The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Villainous Crown Princess Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Chapter 11

Her plan had been to use the Emperor’s authority to quiet things down discreetly and sort out the aftermath—but behind Dmitri’s back, something like fireworks was erupting. Particles of light scattered noisily across Asha’s cheek. She caught her breath, then let the question tumble out anyway.
“……Was the pastry you just ate delicious?”
“…….”
Dmitri wore the expression of a man who wanted to bite his own tongue and expire on the spot, but Asha paid him no mind. She drew a wrapped piece of Brownie from her pocket and pressed it into his hand.
He went to crush it and toss it away, but Asha was faster, crying out:
“A pastry His Majesty said was delicious!”
“─?!”
“You just cursed it, didn’t you? His Majesty said it was delicious, and you cursed it?”
“Ah, no! I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!”
But what could a child barely ten years old do about anything? Dmitri found himself with no choice but to tuck the Brownie Asha had offered into his coat.
“Take it home and give it to Maksim—to your Uncle Maksim, all right?”
‘If it weren’t for that, I’d just—honestly, I’d let Pibi talk me into throwing a punch right now.’

‘Quiet, you fool of a bird.’
Dmitri was the son of Maksim, who had been helping a household that barely scraped by, and for that boy’s sake, Asha held her tongue.
After that, things dispersed quickly. Dmitri was loaded into a carriage looking like he wished he were dead, and the other cousins hesitated only briefly before scrambling aboard and fleeing the Imperial Palace in haste.
‘Still, they calmed down pretty fast just from eating a little pastry.’

Asha tilted her head. Pibi’s tone was odd somehow.
‘Because I made it? Or because His Majesty the Emperor said it was delicious?’

Asha fell silent at the word “master,” then hurried to continue her thought.
‘So if I make pastries, people become well-behaved?’

‘……Their spirits? Why? Don’t tell me my hands are secreting something like a drug…….’

Asha, who had been pressing for answers, felt the wind go out of her sails. But just as she was about to shoot back at Pibi, Lis appeared.
“Anastasha!”
Lis called to her from a distance, rushing over with such urgency that the attendants fell back and bowed in deference to her approach.
“Oh…… yes. Lis…….”
The moment Lis reached Asha, transparent amethyst-colored particles cascaded down like a waterfall.
‘Now I understand clearly. That amethyst color means worry.’
“Your Highness, are you all right—good heavens, there’s a wound on your cheek……. Wait, what on earth is——”
Lis wrapped Asha in the folds of her skirt, then spun sharply toward the remaining attendants.
“How did this happen? What is the meaning of this wound on Her Highness?”
The soft voice that always addressed Asha was nowhere to be found; Lis interrogated the attendants with cold, cutting precision.
“That is to say…….”
The attendants, at a loss, hurried to explain the situation as if pleading their case. As a dark crimson hue of anger began to layer over the purple aura that usually surrounded Lis, Asha quickly grabbed hold of her collar and pulled.
“Lis, Lis, I’m fine. So I gave them a taste of the same. Come on, let’s go now, Lis.”
“……You did, Your Highness?”
“Yes, yes! I’m far more curious about the new room. I want to see it right now.”
Asha’s eyes gleamed as she tugged at Lis’s collar. Lis looked back and forth between the ruined courtyard and Asha, then swallowed a heavy sigh before straightening her collar.
“You mustn’t wander off alone like this, Your Highness. I was planning to come fetch you once I’d finished preparing the room…….”
“It’s all right. Nothing’s going to happen inside the Imperial Palace. Don’t worry.”
“But something just happened.”
“Oh, that was just children playing around.”
“Your Highness is still a child yourself, after all.”
Asha grew embarrassed and laughed softly, then after a moment of thought, extended both her arms. It was the way her father, Yuriye, had always delighted in——.
“To think you’re still such a child, Your Highness.”
Without hesitation, Lis gathered her into an embrace as she indulged in her affection. From Lis poured delicate pink particles, as if brimming with joy.

