Millie was quiet for a moment, considering. "You don't balance them," she said finally. "You braid them together. Beauty should reveal truth, not hide it. If your food is honest and good, the presentation should just help people see that more clearly." She tapped the moon pattern on her cakes. "This pattern doesn't make the cake taste better. But it makes people slow down before they eat it. Makes them notice. And when they notice, they taste more carefully. They appreciate more fully."
"So presentation is... translation?"
"Exactly." Millie's ears perked up, pleased. "It's translating what you already made into a language more people can understand. The Guild forgets that sometimes. They get so caught up in the language that they forget what they're trying to say."
Marron finished her moon cake slowly, thinking.
