“Terrible taste,” he said. “Is it really that bad?”
Wait… does that mean it’s inedible?
I sulked and rubbed my fingertips against my apron. It wasn’t something I thought deserved the title of “best,” but I did think it was at least decent.
Maybe I shouldn’t have baked croissants. I was regretting my choice when a shadow suddenly fell in front of me.
Hiser had come closer without me noticing.
“Shuen.”
“…Yes?”
His gaze looking down at me was chilling.
He’s not going to kill me over bad bread, right?
Even as I tried to reassure myself, I glanced nervously toward the baby dragon.
Akatelian was stuffing bread into its mouth from the tray without caring about anything else.
Every time it opened its huge mouth with a “kraaang,” the bread disappeared in an instant. It was practically a vacuum cleaner.
“Was the bread not to your liking?” I asked.
“Impossible. It was excellent,” Hiser replied.
Then he added with a meaningful expression,
“Thanks to it, I feel like I’ve grown five hundred years younger.”
I tilted my head. That sounded less like a review of bread and more like something you’d say after drinking a miraculous elixir.
‘Well… at least it wasn’t bad.’
I sighed in relief.
Then Hiser grabbed my wrist.
It was a light touch—barely any force—but I still stiffened.
His thumb slowly brushed over the back of my hand. The contract mark with Akatelian shimmered faintly into view.
Looking at it, Hiser murmured to himself,
“I miscalculated. I didn’t think your mana would be this strong…”
“Pardon?”
His gaze snapped to me. His sandy eyes widened, pupils dark and expanding.
As I stared back speechlessly, his pupils began to elongate.
“Shuen Felicita. Let’s make a contract.”
At that moment, Akatelian suddenly leapt between us.
It flared its wings aggressively, though it still had a croissant in one paw.
“Don’t try to seduce Shushu! She’s mine!”
“You’re not the owner of a contractor,” Hiser said mockingly.
“She has the freedom to break the contract.”
Break it?
I had been told dragon contracts were eternal.
In my mind echoed the words I had once heard:
“This contract shall become a chain binding your souls for eternity.”
That was exactly what had been said when I contracted with Akatelian. The system had also said it couldn’t be undone.
“Is that really true?” I asked.
Hiser smiled deeply.
“Of course. If you want, I can break it right now.”
It felt like I’d been struck on the back of the head.
‘Then… the system lied to me?’
While I was still confused, Akatelian looked between us in shock, mouth agape. Then it grabbed my clothes tightly with its tiny paws.
“Shushu… are you going to abandon me?”
Its pink eyes were watery and trembling. That pitiful look made my heart ache.
“No!” I hurriedly shook my head.
“Rea-really…? You promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
The baby dragon grabbed my pinky and shook it happily.
The scene felt strangely familiar.
Come to think of it… that was exactly how the contract started.
Hiser, watching us, let out a small laugh.
“So I should change the adjective… from ‘great’ to ‘cunning.’”
Akatelian flapped its wings and smacked him.
Hiser, arms crossed, thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Fine. How about this?”
He made a new proposal.
From now on, he would continue lending us the kitchen.
“Even if it’s cunning, it’s still a successor who needs care.”
Lending the kitchen… for me, who needed to bake bread for a constantly hungry dragon, there was nothing better.
I nodded brightly.
Hiser then tilted his head slightly.
“Then instead of a contract… how about a trade?”
“A trade?”
“I’ll look for a way to break your curse…”
I swallowed.
If it was a trade, he would definitely want something in return.
“Give me your bread.”
My bread?
I blinked in confusion. That was far too easy.
All I had to do was increase the amount I baked for Akatelian.
It felt like I was the only one losing in this deal, which made me slightly uncomfortable.
“Is that really all?” I asked.
Hiser smiled meaningfully and nodded.
“More than enough.”
A week passed after I formed the deal with Hiser.
Because of the incident where I collapsed, the mansion had been in chaos for a while.
But since I seemed completely fine, everyone assumed I had just been faking illness to skip studying.
Izrael and I began attending lessons in earnest. Hiser taught as if nothing had happened.
At night, when the house was quiet, I borrowed Hiser’s kitchen again to bake bread.
Akatelian and Hiser both had enormous appetites. I had to bake at least two trays full to satisfy them.
Everything was going smoothly—except for one thing.
Izrael.
His attitude had changed after the first lesson. Sometimes he would just silently stare at me.
Every time I felt his gaze, my cheeks prickled. I tried my best not to meet his eyes.
At first I thought it was because I had acted out with a quill. Maybe he was plotting revenge.
But something felt off. It wasn’t hostility. It was more like looking at a sealed mystery box.
Because of that, I couldn’t relax during class.
The latest chapter I had read using 100 coins kept bothering me.
In the novel, I had accumulated three warnings and the “auto mode” had activated. In that state, I apparently provoked Izrael while he was holding a sword.
‘That’s probably my future.’
The worst part was that I had no idea when it would happen.
Whenever he had sword training, I locked myself in my room.
I even suppressed my curiosity about him learning swordsmanship, even though I desperately wanted to see it.
If auto mode activated because of my curiosity, it would be a stabbing ending on the spot.
Today too, I was stuck in my room working on an assignment Hiser had given me.
Then there was a knock, and the butler entered.
“Miss. The preparations for the guest have been completed.”
“A guest…?”
I frowned.
A guest? Who was coming?
Seeing my confusion, he explained,
“Yes. The guests for the tea party you scheduled a month ago.”
A month ago—before I had entered Shuen’s body.
‘No wonder the servants have been so busy today.’
I panicked for a moment before speaking.
“Cancel it.”
The butler frowned slightly.
“Pardon?”
“I’m not in a good mood today. Cancel the tea party.”
He looked at me worriedly.
“Miss, canceling on the day itself is a serious breach of etiquette.”
I knew that. Canceling on the day was considered unforgivable.
But I was Shuen Felicita.
‘Wouldn’t people just accept it if Shuen did it?’
Even when I spoke earlier, no warning sound appeared.
‘So even your trash personality has its uses.’
The butler continued,
“Lady Herington is among the guests.”
Herington or Washington—I didn’t care. I didn’t want to meet them.
But his next words made me fall silent.
“As you know, Duke Herington and the Marquis are quite close.”
What…!
This was a warning. If I acted carelessly, it would reach the Felicita Marquis.
‘Why am I even attending boring lessons and doing all these assignments?’
Skipping one tea party could ruin my bakery plans. That would be disastrous.
I sighed and accepted reality.
“Fine.”
The butler nodded and signaled the maids.
They approached to dress me.
As they worked, I recalled tea party scenes from other novels.
Whenever there was a tea party episode, there was always a villainess causing trouble.
But the problem now was…
That villainess was me.