* * *

Crystals hung from the silhouette of the window curtain, tinkling softly as they scattered light in beautiful patterns. And the room it framed was far too spacious, hauntingly empty.
Asha merely parted her lips. The bed, side table, tea table, and dresser resembled those in her previous room, but everything was larger. Yet the space remained cavernously empty despite it all.
“Your room is quite vast, isn’t it? We’ll gradually fill it with things befitting you—decorative cabinets, console tables, carved chairs, and the like.”
“Honestly, I don’t need any of that.”
Lis smiled subtly, as though she understood that young Asha simply didn’t comprehend such matters yet. Then a door set into the inner wall caught Asha’s eye. She could have sworn Aleksei’s room was supposed to be next door….
“Lis, where does that door lead? Surely not—”
“Oh! It connects to the Crown Prince’s chamber. He specifically requested adjacent rooms for you. He said you’re welcome to visit whenever you wish.”
Lis opened the door. A short corridor lay between them, and on the far side stood another door—presumably the entrance to Crown Prince Aleksei’s quarters.
‘I could swear a chill seeps out from between that door.’
Asha forced herself to smile.
“You know, Lis, I was thinking… surely the Crown Prince wouldn’t go to such lengths for me—”
“Yes, he’s quite eager to see you. That’s why His Majesty also commanded that you share lessons together, isn’t it? How thoughtful of him.”
“What?”
While Asha stood frozen in alarm, Lis tidied her clothes, smoothed the bedding, and brushed fallen petals from the flowers adorning the tea table.
“He said your lessons are to begin tomorrow, and the Crown Prince has asked to study alongside you.”
“Tomorrow? What am I supposed to study? I’ve never—”
Lis knelt down and swept a hand gently across Asha’s cheek and hair.
“If you study diligently, His Majesty the Emperor will surely look upon you with favor.”
“I only need my mother and father! Everything else—”
Everything else, everyone else—if the Emperor began to favor her too much, who knew what calamity might befall her?
Asha could only swallow her outcry. True, the Emperor might come to cherish her and shield her from harm. But that depended on him remaining Emperor. And how old was he now? She was the granddaughter of his youngest son, the one born to him latest in life.
‘Once Aleksei takes the throne….’
Asha had no idea the thoughts spinning through her mind would make others faint at their audacity. Lis did her utmost to soothe her.
“Studying with the Crown Prince will surely be enjoyable.”
“No, wait—the Crown Prince will find it tedious. I’ve never even studied before, and—”
“You needn’t worry about that. The Crown Prince himself suggested studying together.”
‘Why would he suggest that!’
He’s trying to gauge my abilities firsthand! To size me up before deciding whether to spare me or kill me!
Asha’s face crumpled as she clung to Lis, but nothing could persuade her tutor to cancel the lessons.

* * *

The boy seated by the window had golden hair and eyes of frigid blue. He looked to be about fifteen.
Throughout their walk, Asha had wondered whether she and her cousin—future Emperor—would truly share a lesson, but the answer remained a mystery until now.
‘But this is… isn’t this the library where His Majesty was recently?’
The palace sprawled so vast that she lost her way each time, unable to recognize anything on first glance. But as they ventured deeper, something familiar came into view.
“Anastasia, you’ve arrived?”
As Asha surveyed her surroundings, Aleksei spoke. She turned to face him. His expression seemed to wear a gentle smile, but the blue eyes nested within those slightly narrowed lids held an indescribable coldness.
Asha understood why Aleksei was so keenly alert. Half of what upheld his position as Crown Prince was his spirit—the Fire Dragon Pafnir—while the other half rested on the Emperor’s support. To think that support might now be divided with a cousin he’d only just met: his feelings could well be imagined.
Asha cleared her throat, intent on beginning pleasantly.
“Well, Your High—”
“You needn’t address me so formally. I am Crown Prince, so there’s no need for concern.”
“…….”
Aleksei turned a page of his book as he replied, still smiling. At first glance his eyes seemed mild and slightly downturned, gentle as a fawn’s, yet something within them was bitterly cold. Frost-like shards of frozen emotion hung about him—a chill that penetrated merely by proximity. No blade could be sharper than this.
Asha decided to accept his words.
“Then Aleksei, bro—”
“Brother? Must we be so formal?”
“…….”
Asha opened her mouth, then quietly closed it. She took a breath and spoke again.
“Then just Aleksei.”
“……What?”
Only then did Aleksei raise his head. Asha had blurted it out in frustration and now secretly swallowed hard. Had a grown man looked at her that way, she might have hiccupped.
“You said you disliked being called Crown Prince, and you disliked being called brother, so—”
“You…….”
“Oh, is Aleksei not good either? Then how about Alyosha!”
“……!”
The moment Aleksei’s smile vanished from his face for the first time, the library door opened. It was the Scholar who would conduct today’s lesson. He entered with a gentle expression but stopped short, sensing the tension that had seized the room.
“Crown Prince—?”
“……No, please, do come in.”
Aleksei quickly wore his smile again and acknowledged the Scholar with a nod. For the duration of the lesson, he did not once look at Asha. Asha pretended not to notice his coldness until the very end.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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