Chapter 8
“Your Highness! You must not cause a disturbance here!”
“Please put Her Highness down!”
Just then, three or four knights assigned to the Second Princess’s palace rushed into the kitchen in a panic.
Most of them were men who spent their days lamenting what was practically an exile posting, hiding in corners and drinking themselves senseless.
Naturally, they hadn’t even managed to dress properly before running over.
At least most of them had remembered to bring their swords.
But the moment Dimitrius—who wore nothing but a silk robe over his bare body—turned to look at them, they visibly flinched.
It was obvious they wouldn’t be much help.
“Wasn’t your job to protect the princess so that something like this never happened in the first place?”
“……”
“What a pathetic excuse for an imperial palace.”
Kitty blinked once.
A loud crack! rang out from across the room.
A second later, another knight cried out before collapsing.
Then, because the kitchen entrance was so narrow, only one knight remained standing several steps away, trembling uncontrollably.
Kitty watched in quiet admiration.
Dimitrius was already standing before him, slowly cracking his neck from side to side.
Crack. Crack.
“…You’re not going to run?”
The youngest knight stationed at the Second Princess’s palace, Nicky, let out a frightened squeak.
He threw away his sword and fled as fast as he could.
Dimitrius made no attempt to chase the knight who abandoned both his honor and his weapon.
Instead, he grabbed Garnet, who had also been trying to sneak away with Nicky.
“You’re the one in charge here. You’re staying.”
He had merely seized the back of her neck.
Yet Garnet looked ready to foam at the mouth and collapse from terror.
“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness! I was wrong! I… I must have lost my mind! From now on I’ll… I’ll serve properly…!”
Apparently, watching him effortlessly knock down the knights from such close range had left a much stronger impression on her than it had on Kitty.
Dimitrius shoved Garnet toward the little princess.
“No.”
His voice was low.
“You didn’t wrong me, did you?”
Realizing her mistake at last, Garnet hurriedly clasped her hands together and pleaded with Kitty.
“Your Highness, I’m truly sorry… From now on I will serve you properly. Please forgive all my disrespect until now and grant me just one more chance!”
Everything had happened far too quickly for the young princess to process.
Her half-brother had suddenly appeared to protect her.
Violence had erupted without mercy.
And now her abuser was kneeling in repentance.
Kitty simply blinked blankly.
Seeing that, Dimitrius spoke with undisguised exasperation.
“Tell me what you want.”
“You’re the master here.”
“So you decide.”
In other words…
Whatever Kitty wished for, he would grant it.
She blinked twice before finally saying the thing she wanted most.
“First… give me back my strawberry jam.”
At Garnet’s orders, the dozen or so servants of the Second Princess’s palace sprang into action.
Not long afterward, Kitty was holding her jar of strawberry jam once again.
About one-third of it was gone.
Hmm…
It was a shame.
But there was nothing to be done.
It wasn’t as though they could spit back what they’d already eaten.
She only hoped they had enjoyed it.
“And?”
Dimitrius prompted her again.
“And?”
What else was she supposed to ask for?
Kitty slowly looked around at the adults.
Every one of them stared at her with desperate hope in their eyes.
Even a child could tell what they wanted.
…Wait.
Why had she gone to find Dimitrius in the first place?
Ah.
Now she remembered.
She opened her mouth.
“Can I borrow your kitchen so I can bake a cake?”
Silence filled the kitchen.
Cindy’s lips parted in disappointment.
Dimitrius pressed his lips tightly together.
Garnet and the other servants of the Second Princess’s palace carefully watched the First Prince’s expression, barely managing to hide their relief.
Why is everyone acting like that?
“Is that really all you want?”
the First Prince asked again.
Kitty tilted her head.
“…Yeah.”
No matter how many times she thought about it…
What she needed most right now was cake.
Because baking cake made her happy.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Thank you for giving me another chance!”
“I’ll never forget this kindness! From now on, I swear I’ll serve you properly! Truly!”
Apparently overwhelmed with emotion, Garnet clung to the princess’s legs and repeatedly kissed the tops of her dusty little shoes.
