Rapunzel Is Raised by Her Stepmother

Chapter 17: The First Gift

The hallway leading to the mansion’s kitchen.

"Ah, wait, wait, let go. Seriously. It feels like my face is going to get pulled off, noona—no, unni."

"Let go? What do you mean let go? Are you not going back?"

Unintentionally, I ended up playing tug-of-war with Sophia.

Of course, it wasn’t with a rope but with the dog leash around my neck. I desperately planted myself on the floor, struggling to avoid being dragged away, while Sophia tried to haul me back to the tower.

I looked just like a dog on a walk that didn’t want to go home. Since the loose dog collar was being pulled, it wasn’t tightening around my neck but squeezing my face instead.

As my face got squeezed, my cheeks stretched out, making me look utterly ridiculous. At that moment, an image from the internet flashed through my mind—a Shiba Inu stuck to the ground, refusing to go home after a walk.

No matter how much the leash was pulled, no matter how squished its cheeks got, the Shiba Inu stayed firmly attached to the ground. I was probably just like that stubborn dog right now.

"Kkeeeek—!"

"Stop resisting and just come with me!"

Even though the leash tightened around my face, I sat my butt firmly on the floor and refused to budge. After all, this was my chance to raise Dorothea’s favorability!

My perfect plan was simple.

While Dorothea was away, I would secretly place a handmade snack in her room. When she returned after finishing her work with the family head, she would find the snack and be confused.

Along with it, I would leave a note. Something like, ‘I worked hard to make this for my tired mom!’ Honestly, I couldn’t exactly picture Dorothea being happy about it, but...

"I’m making snacks for Mom...! I’ll make some for you too, Sophia unni...!"

"No, you need to get permission from the lady first?!"

This was exactly how you raised favorability—through small gestures like this! Even in games, the best gifts to increase favorability were always snacks! Cakes! Food-related items!

As I continued to resist, more and more servants began gathering in the hallway. They murmured, wondering what the commotion was about, why I was here again, and warning that if I ran away again, they wouldn’t bother chasing me.

As the attention of the crowd focused on us, Sophia’s face grew redder and redder with embarrassment. By the time her voice shifted from yelling at me to stand up to desperately pleading with me to get up—

"What is all this commotion about?"

A middle-aged man dressed in a white kitchen uniform appeared behind me and asked Sophia. Just from his appearance, it was clear he worked in the kitchen.

For some reason, the man looking at her didn't seem to have a favorable gaze. No, why? Had she done something wrong? This was the first time she had seen him today.  

After glancing down at her, the man shifted his gaze to Sophia, as if urging her to explain what was going on. Sophia looked at her with a slightly reproachful expression before beginning to explain to the man.  

“Ah, Chef. This… this child was brought here by the Lord, and…”  

“I know. The brat who stole scissors from the kitchen, turned over all the kitchen utensils, and on top of that, turned this entire annex upside down.”  

…Ah, come to think of it, the [Thorn Garden Scissors] had been in the kitchen. She had gone through all the kitchen drawers, overturned the dishes, and even played tag with the butler in the kitchen while searching for them.  

“…Eheh.”  

When she laughed awkwardly with an “ehet,” the chef made a disgusted expression, his face scrunching up. Seeing his twisted expression, Sophia quickly continued her explanation.  

“Well, she suddenly insisted on making a snack for the Lady…”  

“Making a snack? For the Lady?”  

The chef rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment, then bent down on one knee to meet her gaze. As his eyes scanned her up and down, the memory of the mess she had made in the kitchen resurfaced, making her laugh awkwardly again.  

“Hm, did you think about what you were going to make for the Lady?”  

“C-Chef?”  

Sophia gasped in shock at the unexpected question. She seemed to be asking if he was seriously allowing this. The chef waved his hand dismissively and continued speaking.  

“I have to prepare dessert for the Lady’s dinner anyway.”  

“Well, that’s true, but…”  

“Besides, this stubborn one doesn’t look like she’s going to give up that easily. It’s better than her sneaking into the kitchen later and making an even bigger mess.”  

…That wasn’t true, though? She wouldn’t go that far.  

If she had been kicked out of the kitchen, she would have given up. As she hesitated in surprise, the chef placed his hands under her arms and lifted her up from where she had been sprawled on the floor.  

“So, what were you planning to make?”  

“Umm… Pancakes?”  

“Pancakes, huh… Well, we have the ingredients, and it’s easy to make, so it’s a good choice.”  

Saying that, the chef gestured for her to follow. She trotted after him into the kitchen, where the other chefs were busily preparing ingredients for the evening meal.  

‘Back then, I didn’t really pay attention, so I didn’t notice…’  

The kitchen wasn’t exactly modern—perhaps it was better to say it was only partially modernized? There was an oven, but it looked like something that belonged in a museum, and the hearth and tools all seemed like items she had only seen in textbooks.

As Sophia and she stood blankly, watching the bustling kitchen, the chef, who had already reached the corner, sighed as if wondering what they were doing and gestured for her to hurry over.  

“If you stand there, you’ll get kicked. Come to this corner.”  

“Ah, yes.”  

Avoiding the busy feet of the moving chefs, she made her way to the corner of the kitchen, where the chef began preparing the ingredients for pancakes—flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and so on.  

As she stared blankly at the ingredients laid out in front of her, the chef clapped his hands once, drawing her attention. Then, pointing at her long hair with his finger, he spoke.  

