Chapter 76 - Blueberry Cheong Is A Success (1/2)

Chapter 76 – Blueberry Cheong Is A Success

Xavier gave a bark of laughter. “You’re confident.”

“Why,” Claude said with his own grin. “You don’t think I can do it?”

“…”

Xavier shot Claude a strange look, but Claude held his gaze.

“You’d better try harder, too,” Claude said smilingly. “As you know, I’ve never missed a goal I’ve set before.”

“Like always, you have such baseless confidence.” Xavier grinned back at Claude’s words. “Then you’ll remember this, too. I’ve won first place more times than you have.”

“There were times when you didn’t. How do you know this time it will be in your favor?”

“I’m good enough.”

“I’ll do my best, too. She’s the first person to stir my passion,” Claude said vehemently.

Xavier’s mouth tipped into a frown. It wasn’t because this was simply just declaration of war. It was due to the fact that other than Maristella, Xavier considered Claude to be the only other person who made his heart boil. It was safe to say that Claude was his rival.

“I should get up. I’ve been here too long.” Claude rose from his chair, but Xavier remained seated, seemingly with no intention to see Claude off.

Claude smiled, as if he didn’t expect Xavier to show him any courtesy in the first place. “Let’s eat together again when we have the chance.”

“I decline,” Xavier said.

“You tricky guy,” Claude murmured a little scornfully, then turned and walked away.

Xavier quietly raised his head and watched Claude’s retreating figure. Only when Claude had completely disappeared from sight did Xavier stand up and make his way towards Thurman Palace.

In short, nothing had changed between them. The conflict between the two remained unresolved. However, the air between them had somewhat shifted.

***

“Mmm!”

I held my teacup and made a noise of delight. A sweet and sour taste lingered pleasantly on my tongue. It seemed like I could declare this experiment a triumph.

I excitedly wrote “Blueberry cheong a success” on a piece of paper next to a teapot.

“I can give this to Odeletta, and then…”

I picked out a glass jar filled to the brim with preserved kiwis. I opened the lid of the jar, took out a spoonful of cheong, and placed the preserves in another teacup. I poured hot water in the teacup and stirred gently, and the sweet smell of kiwi seduced my nose. I grinned and lifted up the teacup again. It had a strong kiwi scent.

“Mmm.”

This was also a success. I felt buoyant as I wrote down the results. Then came a knock on the door, and I spoke without lifting my eyes from the paper.

“Come in.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the door opened and someone came inside. I turned around to see who it was.

“Surprise,” a voice said.

It was Martina.

I gave a small smile at her sudden appearance. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“I’m bored,” she grumbled.

“Oh, would you like a cup of tea?” I offered.

“Yes. It looks delicious,” Martina chirped. “What kind of tea is it?”

“There’s blueberry and kiwi tea. Which one do you want to drink?”

“Both sound delicious.” She took a moment to inspect each one carefully. “Which one is better?”

“They’re both delicious.”

“But which one is particularly so?”

I shrugged. “It’s just based on personal preference. I like blueberry cheong, just because I prefer blueberries.”

“Then I’ll have that one as well.”

“Alright.” I smiled and quickly started to prepare the tea. Unlike black tea, which was commonly drunk by the nobles of Yanos, tea made with fruit preserves did not take long to make. Of course, making the fruit cheong itself was a laborious and time-intensive process, which was why I was trying to open a store to save that initial effort.

“Here, drink.”

It was fortunate that I still had some hot water. In modern times I would use an electric kettle, but here I had to boil water by putting it over fire.

After carefully accepting the warm cup, Martina closed her eyes and took a sip. After a moment, her eyes opened widely.

“Mmm.”

That was a good reaction. “What do you think?” I asked with a smile.

Martina raised her thumb in approval. “It’s delicious. I like this better than the orange tea. I didn’t know that blueberries could taste like this.”