I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 16

I returned to the ducal residence, dragging my stunned body along, and tried to collect my scattered thoughts.

‘Come on, get a grip. That wasn’t me. No matter how vivid the memory was, it wasn’t me.’

Once the floodgates of my memories had opened, memories of him tormenting me since childhood came rushing in like a tidal wave.

The entire carriage ride home was spent writhing in embarrassment. Why did I have to suffer through such vivid memories over things I hadn’t even done?

After much serious contemplation, I came to a conclusion.

It was someone else’s business. I should just focus on my own work. And, more importantly, I should never meet that man again.

Whenever I saw him, those embarrassing memories came rushing back, so I absolutely did not want to see him again.

The mental damage was tremendous.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to chase away the memories of the past still lingering in my mind, and began making rice cakes.

“Carl, you got the honey, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

When it came to clearing one’s mind, repetitive labor was the best medicine.

With my strong arms, I pounded the rice flour again and again, making rice cakes while letting every last memory scatter away.

Eventually, by the time I had completely regained my senses,

the rice cake I wanted had been completed.

It was garaetteok.

With a large bundle of rice cakes in my arms, I headed toward the garbage dump—or rather, the Black Plum Knights.

 

***

 

People who love food simply can’t hate rice cakes!

Especially garaetteok. Its chewy, tender texture is one thing, but when the sweetness of honey mixes with the savory flavor of the rice cake, it creates an absolutely heavenly taste.

I was certain it would be a success.

But I never expected it to be this effective.

“Gasp, gasp. It’s so delicious!”

“What is this chewy texture? I can’t stop chewing!”

“Damn it, I let my guard down. Was this plain appearance a strategy to lower the eater’s defenses? I’ve become this thing’s slave!”

The enormous men each held a piece of garaetteok in both hands, carefully dipping them into jars of honey before devouring them.

“Oh! Ohhh! OHHHH!”

Their booming, rough voices shook the heavens.

It’s so damn delicious!

I took a step back from them.

I was the one responsible for this, and I was happy that they were enjoying it, but…

Watching muscular men tear into garaetteok with crazed eyes wasn’t exactly good for my mental health.

I couldn’t help but take a step back.

“Oh. It’s delicious.”

The only one who showed a somewhat normal reaction was Leon, the captain and my former favorite.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t particularly excited. He simply sat there elegantly, nibbling on his garaetteok.

Was the secret to becoming captain being good at grilling lamb skewers and having such refined manners?

“What is this called?”

Unlike yesterday, there wasn’t a trace of alcohol in his voice.

Thankfully, they hadn’t started drinking yet.

They were still sprawled out on the training grounds just like yesterday, though.

I smiled innocently and answered.

“It’s called garaetteok.”

“Hmm. That’s an interesting name. Nom.”

Why was he making sound effects with his own mouth? Nom? Nomm?

No matter how I looked at him, he seemed far from normal. After chewing his rice cake thoughtfully, he asked with a serious expression,

“What is this made of?”

At some point, a notepad had appeared in his hand.

I noticed the words ‘The Path of Gourmandism’ written on its cover.

I pretended not to see it and smiled sweetly.

“It’s a food made from a new kind of grain called rice.”

“Rice…?”

Leon’s eyes widened.

I nodded.

His hand quickly moved across the notepad, writing down everything I had said.

Garaetteok. Rice. Delicious.

I put on the most harmless expression I could and broached the subject.

“Ahem. I heard that His Grace, the Duke of Siastor, ordered you all to assist me. Is that correct?”

“Hmm. That’s what I heard.”

“The task you need to help me with is producing this rice.”

“Oh?”

Leon nodded as if he finally understood.

His messy silver hair swayed along with the movement.

With his usual slightly vacant expression, he said,

“But our motto is to slack off… Ah, did I mention that last time?”

Was he seriously going to make another excuse about slacking off?!

“Before that.”

“Yes?”

I narrowed my eyes and solemnly held up a piece of garaetteok in one hand.

“Think about the original purpose of this group!”

“!”

Leon’s red eyes wavered slightly.

I didn’t miss the opportunity.

“Gourmandism. Isn’t the whole point to eat delicious food deliciously?”

“Th-that’s right…”

“Then you should assist me wholeheartedly.”

I spoke in the dramatic tone of a famous line from some old drama I’d watched before being possessed, puffing out my chest proudly.

By then, the knights who had finished their garaetteok had gathered around us, licking their lips.

