Chapter 45
Mitzu, who had been awkwardly silent for a while, hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, what is this? It’s delicious. Can we ask the chef to make more?”
Mitzu pointed at the scones and madeleines, already on his third plate.
Even as he spoke, his hand reached for another scone. Beside him, Hael also reached for a madeleine.
“Ahh! These are ours! Mitzu and Hael, stop eating!”
“You little brat, that’s unfair! Ugh, we can just ask the chef to make more!”
“Erina made these! She made them for us!”
“What?!”
Mitzu’s red eyes deepened in color as he turned to look at Erina. She met his gaze and gave a slight nod.
The children puffed out their chests and wore proud expressions.
Erina didn’t understand why they looked so triumphant when she was the one who made the snacks, but she found the three of them adorable and simply smiled.
“A human woman has this kind of talent?”
“If you keep calling Erina ‘human woman,’ then don’t eat those!”
Resen swiftly snatched the scones and madeleines from Mitzu and Hael’s hands.
They had been just a centimeter away from their mouths, and Mitzu scrunched his face in frustration.
“That’s unfair!”
“Unfair? You two keep eating delicious snacks while refusing to call Erina by her name. You’re the unfair ones! Are you both idiots? You’re just ruthless dragons, aren’t you?”
Poi, who was glued to Erina’s side, criticized Mitzu and Hael with a blank expression.
The child’s dark eyes stared at them. If they insisted any further, they would truly be ruthless dragons.
Despite being only six months old, the kid had an intense presence. Mitzu and Hael grimaced and turned their eyes to Erina.
She was gently trying to calm Poi down, saying, “Poi, I’m fine,” but somehow, that made them even more annoyed.
Still, they couldn’t just storm off, because Erina’s snacks were simply too delicious.
Normally, they had little desire for food—something typical of dragons—but these treats made them crave more.
Once they had tasted them, they couldn’t stop. Leaving now was out of the question.
“Erina!”
Hael, who always just echoed Mitzu, suddenly called Erina’s name on her own.
Mitzu turned to her in disbelief.
Ignoring Mitzu’s glare, Hael reached out for the madeleines that had been taken away earlier.
Realizing that no one was stopping her, she boldly grabbed three instead of just one.
“You traitor!!!”
Mitzu, fuming at Hael’s betrayal, hesitated for a moment before muttering under his breath.
“Er… Erina.”
Although everyone clearly heard him, the three children simply tilted their heads in unison.
It was an unspoken signal—they weren’t going to acknowledge him unless he said it louder.
Annoying brats!
Grinding his teeth, Mitzu finally shouted,
“ERINA!!!!!!!”
His voice echoed throughout the dining room. The kids covered their ears, and even Erina flinched.
Hael was so startled that small sparks flickered around her.
After checking each of their reactions one by one, Mitzu smirked.
“Happy now? The scones and madeleines are all mine.”
Before the children could react, Mitzu shoved a huge bite of both snacks into his mouth.
A smirk curled on his lips—it was childish behavior, to the point where it was hard to tell who was the adult and who was the kid.
The triplets glared at him, their snacks completely stolen in an instant.
“Erina! Do you know what you call someone like Mitzu?”
“Huh?”
“You call them immature! Or, in other words, a scoundrel that even ghosts wouldn’t bother to take!”
Resen pointed at Mitzu dramatically, using the harshest insult he knew.
Mitzu, now being called a scoundrel by a kid barely past infancy, was annoyed, but no one comforted him.
“I’ll be back for the next snack time. Make sure my portion is three times what those little brats get.”
“Three times!”
Mitzu and Hael spoke through stuffed cheeks, their mouths still full.
Erina awkwardly nodded, already dreading the next snack time.
“Lia doesn’t want to eat with Mitzu and Hael….”
“Yeah! Resen neither!”
“Po… Poi too!”
The triplets, clearly feeling the same way as Erina, whined about not wanting to share their snacks. But Mitzu and Hael ignored their protests and turned back to Erina.
“Starting tomorrow! I’m coming for snack time!”
“Me too!!”
“Ahem! Well then, we’re leaving. See you tomorrow, human wo—no. Erina.”
“Bye!”
Once the plates were empty, the two left without hesitation.
They were adults, yet somehow more childish and noisy than the triplets.
***
For the past few days, the Harrison estate had been bustling with activity.
The long-awaited banquet, officially hosted by the Harrison family for the first time in nearly a year, was fast approaching.
This event was the perfect opportunity to dispel the dishonorable rumors surrounding the family and reaffirm their influence. As a result, the estate’s staff were more determined than ever.
Fortunately, Mitzu, who was overseeing the banquet, had finally realized that delegating tasks to the servants produced much better results than trying to handle everything himself.
Thanks to this realization, the preparations were progressing smoothly.
“Miss Erina? What exactly are you doing?”
Dylan, the least interested and least enthusiastic about the banquet, asked as he watched Erina busily carrying supplies.
He had been wandering around the mansion, hoping to catch sight of Erina, and was both surprised and delighted to find her in such an unexpected place.
“Hello, Mr. Dylan! I’m helping with the banquet preparations!”
“Banquet preparations?”
“Yes! The banquet is happening soon, and since the venue is the imperial palace, moving all the necessary supplies requires a lot of hands.”1I made a mistake in the last chapter, writing Harrison mansion instead of Heriobe Castle in the invitation card, but it’s already fixed.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“So I’m helping by moving things in advance!”
Erina answered cheerfully, tightening her grip on the tablecloth she was carrying to make sure she wouldn’t drop it.
Dylan, however, couldn’t understand why she was doing this kind of work.
Her responsibilities were supposed to be taking care of and educating his niece and nephews, not running errands.
Wondering who had the audacity to assign Erina such a task, Dylan narrowed his eyes slightly but maintained a soft smile.
“There was no need for you to help, Miss Erina.”
“Oh, no! There’s so much work to do that even if everyone had ten hands, it wouldn’t be enough!”
“Is it that bad?”
At his question, Erina nodded enthusiastically.
Then, as if eager to get back to work, she kept glancing sideways, waiting for Dylan to let her go. Noticing this, Dylan deliberately feigned concern.
“But aren’t you busy taking care of the children?”
“Oh! It’s their nap time right now, so it’s fine!”
“In that case, give me what you’re holding. I’ll help you.”
Without waiting for a response, Dylan took the tablecloth from Erina, practically snatching it away.
No matter how busy things were, there was no way they were so desperate that they needed to rely on someone who couldn’t even use levitation magic.
Most likely, they had given Erina this task while they used magic to transport the rest of the supplies.
Dylan didn’t need to see it to know that was the case.
He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Erina, so instead, he clenched his jaw.
“Mr. Dylan, you shouldn’t be doing this either!”
“If they’re relying on someone who can’t even use magic, then it’s only right that I help as well. Now, where should I take this?”
“Ah, um… to the east back gate.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”
Dylan effortlessly levitated the tablecloth in the air and started walking.
As Erina followed behind him, she suddenly realized why Dylan had given her such a puzzled look earlier.
