Chapter 26
Sure enough, inside the terrace stood Lady Shunoa and the First Prince, Dimitrius, glaring at each other like two ferocious beasts accidentally locked inside the same cage.
If Lady Shunoa—with her tea-red eyes flashing dangerously—resembled a leopard…
Then Dimitrius, with his brilliant golden eyes, was like a young lion overflowing with fighting spirit.
Kitty carefully observed the two of them, who were radiating resentment, anger, and irritation toward one another.
Then she gave a small nod.
Perfect timing!
“Cake!”
As she bounced closer, proudly balancing the cake above her head, both of them slowly turned to look at her.
“It’s carrot cake… a really, really delicious carrot cake…”
“What’s with this kid? Can’t she read the room?”
“Hey, squirt. Stay outside.”
Eek…
Now that those two terrifying people were staring directly at her, Kitty instinctively shrank back.
But there was no turning back now.
Summoning all her courage, Princess Katrina stubbornly marched right between them.
“I just baked it… and I poured lots of chocolate sauce over it too…”
“Will you stop talking about carrots already?! You’re being a nuisance. Go away!”
Finally losing her temper, Lady Shunoa shoved Kitty away roughly.
The cake box balanced on the little girl’s head nearly flew to the floor.
“Ah!”
Kitty desperately hugged the box to her chest, barely saving it.
“Your Highness!”
At the same time, Dimitrius and the maids who had rushed in caught hold of her before she could fall, sparing her from cracking her head.
“Hey, are you crazy? Even if you’re angry, you don’t shove a child!”
Lady Shunoa stared at Kitty in surprise for a brief moment.
Then she snapped open her fan with a loud snap and hid her face behind it.
“I’ve been saying this from the beginning. She was the one who started bothering me first.”
“If you didn’t want something like this to happen, you should keep your precious siblings under control.”
Kitty immediately checked the cake inside the box.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been crushed or damaged.
She let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Just then—
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out beside her.
“I’ve had enough of this.”
Something rolled across the marble floor before coming to a stop.
A ring.
The engagement ring that had been on Dimitrius’s fourth finger.
“Fine.”
“Let’s break off the engagement.”
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You wanted me to be the first one to say it.”
“So let’s do it.”
“I’ll pay every bit of compensation or whatever your family demands.”
“After today…”
“Let’s never see each other again.”
…Huh?
This wasn’t perfect timing after all?
Still clutching her cake, Kitty stood frozen.
“I’ve been just as sick of looking at you.”
“Your greedy family.”
“And you, pretending otherwise while letting them drag you around like an idiot.”
“I don’t want to see any of you ever again.”
The confusion lingering in Lady Shunoa’s eyes slowly disappeared.
Her brows, which had looked ready to explode with rage, twitched once…
Then her expression calmed with almost unnatural speed.
“Then let it be as Your Highness wishes.”
With a crisp snap, she closed her fan.
In an instant, she had returned to the same elegant and dignified beauty she had been before.
“If we have nothing more to discuss, may I take my leave?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Just stop getting on my nerves.”
Kitty hurried to her feet.
Watching Lady Shunoa gracefully bow to both herself and Dimitrius before turning away…
She finally understood the situation.
“M-My cake…?”
Her voice was full of disappointment.
But the young lady never looked back.
She simply left the terrace.
Kitty immediately tried to chase after her—
Only for Dimitrius to grab her by the back of the collar.
“Do you seriously have no sense of timing?”
“But… I worked really hard making it…”
The First Prince looked down at the crestfallen little girl with obvious irritation.
Then he roughly brushed back his hair.
“Seriously… what a pain.”
“Hey.”
“What happened to your real brother?”
“Why do you always end up bothering me instead?”
“What did I do?”
Kitty fired back just as sharply.
Dimitrius’s golden eyes flashed.
Margaret and Diana, who had been checking whether Kitty was hurt anywhere, flinched at the frightening glare.
But Kitty was too heartbroken to notice.
In the next instant—
The cake box was effortlessly taken from her arms by the prince’s large hand.
“My cake!”
“Yeah.”
