“Ah, I hate it.”
“This spineless brat, really…”
“If you don’t have anything to say, you’re rude, uncouth, and spineless, right?”
“…”
Fjord wiped his face.
“This is why I didn’t want to call you!”
He had been asked to come to the palace, but what he got was an unexpected rejection. Surprised, Fjord went to Cafe Grindel, but the store was closed, and it seemed like there was some significant construction going on, making it noisy.
There he managed to find his nephew, Fedin, but that was what Fedin said as soon as he saw his face.
“I’m busy, so go away, Uncle. You rarely come, and now you come at a time like this.”
“Why are you so busy watching construction, you brat? And why won’t you bother coming to the palace when you’re not even running the store?”
“I don’t have time for that kind of thing.”
“What do you mean! Do you even know how honorable this is?”
“Preparing bone-breakingly hard for somebody else’s birthday party isn’t something to be proud of. Living like Uncle.”
Fjord’s mouth shook.
“What’s the big deal about selling desserts to commoners who don’t even know what ingredients you use to bake desserts!”
“Oh my, the important people probably know about it, and everybody who knows will know.”
Fjord couldn’t hide his bubbling expression and glanced at his nephew. Fedin looked at Fjord without hiding his annoyed expression.
“And Uncle, even if you’re worse than me, you can make it to a level where people can eat it. It’s enough if Uncle makes it moderately, why bother me?”
“Well… from another… another country… guests are coming.”
Fjord slurred his words. He couldn’t bear to say that the main character of the party was so good at making snacks that he felt burdened.
“Aha. After all, you admit that I’m the best at making snacks in the empire, right?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, you’re the second best at making snacks. I’m calling you because I don’t have enough hands!”
At that moment, Pavel, who had been watching the shop from outside, discreetly leaned in. It was a look asking if the conversation was over. Fjord, who was not immune to Fedin’s cold demeanor, quickly gestured and called Pavel in. When Fedin saw a third party enter the room, he put his hand on his waist and sighed.
“I’m really grateful for your advice, but I don’t have time for that. I’m looking for someone these days…”
Pavel opened his eyes wide at Fedin’s words. So did Fjord.
“What, was it like that? It’s not a big deal to find someone. Who are you looking for?”
Fedin also looked at the two with a slightly surprised look as if he had found an unexpected exit, and then swept the back of his neck.
“Oh, can you find them? I know the name. Their description. Although the name seemed to be a pseudonym…”
“If you agree to work with me this time, I’ll find them for you. Despite appearances, I’m the head chef of the Royal Palace. I should have some influence.”
Fedin, who briefly looked at the two chefs, swept his hair roughly. The kitchen renovation was causing him distress. It wouldn’t hurt to try something else to ventilate the mind.
“Damn, all right, I got it. I’ll do it if that’s what it takes.”
Fjord promptly drew up the contract. The contract contained strict secrecy provisions and prohibition of bringing in weapons – even though it didn’t make much sense in a kitchen where knives were used – and other provisions.
While Fedin sat by a suitable window and scoured the contract, a brief sigh of relief swept his head away with a more relaxed expression.
“So who are you looking for?”
“It seems to be someone from Baroness Saratov’s side… I thought it might be a niece or relative, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“Baroness Saratov?”
When a well-known name came out, Pavel blinked. Fedin continued to speak while poking his nose into the contract, reading line by line.
“So I asked around the baroness’s side, but couldn’t reach anyone or get any response. Perhaps they thought it was an investment proposal… But that’s not it.”
As Fedin rolled the pen, his last words were muttered to himself.
“Who I’m looking for is a girl.”
“A girl…?”
Fjord swallowed his dry saliva in a hunch that was hard to explain in words.
“Fifteen or sixteen? She looks like that. She’s a little short. Her hair is pink. It’s creamy and pale pink? Her eyes are green.”
“…Aren’t they light green?”
Pavel asked.
“Oh! You are right. Light green, to be precise. She looked like a noble lady. I heard she makes snacks at home as a hobby…”
“…Snacks… As a hobby…”
“I haven’t seen her baking skills, so I don’t know, but her taste seems extraordinary. So, there are some things I want to ask her, and that’s why I’m looking for her. Her name is… Asha? But they’re consistently saying they don’t know on that end, so I couldn’t find her at all… Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Pavel’s mouth, which was about to make a surprised sound, was blocked by Fjord. Before Fedin, who had signed, raised his head, Fjord, who covered Pavel’s mouth and sent him behind his back, shook his head in a hurry.
