Chapter 24
“That’s not allowed.”
Chris, the chef, said awkwardly. I quietly glanced at Shion behind me, giving him a look to do something, but as always, he remained silent.
“Why not?”
“I feel like you’ll end up eating everything you make…”
Surprisingly, he wasn’t an easy opponent. I thought he was simply loyal to me, but it turned out his allegiance to Theon ran even deeper.
Well, to be fair, it was Theon who promoted him to head chef. Why didn’t I think of that?
But I couldn’t back down now.
“I’m making it for someone else.”
“Huh? R-really?”
Seeing naive Chris start to waver, I pressed on.
Clueless Shion nodded along, apparently convinced I was telling the truth.
“Of course.”
I smiled as brightly as I could, mimicking Vittori‘s usual expressions. Being a child helped—Chris’s eyes wavered even more.
“May I ask… who it’s for?”
If I just threw out a random name, he wouldn’t let me in. I needed a list that seemed legitimate.
“Jenna, the maids, Theon, Shion…”
It wasn’t a lie. I could make a ton, hand it out, then quietly sneak some away for myself. Perfect alibi.
“And who else?”
Wait—more?
Caught off guard, I panicked. Then I blurted out the name of the scariest person I could think of.
“C-Callista…?”
“Well then, of course! You must be allowed in!”
Oops. I thought I’d messed up, but Chris’s expression changed instantly, and he enthusiastically ushered me in.
“Feel free to use anything in the kitchen! Do you know how to make it?”
“Um…”
I trailed off and shook my head.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got a skilled little helper in the kitchen today.”
“A helper?”
My expression brightened. If the helper wasn’t much older than me, learning would be easier.
“Yes, a kid who shows up every day after training. We thought he was just here for punishment at first, but once he took the bandage off his arm, he started flying around the kitchen.”
…Wait, bandage on his arm?
There weren’t many kids in the Luferne estate who had access to the main mansion. Some were trainee maids, young attendants, or children of retainers brought for education or training.
And one of them recently broke an arm.
“Go on in. Sir Knight, you too. Hey you, stop cleaning and help Lady Harper.”
As Shion and I stepped into the kitchen, the first thing I saw was a boy with dark-tanned skin and a stocky build for his age.
My eyes widened.
“…Louis?”
Louis Evans, Clarissa’s nephew—the one who never missed a chance to throw snide remarks at me. He stood frozen, mop in one hand and bucket in the other.
Louis also looked shocked to see me. He pointed at me with a trembling finger.
“Uh, uh—?”
But before he could finish, his arm was yanked back.
Thwack!
Shion struck him across the back with the sheath of his sword.
“Aaaagh!”
“You are being rude to the young lady.”
It was Shion, speaking for the first time since he was assigned to me—his voice calm and composed.
Oh. I thought he was all timid. Turns out, he was well-trained.
Even though this was his first time as a bodyguard, Shion seemed to know exactly what to do with Louis. He raised the sheath again and said sternly:
“I’ll count to three. Show respect.”
“I didn’t even do anything!”
Whoosh—Thwack!
Louis jumped and protested, but this time the strike hit his leg.
“Ow! You said you’d count!”
“I counted internally. One, two…”
“L-Lady Harper, greetings!”
Louis bent one knee and bowed. I wasn’t sure if he knelt intentionally or just collapsed from being hit.
I was impressed. I thought Shion just trailed silently behind me, but he clearly knew how to handle his duties.
Unlike Callista’s brutal stick swings, Shion’s strikes were painful but didn’t injure. It reminded me that in his past life, he had been a genius at managing his secret network.
He knew how to deliver pain sharp enough to discipline—without breaking bones.
“Apologize too,” Shion added curtly.
“…What?”
“I saw how rude you were before. You might as well apologize now.”
He stared down Louis with a look that asked, what are you waiting for?
I was both stunned and impressed.
When they said he was good with kids… did they mean this?
Was this how he trained his agents in his past life?
“I already got punished…”
Whoosh—
“I-I’m sorry!”
Louis immediately dropped to his knees, forehead pressed to the floor. His cracking adolescent voice echoed through the kitchen.
“Explain that properly.”
I said again to Louis, whose eyes were puffy from crying.
“S-so… you mix the powders first, then add the egg, and then—”
Flick!
“Ow!”
“Explain slowly.”
Shion flicked his forehead, creating another bump. Louis trembled, trying not to cry as he continued.
“F-first, mix the dry ingredients.”
As if fully conditioned, he responded promptly to Shion’s commands. Even if he made a mistake, he didn’t get flustered.
Knowing he was Clarissa’s nephew didn’t bother me.
There were plenty in the Evans family who distanced themselves from her tyranny.
According to Theon, Louis was one of them.
After arriving at the estate, he had a harsh encounter with Callista, refused to run errands for Clarissa, and instead began following orders from Sawyer—which mostly involved training and cleaning.
It was Sawyer who assigned him kitchen duty, hoping it would help rehabilitate a delinquent boy.
Apparently it worked, since even Callista let him stay when she drove out the rest of the Evans clan.
“If you mix it like this, it won’t clump.”
After a few rounds of Shion’s discipline, Louis had become surprisingly clear and concise in his instructions.
“Use one of these.”
He laid out several colorful utensils in neat rows, then stepped back politely.
The ingredients were neatly arranged for me.
Perfect setup: great teacher, clean kitchen, right tools.
The only issue…
Puff!
“Cough! Cough!”
…was that I was worse at this than expected.
“Oops, sorry.”
The beautifully mixed powders flew everywhere when I swung the spatula too hard.
Unfortunately, Louis was standing in the splash zone—and inhaled a faceful of flour.
“C-koff! I-it’s okay…”
He patted his chest and forced a reassuring tone, probably trained by Shion to keep me from feeling bad.
Wow. Shion’s psychological training was amazing.
As we waited for my batch to bake in the oven, Louis started preparing something else beside me.
Swish—swish—clatter—slide.
His precise hands moved quickly between ingredients and tools.
“…What are you making?”
“Various chocolates. A bit fancier than brownies.”
Sure enough, colorful ingredients that weren’t even in my bowl began popping up everywhere.
“You’re good at this.”
“…You too, My Lady.”
…Wait. Did I hear that right?
I turned quickly to look at him. He focused on his work, looking a bit sheepish.
I narrowed my eyes and muttered to Shion:
“…Shion, can you leave for a minute?”
Shion, who’d been watching with hawk-like intensity, immediately stood and stepped outside.
Louis looked visibly tense.
“D-did I do something wrong…?”
“Enough. You can stop.”
I let out a sigh.
“Huh?”
“You’ve been punished enough. I never even got hurt like you did.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Stop trembling like that. You’re making me uncomfortable. And stop pretending to feel bad. It’s fine.”
I spoke honestly. Watching him get hit a few times was satisfying, but even that had its limit.
He was clearly trying to learn. But the way he constantly watched Shion for approval annoyed me.
And that fake praise—saying I was doing well—only insulted my pride.
“Well… that part was a lie.”
“Exactly.”
I forced a neutral expression. Hearing the truth still stung a bit.
“…No, wait.”
He added in a timid voice.
“What?”
“The apology… wasn’t fake. I really am sorry. I bullied you… and I’m truly sorry, My Lady.”
Louis bowed his head deeply.
I glanced around to check for Shion.
Gone?
That means—
Wow. Louis really meant it. He genuinely felt sorry.
