How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

‘She’s trying to seduce me with kind words…’

Elliot had heard such words, or even more blatant than that, countless times from noble ladies. The witch asked him as he casually closed the locket and tucked it under his shirt.

“By the way, did you say that I’m only a temporary babysitter to the chestnuts?”

“No.”

“why?”

“What will Luna say if I tell them that the babysitter will be fired the moment I return from the expedition?”

“Uh… Extend the contract?”

“You don’t know Luna very well yet?”

In Elliot’s head, Luna was screaming, ‘Don’t come back forever, you nagging demon king!’

“Don’t tell them that you’re a ‘temporary’ babysitter because I don’t want to upset the children.”

“But lies… ”

“You don’t lie if you don’t say anything.”

“But it would hurt them to find out later…”

The corners of the witch’s eyes drooped sullenly.

“The children believe that I will continue to live here. Of course, I agree with…”

Saying she wanted to get along well, that’s what it means. The moment the witch revealed her true feelings, Elliot’s eyes turned fierce.

“Witch.”

Elliot leaned forward and pressed his index finger hard against his desk. The honorific title Miss Hazel was no longer used.

“Don’t use tricks to incite children to extend the contract. I warned you.”

“It’s not like that…”

“Tell the children. summer solstice. mind.”

He resolutely cut her witchy excuses and mumbled and spat out her warnings in a low, but clear way.

“… Yeah.”

Even when the witch nodded her head weakly and behaved pathetically, he did not falter.

Before her appearance changed, she gained sympathy by pretending to be an old woman whose mind fluctuated. It’s not once or twice that she had done something that would put her in prison, but she had been able to cover it somehow.

People didn’t change overnight.

Even if she didn’t seem evil, he couldn’t entrust the safety of his younger siblings to a criminal with a brilliant history for a long time. So there was absolutely no contract extension.

Elliot roughly took off what was hanging around his neck and held it out.

“I don’t take bribes. Take it back.”

“Oh, that being a bribe was a joke. I gave it to you in case you really miss the children, so make sure to take it with you.”

The witch waved her hand and fled to the door.

“Then I have to prepare dinner, so…”

Elliot, who had been staring at the witch’s back until the door closed, looked down at the silver locket in his hand and murmured like a sigh.

“It is extremely difficult.”

* * *

The beef stew took a long time to be made, so she had to prepare it in advance while the children were napping.

She sautéed chopped onion in olive oil until translucent, then added a spoonful of homemade tomato sauce. When the sauce was mixed well with the onion so it wouldn’t burn, it gave off a sweet and savory smell.

“Um…”

‘It smells good.’

The pre-roasted beef tenderloin was poured into it and sprinkled with about three tablespoons of flour. Stir well until no lumps of flour were visible, then it was time to pour in the water up to 2/3 of the way into the pot.

“Do you not add red wine?”

Mr. Harold, who was stirring the identical pot in the crater right next to her, asked.

“No, I tend not to add it for the children.”

“Hmm…”

Mr. Harold crossed his arms and rubbed the tip of his chin with one of his hands.

She poured water into the pot, gave it a good stir, then picked up two bay leaves and put them in the pot.

Mr. Harold stopped thinking for a moment, picked out two bay leaves that looked similar to the ones she had put in, and threw them into the pot before asking.

“Doesn’t all the alcohol evaporate because of the heat? There’s no need to worry that the Grand Prince and Grand Princess will get drunk.”

Imagining the children stumbling around with wine bottles in their hands made her laugh.

Of course, it’s funny because it’s imaginary. In real life, that would never happen.

“You have to add wine to make it taste deeper.”

“It has a deep flavor for the taste of adults, but it seems to be bitter, astringent, and sour to children.”

The younger one was, the more sensitive one’s taste is. Tastes that are intensely felt by adults can be not well felt by children.

Therefore, the amount of seasonings used in food for children was always reduced, and if the food had a strong taste, it was cooked in a way that neutralized it.

“Hmm… That’s right…”

Mr. Harold brooded over her words, deep in thought.

“It’s just that I experienced it… haha…”

Talking about recipes or tastes in front of culinary authorities with decades of experience made her feel embarrassed, so she added one more word.

