The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 54

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The Villainess Princess Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Chapter 54

Asha shook off her brief moment of hesitation and sighed with a muttered complaint.
“What does that have to do with anything? The problem is that Kalno is way too close with Alexei.”
“……So that’s why you didn’t go?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s your maternal grandfather.”
Asha hadn’t thought Kalno would be ignorant of the blood relation between the Knight Commander and herself, but when she realized he genuinely knew, she felt something catch in her throat.
“I didn’t go because he’s my maternal grandfather. What exactly are you trying to say, Kalno?”
Asha closed her book with a decisive snap and fixed him with a pointed stare. Kalno merely wore an expression whose intent remained unfathomable.
“Would you not wish to see him?”
“See who?”
“Taryei Nelin.”
Asha studied Kalno intently, trying to discern whether he was testing her or genuinely curious. But the deep indigo current that had rippled through his aura moments before had since hardened into something impenetrable. Now it was nearly impossible to grasp what he was thinking. As she wracked her brain for an answer, Asha decided to turn the tables.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Do you have grandparents?”
“……I have a grandmother.”
“Do you live with her?”
“No, she lives in my Territory.”
“Are you close?”
At the question of whether they were close, Kalno appeared momentarily at a loss. Asha pressed for an answer.
“I asked if you’re close with your grandmother.”
“……I suppose I am.”
“Then if you’re close with her, wouldn’t you miss your grandmother too?”
In other words, it was unreasonable to speak of longing for a maternal grandfather she’d never even laid eyes on. When Kalno’s lips parted, Asha clapped her hands together.
“Oh, then why don’t you have your grandmother come to Jedo!”
“……Why?”
“Why do you ask? I just told you — you’d want to see her, wouldn’t you?”
“Simply because I miss her doesn’t mean I should……”
“What other reason do you need besides that?”
Asha looked up at Kalno with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
“Sometimes you can be rather foolish, you know.”
“You pea-brained thing.”
Asha swung her left hand, then her right, then her forehead at him in succession. As expected, none of her strikes exerted any physical force against Kalno whatsoever.

Pibi, perched on Asha’s shoulder as she leaned against the window overlooking the Garden, chirped in agreement.
Asha wore an exceptionally radiant dress. The hem of her skirt was adorned with Lemshire Lace—the kind that required time rather than money to obtain—and the delicate lime cream silk was a renowned masterwork from the southern Daranrenez Mountains.
Moreover, this dress, which some master artisan had embroidered with flowers, was a gift from Alexei. Every passing attendant remarked on how much the Imperial Heir cherished his sister.
“Does Pibi not like it? It’s the tradition—when celebrating something, we scatter beautiful things about and eat delicious food.”

“Then it becomes even more joyful. Though I’ll admit this seems a bit excessive.”
Pibi appeared entirely unconvinced.

“Well……wouldn’t it be that they’ve completed their penance and are finally able to emerge?”
According to Pibi’s account, the Nocti Elves could not leave the Northern Region until all darkness was fully purified. The arrival of this peace delegation here suggested that problem had been largely resolved.

“That’s true, but……”

Asha glanced sidelong at Pibi’s slightly grumpy chirping, then tilted her head against the window frame.

“……But it’s true, he does resemble Ibben. Doesn’t he?”
The Nocti Elves went straight to the Negotiation Hall the moment they arrived at the Imperial Palace, and only the Emperor, Alexei, and two representatives from the Nocti Elves entered. Asha caught a glimpse of the passing elves for a brief moment.

‘What?’
Asha turned to Pibi with a bewildered expression. The chick, sprawled languidly along the windowsill, snapped its beak shut.

The ‘he’ Pibi was referring to was Ibben. Since Asha had never considered such a matter, her face went slack with surprise.
‘That could happen… but would that be all right?’
Once all his emotions awaken and Prasti is removed, they send Ibben north to the elf side……. For about two seconds, Asha thought it sounded like a perfect plan, but then her brow furrowed.
‘But what if the Nocti Elves mistreat him? And Ibben doesn’t have any good memories from the north either.’
The chick rolled lazily in the warm winter sunlight, pecking away with its beak. Asha only belatedly realized that the chick had been clicking its tongue in disapproval.

‘…….’
Hearing such harsh condemnation spoken directly to her face, the world briefly spun.
‘What…… what did you just say?’

Momentarily irritated, Asha flicked her fingers and shoved Pibi out the window. The chick tumbled out with a yelp, letting out a stream of alarmed chirps.

‘You were the one who started with the mean comments.’

‘And I wasn’t fretting that much. I was just a little concerned, that’s all.’
Asha was jutting out her lip when—
“Do you chatter at your pet bird like this all the time?”
Kalno, whose black hair seemed to swallow even the sunlight, appeared from beyond the garden trees. Asha bolted upright, snatched Pibi with one hand, shoved him into the cage, and slammed the door shut.
“Chirp-chirp! Squawk!”
“K-Kalno? How did you get here?”
“One can visit the garden, can’t one?”
“That’s not what I meant—why did you come?”
“I was ordered here by the Imperial Heir’s tyrannical whim.”
“Tyrannical whim?”
“He commanded me to escort his younger sister to the banquet hall. Really.”
Asha, belatedly realizing whom he was talking about, shot Kalno a look. Though Kalno had called it tyrannical, he didn’t seem particularly bothered by it. Asha decided not to make a fuss either and went straight to what she wanted to know.
“How did it go? Did it work out?”
“What do you mean?”
“The peace agreement, of course.”
“Hmm? Of course it went well.”
Kalno’s expression was so confident it bordered on genuine bewilderment at her anxious question.
Asha’s lips moved soundlessly before she accepted it. In an empire where a hero who single-handedly won a war still lived and thrived, what else could one expect to hear about a peace agreement?
Yes, everything must have gone fine…….
“Then shall we proceed to dinner, Your Highness?”
While Asha merely swallowed her sigh, Kalno pointed toward a distant part of the garden—where the banquet hall stood.
“If you’re going to escort me, you should come through the door, Kalno.”
“Unfortunately, I’m running a bit late. So if you’ll forgive the intrusion.”
“What? I—no, wait!”
Kalno approached with long strides and leaped lightly onto the windowsill. Before Asha could do more than widen her eyes, he swept her up in his arms and jumped back down into the garden. It happened in a heartbeat.
“Did…did it have to be like this?!”
“I said I was late, didn’t I?”
“Then you should have come earlier! What kept you?”
To Asha’s protests, Kalno merely wore an ambiguous smile and offered no explanation for his lateness.