CH 38

Asha swallowed the last word. Somehow, she was overwhelmed by what she said. Asha tried to distract from the very old thing that was about to come to mind.

“Alyosha doesn’t need any fake extra buttons, Your Majesty. When there’s no such thing, things are better…”

“I’ve known Prince Alexei for more than ten years, and now you know him better in less than a few months.”

“Have you ever loved him as your grandson during those ten years?”

“Before being grandfather and grandson, we’re the Emperor and his successor.”

“The Emperor and his successor are also grandfather and grandson.”

Asha said in a stubborn voice. Of course, it was thanks to the light behind the serious-faced Emperor that she was able to summon up such courage.

“Alyosha doesn’t have a mother or a father, and his relatives only see him once a few years at the Spirit Ceremony, but even then, they all… hate and envy Alyosha…”

“…”

She felt a little teary. On top of that, she didn’t have much more to say after saying this. Asha gulped down the remaining moisture and coughed in vain to evoke the atmosphere.

“That… I mean. What I want to say is that I have a different study from Alyosha…”

“What about you?”

The Emperor leaned over. The hand on the table touched the surface with a slow tap.

“What?”

“If I were a grandfather to Alexei, wouldn’t I be the same to you? Don’t you want anything from me?”

At first, Asha, who opened her eyes wide with surprise, smiled and shook her head.

“Oh, I didn’t even know grandfather existed until some time ago.”

“…”

But the Emperor’s reaction was a little different from what she thought. Asha blinked and opened her mouth to patch things up even a little.

“Oh, no, so I had no idea I was part of the Imperial family ever since I was born! Our house is also an old house that leaks rainwater when it rains, and sometimes catches fire when lightning strikes, so not many people come…”

“…”

She started to think that she shouldn’t have said it. On top of that, it was wrong to say what she really wanted. Asha felt like she was going to cry a little.

“…Ah no, so… I don’t really want…”

“Is that why you wanted to do house repairs yourself?”

“What?”

Asha opened her eyes wide. She couldn’t understand what he meant by wanting to repair it herself even though she couldn’t go home.

Didn’t he like it that she brought up the old house, and when Asha thought that far, the Emperor took something out from his arms.

They folded the moderately thick documents and put them in an envelope. Asha tilted her head, but slowly unfolded the envelope that the Emperor put out.

“Oh!”

“Baroness Saratov sent papers proving the deal. For thirty million karousas, half of the merchandise revenue? It’s not a small amount of money.”

“Oh…”

“It says here the recipe costs. Is that the recipe for the cake using what was Baroness Saratov’s genuine product?”

“Yes, that’s true…”

“You said you made it, but it was true.”

“Of course it is!”

Asha was a little angry at that point. The Emperor was looking at Asha with wrinkled eyes.

“Then I will give you fifty million karousas, and you will sell the recipe to me, not Baroness Saratov.”

“What?”

Asha was stunned and opened her eyes wide.

“I mean, sell the recipe to me, not Baroness Saratov.”

She didn’t ask back because she didn’t hear it, but the Emperor kindly told her again. Asha tilted her head in the sense that she didn’t mean it, and asked carefully.

“What… are you going to use it for?”

“…What?”

“Your Majesty doesn’t cook… What are you going to do with the recipe…?”

“…Is that important?”

“Your Majesty is suddenly trying to take someone else’s property, so the reason is important.”

“Everything above the empire is mine. It’s nonsense to call it stealing.”

“Don’t lie.”

“…What’s the lie?”

“Couldn’t it be! Why is the cake recipe all of a sudden…”

No way, really? Couldn’t it be? Asha looked at the Emperor with amazed eyes. It’s really unbelievable even with her common sense and judgment, but there was an air current that felt some kind of heat rising near the Emperor.

Something good without malice, curiosity, shyness, shyness, hesitation, and a slight but feeble distrust of oneself…

Could this be?

No way?

“Could you… have you been interested in snacks? Do you want to try baking?”

“…”

“Oh, I’ll help you with that!”

Asha said so, suppressing the laughter that was about to burst out.

By the time you’re an Emperor, even if you’re interested in such things, you might be embarrassed to ask the chef of the Imperial Palace to teach you. But.

