Chapter 48: Cream Puffs

Chapter 48:
Cream Puffs

Far from the imperial capital was a quiet estate, where Adelheid, the young princess of the great Empire, lived in seclusion while recovering from her ailments.

She passed the hours peacefully, but there was little to do on the estate, and Adelheid was often bored. Yet every seven days one thing brought her great joy. That’s right; her visits to the Restaurant to Another World kept a smile on her face.

On the seventh day, after finishing her lunch and letting her stomach settle, the princess would secretly make her way to the Restaurant to Another World.

***

“My gosh, that really happened?”

“Indeed it did. My dear brother, what in the world inspired you to stand right within their line of sight? That was foolish.”

“Not at all, brother. It was necessary to raise our soldiers’ spirits. Get them fired up, you know? Father was handling command in the back, after all.”

“But did you really have to? I’ve heard that the soldiers of the Sand Nation are incredibly brave warriors.”

Adelheid enjoyed her delicious snack, happily chatting with two of the friends she’d made as a regular at the restaurant.

The sweet and cold snack filled her stomach, and the warm “cafe ole” made with cow’s milk energized her body as she chatted. (Her parents had recently sent her cafa beans at the estate, so she’d been able to drink it at home, too.)

Her friends were nobles from a faraway country. First were the siblings, Shareef and Renner, with their beautiful black hair and bronze skin. Then there was the half-elf mage, Victoria, wise beyond her years.

These were the brand-new friends that Adelheid had gotten to know as a regular customer.

The lonely hole in Adelheid’s heart, borne of her life on the isolated estate, could only be filled by the delicious parfaits and friendly conversations she enjoyed at the Restaurant to Another World. These moments were irreplaceable.

***

That being said, they passed all too quickly.

Victoria, the half-elf mage, took a moment to consider the time.

“Mm. It’s about time I head back.”

“Oh, my. Is it already that late?” Renner said.

“As much as it pains me to say, we should probably be going as well, Renner,” said his brother, Shareef. “Adelheid, I do look forward to seeing you again soon.” He raised his hand.

“Excuse me, could I get the check? And the usual order of ice cream to go, please.”

“Me as well. And the usual pudding to go.”

“Of course! Hold on just a bit,” Aletta nodded cheerfully, heading back to tell the master their orders. It wasn’t long before the master himself emerged from the kitchen.

Beside him was the new waitress girl, all clad in black. Both of them were holding the same type of takeout box.

“Sorry about that. Here are your takeout orders of ice cream and pudding. You folks know the drill. Don’t take too long to dig in, all right?”

Take out… How nice. Adelheid thought to herself, watching Shareef and Victoria collect their orders.

Unfortunately for the imperial princess, she had no means by which to take a parfait home with her.

The reason was simple enough. The parfait was a fragile delight, one that would begin to melt even before she could finish eating it at the restaurant. There was simply no way she’d be able to bring it back to the estate.

That said, it was still terribly disappointing that she could only enjoy the frozen treat every seven days. Was there really no hope for her?

“Um, Master?” Adelheid spoke up. “Do you happen to have any treats available for takeout that use cream like your parfaits do?”

If he did, then wonderful. If he didn’t, she’d simply order a fruit sandwich like she always did. Her expectations were realistic.

“Hm? Something that’s made with cream and can be ordered as takeout… Lemme see.”

The master took a moment to search his thoughts. While he made plenty of cakes with whipped cream, the menu featured only a few items with cream as the primary ingredient.

But then it hit him. “Aha. I believe cream puffs would fit the bill.”

Victoria considered the offer, but as a regular who had tried every single sweet that the restaurant sold, she was quick to nod her head.

“Cream puffs, eh? Yeah, yeah!”

The master thought this was an ideal solution. They were called “cream puffs” for a reason.

“So would you like some cream puffs to go? If I remember correctly, the shop up…er, our recipe uses custard and whipped cream.”

“Yes, that’d be wonderful,” Adelheid said. “Could I have two, please?”

“Two? Really?”

Adelheid nodded her head, slightly embarrassed.

“Yes. I thought that I might share some with Hannah.”

If she was going to enjoy a delicious treat, she’d much rather share the experience with someone else than keep it to herself. Hannah had come out to the estate with her, and she was probably feeling just as lonely as Adelheid was. Why not spread some of the joy?

***

Far away from the illustrious imperial capital was the “Wilhelm Estate,” a luxurious palace built for the royal family. The great emperor, Wilhelm, had made it his final resting place.

It was there that the beautiful princess lived totally alone.

***

Adelheid was the eldest daughter of the current emperor, christened with the name of her grandmother, the great emperor’s beloved mother. She had been sent to recover at the Wilhelm Estate after contracting the illness known as the “peasant killer.”

