I woke up early in the morning out of habit. I think that it’s very difficult getting up when there’s lack of sleep. However, the more I thought about Ellie, the more I couldn’t sleep nor wake up late! I can’t waste time.

Usually, the amount of information I can obtain about the game occurrences in reality is too small. It seems that all my acquaintances are now suspicious but at the same time, I don’t have enough clues to find the truth. I just feel like I’m stuck in the middle of the way to reaching happiness and at the same time, I can’t give another step forward.

Why is such a ridiculous and dangerous character appearing now? Why is this happening to me?! What did I ever do to get this disastrous life?

Well, however, I must figure out who Ellie is. If not, I’ll just be a marionette of the game plot as originally designed. Mmmh, I’m sure from what I’ve seen until now… that he’s a well-prepared and cruel adult, or an innocent and cruel child.

Thinking only about my complaints to this situation, I want to see Nana-chan again.

The bell on the door of the house rings. In short, a visitor’s signal.

For a moment, I felt that… it could be Ellie, but then I remembered that I can’t recognize Ellie in the first place. Even if Ellie is the one ringing my door’s bell now, I won’t be able to know if that person is Ellie.

If I think calmly… Yeah, the changes of the visitant being Mel are higher. I haven’t told anything to Nana-chan yet, and the only ones I know who would visit me suddenly are Mel-chan, Nora, Zero or Jed.

However, Nora said that he would be returning to his home nation after midnight yesterday and that his schedule was tight… And for Jed… to chase away his escort and come to see me in the early morning will be difficult, because coming here by carriage is not suitable and it’s short the time he has to spend in the morning. But if it is Mel… it can be possible. Must be Mel…

Mel is one of the most suspicious people to be Ellie, but I think anyway, I’m delighted if it’s him, because he’s my best friend, so I’m glad if he would take time to visit me early in the morning. Also! For Mel-chan, I can even share my bread for breakfast.

I opened the door with a smile.

“Mel-chan!!!!”

And the beautiful silver hair that came into my eyes, made my voice, body, and brain to stop working in an instant. By the way, my heart almost stopped too.

“Mel-chan…?”

He repeats my words, but the more I see him, as it’s the first time in a long time, the more I think… he looks very mature and cool, and I urge my brain to process faster and give an answer!! This is not the time to be admiring his looks!!!

It doesn’t look good from any point of view that Mel-chan and me are friends. What a failure I am!!

“…Sorry! Thank you for coming, Nika-sama, please come in!”

“Oh …?”

Nika-sama leaned a little with an embarrassed laughing face, but he seemed to be deeply surprised by my brute-force invitation and didn’t reply.

The usual two escorts in the back look at me with reproving eyes. Moreover, their luggage today is so packed. Are you guys leaving home or… pajama-party? It can obviously be seen, that they carry a lot of luggage, not just in amount, but in the professional packaging they use for the luggage.

I offered Nika-sama a chair, and I sat down in the opposite chair. I clear my throat, take some air, and start talking.

“It’s been a while, it’s your first time to come directly to my house, but why?”

“Oh, I don’t have much time today, but I have something I want to talk to you about… but before that, is it okay?”

“What is okay?”

Copying Nika-sama posture, who is giving me a mysterious face, I correct my spine and make a mysterious face.

Nika-sama’s long but beautiful index finger quickly pointed to something on the table. I follow it with my eyes.

It’s bread. What was there was my bread.

“Is that Fii’s breakfast for today…?”

“Yes. To be precise, it is also lunch… but if you want it, I can give you some.”

“No. Certainly bread is delicious, but always having bread…”

Nika-sama has a troubled face and I also have a troubled face.

I wonder what’s going on…

Like Nora, he also noticed that it smells of house-made bread, so maybe he thinks it’s not suitable for me, as I should be a little more feminine and caring for my beauty and health. It’s hard to say, that’s his point. Unlike Nora, Nika has a delicacy. But… I’m embarrassed to tell Nika that I’m practicing for my job and that I don’t have money to buy others.

“I feel like you eat bread every day if I don’t come. That’s not just for one meal… almost every meal is only bread!”

“…Oh, well, but bread is nutritious…”

“It is. But it will be bad for your health to not balance your diet intake.”

Hmmm, even after I was told by Michelle that I’ll be fat if I continue to eat only bread, I couldn’t afford to eat a variety of things, so I kept eating it… I will have to use my family’s money if not, and I don’t want that.

By the way, the reason is so painful that it’s too difficult to say, and if I lie in such a small thing, it’s easy for him to find out it’s a lie. If that happens, I may end up being suspected for an important issue later. So better not…

“Isn’t this good enough to maintain myself? It’s normal for a former noble daughter…”

“That’s not it! I didn’t mean to say that it’s easy to get a variety of food… I know you’re working hard.”

“I can’t… right now”

If he stigmatized me as a lazy and wasteful money spender, I would have panicked in an instant and automatically start to deny it. But apart from that, I’m not good at cooking! Even if I have the money for it! In the past, I lived alone from high school and after, and all my housework skills were perfect!!! But I have forgotten most of it now. Also, I like bread because it is delicious and I can save money for my future!!!

Nika had no idea of my memories, now playing in my head, but he nodded kindly because he seemed to believe me.

“Okay, that’s fine. Bring me one.”

Bring one…?

