Chapter 14 - Cake Makes Everything Better

There was an extra treat with breakfast today. It was a splendid looking slice of chocolate cake, topped with a plump strawberry. My mouth almost dropped when it was brought out. I mean, serving cake with breakfast was pretty weird, but so what! It looked fantastic!

The Halesworth family apparently got to enjoy special desserts every Sunday morning. Cake was just one of the possibilities - we sometimes got cookies, sugared fruit, and pastries too, all prepared by our mansion's expert chefs. As for why we only ate dessert once a week, that was mother's decision. She probably didn't want me and Christine to end up as fat as our dad.

Emma explained this to me (sans the last highly disrespectful conjecture of course) while digging into her omelette and some corn muffins. This time she didn't protest when I asked her to eat with me, but her eyes still kept glancing towards the doors, and her body was tense as if she was ready to shoot to her feet at any moment.

"Have you ever tried this before?" I asked her while poking the soft, spongy cake with my fork.

The girl gave me an odd glance. Okay, stupid question. "I'm afraid not, young master."

Then that's settled. There's only one slice, but if I cut it like thiiis… there we go. I placed half of the cake, including the strawberry, on a separate plate and pushed it towards Emma.

"Enjoy," I said with a smile.

Emma immediately became flustered, which was a sight that I had grown remarkably used to over these past few days. "Young master, I can't possibly take-!"

"By your own words, I've been eating sweets every week for my entire life." I interrupted her while rolling my eyes. "Sharing half with you isn't going to kill me. Come on, try it."

I had to insist a few more times, but the girl finally gave up. "Thank you for your kindness." She said, still looking guilty.

Emma lifted a small forkful to her mouth and ate it.

I really wish I had a camera at that moment to record the way her face lit up in amazement. It was the purest expression of delight I've ever seen. Afterwards, Emma just closed her eyes for several seconds, as if savoring the taste.

"So delicious…!" She finally gasped.

I decided to try it myself. Mmm! Yup, it was extremely good as far as chocolate cakes go. I've had better in my previous life, being an unrepentant glutton, but House Halesworth was already impressive to produce something of this level.

"Actually… I've heard that there are some cafés in the capital that serve even better cakes." I said with a wry grin.

Emma couldn't believe it. "Really? It's hard for me to imagine anything more delicious than this!"

I wasn't making it up. There was a scene in Lost in Love where the troublemaker dragged Mary off to eat at one of those super famous cake shops, but other academy students spotted them in the act. Predictably, this caused the bullying to intensify. There were even rumors going around that she was freeloading off him, and forced Jay to treat her to everything on the menu. I mean, she did eat a lot, but that wasn't her fault! He offered!

As I recalled that scene though, I felt a bit of heaviness in my chest. The magic academy. In two years, I would have to enroll in it myself. Could I really learn how to wield magic and cast spells just like the characters in the game? The thought was both exciting and scary. Lost in Love implied that Alexander was a gifted mage, but not too amazing - he was below the second prince in raw talent, and didn't work nearly as hard, so he was always in the middle of the pack. Not that his mediocre academy ranking ever affected his ego.

What I was worried about was the possibility of magical aptitude being tied to one's soul. That was a common setting in games like these, right? Since I reincarnated over from a world without magic, what if I turned out to be a total dunce? Wouldn't I be bullied or at least shunned too!? My thoughts began to run wild as I imagined a bunch of faceless academy students whisper to each other...

Man, to think that a duke's son could be so worthless.

What an embarrassment! All of the resources in the world, and he's still this bad?

The Halesworths aren't much after all if this guy's going to be their next head.

Maybe Duke Halesworth isn't actually his father… hehe, what a scandal that would be.

Elder brother, how could you!? I can't even show my face in public anymore!

Ugh. There was no use thinking about it now though. All I could do was wait for my magic to awaken, then practice as hard as possible so that I'll at least be average.

I strictly chose to ignore the possibility of not having any magic at all. Should that happen, my only choice would be to disappear.

"Young master? Do you feel unwell?"

Apparently my unease was showing on my face, since Emma looked at me with concern.

"No, I was just thinking... when I start studying at the Academy, we should try one of those cake shops," I mused. "That is if you're willing to accompany me to the capital. I'll still need an attendant there, and I would be relieved to have a familiar face with me."

Emma's eyes widened in surprise. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked down to the floor. Finally, there was a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.

I smiled while wondering if this counted as asking a girl out on a date.

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The Halesworth mansion's garden was a paradise of tranquility. Large stretches of green were dotted with red, lilac, yellow, and all the other vibrant hues of spring flowers. A magnificent statue of House Halesworth's founder was located in the center of the gardens, along with stone benches that allowed one to rest while surrounded by nature's majesty.

But there was one person who wasn't in the mood to appreciate this place's beauty at all.

It was a young boy of around ten years old, dressed in simple dirt-stained clothing. He was on his hands and knees, with a worried look on his face as he peered under several thick bushes.

"Floofbottom, where in the world are you?" He whispered anxiously.

If Jordan wasn't worried about being found out, he would have raised his voice and called out the name at the top of his lungs. It had been almost an hour now!

Stupid kitten! Leave a door open for one second and it darts out without a care in the world.

Jordan needed to find it before someone else did. If not, being punished was the least of the boy's concerns - Floofbottom would be put down, and it might cost his father his job. Keeping a pet wasn't exactly allowed in this place.

"I promise I won't yell at you too much, so please please please come out now!"

The boy was on the verge of tears as he knelt down next to another shrub.

"Hello, are you looking for something? Perhaps we can help."

Jordan froze. He hadn't noticed the person approach at all.

He turned around, and saw a beautiful young man with silky blond hair that reached past his shoulders. He was dressed in luxurious clothing and smiling gently, leaning on a simple wooden crutch that clashed with the rest of his distinguished appearance. But Jordan didn't have the presence of mind to pay attention to that detail, for he had already realized the man's identity.

His luck today could not possibly get any worse.