Justice Is Not Served

Chapter 119: S2 Episode 18 - Justice Is Not Served

To the side were Kashino's grandfather and mother observing the 4 children. It was obvious that they were all talented at such a young age with confections and they clearly enjoyed what they were doing.

"Makoto's tempering that very often, just what does he plan to do with it?" The grandfather referred to Kashino who was elegantly tempering on the kitchen countertop.

Asa took notice of her son's skillful movements, and on her usual fierce face was a hint of warmth.

"It's called tempering. It's adjusting the temperature of the chocolate. By doing that, the chocolate's shine will be brought out the first time," Asa calmly explained while she studiously watched her son.

"I see, the inside of the confectionary world is deep," the old man said as Kashino poured the tempered chocolate onto the chocolate cake, coating it in a beautiful layer of dark chocolate.

"You seem to know a lot about this, Asa," the old man inquired as Asa turned her head to the side.

"I-it's common knowledge," she stuttered. "I've seen Ella and my brother do it a few times."

"Speaking of which, that young girl really reminds me of Ella."

He pointed to Michiko Keiko who was shining a different light in the kitchen.

Her aura and skills were much more profound as if she'd been baking for over 20 years. She was exquisite, graceful, and fast in her movements which made her different from the others, not to mention the distinct similarity she had with the lovely patissiere who passed years ago.

Everything about her resembled the late patissiere despite the brown hair. He couldn't grasp just how oddly similar those two were.

"As I watch that young girl, it feels as if Ella is moving within her… Do you think she had a kid she never told me about?" He brought up curiously yet the only thing Asa could do was tense up at her father's question. She knew he wasn't being serious but it wasn't very far from the truth.

"No, if she had, she would've told us," Asa tried to lightly brush the topic off.

"You're right. But just seeing that girl reminds me of her… it's sad to know she went out that way," the grandfather remembered sadly of the news that broke the media 6 years ago.

The headlines had been posted all over the world claiming that the world-renowned pastry chef had died in a traffic accident at the age of 30.

It was evident that even he felt pain after remembering that she died at such a young age. After her family had kicked her out of the house, she was just like his own daughter when he took her in.

He had no right to decide whether Ella would become a doctor like her parents wanted her to be, but after seeing how capable and passionate she was about her dream, he was willing to support her in any way he could. And so, he paid for her schooling at the St. Marie Academy in France because he believed that she could achieve greatness. After all, Ella was the only one his daughter saw as her true, close friend.

After bringing up that topic, Asa's father looked back to her to notice a pained expression on her face after reminiscing those memories she had with her close friend. She bit her lip as if she was trying to hold back her tears.

It was a strange sight to see because his daughter was never the one to find sadness in anything, but no matter how emotionless a person can be, they still have feelings.

"I don't know who could be so cruel to do that to her…" Asa gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration, but her father felt like she'd been overreacting despite what the news said.

"C-calm down. They probably sentenced the person who caused that traffic accident years ago. I know it's sad but justice has been served, Asa," he told his daughter to ease her mind but she looked straight at her father in bewilderment.

She had a troubled look when she heard her father say this yet she wanted to say so many things right now and yell them out in the kitchen where they stood… but her best friend's daughter was happily making a cake with her son and friends. She didn't want to ruin the mood and… she didn't want to traumatize the girl with memories of the past.

It was better if just everyone forgot about it but that memory of her friend going into the emergency room haunted her. She couldn't even be by her side to take care of her friend because of how emotional she had gotten 6 years ago.

She noticed the heartbroken smile of her father presently that tried to calm her mind but his words haunted her even further.

'No… Justice has not been served… Not yet.'

"Speaking of which, you should let Makoto choose what he wants to be. If he doesn't want to become a doctor, so be it," Asa's father quickly changed the topic but even still, his mind was focused on the beautiful young girl who befriended his cold grandson.

If it was him in the past, he would be helping Asa push Kashino into becoming a doctor and continuing the family business. He wouldn't even allow his children or grandson to be something else other than that, but even so, what happened to him?

It was because of that passionate girl he took in as his own which made him willing to give his younger son a chance to become a patissier. She sparked an inspirational energy in him which allowed one of his children to take off in a path in which he wished to join, and so, he would fully support his grandson with his dream as well.

"Don't worry I stopped forcing him after realizing how much attitude he showed me and—as she put it—I won't force him to become someone he's not. I'll support him to become something he wants to be."

Asa recalled a distant memory from the past and a recent memory of today when she talked to Michiko Keiko.

'They really are so much alike…'

* * *

"I apologize for having you all come here today despite your busy schedules. My grandson and his friends have prepared the dessert," Kashino's grandfather announced as he and his guests all gathered around a large dining table.

As if on cue, Kashino pushed around a serving cart into the dining room while Hanabusa held plates from behind and Andou held a teapot.

The guests from all around the table all brought their attention to Kashino and began gossiping.

"Eh, isn't that Makoto?"

"I heard he left home because he didn't want to see Asa?"

"That can't be. After all, he's the heir."

"He's the one that wants to be a patissier?"

As I stood by his grandfather's side waiting to serve, I snuck a glance at Asa who seemed annoyed at the company's sly comments towards her son.

Finally, Kashino arrived at his grandfather's side with the cart.

"Grandfather, thank you for waiting," Kashino said and removed the lid off of the plate, revealing the cake we all made together.

On the platter was a 9-inch chocolate glazed cake that appeared as a clock with an intricate chocolate mini clock and white chocolate truffles surrounding the outside to give the appearance of the 12 numbers on a clock.

Once he revealed the cake, the guests all remained silent and in awe, as if they were ready to eat their words.

"What a wonderful sachertorte."

"It's shaped like a clock, how rare… Did Makoto really make this?"

Oohs and Aahs could be heard all over, but all that mattered was his grandfather's reaction. When I turned to see the old man's face, I could see that he was genuinely surprised and awestruck at his grandson's creation.

"Sachertorte holds composure, dignity, tradition, and history. I made it for you because I thought it matched your image perfectly. The sponge inside is green tea flavoured, your favorite," Kashino introduced as he went through all the elements of the cake.

I was in charge of slicing his grandfather the cake and handing it to him.

"Here's your portion, grandfather," I said with a friendly smile and he nodded his head.

He grabbed his fork and dug into the cake. As he chewed and swallowed, we could all see an ecstatic look on his old face.

"Wow! I ate sachertorte often when I was on a trip to Germany. It's the taste of youth!" He complimented and continued to quickly dig into the cake.

After seeing the main star's reaction, the guests also decided to have a bite of the cake.

"Ooh! The sweetness of this green tea sponge is moderate, and makes the sweetness of the chocolate stand out."

"This is… pretty delicious."

The guests all had a taste but there was one person left who still hadn't had their first bite—Kashino's mother.

Truthfully, we didn't care all that much about what the guests thought but what really mattered today was that we impressed Kashino's mom and grandfather enough to leave him alone.

Finally, Asa had her first bite but she was so good at putting on a poker face that none of us could guess what she was thinking. But seeing as to how she went in for a few more bites, we could assume she was satisfied with the cake.

'It seems she likes it. That's a relief…' I massaged my head to relieve some of the nervousness I felt.