The Villainess Princess Wants To Live In A Gingerbread House ​

While Asha was suppressing her sobs and wondering what to do about this, Natalya appeared from afar. The wind brushed Natalya’s short brown hair as she jumped out of the saddle of the horse she was riding. As usual, Natalya, wearing tight-fitting pants, approached with long strides.

“Ah…! I greet Princess Anastasia.”

About to call her Asha, Natalya quickly corrected herself and kissed Asha’s hand. Asha chuckled and embraced Natalya, then released her.

“You’re here? Was the journey okay?”

“It was fine.”

“The wind wasn’t too chilly?”

“It was fine.”

As they walked toward the kitchen, Asha sensed that something was off. At first, when she called her “Princess Anastasia,” it seemed to be Natalya’s own desire, not conscious of others’ eyes. Asha noticed that Natalya’s lips were tightly sealed, and there was an awkward atmosphere. Something heavy and blue seemed to drop from Natalya’s shoulders, creating an air of tension.

‘Did I get too caught up with Lyudmila and make her upset?’

<She seems a bit different…>

Phoebe chirped softly. Until they reached the tea table in the kitchen, where a kettle and yesterday’s baked cookies were placed, Natalya remained silent.

In the awkward atmosphere, just as Asha was about to get up to fetch more snacks, Natalya abruptly grabbed Asha’s hand.

“Asha.”

Asha sat back down, but Natalya didn’t let go. Asha blinked and tilted her head.

“Natalya?”

“…I’ve thought about it.”

“What were you thinking about?”

The girl, who had never compromised her thoughts and ways of doing things, carefully chose her words, causing Asha to become equally cautious.

“I’ll confess honestly.”

“Uh, okay.”

Asha swallowed her saliva nervously.

“I think I’ve been somewhat ignoring Lady Lyudmila.”

“Huh?”

Natalya looked rather humiliated. Asha was stunned.

“W, what are you talking about? Natalya, you’ve never done that. You’ve always treated Lady Lyudmila so well.”

“I will be honest. I believed that Lady Lyudmila would never become closer to you than you are with me.”

“What? Natalya, that’s not true. I would never…”

Asha tried to say that she was closer to Natalya, but looking into her green eyes, she felt like she might erupt in anger.

“But upon reflection, I realized that I’ve always done only what I wanted.”

“Natalya? Really? I’ve always liked that about you…”

“However, I never thought that Lady Lyudmila would put in such passionate efforts.”

“She has a goal…”

“I should have worked on my friendship with Asha, but I was complacent. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

Natalya bit her lip and looked like she was about to shed tears. Asha couldn’t even say, ‘That person’s goal is not friendship,’ and just opened and closed her lips repeatedly.

“Oh, no. You did make an effort. You played with me and even brought that Senet Mehen game.”

Senet Mehen was a board game deeply rooted in the empire’s history, where players rolled dice to capture more territories on the continent to win.

Natalya, who hates sitting still to death, brought the game because Asha preferred to spend time in a cozy space rather than running outside.

“But that was also my favorite thing to do sitting down.”

“I like it too! We had fun together, right?”

“Asha loves baking snacks the most.”

“That’s…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say otherwise. Natalya said with a firm expression, while Asha was almost chewing her tongue.

“If I say I want to bake snacks with Asha now, am I too shameless?”

“No, it’s not…”

“Even if it is, please forgive me just this once. I’ll be better from now on.”

“No, Natalya!”

“Are you mad? You don’t call me by my nickname anymore…”

“Natasha! Natasha. I never thought of that. I would have told you first if I wanted to do it. Would you like to bake some snacks together?”

“…”

“So Natasha, do you want to bake snacks with me today?”

Only then did Natalya break into a big smile.

━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━

White sugar poured into a golden yolk. While Natalya vigorously whisked to make a smooth mixture, Asha started boiling Earl Grey tea leaves in a small pot with cream.

“Natasha, Lady Lyudmila coming is not to be friendly with me.”

“Really?”

Natalya, who was rolling up her shirt sleeves and mixing sugar and eggs with a new whisk, frowned. The tall Natalya looked great in an apron, too. Asha continued by reaching out and tucking Natalya’s flowing brown hair behind her ears.

“I want to talk to Lord Karnov about business, but he finds it bothersome. So…”

Natalya poured a scoop of flour into the egg mixture and raised her head abruptly.

“No, that’s not it. Even when she first saw you, her expression when looking at Asha wasn’t ordinary. It changed right after eating the choux pastry, didn’t it? I’ve eaten Asha’s cookies for a long time, so I know it well.”

“That…”

Was that so?

