Taste of Magic: General's Echo [Slice-of-Life LitRPG]

Should I really do this? This is crazy! What if I run into the Duke? There's no way that would end well.

These and similar thoughts passed through Melina's mind as she slowly made her way to Alistair's house. She had a box with her new pastries—a few tiny shimmertartlets, the fruit puff pastries with feyfruit glaze, and eclairs with scorchvine pepper and chocolate glaze (names still pending). In reality, they were nothing more than excuses for her to visit Alistair. He had wanted to taste them after all.

Why am I even listening to Leliana? This just might be an elaborate scheme on her part. That girl knows how to strike at my weaknesses.

As Melina turned onto the street where Alistair's house was, she saw a grand black and gold carriage ride in the direction of the wall. She quickly hid behind one of the houses, sticking close to the shadows. There was no doubt that this was Duke Sinclair, just as Leliana had said.

She waited until the carriage was well and truly gone before coming out of her hiding spot.

The Duke must have already talked with Alistair. I doubt he was pleased to learn that Alistair had defended me. Also, I believe it was around this time that Alistair got married to the princess. I think it was autumn this year.

Melina looked down at the box of pastries in her hands, clutching the box tighter. Suddenly, she doubted her whole idea. Perhaps, it would be better to head back home and not get involved in the matter.

Sienna chirped at her curiously, as if to ask what was going on.

"I'm just not sure if I should be doing this… Maybe let's just go home," Melina said to the wyrm.

Sienna let out an angry, disapproving hiss.

"You think I should go?"

Sienna nodded.

Melina thought for a long moment, then took a deep breath. "I'm just keeping my promise. He wanted to taste the experimental pastries. So I'll give him those."

The stinkeye Sienna was giving clearly indicated that the wyrm didn't believe her for a second. Nonetheless, Melina had found enough resolve to visit Alistair. She approached his house slowly, looking over her shoulder, just in case the carriage decided to come back. She felt like a thief.

It took her way too long to gather the courage to knock on the door. Alistair didn't answer. Nervously, she knocked again.

Did he perhaps leave with his father?

But after half a minute, the door opened and a rather annoyed-looking Alistair peered out.

"Sorry to bother you…" She apologized in a rush, internally chastising herself for poking her nose where she shouldn't.

But Alistair's expression quickly changed as he saw her. He appeared surprised and then relieved.

"Melina…" he whispered her name in such a way that it made her heart skip a beat. His expression looked pained.

"I brought some of those experimental pastries," she said with a smile, presenting the box to him.

Alistair took the box and set it down on the nearby windowsill. Then he pulled her inside, closed the door, and embraced her.

Melina squeaked in surprise as she was buried in his chest. Has he always been so large?

"You always come at the best time, you know that," he whispered, burying his face into her hair.

She had no clue what to do. Her heart was beating like mad. Why was Alistair hugging her all of a sudden? She had no clue, and all of her brain cells had officially gone into panic mode. But that one tiny functioning part within her was enjoying this moment immensely.

Melina wrapped her hands around Alistair. It was shameless, she knew that. But at that moment, she allowed her selfish desires to take over. She desperately wished it would never end.

Then Sienna let out an agitated squeak, forcing them to separate. She had been thoroughly squished between them.

"I'm sorry, Sienna. I didn't mean to crush you like that."

Sienna let out an angry puff of smoke, which indicated that she wasn't actually angry—just a bit peeved.

Melina's heart, on the other hand, was beating like crazy, and her face was on fire. She didn't even know she could feel heat with her fire-resistant body. But apparently enough embarrassment could accomplish that.

"I just had an unpleasant visit from my father, so your arrival is like fresh spring rain," Alistair said with a satisfied smile, motioning Melina to sit.

Unlike her, he looked completely unbothered, even a bit smug about the situation. Did he tease her on purpose? This realization cooled her face, and Melina gave Alistair an appraising look.

"Did he ask about… me?" Melina asked cautiously.

Alistair retrieved the box of pastries and set it down on the table. He didn't reply right away, instead taking his time to pour water into the magitech kettle.

"Yeah."

"Was he angry?"

"Yes."

"I expected as much," Melina said somberly.

There was a moment of heavy silence, slowly interrupted by the noise of bubbling water. Alistair took a deep breath and said, "He wants me to marry the princess. Just like the last time."

Melina's heart clenched. She had expected as much. It had happened before, and although the events had been slightly altered, nothing really had changed for Duke Sinclair. It was natural for some events to remain the same as the last time.

"I see," she said after a long pause, not daring to look at Alistair.

Alistair poured the tea for both of them and then slowly slid the cup towards her. She didn't dare to look up at him.

