The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 51

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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 51

But she couldn’t exactly tell the Imperial Heir that she didn’t want to do it because her master would beat her half to death.
And so, scrambling to come up with a plausible answer, she found herself spiraling further and further into territory she absolutely should not have ventured into.
“……Will you be angry with me……?”
Pavel’s voice had become deliberately quiet, and Asha burst into laughter—a sound like pebbles tumbling in a creek.
“You want to know a secret?”
“A s-secret?”
“That’s why I love pastries.”
“What?”
“Because you don’t have to eat them to survive.”
As she spoke, Asha gently swirled the softened oatmeal in her bowl.
“They’re not something you absolutely need—but you make them anyway, carefully, with only happiness as your reason. Don’t you see?”
“That’s…… true, isn’t it.”
“I loved that about them.”
Asha picked up a single grain of oatmeal as she spoke.
The fact that pastries were utterly useless in the eyes of the world—that was what she loved most about them.
“You won’t die if you don’t eat them. They’re not something you absolutely need to live. Right?”
The bakery cakes she could only eat on her younger brother’s and father’s birthdays had always felt special. Even though the cream was old and cracked dryly, the cheap canned fruit wedged between stale, dry sponge layers tasted only of syrup.
Why had they felt so special?
Was it because she could rarely eat them? Or was it because they were something she was never given?
Asha knew the answer.
“Why do people leave flowers at the graves of the dead?”
“……I’m sorry?”
“Think about it—leaving flowers won’t bring the dead back to life. It won’t improve the circumstances of the living either. And yet they leave flowers anyway.”
“That’s because……”
It was for the hearts of those left behind. Solely for them.
“I think the living need flowers too. For me, making pastries—that was my flower.”
She loved them precisely because they were pastries—something that could claim no necessity to survival, to life itself. With that murmur, Asha lifted her head and gazed at the oven where the cake was baking.
‘And if possible, I’d like the pastries I make to become a flower for someone else too……’
The moment that thought crossed her mind, she whirled around to look at Kalno. That beast, who had eaten her pastries and given a reaction so unbelievably bland!
‘That’s right—someone like him is worth conquering. I’ll make him admit they’re delicious, no matter what. I’ll make a pastry so good that even the man who could kill me will have to acknowledge it’s delicious!’
Just imagining it felt sweet. Asha exhaled deeply, then looked at Pavel, whose expression had gone somewhat vacant, and smiled brightly.
“So, if I couldn’t make pastries, I was thinking of selling flowers near funeral homes instead.”
“W-what?!”
“But then I got dragged to the Imperial Palace.”
Asha winked and laughed. Pavel only stammered, unable to form a proper response.
At that moment, the oven timer chimed, signaling that the carrot cake layers were done. Once slightly cooled, she split the cake in half, spread Cashew Butter Frosting between the layers, crowned it with more frosting like snow, and cut it into neat slices.
Asha reached for one of the carrot cake pieces marked “no cinnamon,” then pierced right through the Cashew frosting on top with a fork and popped the bite into her mouth.
The distinctive warmth of brown sugar melded exquisitely with the soft sweetness built from moist carrots. The nuts inside heightened the bite’s texture while tart orange zest added a counterpoint. The cake layer itself—fragile, nearly crumbling—merged smoothly with the Cashew cream and slid down her throat.
‘Is it……delicious?’
Asha stared at the cake and tilted her head. She’d made it herself, but it was genuinely delicious—though also somehow just a touch short of perfect.
“How is it?”
“Ah…… here, try this.”
Seeing Asha’s puzzled expression, Pavel quickly grabbed a slice of cake.
And moments later, Asha turned away and burst into laughter. Behind Pavel’s back, orange-tinged crumbs were scattering like fireworks, bursting in little clouds. With his eyes squeezed shut and his face lost in appreciation, there was no need to hear his words to understand his verdict.
“……Is it delicious?”
“I’ve never tasted a carrot cake like this in my entire life! Good heavens, the way this Cashew Butter frosting caresses the tongue is simply magical. Even the cake layer, which I worried might be a touch coarse, is so wonderfully soft.”
“That’s good. I’m really glad.”
“The cake layer itself……what is this. The nuts and orange zest…… the carrots, good gracious how could you possibly……”
After savoring Pavel’s enthusiastic commentary for a while, Asha turned back to Kalno with a thoroughly pleased expression.
“Kalno, you try some too.”
The young princess offered him two pieces—one with cinnamon and one without. Kalno watched Pavel’s fervent reaction with a slightly bewildered expression, then turned his gaze to the plate of cake.
And when Kalno took his first bite of the cake.
“Hmm……”
Kalno lowered his gaze. Warmth and gentleness flooded through his fingertips. He could tell that people found this sort of thing truly delicious.
He couldn’t describe it in the detailed language the Head Chef had used, but something in his chest seemed to flutter strangely. Over just one bite of cake…….
“Next, try this!”
Though Kalno had offered no commentary, the Young Princess, who had been staring at him with a puzzled expression, thrust another plate toward him. It appeared to be the one with cinnamon.
He steadied himself for a moment, then pushed a spoonful into his mouth. Through the strong, warm cinnamon fragrance, the orange zest, nuts, and delicate sweetness came through far more sharply. His chest stirred again, just as before.
He wasn’t sure what to say—it seemed awkward to comment, yet saying nothing felt rude. He was weighing whether to offer a word when the Young Princess, wearing a somewhat bitter expression, took back the plate she’d offered first.
“……?”
“Looks like you prefer the one with cinnamon. You can finish that one…….”
“I didn’t say anything…….”
“I can tell from your face. It’s written all over it.”
That couldn’t be right. Kalno meant to protest, but the Young Princess seemed no longer interested in his response.
“The cinnamon one really dominates……. No, wait—this has someone really important to consider…….”
The Young Princess gazed down at the cake plate and clenched her small fist, muttering to herself with considerable gravity. Hearing this, Pavel interjected gently.
“Perhaps we should simply go with the cinnamon one…….”
“No! It’s not over until it’s over! Besides, I have plenty of test batches left anyway.”
The Young Princess placed her hands on her hips and spoke to Pavel in a scolding tone. Kalno watched the niece and uncle-like figure bicker back and forth, then quietly took another spoonful of cake. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, the Young Princess whirled around and their eyes met.
“The sweet one tastes good too, doesn’t it?”
“……Well, it’s passable enough, I suppose.”
“How are you going to survive this harsh world hemming and hawing like that? You need to know how to speak your mind clearly. If it’s good, it’s good. If it’s not, it’s not.”
“…….”
“I’m just lucky—I can tell exactly what you mean straightaway.”
The Young Princess opened her eyes wide and looked up at him, chattering away, and her voice seemed sweeter than the cake he was eating. Kalno began to understand a little why Alexei hadn’t been able to turn away this cousin of his.

