Chapter 2
“I don’t feel good…”
She didn’t eat lunch because she had no appetite. It was because she still wants to believe that it was just a nightmare. However, the vividness of the memory and the blood-stained diary reminds her that it was not just a dream.
“Ugh…”
She groaned and rolled to one side of the bed. Then she groaned again and rolled to the other side of the bed. Just like this, she worried and groaned and rolled for about 30 minutes.
“… I’m hungry.”
She was hungry. It’s been less than an hour since I declined lunch.
“That’s right! I’ve heard that sweets are good for the brain especially when thinking about things.”
She clapped her hands. She had got a good idea and her face became brighter. She jumped out of the bed with a spring in her step and left her room.
Mia and the rest of the imperial family lived in a palace called the Whitemoon Palace. Its halls were ornamented with green, gold, and white moonstone. Mia walked through it thoroughly taking in the sites. Right now the empire was at its peak of prosperity before its decline.
She continued walking down the corridor and eventually entered into one of the four dining rooms, the Midnight Sun Dining Room. When she entered the large room, a man inside gave her a confused look.
“Oh, it’s Princess Mia. What can I do for you Your Highness?”
Mia was a little surprised upon immediately recognizing him. He was big man with a bear-like body and a very thick, fluffy beard.
Isn’t this the chef that I have fired?
It was on her 14th birthday that Mia fired this chef who kept on serving her vegetables that she hated.
“That would be about two years from now…”
“My apologies, but what was that?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m hungry, could you prepare a snack? A moonberry pie would be nice.”
When the chef heard that, he frowned and shook his head.
“I beg your pardon, but I cannot serve you snacks so close to lunch.”
The words made Mia feel nostalgic, she smiled unintentionally. Thinking about it, this chef was the only one who refuses Mia like this. The chef that replaced him just cooked whatever Mia wanted, and it became boring.
“Is that so? Well, can you serve me the leftovers of the lunch then?”
“Huh?”
For some reason, the chef looked at Mia in shock.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. Then I’ll bring them now.”
In a short time, the dishes lined up in front of Mia. Soft and fragrant freshly baked bread, stew with plenty of seasonal vegetables, marinated red fish, and a fruit platter.
“Oh, I miss this.” Mia said especially as she saw the stew full of vegetables. This was because the stew contained yellowmoon tomatoes, which Mia dislikes.
I could never stand their sourness.
Mia stares at the yellowmoon tomato on her spoon.
But this looks delicious somehow.
Suddenly, she remembered what she was forced to eat in the prison. Bread that is hard enough to break one’s teeth. There was even mold on the surface, and it was also very dry and difficult to eat. The stew that came out from time to time was murky gray, and she always wondered if the vegetables used were actually weed. She didn’t mind the taste though, she just wished that it wouldn’t make her stomach hurt for days after eating it.
She has heard about the ongoing famine and that there was no food, but Mia thinks that her treatment was more of a harassment than a necessity. As a proof of that, there was a day when they only fed her shriveled yellowmoon tomatoes knowing that Mia hated them.
That was terribly unpleasant…
When they forced it into her mouth, she remembered the indescribable green odor, sourness and harshness… She got goosebumps just remembering it.
She returned her focus on the yellowmoon tomato before her.
Compared to the one at that time… it’s kind of shiny.
Mia was planning to leave it, but with a little curiousity, she put a piece of the tomato in her mouth. Immediately her eyes snapped open!
“Chef! Call the chef!”
The maids tremble at Mia’s words.
“Your Highness, is something the matter?”
“Just call the chef here!”
“Was it something that you didn’t like, Your Highness??” The chef appeared before Mia. His face clearly showing signs of nervousness.
“What is this…?”
Mia held a spoonful of yellowmoon tomatoes before the chef’s nose.