Asha gave the prepared pastries to the person who brought the last voucher of the month and then closed the shop early.
The lines at the pastry shop had become too long, and the pastries sold out too quickly, with limited supply. So, they switched to a system where a certain number of vouchers were sold by lottery at the beginning of the month, and people could purchase pastries with those vouchers throughout the month.
Initially, some people tried to buy the vouchers at high prices, but it wasn’t a problem. Asha just had to ask, “This voucher can only be used by the person who won it. Are you the winner?” and since she had a contract with the Great Spirit of Senses, lies didn’t work on her.
“Did you close the shop properly?”
At Lyudmila’s question, Natalya nodded vigorously and drew the curtains. Lyudmila, Natalya, and Asha boiled water themselves, warmed up milk and pastries, and set up a simple tea table.
“But I’ve heard that Lord Karnov can’t use his powers…”
Lyudmila cautiously brought up the topic. Recently, their gatherings had twice as many escort knights as usual. It was because Karnov had directly given the word.
Usually, even if something happened, he could handle it with his powers, but now he couldn’t.
Natalya, too, spoke in a somewhat serious tone, unlike her usual self.
“Have you tried that?”
“That?”
Natalya pressed the tips of her index fingers together. Lyudmila, frowning at the implication—kissing!—started scolding Natalya while Asha cleared her throat softly.
“Well… it didn’t work.”
“Oh, I see. Really?”
“You tried that…”
Natalya nodded seriously, then suddenly stood up as if she had an idea, but couldn’t bring herself to say it and sat down again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… it’s just…”
Asha had never seen Natalya so hesitant before. To regain her composure, Natalya crossed her arms and spoke with forced solemnity.
“A special force often has… There are many cases where there are conditions to maintain them.”
“Conditions? What conditions?”
Seeing Natalya’s lips move strangely, Lyudmila quickly stood up and waved her hands.
“No, it’s fine. I understand, or maybe I don’t, but don’t say it, Nata…”
But Natalya neither held back nor stopped.
“Those conditions usually involve… purity…”
“Natasha!”
Lyudmila almost screamed, and Asha looked up in shock. With a face flushed red, Lyudmila fiercely rebuked her.
“Natasha! Do you think this is some fairy tale?!”
“Sometimes, those fairy tales hide truths.”
When Lyudmila tried to berate her further, Natalya preemptively defended herself with an indignant expression.
“And we’re adults now. We can ask each other these things!”
If Lyudmila were a balloon, she would have burst. Asha, also blushing, hurriedly waved her hands to change the atmosphere. If Lyudmila burst, who knows what would happen to half of the capital’s textile industry?
“First of all, Natalya, that has nothing to do with it. I’m sure.”
“Hmm, really?”
Natalya shrugged. Lyudmila sighed deeply and pressed her forehead.
“There was talk that Karnov’s power might be growing because the World Trees have settled.”
“Ah, I see.”
Lyudmila sighed in relief and gave Natalya a stern look.
“I thought it was strange that Lord Karnov wasn’t shocked at all when he lost his powers.”
“Karnov… seems to think it’s fine even without his powers.”
“Really?”
Natalya looked at Asha with disbelief, but Lyudmila seemed to understand.
“Considering he has suffered because of his abilities since childhood… it must be a burden.”
A solemn atmosphere briefly enveloped the three of them. They had all spent their childhoods indebted to his power.
“Well! Anyway! It’s not a big problem. Nothing to worry about. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“So, are you planning to close the shop and stay with Lord Karnov?”
“Uh? Uh…”
Asha blushed in embarrassment at Lyudmila’s sudden question. Even though all orders for the month were complete, closing the shop early was indeed intended for that reason.
“The thing is, Karnov… he’s always been very busy, but he’s never failed to make time when I asked.”
Even Natalya, who often envied seeing Karnov with Asha, acknowledged the effort Karnov made to make that time.
“So, I want to make some time for Karnov this time. He says he’s fine and seems to be, but… his powers did suddenly disappear…”
But if he truly says he’s fine, it would just mean they could spend some time together. Seeing the gentle light on Asha’s face as she thought about Karnov, Natalya pouted slightly and quietly sipped her tea.
Lyudmila observed Natalya quietly but didn’t call her out by name. Thus, the secret meeting between the Grand Duchess and her closest confidants came to an end.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
And then, only the two closest confidants remained in the carriage.
“It’s going to be really okay, right?”
