NOVEL NEXT Chapter 368
Deep inside every person lies a green frog in their heart.
Additionally, this green frog has a three-syllable name.
It is none other than rebelliousness.
For Alicia, feeling rebellious wasn’t exactly a foreign emotion. If her heart were to divide significance, it would stand on par with her appetite.
That much was necessary to incite even a minor rebellion over barbecue, maneuvering through all the tactics aimed at becoming a lady, and traversing Winterhome, the vital refuge.
Therefore, it was only natural for Alicia to become furious at Richard’s remarks.
He was her first genuinely equal friend.
Before that, he had also been that younger sibling she secretly wished for!
Especially her younger sibling!
When there’s a certain age difference, gods arrange siblings to want to kill each other, but once that threshold is crossed, they become inseparable.
For Alicia, Robin belonged to the former, and Henry to the latter.
On top of that, she had always expected him to take her side, but with that betrayal piling on, Alicia’s anger persisted for several days.
And as those days passed…
“Alicia wants to make up with grandfather.”
All her fury evaporated.
Originally, Alicia’s mind wasn’t delicate enough to harbor anger for long stretches. This was the first time her rage had lasted this long.
What was more, it was significant that she had secretly overheard Richard’s surrendering comments nearby.
“I wonder if there’s no way.”
“Hmm.”
Mary, who had been standing listlessly, put down the last basket of the wizards’ laundry and crouched down to meet Alicia’s gaze.
“Princess Alicia, I did hear that there was a disagreement between the two of you.”
Gazing quietly at Alicia, Mary tilted her head as if confused.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you’re the one who fights and makes up the most, right?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
This was certainly the first time she had heard such a thing.
Mary articulated that thought gently. Meanwhile, Alicia, feeling frustrated, began tapping her foot.
“Ugh, seriously! You act all normal after fighting with Karem at every chance you get!”
“Oh, is that what you meant?”
With a light clap, Mary nodded as if she finally understood.
“Strictly speaking, it’s difficult to cite my disputes with Karem as examples.”
Even in the face of that remark from Alicia, Mary remained steadfast.
“I’m House Fairy Brownie. Household chores are my joy, and cleaning up after others is the reason for my existence. Thus, taking Karem’s job is my rightful authority.”
Of course, if Karem had heard that, he would have clicked his tongue and said it was nonsense, but Mary was speaking from the heart.
Especially since Karem, unlike before, was now in a romantic relationship with Catherine, which could also be seen as a continuation of their contract. Thus, it would have been better for him to quietly tend to her.
“Hmm… this isn’t helping, huh?”
“I said that from the start, but still, I think I understand one thing.”
Mary briefly rolled her eyes before getting up and lifting the laundry basket.
“Isn’t this something you could just discuss with Lord Richard? From what I see, Lord Richard seems like a straightforward person.”
“Uhm… others have said the same thing to me.”
“Others, you say?”
“Nothing much.”
In the end, Alicia left the Wizard’s Tower, having devoured cookies from the refrigerator without any accomplishments.
Of course, strictly speaking, she could not say she left empty-handed.
Since the others she had consulted before Mary had also given the same advice, the solution now looked more substantial.
‘But why do I feel so… something?’
The problem was that she had never held onto anger this long before.
You could argue that a few days of anger could be brushed off, but with Alicia possessing such a simplistic thought process, even when she was much younger, she had never held onto anger like this.
Anyway, anything delicious would make the anger melt away like ice cream under the hot sun!
In Winterhome, no one was unaware of this.
Richard understood it better than anyone.
The trouble began with the fact that this time, it didn’t work.
No, to be exact, the issue lay with Richard’s unwillingness to acknowledge Henry.
“But grandfather has finally given up.”
“You mean he’s acknowledged your friendship?”
“So I figured there wouldn’t be a need to be angry anymore…”
Alicia, who came to the temple puzzling over how to reconcile, lowered her gaze.
Elder Iona wore a content smile.
Yet she didn’t forget her duties as a priestess.
Alicia and Richard resembled each other closely.
That meant the solution was also simple.
They just needed someone to give them a little push.
“If the cause of the anger has been withdrawn by Lord Richard, then the way to reconcile is just as simple. You just need to go and talk to him.”
“Uhm, others have also said the same thing to Alicia.”
“By the way, I heard Lord Richard is preparing a gift for reconciliation.”
“A reconciliation gift?”
Upon hearing Iona’s next words, Alicia’s eyes widened in surprise, and her hesitation was suddenly easy to discard like food packaging.
“Together with Karem, they’ve been in the greenhouse since early dawn—”
“Uhm, my doubts are cleared up. Thank you for your advice, but Alicia must take her leave now!”
Before Iona could finish, Alicia dashed out of the temple, her blissful smile trailing behind her.
Curiosity and excitement consumed the hesitation and doubts in her mind as her appetite swiftly expanded its territory.
If Karem was involved, then there was only one answer!
