The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 27

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

The Villainess Imperial Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House
27

“It’s been a while, and you’ve forgotten everything—usually when I start talking to you, you burst into tears.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
…….
Kalno only sighed and said nothing. When Aleksei touched his shoulder with a grin, Kalno even clicked his tongue. His friend had grown far too fond of laughing.

* * *

Asha turned her gaze from Kalno’s back. After finishing his conversation with Aleksei, Kalno had left without even a glance in her direction.
Aleksei tilted his teacup with a smile.
“Asha, he isn’t a man of poor character. It’s only that he worries too much.”
“Worries too much……?”
Did people usually call it ‘worrying too much’ when someone had eyes that promised to execute even an Imperial Granddaughter if things went wrong?
“Either way! I’m not going to the Victory Ball.”
“Are you afraid of Kalno? Asha, I’ll have a word with him—you needn’t worry about it.”
“I don’t want to. I won’t go.”
Asha shook her head firmly. She knew Kalno wouldn’t kill her outright. The relationship between her and Aleksei wasn’t terrible now, and by the original story, there shouldn’t be any problems for at least five years.
But that didn’t mean she could afford to pull out planks from a sinking ship one by one and measure how long it would take to go under.
“Asha, wouldn’t Her Majesty scold you if you don’t attend the Victory Ball?”
“Will she kill me for it, though?”
But Kalno will! Asha shook her head with distaste. What troubled her most was that Kalno’s emotions hadn’t shown at all.
“If you attend the Victory Ball, I’ll have two Birdcages made for you.”
“You don’t have to give me even one!”
“All right then—three. How’s that?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Aleksei smiled softly even after hearing that. Asha had a premonition that something had gone wrong, but she couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

