I Hit the Back of the Tower Master’s Head - Chapter 19

Episode 19

I woke up feeling refreshed and grabbed my notebook.

Today’s task was to make cookies.

After making the bed, I went out and saw Lily in the kitchen, busy making breakfast soup. The table was covered with flour, eggs, and milk.

The door to my mother’s room opened, and Ruth came out looking all messy. His hair was all over the place, probably from tossing and turning in his sleep. He rubbed his eyes, still looking half-asleep, and yawned with a small, awkward smile.

“Did you sleep well?”

I nodded lightly and nudged Ruth towards the bathroom. He seemed half-awake, so I told him to wash his face. Ruth wobbled into the bathroom, and I went to the kitchen to ask Lily.

‘Where do we eat?’

Lily shook the ladle and answered.

“Just put down the flour and eat.”

I slowly pushed the ingredients on the table aside. Ruth, now looking a bit more awake, came over to help me.

After eating onion soup and morning rolls, Lily spoke up.

“Let’s start. Go wash your hands!”

Lily waved us over. Ruth and I washed our hands, following her orders. In the meantime, Pinocchio took out a bowl and dumped a lot of flour into it. When Lily saw the mountain of flour, she was shocked.

“You idiot! Get away from here, Pinocchio!”

Pinocchio sadly stepped back.

Lily stomped her feet and then called Pinocchio back.

“You idiot, you have to clean up what you did! Put the flour back!”

Pinocchio, with no complaints, came back and started putting the flour into a bag. Meanwhile, Lily checked the butter.

“What should we do next?”

Ruth asked Lily. She pulled out two new bowls, handing one to Ruth and the other to me.

“Tell him to crack the eggs. Lunaire, you sift the flour after he’s done.”

[He’s supposed to crack the eggs.]

Ruth carefully took an egg and cracked it into the bowl. Smack! The shell shattered and fell into the bowl. Lily crossed her arms and growled.

“Do you want to eat shell cookies? Take it out now!”

[She says take out the shell.]

Since Lily couldn’t directly talk to Ruth, I felt like I was getting double the scolding.

Pinocchio stepped back, his hands completely covered in flour. While Lulu cleaned Pinocchio’s hands, I started sifting a reasonable amount of flour through the sifter.

“Good job, Lunaire. You’re doing great.”

Lily nodded in approval. Then she turned to Ruth and gasped.

“You idiot! How many eggs did you crack?!”

Lily pointed at the thirty cracked eggs, and she started flailing around. Ruth, looking a bit nervous, asked me quietly.

“What’s she saying?”

[She says you cracked too many eggs.]

“Ah… I should’ve stopped him.”

Ruth mumbled at Lily, and Lily acted like she was rubbing her neck.

“You should’ve asked!”

I put the sifter down to officially translate.

“I’m a beginner. I think you should’ve supervised better.”

“Don’t make excuses! Why didn’t you ask?”

[She says not to make excuses. She wants to know why you didn’t ask first.]

“I’m not wrong, Lily… It would’ve been great if you told me how many eggs to crack in the first place.”

“Don’t blame me!”

[She says not to blame her.]

“I’m not blaming you… Well, maybe I am. This is my first time cooking. Can’t you just understand?”

“You want to skip dinner?”

[You want to skip dinner…]

“Threatening with food is such a cruel thing to do.”

“Then do it right!”

There was no time for me to translate!

[She says do it right…]

“Ah, Lily…”

Lily smacked Ruth’s arm.

[She says to move the eggs to a different bowl after leaving just a little.]

“Should I use a spoon?”

[Just pour it.]

Ruth opened the cabinet.

“Which dish should I take out?”

“Why are you still asking?!”

Lily stomped her feet, then jumped down and opened the drawer next to the stove. She tapped on a new bowl, and Ruth closed the cabinet and took out the bowl. While Ruth was moving the eggs, getting scolded by Lily, I noticed the flour on my table was a mess.

‘Lily, I think I sifted too much flour too.’

Lily, waddling over when I called, looked at the amount of flour and sighed deeply.

“It’s fine. He cracked so many eggs, we have to use them. I’ll make soufflé later.”

“…Did you get scolded too?”

[No.]

“…This is unfair. Don’t you think so?”

I just smiled at Ruth and Lily’s cute little argument. Ruth muttered quietly, and Lily, arms crossed, squinted at him.

“Do you have complaints? Do you?”

“No…”

Ruth lost the staring contest. Lily, looking at the mess they made, placed her hand on her forehead as if she was dizzy.

“You forgot to stir the butter! It’s all his fault!”

Lily blamed Ruth, grabbed the butter, and put it into a new bowl. I stirred the butter with a whisk, and Lily handed Ruth another whisk.

“Do I just stir it?”

Lily nodded. Ruth started making the egg mixture, and Lily sprinkled salt on it, then tapped the sifted flour into it. I poured the flour on top of the eggs, and Lily pushed the bowl toward Ruth.

