Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Five years later.

"Lady Sinclair! Lady Sinclair! Your presence is requested at the Town Hall," Daisy called, making Melina turn her attention away from the cake she had been working on.

It was a very special cake, so an interruption was most unwelcome at the time. Nonetheless, she didn't let it show on her face. In the past, there were days when Melina would display her thoughts openly on her face. But Duchess Sinclair had steadily drilled into her how to keep her expressions proper.

Not there was ever a need to hide much. The times when she had to constantly lie and hide were long since over. Now, she retained a serene expression simply because it was a proper thing to do for a noble. It was a little suffocating at times, but Melina has grown to understand why it was necessary. Other nobles were all too eager to find any little fault, especially within someone like Melina.

Nonetheless, she couldn't deny that she was looking forward to locking herself up in Grandfather's kitchen and dedicating herself to her task. It wasn't often that she got to cook to her heart's content these days. Nobles weren't expected to cook for themselves after all.

"Why all of a sudden?" Melina asked, looking at the maid.

"Duke and Duchess Sinclair have arrived early," Daisy said with a sympathetic expression.

Melina sighed. She should have seen it coming. Of course, they would have arrived early. Even with all their noble duties, they wanted to spend as much time with Sylvain as possible.

"Alright, I suppose, I'll have to finish this later," Melina noted, turning to Mango. "Would you mind putting everything away, Mango?"

The now four-tailed kitsune, the size of an average dog, let out a happy yip and let out an icy breath over the chocolate cake layers Melina had been working on, as well as the mango filling, which was sitting in a bowl. It was her special stasis ability that essentially prevented the food from ever changing. They couldn't be eaten while in stasis, but it was great if you needed to pause in the middle of the cooking process.

Mango swiftly levitated all the bowls, utensils, and the half-finished cake into their respective places, cleaning up the kitchen in less than a minute.

"Good job, Mango!" Melina praised the fox, giving her a gentle pat on the head, and her four tails all wagged in unison, creating a small gust with snowflakes.

Sienna let out an annoyed growl, huddling up higher onto the oven. Mango shot her an apologetic glance, her tails dropping down slightly.

"There, there. I'm sure Mango will get it under control soon enough. You know that just coming from an evolution is tough," Melina said to her wyvern.

Sienna seemed to accept it, coming down from the oven.

"Let's go, you two. We need to get Sylvain," Melina said as she removed her apron.

Heading to the bakery's backyard, she saw that Gilbert was there, sitting on a bench, watching over the beautiful garden. Even Melina was awestruck by its beauty for a moment.

Monster Realm flowers and fruits grew everywhere, but in a controlled manner. Fences were erected in front of scorchvine peppers to make sure nobody approached them carelessly, while sapmelons had special pipes lined up near them that would redirect their sap to a special reservoir. Many other plants could grow in Sunglow just as easily as in the Monster Realm.

Among the flowers, Melina noticed a mischievous mop of light brown hair and a twinkle of golden eyes.

"Sylvain! I told you not to hide from your great-grandpa!" Melina called.

"Hehehe!" The little boy laughed, peeking his head out from between the flowers.

"Don't worry. He's a good boy," Gilbert said, gazing at the little boy with a smile on his face.

Gilbert always smiled when looking at Sylvain. It appeared like only the little boy could make him smile anymore, and Melina was eternally grateful to her son for that. The three-year-old didn't understand the impact he had with his presence alone.

"I bwing gwanpa stawbewy!" Sylvain grinned widely, proudly displaying his prize and running towards Gilbert at lightning speed.

Melina swore that the kid was able to use <Stormbringer's Legacy> somehow. He was way too fast for a three-year-old. Only the knowledge that two guards were with Sylvain at all times made Melina breathe with relief. Even now, they were each standing on different sides of the garden, watching the boy's every move.

One couldn't relax even for a moment when it came to Sylvain. You blinked and the next moment he was up in a tree.

"Your grandmother and grandfather from Fenrora have arrived," Melina announced.

"Weally?" The boy asked as he offered the strawberry to Gilbert.

