Chapter 16: Elise Remake
“That’s right. Relax, trust yourself, you can do it.”
Peiya had often taught cooking classes to maids before, so teaching Elise now felt very natural to her.
Elise took the butter-and-sugar mixture. Peiya’s gentle voice guided her from beside her.
“Don’t use too much force at the start, or you’ll get tired quickly. While the butter is still soft, start mixing. Make sure to stir in one direction, and keep going until it becomes light and a bit foamy.”
Elise held the whisk and sped up. Stirring in just one direction was easy for her.
During this time, Peiya added the beaten eggs in three parts.
She explained that this would make the cookies softer and fluffier.
Elise listened carefully. These ideas were new to her, she had never studied things like this before.
The egg mixture in her hands felt slightly warm. She felt that Peiya was someone who paid great attention to details, carefully measuring every ingredient.
At the same time, she could also be a bit careless. Her hair was slightly messy, and her clothes were a little loose.
Since they were standing so close, from this angle, Elise could even…
Cough. She quickly stopped herself.
She wasn’t that kind of person.
Peiya looked very cute, cuter than any doll she had.
But that wasn’t a reason to think improper thoughts.
Pushing away those extra thoughts, Elise sped up her mixing.
Peiya, not knowing what was on her mind, praised her.
“Nice, you picked it up quickly.”
Elise’s cheeks felt a little warm. For some reason, every time she interacted with Peiya, it made small ripples in her heart.
She had heard many compliments before.
But why did this one make her feel so restless, like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn?
Was it because it came from Peiya?
…………………………
“I feel like she’s so professional… are we going to lose our jobs in the future?”
The maids outside were watching for fun at first, but the more they watched, the more uneasy they felt.
It suddenly felt like a midlife crisis.
Why was she so skilled?
Even the usually calm head maid frowned in worry.
“What are you standing there for? Take notes! You can’t learn this kind of thing outside.”
Inside the kitchen, Elise handed the whipped butter mixture to Peiya. Peiya checked it and found the quality quite good.
“Impressive. You’ve improved so much already?”
Elise smiled lightly, feeling like she had just seen a rainbow after the rain.
After quietly reminding herself to stay calm, she finally settled her emotions.
They were just normal friends. There was nothing special about it.
But still…
She really liked that praise.
Elise’s lips curved slightly, her smile as fresh and sweet as iced lemonade in summer.
“What do we do next?”
“Knead the dough. But remember, don’t knead it too many times, or it will expand too much and might explode when baked.”
“Explode?” Elise frowned.
“Yes, like this.”
Peiya demonstrated what would happen if the dough expanded too much.
“There’s even something like that? I really didn’t know. The books I read never mentioned this.”
“Yeah. I learned it myself from experience. It’s not too late for you to learn it now.”
Peiya placed the prepared dough on the table and looked at Elise.
“Can I ask you to use a little ice magic to cool the dough? It doesn’t need to be strong, just a little.”
“Like this?”
Elise softly chanted and formed a small piece of ice in her hand.
“Good. A bit closer—no, that’s too close. Step back a little… okay, just like that. Hold it for five seconds.”
Elise counted five seconds in her mind and then stopped.
She never expected that one day she would use magic for cooking.
“That’s basically done. Now we just need to shape it and bake it.”
Peiya took out a mold and shaped the dough into small bear forms, then placed them into the oven.
After that, they just had to wait for the cookies to bake.
During the wait, Peiya made some fresh juice for Elise.
It tasted excellent.
Elise felt sweetness fill her mouth, as if even the days ahead would become sweet.
They waited outside for a while. After a while, Peiya went back to check the temperature, while Elise stayed outside to rest.
Watching Peiya moving around busily, many thoughts passed through Elise’s mind.
For some reason, she suddenly imagined Peiya wearing a maid outfit, preparing tea and snacks for her.
The image only lasted for a short moment before Elise quickly returned to her senses.
Peiya was still busy in the kitchen, wearing a loose white shirt that didn’t fit her very well.
