Melina managed to get really good insight from Leliana. The girl had rather sensitive tastebuds and was brutally honest when she didn't like the flavor. Two sauces were effectively eliminated right from the start. She claimed that they tasted more like sweetened medicine than actual caramel.

Satisfied with Leliana's opinion, Melina gave her three feyfruit and two sapmelons. Melina had many to spare, although she had her doubts about whether the girl would be able to grow the magical fruit in the Human Realm. Feyfruit needed lots of ambient mana for it to grow properly. Sapmelon would be even harder to grow with their… special growing conditions.

But Melina didn't intend to rain on Leliana's parade. She had looked pleased to receive the fruit, so she figured that perhaps it would lessen their feud if only a little bit.

After Leliana left, Melina gave Gilbert the caramel sauces to try. He confirmed that the two samples the redhead identified as too medical were indeed unsuited for pastry purposes. That saddened Melina a little since they happened to be the most potent ones retaining both a strong healing ability and the <Regeneration> effect.

But out of the two remaining samples, one had a good healing effect and a pleasant flavor, so Melina was determined to use it to create her healing pastry.

"What kind of pastry would best work with caramel sauce?" Melina asked the old baker after they were done sampling.

"Caramel is versatile. You can just drizzle it over pastries for additional sweetness. It'd work well on tarts, in rolls, you could even make puff pastries with caramel filling inside."

Melina thought about it. It felt too easy. She wanted these healing pastries to shine on their own, instead of just having the caramel sauce drizzled on whatever first touched her fingers.

"Or I suppose we could make something new," Gilbert said, noticing the hesitation on Melina's face. "How about some caramel cream puffs?"

"Cream puffs?" Melina asked excitedly. There weren't many times she had eaten the dessert—she could probably count it on her fingers. It also has been at least ten years since she's eaten a cream puff. But even so she could still vaguely recall the lightness of the dessert. Who wouldn't want to eat a cream puff instead of medicine?

"Yes. It would do you good to learn how to make choux pastry."

"Choux pastry?" Melina blinked. "We can't just use bread dough or puff pastry?"

"System, no! Those are not suitable for cream puffs at all. I'll show you how to make it properly tomorrow after we're done with our work in the bakery," Gilbert said.

"Yes! Thank you. I'll go make more caramel sauce," Melina said eagerly but was stopped in her tracks when Gilbert cleared his throat.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting what?" Melina asked.

She thought hard, going through a list of tasks she might have forgotten. The shop and the kitchen were clean, dough for tomorrow was already proving in the storage room and garden plants were taken care of. Leliana even reprimanded Melina for letting the weeds grow wild, so she'd picked those out. The day had been quite busy for her.

"I'm surprised that you've forgotten about your lordling. Isn't the letter from my supposed friend long overdue by now?"

Melina gasped in shock. "I forgot!"

How could I forget? That is like one of the most important things I needed to take care of. Even if the Church was on my heels and I was busy with Monster Realm and creating the new healing pastry, I should have written him that letter.

Gilbert sighed. "I thought I was supposed to be old and forgetful."

"Your memory clearly is not bound by your age. Thank you, Master!" Melina said, hurriedly removing her apron. She needed to compose that letter this evening and give it to Alistair tomorrow morning when he stopped by the bakery.

After getting inkpen and paper from the living room, Melina returned to her room and sat down at her desk with the full intention of writing the letter for Alistair. She'd have to tell him the location of the Architect so he could find it and get rid of <General's Echo>. But she had to hide it all under the guise of a recipe.

Alistair was worried that the letter might be intercepted, and although there was almost zero chance of that, it wasn't exactly zero. So she had to carefully construct it in a way only he would understand.

"What was the recipe he mentioned again?" Melina pondered for a moment. She had burned the letter when the Church came into town, just in case they would force entry and search the place.

Sienna circled around the desk, tapping her feet. Melina doubted the wyrm actually knew the answer, but it was heartening to see her support.

"It was something whose first letter would make up the word architect. I think it was apricot raspberry caramel… What was next? Something incorporated with elderberry cream tart, I think?"

Sienna chittered, looking mildly peeved. Perhaps, the little wyrm did know the answer, merely couldn't say it. Melina thought about it for a moment longer, until she finally managed to remember. "Apricot raspberry caramel haphazardly incorporated therewith elderberry cream tart?"

The wyrm chirped approvingly. How she could remember, Melina had no clue. The word choice was rather odd, as Alistair was probably focusing on the first letters of the words rather than the actual meaning behind them.

