Episode 13
I was so impatient while the nanny put my shoes on that I kept wiggling my toes. The moment my shoes were on, I dashed toward the table.
“This is the cake I mentioned earlier, young miss.”
Yasmin, who was instructing the servants on how to set up the snacks, tilted her head toward me and whispered.
She spoke with the same friendly demeanor as if she had already forgotten the earlier incident.
Hmm.
In that case, I should act as though nothing happened too!
“Do you like it?”
“Yes!”
“That’s a relief. Please wait a moment. I’ll cut it for you right away.”
The cake, covered with fluffy cream piled high like clouds, was irresistible to anyone who laid eyes on it.
Dietrich, who had somehow ended up next to me, let out a little groan as he stared at the cake, unable to take his eyes off it.
“Are you really going to give me all your snacks, Dietrich?”
I asked deliberately, testing him. Dietrich squeezed his eyes shut as if he were enduring a great ordeal.
“I promised, didn’t I?”
“Really? Even though this fluffy, soft cake is your favorite?”
“Ugh… Still, a promise is a promise!”
Honestly, Dietrich is such an easy target to tease.
Describing the fluffy texture of the cake in detail near his ear, I watched as he twisted his body in agony. Just then, the nanny’s dress brushed past me.
As her eyes scanned the table, her eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.
“I specifically said not to serve cake as a snack for this week. Who brought this out against my orders?”
Oh, right. Dietrich and I were under a cake ban.
For days, the two of us had been competing to find sweet snacks, which got not only us but also the indulgent kitchen staff scolded by the nanny.
Dietrich and I immediately stopped our antics and quietly closed our mouths.
What should we do now?
Our nanny is truly terrifying when she’s angry.
“I’m the one who requested it, Nanny.”
Breaking through the icy atmosphere was Yasmin, my new governess.
“Yasmin? You?”
“I apologize. I overstepped my bounds because I wanted to bond quickly with the young master and young miss.”
Yasmin smiled awkwardly, as if embarrassed, and the nanny’s stiff expression softened a little.
“…Is that so?”
Does this mean she’s allowing the cake?
“I understand your intentions, Yasmin, but the cake is still not allowed. I suggest replacing it with a different snack.”
So strict!
After playing so much on the trampoline, I was hungry enough to chew on the chair legs. How could she make us wait longer? I can’t handle it!
I immediately grabbed onto the nanny’s dress and clung to her.
“Nanny.”
“No, young miss.”
The nanny’s tone was soft but firm as she looked down at me with a resolute expression. I tried my best to put on the sweetest face I could muster.
“But Dietrich and I will share it.”
Take the hint already.
I shot a glare at Dietrich, who was still standing there clueless. Catching on, he quickly grabbed the other side of the nanny’s dress.
The nanny looked back and forth between us before asking a question with a completely serious face.
“But didn’t the young master just say he would give all his snacks for the week to the young miss?”
“Dietrich is kind. He played with me. So he should share this with me, half and half.”
“Look at baby Ella, Nanny. Where else in the world could you find an angelic child like her? Ella’s being so generous, so can’t you make an exception, just this once, Nanny?”
Go forth, the strategy of being kind and harmonious siblings!
The nanny had a soft spot for moments when we showed how well we got along.
As expected, she couldn’t hold out long against Dietrich and me, hanging on to her dress with sparkling eyes.
Even though she wrinkled her nose in exasperation, she eventually gave in, holding up her hand in surrender.
“Alright, but not the whole thing… just half each. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Afraid she might change her mind, we quickly took our seats, grabbed our forks, and waited.
The cake, filled with fluffy cream, and a cup brimming with cold juice and ice—everything was ready.
The nanny and Yasmin sat across from Dietrich and me, sipping tea with a slice of lemon floating in their cups.
A sweet scent mingled with the smell of fresh grass as a light breeze playfully tickled us. It was a peaceful morning.
Ah, what a perfect life…
“It was a good idea to bring the trampoline. The young master and lady seem to love it so much,” Yasmin said softly.
