The Villainess Princess Wants To Live In A Gingerbread House ​

But at the moment Asha was about to say something, there was a light disturbance from the outside. Karnov arrived late.

Karnov, as usual, drew everyone’s attention at once, blinked once, greeted them with a nod, and sat next to Asha.

Dimitri, who had been sitting across from and engaged in a stare-down with Asha over the cream puffs, glanced at Karnov briefly but didn’t say anything. And at that moment, Asha sighed as she watched the stream of light stretching out of Lyudmila and speeding in a straight line toward Karnov.

It seemed Lyudmila had come all the way here to meet Karnov. Lyudmila’s eyes flashed as if she had only aimed for this moment. It was like a salesperson’s eyes looking at a customer.

‘That was the look Olga had when she came to Pavel with the contract.’

“Nice to meet you, Deputy Commander Karnov Neustadter. I’m Lyudmila Shchedrin. Not long ago, I came down from Linum Yushita.”

“Oh… Nice to meet you.”

Lyudmila’s greeting sounded as smooth as a song. It was astounding that she could speak so flawlessly without any practice, and even more astonishing that her response seemed so natural, even if she had practiced.

And Karnov’s answer, which was curt, was also surprising. But Lyudmila was undaunted.

“On my way to the capital, I sent you some fabrics my family made, but I don’t know if you liked them.”

“Thanks to you, I’ve made good use of it. I appreciate it.”

Karnov’s short answer seems to declare that he no longer had the intention to talk. Eventually, Asha swallowed a sigh and tapped Karnov on the waist.

“You should give a better response.”

“I did fine.”

“No, not like that. After all, she’s a new guest…”

Because Asha was mumbling like that, Karnov’s attention turned completely toward her.

“What’s wrong? Why do you have that expression on your face?”

“No, I’m not the problem. About Lyudmila… We have something to talk about later, but…”

“What is it?”

Karnov’s obvious lack of interest in that direction made Asha come to a decision.

“Ha… Ha ha. You should say hello to this side, Lord Karnov. Over there… Where is he… That… That’s Raki Bolli, the son of Viscount Ceilistria. Lord Raki, this is Lord Karnov Neustadter.”

Karnov shook his head at Asha’s introduction. At that half-hearted attitude, Asha hit Karnov in the waist with her elbow.

“Karnov!”

‘I think my ribs are broken.’

“Oh… Haha. The first time I met Lord Karnov was a few years ago.”

Raki said with a rather nervous smile.

“Huh? Have you met each other?”

“Yes, Lord Karnov came here to talk about Mura Aylau’s painting. Back then…”

Raki explained quietly.

“Oh, you two were friends.”

“What? Oh, no… Oh…”

Raki alternately looked at Asha and Karnov with a bewildered look as Asha clapped her hands. Karnov only glanced toward Asha, but without mentioning her words, he brought up something else.

“Your Highness, Is this the snack you made today?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. They are filled with a light cream. I tried to make them have a cloud-like feeling…”

“Why didn’t you offer them to me since I came late?”

Asha glanced at Karnov. He was always respectful to others in public, but today, it seemed even more pronounced.

“Please have some. Lord Karnov, have them all. Ah! Not all of them. Lady Lyudmila should have some too. And Lord Raki as well.”

“What about me?”

Natalya asked with a slight whine. Asha turned her head away from Karnov, smiled brightly, and placed a cream puff in front of Natalya.

“Natasha, eat a lot, too!”

Karnov, who was watching the scene quietly, opened his mouth.

“Lady Natalya, what kind of manners are those toward Her Highness?”

“But I didn’t actively demand what she offered.”

“In terms of passive-aggression, ‘What about me?’ was even more demanding.”

“Ah, seriously, what are you all doing?”

Dimitri spoke in a voice of wonder at the quarrel between the two, but neither Natalya nor Karnov blinked an eye. Ilya, who was watching the scene quietly, said with a shy smile.

“Well then, after we finish the cream puffs, shall we play Kerum?”

“No!”

“…”

“Oh my goodness, what a fuss.”

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

The Kerum game was canceled because of Dimitri’s fierce opposition. He had demanded that Princess Anastasia should sit out the game, and it ended up being forgotten.

“…I guess Princess Anastasia isn’t used to playing Kerum.”

Lyudmila lifted her tea cup and briefly glanced at the large tree in the distance, away from the table where the tea party was being held.

The trees in Marchioness Tataricha’s garden were all tall and lush, and among them, the tree where Princess Anastasia and Karnov were standing was particularly noticeable. A while ago, Anastasia’s handkerchief was blown away by the wind, and Karnov had followed her to pick it up.

‘He’s supposed to be a cold person according to the rumors, but I guess he’s not.’

Seeing that he was someone who wanted to help pick up a handkerchief, he might have refused her request to meet him because he was embarrassed.

Prince Ilya smiled somewhat shyly at Lyudmila’s words. But he didn’t answer. Finally, Dimitri, who could not endure the silence, opened his mouth with a grim look on his face.

“…Regardless of whether she’s used to it or not, it would be better if she didn’t hold the cue stick.”

