‘Oh, right! Before I eat it, I should praise today’s chocolate pudding first!’
Not only Jeff, but the other chefs had also begun subtly inching closer. They were pretending not to listen, but their perked-up ears gave them away.
I cleared my throat with an ahem and tapped the head of Pompom, who had been following me around. Then I carefully entered my praise.
“It went melty an’ wheee, like a sliiide!”
I threw both arms up in the air, and the people who had been smiling at me fondly soon shifted their gazes toward Pompom.
—The sensation of it melting the moment it touched my tongue was just like sliding down a fluffy-fur carpet on my belly!
Exactly! How does it understand me perfectly?
“It was sweet and lil’ bitter, and even a demon wanted to eat it.”
I nodded with a serious expression, and once again, everyone looked toward Pompom.
—The sweetness and just the right amount of bitterness kept it from becoming tiresome. I’m sure even a demon would have begged for just one bite.
Pompom’s way of speaking was mechanical, but it was more than enough to convey the meaning.
“Ohhh, to receive such extravagant praise from you once again……!”
“Honestly, we didn’t have enough cacao beans, so the head chef worked very hard to bring out the pudding’s flavor.”
“And Little Lady has recognized and praised all that effort.”
Several chefs wiped away tears as though deeply moved, even setting down the ladles they had been holding.
‘I mean, I don’t know why they’re that moved…….’
For now, I decided to finish the praise I had started.
“You baked it wif caramel an’ choc’late, so it went crunch-crunch an’ ran all over my mouf!”
—And on top of that, you baked it with caramel and chocolate syrup mixed in. The sugar went crunch-crunch and dashed all over my mouth!
Unless I was with the family patriarch, having to deliberately concentrate on my pronunciation every day was terribly exhausting.
‘After a while, my throat and tongue start to hurt.’
Some days, my throat would even swell up as though it had gone numb.
But Kiraxus’s invention understood me perfectly even when I spoke carelessly, which made it truly wonderful.
After finishing my molecular-level praise, I stretched my fluffy little forepaws as far as they would go and managed to form something vaguely resembling a heart.
“Today was yummy, too!”
Thank you for giving me chocolate pudding. Promise you’ll give me something delicious tomorrow, too!
I sent a wink carrying that meaning, and Head Chef Jeff suddenly buckled at the knees and staggered.
“Uuuhhhk. Waaahhh!”
And then he burst into tears!
I was so startled that my eyes went wide. John seemed just as shocked as I was, his mouth hanging open.
But the chefs nodded as though they understood exactly why Jeff was sobbing so bitterly.
“Ah…… we’ve endured such persecution all these years…….”
“It isn’t our fault that ingredients are scarce…….”
“The heirs always complain that the food tastes bad. They even say it’s something only a pig beastkin would eat!”
“They leave it behind! They throw it straight into the trash right in front of us!”
“The ingredients are such a wa—mmph, mmph!”
Apparently, that last statement was too much, because the chefs standing nearby immediately covered his mouth.
I tilted my head when I sensed the gloomy atmosphere settling over the kitchen.
“Who…… threw da pudding away?”
What an absolute idiot! They threw away pudding?! Pudding! And during a famine, no less! How dare they fail to appreciate something this precious!
“Who was it?! Who?!”
I found myself huffing angrily as I demanded an answer, but the chefs shifted their eyes around awkwardly. They had been overwhelmed by emotion and blurted everything out, but when I actually asked who, they seemed reluctant to directly name anyone.
“……Den, fine. Where’s da pudding dat died?”
—I want to mourn the pudding’s death. Ah, poor pudding…….
Oh, right. I still hadn’t turned this thing off.
I tapped Pompom’s head twice again and switched it off.
Meanwhile, the chefs looked at one another before sneaking glances at the trash can beside the head chef. They couldn’t say it out loud, but they were practically pointing at it with their entire bodies.
“John!”
“Yes, Little Lady.”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
John’s enormous body took exactly three steps before he reached the trash can.
I nearly burst into tears when I saw the remains of what had once been pudding inside.
‘Th-that delicious thing! That! They threw it away?’
And right in front of the chefs who had made it?
“It seems the heirs have been rather dissatisfied with their meals lately.”
Even John seemed dumbfounded as he commented.
‘Of course, they’re heirs to a great noble family, so they don’t need to scrape every last bit from their bowls and eat it all.’
Even while commoners starved, nobles—especially the great nobles—could still live with full stomachs.
But wasting such precious ingredients when they knew what was happening outside…… that was just wrong.
