“It smells delicious!”

“I want to eat it quickly!”

You all are so serious about eating…

I muttered, watching them run like a herd of angry bulls.

‘My goodness, those kids. They lose their minds as soon as food appears.’

I watched with a clicking tongue as the maids restrained the children themselves and cleaned their messy hands.

“Gentlemen, please return to your seats and sit down.”

Shortly after, a maid with a tray of snacks spoke to Ronowe and Beris with a twinkle in her eyes.

“You must enjoy it with Her Highness.”

The kids were still standing there, so it seemed like she was going to send them back with kind words.

“Ah….”

Then they realized their haste, and their faces slightly darkened.

“Don’t eat first!”

“Just Beris!”

Beris shouted loudly, and Ronowe scolded her younger sibling with a stern expression.

“You tried to eat first too!”

Hearing the scolding, Beris refuted, clenching her fist with indignation.

“I came because it smells good!”

Meanwhile, Ronowe also countered… but to my eyes, they were both the same.

‘They fight over the most trivial things.’

Plod, plod[Dash].

Anyway, it seemed that Calaril couldn’t bear to watch the little ones fight either.

“Kids.”

He intervened calmly between the bickering siblings and skillfully mediated.

“Neither of you are wrong. Let’s not keep Her Highness waiting any longer.”

Speaking soothingly and patting their backs and shoulders, Ronowe and Beris were no longer rowdy.

Yet they were still upset; Ronowe crossed her arms and huffed, while Beris trembled as she looked at Ronowe.

“Enjoy your meal, Your Highness.”

“Okay.”

Growing tired of watching, I examined the snacks the approaching maid offered.

‘They don’t even notice the difference.’

If their eyes were not just for decoration, they were truly naive.

I recalled the cookies baked again by the chef and the ugly dough we had made.

‘Better they don’t notice.’

Let’s just let it go. I firmly decided.

Then, as if they hadn’t been fighting at all, the noisy siblings started to eat the snacks together, and I muttered to myself how noisily they were eating.

“Set this aside in my room.”

“Understood.”

I separated some for later in case the children reached for mine in their frenzy of eating.

And perhaps I could show them to Jeff and Hecate before bed?

I wanted to keep them in perfect condition if possible.

‘Ah!’

Watching the maid move the cookies, I opened my mouth, propping up my chin with one hand as a thought crossed my mind.

“I had said that the one who first guessed the object in the box would get the watermelon cake, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maid promptly answered, and I turned to her, leaning slightly on her shoulder to catch her ear.

“But, Beris lost the opportunity to guess by defeating the monster in the box.”

I deliberately spoke loudly, remembering when the little one had attacked me with her snotty nose.

“So…….”

Then she shook and cowered, as if she had been caught stealing.

“Let everyone eat the watermelon cake.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Princess.”

“I love watermelon cake!”

My goodness, the dessert was already prepared as a prize. I ordered the maid to hurry up and bring the watermelon cake with my usual indifferent face.

“Woah~!”

Finally arriving, the watermelonlike cake was very flashy, placed on a wide, round bread and decorated with whipped cream and a small crown. Not only the children but even Calaril were impressed.

‘It’s made quite uniquely; they create all sorts of things.’

Cutting it neatly into slices and placing it on small plates, the inside was ordinary.

Unlike what I thought, that the inside would also be red since it’s a watermelon cake.

‘Is the outer part chocolate?’
The children wouldn’t have actually stuck real seeds onto the food, they must have solidified small bits of chocolate to make them look like seeds.

“Chocolate is good.”

I felt better at the sight of my favorite sweets. Picking and peeling them off, I was lost in the illusion that my fatigue was gradually fading away.

“Uhoh, Your Majesty! You’re only picking the chocolate.”

“You shouldn’t do that!”

Flushed.

“That, that’s not it!”

Damn. Being called out for being picky by the little ones. I thought everyone was too busy eating to notice, but being caught out of nowhere made me want to hide in shame.

Never in my hundreds of years had I been so humiliated, being poked at my shortcomings by someone far younger than myself.

‘Of all times to catch my eye, I’m only picking the chocolate seeds!’

Throughout the meal, I was bothered by the children’s eyes following me, and eventually, I ended it using being full and tired as an excuse, having everyone go back after a while.

And I fell into a nap as if collapsing, waking up in time for dinner, and spent time with Jeph and Hecate.

Eating leisurely and taking a walk, time passed quickly, and soon it was bedtime.

“My goodness, Darjeeling!”

Jeph and Hecate, who promised to read a book before putting me to bed.