Lucia's family home, the Halifax Viscount estate, had long been entrusted with one of the cities in the Wellrod territory, governed by Lucia's father.
Her older brother, Andy, worked as a bureaucrat for the Wellrod family.
Even after Lucia married Randolph, she never acted like an external relative trying to gain favor. She remained a person of unwavering dignity, conducting herself just as she always had.
Though the family lived in the Halifax mansion in the capital, political considerations meant they rarely visited Lucia.
Yet sometimes, the two sisters-in-law, both mothers of young children, gathered to talk about parenting.
It was a tea party with Lucia, her sister-in-law Karen, and Isaac and Tiffany.
Tiffany, in the game, was portrayed as a blue-haired, braided, bespectacled honor student. (T/N: "honor student" refers to the archetypal model student character)
But the real Tiffany, only three years old, had a short bob close to a bowl cut.
She didn't wear glasses yet.
Right now, there was no trace of the game character's appearance.
When she smiled brightly, it was impossible not to smile back—a delightfully cute little girl.
Even with such a cute girl sitting beside him, this tea time was nothing but agony for Isaac.
Normally, he would have eagerly devoured the Confectionery in front of him.
But in this world, sweets were loaded with sugar.
Sugar was a luxury reserved for the wealthy, and desserts with heavy sugar had come to be seen as befitting Nobles.
The cakes laid out on the table now were no exception.
Not only was the cream sweet, but even the decorated fruits were candied, and the sponge itself was cloying.
Isaac was weary of confections that had no balance of flavor, just pure sweetness.
The adults ate without complaint, but the sweets were clearly too much for Tiffany, who was unaccustomed to them.
Isaac remembered tasting countless desserts in his previous life.
There, the variety was enormous, and flavors could be chosen freely.
It was no wonder he couldn't be satisfied with the desserts of this world.
So he gave up on the Confectionery and gnawed on finely cut dried meat that even a child could eat.
Since early childhood, he had eaten it to strengthen his jaw in place of the purely sweet treats.
Sometimes, he even felt a longing for beer.
Lucia, of course, worried about Isaac.
Rightly so.
Where in the world would a child prefer dried meat over sweets?
She wanted him, at least on occasions like this, to eat sweets without fuss.
"Isaac, you may be a boy who doesn't like sweets, but you mustn't be picky," Lucia said gently.
Isaac was clever.
He understood what he shouldn't do just from a verbal warning.
But on this matter, he would not yield.
It might be ordinary for a Noble, but he simply could not accept something as a confection if it tasted as if one were licking sugar directly.
"But Mother, this is far too sweet. I prefer something less sugary."
"Confectionery is meant to be like this," Lucia replied.
Lucia tilted her head, hand to her cheek, looking slightly troubled.
Her long, dark-red hair swayed gently.
Perhaps it was because they were Nobles, but everyone Isaac had met so far had been strikingly beautiful.
Lucia seemed almost the same age as Isaac's previous life peers, and he couldn't help being captivated.
"If you dislike it so much, why don't you try making it yourself?" Karen said with a chuckle, joking.
Isaac was only three.
No one expected him to take it seriously.
But he was no ordinary three-year-old.
"Yes! I will do that!"
"Huh?"
What was meant as a joke was taken seriously.
Lucia and Karen were surprised.
"Isaac, making Confectionery yourself is very difficult," Lucia warned.
Even a clever child like Isaac was still young.
Mixing flour alone would be a struggle.
"I won't make it myself. I'll have Alexis, the house Confectionery master, make something for me with less sugar."
Isaac named Alexis, the estate's confectioner.
He didn't have to make it himself; he could have someone capable make it to his taste.
This way, other Confectionery could also be adjusted for sugar, and he wouldn't have to make it himself whenever he wanted a treat.
"But the chef takes great pride in their work. They might refuse."
"I'll persuade them somehow."
Of course, Isaac wasn't using his status as a Marquis heir to pressure anyone.
It was a request from a sweet little child.
It would be impossible to refuse.
"Well, if you insist... but if they say no, you must give up," Lucia said.
"Yes!"
He responded politely, but Isaac had no intention of following that instruction.
Everyone wants to eat something delicious.
If he could taste even once a Confectionery that wasn't overloaded with sugar, he believed the chef would understand his point.
