The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 75

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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 Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Chapter 75

“Of course it’s natural to bring knights along. Your Highness must have been reminding me in case I forgot.”
Lis spoke as though she were stating that the sun rises by day and the moon by night. Asha’s face turned aggrieved, and she merely pouted.
“But still…….”
“The Crown Prince himself ordered that you must bring the knights this time.”
“Alexei did?”
“He did. Oh, and this is from Kalno.”
“What? What is it?”
Asha, who had been fussing only with the strawberry stem, rinsed her reddened hands and took what Lis offered on a tray.
It was a small card, finished with simple paper tape.

[This is the first letter.
On the day Your Highness attends the Marchioness of Tatarcha’s tea party, Grandmother is expected to arrive in Jedo, so I believe you should go there.
For your coat, a cloak with embroidered decoration on the hood would seem fitting.]

The card’s contents were spare. Written in somewhat rough but clear handwriting, it was a card without a greeting to a dear someone, without a signature, and without even a courteous inquiry after the recipient’s well-being.
Asha flipped the card back and forth with a somewhat bewildered expression, but no hidden message appeared.
“Did Kalno really send this?”
“Yes, he delivered it just a moment ago.”
“He could have just told me directly if he’d come…….”
There was one more thing that was hard to understand.
The phrase “this is the first letter.”
‘First letter? As if there would be a second or third. What is this about? And what’s with the coat recommendation anyway?’
But Asha grumbled appropriately, then carefully rewrapped the card and put it away.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Pardon?”
“That I was thinking of dragging Kalno along instead of bringing proper knights from the order.”
Lis kept her silence in loyalty to her mistress. Asha made a sullen face but did not hesitate long, draping cloth over the strawberries. She too had no intention of running forever.
“Let’s go.”
“Your Highness, where are we……?”
“Where else? I have to go fulfill Grandfather’s wish.”
Asha had been turning over her conversation with Pibi ever since she’d declined the escort knight matter last time. Why had Pibi called the feelings she experienced “mirages”?
It was because those feelings were not truly hers. They were only remnants left in her memory. Pibi had said that only she was “real.” That what came before was an illusion.
Asha had decided to believe those words.

A palace attendant hurried into the Knights’ Barracks on the west side of the Imperial Palace. As he whispered something to the vice-commander who had been working, the vice-commander sprayed water across the desk and then strode urgently from the barracks.
“Commander! Commander!”
The Knights’ Order commander Tarieyi Nelin was in the middle of a bout with the young attendant of Imperial Heir Asha.
“What’s with all the fuss? Is your brother getting married all of a sudden?”
“Really now, Commander. What kind of nonsense are you talking?”
“How do you manage to put the word ‘commander’ and such drivel into one sentence?”
“When you’re not around, people say far worse…… Do you want to know?”
Tarieyi caught his breath for a moment, then lowered his wooden sword against Ibven.
“……I shouldn’t have asked. So if it’s not your brother’s wedding, then what in the world is going on?”
“Ah yes, Commander. Imperial Heir Asha is heading here right now.”
“Cough, cough, cough! What, what did you say?”
At those words, Tarieyi began coughing violently, and the boy Ibven, calm until now, flinched. Knights doing self-training in the Training Ground turned their heads toward Tarieyi at the sound of his violent cough.
“Cough, cough! You fool! You should have said that first!”
“You started with strange talk the moment you saw me, Commander.”
“No, this—this won’t do. Quickly, go—no, wait, uh, yes, why did you say she’s coming?”
“This time she’s come to requisition knights to accompany her to someone’s tea party.”
“Finally!”
Tarieyi scrubbed his creased face dry repeatedly, then rushed into the barracks. Still in casual shirtsleeves, he tossed down his wooden sword and quickly buttoned the loose shirt he’d been wearing.
“Where is it…… that thing?”
“If you’re talking about formal wear, sir, it was a few days ago after you met with His Imperial Majesty. You drank yourself half-blind and made a complete mess of it.”
“Damn it…… My coat, where’s my coat? A coat, I mean.”
The Vice-Commander let out a rattling laugh and suddenly snatched up a patched coat from the floor. The Imperial Palace was always stifling with heat, and with summer approaching, the coat—long abandoned and neglected—was in terrible condition. Just then, Ibven, who had followed him in, spoke up abruptly.
“I’ll take that to the laundry room right away, sir.”
“What? Never mind. The coat’s a lost cause anyway.”
“Still, I’ll take it now and see it done, sir.”
Ibven, who usually did nothing but obey and rarely spoke even then, now showed an unusual firmness of will. The frazzled Tarieyi stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him, then let out a short, harsh laugh.
“What is it? Afraid your master will find out how skilled you really are?”
“…….”
“Why are you teasing the boy, Commander? Go on, Ibven. If you want to, go ahead.”
“……I’ll be back shortly, sir.”
After the boy had disappeared, the Vice-Commander exhaled slowly.
“Why do you have to pick on someone who’s only trying to make a good impression on Her Highness?”
“Pick on him? I did no such thing.”
“Didn’t you come back as the Knights’ Commander because you wanted to make a good impression on Her Highness yourself?”
“That’s absurd! The only reason is because you never had any intention of taking the position.”
The Vice-Commander smiled broadly. It was a look that said she didn’t believe a word of it. Tarieyi glared at her before suddenly bursting out:
“Fine, then—my clothes! A coat, a cloak, formal wear, anything!”
At last the Vice-Commander stuck her head out toward the corridor and waved her arm about. In an instant, a thin coat of deep grey appeared in her hands.
“Here, wear this for now…… But Commander, doesn’t it seem like at this point, fussing over appearances won’t really change anything?”
“Sh-shut up.”
“If anything, won’t it look like you’re just showing off and slacking while everyone else works?”
“You said you had a date this weekend, right? Cancel it.”
“Why on earth would you say that?”
“Because anyone who speaks such right words even to his own commanding officer would be unbearable to any man worth his salt in the street. I’ve a mind to petition His Majesty to find you a man who cooks well, reads the room perfectly, and will fawn over you instead.”
Tarieyi grumbled as he removed the coat he had put on and adjusted only the cuffs awkwardly.
“I learned all that from you, sir. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to show Her Highness something truly impressive—your focus during training—rather than fussing with fine clothes?”
“I’m not trying to show off anything impressive!”
“Ah, I see.”
Vice-Commander Anne Marka smiled knowingly. Tarieyi, catching the implication in that expression, was about to cry out something in frustration when the Imperial Heir, Asha, arrived at the Training Ground.

