Special Story 4

“I heard you didn’t eat anything again today.”

 

“I just don’t have an appetite.”

 

“Everyone is worried about you, so it would be good if you could try to eat, even if it’s just one bite.”

 

“I’ll try.”

 

Freyer placed his hand on my stomach and gently caressed it.

 

“To think you are carrying twins in here. I still can’t believe it.”

 

Perhaps because it wasn’t time for my belly to show yet, it felt even less real.

 

“They are our children.”

 

“I’m jealous.”

 

“Jealous…?”

 

“Because of work, I cannot be with you. But to think that the children can stay attached to you constantly… it makes me jealous.”

 

“How can you be jealous of the children? You, the one who is going to be their father.”

 

Until I reached a stable period in the pregnancy, Freyer had been banned from sharing a bed with me.

 

“I am happy that we are having children, but I am very displeased that I cannot sleep with you.”

 

Freyer hugged me from behind and kissed my neck.

 

“No! The kids are watching.”

 

“They say if the parents have a good relationship, it positively influences the children.”

 

Ever since we got married, Freyer hadn’t wanted to leave my side. While the times we had to be apart felt regretful, I was also secretly relieved…

 

But apparently, Freyer wasn’t; his green eyes flashed gold like a wolf’s.

 

“Shh. It’s okay.”

 

Just as Freyer was about to kiss me on the lips.

 

Gurgle—

 

A thunderous sound echoed from my stomach. I clutched my belly and smiled awkwardly.

 

“Cookies… I want to eat cookies.”

 

“First, I’ll finish the work I was doing, and then I’ll order someone to bring cookies…”

 

“The children are the ones who want to eat them, you know?”

 

Using the children as a shield was one thing, but I really did want cookies. I hadn’t wanted to smell, let alone eat, any food all day, so this was unusual.

 

Freyer let out a deep sigh and hugged me, saying, “That is good news.”

 

“But I don’t want just any cookies. I want to eat the cookies I had in the Pearching Kingdom.”

 

When we stayed in the Pearching Kingdom, Scarlet had prepared a lavish spread of refreshments. Among them were cookies made with dried berries that paired perfectly with strong black tea; the memory of that sweet and tart flavor suddenly came back to me.

 

“They were really delicious. The tart berry flavor woke up my appetite, making me want to keep drinking the black tea.”

 

I let cloud-like thoughts rise in my mind as I imagined those tasty cookies. Just imagining them made my mouth water and hunger strike.

 

“We probably can’t get them, right?”

 

“…I will order them to bake cookies right now, so wait.”

 

Freyer immediately commanded a servant to have cookies made.

 

“I wanted to stay and watch you eat.”

 

“You said you came back without finishing your paperwork.”

 

Withdrawing his gaze, which was dripping with lingering regret, Freyer turned his steps back toward his office and left.

 

 

***

 

 

“Your Highness the Crown Princess. I am entering.”

 

Pushing a serving wagon, Winnie entered the bedroom. Upon seeing a figure sitting at the desk, Winnie shouted loudly.

 

“Lady Lilithia! What are you doing right now!”

 

“Prenatal care, sort of…?”

 

I hurriedly hid the fabric I was looking at behind my back. I was contemplating products to make with the wool fabric we had recently imported.

 

“The doctor said absolute rest! You were told to absolutely forbid any guild business!”

 

“I said it’s prenatal care!”

 

“You have no credibility! My Lady! Confiscated, confiscated!”

 

Leaving the serving wagon standing there, Winnie strode over with long steps and snatched the hidden fabric away as if seizing contraband.

 

“Winnie!”

 

“Since Your Highness the Crown Princess became pregnant, you agreed to delegate all merchant duties to Baron Percival!”

 

Winnie, stomping her feet, shouted at me.

 

“Give it back quickly. I need to think about it and send a letter to my father.”

 

“Absolutely not! Absolute rest! This is all for you and the babies, My Lady!”