"I'm not going to marry her this time," he said firmly as he sat down.

"What?" She finally looked up and saw a confident smile on his lips as he gazed at her. She had no clue what this gaze meant, but it made her heart flutter.

"I never really told you this in our last life since I didn't want to burden you with my problems. But I never really got along with my ex-wife," he emphasized the "ex". "Can she even be considered an ex-wife if I never married her?"

"Wait… Really?" Melina looked at him in shock. It was true that Alistair hadn't talked about his wife much before, but she had been so certain that they got along splendidly.

Whenever there was a big event, the two of them would always show up together in color-coordinated outfits. They'd always danced together beautifully, while all Melina could do was just watch from the sidelines.

Stolen story; please report.

She was ashamed to admit that she had been incredibly jealous of the princess. When her mood was truly dour, she even considered creating a magical "accident" for the princess. Thankfully, her conscience never allowed her to do something like that.

"Yes. She would always seek the company of other men rather than mine," Alistair explained almost cheerfully.

"What?! But that's horrible! Why would she do something like that to you?" Melina nearly jumped to her feet in outrage. Only Alistair's amused expression kept her seated.

"No clue. But I certainly have no intention of going through the same miserable marriage again," he said and opened the box with pastries. His eyes sparkled as he looked from one pastry to the next, unable to choose. Eventually, he settled for the eclair.

"Careful, it's a bit spicy," Melina said.

Alistair took a small bite, chewing the eclair thoughtfully. Melina watched him intently, worried that perhaps she had added too much of the pepper to the glaze. Sienna loved it, but she could eat those gut-wrenching peppers raw without any issues.

"This is delicious. The gentle cream in the middle works really well with the spice on the glaze," he praised.

Melina let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Then she asked, "How do you intend to convince your father? I imagine he wanted to establish a connection with the royal family. I doubt he'll just say okay."

"I have a vague plan," Alistair said as he eagerly finished the eclair and reached out for the fruit pastry.

"What kind of a plan?" She cocked her head quizzically.

"I want to keep a secret for now. But I'm planning to use the festival to my advantage," Alistair said. "He'll see exactly what kind of place Sunglow is."

Melina had no clue how the festival was in any way related to his marriage to the princess. But she decided not to question it. Instead, she contentedly sipped the warm tea, happy that Alistair didn't even like the princess.

Maybe… Just maybe, I have a chance…

Melina hummed in delight as she greased the muffin tins with butter.

"You've been acting weird this whole day," Gilbert commented, narrowing his eyes at her.

"What are you talking about, Master?" Melina asked as she twirled around and retrieved a large bowl. It was time to make those muffins. She needed to perfect her recipes today, because tomorrow, she'd be preparing everything for the stall.

"You've had that stupid grin on your face the whole morning! And you just did a twirl!"

"Did I?" Melina paused. She hadn't even noticed it. But after her talk with Alistair yesterday, she was feeling quite happy. He wasn't going to marry the princess. He had no intention of doing that.

She felt horrible and infuriated by what the princess had put Alistair through. He had recounted how he wanted them to have a good relationship initially. But apparently Alistair had been too boring for Her Majesty's tastes, so she decided to keep him as husband on paper only.

What a b…. If Alistair were my husband, I'd…

Melina flushed as she caught the wild thought in her mind. No, no. That was going too far. The fact that their social standings were worlds apart hadn't changed.

"MELINA," Gilbert suddenly yelled.

"What?!" She jumped back as the old baker snapped a finger in her face.

"Get a grip, girl. Not sure what happened between you and that boy, but please keep your focus on the work you need to do," Gilbert grumbled. "For someone who has lived through a whole lifetime, you're acting like a schoolgirl first time in love."

"I lived a lifetime as an [Archmage], not chasing romance and men. I had no time for such things."

"Well, that explains it, I suppose. But that doesn't mean you can lose sight of what's important. Did you not want to make the most amazing festival stall?"

"Yes, I do!" Melina nodded.

"Then let's get started on those muffins."

The muffins Master Gilbert and Melina had agreed on were supposed to be as attractive as a muffin can be. So her first task was to make blueberry jam. They had been lucky enough that some fresh blueberries had been brought into the Sunglow for the festival. Gilbert had made sure to buy a large batch of it.

Once the jam was ready, Melina set it aside to cool and prepared the mixture for muffins. First, she combined the dry ingredients—flour, soda, and salt. In another bowl, she whisked melted butter, sugar, oil, and sour cream.

"Listen carefully, this is important. Fold the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients. Not stir but fold," Gilbert said sternly.

"What does that even mean?" Melina arched her eyebrow.

