The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 66

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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 Imperial Heir Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Episode 66

Kalno, who had been standing just a step away watching with idle indifference, let slip a comment, and Asha shot him a glance before turning her attention back to her work.
“Now comes the part where you pipe it into circles—like wheels, you see?”
After rubbing butter over the oven pan and dusting it with flour to prepare it, Asha grasped the piping bag in both hands with a serious expression. The piping bag, like the gloves Sofia wore, was made of cloth coated with tannin sap.
“Like…… this…… way…… I think…… uh…….”
The butter cookie dough, despite its soft appearance, proved stiff when squeezed through the narrow nozzle, and for a tender ten-year-old body, it was grueling work. Asha clenched and unclenched her hands, staring down at her slightly awkward circular patterns before turning to Sofia.
“Yes. Something like this feeling.”
“I…… will try.”
Sofia said so, gripping the piping bag in both hands with a careful expression.
Whoosh!
And at that very moment, the dough burst from the tip of the bag onto the pan almost violently.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“Your…… your strength is impressive, Sofia. Could you perhaps squeeze a bit more gently next time?”
Asha hastily gathered up the scattered dough and pushed it back into the piping bag, looking at Sofia with concern.
“……If that is acceptable to Your Highness.”
“Of course! Come on, let’s try again.”
After the dough burst forth from the piping bag a couple more times, Sofia was able to pipe perfectly uniform circles with mechanical precision. As the two of them ate the golden butter cookies they had baked together, Sofia signed the contract that Asha presented to her.
“Talent like Sofia’s was hidden away.”
“I sought it out, Your Highness.”
“Yes, yes. Kalno, do have a cookie.”
Asha pushed a freshly baked cookie into Kalno’s mouth, then noticed Sofia’s gaze and her expression turned awkward.
“So, Sofia, why are you looking at me like that……?”
“Ah…… no, it’s just that I’m so happy and moved to be working again……. Thank you so much for giving me this chance.”
“Not at all! I should be thanking you for agreeing to work with me. Baron Sarato will be thrilled too.”
Asha smiled brightly and clasped both of Sofia’s hands, thanking her once more. Sofia gazed long at her own hands held in Asha’s grip.

* * *

Marquis Oleg, waiting for approval before the Emperor’s office, turned sharply to the side with eyes full of disbelief. Kalno Noishstetter, who appeared to be the same age as his own young daughter, wore an expression so cold and indifferent it seemed unfit for standing before the Emperor’s office.
“……Do you truly desire Lumen Basiliche?”
As this war drew to a close, the Empire received two territories from the Noctis Elves: one was Lineum Usita, which cultivated premium flax; the other was Lumen Basiliche, a northern basin with nothing but rare white birds and virtually no value as a fiefdom.
Even now, as Marquis Oleg stood before the Emperor to receive his territorial grant, he fully expected to be awarded Lumen Basiliche.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When Kalno’s cool violet eyes flickered toward him, a chill ran down his spine and his mouth went dry.
“……Is there some other reason you’d yield Lineum Usita to me?”
“If there were, could you manage it?”
Marquis Oleg bit his lip.
Could he manage it?
At fifteen, wielding his commander’s blade and achieving great victories—did he truly believe he could settle a debt with the Empire’s Vice-Commander and the future Duke of Sedvoyer?
“I…… .”
“It was merely speculation on my part. Lumen Basiliche was chosen because it is the land that the Imperial Heir desires, so there is no need for the Marquis to concern himself.”
“The Imperial Heir…… Your Highness? Anastasia Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
Marquis Oleg could not understand why the young Imperial Heir’s name suddenly surfaced at this moment, but since the Emperor had summoned both of them, the conversation could not continue further. Kalno, who had already begun to move ahead, glanced back over his shoulder.
“I wish your child a swift recovery.”
“……!”
Marquis Oleg’s eyes widened, and then, with a bitter expression, he followed Kalno inside.