 

Even now, Winnie alternated between calling me ‘Your Highness’ and ‘My Lady’. It would take time to change old habits.

 

“I will return this to you later.”

 

“Winnnnnie.”

 

Despite my pitiful voice, Winnie resolutely shoved the fabric under the serving wagon. Then, she placed a tray covered with a silver lid on the desk.

 

“What is this?”

 

“I heard you wanted cookies, My Lady, so His Highness specially requested them.”

 

“Wow!”

 

When the silver lid was lifted, appetizing cookies lay on the plate.

 

“I don’t know how relieved I am that there’s something you want to eat. I was worried. Please, try some.”

 

I was so excited that my feet swung in the air.

 

Seeing the excitement written on my face, Winnie gestured for me to go ahead. I immediately picked up a cookie placed in front of me and took a bite.

 

I expected a state of ecstasy to spread in my mouth, but my expectations crumbled like shattered glass.

 

‘This isn’t the taste.’

 

Freyer had asked for this for my sake. I couldn’t bear to say this wasn’t the right taste. Still, perhaps because I had expected too much, I felt overwhelmingly disappointed.

 

Those cookies were a bit more tart, tasting like raspberries rather than blueberries. Lemon zest chewed in between made the mouth feel citrusy. They didn’t feel like soft bread but were baked hard and crumbly, a texture devoid of moisture that made you crave tea.

 

“I baked the cookies trying to match the feeling His Highness Freyer described as best as I could… But this isn’t the taste, is it?”

 

Noticing the happiness fading from my expression, Winnie stood up holding the plate of cookies.

 

“I will make them again. Your Highness.”

 

“It is a little different, but it’s delicious. I want to read a book while having tea and cookies; could you give me some space?”

 

“…Of course.”

 

Looking at me with a suspicious expression, Winnie left the room. Left alone in the bedroom, I stared blankly at the cookies, and strangely, tears began to well up.

 

“Why am I like this…”

 

The tears that welled up rolled down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away with a handkerchief. Yet, as if my tear ducts were broken, tears continued to fill my eyes.

 

They said emotions often become overwhelming during pregnancy, but to break down over something trivial like this…

 

Freyer had asked for cookies to be made for me. Winnie had personally made delicious raspberry cookies for me.

 

Normally, this would be something to be happy about, but the fact that I was acting like this because I wasn’t satisfied felt unsightly.

 

“I hate that I’m being like this over a single cookie.”

 

Feelings of unfairness, sorrow, irritation, and all sorts of negative emotions washed over me.

 

Not wanting anyone to see me like this, I pulled the blanket up over my head.

 

After checking that the sound was muffled, I let the tears pour out.

 

“…Cookies must have been my mortal enemy in a past life.”

 

 

***

 

 

Seeing her swollen eyelids, which made it obvious to anyone that she had been crying, Freyer gently swept back the sleeping Lilithia’s hair.

 

“She cried.”

 

Winnie nodded and added, “I baked cookies with the flavor Your Highness described, but it seems it wasn’t the taste Her Highness Lilithia wanted.”

 

It was the first food she had wanted to eat in days. How sorrowful must she have been that it wasn’t the taste she wanted?

 

“Shall I try making them again?”

 

“No.”

 

He didn’t know what the raspberry cookies Lilithia ate with Scarlet tasted like, but there was an immediate way to solve it.

 

“I will handle it, so please take good care of Lilithia.”

 

Freyer kissed Lilithia’s reddish eyelids and stood up. He went straight back to his office and took out a communication tool.

 

— Well, look who it is. Isn’t it Crown Prince Freyer Lundberg, who must have saved the world in a past life to marry Lilithia?

 

Scarlet’s sarcastic face appeared in the air.

 

“I have business with you.”

 

— You two fought, didn’t you? Right? Oh, poor Lilithia. It would have been better if she had formed a connection with our Siphiel instead of Freyer.

 

One of Freyer’s eyebrows shot up toward the sky.

 

“I’ll ask you bluntly. Cookies.”