"Thank you, child," Gilbert said, patting the boy on the head.

Sylvain gave Gilbert a tight squeeze and then looked at him with a very serious expression. "I go to gwanmama and gwanpapa now!"

"You go! They surely won't be able to find their way without you," Gilbert replied with an equally serious expression.

Melina couldn't help but let out a chuckle, watching her son walk towards her, trying to mimic Alistair's steady strides. He certainly looked like a miniature version of Alistair, even if his gait was far from graceful.

"I'll come by to finish the cake later, Grandfather," Melina said to Gilbert.

"Don't take too long. Otherwise, I'll make it myself," Gilbert warned.

"You're not allowed to strain yourself so much!"

"Who do you take me for? I could bake cakes in my sleep."

"Doesn't mean you should do that!"

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They stared at each other for a while, but when Gilbert's expression relaxed, Melina smiled. For someone over eighty years old, he sure was full of energy. Even when he was told to rest, Gilbert continued bustling about both the garden and the kitchen. Melina suspected nothing would ever make him stop.

Sylvain latched onto Melina's hand, and together with Sienna and Mango, they went to Town Hall, the two guards trailing behind them. Sunglowers greeted them along the way. Despite Melina being the official governor of Sunglow alongside Alistair, their friendly familiarity didn't disappear.

They were forced to address her as Lady Sinclair now, but the way they said it was warm and friendly, rather than deferential. Adventurers and Melina's old customers alike greeted her with a smile.

Sadly, she couldn't continue running the bakery after marrying Alistair. Not while being hands-on at least. However, Melina was the official owner of Sunglow Bakery, which operated from the Baking Hall on a much larger scale. Roxie was her main chef, with Adrien overseeing the financial side of things.

Melina was actually surprised that even after obtaining the System, the boy didn't leave to pursue other avenues, specifically being a researcher. But he apparently hadn't wanted to leave Sunglow, and he still had strong feelings towards merchant work.

As such, she remained with Melina and took on the [Manager] class, the first such class unlocked among humans.

Thanks to his magic, Adrien was quite effective at handling any arising disputes, keeping everything in the Baking Hall in strict order. After all, one couldn't be lax when it came to producing magical pastries.

While Melina was sad that she couldn't work in the kitchen daily, she was still allowed to do research and development of pastries. That was enough for her. Over the last few years, she had discovered a lot of interesting properties in Monster Realm plants. For example, sapmelon pulp actually tasted wonderfully together with milk. Sapmelon custard was now one of their most demanded products.

"Mommy, look! Gwanpapa's cawwiage!" Sylvain cheered and squirmed free of Melina's grasp, running towards the carriage parked in front of Town Hall.

"Sylvain! Don't run," Melina chastised, trying to catch up to the boy while not actually breaking into a run.

"Where's my favorite grandson?" Duke Sinclair called, having been standing by the Town Hall entrance with a small group of attendants.

"Gwanpapa!" Sylvain cheered, running straight into the Duke's arms, who lifted him high.

"Don't forget about your grandma!" The Duchess said and placed a kiss on Sylvain's cheek.

"And your aunt!" Charlotte announced, placing a kiss on his other cheek.

The girl had grown up beautifully in the last five years, now being almost as tall as Melina. While she had definitely become more graceful, a hint of mischief remained in Charlotte's eyes.

"Melina, so nice to see you!" Charlotte turned to Melina, and they shared a quick hug.

"Nice to see you too, but I didn't think you'd arrive so fast. Sylvain's birthday is not until Wednesday," Melina said.

"Biwthday!" Sylvain cheered, arms up high.

"Exactly! So we had to come and spend as much time with our grandson as possible," the duke announced, bouncing the boy up and down.

Melina and Charlotte chuckled. Sylvain had this uncanny ability to turn even the toughest of men into softies. Gilbert and Duke Sinclair were both completely wrapped around his little finger.

"Father, you're here," Alistair came out of the Town Hall, looking a bit frazzled. He clearly hadn't expected their early arrival. "Mother and Charlotte, too. You could have waited a few more days. We haven't even started our preparations yet."

