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Chapter : 32
“Your temper really is impatient.”
As soon as I returned to the palace, I went straight to Eart.
He looked at me with a face that seemed completely exasperated and muttered:
“…Should I come back later?”
His reaction made my cheeks feel warm.
“Well, I suppose I can appreciate your enthusiasm. Sit down.”
Eart let out a faint chuckle as he spoke.
I fidgeted my fingers for no reason and took a seat on the sofa.
“Oh, perfect timing.”
“Yes?”
Eart lightly nodded toward the honey lemon I had placed on the table.
“So… how exactly am I supposed to eat this?”
“Oh.”
I realized I hadn’t actually explained how to consume it when I handed it over.
“Sorry, I guess I was too flustered to explain it back then.”
“Never mind, just tell me now.”
“Well… how’s your condition today?”
Eart furrowed his brows slightly and asked in return,
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Mostly, it’s consumed as tea. You can drink it cold or warm.”
“…Warm would be better.”
“All right, I’ll bring it right away.”
As I got up, Eart called out to Taron, who was standing by the door.
“Taron.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Miss Irenea, please stay seated. I’ll bring it.”
“Ah…”
I looked back and forth between Eart and Taron.
Eart, clearly annoyed, said to me,
“You’re too scatterbrained. Just sit still.”
“All right.”
Before sitting back down, I thanked Taron.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Taron nodded slightly in acknowledgment and left the room.
After a brief silence, Eart spoke first again.
“All right. Tool production will start tomorrow. How’s the market research going?”
“As you mentioned, the desserts we plan to sell are priced quite high. Because of that, targeting the nobility hasn’t yielded much demand.”
“Of course. Extravagant nobles wouldn’t be interested in clunky desserts.”
“And since the basic ingredients aren’t cheap, lowering the current prices further is difficult.”
Eart nodded slightly at my words.
“Making tools would increase the variety of desserts we can create and allow us to utilize leftover ingredients.”
“I see.”
“But the cost of basic ingredients remains the same…”
I trailed off, feeling a little dejected.
It was clear that making tools alone couldn’t solve the problem.
“So, what do you think could be a solution?”
“If we can distribute basic ingredients in bulk at low prices and utilize appropriate staff, commercialization of desserts could be possible.”
“Hmm.”
Knock knock.
Eart made a low sound with a peculiar expression.
Then, with a knock, Taron entered carrying hot water.
“Thank you.”
I took the tray from Taron and thanked him again. He smiled in return.
I picked up the honey lemon bottle from the table to make the tea.
“…Ugh!”
Had I closed it this tightly?
No matter how much force I applied, it refused to open.
Eart let out a short sigh as he watched me struggle.
“Give it here.”
“No, I can do it myself.”
I waved my hand at him but kept focusing on opening the lid.
“You’ll be struggling all night if you don’t hand it over now.”
“…All right.”
Seeing his gaze, I knew stubbornly trying again would be a disaster.
I handed the bottle to Eart.
He opened the lid effortlessly, making all my struggle seem pointless.
“Th…thank you.”
It was oddly a blow to my pride.
I forced a smile, and Eart gave a perfunctory nod.
I transferred some honey lemon into a teacup with the spoon on the tray.
Pouring in the hot water from the kettle, a sweet aroma rose.
I stirred it slowly a few times and placed the cup in front of Eart.
“Please, have some.”
Eart, suspicious, slowly picked up the cup and brought it to his face, inhaling the fragrance.
“How is it?”
“Not bad.”
In Eart’s terms, that meant he actually liked it.
As he was about to take a sip, his expression suddenly contorted and he held his head.
“I’m… okay…”
Just then, familiar smoke appeared above Eart’s head.
‘Of all times…!’
Madness…!
A flood of thoughts ran through my head.
Do desserts count as tea too? What if they don’t?
I should’ve brought the cookies I bought earlier!
Unlike me, Eart and Taron remained calm, oblivious to the smoke.
Even if tea didn’t solve it, there were two knights outside and Taron was present, so it would be fine.
