Come On, Give Me Another Bite
Truth be told, Victoria had been thoroughly furious.
From the Crow she had learned the full story, and she knew Kyle had not abandoned her. Even so—the fact remained that the dinner she had waited for so desperately had been ruined outright. That was simply the truth.
…Hmph. Circumstances or not.
All the way to his residence, Victoria pouted her lips again and again. She fully intended to give that man a stern talking-to. Never again, she would say. She meant to make him understand, thoroughly, just how grave a crime it was to leave her waiting in vain for so long.
…And yet.
The moment the door opened and she came face-to-face with Kyle, Victoria found her words stuck fast in her throat.
The man was looking at her with an expression of pure, unmistakable terror. His face was drawn and haggard, as if he had been up all night, and still he stood there, fidgeting helplessly at the mere sight of her.
Looking at that face, somehow… all the anger she had been carefully nursing melted clean away.
…Ugh. What is that pitiful expression even supposed to be?
The scolding she had prepared, the revenge she had been plotting—both vanished without a trace. Faced with a man so openly flustered, she was the one who ended up feeling awkward.
And right then—
Sniff, sniff…
From somewhere inside, a faint, savory aroma drifted out and tickled the tip of Victoria’s nose.
Th-this smell…
It was the warm, golden fragrance of something fried in butter—so mouthwateringly good that Victoria found herself following it with little unconscious sniffs.
Come to think of it, she had barely eaten a proper meal all day. She had skipped dinner waiting for this man, then come racing here in the middle of the night.
…The moment the thought struck her, her stomach raised a clamorous protest.
Victoria gave Kyle—who was still blocking the doorway—a light push and stepped inside as if entranced.
“Uh—Your Highness?”
Kyle stammered something in alarm, but the words never even reached her ears. Her eyes were already fixed, utterly captive, on the single plate of golden omelet sitting on the table.
Victoria settled herself lightly into the chair before it. Then she looked up at Kyle and parted her lips in a small, expectant O.
“…Ah.”
Exactly like a baby bird begging its mother for food. The meaning could not have been clearer: feed me that omelet, at once.
When Kyle only blinked at her in confusion, Victoria’s cheeks puffed out in a little sulk. She opened her mouth again.
“…Ah. Ah.”
As if to say, Still don’t understand? With a deliberately prim little face that all but ordered him to hurry up and indulge her.
At last Kyle seemed to catch on. After a moment of helpless hesitation, he let out a soft chuckle.
“…Haha. Yes, yes. Of course. Just a moment.”
He obediently picked up a fork, carefully cut a bite-sized piece of omelet, and brought it to Victoria’s lips.
She snapped it up at once.
And in that instant—
…!
A soft, gentle flavor bloomed through her entire mouth. The outside was smooth and moist, yet the inside was so airy and tender it seemed to dissolve. A whisper of butter first caressed her tongue, and then the rich, savory depth of egg filled every corner of her mouth.
It was delicious.
It was only eggs, fried. How could something so simple taste so soft, so deep?
As that warm bite settled into a stomach that had gone empty all day, a languid happiness spread through Victoria’s whole body. Even the fact that she had been furious only moments before slipped completely from her mind.
“How is it? Does it suit Your Highness’s palate?”
“…It’s delicious.”
The words left her before she could stop them.
“Truly delicious. Of all the delicacies this body has ever tasted… how can a single piece of midnight egg be this good?”
…Praise poured from her lips of its own accord. She tried, a little embarrassed, to hold it back—but the taste had completely disarmed her, and she simply could not.
“…Another bite. Come on. Give me another.”
Victoria opened her mouth once more, just like a baby bird.
And on Kyle’s face, as he watched her, a quiet smile had already begun to bloom.
So it was that late into the night, with a single small plate of omelet between them, a warm and gentle atmosphere settled over the two of them like a soft, drowsy haze.
At that same hour, Celine was hiding in the deep shadow of the wall outside Kyle’s residence.
Even after confirming that Kyle had finished his night patrol and returned safely home, she could not bring herself to leave. She was afraid that Victoria might try something the moment she turned her back.
And that fear soon became reality.
Not long after, Victoria truly did appear at Kyle’s door in the dead of night.
…Just as I thought. That woman.
Celine’s eyes sharpened to points. She silenced her footsteps at once and carefully approached the window where light spilled out. Then she peered inside.