Lyudmila asked worriedly, and Natalya, who had been looking out the window, turned her head. Seeing Natalya’s seemingly melancholic face, Lyudmila couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Short brown hair that seemed to glisten like gold in the sunlight, a shirt collar that wrapped around her neck and shoulders—when combined with that melancholic, expressionless face, it could captivate anyone’s heart.
…Or so someone who envied Lyudmila’s closeness to Natalya had once honestly told her. Lyudmila had been shocked to the point of fainting when she heard it, but now she understood what it meant.
“Who do you mean? That Karnov?”
Natalya pouted slightly as she spoke. Lyudmila, now seeing the familiar face of Natalya, smiled inwardly.
“Yes. If his powers really don’t return… He said he’s fine, but still.”
“Hmm, he probably doesn’t care.”
“Doesn’t care about what?”
“If it’s not related to Asha, what does it matter… Whether he has powers or not, what’s the problem? He might miss making wine for Asha, though.”
Lyudmila agreed with Natalya’s words but couldn’t help but smile at her sulky expression.
“But Natalya, what’s bothering you so much?”
“…”
Natalya seemed about to say something, then sighed deeply and pouted as if she were angry.
“What’s wrong?”
Lyudmila asked gently once more. Natalya reluctantly began to speak.
“They’re going to get married, right?”
“Who? Oh, Asha and…”
“Him.”
Natalya seemed genuinely upset, as if her own sister were getting married.
“I was planning to give him a good beating if he ever made Asha cry…”
Lyudmila laughed again at Natalya’s muttering. That had never happened so far.
“Are you upset because you couldn’t give him a beating?”
“Hmm.”
Natalya seemed unsure of her own feelings, wearing a puzzled expression. Lyudmila chuckled softly. She had heard of a similar reaction before.
Her mother had told her that when she got married, her youngest sister had acted as if she would kill her brother-in-law—Lyudmila’s father, Marquis Oleg Shchedrin—crying and causing a scene.
It seemed Natalya genuinely thought of Asha as her real sister. She felt so melancholic because she thought she was about to lose the only sister who cherished her and whom she cherished.
“Then you should start working out so you can give Lord Karnov a beating if he ever makes Asha cry.”
“…!”
Natalya’s face brightened at the thought. Lyudmila smiled and repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hand hidden inside her shawl, pondering who they should learn strength training from together.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
When Asha arrived in front of the palace, she happened to meet Karnov, who was on his way out. Riding his horse, Karnov held a thin lace coat in one arm.
“Karnov?”
“You’re early. I was just about to pick you up.”
It seemed the lace coat was Asha’s. Karnov whispered something to the coachman, who opened the door for her. Asha smiled softly, got down from the carriage, and mounted the horse with Karnov’s help. The horse smoothly turned back into the palace grounds.
“I closed the shop early. The last customer of the month came early.”
Asha smiled brightly, lifting her head.
“So, did your secret meeting with your closest confidants go well?”
“Of course. It went very well. We even reached a wonderful conclusion.”
“What conclusion?”
“That’s a secret.”
She felt a bit embarrassed to say out loud that she had taken a break to spend time with Karnov during his vacation. Seeing Asha keep her mouth shut, Karnov seemed a bit dissatisfied but didn’t press for the secret.
“Karnov, have your powers come back yet?”
“Not at all, not even a hint.”
Though Karnov said this, he didn’t seem particularly anxious. Asha furrowed her brows as she remembered why this situation happened in the first place—because Karnov was so shocked by her proposal.
“Karnov… Was it really such a shocking thing when I asked you to marry me?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
This time, it was Asha’s turn to pout.
“Phoebe’s point is valid. Weren’t you planning to marry me? Why were you so shocked?”
“That’s because we’re not even engaged. Normally, royal and high-ranking noble marriages start with an engagement, Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya.”
“Haven’t we been in a sort of unofficial engagement since I was about fourteen?”
“Goodness, were you really that startled by my confession?”
Asha twisted her lips slightly.
“Your words have improved a lot, Duke of Sedvoyer.”
“It must be because I have a great teacher, Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya.”
“So annoying, really.”
Even when they arrived at Taimir Palace, which had become Asha’s palace since Alexei became emperor, Karnov didn’t show any intention of leaving.
“Karnov, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? I’ll be spending the night and having an interview with His Majesty.”
“What?”
Asha, who had been planning the pastries and dishes to take to Karnov’s mansion in the capital, widened her eyes in surprise.
