Chapter 15

Laila first thinly sliced the cake into two pieces and placed them on small plates.

One was for Vernerli, and the other for Helka, who had said, “I will have a little too.”

“Here you go.”

“...I will take it.”

“I will have it, Miss Laila.”

At Julius’s suggestion, everyone sat on the sofa, so Laila offered the cake to Vernerli and Helka, who were sitting at the far ends of the sofa.

Glancing to the side, she saw Julius, who had propped his cheek on his knee, watching Vernerli and the others with shining eyes, clearly eager to eat.

(Being expected this much... is actually quite nice.)

However, if Vernerli were to reject it, the butter cake would end up in Laila’s stomach, not Julius’s.

Vernerli and Helka each pierced a piece of the cake with their forks and brought it to their mouths.

Though not as refined as Julius, their manners were still better than Laila’s, who was sure she was the least mannered person in the house.

“...”

“...How is it? Is it good?”

Laila was more nervous, but Julius was fidgeting even more.

Vernerli and Helka chewed in silence for a moment and then took a second bite. The cake was thinly sliced, so their plates were empty after just two pieces.

“...There is no poison.”

“I know that. How does it taste?”

“...Well, it’s not bad for Master Julius to eat.”

“...Right. It’s a good taste, I suppose.”

Following Vernerli, who seemed to be deep in thought, Helka also gave a subtle comment after glancing at his profile.

While Laila was a bit disappointed, she had expected Helka to give more specific praise.

(Ugh... that means it’s not incredibly delicious or incredibly terrible, right...)

Feeling a bit dejected, Laila’s face fell, but she was pulled by the sleeve and looked up. There, Julius was looking at her with shining eyes full of expectation.

“Here, Vernerli and Helka have finished tasting. Can I eat now? Oh, Vernerli, can I have some tea?”

“Of course. ...Come on, Helka.”

“Okay, okay. ...I’ll prepare it, so please start eating your cake.”

Helka, who unexpectedly followed Vernerli’s words so easily, quickly left the room. Laila would have felt more confident if Helka had stayed, but it was too late to call her back now.

(...Okay!)

“How much should I cut?”

“You don’t need to cut it. I’ll eat it whole.”

“I’ll cut it as I see fit, okay?”

“...Yes.”

Smiling and applying pressure, Laila made Julius nod with a wry smile.

While he seemed to lack nutrients, eating too much cake with butter and sugar at once wasn’t good for him. Vernerli would have reacted the same way.

Still, Laila cut the cake as thickly as possible and placed it on a plate. Since Vernerli and Helka hadn’t returned, she added a fork and offered it to Julius, who looked at the plate happily.

“Oh, it looks delicious. I will have it.”

“Yes, please.”

Laila watched in anticipation as Julius carefully cut the cake with his thin fingers.

(At least, I hope for a reaction like “it’s pretty good”...)

Her fists on her lap trembled, and the sound of her blood rushing to her ears echoed in her head.

While Laila was tense, Julius slowly brought the cake to his mouth and chewed.

Then, after about five seconds.

“...It’s sweet and very delicious.”

“Huh...”

Laila, who had been looking down, raised her head to see Julius, his thin cheeks slightly flushed, smiling happily.

---His sudden full smile made Laila’s breath catch for a moment.

“You know... the maid who used to work here made something like this. It was warm and fluffy, and sweet...”

“...”

“You’re amazing. To be able to make such delicious sweets... you might have magic.”

“Huh, no way. We measured it before, didn’t we?”

“That’s not what I mean. Making delicious sweets and making me happy... that’s a kind of magic only you can use.”

Laila blinked at Julius’s words.

Indeed, people sometimes refer to miraculous abilities as “magic.” However, while Laila was quite good at baking, she had never been told that before.

“...My own... magic...?”

“Yes. ...And that’s not all. You guide me to a happy sleep at night and make me feel happy with delicious sweets during the day. ...You’re amazing. You can use two such wonderful kinds of magic.”

Laila’s nose tingled, and she quickly turned away, pressing a handkerchief to her nose.

“S-Sorry. Um... a sneeze.”

“...It’s fine to face this way, Laila.”

“...Yes.”

“From now on, we will spend a long time together. So... I want you to support me with your magic.”

Holding her nose with the handkerchief, Laila remained silent.

Without reprimanding her silence, Julius continued in a calm voice.

“I’m good at magic, but I’m weak and naive. I’m not as reliable as you, so I might cause you trouble. But... I want to protect you in my own way. That’s what I think.”

Laila turned around.

Julius was taking a second bite and murmuring, “It’s really delicious.”

(I want to support Master Julius.)

Not because we are engaged, or because we will eventually get married, or because he will support our family.

I want to support this person who smiles a little sadly.

I want to make him smile more. That’s what I think.

“...Yes, Master Julius.”

“Thank you. ...Is your sneeze gone?”

Smiling, Julius asked, and

“...Yes, thanks to you.”

Laila also smiled in response.

“...You’re not being honest.”

“What do you mean?”

In the kitchen on the first floor of the mansion, a man and a woman were leisurely preparing tea.

“That cake was very delicious. Yet, you only said a few indifferent things and put pressure on me without saying anything.”

“...It’s none of your—”

“Yes, yes. ...I suppose you wanted Master Julius to be the first to say ‘delicious’ about the cake Miss Laila made?”

“...”

“You should know. ...Your consideration is too indirect and hard to understand. One day, Miss Laila might get tired of you and say, ‘Oh, there’s no cake for Vernerli’ when you make sweets.”

“...Shut up.”

“You look sad, Vernerli.”

“Shut up!”

Helka secretly smiled.

The tea still wasn’t ready.