[One-Shot Short Story] Valentine・The Duke's Daughter Wants to Be Reborn

"Does Salamandia like chocolate?" "... I've never eaten it." He likes alcohol, but doesn't seem to have much of an appetite for other people's meals or sweets. Since it would be unfortunate if he disliked sweet things, I ask just to be sure. "Do you like sweet things?" "Alcohol-based ones." "I see! I bought some chocolate with alcohol in it—do you want some?" Salamandia nods silently. "I'll brew some black tea, so let's eat it together." "This chocolate has a strong alcohol flavor and tastes good." Salamandia seems to have really liked it. Since I'm not good with alcohol, my chest feels oddly warm. "I'm glad. It said it had alcohol in it, so I thought Salamandia would be happy." Salamandia nods silently and stands up. He opens the oven, takes out the failed chocolate cake, and takes a bite. "This is delicious too." Salamandia smiles mischievously and looks at me. The embarrassment of being seen with my failed cake and the joy of having him eat it anyway mix together in a confused mess. It feels like I'm about to burst like a chocolate cake. My face gets even hotter because of the alcohol-filled chocolate. I've thought this before (see Episode 53), but Salamandia seems to know how to make a girl happy. Having him eat my homemade failed cake and say it's delicious makes me genuinely happy. Salamandia places his right hand on my shoulder as I sway slightly, and touches my cheek with his left hand. "You're hot, but are you okay?" "I'm fine. It's just the alcohol making me hot." My head is getting dizzy from the alcohol. His hand against my cheek feels cool and pleasant. Despite being a fire spirit, his personality and temperature are the opposite. "Eat this." Salamandia pushes a round chocolate into my mouth. His left thumb comes into my mouth along with it. I think I might have bitten his finger slightly along with the chocolate. My consciousness is hazy and unclear because of the alcohol.