Chapter 65

Thanks to everyone, both the comic adaptation and the novel have been reprinted!

Volume 1 will be its fourth printing (^o^)

Thank you so much ❤

Three days later---

"So, I'm going to make pudding!"

Cecilia, wearing an apron and a headband instead of her school blazer, and holding a spatula that was hardly necessary for making pudding, placed her hands on her hips and declared this.

The place was a corner of the student-only kitchen in the dormitory. It was kept almost unused and clean because the users were mostly children of nobles.

In front of Cecilia, who showed an unusual determination, Gilbert and Leen stood with expressions of bewilderment.

It was Gilbert, her step-brother, who spoke first.

"I don't quite understand, what do you mean?"

"Because! I want to make pudding and give it to Ein and Zweil as a gift!"

Cecilia answered with a matter-of-fact face, and he furrowed his brow and tilted his head in confusion.

To such a clueless him, Cecilia raised her index finger.

"There are a few ways to raise the affection of the characters in a dating game. The two main ones are: ① Continuously choosing options that raise affection. ② Giving them something they like!"

"So, you're trying to make pudding, which is their favorite, and give it to them?"

"Exactly! That's it!"

Cecilia nodded vigorously.

The basic information of the characters was written in the game's 'Character Information' page, including height, weight, favorite colors, and dislikes. There were various detailed pieces of information written there, but...

"That you remembered they like pudding... That's impressive..."

Normally, the 'Character Information' page isn't something you check frequently. Especially for characters you haven't even tried to clear, it wouldn't be strange not to have opened their information page.

In response to Leen's question, Cecilia showed the two a certain notebook she had placed on the table behind her.

"Actually, I saw this!"

"What is it?"

"A notebook for conquering the twins, made by Grace!"

"Huh?"

Gilbert was the one who let out a puzzled voice.

"When did you get that!?"

"Um, the day before the tea party? I begged her and she made it! She initially refused because her research presentation was coming up!"

"…I've been telling you to share such things…"

Her step-sister, who always forgot such things no matter how many times he told her. Gilbert sighed deeply and covered his face.

While keeping an eye on him, Cecilia flipped through the notebook to show them.

"But, this only has basic information. Likes and dislikes, that kind of thing."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well…"

Cecilia placed her finger on her chin, recalling the moment Grace handed her the notebook.

"The information in this notebook is only the basic information and things to be careful about when conquering. As for the two from the Makias family, I can't tell you anything more."

"Why!? You don't remember?"

"Of course, part of it is that my memory isn't clear. But more importantly, I have a conscience about telling you the twins' secrets without their consent…"

She seemed to be in a dilemma, torn between wanting to help Cecilia and her conscience.

Hearing this, Gilbert furrowed his brow even more.

"So, you just took the notebook and came back? Even though your life might be on the line?"

"Yep! Because, if I knew the secrets revealed in the routes without their consent, it would be unfair to them, right?"

"Well, that's true, I guess…"

Gilbert nodded, but his face showed that he understood but wasn't convinced. If he were in Cecilia's position, he would have definitely heard everything, conscience be damned.

"Still, I'm surprised. I didn't think Grace would be so considerate."

"Really?"

Cecilia blinked at Leen's surprised tone.

"Yeah. Unlike someone who investigates people's pasts and uses it as leverage!"

The moment Leen said this, a familiar tension ran between her and Gilbert. Gilbert glared at her, and she deflected it with a smile.

Cecilia, who didn't know about their conversation during the summer break, was puzzled by their atmosphere but quickly shrugged it off. It was a common occurrence lately.

Leen turned her gaze from Gilbert to Cecilia.

"So, you're trying to give the twins a gift to raise their affection, right?"

"Yep! I already learned how to make pudding from the head chef! In exchange for helping with the groceries, he agreed to give me the ingredients!"

"You're still a charmer, aren't you?"

"I think he was just in a good mood."

Cecilia smiled bashfully, and Leen's lips curled up. Then, as if she had just noticed something, she crossed her arms.

"Well, giving gifts is a reasonable way to raise affection. …But, the most important thing is, can you cook now?"

"Huh?"

"I don't think you, who sent your entire group to hell in your previous life's cooking class, can make something as sophisticated as pudding."

Incidentally, after sending everyone to hell, she was relegated to tearing lettuce for salads in cooking class for the rest of her life.

"It's fine! The head chef said making pudding is easy!"

"I'm not asking about the difficulty of the recipe, but whether you can cook at all."

"It's supposed to be easy, so I'll be fine!"

"…You can't cook, can you?"

As Leen's cheek twitched, Gilbert turned on his heel and started to leave the kitchen.

Leen stopped him.

"Gilbert, are you running away?"

"No, I'm just going to get some stomach medicine."

"Before that, stop your step-sister's reckless plan!"

"Me?"

"Of course!"

Gilbert froze for a moment before speaking.

"Well, if it's a matter of my sister's life, I'll stop her."

"That's not being lenient, it's being too lenient!"

Leen shouted in frustration.

She tried to stop Cecilia by clinging to her.

"First of all! Even if it goes well, they're nobles who have been surrounded by delicious food. If you give them something bad, they might end up hating you!"

"Right. I thought about that too, and I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"I'll have everyone taste it to make sure it's good before giving it to Ein and Zweil!"

"Everyone?"

As Leen's voice trembled, the kitchen door opened, and familiar faces appeared.

"Is this the place?"

"Yep! Cecilia said she's going to treat us to something delicious! I'm looking forward to it!"

Huey and Jade.

"Um, isn't something wrong with the kitchen? I'm super nervous."

"Well, we'll see when we go in. I don't think it'll be homemade or anything."

Dante and Oscar.

"Thanks for coming, everyone!"

Cecilia greeted them with a smile.

"Today, I'm going to try my best to make pudding!"

Upon hearing this, two out of the four who had entered immediately turned and left.

I'm sorry for the late update (T_T)

It's really hard to write with family around;

The next update will be on January 4th!

Wishing everyone a happy new year!