Asland was very concerned that the Duke would gradually lose himself, so he chose a time when there were few customers and quietly appeared outside the Dragon Flame Restaurant.
Inside the restaurant, a few customers were scattered, and a beautiful young girl was sitting behind the bar reading intently. Her eyebrows sometimes tightened and then relaxed, clearly engrossed in the book.
Asland looked around but didn't see Elvys, he coughed lightly, hoping to make the cat Duke, who was hiding somewhere, aware that he had arrived.
The green-haired girl suddenly looked up and quickly put down her book, "Hello, what would you like to order?"
Vilanthe stared at Asland's pointed ears and clear green pupils, her gaze so intense that it could almost burn a hole through him.
"An apple juice, thank you."
Soon, Vilanthe brought a glass of apple juice. She looked nervously at Asland and asked carefully, "Excuse me, are you an elf?"
Asland had known Vilanthe's identity long ago, so he smiled knowingly, "That's right, but I'm just an elf left behind, I've never seen a fellow elf."
Vilanthe's eyes widened in surprise, "I'm sorry if this sounds offensive, but have you ever thought about returning to the Silver Leaf Forest?" Maybe Asland wasn't abandoned but was taken away by slavers from his original life.
Asland shook his head, "I know my origins very well, and there's no misunderstanding. But I think I'm very much like a human now, and I'm afraid I can't adapt to the life of an elf."
Vilanthe felt a great pity, but she had already been quite offensive that stopping Asland and talk him, so she softly apologized and returned to her original position.
Vilanthe flipped through the textbook "Moro Continent General History" that Ina had brought her. It was like seeing a whole new world. The continent was home to many strange creatures and plants, and the customs between humans living in the highlands and the seaside were vastly different. The occasional travel notes of mages in the textbook were so exciting that Vilanthe couldn't help but feel anxious. Vilanthe didn't feel like a princess, but rather a country girl who had come to the city for the first time.
She had been confined to the palace for so many years, knowing nothing about the world of elves and tree lords, and also knowing nothing about human life.
She only wished she had escaped the palace earlier. But she heard that Miss Ina's restaurant in the capital had only been open for less than a month. If she hadn't met Miss Ina, she probably would have stumbled a lot. Thinking of this, Vilanthe felt warm inside. With Ina, Vilanthe felt the care of a female elder for the first time, like the sun shining on her body, warm and comforting.
On the other side, Asland had nearly finished his apple juice, and the cat Duke still hadn't appeared. He looked down at the black cat with green eyes running around at his feet, scooped it up, and stroked it happily.
The little black cat squinted its eyes, making a purring sound from its throat, and very amiably let these slender and beautiful fingers shuttle through its shiny black fur. Its tail swished contentedly and its little pink paws treaded the air.
Asland thought mischievously: I wonder if Elvys looks this silly under Miss Ina's hands.
Feeling a gaze on him, Asland looked up and met a pair of icy red eyes. The look seemed to say, "So, you like it too?"
Asland then realized that the Duke couldn't talk now, but that didn't affect the purpose of his visit.
Asland lowered his voice, trying not to attract the attention of others, pretending to be a fool who would talk to a cat: "The recent political affairs are a bit heavy, anyway, you're in the capital, how about taking some time to deal with it? It won't take too long."
Upon hearing the first half of his sentence, Elvys immediately turned his head away, putting on an attitude of "I don't understand and can't talk."
Asland kept nagging him, and Elvys gave him a reproachful look as if saying, "How can you treat a cat like this!"
Asland gritted his teeth, but he didn't give up. Instead, he tried a different approach: "Elvys, think about it this way, if you keep this black cat form, will Miss Ina fall for you? Would she fall in love with a cat that can't talk? She might know a lot about black cats now, but she doesn't know anything about Duke Neranka. So I think, why don't I reveal your identity? If Miss Ina hasn't kicked you out yet, I'll help you move your study next to the Dragon Flame Restaurant."
Asland's suggestion might not be the best, but it wasn't completely unreasonable. Elvys was stuck at this step. He didn't know how to reveal his identity, and he was worried that Ina might throw him out coldly after knowing everything because she didn't know him in his human form.
The black cat pondered for a while and stretched its paw towards Asland's cup.
Asland looked at the writing on the table revealed by the water stains and asked, "What do you mean, you want me to tell Miss Ina about you?"
Asland had shot himself in the foot. Not only had he failed to offload some of the political affairs, but he had also added a new task for himself. "This would make me look very incompetent, spreading rumors about my boss everywhere."
The black cat wrote again with the apple juice: It's fine, you don't like her, there's no need to maintain an image.
Asland: Yuck!!
After Elvys wrote this sentence, he immediately jumped off the table without looking back. His paw was sticky with apple juice, he needed to wash it.
No, after a few days of observation, Elvys had fully understood the secrets of competing for a favor. He should find Ina to help him wash his paw!
βββ
Lady Mira is the widow of Viscount Brown. Today is a beautiful spring day, and she and her young boyfriend have ridden out to their country estate to enjoy the greenery. They had a fun-filled morning.
She walked briskly into the mansion, the gentle sunlight and the exercise causing a light sweat on her brow. Lady Mira was about to order the butler to prepare a glass of champagne with ice cubes for her when he leaned in and whispered, "David from the North Wind Trade Association has sent over a new dessert from the tea restaurant. Would you like to try it?"
The thought of sweet, cloying cakes and almond biscuits immediately sprung to mind. Although she was a bit hungry, she didn't want to eat food that would stick to her throat in this heat. Moreover, she had just returned from the estate, so these desserts must have been sitting around for quite a while and were no longer fresh.
Just as she was about to decline, the butler, having read Lady Mira's hesitation and having received a small gift from David, stepped forward and said, "This is a newly developed dessert, stored in a magical container. It's absolutely fresh right now, and this is the best time to taste it."
With the butler's words, Lady Mira finally showed some interest. She waved her hand lazily, "Bring it over."
Upon seeing that the dessert came in a simple paper box, despite the ribbon on top, it couldn't hide its plainness. Lady Mira didn't say anything, but she was a bit disappointed. She had thought that something new and exciting would add a ripple to her wealthy but boring life. If the box only contained uninspired desserts, she wouldn't patronize any of the North Wind Trade Association's shops for the next year.
"You open it," Lady Mira, with her last bit of patience, asked the butler to open the paper box.
The butler stepped forward, carefully opened the box, and presented the dessert to Lady Mira.
Lady Mira gave it a casual glance, but her gaze immediately froze on the two desserts, refusing to shift away.
The delicate, snow-like shaved ice sat in a transparent round glass. The bottom layer of ice was soaked in pure grape juice, displaying a luxurious purple, the middle layer remained a pure white, and on top were rounded mounds drenched in thick grape jam, playfully adorned with three red grapes.
The glass for the cherry parfait was shaped like an inverted skirt, its stem adding an elegant touch. What was most captivating, however, were the layers of pink inside. The base was vanilla pudding, topped with rich cherry jam, a layer of white chocolate ice cream, and where the jam and ice cream met, a gradation of pink and purple hues. Fresh raspberries, halved cherries, and a sphere of vanilla ice cream all squeezed together at the brim of the glass.
At the very top, a plump cherry soaked in liquor was perched atop the spherical ice cream, completing this cherry parfait that was almost an art piece.
"Get my favorite gilt-edged porcelain plate and a delicate silver spoon," Lady Mira seemed to have already tasted the sweetness of the cherry and the softness of the pudding. She immediately turned to the maid beside her with instructions.
"And," Lady Mira turned to the butler, "where is this tea restaurant located?"