MDRH 43

MDRH

Chapter 43

Two boys wearing aprons suddenly came into view.

Lucilea widened her eyes.

“You two… what are you doing here?”

“……”

Inside the kitchen stood Serdian and Raiden, frozen in place.

The two of them stiffened at Lucilea’s sudden appearance, looking like children caught red-handed doing something they shouldn’t.

On the counter lay a mess of white powder—whether it was sugar or salt, she couldn’t tell—and a sandwich made with square slices of bread.

Raiden, holding a kitchen knife in front of the sandwich, let out an awkward laugh.

“Guess we’ve been caught.”

Lucilea glanced between the two of them, then at the counter.

Between the soft slices of bread were fresh green lettuce leaves, thinly sliced ham, and yellow cheese stacked in layers. The cuts were clumsy, leaving the sandwich uneven, but it was undeniably a delicious-looking midnight snack.

No way…

As Lucilea hesitated, Cookie spoke.

[Lucy! Looks like they were gonna eat something tasty by themselves!]

…

No, Cookie, that’s not it.

Lucilea calmed Cookie down.

At this hour, they didn’t even ask the servants—they came all the way here and are making it themselves. Why do you think that is?

[Because they were embarrassed to eat a midnight snack after dinner?]

…Forget it.

Lucilea stepped into the kitchen and asked the boys.

“That… don’t tell me you made it for me?”

At those words, Serdian’s shoulders flinched. Raiden, realizing the jig was up, gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

“We heard you skipped dinner. From Mei.”

“……”

Lucilea was at a loss for words.

So, hearing she hadn’t eaten dinner, these two heirs had come down to the kitchen themselves in the middle of the night to make her a sandwich.

Oh my!

[Good heavens! Lucy! Did that brat really cook for you?!] Cookie shrieked dramatically.

Lucilea slowly walked toward the counter.

“So… you even left out the carrots because of me?”

She glanced at Serdian as she asked, and he quickly turned his head away.

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s just that the carrots weren’t fresh today, so I left them out.”

His reply was blunt, but the tips of his bright red ears betrayed his true feelings.

Raiden placed a piece of the clumsily cut sandwich on a plate and handed it to her.

“Can’t promise it’ll taste good.”

Lucilea accepted the plate with a little grin.

“Don’t worry. At my age, they say you could chew rocks. Even if you stuffed this sandwich with stones, I’d still eat it happily!”

After all, it was a sandwich someone had made for her!

Lucilea took a big bite right away.

Crunch—fresh vegetables, the savory taste of bread, the saltiness of ham, and the richness of sauce and cheese filled her mouth all at once.

“Wow!”

Lucilea’s eyes widened, and before she knew it, she exclaimed as she looked between the two boys.

“…It’s delicious!”

At those words, both Serdian and Raiden let out sighs of relief and smiled.

Chewing her sandwich, Lucilea spoke with the determination of someone making a grand promise.

“Alright. From now on, I won’t charge you two a single coin. Free, always!”

“Huh? What?”

Raiden tilted his head in confusion while grabbing a sandwich himself. Lucilea puffed up with pride.

“You’ll see. I can’t tell you yet.”

Chomp. She bit into her sandwich again.

Yes. For kids like these, I wouldn’t mind giving away my potions for free my whole life.

And to think—heirs of such powerful houses, yet those frilly aprons suited them so well.

Lucilea knew the truth.

Though the three had agreed to be friends, in reality, the boys treated her more like a younger sister.

That’s probably why they came here at night to make me a snack.

And she was grateful for it.

Most people would have just shrugged it off, but they had gone out of their way to make her a sandwich just because she missed one meal.

Fine then. Just wait until you learn alchemy—I’ll give you potions that’ll knock your socks off!

Just then, Raiden took a bite of his own sandwich and exclaimed in surprise.

“This is really good!”

“It’s edible,” Serdian muttered, not denying it.

In the late-night kitchen, the three children stood side by side, sharing the warmest, most delicious sandwiches in the world.

It wasn’t just a midnight snack.

Clumsy as they were, those sandwiches carried sincerity—and if friendship had a flavor, surely this would be it.

That evening, Jed returned from attending the Marquis of Belgar’s funeral.

Climbing to the third floor of the main house to report to Elbadin, Jed encountered Riat in the hallway.

“You made it back alive, I see.”

At Riat’s words, Jed chuckled slyly.

“Why, do you sound disappointed that I came back alive?”

Riat narrowed his eyes with a gentle smile.

“Of course not. It’d be troublesome if a talent like you were to die so easily.”

Jed answered with a bright smile of his own.

“Then it’s just my imagination that it doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Your thoughts must be twisted, if that’s how it sounds to you.”

Then Jed stepped closer, blinking playfully.

“Oh? Since when did you get another wrinkle under your eyes? Trouble at home, perhaps?”

Riat sighed briefly.

“Yes. I sent my immature son into danger. As a father, I can hardly feel at ease.”

Jed’s eyes widened, then he burst out laughing.

“No need to worry. That immature son has come back after doing his duty properly.”

Jed shrugged proudly, and Riat raised an eyebrow.

“Well then, I look forward to hearing it.”

Riat patted his son on the shoulder.

“I’m glad you returned safely.”

At last, Jed gave his father a faint smile.

“Yes. I’m back, Father.”

“Good. Let’s go in. His Grace is waiting.”

Together, they headed toward Elbadin’s office.

Once inside, Jed got straight to the point with a grave expression.

“The Marchioness of Belgar is planning to attend Her Majesty the Empress’s upcoming birthday banquet.”

At that, Riat’s face darkened as well.

“Attending a banquet so soon after her husband’s funeral?”

“She said she couldn’t neglect to celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday over a mere family matter.”

Riat looked at Elbadin.

“Seems she intends to take the Empress’s side.”

For the Marchioness to attend a banquet right after the funeral was nothing less than a declaration of war against Elbadin—Anasys’s open challenge.

“How very like Anasys,” Elbadin murmured, resting his chin on his hand, voice cold and detached.

The power structure of the Seraphium Empire was divided into three major factions:

The Temple Faction, who seized the people’s hearts with overwhelming divine power in an age without spirits.
The Noble Faction, who valued tradition and honor, supporting the Empire’s foundations.
And the Imperial Faction, ruling from the center, balancing the other two.

They maintained a fragile equilibrium by checking one another.

But there was one exception—an entity belonging to none of these factions, yet stronger than all three combined: the northern powerhouse, the Ducal House of Descartes.

Riat spoke gravely.

“This is a dangerous alignment, Your Grace.”

“Yes.”

Elbadin nodded.

Now Anasys not only possessed Belgar’s vast wealth, but also control over the Terma Mines.

To the Empress, it was a most tempting piece.

Jed then placed a prepared list on the desk.

“These are the noble houses who attended the funeral.”

Elbadin flipped through the pages.

Some families were noted for making contact with Anasys, while others had been approached secretly by Jed.

Jed continued.

“As expected, the Marchioness requested negotiations using the mana stones from the Terma Mines. So…”