“Yes, Natasha. It feels like we’re sisters this way, right?”
As Asha nodded, Natalya’s face brightened. Feeling excited, Natalya moved her arms and legs vigorously inside the cabin, bumping into things about three times before realizing that she had brought the journal to the mansion’s room to supplement its contents while recording it the previous day.
In the end, with no other alternative, she had to return to the garden’s tea table without it. But Natalya didn’t give up and ran back to the mansion, determined to retrieve the journal.
“…My daughter’s overflowing with energy… I don’t know if she’s causing any trouble for Your Highness,” The marchioness, who was by her side, sighed deeply.
“Until now… Your Highness, it might be hard for you to believe, but we’ve been worried because that child hasn’t shown much fondness for people.”
“Ah…”
“Because her clothes, behavior, and even her interactions with other children are different… But even so, when I let my daughter do what she wants, she just dislikes everyone else…”
Asha seemed to understand. The girl who would crawl on the ground, wearing pants, and build her own cabin in the forest was the type to avoid others no matter where she was.
“But what on earth sparked this change?”
The omitted words that followed would probably be something like, ‘Why is this child so attached to Your Highness…’ Asha suppressed a laugh. The marchioness, who noticed her reaction, brushed back her hair and mustered a faint smile.
“I must have been worried that my daughter might be disrespectful to Your Highness and ended up being overly stern. Please forgive me.”
“Oh, why do you say such things? I like Natalya too,” Asha laughed and clapped her hands, changing the topic.
The marchioness changed the subject when she saw Asha smiling and clapping her hands.
“By the way, the wine you sent… is it really made from the fruits I gave you?”
“Huh? Why? Was there something strange about it?”
“Oh, no! Not at all. Actually, every year I harvest a small amount of fruit and try my hand at making wine, but I’ve never had a taste like this before. I was really surprised.”
Until a while ago, she was busy worrying about her daughter’s disrespect, but now she looked as excited as Natalya, who talked about the guidebook again.
Meanwhile, the kitchen maid had finished baking the tarte Tatin that Asha had brought. The marchioness was wide-eyed when she saw the steaming dark brown apple tart.
After some light conversation, Asha waited patiently for the marchioness to take a bite of the tart. Asha smiled as she looked at the marchioness, who slowly savored the taste with just one bite in her mouth.
“Actually, the marchioness probably is wondering what made me come all of a sudden.”
The marchioness paused as she was about to take another spoonful. Asha noticed the approach of Natalya running towards them from a distance and quickly continued speaking.
“I was thinking of hosting a small exhibition with a few of Mura’s paintings. I heard that the Marchioness Tataricha also has some impressive artwork, so I was wondering if you might be interested.”
“Oh, how wonderful! But is this really made only with apples?”
“Uh? Yes… yes.”
“You must have stewed the apples for a long time… Oh my, so this is the kind of taste you achieve.”
Asha blinked her eyes. In the meantime, Natalya came running.
“Your Highness! I brought the journal. Look at this!”
“Hmm, how about we eat this first, Natalya? I baked it myself.”
Natalya’s eyes widened, and she sat down eagerly in front of the tea table. As Natalya reached out to grab the tart with her bare hands, Asha quickly held her back.
“This, this is hot, so you have to eat it with a spoon.”
Natalya nodded vigorously and held the spoon in her hand. Asha watched the beautiful spectacle of light blossoming between the two, mother and daughter, and pondered over the Marchioness Tataricha’s words.
‘She said, “How wonderful,” and then she went back to talking about the tarte Tatin. Did she change her mind?’
It seems that she shifted the topic without realizing it. As Asha was contemplating this, Natalya and Marchioness Tataricha approached her, each trying to engage in conversation.
Natalya opened a botanical guidebook filled with summer plants, while Marchioness Tataricha expressed her curiosity about the magical tart. After a brief gathering, as Asha was leaving, Marchioness Tataricha approached her before she boarded the carriage.
“I have a great fondness for sweet things, so I couldn’t help but talk only about the tart you made. If you send someone on the date you need the painting, I’ll send it to you.”
Marchioness Tataricha smiled somewhat sheepishly. Asha was surprised and then embraced Marchioness Tataricha, thanking her.
“Oh my! I thought you would refuse. Thank you, Marchioness Tataricha.”
“Oh, it’s truly an honor, Your Highness.”
The marchioness smiled softly with a slightly surprised face. Because Natalya, who was next to the marchioness, looked distressed, Asha was only able to get on the carriage after hugging Natalya goodbye.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The first time Asha learned about confetti was when she visited the store where Sophia worked, accompanied by Karnov. The confectionery they were selling was commonly known as “confetti,” which was a sweet treat made by coating nuts with flavored syrup, giving it a sweet taste when eaten.
