The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 21

‘Then what do I need to do to make Alexei hear Fafnir’s voice?’

‘Then….’
Asha carefully organized the situation in her mind.
Getting Fafnir’s voice to sound in the human realm had somehow worked out.
But Alexei hearing that voice was an entirely separate problem. That required Alexei to be prepared to listen.
There was a solution—all Alexei had to do was eat plenty of Asha’s pastries—but it was impossible right now.
‘So… am I in a situation where only I can hear the Spirit?’
After all her effort to keep a low profile, was one small good deed really going to wash away everything?
“Anastasha, can you hear Fafnir’s voice?”
Alexei’s confirmation caught Asha off guard.
‘How should I answer?’
She was tempted to deny it, to say surely it was all just a joke, but the moment her eyes met his clear blue gaze, the words became impossible to speak.
“What is Fafnir saying?”
And before Asha could even tell a lie, Alexei asked gently. Asha clasped her hands together and stammered, but at last decided to be honest.
“He’s sorry. He says he’ll do better from now on.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For making the Imperial Palace too warm on his own, and because of that, making Alyosha suffer. He says he won’t do it again.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll need to prepare winter clothes and fuel. It’ll take some time to get them ready in time, so could you ask him if he’d let us keep things warm just for this winter?”
The candle suddenly burned with fierce intensity, and Fafnir’s voice rang out in Asha’s ears alone, ringing clear and warm with “I’ll do exactly as you say!”
“H-he says he will. He says he’ll do whatever Alyosha asks.”
Alexei nodded with a faint smile. Then, as an awkward silence settled between them, Alexei slowly met Asha’s eyes.
“Asha.”
“Mm?”
“Can you speak with your own Spirit too?”
Say yes, or say no? As Asha’s lips trembled without speaking, Alexei asked another question without waiting for her answer.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t trying to keep it secret on purpose.”
Asha moistened her increasingly dry lips.
“It just… seemed like no one would be curious about it. And I thought there was no need to mention it. Because I—”
Asha stopped there and drew in a breath.
And.
She was about to say that she had no interest in things like the Throne, when Alexei smiled softly.
“Yes, I understand.”
“I’m the… wait?”
Asha blinked. Alexei gently brushed the back of his hand across her eyes.
“I understand your heart well. So you needn’t worry about anything now.”

* * *

Back in her room, Asha tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“What troubles you?”
“Oh… it’s something Alexei said.”
“That he understands your heart?”
“Well…”
Could it be true? Did he genuinely trust her? It had certainly seemed that way. Around Alexei as he spoke, there had shone a warm, gentle light.
But how could such a thing be possible?
“To trust me so completely, just like that…”
All the anxiety she’d carried until now felt hollow by comparison.
At Asha’s words, Pibi burst from the embroidery on her sleeve and did a somersault through the air.
“What do you think perception is?”
“Um, feeling things?”
“Yes. Sensing something, recognizing it, accepting it—to do all of that perfectly means to understand everything perfectly. And what do you think it means to understand something perfectly?”
Asha tilted her head again.
“To know it completely?”
“Exactly. And only when you can make the other person perfectly understand what you yourself know—only then can you truly say you understand.”
Asha’s eyes went wide.
“So people believe whatever I say?”
“You foolish girl! It means you have the ability to convey your sincere heart to others without any misunderstanding!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
In other words, Alexei had perfectly understood Asha’s heart—that she had not the slightest interest in the Throne.
“Thank goodness. I was so worried he might misunderstand…”
“Well, it was just an ability that happened to activate by chance.”
Asha let out a relieved sigh and was climbing onto the bed when she froze. Pibi leisurely arranged the flag beside her.
“What?”
“It only activated accidentally just now. You foolish child—you haven’t been able to be certain, right up to this moment, what your grandfather’s grandson truly thinks of you, and yet you believed you could wield your power freely?”
“…”
“Ha! Were you planning to rush to your grandfather and declare that you have no interest in that great big chair?”
“…”
Asha’s face twisted miserably. Until now, whenever she’d wanted to raise the subject of Succession Right, she’d held her tongue, fearing she’d invite unwanted misunderstanding.
She’d worried that if a ten-year-old showed signs of being clever enough to discuss Succession Right seriously, it would fuel needless expectations and conflict among those around her.
But if she could convey her words without any misunderstanding? The moment the matter of Succession Right was settled, all the problems Asha had worried about would be cleanly resolved.
Yet it had all been mere chance?
“Really? But what if…”
“Then go tell your grandfather right now. His reaction will tell you whether it works.”
“…!”
And if it didn’t?
Hadn’t she already blundered once with Alexei over the Fafnir matter?
“So what am I supposed to do? Is there a way to use the power more skillfully? Any technique?”
“There is a way.”
“What is it?”
“You said you liked making pastries, didn’t you?”
“I… did.”
“Then, as I’ve told you before, make lots of pastries.”
“…”
“And feed them to the people around you.”
“…That’s all?”
“Yes. That’s the way to make your power easier to control, and it’s also how you contribute to the world.”
“I don’t need to contribute to the world, but fine. I understand. Sweet things do make the world a little better. I’ll forgive you for taking back what you gave.”
“Who took back what they gave!”
Pibi seemed indignant, but Asha was no longer listening.

* * *

Alexei, now fully recovered from his fever, bore the look of a man who had set down a great burden. With that same expression, he invited Asha to join him for tea. He had prepared the tea table with obvious care, as if to welcome her properly.
A teacup sat on display—pure white porcelain with a delicate blue grid pattern and gold trim running along its edge. The teapot matched perfectly. Atop the teapot’s lid perched a small ceramic bird. The tea itself glowed a warm amber, releasing the bright, clean scent of cinnamon.
On a lace-trimmed plate lay two scones that Asha had baked that morning, flanked by butter and three varieties of fruit jam.
And the reason she could now wander freely through the room, taking it all in, was that Alexei had been summoned by the Emperor the moment the tea was poured. His Majesty had urgent matters to discuss with the Imperial Grandson, or so it seemed.
‘Ugh, Alyosha and Grandfather—I don’t understand either of them.’
Alexei’s feelings toward her at present were not particularly negative, and in the original novel, the Imperial Grandson Anastasia had endured far longer than this. Five years, at minimum. That meant she could weather almost anything for that long.
Asha turned the number over in her mind—five years—and sprang from her chair. Sitting still was unbearably tedious.
She made a careful circuit of the room, touching nothing, simply observing. It was furnished with the elegance befitting an Imperial Grandson’s quarters.
On a large desk positioned near the window, several sheets of paper lay spread open. Asha rose onto her toes to peer down at one of them.
“Is this a map?”
The name “Kaiye Rus” was emblazoned across the center in bold letters, and several regions along the upper border were marked. Among those marked areas, Asha noticed one with an unusually long and grandiose name and read it aloud.
“Lumen Basiliche?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”
At the sound of Pibi’s voice, Asha tilted her head in confusion.

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