The two of them fought a war together, and soon the opponent they fought will come to the Empire, so they must have something to talk about together. Asha was startled for no reason and pressed down on her thumping heart.
‘Whew. Now that we’ve become very close, there’s no need to hide, but I’m nervous for no reason…’
Plus, Alexei said he’d call Karnov because of her, so it was a burden. It was time for Asha to think about how to leave without feeling awkward.
“Your Highness?”
“…!”
‘W, what, did you come running?’
It was definitely far away, but why did she hear voices behind her back already?
Asha turned her head with a disgruntled expression. Behind her, Karnov, with an expressionless face, was looking down at her.
“Kar, Karnov. Hi, nice to see you. Haha. Hello, uh… Commander in Chief.”
“My name is Gilhellam Elmin Shirevra. Please call me comfortably.”
The man beside Karnov greeted Asha with a faint smile. The wrinkled skin in the cold sun of the north looked a little rough.
“Oh, yes. Gilhellam, the weather is nice. But what brings you both to the palace…”
Gilhellam smoothed out his rough expression and cast his eyes downward. But before he could answer anything, Karnov opened his mouth first.
“We were talking about the forthcoming peace agreement.”
“Oh! That’s thanks to you two, too. You did a great job in the North. I’m glad you came back safely…”
Guilhelm paused a little surprised, then said softly.
“All thanks to the grace of His Majesty the Emperor, everyone was able to return after training comfortably.”
“Even if the war site is comfortable, how comfortable would it be? Did you rest well after you came back? It looks like you’re already busy again.”
“It is a joyous occasion, thanks to the grace bestowed upon us by His Majesty’s favor once again.”
Karnov, who was staring at Gilhellam and Asha’s conversation, asked abruptly when the conversation stopped.
“By the way, where are you going?”
“Yes? Oh, over there…”
In fact, it was time to leave, but Asha took a roundabout approach. Gilhellam raised an eyebrow subtly. Asha quickly spoke up.
“Where are you two going? Karnov, did you have a good meal? It’s almost evening.”
The habit of asking if he had eaten his meal was similar to something engraved in her soul, so it was nothing short of desperately squeezing the topic. And it also meant to go and eat now. It didn’t work for Karnov at all.
“Shouldn’t you be the one taking care of their meals rather than me?”
“…I’m eating well. Really.”
“Well, I don’t trust you very much when you say that you’re eating well with the weight of a bag of wheat.”
“At my age, everyone only weighs a bag of wheat.”
“At that age, His Highness the Crown Prince probably went out on two expeditions.”
It was time for Asha to bite her lips with a troubled look at Karnov’s words. A moment ago, Karnov had spoken up, and this time Gilhellam blurted out.
“Oh, I forgot something urgent. Karnov, why don’t you take Her Imperial Highness? Your Highness, I think I have to go now, so I’ll say goodbye.”
“What?”
Asha and Karnov both looked at Gilhellam, who still smiled faintly and bowed to her.
“It was an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Princess. Bye, then. I’ll call you separately, Karnov.”
It was a blink of an eye. At the end of the sentence, Gilhellam disappeared like the wind, and only Asha and Karnov remained in the corridor. As soon as the surroundings became quiet, Asha quickly waved her hands.
“I wasn’t actually on my way back. I was going to tell you I’m on my way somewhere else, but the commander in chief… Lord Elmin… Gilhellam went too fast…”
“Do you always go around without a lady-in-waiting?”
“That’s not the point, but I’m going that way, so here with Karnov…”
At that moment, Asha’s thoughts flashed through her head. Asha grabbed his hand before words came out of Karnov’s mouth. Karnov flinched.
“…And why are you doing this again?”
“Didn’t you say that the Noctis Elves were coming as envoys this time?”
“So?”
“However, I heard that it is difficult to prepare desserts because of the Noctis Festival. Desserts usually contain a lot of milk or butter, but it’s the Noctis Festival…”
“Ah… this is the time.”
Indeed, Karnov, who dealt with the Elves on the northern front line, seemed to know their customs well. At the same time, he began to be wary of Asha’s intention to bring it up.
Asha smiled so brightly that she could not help laughing.
“We decided to have Alyosha’s chef take charge of the dessert. It’s not easy, so I’m trying to help. Lord Karnov, please help me too.”
“It doesn’t help when non-professionals intervene. It’s a hindrance.”
“I know. So Lord Karnov, you just need to stir the whisk a little bit. Well, grind some carrots and talk to me about this and that.”
The conversation continued, pretending not to know that the “non-professional” referred to by each other was different.
“No, I’m not talking about me…”
“Oh, my ankle again!”
“…Isn’t it about time to back off, if it means spraining an ankle?”
