"Never mind, never mind…" Johannes comforted himself repeatedly not to compete with Vera, finally managing to suppress the impulse to duel Vera on the spot - of course, it could also be purely because he felt too weak to confront her.

"Can we enter the castle now?"

"Of course not." Vera pointed to the continuous outline of castle buildings below the hill, "Although this is a blind spot of the surveillance barrier, the area below is still covered. Going in directly would still be discovered."

"What's the point of climbing up then? You're not going to tell me it's just to admire our climbing skills, right?" Johannes glared, looking straight at me, brat.

"Let me correct that, the one putting in effort is only me, Johannes," Sullivan added.

"I know, don't worry about these details."

"Um...close enough?"

Alright, hardened, clenched fist.

"Hehe, I'm not that mean, just kidding."

Vera pulled out a small exquisite card from her coat pocket and waved it in front of the two, "If you want to enter without being detected, you'll need this identity recognition card. It has special Magic runes on it, which can react to the magic frequency of the barrier. Unfortunately, mine has been deactivated, so you'll have to figure out a way to get one yourselves."

"Figure it out ourselves? You don't mean..." Sullivan raised an eyebrow.

"This is the castle's backyard, it shouldn't be difficult to get one from someone who comes here. Vera shrugged, looking indifferent, "But I won't be going in, since I'm already on their blacklist after the last infiltration. Good luck to you both, I look forward to seeing how you'll perform next."

...

In the afternoon, outside the castle's wine cellar.

"Need my help?" Mimi put down the writing board and pencil she held in her arms for registration, and scrutinized Aya's earnest request with a thoughtful look.

Just a bite of the freshly baked cake nearly made Aya keel over, judging by Princess Vivian's taste standards and the inexplicable self-confidence in her ingredients, without a competent person guiding her, it wouldn't take long for the castle's kitchen to turn into an alchemy lab.

But the castle's pastry chefs all had their own jobs, and given other alternatives, Aya wouldn't have thought of seeking help from Mimi, who was proficient in all aspects of household skills.

Aya, bowing her head in plea, sneakily glanced at Mimi's playful expression before sighing inwardly, knowing it wouldn't be that easy.

Although they had resolved some of their issues during their hide-and-seek scuffle, it didn't mean that the head maid would change her attitude and cheerfully support Aya's marriage to Tiran. In fact, for the past few days, Mimi had been nitpicking at everything Aya did, citing strict assessment of her skills as a maid. Could anyone really be expected to measure the temperature of tea with a thermometer and control the water temperature to two decimal places?

"Mimi, please save me, even for a little bit..."

"Even so, I'm quite busy, you know." Mimi's apparent gloating tone disguised her refusal with a solid reason.

It wasn't entirely a lie, planning Tiran's birthday celebration, which Princess Vivian intended to hold, involved everyone in the castle to some extent. Adding to that the daily routine of the castle and the pending tasks from previous days, it wasn't an easy task.

However, the thought of potentially suffering from a ruined taste palate after trying Princess Vivian's cake taste had Aya quickly shaking her head to rid herself of the dreadful idea.

Darn it, if that's how it is...

Aya's gaze turned sharp, raising her left hand in front of her body and covering her left eye with the right hand, striking a somewhat edgy pose that even made it seem like she was about to exclaim, "It's my turn, draw a card."

I still have Chirp as my trump card! The beast-ear Lolita favored by the head maid always listened to her, if only the old tricks could be applied once again...

"Threatening with Chirp won't work anymore. Even if you have Chirp hide from me, I will find my own way to win back her affection. Give up! I won't be defeated twice by the same move!" Sensing Aya's ploy, the head maid waved her hand heroically.

Was it an illusion? Aya seemed to have momentarily caught a glimpse of a protagonist aura buff around Mimi.

"Please, Mimi, save me, I beg you! I'm willing to agree to anything!"

With a complete change in demeanor, Aya entwined her arms around Mimi's black-nylon-clad legs and refused to let go, with tear-filled eyes and a pitiful expression.

"Hey, you..."

Taken aback, Mimi felt a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, but Aya's refusal to release her was akin to Tiran's way of charmingly throwing a tantrum.

Ugh, she really wasn't good at handling these situations.

"...Alright, I guess I have no choice."

Mimi sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"You'll help?"

"I can't assist directly," Mimi remained firm on this matter, "But I can give you a suggestion. Chirp has been studying cooking recently, so she should be able to help you. She made fruit pudding and cheesecake for me before, both of which were above average in taste, enough to guide inexperienced beginners like you and Princess Vivian."

"Is that so... Wait a minute! When did she make desserts for you? And why wasn't I included?" Aya felt a sense of betrayal; Chirp no longer loved her!

Darn it, no wonder Mimi had been so confident earlier - did she gain a "Lolita Homemade Desserts" bonus from Chirp?

"Hehe, who knows?"

Mimi rubbed her chin, closing one eye and revealing a smirk.

...

"Achoo!"

In the study, as spacious as a small library within the castle, a pile of scattered books in the corner suddenly stirred.

"Homemade Cuisine Encyclopedia," "Eastern Banquet Chronicles," "Stretlin Countryside Culinary Research," "Elf Specialty Spice Records"...

Thud.

A book fell to the ground, and a thin furry tail wriggled out from it, deftly swiping away the books that covered it before Chirp emerged, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she propped up her tiny body.

"Achoo...I think...I stared for too long..."

...

At the top of the castle's tallest tower.

The princess sat on a lounge chair on the terrace, basking in the sun, but abruptly closed the manga she was reading.

Something felt off — even though she enjoyed reading manga in her room without any disturbance, why did she suddenly feel a sense of being forgotten?