The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 92

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Villainess Imperial Princess Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
Chapter 92

Even now, with ice set up and the fan technique keeping the air moving, it was this hot….
“Aren’t you warm too, Lis? You don’t have to fan me.”
“I’m fine, but you seem particularly sensitive to heat. Irina—the Imperial Consort also found the heat quite unbearable. I suspect that may be why.”
Asha found the phrase “the Imperial Consort” used to refer to her mother deeply strange, and she paused to collect her thoughts.
“Maybe that’s why Mom and Dad left Jedo. Because of the heat.”
At Asha’s complaint, Lis’s expression suddenly grew uneasy, and she hastened to speak. She seemed worried that Asha might throw a tantrum about leaving on account of the heat.
“Why don’t you try some exercise? You might find it less hot once you get used to movement.”
“Does Pibi really understand what you’re saying?”
“Pardon?”
Lis tilted her head quizzically. Asha waved a hand dismissively, saying it was nothing, and made an effort to sit up.
“Where are you going, Your Highness? Please rest a while longer.”
“I’m tired of complaining about the heat. I made something this morning in case I got like this—I’m going to eat that.”
With that, Asha snatched the fan from Lis’s hands. Lis’s fanning was merely an elegant flutter, which didn’t satisfy her standards. Asha fanned herself vigorously with vigorous strokes and led the way to her kitchen.

‘Ahhhhh.’
Asha melted slightly in the corner of the refrigerator, savoring the cold, then collected herself and retrieved what she’d prepared inside.
The freezer room consumed considerable resources to maintain and was treated as an important location in the Imperial Palace.
The freezer room was installed only in the kitchen of Ashtad Palace where the Emperor resided, so Asha found it quite inconvenient to access.
But the refrigerator was installed in the kitchen of each palace. Even in Asha’s small kitchen.
“Your Highness, what is this?”
“Sorbet, roughly made.”
“Sorbet? But that only exists in the freezer room of Ashtad Palace—how did you…?”
“Right, not properly—I made a simple version. So the taste probably won’t be nearly as refined, but….”
Asha opened the towel that covered a large bowl. Inside, the bowl was packed with ice, and in the center sat a large dish filled with a milky-white frozen liquid. The moment the towel came away, a sweet-tart fragrance rose up.
“You know that Shashshling Liquor I made the other day? I mixed a bit of that with clear apple juice, a little apple mint, and a syrup made from steeped lemon, then froze it.”
“Without a freezer room, how did you freeze it?”
“Salt on ice makes it incredibly cold.”
Asha explained methodically, brought two forks, handed one to Lis, and kept the other for herself.
“Now we just have to stir it.”
Asha scraped at the frozen white ice with force. Since it wasn’t frozen solid, it soon began to crackle and form fine, snowlike flakes. Just breathing in the cold air rising from the bowl felt like a small relief.
When the contents had taken on a reasonably proper appearance, Asha paused and looked down at the bowl.
“Your Highness? What’s the matter?”
“Sigh. I’m this hot myself…. The children training on the Training Grounds must be even hotter, right?”
“…!”
Asha thought of Ibven. She kept checking that the Knight Order people were looking after him properly, but she’d never actually watched him train.
“Are you thinking of visiting the Knight Barracks?”
“Since I’ve made so much of this and it’s such a hot day, I thought it would be nice if we all shared it together…. Would that be all right?”
Certainly at first, she’d had no intention of going anywhere near the Knight Order. And Tarie’s return, timed so perfectly, had seemed suspicious. But now she could trust that Alexei and the Emperor wouldn’t harbor serious misunderstandings, and Tarie’s heart….
Asha, having thought that far, looked at Lis with a determined expression. Lis smiled and nodded.

