Come to think of it, whenever I faced Kustiel in my previous lives, he always carried this sweet scent.
I had smelled it before.
Ah, right.
Chocolate.
It was the smell of chocolate.
A luxury dessert only nobles could afford.
A rare delicacy that was incredibly hard to find.
The very dessert I had only tasted a handful of times across my thousand regressions!
My mouth watered, and my baby lips couldn’t contain the sudden rush of saliva.
I quickly sucked back the drool that began to trickle down.
Kustiel’s eyes crinkled into crescents as he reached into his sleeve.
Kustiel’s weapons of choice were the bow, the dagger, and hidden weapons.
He was probably pulling out a concealed blade to end my life.
I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing to release my mana.
Then.
Something pried its way past my lips.
Fragrant, meltingly soft, and exquisitely sweet…
Chocolate?
I slowly opened my eyes.
Kustiel was holding a large piece of chocolate to my mouth.
To think he was hiding something so precious inside his sleeve.
So this was the source of the sweet scent I had smelled every time I faced him?
“Children usually have a sweet tooth.”
Kustiel said with a gentle smile.
When he started to pull the chocolate away, I reached out for him without thinking.
To a body that had only tasted baby formula, the temptation of chocolate was far too powerful.
My baby body craved the sweet treat.
“Look.
Now she wants to come to me.”
Kustiel said calmly, reaching out an arm.
It was a gesture telling Baba to hand me over.
“That’s cheating, Leader.”
Baba grumbled.
“No, this was a perfectly fair competition, Baba.
I offered the child what she liked, and she simply responded accordingly.”
“But you always carry stuff like that around.
It’s cheating.”
“It’s called being prepared.
Hand her over, Baba.
She wants more.”
“I can just hold her while you feed her the chocolate.”
“I’d rather not.
I have a habit of only giving chocolate to children who are in my arms.”
“Habit, my foot.
You’ve never even held a baby before.”
Despite his grumbling, Baba handed me over.
For someone who had supposedly never held a baby, Kustiel held me quite comfortably.
It was much cozier than being in Baba’s arms.
“Heeyoo.”
A contented sigh escaped my lips without my realizing.
Kustiel’s eyes narrowed further.
I wanted him to hurry up and feed me the chocolate, but he just stared at my face.
Reaching out for more chocolate, I grabbed a handful of Kustiel’s long hair and yanked.
“Gasp!”
“Oh…”
Mika and Baba let out sharp intakes of breath.
Uh-oh.
Apparently, grabbing Kustiel’s hair was a major taboo.
Even Masha was staring at me, her face pale.
I braced myself, expecting Kustiel to throw me to the ground.
But Kustiel did the exact opposite of what I expected.
With a broad smile, he held the chocolate to my lips again.
‘He isn’t planning to kill me while I’m distracted by the chocolate, is he?’
I remained on guard, but my body moved on its own, taking a big, greedy bite of the sweet chocolate.
“Oh my goodness, no!”
The moment the sweet flavor touched my tongue, Masha let out a sharp cry.
Startled, everyone turned to look at her.
Masha shrank back slightly under the sudden weight of everyone’s gazes, but she stood her ground.
“Chocolate isn’t a good snack for a baby.
It’s better to wait until she’s a bit older.”
No!
I want more!
Terrified Kustiel would take it away, I quickly grabbed the chocolate with both hands.
The soft chocolate began to melt in my warm grip.
Looking down at me, Kustiel gently but firmly pried the chocolate from my hands, ignoring my desperate, whiny protests.
“Look at that.
She’s fighting tooth and nail to keep it.”
Kustiel chuckled, clearly amused.
“Oh, Boss, she’s adorable.
Her struggling like that is totally my style.”
Kustiel laughed at Mika’s words.
“Being your style?
Now that’s terrifying.”
If even Kustiel found it terrifying, I definitely needed to make sure I didn’t become Mika’s favorite.
“Seriously, Boss, let me have her.
I can raise her so well.”
“No, Mika.
I actually want this child to live a long life.”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m going to kill her right away…”
With a smile, Kustiel handed me back to Masha.
Returning to her familiar, safe embrace, the tension finally drained from my body, and I wiggled deeper into her arms.
Kustiel gently tucked a stray lock of Masha’s hair behind her ear and whispered softly.
“Raise her well, Masha.
And keep a close eye on her.
Because if she grows up and harbors any treacherous thoughts toward our lord, I’ll have no choice but to kill you along with her.”