Now the emperor snorted as if she was amazing, and then narrowed his eyes as if he knew it all.
“You told me not to make an extra button for the Crown Prince’s robe*. If you knew you had this power, were you afraid I might choose you as my successor?”
[*TN: giving Alexei another thing to worry about, that is, just another button he has to do up to get ready in the morning]
“It’s just… I’m afraid I’ll hurt Alyosha.”
Eventually, the emperor gave a low sigh.
“What a good relationship between cousins. I wasn’t happy with my brother.”
He couldn’t blame them for having a good relationship.
“I didn’t call you here to ask if you can talk to the spirits or not.”
The emperor summoned the chamberlain from afar with a gesture of his hand.
“You have done a decent job in this peace agreement.”
Asha blinked and tilted her head. If he was talking about what happened with the Noctis Elves, she managed to sort out what might have been a commotion.
“That’s the award.”
“Yes?”
<I tried my best with something you like.>
<You wind! Don’t be mean to my contractor!>
A light breeze blew and whispered in her ear, and Phoebe squeaked in her pocket.
And at the same time, the chamberlain slowly opened the huge door in line with the emperor’s wink. A twinkling, blinding light burst from within. Asha thought she was out of her mind and blinked her eyes.
‘Oh, my God.’
“…I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
At first, Asha was surprised to see the scenery in front of her, so she closed her mouth, and finally took a deep breath. The emperor was looking at her with murky blue eyes as if evaluating her.
Asha coughed a little to regain her senses, and then moved closer as the emperor wanted. Then she had to catch her breath again to hide her exclamation.
The kitchen counter was made of brown wood, heavily oiled. The lower cabinets, which were painted in a calming mint color, were covered with gold powdered wainscoting to give it an antique feel, and each drawer had round handles that glittered with gold.
A faucet made of the same material as the handle was attached to a white enamel sink. When she stretched out her arm and turned the tap, the water shot and poured out with a sound.
On the wall with white tiles in herringbone patterns hung gently from cooking utensils she knew to things she didn’t know, and crystal lanterns in the shape of shells glistened on the ceiling.
On the upper shelf were dishes and trays that seemed rare at first glance, and on the counter below them were white vases full of warm pink roses.
From the outside front window, the sunlight passing through the thin silhouette curtain warmly inhaled, making it a space as if only the kitchen compartment had been removed from the doll’s house.
“Hmm. You seem to like it.”
Asha suddenly came to her senses when she heard the emperor’s murmur.
‘What did he say? He mentioned a gift, right?’
Surely this entire kitchen couldn’t be the gift. So, among these, which one could be the gift? The Emperor still looked at her with an ambiguous gaze, and she held some expectations.
“Uh…”
If you don’t answer right away, it will be very difficult. Asha hurriedly estimated which of these would be a gift for her, and noticed the only thing that was out of the kitchen’s domain. At the same time, Asha’s face was in full bloom.
“Oh! I love it!”
“Really?”
She was so surprised at the majesty of the kitchen that she couldn’t look closely, but a pale pink ribbon was tied to the neck of the carefully wrinkled white porcelain vase.
‘You don’t usually hang a ribbon on a vase, do you? It’s because it’s a gift, right?’
The soft pink roses were vividly hollowed out by each petal, and as they approached, a cold, vivid scent of water rose from the rose petals.
Asha held the vase in her arms. The scent became more fresh when the flower came close to the face.
“It’s very pretty. It smells so good. Well, how can I change the water? Can I ask the gardener?”
Just in time, there was also the white Lisianthus that Karnov sent a lot of, so it would be beautiful if the two flowers were together. Asha, who asked this and that with excitement, took her eyes off the flower and raised her head only to notice that she had misunderstood something.
<Oh, my. Oh, dear.>
At the same time as Shamal uttered a laughable sigh, the emperor looked at her with a grave face that was very difficult to describe, and turned around quickly and left the kitchen.
“Why, why are you…”
<Your grandfather is truly impatient. Go and calm him down.>
As the wind passed by her, Phoebe poked her yellow fur out of Asha’s pocket.
<He’s angry because he didn’t like your reaction!>
‘What else can I do here?’
She was sincere in saying that she was delighted with the gift, and she thought that she expressed it wholeheartedly as well.
‘Should I have danced?’
Did she have to jump up and down? Were her words too gentle an expression of joy for the elderly’s taste? As soon as Asha tapped the floor, the door opened again and the emperor returned with the wind.
“I… must have been a little lacking in expression.”
“What?”
As soon as the wind blew and made Asha’s hair flutter, the emperor snatched the vase from Asha’s arms and put it back on the counter. And for a moment the silent emperor took a big breath and said.
