Chapter 681: Plum Tart

Kael remained on the veranda until the wind began to turn cold. The rain had stopped, but drops were still running off the tree’s leaves, and the gravel path was dark with moisture. Sylphie stood to collect the cups they had left on a nearby table. Before she entered the mansion, Kael pointed toward the kitchen, visible through the corridor windows.

"Do you know how to make that fruit tart?"

"The one from the bakery?"

"Yes."

"Not exactly. I know how to make other tarts, but I’ve never tried that recipe."

Kael thought for a moment.

"I want to learn."

She came back to him and set the cups on the table.

"You want to learn how to make a tart?"

"That’s what I said."

"You barely knew the names of the flowers three days ago. Now you’re planting seeds and wanting to cook."

"I don’t see the connection between those things."

"Neither do I. I just like it."

Kael stood and picked up one of the cups. "We can ask the cook how to make it. She must know a similar recipe."

"Today?"

"Tomorrow. We’ve already eaten plenty."

Sylphie agreed, and the two entered the mansion. In the corridor, they found the nameless man leaving the reading room with his animal book held tightly against his chest. Seraphine accompanied him, carrying a sheet covered in notes.

"Are the garden beds all right?" he asked.

"They are," Kael replied. "The water drained away without collecting near the seeds."

The man seemed relieved.

"I’ll write that down."

"You can write it down after dinner," Seraphine said. "You’ve already noted that it rained three times on the same sheet."

"Those were three different things. First it started, then it got heavy, and then it stopped."

Kael considered the explanation.

"That’s the correct sequence."

Seraphine looked at him.

"Don’t encourage him."

"I’m merely acknowledging the facts."

Sylphie told them about the tart. Seraphine immediately showed interest, while the man wanted to know whether they could make it with plums, since he had enjoyed the fruit during lunch. Kael replied that he still needed to find out which ingredients they would need.

"If we use plums, do you want to help?"

The man nodded.

"Can I?"

"You can. Tomorrow we’ll talk to the cook."

He added another note to his sheet, this time on the back.

Seraphine leaned over to read it and smiled.

"What did you write?" Sylphie asked.

"Make a tart."

Kael looked at her. "Looks like we have a commitment now."

The following morning, Kael and Sylphie went to check the garden beds before breakfast. The rain had left the soil sufficiently moist, so they didn’t need to use the watering can. The nameless man appeared shortly afterward, examined his own plot, and added an observation to his sheet. Sylphie helped him distinguish the marks left by larger raindrops from possible signs that an animal had disturbed the soil.

When they finished, Kael announced that he was going to the kitchen.

"Before breakfast?" Sylphie asked.

"I want to ask about the recipe."

"You can ask while we eat. The woman in charge of the kitchen will be busy preparing everyone’s meal."

Kael acknowledged that she was right and accompanied her to the dining room. Eleonor was already at the table, reading a letter. When Kael sat down, she folded the paper and placed it beside her plate.

"You look determined. What do you intend to do today?"

"A tart."

Eleonor remained silent for a moment.

"Eat a tart?"

"Make one."

"You?"

"Yes, Grandmother."

She looked at Sylphie, who confirmed it with a gesture.

Eleonor leaned back in her chair.

"I want to watch."

Kael frowned. "Why?"

"Because I remember the last time you tried to help in a kitchen."

He placed a piece of bread on his plate.

"When was that?"

"You were eight. You asked to make cookies and decided the amount of flour specified in the recipe was insufficient."

Sylphie began to smile.

"How much did he add?"

"I don’t remember the exact amount. I remember the dough became so dry that the cook had to add milk three times. Then he claimed the oven was to blame."

"Maybe it was," Kael said.

"The other cookies turned out fine."

"Then there must have been some difference between the recipes."

Eleonor took a sip of tea.

"That’s exactly why I want to watch."

Kael continued eating while Sylphie tried to hide her laughter. When Seraphine and the nameless man arrived, Eleonor told the cookie story again. Kael protested that there was no physical evidence of what had happened, but his grandmother replied that she distinctly remembered finding flour inside one of his boots.

"That can’t be related," Kael said.

"You were wearing the boot when you entered the kitchen."