After thoroughly washing her hands, the young princess climbed onto a chair placed at just the right height for her to reach the counter.
She cracked five eggs.
The whites and yolks were separated into two bowls.
She poured a generous amount of sugar into the egg whites and whisked steadily until glossy meringue formed.
Next, she gently folded the yolks, butter, milk, and sugar into the finished meringue with a spatula before gradually mixing in sifted flour.
When the batter reached a smooth, thick consistency—rich but gentle, like pumpkin soup that could cure a cold in a single bowl—she poured it into a baking pan and placed it inside the preheated oven.
That finished the hardest part.
Ah.
While the cake baked…
Wouldn’t it be nice to prepare flowers and strawberries for decoration?
Kitty filled a small dish with clean water.
She carefully plucked the stems from spring flowers she had found while walking that evening—forsythia, periwinkle, and primroses—and gently washed them.
She was being extremely careful not to damage the delicate petals when someone suddenly spoke beside her.
“You’re pretty stupid, aren’t you?”
She looked up.
Dimitrius was leaning his chin on one hand, quietly watching her.
“Me?”
Kitty shrugged slightly, clearly unconvinced.
Could someone who baked cakes all by herself really be stupid?
She certainly didn’t think so.
If anything…
Wasn’t being able to bake cakes alone at such a young age proof that she was a genius?
“Can you bake cakes?”
The question reflected her honest belief.
Dimitrius exploded.
“Does your whole world revolve around cake?”
A world that revolved around cake…
That sounded sweet.
And happy.
Kitty smacked her lips thoughtfully before nodding.
Then she asked,
“Do you have a handkerchief?”
Wondering what this cake-obsessed little fool intended to do now, Dimitrius handed her one.
With complete concentration, Kitty carefully laid the washed flower petals onto the handkerchief one by one.
“……”
“What?”
“Was your handkerchief expensive?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Do whatever you like.”
Looking at the little girl innocently asking if something was wrong, Dimitrius was speechless.
Apparently…
Their conversation about everything that had happened earlier was already over.
His little half-sister was far quieter than he’d expected.
She really doesn’t think about anything…
Then again…
Maybe that was for the best in this miserable imperial palace.
It was the first time he’d ever met someone in the palace who seemed even more carefree than himself.
Somehow fascinated, Dimitrius watched the child happily playing with spring flowers as if she were having a tea party.
After finishing her little project, she looked up again.
“Does your palace have strawberries too?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course it does.”
He answered gruffly.
The young princess simply blinked.
Well… if you have them, you could’ve just said so.
Not long afterward—
Thump!
A basket overflowing with fresh, bright-red strawberries was set down in front of her.
Just from the aroma alone…
She could tell they were wonderfully sweet.
Excited, Kitty reached both hands around, searching for a paring knife.
Dimitrius reacted instantly.
“Hey, hey.”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He lifted the knife far above her head, completely out of reach no matter how high she jumped.
Then he gently pressed a hand against her forehead to keep her from bouncing after it.
Kitty stomped her feet.
“The strawberries!”
“I need them for a strawberry shortcake!”
“If you’re using a knife, ask an adult.”
“You’re just a tiny little thing…”
After all…
First Prince Dimitrius was already twenty years old.
A fully grown adult.
Of course, Kitty was already accustomed to handling knives and fire herself.
She had spent countless hours in kitchens before.
Not once had an adult ever warned her that such things were dangerous.
But judging from Dimitrius’s expression, there was absolutely no chance he’d hand the knife over.
She gave up surprisingly quickly and issued a new request instead.
“Take the tops off, then slice them lengthwise!”
“They’ll look prettier that way!”
“Fine, fine.”
“Just stay still… You’re giving me a headache.”
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
Watching the strawberries neatly split lengthwise before her eyes, Kitty couldn’t hide her admiration.
“Wow.”
“You’re amazing.”
“I guess that’s what you’d expect from a Sword Master.”
“I didn’t learn swordsmanship just to slice strawberries.”
The cuts were so precise that every strawberry retained a perfectly even cross-section, as though they had all been measured with a ruler.
