The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 3

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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 Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House
Chapter 3

In the Original Work, Anastasia the imperial granddaughter had contracted with a bird spirit. Despite being merely a bird spirit, the reason she was permitted to remain in the Imperial Palace was that this creature possessed a form of such dazzling, breathtaking beauty.
‘But I’m not that Anastasia, am I? So it makes sense that a different spirit would appear to me, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it?’
Her collar grew damp and the cold seeped into her very bones, her teeth chattering involuntarily, but Asha pressed her lips together and clasped her hands tightly.
‘They said if I do this, a spirit will appear…….’
“I miss Mom and Dad…… Even though I’m in the Imperial Palace, it’s so cold here…… I want to go home…… I want cake…….”
But since I’m already here at the Palace, I’d like to at least have a warm cup of cocoa before I leave. With roasted marshmallows floating on top. Hot chocolate would be nice too, with white sugar sprinkled on top like snow.
Anything, really—just let this be over quickly so I can go home. I’ll take home just one pouch each of sugar, butter, and flour as a memento!
It was precisely when Asha’s silent mumbling, eyes squeezed shut, was reaching its crescendo.
“Huh……?”
Sensing something like a flutter of wings, Asha’s eyes snapped open without thinking. A white powder swirled before her eyes. Some of it fell into her parted lips.
“Sugar……?”
The moment Asha recognized the sweetness of sugar, the white powder before her eyes suddenly surged, and from within it, translucent light gathered into a single mass.
Then came a sound like the beating of wings, and from that cluster of light emerged an enormous bird, its great wings shimmering with every beautiful color imaginable—the very opposite of the pure white sugar.
The bird circled through the air once, then alighted before her. It was so large that Asha, on her knees, had to look up to see it. Even with its wings folded, it seemed to fill the entire room.
“Oh……”
The five-colored bird tilted its head, gazing down at her. This was the very culprit that had made that “imperial granddaughter Anastasia” indulge in sweet dreams.
And in that instant, her wits returned to her. Spirits with physical forms were rare. Yet here one stood before her, taking the shape of a bird so enormous it filled this entire chamber.
That it appeared at all.
That it appeared to me!
“No, no, no!”
Asha kicked off the ground and lunged at the bird, flailing.
Among her cousins before her, not a single one had contracted with a spirit that possessed physical form. If she were to leave this chamber looking like this, no matter what her intentions were, she would inevitably be forced to remain in the Imperial Palace. And then she would certainly endure her uncle Aleksei’s interference and place the final seal on her own luxurious downfall.
But before Asha could say a word, there came a sound like “Pop!”, and just like that, the bird transformed into something the size of a palm, with yellow feathers.
“Cheep!”
“What, what is this?”
Asha, who had been rushing toward the bird, stopped short and could only blink her eyes. The bird seemed flustered by its own appearance and looked itself over, this way and that. When its gaze met Asha’s, it straightened itself up as best it could. Even so, it was barely the size of a child’s fist.
But upon seeing this, Asha shook her head urgently.
“It’s cute enough, sure, but I need it even smaller! Um…… um……! Yes, like this! Something like a brooch!”
Asha seized the Cameo hanging from the Ribbon at her chest in both hands and shook it. The chick tilted its head once, then vanished before her eyes.
“……!”
Presently, the human figure engraved in the Cameo transformed into a small bird of exquisite, delicate beauty. Asha’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly accepted the spirit’s transformation. For now, she had to get out of this room.
When Asha stepped out of the chamber, shivering from the cold she’d neglected until now, everyone who saw that not even the shadow of her spirit was visible let out a smirk of “Well, of course.”
“……Your Highness, the imperial granddaughter Anastasia, might I inquire what sort of spirit you have contracted with?”
At the elder’s question, Asha shook her head. She had decided to pretend ignorance.
“Then would you be able to exercise its power?”
Asha shook her head again. Baking confections? Of course that would be fine. But not here in the Imperial Palace, where one misstep could lead to who knows what.
And yet……
“Then I shall seek counsel from the Marquis Sereneteov.”
“Pardon?”
Asha’s eyes widened. Before she could even comprehend the situation, word spread quickly, and soon a figure was approaching from the distance, waving his arms about.
She heard people murmuring names like “Prince Maksim,” “His Highness Maksim.” It seemed that Maksim, upon his departure from the capital, had received territory and the title of Marquis Sereneteov.
‘Oh, that person Father used to call “Maksim”……?’
Come to think of it, that must be right. Since her father, Yurieh, was a prince, the Maksim whom he had called by that familiar title must also be a prince.
“Oh, Father…….”
When Maksim arrived at the center of Stadthen Palace, where the children had gathered, he looked down at his own son, frozen in place, and let out a chuckle.
“Dmitri contracted with a rain spirit, did he? Well, that takes care of our empire’s drought worries, doesn’t it?”
