Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Melina couldn't believe her eyes when she entered Etrian's shop. She knew the man was a gifted tailor who could likely make clothes fit for royalty. But this went above and beyond everything she knew about making clothes. His shop was filled with garments that looked to be made out of ice and snow.

"Good day, Miss Melina, Young Lady Sinclair, and Duchess Sinclair. I'm pleased to see you visit my shop. I have made a special collection for this festival. Do feel free to look around," Etrian announced, looking proud as a peacock. Although the bags underneath his eyes indicated that the clothes weren't easy to make.

"Are these clothes made out of ice?!" Charlotte exclaimed, looking at the delicate fabric, but not daring to touch it. "Will it melt?"

Etrian smiled smugly. "Close, but not quite. They are made from a special material from the Monster Realm and further strengthened with mana. Let me tell you—it wasn't easy, but the result is well worth it, don't you think?"

"They are very beautiful. We would like to try them on, if you don't mind," the Duchess declared, her eyes locked onto the beautiful garments.

It was then that Melina realized what kind of trouble she was in. The Duchess would undoubtedly want to see every one of these dresses tried on. And Melina would be the one to try them all on.

"Perhaps, I could try on a few…" Melina said nervously.

"Please, come this way, Miss Melina. I'll be sure to make any size adjustments should you require them," Etrian said with a calculating glint in his eye.

"This could start a new fashion wave… I never expected to find another gold mine so soon," the Duchess muttered, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

There was no escape.

"How much longer…" Alistair muttered, glancing out of the window for the twentieth time.

Dark had descended upon Sunglow, although the many lights from the festival, as well as the white layer of snow, made everything surprisingly light. Nonetheless, Melina hadn't returned home yet. He was starting to worry.

"Maybe I should go find her?" He said, springing up to his feet.

"I'm sure she'll return home soon, Young Lord. You know how the Duchess gets once she goes shopping for clothes," Daisy consoled.

Alistair sat down. It was true that when it came to clothes, his mother always seemed obsessed. Searching for the newest fashion trends, examining every garment, and trying on everything that tickled her fancy even slightly. Melina had undoubtedly been turned into a living doll, trying on dress after dress.

"Maybe I should go after all. She must be tired by now," Alistair rose once again, earning an excited wag of her tails from Mango. She was more than eager to go outside into the cold.

But they didn't get far as the front door opened. Melina came in looking tired.

"Welcome home!" Alistair ran up to her happily, ready to take her coat.

She, oddly enough, dodged him, taking a step back and huddling into her fur coat.

"I-Is something wrong?" He asked nervously. "Did Mother do something? Did someone say something rude? Who was it?!"

"No, it's nothing like that," she shook her head vigorously. "I… I'm just not sure I want to show you what the Duchess ended up buying for me."

"Mother bought you something?" Alistair's interest piqued. While the Sinclair family had more wealth than most could even dream of, Mother wasn't one to spend it on others willy-nilly. There had to be a good reason for her to reach and pay for someone else.

"Yes… She said that this would be her wedding gift to me," Melina said, her cheeks flushing red.

Alistair smiled joyously. To think that Mother would already bestow a wedding gift on Melina. She must have really liked the dress.

"Don't be shy then. Why don't you show me?" He reached out his hand, trying to coax her out of the coat.

"I-I think it's a bit too much for me…" She muttered nervously.

Alistair was now certain that his mother had chosen a masterpiece for Melina to wear. He was more eager than ever to see it.

"Duchess would be rather downcast if you wouldn't wear her gift," Daisy chimed in, looking just as eager as Alistair to see Melina's new dress.

"I… Very well…" She conceded and finally allowed Alistair to remove the coat.

His breath hitched in his throat as he took in her beauty. The dress looked like it was made out of snow and ice, as if somebody had taken winter itself and turned it into clothes.

The light blue dress stretched all the way down to the floor, fabric at the bottom rippling like waves as it shimmered, reflecting the light much like snow would on a sunny day. Delicate patterns of snowflakes were sewn onto the fabric and accentuated with white pearls. The neckline was made of intricate lace while Melina's shoulders were left bare.

She looked like a queen. Queen of winter. His queen. But it was more than just that. While the dress was light blue in color, Alistair couldn't help but imagine it as a wedding dress.

Without thinking much about it, he reached out to take her hand and kissed it. "You look absolutely breathtaking."

She flushed red. "Etrian really outdid himself with this one. Odd that this dress fits me so perfectly. He didn't even have to do any adjustments."

Alistair did not doubt that the sneaky tailor had done so on purpose. Etrian's first target was likely Alistair himself—he knew he couldn't have resisted and bought this dress for Melina straight away. But in the end, it was his mother who had done the deed. Nonetheless, Alistair was pleased.

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"Daisy, help Melina out of the dress and put it away for a special occasion. I'm sure we'll become worthy soon enough," Alistair said.

"At once, Young Lord," Daisy bowed gracefully.

In all honesty, Alistair would have loved to take the dress off himself, but he was afraid to lose control of himself and damage it. Mother would be furious then.

Melina woke up late the next morning. It was already near lunchtime. Alistair was still sleeping, a happy smile plastered all over his face, not a shred of remorse on it. She shook her head at the man who had been all too eager to keep her up late. At least there was no need to rush today—it was still the Festival.

In fact, the Festival continued for several more days. After lunch, Melina and Alistair went to check the ice sculptures again. They were delighted to see that Sienna had been adjusted to look far less menacing. Instead of spewing angry-looking flames, the wyvern was looming over a large cake made of ice.

The kids rejoiced over the sculpture, and by the end of the festival, it was voted to be the visitor's favorite. It wasn't the main prize, but Milo and the drow were delighted.