“You don’t have to worry because others will see you like a grandfather who hangs out with his granddaughter. I’ll prepare…”

“It’s not like that.”

Asha, who was excited that if the Emperor became interested in baking snacks, she would surely be able to receive enough support for it, closed her mouth while talking to the Emperor’s voice, which suddenly cooled. The Emperor was now looking at her with his arms folded.

“It’s not ‘like’ a grandfather and a granddaughter, but it is a grandfather and a granddaughter.”

“That’s… that’s right. It’s true, Your Majesty and I…”

“How long are you going to call me Your Majesty?”

“What?”

“Is there a reason why you keep calling me ‘Your Majesty’ after yelling at me so much, telling me to act as a grandfather properly to Alexei? Are you holding a protest?”

“I’ve never yelled at you… and protests… Since you are His Majesty, I…”

What do you mean, a protest?

Asha even noticed that the conversation between her and the Emperor was going off the rails, but she didn’t know how to get the right answer. The Emperor only pursed his lips and let out a sigh. He looked a bit tired for some reason.

Asha looked around for a moment and held out one more dacquoise. The Emperor looked down at the snack and turned to Asha. Asha felt that the expression looked sullen for no reason, but she shook her thoughts away, thinking that it couldn’t be.

“Excessive gluttony is evil. Not to mention, members of the imperial family shouldn’t be extravagant with snacks.”

“Oh…”

She had to sulk! Asha swallowed dry spit.

“Snacks are a luxury? Snacks are…”

“It’s not like you die just because you can’t eat it, but it’s called luxury because you put effort into it and put a high price on it for something that’s not essential to your life.”

“Snacks are a must!”

Asha jumped up and sat down again. Tears welled up because her ankle was sore, but she held it in.

“Sweet ingredients make your head work faster… It helps your judgment, and it wakes you up in the morning and helps you beat your tiredness in the evening!”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at Asha’s words as she held her tiny hands.

“Where did I hear that?”

“I saw it in the book. I’m serious! And… it’s not like you’re going to die if you can’t eat them… but you don’t say that people live just by seeing people prolong their lives…”

Yuriev and Irina used to invite musicians over when they had a chance, even with difficult family circumstances. To let her know that there was something beautiful in life.

“…So it’s the right thing for me to eat this snack?”

Asha nodded quickly.

“If Your Majesty takes care of the empire in a pleasant mood, it is good for the empire! Farmers who grow sugarcane and raise cows will also like it. They are all imperial citizens who need their future to be guaranteed, right?”

“Such fluent speech. Yuriev didn’t have that kind of eloquence.”

“Then it must have been inherited from Your Majesty.”

“…Until when…”

The Emperor tried to say something with a disapproving face, but stopped and picked up a dacquoise.

“Yes, that’s good. Yet, after all, you’re handing the recipe over to Baroness Saratov, not me.”

“It’s because Baroness Saratov bought it first.”

“Shouldn’t your grandfather take precedence over the Baroness?”

“So you agreed to bake cookies together, Your Majesty.”

“Every word is very…”

The Emperor, who murmured in a small voice, divided the dacquoise in half and placed one in front of Asha and opened his mouth.

“Good. I’ll open an account to put in what Baroness Saratov said.”

“…!”

Was it something she couldn’t have done? As Asha breathed in for a moment, the Emperor popped half a dacquoise into his mouth.

“You said you wanted to do something else with your studies.”

“Oh! Yes! I…”

“Then let’s learn a lot and choose the one that suits you best.”

“What? No, what?”

While Asha was just opening her mouth, something happened one by one.

“The gift I talked about for the cake the other day has now arrived, so I’ll send it to you this afternoon.”

“Hold on, Your Majesty! I’m…”

No gifts, no classes, could she tell him that she already had what she really wanted? It wouldn’t work, right? Asha closed her mouth because of her belated reason. The Emperor stared at Asha.

“Looks like you want something else.”

“…!”

“Hmm… good.”

The Emperor said so, and slowly folded his arms and closed his eyes down.

“I’ll give you a chance. Call me ‘right’ and ‘’ll grant you one thing you wish for.”

“…?”

Asha tilted her head with her eyes wide open, but opened her mouth carefully.

“Uh… Your Majesty, the glorious, eternal sun of the empire?”

“…”

“…”

Is this… not it?