“When did you fall in love with Anne?”
Anastasia asked while sprinkling sugar. Fjord cleared his throat slightly. It was something he had never told anyone, and talking about it made him a bit nervous.
Fjord, stirring apple slices in a pan where the sugar had been caramelized, began his story with a slightly trembling voice.
“It was on my way home after working a little late… No, well, some gangsters blocked the road.”
“Oh, and Anne rescued you from that?”
“So while I was overpowered… Oh… Yes… Dame Marka who was passing by… saved me.”
Fjord desperately added detailed parts. Although Anne had helped him willingly, it seemed that neither of them paid much attention to his story.
“Well, if that’s the case, Anne might not even remember it.”
“Her sense of interest is not usually big. It wouldn’t be a rare occurrence.”
“That’s right. When I last saw her, she didn’t even look interested in why the food came from the kitchen.”
Fjord, who was following their conversation with his eyes, drooped his shoulders. Pavel subtly chuckled.
“Head Chef, what do you like about that violent girl?”
“Don’t, don’t say such things. She is a knight with the solemn duty of protecting the country and the royal family…”
“You never showed any interest in her, but honestly, I thought you’ve been keeping more distance from me recently.”
“L, love is noble. It’s an unfair act to seek the favor of that brother while not being the party involved!”
“…”
“…”
With both Asha and Pavel silent, Fjord’s face turned red.
<Have you never dated anyone?>
‘It’s a noble thing to love someone…’
Asha replied to Phoebe’s curious muttering words.
“N, no. I mean…”
“Anne is… quite charming.”
“Really?”
Pavel responded to Asha’s words, and Fjord focused on stir-frying apples with his head down.
Mixing flour with almond powder, sugar, and butter and adding a cracked egg, Fjord made crumbly crust and spread it on the bottom. He placed the apples with sugar and butter on top and baked it in the oven until the mixture became soft and transparent.
Blueberries, coated with starch, were then added, covered again with crumble, and baked in the oven. The result was a crispy crumble on the outside, making a satisfying sound when cut.
Asha decided not to eat the apple-blueberry crumble on the spot and divided it into three equal parts. One for Fjord, one for Pavel, and one for herself.
“Phew… I thought I was in big trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
Seeing Fjord greet first and leave, Asha muttered to herself, and Pavel grinned.
“I was worried how you would feel about your friend…”
“Oh, I was surprised… I was very surprised. Come to think of it, the head chef is still single.”
“I thought Pavel would hate Fjord after what I blurted out.”
“Me? Hate the chef?”
Rather, Pavel shook his hand with a more serious expression at the words.
“Oh, no, he’s… What can I do about him and my sister? If I’m worried, I’m worried about the other person. And besides, it’s not like Chef Fjord is the tall and sturdy type.”
<Right. If I had to pay every time a twig breaks, I’d be in debt.>
Asha fiddled with a button, signaling Phoebe to be quiet, and spoke quietly.
“He’s a bit delicate.”
“And aside from that, whatever it is… In various ways… Because he works hard, I think. Even if he thought about giving me the reins, I was surprised… It’s something… amazing, that he endured it for Anne. If she ever falls out of favor, I’ll have to compensate…”
Pavel scratched the scruff of his neck.
“It’s interesting because it’s similar to Anne…”
“Oh.”
“She lives and dies for honor, so it’s usually frustrating to watch. Even the position of the order’s deputy commander… Ah, never mind.”
Pavel, who had been muttering, continued speaking, but he was startled and lowered his hand when Asha suddenly spoke up. Anne had kept the position of the order’s commander vacant until Tarjei Nellin returned to duty.
While the firm determination of the deputy commander, who wanted to bring back the respected commander, was considered praiseworthy among the people, from a family perspective, it couldn’t be viewed only in that light. Asha smiled as if she understood everything.
“Grandfathers are so stubborn. They don’t retire, do they?”
“Um… Please don’t put me through a test…”
After exaggerating a bit, Pavel cradled the fruit crumble he made today, covering it with his hands and pointing to the kitchen.
“Are you going back to your room? Should I escort you?”
Asha, holding a basket in her hand, pointed to the garden with a nod.
“I’m going for a walk before going inside. Pavel is leaving work first. That’s what we decided.”
“In the past, you used to leave just ten minutes before I finished work…”
“Oh, dear! When was that?”
Pavel burst into laughter at the sound of Asha’s exclamation.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
After sending Pavel away, Asha stepped from the corridor toward the dark garden.
“Did you have fun in the kitchen? Princess Anastasia.”
Asha was not surprised by the sudden sound from behind the tree. She said she would take a walk in the garden because she heard from Shamal that Karnov was waiting outside the kitchen.
“What about Karnov? Did you manage to console the people well?”
Karnov, who appeared from behind the tree, was in splendid clothing, as if he had come straight this way from the banquet hall.
“…More or less.”
Karnov sighed briefly as he walked through the garden in line with Asha, holding the basket that Asha had handed him.
“I don’t understand why everyone is like this.”
On the day of the Empire’s Protection Day Festival, officers who had fought together in the north a few years ago would come, get drunk on a few glasses of wine, and tearfully look for Karnov. It was almost indistinguishable from the events attached to the festival.
“I think it’s because they feel sorry for and grateful to Karnov.”
“I don’t think that’s the case…”
Karnov murmured. Asha waved her fingers.
