Episode 14
While Linburton stood frozen in shock, Melissa continued proudly,
“Fried even better than I expected, don’t you think?”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the pouch in Linburton’s trembling hands.
To think she’d managed to preserve even the tiniest insect limbs so perfectly during frying—she must have a real talent for tempura!
Of course, she couldn’t have done it without the help of the kind kitchen staff who let her borrow their oil and tools, but still—what a success!
Beaming, Melissa began to explain,
“These are grasshoppers, crickets—and oh! This one here is a cicada I found just yesterday!”
Her voice bubbled with excitement.
“I went for a walk early in the morning and found it curled up in the corner of the garden. Isn’t it wonderful?”
She giggled, bright and carefree, while Linburton just stared at her in disbelief.
Something that should’ve been buzzing on a tree was now sitting calmly in her palm, and she looked pleased about it?
“Oh, don’t worry,” Melissa added cheerfully. “I cleaned and fried them very thoroughly! You don’t need to worry about hygiene.”
Linburton’s eye twitched violently. Hygiene was not the issue here.
“Go on, please try one! They’re delicious!”
“I-I’m fine!” he blurted out, his voice cracking.
Melissa nodded sympathetically, as if she completely understood.
“No need to be shy. I made lots!”
With a rustle at her waist, Melissa pulled out an even larger floral-patterned bag. The lumpy outlines shifting inside made Linburton’s lips drain of all color.
As his eyes quivered, Melissa smiled softly, lost in a fond memory.
‘We used to eat these often back home.’
Her mother, once a mercenary, would say that as she took young Melissa to collect insects in the fields.
‘The mountains here are rich with ingredients, aren’t they?’
One day they’d catch grasshoppers, another day beetle larvae, another—spiders.
During those times, her mother would patiently explain which parts contained venom, and how to clean and cook them safely.
Melissa could almost smell that nutty, roasted scent carried on the cool night breeze again.
Silkworm pupae… how delicious they had been.
Still, not everyone had shared that enthusiasm. Some neighbors had screamed and waved their hands in horror whenever her mother served them.
That’s why this time Melissa had decided to fry them—to make a dish anyone could enjoy!
Who would’ve thought it would be such a hit?
Watching Linburton frozen stiff, she clapped her hands together happily.
“That’s right! It wouldn’t be fair to eat them all ourselves. I should give some to Mother!”
“Absolutely not!”
Snapping out of his stupor, Linburton lunged forward, snatching the pouch from her hands like lightning.
The moment it crinkled in his grip, a chorus of crunching sounds made goosebumps erupt all over his body.
But he had no choice.
That deranged stray cat would absolutely try to feed this abomination to His Grace the Grand Duke if he didn’t stop her.
“I—I’ll eat them! I’ll eat them all myself!”
Before Melissa could protest, Linburton shoved the entire pouch into his mouth.
Crunch-crunch-crunch. The brittle fragments mixed with saliva, scraping his tongue and palate as he chewed.
The nightmarish texture sent shudders through his entire body.
‘He’s enjoying them that much?’
Melissa’s eyes welled with emotion as she watched him devour the insect tempura with trembling fervor.
How delicious must they be, to move him so deeply?
Seeing him force down the last crunchy leg, she clasped her hands and exclaimed,
“You don’t need to rush! I’ll bring even more next time!”
“Mmmph! Mmghhh!”
Linburton shook his head violently, mouth stuffed full.
But Melissa only nodded with an understanding smile.
“No need to be modest! I’ve already found where the insects in the garden live!”
Her eyes shone with excitement.
“Next time, I might be able to fry even bigger and more impressive ones!”
“Mmmghh! MMMMMGH!”
Linburton’s eyes went wide as he shook his head frantically.
No. No, no, no. Those huge, monstrous creatures must never be fried again!
“Mmmghhh!”
As he groaned through a mouth full of horror, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.
The knights.
Yes, he had a capable military force at his disposal.
