Chapter 25 – Day 2: Mille CrêpeThe second day, morning.
I went together with the head maid Mercè-san to wake ojou-sama up.
Mercè-san knocked like yesterday, then opened the door without waiting for a reply.
“Ojou-sama, excuse us.”
“Excuse us.”
This morning ojou-sama seems to be awake, sitting blankly on the king-size bed.
Wearing pajamas made of something like silk, she had her slightly wavy blond hair spread out on the white sheets.
Because she was still sleepy, she had a vacant look on her face, yet her lovely cuteness was almost like a princess out of a fairy tale.
“Good morning ojou-sama.”
“Good morning.”
As Mercè-san and I greeted her, ojou-sama quickly bowed her head.
She didn’t run and hide anymore even when there’s me, a boy, here.
Instead, she ran her fingers on her mini blackboard.
“I’ll be looking forward to today’s tea party and evening party”, was what she conveyed to us.
“I’ll do everything I can and make snacks for ojou-sama.”
She smiled bashfully as I answered.
c.r.a.p, she’s cute!
If I had a daughter like ojou-sama in my previous life, I would have spoiled the h.e.l.l out of her.
With that thought on my mind, I went out the room for a moment to make breakfast.
I had a late breakfast with Mercè-san again today.
Once breakfast is done, I immediately started making snacks for the afternoon tea party.
The cakes to be presented to ojou-sama was already being handled by an exclusive chef.
I began working on making something else than the pudding I made yesterday.
The cake I decided to make today was a crêpe—a mille crêpe.
It is made by spreading cream and custard in between the crêpe dough and piling it up.
Crêpes were first made in France, but the origin of [Mille Crêpe] is j.a.panese.
Firstly, I made the crêpe dough, and cooked it in a shallow frying pan while adjusting the fire on the stove.
Once I’ve made crêpes until there was no more dough left, I left them to cool.
While that happens, I made custard cream.
Custard cream is made from egg yolk, sugar, flour, and milk.
I mixed the yolk, sugar, and flour, and evened them out while adding milk. Then I put it on a low fire until it became thick.
Once the custard is finished, I cut up fruits to put in the cake. Today I’ll be using a fruit similar to strawberries called a rawberry.
It tasted just like a strawberry when I tried eating it.
I cut the rawberry up into thin slices.
After all the preparation was done, all that’s left to do is to coat the crêpes in custard and put the rawberry slices on top.
Repeat that 20 times, and the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe] was finished.
But in the end, I was still an amateur cook, so I had to show it to the Vlad house head chef afterwards.
The head chef, Malcolm of the Demon Race, Lizard Clan, cut off the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe] into rectangular shape.
In the end, he put a little bit of the leftover custard on top, and set an uncut rawberry on it.
Like this, it became presentable, so much that I thought that it could be displayed on a storefront. As expected from the head chef.
Ojou-sama would surely be happy with this.
“This is the cake I made, a [Rawberry Mille Crêpe].”
It was the afternoon tea party.
I brought the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe] to her room.
Scented tea had already been set on the table with a tablecloth on it.
There are other cakes besides my [Mille Crêpe] put on the table. But ojou-sama’s eyes were entirely fixed on the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe].
“It looks so tasty.”
Ojou-sama showed her mini blackboard to me, who was standing at the doorway.
I lightly bowed at her words.
While I was standing by the doorway, Mercè-san was helping ojou-sama.
Ojou-sama immediately told Mercè-san she wanted to eat the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe]
The head chef Malcolm-san had already cut the cakes up, so all Mercè-san had to do was put it on a plate.
Ojou-sama stretched a wooden spoon towards the [Rawberry Mille Crêpe] in front of her eyes.
Ojou-sama happily rested her face on one hand as she took a mouthful.
Second mouthful, third―once I noticed, she had already eaten a whole plate of cake.
Then ojou-sama asked for a second helping of [Rawberry Mille Crêpe]
During breakfast and dinner she ate a considerable amount of food, but it seems she had a separate stomach for snacks.
As expected from a Demon Race with a sweet tooth.
She drank some scented tea to wash down the lingering sweetness, and wrote on her mini blackboard.
