Chapter 44

Left to her own devices, Melissa grew increasingly bored. As her eyes wandered, she suddenly spotted a plate resting atop a large stone, adorned with several golden-brown biscuits that emitted a faint milky aroma. Feeling a pang of hunger, she unceremoniously snatched a biscuit and brought it to her mouth without so much as a second thought, clearly disregarding Richard.

With a crunch, the biscuit shattered between her teeth as Melissa carelessly chewed, preparing to swallow, thinking that the biscuit was likely just pleasant-smelling and not particularly tasty. But in the next moment, her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the remaining biscuits on the plate—the light in her eyes began to brighten.

For that instant, she felt she had tasted the best delicacy she had ever encountered.

It was truly the best delicacy.

Melissa swore that despite trying countless gourmet foods and specialties from various countries throughout her upbringing in Myron, she had never encountered anything as delicious as this unassuming biscuit.

Somehow crafted in a way entirely different from regular biscuits, it was not the hard, tooth-cracking type; instead, it was crisp and light. Just a gentle bite split it in two. Most importantly, these biscuits were sweet, intoxicatingly so, yet not cloyingly sweet, nor did they carry an odd aftertaste as some inferior honey products did. The added milk lent a rich flavor, making it all the more irresistible—truly an addictive treat.

As she swallowed one piece, Melissa eagerly grabbed another, then a third, and a fourth...

Before long, the plate was empty. Richard, who had been engrossed in his calculations, glanced up at the empty dish and couldn't help but shake his head in regret over the "unexpected waste" of his honey biscuits.

These were no simple treats to make; the flour alone had been sifted at least twelve times. The honey used was of the best quality, and to minimize the cloying sweetness, he had specifically added a type of sugar—extracted from beets—that was not yet known in this world. Additionally, he'd fermented fresh milk into cheese and added that into the mix, precisely controlling the baking temperature and time, constructing a special oven for it.

Tremendous effort had gone into producing this batch of "relatively long-lasting" and tasty biscuits, primarily prepared for long journeys. He certainly didn't want to endure the same fate as the butcher's group, subsisting on stale bread and tasteless wolf meat every day.

On this trip, he had brought along quite a few biscuits, for himself, but also for his little maid Lucy. And now, as he saw his midnight snack consumed by another person, it felt like a significant waste to him—even if that person was a beautiful girl.

While Richard contemplated this, Melissa, oblivious to his thoughts, licked her lips clean of the biscuit crumbs before turning to Lucy, who had been roused from sleep.

"You!" Melissa directed at Lucy with an air of command, "Get me ten more biscuits—no, fifteen! Hurry up!"

"Hmm?" Lucy, just awakened, rubbed her sleepy eyes and, upon realizing the person demanding her attention was not Richard, flatly refused, "No way."

"You!" Melissa felt greatly offended. Being rebuffed by a mere maid felt like a tremendous humiliation. Her anger flared as she turned to Richard and exclaimed, "How can your maid behave like this? So rude! You can't even order her around!"

Hearing her voice, Richard, holding his quill poised above the papyrus scroll, slowly lifted his gaze to Melissa. He spoke calmly, "In my view, it is not Lucy who lacks manners, but you, Miss Melissa."

"What do you mean?" Melissa shot back, her indignation rising.

"My maid is my maid, and only I have the right to instruct her. No one else, including you."

"But she is just a maid!"

"True, Lucy is merely a maid, but to me, she is far more important than you."

"Are you serious?!" Melissa, trembling with anger, pointed at Richard, "You are going too far!"

"Am I?" Richard raised an eyebrow at her, countering, "The one who has gone too far is you, Miss Melissa. I'm here quietly working on my tasks, and you come barging in, consuming my snacks and then demanding my maid prepare more.

Do you expect me to treat you according to noble etiquette? Enough! You've disrupted me for long enough, and I have important matters to attend to. You would do well to leave." Richard had reached the end of his patience with this willful young lady.

But to his surprise, upon hearing his words, Melissa suddenly sparkled with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The anger on her face vanished, replaced by a smugness that suggested she felt like a victor. With a teasing tone, she responded, "Oh, are you getting anxious? Are you angry?"

"Hm?"

"Ha! Don't pretend! I know you're furious and want to kick me out. But I won't leave, so what can you do about it?" After saying this, Melissa struck a triumphant pose, as if she were a general in victory, daring him to respond.

Richard looked at her and held her gaze steady.

"One second, two seconds, three seconds."

"You really won't go?" he probed.

"Nope! You'll have to deal with me!"

"Then don't say I didn't warn you." Richard shook his head softly.

"What do you intend to do?" Melissa suddenly seemed tense, her previous bravado fading as she asked nervously, "You wouldn't actually lay a hand on me, would you?"

"Of course not," Richard replied, shaking his head again. He then stood up and turned to walk into the darkness.

Watching Richard's figure disappear into the shadows, Melissa was momentarily stunned, but then she realized something, and her expression turned triumphant as she burst into laughter. She turned to Lucy, grinning as she boasted, "Did you see that? Your master couldn't do anything about me! I made him leave!"

"Hmph!"

"What's with the 'hmph'? Now, get me fifteen more biscuits. Otherwise… wait!"

Melissa's voice trailed off in surprise as she felt hands grip her from behind.

"Who? What do you want? Let me go!" she struggled, twisting to look back. The sight of the scarred, menacing face of the butcher, Tuku, froze her momentarily.

Twisting around again, she spotted Richard returning, re-taking his former position and gazing at her as he said, "I certainly won't lay a hand on you. But that doesn't mean I can't instruct others to do so. As I've stated, you've disturbed me for too long tonight, and I have important matters to attend to. So, goodbye."

With that, Richard waved his hand, and before Melissa could react, Tuku casually tossed her out of the tent.