I had been preparing to lock myself up in my room until the culprit behind the explosion had been caught. As a result, Parfeil had been coming and going from my room to bring me food, tea, and books.
“Parfeil, I’m sorry about all this,” I said.
“Milady, please pay me no mind! We can’t afford to let too many people in here while there’s a threat to your safety!”
Parfeil was a former adventurer and mercenary, so her combat abilities were on par with the royal knights tasked with guarding the Dragon Duke. Even if she were to be attacked for being my attendant, she’d be more than able to strike back.
On the other hand, I wanted to avoid getting Madeleine into trouble, so I had asked her to stay home until we left for our trip.
Today, I was packing the things I needed for the journey. Merchants only went to Diamant once every three days, and they had to transform into dragons to head to the nearest town to buy goods. This trip made them add delivery fees to their wares, driving up their prices. All this meant that I had to know what I needed to bring with me—I wanted to avoid buying from merchants as much as I could.
Parfeil was folding linens into shockingly compact sizes and packing them into my luggage. This must have been something she’d learned as an adventurer. I watched her put her skills to work. She was also directing the white squirrels to bring my belongings into the room. I just wished the squirrels wouldn’t wave my underwear around like a banner, though...
“Packing sure takes a lot of focus!” Parfeil exclaimed.
“Everything you’re doing looks like magic to me,” I said.
Parfeil had been getting objects that I never thought would fit into my bag. I thought that it wouldn’t even close, but with a few hops from the squirrels, my luggage was sealed shut. I applauded their marvelous work.
“Parfeil, that was amazing! The squirrels were fantastic too!”
Parfeil let out an embarrassed laugh. “Thank you for the compliment, milady! I didn’t think my skills as an adventurer would come in handy here!”
“Me neither!”
I decided I should reward Parfeil and the white squirrels for their hard work. I gave the squirrels some acorns I had picked up from the garden. They were so happy they started dancing, though I wondered where they had picked up such dances in the first place. It was a complete mystery.
As for Parfeil, I gave her some high-quality chocolates. My mother had given them to me a few days earlier and told me to bring them out when Lady Opera came to visit.
“Wow! These are expensive chocolates from a really good shop! Is it okay for me to take these, milady?”
I leaned close to Parfeil and whispered a secret to her. “It’s okay, you can have them. I was told to give these to Lady Opera, but she told me last night that she was trying to lose weight.”
Lady Opera even had to pass on her beloved chocolate cakes. I was sure that she wouldn’t want to take these.
Suddenly, the door opened with a bang. The white squirrels scurried away and hid in fear of the loud noise.
Lady Opera entered the room with large strides. “Mille-Feuille! I see you have been talking about me behind my back!”
Parfeil and I grabbed each other’s hands, shocked by Lady Opera’s sudden entrance.
Van opened doors like this too. I was worried that the hinges of every doorway might get blown off someday.
“I have no idea what you were talking about, but I certainly heard my name!”
“W-Well, yes...” I stammered.
And that was how I found out that Lady Opera had extremely good hearing. While dragonkin had senses several times stronger than humans did, the degree varied per individual. Van, for example, had a very good sense of smell. He could detect my scent in the library hours after I had left it. I would say that he was like a dog, but he would sulk if he heard that. And Lady Opera would certainly be quite displeased if I compared her to a dog as well. They were siblings, after all.
“So, what were you two talking about?” Lady Opera pried.
“Um, w-well... My mother brought me some chocolates to give you, but last night you mentioned that you were trying to lose weight... I thought you wouldn’t want them, so I gave them to Parfeil,” I confessed.
“Oh! I-Is that so?” Lady Opera glanced at the box of chocolates Parfeil was holding, and I didn’t miss the momentary glimmer in her eyes as she did. They must have been chocolates from a shop that she patronized.
Parfeil handed the box over to Lady Opera. The rabbitkin seemed to feel guilty about all this.
“Is that not something you received as a gift?” Lady Opera asked Parfeil.
“It is, but these were meant for you, Your Highness.”
I watched them try and be generous to each other for a while before I finally stepped in with a compromise. “Why don’t you two split the box between yourselves?”
“I do not need half. I will be satisfied with just one or two,” Lady Opera said.
I glanced at her to see if she was really fine with that many, and she gave me a proud nod in response.
“Then should I make us all some hot milk?” Parfeil offered.
“That sounds great. Oh, why don’t you make me some hot chocolate instead?” I asked.
“Wh-What is this hot chocolate you speak of?!” Lady Opera reacted with great curiosity.
“Lady Opera, have you not heard of it? It’s hot milk with melted chocolate mixed in,” I answered.
“This is a first for me! I would love to try some of this ‘hot chocolate’!”
“You got it, Your Highness! I shall prepare two, then!” Parfeil said. Since she felt that it was a waste to use such a high-quality item to make hot chocolate, she decided to use chocolate bars from the kitchen instead.
It’d been a while since I’d had chocolate myself. Lady Opera and I excitedly waited for our drinks. After a few minutes, Parfeil returned with them in hand.
Lady Opera stared at the steaming cup with wonder in her eyes. “S-So this is hot chocolate...”
After relishing the chocolatey scent, I took a sip from my cup. I felt its gentle sweetness spread in my mouth.
Lady Opera, sensitive to hot foods as ever, followed my lead and took a sip from her cup of hot chocolate as well.
“Mmm... Wh-What is this wonderful drink?!” she exclaimed. “Little bunny, you must be some kind of genius to have come up with such a concoction!”
“Not at all! It was Lady Mille-Feuille who taught me this!”
“Mille-Feuille, so you were the genius all along!”
“Oh, I’m no genius either. I learned about this from Cha—rather, an old friend who used to love drinking this. Apparently, this drink was popular among nobles. I could never have come up with such a concoction on my own.”
“I see now. Still, this ‘hot chocolate’ drink is simply exquisite!”
“I’m glad it pleases your palate,” I said.
Parfeil and Lady Opera then began to divvy up the box of chocolates from my mother between them.
“I will be satisfied with two pieces,” Lady Opera said.
“Th-Then I’ll take one piece!” Parfeil replied.
“Little bunny, you may eat all of the remaining chocolates. As Mille-Feuille said, I am trying to lose weight, so I’m avoiding sweets!”
“B-But...”
“I have decreed it to be so! You need not hold yourself back.”
Parfeil looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. She was silently asking me if she could really take the chocolates.
“Parfeil, it’s fine. Lady Opera’s word is absolute. You should take them,” I assured her.
“O-Okay! I’ll be taking these, then!” Parfeil, never forgetting her manners, accepted the chocolates with a brilliant smile on her face.