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Chapter 22
Isn’t This a Waste of Flour?
I couldn’t take my eyes off the unbelievable sight.
Above Lonowe, who was about my age, red heat waves were wildly rising and spreading in all directions, and above his head, a dark-red malevolent aura had taken on the shape of a demon.
It was shocking.
“Why is there such a strong spiritual energy gathered around him?”
I hid behind a pillar again.
“Wasn’t this something you’d only see in a desolate land?”
As I rummaged through my knowledge, my head grew even more complicated.
“Lately, so many strange things have been happening… is it just my imagination?”
Had the trials come because I had been living too peacefully until now? I held my head in both hands, groaning in frustration.
Snap.
But I couldn’t hide forever.
Mustering my courage, I looked back at the place where the aura had gathered… and…
“Huh? Master Huang!”
Huh, it’s gone. The ominous aura that had been swirling a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.
“You’re here?”
More importantly, why did he look completely normal? I hurried over to Lonowe, reaching out my hand.
“Did you see anything strange?”
“Strange? What do you mean?”
That made no sense.
The aura I had witnessed was far too significant to just disappear without affecting him at all.
But Lonowe’s innocent, puzzled expression held no hint of deception. He seemed completely fine.
“No.”
I quickly changed the topic, making it seem as though nothing had happened. I didn’t want Lonowe to fixate on it, which would have been troublesome to manage.
“Have you been reading this whole time?”
Thankfully, it seemed the aura hadn’t affected him at all. I asked, staring at the book Lonowe was clutching tightly.
“Yes. I wanted to play with Master Huang…”
Lonowe’s sad eyes made him hug the book even tighter.
“I came to play for a bit, then got completely absorbed in this amazing book.”
The little one, barely able to speak properly, was utterly engrossed in a book. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Do you mean the book you’re holding now?”
I asked, still skeptical, maintaining a neutral expression.
“Yes! Master Huang, do you want to see it too?”
Proudly, Lonowe handed over the thick book.
‘Wait… this is a military strategy book?’
Judging by its sophisticated and extraordinary cover, I assumed it contained profound content. Flipping through the pages, it indeed turned out to be a treatise on military strategy.
‘This isn’t a book for a child like Lonowe.’
It recorded the strategies and war tactics of rulers who had conquered the world. Could the aura have been in the book, and that’s why Lonowe had been briefly affected?
“Why did you choose this book?”
Rather than guessing blindly, it was better to hear from him how he got the book.
“The cover looked pretty!”
The answer came out immediately, so simple it was almost comical.
‘Normally, items with a malevolent aura enthrall humans. But Lonowe explained clearly why he picked the book.’
Although my energy sagged a bit, it confirmed one thing: Lonowe had not been affected by the aura.
If he had, he wouldn’t have known why he picked it.
“Oh, I see. But what’s it about?”
I wasn’t completely free of suspicion yet, but I was curious how much a little child could understand of such a difficult military text.
“Umm…”
Lonowe suddenly hugged the book tightly again.
“I don’t know!”
After much thought, he smiled brightly and admitted he couldn’t understand a single word.
‘As I thought. He was just holding it.’
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. I had expected him to be fascinated by the strategy book, being the odd little one he was, but apparently not.
He was still just a child, in his own way.
“Big sis~ Master Huang~ where are you~?”
“Oh! That’s Beris’s voice!”
Finally awake from a nap. I turned toward the voice.
“I want to stay here longer.”
Lonowe, sensing that parting time was near, teared up.
“You can come with me again later.”
Apparently, he really liked the strategy book. Just moments ago, hearing his brother’s voice had brightened his face, but now he looked glum. I said casually.
“Yes! Okay! Master Huang is the best!”
Lonowe put the book down and jumped up on the spot. His mood swing was so sudden it was almost dizzying, but better this than him crying.
“I should read that book too.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Meanwhile, I instructed the maid to keep the military book safe.
Even though Lonowe wasn’t influenced by the aura, I still needed to confirm if the book contained any malevolent energy. Items with such ominous power should be sealed or removed early for future safety.
It wasn’t about worrying for others’ safety.
“Big sis~~ Master Huang~~~.”
The once-quiet imperial library was now filled with Beris’s crying. I felt relieved walking beside Lonowe, thinking about how to calm him.
Because Carlisle patted Beris’s head and comforted him, the crying soon stopped.
“Why all the fuss?”
I already felt worn out and spoke as usual.
“I woke up in the middle of my nap, and Master Huang wasn’t there… I was scared!”
But his sadness hadn’t fully vanished; Beris sniffled and wiped his eyes as he spoke.
“Master Huang, why did you sneak out without me and my brother?”
Damn it, it wasn’t over yet. I was flustered by Beris’s sudden confrontation.
“You don’t like it?”
Stop! Please stop! Seeing him look like he might cry again, I panicked.
“I’m not sleepy anymore! So don’t leave me!”
“All right, I understand.”
He’s no ugly duckling… but I had to respond to get through this.
“Your Highness, it’s still a long time until lunch.”
While sighing in relief seeing Beris calm, the maid finally spoke.
“So, may I prepare another activity?”
I nodded, curious how thoroughly she had planned it to be so confident.
“Is it fun?”
“I want to see!”
True to their sibling nature, the kids showed immense curiosity and attention.
“Shall we go to the playroom first? I’ll quickly prepare and bring it.”
The maid left with some other maids to fetch toys, disappearing in the opposite direction.
