Chapter 40
“You crazy bastard… Get out of the kitchen right now, we don’t need a troublemaker like you in the kitchen. And if you like talking like that, go out on the street and be a storyteller.”
“Profit…! Why would I leave, that spot was mine to begin with!”
Maud informed me, and I heard a slamming sound as she exited through another door.
“Damn it, shouldn’t you be the one to leave?!”
I could hear the man cursing to himself and throwing things around.
After a few moments of the man’s ranting and raving, I thought it was over and I should leave him to Oscar and follow Maud.
“Stop it, Sue, you’re not wrong about anything, and you don’t think he’s putting up with your rudeness just because you’re an old colleague?”
His voice sounded like he was holding back a lot of anger. It sounded like it had been pent up for a long time and was about to explode, so I held my breath again to see what would happen next.
“What, are you defending her now?”
“Ha, childish. I swear, I’ve been trying to leave you alone, but you won’t let me. Don’t you realize that you’re the one who gets to go to work in the kitchen every day after acting like this, and Chef Sue is letting you get away with a lot, and you’re just going to trust her?”
“Crazy, what?”
“… But isn’t she right?”
“Yeah. Actually, I was a little uncomfortable, too. What you say is just a rumor, but it’s true that Chef Sue is good…”
“That’s right. If you do a good job, they don’t touch you… And I don’t think that the Princess from another country is an inconvenience…”
“Ha, are you all crazy?”
Huh? Suddenly?
“You’re the one who’s crazy, and to be honest, His Majesty seems to be in a better mood than before, because before he felt like he was dying just by breathing.”
There was no time to interrupt. It was the second round, and the man was getting the short end of the stick.
‘I don’t know if I should laugh or cry at this.’
And the fact that they were so friendly toward me made me feel a little creeped out.
It’s not fair that I’m the only one who’s relaxing, is it? I’m the one who’s shaking whenever I see Thierry… That’s a little…
“Is that guy a punishment?”
I whispered to Oscar, stepping away from the door with a dubious expression.
“Yes, Your Highness. He’s under immediate arrest for insult.”
Oscar looked determined, like he was going to run in at any moment. My eyes widened with delight at the way he seemed to know what to do without me telling him.
“Why don’t you finish up, then, and I’ll go find Chef Sue.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Oh, I’ll take care of that in there, you dared to put words in His Majesty’s mouth. I’m going with Marie, and you’ll have to leave Sir Oscar to someone else.”
I gestured for Marie to follow me and started walking, not bothering to listen to Oscar’s reply.
“I wonder if she went out the emergency door, where should we go?”
“I think I know, Princess, I’ll lead the way.”
“Sure, great.”
Marie glanced around, and then, as if remembering something, she bolted ahead. I followed her, scanning the area, until I spotted an emergency door leading outside and headed straight for it.
I opened it and the main palace grounds came into view. I searched for a secluded spot and found Maud leaning against a large tree, looking forlorn.
“Wait here.”
“Okay.”
I stepped away from Marie and cautiously walked over. The distance between us gradually closed, but Maud didn’t seem to notice. I gazed wistfully at her sideways face, which was lost in thought and gave off a melancholy vibe.
‘She was such a bright kid, no matter how hard things got, but everyone has changed so much. Why can’t anyone be happy?’
I felt a bad taste in my mouth. I abandoned my silent approach and strode over and plopped down beside her.
“Princess?”
I didn’t feel like spinning around and making small talk right now.
I stared straight ahead and slowly turned my head. My eyes locked with Maud, who looked surprised to see me.
“Why did you put your arm around me?”
“Did you hear…?”
“Yeah. I’m just someone you’ve said hello to a few times, you don’t have to be so upset on my behalf.”
Maud’s brows narrowed slightly. Her gaze darted from my eyes to the side.
“I was thinking of a friend.”
Maud muttered softly, her gaze dropping to the floor. Her voice was strangely sigh-like, and she sounded so exhausted that I felt a lump in my throat.
“I miss my friend so much…”
I couldn’t resist the urge any longer as Maud buried her face in my lap.
