Side Story 1 ; Part 6

“That’s excellent, My Lady. The dough will be fluffy if you let it sit long enough, so just enough so that you can’t see the flour…….”

The sous-chef praised Isabelle for not breaking the yolks while cracking the eggs, considering it a remarkable achievement.

Although she wondered why they would do that if they were going to mix it anyway, her expectations were low, so she let it go.

Isabelle was in the small, quiet secondary kitchen, not the main kitchen, where the cooks and servants were bustling around.

She’d come here with the excuse that she didn’t want to disturb the people working, but the real reason was elsewhere.

“I understand, so you can leave now. You must be busy.”

“But, My Lady, the oven is hot, so I can’t…….”

“I understand, so you can leave now. You must be busy.”

“Well, of course not!”

The sous-chef threw up his hands in dismay. Isabelle laughed nonchalantly and picked up her spatula.

“Or are you afraid he’ll throw it away because it’s tasteless?”

“I-I can’t imagine that, My Lady.”

“I’ll call you if I need help, if anyone sees it, they’ll think you’re making it, not me.”

At Isabelle’s words, the sous chef nodded and left the kitchen.

He watched her anxiously as he closed the door, worried that she might start a fire.

Satisfied that the charade was over, Isabelle wiped the smile off her face and pulled the pendant from her pocket.

After a glance at the still-floury dough, she took a deep breath and opened the lid of the pendant.

Then she poured out all the white powder it contained.

‘She said there were no major malfunctions in its function.’

In truth, she hoped it wouldn’t even function properly.

If she failed to spend the night with the Empress and he noticed, would that indulgent face of his twist in disappointment? Would he be startled and flustered, claiming that it wasn’t like her?

‘No, that would make me look suspicious.’

Just imagining it made her heart ache, but Isabelle shook her head and focused on mixing the dough.

She had just slid the dough from the pan into the oven when she heard a knock on the door.

“…Sister-in-law.”

It was Callian who opened the door.

He looked just like Isaac, but his face had a worried glow to it.

“…I heard you and my brother had an argument.”

“It’s no big deal; we just…… had a little disagreement.”

“What…….?”

Callian trailed off, glancing at the pan of cookie dough.

This man must not know. How quickly the story of their quarrel spread throughout the mansion.

“I made this for your brother… Do you think he’ll like it?”

Callian’s gaze was glued to the dough in the oven.

The way he was staring at me made it seem like he wanted one, so Isabelle quickly beat him to it.

“These are reconciliation cookies, which means you have to fight me to have them.”

At that, Callian paused and looked at Isabelle again. A faint smile played on his youthful face.

“Then I don’t want to eat them in my lifetime.”

The sweet voice was reminiscent of Isaac’s as a child.

Hadn’t Isaac also not looked at her with such eyes seven years ago?

Isabelle cringed a little, but smiled as if it didn’t matter.

* * *

Stopping in front of Isaac’s office, Isabelle took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Isaac opened the door and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Isabelle?”

“Are you busy?”

Isabelle entered Isaac’s office without asking permission.

Isaac shook his head. His demeanor was uncharacteristically soft.

As if he knew why she had come.

“I have plenty of time to have a cup of tea with my wife.”

Isabelle set the tray down on the table and plopped herself down on the couch. Isaac sat down across from her.

“…I tried baking some cookies.”

“You did it yourself?”

He probably knew that she had borrowed the kitchen from the servants, so asking as if he didn’t know was quite shameless.

But Isabelle was unperturbed.

“Don’t expect it to taste good; it’s supposed to be a labor of love, right?”

Isaac chuckled in an adorable way when she said that.

Isabelle knew he liked this side of her.

Not bowing her head recklessly even if she had nothing to boast about, asserting her dignity moderately rather than being excessively obedient.

Making him a generous and gentlemanly man. But at the same time, he was not crossing the line he had set.

“I’m sorry about earlier, Isaac. I was just jealous that you’ve been so busy lately…… You spend more time with the Empress than with me.”

Isabelle said as she poured tea into Isaac’s cup. Isaac shook his head.

“I’ve been so busy lately that I’ve been neglecting you, although I did tell Callian to look out for you.”

“Well, that’s your fault. As punishment, you’re going to have to eat these tasteless cookies.”

“I don’t think it’s a punishment.”

Even as he said this, Isaac seemed satisfied that Isabelle had bent over first.

He casually picked up the cookie and popped it into his mouth. His jaw moved a few times and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“That’s delicious.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I think they’re better than the chef’s.”

“You’re lying.”

“Oh, I was trying not to show it.”

Isaac replied playfully, and Isabelle shot him a wide-eyed look.

Isaac laughed and reached for his plate again.

Isabelle tightly gripped the teacup as she watched the empty plate.

‘It’s not just you, Isaac, who sets the boundaries.’

‘If you had stopped at the line where I would turn a blind eye, none of this would have happened.’

“I don’t know if the Empress will allow it, but if I can return early, I will.”

Isaac spoke like a doting husband. Isabelle nodded.

* * *

“I fed it to him. The medicine you gave.”

Tasha recalled an old memory. The tense expression on the stiff face was still vivid.

‘I’m going to have someone else’s child, and with his fortune…… I’m going to live in luxury, so that neither my child nor me will lack for anything.’

“…….”

‘He can play with other women besides the Empress as if nothing happened. And when he faces death, I’ll say, “This child is not yours.” But everything he has now belongs to this child.’

Isabelle spoke curiously, but her hands were shaking. Tasha took her hand and steadied it.

‘Calm down, Isabelle.’

‘I, I didn’t do anything wrong, he betrayed me first, he’s the one who…….’

“…….”

‘You can’t tell him; you have to keep it a secret until you die.’

Isabelle grabbed Tasha and urged her again and again. What was she so afraid of?

And why did the topic they had talked about so eagerly suddenly feel so empty?

“It was …… around this time of year.”

Tasha looked up at the clear sky as her horse, Cassus, stopped his industrious pacing.

The Kingdom of Vint lay on a large capital northwest of Evgenia.

It was not a bad place for Patronas to stay, with mild weather and plenty of game.

“What is it?”

When Tasha didn’t move, Toto approached, clutching the reins of his horse.

Tasha looked at the crowd of Partona without moving her head.

“Do you know what day it is?”

“I know I don’t see any linneni berries.”

“I mean the date.”

“Well, why is that?”

Toto asked, shrugging his shoulders. Tasha tucked her short, cropped hair behind her ear.

“Just. It’s someone’s anniversary this time of year.”

“Who? Your ex-husband?”

At Toto’s question, Tasha put an arrow on the bow without saying a word. Toto recoiled in fear and withdrew his hand.

“Oh, okay. I get it; you’ve got a temper.”

“…I told you before about the friend who died while giving birth.”

“Oh.”

Toto fell silent, watching Tasha’s eyes. Tasha turned her head away.

‘If you hadn’t died, I’d still be there, blindfolded.’

Not being framed for your death, not falling out with Ludwig, not abandoning my daughter and running away…….

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Tasha muttered softly.

‘The letter should have arrived by now. I was supposed to keep it a secret until I died.’

But the honor of a living daughter was more important than the honor of a dead friend.

‘So who told you to die like that? If it was unfair, you should have lived for a long time.’

‘You should have cheated him all your life, lived in luxury, and taken your revenge when he was on his deathbed, just as you said you would.’

But even if she wanted to lash out, there was no one to listen.

Tasha stared at the sky for a moment, then slowed her horse. She hoped it was starry tonight.