Umbra emerged behind the chair.

"Now I want to watch, too."

Kael looked at the three of them.

"You’re making this much more complicated than it needs to be."

"We’ll just watch," Sylphie promised.

He didn’t believe her.

The woman in charge of the kitchen listened to the request after breakfast ended. Her name was Marta, and she had worked at the mansion long enough to know Eleonor’s tastes, Sylphie’s preference for certain teas, and Kael’s habit of entering the kitchen to ask for something he could eat within a few minutes.

When he explained that he wanted to learn how to make a fruit tart, Marta wiped her hands on a cloth and pointed to an empty worktop.

"Would you like one large tart or individual portions, sir?"

"One large one. To share."

"Then we’ll make a simple pastry and choose the filling. Which fruit would you prefer?"

"Plums."

Marta opened a cupboard and took out flour, butter, sugar, and salt, then asked an assistant to bring eggs and a bowl of ripe plums. Sylphie and Seraphine stayed near the window, while the nameless man came closer to watch.

Kael read the recipe Marta had written on a sheet of paper.

"Why does the butter need to be cold?"

"So the pastry doesn’t become heavy. If it gets too warm while you mix it, it loses the texture we want."

He nodded. Marta showed him how to cut the butter into small pieces and work it into the flour with his fingertips. Kael tried to repeat the movement but began pressing the mixture too hard.

"More gently, sir."

"I’m mixing it."

"You’re trying to crush the butter against the bowl."

Kael eased the pressure.

Marta demonstrated the movement again. This time, he managed to produce a mixture resembling crumbs without leaving large pieces of butter. When they added the egg and a small amount of water, the dough began to come together.

"Now just bring it together until it’s even," Marta explained. "There’s no need to work it too much."

Kael carefully gathered the pieces and stopped when she told him to. Marta wrapped the dough in a clean cloth and placed it in a cool area of the pantry.

"We’ll let it rest for a while."

Kael looked at the wrapped dough.

"How long?"

"Half an hour."

Umbra spoke from the shadow beneath the worktop:

"One more thing he has to wait for."

Kael pointed to the empty bowl.

"You haven’t participated in any part of this."

"I’m participating as an observer."

"Observing doesn’t entitle you to taste it before everyone else."

"I disagree."

Marta, who didn’t seem particularly impressed by Umbra’s presence, placed a small platter of fruit on the worktop.

"You can taste these. The plums for the filling still need to be prepared."

Umbra appeared beside the platter.

"Thank you."

Kael looked at Marta.

"You just rewarded her."

"This way, she’ll leave the filling alone, sir."

The explanation was difficult to argue with.

While the dough rested, the nameless man helped wash the plums. Seraphine removed the pits, and Sylphie cut the fruit into similar-sized pieces. Marta asked Kael to put some of them in a saucepan with a little sugar and heat them slowly to produce a thick filling.

He stirred the fruit with a wooden spoon until it began to release its juices.

"Does it need more sugar?" he asked.

Marta tasted a small portion after letting it cool.

"That depends on the flavor you want, sir."

Kael took another clean spoon and tried it.

"It’s sweet."

"Then we can leave it as it is."

"The one from the bakery was sweeter."

"We can add some."

Kael thought of the tart he had bought with Sylphie that afternoon, when he had complained about the sugar and later admitted that he liked it.

"A little more. Not too much."

The nameless man tasted the filling after Marta served a small portion in a bowl.

"I like it better this way."

"Then that settles the recipe," Kael said.

Marta let the saucepan cool and brought the dough back to the worktop. Kael rolled it out with a wooden rolling pin. On his first attempt, he pressed one end harder than the other and produced a lopsided circle.

Sylphie approached.

"Want some help?"

"Yes."

She stood beside him and showed him how to turn the dough between passes of the rolling pin, distributing the pressure more evenly. They worked together until the circle was even enough to line the tart pan.

Marta checked the thickness and nodded.

"Now we can add the filling."

Kael spread the plums over the base. Sylphie cut the remaining dough into strips, and the two crossed them over the filling, leaving small gaps between them.

The result wasn’t perfectly symmetrical.

