novelraw Chapter 120
Chapter 120
Ch.120 Don’t Be Disappointed
He spoke to him in a casual tone.
“Of course it is! With those girls clinging to me like that? Ugh… just imagining it is horrifying.”
He shuddered at the grim mental images—burned alive, skull crushed by a mace, or tortured.
One of them alone was terrifying—let alone all three!
And one, though seemingly composed, was mentally unstable to the point of severe illness—it was truly a perilous situation.
“Still… Pisa Manor has developed greatly since meeting you, Hyung…”
Giovanni looked regretful.
Just then—
—Bang!
“Brother! Play with me!”
Aria burst through the door.
What’s she doing here?
She’d been playing every day with Mia or the maids.
It was already the second day since returning to the Imperial Capital.
I’d finally finished all the delayed estate affairs from leaving the New Continent, along with the paperwork transferring the holy spring and relics to the Emperor. At last, I had time to rest.
“Haa… I can finally relax.”
“You’ve worked hard. Let’s take it easy for now.”
I nodded at Giovanni’s words.
“By the way… once this matter is settled, I’m selling this estate. Could you look into some buyers?”
“What?! S-sell the estate? Baron—no, Brother! Really? Why?”
Giovanni was taken aback—he hadn’t expected that.
“Could that be? But… is something wrong?”
At my question, the white-haired girl tilted her head, shaking it side to side.
“No, nothing’s wrong.”
Nothing at all—yet she came to me?
“Why? Am I not allowed to come see you?”
I asked the curious Aria.
“No, it’s just… you’ve never come before, so I was surprised.”
“Hehe, sorry, Brother. I was playing with my sisters.”
The petite girl skipped over and rubbed her cheek against my knee.
“Nana~ tell me a fun story!”
“A fun story?”
I’d once told her the tale of King Solomon back at Icira’s lair.
I remembered Aria had loved it.
“So… which story should I tell?”
“Hmm…”
Aria sucked her finger thoughtfully.
“A fun one? King Solomon or Santa Claus?”
Watching her adorable, wide-eyed expression as she considered it…
“A story, huh…”
I pondered what tale this sweet girl might enjoy.
“Hmm… how about ‘The Little Mermaid’?”
“The Little Mermaid?”
Her eyes sparkled at the unfamiliar title, so I lifted her small body onto my lap.
“Once upon a time…”
A mermaid princess rescued a prince who’d fallen into the sea.
She fell deeply in love with him after saving the handsome prince.
Longing for the prince who lived on land, she struck a cruel bargain with a sea witch: in exchange for human legs, she gave up her beautiful voice—and if the prince didn’t love her in return, she’d dissolve into sea foam.
But the human prince, believing another princess had saved him, fell head over heels for her…
“Waaah… Brother… the mermaid is so sad… What happened next?”
“She turned into sea foam.”
“Huh?! Really? For real?”
Aria’s eyes widened, tears welling like dewdrops.
Wanting to impart a lesson, I confirmed gently:
“Yes.”
As I stroked her soft white hair, she hugged my neck and sobbed:
“Heeeng… How could such a mean witch exist? When I grow up, I’ll punish her!”
“Well… it’s just a fairy tale. It never actually happened.”
Aria, who’d taken the story as truth, looked at me with big, tear-filled eyes:
“Really not true?”
“Yes. Surely you don’t believe mermaids can get legs or turn into foam?”
“Heeeng… I thought it was real.”
Seeing her dejected, I comforted her:
“So don’t cry.”
“Tch! Brother’s mean! Hmph!”
She turned her head cutely, arms crossed in a pout—an utterly adorable sight.
But I couldn’t leave her pouting—after all, despite her innocent appearance, she was a hatchling dragon.
To cheer her up, I stroked her head.
“Hehe, want me to make something delicious for you?”
“Delicious?”
Her ears perked up as she turned to face me.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ll make you something tasty.”
Her pout instantly vanished at the promise of food, and I smiled inwardly.
‘She’s such a kid.’
Who’d believe this pure-hearted girl was hundreds of years old?
“What?”
“Hmm… what should I make?”
After considering what Aria might like…
“How about tanghulu?”
“What’s tanghulu?”
“You’ll see once you taste it.”
At that, Aria hopped off my lap.
“Yes! I want it! Make it quick!”
As I stood, the excited girl grabbed my hand tightly with her tiny fingers.
“Hehe, Brother’s the best! Oh, and…”
She glanced around, then cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered:
“It’s a secret! Sister Mia’s food isn’t tasty.”
She spoke as if sharing a grave secret. Unable to help myself, I smiled like a doting father.