"Have not started?! But he'll be turning four soon. The celebration requires proper thought and care. I shall assist you!" Duke Sinclair announced.

"Assist!" Sylvain proclaimed.

"If we make this celebration so huge, then what are we going to do when he turns ten or better yet, comes of age?" Melina worried. She was afraid her son would grow up spoiled since their family never lacked anything.

After all, the Sinclairs were the most prominent family in Alemahria, and that position had become only stronger after the Church's downfall. The King had elevated the family in status, making them the first Archducal family. Although Melina still called her mother and father-in-law, the Duchess and the Duke. Old habits die hard, as they say.

"What are you talking about, daughter? We'll make sure the whole country celebrates when Sylvain is older. Obviously, the current celebrations are small, limited to Sunglow only. We wouldn't want to overwhelm him," the Duke announced.

"Father, you're definitely going overboard," Alistair sighed and stepped to stand by Melina's side.

"Is there anything we can do to stop him?" Melina whispered into her husband's ear.

"I'm afraid not. His love for Sylvain knows no bounds," Alistair whispered back, gently squeezing her hand.

Becoming parents certainly hadn't been easy for the two of them. There had been many hiccups at the start, when Sylvain was born. Neither of them was truly ready, nor particularly suited for the task of parenting. Trying to keep a balance was the hardest thing by far.

They had to teach Sylvain to respect people of lower status since that was essentially everybody, aside from the royal family and other Sinclairs. They did their best to integrate him with other children of Sunglow, although constantly having guards around obviously made it difficult.

The fact that Sunglow was expanding at a very fast rate only made it more difficult. Strangers moved in nearly every day. They were used to treating nobles with deference and even fear, so getting them to loosen up was a bit of a challenge.

But somehow, they were able to maintain the light atmosphere of the town. It required a lot of their time. They had to be present at events, eat in local eateries, and mingle with Sunglowers on a regular basis. It was far from an easy task with a small child on their hands.

Not to mention that Sunglow was also the central hub for all elves and drow alike. This was where most of the trade between Alemahria and the Monster Realm happened, not to mention that it was a transition point between the two realms.

A road had been built to the passageway specifically to accommodate merchants and others heading into the Monster Realm. Perhaps, calling it a passageway wasn't correct anymore. It was more like a portal at this point.

The two realms had come so close to each other that they were firmly connected at some points. Many of the passageways were getting smaller and turning into portals just like in Sunglow. But this has brought many positive changes.

By working together with elves and drow, it has become much easier for humans to deal with monster attacks. Instead of working against each other, they worked together. Mostly. There were still disputes and hiccups, here and there, as well as some remaining zealots of the Church who couldn't accept the new order. The situation was slowly getting better as new trade routes opened up.

Melina and Alistair were still at the center of many of the disputes, working together with elves of Euroa, Elowen, and Leliana to settle them. Although they had their hands busy with their child, a half-elven girl, the same age as Sylvain, with bright red hair and silver eyes.

"Will Cowwy come to my biwthday too?" Sylvain asked.

The duke looked at Alistair and Melina, unsure who "Cowwy" was.

"Of course, Corinne will come. I can't imagine Leliana ever letting her daughter miss it," Melina replied.

"I'd say that the little Corinne would show herself regardless of what anyone thought," Alistair chuckled.

Melina nodded. The little girl was a firecracker, much like her mother, often causing her parents trouble with her "I know everything" attitude. It was amazing how confident that girl was.

"Wonderful, let's head inside and discuss all about it," the duke said, carrying Sylvain inside.

Everyone went in after him, but Melina couldn't help but pause and look at all of them.

"What is it?" Alistair asked.

"It's just… All this still feels surreal. Me, a parent? Living as a governor and a baker here in Sunglow. It's like a whole different world," Melina said, emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

Alistair smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. "It was worth all the pain and struggles, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely! I wouldn't give up this life for anything!"

Although her magic was gone along with the System, it still lived and thrived everywhere around her. Not just with her familiars, Monster Realm plants and races, but also in everyday moments. After all, creating a new life was the most magical thing one could ever hope to accomplish.