“To monitor my powers, it’s better to stay close to the World Tree.”
“Ah… That makes sense.”
Asha agreed while rubbing her cheek. Karnov, who had been gazing down at her, shrugged his shoulders.
“So, I can take you to work tomorrow too.”
“I can go to work by myself. And you don’t need to take me tomorrow.”
“Why? Is Natalya coming over or something?”
“No, it’s not that… I’m on vacation starting tomorrow.”
This time, Karnov’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.
“Vacation? Until when?”
“Umm… until the end of the month, for now.”
Since opening the pastry shop, she had closed early but never taken a day off apart from regular holidays. Even though switching to a lottery system for vouchers meant opening and closing the shop was less significant.
“Why? Are you sick?”
“No… it’s not that…”
Asha trailed off, but she quickly realized her mistake. Karnov was beginning to genuinely worry.
“If you’re not sick, why are you taking a break? Is something wrong?”
“No, no, that’s not it.”
“Not it?”
“First, step aside a bit.”
Karnov moved aside as instructed but kept his eyes on her. Asha sighed, feeling her face start to flush.
“I thought we could take a break… and do things we haven’t been able to do together. Since you won’t be busy…”
Karnov seemed confused for a moment, then suddenly moved closer and lifted her into a tight hug.
“K-Karnov!”
“Not having powers turns out to be a good thing.”
“I’m not happy right now!”
“I shall escort you to the bedroom, Your Highness.”
“No, I’m not happy!”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“Oh! It’s a bicycle!”
Unexpectedly on vacation, Asha was enjoying a late breakfast by the sunlit window and was about to go meet Karnov. Just before she left, Baroness Saratov arrived with something intriguing. Asha’s eyes widened in surprise, and Baroness Saratov seemed even more astonished at her reaction.
“Oh! Your Highness, do you know what this is?”
“You get on the saddle, pedal, and it moves forward quickly, right?”
“Yes! It’s made in the south, and it’s quite a remarkable invention. I’m thinking of importing it, but I’m not sure how useful it would be in the empire.”
To demonstrate, Baroness Saratov lifted the hem of her dress and tied it around her waist with a ribbon, revealing her trousers, and mounted the bicycle.
“If you ride it like this—you can feel the wind—so quickly—!”
Wobbling but managing not to fall, Baroness Saratov circled the garden on the bicycle and, leaning on it, brushed back her disheveled hair.
“If you attach a cart to the back, you can carry quite a lot of, cargo…”
“Olga, Olga. You can catch your breath and speak slowly.”
Asha suppressed a laugh as she spoke. Baroness Saratov’s face flushed slightly.
“What do you think? Do you think it will sell?”
“I should tell Joel.”
“Joel? You mean Joel Alman, the seamster?”
“Yes. Tell him that riding breeches will be in fashion.”
A bright light spread across Baroness Saratov’s face at Asha’s words.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“That’s how this bicycle was made.”
By the time Asha had ridden the bicycle halfway around the palace, the entire palace had heard about it. When she arrived in front of the emperor’s palace on the bicycle, Alexei and Karnov were already waiting for her. Alexei helped Asha off the bicycle and said,
“I thought an angel was coming.”
“Alyosha, really! An angel riding a bicycle?”
“Here she is.”
Asha, dressed in riding clothes, brushed her disheveled hair with the back of her hand and blushed as she caught her breath.
“So, who wants to ride this angel’s bicycle?”
Neither man answered, so Asha rode the bicycle around the courtyard in front of the palace once more. Eventually, Alexei laughed and nudged Karnov, who sighed and approached Asha.
Asha, her face glowing with excitement, said,
“It feels surprisingly good to ride this. The wind is refreshing, and you can go fast.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t riding a horse suffice?”
“Well…”
Suddenly at a loss for words, Asha’s lips moved wordlessly. Alexei, standing a bit behind, burst into laughter.
“Karnov, I won’t forgive you if you trouble my sister.”
“Oh dear. I suppose I can’t then. May I give you a ride, Your Highness?”
Asha glared at Karnov for only listening to Alexei but soon burst into laughter and got off the bicycle. Karnov mounted the bicycle more skillfully than expected.
“…Karnov, you know how to ride a bicycle?”
“In the north, there are times when there are no animals to pull the carts. In those cases, people have to pull them. We used something similar to this.”
“Karnov… you’re a duke and a commander, and you know how to pull a cart?”