* * *

“I want to go outside the palace too.”
“Your Highness?”
Asha, who had been sitting by the window playing with a bird on her fingertip, suddenly spoke, and Lis’s eyes widened as she folded the bedding.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“I’m ten years old now, and I’ve never even seen the marketplace once.”
She spoke as though a ten-year-old child’s duties naturally included a visit to the market. Lis smiled softly.
“If there’s something you wish to see, you need only tell the merchant to bring his wares to the Palace.”
When Asha stared at her with a pouting face, Lis’s expression grew rueful, and she softened her gaze.
“Were you hoping to visit Sarato’s shop?”
“The shop opened days ago. I want to see it myself.”
Sarato had become almost infatuated with Sofia ever since they met. Sofia had struggled somewhat with control when first learning, but once she mastered a skill, she wielded it with machine-like precision and perfection.
The patisserie born from Sarato and Asha’s collaboration would sell only a single cake. Could anyone be better suited for such a shop?
“But to venture outside, you must first receive the Emperor’s permission…….”
“If Alexei permits it, that should be fine!”
“Have you already spoken to the Imperial Heir about this?”
“No, I’ll ask him now.”
Asha smiled brightly, left word to prepare her outdoor clothes, and hurried to the adjacent room. Not long after, she returned with an expression that was bewildered, downcast, and flustered all at once.
“Your Highness? What did the Imperial Heir say?”
“In two weeks…… he wants to take me to see an opera.”
“An opera?”
“Yes…… and he says we’ll stop by the shop while we’re out. He won’t allow me to go alone because it’s too dangerous!”
Asha cried out in exasperation, but Lis wore the expression of someone who had known this all along.
“Of course. The world outside the Palace is terrifying.”
“……I suppose I must appeal to the Emperor instead.”
“Your… Your Highness?”
“Even if Alexei won’t allow it, if His Majesty grants permission, that should settle it. Shouldn’t it?”
“His Majesty won’t grant permission either……. And the Imperial Heir said he wants to go out in two weeks anyway.”
“But still! The shop opened days ago, and I want to go now. Besides, I’m not the Imperial Heir—why wouldn’t His Majesty grant it?”
Asha walked forward with supreme confidence, a broad grin spreading across her face. And there was reason for that confidence.
She thought that since she wasn’t the Empire’s successor like Alexei or burdened with any important post, a brief excursion outside the Palace would easily earn approval—that was the first reason.
The second was that if he truly favored her, despite not being the heir, he would surely grant such a simple request.
But then.
“Why…… why not?”
“Why? Because if an imperial carriage is to enter the marketplace where commoners gather, all traffic in that quarter must be brought to a complete standstill. Have you considered how greatly that would inconvenience them?”
Emperor Mikhail replied without lifting his eyes from the documents before him. Asha’s lips moved soundlessly before she gripped her collar tight.
“I won’t take a carriage.”
“Then what? Will you walk all the way there?”
“I’ll only take the carriage until I leave the Palace grounds.”
“And walk about outside?”
“Yes!”
“As if that small frame could walk any meaningful distance.”
“I can walk across all of Jedo from end to end!”
The Emperor finally looked up and gazed at her, then let out a scoff.
“From end to end?”
“Yes. When I lived with my parents, I’d never even seen a carriage. I walked everywhere.”
……
The Emperor set down his pen.
“So you merely wish to see the marketplace?”
Asha glanced about uncertainly, then, catching sight of a breeze that tickled her brow, she opened her mouth honestly.
“I sold a recipe to Sarato before, didn’t I? The shop selling cakes made from that recipe opened days ago.”
“Hmm. You said it was Sarato’s venture? I’m certain she’s handled it brilliantly. She’s prone to impulsiveness, but she’s reliable when it comes to work.”
“I’m not doubting Sarato’s competence—I simply want to see it myself.”
……
The Emperor seemed to hesitate, and Asha quickly added her words.
“I’m not planning to make a spectacle of imperial blood visiting. I’ll slip in quietly, see the shop, and return.”
“And if some accident befalls you while you’re out?”
“Alexei will be there.”
“Do you truly believe your cousin can protect you anywhere at all?”
“No, that’s not what I mean……. Alexei will remain safely within the Palace, so you needn’t worry about the successor…….”
In an instant, the pen in the Emperor’s hand snapped cleanly in two. A servant standing at a distance rushed forward with an alarmed expression, wiping the spilled ink from the Emperor’s hand and clearing away the broken pen.
“Oh, Your Majesty…… Grandfather, are you…… all right?”
“……If you wish to venture outside and see for yourself, you may do so. However.”
Asha, who had been ready to burst with joy at the sudden permission, froze in an instant and looked up at the Emperor.
“You’ll need to bring an escort with you. As a member of the Imperial family, it’s only proper.”
“An… an escort?”
“A knight or two should suffice. Choose them yourself and present them to me. If you do that, I’ll permit it.”
Asha could only blink repeatedly as she stared at him. The Emperor remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand with an expression as though suppressing his irritation. The message was clear: the audience was over, and she was to leave.

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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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