The transparent apricot-colored liquor, which had a sweet and flavorful scent like a combination of white grapes and peaches, was a great success. The one-year-old was the sweetest, and the thirty-year-old was dry with only a subtle sweet scent left.
“It would taste delicious when served chilled in the summer. The one-year vintage can be made into sherbet, with a hint of pickled peaches. The thirty-year vintage can be served as a dessert or enjoyed with fish dishes, perhaps?”
“Should I bring a new contract?”
Baroness Saratov asked with open eyes, but Asha smiled and shook her hand.
“No, it’s a bit tricky to produce and sell the shasling wine due to supply issues. And the production method is a bit…”
“What is a shasling? I’ve never heard of it.”
Pavel asked, without even a hint of wounded pride at hearing something new. Asha answered as she filled small bottles with the aged liquor.
“This year, the Marchioness of Tataricha discovered it by chance in the garden, raised it, and harvested it. She named it shasling, and she gave me some to share when she harvested it.”
Baroness Saratov looked as if she wanted to lick the remaining liquor from the glass. Asha smiled and put three bottles of glass in a small lace pouch and handed them to Baroness Saratov.
“It’s a set of three, one-year, ten-years, and thirty-years. Think of it as a small return for the Phoebe powder contract.”
“My goodness… Your Highness… I’m truly honored…”
Baroness Saratov delicately received the pouch, her hands trembling slightly. Pavel, standing beside her, looked at it with envy. Asha smiled and also handed a lace pouch to Pavel. After delivering the liquor pouches to both of them, Asha extended one pouch to Lise as well. Lise received the small pouch with three bottles with a slightly bashful expression.
“Thank you, Your Highness. Is this the one you made a few days ago in the kitchen with Lord Karnov?”
“Yes. It’s fortunate that it turned out well. By the way…”
Asha headed towards the refrigerated pantry. She looked at the chilled lime pie inside and spoke.
“It would have been nice to have some food coloring, but it’s a little disappointing.”
“Color?”
“Yes. I wanted to make it look a little light green because it’s lime pie.”
“I’ll have them ready next time.”
“Very well. Anyway, Karnov will enjoy it even if it’s just baked as it is.”
“…Are you giving this pie to Lord Karnov?”
To Lise’s question, Asha answered, pointing with a chin to the bottle.
“Yes. Karnov helped me make alcohol. So I’m going to give it to him with alcohol. Since I baked two, I was thinking of giving one as a gift to the artist who will come today along with the alcohol. Do you think they’ll like it?”
Asha said so, tying a lace ribbon from her pocket on it. Today was the day the artist, who was deeply impressed by tasting Asha’s chocolate cake, had planned to visit. They were going to paint Asha’s portrait. Lise stopped talking about Karnov and turned her attention towards the liquor.
“Of course. This is the first time I’ve tasted such delicious alcohol.”
Asha felt relieved, seeing that there was not a trace of falsehood in Lise’s words, expression, or surrounding emotions. Just as Asha was hesitating for a moment, she saw the guest appear when she adorned the lace pouch with a decorative dried flower.
“Your Highness, the painter has arrived. Shall I bring them inside?”
A maid who was standing outside the kitchen hurriedly came in. Asha nodded, and the maid rushed outside to welcome the guest and lead them inside.
The entering artist was a middle-aged woman with partially disheveled gray hair, loosely tied back. She had a healthy look, with a sun-kissed complexion. Behind the woman, a young man carrying an easel followed.
Asha met the gaze of the woman and raised an eyebrow in confusion. The woman’s stare, unlike the warmth conveyed in the letter, carried a sense of suspicion instead.
“What’s wrong?”
“The painter should pay respects to Her Highness.”
Lise said, wiping the smile off her face as she noticed the middle-aged woman scrutinizing Asha. The painter glanced briefly at Lise, chuckled, and then bowed.
“Greetings, Your Royal Highness.”
Asha furrowed her brow at the painter’s gaze, which even seemed to contain some disdain.
‘Why is she looking at me like that? She wrote to offer her services, so why is she giving me such a look? And she hasn’t even mentioned her name.’
It was as though she was staring as if she had been forced to come against her will. Asha could feel sparks starting to fly around her, and Lise seemed to sense the tension in the air. If they left things as they were, the kitchen would likely burst into flames.
“Lise, since we have guests, shall we have tea first?”
Asha said quietly, causing Lise to suppress the reprimanding words directed at the rude painter and turn her body towards Asha. With a stern expression, Asha glanced at the painter and then opened her mouth with a patient look.
“Do you like sour things?”
“Sour…things?”
The painter raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected question. As Asha headed towards the tea table by the kitchen, she asked the painter again.
“Do you dislike it?”
“I don’t dislike anything. I dislike lies, threats, and exploitation, though.”
Asha furrowed her forehead and looked at the woman. It felt as if she was being accused of telling lies, making threats, or exploiting someone.
‘What’s going on? Why is she acting like this?’
Asha tilted her head as she served the chilled lime pie she had left in the refrigerator. However, before she could vent her anger, she felt a faint suspicion lingering in the painter’s gaze.
<What is it, that woman? She’s suspecting you.>
Asha also noticed the weak doubt in the artist’s eyes.
