Amelia pictured a standard strawberry daifuku, but she realized her customers might not recognize it as a strawberry dessert since the strawberry was hidden in the middle of the red bean paste within the round mochi rice cake. So that people could tell with one look that it had strawberries inside, it was probably better to make the mochi wrap directly over the berry instead of the red bean filling, letting its natural redness show through.
With that in mind, Amelia resumed the summoning process. Possibly because of the complex directions she’d added, she felt a slight sense of fatigue by the time the daifuku appeared and settled on her palm.
She held it up. “Helt, could you give this a try?”
Helt’s brown eyes wavered with the smallest hint of hesitation. Well, I’m not surprised, Amelia thought. Traditional Japanese confectionery likely seemed considerably outlandish in a world with a Western setting like this one.
Amelia continued, “It’s called a strawberry daifuku. Have you ever seen sweets like these before?”
“No, I believe I haven’t.”
“Well, try it and tell me what you think.” She pushed it into Helt’s lips.
Stuffing the entire daifuku into his mouth, Helt busily chewed. She hadn’t expected him to eat it in one bite. That said, it would probably be inconvenient for women to enjoy them if they were too large. Maybe making the daifuku into bite-sized treats was something she could consider.
After finishing the sweet, Helt gave his report. “The dessert is mainly sweet and chewy, which is a contrast with the refreshing sweet and sour taste of strawberries. It is delicious in my opinion. Though…its appearance has some room for improvement.”
Judging by his reaction, the taste was agreeable in this world as well. That was good news. If she were to start a business, she would prefer to earn money effectively with unusual confections instead of run-of-the-mill ones.
Helt gave her a mystified look. “Putting that aside, your creative thinking and ability to take action are mind-blowing. Being able to summon strawberries is already a curious phenomenon by itself…”
She had to agree that she couldn’t make sense of how the strawberries appeared out of thin air, but it was reality, so she had to live with it. “Right, Helt. I’m asking this just in case, but do you have any money? Do you think we have enough to make a dress?”
The sole servant of the Fifth Palace also managed its funds. In the case that there was some room to work with, she could avoid going through the trouble of selling strawberries. But well… Knowing how things are, I highly doubt it.
Help shrugged. “Either way, I doubt that the fourth consort would allow a tailor into the Fifth Palace. And naturally, we don’t have any money.”
“I figured.”
Which meant that she’d have to order the dress in town. She didn’t have a clue how much it would cost, and unfortunately, she also needed to purchase other necessities.
“We still have the last of our envelopes and writing paper, right? I’ll write a letter addressed to Lord Luke, so send it for me,” she said. “After that, I want to request a meeting with Lord Luke, as well as the king.”
There hadn’t been any replies despite the numerous letters she’d sent out until now, nor had she ever successfully snagged a meeting with her fiancé. Still, this wasn’t the time to mope, so she resolved to try everything with a chance of success.
That said, there was a limit to the number of envelopes in her inventory. It was exceedingly rare for the regularly delivered supplies to include envelopes and writing paper, so she had to stock up on those, too.
At the end of the day, she needed money for everything she wanted to do. Looks like I’ll have to sell strawberries with everything I’ve got.
Then Helt spoke up. “Incidentally, I wasn’t able to move from my position at the gates under the fourth consort’s orders earlier, much to my regret. Was everything all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s the same old.”
It had been the same old—her visitors had grumbled at her before snatching her necklace away. She couldn’t say that there weren’t any issues, but she’d already gotten used to it after the repeated time loops.
“On that topic,” Helt began, “you seem to have come from a peculiar direction. Surely you didn’t walk on top of the wall, did you?”
“I didn’t walk on top of the wall. I ran on top of it.”
Though desolate, it was still a palace bestowed on one of the king’s consorts, meaning that the Fifth Palace’s grounds were vast. The standard path to the gates where Helt had been was a roundabout route, so Amelia had moved via the top of the wall that separated the palace from the outside world.
Helt furrowed his brows a tad. “That is unbecoming behavior of a respectable woman, much less a princess.” He paused. “No one has caught sight of you, I hope?”
“I could see the fourth consort and Prisca from where I was. Oh, and a man—no, more like a boy?—with grayish hair. Judging by his attire, he didn’t look like a servant.”
He appeared to have been conversing with the fourth consort, suggesting he was someone of relatively significant status. Still, it was rare for anyone to be present on the outskirts of the royal court.
“And?” Helt prompted. “Did the fourth consort discover you?”
“The boy I mentioned looked in my direction, so I jumped off in a rush. The fourth consort and her companions had their backs turned to me, so I’m probably fine.” She shrugged.
“Please don’t jump off a wall to begin with. Actually, before anything else, please don’t climb onto a wall.” Helt glared at her, exasperated, but this wasn’t anything new. Old habits die hard.
A deep sigh reached Amelia’s ears. The man muttered, “It is a shame that you won’t be able to meet the young Lord Klein. I know that you were looking forward to it very much.”
She couldn’t deny that she’d been thrilled. It had been her chance to see him for the first time in four years—she’d worked hard so that she could seem even a little beautiful, like meticulously combing her hair.
However, that was the sentiment of the past Amelia, who hadn’t experienced the time loops. After experiencing her fourth timeline reset and regaining her memories of her life in Japan, what mattered now was protecting Luke’s free will, not her emotions. It wasn’t the time to take things lying down and wallow in her sorrow. If there was even the slightest of possibilities, she had to try every method she could think of.
“That’s okay,” she declared. “You can do anything if you have strawberries.”
“You truly love strawberries, don’t you?”
“I do!”
Amelia would meet Luke and talk to him so that she could protect him and defy the loop. She needed a dress for that, so she would sell strawberries and earn money. While that was going on, she would also write letters and continue requesting in-person meetings.
All right. I’ve got a plan, and strawberry daifuku seems like it’ll sell well, too, Amelia thought. I’ll wake up early in the morning tomorrow, make strawberry daifuku, and head into the city. There’s no time to waste!
Seeing Amelia’s strawberry eyes shine with determination, Helt sported a troubled smile.
🍓🍓🍓