“Oh my.”

Kerum was the basic knowledge of nobles, but were Princess Anastasia’s skills that poor?

‘She should have practiced Kerum during her kitchen visits.’

Lyudmila tipped the teacup thinking so. Karnov snatched a handkerchief caught between the branches and held it out to Anastasia’s hands. Princess Anastasia, holding the handkerchief in her hand, lowered her eyes and seemed to say something in a small voice.

Karnov lowered his head as if looking at a distant place and listened to her words. The conversation between the two was hardly audible due to the sound of the wind passing through the thick leaves, creating an illusion of a large wave.

The strong wind caused Princess Anastasia’s hair to flutter, and leaves from somewhere stuck to her head. While the princess was tidying up her hair, Karnov removed the leaves attached to the princess’s hair.

“…I heard that Lord Karnov only attends Lady Natalya’s tea party, you two must be close.”

Lyudmila threw in the question to observe Karnov’s reaction. Although Karnov seemed close to Anastasia – after all, he followed her to pick up the handkerchief – there might be nothing they could do due to their respective positions. A duke couldn’t interfere with a princess.

While pondering that, Lyudmila saw Natalya’s expression as if she had swallowed a rotten egg and let out a soft cough. Dimitri, who overheard their conversation, also had a strained expression. Lyudmila quickly changed the direction of the conversation.

“Ah… Or maybe Princess Anastasia and Karnov are… quite close?”

Natalya frowned at the story. Dimitri looked similar.

“Well… it’s not that they’re not close.”

“Maybe he’s just keeping an eye on Asha. Whenever she goes out, he’s always with her.”

Natalya nodded in agreement with Dimitri’s grumbling, expressing some disapproval. Dimitri continued with great force.

“Since they were together when she fell into the water. Well, having said that, what kind of friend would I be to let her fall into the water while I watch?”

“I would handle it better if I were the one there.”

Natalya muttered in discontent. Lyudmila alternately looked at Natalya and Karnov in the distance. In the meantime, Natalya crossed her arms and looked at Lyudmila.

“But why suddenly… Why are you interested in Princess Anastasia?”

“Yes? I’m not interested in Princess Anastasia…”

Lyudmila thought she had certainly brought up the topic of Karnov, but she had no idea why it was seen as an interest in Princess Anastasia.

“Did you even have a change of heart after eating Her Highness’s pastries?”

Natalya interrupted abruptly. It was as if Lyudmila’s inner voice was clearly visible.

“A change of heart?”

What do you mean, a change of heart? Of course, the snacks that Princess Anastasia had made had a wonderful taste, enough for a criminal to change his mind, run to the police, and turn himself in…

“Oh, my. At first, you were being disingenuous.”

Dimitri also crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue, trying to appear mature. It seemed like they were expressing that they had seen people like her more than once. With a voice that said this was the only time she would tolerate it, Natalya spoke.

“Why don’t you ask Her Highness to have snacks together? Tell her you want to go play at tea time. I’m sure she’ll forgive you. She’s such a kind person.”

“W, what do you mean forgiveness? When did I make a mistake? You’re saying funny things.”

Lyudmila tried to suppress her confusion and stared sharply at Natalya. What did she do wrong to ask for forgiveness from the princess? Was it such a big mistake to make a slightly exaggerated expression while eating the pastry for the first time?

And on top of that, the solution to this was to ask the princess to have tea time together.

‘What’s this? Are you trying to make fun of me? Is that it?’

If that’s the case, getting angry together would only make it ridiculous. In such situations, anger should be let go and laws and etiquette should be followed. Lyudmila calmed her heart.

“And you’re saying such unbelievable things. I met the princess for the first time today. As a noble, there are manners and norms that I must follow. How could I ask her to have tea time together at our first meeting…”

Even before Lyudmila was finished, Natalya suddenly stood up and shouted, making a trumpet with her hands.

“Asha! Asha~! Princess! Lyudmila says the snacks are delicious! She wants to have tea time again!”

“Lady Natalya, have you gone mad?! No, have you lost your mind?”

Lyudmila was so embarrassed that she jumped up to stop Natalya somehow, but her actions only caused the tea to spill and did not stop anything. Dimitri and Ilya quickly lifted the plates of pastries and protected them from the tea. And from a distance, they heard a shout that made Lyudmila even more bewildered.

“Good! The roses will bloom soon~!”

It was Princess Anastasia, just like Natalya, making a trumpet with her hands. She suggested meeting in the rose garden of the palace. Lyudmila’s expression turned pale, facing an era of lost etiquette and laws.

But soon after, seeing Karnov and Princess Anastasia move in their direction, Lyudmila regained her composure.

‘Well…yes, this is an opportunity.’

Since Karnov frequently visited Princess Anastasia, being by her side would give Lyudmila the chance to engage in conversation with him as well. This incident was just Natalya’s mistake, so her rudeness shouldn’t be attributed to Lyudmila.

Lyudmila clenched her fist secretly. Even if everyone made fun of her, she was determined to overcome it all.