Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru

    Blub blub blub…
    A savoury smell began drifting from the boiling pot . I closely watched and stirred the ingredients inside .  

    Yep, this is good . Both the vegetables and meat have been boiled to perfection .  

    I wiped away the hot sweat on my forehead as I scooped out the lye floating around the rim .
    Of course, one will sweat if they stand in front of a fireplace for long enough . Right now I was totally soaked from head to toe, as if I had recently come out of the pool .  

    I reached for the towel that I had nearby .  

“Excuse me . ” 

“Woah! It’s hot!” 

    Taking a quick glance, I saw Rolf and Lily enter the room .
    Lily tied up her sleeves so that they wouldn’t get in the way while Rolf left the door opened to combat the heat .  This house was lent to me so that I could cook, so I’d appreciate if you would be less violent with it .  

“Miss Marie, let me help . ” 

“Thank you . Then can you look after the pot for me?” 

“What about me?” 

“You can help me spread out the dough over there . ” 

“Gotcha . ” 

    They were both friends who used to cook together back in the clan .

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    They understood my directions without needing many words . These two came in very handy, and I was thankful for their help . It felt like I was cooking with my family once again .  

“…” 

    My brother’s face flashed across my mind .
    I stared at the iron plate, remembering Johan’s strange behaviour a few hours ago . He had slapped his own cheeks before squeezing mine, then after realizing what he had done, his face was dyed red and he ran off like a rabbit and I haven’t seen him since .

    I hoped that he would’ve found somewhere to rest properly, but I couldn’t find the courage to go and search for him .
    I was a little afraid to meet him again after he saw my face and ran away . If I chased after him and he looked at me with an upset face, my heart would probably shatter into pieces . Even though I knew he wasn’t that sort of child, I couldn’t help but fear for the worst .

“Oi, what are you s.p.a.cing out for?” 

    While I was lost in thought, Rolf called out, somehow already standing next to me .
    In his hands were a bunch of neatly stretched chapati dough .   

“We’re planning on baking a lot with all this though, right? If we don’t start soon, we’ll be out of time . ” 

    Rolf pushed me away and stood in front of the iron plate . After hovering his hand over the plate to check if it was hot enough, he began to spread out the dough .  ‘I’ve been helping out many times already, so I’m used to it,’ he said .  

“Thank you . ” 

    When I thanked him, Rolf turned around with a stupefied look in his eyes .
    Though there were wrinkles between his brows, it was out of confusion, not anger . If anything, he was rather surprised .  

“…Don’t stand in a daze in front of the fire again, you witch . ”

    Ah, so I made him worry .
    His last words weren’t cute at all, but that didn’t matter to me .  

“‘Witch?!’ Are you blind?!” 

    Slam!
    The door that was soundly shut before had suddenly burst open with a bang .  

    The guest cast his gaze on the boy as he shouted deafeningly . Lily and Rolf were frozen in place .  

“……Who?” 

    They asked with one voice; the two overlapped perfectly .
    Speaking of which, I wasn’t able to introduce him to the two who were busy up till now .  

“Uhm, Johan…?” 

“From what angle did you see my sister from that ‘witch’ was the thing that came to your tiny mind? It’s not just her face; from her silky hair to her l.u.s.trous nails… No, if we’re talking beauty then it has to be her heart! And you have the gall to call her a witch?! Either your eyes have betrayed you, or there’s something wrong with your head!” 

“Sister…?” 

    Lily turned away from the… lively Johan and stared at me in wonder .
    I lowered my face and squeezed the bridge of my nose .  

“Yes, this is my brother… probably . ” 

    I muttered with absolutely no confidence whatsoever .  

    By the time we finished our meal, the outside had already turned dark .
    Me, Lily, Rolf, and Johan sitting at the same table were, to put it simply, a ticking time bomb . We just ate our meals in silence .  

“…Johan . ” 

“Y-Yes?” 

    When I gently called out to him, he jumped sharply and his voice betrayed his surprise .  

“Here’s your soup . Please be careful since it’s hot . ” 

“T-Thank you very much!” 

“It’s something I’ve made myself, so it might be as good as the castle’s, but I a.s.sure you it’s not that bad . ” 

“Sister’s home-cooked meal…” 

    When I handed the bowl over, Johan received it with clumsy hands . I hoped that it was the lamp in the room that made his face so bright red . And all this mumbling over my cooking, ‘this is precious…‘ was just me hearing things . Yeah! I’m sure of it! Definitely! 

“…Your brother is a weird guy . ” 

    Yep .
    This was the first time I wanted to fully agree with Rolf’s words .  

    I wonder if I should feel relieved that he doesn’t hate me or facepalm at his, er, joyful att.i.tude instead . Although I was happy to see him elated when he saw me, he said too many words that I couldn’t just ignore .

    He had been separated from his sister for four whole years . ‘Boys sure grow up fast〜’, I first thought, feeling all sentimental .

    However… My brother, haven’t you and your thoughts veered off onto a strange path?
    I mean, who were you talking about when you said ‘her beautiful heart’? Your sister’s heart is dirty filth, I tell you .  

    My brother was beautifying me in his mind while we were apart .
    As if there’s no limit to his fantasies… Or would it be an illusion at this point; everything he saw of me was seen through a thick, rose-coloured filter .  

“Miss Marie, please help yourself . ” 

    A chapati roll filled with stir-fried pork and vegetables was handed to me .
    I thanked Lily and gladly received it .  

    Yeah, let’s put this matter about my weird brother in the backburner for now . First, let’s eat . We’re going to be very busy starting tomorrow after all .
    I glanced at Johan who was eagerly chewing on the chapati roll and blowing the soup to cool it down .  

“…!” 

    Johan, who had taken a sip, stared in amazement and unintentionally muttered, ‘It’s delicious…’ I was relieved that he liked it .  

“I’m glad that it is to your taste . ” 

“So you are able to cook, Sister . ” 

    Speaking of which, I couldn’t remember making anything for Johan before .  

“All of Miss Marie’s dishes are quite a delight, you know?” 

“Well, it’s not bad, I guess . ” 

    Once Lily and Rolf said their part, Johan made a bitter face . He held onto the soup bowl with both hands and quietly kept staring at it .  

“Johan…?” 

“I never knew anything . I didn’t know that you could cook, nor the fact that you are knowledgeable when it comes to medicine… Or even the reason you are in the Kingdom of Wind right now . Nothing . ” 

    Johan’s childish pout and voice reminded me of his past self .

    Being separated for so long, it was natural that we didn’t know some things about each other .
    But I was sure that things hadn’t changed much .  

“You’re right… Then, let’s talk . ” 

    After finishing the meal, we talked about the past leading up to this moment over tea .
    I told him about what I had been through in the last four years while Johan was studying abroad . As the story progressed, Johan’s complexion turned pale, Lily was crying, and Rolf was stunned .  

    Thinking back to it all, I am out of the norm for a princess, aren’t I?
    I feel like I lack awareness when it comes to myself . A tomboyish princess, if you will . Yeah, sounds about right .  

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