Kael moved the pan away and examined the strips.

"That one’s crooked."

"It’s a tart," Sylphie replied.

"That was terrible."

"Thank you."

Marta put the pan in the oven and explained that they would need to wait until the pastry turned golden and the filling finished cooking. Kael cleaned the worktop with the nameless man while Seraphine put away the unused ingredients.

When they finished, Eleonor appeared in the doorway.

"Am I late?"

"It’s in the oven," Kael replied.

She examined the clean worktop.

"There’s no flour on the floor."

"I’ve learned a great deal since I was eight."

"I can see that."

Eleonor accepted a cup of tea offered by Marta and stayed to talk with Sylphie while they waited.

The smell of the tart began spreading through the kitchen shortly afterward. Kael approached the oven several times, but Marta explained that opening the door repeatedly would change the temperature. He stepped away and went to help prepare a jug of iced tea to accompany dessert.

When Marta finally removed the tart, the pastry was golden, and the plums had formed a glossy filling between the strips. Kael was pleased with its appearance, although one edge was thicker than the others.

"Can we eat it?"

"It’s still too hot. If you cut it now, the filling will run."

Kael looked at the kitchen clock.

"How much longer?"

Marta smiled.

"Half an hour."

Eleonor took another sip of tea.

"You chose an activity that consists mainly of waiting."

"I’m starting to realize that."

To pass the time, they took the chairs out to the garden. The nameless man went to check his garden bed and returned with the news that the soil was still moist and didn’t need watering. Seraphine brought her travel book but ended up leaving it closed on the bench while she talked with Eleonor about the northern regions.

Sylphie sat beside Kael beneath the tree.

"Are you enjoying cooking?"

"I liked preparing the pastry. I didn’t like waiting for the oven."

"It’s part of the recipe."

"I know."

She rested her head on his uninjured shoulder.

"You did almost everything without using mana."

"There was no reason to use it."

Sylphie smiled.

"It’s good to see you choose that."

Kael put his arm around her waist and remained seated until Marta appeared with the tart and the plates. The cook placed everything on the low table, served the first slice to check whether the filling had set, and handed the plate to Kael.

He tasted a piece.

The pastry was crisp around the edges and soft where it met the fruit. The filling had a slightly tart flavor that balanced the sugar, different from the bakery’s tart but pleasant.

"Well?" Sylphie asked.

"I like it."

She tasted her own slice.

"So do I."

The nameless man ate slowly, trying to identify the flavors. After finishing, he took his list of experiences from his pocket and wrote a new sentence.

Kael looked at him.

"What was it this time?"

The man showed him the paper.

I MADE A PLUM TART.

Seraphine smiled and asked for another small slice. Umbra had already finished her own portion and was watching Kael’s plate with interest.

"Don’t even think about it," he said.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You’re staring."

"The tart is very good."

Kael looked at the half remaining on his plate and, after a moment, set aside a piece for her.

Umbra accepted it.

"Thank you."

Eleonor tasted the dessert and declared that, this time, she had no complaints about the amount of flour. Kael replied that he considered the comment formal approval.

When Marta returned to collect the empty pan, he stood and went to thank her personally for her help. He also asked whether he could keep the recipe, including the small adjustments they had made to the filling.

"Of course, sir. I can write everything down and leave it in the kitchen."

"I’d prefer to take a copy to my room."

"I’ll prepare one."

Kael returned to Sylphie and sat beneath the tree. The next day, he would check the garden beds again. Perhaps no plants would have appeared yet, but that no longer bothered him. He also intended to return to the kitchen on another occasion, although he hadn’t yet decided what he would like to prepare.

Sylphie took his hand.

"Shall we make another tart next time?"

"We can."

"With which fruit?"

Kael looked at the table, where only a few crumbs remained.

"We’ll decide when the time comes."

Eleonor raised her cup.

"A sensible answer."

Umbra appeared behind the bench.

"As long as I get to taste it."

Kael nodded.

"You can taste it."

Sylphie smiled and settled beside him while the nameless man showed Seraphine his new note. The afternoon remained peaceful, and Kael stayed in the garden until the sun began to set, finding no other commitment he would rather take on at that moment.