The Queen Who Deserves To Be Tainted - Chapter 42.2

“Who asked to meet first? Was it the Queen?”

“No, it was Princess Rachela who requested it.”

That was a more satisfactory answer. If the Queen had generously initiated the unnecessary meeting, Ejnar would’ve scolded her for it.

Feeling a bit better, he took a bite of the jelly.

It was as sweet as last year, but the flavor was impressive. However, the sugar coating on his hands bothered him, and he furrowed his brow.

Robert, noticing this, poured some tea into a cup and said,

“You don’t like sweets much, but at least try it. It should be fine when paired with the tea.”

“Is that all that’s in one of these?”

“No, there’s more. As usual, the Central Palace attendants will finish it off, so don’t worry.”

Ejnar paused for a moment before asking,

“Why are you all eating my gift?”

Why are we eating it?

At the surprised reaction, Robert looked dumbfounded.

“What? You don’t like them, so you usually give us sweets when they are given as gifts.”

“…This doesn’t seem as sweet as I thought.”

Ejnar responded calmly.

“No need to finish it all. If we wait too long, the flavor will fade, so bring the rest out now. I’m feeling a bit hungry anyway.”

“What? But last year, you only took one bite and then said it was too sweet to eat before giving the rest to us!”

“I guess my tastes have changed. It’s not so bad now.”

“Not even a year has passed, and now it’s not as sweet? Truly unpredictable. Ah, I was about to finish it all myself!”

Robert, who liked sweets unlike his master, muttered grumpily to himself as he walked away. Ejnar chuckled and popped another piece of jelly into his mouth. The intense sweetness made him immediately furrow his brows.

‘…This is disgustingly sweet.’

Still, as Robert had mentioned, it wasn’t so bad when paired with tea.

After all, it was a gift from the Queen. If someone else ate it, he might regret it later, especially if it came to light that he had let it be eaten by another. That could jeopardize the goodwill he had worked so hard to earn.

With this rationalization, he grabbed another jelly.

However, just as he was about to eat it, another servant approached. The servant looked at Ejnar, who was indulging in sweets, with a slightly curious gaze. Feeling a twinge of embarrassment, Ejnar cleared his throat and waved his hand dismissively.

“What is it?”

“Ah, well…”

The servant hesitated before delivering the news carefully.

“Princess Rachela has requested an audience.”

* * *

That night, Ejnar took a moment to visit the Solar Palace. His duties had kept him busy, and it had been a long time since he had visited.

With a gift in hand, he felt it was only proper to stop by.

“Your Majesty.”

Elfreda approached him with an unusually cheerful expression. Ejnar, who interpreted her reaction simply as a response to his presence, couldn’t help but smile.

“I received the gift you sent.”

“Oh! Have you tried it?”

Seeing her face brighten so quickly, he couldn’t help but feel glad that he had eaten it all himself. He couldn’t imagine how disappointed she would have been if she had found out it had been eaten by someone else.

Ejnar chuckled and replied,

“Yes, it was good. But I didn’t eat it all myself.”

“I’m glad you liked it. I was hoping you’d try it.”

Apparently, Illene hadn’t told Elfreda that he had already tasted it. But then again, it was probably unnecessary information for her to know.

“I was worried it might be too sweet, but I’m glad it was to your liking.”

“It was fine. By the way…”

Ejnar casually glanced at Elfreda, testing her reaction.

“I heard you met Princess Rachela today.”

“Ah, yes. Did Illene tell you?”

As soon as the topic of Princess Rachela came up, Elfreda’s face lit up even more as she began to excitedly talk about everything that had happened with her earlier that day. She seemed even more animated now than when they had been talking about the gift, and Ejnar couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

He had the feeling that this was oddly familiar… wasn’t it just like when he had sent Illene to the Solar Palace?

‘…What’s this?’

It dawned on him as he realized the truth.

‘She wasn’t happy because of me?’