Plus, you baked it with caramel and ‌‌‌‌‌chocolate syrup mixed together at the end. The sugar was so crispy and crunchy, it came dashing all across my mouth.
It was fine when I was with Patriarch Grandfather, but having to carefully enunciate every single day was exhausting work.
'After a while, my throat and tongue start to ache.' ‌‌
Some days ‌my throat would even swell as if it were numb. ‌‌
But ‌‌Kiraxus's invention understood even my sloppy speech perfectly, which was truly remarkable.
After ‌‌finishing my molecular-level praise, I stretched ‌‌‌out my fluffy front ‌‌‌paws as far as I could and made something resembling a heart.
"You're the best ‌‌‌‌today too!"
Thank you for giving me chocolate pudding. Promise you'll make something delicious tomorrow too!
With that meaning behind it, I fired off a wink, and ‌‌head chef Jeff's knees buckled as he staggered.
"Ugh, waaah!"
And then he burst into tears!
I opened my eyes wide in surprise. John ‌‌‌looked equally shocked, his mouth hanging open.
But the other cooks nodded knowingly, as if they ‌‌‌understood why Jeff was sobbing like that.
"Ah yes, those were days of persecution...."
"It's not our fault that we lack ingredients...."
"The successors always say it tastes terrible. They say it's the sort of slop pig-folk would eat!"
"They leave it! They throw it in the trash ‌‌‌right before our eyes!"
"What a waste of ingredients... ugh, ugh ugh!"
The last remark ‌‌‌was something that shouldn't be said no matter what, so the cooks standing nearby covered their mouths.
I felt the heavy atmosphere settling over the kitchen and tilted my head in confusion.
"Who... threw away the pudding?"
What sort of fool wastes pudding! And in an age of such terrible famine, showing no gratitude whatsoever!
"Who! Who did this!"
Before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out in an indignant huff. The cooks exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes darting about. I'd poured out my emotions in a torrent, but pinpointing exactly who was responsible seemed beyond their ability to articulate.
"...Well, then. Where is the pudding that was discarded?"
-I wish to mourn the passing of the pudding. Ah, poor, wretched pudding...
Ah, right. I hadn't turned this off yet. ‌‌
I tapped Pompom's head twice more to deactivate it.
While ‌‌‌I did so, the cooks who had been exchanging ‌glances caught sight of the trash bin beside the head chef. Their mouths remained silent, but their entire bodies spoke volumes.
"John!"
"At your service, young mistress."
Thud, thud, thud.
With just three strides of his massive frame, John ‌‌‌reached the trash bin.
I nearly wept at the sight of what remained of the pudding discarded there.
'That delicious thing! They threw it away! They actually threw it away!'
And right before the very eyes of the cooks who had prepared it?
"It appears the young heirs have been quite dissatisfied with their meals of late."
Even John seemed utterly ‌flabbergasted as he uttered this observation.
'Of course, as heirs of a great noble house, they needn't scrape ‌‌‌every last morsel from a plate to make do.'
Even while commoners starved, the nobility—especially the great houses—continued to feast abundantly.
But knowing the dire circumstances beyond these walls, to squander such precious ingredients in this manner... it was simply wrong. ‌‌‌
These heirs lacked even the basic qualities to become a ‌Patriarch, their prospects utterly withered.
'And calling it food fit only for pig-folk is nothing but racial prejudice.'
I gazed upon the fallen pudding with sorrowful eyes, then clasped ‌‌‌‌my hands together in prayer.
"May you be reborn in my mouth next time. May someone in this world savor you as deliciously as you deserve."
"Hehe, ‌‌‌we are ‌‌all comforted by your understanding, young mistress."
In truth, this was something I couldn't report to the Patriarch, nor could I confide in ‌‌the Duchess. Both ‌were far too occupied to notice the misbehavior of one heir among many, and besides, they stood so impossibly far above us.
'But I am still just a child, and ‌‌that makes me different.'