That meant there was delicious food ahead!
That was more than enough to cast aside her indecision.
After all, when it came to savoring delights, Alicia was one to rush headfirst without thinking twice.
Even before exiting Winterhome, Alicia’s nose picked up a faint scent that even a regular person wouldn’t catch.
Sniff sniff—
“…Steak?”
No, that couldn’t be.
Alicia dismissed her thoughts.
It smelled more like firewood. If she were to compare it, it would be more akin to roasted beef or a whole pig roasted over direct fire. However, there was one problem.
‘There’s no way it could smell this strong.’
Alicia had snuck into the Wizard’s Tower long before just for a snack, raiding the pantry and snatching treats from Zigmeser.
She’d experienced more culinary adventures than your average adult male.
That honed appetite intuition was ringing loud.
This was a fragrant smell that was both immensely familiar yet infinitely strange.
So she halted her attempts to identify it.
After all, Karem astonished her every time with his remarkable skills and delicious dishes.
This was undoubtedly just another one of those culinary marvels.
“Ugh… to think I’d have to smell this from this early hour.”
“What kind of suffering has this been since dawn…”
“…If I just peek for a moment, no one will know, right?”
“Wait, stop! Stay composed! No, wait. Princess Alicia?”
Still somewhat curious, she decided to gather some information from any witnesses.
With that thought in mind, Alicia approached the entrance of the greenhouse.
“Hmm. Princess, have you come to see the soft clouds again today? The soft clouds—”
“Um… that’s not it today.”
“If that’s the case, then what is it?”
“The identity of this fragrant and sweet smell. Did you see it?”
At her words, the knights and soldiers exchanged glances.
Naturally, they had seen it.
“Lord Richard went in, loaded with something together with Karem—”
“And the smell started to waft out after a while.”
“But instead of weakening as time passed, it’s only grown stronger, driving us insane. We can’t even go inside.”
Alicia’s conviction solidified even further.
This was Karem’s new dish.
Immediately entering the greenhouse, Alicia held her breath for a moment.
The warm breeze, scattered with leaves.
What it carried was the heavy, greasy scent of charcoal.
Such an intense aroma could easily fatigue the nose.
Yet amidst it all, the sweet and sour scent of apples persisted, continuing to alleviate the dreadful burden.
Alicia exhaled once more.
This smell was not something she could simply endure indefinitely.
Even if she devoured the source of this scent, this trace would linger, drifting through the air in the greenhouse for a long time.
With every step she took toward the source of the aroma, the smell intensified, growing hotter.
The source was surely Corvus’s nest.
Alicia was certain.
The scent was wafting toward her from that direction.
‘Oh, oh my! Tutatis, for heaven’s sake!’
As she proceeded slowly, Alicia raised her nose high and sniffed excitedly.
Such a behavior wouldn’t be fitting for the noble daughter of an aristocratic family.
However, Alicia simply wanted to savor this scent, experiencing it fully and deeply.
“Ugh… how long must I wait for this!?”
“You’ll need to wait a bit longer.”
“My personal preference is the crunchy nuts, but goodness. This scent…”
As she drew nearer, she began hearing familiar voices.
Alicia reduced her presence and approached silently, taking in the scene.
Richard was crushing walnuts into powder in his hand.
A massive crow monster, Corvus, eyed him with one of its large eyes.
And there was Karem, back to them, pulling out an opaque bundle from a large cast iron pot.
‘…W-What is this!?’
Alicia realized the source of that scent. It was something she had eaten only once since birth. Something that had shocked her so much that she was scolded fiercely by Alfred for greedily trying to take it all.
Barbecue.
And at the moment Karem tore the wrapper from the opaque bundle, the smell exploded outward.
“…Goodness. If it’s this, then—”
“Yes. I told you, right?”
“Then Alicia will calm down.”
Alicia swallowed hard.
Naturally, calming down over this was a given.
“Ugh… Instinctively, I want to devour all of this right now, but for the sake of Alicia, I’ll just hold out with one piece.”
“You’ll be caught immediately if you eat any more than that.”
“Right. If Lord Richard presents such a masterpiece in this quantity, Alicia will surely calm down…”
At those words, Alicia’s mind went blank. She rolled her eyes, observing the scene.
The source of the scent wafting from the parchment, pulled pork barbecue.
It came out of the very same cast iron pot, and its size could comfortably fit three of her inside.
“Brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs, and belly, short ribs, various sides—”
And as Karem continued speaking, Alicia nearly fainted.
Everything in there was all for her?
Unable to hold back any longer, Alicia dashed out.
In her mind, memories began to surface.
The time when she was returning from Kingsland.
The small rebellion she had incited to claim barbecue for herself.
The moment her dreams were suppressed by her beloved family.
And the dreams that vanished into the mouths of others right before her eyes.
That dream was now right before her.
“Alicia is ready to eat grandfather’s gift!!!”
And there was even more than before.
Not just a little, but a lot more.