Chapter 428

Chapter Fifty-One: Flying Flower Sword Dance, Moon-Drunk Connoisseur of Music Part One

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Time moves like the slow motion when a wheel rolls over your face, each second stretching endlessly.

Victoria still held me. Her arms circled around my shoulders, holding my head to her chest. The armor on her chest was cold and hard, but her breath was warm…

She hugged me tightly, and she kept squeezing harder and harder. I held a soup spoon in one hand and covered my forehead with the other; my hand rested on her armor, and it hurt… But she didn’t let go of me… She didn’t let go of me…

It had been several seconds…

I tried to lift my head, but I couldn’t.

So I wriggled my body, struggling.

“What… What are you doing…”

There were so many people here, all watching… My body was still dirty from the pot ash… Dinner was still being prepared… How could this happen… She’s the queen, how can she do this… This isn’t at home… Even at home, it wouldn’t be right…

I felt both ashamed and annoyed, a peculiar sense of embarrassment. I wanted to push her away and run, but I lacked the strength.

“Let me go quickly…”

My muffled voice sounded like that of a wronged puppy.

This made me even more frustrated and angry.

“Vicky…”

I hit her.

The spoon in my hand lightly swept across, probably hitting the queen’s waist armor with a “clang,” like the ringing of a bell.

Then I heard her say, “Hmm, I’m back.”

Her voice was clear as spring water, pure as a stream, with a delicate nasal tone. Despite the dismissive tone, her words somehow calmed and reassured me when they reached my ears.

As she spoke, the queen released me and slowly stepped back half a step. Just as I thought I could finally relax a little, she suddenly cupped my face and looked at me with her seemingly stern eyes, which were filled with affection, her clear and bright pupils shining brightly.

Then she smiled.

“I’ve missed you.”

With this smile, all the flowers in the courtyard seemed to lose their color.

I’m back, and I’ve missed you.

Elsinore, the unparalleled and independent queen, who had witnessed the blood and slaughter on the battlefield during her reign, after making countless difficult decisions, upon returning victorious, first said these words to me.

Such words left me unsure how to respond.

If I followed the current atmosphere, I should have replied boldly, “I miss you too.” Otherwise, it might seem like I was ruining Victoria’s mood, or even make me feel like I lack proper manners. After all, she told me she missed me—under normal circumstances, regardless of who it was, when two close friends meet again after a long time, they would hug and say, “I miss you,” and the other would reply, “I miss you too.” Thinking about it carefully, it doesn’t seem like anything extraordinary—yet if I really said that, it would feel like I was admitting something ambiguous, very flirtatious, something I couldn’t bring myself to say.

Unable to speak, yet unwilling to brush it off casually.

If she hadn’t kissed me just now, I might have… oh no, even that wouldn’t come out…

So I stood there.

Feeling somewhat helpless.

“Your face is dirty.”

Victoria wiped my face with her hand, and her fair, jade-like fingers instantly became slightly black with soot.

“Mm…”

I suddenly reacted and quickly stepped back, using my sleeve to wipe my face hurriedly. Looking again, sure enough, the cuff had become very dirty.

My face must be even dirtier…

I immediately felt a panic, and at the same time, I sensed more and more gazes focusing on us. I glanced furtively and saw that almost everyone who had arrived with Victoria in the courtyard of the mansion was standing there watching us.

Among them were familiar faces like Reckert and Sharman, some who looked familiar but whose names I couldn’t recall, and many completely unfamiliar soldiers and officers. They were all watching from nearby, smiling… Why were they smiling… They must be laughing at me… They saw everything…

…

Run!

“Wait, I suddenly remembered, there’s still a pot of soup simmering on the stove!”

I practically shouted these words with my eyes closed. My heart was racing, and in my panic, I couldn’t help but let out a burp, nearly biting my tongue. But I didn’t care; I turned around and ran, not daring to look back or see people’s reactions. I rushed back to the inner quarters, closed the door behind me, and pressed my hand against my heaving chest, feeling a bit relieved.

But then came a small regret.

I hadn’t said anything to Victoria…

Would she be angry?

Would she think… that I didn’t want to talk to her?

My mind spun with these thoughts as I returned to the kitchen slowly and absentmindedly. I approached the stove, checked the fire, and lifted the lid of the pot. The sight of the “gurgling” ox bones, radishes, tomatoes, and yams filled the pot made me inhale softly. I glanced at the ladle still in my hand, rinsed it with water, scooped up a small mouthful of soup, and slurped it down, savoring the taste.

…It was bland.

So, I reached for the spice box nearby, sprinkled some salt and pepper into the soup, stirred it with the ladle, and took another sip.

It still felt lacking…

After pondering for a moment, seeing the radish chunks floating in the soup, an idea struck me. I peeled two oranges and tossed them in, then covered the pot again.

That will do…

Come to think of it, did I tell Victoria I was cooking earlier?

I forgot…

At that moment, my mind was like a jumbled mess. What I said and did were all subconscious actions…

They should have all gone to the inner quarters next door by now… everything outside has become quiet…

…Should I go over and say something to her?

As I thought about this, I started to separate the cabbage leaves, tearing them apart and washing them in a basin. I cleaned the pan where I had cooked the tomato and egg dish earlier, added more oil, put in the torn cabbage leaves, added salt, and began stir-frying…

“Ah!”

Then, I got scalded by hot oil on my fingers.

I blew gently on them, put my fingers in my mouth, frowned, and stared blankly.

I can’t go over there now…

Because I only prepared dinner for two. If I go and tell them, they’ll all want to eat, and it’s not easy to refuse…

I don’t want to cook dinner for so many people…

I don’t have enough ingredients…

But if Sharman also cooked, what if Victoria eats with them? They seem to have something important to discuss…

Thinking this, I felt even more troubled, my little frown deepening. I bit my finger, staring blankly at the “sizzling” cabbage in the pan. After a while, when I smelled a hint of burning, I hurriedly flipped the cabbage.

…Forget it.

If she’s eating over there, I’ll just finish all this myself…

After all, it’s not like it’s too much to handle…

Hmph.

Soon, a simple, Western-Chinese fusion dinner was ready.

Vegetable salad, ox bone soup, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried cabbage, boiled peas, and cold cucumber salad… I carried the unappealing dishes to the table. The familiar scent of home-cooked food wafted into my nose, making my appetite surge. If only I could have rice, it would be perfect.

Suddenly remembering something, I rushed upstairs to my bedroom, went to the dressing table, and looked in the mirror… Oh no, black marks all over my face, mixed with sweat, making me look like a little cat…

I immediately felt uncomfortable and, without a word, took off my clothes, rushed to the bathroom, and quickly washed myself. Before I could dry off, I heard someone enter downstairs.

Someone came in…

I felt a thrill.

It must be Victoria…

If she doesn’t find me, will she leave again?

Thinking this, I hastily wiped myself with a towel, regardless of whether it was clean or not, threw down the towel, and rushed out of the bathroom. I quickly changed into my underwear and nightgown, not bothering to wear a bra, shouting “I’m coming down!” as I pushed open the bedroom door and ran downstairs.