Despite all the chaos that had happened, my trip to the Imperial Capital came to a close. I promised to meet Victor again in two weeks for Maria’s concert, and with that, I wrapped up my sightseeing adventure.
When I returned, I handed out souvenirs to everyone at the estate. They all seemed kind of flustered by it, but honestly, it was just cookies. No need to treat them like treasures—just enjoy them with some tea or something.
Even Mr. Utsunomiya, who had come from the capital himself, had never tried these “imperial capital cookies” before and seemed pretty delighted.
Regulus-kun, according to Utsunomiya, gobbled his cookies down the moment he got them… and still managed to clean his plate at dinner like nothing happened. Seriously, where does he put it all?
Maybe that’s the power of being beautiful—eat all you want and it never turns to fat. Some people really are born lucky.
Anyway, no point in envying a body I’ll never have. I’ll just keep up with my daily walks and do my best with the slow-and-steady approach to dieting.
I also brought back a bunch of spices from the capital’s market—an array of different types and conditions. Some were ready to use right out of the bag, and some… weren’t.
Take turmeric, for example. It was sold fresh, so before it could be used as a spice, I had to wash it, peel the bright yellow skin, boil it for five to six hours, sun-dry it for about two weeks, and then crush it for use.
Thankfully, I had help. The head chef, the seamstress Elise, and even Josef, the animal caretaker, pitched in. They all looked excited about it, too.
Apparently, anything that leads to good food makes people happy.
While I’d been off enjoying myself in the capital, Ms. Rottenmeier and the head chef had gone out to town and made connections with Fiore-san. They even exchanged recipes!
I thanked them for that and, a bit late, explained why I was okay sharing the recipes. The chef just chuckled.
“That recipe’s yours, young master, not mine.”
“What? No, it’s definitely yours, Chef!”
“I just followed your instructions, and it turned out well. That kind of creativity isn’t something I came up with. If you want to share it, I’ve got no objections. But I do have one request.”
“A request?”
“The next time you think up something intriguing, tell me first—not that other guy. I’m your chef, after all.”
I think I got what he meant. As the chef of House Kikunoi, he probably feels responsible for the food we create.
I nodded, and as a result, we agreed that our curry rice project would be done entirely in-house, from prep to finish.
I can’t wait for two weeks from now.
Of course, spices weren’t the only thing I brought back. I’d also picked up some scraps of fine silk with patterns reminiscent of kimono fabric. That inspired me to try tsumami zaiku—a traditional craft where you fold tiny silk squares into flower petals or butterflies and glue them to a base.
Since my hair was finally getting long enough, I wanted to make some hairpins. And if I was going to do it, they had to be cute—even if it was just for a white pig like me.
That was the plan, anyway. Just something to brighten up the routine.
And speaking of routines, one of my new daily habits was watching Regulus-kun’s sword training with Genzo-san.
He wielded a small wooden sword—not a toy, but an actual bokken—and practiced bringing it down from overhead in wide arcs. Genzo-san would block it with one hand and counter by gently sweeping him away with his own wooden blade.
Each time, Regulus-kun would fall back on his bottom, but without a single tear, he’d bounce right back up and charge again.
Over and over, they repeated the process. Then, with the final strike, he’d sheathe his wooden sword and bow—apparently that was the Genzo-style finish to a lesson.
I knew Genzo-san wasn’t trying to hurt him. In fact, he’d deliberately chosen soft earth as their practice ground to avoid injuries. But still, watching a burly old man knock over a tiny three-year-old again and again—it was stressful.
I flinched every time Regulus-kun went flying, and Genzo-san just gave me a rueful smile.
“Now, now, young master. Leave Master Regulus to this old man. I swear, I won’t let him get hurt.”
“I know you’re being careful, Genzo-san, but still…!”
I just couldn’t relax.
I mean, he’s three. Three! No matter how you look at it, watching a toddler get launched by a muscular adult isn’t good for the heart.
But Regulus-kun would glance at me after each fall, give a determined nod, and go right back at it.
In my head, the theme song from that boxing movie—the one where the champ always ends up bloody whether he wins or loses—started playing on loop.
And sure enough, bam, Regulus went flying again.
“Um… Genzo-san, maybe that’s enough for today…”
“Oh? If you say so, young master…”
Genzo-san laughed and looked like he was about to put his bokken away, when—
“Yahhh!”
Regulus-kun shouted and scrambled back to his feet.
“R-Ray’s not done yet!”
“…Eh?”
“I haven’t lost yet! I can still do it! Big Brother, Ray hasn’t lost yet!”
“Uhh… but what if you get hurt?”
“No! Big Brother—I… I can still keep going!”
Oh no. He just said ‘watashi’… and called me ‘Aniue’.
When did he start talking like such a little gentleman?
I was still touched by how mature he sounded when Regulus stood up and charged back at Genzo-san again.
Watching him like that made me think: This is how kids grow up, little by little.
I guess I’m still growing, too.
The sword lessons took place in a corner of the vegetable garden. While the two of them sparred, I decided to use the time to do some weeding.
With a kid-sized shovel in hand, I plucked out weeds and turned the soil bit by bit.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could still see Regulus attacking with all his might, only to be nimbly dodged by Genzo-san.
It was honestly adorable.
Just then, Regulus raised his bokken high in the air for a big swing—and Genzo-san’s expression suddenly sharpened. In a move that didn’t suit his age at all, he leapt back in a single bound.
If Regulus brought that down hard, he could’ve sprained his wrist…
Bracing for tears, I tensed—only to hear an ominous crack.
“…Huh?”
No seriously—huh?
The spot where Regulus’s wooden sword hit the ground… had caved in like a crater. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact.
“Fuh-fuh-fuh! Well, that was quite the display. You’ve saved me the trouble of loosening the soil.”
“Owwie… My hand hurts… Aniue, my hand hurts~!”
Still gripping the bokken, Regulus launched himself at me. I was too stunned to dodge and ended up taking a headbutt straight to the gut.
I crumpled on the spot, groaning in pain, while Regulus clung to me with wide, tearful eyes.
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