“A commander who can’t pull a cart isn’t very reliable, is he?”
That made sense. Asha nodded. Karnov said this and skillfully rode the bicycle around Asha. The movement of the bicycle created a breeze that ruffled Asha’s hair.
Asha laughed and nimbly hopped onto the back of the bicycle. Soon, Karnov pedaled smoothly. Asha, holding onto Karnov’s waistcoat, wore a face full of excitement.
At that moment, Mura and Mariya, who had come to present the summer stamp designs, saw them and, wide-eyed with surprise, hurriedly began sketching.
When Karnov had completed a lap around the palace courtyard, Asha jumped off the bicycle and pulled Alexei along.
“Alyosha, you try it too!”
“Asha!”
Alexei, unable to suppress his laughter, was pulled along, while Karnov leaned on the handlebars, turning his head with an expression that was hard to tell if it was a sigh or a laugh. In the end, the two large men rode the bicycle around the courtyard together.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“Isn’t this just making the people of the Kayeruth family happy, not me?”
After taking Alexei for a ride around the palace courtyard on the bicycle, Karnov grumbled as he rubbed the mint leaves on his cold lemonade with his hand. He only let go when his hand smelled fresh. Asha giggled.
“Riding the bicycle was refreshing and fun, wasn’t it?”
“At least pretend to listen to me.”
But even as he pretended to grumble, Karnov was smiling. Asha, looking determined, gestured outside.
“I’m planning to give the bicycle to Natalya as a gift.”
“Oh, dear…”
“Why do you look so concerned?”
“Natalya Bagration already goes around hitting people, and now she’ll have mobility too.”
Asha glared at Karnov and took a long sip of his lemonade.
“Natalya isn’t the type to go around hitting people.”
“Oh, right. It’s not Natalya Bagration but Lyudmila Shchedrin who does that more often.”
“That was just once! And it was because that person insulted me.”
“Both of your closest confidants are quite capable of physical force… Truly impressive.”
Karnov clapped his hands sarcastically, almost falling over when Asha pushed him.
“What would you do if someone insulted me?”
“I would never hit anyone.”
“Then?”
“I’d just kill…”
“Karnov!”
“Ah, matching our princess’s mood is harder than predicting the weather.”
Karnov pulled Asha onto his lap and took a sip of the lemonade from the glass in her hand. Asha grumbled, then whispered in his ear.
“If there’s someone like that, don’t kill them, just hit them a little.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Make it hurt a bit.”
“As you command.”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Through Baroness Saratov, Asha procured bicycles and gifted one to each of her friends. Natalya loved the gift the most. Not even a day had passed since she received it, and she performed a stunt by riding the bicycle down a slope, breaking it in the process. Asha clapped with joy and bought her another one.
“I can already hear the sound of the bicycle business booming. It seems Natalya alone could be responsible for Baroness Saratov’s bicycle sales.”
“I didn’t think it would break that easily… but it did.”
Asha felt embarrassed and muttered awkwardly. Karnov, fiddling with the paint Asha had brought, shook his head.
After the bicycle ride, they had planned a boat trip, something Karnov wanted to do, but a sudden downpour thwarted their plans. So, they wandered around the palace, thinking about what to do, and decided to paint. Their instructors were Mariya and Mura, who had come to the capital to draw bicycle advertisement posters.
“Even His Majesty can’t get such luxurious lessons.”
Mura laughed at Karnov’s comment. But when Asha moved to set up her easel and canvas, Mura’s eyes changed, and she hurried to set up Asha’s makeshift easel diagonally behind her.
Asha turned around with an awkward expression. Since meeting Mura in childhood, she had grown close to her until reaching adulthood. So, she had often seen Mura Aylau make that expression. Asha knew very well why and when she did it.
“Lady Mura, do you feel like drawing something now?”
She couldn’t bring herself to ask directly if Mura wanted to draw her while she painted, so she ambiguously asked instead. Mura nodded as if it were obvious and grabbed her pencil.
“Right now! At this very moment. Inspiration has struck.”
“You say that instead of a greeting every time we meet.”
“Your Highness always inspires me. You are my light, you know? Sparkling and dazzling…”
“I’m not sure about anything else, but this is truly embarrassing. Drawing me while I paint in front of Lady Mura, how is that fair?”
“You have no need to worry at all! Art isn’t a grandiose thing. Anyone who wants to express something in color, line, or dot can draw.”
