Chapter 5:
Wishing for Happiness in the Count’s Castle
THIS MORNING, BREAKFAST WAS MADE UP OF freshly baked bread, yogurt, vegetable quiche, and corn soup. As always, the food smelled and tasted wonderful. However, the number of dishes and the portion sizes had been reduced and were now just the right amount for one person.
I looked up at Mio, and she smiled. “Does that seem like a good amount for you?” she asked.
“Yes! I can eat it all!” I beamed. Being happy to have less food seemed almost criminal to me, but I couldn’t help it. I was genuinely happy. “Ah! How delicious!” I said as I dug in.
When I finished everything, I was about 80 percent full—the perfect amount to enjoy the tea Mio served me after the meal. The food here was ever so delectable, and so was the tea. I couldn’t believe tea could taste so good, and I was glad I was in the right condition to enjoy it fully today.
“I hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you,” Mio said, sitting down on the chair next to mine. I gazed at her in confusion, but she simply smiled softly. “I must serve you during your meal, but I can at least keep you company this way for tea.”
I let out a cry of joy. I’d been hoping for this since the day I’d arrived in this castle. I knew that, for nobles, having servants wait upon them while they ate was perfectly normal, but it was very strange for me. I felt bad for being the only one eating, and I was a little lonely sitting alone when someone else was right there, but now I could rejoice. After all this time, I could at last enjoy teatime with Mio!
Since she’d been the one to wake me up this morning instead of Hanna or Ilsa, I asked her if Lord Kyros had already left, and she shook her head.
“No, I’m simply making some changes around here. Those two will serve his lordship now, and I’ll serve you. I felt like this would be a better arrangement for everyone involved.”
I was so relieved. It was only when I felt that weight lift off my shoulders that I realized how badly I’d been feeling about this entire situation with Hanna and Ilsa. Unlike me, Lord Kyros was a true nobleman, so they’d surely love serving him. As Mio had said, all of us would be happier this way.
I’d just had my first sip of tea when Toppo, the head chef, poked his head inside.
“Hello, excuse me! It’s Toppo. Toppo did a very good job with his trial baking, so he brought you some, madam. If you still have a little space in your stomach, would you like to have a taste?”
“I’d love to,” I replied.
Toppo’s sky blue eyes sparkled at my answer, and he came in with his silver tray. I thought it’d be an apple pie, but there were several small plates on it. On each of them was a round, wobbly white pudding-like dessert, roughly the size of a hand.
“What are these?” I asked. “Puddings?”
“They’re blancmange,” Toppo replied enthusiastically. “It’s a type of almond-infused milk pudding. After infusing milk with almond extract over a long time, you add gelatin and fresh cream to give it that jiggly texture.”
“Whoa! It really is very jiggly,” I commented with delight.
“Have some too, Miss Mio!” Toppo said, setting one plate in front of each of us.
Then he put down an additional plate in front of an empty seat and sat down with us. Mio poured him a cup of tea, and the three of us reached for our spoons. The taste of almonds and the sweetness of the milk spread through my mouth with the first bite. It was very flavorful, and it practically melted on my tongue.
How soft…
Next to me, Mio also seemed surprised. “Oh!” she let out.
“It’s deliciou—” I started, but Toppo interrupted me before I could finish my sentence.
“It’s yummyyy! Toppo knew it! Toppo is the best cook in the world!” he cheered. “And the tea is so yummy too!”
“It is,” I agreed. “The tea Mio makes is so delicious, I wish everyone could try it! She’s so good at it!”
“You truly think so?” Mio asked. “I’m not doing anything special; it’s all just what I learned from Madam Liu Liu.”
“It is special!” I insisted.
“You’re an expert, Miss Mio,” Toppo chimed in.
Mio took our praise with an unchanging expression and simply mumbled, “Is that so?”
The small white desserts were gone in the blink of an eye, and Toppo’s eyebrows drooped sadly. “I should have made more… In fact, I’ll go make more! Right now!”
That did sound like the right thing to do. Toppo stood up and was about to dash out of the room when I stopped him.
“Say, Toppo, are you planning on serving this to everyone in the castle once you’re fully satisfied with your recipe?”
“Yes, that was Toppo’s intention,” he replied.
“I think Hanna and Ilsa dislike milk,” I said. “When I added milk to my tea yesterday, they told me I was ruining it.”
“Huh?” Mio grunted, her voice deep and quiet.
“Do you think you could make a version without milk for them?” I asked. “I know that might end up being a very different dessert, but the flavor of the almond is so rich that I thought you might be able to come up with an alternative…”
“Hmm… Okay! Toppo will see what he can do. Toppo never backs down from a challenge! Maybe Toppo could substitute the milk for almond milk and add butter and coconut…” He sat back down, deep in thought.
“Thank you, Toppo!” I’d made an unreasonable request, but he was mulling over it with such seriousness. It was very kind of him, and I hoped everything would work out. I’d feel bad for Hanna and Ilsa if they had to watch everyone else enjoy this dessert without having any for themselves.
“Lady Marie… You’re so—” Mio mumbled quietly, but before she could finish, someone knocked on the door.
Who could it be? I wondered. I sure was having a lot of visitors this morning.
Mio stood up and opened the door. The newcomer was holding a big wooden crate. I could only see him from the eyes up because the box was so big, but I recognized the reddish-brown eyes—it was Thomas, the young gatekeeper.
“Did something happen, Thomas?” Mio asked. “You don’t usually come all the way here.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Mio. And I apologize for coming to your room uninvited so early in the morning, madam. I’ll return to my duties as soon as I’ve given you this.”
“That’s a very big box,” I said. “What is it?”
“A package for you, madam. From House Chandelan.”
Huh?
I extended my arms to accept the package from Thomas when Mio roared, “Thomas! Why did you bring that here?!”
It was my first time hearing her raise her voice, and Thomas and Toppo seemed to be just as stunned. The latter was trembling in fear, while the former dropped the box. It hit his feet, causing him to cry out in agony. The crate toppled sideways, and its contents spilled onto the floor. It had been opened already.
Thomas clutched at his toes with tears in his eyes and whined, “B-b-but, you said I had to get approval from his lordship or a waiting maid to deliver packages from House Chandelan to the madam.”
“If you know that, why did you bring it here?! His lordship is still resting, and I haven’t inspected it either!”
“Huh? B-but the waiting maids said… At first, I just brought the crate to the residence. And then, they opened it and they said I could bring it to the madam, so…”
“What?! Who said that?!”
While Mio and Thomas argued, the contents of the box continued to sprawl across the floor. I crouched and started picking things up. Toppo crouched next to me to help me, but he squealed.
“H-how dirty! It’s all trash! Don’t touch that, madam!”
I shook my head. If I didn’t clean up, Thomas might step on something and fall. Besides, these were my things: my dirty work gloves, the quill pen I’d used for so long it was crooked, my half-empty ink bottle, my moldy dust cloth, the old diary in which I wrote down my to-do lists, and my book so old its binding had rotted. I’d retied the pages of The Tattered Red Cat together myself, and I’d always kept it preciously safe in the drawer of my desk, but it had been shoved into this box with the rest of my things which such little care that the hundred pages had come apart. Some had ripped, while others were all crumpled.
At the bottom of the pile of things was the tattered work dress I used to wear every day. It had once been pristine white, but it had turned pitch-black from years of staining it with soot, grease, and mud. I’d patched it countless times, yet it was still riddled with holes.
“Lady Marie!” Mio shouted, grabbing the dress right before I could touch it.