Chapter 12
‘… He’s crazy. You’re drawing some kind of body line. That’s Thierry, the guy I’ve been looking after since I was a kid!’
I scrambled to my feet, angrily restraining the gaze that was about to find its way through my open shirt against my will.
‘I can’t afford to make a mistake today.’
The meal had only just begun and I was already feeling awkward and uncomfortable. I deliberately stare straight ahead, and I can feel the stares that threaten to pierce my cheeks.
“Someone would think I was eating a Princess. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, no, I’m just waiting for my meal.”
I threw up my hands in dismay and shook my head, and he raised one eyebrow.
“Does that mean you weren’t paying attention to me?”
I hesitated for a moment, rolling my eyes nervously, before answering, ‘I don’t think I’m going to get caught, I’m not paying attention to the topic I’ve been caught on.’
“… I guess?”
“Princess.”
“What?”
“You’ve got a swollen liver.”
… I think the real Princess is Thierry, not me, and I’m willing to bet he’s the one who swept across the battlefield with that dreaded snout instead of a sword.
‘Princess Thierry… Please calm down…’
I cringed at his unrelenting attitude.
I glared at him, pouting my lips, and he quickly averted his eyes.
‘You don’t even want to look me in the eye anymore, like you’ve seen something you can’t.’
I muttered hastily, feeling frustrated, but afraid that if I said anything back, he’d get the last word.
“So, I apologize…”
The last word was blurred, almost crawling. It was an attitude that could be seen as cowardly.
‘Living comes first, dignity comes first.’
After all, this was the Podia Empire, not Ashtad, and I had been brought here as a Princess. Knowing that my future would be easier if I didn’t offend him as much as possible, I tried to play the harmless Princess as much as possible.
“Ha.”
He scowled, like he was offended by something, then glared into space like he would kill me if there was someone there, then squeezed his eyes shut. Then he pressed his hands together around his eyes like he was cutting something.
‘Confused. I know it’s hard to keep his temper in check in the first place, so if you’d just let me eat and get back home safely…’
At this point, I was neatly accepting Thierry’s character breakdown.
I wonder if it’s because when I’m alone with him, I sometimes see him, but when I’m with him, I don’t remember anything about his younger days.
The more I saw him, the more I thought about him, the more I felt that the young Thierry and the adult Thierry were completely separate. Two different people.
“Let’s…”
The food had been served by then, and he leaned up.
I glanced at him and slowly sipped the warm potage in front of me. I ate very slowly, as I felt like I was going to get sick, and before I knew it, I had a salad and smoked fish dish in front of me.
As I stared at the salad plate, the maid noticed my gaze lingering on the salad and placed the plate in front of me. I picked up a fork and waved it in the air.
‘No, why is there a cucumber in my salad?’
I pulled my fork back with a very astringent look on my face.
“You don’t like cucumbers?”
At that, I snapped my head around to look at Thierry. For some reason, he was staring in my direction, his eyes narrowed.
I’m already frustrated that I can’t get the pods, but if you’re going to cover up the food here… ‘No, but I can’t stand the smell of cucumbers…’
I have an extreme aversion to the smell of cucumbers, so the mere thought of holding a slice of cucumber in front of my nose was enough to make me gag.
I curled my lips into a bite and lowered my eyes.
My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to tell him that I couldn’t eat cucumbers so that he would be quiet.
But since most of the excuses for eating are there, I finally blurted out the one I use most often.
“Oh, yeah. I’m allergic to cucumbers and shouldn’t eat them…”
Emergency! Absolute emergency. That’s a look of 100% alarm.
‘No, no, no!’
Eventually, my voice got lower and lower until, by the end, I was barely audible.
“…, but, um…”
I looked up at him with a nervous glance. The longer the silence lingered, the stranger I felt.
“Then I guess you just have to leave out the cucumber.”
It was a long time before he spat out the words. His voice sounded strangely sharp.
“Actually, I can’t eat anything with cucumber in it, either. I’m allergic or something.”
His red eyes flashed for a moment. His mood eerily subsided as he narrowed his brow.
“… I’ve gone completely insane.”
His voice cracked as he muttered to himself.
He rubbed his furrowed brow nervously, squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then opened them slowly.
‘Are you ill?’
His face seemed strangely pale and hardened. The shadows of the disheveled black hair on his forehead made his eyes look as sunken as the color black.
“While we’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt to let the kitchen know what’s fit for a Princess’s mouth.”
Was it really necessary?
I don’t really have anything to cover up except cucumbers… And since when have you been so considerate of me?
“Bring in Chef Sue.”
No, come on, is this some new kind of bullying?
I stared at the back of the maitre head as he quickly headed out the door.
I felt like it would be easier to just give up on trying to understand.
Haha, if I stay here long enough, a sari might come out of my body.
I thought to myself and waited in silence for Chef Sue.
“His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire.”
Then, the person who was called…
‘Maud?!’
Why did you come out of there?
I stared at my old friend in surprise.
‘Maud was the Chef Sue?’
Dressed in a white chef’s uniform, Maud had grown up since the last time I saw her, but she hadn’t changed much, so I recognized her instantly.
I was worried she hadn’t made it, but she was still in the main palace, and she was even a sous chef, which was wonderful, and a relief.
I fumbled to cover my mouth with my hand, trying to hide my unraveling expression. The anxiety I’d been feeling a moment ago was gone.
“Haha…”
Suddenly, I heard a low chuckle that scratched my throat. I snapped out of it.
I followed Maud’s gaze to Thierry, who was looking at me in bewilderment.
“You’ve really reached the end of your rope.”
Thierry was smiling, the color bleeding from his pupils, the corners of his eyes burning red as if they had been stained.
His face looked strangely pained even as he laughed, and my heart fluttered uneasily.
Then his wandering eyes landed on me. They were wide, like the eyes of a wild beast, and they seemed to want to devour me.
“Princess. Do you believe in coincidences?”
I lowered the hand that covered my mouth gradually, stopping in front of my chest. My loose fingers curled into a fist.
“It’s…”
“Why?”
His eyes, which had been cold and hard, looked like those of a child in distress as he questioned me. His piercing eyes hadn’t changed, but they were strangely reminiscent of his younger self.
I hadn’t expected to feel this way about him anymore.
“Actually, I think believing is a bit of a word, because even if you didn’t mean it, it’s undeniable that something happened.”
I was surprised to hear my own voice sounding a little strained.
“To me, coincidence is just the result of someone’s intentions.”
His gaze fell to my clenched fists, then to Maud. After a subtle silence, he pondered coolly.
“But I’m beginning to think that maybe there’s a coincidence that’s not intentional.”
His red eyes darkened, a flicker of light in them.
“There’s a hunting festival in a week. The Princess is participating.”
***
“Princess, your room will be ready by the end of the day, so you can move in tomorrow.”
I nodded once to Marie, sighed, and looked out the window.
Yesterday’s formal dinner had ended on a sour note.
Chef Sue had summoned me out of the blue, asked me to share my tastes and preferences, discussed the meaning of coincidence, and then dismissed me as if I hadn’t asked for it in the first place.
Okay, so I could get past that. The problem came next.
“We’ll have dinner together every night from now on, unless we have other plans.”
“Every night? Uh, no. I know you’re busy…”
“In that case, I’d better move my residence here. Chamberlain, prepare the Princess’s chambers on the same floor as mine.”
“… On the same floor.”
Ah, life.
My opinion had no more weight than ant piss in the first place. I barely fought back the tears that threatened to escape.
“I’m sorry, but… I have a message for the Princess.”