"Well, I know how to make caramel and I know how to make cream and tarts, so I should be able to create a reply," Melina nodded solemnly, bringing her inkpen to the paper. However, her hand faltered.

If she told Alistair the location of the architect, he'd no doubt set off on a journey to find it and then have <General's Echo> removed. That was the goal at least. He'd never remember the past, the death and destruction that was left after Melina separated the Monster Realm from the Human Realm. He'd live freely, not remembering his role in the world's destruction.

But he would also never remember her. He'd never remember the battles they fought together, the pain they endured, and the happy, little moments they shared. Like when he tried to make peppermint tea by using hot spring water and snatching the honey from wild bees.

Because when the world was ending, it was only his presence that kept her going. If Alistair hadn't believed that she could fix it all, she would have given up a long time ago and never bothered to search for the time ritual. If <General's Echo> would get erased, he'd never get a chance to remember.

Melina's fingers turned white as they gripped the inkpen. The thought that he'd never remember her was so painful. She knew it was for the best if he never knew who she was. They'd already gotten far closer than Melina had ever intended.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sienna nudged Melina's hands, looking at her with worried eyes. The wyrm could tell her distress—their link as tamer and familiar was getting stronger each day after all.

"He shouldn't remember. He deserves a peaceful life," Melina said aloud, mostly to convince herself. Sienna didn't look convinced in the slightest, but even so, Melina pressed the inkpen against the paper and began writing.

She wrote several versions of the letters, often tossing out her draft mid-way, especially when it felt like it was too easy to decipher. Melina wanted to be absolutely certain that only Alistair would be able to decode its meaning, and even for him, she wasn't going to make it easy.

As she reread her letter, she realized it was too easy to tell and would start anew, inventing a new code. Hours passed by and it got dark, forcing Melina to turn on the light. She didn't know how many iterations it took, but sometime close to midnight her letter was ready.

On the surface, it looked like a recipe. A recipe for a rather odd-sounding dish, but it had the typical ingredient list and step-by-step cooking instructions. However, among the words she had hidden the exact location of the System being. She referenced things only Alistair would understand. Perhaps, the way the letter was personalized to him would make him suspicious of Gilbert's friend.

But it didn't matter since he didn't even exist in the first place. As long as the location was conveyed, it didn't matter that Alistair was suspicious. He'd no doubt rush to find the Architect and once <General's Echo> was erased, so would be all the remnants of the past. Or at least that was what Melina wanted to believe.

The next morning was yet another nervous one for Melina. The letter which she had carefully placed on the living room table, bothered her since the moment she opened her eyes. Part of her just wanted to throw it in the oven, burn it, and just pretend that Alistair's reply never came.

But then she remembered his tired expression and the nightmares that plagued him. How little he slept because of them. It couldn't go on. These thoughts kept her hand steady as she made the pastries in the morning. Melina would give the letter to Alistair that day, no matter what.

Of course, when the time came to open the bakery, her mind was in turmoil yet again. Melina hated this selfish part of herself which she had to fight back with all her might.

Each time when the bakery door opened, Melina flinched, worried it'd be Alistair, however, plenty of other people came that day. Actually, he was running rather late, coming in when most of the good pastries were already sold out.

"Good morning, Melina, Master Gilbert!" He said, exhaling a breath. "I was worried that I wouldn't make it in time."

"Out of all mornings you decide to run late, it had to be this one," Gilbert grumbled and rolled his eyes. He was no doubt aware of the inner battle Melina had.

Alistair on the other hand looked puzzled. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, no! It's no big deal," Melina said, her voice sounding shrill in her own ears. Her hands were trembling. She had to give the letter to Alistair, yet she was still hesitating.

There was an odd pause as Gilbert and Alistair both stared at Melina waiting for her to continue. She clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and activated <Mask of Deceit>. The skill helped her put on a perfectly calm smile. "I have your special order in the back."

"What special order?" He appeared confused at first, but then realization dawned on his face and his whole demeanor changed. A smile appeared on his lips and something lit up in his eyes. "Oh, that order. Of course. Thank you very much!"

Melina silently guided him to the living room, not daring herself to speak at that moment, not even with <Mask of Deceit> on. Instead, she silently handed him the letter.

The relief that washed over him once he took the letter was noticeable as if somebody had lifted a heavy burden off his shoulders.

"I'm sorry it took so long," she muttered.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault," Alistair chuckled dismissively. "I do apologize for my rudeness, but I'd like to go and read this now."