The Baking Hall display was also a rousing success. All the pastries had been sold out, which meant that all of Melina's students had more than earned their licenses to work with Monster Realm ingredients. This was very exciting because it meant that the magical pastries would spread through Alemahria.

According to Alistair, Philip, and Lady Anne managed to meet at the Baking Hall. He assured her that the two were certainly in love, but as to what would happen to them afterwards, neither of them knew. Viscount Yernou was a calculating man and unlikely to let his daughter marry a commoner.

But Melina had a strong feeling that they would find a way. Melina and Alistair had, so she dearly hoped they would too. Perhaps this was yet another small step to change Alemahria. To make the society more unified and not as fragmented because of the social standing.

Melina shook her head. It was a whole different can of worms. With the festival concluded, it was time for Melina to return to the most important task she had. Preparations for spring and the inevitable arrival of the Church. This meant that she would be spending most of her time in the bakery.

The Baking Hall would remain closed until spring, which essentially meant she wouldn't take on any new students for the time being. This was to see the effects of her first class spread through the country. Not to mention that there was another serious issue to deal with.

This would be handled mainly by Alistair and Elowen, but Melina obviously would offer her support. It was an official trade with the Monster Realm. Approximately a week after the festival, Melina, Alistair, and Elowen headed to the Monster Realm to negotiate an official agreement between Sunglow and the Monster Realm.

Although Melina couldn't deny that she had a more important reason to head to the Monster Realm.

"Sienna!" She called out the moment she stepped out of the passageway. Obviously, she reached out to her familiar through her mental link, searching for her.

It didn't take long to receive a response in the form of a roar resonating from a distance. A few minutes later, she could see the wyvern eagerly flying towards her. The moment she landed, Sienna assumed her smaller form and clawed at Melina's coat.

Melina took it off—it was much warmer in the Monster Realm— and bent down to hug Sienna. Mango and Alistair also joined them, and even Knight bent down to sniff at the wyvern.

Obviously, Melina had brought Sienna a huge pile of pastries. She had hoped the wyvern would eat them slowly, but they all disappeared in her stomach in less than ten minutes.

"You little glutton," Melina said affectionately.

"Some things never change," Alistair noted with a chuckle.

While flying on Sienna's back, Melina made her way to the Lord Eidranis's tower with Alistair following on Knight's back and Elowen running at his fast elf pace. Before long, they reached their destination.

The area around the tower had changed. New buildings were erected around it, and some were in the process of being made. Apparently, Lord Eidranis decided that it was best to establish a town around his town if there were going to be more dealings with Sunglow.

The Monster Lord was expecting them by the entrance. He did give Melina a stink eye when they looked, but she didn't take it to heart. Some things just couldn't be forgotten or forgiven. It was alright. The most important thing was that Lord Eidranis was able to see past it and work together with other humans to establish peace.

As it turned out, the trade agreement was the easy part of their discussion. Alistair had come prepared with his propositions, and Lord Eidranis was mostly in favor, with a few minor adjustments made. It was a good deal.

Monster Realm would provide its unique ingredients and materials to Sunglow—exclusively to Sunglow—and in exchange, Sunglow would provide their own goods—fish, lumber, and crops that can be grown in bulk. There would also be farmers coming to the Monster Realm to teach them how to grow them properly. Apparently, Leliana would be one of them.

The difficult part came afterwards.

"So, when do you expect the Church to strike? It has been awfully quiet since that attack on the Archmage," Lord Eidranis said.

"Archpatissier," Melina corrected.

"What?" He looked at her in surprise.

"I'm not an [Archmage] anymore. I'm an [Archpatissier]," she explained.

Lord Eidranis gave her a dubious look before nodding. "Very well. Archpatissier. I assume then that you won't be taking part in a fight in the upcoming conflict, then."

"I'll be providing defense and support. Setting up wards in Sunglow and preparing magical pastries," Melina said.

"I'm afraid we're going to need more than just healing waffles and stamina muffins to change the tides here. To my understanding, the elves of Euroa have refused to provide aid." Lord Eidranis looked at Elowen.

"What?" Melina looked at Elowen in shock.

"That's a bit harsher than I would have put it. The elders have refused to take part in the destruction of the Sacred Treasures. They will still provide aid to Sunglow," Elowen explained.

"Unless the Sacred Treasures are destroyed, this conflict will never end," Lord Eidranis said sternly.

Melina nodded. "I'll destroy the treasures. Last time I used them to destroy the world. This time I'll destroy them instead."

Lord Eidranis narrowed his starry eyes at her dubiously. "Can I trust you to do it?"

"You still doubt her resolve?" Alistair growled.

"I do. I know there's a price to be paid to destroy the treasures. Are you ready to pay it?" Lord Eidranis challenged.

"I am," Melina said firmly, although she didn't feel quite so confident inside. She knew that she would have to give up a huge part of herself.

Nonetheless, this was the only way.

"Also, I will provide more than just healing pastries. As [Archpatissier], I have unlocked a new skill," Melina said and put a muffin in front of Lord Eidranis.

"What's this?" He eyed the muffin suspiciously.

"Something that can change the tide of the battle. Eat it, and you'll understand."

Lord Eidranis took the muffin, regarding it dubiously from all sides. After a while, he bit into it. "I don't feel any different."

"You have to eat the whole thing," Alistair instructed.

The Monster Lord seemed skeptical, but continued eating. After the last piece was swallowed, his eyes widened in shock.

"I… You put a spell this powerful inside a muffin?" He gasped.

"Weaker spells can be used multiple times, but I'm afraid a spell this strong can only be used once. Please use it during the upcoming battle should things go awry," Melina instructed.

Lord Eidranis nodded. "You truly are a fearsome individual, Archpatissier."