Chapter 58

Chapter 58 – Feasting on Plump Children

“Cookie … ?”

Lugar nearly died of fright, he could feel the murderous intent that was present in Lacias’s eyes without even looking directly at them. He stepped back and covered his face, summoning his ring by instinct.

“Master … please calm down and listen to me.” Muffled Lugar hesitantly.

“I’m extremely calm. What are you talking about?”

Lugar doubted his words, he was more focused on Lacias’s hand which was already forming numerous rings. He looked like he was about to snap at any moment. Lugar thought of the closest safe answer he could think of.

“Ca-captain is the one at fault,” he said, pointing at Roxana’s direction. “Master, Roxana ate all of Lady Lila’s cookies, and she was the one who revealed that you don’t like sweets.”

Lacias looked towards where he was pointing then looked back at the cowering figure. “Where is she?”

“What?” He looked back to where the captain was just standing, there was no one there…

Lugar froze, Roxana’s situational decision-making was what brought herself to the position of a captain. Lugar both respected and hated her for having such good timings.

“Lugar.”

“Uh … Yes?” He mumbled slowly turning back to Lacias.

“You must have been the one who asked Lila for a cookie in the first place, which then encouraged Roxana to have the rest of them, am I right?” His voice was so cold it was terrifying.

“That’s …”

Lugar felt a sense of defeat at the quiet truth. He couldn’t dig up any more excuses; his demise seemed almost fated.

*

A light knock could be heard from the other side of the room.

A petite voice rang out. “May I come in, Mother?”

Hir entered without acknowledgement, his eyes scanned the room until they fell on his mothers’ own. His hands were filled with as many chocolate chip cookies as they could bear.

“Hir? What brings you here?” Lila was surprised that he had come in without her request.

“Jane gave me these cookies.”

“Ah, that’s right.” Chuckled Lila, seeing as he avoided the question.

“You made them yourself, right?”

“Yes. I did,” she said, not meaning to sound so proud.

Lila asked Jane to take the rest of the cookies to Hir’s room. However, now he was coming back raising his cookie-filled hands towards Lila as if they were a gift.

“I wanted to eat … with you.” He said shyly.

Lila smiled from how honest he was. “I am hungry. Thank you, Hir.” She was not a bit hungry, but she didn’t have the willpower to send his adorable face back to his room.

Hir breathed out heavily. “That’s a relief!”

“Come and sit here.” Gestured Lila, patting the vacant chair across.

Lila had been organizing the plan to make Senior the head of Hiln, and the table was filled with paperwork. She gathered them together and pushed them aside, and internally winced upon seeing the difference in height between the sophisticated table and chair across hers.

The table is too high. She thought.

Everything in this room was either big or high, possibly due to Madame Marshmell’s tastes. It most certainly would have been difficult for Hir to eat his cookies on any of the furniture so Lila looked around for an alternative. She spotted her bed not shortly after.

“Hir, wait for a minute.”

“Yes.” He replied obediently.

She placed the fluffy pillows from her bed on the chair and covered them with white soft blankets. She picked up Hir as if he were one of the duvet and placed him on top of her work of art. He was now the perfect height.

“There. Do you like it?”

His red-blushed face only grew more red. “Yes, I feel like I’m sitting on a cloud.”

He pushed down at the pillow with a wide-eyed expression. He reminded her of a cat making biscuits.

“Have you eaten a cookie yet Hir?”

“Yes.”

“Was it tasty?”

“It absolutely was! I knew that you had made it the moment I ate the cookie.”

“It’s an honor for you to say that.”

“It really was tasty.”

Lila poured warm milk in the yellow child’s cup that she had placed in front of Hir, he gulped down a portion of it in an instant.

“Don’t worry. You can eat your cookies,” she said, noticing that he was just watching his cookies with longing eyes.

“Mother… let’s eat together.”

Lila’s heart was bathed in a fuzzy feeling at the boy’s words. “Don’t worry I’ll start when you do.”

At those words, Hir started swallowing his cookies so fast that he looked ridiculously funny. However, Lila was worried that he was eating too fast. As if it were an act, at that same moment Hir’s eyes reddened and he started coughing uncontrollably. Some cookie crumbs must have gotten stuck in his windpipe.

Lila patted his back until he stopped. “Eat slowly. Hir, please.”

“Yes… mother.” He replied weakly.

Lila looked back at the pile of cookies that were just there a moment ago. They were nowhere to be found. She was glad that he was eating much more now, in the past few days his weight was coming back to him.

I’ve been feeding him well. She thought after seeing his cute plump cheeks. Although he had an expression on his face that looked strange, like he was about to cry.

“Mo- … ther.”

“Yes?”

Hir spoke with his lips open like a chick’s beak.

“Jane read me a story a few days ago.”

Lila folded her hands and attentively listened to Hir’s story.

“There was a witch who fattened children to boil them in pots and eat them.”