Chapter 19

Actually, it wasn’t the first time I had seen Rebecca sulk.

Just thinking back to when I first met the princess, I had failed to notice her sensitive state and ended up making her sulk, which made me blame myself.

Even when we hadn’t known each other for long, I had managed to make the princess sulk.

I didn’t even need to explain how many times I had seen Rebecca’s pouty face over the past three years.

“…The princess?”

“Yes… She said she doesn’t even want to see your face…”

But this situation was a first.

Rebecca refusing to see me altogether.

Until now, even if the princess was upset, she would just make an annoyed face or ignore me.

But I had never experienced being outright rejected like this.

‘…Just how sulky is she?’

I couldn’t even begin to gauge how much I had upset Rebecca.

“Princess Rebecca… seems really angry, doesn’t she?”

Seeing my serious expression, Dorothy seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.

Judging by how worried her voice sounded.

“…Yeah.”

“Should I prepare strawberries as usual?”

Dorothy asked if we should prepare strawberries, as we always did.

For us, strawberries were a kind of code, a word that carried its own meaning.

You might think this sounds like nonsense, but it was true.

Between Dorothy and me, strawberries were the word we used to soothe Rebecca’s anger.

Preparing strawberries meant preparing to calm the princess’s anger.

If we agreed, Dorothy would prepare the strawberries, and I would take them to Rebecca, always managing to calm her down.

Then someone might ask.

How could someone’s pent-up feelings be resolved with just a strawberry? How absurd.

I completely understood that criticism. Because I had once thought the same.

In “The Crown Prince Wields a Sword,” there were plenty of descriptions of Rebecca Valencia loving strawberries.

So much so that some comments joked that the author was doing strawberry product placement through Rebecca.

From the story, it was clear just how much Rebecca loved strawberries.

But the real Princess Valencia was truly a character faithful to the original setting.

Most of her tantrums could be resolved just by bringing her strawberries.

Watching her, I sometimes wondered if Rebecca had been a strawberry farmer in a past life.

In any case, Rebecca’s love for strawberries was more genuine than anyone else’s, and strawberries always managed to soothe her troubled heart.

“…Well. I don’t think strawberries will work this time.”

This time, I had a bad feeling that strawberries wouldn’t be enough.

Even though I didn’t know why the princess was angry or why she didn’t want to see me.

My three years of experience with Rebecca told me that strawberries alone wouldn’t solve this.

“Well, it’s the first time the princess has said she doesn’t even want to see the prince… *sigh*”

A sigh escaped me.

I was already troubled by not being able to figure out the princess’s behavior, and now Dorothy was agreeing with me.

I had no idea what to do.

I thought about it for a while, but no good solution came to mind.

“You must be tired from coming here. Should I bring you some ice cream?”

Dorothy, perhaps feeling sorry for me as I struggled to find a way to soothe her princess, suggested I take a break with some dessert.

“No, it’s fine…”

I was about to refuse, thinking that dessert like ice cream wouldn’t help in this situation.

‘…Ice cream?’

Until the simple word “ice cream” hit me.

“…Ah.”

Finally, I had found it.

A way to soothe the sulky princess.

“Dorothy, can I use the kitchen?”

“…I’ll ask the head chef first.”

Normally, a noble family’s chef or head chef would be shocked by an outsider asking to use the kitchen.

“…Ice cream, you say?”

“Yes. …Ice cream.”

“That’s a surprising idea.”

“Right? So, help me make it.”

“Of course, I’ll help. Prince Albert.”

Since I had once satisfied the head chef of the Valencia Duchy with a “strawberry cake,” I was able to borrow the kitchen without any trouble.

With the head chef’s help, I managed to complete the dessert to soothe Rebecca.

And now, it was time for the real test.

***

Rebecca had been in a very bad mood lately.

There was no particular reason. Her daily life hadn’t changed much.

The only thing that had changed was that her fiancé, who used to visit at least once every three days, hadn’t come for over a week.

It couldn’t be just that reason that made her mood so bad, so it was right to say there was no special reason for her bad mood.

