Chapter 5
Monica rather liked the icing on sweets.
She liked it whether or not it was scented with citrus, but when it melted into a sticky mess on a warm day, she felt a little sad. She loved that distinctive, crunchy texture.
Sweets were luxuries in themselves, but Monica had always thought that icing alone made them seem instantly much more high-end.
That day, Isaac was baking cookies in the kitchen.
There were ginger-flavored cookies cut into flower shapes, cookies cut into cat shapes, and cookies cut into the shapes of little boys and girls, all cooling on a wire rack.
Once Isaac had confirmed that the cookies were completely cool, he filled a small piping bag with icing.
Monica, practically glued to the table, held her breath as the decorating was finally about to begin.
As a child, Monica had liked watching her father do calculations and conduct experiments. Perhaps that was why she still had a vague fondness for watching other people work.
So, during breaks from her research, Monica would sometimes sit and quietly watch Isaac cook.
Isaac was especially skillful no matter what he made, so watching him gave her a reassuring feeling. It was also nice that the air filled with delicious smells while he worked. It was guaranteed to make her happy.
Even now, Monica watched Isaac pipe icing onto the cookies, dreamy with pleasure at the distinctive aroma of flour, butter, and sugar baking together.
On the flower-shaped cookies, he piped around the edge once, then added a lace-like pattern inside.
Monica liked beautiful patterns. In particular, she could memorize and reproduce patterns incorporating magical formulas with perfect accuracy, but that was with paper and pen. She couldn't imagine doing the same with a piping bag and icing.
As Isaac drew the final pattern and lifted the piping bag, Monica let out a soft whoosh. Apparently, she had unconsciously been holding her breath.
Isaac chuckled at her.
"You were watching awfully intently."
"Ike, you're amazing. You're like a real professional."
"I just copied what I saw."
Then Isaac looked as if he had thought of something and started piping icing onto the girl-shaped cookie.
The only real difference between the boy and girl cookies was that one had pants and the other a skirt. But as Isaac piped icing onto the latter, the girl-shaped cookie became a witch in a robe.
Monica recognized the shape of that robe.
"Oh, that's my robe!"
"I couldn't reproduce the intricate details, though."
Isaac was being modest, but the cookie captured Monica's features remarkably well. Anyone who knew her would recognize her at a glance.
Isaac said, "Done," and placed Monica's cookie on a plate.
Monica's eyes lit up, and she looked up at Isaac.
"Um, um... could I try it too?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Monica rolled up her sleeves and accepted the piping bag from Isaac.
She chose one of the cat-shaped cookies first and tried drawing a face on it.
She had thought drawing a face would be easy, but piping the icing evenly was surprisingly difficult. The right eye ended up absurdly large, while the left was comically thin.
To make matters worse, icing drooped from the corner of its mouth. It looked as if it were drooling.
"D-difficult..."
"It looks just like Nero when he's got meat in front of him."
Once he said that, Monica could see Nero in the cookie: one eye wide open, the other narrowed, with drool hanging from his mouth as he stared at a meat dish.
Having convinced herself of that, Monica picked up the next cookie.
"Next, I'll make Ike."
＊ ＊ ＊
The cookie Monica picked up after declaring that she would make Ike was shaped like a girl.
(... Huh?)
Isaac couldn't help cocking his head.
Even though there were boy-shaped cookies too, why had she chosen a girl-shaped one?
Was she planning to practice with a girl-shaped cookie first?
He kept quiet for the moment and watched as Monica began moving the piping bag with a serious expression.
The way she did the bangs looked very much like Isaac. But why was the body a girl's? He soon found out.
What Monica had piped onto the figure wasn't a prince's outfit, but an apron. Ah, if she was making an apron, the girl-shaped one was a closer match.
"Done! It's Ike!"
Monica gave a little huff through her nose.
Isaac looked at the cookie likeness of himself wearing an icing apron, and the corners of his mouth twitched despite himself.
──Because to Monica, "Ike" wasn't a sparkling prince, but an apron-wearing apprentice.
She had no idea how happy that made him.
"I'm happy. Thank you, my master."
"Next, I want to make Lana!"
Miss Lana Collette, with her elaborate hairstyle and glamorous dress, was unquestionably the hardest subject of all.
Isaac said, "I'll help," then moved behind Monica and supported the hand holding the piping bag.