“You said you worked really hard on it.”
He looked as though he had decided to eat the carrot cake himself.
Behind her oversized glasses, Kitty’s eyes widened.
But…
I didn’t make it for you…
I made it for the pretty big sister…
Then—
One of his calloused fingers lightly tapped the bridge of her nose.
“And Evelyn hates carrots.”
“Evelyn?”
Only then did Kitty realize he was referring to Lady Shunoa by name.
Covering her nose, she protested,
“That’s only because she’s never tasted delicious carrots.”
“Delicious carrots?”
“You seriously think carrots taste good?”
“Of course.”
“Carrots are supposed to taste good.”
“They might smell a little funny at first…”
“But the more you savor them, the sweeter they become.”
“They have a flavor all their own.”
“They’re just like life.”
“So instead of spitting them out the moment you go, ‘Bleh!’…”
“You have to keep chewing patiently.”
“Wow.”
“Very profound.”
“You’re more mature than Evelyn.”
Even while teasing her, Dimitrius bent down and picked up the engagement ring he had thrown away.
Then, as though making excuses to the princess and the maids watching him, he added,
“If I lose the ring, the paperwork for breaking off the engagement gets even more complicated.”
Well…
If the First Prince of the Theros Empire said so…
Then that must be how it worked.
“So what’s this?”
“Where did the missing slice go?”
Having found a quiet lounge like Kitty wanted, Dimitrius gathered everyone around and opened the cake box.
“I gave it to Pope Mister.”
“He helped me make it.”
Kitty answered honestly.
Everyone else, however, felt as though a storm had just blown through their minds.
How on earth did this kid end up involving the Pope…?
I can’t even begin to imagine…
Forget it.
I’ve had enough surprises for one day.
Without asking any more questions, Dimitrius invited Kitty, Patrick, Margaret, and Diana to sit down.
He cut the cake and handed everyone a slice.
“Oh my!”
“Look at these tiny carrot decorations!”
“They’re adorable, Your Highness.”
“Yep.”
“Pope Mister made those.”
If only Lady Shunoa had been here…
She surely would have admired such brilliant creativity.
Watching the maids giggle happily as they ate the cake, Kitty became dejected once again.
Whenever she felt this sad…
The quickest cure was always another bite of cake.
She scooped up a generous forkful of carrot cake covered in chocolate sauce and popped it into her mouth.
The rich chocolate flavor spread across her tongue first.
Then, as she chewed…
The finely shredded carrots hidden within the cake revealed their texture.
Their sweetness was different from the chocolate’s, filling her mouth with a gentle, natural flavor.
After swallowing came the light, clean finish…
Followed by the faint aroma of cinnamon lingering pleasantly.
“Mmm…”
Just as she was enjoying the happiness blooming inside her mouth—
Dimitrius spoke.
“So…”
“What you’re saying is…”
“You wanted Evelyn to discover how delicious carrots really are?”
Now in an excellent mood, Kitty threw both hands high into the air.
“Yep!”
“If she eats this, Big Sister Evelyn will become happy right away!”
Dimitrius gently patted her on the head.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“I hate to crush your dreams…”
“But give her a break.”
“She’s already having a hard enough time.”
“She’s miserable even if you leave her alone.”
“Big Sister Evelyn is unhappy?”
“Of course.”
“She’s spent her entire life trying to become Crown Princess.”
“But everything keeps falling apart.”
As he spoke, he cut off a bite of his own carrot cake.
“…Mm.”
“It’s good.”
“You’ve got quite a bit of talent in those tiny little hands.”
Receiving praise for her cake, Kitty puffed herself up proudly.
“Yep!”
“Because I’m the Saintess.”
“If Big Sister Evelyn eats my carrot cake, she’ll become happy too.”
Any chance to proudly show off her abilities…
Was one of Kitty’s greatest little joys.
Carefully placing the remaining slices back into the box, Dimitrius grinned teasingly.
“So your carrot cake is really that amazing, huh?”
“What?”
“Does it become infused with holy power just because you made it?”
Kitty tilted her head.
“Not really.”
“Nothing like that.”
