Chapter 30
The message was so obvious that Kitty gave a small nod in understanding.
“So… you haven’t eaten. You must’ve been busy preparing for the banquet.”
In an instant, Amelia’s face turned bright red.
Trying to suppress the embarrassment welling up inside her, she only grew angrier.
“Y-You…! Is food really what’s important right now?! My whole life has fallen apart! Everything I’ve worked so hard for disappeared because of you! And you’re asking whether I should be stuffing my face?!”
“It is important. Besides, you’re still too young for your life to be ruined. Don’t think like that.”
Those unbelievably carefree words finally pushed Amelia over the edge.
She grabbed handfuls of her own hair in frustration.
Come to think of it…
It was strange.
Someone had just told her that the life she believed had sunk into the mud and ended… wasn’t actually over.
So why did that make her even angrier?
“Gah… honestly… idiots like you could never understand! Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t get it! In a place like this, once you go off course, everything is over! You might as well die and be born all over again!”
And at last…
Amelia was forced to face the truth she herself had desperately avoided.
Yes.
The only thing left for Amelia was to die while hoping she would be reborn as an even more perfect child.
…She couldn’t think of any other way out.
Not a single person who had once admired and followed her because she was the noble candidate for Holy Maiden—the adopted Imperial Princess honored by the Emperor himself—had remained by her side.
She had lost them all.
The Pope, whom she had longed so desperately to earn recognition from…
The Emperor…
Even Brother Evan…
None of them were with her anymore.
But… would Father really accept someone like me as his daughter again?
Isn’t that… expecting far too much?
As though she had only just been born into the world, Amelia slowly looked around her with unfamiliar eyes.
There’s really no one left beside me.
Except…
…that little girl tilting her head with a hopelessly clueless expression.
“Huh? Even so… don’t die, big sister.”
It was such an unbelievably foolish thing to say that it almost made Amelia’s blood boil.
Here she was, being completely serious, and all she got was…
Huh…? Even so, don’t die?
Amelia ground her teeth again.
“Then what am I supposed to do?! Are you going to take responsibility?! What are you going to do for me?! What can you possibly do?!”
She wasn’t actually expecting Kitty to solve anything.
After all, if Amelia herself couldn’t fix this…
How could some stupid little child possibly do it?
Yet after quietly listening to Amelia’s shouting, Kitty gave a small, determined nod.
“Okay.”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“…What?”
Amelia blinked in disbelief, wondering if she’d misheard.
Rolling up her sleeves with determination, Kitty repeated herself even more firmly.
“I said… I’ll figure something out.”
First, with Cindy’s help, combine starch and sugar in a pot and slowly cook them over low heat until they begin to thicken.
While that’s cooking, prepare the dandelions gathered from the garden.
Wash them thoroughly until their bright yellow color shines like lemons, then pluck off the blossoms one by one and tear the petals into suitable-sized pieces along their natural grain.
Eventually, the starch and sugar mixture in the pot will begin bubbling.
But don’t take it off the heat too soon.
In a separate bowl, mix together water, gelatin powder, and lemon juice just until the gelatin dissolves.
Then check the pot again.
Once the mixture has thickened sufficiently, turn off the heat and slowly pour it into the bowl while whisking vigorously.
Be careful—the hot starch mixture can splatter during this step.
If possible, ask an adult nearby for help.
If you continue whisking patiently and trust the process, you’ll soon notice that the once-clear mixture transforms into a fluffy white foam, much like meringue.
Gently fold in the prepared dandelion petals.
For extra flavor, you can grate a little lemon zest into the mixture since it matches the color nicely.
Lightly grease a mold with cooking oil, dust it generously with sifted starch, then use a spatula to pour the freshly made dandelion marshmallow mixture inside.
And then…
“At last… the time has come to use this.”
Having nearly finished cooking, Kitty stood solemnly in one corner of the kitchen and nodded to herself.
The object she was staring at was…
A magical kitchen device capable of producing freezing temperatures, allowing water and drinks to be chilled even in the middle of summer.