‘Karnov was acting a little strange at the time.’
She still didn’t know the reason why Karnov took the confectionery he didn’t even like. Nevertheless, since then, Asha had been exploring various aspects of confetti in the palace.
Karnov didn’t seem to enjoy the confetti with its sweetness and floral fragrance. So, what came to Asha’s mind was coating almonds with chocolate instead. Adding dried flower petals with sugar would make it even more exquisite. At that point, it might feel a bit awkward to call it confetti, but…
“Since Karnov doesn’t like overly sweet things, it would be better to make the chocolate a bit less sweet, right? Should I also try making something separate that’s sweeter?”
<I would like both to be made,> Phoebe suddenly spoke, perched on Asha’s shoulder. Asha shrugged her arm and brought almonds, sugar, and water. She also prepared butter on the side. While boiling the sugar and water in a pan to make the syrup and coating the almonds, she noticed some commotion from outside.
“Milady, Karnov has arrived.”
“Karnov? What’s going on? Ah, it’s hot!”
“Your Highness!”
As Asha continued to cook the almonds coated with syrup and a little bit of butter, the sauce splattered a little. Startled, Asha quickly moved her hand, but suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground, and found herself in front of the sink. Lise, who had followed her in a rush, quickly turned on the cold water.
Asha held her hand, which had been slightly burnt by the caramel sauce, under the flowing water and looked up. The only person who would come all the way to the kitchen and embrace her without hesitation was Karnov.
“Karnov, you’re here?”
“I could hear Your Highness’s cry as soon as I arrived.”
“It wasn’t a cry, Karnov. It was just a little hot. I’m fine now, so put me down.”
Karnov didn’t pay attention to her words and carefully examined both of Asha’s hands.
“They’ve turned red.”
“When cold water touches them, of course they turn red.”
“You’re treating me like a fool.”
“I really am fine, so put me down quickly.”
“Let’s call the palace doctor first.”
At Karnov’s gesture, Lise rushed out with a worried expression. Asha was left helpless, unable to grab hold of what had just transpired.
“Oh no, really, I’m fine. And right now, you should quickly stir that.”
When Asha urged him, Karnov put down Asha with a sigh and held the spatula of the pot, which had been boiling until just now, in his hand.
“Stir it well.”
“I’m doing my best. What are you making this time?”
“Remember the sugary snack? The one we bought on the street when we went to the cake shop.”
“…Ah, that one.”
Asha looked at the almonds coated with smooth, brown caramel that Karnov was stirring and spoke.
“You didn’t really like that one, did you? It was too sweet. So this time, I wanted to make something a little different. Coated with chocolate.”
“…Hmm.”
“It’s almost done. We just need to spread it out and let it set. It’ll be ready soon.”
As Asha suggested cooling it down quickly, she looked up and blinked in surprise. Something soft and warm was gently rippling around Karnov.
“Karnov?”
“…I got it. Don’t rush me.”
“I’m not rushing…”
Karnov spread the almonds coated with caramel on the prepared countertop.
“We have to scatter them apart like this so they don’t stick to each other… Ah, it’s hot!”
“Asha!”
And when Asha once again heard Karnov’s voice and put her hand in the flowing water of the fountain, Lise and the healer arrived.
“What’s going on? What is this?” Dante, who had been working as a palace healer for three years, tried to hide his perplexed expression by bowing his head deeply.
Dante had seen Lise passing by in the palace before, but he had never seen any expression other than her faint smile. So when Lise rushed over with a pale face, urging him to hurry, he quickly followed.
“…It’s not a serious burn… I mean, not really… I’ll give you some ointment, just apply it and you’ll be fine soon.”
Even without applying anything, it would heal by tonight…
“Ugh. I told you I’m fine.”
“But still. Burns hurt a lot. You should have been careful from the beginning.”
“No, this is not a burn, not by any means.”
The girl and the maid argued back and forth. Dante tried his best to hide his bewildered face. He had heard rumors that Lise was chosen to be the maid for the royal family because of her exceptional skills, but…
“Is there anything serious?”
Dante held his breath, sensing a chill down his spine at Karnov’s voice.
He had heard rumors that the emperor had given a kitchen as a gift to the princess in the palace. They said the princess enjoyed playing in the kitchen. The rumors about the appearance of the kitchen were abundant, but no matter how it was decorated, the word “kitchen” never sounded elegant, so it quickly became quiet.
But the space he saw with his own eyes was completely different from what he had imagined.