Moreover, I possessed the remarkable authority to choose which heir would become the next Patriarch.
In other words, ‌‌a small wielder of power!
"From now on, if anything like this happens again, tell me directly. I won't tolerate this sort of behavior."
As ‌‌‌I adopted a stern expression, Jeff the ‌‌head chef nodded vigorously, his nose flaring.
'Hmm, has this actually worked out in my favor?'
These people would come to rely on me now. I had become their closest avenue to voice their grievances and frustrations.
"John, how many heirs are there?"
"There are ten in total, young mistress. However, only seven currently reside in the heir's quarters." ‌‌‌
"Where are the other three?"
Some time later, after I'd extracted every snack and morsel of affection the kitchen staff could offer, I left and found myself wondering about something that had nagged at me.
The situation at the front lines had been so dire that I hadn't yet received proper ‌‌education, nor had I studied the family's history to cultivate myself as a future ‌‌daughter-in-law.
As a result, I still didn't fully understand how the Driblyane Family currently operated.
"The Driblyane lineage is quite complex, so I'm afraid the explanation may be somewhat difficult... but one of them currently attends the Military Academy."
"The Military Academy?"
"Yes. Your father, DN Glance, recognized your talent and sent you to ‌‌‌‌the Military Academy dormitory."
Ah, the Military Academy... it must be Dante.
John didn't mention the name, but if someone with sword talent was sent to the Military Academy, it could only be Dante.
"The other is a prince. He requires a special environment to grow, so he resides in the Imperial Palace."
"A shark...?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The Imperial Family of the Holy Empire are Sartesia—narwhals, in other words.
The Imperial ‌‌Family of the Demon Empire are Helicoprion, a species of saw sharks. Sea creatures really do belong in the sea.
'Among the Driblyane heirs, the only ‌‌one who isn't a saber-toothed tiger... that would be Yuri.'
The future crown prince, Yuri Yerevan Helicoprion Driblyane.
I nodded and asked John another ‌‌‌question.
"And the last one?"
"The last is the crown prince of Lichenbaum, an allied nation of our empire. As someone who must support his country, he did not come here. He will likely renounce his succession rights soon."
"I see."
"I have never actually met him myself. However, his younger brother, the second ‌‌‌son of Lichenbaum, is here."
Well, it's better to inherit the Driblyane legacy than to live and die as a nameless prince if you're not the eldest.
'Wait... Lichenbaum?'
That name ‌‌‌sounds very familiar.
I'm pretty sure in the later parts of the original work, the first male lead—Gerd—who clung to the female protagonist had ‌‌‌‌Lichenbaum as his surname?
"Is this body being told to marry an albino beast?"
And then it happened.
As if on cue, a very, very spiteful boy's voice came from the front of the corridor.
"When the Patriarch ‌‌‌‌said he had chosen the albino, I thought he was joking." ‌‌
"...I greet you, Young Master Gerd."
"Right. I heard you became his escort knight. How did a proud bear-man end up like this?"
The boy who struggled to make eye contact with John and straightened his posture had bronze-colored hair. His fiercely upturned eyes and bronze irises revealed his origins.
I surveyed the small creature armed with arrogance and gasped in shock.
'Gerd? The real Gerd?'
The very one who handed Rahyun a whip with both hands, telling her not to leave him and ‌that she could do anything to him?!
In the original work, he was definitely described as having a sleek, beautiful physique and an extremely obedient personality.
The one who played the role of being trampled by the Saint and relieving her stress...
Gerd Anton Lichenbaum Driblyane.
His depravity was beyond imagination.
But right now—
"Just a little brat...?"
Good heavens.
I burst out laughing at the sight of Gerd's chubby, rosy cheeks. This ‌‌‌‌sheltered prince, completely ignorant of the ways of the ‌‌‌‌world, was filled with nothing but the pride and self-respect ‌‌befitting a boy his age.

---------------
Brought to you ‌‌‌by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read ‌directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------