Elise silently remembered this and planned to have a more breathable outfit made for her in the future.
Wearing clothes that don’t fit well all the time isn’t good for the body.
She quietly said a few words to a maid. Soon, the maid brought a set of clothes and spoke to Peiya.
But the moment Peiya heard what the maid said, her expression changed instantly, and her mood for cooking disappeared.
“You mean… this is something Elise wore when she was a child?”
Peiya looked at herself and suddenly felt very embarrassed.
It felt like a direct hit to her heart, leaving a hole in her fragile pride.
Was this maid doing it on purpose, or not?
The maid smiled apologetically and replied in a very tactful way.
“These clothes are just for you to wear for now. The kitchen doesn’t get much sunlight, so it can get a bit cold later. Miss was worried you might catch a cold.”
“Alright… please thank her for me. Can you watch the fire for a moment? I’ll go change. By the way, where is the fitting room?”
“This way, I’ll take you there.”
Peiya went into the fitting room and changed into the coat Elise gave her while looking in the mirror.
It actually fit quite well.
But thinking that it was Elise’s childhood clothes still made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
After all, she was now a witch.
That made her somewhat like an “old soul,” so why was she wearing such childish clothes?
But when she looked carefully in the mirror, she realized the clothes Elise gave her were actually quite thoughtful.
The style wasn’t very different from what she usually wore, just better fitting.
Maybe it was because her old clothes were men’s styles, so they didn’t feel as natural or comfortable.
Still…
Was this her first time wearing women’s clothes?
And they were someone else’s clothes too…
It made her feel a bit strange.
Even though she and Elise had become closer friends, this still felt a bit too intimate.
Peiya felt like she should stop this kind of “bad trend.”
She had only transformed a few days ago, how did she already feel like a…
No! Absolutely not!
But when she thought about everything she had done today, it did feel a bit strange.
She used to be a tough guy, could it be that the witch’s heart was slowly changing her from the inside?
That was too much.
Peiya prided herself on never liking this kind of “baby behavior.”
Witch’s heart: …
Requesting to turn on the microphone for communication.
After pushing away those uneasy thoughts, Peiya finally felt at ease again.
It was just clothes, no big deal.
Good friends do this kind of thing all the time.
Her good feelings toward Elise were not only because they helped each other in the past, but also because she now felt like she had a new life.
She was in such a good mood that everything seemed pleasant, so she didn’t think too much about the small details between them.
“How is it? Does it fit well?”
This time, the voice outside the door wasn’t the maid. It was Elise.
“It’s fine.”
“If you’re done, I’ll come in and check.”
Elise pushed the door open. Seeing that Peiya had already changed, she stepped forward and gently brushed her fingers across Peiya’s neck.
A cold feeling spread instantly through her whole body.
Peiya instinctively shrank her neck.
Elise pulled her hand back. Her smooth fingertips paused in the air, shining slightly. After a short pause, she asked,
“Did that shock you?”
“No… it’s cold. Your fingers are really cold…”
Peiya shivered. Elise’s fingers felt like ice.
“Sorry. It might be because of my ice magic. What about now?”
Elise switched hands and touched her again.
“This is much better. That’s strange, why is your left hand so cold?”
Elise’s eyes flickered slightly, and her voice became colder than before.
“It’s probably from frostbite when I practiced swordsmanship as a child. Since then, my left hand has had this problem.”
Peiya suddenly understood, this was literally an ‘ice beauty.’
“Let me take a look at your hand. Maybe I’ve seen something like this before.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the cold?” Elise looked at her with a bit of concern. She was already used to it herself and could just switch hands next time.
“It’s fine for a short time.”
“Alright. Don’t push yourself.”
Elise nodded and held out her entire left hand.
But when Peiya gently held her fingertips, Elise couldn’t help but let out a soft sound.
Her cold fingers trembled slightly in the warmth of Peiya’s hand, like a snowflake falling into a hot spring, wanting to pull away, yet unwilling to leave that brief warmth.