Unlike everyday injuries, a sickness like this could not be healed through prayer.

Priests were capable of harnessing immense magical powers through rituals; they were even able to summon miracles as great as reviving the dead. Yet attempting to use these powers to expedite the human body’s innate healing capabilities only resulted in worsening illnesses.

Of all the various ailments that existed in the world, the “peasant killer” was particularly frustrating.

On the occasion that a human fell ill with it, it would cause pain in the lungs and repeated coughing spells. Finally, it would drain the unfortunate patient of all their energy.

The ailment wasn’t the kind of thing you could catch by simply spending a short amount of time with someone. Yet there had been stories of servants—often tied to their employer for forty-six hours straight—and even helpful family members coming down with the peasant killer after spending a long period of time with the infected.

To make matters worse, there was no quick fix. It took several years of doing nothing to be healed. All you could do was keep your head low, take in the proper vitamins and nutrients you needed, and wait for the illness to lose all of its power.

Unfortunately, not everyone was capable of living a life of rest for multiple years at a time. People had to work in order to live. And work they did. This often lead to the sickness worsening, and eventually to death. That’s why it had earned the name “peasant killer.”

It was an especially harsh ailment for peasants and often led to their deaths. For those of noble blood or with money to spare, the illness would steal precious years of their youth.

Thus was the peasant killer feared by all, high and low-born alike.

And so once it was confirmed that Adelheid was suffering from the peasant killer, it had been a bit of a struggle to find her a new servant. Her old one quit the day after the news got out.

Even though she was afflicted with the peasant killer, Adelheid was still a princess, and not just one of some small nation. She was the princess of the Empire, the most powerful and influential nation on the Eastern Continent.

The person selected as her servant would have to be of a certain quality. Just any commoner off the street would not suffice.

The servant would have to come from a respectable family—and be someone who could potentially become afflicted with the peasant killer without causing a fuss for anyone.

Hannah was the person who best fit these conditions, and she would become Adelheid’s new servant at the Wilhelm Estate.

Hannah came from an old, low-ranking noble family that once made the outskirts of the imperial city their home.

She was the oldest daughter in her family, with two older brothers, two younger brothers, and three little sisters. Her house had failed to ride the wave of change in the half-century since the foundation of the Empire. Because so many of the children in the family had lived into adulthood, they barely had any money left to spare. In fact, they all relied on the money Hannah sent home while working at the palace in the imperial city. Things were tight.

Before she was hired at the palace, Hannah had realized that she might never be able to get married. And so for several years she’d trained to be a priestess at the Lord of Earth’s shrine (this was the most common of the religions in the Empire). Hannah knew simple healing prayers and had the ability to ward off the undead. In fact, she had worked so hard that she became a deacon of the church, earning herself a Bronze Sigil.

She was the daughter of an old and storied house, had some training as a priestess, and moreover she would be no trouble to anyone if she became afflicted with the peasant killer.

The current emperor thought Hannah would be the perfect person to serve as his beloved daughter’s servant, so he ordered her to take the post. Hannah accepted her task with little fanfare. And now it had been a year and half since.

***

Serving at Adelheid’s side was, in a word, breezy.

There wasn’t actually much to do in the way of work, beyond attending to a few things around Adelheid’s person and cleaning the rooms.

As a bonus, instead of living in the servant quarters, Hannah had a guest room to herself—though this also served to keep her isolated from the other servants at the estate. And the pay wasn’t bad, either.

All other jobs were handled by the servants who lived year-round at the estate, so Hannah never had to trouble herself with them.

Because Adelheid was sick, she didn’t have to put on the elaborate dresses that royalty were normally obligated to wear. Instead, she wore fairly simple designs, best suited to lazily hanging out at home. This meant that Hannah didn’t have to worry about the process of dressing the princess.

Additionally, Hannah’s mistress, Adelheid, was unlike many other nobles that she had known. She wasn’t cruel, and she wasn’t needy. If Hannah was unlucky, there was the fear that she might come down with the peasant killer. But that was her only worry.

And if she were to become afflicted, she had been told that the Empire would take full responsibility for her recovery. If Hannah had to spend multiple years recovering from the peasant killer, she would certainly miss her chance of ever getting married. But at the same time, by working at the estate, she was already chewing away at those precious years to begin with. If that came to pass, she had already resolved that she would return to the shrine and become a proper priestess.

***

And so Hannah had grown accustomed to her life at the estate, going through the motions of her job from day to day.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” Hannah said at the door of the princess’s bedroom.

Perfect. She’s out going for a walk.

As she always did, Hannah confirmed that Adelheid wasn’t in before entering.

