The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 34

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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 Villainess Princess Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Chapter 34

“How may I be of assistance?”
“Wash your hands first.”
Asha stepped onto the stool with practiced ease, washed her hands, and beckoned Karno over with a gesture. By the time they’d finished washing and drying side by side, Pavel—still baffled by the entire situation—appeared with a basket of ingredients in hand.
When Asha mentioned needing egg whites, Pavel cracked four eggs and separated the whites from the yolks while she measured out sugar into a separate bowl.
“Now, I’m going to ask you for something.”
Asha smiled brightly and pressed the Whisk directly into Karno’s hand. She let out a small gasp of wonder.
‘It’s almost comically mismatched.’
You could believe he’d been born incapable of holding a whisk.
His great height, the austere but perfectly fitted tunic, features carved sharp as sculpture, an expressionless blade of a face, black hair framing violet eyes that seemed to contain no emotion whatsoever. And in those hands: a whisk, looking no more natural than a bundle of twigs.
“…….”
“……How should I proceed?”
“Whisk away!”
“……?”
Asha let out an exasperated sigh and took Karno’s hand holding the whisk, plunging it into the bowl of egg whites and stirring. He flinched, but unlike the night of the victory ball, he didn’t push her away.
“Just like this—whisk the whites until they foam!”
“……The egg whites, you mean……?”
“Yes. Until they’re as stiff as cream. Keep going!”
Despite the disbelief in Karno’s gaze—his reluctance to accept that egg whites could possibly become cream-like—he slowly began to work the whisk.
Absurdly unsuited as he looked to the task, there was something convincing about the way he clamped his jaw shut and focused single-mindedly on what he’d been told to do. Asha was startled by her own thoughts and, to shake them off, deliberately goaded him on.
“You have to go faster or it won’t foam. At this rate, we’ll be here until next year.”
“…….”
“Yes, that’s right. A bit faster. Keep at it. Another ten minutes at that pace should do it.”
“…….”
While Asha beamed, Pavel’s face turned an alarming shade of blue. He quietly steered her into a corner, crouched low, and whispered urgently.
“The Meringue—I can whip it myself, Your Highness! Please…… please, may I do it instead?”
“No. Why should you?”
“I’m the head cook, and…….”
“Karno offered to help. Why would you take on unnecessary hardship?”
“Because it *is* hardship!”
Pavel looked as though he might scream. Asha frowned.
“Will he eat you?”
“Ugh—yes? No……?”
“Karno volunteered first. I didn’t drag him into this, so you can stop worrying.”
‘Though honestly, if people are afraid of Karno, shouldn’t they be more afraid of me?’
She knew why she feared him—he was supposed to kill her future self. But why everyone else trembled before him, she couldn’t fathom.
Muttering internally, Asha returned to the work table and was measuring out almond flour and powdered sugar when her eyes went wide. White foam had already risen considerably.
“Oh, oh my. Already…….”
“Is something the matter?”
“No, no. Just keep going. I’ll add some sugar now, and…….”
Asha poured some of the measured sugar into Karno’s bowl and couldn’t hide her exasperation, glancing back and forth between the bowl and him.
‘And he just… does it without complaint. Just like that.’
He didn’t even look like it was taking any effort.
‘What a tedious person.’
While Asha grumbled to herself, Pibi spoke up.

‘But he was mean to me.’

‘He pushed me. I fell and hurt my hand like this. You don’t understand how I feel.’
At Asha’s resentful glance, Pibi’s voice grew firm.

‘You’re the most violent one here, you know that?’

