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Chapter 15
“Greta, Nina can eat ice cream too, right?”
“Aish-keem! Aish-keem!”
Before Greta could answer, Nina—already excited—banged on the table and shouted.
“As you can see. Not only can she eat it, she loves it too.”
“That’s good.”
Alina brought out a small tub from the pantry.
She opened the lid, scooped a big spoonful of ivory-colored ice cream, and placed it on top of a piece of toast.
Before the vanilla ice cream could melt completely from the warmth of the toast, she drizzled blueberry syrup over it.
The deep purple syrup against the creamy ice cream made a striking contrast that whetted the appetite.
“There, it’s all done!”
“What’s this?”
“A sweet and tasty lunch Nina wanted.”
Alina cut the baguette toast into small pieces so Nina could eat it easily. She put a piece of toast topped with ice cream into Nina’s mouth.
“Here you go, chew slowly.”
“Ooh!!”
Nina couldn’t even answer. Her eyes flew wide open the moment she tasted it.
Then she grabbed both cheeks and kicked her legs wildly.
“Mom! Mom!”
“Hmm?”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
She tugged desperately at Greta’s sleeve. Greta smiled awkwardly and took a bite of the cut-up baguette toast.
“Mom doesn’t really like sweets.”
But the moment she put it into her mouth, Greta turned to look at Alina, who was still cutting more pieces for Nina.
She expected that toast made with sugar- and honey-beaten eggs, topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled generously with blueberry syrup, would be overwhelmingly sweet.
But she had rarely been so pleasantly wrong.
Rather than cloying sweetness, it added a gentle moistness to the baguette’s nutty flavor.
For something made from hardened, day-old bread, it was surprisingly chewy and soft, melting easily in her mouth—the texture was incredible.
It was unlike anything she’d ever eaten; she couldn’t even think of anything to compare it to. She suddenly regretted all the stale bread she had thrown away in her life.
And the combination of vanilla ice cream and blueberry sauce on top?
Warm yet cool, sweet yet refreshing.
“This is…”
Greta was speechless. She hated how limited her vocabulary felt. She couldn’t think of anything to say except delicious.
Greta took another bite. On the steaming toast, the melting ice cream blended with the blueberry sauce.
If it had just been vanilla ice cream, it might have ended up too rich—but the tangy blueberry balanced it perfectly.
While cooking, the kitchen had been filled with sweetness, and she almost expected it to taste like jam. But it was nothing like that.
The syrup was thin enough to soak right into the toast without needing to be spread, making it a perfect match.
She couldn’t imagine a better sauce for this toast.
“Maitchi! Right?”
Greta smiled at Nina’s gleeful words, and then quietly began emptying her plate.
“Keep working hard, Riese.”
After finishing her toast, Greta put down her fork and said something meaningful.
“The Maléhark Empire’s meritocracy is not just for show.”
At her words, Marika—who had been devouring toast beside them—flinched. Greta gave her a warm smile.
“You’ll understand what I mean soon enough.”
* * *
Only after Greta, Nina, and Marika finished lunch was Alina able to pack lunch for Rihart. Because of that, lunchtime ended up much later than usual.
He must be waiting.
Alina hurried toward the pale-blue building.
She wanted to run, but feared that the food would spill out of the basket.
Especially today’s dessert: peaches.
She walked even more carefully, worried the soft fruit might bruise.
“Rihart?”
Alina stopped in front of the empty building, looking confused.
Normally, Rihart would be sitting on the steps, waiting for her. But he wasn’t there—not even Til.
“Was I too late?”
Walking around to the back of the building, Alina froze.
Someone was gripping Rihart by the collar.
“Riha—!”
Just as she instinctively rushed forward, her eyes met his.
Don’t come.
Rihart pleaded with his expression.
Reading the panic in his eyes, Alina stopped and clutched her basket tightly. She could only stand there and watch him being bullied.
“Eat. I said eat it.”
“No!”
The man with crow-black hair was trying to force a piece of bread into his mouth.
When Rihart resisted, the man scoffed mockingly.
“Why? You gladly took the magic stone, but you don’t want the bread?”
“I told you, I’m not eating anything you give me anymore.”
