Chapter 42: Strange promise with the villainess (part 1)

Ruelle gave me an old journal before she left. It was obvious that this journal contained information that would be of great help to me.

The first thing I noticed was the preservation magic cast on the journal. A great amount of effort was put into casting the strong preservation spell considering that it was just a journal.

And I could see why as soon as I opened the journal. From the very first page, the information written in detail were very important.

This journal was about the matter of going back to the past.

If Ruelle traveled to the past, it might change the happy future. No, it was bound to change.

Even slight changes could make a huge difference.

But there was a very simple way to prevent that change.

It was related to the pearl that Ruelle gave me. I had to hand that pearl over to Ruelle, who would one day be born.

If that happens… what happened to me now will happen to me in the past again.

It was clear that the future me had also sent Ruelle with the pearl for that very reason.

In other words, in all timelines, I would meet Ruelle from the future. Then, time would flow as it should, and eventually, Ruelle would be born, then I would have to make her travel to the past again.

Was all this actually true?

I didn’t know.

To be honest, it was complicated enough to make my head hurt.

But the journal I received from Ruelle was written in a way that was only possible for me. So I simply decided to believe it.

Flutter!

Next, I looked through the other pages of the journal.

There were many things written in it. Some of them were recipes for the deserts that Shael would be obsessed with.

After I was done with reading, I closed the journal. 

My head still continued to hurt. It might be because of the fact that I had to pour out every ounce of my mana to detect the magic spells cast on Ruelle’s body.

I couldn’t return to the Baslett estate in my current condition. I needed to take a break. 

Therefore, I went in the opposite direction, and my destination was the Azbel family’s mansion.

***

The kitchen in the Azbel family’s mansion.

There, someone was concentrating on cooking, which was an incredibly unusual sight.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making muffins. Can’t you see?”

‘I can see that, but that wasn’t the reason why I asked the question…’ 

Usually, this was the time of the day when the Azbel family’s cooks should’ve been engrossed in demonstrating their skills.

But, Shael was the only one cooking here instead.

It was clear that the villainess had kicked out the other cooks from the kitchen.

She was their employer, so it probably didn’t matter what she did.

Anyway, that wasn’t the point.

What I was worried about, was that Shael was making muffins without a recipe.

“Where is the recipe Kayla gave you?”

“It turned into a blank piece of paper.”

Come to think of it, Ruelle hugged Shael right before they parted ways. It was clear that she must’ve swapped the papers at that time.

As expected, it must’ve been Ruelle’s doing.

“I’ll make the muffins for you later, so why don’t you go to your room first?”

I suggested it because it was impossible to make perfect muffins without a recipe.

At those words, Shael gave a confident smile.

“I don’t need you anymore. From the ingredients to the order, I memorized everything.”

She arrogantly spoke, as if she was proud of herself.

While doing so, Shael pointed to the ingredients piled up in the corner.

Obviously, they were the ingredients for the muffins from the recipe Ruelle had given her.

But, there were also some strange ingredients mixed in it. They were ingredients that one should never put into a muffin, such as — Ganellajet powder, Gapriet root, Baniel’s juice, and more.

She must have done that by mistake.

‘Could it be that she memorized only the first few letters?’

That must be it!

And, I was sure I knew why.

Because the villainess didn’t have a good memory.

I instinctively frowned at the thought of what it would taste like. 

The villainess noticed that and said with a grin, “Please sleep while using the air purifying magic tool.”

“…”

I didn’t find that it would be worth it to give a reply to that, so I asked, “Then, I don’t have to prepare the desserts from now on?”

“…”

Shael remained silent for a moment. 

She only knew about two recipes, and there was no way the villainess would be satisfied with that.

So she couldn’t hastily nod her head at my question.

Then, the villainess shamelessly shook her head.

Before I could say anything more, Shael turned her head as if she were going to start cooking.

The problem occurred after the villainess started cooking.

“Bring me that.”

“Here you are.”

I couldn’t refuse an order from Shael, who was so engrossed in cooking.

“Take this away.”

“Yes.”

“Leave this too.”

The villainess was taking my help for granted. If we go on like this, there would be no end to it.

So I prepared to bring out the Serpent Orb.

However, Shael no longer gave me any orders.

At the moment, the villainess was concentrating on cooking alone. Normally, she would continue to make me do chores.

‘What is she even doing?’

Anyway, it was a good thing for me.

I leaned against one of the pillars and started to rest while keeping an eye on Shael.

Shael was working hard at making muffins. 

But, the wrong ingredients aside, their order was also messed up.