It had been incredibly difficult to obtain such a luxury with the tiny budget of the Second Princess’s Palace.
And every single use consumed an enormous amount of magical resources, making it something that had to be used with great care.
But today…
Kitty had decided to use it.
For the marshmallows!
After activating the magic device, Kitty hurriedly opened its heavy vault-like door, quickly placed the mold inside before any cold air could escape, and immediately shut it again.
“…Ugh. What’s that old junk supposed to be? Does it even work?”
Watching with reddened eyes, Amelia finally asked gruffly.
Did it work?
Even Kitty couldn’t say for sure.
It had been acquired cheaply thanks to the goodwill of several adults, so perhaps it wasn’t very reliable.
Kitty honestly admitted as much.
“This is its first time being used.”
“Tch.”
Amelia stuck out her lower lip, wearing an expression that clearly said it was bound to fail.
No matter how desperate she was…
Should she really be staying here watching something so pitiful?
For someone born and raised as the treasured daughter of House Somel, this situation was almost unbearable.
“What now? You sounded so confident when you said you’d figure something out… and now what? Are we just supposed to sit here waiting without even knowing whether your dessert is freezing or melting in there?”
“Yep.”
Kitty answered so casually that it was as if Amelia’s sarcasm hadn’t reached her ears at all.
After glaring at Kitty in disbelief, Amelia abruptly stood from her chair.
“…Forget it. I’m the fool for trusting someone as stupid as you.”
She turned to leave the shabby Second Princess’s Palace.
But Kitty grabbed her sleeve.
In an unexpectedly firm voice, she said,
“Let’s eat sandwiches while we wait. Cindy made egg sandwiches.”
Looking over, Amelia noticed the maid who had been busily working in the corner while the princess made sweets.
Cindy neatly cut the three sandwiches she had prepared and placed them before Kitty and Amelia.
The filling consisted of finely chopped eggs, onions, and pickles mixed together with mayonnaise.
“I also added a few dandelion leaves. They’re nice and tender, so I thought they’d add a pleasant texture… though there aren’t enough for you to really taste them.”
It was exactly the sort of snack one would want while working in the garden.
…And wouldn’t it be even better served with an ice-cold herbal drink to cool the sweat on one’s forehead?
Half a lemon, a handful of mint leaves, sugar…
…and the remaining dandelion petals were crushed together with a mortar and pestle.
Then chilled sparkling water, kept in a cool place, was poured in and stirred gently so the bubbles wouldn’t overflow.
And just like that…
A refreshing dandelion cooler, perfectly suited to accompany egg sandwiches, was complete.
“Here.”
“Eat as much as you like, big sister.”
Amelia looked suspiciously at the utterly ordinary sandwiches and drink placed before her.
She had watched every step of the preparation with her own eyes.
There couldn’t possibly be poison in them.
So why couldn’t she bring herself to take a bite?
Perhaps because…
Some part of her still believed the Pope might really have changed his mind over something as childish as this.
“It won’t make you completely full, but you’ll feel a lot better after you eat.”
After a brief glare at Kitty’s confident smile, Amelia reached out and absentmindedly took a sip of the cold drink first.
Then something strange happened.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Gulp.
She had intended to take only a single taste.
Before she realized it…
Half the glass was gone.
The cool drink soothed the throat that had been abused by hours of crying and screaming.
Strength gradually returned to her weary arms and legs after wandering around the Imperial Palace for well over an hour.
“Wow. You must’ve been really thirsty, big sister.”
…So I was thirsty.
Once her thirst had been quenched, Amelia reached for the sandwich without another thought.
She took a large bite.
Soft, fluffy egg filling spread through her mouth.
Crunchy pickles.
The sharp bite of finely chopped raw onion rose into her nose, making her eyes sting.
On days when there was a banquet, she wouldn’t even drink a single sip of water from dawn so her dress would fit perfectly.
Now, her neglected stomach finally made its presence known.
Before she knew it, Amelia had devoured half the sandwich in her hand.
She immediately reached for the remaining half.
“You eat really fast, big sister.”
“Drink some tea in between so you don’t choke.”