“Yesterday’s pudding was really tasty, but today’s cake was also really tasty. Can you make me some more?”
“Of course. I’ll do my best and make other snacks I can also make for ojou-sama.”
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
Ojou-sama had taken a very friendly att.i.tude compared to the day before yesterday. However―
“Well then, I shall put the empty plates away.”
“-hi!”
I approached ojou-sama to take the plates.
As I did so, her body stiffened. It seems she was still afraid of the opposite s.e.x. She still hadn’t fully opened up her heart.
I had closed some distance with the “Grand Snack Operation”, but she still hadn’t fully opened up her heart.
(Even if I keep on making snacks like this, I can’t make her open up to me huh……)
I started thinking up other plans to replace the “Grand Snack Operation” while tidying up the dishes.
“Well, what should I do now?”
“Certainly, that is troubling……”
After the afternoon tea party, Mercè-san and I were sweeping the residence together.
In the corridor there was an empty metal armor holding a battleaxe with a broken blade, and a large vase that can easily fit two children inside.
There are also paintings and stuffed animals decorating the place.
Mercè-san and I had our strategy meeting while cleaning each and every one of them.
Once again I was relying on Mercè-san who had come up with the ‘snacks operation’.
“Mercè-san, do you have any other good ideas besides the ‘snacks operation’?”
“That’s right. What about giving ojou-sama some kind of present after this?”
“I see. You mean getting intimate by giving her a present. I wonder what ojou-sama would like to receive.”
“How about things that girls like―bouquets, or jewels?
“……but I don’t have any money.”
If I had the money to give her jewels, I wouldn’t be a slave.
Mercè-san’s look became distant when I pointed that out.
“……Lute, it’s only been a short while but it was nice working with you.”
“That joke again. I’m not going to fall for it again.”
“…………”
“Why did you become silent!? Were you serious just now?! Don’t look away!”
“……If you can’t give her jewels or bouquets, I wonder if ojou-sama would be pleased if you show some special skills. Do you have any special skills you can show her?”
“Skills huh….. I can pull off my thumb like this.”
I put my left thumb and right thumb together and slid it away, it was a practical joke that any j.a.panese would know.
I’ve heard that some foreigners get surprised if you show this to them.
But when I lightly showed it to Mercè-san she stepped back and fell down on her b.u.t.t.
She looks very scared.
“You look surprised Mercè-san! See, I only put my left and right thumbs together and slid them off like this.”
“……I knew that from the start, you know. It’s just that much. I only got surprised because Lute did something strange all of a shudden.”
Ah, she bit her tongue.
Mercè-san stood back up with an unconcerned face and wiped away the dust clinging to her maid clothes.
c.r.a.p. She’s way more amusing than she looks.
“Oi.”
While we were having that conversation, the head of the guards Gigi-san called us out.
“Gigi-san, good work.”
“……good work.”
Mercè-san and I greeted him one after the other.
Gigi-san greeted us back with a slight bow of his head.
“Do you have any business with us?”
“How are you doing with ojou-sama? Can you stay at the Vlad house?”
Gigi-san answered my question with a question.
Looks like he was worried so he came and looked.
Because Gigi-san was an ally who wanted me to stay, I frankly told him my situation.
This is also because he might come up with a good idea.
“―I see, you got closer to her with some snacks, huh.”
“Yes. But it gets hard after that. Gigi-san, do you have any ideas?”
“Use this.”
Gigi-san gave me the thing in his hand.
It was a book.
“Can you read Demon Language?”
“Yes, I’ll be alright.”
I was speaking in the Demon Language even now.
Reading was also not a problem, unless the book was too difficult.
Personally, I’d rather read than talk.
The book looks to be a picture book for reading aloud to children.
The book was about a princess who was kidnapped by the Demon Lord of the Demon Continent, and the Demon Race hero borrowed the other heroes’ power and came to her rescue, it was an adventure-action and love story.
It seems like this was one of the books ojou-sama likes.
“Ojou-sama likes books, she used to cage herself inside the school library. Lute can use that to start getting closer to her.”
“Thank you very much, Gigi-san!”
