The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 39

“Soft-headed!”
Having fallen and twisted her ankle so badly, Pibi could say with certainty she was indeed soft-headed, and after leveling this harsh critique, the little bird opened the birdcage door with its own feet and flew outside to look around.
Evening had fallen by the time Lis was changing the poultice on her ankle when a knock sounded from outside.
“Hmm? Lis, what was that?”
When Lis returned empty-handed, Asha asked. Lis pointed outward with a rather serious expression.
“A gift from His Majesty…has arrived. Shall I bring it in?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Asha nodded readily. Soon came the cold sound of metal striking metal from outside, followed by the footsteps of several people moving together.
‘What could it be? Sounds like something large? It must be something good, right?’
But the moment she laid eyes on the actual gift, Asha couldn’t help but scream.
“Aaaaahhhhh!”
Having screamed without thinking, Asha quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. The attendant who had brought the “gift” understood her reaction perfectly. As Asha grabbed Lis in alarm, Lis hastily sent the “gift” back outside. Asha swallowed hard.
“What, what, what is that? Why is there a person wearing a collar like that being presented as if they were a…a gift?”
“I was told this is a slave from the Northern War. Their parents committed crimes and became slaves—their parents were executed, but this slave was spared and granted to you, my lady….”
Shock had rendered her dizzy and utterly bewildered. And there was something else making her even more bewildered.
The slave’s grey hair.
‘It can’t…it can’t be already. It must not be. He’s changed so much. Things have gotten better between him and Aleksei….’
“How can a person become a…a gift? What happens if I say I don’t want this? If I send them away….”
But even Lis met her eyes with a stern expression this time.
“You mustn’t speak so disrespectfully of a gift from His Imperial Majesty.”
Asha’s lips moved soundlessly. She should have learned to curse earlier. Without knowing the words, she couldn’t even manage that. Finally, when Asha nodded again, the attendant brought the “slave” back inside.
A boy who looked a year or two younger than her knelt before her. But his ash-gray hair fell across his eyes, obscuring his expression, and more crucially, she could detect no trace of emotion from him whatsoever.
‘What? What is this?’
Asha felt a small jolt of confusion. Even Karno showed some emotional response, didn’t he?
The attendant spoke of the Emperor’s gift and placed the end of the leash into her hands. Holding the boy’s leash, Asha’s mouth went suddenly dry.
“Um, well…”
She approached, thinking she should at least ask his name, but the boy kept his eyes lowered in silence.
“Your name… what’s your name?”
“…”
“Right, your name? I’m Asha.”
“…I don’t… have one.”
Asha swallowed hard.
“What? You don’t have a name? What were you called before you came here?”
“…garbage…”
“Sorry? What did you say?”
“Garbage.”
Asha drew in a sharp breath. He really was that slave.
When the Imperial Granddaughter had overstepped her bounds, it was Aleksei and Karno who laid the groundwork for her purge, but the blade that actually severed her life was wielded by another hand.
The slave who had suffered abuse under the Imperial Granddaughter’s hand and been called not by a name but by “garbage” had been unable to contain his rage…
A chill crept down her spine. Even though she knew this was a story from a time yet to come, a memory held only in her mind, her heart grew cold of its own accord.
“I… I think we should give you a new name. Since you’ve come to a new place now, a fresh start seems right, doesn’t it? Me too—at home I’m Asha, but here I’m Anastasia. What do you think would suit you?”
“…”
‘I’m going to play every instrument myself and lead a whole parade alone.’
Asha racked her brain desperately.
“Oh! How about Ibven? Ibven sounds nice?”
“…”
“You don’t like it? Would you prefer another name? I’ve never actually named anyone before…”
The boy, who had been silent, gave a small nod.
“Oh, you like Ibven? It suits you? Thank goodness. Actually, that was supposed to be the name I’d give my younger brother when he’s born.”
Asha felt cold sweat threatening to break out and swallowed nervously, then carefully raised both her hands to show them.
“Listen, just… I’m going to come closer now.”
She had offered that warning because Karno and Aleksei had pushed her away before.
Ibven said nothing, keeping his eyes downcast. Asha reached toward the nape of his neck, where rough-cut gray hair hung, and undid the leash.
“There, that’s off now. You can change clothes once Lis brings something for you.”
Asha threw the leash far away and racked her brain desperately, resenting the Emperor in some corner of her heart.
‘What kind of gift is giving a slave to your granddaughter!’
“Ibven… um… is there anything you want to do?”
“…Pardon?”
“Anything you’d like to learn? Or anything you’d like to become? A poet, a teacher, a knight… anything like that?”
Only then did Asha notice that Ibven’s eyes were a pale, sandy color.
“Right now I’m living in the palace, but I don’t have a single coin to my name. But I will soon, and when I do, I can help you with whatever you need. If there’s anything you want…”
“…”
“Oh, but freedom isn’t something I can arrange right now. I know it’s inconvenient, but just… just bear with me a little.”
Just a little while, and then you’ll fly away free! Far, far away! Somewhere we’ll never have to see each other’s faces again! But the boy shook his head and said he didn’t wish for anything.
“That’s… that’s fine then. So… so then…”
How could she ask for his desires? A slave who had been called not by name but by “garbage” his whole life, speaking to a member of the Imperial family. Asha understood the boy’s pain all too well. So he simply kept his eyes lowered. Asha summoned every last bit of her dwindling warmth.
“Then… then! Let’s make welcome cookies! Apple jam cookies!”
She would bake them long and slowly until they had a firm texture, craft a sweet-tart jam from the apples, use plenty of butter to make a dough that crumbled soft as snow, and fill it with the jam. Perhaps by feeding him these jam cookies, she might glimpse some hint of feeling in this boy who showed none at all.
“Lis, about the clothes. Can you find something that fits Ibven?”
The oversized garments he wore were clearly just whatever had been found to make do.
“He must be tense, so have him bathe in warm water after. And then, Ibven, once you go outside, there’s the Garden. Could you pick some flowers from there for me? I’ll use them to decorate the pastries later.”
Ever since Aleksei had contracted with the Fire Spirit King Papnir, the imperial palace had become a center of horticultural abundance. Finding flowers would be no trouble at all.
‘It would be awkward to make welcome cookies with the person being welcomed. And it’s not my own kitchen, so it’s strange to keep dragging people there.’
“Your Highness, you mustn’t move about. Your ankle is still sore.”
As Lis moved to comply with Asha’s words, she glanced back at her—her eyes asking silently, ‘Surely you’re not actually planning to go to the kitchen and make cookies?’ Asha grinned sheepishly.

* * *

Pibi, who had recently developed a hobby of exploring the grounds, had left the Birdcage just a moment before and spotted Asha heading toward the Kitchen, so she followed along.
<What are you going to make?>
“Today we’re making ‘welcome cookies.'”
‘Welcome, Cookie’? Who’s arriving?
The bird chirped merrily and darted straight into the fold of her sleeve.
“Oh, a new one this time. But… Pavel, are you alive?”
Yet when Asha reached the Kitchen and found Pavel, she couldn’t quite smile. He looked hollow somehow, worn thin, as though his spirit had been drained away.
“Your… Your Highness!”
Pavel, who had been mechanically preparing ingredients for dinner, caught sight of Asha peering cautiously through the Kitchen doorway and brightened at once.
“You’ve come!”

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