"Of course. I hope you find the answers you seek," Melina said and watched as Alistair left the bakery in a hurry.

She couldn't bring herself to go back out into the shop. The sight of his retreating form almost made it feel like she'd never see him again. It was stupid, she knew that—he'd be back for pastries the next day. Yet it felt like she had lost the Alistair that she knew.

"What's the holdup—" Gilbert hobbled angrily into the living room, but stopped as he saw Melina. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong?" Melina asked in puzzlement.

"Why are you crying then?"

Melina lifted her hands to her cheeks and felt they were wet. When did she start to cry? Even <Mask of Deceit> couldn't fully hide the emotions within her. "I… I…"

"Oh, you foolish child," Gilbert chided and gently pulled her into his embrace. They remained that way until Melina managed to calm herself enough for the <Mask of Deceit> to cover her sadness until she finished serving the customers.

"Measure everything out carefully," Gilbert said, pointing at the cup half-filled with water. Or at least Melina thought it had been half-filled, but the old baker indicated that it was a little bit over the halfway mark.

"It's hard to measure exactly half a cup. Can't we use scales or something?" Melina groaned remembering the magitech scales she used for her potion recipes. Half a cup or tablespoon had always felt like such silly and imprecise measurements to her. After all not all cups were made equal and neither were spoons.

"Sure. Just go and buy some in the local magitech store," Gilbert retorted sarcastically.

Melina got the point. She couldn't get such a thing in Sunglow, not to mention that even something as small as magitech scales would still be expensive. She sighed and carefully poured out just a little bit of water from the glass.

"That'll do. Now heat the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan."

"For how long?"

"Until it starts to boil."

Melina nodded and waited for the mixture to boil, stirring it occasionally. She wondered why Gilbert decided to watch the process so carefully this time. Usually, he just told her what to do and let her do her thing. This time he was carefully monitoring her every movement.

"Remove from heat and stir in one cup of flour," he instructed. Melina did that. "Now put it back on the stove."

"Back?"

"Yes. You need to dry the dough to remove the moisture. Otherwise, the pastry will fail," he said sternly.

"Okay?" Melina said, feeling that his reaction was a bit dramatic. She cooked the resulting dough for a minute or so until it formed into a ball of sorts.

"Very good. Now you let it cool down before adding the eggs."

Melina nodded. She already knew that adding eggs to anything hot would cause them to curdle immediately. Her time with pastry cream had given her plenty of experience in that regard. Once the dough was cooled she added an egg to the mixture.

"Add only one egg at a time and fully incorporate it before adding the next one. Otherwise, the pastry will fail," Gilbert said, pulling the carton of eggs away from her.

The process was troublesome. Add an egg, whisk it in fully, then add another egg, whisk, and so on. In the end, she added four eggs, until the dough was up to Master Gilbert's standards. It was much runnier than Melina was used to—more like cream than actual dough.

"Are you sure this is the right consistency?" she asked, dubiously lifting the pastry with the spatula. It didn't drip off right away, but she couldn't imagine forming it with her hands. It would stick to everything.

"Absolutely sure. Now you need to get a piping bag and put the dough inside."

"I'm going to pipe the dough? Like cake icing?"

"Exactly."

It felt odd to Melina, but she didn't argue, retrieving one of the cloth piping bags and stuffing dough inside it. If that was what Gilbert instructed, then it must be right.

"Watch how I do it and repeat," the old baker said, taking the piping bag that Melina had filled with the dough. He took a baking tray lined with paper and quickly piped small round dollops of dough on it.

It looked so easy that Melina was confident that she could replicate it without problem. But the moment she took hold of the piping bag, she realized that it wouldn't be so easy. When she squeezed it, some of the dough began leaking out through the other end, dripping on her hands. But the dollop she was trying to create, came out way too big and too flat.

"Oh, boy. This is what I've feared," Gilbert groaned.

Melina kept piping, but her second dollop was no better, and the dough kept dribbling down her fingers onto the counter like some muck. She tried to keep the piping bag sealed but squeezed it too hard. She frowned, but at the same time, the feeling of the dough oozing through her fingers felt better than the heavy sense of loss Alistair left behind.

Gilbert groaned behind her, muttering something about her being a menace with a piping bag, but for the first time that morning, Melina managed a small, genuine smile. Despite her failures, her heart felt a little bit lighter. After all, failed dough balls can be fixed, unlike the past she had left behind.

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