If the imperial princess meant Kyle any harm, she was ready to burst in and stop her on the spot. Her hand had already closed hard around the hilt of the sword at her hip.
And yet—
The scene beyond the glass was, once again… nothing like what Celine had expected.
Two people sat facing each other across the table. Victoria’s cheeks were faintly flushed as she opened her mouth like a child, and Kyle was tenderly feeding her something.
…What on earth is that?
Celine’s brow furrowed. No matter how she looked, there was not a single sign of danger. The two of them were simply sharing a late-night meal in the most amicable atmosphere imaginable.
Still, she could not lower her guard. There was no telling what schemes that woman Victoria might be hiding.
And yet, no matter how fiercely she glared at the scene, she could not find even a shadow of the conspiracy she so dreaded.
…Why does she look so…
Victoria’s face was somewhere far too at ease—far too happy. It was hard to believe this was the same ice-cold empress from her previous life.
Celine found herself sinking into confusion. Was this truly an act? Or had that woman really changed from the life before?
…And right then—
Through the window, a faint, savory aroma drifted out.
…Th-this smell.
The tip of Celine’s nose twitched before she could stop it. It was the warm, golden fragrance of something fried to a perfect brown—so mouthwateringly good that she swallowed hard without meaning to.
Now that she looked more carefully, what Kyle was feeding Victoria was some kind of glossy, golden egg dish. And every time Victoria took a bite, her face lit up with a happiness that seemed to envy nothing in the world.
Watching that, somehow…
A soft gurgle rose from Celine’s own stomach.
…!
She jumped and clutched her midsection. Come to think of it, she too had spent the entire day watching over Kyle without a single proper meal. And now, of all moments, that delicious smell had found her—and a hunger she could no longer ignore came surging up all at once.
…I want that too. Just one bite.
The thought flashed through her mind unbidden. If she could only taste that warm food Kyle had made with his own hands—even once. And if it had been her sitting in that chair instead of Victoria—
…Ah, n-no. What—what am I thinking right now?
Celine shook her head hard, startled at herself. What idle nonsense was she entertaining? Her duty was solely to protect Kyle from that dangerously unpredictable imperial princess.
And yet, somehow…
Once the craving had started, it refused to fade. Nor did that strange, unnameable envy toward the warm scene before her.
With a reddened face, Celine only pressed harder at her traitorous stomach. And still she could not leave the window—could only stand there, quietly watching that warm little table.
By the time the night had grown deep, Victoria finally rose from her seat.
“…Then this body shall take her leave.”
“…Yes. Please go carefully, Your Highness.”
Victoria glanced back several times with a faintly regretful look before vanishing into the dark with quick little steps.
Only once her figure had completely disappeared did I finally let out a long breath.
…Whew. Now I can live again.
Honestly, when I first saw that imperial princess standing at my door, my heart had dropped clean through the floor. A princess stood up like that was surely here to do something terrible to me—or so I had believed.
And yet, of all things. That terrifying princess had simply opened her mouth like a baby bird and eaten my omelet.
…Ha. Honestly. The kinds of people you meet.
I cleared the empty table with a quiet snort of laughter. For a moment the earlier scene rose again before my eyes.
…Those cheeks stuffed full of omelet, chewing with pure contentment. That face that looked as if it envied nothing in the world. An imperial princess of the empire, of all people, going “another bite, another bite” and gobbling it down like a starving child.
…Heh. Really now. Where did that razor-edged woman even go?
My shoulders shook with laughter I couldn’t quite hold back.
…Looking back on it, it was a truly strange thing. That proud, intimidating princess would, in front of me alone, somehow wear a face with all her armor stripped away. And the even stranger part was that cooking for someone like that… didn’t feel bad to me either.
…She really did enjoy it, though.
Someone who ate the food I made so heartily, with such a happy face. Come to think of it, even in my previous life, those moments had always been my favorites—watching someone savor a dish I had put my heart into.
…And somehow, that princess had a particular gift for making a person feel warm and pleased.
…Ugh. What am I even thinking?
I snapped back to myself and shook my head hard. This would not do. That princess was a dangerous person who might turn on me at any moment. I needed every scrap of my wits about me—not this soft, melting nonsense.
And yet even as I told myself that, somehow… looking down at the empty plate, a faint smile I couldn’t quite explain still hung at the corner of my mouth.
…Tonight, too, had been a strange night.
And the fact that this strange night hadn’t been entirely bad… I decided, quite deliberately, to pretend I didn’t know.