It’s gotten a bit late, so I should hurry and wrap this up.

Hannah set down her bucket of water, and with broom and cloth in hand, began to clean Adelheid’s room.

Once every seven days at around the same time, the princess would go for a long walk. As far as Hannah could tell, she must have been taking some path that only the royal family was aware of. During those hours, Adelheid seemed to literally disappear.

The guards at the gate and townsfolk alike claimed to not see her. Hannah knew she must be within the estate grounds.

Adelheid always returned before sundown, so Hannah had made peace with this.

Which was perfect, because it left Hannah with time to tidy her mistress’s room. Since Adelheid was here to recover from her illness, she rarely went out. While Hannah didn’t mind doing things like changing sheets in front of her mistress, she had some hesitation about properly cleaning up the place in front of her.

And so every seven days Adelheid provided Hannah with the perfect opportunity for a full cleaning.

***

But that day as she was cleaning, Hannah suddenly heard the sound of bells ringing behind her. She quickly turned around.

“Oh, Hannah. Wonderful work.”

“Huh?! Your Highness?!”

Adelheid had appeared behind her, almost as if she’d used some sort of teleportation magic. Hannah could hardly hide her shock.

The princess had walked out of an oak door that had no place being in the room.

The moment Adelheid made her exit, the door vanished into thin air as quickly as it had appeared, as if some sort of concealment spell had been cast on it.

The princess was carrying a small square box with a handle. An illustration of a puppy monster with wings adorned its surface.

“Could you please put this somewhere cold and out of the sun?” Adelheid asked. “I’d like you to bring it back to me at noon tomorrow, if you would.”

Hannah accepted the mysterious box from Adelheid without a second thought. It was made of some sort of sturdy paper.

“Your Highness, what exactly is in this box?”

Hannah couldn’t wrap her head around any of this.

In response, Adelheid politely provided her with the answer she sought.

“A wonderful confection made using cream. I believe they’re called ‘cream puffs.’”

“A confection…?”

“Yes. According to Lady Victoria, if you’re looking to enjoy the taste of cream, it’s the best treat at the shop.” The princess was smiling widely.

Who is this Lady Victoria? And what does she mean by shop?!

Adelheid’s answer only created more questions for Hannah, but given that she was talking to the imperial princess herself, she knew better than to pry. It would be rude.

Hannah swallowed her curiosity and took the box.

“I understand. I’ll hold on to this, then.”

“Thank you. Oh, and when you bring this to me tomorrow, I’d be delighted if you could prepare some cafa, milk, and sugar as well.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

The box itself was surprisingly light, and this only furthered Hannah’s curiosity.

***

And so the next day at noon, Hannah returned.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought the box from yesterday as well as some cafa.”

Hannah came to the doorway of Adelheid’s room, silver tray in hand. Atop the tray was the aforementioned box, along with all manner of china decorated in beautiful flower designs. This was a cafa set which Adelheid had received as a gift from the Sand Nation.

“Wonderful. Well done, Hannah. Could you pour me a cup of cafa, please?”

“Of course.”

Hannah obeyed her mistress, preparing to pour a fresh cup of cafa into one of the beautiful china cups. Meanwhile, Adelheid opened the box, removing its contents.

Hannah prepared the cafa in the Sand Nation style. Though the drink was largely unknown in the Empire, Adelheid quite liked it with milk and sugar, so Hannah had gone out out of her way to master its preparation. She took this opportunity to ask the princess a question.

“Are those the cream puffs you mentioned, Your Highness?”

At first glance, the confection looked fairly plain.

Outside of the snow-like sugar topping, the cream puffs were simply brown. As far as Hannah could tell, they contained no fruit, which would explain the lack of vibrant coloring. Truth be told, the brown objects on top of the thin, silver foil looked more like pieces of bread than anything else.

“Yes,” the princess replied. “I actually had one yesterday, and it was quite delicious.”

She had “taste tested” a cream puff the day before. Just the memory of its cold sweetness was making her mouth water.

Adelheid had gotten dangerously close to eating a second, but she resisted the fierce urge. Patience was a virtue she’d become closely acquainted with of late.

“Here’s your cafa.” Hannah presented the cup.

With the steaming drink now before her and the preparations complete, Adelheid looked up at Hannah.

“Wonderful. Thank you very much. Now then, Hannah. Take a seat.”

“Huh?!”

Adelheid beckoned Hannah to sit down, beaming the biggest smile ever seen in the Empire. Hannah couldn’t imagine she would ever see such an expression on the princess’s face when she had first come here. Seeing that her servant was at a loss for words, Adelheid explained further.

“I recently discovered that food is far more delicious when you share it with someone else… Ah, but perhaps you don’t wish to join me?”

