Chapter 3: A Masked Farce
Dahlia, entrusted with the mission of delivering the photo, headed to the newspaper office with a face full of dedication.
The hug with Helene was already shown at the villa, so it would be okay to omit it.
Returning to the residence, I decided to do something Masera would like, based on the information I got from Diego.
“He always drinks lattes during work. Two spoons of sugar.”
“He likes inventions and machines. He often goes to related museums, fairs, car shows, and air shows.”
It was a useful time to learn more about Masera.
“Coffee, strange machines……”
Lost in thought, I came up with a good idea.
Wasn’t I a modern person from a highly developed civilization? I should show him something very fun and amazing.
I smiled, imagining Masera clapping his hands in wonder. And I headed straight to his room.
“Are you busy?”
I asked, throwing the door open. I forgot to knock, but I thought he would understand once he saw this fun thing.
Masera quickly hid something, frowning. He hurriedly grabbed the magazine he was assembling as it was about to fall to the floor.
“Don’t you knock?”
“Want some coffee?”
“I already dr—”
“Coffee mix, a quick and easy way to make it without hurting your arm.”
I held up the electric drill, reciting a curiosity-inducing line.
He looked utterly incredulous when he saw the teaspoon tied to the end of the drill.
I lined up a can of coffee powder and a mug of warm milk on his desk.
“Now, put the coffee powder in the mug.”
Whether I had piqued his curiosity or not, he watched quietly as I used a spoon to scoop coffee powder into the mug.
“Soon, an amazing result will appear!”
I started the drill, and the spoon connected to the drill spun around in the cup.
Splash.
Unlike the imagination of showing off a cool coffee swirl and receiving applause, the milk that splattered splashed all over Masera’s face.
“Today we learned about centrifugal force. See you next time on curious Science Thief*…”
First of all, I felt like I had to run away quickly.
He wiped his face with a handkerchief and asked.
“How do you explain the milk splashing?”
“Error in the direction of circular motion—no, the molecular tension became loose…… I’m sorry!”
I said anything and left the spot as if running away.
* * *
Escaping to the kitchen, I sniffled and used the drill spoon to whip some whipped cream.
“Oh, that’s quite a good invention.”
Zad, a chef from Francia, clapped with an interesting look on his face. The kitchen staff also clapped along.
‘At least I got applause.’
Zad asked.
“Are you going to bake a cake?”
“I’m going to make a reconciliation snack for the Brigadier General.”
“A reconciliation snack?”
Zad’s eyes flashed, and the kitchen staff instantly surrounded me.
“How did you end up fighting?”
“Who won? No, first of all, we need to gather opinions on the reconciliation snack.”
After a long meeting, we finally concluded on a ‘blueberry whipped cream cake’. It was the blueberries I bought to eat for recovery, but I couldn’t help it.
Zad baked the bread, Mary, the trainee, spread the cream, and I diligently decorated it with blueberries.
Zad, who was helping with the finishing touches, asked.
“Is it true that Major General Izak and his wife will be joining the dinner banquet after the tea party?”
“Yeah. He said he wants to eat Zad’s wonderful Ratatouyou again.”
Duke Rukanosa, Helene, Carlos, and even the Prime Minister’s daughter, Valeria, were coming. I was going to be eating surrounded by enemies.
“That’s understandable.”
Zad, who nodded, handed over the cake in a box with a confident expression for some reason.
With the support of the kitchen staff behind me, I headed to Masera’s room with the completed cake. This time, I didn’t forget to knock.
“I made a cake. I thought you might want to try it.”
Hearing my voice, Masera put down his fountain pen and looked up.
Perhaps because of the milk that had splattered earlier, he had changed from his uniform to a suit.
“You made it?”
“About 90%.”
I said proudly.
I did all the hard work of stirring the whipped cream and stirring the batter, so let’s just say I have that much stake in it.
As I carefully placed the cake box on the desk, he picked up the box and stood up.
“I can’t eat it alone.”
“You can share it with others.”
“Then it’ll be not enough.”
What was I supposed to do?
He glanced at me, then gestured towards the sofa table.
Oh, he wanted to eat together? Was this a sign of reconciliation?
Following Masera and sitting across from me at the table, he took the cake out of the box.
Soon, Masera was seen biting his lip as he looked at the lettering on the cake.
I only have eyes for you.
Red letters written with a strawberry chocolate pen. In elegant calligraphy, to boot.
I stared blankly at the cake that had been revolutionized.
‘Zad wrote it without me knowing! No wonder he was smiling like Cupid of love!’
