Chapter 10: The Fated Judgment

While Tina is making some herb tea, I stack the cookies on top of a plate.

The servant relayed to me that Marquis Fernandes was currently busy and needed to make some time and prepare himself, so I’m going to bring the cookies with me to the designated room.

I knock on the door.

“Come on in.”

When I hear that reply, I enter the room.

☘

“So, those are your pastry.”

Marquis Fernandes rushes in high spirits to greet me, unbecoming of his age. I put the plate of rose cookies in front of him.

“Yes, these are my pastry.”

“What will you call them?”

“Well, I straightforwardly called them Rose Cookies. There are white rose and the black rose varieties, please enjoy both of them.”

The cookies are attractively arranged on both sides of the plate. I also add meringues as a bonus, made from turning egg whites into foam, adding sugar, and baking them…… They are also shaped like roses and lined the edge of the plate.

“Hou, so you drew roses on the cookies! I wonder how you could make such things! They’re truly beautiful!”

Marquis Fernandes speaks in astonishment after looking at the Rose Cookies.

“Moreover, this is such a wonderful scent. The scent of roses. No matter if you look or smell them, they’re Rose Cookies. These will surely please the rose-loving Duchess Renalier.”

“To please is my utmost objective. This scent appears thanks to the honey I used in the ingredients and the rose petals that I marinated all night long in liquor. The Rose Cookies are meant to have their scent enjoyed first, then their appearance, and finally their taste. By all means, please relish in the taste. Their true worth will be shown by being eaten the first time.”

When I bow my head respectfully, Marquis Fernandes nods while looking satisfied.

“The main value of a pastry is the taste. If the taste is not up to par, everything will be for naught. We’re talking about Kurt-kun here, so I’m certain the flavor will be wonderful. Then I’ll enjoy them.”

He takes a piece of Rose Cookies to his mouth. The first one is the black rose.

“Hou, such a refined flavor. This is completely different to the cookies I ate before; it’s rich, flavorful, and complex. The texture is also interesting, it’s soft and pleasing. I see, this is you being serious, isn’t it?”

“I also gave it my all back then. It’s simply that they served a different objective before. I aimed for luxury and gorgeousness with the black rose. A pastry befitting for nobles.”

Yes, I only used wheat flour, honey, and butter for the previous cookies. That’s the exact reason why they were determined by freshness and simplicity.

However, it’s different this time.

Instead of daily ingredients, I aimed to treat someone in luxury. I used the deep flavor which came from marinating whiskey, the strong body of brown cane sugar that wouldn’t lose to whiskey’s flavor, and the highest quality of butter.

Neither are more superior than the other.  It’s just, as a present, the current ones should be more suitable.

“The one you have sampled just now is the black variety. Please, enjoy the white variety as well.”

“Both varieties look similarly balanced between black and white, but…… I see, so it’s that, isn’t it?”

Marquis Fernandes eats the white rose cookies, his eyes widen in surprise.

“Compared to the one I ate just now, it’s more refreshing than refined. Even though they are made from the same ingredients, they can be different to this extent, aren’t they?”

“You are right. The black roses are the gorgeousness that will force anyone to yield before them. Therefore, while they leave a soft texture, they have a strong flavor as a whole. On the other hand, the white roses are gentleness. To capture that light flavor, I didn’t add as much strong-flavored ingredients. The texture is more crisp and light, so that the aftertaste will not linger.”

That’s the reason why I separated the dough into four parts. The dough for black roses was richly elegant, while the white roses’ dough was lightly sweet.

“Wonderful, presenting both at once will make one unable to stop eating them. Enjoying the smell, the sight, the taste, no one can have enough of these. Being able to elevate a baked pastry to this extent…… it’s way beyond my imagination. Kurt-kun, you always easily surpass my expectations.”

Marquis Fernandes gave me a rave review while stuffing his cheeks with cookies.

“What do you think, Marquis Fernandes? Did this pastry pass your evaluation?”

Marquis Fernandes grins widely after hearing my question.

“It did, obviously. These cookies can be stored for a long time, right?”

“Yes, the honey I kneaded into them has a powerful sterilization property. Since they lack water content as a baked pastry, they should be all right for two months.”

“That’s most wonderful. Then, let’s pack up our things, we’ll depart to the duchess’ place.”

I bow down. With this, I’ve completed one of my big tasks.

“Another thing, Kurt-kun. About your promised reward, the talk about recommending your younger brother, Jörg, as an attendant for a competent noble with a good character in a pioneering area, I have completed the necessary arrangements.”

He’s well prepared. I doubt that he ever thought that I would mess up in making the pastry or break his expectations. That’s why, he has already completed the arrangement even before eating that pastry.

“If I may inquire, who will my brother be sent to?”

“I chose Baron Frenhertz’s place.”

“The Baron Frenhertz? I’m really grateful. It is a tremendous help.”

I bow my head.

Rumors about that baron reached far, even to the Arnold fief. He has no shortcomings in competency or character. If it’s his place, I’m sure Jörg will be able to mature well.

Moreover, I also have another present for him other than the konpeitou, that I secretly kept even from him. He’ll realize it by himself soon enough. It will surely be of use for him.

“There’s no need to bow your head. This is the reward for your hard work, after all. Thank you for the best cookies. It’s impossible not to thank you for it.”

“I’m really grateful for your kind words.”

As I look up again, Marquis Fernandes wryly smiles.

“Now, it’s okay to go. You’re free to do anything until your engagement announcement tomorrow. You don’t have to return the remaining cost of the ingredients either, use it freely.”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

“It’s all right. I’ve already gotten so much more than I paid for. Moreover, I’ll also think of how to compensate you for the trouble that my servant caused.”

“I humbly thank you.”

“Another thing, accept these. You can leave now. Your cute servant is already waiting impatiently for your return, thinking ‘Can I, can I now?’ about the cookies.”

Really, I can’t stomach this person. Tina, who restrains herself behind me, bashfully blushes hard.

After thanking him for the last time, I excuse myself from his room.”