Mura spoke in a heated tone. Mariya, standing beside her, clapped quietly but quickly lowered her hands under Asha’s stern gaze.
“Fine. If you’re really going to draw this, then you must bake cookies with me after.”
“…What?”
Mura’s laughter halted immediately.
“Let’s bake cookies together. Anyone can bake as long as they have a love for sweetness. I’ll help you.”
“Ah… no, Your Highness, I’m not very fond of sweets…”
“You even brought the Aylau family’s working dog to try to win the voucher.”
“That was for our dear Mariya here.”
Mariya, who had been quietly observing their standoff, chimed in.
“Then I’ll just eat the pastries I buy with the voucher I win next month…”
“Mariya!”
Mura hurriedly covered mariya’s mouth, but it was too late; everyone had heard. In the end, Mura agreed to bake cookies with Asha and picked up her pen to draw Asha.
“Your Highness, you’re too much. You paint so well yourself…”
Mura’s frustration was understandable. If she were asked to pretend to be an artist while Mura painted a portrait, anyone would easily impersonate a master painter in front of Mura Aylau. Why should Asha be embarrassed? After all, there couldn’t be anyone in the world better at painting than Mura! Yet, this princess occasionally exhibited an unbelievably humble side, being embarrassed about her skills.
Asha laughed, Her eyes forming crescents.
“Your light is telling you to bake cookies with Asha.”
“…As you command…”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Karnov’s drawing was closer to geometric shapes than a true picture. To be precise, it resembled a montage used for tracking down deserters.
“…”
“…”
Karnov silently looked down at the picture he drew of Asha. He didn’t have much to say about it himself. While it wasn’t aesthetically stunning, it clearly showed his effort and dedication.
Mura and Mariya offered him some gentle advice. Mura gave a very professional rundown of how to improve his drawing skills, and Mariya followed with a few simple, practical tips.
Afterward, Mura and Mariya had a minor disagreement. Mura firmly insisted that focusing on fundamentals was key, but couldn’t completely dismiss Mariya’s point that having fun while drawing was important, and nodded in agreement.
“Karnov! You’ll give this to me, right?”
“…This?”
“Yes. You drew it for me, right?”
Karnov hesitated, moving his lips but saying nothing, which made everyone chuckle quietly. Seeing the always-competent Duke of Sedvoyer flustered for the first time made him seem more human. Just then, Karnov abruptly stood up.
“Asha, how did you draw?”
“Oh? No, wait. Hold on.”
Asha hurried to her easel, trying to cover the canvas with her body, but it was too late. Mura and Mariya quickly followed Karnov.
“No… no, this is…”
“…!”
“…”
“…”
As Asha flailed around nervously, everyone in the room stood in stunned silence, staring at the painting.
It was a picture of Karnov in front of an easel. Despite the rough and amateurish brushstrokes typical of someone inexperienced with painting, everyone was speechless as they gazed at the canvas.
The fluttering curtains, the black hair gently tickling the corner of his eye, the face holding a slightly awkward smile while holding a brush, and the wooden texture of the easel were vividly captured in the painting.
Clatter! The sound of Mura dropping her pencil broke the silence.
“Well… um… Can someone say something?”
“How is this even possible…”
“Not that…”
Unable to take her eyes off the painting, Mura bent down to fumble for her pencil but nearly fell over, saved just in time by Mariya.
The painting exuded the pleasant moisture and calmness of a rainy day. The artist’s feelings for the subject within the canvas were so palpable that it seemed almost touchable.
Karnov stared at the painting in silence for a while, then suddenly spoke, assessing the reactions of the Aylau women.
“I’ll keep this painting.”
“Wait, Your Grace! Hold on!”
Startled, Mura grabbed Karnov.
“Such a painting… Keeping it locked away in a mansion is a tragedy.”
“If an exhibition is needed, we’ll have one, just like displaying your paintings.”
“No, what I’m saying is… Let’s all remain calm.”
“I am calm.”
“Right. I stand corrected. How can you remain calm in front of this painting?”
Making grand gestures, Mura dramatically ran her hands down her face. It seemed her mind was flooded with shooting stars.
She finally tore her gaze away from the painting to look at Asha, then back to the painting, spreading her arms wide and clenching and unclenching her fists.
“Our family… as you know, usually… brings in talented people… into our family…”
Her teary eyes turned towards Asha. The Aylau family would adopt talented artists, give them the family name—usually through adoption—and support them.
