Chapter 725

At the Estate
When I returned to the estate, Oniisama arrived home at almost the exact same time.

"My, Oniisama. You've come back here?"

I'd heard that he had business at the royal palace over the weekend accompanying Crown Prince Raymond, so only the rest of us had returned to the estate.

I thought he'd stay at the palace and return to the academy with His Highness afterward.

"Yes. My business at the palace is finished… or rather, returning to the estate was part of that business."

"Was it?"

"It was. Tea, if you'd like, shall we have some together?"

"My, I'd be delighted."

When he smoothly and naturally offered me his hand, I answered with a bright smile and let Oniisama escort me to the sitting room.

Ever since I was little, Oniisama had always treated me like a proper lady and escorted me accordingly, even when I was just a tiny child. So I behaved as ladylike as I could in return.

It had always been that way since I was young. It felt a little like reaching beyond my station, making me self-conscious, yet proud at the same time, and it always made me happy.

"Tea, did something good happen?"

"Huh?"

"No, you just seem happy."

"Ah, umm... I was just thinking how happy I am to be having tea with you again, Oniisama."

"Hehe. I am too."

… Lately, I felt like there was an extra layer of indulgence in the way he looked at me.

He wasn't pushing anything because I was still so young, but it felt like he'd become less concerned with hiding the aura of “I like you, I like you” around me.

Ugh, I'm still firmly in the child category, so please go easy on me.

Sure, plenty of noble young ladies my age are already engaged, but still!

The morals from my previous life are screaming “NO!”

The former me, who was nearly thirty, is slamming on the brakes!

Please let me stay a child a little longer.
Pleeeeeease!

Oniisama had said he wasn't in any hurry, so I'd tried not to think too deeply about it, but Okaasama had secretly told me that depending on my answer in the future, he was even considering dissolving the adoption and returning to being my cousin before marrying into the family.

"You're both my precious children. If it would make you happy, then that would be fine too."

Okaasama apparently found herself torn between wanting me to marry Crown Prince Raymond, the son of her best friend the Queen, and wanting to make Oniisama happy, since he was the only keepsake left behind by Otousama's younger sister, my aunt, who had died in a tragic accident.

In the end, it all came down to my feelings.

Personally, I couldn't imagine becoming royalty, and there probably weren't many people who could tolerate how outrageous I tended to be.

So I'd more or less resigned myself to spending this life alone as well...

"Tea?"

"Fwah!? W-wh-what is it!?"

When I snapped out of my thoughts, Oniisama's beautiful face was right in front of me.

"No, you've been lost in thought this whole time, making all sorts of expressions... I was worried something had happened."

"Huh? Ah, n-no, I was just thinking about what would go well with tea... ahaha."

There was no way I could tell him.
That I'd been thinking about a future with him.

Avoiding Oniisama's worried gaze, I looked through the snacks stored in my Inventory.

(Cristea, I wanna eat dorayaki!)

Mashiro, having returned to his Sacred Beast form, claimed the spot beside me on the sofa and made his request.

(Indeed. I too would like dorayaki.)

Kurogane had also returned to his Sacred Beast form and spoke while resting his chin on the sofa's armrest.

"Good grief, you two just had pancakes. You're still hungry?"

(Cristea's snacks go in a separate stomach.)

(Indeed. The things My Lord makes are exquisite.)

… I knew it was because my magic power was mixed into them, but hearing that still made me happy.
So I ended up bringing out a large platter with a dramatic *ta-daah!*

Smiling wryly at their delight, I set aside separate portions for Oniisama and myself and had Miria prepare some green tea.

"Pancakes? Did you happen to visit that shop that's become famous in the capital?"

"Oh? Oniisama, you knew about it too? Yes, Mariel-san took me there today. We happened to run into Alicia-sama and Adry-sama there and ended up joining them."

"I see... is that so? That's a little disappointing. I was planning to invite you before we returned to the academy tomorrow."

Saying that, Oniisama picked up a dorayaki with a slight pout.

"My, it would have been nice if we could have invited you too. Ah, though... I don't think I can go back to that shop for a while. Or rather, I don't really want to."

"... What? Did something happen to you there? If necessary, I can shut the place down."

"No, no, no! That's not it! Nothing happened to me..."

Or did it?
No, I guess *I* was the one who did something.
I signed the recipe card.

If anything, they had treated us for free, so please don't say terrifying things like shutting them down!

I explained everything that had happened today to Oniisama.

"Ah, so that's what happened. I see. If it's one of your recipes, Tea, it's no surprise the shop became popular enough to draw lines."

Nodding repeatedly, Oniisama looked thoroughly proud.

No, no. That's family bias.

A shop doesn't become famous for soufflé pancakes without plenty of effort on the store's part!

"But seeing how much demand there is for soufflé pancakes made me think we might need a hand mixer."

"A hand mixer?"

"Yes. I was thinking about turning a whisk into a magic tool so it could whisk automatically..."

I'd tried asking Galvano Ojisama about it before, but my vague explanations had eventually made him give up, so the project had remained unfinished.

But Mariel-chan would definitely be able to draw proper diagrams and explain it well.

If we had a hand mixer, there'd be all sorts of things we could make. Whipping ingredients is exhausting, even with physical enhancement.

"... Aren't Galvano Ojisama and the magic tool master already overwhelmed making shaved ice machines for the territory right now?"

… Ah!

"... Y-You're right?"

"It would probably be best not to make any requests for a while."

"... Yes."

You’re absolutely right~!

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