‘That’s why it feels strange. What is she suspecting, exactly? We’ve only just met today, and we only met because she expressed a desire to meet.’
In response to Phoebe’s words, Asha wrinkled her forehead with an even greater expression of incomprehension. While Lise prepared the tea, Asha personally cut slices of pie and placed them on plates.
Soon, a simple dessert table was set up. As the painter peered into the teapot with a meaningful expression, Lise spoke in a cool voice.
“Why are you looking at it like that? Are you suspicious?”
“Lise.”
Asha called her name to dissuade her, but Lise did not say anything resembling an apology. Although she bowed to Asha.
“Well… shall we eat then? This lime pie was baked yesterday, I hope it suits your taste. By the way, what’s your name? What should I call you?”
“…Are you asking for my name?”
“You didn’t write your name in the letter, did you? Are you a different person from the one who wrote the letter?”
Asha asked in a slightly aggressive manner, but the painter only pursed her lips before asking an unrelated question.
“Did you really bake this yourself?”
“Painter, refrain from being rude and answer the questions of Her Highness.”
At what Lise said in a stern voice, the painter glanced at Lise with a frown, and then opened her mouth quietly.
“Mu… It’s Meura.”
“Mumeura?”
“It’s just Meura. Please call me Meura.”
For some reason, her hostility was somewhat more subdued than before.
‘What is this?’
“Yes, then. Lady Meura. Lady Meura, I was happy that you wrote to me that you really enjoyed my cake… If you don’t want to paint a portrait, you don’t have to.”
Asha thought she didn’t understand the reason, she picked up the pie with a fork and put it in her mouth. The pie tasted very good.
The pie was made by mixing coarse sugar with cold butter and creating a crispy and crumbly crust. The filling, made from a mixture of fresh lime juice and condensed milk, crumbled in the mouth like firm pudding, offering a tangy and sweet flavor. It had a slightly green and fresh taste, different from lemon.
“Or maybe something bad happened today, w, wow!”
Just as Asha was thinking that she didn’t understand why she had come all the way here to vent her anger, she momentarily felt dizzy under the overwhelming cascade of light.
The pastel-toned particles in shades of pastel green and yellow flickered wildly, causing a storm-like spectacle on the tea table. It took a moment for the particles of light to finally settle down. And on the other side, the painter had a stunned expression, as if she had been struck by lightning.
“…Meura?”
“Did you… really make it yourself?”
“Uh… yeah.”
The painter swallowed her saliva and took another bite of the lime pie. At the same time, the storm of particles, though calmer than before, still emanated fiercely from her.
The painter calmly and neatly alternated sips and bites of the tea and lime pie, never pausing for a moment. Occasionally, she closed her eyes. And while Asha gazed at her in astonishment, the painter’s plate was left spotlessly clean.
“…”
“…”
The young man standing behind them seemed quite uneasy.
“…I heard that you were the creator of the chocolate cake as well…”
“Yeah. I had a good conversation with Baroness Saratov and opened a shop. But I can’t go out and work, so…”
“I’d like to try that chocolate cake as well.”
“Lady Meura, I have told you repeatedly to refrain from being rude in front of Her Highness.”
While Lise glared at the painter and scolded her, the painter didn’t bat an eye and continued to look at Asha.
Asha could read the emotions in the painter’s eyes, a burning desire mixed with faint suspicion, anticipation, vague disdain, and distrust, all intertwined. Asha pursed her lips for a moment, then quickly finished the remaining tea in one go before standing up.
“All right. I’ll bake it for you. Can Meura wait for a bit? It won’t take too long.”
“Then, while you bake the cake, I will continue working on the portrait sketch.”
Asha also couldn’t ignore the painter’s insolent attitude. So she thought about showing her true self.
‘I can make a displeased expression when I look at the painting too.’
There was no room for excuses for the painter’s behavior. Asha thought it would be more exhilarating to show her a thing or two. With that in mind, she willingly baked ‘Asha’s Chocolate Cake’.
Using orange sugar for the crust, sprinkling white powdered sugar on top, and turning the cakes upside down, Asha noticed that Meura was looking at her with a shaking gaze. Asha took off the apron she was wearing and handed it to Lise before placing four chocolate cakes on the table.
“Since it turned out this way, why don’t we all eat together? Lise, and you too… What’s your name?”
“It’s Ru… Ruth.”
The young man, who had been standing with the tray, answered in surprise.
“Yes, Ruth, sit down and eat, too.”
“However…”
“What is it? Is there no one in this kitchen who treats me like a princess?”
“Oh, I’ll sit down.”
The young man quickly took a seat, and Lise reluctantly took her place as well. The painter, who had already finished her sketching, also grabbed a spoon. Asha observed as they each took a spoonful of cake, then took a sip of cold milk and placed the glass down with a loud thud.
“Baking cakes is my hobby, and I baked it for Meura because she wanted it. But Meura, you seem to have had something unpleasant happen today, right? It was Meura who agreed to paint the portrait. I don’t need a painting, so Meura can just eat the cake…”
Asha tried to say that Meura could eat the cake and leave if she wanted to, finally trying to be straightforward. But…
Asha could only look at Meura with a perplexed expression. Meura had suddenly stood up, holding a teaspoon in her left hand and a plate with cake in her right hand.