Even blood relatives couldn’t inherit the name, and no matter how noble one’s birth, they couldn’t demand the Aylau name.
But how could they adopt a royal family member whose greatest joy and purpose in life was baking into the Aylau family?
“Um… Is the painting okay?”
If Mura had been the god of thunder, she might have struck with lightning at those words. She wore an expression that screamed, ‘Are you serious?’
Asha tried to brush away the bright particles of light emanating from Mura, Mariya, and Karnov but gave up and smiled sheepishly.
“I guess my tactile sense… isn’t that bad. Or rather, it’s quite good?”
The King of the Wind Spirits, Shamal, had once mentioned in passing. He’d said that her fingertips and gaze were so delicate that there would be nothing she couldn’t do if she set her mind to it, which was why the Great Spirit of Senses had chosen to be with her.
He’d sounded a bit regretful that she devoted all her efforts to baking, possibly foreseeing this scenario.
“Yes, my father loves painting. Maybe I inherited some of that talent?”
“What? Prince Yuriev’s talent is on another level… No, this is! This is…!”
Mura tried to speak but couldn’t finish her sentence, trembling. She took several deep breaths and earnestly asked Asha never to stop painting…
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
After the commotion over Asha’s painting—during which the Aylau family suddenly gifted high-quality paints and brushes, prompting Emperor Alexei to also present frames, canvases, and easels, followed by Karnov bringing an artist’s apron and a ceramic palette—the rain eventually stopped. However, the water level in the lake had risen, so Karnov’s desired boat trip had to be postponed for a few more days.
In the meantime, Asha brought out various bundles of soft-colored yarn.
“So, what do you want to do with these?”
“Knitting, of course.”
Asha handed Karnov a pair of knitting needles and opened a knitting guidebook she had written and organized herself.
“Knitting? Am I supposed to do it too?”
“You’re good with your hands, Karnov. Why not give it a try?”
“You compared my drawing to a montage for tracking deserters, remember?”
Asha pretended not to hear. Seeing her expression, Karnov chuckled and changed the subject.
“Alright, so what are we making with this?”
“A scarf.”
Asha nodded vigorously. Karnov glanced out the window. The sun was rising higher and hotter by the day, the greenery was deepening, and the only thing cold was the early morning dew.
“A scarf now? We’re making something to use six months from now?”
“We need to knit when we have free time so it’ll be ready to wear in winter. How do you like this pattern?”
Asha showed him a knit pattern drawn in her notebook.
“What kind of pattern is this?”
“Sigh. It’s a cable pattern. It symbolizes safety and good luck. Do you like it?”
Karnov stared intently at the seemingly metaphysical drawing in the notebook and then nodded.
“Alright. I’ll knit this pattern into a scarf for you.”
Asha clenched her fist in determination and handed the needles to Karnov.
“…?”
“I’ll be knitting, but since you don’t know how, I’ll teach you.”
“Oh… So it’s time for me to learn now?”
“That’s right.”
Karnov chuckled and nodded. They sat side by side by the sunny window, twisting and unraveling the yarn endlessly, and managed to knit about a hand’s breadth by the end of the day.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“I thought we’d never get to go boating before your vacation ended.”
Karnov said as he held Asha’s hand and helped her onto the small boat before climbing in himself. The rain had raised the lake’s water level, causing a delay in their boating plans, so Karnov spent his time at the palace with Asha, doing many things together.
They started with knitting and painting, then moved on to carving wooden spoons, making paper flowers, and writing short stories over the past few days. Asha wrote a story about a candlemaker who worked as a hitman at night, using wax to craft weapons that would melt away, destroying the evidence. Meanwhile, Karnov wrote a short episode about a squirrel collecting spring flowers that got trapped between large petals. They had just exchanged and read each other’s stories, both shocked to the point of fainting.
“I’ve never had such a fulfilling vacation,” Asha said, flicking water droplets from the lake with her fingertips. Karnov began to row gently, and the elm trees along the lake cast their branches down, with leaves playfully tickling the water’s surface.
“Do you remember when we went boating before and you fell into the water?”
“Thanks to that, you have no idea how hard I had to work to get permission for this boating trip…”
Karnov reminisced with a distant look. Asha was surprised and widened her eyes.
“Really? You had to work hard?”
“Yes. Alexei kept saying, ‘What if she falls into the water again?’ and refused.”
Karnov shook his head, saying Alexei was more stubborn than expected. Asha burst into laughter.
