Chapter 11: Heart Reflecting Croquembouche

The day of my engagement announcement arrived, just like that.

The party is being extravagantly held in the garden of Marquis Fernandes’ mansion. Faruno has returned in the last minutes; she only showed her face in person at the party.

I was introduced by Marquis Fernandes, who stepped on a stage at the party. I requested to serve some pastries. I intended to convey what kind of person I was to them in this way. That was the reason why I baked some kind of pastries at my place yesterday.

It was a huge batch that took me seven hours. A pastry that befits the mood of a party. It should be able to amaze everyone here.

“Kurt-sama, it really suits you!”

“Thank you. I’m a little embarrassed, though.”

Tina and I are in our borrowed room. I’m wearing a first-class tuxedo.

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I actually brought my best clothes from Arnold just in case, but they don’t seem up for the occasion of Marquis Fernandes’ party. Therefore, I’m wearing the clothes that Marquis Fernandes prepared for me instead. The servants prepared them by fixing the clothes that the marquis himself wore in his youth, or so I heard. It doesn’t seem like a common thing for the marquis to do; the servants told me that there was a special meaning in the gesture.

“It’s good that I’m not outdone by the clothes. It feels a bit embarrassing to wear something this nice.”

“It’s not like that at all! It’s a perfect fit!”

Tina’s words aren’t just flattery; I notice from how excited she looks now. Right now she’s wearing the same clothes as the servants of Fernandes. The maid clothes really draws out Tina’s cuteness.

“Tina looks really cute too. Maybe I should request those clothes to be brought with us.”

“That, that’ll be awesome.”

“If I do, it seems that I’ll get them without getting a bat of an eye, if it’s him.”

There’s nothing to lose, so let’s try asking.

It’s for the sake of enjoying the cute Tina from now on as well.

☘

I go to the venue; the party is about to start. There are a lot of terribly extravagant faces lining up. Marquesses, counts, and other important nobles seem so common here. Let alone being in the same party, even striking a conversation with them was something that had to be thought carefully, initially.

There are naturally their sons of appropriate age at their side, with their sons’ wife greeting with Faruno, hoping to strengthen their bonds with Marquis Fernandes.

If there is someone among them who would want to kill me, it wouldn’t be surprising.

My engagement with Faruno was that abnormal.

“Kurt-sama, you’ve come!”

Faruno showed up while bringing her servants. She has also made some followers of the nobles’ sons and daughters. However, they couldn’t start a conversation with Faruno. In this kind of party, a lower ranked scion is strictly forbidden from starting a conversation with scions of higher stands. Everyone is waiting for Faruno to start talking to them first.

“Ah, likewise. I deeply apologize for brazenly disturbing you.”

“There’s absolutely no such thing! Otou-sama is really cruel! Kurt-sama’s rose cookies. They’re all gone out of those being presented for the duchess, leaving me with nothing whatsoever! Then he bragged about how proud he was for the wonderful pastry! That was the true cruelty, wouldn’t you think so!?”

Faruno puffs her cheeks in anger. I can only bitterly smile in response.

“So you’ve been looking forward to my pastry. In that case, before going home, I’ll bake them once more. I still have some portions of ingredients left.”

As I said so, Faruno blooms into smile then looks embarrassed.

“I, I am truly happy, but I didn’t mean to come out as demanding. I’m not that kind of woman, you see?”

“Yes, I understand. I merely wish to bake it for your sake. For the sake of a wonderful lady, I’ll bake the pastry. As a pastry chef, there is no higher pleasure than this, you see.”

Faruno’s face turns deep red this time.

The surrounding male scions glare at me, while the young ladies squeal uncontrollably with red faces upon our interaction.

It’s a bit tiring. I cannot keep up with the mood in this kind of setting.

☘

After talking for some time, Faruno and I make our rounds greeting others. I must go around and greet the influential people here. I leave it to Faruno to decide whom to talk to. I am a simple son of a baronet. Within these people, there is no one who will be glad to speak to me first.