‘It won’t be that exciting.’
I had a neutral expression as we walked to the playroom. Frankly, “fun” from a child’s perspective meant things that would entertain little ones.
“Ta-da! We’re making cookies now!”
“Waaaah!”
As I predicted, my expectations were correct.
“Here’s the dough. Make it beautifully, and I’ll bake it into cookies for you.”
A new cloth had been spread on the carpet, and the children began a hands-on cookie-making activity.
‘We’re going to make cookies with them? Will they even be edible?’
Poppy, Lonowe, and Beris jumped with joy, but I felt uneasy. Kids are unpredictable, and giving them dough to handle could end in disaster.
In other words, it would be lucky if no one got sick.
Stretch…
“Big sis! Look at this!”
The clever children already began making absurd shapes with the dough.
“Poppy’s butt!”
No matter how soft Poppy was as a doll, it didn’t have the elasticity of dough.
“Smells like butter!”
I had no idea how they came up with such observations.
“What are you making, big brother?”
Carlisle, standing a little apart, walked over to them confidently.
“I’m making the most delicious cookies!”
Lonowe grinned at Carlisle, and Beris wanted to know what he would make.
“No, kids, you don’t have to only make cookies.”
You’re only thinking of food, I thought. I wished they’d get more creative.
“Make whatever you want.”
Since we were making cookies, this hands-on activity would essentially be a tactile experience.
‘I read somewhere it’s good for their emotional development…’
Still, seeing the kids squish the dough with their dirty hands made me lose my appetite.
‘Thinking about eating this later makes me nauseous.’
It sounds cruel, but that’s how I felt. I’d rather let the chef make proper cookies.
‘And using wheat for this…’
There are starving people out there, and here they are playing with food. I wanted to scold them for thinking so thoughtlessly.
“Master Huang, you should make some too! It’s fun!”
“All right, all right…”
I can’t scold a three-year-old like this, so I took the dough Lonowe handed me with a sullen face.
“I’m making Poppy!”
After some time passed…
‘That’s… Poppy?’
I stared at the dough, which barely had eyes, nose, and mouth, and sighed.
“I made Princess Huang’s face.”
“Let me see.”
When Carlisle made my face, I was curious because he was the smartest of the three.
But…
‘How is this even supposed to be me?’
Carlisle’s dough didn’t drip like Beris’s, but it hardly resembled me at all.
“You, you have the skills to make the great sculptor Pygmalion weep.”
He claimed to make me, but it looked worse than a pumpkin. I made a half-hearted compliment.
“Thank you!”
Does he not understand the meaning of “make Pygmalion weep”? I thought, sighing inside as he smiled proudly.
‘I’ll just focus on mine.’
I returned to my spot, working diligently, occasionally glancing at the kids.
‘I’m glad they aren’t bothering me, but this flour is such a waste.’
Seeing the mound of dough made me think about what I had been feeling since the activity started.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to give this to the soldiers instead?’
Either way, wasting wheat like this was a shame.
“Oh my, you’ve finished already!”
Just as I was feeling uneasy, the maid appeared holding a box.
“Now all that’s left is baking the cookies.”
The elegant brown box, decorated with flowers and cloth-covered holes on the sides, clearly concealed something.
“While I bake the cookies, reach into this box and guess what’s inside.”
She said the first one to guess correctly would get a reward.
“The first to guess will get a watermelon cake!”
I’ll be the first. I rested my chin on my hand, thinking this would be a fun diversion from the flour chaos.
“I’ll go first!”
But Beris rushed in first, hiding behind Carlisle in fright.
“There’s a monster inside.”
Why are they acting like this? I watched Carlisle step forward to try second.
Sweep…
“!”
Even Carlisle was startled by the object inside, flailing and falling backward.
‘What cowards.’
Later, he blushed, seemingly embarrassed by his own reaction.
“Step aside. I’ll see if it’s really a monster.”
I would go first. I told everyone to stand back.
“Be careful, Princess Huang. It might be dangerous.”
“Understood.”
They wouldn’t actually put anything dangerous in a game, would they? I reached into the cloth.
Whoosh…
‘What is this…’
I tried to identify the object based on how it felt.
‘It feels like soft fur and leather. Pretty big… maybe a large doll?’
It seemed like a human-like toy.
Sniff!
What?
‘Something wet and thick just touched my hand?’
The box shook violently, so I withdrew my hand.
‘N… nose mucus?’
At the same time, I heard Beris calling for help.
“My head’s stuck!”
Damn it, it was him! I realized I had been feeling Beris all along.
“I defeated the monster for Master Huang!”
He had only done it for fun. I sighed watching him freed from the hole in the box.
“I want to do it again!”
“Do it yourself. I’m washing my hands.”
I wasn’t going to do it twice. I said flatly.
Later, I learned the “treasure” was, ridiculously, a single sock.
Knock, knock…
“All right.”
Shortly after, someone knocked on the door. Naturally, it was the maid.
“Freshly baked cookies are here~”
As expected, she arrived with plenty of delicious cookies, some of which seemed to be made from the kids’ dough.
“Cookies?”
“Wow~ my cookies!”
‘Looks like the chef remade them.’
The problem: upon closer inspection, the chef had copied our dough exactly to make the cookies. The kids, innocent, thought they baked them perfectly themselves.
‘Well, at least no one will die from eating them.’
Most importantly, I finally felt relieved. I had been worried we’d actually have to eat cookies made from that disgusting dough.