“First, tie up that long hair of yours. Hygiene is basic when you’re in the kitchen. Keep that in mind.”  

Ah, come to think of it, she did have to tie her hair up in the kitchen. Did she have something to tie it with? She turned her head and asked Sophia, who was standing behind her.  

“Sophia, do you have a hair tie?”  

“Hmm… Hold on.”  

Sophia rummaged through all the pockets of her clothes. But no matter how much she searched, all she found was dust—no hair tie in sight.  

“Nothing.”  

“If you don’t have one, I probably don’t either…”  

Just in case, she reached into the pocket of her white shirt. At the tip of her fingers, she felt something like a string. It was thicker than regular thread but thinner than a typical hair tie.  

‘…? Why is this here?’  

The string in her pocket was none other than the [Red Thread of the Moonlit Ice Figure]. As she stared at the thread, she started recalling why it was in her pocket.  

‘Let’s see… I remember Mom untying it…’  

Had she absentmindedly put it in her pocket after untying it from their fingers back then? She had no memory of putting it there, so she tilted her head in confusion. Well, she must have placed it there without thinking, as usual.  

For now, she handed the red thread to Sophia and turned around.  

“Sophia, can you tie my hair with this?”  

“It’s more like thread than a string, so it’s a bit thin for tying hair… But I guess it’s better than nothing.”  

Taking the red thread, Sophia tied her hair into two pigtails. As she looked at the back of her head, she sighed, saying that if she had proper tools, she could have tied it in a cuter way.  

“If I had a comb, I could’ve made it cuter…”  

“It’s fine! It’s fine! You can do it again later.”  

She shook her twin tails back and forth and grinned. Seeing that, Sophia also smiled in resignation, as if her irritation had melted away.

So this was why girls cared about their hairstyles? Just changing her hairstyle made her feel different, as if her mindset had shifted as well.  

It felt nice—like she was preparing for something.

“Are you all set? Before we start cooking, let’s make a promise.”  

“A promise?”  

The chef approached her, met her gaze, and held out his pinky finger. She wondered why he was suddenly asking for a promise, but…  

“No running around in the kitchen, no sitting on the floor and being stubborn like before, and when cooking, you have to follow my instructions. If you break even one of these rules, I’ll kick you out of the kitchen immediately. Keep that in mind.”  

“Oh, come on, I’m not a little kid. That’s just common sense. What do you take me for?”  

“…You are a little kid.”  

It was just a promise to ensure safety and keep her from acting recklessly. She grinned widely and hooked her pinky around the chef’s, but he still looked reluctant.  

“Anyway, we don’t have much time, so let’s get started.”  

***  

After seeing the head of the household off as he left the mansion and taking care of various tasks around the estate, Dorothea arrived at the annex late at night.  

“Nothing unusual happened?”  

“No, my lady. What about your dinner—”  

“I’ll skip dinner. Just let me know when my bath is ready.”  

If she had ordered dinner, it would have been prepared immediately, but perhaps because she was still feeling exhilarated from earlier, she didn’t feel the least bit hungry. All she wanted to do was go to her room, take a bath, and sleep.  

And so, heading straight for her room—  

‘…? Something smells sweet.’  

The moment she opened the door, a strong sweet scent hit her, making her frown slightly. It was such a thick syrupy aroma that she wondered if a maid had spilled syrup while cleaning.  

It didn’t take long to figure out where the scent was coming from.  

After all, right there on her desk sat a towering stack of three pancakes, drenched in syrup.  

Tilting her head in confusion, Dorothea stared at the plate of pancakes.  

‘…? What is this? Did I ask for a snack before going to meet Father?’  

She knew that wasn’t the case, yet she couldn’t help but doubt the situation. After all, she had never experienced something like this before.  

No one had ever left a snack in her room without saying a word. This was the first time something like this had happened.  

Just as she stepped closer to examine the pancakes and figure out who could have left them—  

‘A note?’  

Dorothea noticed a small piece of paper tucked under the plate.  

When she checked the note, scrawled in crooked handwriting, she couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.  

—A gift for Mom. Rapunzel’s creation.—

Yes, no matter how one looked at it, this was unmistakably Rapunzel’s work.  

Had she copied someone else’s writing? The handwriting was so messy that it looked more like a drawing than actual letters. Well, she likely never had the chance to properly learn how to write.  

Setting the note down, Dorothea turned her gaze back to the pancakes on the desk. Rapunzel had made these? That was hard to believe—these pancakes were cooked far too neatly.  

Even just by looking at them, she could already picture what had happened in the kitchen today. Rapunzel had probably run off from the tower again, insisting on making pancakes.  

Sophia or one of the kitchen staff must have helped her. She was sure she had told Rapunzel to wait patiently in the tower before she left to meet her father.  

And yet, once again, she had ignored instructions and done something like this...  

‘…Haah, she’s just like me when I was little.’  

Dorothea picked up the fork lying next to the plate and prodded the pancakes with it. Normally, she wouldn’t even consider eating something like this—cold and completely soaked in syrup.  

‘Well, I skipped dinner today, and I am feeling tired.’  

Maybe that was why she was craving something sweet. Lifting the fork, she cut a small piece of the syrup-drenched pancake and placed it in her mouth.  

The pancake rolled around on her tongue. Had it been sitting out too long? It was cold and soggy—something she usually wouldn’t even think of eating.  

‘…Well, as a simple meal, it’s not bad.’