"흙흙이도 케이크 만들어줄게!" [캬아아악! 지금 와서 만들어준다고 해서 기분이 풀릴까보냐! 안 받는다!] "I'll make the cake for Heukheuk too!" [Kyaaa! Do you think I'll feel better just because you're offering to make it now? I won't accept it!]

"흙흙이 거는 두배 크기로 만들어주려고 했는데. 안 받는구나···." "I was going to make it twice as big for Heukheuk. You’re not going to accept it...?"

[성의를 봐서 못 받아줄 것도 없지! 당장 만들거라!!!] "Well, since you're making the effort, I guess I can’t refuse! I'll make it right now!!!"

At Heukheuk's command, Charlotte and Yuria quickly put on their aprons and ran toward the kitchen. I sat down with the cake I received as a gift and took some time to appreciate it once again.

Even after looking at it again, it was a laughably disastrous shape. It's not like they didn't have tools, so why did it end up looking like this? I ran a simulation based on Charlotte and Yuria's behavior patterns and quickly figured out the answer.

"To cut the bread into a round shape... Considering the size, did they use a tray? Since the tray was big, they probably lifted it together and placed it on the bread to cut it. Since Yuria is a little taller than Charlotte, the horizontal balance was probably off, so the circular shape got ruined."

"How did you know that? Master, you must be good at criminal investigations or something!"

"..."

I couldn't respond to the maid who was excitedly surprised. It's only the kids who show such behavior patterns, how could I be good at criminal investigations? ...but I couldn't bring myself to say that.

"This...?"

And then I couldn’t help but notice a bite mark left on it, as if someone had eaten it. They seemed to have hurriedly tried to cover it up with cream. There were fingerprints left, so finding the culprit wasn’t very difficult.

These fingerprints... could they be Charlotte’s right thumb? It looks like she couldn't resist while making the cake and ended up eating it.

"Mm..."

After taking a bite, a blissful taste hit me. No matter how it looked, once it was in the mouth, it was all the same. The cream and bread must have been prepared by the maids, so it would be strange if it tasted bad.

"Chocolate cake is ready!"

"Heukheuk, eat a lot!"

[Kyaaa! Let me see it! How much effort did I go through to eat this!?]

Soon after, Charlotte and Yuria came running from the kitchen with the chocolate cake they had made. They said they were going to make it twice as big, but it looked like a stacked mess of my cake. The top part seemed to be leaning severely like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, probably because they couldn't balance it properly.

However, Heukheuk, as if not caring about the shape, cheered loudly and dove in. Heukheuk didn’t even care that chocolate cream was smeared around his mouth and took a big bite, his eyes widening in delight.

[It’s not even ice cream, but it melts in my mouth! Why haven't you made this for me until now!?]

"Hehehe. Cake is something you eat on special days!"

"Charlotte, Yuria, by the way, when is your birthday?"

"..."

"..."

When I asked, the dining room suddenly went quiet. That moment, I realized. Oops. I made a mistake.

"Hehehe. When I was a baby, I was left at an orphanage, so I don’t really know."

"I don’t remember either... "

"At the orphanage, no one really knows their birthday. Even if they did, there’s no one to celebrate it."

"..."

Well, I guess that makes sense. The children at the orphanage, living miserable lives, wouldn't be thinking of celebrating their birthdays. Usually, the orphanage should take care of that, but since the management was rotten, no one had ever experienced a birthday celebration.

Knowing that made the aftertaste of the cake a little bitter.

"How about you two start celebrating your birthdays from now on? Pick any date you want."

"Does that mean we can get a cake too!?"

"Of course. If you want, we can even pick today."

"Really!? Then...!"

"No, Charlotte! The date should be fixed, it’s only natural!"

Charlotte, who looked confused, was pulled aside by Yuria and whispered to her for a while. Charlotte then suddenly clapped her hands and sighed, saying, "Ah!"

"I’ve decided! I’ve decided! We’ll both have our birthdays on the same day...!"

"When is that?"

"Hmmm. It’s a secret. But I’ll tell you the day before! ...!"

"Not the day before, three days before, okay? We’ll need time to prepare."

"Yes!"

Charlotte and Yuria giggled, looking at each other. Did they really have a special day that they could agree on so quickly? But why it had to be a secret, I couldn’t figure that out, no matter how much I thought about it.

What should I prepare as a gift? I don’t think I need to worry too much about it yet. Normally, as the birthday approaches, children subtly hint at what they want.

'I want to celebrate Yuria’s birthday too...'

Come to think of it, I wonder if Yuria knows her birthday. I’ll have to figure that out later through a letter from the dark, sinister man. I need to make sure that some of my future fiancées get their birthdays celebrated, while others don’t create a big disaster.

"Then, we’ll do it like that for your birthdays... Come on, let’s eat the cake together. It’s delicious."

"Yay! Finally, I can eat it..."

