After a lengthy silence, Klaus shook his head.
Will the day ever come when I can bake cookies? This will be a long journey... I listlessly hung my head.
It had been a week since my first attempt at baking, and I was once again reminded of how amazing cooks were. No matter how much Klaus and I floundered in the kitchen, I couldn’t envision success on the horizon, so I had quickly turned to the experts for help.
I’d studied under the tutelage of the head chef. He had supervised me constantly, and though he was astounded by my incompetence, he had patiently accompanied me. After much trial and error, today was the day it had all come together.
I had finished just in time for Rose’s break, but I was suddenly feeling embarrassed. My plan had been to mix the cookies in with the rest of the teatime snacks, but my unshapely cookies stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest of the dainty sweets, which were practically works of art.
Needless to say, Rose immediately noticed my work. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers. Blinking nonstop, she reached for the white plate and picked up a deformed circle. She took a long, hard look at it and then turned her gaze toward me. Under the scrutiny of her eyes—blue like the clear sky after rain—my cheeks heated up. Wanting to flee, I looked away.
After a few seconds of silence, I heard the quiet crunch followed by the sound of her chewing. I timidly returned my gaze to her. The cookie in her hand was missing a piece. I gulped as I watched her soft cheeks move.
Rose broke into a smile as she met my nervous eyes, her face brimming with jubilation.
“It’s delicious.”
I was struck by a sensation I’d never experienced before. It differed slightly from familiar feelings like joy and pride. The bliss was intoxicating, as though a hole in my heart had been filled with something warm. It was the sense of accomplishment I felt from putting a smile on Rose’s face. And a strange satisfaction welled up inside of me from knowing that something I’d made was now a part of her flesh and blood.
I think I’m going to become addicted to this.
“I didn’t think you’d actually make me cookies. Wasn’t it difficult?” Rose asked as the cookies steadily disappeared from the plate. The soft crunching noises thrilled me to bits.
“I received much help from the kitchen,” I replied, “but I enjoyed it.”
“Do you like cooking now?”
“Yes.” That was only half true. I didn’t like cooking—I liked the act of making something for Rose. If something else made her happy, then I would gladly take up a different pastime. Gardening, embroidery, or even handicrafts—I would practice like mad if she would wear what I made. Thinking about it that way, I wouldn’t have objected if someone said that my wife was my hobby.
After she neatly cleaned off the plate, Rose put her hands together and blithely said, “Thank you for the cookies.”
“Did they really taste good?” I asked.
“Yes, they did. If you bake more, will you let me partake again?”
“Of course. With pleasure.”
Hearing the sincerity in my voice, she beamed at me, and that made me happy too. I’d like to try my hand at something a little more complex than cookies next time. The image of the head chef looking at me with a pale face that screamed, Please give me a break! floated through my mind, but I drove it away.
“I’m delighted it suited your fancy,” I said.
“The firmness and sweetness were perfect. I’m a bit surprised, actually. I thought cooking wasn’t one of your fortes,” Rose murmured. She took a sip of the barley tea that the head sorceress and the Khuer tribe had delivered.
I had no recollection of ever telling her that, but it seemed my wife had been aware of my incompetence. “I’m definitely not adept at it. In the beginning, every batch was a failure. I couldn’t even tell which bag was flour. Klaus and I were at our wits’ end.”
“Huh? Klaus?” Rose exclaimed in surprise. Her expression morphed into something ineffable. She looked like she had taken a bite of something she’d thought would be sweet, but it’d ended up being bitter.
I was confused. “Y-Yes. Klaus worried that I wouldn’t be able to make something respectable alone, so he watched me the entire time.”
“Incidentally...he didn’t have a direct hand in making them, did he?”
“No, he didn’t.” I shook my head. He nitpicked a lot, but he didn’t do anything.
Rose exhaled deeply, and her expression softened with relief.
Bewildered by her reaction, I called her name. “Rose?”
“Please carry on without receiving any help from him. I want you to make everything alone from beginning to end.”
I gave her a questioning look. “Very well.” Frankly, I wasn’t following the conversation. However, Rose didn’t seem to want to explain any further, so I didn’t push the subject.
She soon collected herself and changed the topic. “By the way, Leon, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“Starting next week, I think we should open our doors to guests.”
“What of your health?” Half a month had passed since we’d been bombarded by letters from high-ranking nobles. I knew we shouldn’t keep them waiting for too long, but Rose’s appetite had continued to decrease from her morning sickness, and after witnessing her grow thinner by the day, my concern won out.
“It’s stabilized greatly. I wake up less frequently at night, and I think I’ll be much better by next week.”
“You’re forbidden from overexerting yourself.”
“I know.” Rose hesitated uncomfortably. “And...there’s one more thing.”
I gave her a questioning look.
Her gaze restlessly roamed the room—she glanced up at me from time to time to gauge my mood. She resembled an adorable small animal, and I found the sight heartwarming as I urged her to continue with my eyes.
“Oh, I was just thinking that before we return to Prelier...I’d like to attend a soiree.”
It took me a moment to process what she’d said. “Huh?” I uttered quietly.
Rose panicked when she saw my reaction. “Oh, naturally I’ll consult the doctor first. I won’t go without his approval. But, um, just once would be nice, so...” The wind left her sails with each word until her voice weakly trailed off.
Seeing her wilt like a flower made me realize how stiff my expression was. I exhaled and massaged my brow. After all, I didn’t want to frighten her. I gently grasped her hand, and she raised her head.
“May I ask why?” I tried to ask in as level a voice as possible.
“Well, the first reason is that I want to do my part as an advertisement,” she said.
Advertisement? What came to mind were the accessories supplied by that foreign nation. They were commodities that Rose anticipated would become a new source of income for Prelier. Rose had gifted a few pieces to the royal family, and she and I had different items as well. If we all wore them to an event, then they would definitely attract attention.
“Also, I can’t allow the image of me as a reclusive princess to persist forever.” Rose lowered her brows and smiled wryly. “Up until now, I never cared what was said about me, but I need to change that moving forward. As I am the Duchess of Prelier, popular sentiment about me reflects how the domain will be evaluated.”
“Rose...”
“It would be awful if our household fell apart before our child could grow up.” Rose gently caressed her stomach. She’d added a lighthearted joke to defuse the tension.
My wife was trying to stand her ground and face the things she hated. It filled me with pride and affection. Though I still wished to protect her from all that was irksome and hide her away, I wasn’t foolish enough to hold her back.
“Will you stay close by my side all the while?” I asked.
“Leon, does that mean...?”
Harboring conflicting feelings of loneliness and happiness, I added a pathetic condition: “I’ll agree as long as you promise you will.”
A beautiful smile bloomed across Rose’s face.