* * *

Asha had nearly had a fit insisting she wouldn’t attend the Victory Ball, but Lis paid her no mind. Her reasoning was that now was a good time to go to a crowded gathering and make some friends.
Lis easily suppressed the struggles of the spindly little girl and succeeded in dressing Asha in a Party Dress.
And when Lis finally brought out the Shoes, Asha could see that this was all arranged by Aleksei.
“Look here—His Highness seemed to think that your previous Shoes didn’t fit well, so he sent you a new pair.”
A delicate pair of Shoes lay on Lis’s palm. Over soft ivory silk, pale pink roses were embroidered, and above them a ribbon of matching color was fashioned thick and full as decoration.
Lis spoke as though the Crown Prince himself had personally prepared this for his sister, and she nearly shed tears of emotion. The Shoes fit Asha’s feet perfectly.
‘So…… what can I do.’
Aleksei even walked her to the Ballroom holding her hand, but just before they entered, he was summoned to the Emperor on urgent business.
And the result?
‘I ended up entering alone and standing in the Banquet Hall…….’
She could hear people whispering from where she stood.
“Ah, she’s the one who was left alone in the Imperial Palace…….”
“The only daughter of Prince Yurie, right? Do you think His Highness will return to court now?”
“With his temperament, how could he possibly come back?”
“But his daughter is alone…….”
“Even without a daughter, it’s an opportunity for reinstatement…….”
“If he were that kind of person, he never would have refused the Crown Prince’s seat in the first place.”
“I heard that Nelin has been reinstated—surely he hasn’t brought his granddaughter…….”
‘See? See how right I was. This is why I didn’t want to come.
Asha stood alone in a corner of the Victory Ball like a discarded sack of barley. Originally, the Imperial Granddaughter Anastasia was supposed to make many friends here to fill the loneliness of her heart.
Naturally—because she had contracted with a Spirit so brilliantly radiant, and because she was the second Imperial Granddaughter whom the Emperor had left in the palace. But that situation didn’t apply to Asha now.
People did occasionally approach and speak to her. Some were thoughtless, others heartless, or both.
She was growing hungry. Just as Asha made a small decision to call an attendant and ask for a small Canapé, something happened.
“……Right now…… Kalno’s arrived…….”
“He’s here!”
“I can smell something ominous from all the way over here.”
“He’s a war hero. Mind your tongue.”
“Even if that weren’t so, you’d better be careful if you want to keep your head.”
“One wrong move and you’ll disappear without a trace.”
“The Emperor favors him in ways that are…… unusual. The current Sedvoyer Duke is practically a puppet by comparison.”
That silence crept in from a distance, but in an instant it consumed the ballroom like death itself. The music that had been playing, the clinking of glasses, even the murmur and laughter of the crowd—all of it faded away.
It wasn’t long before Asha could see the figure who had summoned this silence. The crowd parted like a receding tide, clearing a path before him.
‘Kalno…….’
Violet eyes—tinged with faint irritation and indifference—swept across the room, and people vanished in their wake. The man standing beside her was the same commander-in-chief she’d seen at the victory parade days before.
‘What is this?’
For a war hero—the star of this Victory Ball—the crowd’s reaction seemed oddly muted. The moment their eyes met his, people shrank back, holding their breath.
‘Shouldn’t I be the one afraid of him?’
But I know he’s planning to kill me, so that’s different.
When the war’s commander-in-chief and deputy commander stood side by side, people did come to greet them, but they addressed Kalno and left with remarkable haste.
It seemed as though they’d been forced to come on pain of death. After what felt like an eternity of perfunctory greetings, Kalno turned his head and walked briskly toward her until he stood directly before her.
Kalno was tall enough that Asha had to swallow hard and tilt her head back to meet his gaze. He looked down at her in silence for a long moment, then curved one corner of his mouth into a smile.
“Your Imperial Highness Asha. It is an honor.”
He offered a simple bow—arm bent, head barely inclined. Asha stared at Kalno as he unexpectedly approached and greeted her, then lifted the hem of her skirt in return curtsy.
<An opportunity! Let’s start with taking her hand.>
‘What—what? Why do you suddenly become a matchmaker the moment you see Kalno?’
<Nonsense!>
‘You want me to take his hand out of nowhere? That makes no sense!’
<It’s all for the good of the world!>
‘For the good of the world, I should hold hands with Kalno? Next you’ll be telling me to kiss him too.’
<Oh? That’s also a good—>
‘Stop!’
Asha pressed the button at her cuff firmly and lifted her head.
“Um…… Hello, Kalno.”
She’d called him that simply because no proper form of address came to mind, but the surrounding crowd immediately stirred. Even Kalno’s eyebrows rose slightly.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
But Kalno made no special comment about her form of address. And then—silence again.
‘Why did he come to me? To intimidate me?’
After his greeting, Kalno stood beside Asha in silence, his mouth firmly closed. The other guests gradually retreated, forming a wide circle around the two of them.
Once the icy quiet finally broke and the music resumed, Asha clasped her hands together and contemplated what to say. What conversation could she possibly have with a war hero who would one day try to kill her?
“Um, Aleksei said he’d be here in a moment. His Majesty called for him.”
“……I see.”
She’d grown close to Aleksei, so she hinted subtly that he’d have no reason to kill her in the future, but Kalno remained unmoved.
“What about you, Kalno…….”
“Just use my name.”
“I’m sorry?”
Asha turned to look at him with a face that asked why he was suddenly being familiar, but the moment she saw Kalno’s expression—half-twisted in displeasure—she closed her mouth.
‘He didn’t mean that the way it sounded…… Oh!’
The reason he was frowning as he asked to be called by his name was because Asha called the Crown Prince by his nickname. If the Crown Prince could use terms of endearment, there was no way he could allow himself to be addressed with honorifics in comparison.
“Then Kalno, do you…… um…… want something to eat? They say the sandwich here with spiced roasted chicken is delicious.”
Unable to bear the awkward silence, Asha chattered on, but Kalno gave no answer. He didn’t even offer a refusal.
“……Or something sweet if you don’t like spicy? Something with egg and turkey…….”
Asha’s words trailed off. Kalno maintained his silence, though he was looking at her. Asha clenched her fists. By this point, the fear was wearing thin, replaced entirely by bewilderment and frustration.
‘Why did he even come to me?’
“Should His Majesty the Emperor grant permission, I believe it would be best if Your Highness left the palace at once.”
“Pardon?”
“Everyone who approaches Your Highness is driven solely by the desire to use you. Even your uncles or cousins.”
With that, Kalno turned his gaze back toward the ballroom. Asha opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Kalno continued without even looking at her.
“And as for me, it would be best if you kept your distance…….”
“So you’re worried I might make a better friend than you or Aleksei?”
“……What?”
“We’ve known each other for five minutes. Honestly.”
“What do you—”
Kalno whirled around from gazing out at the ballroom, and found Asha grinning broadly at him, her eyes steady and amused.
“If that worries you so much, wouldn’t it be best if Kalno became your very closest friend?”
“…Your Highness, I’m not joking. And between you and me, such closeness would be….”
“Oh, how embarrassing. Hehe. I’ve never had a friend before, you see. What does it mean to have a closest friend? Should we start keeping a shared diary?”
Kalno, who had been silent until then, finally let out a short laugh, and the moment he opened his mouth to speak—

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