The man spoke thus and chuckled to himself for a moment, then, catching the eye of the attendants and elders around him, gave an awkward cough.
“So what, I’m meant to guess what this little nephew’s spirit is?”
“……Yes, Marquis Sereneteov.”
Maksim, Yurieh’s older brother and Asha’s uncle, was the only one among the imperial family who had been granted permission to attend despite not being a subject of the Spirit Ceremony—all thanks to the Spirit of Discernment he had contracted with in his youth. It was precisely for moments like this, when the elders of the Palace did not know what spirit one possessed.
‘What…… what do I do?’
I should have just said it was a small bird from the start!
As Asha, lost in panic, struggled to find her bearings, he ceased his laughter, placed a hand gently on her crown, and closed his eyes quietly. The people around them began to murmur, and Asha’s face grew pale, but just as the moment reached its peak, Maksim withdrew his hand and smiled mischievously, as if looking at something hopelessly cute.
“A charming bird spirit—how perfectly suited to our little princess.”
‘What?’
“Yes, yes?”
The attendant beside him uttered the words in a dazed voice, and Maksim’s brow furrowed as though questioning when he’d ever smiled at Anastasia.
“Our Anastasia did indeed contract with a small bird spirit, did she not!”
“Ah, yes, yes. Her Highness Anastasia has received the blessing of a bird spirit!”
The applause for her spirit ceremony—the last of the evening—was the faintest yet. Anastasia felt her legs threatening to buckle beneath her and steadied herself, looking up at Maksim.
‘How did this happen?’
A small bird spirit? Could it be that even with the Spirit of Discernment that Maksim had contracted, the true nature of a spirit remained unknowable?
‘Or perhaps……’
But regardless, she had succeeded in avoiding the crowd’s scrutiny. Anastasia exhaled an inward sigh of relief.
Then, quite suddenly, the Emperor who had been observing from above descended the steps and began addressing the children one by one.
‘What on earth is happening now?!’
Her conversation with the Emperor was brief—questions about what her parents had said, what she intended to do going forward. On the surface, trivial matters.
Anastasia swallowed hard. She wondered if such a thing had ever occurred, though of course she couldn’t know. In the Original Work that she’d read—or rather, believed she had read—the villain’s backstory had never been described in such detail, and even if it had been, she’d forgotten it.
‘If every detail were written down like that, it would be a history book, not a novel!’
As the children fumbled through their answers to the Emperor’s questions, he finally stepped beside Anastasia. She gripped her collar tightly, nerves stretched taut. The Emperor regarded her in silence for a long moment, then furrowed his brow.
“……Hmm, how old did you say she was?”
“Ten years old, Your Majesty.”
Before Anastasia could open her mouth, an elderly chamberlain at the Emperor’s side answered.
“Ten? Yet she’s so small and frail. I’d believe six. Does Yurieh not concern himself with his daughter? That’s unlike his nature.”
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, that is not the case, but……”
The elderly attendant, startled, bent at the waist and whispered to the Emperor.
Anastasia could guess what he was saying—something about how a penniless prince who had fled could hardly be expected to build a household or provide properly.
The Emperor listened to the attendant’s murmuring, then tilted his head—no hint of tender emotion at seeing his granddaughter for the first time.
“Well. What did your parents say when they sent you here?”
“……They said not to fall ill, to stay healthy, and to return soon.”
“Return? Hmm……”
She felt the gaze of her cousins nearby. As Anastasia wiped her nervous palms on her skirt, the Emperor’s expression brightened with interest.
“So, you wish to return home as well?”
“Yes!”
Anastasia answered without hesitation.
I have no interest in the throne or anything like it! Though I must admit I’d dearly love to have some flour, sugar, and a bit of butter!
All the words threatening to spill from her lips, Anastasia compressed into that single “Yes.” The Emperor’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled faintly.
“Yes, I see.”
Then, without another word or comment, the Emperor turned on his heel and departed. Anastasia reflected that this habit of saying only what he wished and leaving just as abruptly must indeed be what her father had cursed so vehemently.
And so the Spirit Ceremony came to a complete end. The children filed out of the Imperial Palace, none of them glad.

* * *

Yet despite the Spirit Ceremony’s conclusion, no one in the Imperial Palace told Anastasia what would become of her. She seethed with anxiety. She had clearly expressed her desire to return home, and she had even confirmed that her contracted spirit was unremarkable—so why……
“Lis, I’ve finished the Spirit Ceremony now. When can I go home?”
At Anastasia’s question, Lis, her attending maid, examined the bedding with an awkward expression. Lis was the one who had cared for her from the very beginning, when Anastasia had been brought to the Imperial Palace almost as though kidnapped.
At first, Anastasia had tried to speak formally and respectfully to all the adults around her, but once she realized that such formality bordered on cruelty rather than consideration, she had begun speaking comfortably.
“But Your Highness, if you stay here you can eat delicious sweets whenever you wish, and wear plenty of beautiful clothes.”

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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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