‘My grandfather must like porcelain dolls.’
Otherwise, how could he be so happy about it?
‘Lady Mura said she’s good at making ceramics… I should have asked her to make a ceramic doll, not a portrait.’
While Asha regretted it, the congratulations from the high-ranking nobles came to an end. The nobles under the marquis concluded by greeting in a group.
“Marquis Oleg really knows His Majesty’s heart the best.”
Asha nodded to Alexei’s whisper next to her. She thought the same way. While he had a neutral expression when receiving gifts from others, the only one who got praised with “excellent gifts” with a faint smile was Marquis Oleg.
“Then it’s our turn now.”
Asha nodded and got up from her seat, holding Alexei’s hand. Now that the nobles were finished, it was the turn of the royal family.
Maxim brought a winter coat, finely tailored with thin, black wool as a gift. It was a work that was elaborately embroidered with gold thread on the sleeves and collar.
“…Did you prepare this?”
After a brief silence, the Emperor asked. Maxim smiled softly and nodded.
“Don’t we have to prepare things like this well in advance before winter arrives?”
The Imperial Palace was warm all year, so a coat for insulation was unnecessary for the royal family for the next ten years. The nobles murmured about Maxim indulging in another whimsical act. However, the emperor gently praised Maxim after running his hand over the coat.
“Even if you pretended not to think about anything from a young age, I knew that you were deep in thought.”
Alexei, more sharp-witted than anyone else in sensing the stability of his power, also acknowledged Maxim’s preparation for the upcoming winter coat. Maxim smiled warmly.
“I knew you would understand, Father.”
Dimitri, who had come along with Maxim, greeted the emperor with a slightly rigid posture, and then glanced at Asha who was standing beside him.
‘Did you prepare a present?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘But how did you do it when your parents aren’t here?’
‘…’
(E/N: We don’t know why the above conversation is in single quotes. This happens in a few places throughout the chapter, where we’ve left it as-is to match the original.)
Asha, with a puzzled expression, glared at Dimitri. Dimitri, with a slightly panicked expression, shyly extended his hand, with a small velvet box hidden behind his back.
“N, no, I mean…”
Dimitri, who had been humming unkindly, gave her a little velvet box, which he had always held in his hand and had hidden behind his back.
‘If you couldn’t prepare anything, at least take this.’
‘What’s this?’
‘I don’t know!’
Dimitri said irritably, but it seemed like an attempt to hide his embarrassment, and he seemed to know what was inside. Asha secretly opened the velvet box.
“It’s a brooch, isn’t it?”
Inside was a deep blue tear-shaped sapphire brooch, almost appearing black. The edges of the brooch were adorned with small diamonds arranged in geometric patterns, accentuating the sapphire and adding a touch of glamor.
Asha glanced at the coat presented by Maxim. It looks perfect on that coat. It must have been custom-made to fit the coat.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“Oh, just give it back if you don’t like it!”
Dimitri snatched back the velvet box, making a loud “click” sound as it closed, but fortunately, it didn’t attract attention due to it being Ilya’s turn.
Valery did not come out today because he was not feeling well and was worried about spreading the disease to the emperor, but instead sent his only son, Ilya. Ilya, standing alone in front of the emperor, trembled with nervousness.
When Asha saw the nervous Ilya, she clasped his hand just before he stepped out. Ilya, who looked like he was about to cry, looked back at Asha and then faced the emperor.
“To…to celebrate Your… Your Majesty’s birthday…”
Ilya stuttered, but there was no one to help him. With a nearly inaudible voice, Ilya congratulated the emperor on his birthday and presented the gift his father had prepared.
It was a relatively small, elongated box. When the court official carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box, a beautifully decorated ceremonial sword, adorned with various jewels, was revealed. It was so dazzling that it almost seemed like light was emanating from the sword. The nobles who sneaked a glimpse of the sword marveled at its extravagant appearance.
“Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything so lavish.”
“I heard that several factories have closed down and are in financial difficulty, but it doesn’t seem like it.”
“Could it be that the crown prince single-handedly caused these factories to go downhill?”
After silently gazing at the sword, the emperor finally looked at Ilya when the nobles’ murmurs subsided.
“…Is this what your father prepared?”
“What? Yes…!”
The emperor’s reaction was more cold in contrast to the previous one to Maxim’s. Ilya looked like he was about to cry. The servant, who examined the emperor’s mood, quickly closed the box again and put it back away. Asha clicked her small tongue inside.
“Of all the gifts to choose, he chose something like that.”
An ornamental sword that the emperor, who doesn’t care about luxury, wouldn’t appreciate? A sword meant for decoration, as bringing a real battle-ready sword to the ballroom was out of the question…
Dimitri glanced at Ilya and the emperor, showing annoyance and hesitation, and then sharply poked Asha with his velvet sleeve.