* * *

Asha could not hide her bewildered expression at the sight of the knights standing in formation.
‘What…what is this?’
Why were they all lined up, staring at her? Asha looked at Lis in confusion, but Lis only turned to her with a warm smile.
“Commander Nelin, as His Majesty informed you, the Imperial Heir will be departing on a journey in a few days. I’ve come to see the two knights who will accompany her.”
“Ahem.”
And there remained the most awkward situation of all. Even though Asha had prepared herself, she could not shake a desolate feeling. Here before her stood a very close relative she was meeting for the first time in her life, surrounded by a great many people she didn’t know at all.
“Um, hello there…… Commander Nelin.”
“…….”
Asha felt her lips go dry. She had called him “Commander Nelin” because, even if he was her grandfather, she couldn’t bring herself to be too familiar with him, and she could think of no other term that felt more certain.
But it seemed a mistake. Tarieyi Nelin’s face twisted in an expression that was hard to describe.
‘But then what should I have called him?’
Grandfather? She had seen his face before, but this was the first time she’d actually spoken to him.

Pibi, perched on Asha’s shoulder, chirped softly. Asha forced herself to collect her chaotic emotions.
‘Why?! What did I do wrong?!’

The moment Asha heard those words, she looked away from Tarieyi’s eyes. The “liege” Pibi spoke of was the Emperor himself. And the Emperor had been continually urging her to call him properly.
‘Is he really upset just because I didn’t call him Grandfather?’

There was no way she could ignore it—a deep blue current of sorrow rolling over her like waves. Asha quickly averted her eyes and spoke hurriedly.
“So…who should I go with? Ah! If possible, Ibven.”
“Ibven is not ready yet!”
Asha’s eyes widened. Tarieyi seemed to shout the words with great force, yet his voice came out so small it almost sounded like a whisper.
“Why isn’t he ready?”
“To protect a person…Her Highness requires those with proper experience and skill. He is still only a trainee, not yet a knight. Please choose from among the formal knights. They are all capable.”
Asha looked at the lined-up knights with an awkward expression. They gazed back as if watching their nephew’s school play, wearing expressions of keen interest.
“Mm.”
“If you have no particular preference, Your Highness, I could conduct the errand myself….”
“Aha! Why, I could go there myself, couldn’t I?”
The moment Tarieyi began to fumble through his words, the vice-commander standing behind him cut in abruptly. It seemed he was trying to salvage what little dignity the scatter-brained commander had left. Asha tilted her head as she studied the vice-commander.
‘Wait—is he the vice-commander? His face is familiar…’
The Head Chef’s older brother, of course.

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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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