“Wrist too, aigoo!”
“…”
To be precise, she unilaterally forced Karnov to come over as if she didn’t know. Karnov’s face frowned, but he didn’t shake off Asha’s hand. Asha smiled broadly.
Judging by Pavel’s rapturous reaction during the day, he’s not going to do his part today, and the cake she came up with required a lot of her hands to make. On top of that, decisively.
‘Even if I run amok with evil deeds, Karnov Neustadter will endure for five years!’
It’s been less than a year now, so the deadline was ample.
“…It would be a real distraction for the chef if I went.”
“Wouldn’t it be more frightening for Pavel to fail in hosting national guests? And getting familiar requires seeing each other frequently.”
Karnov gave up his final resistance.
“…You helped me this time, so I understand.”
“This time?”
Asha tilted her head. Karnov had a rare expression that seemed a bit tired.
“Lord Elmin recommended that I attend a special lecture at the academy…”
“Academy?”
“Yes. To the Vichegda Magistrum Academy. I definitely refused, but he can’t let go of his lingering feelings.”
Named after the old river that crosses the system, the Academy was a higher education institution built directly by the imperial family and produced officials and scholars, as well as an imperial university in name and reality.
“A special lecture there? To do it?”
“Shall I go to accept it then?”
“…Is Karnov going to be a teacher?”
“That’s what I meant.”
However, no matter how you look at it, it’s not a face that shows he liked the idea. Asha tilted her head.
“You don’t want to do it?”
“Would you like that?”
“Why don’t you like it?”
“I’ve already done enough on the battlefield for the past few years to give speeches to students who thought they would die if I looked away.”
“Oh.”
Asha tilted her head with her brows a little raised.
“But what does Karnov teach?”
“Tactics or something. It’s about war.”
“I don’t think it’s a good thing for sprouts to hear.”
“Those sprouts will be about twice your age, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Ah, are they all grown up?”
Karnov looked down at Asha, who could not even reach his shoulder, and shook his head.
“Rather than that, why the hell are you trying to intervene in this matter? Isn’t that the chef’s job?”
“I think it’s because of me.”
As Asha moved her steps, she tried to hide her embarrassed expression.
“Because I’ve been in and out of the kitchen so much… I think the chef seems to be hated because of me, so I took on this job.”
“Not quite.”
Karnov said casually. Asha opened her eyes wide.
“Do you know anything?”
“Rus Marka… So Count Petrov has a soft temper, but his loyalty to the imperial family is exceptional. And people who have something special are always accompanied by people who look down on it.”
“…?”
Karnov was a little embarrassed this time when Asha suddenly looked like she didn’t understand why he was talking about a completely unknown count.
“…don’t you know? The chef of His Highness, the Crown Prince, is the eldest son of Count Petrov.”
“Oh?”
“Pavel Marka wanted to open a restaurant, but his father, the count, did not allow it. So I heard that he eventually entered the palace.”
“Oh my… No wonder he said he has no friends. It seems like being a noble didn’t earn him any playmates…”
This time Karnov covered his mouth.
“…Anyway, I’ve heard that even the head chef has political rivals. If he’s in trouble, it’s probably because of their schemes. It’s not our place to interfere…”
“No, it’s more of an intervention!”
Asha clenched her fist.
“Those who say that Count Marka’s loyalty to the royal family seems like a thorn in their eyes are the ones harboring ulterior motives, you know? Alexei also seems to have some reservations about it.”
“…”
“Okay, I’ll have to flatten their nose this time.”
“…Is there any way to flatten it?”
“I’m going to make a carrot cake. Do you know carrot cake?”
“No.”
Karnov shook his head with a single stroke. Asha looked at Karnov again with a slightly cautious face.
“Have you never seen it in the north?”
“Don’t tell me, are you asking me about the food culture of the Noctis Elves?”
“It’s nice to know what their preferences are.”
“Are we going to be picky about our meals on the battlefield? When it comes to survival, we should eat whatever comes our way, even if it’s dirt.”
“…”
“…”
The cold air passed by, and only then did Karnov cough lightly.
“…But I think there might have been carrot cake…”
“It shouldn’t have been there.”
“It doesn’t seem to have been.”
“What?* It’s there, it’s not there.”
[*TN: Asha speaks to him informally here, making her annoyance clear]
“…”
Asha, grumbling for nothing, went on about the cake she had conceived, even though she knew that Karnov was not interested in it and wouldn’t understand it.
“Grinding carrots gives them a mild sweetness. Also chop the walnuts. Add pickled orange peels and make it sweet and sour. For the sugar, I use brown sugar to give it a little caramel flavor.”
“Is it delicious, that kind of thing?”
