The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 41

Between the lantern experiencing the strange phenomenon of suddenly brightening and darkening in rapid succession and the oven’s crackling flames, Aleksei smiled with an awkward expression.
“Pafnir’s making quite a noise, isn’t he?”

“Very much so.”
“I’ll apologize.”
“It’s not Asha’s fault.”
As Asha and Aleksei exchanged words, Pavel finally interjected with urgent desperation.
“Oh, goodness, Your Highness, you understand Pafnir’s feelings perfectly.”
It was a desperate attempt to reframe Asha’s words as nothing more than a child’s imaginary friend.
“Well, it’s just—when I was young myself, my Spirit was a sword Spirit, and what I’d do was pretend to have a conversation while holding a wooden practice sword…….”
Aleksei watched Pavel speaking while cold sweat beaded on his forehead, then turned to look at Asha with a gentle smile.
“You’re a trustworthy person. I can see I’ll be able to entrust the food I eat to you going forward.”
Pavel had dredged up that embarrassing childhood story to protect Asha at all costs. In the presence of the Crown Prince Heir—the first in line to the throne—he couldn’t risk her openly demonstrating an ability no one else had ever accomplished: communicating with Spirits. Even as a joke, it could spell disaster.
“Y-yes?”
“Still, I seem to be getting in the way.”
“You’re not in the way, Asha. Pafnir’s just an idiot.”

“How dare you presume to order about my contractor?”
“Blast it all—I won’t survive this heartbreak!”
“Now get out. Go on, leave. Stop pestering our child and burning the pastries!”
Aleksei could not hear Pafnir’s words, yet he smiled faintly as he watched the lantern light flicker and dance.
“Alekseeeei!”
Pafnir’s desperate cry reached no ears but his own, though Aleksei did not hear it.
“Very well then. I’ll leave Kiril here, so once you’ve finished baking the pastries, come back together. Be sure to bring Kiril with you.”
“Yes? But Kiril is Asha’s…….”
“The sun’s still up. It’s fine.”
Aleksei brushed away all the flour dusting Asha’s face with the back of his hand, then straightened up.
“Chef.”
“Yes, yes! Your Highness!”
“I’ve always been grateful for your excellent meals. This time, I’m entrusting Asha to your care.”
“Oh, no! I mean, yes! Understood, Your Highness!”
While Pavel stumbled through his reply, Aleksei whispered something to his attendant and left the kitchen. In that same moment, Pafnir’s voice crying out Aleksei’s name grew fainter and fainter. The attendant relayed Aleksei’s brief instructions to Pavel before hurrying after him.
“……?”
“What is it? Did the attendant say something strange? If the oven’s broken, should I ask him to fix it?”
“Oh, no! No, it wasn’t anything like that! But the oven—is it really working properly now?”
Asha tilted her head briefly, then turned her attention to the oven. The oven that had been glowing fiercely even when she’d lowered the temperature as far as it would go was now merely pleasantly warm.
“So it really was Pafnir all along…….”
“What a waste…….”
All the cookies that had taken so much effort to make were charred black. The loss weighed heavily on her heart.
“Say, Pavel.”
“Yes?”
“When you were little, did you really play at being a spirit with a wooden sword?”
“Cough, cough! Oh, no! That—I mean, I—you see, I was just trying to—”
“Trying to what with me?”
“I truly thought something terrible would happen, so I panicked and tried to patch things up however I could! Because even as a jest, such a joke could cause real trouble…….”
As Pavel spoke, his expression grew increasingly strained—the look of someone suddenly remembering an alarming fact they’d briefly forgotten.
“Even as a jest, it would be terrible…….”
“The attendant relayed Asha’s message, didn’t he? What did Asha say?”
“She said to keep it as a secret between us three…….”
Pavel’s expression grew grave as he leaned forward and whispered.
“Are you truly able to converse with your spirit?”
“Ha, this foolish chef entertains foolish suspicions.”
“Yes. My spirit is speaking to me right now.”
“What is it saying?”
“That you’re harboring foolish doubts.”
“Isn’t that just your own thought, Your Highness?”
“Tsk, tsk. So clumsy he can’t even manage his own affairs, always getting beaten by his sister.”
“My spirit just mentioned that Pavel gets beaten by his sister.”
“Yes, yes? I don’t understand what you mean, Your Highness…….”
“Pibi. My spirit is saying Pibi does it.”
“My younger sister, not my older sister! But how—how could you possibly know such a thing…….”
Pavel’s pupils trembled and wavered. Soon after, he conceded entirely.
“I swear I shall keep your abilities secret.”
Having rapidly recited several oaths of secrecy, Pavel shot to his feet.
“Still, one more batch remains. Let me at least bake this one properly! And this—I’ll take care of this myself.”
“Mm? Oh, all right…….”
Asha nodded and calmly finished the remaining cookies. She filled them with apple, covered it with dough, checked the temperature once more, and slid them into the oven.
After fifteen minutes, golden cookies released a fragrant, toasted aroma that filled the air. Asha and Pavel faced each other and broke into bright smiles like children making sandcastles for the very first time.