“If you’ve been on the battlefield, you might not understand, but you can feel it distinctly when you come to the palace. Karnov is still young. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. When I think about entrusting all the wars to Karnov, who was fifteen at the time…”
“Yes, I understand your words, Lady Asha, who is now a fourteen-year-old baby.”
“I won’t give you what I just made.”
“What did you make?”
“An apple and blueberry crumble bar!”
Karnov lifted the cloth covering the basket. A moment ago, Asha had stubbornly declared that she wouldn’t give him any of the crumble bars, but now she enthusiastically explained.
“It’s surprisingly easy, and you can make a lot at once. If it tastes good, I might send some to the knights.”
When Asha said she would send something to the knights, it usually meant she would feed it to Ivan. Karnov sighed lightly while accepting the basket.
“Well… It’s time to start preparing for the promotion exam. We should feed him more now.”
“Promotion exam? Ivan?”
Asha opened her eyes wide and looked back at Karnov. As soon as Karnov saw the expression, he regretted what he had said. If it was about Ivan, Asha was usually informed of everything.
Knowing Asha, who was like a mother duck wanting to see her duckling in the water when everything was settled, Karnov quickly gave up feeling regretful and explained it step by step.
“Yes. He’s about fifteen, so it’s time to stop being a squire.”
“Ivan is still an apprentice.”
“That’s because the Knight Order implicitly treats him as an apprentice.”
“So he has to take an exam? I had no idea…”
“I guess he didn’t tell you because he was afraid you’d be worried.”
“He told Karnov, didn’t he?!”
“I… somehow got to hear it.”
“Goodness. I fed, raised, and dressed Ivan, and yet, how can he talk to some outsider without a word to me?”
Karnov felt a strong urge to protest, but he decided to endure it. Asha fluttered about like a lost squirrel then asked again.
“What’s the exam about? How does he take it?”
“I don’t really know. It’s knight business.”
“Practical test, written test? What happens if he fails? Absolute evaluation? Relative evaluation?”
Asha seemed about to chew her fingertips; Karnov reached out and gently grabbed both of her hands.
“You can ask Sir Tarjei tomorrow.”
“He’s supposed to stay home tomorrow, unable to move. He got drunk, caused a ruckus and ended up being knocked over by General Yekaterina…”
“Oh, he did.”
“I’ll talk to Ivan slowly later. See if there’s anything he needs…”
Asha realized that there was nothing she could do right away and quickly calmed down.
As they walked side by side through the empty garden, the low night breeze brushed past, making a sound like pouring golden sand over grass and leaves. Karnov briefly thought it might be sand made from stars in the night sky.
“…Asha, it might be better to sit down for a while. You’ve been standing in the kitchen all this time.”
“Should I?”
Asha plopped down on a bench at the edge of the garden and extended her hand to Karnov. She pulled out a crumble bar from the basket Karnov was holding and offered half to him. The outer layer of the crumble was crispy, and underneath it, the thoroughly stewed apples and blueberries were pleasantly sweet and tangy.
“I didn’t add cinnamon on purpose. Is it better to add it?”
As Asha agonized, Karnov took another bite and said.
“If you swear not to hate me, depending on my answer, I will answer.”
“…I guess it’s better to add cinnamon…”
“It’s not that it’s better, but that there will be more people who like it…”
“…”
“…Let’s go back to your room. The night breeze is cold. I’ll take you there.”
“I feel hot. It’s like steam is rising from my head.”
“…”
“…”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“Karnov, don’t tell me you’ve been running since this morning because you thought I was sulking about last night?”
“I didn’t think you were sulking.”
As an unexpected morning tea time began, yesterday’s crumble bars made by Asha were served along with tea. While Karnov denied that he thought Asha was upset, he carefully observed her complexion.
“If not, then?”
“I thought you might have some lingering bad feelings.”
“I wasn’t upset yesterday! You know that.”
“Just in case.”
“That’s why you brought so many lisianthuses?”
“It just blooms a lot at home.”
Asha’s lips twitched. She had known Karnov for years, and there was no reason for him to have such unreasonable misunderstandings.
Yet, there was a subtle amethyst tint in the air around him. Asha, who continued to ponder why Karnov might be worried, realized what he was thinking by the peculiar look in his eyes.
“I didn’t catch a cold!”
“Hmm. It was chilly last night, and you walked a long way.”
“I said I felt warm because of you, Karnov!”
Asha’s expression hinted at a scream of ‘Aah!’ Karnov, still deep in thought, noticed that there was something he misunderstood. A servant urgently entered from outside and whispered to Lise. Lise turned to Asha with a surprised expression.
“Your Highness, Lyudmila Shchedrin is here…”
“What? Lady Lyudmila is coming today? Did I forget?”
“No, she didn’t say anything. Lady Lyudmila said, ‘I’m sorry to visit without an appointment, but if you’re busy, I’ll wait until you have time…’ What should we do?”
Asha fidgeted for a moment, then pulled Karnov up, handed him a teacup and a coaster, looked around, and lifted the curtains toward the terrace.
“Karnov, here! Come this way. Be quiet. Okay?”
“No, what…”
“Lady Lyudmila might be disappointed if she sees Karnov here! Quietly stay here, okay?”
“It doesn’t matter now…”
“You have to be quiet, okay?”
Then Karnov was pulled and pushed toward the thick curtain on the terrace, and he looked back at Lise. She nodded with a hint of urgency.
“Tell her to come in.”