"No, no! This cake is made for Aslan, so Aslan should eat it! I’m fine, so I’ll eat it on our birthday...!"

"I... I’m actually fine too!"

"..."

Charlotte, who was about to rush over in excitement, hesitated after hearing Yuria’s words. Was she really okay with this? Her mouth was dripping with saliva, though.

"Don’t just stand there, come and eat. Special days should be celebrated together. What’s the meaning of eating alone?"

"Ah, if you say it like that, I guess I have no choice...!"

"Sha, Charlotte!"

In an instant, Charlotte ran over with her own bowl, sitting next to me. Then she cut a big piece of cake with a fork and moved it to her bowl. Looking closely, it was from the part where she had taken a bite earlier. Definitely an attempt at evidence tampering.

"Mm! Mmmm! I made it, but it’s so delicious!"

"Yuria. Are you really not going to eat?"

"Well, I want to eat..."

Watching Charlotte, the happiest person in the world, shudder in delight, Yuria swallowed her saliva. Eventually, Yuria, with her tail tucked, brought her own bowl. She worked hard to make it, so she might as well try it.

She took a small bite with her fork, then sucked on the fork as she pulled it out, her eyes widening.

"It’s... delicious!"

"Our cake is the best! Right?"

"Yes! Yes! We could sell it if we made cakes!"

[The evil god, 'Kali,' smiles contentedly as she watches our necromancer and dark knight enjoy their meal.]

Seeing the kids eagerly devouring the cake, I couldn’t help but smile. Charlotte’s way of eating made me want to feed her more. Yuria, though seemingly elegant in her eating, ended up speeding up when the food tasted good, and I could estimate the flavor by watching her actions.

It was truly a scene where just watching them eat made me feel full.

At that moment, the door opened, and Sylvia entered.

"Master. Have you already eaten the cake?"

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"We have dinner soon, don’t we?"

"Oh, the cake is confiscated for now. You can have it after dinner."

"Aaahh...!?!"

[The evil god, 'Kali,' scolds you for letting our necromancer and dark knight eat so much cake before dinner!]

Just a moment ago, she was happily watching them eat... Kali’s sudden change of attitude hit me like a strong sense of betrayal.

Scene transition

"Hmmm..."

The palace terrorist incident was quickly resolved. Since there were only a few soldiers injured, it wasn’t a big blow, and the only damage was a few buildings in the palace that had collapsed. That was a simple problem to fix with repairs.

The important thing was preventing a recurrence. This incident was caused by ignorance of magic, so under the royal family's leadership, research on magic was being promoted. It didn’t seem too far-fetched that magic would soon be recognized as a legitimate academic discipline.

"Master, a messenger has arrived from the palace."

"I’ll handle it."

At Sylvia’s announcement, I immediately stood and headed for the main gate. There was no need to change clothes, as I had already prepared the appropriate attire, expecting the messenger from the emperor’s sister.

When I stepped out to the main gate, the messenger bowed deeply, greeting me. It seemed like he had just returned from vacation. His complexion was noticeably better than before.

"Count Vermont. I’ll deliver His Majesty’s message briefly."

"Yes, go ahead."

He cleared his throat and raised his voice, which suddenly transformed into the voice of the emperor’s sister.

"Aslan Vermont. I owe you a great debt. After much consideration for a reward, I found no precedent for such an unprecedented situation and such a great favor, so I couldn’t find any fitting examples from the past. Therefore, I’ve decided to award you a reward as my heart sees fit. First, I’ll provide funding for your dark magic research. I’m thinking of around 10 billion Lark, but depending on your needs, I can increase the amount."

"...!"

10 billion Lark. The amount alone made my eyes widen.

The emperor’s sister must have other reasons for pouring such a large sum into dark magic research, aside from just a reward. The royal family must have become extremely wary of ‘unknown powers’ due to this incident. Now that powerful sorcerers had appeared, it wouldn’t be strange for even the strongest dark magicians to show up.

I would need to research dark magic, but it felt overwhelming to start from scratch. It was a reasonable choice to support the ongoing research.

"Also, recently a neodymium mine was discovered, and I will give you the development rights for it. Do with it as you please. That’s the reward I’m offering."

"Yes."

"Listen carefully. I will also grant you a villa near the royal palace, the entire territory of Sansonetti, 500 warhorses, and the title of Duke."

"...!? "

This was an unprecedentedly extravagant reward. The main dish was the title of Duke, and the other items were just extras. With only one territory and limited wealth, the Duke would probably not have the prestige if not for these additional items.

But still, Duke... It made me question if stopping the terrorism warranted such a reward.

And just as I was about to ask, the real offer came.

"However, to receive these rewards, you must accept the position of head of the royal intelligence division."

"I refuse."

The chilling offer came immediately after, and I rejected it in a flash. Damn it. Being the head of royal intelligence was a lifetime position from which I couldn’t resign without the emperor’s permission. If I had been swayed by the rewards, I would have ended up as the emperor’s sister’s slave.