* * *

Anastasia, the Imperial Heir, did not visit the Knight Barracks often. But whenever she did, the Training Grounds and its surroundings were turned upside down.
And in this moment, Tarie—hastily combing back his hair and buttoning up his shirt in a flurry—went straight for Ibven and grabbed him by the collar.
“You scoundrel! The moment I tell you the Imperial Heir is coming, you try to run off in embarrassment again, don’t you?”
“…No, sir.”
The slender boy denied it in a small voice. Tarie let out a loud complaint, something close to a petulant whine.
“You, if you keep running away like this, I’ll put a leash on you and tie you up!”
“I’m rather accustomed to such things, but….”
“….”
“….”
And the bustling Knight Barracks fell instantly silent. As Tarie stood bewildered, his lips working soundlessly, Anne fixed him with a reproachful stare and let out a delicate cough.
“Ahem—what are you saying to Ibven again, Captain? The Imperial Heir will be arriving soon, and look at the state of this barracks.”
“Oh, no, I…….”
“And Ibven! I understand you’d be embarrassed to face the Imperial Heir, but does she really intend to visit us today? It’s not as though she has business outside.”
“…….”
“She’s coming to see you, isn’t she? But if you’re not here, how could we possibly face her?”
“…….”
“So stay put and wait quietly.”
“Understood.”
At Anne’s insistence that he not wander off, Ibven nodded silently.
Tarie, who had been fidgeting uncomfortably as though he’d swallowed ice, kept glancing nervously about until Anne left, then jabbed Ibven with his elbow.
“You rascal.”
“Sir?”
“If I’m spouting nonsense, you can just punch me in the face—there’s no need to… to speak to me like that.”
“……Sir?”
“Ahem. That is… ahem, I’m sorry.”
“Sir?”
“Blast it all! I said I’m sorry!”
“Commander! Why are you shouting again?!”
Anne’s voice carried from the distance. Tarie fell silent, looking sheepish.
Truth be told, the knights found it deeply strange that the vice-commander and commander should fuss like this every time a member of the royal family paid a visit.
Until ten years ago, when Tarie Nellin had retired as commander of the Knight Order, the custom had been to pay no heed to any visitor unless they were the Emperor himself.
And throughout the years since his retirement, when Anne took over as vice-commander, she alone would offer a greeting whenever visitors arrived.
“I truly don’t see how any of this could sway someone’s heart.”
Bedelnik said this with obvious skepticism as he tossed an old fruit peel he’d found in the barracks into the waste bin. While they humored the commander’s whims well enough, his first doubt was whether the girl would find any of it impressive.
His second doubt was whether even this forced display of effort could win over that clever girl’s affection.
“When the human heart grows impatient, it does foolish things.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Bedelnik nodded without much conviction at Anne’s words. Not long after, the Imperial Heir Anastasia arrived.
On the day she first visited to choose an escort knight for an outing, the girl had apparently been quite taken aback upon seeing the knights standing in formation—or so the story went. Thanks to this, today the knights could gather in small clusters and watch their flustered commander instead.
“It’s such a hot day—you must be working hard.”
The small-framed girl spoke to Tarie with composure. Though he was so tense his voice came out hoarse as he muttered something incoherent, the girl didn’t seem to mind.
“How is Ibven doing?”
“Ibven! Ibven, come out here!”
That boy, with his unusual background as a former slave from the North, his mysterious blue-tinged skin, and his characteristically sparse words and rare shows of emotion, was a striking figure even within the Knight Order.
Yet the knights had quickly grown accustomed to Ibven’s presence. Though he spoke little, he never lied, and they recognized him as a boy striving tirelessly day and night to compensate for his flawed origins and modest skills.
“……I greet Your Highness.”
“Ibven, isn’t the heat making training too difficult? Are you managing? You’re doing well… aren’t you? I haven’t seen your face in a few days.”
The suspicion that had arisen when Ibven had gone to fetch the commander’s robes on her first visit still lingered. Tarie, standing beside Ibven, gnawed at his lip with an expression of barely contained indignation.
“Everyone has been very kind. Training is… difficult, but I find it rewarding.”
Ibven spoke carefully, his words measured and deliberate. Bedelnik, watching from a distance, let out an admiring murmur.
“I’ve never heard him say that much before.”
“I train hard because I wish to be of strength to the Imperial Heir.”
Anne gazed at the boy and girl with a warm expression. The girl smiled softly as she looked at the boy who had once been her slave and now aspired to become a knight. Then she gestured toward the back. Lis, who had been holding a large dish wrapped in cloth, stepped forward.
“The Imperial Heir has personally prepared this to honor all of you for your labors.”
As the cloth was removed, a large ice bowl appeared, and within it lay white, translucent flakes like snow.
“Snow? In this season?”
“It’s not snow—it’s sorbet. I made it simply, somewhat hastily, so it probably won’t taste extraordinary, but…….”
Anastasia spoke with a slight smile, a touch of embarrassment coloring her words, but Tarie seemed already half-mesmerized by the fact that his granddaughter had made something with her own hands and brought it to him.
“Vice-commander, wouldn’t the commander just eat all of it himself if we left it like that?”
Bedelnik voiced this well-founded suspicion. At that moment, Anne, who had been tactfully withdrawing to give Tarie space, sprang to her feet with a cry.
“No, Imperial Heir! How could you go to such trouble?”
“Anne! I thought you’d stepped away.”
The girl spun around in surprise.
“If Your Highness was coming, even if I hadn’t been scheduled to work today, I had to show up. Surely that’s only right?”
At Anne’s brazen excuse, Tarie frowned, though he didn’t drive her away.
“It’s lemon sorbet—I thought everyone would be suffering from the heat, so I brought it. It’s best eaten before it melts…….”
“You lot! This is the Imperial Heir’s kindness! Come out at once and form a line!”
Anne called out quickly.

Standing in the shade outside the Knight Barracks, Asha wore a satisfied smile. The knights were receiving scoops of sorbet in small dishes and gathering in clusters to chat and eat.
“Ahhhh. So refreshing. I feel alive again.”
“Ah, so tart. It’s waking me right up. It’s not just lemon—there’s something delicate about it, a hint of peach too, isn’t there?”
“Doesn’t it remind you of white grape as well?”
“Ah, it’s so refreshing and delicious. Is there any way to get it in larger quantities?”
Having confirmed the exclamations rising from various corners, Asha turned her head toward Ibven standing beside her.
“Ibven, eat quickly. This melts in no time. Don’t you like the tartness?”
“Ah… no, I do.”
Ibven continued to grip the bowl, and the sorbet inside had already melted halfway.
“So you do like the tartness?”
…….
Perhaps distinguishing between what he liked and disliked was still difficult for him. Asha regarded Ibven quietly. He slowly, carefully brought a small spoonful of the remaining sorbet to his lips. His manner was deeply deliberate.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————