Episode 37

The lengthy words sounded like an excuse, but it didn't matter if they were real.

Anyway, it meant that I could eat them now. With my face enthusiastically rubbing on Veronica’s stomach, I giggled with a ‘hehe’.

“I weally like sister. You’re the besht!”

“.......really?”

“Yeah!”

I nodded wildly at Veronica who asked back looking at me with a begrudging face. 

She had always been pretty, but she looked three times prettier with the chocolate fountain in the background. 

She lifted me up like a doll with a broad grin on her face, sat me down on a chair next to the fountain, and then settled across me.

“Do you know how to use a dessert knife?”

I worried for a moment with Veronica’s question. Because I retained the memories of my previous life, so of course I knew how to use one, but ever since I was born as Anissa, I haven’t used a knife.

The food given to me at Dahlia Palace was only a chunk of hard and black bread, so I just needed to melt it slowly with my teeth and eat it. 

‘Would that bread even be cut with a knife?’

I shook my head as I thought of the bread Lancel brought patronizingly.

“Here, you hold it like this with your hand.”

Veronica folded my little fingers together to make a fist, then placed a small knife that fit the size of my hand. 

I had been holding the fork with my other hand, so everything was ready.

With sparkling eyes, I watched as she reached out and placed a bowl of fondue in front of me.

‘Haa, it looks delicious.’

It was not only a chocolate fondue that was as big as my body, but also a small cheese fondue exuding a savory smell, with the cheese flowing with the wind on the table. 

My mouth was salivating uncontrollably. She stared at my face, frowned on her nose, tore the croissant in small pieces, and dipped it down on the cheese fondue.  

“This is called cheese.”

“Sheseh!”

“Cheese.”

“Sheesh!”

Everyone had a pronunciation correction disease. I became antsy because I couldn’t correct my pronunciation which would have improved if my mouth could form the words correctly. 

Anyway, at this point Veronica was no different from an angel to me. I eagerly imitated her words, and then opened my mouth wide to ask for the snack.

“Such a baby.”

Veronica pouted her lips and put a cheesy croissant in my mouth. 

The croissant that Yuric sometimes brings was delicious enough, but it was incomparable to how it tasted now.

I even sniffed and snuggled the croissant that Veronica handed me over.

Veronica, who was looking at me as I eat, laughed as if she was dumbfounded.

“Are you crying again?”

“It’sh sho delichous…. It’s the firth time Anissa ate shomething like thish. It’sh sho delichous….”

“You weren’t even born yesterday, so why is everything you ate, a first to you?”

She shrugged her shoulders even though she knew what was going on at Dahlia palace. 

I wasn’t born yesterday and I even remember my past life but I've never eaten such delicious desserts like this.

“Huhng.”

I even made strange nasal sounds as I began to eat with gusto the food that she handed me. 

Only after eating strawberries coated with chocolate, bananas, Earl Grey macarons [1], raspberries, and even eclair, did I come back to my senses.

‘Huff. I ate too much.’

I looked back and forth at Veronica and my empty plates which were full of marks of food.

Her aura was still a sad blue but now it held warmth.

But even though she meant no ill will, there was no reason for her to come to Dahlia’s garden and serve me a hearty dessert. 

“Why awe you gibing Anissa pudding?”

I set aside the empty plates, then stared at Veronica who melted the sugar decorated around the pudding and opened my mouth. 

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no reason for Anissa to receib theshe things.”

As I pouted my mouth and pushed the plate of pudding in front of me, Veronica made a sound that floated in the wind and chuckled with a ‘ho’.

“A little while ago, you were eating the food like a baby pig as if you’ve lost your senses, and you now ask that?”

‘What do you mean pig!’ 

It might have looked like I was in a hurry to eat those desserts earlier, but I shook my head in denial at Veronica’s words.

“I’m not a fig!”

“Well. I’m also curious about Dietrich’s younger sister. A certain kid also comes to mind when I see you.”

“.......huh?”

“At first, I wanted to poison you, but I changed my mind. I don’t want to provoke Dietrich as well.”

I put down the teaspoon which I scooped the pudding with because of her casually saying some terrifying words. 

Her aura still held warmth, but she could have been very good at hiding her feelings like Dietrich.

“Poishon?”

“I didn’t put any. What do I get with getting rid of a little kid like you? You don’t even have a demon I can steal.”

Veronica said, stroking the grumbling Zagan beneath her feet which suddenly appeared. 

It didn’t look much different from a bull, but the way it was enjoying her hand was just like a cat, so I slightly envied her. 

