TOYLCG 30 🍒

Chapter — 30

The tomatoes were truly delicious.

The three of them looked down at their empty plates with satisfied expressions. Just when they started to feel that something was missing, Rosebell stood up.

“Let’s make tomato bruschetta!”

“What?”

Daniel looked flustered, and Aren shook his head.

“Are you still hungry?”

“No, not really… but can you even cook?”

“I make garlic bread myself. There’s no way I can’t make bruschetta.”

A noble young lady cooking was already outside common sense. On top of that, Aren calmly stood up and asked her to tell him what ingredients were needed.

As soon as Rosebell entered the kitchen, she put water on the stove. It was to peel the tomatoes.

“Aren!”

“Want me to bring the burrata cheese?”

“…Yes. How did you know?”

“I read about it in a book, just like you.”

Sometimes, Aren’s words felt strange. Especially moments like this. Rosebell knew his schedule well, so it was hard to believe that he casually read books.

It had been the same when she first met him. His hair wasn’t just messy—it looked unmanaged, as if he hadn’t been cared for by anyone for a long time.

Noticing these things only now felt strange. He might not know how to read, but his learning speed was unbelievably fast.

Was it really true that he knew nothing? It also felt odd for a mage to be illiterate.

She didn’t know where she had started missing things, or why she was only realizing it now.

Her thoughts grew complicated, but Aren was still Aren. Everyone had secrets—maybe she should just accept that.

Perhaps, when the time came, Aren would tell her himself.

No… she felt like she needed to believe that.

“Here.”

“Ah… thanks.”

“What’s wrong with you? Lost in thought? Want me to peel the tomatoes?”

“Huh? Oh. Yes, please.”

Rosebell handed the tomatoes to Aren and finely chopped the onions—more like a neat dice.

“Here.”

“You’re fast. Wasn’t it hot?”

Even though they had been cooled in cold water, they should have been hot. But Aren asked casually.

“When I put them in hot water, the skins split in a cross shape.”

“That’s because I scored them with a knife first. I’ll bake pizza for you later too.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll see. And it’ll be good. I promise.”

“I’ve never seen any of your dishes around here, that’s why.”

“Bruschetta is something nobles eat, and pizza is eaten somewhere in the Empire.”

“Somewhere? What kind of answer is that? You didn’t just make it up, did you?”

Aren laughed, clearly amused. Despite her complicated thoughts, Rosebell decided that his smile was enough.

Maybe he had been abandoned as an illegitimate child of some noble family—but whatever it was, she could at least accept that he had things he wanted to hide.

She was the one who brought him in without asking questions. And it wasn’t a lie that she wanted to protect him.

“I didn’t make it up! And I’ll sell it at the festival too!”

“Oh… I’ll have to taste it first, but if it’s good, it’ll probably sell well.”

“It’ll definitely sell! Bite-sized food always sells well at festivals.”

“Your excessive confidence is—”

“You need confidence to do anything! Now melt some butter and toast the baguette. Just lightly—don’t burn it, okay?”

“Got it.”

The butter smelled rich, but the bread itself didn’t have the same aroma as the bread from the count’s estate. This baguette was made in the duchy.

“What’s the difference, I wonder?”

“Difference in what?”

“It’s made with the same ingredients…”

“Temperature, humidity… something like that?”

“I guess so.”

Rosebell waited for the baguette Aren toasted to cool slightly. Meanwhile, she mixed the onions and tomatoes with salt and pepper, added dill, and drizzled olive oil on top.

“You waited on purpose?”

“Yeah. Tomatoes release a lot of water, so letting it sit until the bread cools is enough to marinate it.”

“You won’t starve wherever you go.”

“That’s nonsense. This is my home. Where would I go?”

“I didn’t mean it literally.”

“It’s ready. Bring the cheese.”

“Okay.”

Rosebell spooned the marinated tomatoes onto the bread and tore the burrata cheese over it.

She smiled at the quite convincing-looking bruschetta. Aren, meanwhile, looked at it with curiosity.

“How do you even come up with food like this?”

“It’s all in books. There are lots of cooking books too. Look for them when you get the chance.”

