Chapter 19
Because the container was opaque, it was impossible to see what was inside.
But everyone knew that within the bowl, the caramel at the bottom and the pudding above it had settled into two beautiful, distinct layers without mixing together.
They placed the bowl containing the caramel and pudding into a baking dish, filled the space around it with warm water as though preparing a bain-marie, and slid it into the preheated oven for about forty-five minutes.
Waiting for dessert to bake in the oven was always exciting.
One of the maids, her eyes sparkling like a child’s, asked,
“Will this really turn into pudding, Your Highness?”
“It will. And let’s have some tea with it, too.”
At Princess Katrina’s firm decision, the maids gathered around the oven began taking out the tea leaves they had secretly brought with them.
Fragrant tea leaves that had been tucked away like little sachets in their sleeves throughout the day.
When they piled together all the different varieties—each as beautiful and unique as the maids themselves—it looked as though a flower garden had bloomed inside the kitchen.
These were the very tea leaves Kitty had quietly asked them to bring when they first arrived at the Second Princess’s Palace.
“You’re looking for a tea that pairs well with the pudding, aren’t you?”
Diana, the maid who had helped choose Kitty’s shoes, carefully asked as she helped her decide.
“The pudding seems like it’ll have a rich flavor, so perhaps something with a gentler fragrance would go well. This one is dried daisy flowers, this one is an herbal blend… or perhaps something similar to the tea leaves we used in the pudding…”
But the final decision naturally belonged to Princess Katrina, who had orchestrated the entire process.
After giving it careful thought, Kitty chose the dried daisy tea.
There wasn’t quite enough for everyone gathered in the kitchen.
Fortunately, several of the maids, including Margaret, happily volunteered to drink similar teas instead.
Soon, two teapots bubbled merrily away in one corner of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Margaret removed the pudding from the oven.
As soon as everyone caught sight of the beautifully browned surface, glowing with the warm color of milk tea, the kitchen erupted into even louder excitement.
“Wow! It really turned into pudding!”
“This is the first time I’ve ever cooked something myself in the kitchen!”
“Should we all make desserts together like this again sometime?”
While the maids chatted excitedly among themselves, Margaret turned to Kitty.
“Do I just flip it over now, Your Highness?”
“Mm-hmm. After it cools just a little.”
The weather was still fairly chilly.
Simply leaving it outside for a short while would cool it enough to eat.
Before long…
Pffft…
Steam hissed from the teapots.
“Oh goodness, listen to me.”
Having become completely distracted admiring the freshly baked pudding, Diana hurriedly turned off the stove before taking out every teacup the Second Princess’s Palace owned.
None of them matched.
Several weren’t even teacups at all, but ordinary mugs.
No one in the kitchen cared.
After all, this wasn’t a formal tea gathering.
They were simply sharing snacks together in the empty kitchen after the head chef of the Second Prince’s Palace had finished for the day.
The excitement blooming across the maids’ faces resembled schoolgirls secretly gathering to eat sweets behind their dorm matron’s back.
Soon, everyone in the kitchen had a cup filled with pale amber-colored tea before them.
Kitty instinctively flared her nostrils, happily breathing in the delicate scent of daisies rising with the steam.
The gentle fragrance lingered softly in her nose.
It was like gathering a handful of tiny wildflowers she’d happened to notice while walking.
“It’s hot, so please be careful, Your Highness.”
“Blow on it ten times before you drink it.”
Following Diana’s instructions, Kitty obediently blew on the tea.
“One… two… three…”
After ten careful breaths, she finally took a small sip.
Mmm…
It felt as though even the chill lingering in her toes from the last traces of spring frost instantly melted away.
It would pair perfectly with the pudding.
Like Kitty, Margaret moistened her throat with a sip of tea before taking out a large serving plate.
Meanwhile, under Princess Katrina’s instructions, Diana carefully ran a knife around the edge of the pudding.
That way, it would slide out more easily when turned over.
“Careful, Sister.”
“Oh my, how frightening.”