“……thank you for the cake.”
Masera cleared his throat and cut the cake.
I bore the suffocating awkwardness by stuffing my face with cake like a madwoman and asked.
“Is it good?”
“I haven’t eaten it yet.”
What should I talk about? I suddenly became speechless. In the end, I blurted out whatever came to mind.
“I heard you like playing tennis.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll practice hard.”
At my words, he who was tasting the cake, said.
“When your skills improve enough to play together, I will grant you whatever you wish.”
“Really?”
Then, even if it’s revealed later that I’m a fake Princess, pretend you don’t know!
I almost blurted out my inner thoughts without realizing it.
At that moment, Masera suddenly reached out to me. With a smile reaching his eyes, he wiped the cream from the corner of my mouth with his finger.
“Yes, the cake is delicious.”
For a moment, I felt my heart tremble.
“Um…… are you not angry?”
At my cautious question, he tilted his head and asked back nonchalantly.
“What is there to be angry about?”
‘This man…… was never angry with me from the get go.’
I gained a sudden realization.
He trusts me. Look at that smile!
I felt happy.
Okay, I’ll become a tennis genius through intense training. That way, we’ll become a team of two and go to the world championships, and he’ll cherish me, his soulmate, and be afraid of losing me!
I smiled brightly, turning the sports growth circuit in my head.
* * *
As the evening sun set. It was a good time for me to be active.
I grabbed a tennis racket and ball and slipped outside. And I ran quickly to the backyard where there were no people.
If I showed that I was working too hard, I felt like I would be moving away from the realm of talent, which was a condition for participating in the world championships.
“Meow.”
A mother cat came up to me and made a long cry. It was a sound demanding something?
“Meh-eh!”
And it made a sound searching for its kittens, scanning the surroundings.
In response, the baby cats began to gather one by one, but one was not visible.
“One, two, three, four…… uh? Where did Masera Cheese II go?”
The most feisty and capricious stubborn cheese cat had disappeared.
I looked up at the sky, which looked like it would snow at any moment, and found small footprints lined up in a line towards the forest.
At the end of the footprints, I could see the cheese cat looking this way from afar.
“Come here! It’s dangerous!”
If you go into the forest, you might get eaten by a beast!
Just in time, a large eagle appeared and circled above the cheese cat.
“No way, seriously!”
I was horrified and chased after the baby cat.
* * *
As night deepened, Dahlia came to Masera’s room with a pale face.
“What’s wrong?”
At Masera’s question, Dahlia clasped her hands tightly and bowed her head.
“Lady Cynthia—no, the Princess has disappeared.”
Sharp snowflakes were fluttering in the dark sky. It was a sign of a snowstorm.
“When did you find out?”
“I found out while bringing her dinner. I have already requested a search from the unit members.”
Masera, who stood up from his seat, recalled the previous kidnapping incident.
‘But there’s no way a spy could have infiltrated the residence.’
Dahlia added.
“I was on my way back from looking outside, and it seemed like she headed towards the forest. We need to quickly search with additional personnel.”
The forest? Could it be that she left on her own because of the scandal?
If you pass through the forest, you’ll find the road to the small train station.
Masera immediately grabbed his coat and went outside.
‘So, she left me without a word, on her own? Even in this weather?’
“Dahlia, how did the Princess react to the scandal article?”
Dahlia looked at Masera with resentful eyes.
“She was very upset. She was worried that the Brigadier General would misunderstand and hate her. It seemed like she was making every effort to ease the Brigadier General’s heart……”
He recalled Cynthia asking with a subdued expression when she brought the cake earlier.
“Um…… are you not angry?”
“What is there to be angry about?”
He reviewed whether his answer was appropriate.
Could it be that she thought he didn’t care in the first place?
At that moment, a maid hurriedly ran up and handed something over.
“I found this in the Princess’s room.”
Masera’s eyes widened as he received the paper the maid handed over.
‘……A will?’
Suddenly, Cynthia’s smiling face flickered before his eyes.
At the same time, the bright smile of a subordinate who had taken his own life came to mind, and he felt his heart drop.
💟 Translator Notes 💟
*nod to ‘과학도둑’ (Science Thief), a kids educational science comic and book series.
*cheese cat: it’s a yellow/orange cat- mostly orange tabbys. Korean cat lover communities describe them as feisty, cute, proud, and bratty af. Think “fiery little tsundere”. Cute, hard to please, but annoyingly adorable.
AGORA O PAU VAI COMER MEU POVO, meu Deus