Dierich, Yuric, and Veronica all had demons, but I didn’t.

“I didn’t think you would use ith. Because sister ish kind.”

I said the words to reassure her as if it was a given. 

Then she looked back at me with a pretty frown.

“Why? I can kill you anytime.”

“Liahar.”

The smell of killing humans was very foul. Like the smell of blood emitting from Derek everytime he looks at Dietrich. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. I lyke sister.”

Veronica’s expression became very strange with my words. I nodded eagerly because her deep blue aura looked even more sad than before.

“More than Dietrich?” 

“Yep!”

Of course, it's limited for this moment.

“I see.”

Her voice went a little lower in response to the answer I gave in order to comfort her.

‘No, I think it’s too low.’

Besides, Veronica was in front of me, so why was the answer coming from above? Surprised, I whipped my head up and came to face the strangely cold eyes staring down at me so I had no choice but to lock eyes with those black eyes. 

“Di, Detrie.”

“In the end, I can’t even give you snacks.” [2]

‘I asked you to tell me where Dietrich is!’

I muttered inwardly, glaring at the little demon lurking in his shadow. 

I definitely told you to tell me what’s happening in Nature and what’s going on with Dietrich!

“Kwowo.”

The demon made a strange cry as an excuse. 

“Don’t order anything useless to my demon.” 

Dietrich reached out his arms and held me. Seeing the chocolate fountain getting farther away - it was really far away now - was disappointing, but what I needed to do first was to make him feel better.

“Hmm?”

I grinned pretending not to know what Dietrich meant.

“When did you come?”

Dietrich didn’t answer my casual question. Is he sulking because I said I liked Veronica better than him? Even though you’re the one who pretended not to know me these days. 

It was obvious that he was intentionally avoiding me these days, but I decided to behave in a more mature way than Dietrich.

“Of courshe, Anissa lykes brother more. It wash all a lie earlier.”

Veronica’s face became distorted with my reckless remark. I pretended not to know her - anyway, Dietrich was more important to me than her - and smiled innocently.

“I don’t care.”

“Hmm?”

“I said I don’t care.”

I stuck out my lips at Dietrich’s cold words. My heart ached  even though I thought it wouldn’t hurt me. 

He wasn’t always a nice person, but it wasn’t to this extent. 

“Veronica.”

Dietrich glanced at her sideways, as if his purpose of looking for the garden was for her, not for me. 

Veronica, who was stroking her dark blonde hair as if she was boasting, flinched and gasped in her seat. Her olive eyes, unlike Dietrich’s dark eyes closer to the color of mud, wavered.

“Hmm?”

“I’ve never given you permission to go in and out of Dahlia.”

“Oh my, so you’re giving me permission now?”

Veronica tried to ease the situation with a smile, but Dietrich didn’t release his stern look. She soon shrugged her shoulders and flicked her fingers.

“Alright. I didn’t do anything to your sister, so relax your expression. I’ll clean up all this.”

“Ah, nyo!”

I covered both my cheeks with my hands at the cruel scene of the little demons emerging from the shadows of Veronica taking the chocolate fountain and disappearing. [3]

‘My chocolate fountain!’

Small in size but great in strength, the little demons were taking all the desserts, including the large fountain, without spilling a drop of chocolate.

Their giggling sounds were annoyingly hateful as if they intended to eat them instead of me. 

“Hing….”

I didn’t know anything but the chocolate fountain, eclair, macarons, donuts, puddings - basically everything - I was going to eat them all for dinner!

I stretched my hand forward, looking blankly at the spot where the desserts neatly disappeared. Veronica clicked her tongue in pity at me whose legs were hanging idly in the air. 

“Is it that saddening to get rid of the desserts?”

TL Notes: 

[1] Macaroons vs. Macaron. I think I’ve made a mistake with this one. I think Anissa was referring to the macarons which are meringue based while the macaroons were coconut based. The machine sometimes translates with two o’s and sometimes one o which makes it confusing.

[2] In the end, I’m not even good enough compared to snacks. ??? I was confused how to word this. 결국 내가 군것질거리만도 못하군. In the end, I’m not someone who can give you snacks? Anyway, it’s around that idea. 결국 - in the end; 군것질 -snacks; 거리만 - give; 도 - even (or similar);  못하군 - can’t. 

[3] This expression. XD

TL Thoughts:
Seems like Anissa’s measurement of beauty depends on the quality of food given to her. Lmao.

“More than Dietrich?” Anissa, I’m not sure you’ll be okay. This is an obvious fraudulent question. Lmao. XD