“So, how did you get permission?”
“I told him that Asha would be upset if he wouldn’t agree. He gave in.”
“Be upset?”
“Interfering with every little thing his sister does, making her look less dignified.”
“That’s not working hard; you sold me out.”
“That’s the hardest thing for me to do, Anastasia.”
Asha laughed again, saying Karnov’s remark was absurd.
The small boat glided smoothly along the shore, creating splashes, and sometimes brightly colored carp came close before swimming away. In this vast world, the small space of the boat felt like everything to Asha and Karnov.
“Asha.”
“Mmm.”
Karnov looked up at Asha. She saw a mixture of excitement and happiness in him, with a hint of anxiety and worry. Perhaps he was concerned about losing his powers temporarily. Just as Asha thought this, Karnov spoke.
“We…”
“We?”
“So, because we’ve been in a tentative engagement since you were about fourteen… people think that way, and for that reason…”
Karnov’s hands slowly stilled. He seemed to struggle to find the right words. After a long silence, he sighed and said,
“Are you marrying me because of that reason…”
“Karnov, are you saying you don’t want to marry me now?”
“It’s just that I don’t have a wish token to use right now, so I’m forced to say everything one by one. Don’t sulk.”
“I’m not sulking…”
“You know what I mean, Asha.”
I do.
Asha pouted her lips.
“Karnov. Does grandmother know you’re such a spoiled child?”
“…”
By “grandmother,” Asha meant Karnov’s grandmother, Yekaterina Neustadter. She used to be “General Yekaterina,” then simply “Yekaterina,” and eventually became “Grandmother.”
This time, Karnov remained silent. Asha gently stirred the water with her fingers, meeting Karnov’s eyes.
“When you confessed to me, I said I would marry you. Do you not remember?”
“…Of course, I remember.”
“Did you think I said that because I was flustered and just blurted out whatever came to mind?”
“…”
They say silence implies agreement. Asha flicked the water with a pout.
“It’s strange. There’s no other man for me. I only love you. Why are you anxious that I might be getting married just because of the circumstances?”
“…”
Karnov Neustadter had stood on the battlefield before he was twenty because he wanted to fulfill his duty. As the heir of the duke’s family, protecting people and meeting their expectations was his duty.
Karnov neither hated nor liked standing on the battlefield…
So now, here, he was always worried and concerned that this girl in front of him might feel the same. Born as royalty and raised with overflowing attention and affection, he wondered if she might feel burdened by people’s expectations and thoughts. He worried if she thought she couldn’t say no to marrying him now, even if she wasn’t attracted to the idea.
He worried that she might not be able to refuse because she couldn’t betray everyone’s expectations.
“I understand what you’re worried about, Karnov. But…”
Karnov’s face grew serious as he listened to Asha’s voice. It was an expression she didn’t often see, as they were usually busy playing around when together. Karnov spoke in a heavy voice.
“Asha. I want you to do only what you genuinely, perfectly, and completely want to do.”
Without the slightest burden or sense of obligation, he wanted her to do only what she truly desired.
Asha briefly closed her eyes against the bright light and then opened them again. A warm, radiant current full of his love and care gently flowed from Karnov.
Asha knew that the beautiful breeze and gentle ripples that embraced her could become a storm and tsunami against those who would harm her. She had known this for a long time.
Somehow, she felt her face heating up. It felt more intense than when she had suddenly brought up the topic of marriage. Asha dried her slightly cooled hands and cupped her cheeks.
“Hmm, hmm. Is there really anyone who lives perfectly doing only what they want? Even His Majesty can’t do that, and even earthworms can’t live eating only the soil they want.”
“Even if no one else in the world can, I want you to. I want to make that happen for you.”
“…”
Asha took a deep breath.
“Then you have to marry me. Because that’s what I want.”
“Why?”
Asha frowned.
“Do you know why I turned a passive oak barrel into an active one? Because I wanted to keep it with me forever. So it would move well without me having to say anything.”
Karnov chuckled at her words, then stopped.
“Karnov?”
“I can’t play the role of an oak barrel right now.”
As Asha opened her mouth to speak, Karnov cut her off.
“I know you’ve been doing things like that throughout the vacation.”
“Things like what?”
Asha tried to deny it awkwardly, but Karnov’s smiling face defeated her. Everything Asha had done with Karnov during this vacation was something that couldn’t be achieved with the power of time alone.
