kscans

Chapter 16 - Sweets, the Castle Town, and Little One, Part Two

"Ah, this is it. So delicious!"

Opening her mouth wide, the Little One savored the treat. In her hand was a rich, orange pumpkin pudding. Zack had made pumpkin pudding for the first time in nine years. His fingers trembled slightly, but he didn't see the phantom of Fatima. In his mind, the Little One had changed from blond to black-haired, and that person was watching him make the pudding. Her large eyes, sparkling with the same curiosity as back then. The commanding presence that greedily swallowed everything. An aura that no one else could imitate.

Ah, it really is the Little One.

The Little One, chattering happily and offering her opinions, waited for the pudding to steam. As soon as it had cooled slightly, she grabbed it, ready to eat it as it was.

"Hey, let me do my job! Don’t eat it like that!"

"Unya?"

I am a pâtissier. The Little One had said so herself. To let her eat it plain, without preparation, would be a blow to his pride.

‘It’s a chef who specializes in making sweets and desserts.’

Zack chilled the pudding in an icebox and prepared the decorations in the meantime. Fresh cream, fruit. He cut them decoratively and also took out some granules he had been experimenting with. He turned the chilled pudding out onto a white ceramic plate and adorned it with the things he had prepared. On top of the piped cream around the edge were Clasill apples and bloom-cut grapes. He drizzled caramel, which he could now make with sugar, and sprinkled the aforementioned granules over it. The Little One, who had been watching Zack’s brilliant handiwork, stared in amazement at the granules.

"Alazán....?"

"That's right. You remembered?"

The granules were sugar Alazán. He had often talked with her about confectionery decorations like these and finely ground powdered sugar. With only a colorful and sweet description, Zack had gone through much trial and error to create many prototypes. Only when he was thinking about sweets did the phantom of the Little One not appear. As a result, when he completed something, he would be haunted by the illusion of a joyful Little One, leaving him tormented by a terrible sense of emptiness. But those empty days were over.

That gut-wrenching nausea, that spineless exhaustion. He could finally say goodbye to all of it.

"Alright, it’s done."

On the table was a magnificent dessert. The vividly orange pudding was surrounded by fresh cream, the white of the cream accentuating the red of the apple and the purple of the grape. The amber color of the diagonally drizzled caramel was also beautiful, and beside it were several bite-sized pieces of pound cake, the caramel drizzled over them soaking in moistly. Then, Chihiro suddenly noticed something odd about the cake. She popped a leftover piece used for decoration into her mouth, and her eyes widened.

"This is... a financier?"

It had a finer texture than pound cake and the rich aroma of browned butter. As expected, Zack’s cheeks relaxed into a broad grin, and he nodded.

"Impressive. I knew you’d be able to tell."

Unbelievable. The Little One looked up at Zack, taken aback. She had only told him these stories once or twice. And she had only explained the general details. From that alone, he had gone through repeated trial and error to create this sweet. It was a creation that could only be attributed to a heaven-sent talent. The Little One of the past had met a unique, one-of-a-kind budding pastry chef. This was truly divine providence.

But the Little One did not know. It was his extraordinary obsession with her that had made his talent bloom. What would the Little One do? What would she think? It was the phantom of the long-lost little girl that had instilled in Zack an obsession with confectionery bordering on madness. As a result, he had developed an exceptional talent. It was likely the only stroke of fortune left for Zack after he had crawled through the depths of despair.

The Little One tapped her feet impatiently, excitedly taking her seat at the table. Her beaming smile was precious. Ah, this is why I kept making sweets.

Chihaya followed Chihiro’s lead and took a seat. Zack placed the pumpkin puddings in front of the two of them and smiled blissfully. The twins’ eyes widened at the incredible taste. Watching the two of them munch away, Zack made a decision. A faint, dark, and bewitching light flickered in his thinly curved eyes.

Some days later, Zack appeared in the royal palace kitchen. He had originally received an offer to be scouted as the palace’s exclusive pâtissier. But Zack, who had no interest in a palace without the Little One, had flatly refused. He had even realized that Fatima was not the Little One. Romel and Dorfen had been unable to hide their shock when Zack had declared she was a completely different person. That same Zack now accepted the palace’s invitation with a condition. He handed over the castle town shop to the apprentices from the orphanage who had worked with him all this time and headed to the palace without a second thought. His face was clear and bright, as if a weight had been lifted.

And the condition he set was this.

"I want to live at the count’s residence. I want my primary role to be the count’s family pâtissier."

In other words, making desserts for the royal palace was just a side job. Drago, who had always considered Zack something of an apprentice, readily accepted his request, and vibrant sweets began to appear in the royal palace.

Numerous sweets quickly captivated the ladies. Zack instantly demonstrated his skill and became an indispensable part of the royal palace kitchen. A handsome young chef. He received heated gazes and invitations from the ladies who had fallen for his sweets, but Zack turned on them all with a blatant disgust, as if spitting on them. His cold attitude became an issue, but everyone murmured that temperamental artisans were just like that. A pastry chef with a gaze as sharp as an ice sculpture. Around the time Zack earned this well-founded reputation, he could be found in the count’s garden, receiving fruit from the twins.

"Ah, this looks good. What should I make?"

"Compote!"

"No, I want pie!"

Chihiro raised her right hand and shouted for compote, while Chihaya argued against her. Nodding, Zack took the apples and said he would make both.

"There are so many things we can make with sugar! So many things I want to make!"

Zack gazed at the bouncing Little One as if she were dazzling and broke into a broad smile.

"Yes, let’s make them. I’ll make every single sweet you want to eat, miss."

A magical garden where even an ice sculpture could melt. Zack, flashing a bewitching smile that would make the young ladies infatuated with him writhe with jealousy if they saw it, began his second life with the Little One. I will never lose her again. In the past, the Little One had disappeared without Zack’s knowledge. This time, he would never leave her side. He would follow her even to the depths of hell.

A fragment of madness flickered in his eyes. Unaware of that dark light, the Little One rejoiced in her fulfilling life of sweets. Surrounded by sweet treats in the count’s garden where slightly bewitching glances swam. Today, the Little One is doing great♪