Aren didn’t listen. He was already swallowing hard. The honeyed tomatoes he had eaten as a snack earlier must not have been enough.

“You know you’ve been eating really well lately, right?”

“You’re the one who said I should eat well and grow.”

“That’s true. That’s why I like it.”

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Should I just take this out?”

“Yeah.”

As Aren left, he muttered in a voice too quiet for Rosebell to hear.

“…What’s so good about that. You’re making my heart race.”

He probably thought she didn’t hear him. But Rosebell smiled quietly to herself.

After Aren left, Rosebell took out the apples she had prepared earlier. Bruschetta alone would have been fine, but it had been a while since they had guests at the ducal estate.

She couldn’t skip serving the estate’s specialty—apples.

She thinly sliced apples soaked in honey and layered them like rose petals, rolling them gently.

“Pretty.”

Because the apples were soaked in honey, simply adding water would make them too sweet. So she brewed a tea using dried apples and mint.

She added extra mint to balance out the sweetness.

Of course, since the taste had passed her own standards, she believed everyone would like it.

“I was praised for my dessert taste in my past life, after all.”

She chose teacups that slowly changed from pale pink to deep red. They reminded her of apples ripening—her favorite cups.

She thought it was quite farmer-like of her to associate everything with apples.

A large plate of tomato bruschetta and apple-mint tea surprised Daniel.

“At this rate, we won’t even need dinner.”

“Isn’t that too little for a growing boy?”

“Aren’t we having meat for dinner?”

“Our portions are small. Of course, you can eat as much as you want, but our family usually eats lightly.”

“I see…”

“After Father visited your estate, he told me I’d gained weight.”

Rosebell laughed as she recalled it. The duke had tried to be careful with his words, but considering how much bread she had eaten, it wasn’t that bad.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah. Your estate’s bread was that good. Which reminds me…”

“Yes?”

“You shouldn’t expect much from the baguette in the bruschetta.”

Daniel said bread was bread and took a bite anyway. Then he immediately understood what she meant.

“Ah… yeah. I think I get it now…”

“It’s… bad, right?”

Rosebell almost felt sorry for him. After eating such delicious bread, chewing on this must feel like biting into a dried loofah.

“I thought about what the problem might be… and decided it’s just that the bread here isn’t good.”

“No, I think it’s more like… the fermentation went wrong.”

“Really?”

“Bread depends a lot on temperature and humidity.”

“Aren said the same thing. I guess your estate’s specialty really should be bread.”

Daniel nodded in agreement, but he still ate the bruschetta Rosebell made with enjoyment.

“When did you make this?”

“What?”

“The apple tea.”

“Oh, right! Since you came to our estate, you had to try apples! I prepared tea to go with the bruschetta.”

Confident this would succeed, Rosebell poured the apple-mint tea she had brewed earlier. Cool mint and sweet apple aromas filled the sitting room.

Daniel’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar scent. He drank tea in his own estate too, but never anything like this.

He couldn’t help but agree that this deserved to be called a specialty.

When he took a sip, sweet and tangy flavors spread through his mouth, followed by a floral scent lingering in his nose.

“The tea smells like flowers.”

“That’s probably the honey. Acacia honey is famous here.”

“Really? I was surprised. Along with the apple scent, there’s a floral aroma at the end.”

“How is it? First time drinking something like this, right?”

Rosebell puffed out her chest proudly, clearly proud of the apples from her estate.

“I understand now how you looked when you first ate bread in our estate. It’s nice. You get to drink tea like this every day.”

“When you go back, I’ll pack some apple syrup for you. And apple-mint tea too. If you brew it there, it’ll taste just like it does here.”

“Really? Then next time I come, I’ll bring bread!”

“Really? I miss your estate’s bread so much. Or next time I go there, I’ll bring apples and we can make apple pie! We’re planning a bread festival anyway, even if it’s small.”

When Rosebell mentioned the bread festival with sparkling eyes, Aren shook his head. But Daniel’s expression turned serious.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the bread festival.”

“Huh? With me?”

“My father wants to make it big from the start to attract attention.”

Rosebell looked troubled.

No matter how good the idea was, it was their first festival. Expanding it recklessly wouldn’t help. If they suffered losses, it would be hard to plan another one.