“Heh heh… Mia’s cooking is bland. Elves only eat plants, after all.”
“Right? I really don’t like Sister Mia’s food.”
I lifted Aria slightly and asked,
“But don’t tell Mia that, okay?”
She nodded vigorously.
“Mm-hmm! Of course not!”
“Alright then, shall we go make tanghulu?”
I carried her toward the kitchen.
Upon entering the dining hall…
—“Huh? The Lord is here?”
—“What?!”
The servants and cooks were startled by my sudden appearance.
Everyone looked flustered and uneasy.
One cook approached with an awkward smile.
“S-sorry, sir! The head chefs are on break right now…”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll cook myself.”
The cook gaped.
“Sir?”
Aria beamed at him.
“Brother cooks really well!”
“You… Baron?”
“Well, I can manage a bit. Go rest. Actually—sorry, but could you show me where the ingredients are?”
“Yes! An honor!”
Together with the cook, I began preparing in the kitchen.
After washing and prepping the fruit, I started making sugar syrup.
I added water and sugar to a pot…
The curious Aria peered into the pot.
“What are you doing, Brother?”
“Making syrup. Aria, if you stay here…”
I almost warned her about burns—but realized a dragon wouldn’t get hurt in the kitchen.
“Am I bothering you?”
She asked with pure, innocent eyes.
I shook my head.
“No, it’s okay.”
Once the syrup boiled, Aria dipped a finger into the bubbling pot to taste it.
“It’s sweet!”
‘Of course—a dragon!’
The boiling water should’ve been scalding, yet she seemed perfectly fine.
“You haven’t even finished cooking! And using your finger is unhygienic!”
She pouted sadly.
“Heeeng… but I was curious!”
She was so cute, looking pitiful—but this needed correction.
“Still, it’s rude to dip dirty fingers into food we share.”
“It’s not dirty!”
“If you’re bored, I’ll give you a task.”
“What? What is it?”
“Go get the prepped fruit over there.”
Aria trotted over and returned with the fruit. I prepared skewers and demonstrated.
“See? Line them up neatly like this. Can you do it?”
The white-haired girl nodded eagerly.
“Yes! I can!”
With tiny hands, she carefully skewered strawberries.
I checked the syrup while helping her.
We added strawberries, grapes, apples, and mountain berries, watching the syrup carefully—it mustn’t over-reduce or discolor.
“Hehe! It’s all done!”
Seeing the completed skewers, I nodded.
“You did well.”
Truthfully, she’d arranged them neatly and prettily.
I dipped a skewer into the hot syrup.
“But Brother—is this tanghulu?”
Her eyes held a hint of disappointment.
“Yes. Why? Think it’ll taste bad?”
“Aren’t you just dipping fruit in sugar water?”
“Well, yes—but try it. It’s quite tasty.”
“Okaaay…”
I handed her a skewer once the syrup hardened into a crisp shell.
“This one’s ready. Try it.”
“Wow! It’s pretty!”
Her eyes lit up at the translucent, glossy fruit.
She took a big bite—
—Crunch!
—Crunch crunch!
“It’s delicious!”
Her eyes brightened as she finished the skewer in seconds and reached for another.
I lightly smacked her hand.
“It’s not ready yet. Wait.”
“Heeeng… but I want more.”
She pouted at the tanghulu.
“I’ll make more—just wait a bit.”
“Okay! I’ll wait!”
Soon, a mountain of tanghulu skewers piled up.
Aria, blissful, munched away—
—Crunch crunch!
She’d been disappointed earlier, yet now ate heartily.
“Hehe, I’m full.”
Only after finishing every skewer did she smile happily.
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm! But Brother—show me the castle!”
“The castle?”
Pisa had a lord’s keep—an old administrative and defensive structure from the previous Baron Pisa.
Compared to my mansion, it was cramped, with high walls blocking sunlight.
After buying Pisa Barony, I built my current mansion and conducted estate business there.
The castle became a barracks for soldiers and knights.
Now that I thought about it… I hadn’t visited in a while.
“Yes! Brother Nekhuf and Sister Nephert are always there! There must be something fun!”
“Nekhuf and Nephert?”
Now that she mentioned it, I hadn’t seen them at the mansion lately.
“There’s really nothing interesting there. Why go?”
It’s a military facility—just burly men training. Hardly a place for fun.
“Hing! But I wanna go! They’re always there—there has to be something fun!”
Watching Aria whine to go, I considered it.
‘Maybe I’ll visit too—see what Nekhuf’s up to.’
“Alright… but don’t be disappointed if it’s boring.”
Aria nodded brightly.
“Yes!”
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