MLIIWTFL Chapter 224

 224

On the morning of the day she was supposed to go on a picnic to the park with Ezkhiel, Letticia was baking cookies with her lover at Count Sharon's estate.

After deciding to develop a new fruit cream, Letticia had been thinking about cookies made with fruit jam. Since her lover enjoyed tea and sweets, she thought it might be a good idea to ask for his opinion and suggested that they make them together at the estate.

The plain cookies made by baking dough mixed with flour, butter, and sugar were cooling off before decorating. Meanwhile, the cookies mixed with various flavors of jam had cooled just enough and were about ready to taste.

Though the cookies were made by beginners and couldn't compare to store-bought ones, they still turned out quite well, thanks to the helpful advice of the cook who guided them.

Among them, Letticia picked up a cookie made with lemon marmalade and took a bite, letting out a small exclamation.

"Oh, adding jam to cookie dough is actually a great idea. The bits of fruit make it fragrant and tasty. Should I tell Chelsea to work out a recipe for this? Maybe we could even try mass-producing them?"

"There are cookies and cakes made with tea leaves too, so as long as the recipe tastes good, I think it would work. Personally, I really like pound cake made with white opera tea leaves."

"Oh, that reminds me, people make jam with black tea leaves too, right? If we're already doing this, maybe we should develop black tea cookies and cakes too. I think they'd taste great."

As Letticia clapped her hands excitedly, Ezkhiel, who had just tasted a cookie made with strawberry jam, smiled and nodded in agreement.

"If it's made in Faymont, it'll probably taste much better, even if there are similar products already. If you do end up making them, could you teach me too?"

"Of course I'll teach you, Ez! Actually, do you want to join the tasting session later? It'd be helpful to know if it suits the palate of gentlemen as well."

"My taste is a bit different from that of most noblemen… but I'd still love to try them."

With a faint, slightly bitter smile, Ezkhiel picked up a plain cookie and began spreading strawberry jam over it. Watching him apply jam in the center of the cookie, Letticia suddenly had an idea and picked up a cookie herself.

"Ez, what if we spread jam generously on one cookie and then place another one on top? Wouldn't that be like a cookie jam sandwich? I bet it'd be super sweet."

"Then we'll need to be careful not to use too much jam. The cookies aren't completely cooled yet, so if it melts, it'll get all over our hands."

"I'll be careful! Now, should I go with orange marmalade… or maybe lemon?"

The cook, along with the kitchen maids and servants, watched Letticia selecting her favorite jam and Ezkhiel smiling at her, all clearly amused by the charming scene.

Although it wasn't unusual for noblewomen to bake, it was very rare for a man to engage in baking. Still, there wasn't a single servant in Count Sharon's household who whispered or gave odd looks at such a sight.

Now on her third time baking, Letticia had become fairly skilled. She tried one of the marmalade-filled cookie sandwiches and smiled sweetly before offering it to Ezkhiel.

"Wow, this turned out really good. Ez, try this! It's sweet and tangy with the marmalade."

"You're right, it's really delicious. The marmalade jam and the plain cookie dough go really well together."

Receiving the cookie Letticia offered, Ezkhiel took a bite with a joyful expression. As he savored the taste of the jam spreading through his mouth, he looked down at the cookie with a hint of regret.

"It's delicious, but there's too much jam, so it might be hard to bring this to the picnic. That's a bit of a shame."

"Really? Then for the picnic, let's just bring the cookies that had jam baked into the dough. You all can enjoy these with your tea this afternoon."

"Yes, Miss!"

Apparently, the cookies they made looked appetizing even to the servants, as they cheerfully accepted and shared the sweets.

As for the cookies that earned a place in the picnic basket, they were packed along with duck sandwiches and vegetable salad for Ezkhiel, and a beef pie and freshly squeezed orange juice for Letticia.

Even though the meal was only for two people, once everything was packed, it was a considerable amount. So, in addition to the guards, one servant accompanied them on the picnic as well.

"By the way, Ez, which fruit did you like best?"

"I think lemon was my favorite. But blueberry had a unique twist and was nice too, and the strawberry was sweeter than I expected… I'd really like to try an éclair next time."

"Since we're planning to complete the recipe before Mother's tea party, I'll invite you to the tasting when it's ready."

Camilla had been working on her guest list, prioritizing women she had known for a long time who also had children or grandchildren, to ensure a wide age range among trustworthy attendees.