"Let me show you," Gilbert said and tipped the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Then he took a spatula and indeed began folding the ingredients together. It was hard to describe, but essentially, he gently put the spatula to the bottom of the bowl and lifted it.

"Why can't I just stir it?" Melina asked. "Or whisk it?"

"Because then the mixture will lose its airiness and you'll be left with a dense muffin. Even your zephyr syrup won't be able to salvage that."

Melina nodded and took over the process. She went slowly and carefully, repeating the folding process exactly as Gilbert had shown it. It was slow, and she worried about overfolding the mixture all the time. But Gilbert watched over her, guiding her if she rushed too much.

"Good. Now you can fold in some blueberries."

Melina sighed. More folding. Who would have thought that muffin mixture would be so sensitive? But soon the muffin mix was ready to be cooked.

"Now, do not fill the tins more than halfway. Ideally, aim for a bit less than the halfway mark. They're going to rise quite a lot," Gilbert instructed.

Melina did as he said, doing her best to keep the mixture a bit below halfway mark. It didn't always work out, some tins ended up with more mix than the others. But she was willing to take a few hits on the first try.

"What about the jam we made before?" She asked once all the tins were filled.

"You take one teaspoon and put it in each tin. Make sure that the jam is cooled. Hot jam will ruin everything. After that, you just take a toothpick and create whatever pattern your little mind desires."

Melina did just that, making swirls on some muffins and webbed patterns on others. It was actually quite fun swirling the jam into various shapes. She wondered if, with practice she could make vague shapes of animals or flowers.

But for now, she put the muffins into the oven, which Sienna had preheated for her, and activated <Haste Bake>.

"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you. Once they are ready and cool, you can drizzle your zephyr syrup on top. Just be careful with the amount. Just a little bit is enough. Too much and the muffin will be a soggy, dense mess."

Melina nodded, and together with Sienna waited for the muffins to cook. Once they were out of the oven, she busied herself in the garden, slowly continuing on Sienna's enclosure as the muffins cooled. Once they were cool, Melina gently brushed the zephyr root syrup over each muffin.

[You've made <Blueberry-Zephyr Muffin – Rank C>. You've gained + 15 exp.]

New notifications popped up each time Melina finished brushing the syrup, and soon she had a neat array of beautiful muffins.

[Your skill <Chef's Intuition> has ranked up. It is now Rank B.]

That's great. This should make it easier to make copious amounts of pastries tomorrow. Now I just need to confirm the effect and flavor with Master Gilbert.

Melina hurried upstairs with one of the muffins in tow. She knocked on the old baker's door and he came out.

"It looks good. Let's see what the System says," he said.

[Blueberry-Zephyr Muffin – Rank C: a wonderfully airy muffin which will make you feel like you're floating on a delicious blueberry cloud.

Effect: Slightly reduces fatigue.]

"The effect isn't as strong as before, but I guess it couldn't be helped with how little of the syrup is actually added to the muffin," Melina noted.

"Hmm… Why don't you try your <Arcane Infusion> while folding the mixture? With the right intent, you might strengthen the effect," Gilbert mused, then took a bite. "Flavor-wise, it tastes quite good."

"How did I not think of that myself?" Melina facepalmed.

"Maybe you would have thought of it, if your head wasn't full with that boy!"

"Sorry…"

After that and the next day, Melina worked tirelessly to create enough pastries for her stall. The System could barely keep up with the experience she gained, and <Food Manufacturing> skill reached Rank C. For every six pastries made, she gained another one.

It was like she had become a factory of sorts. But instead of creating magitect parts, she created pastries. But Melina was pleased by the amount of pastries she had created as well as the progress on her status screen. She was ready for the Summer Festival.

[Name: Melina Dufour]

[Level: 21]

[Class: Arcane Baker]

[Familiar: Sienna — Ember Wyrm Level 49]

[Intelligence: 18]

[Agility: 10]

[Strength: 9]

[Skill: 22]

[Charm: 15]

[Active Skills: 9]

[<Refined Edge – Rank C>, <Rhythmic Kneading – Rank C>, <Mask of Deceit – Rank C>, <Gilded Tongue – Rank E>, <Haste Bake – Rank C>, <Arcane Infusion – Rank D>, <Familiar Sense – Rank D>, <Ingredient Appraisal – Rank E>, <Preservation Glaze – Rank E>]

[Passive Skills: 3]

[<Archmage's Shadow>, <Chef's Intuition – Rank B>, <Food Manufacturing – Rank C>]

Meanwhile, at the Sinclair summer home in Pertia, Alistair was quietly setting the first stones of a plan bold enough to change everything—if Melina was willing to believe in it.