* * *

Ibven alternated his gaze between the Young Princess’s face and the cakes before him. Her jade-green eyes sparkled with anticipation, asking him which of the two cakes tasted better.
‘Why is this happening?’
In all of Ibven’s memory, not once had anyone ever asked for his opinion. Not when he was called garbage in the northern wastelands, not when he was branded a criminal and nearly killed there, not when someone saved him and brought him to this place—his thoughts had never mattered.
And until now, Ibven had never once felt the desire to speak his own mind.
“……I don’t know much about such things…….”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Will you try them? I made them, after all.”
The Young Princess smiled brightly, nodding repeatedly as she pushed both plates of cake toward him with both hands. Toward him.
Was there a place where his opinion mattered? If so, why? What if he said what he thought and got it wrong? Would he die?
There had been a time when he feared such things, but even that memory was fading now. So that’s how it was, then—that awareness was the end of it. Ibven thought this to himself and picked up a fork.
Asha watched Ibven’s face with both fists clenched tight. Ibven sampled both cakes, one bite each, and said nothing.
“Chirp!”
<If that cheeky fellow keeps saying he’s not eating, I’ll eat it all! Hand it over!>
Pibi, who had already devoured an entire plate of cake, now had a visibly swollen yellow belly. Asha glared at Pibi with displeasure before turning her head back toward Ibven.
“Ibven, how was it? Did you enjoy it? Which one did you like better?”
With no emotion visible on his face, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.
‘Kalno at least showed something this time.’
From Kalno had come not quite the same as from Pavel, but warm, gentle particles that washed over her in great waves. That was the second time she’d sensed such a broad emotional range from him. Ibven still offered no response to Asha’s question.
“Ah! If you’re not sure, you can eat them all! It’s a bit awkward for me watching like this. Take your time eating and tell me later, okay?”
Asha said this and went out to the terrace to pass the time, returning after about ten minutes. In the meantime, Ibven had waited for her in silence, two empty plates before him. Asha thought his expressionless face looked as though he were anxiously fidgeting.
“Ibven? You ate them all? How were they?”
“It’s that…….”
“Yes, yes. Tell me freely! Anything is fine!”
Asha’s eyes brightened. But Ibven carefully clutched at his chest. Asha’s gleaming eyes slowly dimmed.
“I…… Ibven?”
“My stomach…… is unsettled.”
“……What?”
The expressionless face was looking at her. This time, Asha thought she glimpsed a trace of anxiety in that face.
“My stomach…… is churning.”
“Your stomach?”
“Yes.”
“So after eating my cake…… your stomach feels…… bad…….”

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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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