“I’m going to throw this away anyway, so you do it.”
Dimitri, who saw the cold expression of the emperor after seeing Ilya’s luxurious gift, seemed to be worried alone.
Asha, who didn’t even prepare a present, might get a worse glare. At this point, there was no way Asha could avoid receiving it.
‘But Dimitri, I really prepared something.’
‘I know, so do what you want with it.’
Dimitri forcefully handed the box to her, then took a few steps back.
When it was finally Asha and Alexei left after everyone else’s turns, Alexei caught a glimpse of the rectangular object that Lise was holding and grabbed Asha’s arm before she could move forward.
“Alyosha?”
“I’ll give him mine first.”
“What? But…”
“You can’t make an exception and let me go first for my sake?”
Asha nodded with a puzzled expression.
“Happy birthday, Grandfather.”
“Thank you, Alexei.”
Alexei, who smiled at Asha, stepped forward and congratulated the emperor. Alexei and the emperor exchanged greetings in a soft and comfortable voice, unlike before.
“Bring it.”
Alyosha winked at the servant. The servant dragged out a low cart. There was a flowerpot planted with a tree as tall as a person.
“This is…?”
The leaves were shaped as if a human hand was unfolded, and a gourd bottle-shaped fruit the size of a large purple coin was hung between the branches.
“It’s a fig tree. It is a fruit that comes from the south of the Kingdom of Kirelete, and the fruit is filled with honey, so it is juicy and sweet. But this tree…”
Alexei gently crunched the ends of his words, took some fruit himself, and handed it out to the servant. The servant wiped the fruit clean and put it on a plate and gave it to the emperor.
The emperor looked at the fruit curiously and took a bite with his hands. Alexei continued at the sight of it.
“It is a fig tree that has been bred so that it can be grown sufficiently in the southern part of the empire. It is small in size and has a thin outer shell, so it is not easy to store, but it tastes much more colorful and beautiful than conventional figs.”
Asha’s eyes widened at his words. Since the scent of honey, the smell of flowers, and the coconut’s richness rushed out from the tree, Asha’s eyes sparkled.
Asha dropped a drop of honey from her eyes as she looked at the sapling. The emperor, who noticed her gaze, chuckled and gestured to Alexei. There was still one uneaten fig on the plate.
“You should taste it too. It’s very sweet.”
Alexei, who fully understood the emperor’s gaze, cut the small fruit in half. The purple outer skin, the white flesh, was filled with red things that looked like ruby seeds.
Alexei gave Asha the fig that he had divided in half. Asha looked up at Alexei with her eyes wide open. Alexei once again reached out with a smile. Asha hesitated for a breath or so, and pushed the raw fig into her mouth.
“Ah…”
At the tip of the tongue, the rich sweetness of honey flowed, the seeds splattered, and the freshness unique to fruits grown in the hot sunlight also passed by. And at the end, the faint scent of coconut that touched the tip of your nose.
‘I bet this would make an amazing jam. No, it would be a waste to use it for jam. Pound cake? Scones? A tart with a generous amount of almond cream on top?’
When Asha was briefly drunk on the taste of fruit, Alexei smiled at Asha, looking down at her.
“In the future, we can grow them in the southern part of the empire, but I thought we could start with cultivating them in the palace greenhouse.”
“…!”
Asha alternated her sparkling eyes between Alexei and the emperor. Eventually, the emperor chuckled and nodded his head.
“That’s a good idea. Thank you, Alexei. You’ve worked hard.”
“It was the farmers who did the hard work.”
“Make sure to reward those farmers as well.”
As Asha was following the gaze of her eyes on the fig sapling, it was finally her turn to present the gift.
“Ahem.”
As she was about to give it, she became a bit nervous. She could feel the gaze of the nobles, which she had forgotten about while being captivated by the figs.
“Prince Yuriev and the prince are not around. What did she prepare?”
“Maybe she baked some cookies since she likes playing in the kitchen?”
“Speaking of cookies, I heard that the pastries from Baroness Saratov’s patisserie were developed by Princess Anastasia.”
“What’s with that? Are you trying to look cute now?”
“W, what?”
“Trying to show off that you’re the type of person who naively believes such baseless rumors.”
Asha beckoned to Lise while the nobles mumbled. Lise brought a large rectangular panel covered in white linen from a distance.
“Oh my, it looks like a frame?”
“I wonder if she brought a painting she drew herself.”
“Could it be a portrait painted by Her Highness herself?”
The nobles murmured in a slightly condescending tone. Among them, Asha heard a few phrases and chuckled mischievously.
“Happy birthday! This is your gift.”
Lise tried to hand the goods to the emperor’s servant in a polite manner, but the emperor beckoned quickly as if he were annoyed. After the servant stepped back, Lise bent over and presented the frame directly to the emperor.