“What do I do now?”

[Just stir it.]

Ruth started mixing, and I, following Lily’s instructions, stood by and added sugar. Ruth muttered.

“Wow, so much sugar goes in…”

When the dough was finished, Lily handed me some chocolate. I crushed it on the table and sprinkled it on the dough. Ruth stirred the dough again, and the finished dough went into the fridge.

“…Is it done?”

Ruth murmured faintly. He seemed to be excited. Lily checked the remaining eggs on the table, sighed, and then grabbed a ladle with both hands, using it as a base to flip over an empty bowl, quickly separating the egg whites and yolks.

Seeing that, Ruth’s eyes widened.

“Wow… Your hands are so fast.”

[She’s a cooking doll.]

I showed off my notebook with a bit of pride. Ruth smiled at my big letters. Lily gestured for us to come over, and Ruth and I awkwardly walked over.

Lily gave Ruth the egg whites and me the yolks, handing us whisks. I was surprised when I saw Ruth holding the egg whites.

‘Lily, do you think Ruth can whip these up?’

Lily snorted.

“Anyone with strength can do it. Lunaire, you ruined meringue last time, so don’t do it.”

[She says you have to whip the meringue, Ruth.]

“…Do I just stir it?”

[You have to stir it fast. Really fast. Until Lily tells you to stop.]

Ruth took a deep breath, looking at Lily, who was standing like a supervisor, and then slowly started stirring. Lily shouted at him.

“Faster!”

Seeing the look in Lily’s eyes, Ruth picked up the speed. I quietly started whipping the yolks.

Ruth’s veins stood out on the back of his hands and arms. It didn’t seem that difficult yet. Lily poured sugar into it here and there.

Eventually, the yolks were fully whipped, so I stopped. Ruth was still struggling with the egg whites.

Lily shouted again.

“Use all the energy you have left from breakfast! Faster!”

Ruth, not hearing her, was sweating, still vigorously whipping the meringue. Suddenly, Lily slapped the bowl. Ruth, thinking she wanted him to go faster, increased his speed. Lily shouted again.

“No, stop! Stop!”

I quickly grabbed Ruth’s raised sleeve. Ruth put the whisk down, and Lily checked the peaks on the meringue.

“Good job.”

Lily nodded lightly, and I immediately wrote her words in my notebook.

[Well done.]

Ruth’s face broke into a soft smile. He seemed to be shaking his hand, and I gently pressed down on his hand to help with the stiffness. Ruth looked awkward, but didn’t pull his hand away.

Lily mixed the meringue carefully into the egg yolks with the sifted flour and baking powder.

“What’s that for?”

[Soufflé. Not something I make often.]

“Does it taste good?”

[It melts in your mouth.]

Ruth’s face lit up with excitement. Lily raised the bowl with the dough. I took the bowl from her and placed it by the stove while Lily got the frying pan, melting butter on it.

I sat next to Ruth and watched Lily cook the dough. Slowly, a delicious smell started to rise. Ruth whispered to me.

“Do you need jam?”

[It’s good with it.]

I took out some syrup and raspberry jam from the cupboard and placed them on the table. The table, now full, had no empty spots. Lily shouted.

“Soak the bowls in water!”

After cleaning up the bowls, there was finally space. Flour traces were left, but I could clean that later.

I justified it to myself, grabbed a fork, and then Lily brought over a plate stacked with soufflé pancakes. I took a small plate, placed the pancakes in the middle, and stacked three on Ruth’s plate, pouring syrup all over them.

[After you finish what’s on your plate, you can take more. You can try jam and pour as much syrup as you want.]

Ruth nodded eagerly. He cautiously pressed his fork into the soufflé, and his eyes widened in surprise at the soft texture.

I silently laughed once and ate the soufflé. It tasted even better than I remembered. The soft texture melted in my mouth like foam, and the sweet taste of the syrup lingered.

“…It’s so good.”

Ruth whispered. His navy blue eyes shimmered faintly. I held out my notebook.

[Which is better, the cookies or this?]

Ruth stared seriously at the soufflé stuck on his fork, like he had discovered an unsolvable problem.

He looked so serious that even when I went to the capital with my mom five years ago for my debutante, I didn’t have that expression. I couldn’t hold back the laughter rising in my chest, so I pinched my thighs hard, trying to hold it in. It felt like I might bruise myself.

“Soufflé… I think it’s better.”

Ruth muttered, like he had just committed a huge crime against the cookies, and then grabbed his forehead in distress. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, twisting and laughing silently. Ruth finally turned to look at me, his face completely red.

“I’m serious!”

I was shaking from laughing so much, but finally wiped the tears from my eyes. Ruth was as red as a tomato.

[Sorry.]

I showed him the big, messy writing in my notebook. Ruth slowly nodded, covering his mouth.

Suddenly, I thought Ruth was cute.