“There’s not many people like you these days,” Allen went on, “honest, earnest, hardworking. I bet you’ve never rebelled against the duke’s household or even let yourself go just for fun, have you?”
“W-Well...they’re generous people, letting someone like me live with them...” she mumbled with downcast eyes. She spoke fearfully, as if she was a slave talking about her master instead of a daughter talking about her family. In truth, she had never uttered a single word of criticism about the duke’s family. Even though she had been horribly betrayed, any hint of a grudge she might hold was smothered by an overpowering sense of indebtedness and fear. To Allen’s eyes, this was most decidedly unwholesome. That was why he had promised himself to completely transform her life.
“From this day on, I’m going to teach you all the naughty things. You will wallow in those pleasures, and you will become a beast that lives by instinct alone.”
“Y-You’re scaring me, Allen...” She sounded a little frightened, but still gave him a stern look. “Besides, you’re not supposed to do bad things!”
“Don’t worry. We won’t break any laws, and we won’t bother anyone.”
“Is that really true?”
“Of course. Everybody does these things in secret.” Everyone—faithful wives, austere teachers, exemplary priests, and everyone else—engaged in naughty deeds behind closed doors, and they were slaves to those delights. When he told her this, she gulped.
“And...wh-what exactly are these...naughty deeds?”
“Do you want to know? I’ll show you!” Allen let go of her and turned to the boxes. In slow, salacious gestures, he began to undo the ribbons, as if he was undressing a woman.
“Now, look closely. Today’s naughty lesson is...”
He finally opened the box to reveal—
“Cakes?”
“Precisely!” Allen nodded vigorously.
Inside the box were colorful cakes of all kinds—a strawberry shortcake, a chocolate cake with smooth icing, a tart brimming with jewel-like fruits, a creamy mille-feuille with many layers of puff pastry, and so on. The list could go on forever.
“But wait till you see this!”
Allen started to open all the other boxes and bags, unveiling vibrant sweets of all colors and shapes, as well as bottles of juice. And it wasn’t just sweet things he’d assembled—there was salty popcorn too. Soon the whole table looked like they were ready to host a big party. She looked on with eyes like saucers.
“Umm...what’s...all this?”
“Nothing more than a naughty pleasure.”
Heedless of her bewilderment, Allen took up a bottle and cracked it open, letting out an appetizing fizz. He took a good swig of the clear soda, banged down the bottle on the table, and declared at the top of his voice, “This shall be our dinner tonight! Eat, drink, go all out!”
“What?!” Charlotte squealed. “W-We can’t do that, Allen! We have to eat a proper dinner! It won’t be a balanced meal with just sweets!”
“Hm, you’re giving a textbook response, exactly what I expected. All the more fun to ruin you!” Allen cackled gleefully. “You showed signs of chronic malnutrition, not just a temporary lapse while you were running for your life. They never fed you more than the bare minimum, did they?”
“W-Well...”
“Looks like I hit the nail on the head. To keep up appearances, they couldn’t let you starve, but they didn’t have the slightest intention to let you eat well either. That’s about right, isn’t it?”
Only the people of the household had known the secret that she was an illegitimate child, born of a mistress. They had to treat her like a family member in public, but inside the home, she was like a lowly servant. It must have been extremely rare for her to taste even a bite of cake.
Allen put a slice on a plate—a fresh, exquisite shortcake decorated with strawberries on top. As they weren’t in season, these were greenhouse strawberries, and the cake was a bit more expensive than usual. He placed a fork next to the slice and held out the plate to Charlotte.
“Look at it, doesn’t it look so sweet and delicious? Apparently, it’s the most popular cake at this shop.”
“Eek...” Charlotte couldn’t help it; her eyes were glued to the cake.
For lunch, they had eaten only a thin stew with scraps of vegetables, specially made by Allen, with messy sunny-side up eggs and some bread from the cupboard. Naturally, she must be hungry too. Someone’s stomach let out a small growl. She still shook her head, albeit feebly.
“B-But...we shouldn’t. Having cakes for dinner? It must be bad for your health...” She glanced up at Allen and murmured apologetically, “Besides...I can’t let you do more for me than you already have.”
“But look how pretty these cakes are. If you don’t eat them, won’t that disappoint the pastry chef?”
“Ack!”
Allen could feel her resolve wearing down. He smirked and pressed on, “By the way, who’s your employer right now?”
“It’s you, Allen...”
“Correct!” He pointed a fork at her. “Your employer’s orders are final. For tonight, you’re to feast on all this till you’re satisfied. That’s your job!”
“That’s just crazy...”
“If you resist any further, I’ll cast another death curse,” he stated, matter-of-factly, then added, “on myself, of course.”
“I told you, please don’t hurt yourself!!!” she cried out to stop him from casually cursing himself again. But she finally relented. She carefully picked up a fork from the table and gave a little nod. “I-I’ll do it... If that’s what you wish, I’ll eat this cake with gratitude.”
“Good. You should have listened to me from the beginning.” He talked like a villain, but all he wanted was to let her eat some cake. “Just to be safe, do you have any food allergies? Any chronic diseases?”
“No, I don’t... You sound like a doctor.”
“I do have a medical license, though.”
“You’re funny,” she giggled. He was only telling the truth, but she seemed to think it was a joke. In any case, the laugh loosened her up. “Okay then, I’ll have some, but...” She glanced at Allen. “You pick yours first. I’m happy with the leftovers.”
“I’ll pass. I don’t like sweets.”
“Oh!” Charlotte looked at him with round eyes. “You mean...you got all this...for me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Of course I did.”
“And you sold your precious objects just for that?! Why would you do such a thing?”
“Why?” Cocking his head, he said breezily, “Because I thought it’d make you happy.”
“Oh...” Charlotte was lost for words. Her face went totally blank.