The characteristics of the nobles speaking with me are divided into three patterns. The first ones are those who praise me in order to flatter themselves up in front of Faruno. The second show indirect sarcasm. The third are spear experts who are astonished and curious about the famous Arnold descendant.

These are within expectations.

After one round, I finally have some leeway to look around.

This is a luxurious party that can only be hosted by Marquis Fernandes. My fief can’t even begin to compare with this. Delectable food, delicious wine, they disappear fast into the bellies of the nobles with discerning palates.

When the party reached the end, Marquis Fernandes, the organizer, finally showed up.

“I humbly thank all of you who have come to my daughter’s, Faruno’s, engagement party today. For the sake of bringing joy to all of you, we put our best into this event. Have you enjoyed yourself?”

As expected of an aristocrat. There are no rowdy yells here. However, with cheerful expressions, they all convey how great a party hosted by Marquis Fernandes is.

“If you’ve enjoyed it, it is our utmost pleasure. Now let me introduce you to this party’s guests of honor. Will you bestow me the honor to receive you up on the stage, Kurt-kun, Faruno?”

Faruno and I head over to Marquis Fernandes together. The crowd splits to make way for us in that direction.

“First, let’s begin with my introduction on their behalf. He is the heir of Arnold Baronetcy, Kurt Arnold-kun.”

In an instant, the eyes of the crowd all gather on me.

“Kurt-kun is an extremely bright young man who has just began his own pioneering village this year. Not only that, he’s also the strongest Arnold in the young generation.”

The strongest Arnold.

That means the strongest spear wielder. The largest praise given to someone who is skilled in spear without using mana.

“He’s also an exceptional mana wielder. As an Arnold, he possesses the power that comes both from his physical strength and mana.”

The surrounding eyes on me change their looks.

By wielding a special weapon, I can transcend humanity, and that is on top of having the power of mana. That makes my value immeasurable. In that case, a marquis daughter’s betrothal to me becomes less abnormal than it was before.

“Excellent feudal lord, wielding the mystical power of mana along with the Arnold’s spear. Up to this, this is how I will explain this, but there’s another mystical power that Kurt-kun has. Ah, no, that’s not quite right. This is actually the greatest mystical power of Kurt-kun.”

The crowd of the nobles start to stir up some commotion.

There’s still more? Shock, uneasiness, and then, expectations, all start to brew. Then, after turning the temperature of the venue up to the limit, Marquis Fernandes looks at me, presenting the highest hurdle.

I can tell that I have to make my own greetings from now.

It’s a mess.

However, this is something that I must do.

“I am extremely honored for the introduction. My name is Kurt Arnold. Thank you for gathering to celebrate my engagement to Faruno-sama on this occasion.”

First is the pleasantries.

“What Marquis Fernandes named as my greatest mystical power is my pastry making skill.”

In the instant I said that, the nobles’ expectation turns into dejection. They look at me with skeptical eyes, accusing me of saying nonsense.

Marquis Fernandes keeps grinning from ear to ear. He’s a real horrible man.

“More than words, the pastries will speak for themselves. That is my conviction. Therefore, let me introduce you to the pastry. This is the pastry that I made for the sake of this day.”

As I said that, Fernandes servants came and pushed a desk forward. On the desk, there is a large tree-like figure.

Yes, tree. Built up from the petite choux à la crème with crisp skin, glued together by caramel, it’s a gigantic tree that’s taller than even my body. Its other name is croquembouche.

It’s a standard celebration pastry on earth.

The crowd’s eyes are stolen by that giant pastry. The petite cream puffs tree is placed in front of the stage.

“I deeply apologize for surprising all of you. It should be your first time to see this kind of pastry. And, this pastry is still not finished. Let me bring it to completion right now.”

As I said so, Tina brought a saucepan to me. There is caramelized sugar inside. That, and a special utensil.

