Volume 1 Chapter 35 Mean Villainess Makes Cake
"...Rolus, why are you eating a sandwich here?"
Inside the carriage, Elder Brother tilts his head.
It had already become a regular habit, so I raised no questions about it, but anyone who didn't know would surely find it strange.
Today, Elder Brother, who had business at the academy, woke up early and rode in the same carriage as us since our destination was the same.
And as soon as he got in the carriage, Rolus quietly began to eat a sandwich, which made him tilt his head.
"Does Rolus get breakfast?"
"That's right, Elder Brother. So I'm feeding him here so that his stomach doesn't growl before lunch."
"Hmm, I see. You should improve that."
"No, I'm"
"If possible, I'd like to have breakfast with Rolus."
"Lady"
"What do you do for lunch, Rolus?"
"We eat together for lunch. I have them prepare extra bento, and we split it. Right, Rolus?"
"Yes, but Sir Hans, Lady..."
"Splitting it."
"Um! Both of you, well, I've had my dinner properly, so it's not a problem if I don't eat breakfast or lunch."
When Rolus' voice got louder, Elder Brother and I stopped talking.
Rolus seems to be panicking, looking back and forth between me and Elder Brother, who has stopped speaking.
After a period of silence, Elder Brother finally speaks.
"Hmm, what is it, Rolus? Are you shy?"
"That's right, Elder Brother. He is shy."
Rolus is basically shy about everything.
Well, he's an attendant, and I told him I'd treat him like an underling, so he can't act all high and mighty, but he's being too reserved.
And this reservedness is most evident when it comes to food.
"Since you're working as Elena's attendant, I want you to make sure you're getting proper nutrition."
"That's right, that's right."
"So, during dinner──"
"To begin with, I've never seen Rolus have dinner."
Dinner is only eaten by the servants, so I don't get to see it.
Sometimes I peek in, though.
"Rolus, you have to eat properly since you're growing right now."
"That's right, that's right. The first time I saw Rolus, he was as thin as a twig, Elder Brother."
"A twig...!?"
Elder Brother's eyes widened as if to say, "Are you serious?"
Yes, Rolus at that time was definitely malnourished.
I raised him to be a proper boy.
I did.
Against his will.
"So while I think it would be nice to improve breakfast and lunch, seeing him eat beside me like this is a relief."
"Yeah, let's do this then. Breakfast can be in the carriage, but let's increase the portion a bit. And no matter how much lunch is increased, you have to eat it properly. Can I get you to promise these two things, Rolus?"
"B-but..."
"This is not with me, but a promise with the next Count, Lord Hans Alfano, Rolus."
Seeing Rolus with an unusually serious expression, he nodded, albeit hesitantly.
"Thank you, Rolus. Now Elena's worries are over."
"Thank you, Elder Brother! Now I can feed him breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner!"
"Suddenly increased..."
While we were having this conversation in the carriage, we suddenly arrived at the school, so Elder Brother and I parted ways for the time being.
Elder Brother is going to the staff room to show his face.
The next time we met was after school.
The location was Mister Bruno's document filing room.
Elder Brother and Mister Bruno were going to talk about Spell-ology together, so I was going to listen to them quietly.
"Rolus told me that Elena would be happy if I told her about Spell-ology."
Well, since I got involved rather early, it couldn't just end with listening.
"That's right, I love hearing about Spell-ology."
When I answered that, Elder Brother looked very happy.
However, he soon made a troubled expression.
"Are you interested in spells too?"
"Yes. I do want to look into them eventually. Right now, I'm interested in the stories around the fifth and 6th kings, so I'm researching that."
"The 5th and 6th, huh..."
Elder Brother murmured that quietly.
And it was Mister Bruno who picked up on those words.
"Since it's around the time of the end of spells, Hans was researching it too, right?"
"Yes. The body of the fifth king is missing, and the cause of death of the 6th king likely involves some kind of spell. And that was probably the last spell. That's about it."
If that was the last spell, does that mean it extended his lifespan with a spell?
"No matter how much we research, is there really nothing more we can find out...?"
"There are remarkably few documents on the fifth and 6th kings."
Elder Brother muttered.
If there are few documents about the king, there are probably even fewer about the queen.
I'm curious about why that person had apologized to me, but I don't know how to investigate that.
I wish I had at least some kind of clue.
"The rumor is that documents about the Fifth and Sixth Generations are sealed away somewhere."
Mister Bruno was the first to respond to Elder Brother's words.
"Speaking of seals, you said you wanted to read a book about seals, Ellie"
"Yes"
"Seal? Where did you learn the word seal?"
In a dream!
I would like to say that, but that's not the case.
I glanced down at the pile of personal documents that Rolus had collected for me.
"Which one was it..."
'It must have been written somewhere in the mountains,' he said.
When I did that, Elder Brother and Mister Bruno looked at me like they were saying, "I know, you'd lose sight of it."
"Speaking of seals, there was recently a story about a place found in a corner of the Royal Central Library that seems to have been affected by a sealing spell."
"A corner of the Central Library?"
Mister Bruno tilts his head.