“The gift I’m giving you is the kitchen.”
“Yes?”
Asha blinked and looked back. A new kitchen, small but full of everything, filled with warm, elegant colors.
“Kitchen? Who… To me?”
“…Hmm.”
The emperor’s nodding seems to be affirmative. Asha clapped her lips and asked again.
“This kitchen… To me?”
“Yes… …Don’t you like it?”
“No! It’s very…”
After her half-shrill scream, Asha quickly covered her mouth and looked around her again.
A beautiful new, dust-free kitchen.
“…Really? Really?”
When Asha closed her mouth and asked, the emperor only nodded silently.
Seeing his granddaughter smiling softly with her cheeks buried in the petals in the vase, the emperor thought at first that his granddaughter might be taking revenge.
Upon closer consideration, it seemed like it might not be to her liking. From the time she was born until now, she had been looked down upon and brought to the palace, only to be treated like an inferior kitchen maid. She didn’t even realize that her kitchen, no matter how much care and money went into making it, was being treated as something less than others.
– It was you who said this was enough, Shamal!
His granddaughter fell ill by the time he had selected all the items to give as a reward for successfully completing the conversation with the Noctis Elves.
Every night, he visited, but he could only watch her suffer. The news of her waking up came during an official meeting. He couldn’t leave the meeting abruptly. So, he had all the things he prepared to give her sent over.
The attendant said that the granddaughter was delighted, but the emperor knew through Shamal that the granddaughter was not very moved even in front of all these precious things.
Then Shamal talked about the kitchen. Inadvertently agreeing with the idea that it would be a delightful gift to a granddaughter who liked to bake snacks, the emperor ordered to immediately make a kitchen to match the child’s size.
Considering that his youngest son’s taste may have been passed on, he also chose some furniture himself. However, when he brought her to it, she looked around the kitchen and picked up the vase he had left as a decoration!
The emperor, who rushed out with only the child in the kitchen, was angry at Shamal for suggesting it. And as if to cover up that anger, the wind gently swam and said.
– You didn’t even tell the child that the gift was not the flowers, but that kitchen.
Shamal was right, too. Because the emperor also belatedly thought of that. But what if his granddaughter knew and pretended not to know?
He reigned as the emperor of the empire all his life and lived through the hearts of those who kneeled in front of him, but it was very difficult to read the truth from the expression of his young granddaughter.
There’s no way you can say you’re happy when you pick up a bouquet of flowers that were just for decoration, but the emperor really thought that way.
However, at first glance, she seemed genuinely happy. She said it was a pretty flower, and her smile.
That’s why the emperor decided to speak up. The gift I’m giving you is not just one small vase, but this whole space.
– Yes?
At first, the girl’s eyes, which tilted her head as if she had no idea what he was talking about, soon sparkled like a star and then bloomed brightly.
With flushed cheeks and barely breathing, she hurriedly ran to the drawer, rummaged through it, wiped the countertop, opened and closed the faucet, and finally, in haste, reached for the oven, which startled the servants. Ignoring their disapproval, he swiftly hugged her and moved her away from the oven.
Even though they scolded her, saying that she claimed to enjoy baking snacks, yet doesn’t even know how to use an oven, the girl still had a bright smile on her face.
At that point, now he thought, ‘Is this something to be so happy about?’
He didn’t give her affluent territory, he didn’t give her a huge amount of money that she could freely use, or give her dazzling gold and silver treasures.
In addition, it was strange that there was no joy of the kind of “giving something from the emperor of the empire” anywhere in that joyous step that his granddaughter had.
<Look at this. Didn’t I say that soft peaches would like it?>
At the wind’s whistling words, the emperor put down the pen he was holding and leaned over to stop reminiscing.
“But… I didn’t expect that.”
The sound of the wind laughing loudly at Mikhail’s muttering filled the office.
The granddaughter was completely absorbed in using and tidying up the new kitchen, completely disregarding the emperor’s presence. In the end, the emperor had to leave Asha alone to enjoy his gift to her fully.
Feeling like a disturbance and fearing that if he stayed longer, his granddaughter might start imagining “cookie baking with her grandfather,” the Emperor decided to leave.
“…But how did you not tell me that the child talked to you?”
<Your peach didn’t want it.>
The emperor let out a chuckle. It was evident as if it was drawn on her face. The expression of his granddaughter, who looked troubled, also made it clear. His granddaughter knew her position and abilities better than anyone else.
Moreover, even more distinctly, the granddaughter clearly didn’t desire any position that her power could grant her. The fact that she had been hiding the ability to communicate with spirits ever since making a contract with one at the age of ten was evidence of that.
