Craving Something Sweet

With the gathering winding down, nobles began filing out of the salon until only a handful remained.

The ones still lingering were mostly young male nobles hoping for one more chance to speak with Princess Yupe.

Incidentally, Princess Yupe was also popular with the noblewomen.

If anything, their enthusiasm might have been even more fervent.

One might expect that a woman adored by men would be resented by other women, but Princess Yupe was a leader in the latest fashion and cosmetics, making her something of a trendsetter among the young ladies of the court.

One noblewoman asked about a more flattering hairstyle, and with a single hairpin and a few deft adjustments, the transformation was striking.

The young lady squealed with delight.

Even to Yohane's eye, her aura had completely changed; she was noticeably more attractive.

Princess Yupe watched the elated young woman hurry off with a gentle smile. She looked more graceful and maternal than usual.

Deciding there was no point staying any longer, he made to leave the salon.

Princess Yupe apparently had nothing else to do either and tagged along.

"Now then, a question for you, Yohane-kun."

"What's with the formality?"

After walking a short way down the hallway, Princess Yupe cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

She was usually so casual, even overly familiar… Was she scheming something?

"When you ask someone a favor, what do you need?"

She closed one eye and fixed him with a look.

Ah, he got it.

This was a demand for suitable compensation in return for her help.

"Gratitude proportional to the favor. What would you like, Yupe-sama?"

"My, I never said I wanted anything in return. How sweet of you."

You never said it, but you certainly demanded it, he thought silently.

He knew full well she wasn't the type to back down even if he pointed that out.

If anything, she'd probably tack on extras.

Azu was smiling wryly beside him.

"I could just put it on your tab."

"Owing you a favor terrifies me, so I'd rather settle up here and now."

"Oh, come on. Even if I put it on your tab, I wouldn't ask for anything weird."

Despite the wild first impression she'd made, he'd come to learn she was fairly sensible… but she also had a side that could say anything if you let your guard down.

"I've been talking nonstop in the salon and I'm starving. I had tea but never got a chance to snack."

"You were surrounded by people the whole time, after all. Same thing happened at the conference with the foreign ambassadors…"

"Well, I enjoy chatting, so that's fine, but it doesn't make the hunger go away. Ahh, I really want some cake."

"Shall I ask the castle kitchen to make some?"

"What!? No, it should be from a popular sweets shop in the Royal Capital. I want sincerity, sincerity. Oh, it's not that the castle chef's cakes aren't good. But a cake made with premium ingredients meant to be sold to customers has a higher happiness quotient than one made while worrying about the ingredient budget, don't you think?"

"I suppose that's true, but…"

So she was telling him to go buy some.

It was still early enough that the shops would be open.

"Oh, I'll go buy them."

"Thanks, Azu. I'm counting on you."

Azu, ever perceptive, volunteered and he handed her the money.

Half a dozen, with an assortment of flavors.

Three would technically be enough, but they might run into Queen Tianis, and he wanted to stop by and say hello to Evalin as well.

"Take them to my room, would you? Be careful out there!"

They both watched Azu dash off.

"Shall we wait upstairs, then?"

"All right."

Following Princess Yupe, he climbed the stairs to the upper floors of the castle.

They stepped into the royals' private area.

He'd been here enough times that it didn't make him too nervous anymore.

"This way, this way."

"Yupe-sama, I'd like to greet Her Majesty Tianis first."

"Really? Just leave her be."

"I can't do that. If she finds out later, I'm the one who gets an earful."

"Fine, fine."

You're my subordinate, so why didn't you even come greet me? He didn't want to hear that.

Young girl or not, being scolded by a woman was never pleasant.

He knocked on Queen Tianis's office door, received permission, and entered.

Inside was the young queen, working away in silence.

… No, on closer inspection, she was spinning her pen around and playing with it.

She'd probably gotten bored with her work and was blowing off steam.

"What? Do you have something to say to me?"

"Not at all, Your Majesty. Nothing whatsoever."

Better not to point it out. She could be scary.

Even as they spoke, a maid deposited another stack of documents on the desk, and the queen's face twisted in displeasure.

"With Anatia-neesan gone, all the work's piling up on me. And Yupe-neesan just weasels her way out of everything."

"Ah, so that's why you were reluctant to come here."

"Don't be silly. Nothing of the sort. Eheheh."

At some point, Yupe had hidden behind Yohane. Now she emerged with a forced smile.

"Perfect timing, my lovely elder sister. It's time to work."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, my queen and adorable little sister."

Sparks flew between the sisters' gazes.

But having come here in the first place, Princess Yupe didn't have a leg to stand on.

"I'll help too, so let's power through it. Azu went out to buy cake, so…"

"Cake!?"

Queen Tianis's voice rang through the room.

She seemed surprised at her own outburst and quickly composed herself.

"I've been working since morning, so I need sugar. Got a problem with that!?"

"I didn't say a word."

"Same here. Making excuses just proves you care. Still green, little sister."

"… I don't need to keep up appearances around you two."

And so, one thing leading to another, he ended up helping with the paperwork.

With three of them at it, it went fairly quickly.

Princess Yupe actually did solid work when she buckled down, so maybe she was diligent at heart.

Still, Anatia really was something else to have been handling this volume of work without batting an eye.

He'd known she was well-educated, but she was an outstanding worker too. Flawless.

He found himself missing the days they'd worked side by side.

They reached a good stopping point.

"By the way, how is Evalin-san doing?"

"Hmm, she's probably in her room. When she's free, she pitches in with magical work. She can maintain the barrier all by herself, which has freed up the court mages to finally tackle other projects."

"Shall I go fetch her, then? Azu should be back soon."

"Sure. Thanks."

He headed for the guest room assigned to Evalin.