Nika-sama’s instructions, as usual, seemingly troublesome and unpleasant to do for his escorts, the two put the luggage on the table, and softly drop it without making a sound like a professional…

I blinked at the contents seen from the paper bag.

“Eh, those are… food ingredients…?”

“I suddenly worried about your eating habits. You don’t have a refrigerator in this house, so I brought it.”

“Yes…”

… Bringing ingredients is still okay. But… Is it really good to bring a refrigerator to a stranger? The fridge is a funny present, nothing to do with customs nor something someone would ever do.

Despite my common sense, the two escorts carry in a small but sturdy refrigerator from the outside. wait. wait. Let’s calm down a little? All right?

“I’m sorry but… would you cook something for me today? Please… I will help.”

“Yes? Wait a second, wait! How could I ever cook for Nika-sama…! And how could I let you cook too!”

“Don’t worry, I asked you to do it.”
It was too late to stop him, and Nika-sama rolled up his cuffs and walked to the kitchen a few steps away with confidence.

What’s going on here…? For the time being, if he gets food poisoning or vomit after tasting my food, I think, I won’t be able to stand it.

“Uh… excuse me, do you have any cooking experience?”

“I have seen it before in the kitchen of the palace, and I’ve knowledge from books.”

“…”

Oh, this is bad.

I didn’t tell Nika-sama, who occupies the kitchen, that it isn’t enough experience for him to cook well with the information he just mentioned, but well, I can help. At the same time, I sharply checked the ingredients with my eyes to see if there were any damaged ones or if there were foods that required skill to cook.

“Done”

As a result, when Nika-sama was happy to bring in the finished dish, I was also suffering from eye strain and a headache. There was nothing that looked dangerous, so I tasted it. Should be fine. I think, usually if it’s the first time you cook for a person, you should taste it first, but it doesn’t apply in this case, as he’s a prince.

When I saw the food that was finally made there, standing in front of me. I looked at it as if examining it, and I could see Nika-sama with a confused face.

“What happened…? Do you hate anything on the plate?”

“No… no, no…”
I’ll explain what I saw, as it is.

The first thing that got my attention was the appetizer of jelly and small sliced vegetables in a cocktail glass (I decided to bring this up because there is no such fashionable thing in the house).

Then, the vegetables are mainly shredded pumpkin, and a consommé soup.

Next is a steamed white fish main dish with a hint of white wine. Parsley is put on the top, giving it a luxurious feel.

The staple food is entwined with light noodles like pasta and fried vegetables.

Finally, the dessert included peach jelly and compote.

… Why does this person know how to make such food?? Like did he attend to some kind of course of French food or Italian food… if he only ever saw it in the palace’s kitchen or books? His food looks almost the same as what the chef made when I was still a Duke’s daughter. Is he really a beginner? You must be kidding!!

“Oh, I should test for poison. Can you give me a little?”

Nika-sama, who seems to have misunderstood my indecisive reaction, calls on the guard.

“No, not really.”

It’s different, but surely it looks perfect and the taste may be awful. It’s possible because I didn’t taste it.

The two guards called by Nika-sama looked at each other.

“I don’t want to.”

“I refuse.”

… You’re an escort, right? You’re below Nika-sama, right? Why do you turn down this guy?!! Nika, scold them!

“Okay, if you guys can’t help… then I will do it.”

“It looks so delicious! I don’t want to even give you a tiny little bite! So, thank you!”

For some reason the most serious problem at hand. The poisoning test by one person of the royal family, came to a mysterious development, so I rushed to eat.

Innocently looking at them, I tasted it.

“Why is it so delicious… this genius is so sly…”

I didn’t care about the order of eating, I ate each and every item on the table, but it was delicious no matter which plate I ate. This person can really do anything!!

Nika-sama looks at me with a smile.

“Okay, You’ve seen me eat it, so will you go home?”

“It’s delicious… eh? Are you asking if I’m going home now? No, I had something more serious to say to you…”

Nika-sama did what he did today, just bring the ingredients and fridge, cook for me and watch me eat.
What was your so-serious business that you could leave it on stand-by for hours?

“I had some business, but Fii’s diet is more important. Let’s talk about it next time.”

“Well, I’ll be off work for a week since yesterday, so please come back anytime…?”

“That’s just right. Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

Nika-sama refreshed took the escorts back home.

It’s a too high priority my diet, sure… That’s silly.

“… If Nika-sama was Ellie, would there be something to be on guard about, in the meantime?”

I hadn’t touched the food for about a minute after he left, and just as I calmly murmured to myself, the door was knocked and opened immediately before the reply. I jumped up in surprise.

Then Nika-sama, who just left, apologized and came in.

What? I can’t think of anything that he could have forgotten… but… he couldn’t have heard what I said right now, all right?

Despite my worries, Nika-sama passed me and had come straight to the table and grabbed the bread bag on the table.

“I forgot the bread to bring back.”

“Oh, uh… are you going to take it…? That’s my handmade bread… It can taste bad…”

“…I want to eat it. After all, not every day I can taste homemade bread.”

“I agree.”

Perhaps I had a tragic look, Nika-sama lowered his eyes and removed only three of the five breads from the bag, and put the bags back on the table.

“One meal per day! And you must promise me! That you will use the ingredients I brought you!”

“Yes! I promise.”

After Nika-sama returned, I ate the rice that Nika-sama cooked, thinking that I was like a dog with an owner.
But well, it was delicious anyway.

Translated by Djurasico (dot) home (dot) blog