The crown prince was adamant.
‘What? Why does this man not want to work?’
I felt the embarrassment rise to my cheeks.
“Why? You wanted to work. You have to, don’t you?”
“But I don’t have to work.”
“…but, still…!”
“And, if I work there, I’d have to work with you, right?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“That’s even worse.”
My jaw dropped all on its own.
The crown prince didn’t seem to like me very much.
‘So, should I leave the bakery…? But then, where am I going to go…?’
The thoughts raced through my head. The crown prince just watched me for a moment before turning away from me again.
“Well, then I’ll go.”
He strode towards the hills.
I knew where his hiding place would be; but I just couldn’t forget his expression.
It seemed as if he would never come back.
He looked heavy. As if he’d resigned.
* * *
“Irene… What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange for a while now…”
David tapped me on the shoulder with a worried face.
David and I were headed to the tent where the Flori festival was being held, with our carefully packaged meringue cookies.
“I’m all right…”
“Is it because of that guy? Why did you go after him? No matter how handsome he was… I mean… I’m kind of handsome, too, right?”
“…it’s not like that.”
“You have to get over that kind of guy quickly.”
“Mr. David… From now on… could you… for the rest of our lives…can we just bake together?”
David was dumbfounded at my words.
“Well, of course! I’d love to!”
‘You fool… you just shooed the crown prince away!’
David was still smiling without knowing what I was thinking.
“David! Over here. Put it over here!”
Another merchant told David where to go.
We placed our cookies on a table under a nice tent, entering them into the competition.
I followed David with our basket of meringue cookies into the tent.
“What are those?”
“Oh my… are these meant for eating?”
“They’re so beautiful!”
As expected, the cookies were attracting attention.
It was even more popular since it was likely the first time they had ever seen anything like this in their lives.
“Can I try one?”
“Sure! I have a separate basket meant for the judges. The one is for tasting.”
I replied kindly and couldn’t help but smile. People took the meringue cookies one by one and began to taste them.
“Oh…! I’ve never tasted anything like this before!”
“I feel like I’m eating a cloud!”
“Wow…”
Meringue cookies feel crispy when you first bite down, but are quick to melt in your mouth after.
These cookies in particular had a distinctly soft taste, since they were made with natural ingredients.
“Everyone, watch out! The trophy is ours this year, haha.”
David, elated by the people’s reaction, laughed out loud.
More and more people began to flock to the tent housing our table.
“I want to try one too…”
“Excuse me…!”
“Wait a minute…!”
With the crowds coming in bit by bit, things were getting hectic.
But I kept hearing a small, soft voice. A pale arm would reach towards the basket, only to be pushed away by others.
‘It’s so sad…?’
“I-I want to try, too…!”
Once again, the pale arm reached for the basket.
I grabbed her hand and placed two meringue cookies in her palm.
“Please enjoy.”
I said softly to her.
But I couldn’t tell who exactly had caught my attention, now likely lost in the crowds.
‘Who could it have been… More importantly, I know where the crown prince is hiding, so I’ll go catch up with him later.’
It was uncomfortable seeing things go awry. But there was nothing I could do.
His cold and determined expression… that seemed to have been masking a feeling of sadness.
“Did you make these?”
“Hm? Oh, yes…”
“Haha, they’re just as pretty as you are.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Two young men who had broken through the crowd came to the front of the table and stood in front of me.
Their faces seemed unfamiliar, perhaps people from another village.
“David’s Bakery? Hehe. You work there?”
“Where are you going after this? You have time to spare?”
“Hey, now. I’m a little busy, so I’m afraid I don’t quite have time.”
David leapt to his feet, frowning.
He cleared his throat.
Perhaps because of David’s grim expression, they meandered away.
“By the way, did you hear…?”
Another restaurant owner whispered to David quietly.
“What is it?”
“The emperor has passed…”
“What? Really?”
“Yes… I heard that the announcement came from the Imperial Palace themselves.”
“Can we hold a festival like this, then?”
“I think they’re still investigating, and they’re telling us to continue about our daily lives until they announce the cause of death. I just hope it’s revealed soon…”
‘Oh… It’s happening today…’
I already knew the emperor had died because I’d read the book, so I forgot that the announcement of his death would be happening today.
‘I see… that’s why he didn’t look so good…’
I understood a little better now why he’d acted the way he had.
The crown prince must have known about his own father’s death, so the rumors circulating around everywhere must be haunting him.
‘Yet he came all the way here to find the Marquis…’
Somehow, I felt even more concerned for him. I thought that maybe, the crown prince would be somewhere nearby.
* * *
“Well, now, folks, thank you for waiting! I’ll now be announcing the results!”
Jean, the host of the festival, held the loudspeaker to his mouth and spoke to the crowd.
“Unfortunately, the Marquis of Seiren couldn’t attend today. But the prize remains the same! This month, the winner is…!”
People watched Jean anxiously, almost as if trying to look through the paper he held to read the results.
Jean held his tongue, drawing out the crowd’s anticipation.
“I’m going to die waiting!”
“Hurry up!”
“Announce it already!”
Jean grinned and shouted:
“It’s David’s bakery!”
“Wow!”
“Go David!”
“Irene! Congratulations!”
People’s congratulations rang throughout the street.
David and Irene stood beside Jean in front of the crowd.
“Oh my…!”