Asha tilted her head. At first, the look in her eyes was like that of an student who got second place aiming for the place of the number one of the academy, but these days, her eyes had turned into a look that said she didn’t think being second-ranked was such a bad thing. The atmosphere around Lyudmila had also become much more subdued.

Asha recalled Lyudmila’s face as she carefully mixed the rich brown Earl Grey-infused cream with Natalya’s egg mixture. Once cooled down, this concoction would transform into a fragrant Earl Grey custard cream.

The kneaded tart crust was spread out in a tart pan and baked in the oven first. After reaching a light beige color, Asha generously spread fig jam, where melted sweetness seeped into every fig.

Following this, she filled the tart shell with a cream made from butter, sugar, eggs, and finally almond flour. The whole creation was then baked in the oven. With this, the basic preparation was complete.

Asha pulled Natalya’s hand when she saw that the hot steaming tart and almond cream were well cooked.

“Your Highness? Where are you going?”

“To pick figs. I’ve set aside a tree with the most delicious fruit that I only give to my grandfather. Let’s secretly pick some.”

Natalya nodded with a serious look at Asha’s whisper. As they crossed the gardens of Taimir Palace, a small fig orchard, meticulously tended by the palace gardeners for a few years now, came into view.

While Asha scanned her surroundings, Natalya extended both hands, cupping them to help Asha reach the figs. Asha went first, and then Natalya held Asha’s hand, effortlessly leaping over.

“It’s this way.”

The leaves of the fig tree were exceptionally large, casting a quick shade as they entered the garden. Among the still-ripening bright yellow fruits, a few already ripe purple figs were visible.

Asha swiftly used the pruning shears she brought to pick the fruits and placed them into the basket Natalya was holding. Just like when they entered, they quickly exited. Both of them took a deep breath when they returned to the kitchen.

“What happens if we get caught?”

“Actually, even if I get caught, my grandfather won’t say anything. I’ve been entrusted with a really difficult task for this year’s Empire’s Protection Day banquet.”

“Difficult task?”

“Sitting next to Grandfather throughout the entire banquet, greeting nobles and officials who come to pay their respects… It’s not easy.”

Asha’s statement made Natalya wear a pained expression. Asha, with an expression of resignation, gently mixed whipped cream and Earl Grey custard cream, filling the piping bag as she asked,

“Are you going to the banquet too, Natalya?”

“Yeah. Should I rescue you?”

At Natalya’s words, Asha, holding the piping bag filled with cream, pondered with a conflicted expression before eventually nodding.

“It won’t work. Grandfather might feel too lonely. Natalya, you should enjoy the banquet on my behalf too.”

Natalya looked puzzled but nodded with a determined expression. In the meantime, Asha poured the Earl Grey cream generously onto the tart, while Natalya placed the cut figs on top. The top was a vibrant purple, and the inside was filled with tightly packed ruby-like seeds.

“It’s complete!”

“…!”

Natalya’s face, which created something in the kitchen for the first time in her life, also had a bright expression. Asha put the finished tart on the countertop and looked into the tart alongside Natalya, blurting out.

“Natasha, do you know the name of this tart?”

“Isn’t it fig tart?”

“No, it’s a very special tart. It’s made with fig jam under the almond cream and Earl Grey cream over it. Of course it has a special name.”

Natalya tilted her head. Asha frowned in one eye.

“What it is is, this is, Tarte-Shasha!”

“Uh… Uh… Uh…”

“I mean, since I’m Asha and you’re Natasha, I thought of naming the tart we made together ‘Tarte-Shasha.’ How about it?”

At first, Natalya, who just opened her eyes wide, smiled brightly and lifted Asha and spun around several times.

“Natasha! You practice this only at home!”

“I can do it well even without practice.”

“Well, you do it every time we meet, so it’s natural!”

“When we were ten, Asha brought Tarte-Shasha. It’s a tart made by the Shasha sisters.”

Asha looked up at Natalya, who only said what she wanted to say, and put her forehead down.

“I’m dizzy right now… N, Natasha, do you remember that?”

“Because I remember all the snacks that Asha brought.”

Natalya spoke confidently. Asha looked at Natalya with moved eyes and smiled.

“I thought about that tart too. Since you and I are practically like sisters, I’ve been thinking about naming it like this in my heart.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Natalya tried to lift Asha again, but Asha quickly escaped across the kitchen. However, before she could make it halfway across the kitchen, Natalya caught up with her. Asha urgently escaped to the kitchen, but Natalya tried to lift her again.

Asha quickly stated, “No spinning around. Just lift me up.”

Natalya seemed ready to protest but ultimately nodded.

As strands of Asha’s hair and the edges of her apron fluttered in the wind, the laughter of Natalya echoed through the kitchen.