Chapter 261: Delicious?
Sanctuary Heights—
In the kitchen, Little Eira sat atop the counter, quietly watching Adelyn from a short distance away.
Although she wanted to stay closer to her mama, Adelyn didn’t trust herself enough in the kitchen.
So, she had asked the little girl to sit somewhere safer —far away from the stove.
Eira had obediently agreed. Ever since then, she had been sitting there, gently swinging her little legs while quietly watching her mother move around the kitchen.
Adelyn, on the other hand, was being unusually cautious.
This wasn’t her first time stepping into a kitchen.
Nor was it her first time cooking.
It was simply the first time she was preparing a meal as a mother.
She had spent quite some time browsing through different recipes before finally settling on one she thought Little Eira might enjoy.
Throughout the entire process, the two of them chatted nonstop —with Adelyn telling stories and entertaining the little girl while preparing the meal.
The scene was quite soothing to one’s eyes.
Mabel had come over several times, intending to help. But each time, Adelyn politely insisted on preparing dinner herself.
That, however, placed Mabel in an awkward position.
She couldn’t refuse Adelyn outright.
Yet she couldn’t simply allow it either. Eventually, she decided to seek Dylan instead.
He was in the study.
Knocking lightly on the door, she waited until permission came from inside before pushing it open.
"Sir," she greeted respectfully, lowering her head. "Ms. Grace is in the kitchen with the young miss ... preparing dinner."
Dylan paused.
The pen in his hand froze midway across the document.
He looked up.
"She’s cooking?"
Mabel immediately nodded.
"Yes, sir."
She hesitated for a moment before asking carefully, "Should I let Ms. Grace know that she doesn’t have to trouble herself and have the kitchen prepare dinner instead?"
Before she could finish speaking, Dylan calmly shook his head.
"Don’t refuse her over anything in this house."
His answer instantly left Mabel stunned.
She hadn’t expected him to agree so readily. Nor had she expected him to say something like that.
In that brief moment, she finally realized ...
Adelyn truly wasn’t just any ordinary guest.
She occupied a place far more important than Mabel had initially assumed.
Not only to the little young miss ...
But also to the master himself —a man who had never been known to let any woman step this close into his life.
Dylan didn’t elaborate any further. He didn’t need to. The quiet look he gave Mabel conveyed enough.
Understanding immediately, Mabel nodded respectfully. "I understand, sir." She smiled politely before adding, "I’ll respect Ms. Grace’s wishes just as we respect yours."
Only then did Dylan lower his gaze back to the documents spread across his desk.
Seeing that there was nothing more to discuss, Mabel quietly retreated from the study, gently closing the door behind her.
Meanwhile—
Downstairs, in the kitchen—
Adelyn finally plated the dish she had been working so hard on.
However ...
The moment she looked at it, her brows slowly knitted together.
It didn’t look nearly as appetizing as the one in the recipe she had been following online.
Did she do something wrong?
She glanced back at the recipe displayed on her phone before looking at the plate again. Frowning thoughtfully, she carefully went through the ingredient list one more time.
She hadn’t missed anything.
She then reread every step of the cooking process.
Again ...
She couldn’t remember making any mistakes.
So why did her dish look so different from the one in the pictures?
A gentle tug at the hem of her dress pulled her out of her thoughts. She lowered her head. Little Eira was looking up at her, her bright eyes filled with quiet concern.
"Mama, what’s wrong?" she asked sweetly. "Did you hurt yourself?"
Adelyn glanced at the dish again before looking back at her. Then, bending down, she scooped the little girl into her arms.
Eira wasn’t exactly light, but Adelyn genuinely enjoyed carrying her.
Especially when it spared the little girl from constantly craning her neck upward just to look at her.
"I didn’t get hurt, sweetheart," Adelyn replied with a small sigh.
"But ... I think my dish did."
She gently gestured toward the plate resting on the counter.
Little Eira blinked before obediently following her gaze. She stared at the food for a long moment.
Around the edges of it, a slightly dark crust had formed.
It wasn’t completely burnt ...
But it certainly looked dangerously close.
Eira was far too young to understand cooking. She couldn’t tell whether the dish had turned out well or not. But she knew one thing.
It had been prepared by her mama.
She had watched her mother put all her effort into making it.
That alone made it special.
"Baby ..." Adelyn said softly, looking at the plate again. "I don’t think it’ll taste very good."
She smiled helplessly.
"How about we eat something else today? I’ll practice a little more and make something even better for you tomorrow."
She had never been particularly confident in her cooking. Not even when she cooked for herself.
Although she had never considered her food terrible ...
This time was different.
She was cooking for Eira.
She didn’t want to take any risks.
What if it tasted awful?
What if the little girl disliked it?
Wouldn’t that ruin her expectations of food made by her own mother?
Adelyn couldn’t bear that thought.
She would rather quietly set this dish aside and try again another day after improving a little.
Just then—
Little Eira turned toward her. "Eira wants to taste it."
Adelyn blinked.
"You want to taste it?"
The little girl nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Adelyn glanced back at the dish.
She still wasn’t convinced.
"But sweetheart ... it doesn’t even look that good," she said honestly. "It might taste bad too. You don’t have to eat this. I’ll make something much better for you tomorrow."
Little Eira immediately shook her head.
"It looks delicious."
Adelyn found that even harder to believe. "Delicious?"
She certainly didn’t think so.
The little girl nodded earnestly. "Eira wants to eat it." Her smile widened before she added, "The delicious food Mama made."
Adelyn wanted to refuse again. But when she saw the determination shining in those innocent little eyes ...
She simply couldn’t.
After thinking quietly for a moment, she finally gave in.
"Alright ..." she said with a helpless smile. "Then we’ll give it a try, but —"
She paused before adding seriously, "... you have to promise me something before that."
Eira looked at her attentively.
"If you later don’t like the taste of it, you’ll spit it out immediately, alright??"
She gently pinched the girl’s cheek. "And then, we’ll have something else instead. You mustn’t force yourself to finish it just because I made it."
Little Eira looked straight into Adelyn’s eyes. Then, without any hesitation, she nodded earnestly to her.