“What? I thought this was meant to be a fair competition?”
“How-how is it possible to even look that good?”
“Was this a beauty pageant?”
There was an outpouring of exclamation among those who had never seen Irene and David.
Beneath his soft hair, David had a strong physique and deep eyes.
His face, scary when expressionless, turned into one of the friendliest faces imaginable when he smiles.
David was essentially any woman’s ideal type.
And the other one’s mysterious blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked as though they reflected the sky itself. And her soft, red lips.
Irene didn’t quite seem like a human being.
The two were absolutely elated, giving each other high-fives and hugging.
“Now, may we hear your acceptance speech?”
Jean handed David the loudspeaker.
“This is all Irene’s doing. Come to David’s bakery! That’s where you’re gonna find Irene!”
He smiled brightly as he handed the loudspeaker over to Irene.
Irene smiled, as if surprised, and gripped tightly onto the loudspeaker.
‘What…am I supposed to say…?’
Irene’s heart was pounding.
She was confident that they would win first place, but she didn’t think at all about the inevitable acceptance speech.
“I… am not from here… but thanks to Mr. David, I was able to work here.”
Irene’s voice, fluttering like a cool breeze, hung in the air. The people focused on her words.
“For someone like me, who endured each and every day before now, I am truly grateful to this village… and to the people of Seiren for allowing me the chance to look forward to the future again.”
Her sincerity inspired a few tears within the crowd. David felt it, too.
“And, I want to tell anyone here who’s ever worried about finding the will to go on, like I have… I ask you to keep going.”
Resonating with her words, a cloaked person’s eyes sparkled.
“Finally, I would like to pay my respects and a silent tribute to His Majesty.”
A murmur began to grow in the crowd in the wake of this sentiment.
The emperor’s cause of death had yet to be revealed. Some people didn’t yet believe that mourning was necessary.
“I’d like to give us all a moment to mourn, even if only for a moment…”
Irene put down the loudspeaker and put her hands together. Then she closed her eyes.
Like an angel who had come down to their village to inspire prayer.
One by one, members of the crowd began to put their hands together and pay silent tribute.
While everyone closed their eyes to pray, one figure in the crowd removed their hood and opened their eyes.
Under the light of the moon, this man looking at Irene let out a light breath, sweeping his red hair across his forehead.
For the first time, he saw people around him sincerely mourning for his father.
All due to Irene’s silence.
The crown prince couldn’t easily organize his thoughts and feelings.
But the one thing that was certain was that he could not leave this place.
* * *
“Irene… that was really touching.”
“Haha… I put it together on the spot.”
“I’ve never heard such a wonderful speech! I’m sure everyone else must have been thinking the same thing.”
“That was really beautiful.”
“Haha… thank you. I want you to know that I mean every word.”
We were able to finish signing the contract to receive free butter, our prize for winning first place.
Thanks to this, we would be able to bake quite a variety tomorrow.
‘Starting tomorrow, I’m going to develop a whole roster for this bakery…‘
I didn’t think I could do anything too extravagant, like a whipped cream cake or croissants. We didn’t have enough money set aside yet to do things like that.
Instead, I planned to craft a menu focused on buttery snacks.
‘Haha… it’s not like I’m using my own money for it anyway…!’
Taking full advantage of this opportunity, I was going to use as much butter as I wanted.
While signing the contract, the dairy farmer even boasted that we would have to sign more contracts with them.
“Irene, would you like to go back to the bakery? And I’ll go after sorting everything out here. It’ll be too late if we both stay here together. I think it’s better for one of us to go back to the bakery.”
David said with a sigh while sorting through papers.
I nodded. The bakery had been left alone all day, so it would be best for someone to be there again soon.
‘Hmm…’
But when I looked back at our table in the tent again, I couldn’t help but think that there wasn’t much left to do.
I squinted and looked at David. He coughed.
“How about you go ahead, then…”
“Yes, please!”
David headed toward the bakery holding a basket, relieved.
I stayed in the tent and helped others clean up while taking care of our own table.
While doing so, someone carefully tapped me on the back.
“E-excuse me…”
“Yes?”
“By any chance… would the bakery be open if I stopped by now…?”
“Right…now?”
“Yes… I’m leaving town tomorrow…”
The woman was wearing a cape, so I couldn’t see her face well.
But I was intrigued by the shiny gold eyes that met my gaze, as well as the pink hair that peeked through the hood.
The subtle scent of flowers accompanied her, too.
“Oh… do you want to go there with me then?”
The woman smiled brightly and nodded. I was a little taken aback by her enthusiasm.
After finishing cleaning up, I walked to the bakery with the woman.
As we walked, she never stopped looking around.
“…are you not from here?”
“No! I’m a native!”
Her tone was a confident one, but she spoke in a small voice.
“…then what did you do wrong?”
“Ah! What?”
The woman seemed shocked. Her reaction made me feel a bit embarrassed.
“Ah, it’s nothing, I just feel like you might be a little unfamiliar with the area. You’re constantly looking around.”
“That… that… I…”
As soon as I said this, men on horseback came running in from afar.
They wore a knight’s uniform emblazoned with lilies.
She hid behind my back with a small yelp.
I had finally figured out who she was.
‘Rosie of Seiren.’
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this translation & would like to consider supporting the translator, please visit https://ko-fi.com/abcmdmd ♡
