“So, what’s the reason?” Estian asked, with a tone holding as much gravity as his subordinate’s.
The pie shop had also been at the forefront of Estian’s mind since their arrival in Aluna. After all, it was the first shop Cecile wanted to visit here. That’s why Estian had intended their first stop to be the pie shop, but as their coach approached its location, not even a whiff of the savory smell described in Cecile’s book could be detected.
As feared, when they arrived in front of the shop, they found the front of the establishment to be sparse, with some rubbish gathering at its entrance. Anyone could tell immediately that the store had shuttered, and for quite some time at that. When a knight approached to investigate, he’d found a note attached to the door stating the store was closed indefinitely.
“I wanted to try their pies…” Cecile muttered sadly, as her eyes started to glisten.
How sorely had she desired to try their pie that she would tear up? Seeing Cecile’s disappointment, Estian immediately called over one of the imperial guards and quietly ordered, “Find out where the owner of this shop is, and why it closed down. No, just bring them to the villa.”
So long as the owner was alive and kicking with their limbs intact, Estian thought he or she could just as easily bake pies in the villa.
“They said they couldn’t make any more due to a lack of ingredients, sir.”
“What’s that all about? What ingredients do they lack exactly?”
Although Estian was not at all versed in confectionery, even he knew the basic ingredients that went into making an apple pie— flour, sugar, butter, and apples. If someone were to ask whether these items were difficult to procure in the empire, then the answer would be a resounding ‘no.’ No matter how he tried to wrap his head around it, he couldn’t figure out what ingredient the shop owner lacked.
“There are no apples apparently.”
Estian’s face contorted at the ridiculousness of the statement. He would’ve rather accepted the excuse that there was some secret elusive ingredient that couldn’t be found. But apples? The owner dared to give such an insincere excuse to a knight of the imperial guard and think they could get off scot-free?
“Bring that wretch over,” Estian snarled.
“It didn’t seem like a lie, Your Majesty!” the knight hastily exclaimed upon seeing Estian’s face turn ferocious, before quickly explaining the full story.
* * *
After finishing up his conversation with the knight, Estian returned to the room again. Cecile was still standing where he’d left her, admiring the view from the balcony.
“I think it’s best to go in now,” Estian quietly suggested, as he removed his dress cloak to drape over his wife’s shoulders.
‘I did sleep a bit too much, but he’s being such a worrywart,’ Cecile thought, as she let out a small sigh at his actions. Estian had been acting like this ever since their return from the dukedom of Etia.
She slept for three days straight after their return, and even after then, she would often spend at least half the day napping. As a result, the doctors of the imperial palace practically lived in the empress’s palace to provide around-the-clock care. It wasn’t just the doctors too—Estian nagged Richard daily to check on his wife’s condition. Apart from a sense of drowsiness, Cecile herself felt like there was nothing wrong with her body. While some had suggested that the empress might be pregnant, that hadn’t been the case either.
As the days went on, Cecile became increasingly bothered by everyone’s constant hovering, and what was even more frustrating was… “Achoo!” A single sneeze was all it took to send everyone into a frenzy.
“Her Majesty sneezed!”
“Contact everyone quickly!”
“Gather all the pharmacists!”
“I beg you all, please stop. Ah-ah-achoo!” Cecile pleaded. The culprit was the pollen in the air making her nose itch, and of course, pollen irritation never ended with just one sneeze. However, the alarm the imperial doctors portrayed from her ensuing sneezes were as if they were witnessing the apocalypse.
“Declare an emergency order in the empire! She sneezed twice! It’s an emergency!”
In her frustration, Cecile inadvertently blurted, “Will you maniacs cut it out!” An emergency alert because of two sneezes? Could they be any fussier? It was at this moment that Estian returned to the empress’s palace.
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