The Villainess Wants to Make Her Husband Slim Down

CHAPTER 118

6 – 8

Alois stayed seated in his chair as he looked at what lay inside Nicole's basket. Nicole shook ever so slightly as if she were intimidated by him.

"Um, this... these are the Mistress' cookies."

"Camilla's?"

"Yes... umm, though, the truth is she just made the dough, I baked these ones..."

The biscuit dough that Camilla had made before being taken to the royal capital, still left unbaked, had been kept preserved by Günter. Nicole told Alois that they had already used up several manastones keeping the storage box cold so that the dough wouldn't go off.

"I asked Head Chef Brandt if I could have some of it. Um, I know I did something truly selfish without asking... the Mistress even said that she didn't want Lord Alois to eat any until she had made the taste perfect too..."

But, even so, Nicole still looked at those cookies. A mix of trepidation and frustration flashed across her face in a blur.

"But I'm sure that, deep down, the Mistress would really want you to eat these, Lord Alois."

More than anyone else, Nicole was the one who had spent the most time by Camilla's side in this land called Mohnton.

She had been saved by Camilla, she admired Camilla, and she always wanted to do her best for Camilla. But now, Camilla is far away and all alone.

Nicole was just a single young maid. She didn't have power enough to rescue Camilla on her own, nor did she have any way to really help Alois either. But despite that, she wanted to do something, she couldn't just wallow in sadness.

"Umm, the cookies, I'll leave them here, then? I'm so sorry I bothered you so early in the morning."

After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, it felt like something had been lifted off Nicole's shoulders. With a short bow, she placed the biscuits on the table and left the room quietly.

Once the echoes of her footsteps in the hallway died away, Alois was left all alone with those cookies in that silent room.

Alois managed to haul his exhausted body to its feet.

Then, he approached the basket that Nicole had left behind.

The basket was small, with the bottom of it covered by a white cloth. On top of that were a disorderly pile of vaguely round shaped cookies of all different sizes.

It wasn't as if he were hungry. But, perhaps his body moved on his own, simply hearing Camilla's name? He unconsciously reached out to the basket, took one of those cookies, and brought it to his mouth.

The biscuits had a soft texture and a simple taste.

He felt like he'd eaten something like this before. It was far less fancy or nuanced than anything the chefs in his kitchen would make, yet he still found the taste irresistible. This taste, it's...

Was it similar to the cookies that he had from the orphanage in Grenze?

– ...No.

They were only similar to the biscuits that he had from the orphanage.

The truth was, the taste that Alois had only had once, long ago, really was unforgettable.

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The lamentable prince, who knew not even his own face. The penal duchy occupying the wilds of the north, a land of criminals and sinners. A child, unloved by their parents. The only thing he had ever asked for out of desire, a cookie with a simple taste.