“Ah… Asha Byshovets. All right, good, good, keugh, keuk, keum!”
Fjord, who had been clapping approvingly, coughed abruptly. Fedin, who had been looking at Fjord with disdain, patted his uncle’s back. Fjord, who had just regained his composure, coughed awkwardly.
“But where did you… where did you meet that… girl?”
“She came to the shop not long ago. Came to eat cake… something like that. It would be good if we found her before the New Year’s celebration ended. With her palate, she could be helpful anywhere. Her tasting skills were very sharp.”
“That…”
“Of course, I’m not going to do my job sloppily just because you find her quickly.”
“Oh, that’s… I trust you, I believe you…”
“If it doesn’t work out, it can’t be helped.”
Fedin only shrugged as if he believed Fjord’s awkward attitude was due to minor discord and some distrust he had built up.
Fjord, who had been briefly annoyed, suppressed his emotions, picked up the contract, and looked around. The room was filled with pastry-related books and notes.
“Well, all right then. I’ll start coming to the palace from tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
Pavel turned his head towards Fjord after leaving the building.
“That’s who the pastry chef is talking about. Isn’t that the princess? Asha Byshovets, a five-year-old sparrow who lives in the palace should know…”
“Sparrows have a lifespan of three years. It’s already gone to the afterlife and can’t even chirp anymore.”
Pavel thought for a moment, ‘Is it really three years?’ and then shook his head. In the meantime, Fjord answered in a voice of anticipation for some reason.
“And what are you going to do by telling him now? He’s planning a party for the person he’s looking for? Anyway, let’s finish up the big deal and then talk. After I ask His Highness the Crown Prince first. Ahem. Ahem. Let’s hurry back to the palace. I’ve come all the way here to persuade him, so I’m behind on my work!”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The thinnest silk colored with blue was layered at the bottom to create a voluminous skirt, and the upper body was wrapped with cream-colored silk, gathered with smocked pleats.
“I’m thinking of wrapping the waist with a wide blue silk ribbon and making it into a big bow, and what do you think about making it sleeveless?”
“Sleeveless would be refreshing!”
“But if the sun shines, it might actually feel hotter without sleeves… So, how about making a cardigan with thin lace dyed in the same color as the top? It wouldn’t be too hot and would look beautiful. With pink hair brushing over it, it’ll look like flowers blooming on a sandy beach.”
Asha paused while trying to sweep the fabric around her upper body and swallowed her dry saliva. She felt overwhelmed by the light emanating from Joel.
“Joel… Oh… No.”
“In the deeper layers of the skirt, which darken as they descend, shall we mix pearls and tiny diamonds and attach them to create an illusion of moonlight shimmering on the sea? Why are you like this? Is the sunlight too dazzling by the window?”
Joel gestured behind to have the curtains by the window pulled a little. Asha laughed. That wouldn’t eliminate the cause of the glare. As she shook the almost-completed dress hem, Asha, who had been contemplating, coughed lightly and brought up her concerns.
“Joel, what are you going to do on Friday in two weeks? Do you have any plans?”
Joel tilted his head and then gestured to the assistant in the back. It was an action to check the schedule. However, the assistant did not even open the schedule and looked bitter.
“What’s wrong?”
As Joel frowned, the assistant coughed into his fist, covering his mouth.
“Ahem, Ahem, seventeenth.”
Joel quickly understood the cough and turned to Asha. Asha waved her hand before he said anything.
“If you’re not busy, come to the party and eat something delicious. You too, Assistant. People are coming even from the Kingdom of Kirelete, so I thought it would be nice for Joel to see clothes from various countries.”
Joel shook his head when the assistant rolled his eyes with a face full of joy and embarrassment at the sudden invitation to the party.
“Thank you, but I… How dare I?”
“Who would say anything about me inviting people to my birthday party? Make fancy clothes and come to the party. I’ve invited many other friends too. You can see how pretty Joel’s clothes will look in the ballroom.”
Asha frowned. After biting his lips for a moment, Joel, who did not speak, bowed deeply. Asha quickly raised Joel up.