"I want to go too!"
Tiffany didn't fully understand the situation.
But she knew Isaac was about to do something.
As a friend, she insisted on joining in the fun.
"Alright... Tiffany, may you come along too?" Karen asked Lucia.
This was the Wellrod Marquis estate.
No outsider could give permission freely.
Even if it was for a child, approval from a Wellrod family member was required.
"Very well. It's only a short discussion anyway. Isaac, watch over Tiffany properly."
"Yes! Let's go, Tiffany."
Isaac took Tiffany's hand, and they walked together.
In his previous life, he would have been too shy to hold a woman's hand, but this life was different.
He had decided to live differently this time.
This was a small start toward that different life.
Moreover, even though she was a child, she was a girl.
He felt a small thrill at his bold action.
The maid, following just in case, watched with a warm, amused smile.
"No way."
"Ehh?"
"Ehh?"
Alexis's refusal left Isaac and Tiffany disappointed.
But this was a line Alexis could not cross either.
"I am the Confectionery master of the Marquis household. I am required to make sweets suitable for all members of the Marquis family. I cannot serve Isaac-sama something that does not meet this standard."
Being Noble was troublesome.
With great power came many restrictions.
Maintaining appearances was one of them.
No one could know that a child of a Marquis was eating sweets with reduced sugar.
If the Wellrod Marquis family were rumored to reduce sugar in their Confectionery, it would suggest they were in financial trouble.
As a Noble, one had to live appropriately for one's family.
Isaac was shocked that being a Marquis could prevent him from enjoying what he liked.
"Then, how about this? Making Confectionery as a treat for the household staff. We can try the prototypes ourselves."
"That is not my work. If it's for the servants, apprentices should make it. And nothing an apprentice makes should be eaten by the Marquis family themselves."
Alexis absolutely refused to let Isaac taste it.
It wasn't cruelty; he was protecting Isaac's position.
"Hmm... then if Tiffany eats it, it's fine, right? Even if an apprentice makes it, it's a Marquis apprentice. If it's for Viscount Tiffany, that's okay, right?"
Alexis looked troubled, thinking it over.
It was technically acceptable, but he knew Isaac would end up eating it too.
"...Isaac-sama, you must not eat, okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine!"
A proper answer.
Alexis had heard that Isaac was clever.
Yet, he was still a three-year-old child.
Could he truly be trusted? Alexis wasn't sure.
"Let's reduce the sugar to a third or a quarter. How about butter cookies that let the ingredients' flavor shine?"
Cookies were quick to bake, so they could be ready in time.
If it took too long, the tea party would be over.
"Then, I'll have the apprentice make them right away. Please wait about an hour."
Alexis agreed to make them, thinking, Well, if I make them, he'll quiet down for now.
"But remember, Isaac-sama, you must not eat them."
He reminded him firmly.
"Yeah, it's fine," Isaac said cheerfully.
A proper reply, but Isaac had a plan.
(If there's delicious Confectionery in front of me, any child would eat it.)
He intended to take full advantage of being a child.
He hadn't lied to Alexis.
He meant to keep his promise, but as a child, he couldn't resist his instincts.
And as long as Alexis didn't know, it wouldn't be a problem.
If the maids were instructed to keep quiet, eating them would be fine.
(That's what I thought, at least...)
When the cookies were done, Alexis brought them with the apprentice.
It seemed Isaac's plan had been seen through.
"Following Isaac-sama's request, these are butter cookies with drastically reduced sugar. Normally, it would be 200 grams of sugar per 100 grams of flour, but we reduced it to 50 grams."
"Too much sugar! It's like you're using flour just to hold the sugar together!"
(No wonder I always thought the sweets were too sweet.)
The ratio was enough to make one shudder—it was almost pure sugar.
"Yummy!"
While Isaac was surprised, Tiffany stuffed a warm cookie into her mouth.
It wasn't just Isaac who found overly sweet Confectionery unsuitable.
Tiffany, like a child, was entranced by the moderately sweet cookies.
The plate of cookies gave off an irresistible aroma.
"Isaac, let's eat together."
Tiffany picked up a cookie and offered it to Isaac.
Even at her young age, she was generous.
"Isaac-sama—"
Isaac took the cookie, and Alexis called his name, meaning don't eat it.
But Isaac ignored him and took a bite.