A dark determination flickered in Linburton’s eyes.
Fine. Normally, the order wouldn’t be deployed for such a trivial matter—but if that insane stray cat ever dared serve such abominations to His Grace, it would be an unforgivable crime.
After all, one of the knight order’s core duties was to protect the Grand Duke.
He would mobilize every soldier under his command if necessary—he would eradicate every insect within the castle grounds.
That was his solemn vow.
…What Linburton didn’t realize, however, was that it was summer.
And that Melissa was capable of far more than he imagined.
Ahhh, what a beautiful day!
Wiping the dirt from her forehead, Melissa smiled with satisfaction.
The air had been cool and crisp since dawn, and even now, well into the afternoon, the sky remained a brilliant, cloudless blue.
To be tending the garden on such a perfect day—how lucky she was!
Stretching her back, Melissa recalled her conversation with Linburton earlier that morning.
“The gardener, Mona, won’t be coming in today.”
The morning after she’d given him her second batch of insect tempura, Linburton—pale as a corpse—had approached her and said that.
“Could you perhaps take her place?”
“Of course!”
Melissa had agreed cheerfully, even though Linburton had been grinding his teeth so hard she’d worried for his dental health.
Truth be told, she had always wanted to try using Mona’s giant pruning shears.
‘I really am so lucky,’ she thought with a giggle, stepping into the gardeners’ tool shed.
She carefully avoided the wooden crates stacked near the entrance and walked deeper inside. There, neatly organized along one wall, were all sorts of tools—large shovels, trowels, and the biggest pruning shears she had ever seen.
“Wow…”
Her heart pounded as she reached out to touch them.
Back home, her mountain village had no need for pruning; nature grew freely and untamed.
But here—she could actually use such a magnificent, gleaming tool herself!
With trembling hands, she gripped the heavy shears by the handles.
“…Huh?”
Something felt odd.
The massive shears—longer than a grown man’s forearm—lifted easily in her grasp.
“Hmm?”
Each time she gave her wrist a little flick, the blades sliced through the air with a whoosh.
She had assumed they’d be difficult to handle—after all, even the second-year apprentice gardener struggled to carry them—but…
Tilting her head, she mused, “They’re lighter than I thought.”
Maybe she could carry two or three more.
Completely unfazed by the thought that would horrify a veteran like Mona, Melissa packed the spare shears and other tools into her bag.
“Lalalalaa~”
Humming, she skipped out of the shed and followed the familiar gardener’s path.
The nearest garden sparkled under the slanted afternoon sunlight, the dewdrops still glistening on the grass.
Normally, ten gardeners—including Mona—would be busily tending to this area.
But today, strangely, not a soul was in sight.
Of course, Linburton had ordered all the gardeners to take paid leave to keep them out of harm’s way—but Melissa didn’t know that.
To her, it was simply fascinating.
How peaceful the garden looked without all the usual bustle.
With each step, the untouched dew broke softly beneath her feet, and the air was rich with the scent of fresh grass.
To think this beautiful garden was all hers today—!
Her lips twitched with restrained excitement.
But managing to keep her joy contained (barely), Melissa turned and pulled out her pruning shears.
Feeling the solid weight fill her palms, she grinned in delight.
At last, she could hold this magnificent tool in her own hands.
“I love it!”
Her voice burst out in pure exhilaration as she let her long-suppressed laughter escape.
“Kyah!”
Letting out a joyous cry, Melissa propped a ladder against a tree and began trimming the overgrown branches one by one.
Each snip of the massive blades sent a delightful shiver through her arms.
At first, her cuts were uneven, and stray twigs occasionally flew toward her face—but she quickly found her rhythm.
Snip, snip, snip.
The sound became almost musical as she danced from tree to tree, shaping the garden in perfect harmony.
By the time she stopped to stretch her back and wipe the sweat from her brow, she realized she had reached the deepest part of the garden.
“Wow, I’ve already come this far?”
She smiled, proud and glowing in the golden light.