They listened to me with serious expressions.

“This garaetteok tastes even better when you put it on a skewer and grill it over a fire, just like the skewers we had last time.”

“!!”

It didn’t make much sense to suddenly bring up grilled garaetteok after telling them to help me, but…

They were so captivated by the rice cakes that they stared at the piece in my hand with shocked expressions.

“But this is all I have left. Which means you won’t get the chance to grill any garaetteok.”

“!!!”

They looked like they were about to cry.

I sprang to my feet and lit the campfire with a match. It was clearly the same fire they’d used to grill skewers yesterday.

Then I threaded a piece of garaetteok onto an extra skewer and carefully held it over the flames.

The garaetteok, which had hardened slightly over time, gradually developed a golden-brown surface as it roasted.

The surface became increasingly crisp.

But inside, it remained unbelievably soft and tender!

“However, I’m not so heartless that I’d deny you the chance to taste it. Have a piece each. Be careful, though. It’s hot.”

I gently cut the grilled garaetteok into small pieces with the knife I’d prepared and handed them out.

They cautiously placed the pieces into their mouths with trembling hands.

“Huuh…”

The bald man who had thrown salt around the other day covered his mouth with both hands and trembled like a fan who had just met their favorite idol.

His eyes were practically screaming:

It’s so yummy! Aaaah!

They had just witnessed an ordinary garaetteok evolve into grilled garaetteok, and they were left speechless, staring blankly at me.

There was no garaetteok left.

“Th-this… If we want to eat garaetteok again… what do we have to do?”

The question I’d been waiting for finally came.

It was the bronze-skinned man.

I smiled brightly and answered.

“To eat this garaetteok… It’s simple. Just help me, like I said earlier.”

“Th-that’s all?”

“Of course. Oh, and don’t worry. Since this is work related to garaetteok, your usual slacking off for the Siastor Duchy will remain intact.”

“!”

Leon, who had been quietly listening all this time, suddenly looked at me as if he’d had an epiphany.

“This is work outside your regular duties, something you’ll be doing with me. Think of it as a part-time job. You want to eat garaetteok, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe. The rice we’re going to grow can be used to make countless different foods.”

Anticipation filled their eyes.

I lowered my voice as if I were revealing an incredible secret.

“You can even make alcohol with it.”

“!!!”

They immediately went wild, clamoring to start working.

“Please employ us as workers! Big sis!”

Who are you calling big sis? You all look at least ten years older than me.

After calming them down, I roughly explained what they would need to do from now on.

First, we needed to make rice paddies.

We had to build embankments, connect irrigation channels, and so on.

Just as I was finishing my explanation, someone suddenly asked,

“But has our lord tasted this food?”

He had eaten rice, even if he hadn’t tried garaetteok.

Just as I was about to answer, someone else cut me off.

“You don’t know that our lord hates food? He starts by looking down on anything he eats. Why are you asking, bastard?”

“But after experiencing this chewy texture and heavenly flavor, he might suddenly become a glutton! We can’t let him steal our garaetteok! We need to eliminate the competition!”

There were plenty of things I could have objected to in that conversation.

But one thing in particular caught my attention.

“What? His Grace doesn’t like eating?”

“Uh… Ah, you didn’t know.”

Leon blinked at me.

He had been writing ‘Can make alcohol too. This is insane.’ in his notepad.

“Our lord has a strange illness that makes it difficult for him to eat properly. Apparently, everything tastes bad to him. Tsk, tsk. It’s such a shame that he doesn’t know the joy of good food.”

Suddenly, I remembered a conversation I’d had with him before.

‘…Yes, it’s delicious.’

And after that, he had eaten enough to nearly burst.

Just as I was beginning to find it strange, the bald knight scratched the back of his head and asked,

“Ah, but… who are you?”

“Pardon?”

“We were only told that you were a young lady. We weren’t told anything else about you. Haha.”

Only then did I realize that I’d shoved garaetteok into their hands without even introducing myself!

“Ah, I’m Cilia Evanroar. I’m the daughter of the Viscount Evanroar. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh! Would you like to join our Gourmand Club?”

“No, thank you.”

The bald man looked like he’d taken a critical hit from my firm rejection, but I quietly ignored him and celebrated inwardly.

Hehe. As expected, delicious food is the best.

Anyway, I’d acquired some workers.

I had no idea how useful these good-for-nothings would actually be.