Still, seeing the creeping smoke sent chills down my spine.
“Phew…”
Eart paused, took a sip of the lemon tea, and exhaled slowly.
At that moment, the smoke dissipated completely.
“Hey.”
“Yes, yes?”
I snapped out of my daze at Eart’s call.
“You know… the fan… or whatever you said?”
“Oh, yes. A fan.”
Eart hesitated unusually, then asked with a serious face,
“Why did you become my fan?”
I wasn’t expecting that question.
I hadn’t thought he’d be curious about that.
It wasn’t impossible to answer.
“Well, obviously, Your Highness, your ‘unmatched’ beauty, near-perfect physique, and even your tsundere charm…!”
“Unmat—what? Tsu—wait, are you speaking human?”
“Ah, sorry! I mean…”
My answer had slipped out unfiltered.
Explaining properly would take too long anyway.
“Simply put… I liked everything about you.”
“…”
It was true.
From the moment Eart appeared, I liked everything about him.
His madness was regrettable, and facing him could still be terrifying.
But that was separate from my feelings toward him.
Sudden accidents, nothing more.
“Why ask that all of a sudden?”
Eart looked at me with a complex expression.
He frowned, then relaxed, moving his lips as if to say something.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the question.
“Do you like me that much?”
“…Pfft.”
It didn’t sound like something Eart would normally say.
I laughed at the strange imbalance of it.
Covering my laughter with my hands, I looked at him.
His cold gaze stopped my laughter immediately.
“Sorry. Anyway, I like you way more than you think. A lot.”
I spread my hands wide as I spoke.
Eart looked away, crossing his arms and sinking into the sofa.
“Let’s call it a day.”
He seemed both embarrassed and genuinely irritated.
After the trip, Eart’s emotions seemed to reveal themselves more clearly.
Had Ruella not mentioned the broken engagement, would it have been like this then?
If so, a different future with Ruella might have unfolded…
Thinking that made my chest ache a little.
It was a feeling I had never experienced before.
“Have a good night.”
I forced a smile, trying to lift the corners of my mouth.
After I left, Eart realized Taron had been in the room all along.
Turning his head, he saw Taron suppressing laughter behind him.
“…Damn it.”
Eart muttered under his breath.
His ears felt hot.
“Taron, don’t laugh. Clean this up.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Taron swallowed his laughter and started tidying the table.
Once Taron left with the items, Eart slouched deeply into the sofa.
“Ridiculous.”
He muttered to himself.
He couldn’t understand why he had asked such a question.
“…Was it really that interesting?”
Covering his eyes with his arm, Eart mumbled.
His thoughts drifted to a recent conversation with Ruella.
Ruella had come to him repeatedly, speaking about Irenea.
―That girl is suspicious.
―Even though I’m your fiancée, she keeps saying things that must have some ulterior motive.
Ruella seemed to imply that Irenea had approached Eart with some scheme.
―Why do you continue to keep her around when you don’t trust her?
Ruella said this with tears, looking pitiful.
She always mentioned Enna in those conversations to provoke Eart.
Eart understood she was concerned for him, yet he also felt an uncomfortable stir.
He couldn’t understand why, knowing Ruella suffered beside him, he felt this way.
“Phew.”
Eart slowly rose and approached the window.
Opening it, the cold wind blew through his hair.
While sorting his thoughts in the breeze, Taron returned hurriedly.
“Your Highness, the cold wind isn’t good for you.”
Eart gave him a sidelong glance.
“I was just cooling my head.”
“The cold may worsen your condition.”
Taron closed the window as he spoke.
Eart looked at him briefly with a pout, then returned to the sofa.
“Thanks to the tea earlier, I’m almost completely fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Eart’s head had been throbbing from the chill since morning.
Even before drinking the tea I had given him, he had a brief headache, which he attributed to the cold.
After the tea, his body felt much lighter, almost miraculous.
“Still, just in case, you should rest now.”
“Yes, I will.”
Eart carried his unresolved thoughts with him as he headed to his bedroom.
