The Imperial Palace, which avoided luxury unless it was an important event, was rarely revitalized. They decided to hold a big birthday party for Princess Anastasia, who would turn seventeen this year.
Invitations were sent even to distant southern countries, and all the early summer flowers, fruits, candles, and fine wines available within the capital were already sold out. Anne finished her last stretch and stepped outside the military training hall, patting her shoulders.
“Oh, my God, I’m dying. My body aches as I get older. What about the commander?”
“Thinking about something inside.”
Bethelnic, who just came out of the shower, responded by shaking his head with a towel.
“I heard that the Kingdom of Kirelete decided to send royals for this birthday celebration. That’s why he’s probably busy checking the security schedule.”
Anne’s wandering eyes fixed on one spot. Under the large shade of a tree at the edge of the military training hall hall, a boy and a girl stood side by side.
The boy had his back turned, so his expression was not clear, but the girl, holding a clearly defined fan, swayed it gently as the boy’s hand touched hers softly, soon taking the fan and playfully flicking it.
“The princess has also arrived.”
“Just a moment ago. It seems like she’s here to see Ivan. The commander hasn’t noticed yet.”
Anne burst into laughter. The girl, who had seemed small enough to be lifted up when she first arrived, had grown taller over time, her limbs lengthening, and her once-slender fingers now more substantial.
But what hadn’t changed was the way she looked at others. Her consistently gentle, emerald eyes only deepened in color.
“She didn’t feel like she was just ten years old when she first came to the palace.”
“Her Highness?”
“Yeah.”
The innocent tone, playful expression, and laughter were undoubtedly convincing to everyone. That girl had never acted like a child, not when she was ten, not when she was fourteen, and certainly not now as she approached her seventeenth birthday. Bethelnic shook his head, throwing the towel he had been using to dry his hair over his shoulder.
“Well, otherwise, do you think the palace would be buzzing like this just because a cute little kid showed up?”
The girl, who was fanning vigorously, whispered to Ivan, who was nearly a hand span taller than her. Ivan tilted his body slightly, a small smile forming. Since joining the knights seven years ago, Ivan had regained many expressions, but it was only the girl who could make him smile.
Bethelnic pondered what he had said. Just because a little kid showed up, and the palace…
“Has Her Highness still not chosen her escort?”
“She hasn’t.”
“She’s waiting for Ivan to become a knight, isn’t she?”
Ivan joined the knights seven years ago. During that long period, the girl never assigned a single guard to herself. Surely, there were matters of dignity to consider, but the girl never blinked an eye.
“What other reason could there be?”
For seven years, a position intended for a slave who had received it at the age of ten…
“Could Her Highness have turned back time?”
Trust and waiting for someone other than oneself is harsh. It’s not something that can be gained unexpectedly, like smooth skin or beautiful hair color. It was a difficult task to uproot the persistent weeds of mistrust and constantly replenish the patience that naturally wanes.
“Then, how old was Her Highness when she first came to the palace?”
“I think she was about forty years old on the inside, or something like that.”
“Is that possible? But what did she use to turn back time?”
“Using a hidden treasure unknown to anyone in the royal family…”
“Did you see anything interesting yesterday?”
At Anne’s question, Bethelnic chuckled and began recounting the story of a novel he had read yesterday. Meanwhile, the girl, with the fan tucked into her waist, leaned toward the boy and handed him something she had set aside. She then gracefully waved her hand toward the two standing at a distance.
Bethelnic and Anne nodded politely, then waved gently toward Asha, who was still waving her hand. Only then did the girl turn on her butterfly-like feet and walk away.
What Ivan brought was shasling honey preserves that the girl made. It was prepared by putting lemon slices together that were trimmed to leave only lemon segments in shaslings and put honey and sugar on top of it to sleep all night long.
“She made it to help replenish energy. She said we should all eat together…”
At that moment, the office door swung open.
“What? What are you all eating together? Did Her Highness leave? What did she give you?”
It was Tarjei Nellin who ran out. His face was smeared with ink, with black stains even on his face as if he had wiped his mouth with his ink-stained hand.
“Sir… What happened to your face?”
“No, you should have called for me!”
“Her Highness only stopped by to see Ivan briefly. She’s busy. She’s been busy preparing for the birthday celebration.”
“Come here! I’m going to eat this!”
“Oh, come on, calm down. Ivan, give it to the commander. You can tell the princess after giving it to him. The commander ate it all, so we couldn’t eat anything.”
Tarjei Nellin opened his mouth with an expression of resentment and injustice, and with a tearful expression, handed the jar of shasling honey preserves back to Ivan. The sound of the knights bursting into laughter was scattered across the training hall.
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Fjord Buicker thought he had enlightenment in many areas these days, but he was realizing that reality cannot be easily overcome only by idle enlightenment. Everyone in the kitchen was surrounded with a serious expression.