They didn’t have the qualities to become head of the family. Their prospects were rotten to the core!
‘And saying it’s something only pig beastkin eats is blatant discrimination.’
I stared sadly at the dead pudding, then clasped my little hands together and prayed.
“Next life, come into my mouf. I’ll eat you up real good.”
“Hehehe. Knowing that you understand us, Little Lady, has comforted all of us.”
In truth, this wasn’t something they could report to the family patriarch, nor could they go to the Duchess and complain. The two of them were far too busy to notice one of the heirs behaving badly, and they were also so far above everyone else that it wasn’t easy to approach them.
‘But I’m different. I’m still a little kid.’
Besides, I was someone who possessed the right to choose the next head of the family from among the heirs.
In other words, I was a little power broker!
“If dis happens again, tell me. I won’t marry a meanie like dat.”
I put on a firm expression, and Head Chef Jeff sniffled and nodded.
‘Hmm. So, in the end, this is actually good for me?’
Now these people would come to rely on me. I was the closest outlet they had for reporting their grievances and frustrations.
“John, how many heirs are there?”
“There are ten in total. However, seven of them are currently staying in the Heir’s Residence.”
“Where’d da other free go?”
A little while later, after I had eaten all the snacks I could and received every bit of affection they had to offer, I left the kitchen and asked about something that had been bothering me.
The situation at the front lines was so urgent that I still hadn’t had the chance to properly study or learn about the family in preparation for my role as a daughter-in-law.
So I didn’t really know how the Driblyane family was currently operating.
“The Driblyane family tree is rather complicated, so explaining it may be somewhat difficult…… One of them is currently at the military academy.”
“Military ’cademy?”
“Yes. His father, Lord Dien Glans, recognized his son’s talent and sent him to the military academy dormitory.”
Ah, if it was the military academy…… that had to be Dante.
John hadn’t told me his name, but if it was a swordsman with enough talent to be sent to the military academy, there was only one possibility.
“Another one is a prince. He belongs to a species that requires special conditions to grow, so he is currently in the Imperial Palace.”
“A shark……?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The imperial family of the Holy Empire was Suthesia. In other words, they were beluga-whale beastkin.
The imperial family of the Magical Empire was Helicoprion, and they were sawshark beastkin. Sea creatures really ought to stay in the sea.
‘If there’s only one child among the Driblyane heirs who isn’t a saber-toothed tiger…… it’s Yuri.’
The future Crown Prince, Yuri Yerevan Helicoprion Driblyane.
I nodded and asked John another question.
“And da last one?”
“The last one is the Crown Prince of Lichtenbium, an allied nation of our empire. Since he is destined to bear the weight of his country, he did not come here. He will probably give up his claim to the succession soon.”
“Ohhh.”
“I have never actually met him myself. However, his younger brother, the second prince of Lichtenbium, is here.”
Well, if he wasn’t the eldest son, inheriting Driblyane was probably better than living and dying as some nameless prince.
‘Huh, but…… Lichtenbium?’
That surname sounded awfully familiar.
Wasn’t the surname of Gerd, Male Lead No. 1—the guy who clung desperately to the female protagonist in the latter half of the original story—Lichtenbium?
“Are you seriously telling me I’m supposed to marry an albino beast?”
But then—
As if he had been waiting for just this moment, a very, very nasty boy’s voice came from farther down the corridor.
“When the head of the family said he had chosen an albino, I thought he was joking.”
“……Greetings, Young Master Gerd.”
“Yes. I also heard that you became that thing’s guard knight. How did a proud bear beastkin end up like this?”
The boy, who stretched himself tall as he struggled to meet John’s eyes, had brass-colored hair. His sharply upturned eyes and brass-colored irises revealed his lineage.
I looked over the little brat decked out in arrogance, only to freeze in shock.
‘Gerd? The Gerd?’
The very guy who had offered Rahine a whip with both hands and told her he would do anything if only she wouldn’t leave him?!
But in the original story, I could’ve sworn he was described as having a sleek, beautiful body and an extremely obedient personality.
He was the one whose role was to let the Saintess step all over him and use him to relieve her stress……
Gerd Anton Lichtenbium Driblyane.
That guy’s perversion was beyond imagination.
But right now—
“He’s just a little kid……?”
Oh my goodness.
I looked at Gerd’s plump, rosy cheeks and let out a little snort of laughter.
Gerd, who was the very embodiment of a prince who knew nothing about the ways of the world, was filled with exactly the kind of pride and self-esteem one would expect from a boy his age.
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