Because of this, Chelsea was also eager to develop new recipes using various fruits. A few of them were already nearing completion.

"Some shops are trying to make fruit creams, but they usually just mix in fruit juice, which makes the cream too watery. But if you mix in jam… I wonder what kind of flavor that would give."

"It tasted really good. Though I personally prefer custard cream. I was really thankful to Lady Averil for giving us a great idea."

"…Letty, have you gotten closer to Lady Averil?"

Ezkhiel stopped eating his cookie and looked at her in surprise. Letticia gave a small shrug.

"Well, maybe we could call it friendship at this point? We've talked about doing business together, and she even invited me to her social gathering."

"Uh, didn't the ducal family say anything about that?"

"I went with Lady Eskis to ask permission for the gathering, and we got their approval. The eldest son had something to say about it, but nothing serious happened."

"…Still, be careful around Sir Averil, Letty. I'm more worried about him than even the Knight Commander."

Ezkhiel gave a quiet warning, his expression darkening. Letticia, puzzled at how someone could provoke such caution in Ezkhiel, mentally docked Alexander's score another hundred points.*

"Well, the best way is to avoid meeting him altogether. Anyway, let's get going, it's almost time for our park reservation."

They were headed to Naphier Park, where they had gone before. Now that they were officially in a relationship, they planned to enjoy a peaceful outing accompanied only by guards and a few household staff, with no chaperone.

'If I run into someone trying to rent out the entire park last-minute again today, I swear I'll wreck them.'

Whether it was due to her silent threat or divine mercy, no such incident occurred this time.

They entered the park without trouble and even got on the boat for their outing without running into any unruly nobles. Letticia was genuinely touched by how calm and pleasant the date was going.

"I didn't get a proper look last time, but I can see now why people make reservations just to go boating."

"Well, we were pretty overwhelmed that day… Today, the breeze is cool, the sunlight isn't too harsh, perfect weather for sightseeing."

The boat set off, and water splashed gently. But now that it was early summer, the cool spray felt refreshing.

Letticia thought it would be nice to have some orange sorbet to go with the moment and briefly considered stopping by Faymont on the way back. Then, Ezkhiel cautiously asked her.

"But Letty, when you said you're thinking of starting a business with Lady Averil, were you talking about Faymont?"

"Faymont is one of them, but there's something else I'm thinking of too. That one's still in the planning stage though. I'm waiting for a response from the Magic Tower to see if it's technically feasible."

"So if they say it's possible… are you going to go ahead with it?"

"I'm thinking I will. Even from my perspective, the idea's pretty solid. Why? Are you worried we won't have time to go on dates anymore?"

"Well, that too, but more than that…"

At Letticia's teasing, Ezkhiel's cheeks flushed a little, but then he spoke with a serious expression.

"Lady Averil's family situation… I don't think it's exactly normal. So I started worrying if you might get dragged into something because of it…"

"Honestly, I'm not sure it was ever normal to begin with. But what made you think that all of a sudden?"

"…There was a time I ran into Lady Averil and greeted her, and both Sir Averil and the Knight Commander, though he was Deputy Commander at the time, showed up."

Ezkhiel began to carefully explain what he had witnessed. When he mentioned the two men staring each other down over Ariette, Letticia's head started to hurt as the scene vividly came to mind.

"Was it even worse than what we saw at the park?"

"Yes. It wasn't just some squabble over a younger sister. I hate to say this, but… it felt more like rival suitors vying for the same woman. Honestly, it was disturbing. So, I started wondering if maybe…"

Seeing Ezkhiel break into a cold sweat as he voiced his concern, Letticia tightly grasped his hand and tried her best to comfort him.

"Yeah… I admit it's uncomfortable and not exactly pleasant to watch, but I don't think what you're worried about is the case."

"Y-you think so too, right? I mean, no matter how much someone loves their little sister… something like that wouldn't happen, right?"

"Yes. I really don't think so. Don't worry."

"That's a relief… I feel bad even thinking something like that."

"Well… it was kind of an understandable misunderstanding."

The way older brothers in childcare novels shower the female lead with obsessive love is meant to be familial, not romantic. Even if the trope sometimes mimics pseudo-romantic behavior that's just one step short of incest, that's not the actual intention.

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🍓; *To mentally dock someone's score means to silently deduct points in your mind as a sign of disapproval or annoyance.