‘What should I do with dessert for the birthday party of the princess?’
He was confident about cooking. Still, he had been the emperor’s chef for a long time. At least in the palace, he was the best. But…
When everyone was speechless, Pavel raised his hand.
“Get participation awards…?”
“Participation awards?”
“You can’t make snacks better than the princess. Just work hard, that’s all. Her Highness isn’t a demanding person. She appreciates the effort.”
Fjord frowned at Pavel’s words standing next to him. But he couldn’t give in so easily.
“Let’s invite outsiders.”
“Outsiders?”
Pavel’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer. Fjord continued, thinking his mouth was dry.
“The Kingdom of Kirelete is sending congratulatory envoys for the birthday celebration. We can’t afford to look incompetent. Besides, I was thinking we could use some more manpower.”
“Who do you plan to invite from outside?”
“Let’s invite the head pastry chef from Cafe Grindel. It would be an honor for him to handle the desserts for such a grand banquet.”
“Oh, him…”
The people in the kitchen murmured among themselves. It was understandable since Cafe Grindel was currently the most famous and popular dessert shop in the city, and it was well-known that Fedin Buicker was Fjord Buicker’s nephew.
“I know what you think, but I’m not calling him because he’s my nephew. I didn’t really want to call him, but…”
Such a humming Fjord’s voice was filled with sincerity.
“There’s no one else in the city who is as skilled in making desserts as that kid. If you have any other recommendations, feel free to speak up.”
The people in the kitchen glanced at each other, shaking their heads. While they didn’t think a mere pastry chef running a renowned patisserie in the city had the qualification to be invited to the palace banquet, it was also true that, as Fjord said, no other alternative could come to mind.
Moreover, Fjord’s words about not wanting to call his nephew sounded sincere, but it was hard to believe them outright. No one in the kitchen dared to challenge the head chef’s decision. Fjord realized only now how uncomfortable the atmosphere was among the subordinates, who were trying to gauge his mood.
‘Indeed… I really didn’t want to call him…’
But now that Fedin was the most acknowledged talent in the city for desserts, there was no other choice. Fjord started discussing other dishes to be served at the birthday banquet after dealing with the dessert matter like that.
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“Karnov, did everything go well with the task?”
Asha, dipping her hands into the warm water, felt her face flush, perhaps from the heat. Standing beside her, Lise swallowed a sigh as she fanned Asha gently. Asha was about to snatch the fan away to fan herself when she noticed Karnov’s gaze and withdrew her hand.
Finally, Karnov removed his coat and sat across from them before replying.
“More or less.”
“What happened?”
“There was a major raid at the grain warehouse.”
Asha, who had been busily writing hundreds of handwritten invitations over the past few days, stood up in alarm, causing water to splash everywhere.
“Asha? What’s wrong?”
“It’s a big deal! Are you okay? Was anyone hurt? Did they catch the culprit?”
“They caught him. The warehouse has been repaired, and no one was hurt.”
“But what about the stolen goods? Did you recover them? Replenish them?”
“Everything has been resolved. Don’t worry unnecessarily, Your Highness. Who writes a handwritten invitation until their hands are sore?”
<That’s what I’m saying. This stupid peach. A squashed peach like this is just perfect for mold.>
Phoebe, who was nodding by the window, flew in. Karnov nodded with a look of agreement a hundred times. Sitting down by the window, Asha dipped her hands into the basin and pursed her lips.
“There was nothing else I could do.”
“What couldn’t you do?”
“For guests coming from afar, I felt like I had to write invitations by hand… And then I wanted to write them by hand for my close friends too…”
“And so?”
“And so, after a few days of hard work…”
“It ended up like this?”
“I’m really angry. I’m really going to hit someone.”
“Yes, yes. Please hit me, Your Highness.”
But even hitting someone with force was beyond her strength.
“It’s awkward because I only studied Kirelettean from books. Their prince won’t make fun of me, will he?”
“He must not have nine lives, right? And besides, he’s coming to celebrate your birthday, so he should speak the empire’s language.”
“But if you want to do business, you should know each other’s languages.”
“What else are you trying to sell?”
“Lyudmila’s fabric. It’s very cool, so wouldn’t it sell well in the south? Why not ask if they need it?”
Karnov clicked his tongue at Asha’s words.
“Mother bird, let Lady Lyudmila handle it herself. Are you going to do everything from start to finish?”
“It’s not like that, but…”
“When Lady Natalya was publishing the book, you made such a fuss next to her that you fell sick.”
“Making a fuss, I was only trying to help…”
Karnov and Asha exchanged banter and playful gestures, occasionally bursting into laughter or playfully teasing each other. In the midst of it all, the setting sun poured in through the window, casting a warm glow on their cheeks.