(Delicious! The butter flavor, just the right sweetness. Toasted perfectly with a nice texture. This is the sweetness I want.)
His cheeks involuntarily relaxed into a smile.
True Confectionery could not be beaten.
Eating dried meat until now seemed foolish.
As he reached for another, Alexis shouted.
"Isaac-sama! I told you not to eat...! My apologies, Milady."
Alexis had raised his voice embarrassingly in front of Lucia, glaring at Isaac as he apologized.
"I can't resist real delicious food," Isaac said.
He walked to Alexis holding a cookie and offered it.
"People eat dried meat, but no one eats salted meat, right?"
"Because it's too salty."
Isaac nodded in satisfaction at Alexis's answer.
"Then, what about Confectionery? The current ones are too sugary, right?"
He stared at the cookie.
"Currently, overly sweet Confectionery is praised as suitable for Nobles. But when someone realizes it's too sweet, today's sweets will be seen as outdated relics of the past."
Isaac looked Alexis in the eye.
"Alexis. This is the turning point."
"Turning point?"
Alexis's face showed confusion, wondering what Isaac meant.
"Do you want to be a cookie maker who just skillfully mixes too much sugar and gets forgotten by history?
Or do you want to be remembered as a pioneer of modern Confectionery, restoring its true form? Which will it be?"
Everyone except Tiffany was speechless.
A three-year-old shouldn't say such things.
This was extraordinary.
Alexis understood and took the cookie from Isaac.
He bit into it.
"...Not good."
(Huh? Even someone used to sweets can't handle this?)
Alexis had expected to find it delicious.
Isaac was slightly taken aback by the unexpected reaction.
"The kneading is poor. That makes it too hard. This gentle flavor needs a fluffier texture. If it were me... I could make it better."
Alexis looked frustrated.
Indeed, the flavor of the flour and the butter came through more beautifully this way.
He had always assumed it normal to use sugar recklessly, so he had done the same.
He had neglected the basic principle of balancing the natural flavors.
He was annoyed that a three-year-old had pointed it out first.
"But... this isn't suitable for the Marquis family."
Yet, common opinion differed.
Using excessive sugar was standard.
For Nobles concerned with appearances, it was expected.
"That's not true. If you call it 'New Generation Confectionery that brings out the flavor of the ingredients,' others will eat it too. They'll accept it naturally."
It was all about phrasing.
"Reduced-sugar Confectionery" might be seen as poor.
But "New Generation Confectionery"? Then it's seen as innovation.
No half measures. Declare it boldly.
"Is it really like that?"
"It is. Look at Tiffany."
Even as Isaac spoke, she continued eating.
She ignored the cakes prepared for the tea party.
She was absorbed in the moderately sweet cookies.
"She's eating what she thinks is delicious. Children are honest."
—And you're saying this?
The adults around them thought so.
Even if mature, such words weren't expected from a child.
"Mother, won't you try it too? It's better than Confectionery that only tastes of sugar."
"Ah... well, I suppose I could try one."
Surprised by her child's words, Lucia tasted a cookie.
After eating the sweet cake earlier, she looked slightly unsatisfied, but it wasn't bad.
Isaac nibbled a cookie while pondering.
(Yes. This is the turning point. But not for Alexis. For me.)
—A slightly clever child.
He had thought to just watch and be assessed that way, but he changed his mind.
Nathan was already ahead in the succession race.
Even if his mother's family had influence, he had to prove himself little by little.
As a declaration of resolve, he had taken a stand on the Confectionery.
He couldn't suddenly intervene in territory management.
But in small ways, he could gradually build his reputation within the Marquis family.
The Prodigy Route imposed a heavy burden on Isaac.
Fail even once, and people would sigh, "Just a clever child, after all."—a risky life.
But he had chosen a life different from his previous one.
He wouldn't want to regret, "If only I had done that back then."
He would do what he could, starting with this.
(But, interfering with Confectionery seems like such a small step. Well, I'm just a three-year-old child, so I guess this is fine.)
At the very least, he had made Tiffany smile and ensured that she could enjoy delicious Confectionery from now on.
Even if it was a small success for now, Isaac felt satisfied.
Notes:
• Ran - She is a gentle orphan, appeared as Mobu's close friend, surviving the demon attack in their secret hideout.