Chapter 7

“······Come in.”

The graceful voice of the princess, allowing entry, echoed from inside the room.

I carefully opened the door, cautious not to make any loud noises.

And there, before my eyes, lay Rebecca’s room.

The room, tinged with red hues, was so distinct that one could easily guess its owner just by its appearance.

“···.”

Princess Rebecca, the owner of the room, sat on the bed, staring intently at me as I entered.

Seeing her gaze at me so intently, the guilt I had felt earlier began to resurface.

Moreover, traces of her earlier tears still lingered, her face still flushed.

The weight of my wrongdoing pressed heavily on me.

“······Sit there.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

Fortunately, instead of kicking me out, Rebecca gestured for me to sit on the chair facing the bed.

I obediently followed her instruction.

Whether she was a princess who wanted to fight or not, right now, I was the sinner.

Making someone I had promised to marry cry—if this weren’t a novel but reality, I would deserve to be buried alive for such a crime.

“So, what brings you here?”

Perhaps frustrated by my silence after sitting down, Rebecca was the first to speak.

In response, I answered as humbly and apologetically as I could.

“······I came to apologize for what happened earlier in the dining room.”

“What happened earlier?”

“···.”

At my words of apology, Rebecca immediately acted as if she had forgotten what had transpired.

Her expression suggested that, despite having cried earlier, she had no recollection of it.

Seeing her like this, a serious doubt began to form in my mind.

‘······Was it all an act?’

I wondered if her earlier tears were just a performance to create this situation.

In fact, the corners of Rebecca’s lips were slightly upturned, as if she were enjoying the current situation.

Though earlier, her expression had been one of genuine sorrow.

Seeing her now, with her lips twitching in amusement, I couldn’t help but suspect her.

But as I said earlier, I was the sinner here. The best course of action was to give Rebecca the answer she wanted.

“······I failed to notice that you were troubled and acted thoughtlessly.”

“And?”

“And I caused tears to fall from the eyes of the heavenly princess.”

“You seem well aware.”

Rebecca smiled with satisfaction, as if pleased.

Though I felt a deep sense of defeat having to admit my faults to her.

“······I deeply regret my actions.”

After all, I was the one who made Rebecca cry. There was no other choice.

“If you truly regret it… shall I forgive you?”

“······Please do.”

“Hmm…”

Now, Princess Rebecca began to play hard to get, as if deciding whether or not to forgive me.

It seemed she had already calmed down after seeing me apologize.

Just how much had yesterday’s loss upset her that she wouldn’t easily forgive me?

‘······Did I tease her too much?’

At this point, I began to wonder if I had gone too far yesterday.

But since Rebecca was still the one in control, I decided to bring out what I had prepared to appease her.

“······What’s that?”

Though she was still pondering whether to forgive me, Rebecca seemed curious about what I was taking out, leaning slightly forward to see.

“It’s nothing much.”

“···.”

But I, too, wanted to maximize her surprise when she realized what it was, so I didn’t explain.

Since I didn’t explain, Rebecca quietly waited until I had fully revealed it.

Finally, when what I had prepared was fully unveiled, Rebecca whispered softly.

“Is that… a cake?”

“Yes.”

What I had prepared for Rebecca was a cake.

A fresh strawberry cake, filled with strawberries.

***

Listing the characteristics of Rebecca Valencia from [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword], she was:

Very beautiful, had a strong sense of pride and competitiveness, and was quite rude.

But besides these three traits, there was one more that left a deep impression on me, a rather solitary reader.

“Is that red thing in the cake… a strawberry?”

“As you see, Princess, it is indeed a strawberry.”

That she loved strawberries more than anything else in the world.

It might seem a bit odd to call this a unique trait, as everyone has a favorite food.

But what made it unique was the world of the novel itself.

‘A world where the concept of cooking fruits doesn’t exist.’

In [The Crown Prince Wields a Sword], the idea of cooking fruits didn’t exist.

To put it simply, using an apple as an example:

In this novel, apples were only eaten raw, never turned into apple juice, apple pie, or any other dish.

Of course, fruits in this novel were quite precious, unlike in reality.

But they weren’t so rare that even nobles couldn’t afford them.

