The Princess is Going on Strike - Chapter 27
Chapter 27
His eyes widened as he looked down at me. I had no idea what Ethan was thinking but I could see him shift his brown eyes back and forth scanning my mask. Despite wearing my mask, the way he stared at me made it feel like he was looking at my bare face. Ethan bit his lip then spoke.
“Then what do you gain from all this, Aerylle? This incident will cause a lot of people to voice their anger and the arrow will naturally be pointed towards the Brixia family. If that happens, then you could be in danger too. Are you saying this with all that in mind?”
“Are you worried about me? Don’t worry. I will take care of myself.”
I didn’t want to die until I at least saw Oledin collapse and roll on the market streets. Everything else can be dealt with after that. I looked at Ethan who was full of concern, then started to turn around. My footsteps echoed in the corridor. I opened my mouth to speak, stopped, then bit my lip. I shook my head before speaking again.
“Let’s go to my room.”
“What?”
He looked at me with a bewildered look on his face.
“There are too many eyes here. We need a space for just the two of us.”
There was only one room that I was allowed to use in the Imperial palace anyway. I pulled on Ethan’s sleeve to lead him forward and noticed his distorted expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Do you have a maid assigned to your room?”
“No. I told Alissa that she could take a break today, so it’s likely no one will come. It’ll only be the two of us.”
“The two of…..”
“…..?”
What’s wrong with him?
I looked at Ethan with a puzzled expression before turning away. I really didn’t have the time to be worried about his reaction since my head was full of other thoughts. I led Ethan, who was feeling restless, back to my room.
It looks like the weather is getting warmer.
I felt some moisture inside of my mask, turned around, and wiped the sweat that was coming from behind the mask with a handkerchief. I turned back and frowned when I looked at Ethan.
“…..?”
What’s wrong with him?
I was puzzled by Ethan who was hesitating outside of my door. It was strange to see a man who came into the room and chatted normally yesterday, now staring at the door as if there was a huge barrier stopping him from entering. I walked towards the door, opened it wide. Ethan opened his eyes widely, looked around, then bowed his head to me.
“Um, Aerylle? I’m asking this just in case.”
“What is it?”
“If you have other intentions…..”
“Other intentions?”
What intentions is he talking about? It’s not like I’m trying to deceive or use him. I just wanted to explain my plans for the future and have his cooperation. I didn’t want others to hear our talk, so I brought him to my room… but is there a problem with that?
I looked at Ethan, shook my head, and pointed to a chair in the room. He hesitated as if being blocked by a ghost wall, walked into my room as if and sat down in the chair my finger was indicating as if he were being forced to.
He finally came in.
I closed the door. Because there was no separate tea pantry, I checked the teapot that Alissa normally used. There weren’t any separate tea leaves provided, but the pot still had some dried leaves inside. The strong scent indicated that it was raspberry leaves.
Will it be too sweet?
I turned slightly towards Ethan who was sitting in a stiff posture. I tilted my head and called out to him.
“Ethan.”
“Yes?”
He answered me with an awkward smile, as if he were about to throw up.
“You’re doing a grand job of letting people know that you’re in here, if that’s what you intended, but if not, please keep your voice down.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Ethan nodded with an embarrassed expression. I raised the corners of my mouth as I noticed his state and spoke again.
“Do you like things that taste sweet?”
“I’m not a picky eater and tend to eat everything.”
“If you want something that has a smoother and lighter scent, I can see if I can find other leaves.”
“It’s fine.”
Shaking his head gently, Ethan nodded timidly. I looked around to see where I could get the hot water to steep the tea.
Where do I get the hot water from?
I learned how to make tea when I was younger, but I never had the chance to serve others, so it’s been over 15 years since I last did this.
It’s funny that I remember that now. I’ve always only drank tea that Nanny Aubera brewed…
I kept looking around to also find the tool that boiled the water when I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back. Ethan walked up to my side, looked at what I was doing, and tilted his head. He glanced at the teapot that I was holding and spoke.
“You just need to pour water into it and it’ll boil water to the right temperature on its own.”
“…..What?”
“Some tools used in the Imperial Palace are engraved with special magic. This one is engraved with magic that can automatically boil water to the temperature fitting to make tea. They’re not used as much these days. It was developed for the sake of the Imperial family, but since everyone has different tastes, it turned out to be a failed product since it wouldn’t boil to one’s desired temperature.”
He lightly tapped the spout of the teapot with his finger. The mage tower’s symbol of an eagle with outstretched wings holding a scroll was faintly engraved there.
“…..”
“It’s pretty hard to see these days, but it looks like your maid did a good job of getting one. I’ve used them before and they’re quite useful.”
Ethan nodded and spoke without mentioning my embarrassing situation.
To think that I’d be struggling to make tea when I was the one who confidently asked him if he liked sweet things. How funny it would’ve made me look.
He then moved his hands towards the pot, opened the lid, poured water into it, then picked up the teacup to wipe it gently with a clean cloth.
“And I’ve been drinking tea for quite some time now. After breathing in the sandy dust for so long there are times when I crave a cold drink instead of tea.”
I glanced down after hearing what he said. Ethan’s large hands were full of calluses and thick fingers, but he had treated my cheeks softly and delicately when applying the ointment the day before.
“Aerylle?”
“Yes?”
I looked up at Ethan and saw him grinning as he lifted the tea set.
“Go and take a seat.”
Ethan was the first to move and put the tea set on the table. He then opened the lid, took a whiff of the rising steam, before carefully pouring the tea in the teacups. His actions were very cautious.
Maybe “cautious” isn’t the right word.
I had the tendency to be more impatient, so I would often crumple paper up when making mistakes while writing. And since I would move around quickly, I would often break things and of course, I had to fix that habit since Nanny Aubera kept nagging me so much.
But to say that a knight who normally uses a sword is delicate and gentle is indeed strange. I swallowed a bitter smile as I reminded myself that one should not judge others only by their appearances.
Did I just judge someone by their appearance when I alway hope that others don’t do it to me? And to think that Ethan, the guest, is the one preparing tea instead of me when I should be the one to treat him.
It was embarrassing but astonishing at the same time. I tilted the cup towards my lips slightly as I looked at his face. Seeing me nod at the familiar taste, he seemed to look satisfied at my reaction, and tilted his own cup to drink his tea.
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