The nanny nodded lightly in agreement.
“It’s made from the membranes of wings taken from flying beasts. I hear it’s very expensive?”
“Well, materials from magical beasts are hard to come by and even harder to process. Though, with the ongoing war, there’s been a surplus of magical beast corpses, so they’ve become more accessible.”
As I half-listened to their conversation, my eyes widened.
“Magical beasts?”
Did she just say magical beasts?
Do such things really exist?
So that’s how trampolines exist in this era—they’re made from the membranes of magical beast wings?
“Magical beasts refer to wicked creatures, young miss. Some of them have long horns like this, and others have wings,”
The nanny explained carefully, gesturing to describe the creatures.
Well, I did have a vague idea of what magical beasts were from fantasy novels and games before I was reincarnated in this world.
But to think I was happily bouncing on a wing membrane from one of them…
Suddenly losing my appetite, I set my fork down. Sensing this, Yasmin spoke quickly, trying to soothe me.
“There’s no need to be scared, young lady. Your father has gone to hunt a great number of magical beasts.”
My father? What’s she talking about now?
Not knowing what to make of this, I darted my eyes around nervously. That’s when Dietrich, with a bit of cream on his cheek, proudly chimed in.
“That’s right. I heard about it too. Father is currently waging war against the magical beasts, isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Where was it again… something ‘Sea’? ‘Say’?”
“At the northernmost edge of the empire, in a place called the Sea of Trees.”
Yasmin offered a brief explanation, filling in for the slightly confused Dietrich.
She explained that in the Sea of Trees, a dark forest at the empire’s farthest northern reach, magical beasts are constantly being born and moving southward.
“Near the Sea of Trees, there are heretics who refuse to follow the will of the gods. They even tame and control magical beasts. They’re very bad people.”
“So our father went to punish those bad people?”
“That’s correct, young master. You’re very clever.”
“Of course! The servants say Father is winning the war. Is that true?”
“It is. The war is nearing its end now.”
While Yasmin answered, Dietrich stuffed half a piece of cake into his mouth.
“Mmmph…!”
“Young master, you need to finish what’s in your mouth before speaking,”
As I chuckled, watching Dietrich chew with his cheeks puffed out, I suddenly felt the sensation of someone watching us. I turned my head to look.
What is this?
Just a moment ago, I could feel people’s gazes on us, but now everyone was looking elsewhere, avoiding eye contact.
It was like they had been observing us and got caught.
‘Come to think of it, all these faces are unfamiliar.’
Did Yasmin call them here? Everyone in the garden today seemed to be the new staff from the main household.
…Well, they’ve only been here for a short time, so maybe they’re just amazed by Dietrich’s ability to swallow half a slice of cake in one go.
Shrugging off the thought, I turned back and picked up my fork again.
***
I examined him from this side.
Hmm.
And then from that side…
After circling around Dietrich a few times, I came to a careful conclusion.
“Dietrich, you’ve gained weight.”
Laura, who was polishing a vase nearby, couldn’t suppress her laughter and let out a quiet snort.
Dietrich must’ve heard that tiny laugh too because his ears turned bright red as he vehemently denied it.
“N-no, I haven’t!”
But no matter how I looked at him, he seemed oddly rounder.
Why is that? He exercises regularly.
Plus, he’s been obsessed with the trampoline lately, spending every day bouncing on it, burning off extra calories.
I’ve been eating with him all this time, and it doesn’t seem like he’s eating more than usual either…
Perplexed by how such an active child like Dietrich could be gaining weight, I pinched his chubby cheeks and stretched them out. His speech became muffled as a result.
“Dietrich, your cheeks are so squishy.”
“Apparently, it’s normal to gain a little weight before you grow taller. It seems the young master is about to have a growth spurt,”
“Th-that’s right! Laura’s right!”
Laura chimed in, trying to suppress her amusement. Dietrich hurriedly agreed, clinging to Laura’s explanation.
But… anyone could tell that sounded like an excuse.