“Please come, okay? If you’re busy, it can’t be helped, but…”
While Joel was unable to speak for a moment, the assistant quickly opened up the schedule and showed it to Asha. Two weeks from Friday, Asha’s birthday on June twenty-first was marked with elaborate borders, but it only said “Birthday” without further details.
Joel quickly scolded the assistant for acting rudely. Asha shook her hand and burst into laughter while the assistant folded the schedule in a tearful manner.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
At the beginning of June, when the palace began to be beautifully decorated with summer flowers, the date of Asha’s birthday was still more than fifteen days away, but news arrived at the palace that a celebratory delegation from the Kingdom of Kirelete had already entered the capital.
Asha asked Lise, while Lise put a light pink decorative hat on Asha’s head, tied the ribbon under her chin, and the other maids put lace gloves on Asha’s arms.
“They’ve arrived? How far have they come? They’ve come in front of the palace? Oh, I shouldn’t have taken a nap because it’s hot.”
“They’ve just passed the gate, so you can take your time, Your Highness. And how dare they say anything just because Your Highness is a little late.”
“But they’re my guests from far away. Isn’t my hat crooked?”
Asha stood with her arms wide open. Lise brushed back Asha’s slightly disheveled hair and adjusted the ribbon at the end of her sleeve before straightening her back.
“How is it? How is it?”
And Asha, who asked that, looked briefly confused at the particles of light that were as subtle as the sea water rushing behind Lise.
“Li…Lise? Am I… really so stunning?”
“You were so small when I first met you, I wondered how you would turn out, but now you’ve grown so beautifully…”
“I’m not that grown… L,Lise? People might think I’m getting married if they see you like this.”
Lise was briefly overwhelmed to see Asha, who was about to turn seventeen, standing smiling in bright clothes in the light, but when she said that, she changed her expression with a face full of tears.
“You still have a long way to go!”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Then they heard a knock from the outside. It was Karnov with a short cloak covering his shoulders.
“I’m here to escort you, Your Highness. Are you ready?”
“Everything’s ready. How do I look?”
Karnov looked at Asha without a word for a moment, then shrugged.
“You are the most beautiful in the empire, Your Imperial Highness.”
“Oh, my.”
Despite Karnov deliberately speaking modestly, Asha burst into laughter. Meanwhile, a maid brought a pair of shoes. As the maid tried to put them on, Karnov took the shoes himself, shooing away the maid, and gently placed them on Asha’s feet before standing up. Then, a maid approached and whispered.
“The congratulatory delegation from the Kingdom of Kirelete has entered the palace.”
“Wow! I need to go quickly.”
Asha reached out her hand. Karnov took her hand and offered his support. The maids followed behind. When they reached the corridor, Karnov whispered.
“Shall I carry you?”
Asha hesitated for a moment before reaching out both hands towards Karnov.
“Only where there are no people!”
Karnov picked up Asha and strode across the hallway. The maids who followed did not panic at the familiar appearance, but smiled gently and walked quickly.
Once they reached the end of the corridor, Asha returned to the ground and took a few steps. Alexei was already waiting in front of the grand palace garden.
“Alyosha!”
“Hmm? I heard you were taking a nap. Why did you come out, Asha?”
Bending down, Alexei gently brushed his cheek against Asha’s, then glanced briefly at Karnov standing beside her.
“It’s my guests, so I have to come!”
At Asha’s clenched fist and words, Alexei smiled gently. At that moment, hoofbeats could be heard from afar.
“Taking a nap, huh? Why wake her up?”
“I didn’t wake her up. By the time I got there, the preparations were already finished.”
“What if you woke her up?”
“It’s Your Highness who told me to come see what she’s doing…”
While two young men were whispering in the background, a row of incoming carriages stopped.
Among them, the front carriage door opened, and a copper-skinned young man got off. He was a young man with dark green eyes who seemed to be just over twenty years old.
“Prince Nothea?”
The young man greeted Alexei with a big smile when he spoke softly.
“I’m Nothea Kirelete, Your Royal Highness the Prince. It is an honor to be invited to the banquet by His Highness the Crown Prince!”
Nothea’s imperial language was very fluent. Nothea, who greeted Alexei cheerfully, opened his eyes wide when he saw Asha standing next to Alexei.
“Oh my God, is this Her Royal Highness the Princess who invited me this time? You are so beautiful!”
“Thank you for coming a long way…”
Then, before Asha could say anything, he grabbed Asha’s hands and kissed the back of her hand three times quickly.