“Don’t be boring. Being my little toy is your one and only use. You planning on becoming useless even at that?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the man grabbed Rihart by the neck.
“Ggk!”
The merciless grip squeezed tighter, turning Rihart’s already pale face even whiter.
Alina stomped anxiously in place.
What do I do!
She wanted to save him immediately.
But Rihart kept begging her with his eyes not to come.
She had no idea what she should do.
That bastard… what is he!
Furious, she glared at the man’s black head.
Of course Rihart’s brother was a horrible human being.
No—he was a dog.
No, even that was wrong. Calling him a dog was an insult to dogs.
Rihart…
When the man lifted him high enough that his feet left the ground, Til flew in and pecked the man’s hand.
“Stop it! Stop it!”
The man threw Rihart to the ground and swatted Til away with a rough swing.
“Damn bird.”
“Hff—haah! Hah!”
While Rihart lay on the ground catching his breath, black mist unfurled behind the man. A strand of that mist wrapped around his shoulder, forming into a black snake.
Hiss! Hiss!
The suddenly appearing snake flicked its tongue and lunged at Til.
Rihart shouted with a pale, terrified face.
“Til! Run!”
Til didn’t get far—before he could fly away, the snake struck and seized him.
As the snake coiled around the bird and squeezed, Rihart clutched his own throat in agony.
“Ggh—guh—agh!”
It was as if he felt the same pain Til did.
With tears brimming in his eyes, Rihart screamed.
“Hyung, please!”
As Rihart begged, the man strolled toward him.
“The fact that a pathetic brat like you has a familiar that weak… you were doomed from the start.”
“Hff—Til… is better than a snake!”
“Oh? Does my beloved Tessi look like just a snake to you? Should I show you its dragon form?”
The man smiled lazily and reached out his hand.
A deep humming began, and black mist spun into a small vortex.
Watching it expand, Rihart whispered hopelessly:
“No… no…”
Alina didn’t know what that mist meant.
But Rihart clearly did.
And she didn’t need to ask to know—it meant terror.
“Hhngh… brother…”
Overwhelming fear.
I can’t watch anymore.
As tears slid down Rihart’s cheek, Alina grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at the man.
“Stop it!”
“What the—?”
Hit in the back of the head, the man turned with bloodshot eyes full of murderous rage.
“You want to die?”
Swallowing hard, Alina forced herself to speak.
“Lilith Mariam von Holtzrigger.”
“What?”
“I’ll report your cruelty to Her Highness. Stop bullying a child.”
“You? You think you know Lilith?”
He smirked, withdrawing the mist in his hand. Cracking his neck, he turned toward her.
“Go ahead. Report me. If you can.”
He sneered as he approached Alina.
As the distance closed, Rihart staggered up behind him.
“No, Riese—run.”
But his legs shook, unable to support him.
On his knees, he cried out desperately:
“Run, Riese!”
The man was now within arm’s reach.
Alina grabbed the plates from the basket and hurled everything at him.
Baguette toast, blueberry syrup, peaches—everything she had made became a weapon.
“Ugh!”
A peach smacked him square in the face. Alina held two peaches in her hands and shouted:
“You’re the worst!”
Food should be treated with respect—this was her belief. But right now, she didn’t care. Rihart mattered more.
“Stop hurting him!”
She threw the remaining blueberry syrup at him, bowl and all.
Thud!
“Damn it.”
He swatted the bowl away, but the syrup splashed fully across his face.
“Unbelievable.”
Wiping the blueberry off, he glared at her with deep irritation.
“Do you even know who you’re pulling this crap on?”
“What?”
“You’re attacking someone like me… because of that useless brat?”
At the word useless, Alina grit her teeth.
“Take that back.”
“Why would I?”
“He has a name. Don’t talk about him like that!”
“Oh? Right, right. I suppose I should’ve called him by his full name—Maximilian Rihart von Holtzrigger.”
He taunted her while plucking blueberry chunks from his hair.
Hearing Rihart’s full name, Alina’s grip tightened around the peach.
“…Maximilian?”
Maximilian.
The second prince who had captured her—and executed her—in her third life.
Rihart… is that prince?
Alina slowly shifted her gaze to Rihart standing behind his brother.