Riding a bicycle, painting, knitting, writing a novel—none of these could be accomplished by simply letting time pass quickly. They required pedaling, endless brushstrokes, and writing.
By repeatedly doing things that had to be done personally, Asha might have wanted to tell Karnov that it would be okay even if he couldn’t regain his powers. The things they needed to achieve in the future would have to be done by their own hands, so nothing would change.
She couldn’t say it in words…
“Hmm. Karnov, what did I say was the most important thing to you?”
“My beauty?”
Asha nodded confidently at his answer. Karnov smiled faintly. Even though Asha said that, she would probably still find him handsome even if he had a big scar on his face, just like she had said about the scar on his back from fighting Shunivalen.
Karnov murmured.
“I deeply regret suggesting we go boating.”
“Why, why?”
“If I try to do anything my way now, the boat might tip over, and we’ll fall into the water…”
Karnov sighed sincerely. If he fell into the water with Asha twice, he might have to drink tea with Alexei for a whole week. Asha burst into laughter and slowly moved towards Karnov.
“Asha, it’s dangerous.”
“The water only comes up to our waists here.”
“I’m talking about my future.”
“You don’t want to kiss me?”
“That’s why I have to be careful.”
Karnov moved with remarkable balance, ensuring the boat didn’t move as he settled next to Asha. Asha smiled with her eyes.
“I turned Karnov into an active oak barrel…!”
The boat moved very slowly in place. In the small world where they circled, water droplets reflected light as they splashed, and the ticklish elm leaves blessed their kiss.
“Will you marry me, Anastasia?”
“Yes. Karnov, you’ll be my oak barrel forever.”
“That was the case since I first met you.”
“Then… Karnov is my… handsome man?”
“…Husband. I’ll be your husband. And my appearance hasn’t changed since I was young.”
“No. You’re more handsome now than when you were young. Alright, husband. My husband… No, a husband is supposed to be mine alone. Sharing with others would be a big problem.”
“…”
“…”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
In the palace, there is a large swing hanging from the World Tree. The previous Emperor Mikhail declared it his greatest achievement. Although Yuriev criticized it, saying, “An old man could hurt himself doing that,” it was a swing he had personally tied with ropes and carved a wooden saddle for his granddaughter.
“Wow. We almost couldn’t go boating again.”
Asha plopped down on the swing. She had nearly capsized the boat while talking about sharing husbands, but she and Karnov managed to regain balance and return to shore.
Karnov squinted at her, shook his head, and sat down on the tree trunk beside the swing. His sleeves were already soaked from the lake. As he shook his arms, water droplets splashed around. Asha, holding the swing’s ropes and swaying, pouted at him.
“Karnov, you do want to marry me, right? You’re always asking me, but weren’t you thinking, ‘If the Grand Duchess hesitates, I’ll use that as an excuse to call off the wedding’?”
Karnov, who had been shaking his wet sleeves, stiffened and looked at Asha in shock.
“I can’t believe it.”
“What, what!”
“That I find you cute even when you say such ridiculous things.”
“…!”
Asha’s face turned bright red. Karnov sighed deeply, stood up, and faced her. Holding the swing’s ropes with both hands, he leaned in to meet her gaze, but Asha couldn’t bear to look and closed her eyes tightly.
“Too bright…”
“For someone who can see that, to say I was thinking of calling off the wedding.”
“It was just a moment of pre-wedding blues. A bit of coyness.”
“Has that melancholy and coyness subsided now?”
“It’s evaporated. Completely. I’m as crisp as freshly baked cookies.”
Asha spoke with a flushed face, trying to sound grumpy. The slightly warm and sharp early summer air, the fresh scent of garden grass, the sweet earthy smell, and the tickling fragrance of lisianthus flowers from somewhere.
A gentle breeze rustled the large branches of the World Tree, making a swishing sound. Shadows danced like glass beads among the leaves.
Karnov, holding the swing’s ropes, leaned in and kissed Asha’s lips. As their slightly cool lips met, Asha thought she could hear the sweet sound of chocolate breaking into pieces from afar.
Soon, the fluttering sound of fairy wings began to resonate. It was the sound of the World Tree’s branches growing faster than a blink and leaves sprouting as if gasping for breath. She only realized this when the first fruit of the World Tree fell on her head. And that Karnov’s power had grown enough to make the World Tree grow rapidly.
The heavy fruit fell from the top, hitting branches as it descended.
Plop, plop, plop, plop!
“Ouch!”