“Please keep watching. I shall now make golden snow fall.”

Above the stage, I raise the special caramel-laced tool overhead. As I do so, the caramelized sugar turns into gold threads, falling all over the petite cream puff tower. The gold threads overlap each other layer by layer over, blanketing the petite cream puff tower, building the so-called sugar sculpture.

“So pretty.”

Someone murmured like that dumbfoundedly.

Sparkling golden thread paints the petite cream puff tower with a gorgeous color.

“It is now complete. Honored guests, please enjoy my pastry. This pastry itself is my introduction.”

That is the end of my greeting speech.

Several nobles approach the cream puff tower without being able to curb down their curiosity, then someone plucks one of them and puts it into their mouth.

“It’s similar to bread, no, it’s different. It’s more crisp, ooh, the inside is fluffy and there is a generous amount of cream at the core…. interesting, this sensation, it’s the first time for me. Fluffy and light airy cream. This, how to call this refreshing feeling, it feels that I can eat no matter how much.”

What he ate was choux à la crème filled with cream that was whipped to its utmost lightness. The sweetness comes from the gentle sweetness of honey. The refreshing taste discretely comes from lemon juice, just a hint of it that no one will realize it.

“Ooh, what a rich taste. One is not sufficient at all. Cream with a taste of eggs, moreover, is it wine? There’s only a small amount of it, but this is such a gorgeous flavor.”

What he ate was  choux à la crème filled with custard cream with layers of umami flavor. The strong sweetness comes from unrefined brown sugar that won’t lose to the custard. Moreover, I stacked more umami by meticulously folding rum into the custard cream.

“What richness, you have to be blind not to taste the refreshing flavor of this pastry.”

“Likewise, what are you saying? This kind of deep umami flavor can only be represented with this pastry.”

“”Don’t tell me there are two kinds of them?””

Both of them started plucking the other kind of cream puffs with their hands. As one starts taking them, other people gather to follow.

Once they find out that there are two kinds of cream puffs, more cream puffs are taken away from the tree.

Drawing the concept from white rose and black rose, I came up with the collaboration of rich choux à la crème and refreshing choux à la crème that people won’t ever get tired of.

Even with just them, the huge tower has disappeared God knows since when. All of a sudden, everything has disappeared into everyone’s stomachs. On the corner of those refined aristocrats’s mouths, there are spots of cream.

Everyone looks at each other’s mouths before examining their own, and fall into smiles. It seems that they’re so into the pastry that they’ve forgotten their senses of selves.

“Now then, have you enjoyed my pastry? This is me. Coming from common ingredients, the profound dual side of light and deep flavors. This is who I am.”

I bow my head.

As I do so, the crowd cheers with pleased laughs and applause. Being made happy is the best.

With my eyes, I let Faruno know that it’s her turn now. Faruno takes a step forward.

Her face is smiling, but it looks scary, somehow.

“Honored guests, it is my privilege to have a warm welcome for my fiancee, Kurt-sama. As his fiancee, I feel proud of him as well.”

Her voice isn’t joyful though.

“Kurt-sama is a wonderful person. There is no mistake whatsoever in my father’s words about him. However, there is one thing that I cannot forgive about him no matter what.”

My back is drenched in cold sweat. What kind of mistake did I do to make her angry?

“He didn’t let me eat his proud creation of pastries at all! Before today, he made the wonderful rose cookies, but not only did he allow only my esteemed father to eat them, he made a wonderful cream pastry this time, but he only let all of you to have a taste. Isn’t he cruel? What do you think, everyone?”

Then, she grins mischievously. The second her speech is over, the nobles fall into laughter.

Really, what is this fellow saying?

My eyes met with Faruno’s. Faruno also let out a laughter. It must be infectious since I also burst into a huge laughter.

I don’t think there’s any other engagement party as gleeful as this up until now. Amidst the victory, the engagement party is wrapped up.