Episode 9

The duke saw that scene by chance.

He’d been planning to step in if the servants’ squabble left the child helpless. But the child had handled the servants just fine herself, using her name as a shield, so he didn’t bother interfering.

‘Still, she came here to tattle,’ he thought.

If she just told him, the troublemakers would vanish — so it made sense she’d come.

The girl wandered over with an innocent face and gently slid a tray between stacks of the duke’s papers. Pedro, the butler standing nearby, opened the cloche with a careful nod.

A smell hit the duke’s nose and his eyes widened a little. This was an actually proper dish, not some thrown-together snack.

There was something that looked like beef Bourguignon and, next to it, a dark-looking pie with a sweet-tart smell. Steam rose off the glossy beef, carrying a sweet-and-sour aroma.

“A beef stew? The kitchen doesn’t normally make something this good.”

He’d been working on paperwork all morning and realized he was pretty hungry. He cut a bite-sized piece and put it in his mouth.

The beef melted on his tongue — soft and velvety. It was the best beef stew he’d had in a long time. There was no gamey smell at all.

Making beef that tender usually takes hours, so the fact this was so well done meant somebody had put real effort in.

‘She went out of her way for this,’ he thought.

It must have taken at least four hours to make. For someone like her to put that effort in was impressive.

“And this one next to it?”

“It’s a berry pie! I packed it full of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.”

His eyebrows twitched.

Berries were the duke’s favorite fruit — but only his wife Rosana knew that.

‘Did she tell her?’ he wondered.

No, that didn’t seem likely. If the child had reported to Rosana, someone would’ve told him. Maybe it was a coincidence.

“You brought a strange dish.”

“You don’t like it…?”

Anisha stood with her fingertips on the desk and asked timidly. The duke narrowed his eyes.

“Well… I don’t like it that much, but my daughter brought it for me, so I can’t refuse.”

He said that and snapped his fingers.

“Pedro, bring some tea that goes with this food.”

“Yes, sir.”

The duke lifted the tray and moved to the sofa. When Anisha froze, he nodded for her to sit opposite him.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

“Oh—no!”

Anisha hurried and sat across from him.

‘Well, I can’t really refuse this,’ he thought.

He was a bit annoyed she’d used his name to get what she wanted, but he’d told the servants to take good care of his daughter — and they hadn’t. That annoyed him more.

Also, I wanted to ask about that tea she gave Rosana yesterday…’ If his “daughter” asked him for help, he could — “especially,” “personally” — give it.

Pedro brought black tea. The duke elegantly cut a slice of pie and popped it into his mouth. His eyes widened.

The tart, popping berry flavor melted buttery and sweet in his mouth. This pie, too, was not something the kitchen usually served. It was made because someone knew he liked berries, which he normally hid.

“…How is it?”

The girl’s eyes shone with worry.

‘It’s good,’ he almost said, but he clamped his tongue down. Even though he knew it was a performance, looking at those innocent eyes made his brain short-circuit.

“It’s fine, I guess.”

He put the fork down.

If someone knows what you like, that can become a weakness — something that could be used against you, or taken away. He learned that lesson early. Showing your preferences was risky. The only person who could break that rule was Rosana, who’d become his confidante.

“Ah…”

Anisha’s face fell a little, disappointed.

‘She must have told the head cook to make this,’ he thought. Or maybe this was all an act to get to him.

“Still, my daughter knows manners enough to ask,” he said, folding his arms and sinking into the sofa.

“You look like you want to say something — say it, I’ll listen.”

“Oh… did it show?”

Anisha blushed, embarrassed. He snorted.

“Well… actually, I do have a favor to ask.”

And he was right. The kid was bold — and the duke didn’t dislike boldness. After all, she’d probably learned to act that way to survive the orphanage. If she’d been meek and let the servants push her around, he would’ve been disappointed.

He told himself that and chose to listen.

“All right.”

“Well… while I was studying, I discovered something amazing, and I wondered if it could be turned into a business!”

Anisha shut her eyes and fired her words like a machine gun.

“Fire them all — fire them right now… what?”

“Pardon? Fire who?”

“Business?”

“Yes.”

“Not firing them?”

“—Firing?”

Both looked confused for a second, then the duke snapped out of it.

“No, no. I was thinking of something else. I got sidetracked thinking about people to fire.”

“Ohhh…”

Anisha looked puzzled, then grinned. The duke’s face briefly showed annoyance at that almost-manufactured smile.

“What business? I hate wasting time on pointless stuff.”

“Yes — have you heard of composite magic stones?”

“Composite magic stones? What’s that?”

“A single magic stone that holds two opposite powers.”

His expression shifted. Everyone knew a magic stone could usually hold only one element — that was basic.

“If you melt a fire stone and a water stone together at the right temperature and refreeze them, you get a stone that can do hot-water things — it keeps both properties.”

Anisha explained it like she’d rehearsed it, clean and precise. No fluff, just the essentials — a perfectly neat briefing.

At first the duke only pretended to listen, but halfway through he leaned in and asked serious questions.

“Hmm. Theoretically, that’s possible. But you’d need experiments.”

“Yes, slowly, if you help me run experiments—”

The duke realized he’d been bowing his head too much and straightened. Finally, she was talking business.

Good. If she deserves punishment for disobedience, at least I can punish them properly,’ he thought.

“If it becomes a product, can I get, say, twenty percent of the profits?”

“Fire them… what?”

“Twenty percent? If twenty is impossible, even ten percent….”

His face hardened. Anisha’s smile faded.

“Is that too bold of me?”

“That can be discussed later. What do you mean by ‘too bold’? You’re my only daughter. Don’t forget you’re Nobility. You are the dynasty’s daughter; remember that.”

He scolded her lightly, and her face lit up again. The duke clicked his tongue.

“Yes! Thank you! I’ll go now — sorry for bringing something so bland.”

She reached for the tray, but he stopped her.

“Leave it. Pedro will clear it. It’s not proper for the Princess to be carrying food around like that.”

“Oh, right. Understood. I’ll go then.”

“You’re going?”

he asked reflexively.

“Yes. Try your experiment and call me if it’s viable.”

“Just go now? Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”

“Me? No…”

“Really nothing? Check your mind properly.”

He uncrossed his arms and looked at her like maybe she’d forgotten something.