Yet, the only way to eat fruits was to wash and eat them raw. It made me wonder what the author was thinking with such a setting.

“You put… strawberries in a cake…?”

But thanks to that setting, Rebecca was now looking at me with a puzzled expression.

It was only natural for someone who had entered the novel to take advantage of such a thoughtless setting.

“I thought the sweet cream of the cake would pair well with the tartness of the strawberries, so I made it.”

“You made it yourself?”

Princess Rebecca expressed surprise once again at the fact that I had made the cake.

Her sparkling eyes, unable to hide her amazement, made me feel a pang of guilt.

In reality, all I had done was have the head chef of the Valencia Duchy prepare a cream cake and arrange the strawberries on top.

‘······The chef praised it as an amazing idea, so it should be fine.’

Recalling the chef’s pure smile and admiring gaze, I wanted to check on my conscience again.

But I brushed it off, thinking I had at least shared a good recipe with the chef.

“Can I… try it?”

Rebecca, who had been smiling and pondering whether to forgive me, now looked at the cake with sparkling eyes, eager to taste it.

Seeing her like this, I could confirm the assumption I had been making.

‘······She’s already over it.’

Rebecca’s mood had already improved, and she had only been pretending to still be upset to see my apologetic reaction.

That realization made me a bit annoyed.

I had come here with a sincere apology, but the person in question was only thinking of teasing me.

Originally, the cake was meant to cheer her up.

But if her mood had already improved, then I didn’t have to give her the cake so easily.

“Since I made it for you, of course you can have it.”

“Really? Then I’ll just…”

At my permission, Rebecca immediately reached for the strawberry cake.

But.

“However, there’s a condition.”

“······A condition?”

At my words, Rebecca’s expression turned sullen.

Feeling quite satisfied with her disappointed look, I declared to Rebecca.

“If you want to eat the cake, you can only eat it if I feed it to you.”

“···.”

The only way to eat the strawberry cake was if I fed it to her.

Hearing this, Rebecca looked utterly baffled.

Just moments ago, she had been excited at the thought of eating a cake she had never seen before, filled with her favorite strawberries.

But now, to eat it, she had to be fed by me, just like I had fed her soup this morning. It was understandably absurd.

It was an offer Rebecca would obviously refuse.

But.

“Alright, feed it to me.”

“If you don’t want to, you can apologize for teasing me earlier… What did you say?”

Nothing in the world is certain.

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

But Rebecca’s red eyes, staring straight at me, confirmed that she had indeed said it.

“···.”

Even though I had proposed it, I couldn’t help but feel extremely flustered.

Truthfully, I hadn’t expected Rebecca to accept such an outrageous offer.

I had only made the suggestion because I was annoyed at her teasing me after I had sincerely come to apologize.

I had planned to relent if Rebecca, swallowing her pride, asked me to.

After all, the cake was made for her in the first place.

But I never imagined she would accept such a ridiculous condition.

“What are you doing? You said you’d feed it to me.”

“······Huh? Yes.”

In fact, Rebecca, seeing me flustered by her unexpected response, urged me to hurry up and feed her.

Still in a state of disbelief, I took out the spoon I had prepared.

I scooped up a piece of the cake with a strawberry on it.

And I approached Rebecca, who had slightly parted her lips.

The distance closed, and soon we were close enough to hear each other’s soft breaths.

As Rebecca nodded, urging me to feed her, I, as if entranced, fed her the strawberry cake.

Her pink lips moved as she ate the cake, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Seeing my reflection in her bright red eyes, I realized I was the only one in her gaze.

Whoosh-

I stood up abruptly.

“······I’ll take my leave now.”

“···.”

Though it was rude for a subordinate to leave first, Rebecca didn’t stop me, and I hurriedly exited her room.

Thump thump-

My heart was pounding as if I had a deadly disease.

“······Why is this happening?”

I asked myself, unable to comprehend the current situation.

But all that remained was my flushed face and rapidly beating heart. No one answered my question.

***

After Albert left, only Rebecca remained in the room.

Thump thump-

In the room, where only the sound of an unknown heartbeat echoed.

“······I won.”

Rebecca quietly ate the cake, celebrating her first victory.

Unaware that the extent of her flushed face and the speed of her heartbeat meant she had essentially lost.

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