Even though she was in a bad mood for no apparent reason.

Today, her mood was even worse than usual.

Because earlier, her maid Dorothy had brought news that her fiancé Albert had come to visit.

The news that Albert had come after a week and a day had made her mood worse.

So she told Dorothy to send him away, saying she didn’t want to see him.

And now, Rebecca was feeling a bit of regret.

“…Maybe I should have just let him come.”

Because her daily life, which was always the same, was incredibly boring.

The upcoming debutante preparations and the education she had always received as the next Duchess of Valencia.

Her daily life, with nothing exciting, always made her feel bored.

The one who had relieved that boredom was her fiancé, and with Albert not coming, she naturally felt the boredom more keenly.

But Rebecca would never, ever admit that.

How could the next Duchess of Valencia feel bored in her daily life just because her fiancé didn’t come?

Especially a fiancé who always teased her.

It was ridiculous.

Even though Rebecca herself knew better than anyone whether that made sense or not.

The proud princess would never admit it.

So today, as usual, Rebecca had finished her tasks early and was lying on her bed, thinking of nothing.

Knock knock-

“…Who is it?”

“It’s Dorothy, my lady.”

“What is it?”

“I brought you some ice cream in case you’re feeling hot.”

Even though it was only March and Rebecca didn’t feel hot at all, the mention of ice cream made her want to eat it.

“…Come in.”

Creak-

Since Rebecca was lying with her back to the door, she couldn’t see clearly, but hearing the door open, it seemed Dorothy had entered the room with her permission.

Since you can’t eat ice cream while lying down, the princess also got up from the bed to see who had come in.

“…Why are you here…”

“Long time no see, Princess.”

Surprisingly(?), the person who had entered the room wasn’t her maid Dorothy but her fiancé Albert.

Plop-

As soon as she saw her fiancé’s face, she immediately lay back down.

She didn’t know why she was angry, but she was still mad at her fiancé.

“…Get out.”

“I’ll leave after giving you this.”

But despite her telling him to leave, Albert shamelessly didn’t leave right away.

“…What is that?”

Curious about what her fiancé, who had come after a week and a day, had brought.

She turned back to look at Albert.

“As Dorothy mentioned earlier, it’s ice cream.”

What her fiancé had brought was indeed ice cream.

“…Why is it this color?”

It was just that the color of the ice cream was red, unlike any ice cream she had ever eaten.

“It’s strawberry ice cream.”

“…Strawberry ice cream?”

Her fiancé even called it “strawberry” ice cream.

Even though Rebecca, born as the only daughter of the Duke’s family, had eaten quite a lot of ice cream in her life.

This was the first time she had seen ice cream made with strawberries.

Who would even think to put fruit in ice cream?

And Rebecca’s doubts were completely resolved when she heard Albert’s words.

“Do you remember the strawberry cake I made for you before?”

“…Ah.”

“It’s the same principle.”

She remembered it too.

That was the first time she had been upset with her fiancé, and the first and last time her fiancé had made something for her.

Even after that, she had asked Albert to make it for her a few times.

– Eating too much isn’t good for your health.

Her fiancé had refused, using her health as an excuse.

“…Did you make this yourself too?”

“I had a little help, but I made it myself this time too.”

Moreover, her fiancé said he had made it himself this time too.

Remembering how delicious the strawberry cake had been, Rebecca couldn’t resist the strawberry ice cream in front of her.

Just as she reached for the spoon.

Tap-

Her fiancé slapped her hand away.

“…What are you doing?”

Naturally, she asked what he thought he was doing.

“Do you remember how you ate the strawberry cake?”

“Of course I remember. You fed it to me…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…”

Only after hearing Albert’s cheeky reply did she realize what this man wanted.

“I’ll feed it to you again this time.”

At Albert’s words, saying he would feed her again.

She nodded slightly.

“…Do as you please.”

Her heart was pounding again, but.

This pounding was because she was looking forward to tasting the strawberry ice cream, not because her fiancé was going to feed her.

At least, that’s what Rebecca thought.

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