Especially since that sobbing voice meant that the child who told me she had never cried as an orphan was about to shed a tear for me.
Suddenly, my heart sank.
“… I’m sorry.”
I was so overwhelmed that a whispered apology escaped me. I felt a hot lump crawl down my throat and burn in my chest.
‘I was wrong.’
I hadn’t had time to grieve or miss Thierry and Maud, who had spent those years alone and lost in memories, because I’d woken up in another body and suddenly had to adjust to being covered.
I was ashamed that I had only thought of telling Maud the truth for my own safety, for the sake of my own future.
‘Even if I were Maud, if she had disappeared overnight, I would have missed her every day…’
Maud looked at my face, puzzled by my self-pitying, painful smile.
“Princess? Why do you owe me an apology…”
“I’m so sorry.”
“…”
“Honestly, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d believe me, but waiting isn’t going to convince you, so what was I waiting for?”
It’s not like she’s as twisted as Thierry.
As she stared at me through watery eyes, her pupils began to tremble slightly. I forced a smile at her frightened face, which seemed to reveal so much conflict.
“Hello, my friend.”
“… What?”
“I thought you said I was your best friend forever. You didn’t make another friend, did you? I still only have you.”
“Best friend? No way… You mean you…”
“Yes.”
“Rather…?”
Maud’s eyes widened as she realized that I was using a word that only I knew to show my closeness to her, rather than the more familiar best friend in this world. Suddenly, the tears that had been building up in her eyes burst out of her left pupil and rolled down her cheeks.
“A Princess, Lari?”
“I know it’s hard to believe, and that’s why I wasn’t going to tell you, but I just decided not to.”
“… How?”
Maud stared at the tears falling down her cheeks, then crinkled her nose and laughed.
“Come to think of it, you said you were going to sneak Thierry apple for me. What happened to it, did you give it to the Prince?”
Instead of explaining why I was Lari, I brought up the last thing Maud had said to me. It was still as fresh as yesterday for me, and somehow I had a feeling she remembered it too.
“… Are you kidding me? When did that ever happen, and you’re going to ask me about it now!”
Luckily, I wasn’t wrong. After a moment’s pause, Maud opened her arms and hugged me like she was about to pounce. Her hair brushed my cheek, and soon there was a pleasant weight between my neck and shoulders.
“Hmph…”
My back hit the grass, the blue sky filling my vision.
“… Yes. I’m too late.”
My voice, a self-help stone, mingled with Maud’s cries. I wondered what the hell I’d been waiting for, in front of someone who believed me right away without a long explanation. I closed my eyes and patted the small of her back.
A cool breeze tickled my cheeks.
What could have been a black history moment, or at least a suspicious one, was saved by Marie’s senses. She rushed over just before Oscar arrived, calmed us down, and pulled us apart. She never asked us what we were doing or why we were doing it.
I thanked her and agreed to meet up with Maud later that night to catch up.
Apparently I was being watched under the guise of protection, so I excused myself to eat dinner in my room, and Maud promised to bring food as Sous Chef.
“… So the bottom line is that you don’t know who killed you, and you don’t know why you woke up in a different body?”
“Yeah. I’ve only been awake for a few months, and I’ve only been here for a few months, so I haven’t figured anything out.”
Maud frowned in frustration.
“Then what about talking to His Majesty?”
“I’ve heard that the mere mention of the ‘la’ in …’Lari’ makes him salute.”
“Ah… That’s true, but you’re a real Lari!”
“You said I had a lot of people approach him pretending to be Lari. How do I tell them I’m the real thing? And Thierry knows I ran away, but I can’t tell hin more because he’ll kill me if he catches me…”
The last part was almost a whimper, as if she was upset.
“What? Apart from everything else, it’s a false rumor that he knows you ran away.”
“Huh?”
“The rumors about you must have gotten out of hand because you purposely let them get out of hand, but you were the one who informed me that you were dead.”
“… What?”
I stared at the Maud with an expression of incomprehension.