 

— Cookies?

 

“Lilithia wants to eat the raspberry cookies she had in the Pearching Kingdom.”

 

Scarlet, who was muttering about what sudden nonsense this was about cookies, suddenly had sparkling eyes.

 

— Don’t tell me, is Lilithia pregnant? That’s crazy! Crazy! Oh my goodness! Congratulations!

 

“Thank you. That’s not the main point right now. I need a place that sells those cookies.”

 

— So Lilithia is having morning sickness.

 

When Freyer nodded, a mischievous look filled Scarlet’s smile.

 

— There is no place that sells those cookies. What to do?

 

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

 

— It’s not a joke; I made them myself. Those cookies.

 

“You, Scarlet?”

 

— You don’t believe I made them? I may not look like it, but I am a princess. Such refinement is natural.

 

Scarlet flipped her long red hair.

 

— I can’t make the cookies for her personally, but I can teach you the recipe. However, there is a condition.

 

“I will grant any request.”

 

— Really?

 

“Of course.”

 

— My condition is…

 

At Scarlet’s following requirement, Freyer’s expression turned deathly pale.

 

— Can you promise? If you refuse, then there’s nothing I can do.

 

Freyer, who hesitated, couldn’t win and nodded his head. Scarlet laughed cheerfully and began reciting the recipe.

 

Freyer immediately wrote down the recipe, letting out a heavy sigh.

 

 

***

 

 

My nose reacted automatically to the smell of delicious cookies. Waking from a sweet sleep, I rubbed my eyes and got out of bed. Winnie was preparing a tea set on the table.

 

At the rustling sound, Winnie turned around.

 

“You’re awake. Your Highness?”

 

“Winnie, what are refreshments doing here first thing in the morning?”

 

“You were disappointed yesterday.”

 

“You knew?”

 

“Because your emotions show on your face, Your Highness.”

 

I got out of bed and sat on the chair in front of the table where the refreshments were placed. Winnie poured warm black tea into the cup in front of me, and the fragrant scent of tea filled the room.

 

“Please, try some.”

 

I was worried I would be disappointed like yesterday, but the smell of freshly baked cookies was hard to resist. I gulped and picked up a cookie.

 

As soon as I took a bite, a familiar tartness and sweetness settled on the tip of my tongue.

 

‘It’s the taste of the cookies I had in the Pearching Kingdom.’

 

It was so delicious. In complete satisfaction, I devoured the cookies in the blink of an eye.

 

When I came to my senses, there was only one cookie left. I reached for the last cookie with eyes full of regret, then withdrew my hand.

 

“You eat the last one, Winnie.”

 

“Me? Oh no.”

 

“You baked them for me. You should have a bite too, Winnie.”

 

Winnie hesitated and didn’t take the cookie I offered.

 

“Eat it. Thanks to you, Winnie, I ate cookies that tasted exactly like what I wanted.”

 

“Ah… He told me not to tell you. Actually, Your Highness.”

 

“Huh?”

 

At the story I heard, my hand slipped, and I almost dropped the cookie.

 

“…His Highness baked the cookies?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How…?”

 

“He noticed you had been crying, and last night he contacted Her Highness Scarlet of the Pearching Kingdom to get the recipe.”

 

“That part I understand. But why did His Highness bake the cookies…”

 

“Well…? He didn’t tell me the reason, so I don’t know very well either.”

 

For Freyer to personally do something he could have naturally ordered a servant to do was unusual, even in the eyes of the servants.

 

However, a hypothesis crossed my mind.

 

‘Scarlet made him do it.’

 

There was a high probability that the mischievous Scarlet had told him to bake the cookies himself in exchange for the recipe. I imagined Freyer struggling in the kitchen. A smile leaked from the corners of my mouth.

 

‘I’m thankful.’

 

With a broad smile, I took a bite of the last cookie. Hearing that Freyer had baked it himself made it feel even more delicious.

 

‘I really did marry well.’