Gigi-san finished what he came to do and silently went back to his post.
While looking at his back, I came up with a plan. If I pull it off I might be able to get closer to ojou-sama.
I told the plan I thought up to Mercè-san and,
“It could certainly be a good plan. If you do it well, ojou-sama might come to see Lute’s good points.”
She agreed.
Because of that I suddenly became fired up.
In preparation for tonight’s evening party, I called upon my knowledge of my previous life while sweeping.
Evening at the 2nd evening party.
Yesterday was pudding.
Since there was some custard cream left from today I applied it to white bread and put fruits in between.
A perfect fruit sandwich.
Of course I made it small for the evening party.
Ojou-sama thought that there were vegetables and meat between the bread slices so she was a little averse towards the fruit sandwich at the beginning.
Do custard cream and bread fit together?
However, she remembers how delicious the pudding and mille crêpes were so she believed in me and tried it.
Ojou-sama immediately smiled broadly.
She happily grasped the fruit sandwich with both hands and ate it like a squirrel.
Her appearance was very lovely.
(gulp)
I made eye contact with Mercè-san.
I nodded and spoke to ojou-sama.
“Ojou-sama, there is one thing I wanted to ask you, will it be okay?”
Ojou-sama tilted her head, still holding the fruit sandwich, and nodded.
She gave the OK sign.
I slowly cut in.
“Actually, I met the head of the guards Gigi-san while sweeping today and I heard that ojou-sama likes to read picture books. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to tell you a story that is well known in my country. Would you like to hear?”
Ojou-sama nodded, smiling with her whole face.
In my heart I made a victory pose.
I cleared my throat and immediately told her a story I remembered from my previous life.
It seems like it’s best to tell her stories she’d like, like “Cinderella” “Snow White” or “Romeo and Juliet”.
I slowly started telling the story of “Cinderella” as the young lady sipped on her scented tea.
“Well then…. Once upon a time and place, there was a young girl named Cinderella―”
When I finished telling ojou-sama the story of “Cinderella”, she clapped her hands, her eyes bright.
It seems like she understood it just fine.
It was the fairy tale’s author, not me, that made it enjoyable, but I was still happy that she liked it. It’s like the feeling of reading a picture book aloud to a child.
I continued, and told her the stories of “Snow White” and “Romeo and Juliet”.
When I told her “Romeo and Juliet”, tears welled up in ojou-sama’s eyes that were bathed in the magic lamp’s light.
‘Did I fail!?’, I panicked, but it seems that she was moved by the story and teared up.
She wiped her eyes using a handkerchief Mercè-san handed her.
I looked at them and silently stroked my chest.
“Well then, it’s become late so we should end it here for tonight. If it’s alright with ojou-sama, would you like me to tell you another story at tomorrow’s evening party?”
“Can’t you tell me just one more story?”
Ojou-sama wrote on her mini blackboard, stood up from her seat and pressed it right beside me. Mercè-san and I looked at each other in surprise despite being in front of ojou-sama because of her actions.
“Can’t you?”
Ojou-sama took it as a no and her face became gloomy.
I hastily denied it.
“No, there’s no problem. Well then, I shall tell ojou-sama one last story.”
As I said that ojou-sama’s expression completely changed and became bright.
Then she, without returning to her seat, wrapped herself in her quilt and rolled down on the bed.
Then she urged me to come beside the bed.
I then brought a chair and sat down beside the bed as ordered.
Ojou-sama looked up at me with an expression that would fit the term “excited”.
(A story that ojou-sama would like like “Cinderella” “Snow White” and “Romeo and Juliet” huh…… )
Normally I would gradually run out of story material, but in my old life I had not only that but also anime, light novels, and manga.
I still had a lot of story material to use.
I folded my arms and pondered a little.
I thought of a story ojou-sama would like and turned towards her.
“Well then, I will finally tell you the best story I saved for last.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Ojou-sama skilfully wrote on the mini blackboard while lying down.
I cleared my throat, and after introducing one of the most famous stories in my country, I said the t.i.tle.
“Then the last story for tonight will be―‘La○○ta: Castle in the Sky’.”
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