‘Was it from the second day since you came to the palace?’ Mr. Harold asked her whenever he had a chance.

“Miss Hazel, please sell me the secret.”

“Secret? There is no such thing.”

“If you used something like a potion that captivated the buds’ taste, I’ll keep it a secret from His Highness and pay the price…”

“I don’t know how to make such a potion.”

“Then I’ll take care of the tuition so you don’t regret it, even if it’s just a cooking class…”

“I don’t need that money.”

She really didn’t need money, and she had no intention of making any money from her ordinary cooking. Because she felt like a cheater.

“And I am not a lecturer.”

She was not even an academy graduate.

“There’s nothing special, but if you really need it, I’ll let you know for free.”

“Wait, do you mean to learn the secret of captivating the palate of the Grand Princes for free?”

What’s the secret… It was so insignificant that she felt apologetic, but Mr. Harold was rather sorry.

After that, when she was doing something in the kitchen, Mr. Harold brought a notebook and an ink bottle and asked her various things while scribbling.

Thanks to that, she was glad that she had an unexpected companion. She also learned a lot from Harold by asking him about it, so she really enjoyed her cooking time.

By the way, Mr. Harold said he hadn’t learned that ‘secret’ yet, and his shoulders had been dropping lately.

He tried following the recipe she had written down, but no matter how much he tried, it didn’t taste the same as what she cooked.

Hmm… Why? She had no way of knowing either.

So, as a trick, she suggested that they try the same dishes side by side today. Match the amount of ingredients and the timing of putting them in the same way.

“Oops, you should leave this heavy thing to me.”

She lifted a cast iron lid to cover the bubbling pot, and Mr. Harold quickly took it and covered it.

“Thank you.”

“What.”

He was really kind too.

By the way, she could easily lift the lid with just magic but she sometimes forgot that she was a witch.

‘That’s why I made a mistake with the Grand Duke.’

But wasn’t it too much to slander people with such trivial things?

However, if you think about it from the Grand Duke’s point of view, it was not incomprehensible. Because he was a person who worries a lot about his life and he was afraid of witches who were famous for being evil.

‘But a man who is obsessed with preserving his life is going to subdue monsters himself?’

Were there complicated adult circumstances? People said he was born with a sword, so maybe that’s why.

As expected, if your skills are good, everyone here and there would not be left alone.

That’s great, but also sadly.

“Then what is left?”

“Ah!”

She cut off the thought that went to the wrong place after biting her lips and answered.

“Now I simmer for several hours until the meat is tender enough to crumble.”

If she were to have a pressure cooker there, she could have done it in 30 minutes. However, the taste brewed by boiling in a cast iron pot for a long time was so great that it was incomparable to that of a pressure cooker.

“Then I’ll add the potatoes and carrots about 20 minutes before dinner, and the peas and mushrooms 10 minutes before. Finally, season with spices and you’re done.”

It was so insignificant that it was embarrassing to talk about it.

“Hmm… The little devils won’t like everything except potatoes.”

“The ‘angels’ I know eat well.”

“Ah, yes… Angels…”

“Ah! I’m going to be late for Bible class. Then I’ll wake up the angels for a moment and come back.”

She hurriedly woke the children up, fed them afternoon snacks, and sent them to class. Taking advantage of that opportunity, she stopped by her cabin across the closet to feed the chickens and worked in the garden, and it was time to go back to the kitchen.

“Um… Smells good.”

When she opened the pot, an ecstatically good smell wafted out. The broth was dark brown and slightly thick, and the consistency was just right. The meat was overcooked enough that the fork slipped through it. How well did it permeate into the liver?

“It’s just fine.”

In order, she cut the vegetables as small as her index finger nail, waited for them to cook well, and seasoned them for the last time.

“Ground the pepper once and…”

As she turned the pepper grinder, Mr. Harold, who was copying the same, shouted.

“Have you turned two laps now?”

“Oh, did I? I learned to cook from my grandmother, so I tend to do it a little rough. Haha.”

Her grandmother was famous for her fine taste. However, the only downside was that the measurement was not accurate.

That much, a lot, roughly, in moderation, one turn, one smidge. When her grandmother taught her to cook, she used those words most often.

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