"Yes. They say there's a mysterious presence in the farthest corner of the Central Library."
That sounds incredibly interesting.
"What kind of mysterious presence is it, Elder Brother?"
Does it feel like you can find an ultra-strong item there?
Or maybe it feels like a save point?
I can't help but get excited.
"Due to the structure of the library, there should definitely be an absolute space, yet there's nothing. It's invisible to everyone."
There's definitely a hidden door or switch somewhere.
And it definitely leads to finding some ultra-strong item.
I really want to go check it out.
And I want to explore all over the place.
"So, is it a place hidden by a sealing spell?"
"That possibility might exist."
"Are there people currently investigating it?"
"No, since noticing that space is very recent, I don't think anything has been done yet."
There was talk that someone with experience in analyzing sealing spells would surely be dispatched soon.
If there are any documents pertaining to the fifth and 6th kings, would the mystery that the fifth queen apologized for be resolved?
"Apart from sealing, are there any spells you're interested in?"
Besides the seal, I wonder.
Then I suddenly remembered.
"There may have been some forbidden magic, like reviving the dead, cloning people, or even summoning demons."
I remember hearing that story from Rudger.
Mr. Bruno, hearing this, said in a tiny voice, "I can't believe a girl of that age is interested in magic like that."
I feel a little put off.
"Well... that part hasn't been deciphered so I can't say for sure, but there's a possibility that it involved some big magic."
"Do something big?"
"Yeah. The ordinary magic we are using now that doesn't require incantations was actually used back in the days when spells existed. Even though there is magic that doesn't need incantations, the fact that we still have to recite spells makes me think it must have been a magic that used an enormous amount of magical power."
An enormous amount of magical power, huh.
...It's not too far-fetched to think that the fifth king used an enormous amount of magical power to attempt to resurrect or replicate the fifth queen, right?
And then failed and turned her into ash...
Well, even if that were the case, I still don't understand why the fifth queen would apologize to me.
In any case, it seems like we're stuck, for sure.
"An enormous amount of magical power... Wouldn't magical power not deplete if there are spells available?"
"Magical power depletion?"
"Yeah. I'm kind of remembering that time I overused magical power in a fit of arrogance and collapsed."
"That's the first I've heard of it!?"
Elder Brother's eyes widen in surprise.
Since I didn't mention it, I guess it's no wonder he's hearing it for the first time.
While chuckling, I told Elder Brother about my encounter with Sir Lorentz, and he tearfully pleaded, "Please don't do dangerous things."
And then he added, "Mister Bruno, don't let her do anything dangerous either."
Please don't worry, I won't use magic to the extent that I deplete my magical power that many times.
We talked about Spell-ology for a while longer, but in the end, I couldn't even grasp any clues about the fifth queen's matter or the seal that seemed to have been placed on me.
Leaving Mister Bruno's document storage room, we are walking toward the carriage.
"...It's not that I didn't believe Rolus' story, but I'm really glad you enjoyed the story of Spell-ology, Elena"
"Yes. I love unsolved mysteries and strange stories like that."
"I see. I'm a bit worried... Oh, wait by the carriage for a bit. I have some business to take care of in the staff room."
After saying that, Elder Brother staggered off towards the staff room.
I think I heard a small voice telling me to drive in the nail.
I also think I heard the name Mister Eliseo.
"I wonder if Elder Brothen is okay, Elder Brother. He seems a bit dizzy."
"I can somewhat understand Sir Hans's feelings."
"Elder Brother's feelings?"
"When I think about the Lady who collapsed from mana depletion, I can't help but feel restless."
"I won't do anything that reckless again. It felt awful to lose the sensation in my legs, and I caused trouble for everyone."
But at that time, I used my mana to heal Rolus's injury.
If Rolus gets seriously injured again, I'll definitely do the same thing.
"...Well then, Rolus. Let's have a snack when we get back."
"No, I won't."
"But you promised this morning that you wouldn't hold back."
When I said that, Rolus was at a loss for words.
It was a promise with me, so he probably couldn't dismiss it in regard to Elder Brother.
"...It's unfair to involve Sir Hans in the promise."
"I don't mind being unfair."
As long as I can let Rolus eat delicious food, it doesn't matter if it's unfair or not.
I heard that he had experienced hunger so severe it made him feel pain before meeting me.
It's only natural that I want to make him eat a lot of delicious things.
'Not being able to eat what you want is quite tough.'
...Huh?
I wonder whose voice that was just now?
It felt more like it was directly in my mind than something I heard from somewhere.
"Lady's..."
"Huh? What?"
"I'll eat the rest of what L-Lady wants to eat."
That's definitely not what he really think!
"Please, Rolus. Just once, even if it's just for now, tell me what you really, really want to eat?"
I grabbed Rolus' arm and said that, and he covered his face with the hand I wasn't holding.
"Please. I just want Rolus to eat, and it's all for my own satisfaction. So I won't get angry even if Rolus says he wants to eat something. So please, don't be shy."
Rolus, defeated by my pressure, remained frozen with his mouth slightly open for a while, but finally began to speak.
"T-the lady baked a cake..."
Okay, I'll bake it like crazy.
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