Though they spoke dramatically, the maids couldn’t hide the mischievous delight on their faces.
With a solemn expression, Margaret placed the large plate upside down over the bowl.
Then…
She flipped it over in one decisive motion.
“Waaah!”
“Did it work?”
The maids, who had backed away so they wouldn’t get in Margaret’s way, immediately crowded around again.
Margaret gently shook the bowl from side to side.
Then—
Plop.
The pudding slid smoothly onto the plate.
Golden caramel poured down its silky surface in glossy streams.
Success.
The great Princess Katrina had successfully led an entire group of novice cooks in making pudding.
“Wow! It actually worked!”
“It looks so delicious!”
Margaret cut the large pudding into equal slices and served everyone.
Using her tiny dessert spoon, Kitty scooped up a small bite from the edge of her slice.
Munch.
The pudding melted apart softly inside her mouth.
The faint bitterness of the milk tea was wrapped in rich, sweet caramel, making her want another bite…
And another…
Then she followed it with another sip of the daisy tea.
“Mmm!”
“The tea is so clean and refreshing—it goes perfectly with it.”
“I like mine too. The herbal aroma is wonderful.”
Praise erupted from every direction.
Kitty couldn’t help puffing out her chest proudly.
One of the maids beside her burst into laughter at the adorable sight.
“Your Highness, your glasses have fogged up. Shall I clean them for you?”
“Yes!”
Her glasses had already become difficult to see through after she’d spent so long blowing on the hot tea.
As the maid carefully removed the glasses from Kitty’s nose and wiped away the condensation, the conversation naturally shifted to Princess Katrina’s beauty hidden behind them.
“Your Highness, I heard the Magic Tower has developed eye drops that can correct eyesight these days.”
“Your lenses are so large and thick. Aren’t they uncomfortable?”
“You’re already so beautiful and elegant… Everyone saw Lord Roengreen’s reaction earlier, didn’t they?”
That final remark immediately stirred up another lively discussion among the women gathered in the kitchen.
Normally, Patrick was far more mature and composed than boys his age.
Yet the moment he’d seen his beautiful fiancée, he’d been so startled that his cheeks had turned bright red.
Wasn’t that exactly like a boy his age after all?
Stories of innocent young love were among the few wholesome amusements the tense atmosphere of the Imperial Palace still allowed.
The maids chatted away as though they’d suddenly become characters inside a romantic novel.
Several confidently assured Princess Katrina that if she attended important social gatherings without her glasses, the nobility would have no choice but to remember the beauty of the Empire’s Second Princess.
Busily eating another spoonful of pudding, Kitty replied through full cheeks,
“But Mother always told me to keep my glasses on.”
She didn’t want to spoil the cheerful mood.
But it was simply the truth.
Besides…
The little over an hour she’d spent without her glasses today had been miserable.
Everything had swayed.
She’d been dizzy and nauseated the entire time.
Fortunately, the Marquis’s aide had come to summon Patrick away when he did.
If the walk had continued much longer…
She might have ended up vomiting.
“I think… just like Mother said… it’s better if I don’t take my glasses off unless I have to.”
“…Ah…”
The maids, who had been happily laughing over the young couple’s innocent romance only moments before, suddenly fell silent.
The “Mother” Princess Katrina spoke of…
…was the late Empress Sophia.
The very woman who had tragically taken her own life before the child’s eyes.
Watching the maids suddenly become quiet, Kitty calmly finished what she had wanted to say.
“It might not be proper etiquette… but it can’t be helped.”
“Please tell my brother that as well.”
The maids, quietly swallowing their sympathy, immediately began reassuring her.
“Of course, Your Highness. Your health and safety are far more important than etiquette. I’m sure His Highness Prince Evan will understand.”
“We’re so sorry. We suggested it without knowing the circumstances. We were thoughtless.”
“And besides…”
“You’re beautiful even with your glasses.”
“When you take them off, you look elegant and refined.”
“But when you wear them…”
“You look adorable… and wonderfully intelligent.”