‘You should teach me the right way to do things!’
It’s time to add sugar to that Meringue.
‘……They’re not even listening. Fine, that’s enough.’
Asha sighed deeply, then poured sugar in a steady stream into the bowl where Karno was whisking.
“How much longer must I do this?”
“A bit more.”
“……I hope you’re doing this because it’s actually necessary.”
“Do you think I’d ask you to do something I didn’t need, just to make you suffer? Hardly.”
Karno’s violet eyes regarded her with a chill. Asha cleared her throat and loudly called for Pavel to prepare the cream for assembly.
When Pavel approached, he tried once more to ask if he could handle the Meringue instead, but Asha quickly covered his mouth. She’d decided not to provoke Karno any further.
“…….”
“Is this sufficient?”
As Karno lifted the whisk from the bowl, stiff white peaks stood in sharp points. In barely ten minutes, he’d completed the Meringue with an expression of complete indifference.
“It’s…… passable, I suppose.”
“This Meringue is truly exceptional—urgh.”
Pavel, who’d momentarily forgotten his feelings about Karno and let out genuine admiration, received an elbow to his ribs from Asha and quickly fell silent in pain.
Asha brought the bowl with the Meringue, poured in the dry ingredients, and carefully folded them together as she rotated the bowl. She loaded the batter into a piping bag, piped it onto the pan, and slid it into the oven with efficient satisfaction—then Karno, standing beside her with his arms crossed, spoke.
“You fold the batter quite skillfully.”
“I told you I like cooking.”
Asha lifted her chin as she spoke, and Karno’s eyes narrowed.
“I recall you said your wrist was hurting and asked for my assistance.”
“Right, that.”
“…….”
Karno’s gaze turned sharp.
To escape his scrutiny, Asha prompted Pavel to gather butter, condensed milk, cream, lemon juice, and Orange Marmalade to make a filling cream. Karno mixed that too, standing in for Asha’s aching wrist.
“Since you helped so diligently, I’ll share the finished pastry with you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It’s a real habit of yours—isn’t it?”
“Perhaps it’s my particular skill to draw nothing but refusals from you, no matter what you offer.”
“No, I’m sharing the pastry with you.”
“I don’t enjoy sweets.”
“There’s nothing harmful in it. You made it with me, so you know.”
“That’s not what I meant…….”
“Ow, ow! My wrist—it’s killing me!”
“…….”
“And my ankle too…… it’s all throbbing…….”
“If you…… insist, I shall…… partake of it gratefully.”
Asha broke into a grin. Just then, the hourglass indicated the time was up.
Pavel begged to pipe the cream into the Dacquoise, so Asha had no choice but to entrust it to him. He piped Buttercream along the edges of the Dacquoise base, filled the center with Orange Marmalade, and then topped it with another Dacquoise.
“Done!”
Asha set the completed Dacquoise before her with a satisfied expression, placing one each in front of Pavel and Karno. Then she took a bite of her own.
“Mmm!”
Though she’d used no butter, the almond flour gave it a rich, buttery aroma. The outside shattered delicately, yielding to a soft interior, and the pastry’s sweetness harmonized brightly with the tartness of the cream.
‘What is this?’
Why was it so delicious? Had it simply been ten years since she’d tasted anything like this?
That too is my power!
Asha glanced down at the button on her chest. It too had somehow transformed into a relief carving of a bird. Inwardly thinking she ought to prepare an aviary before all the buttons on her clothes turned into masterwork bird-shaped ornaments, she asked aloud:
‘The gift for baking pastry perfectly?’
That pastry was born from your fingertips with the most perfect sensitivity.
Which meant that when mixing the Meringue with the flour, her hands had moved with such precision that every grain of sugar, Meringue, and flour achieved the most delicate balance. Even after baking, only enough sweetness remained to make it taste divine.
Your hands are still like tender grape clusters, so I haven’t been able to channel all my power through them.
‘Tender grape clusters? They’re small now, but soon they’ll grow strong and full.’
Asha spread her hands and looked at the backs of them.
Since arriving at the Imperial Palace, they’d filled out from their skeletal state and grown soft—small, delicate hands. The four days she’d spent bedridden had made her feel like she’d nearly wasted away, but recovery was swift.
‘Then my pastries will become more and more perfect, and my heart too……’
Just as it had with Alexei, she would soon be able to convey her sincere feelings to others without misunderstanding. After savoring every bit of her Dacquoise, Asha looked up to see their reactions—then blinked in confusion.
Pavel’s hands were trembling slightly, and Karno, who’d declared he had no taste for sweets, still stood with his arms firmly crossed.
“Pavel? Why aren’t you eating? It’s delicious.”
“Oh, I…… was about to…….”
“……Here, give it to me.”
Then Karno suddenly snatched the pastry in front of Pavel before Pavel could reach for it himself.
“No, why are you taking Pavel’s share when you haven’t touched yours?”
But Karno didn’t answer Asha. Instead, he gestured to Pavel.
“If you’d like something to drink, I’d appreciate it. Something cold.”
Pavel hesitated for a moment, then seemed to resolve something within himself and left. In his absence, Karno exhaled softly and turned back to Asha.
“Please don’t be cruel to him.”
“Cruel? What do you mean? This is delicious…… it really is delicious.”
Just to be sure, she picked up another Dacquoise and took a bite, but the pastry tasted even better than she’d remembered.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Karno seemed to hesitate. He was looking at the pastry in his hand.
“It seems Your Highness doesn’t understand what manner of Spirit mine is. So I’ll tell you now. I am…….”
“Hmm? No, I know. It’s a Death Spirit, isn’t it?”
“……You knew?”
Karno’s eyes widened.
In that instant, Asha caught sight of something in Karno for the first time—a surge of emotion, bright and crystalline as a wave. It washed over her like a tide and was gone.

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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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