And just like that, Adelheid’s happy face suddenly fell in sadness. Her close friend from the Western Continent had secretly taught her that such an expression would be difficult for people to resist.

“N-no! That’s not it at all!”

Flawless victory. Hannah waved her hands in a panic, sitting down at the table with Adelheid.

Under normal circumstances, someone would have stepped in to prevent this from happening, claiming that Hannah, a servant, was rude or presumptuous to sit with the princess. But the only people present were Adelheid and Hannah. There was no one there to stop them.

Adelheid’s smile returned. “Thank goodness. Then please, take this.”

She handed Hannah a cream puff.

“Please try it. I do so hope you like it.”

There was no way Hannah could say no to a smile and a request like that.

“W-well, then. Thank you, oh Lord of Earth, for this, my daily bread. I offer you my gratitude…”

Hannah offered a brief prayer before sinking her teeth into the strange pastry.

Huh? She said this was a confection, but it’s not all that sweet.

Hannah had decided to take things slowly, only taking a small first bite of the surface of the cream puff. The taste left her puzzled.

It certainly had a sweetness to it, thanks in part to the white sugar sitting on top, but it wasn’t particularly strong.

The faintly sweet flavor of the dough wasn’t terrible. But it was weak compared to the “high class” sweets that Hannah was familiar with.

And the weight is strange, too. Though I suppose the fact that the princess brought it at all is the strangest part, but…What?!

Lost in her aimless thoughts, Hannah decided to just hurry up and finish the cream puff. She took a much larger second bite. It was then that she became flabbergasted.

I-It’s so sweet! What is this?! What’s going on inside of this thing?!

The bread-like skin of the confection was like a bag that had been completely filled.

The moment she broke the surface of the cream puff the second time, its contents came spilling out. It was as if the food had been stuffed with snow so soft that there were no words.

It still wasn’t overly sweet, but this subtle seasoning allowed the flavor of the milk to come out more strongly.

Despite her status as a low-class noble, Hannah had still sampled many confections and sweets in her years. But this was something entirely new.

If there was one word to describe what she was experiencing, it was…

“…Delicious.”

“Right?! I was also surprised when I first ate it!”

Adelheid’s smile deepened as Hannah unconsciously let her thoughts spill out. It was great to experience something delicious for oneself, but it was also wonderful seeing someone else experience that same joy. And this was especially true for Adeheid and Hannah, the princess and the girl who tended to her every need all day long at this lonely estate.

But Hannah didn’t even notice Adelheid’s pleased gaze as she continued her journey into the cream puff dimension.

Mm, when combined with the filling, the sweetness of the outer layer is just right.

By itself, the surface of the cream puff wouldn’t have been quite sweet enough. But the delicious white filling made the whole dish came together.

Meanwhile, the filling was too soft to provide any sort of satisfying mouthfeel on its own. The flavor and texture of the pastry helped to bring out its sweetness.

It makes sense that the princess would recommend… Ah?!

As Hannah continued her multi-dimensional cream puff journey, she realized that the flavor had changed.

She immediately looked down at the cream puff.

Through the hole she had bitten, Hannah could see that she had just reached the middle of the cream puff. She recognized the white filling she had been enjoying up until now, but it was starting to mix with an unknown yellow substance.

Adelheid smiled. “You see, that cream puff has both white whipped cream and yellow custard inside of it!” she explained.

“Custard…”

The word washed over Hannah as she resumed her creamy journey. The thick, sweet custard was wholly different from the white substance known as whipped cream. The former had an eggy flavor, while the latter tasted of milk.

This was a tremendously elaborate and delicious confection that featured two wonderful kinds of creams.

There’s no doubt about it. This is the most delicious confection I’ve ever eaten.

Hannah couldn’t help but wonder where the princess had gotten her hands on such a tremendous dessert, and before she knew it, the cream puff was gone.

“Ahhhh.”

Hannah let out a satisfied sigh. Coming out of her cream puff trance, she suddenly remembered who she was sitting with. Her cheeks turned bright red.

“I-I’m so sorry, Your Highness. That was so rude of me, I…!”

“Please, don’t worry about it. If anything, I’m just happy you enjoyed it so much!”

Adelheid was tremendously satisfied, watching Hannah turn bright red. Some of the white cream was still on her lips. The princess then turned to her own portion.

Cream puffs are quite wonderful indeed… Hm? Oh, Hannah.

As the princess enjoyed her own flavorful journey, she realized that Hannah was staring at her.

Well, more accurately, she was staring at her cream puff.

Judging by that look…

I should probably order three or four next time. Truth be told, one isn’t quite enough for me, either.

Adelheid decided to make a slight adjustment to her upcoming schedule.