The Max-Leveled Princess Is Bored Today as Well - Chapter 149

Duke and Duchess Peresca oscillated between busyness and anxiety since the early morning, waiting for their guest.

The guests were supposed to arrive yesterday afternoon, yet a single messenger was the only arrival that day.

To avoid worrying the couple, the messenger relayed that a minor mishap had delayed their arrival by about two days. But even that was enough to conjure every conceivable misfortune in their mind.

Finally, around noon three days later, a servant, who had stood vigilantly outside the eastern gate to soothe the couple’s restlessness, hurried back.

“They’re coming! The carriages are in sight!”

True to his words, shortly after, two carriages and several knights escorting them crossed the threshold of the duke’s estate.

“Mother, are you well?” Leonard dismounted and approached the brightly smiling duchess at the entrance.

“Why on earth are you so late? I couldn’t sleep for worry.”

“It’s a long story… The carriage got stuck in a puddle… Um, His Majesty sustained a slight injury.”

“What?!”

He tried his best not to cause undue worry, but lying was out of the question. Especially for Leonard, who wasn’t adept at falsehoods.

Eventually, he succeeded in draining color from the duchess’ face. It was not odd to be fraught with worry when the emperor suffered an injury on his way to her domain.

“Lord Peresca’s fuss is quite unusual today,” muttered Caesar as he descended from the carriage with Hamilton’s support.

Duke Peresca, who had been observing from afar, approached Caesar and greeted him with due respect.

“It’s just a minor carelessness that resulted in a sprained leg. I hope you won’t cause unnecessary embarrassment by fussing over me.”

“I thought there might have been a major accident. There’ve been talks about heightened hostilities these days.”

“With this many knights around, what significant mishap could possibly occur? Isn’t that right, Sir Hawk?”

“Oh, uh, yeah…”

As Caesar nudged Hawk playfully, Hawk awkwardly chuckled, unsure how to react.

Having so many knights around and still failing to properly protect the emperor and the princess was undignified. Caesar resolved to tease and taunt them about it for a long time to come.

As the two conversed, Regina, clinging to Helena, tugged at her mother’s dress hem. “Mother, Mother.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Lies are bad, right? But why does Father tell lies?”

“Well… Regina, it might be time to teach you about ‘white lies’,” Helena said with a wry smile.

She had only taught the principle of ‘lies are bad’ hoping her daughter would grow up good and virtuous. Yet now, she felt a bittersweet pang, realizing how much adults often resorted to falsehoods.

“Your Ladyship, you’ve had a long journey.”

After finishing her conversation with Leonard, the duchess approached Helena, startling Regina, who hid behind Helena’s skirt.

The duchess smiled warmly, bending down to Regina’s level. “It’s been a while, Princess. Do you happen to remember me?”

Regina shook her head nervously.

Helena gently stroked Regina’s head and said, “You should greet Grandma properly.”

“Grandma?”

Regina blinked curiously, gazing at Helena, who responded with a smile and a nod. Her tense expression immediately melted. For her, seeing someone commonly referred to as ‘grandma/grandpa’ was as novel as could be.

Stepping forward, Regina took the edge of her dress, curtsied, and greeted, “Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Regina Gray.”

The duchess beamed with immense happiness at her adorable granddaughter’s greeting. Then, she swiftly scooped Regina into her arms.

Emma, the nanny waiting a little further away, hurried over, looking flustered. “Shall I carry her for you?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll hold her. When else will I have the chance to hold this adorable princess?”

The duchess was quite firm. It seemed she was determined not to let go of Regina while the imperial family stayed at the duke’s estate.

‘Looks like she’s been waiting for Regina more than me.’

Despite feeling proud seeing her parents so joyful, Helena couldn’t shake off a sense of disappointment.

‘Feeling this way about such a thing. That’s unlike me.’

Once, she found it burdensome and unfamiliar when her parents poured affection and care onto her. Now, she couldn’t tell if being loved by her family had become a natural expectation.

“Let’s go inside, Empress.”

Lost in her peculiar thoughts, Caesar approached and gently wrapped his arm around Helena’s shoulder.

Lifting her gaze, Helena met Caesar’s eyes, which held a tender smile.

“Seems like coming home after so long has got you all excited, hasn’t it?”

No matter what anyone thought, this was the smile of the man who would always love her first.

With that thought, a smile naturally spread across Helena’s face. Leaning in slightly, Helena whispered softly into Caesar’s ear, “My home is by Your Majesty’s side.”

“Really? You’re making me sentimental. Was today my birthday?”

At Caesar’s jest, they chuckled softly together.

Eventually, the mansion’s doors opened, and the two entered the building together.

From the entrance to the grand staircase, all the household staff were lined up, waiting on both sides for the couple.

“Brings back memories.” Muttering to himself, Caesar glanced at Helena briefly, meeting her eyes. He had a contemplative look on his face. “Back then, You stood at that end.”

Back then, they couldn’t have predicted their continued entanglement, love, marriage, and this return.

Helena squeezed Caesar’s hand a bit tighter. “Now, I’m not at that end, but by Your Majesty’s side.”

The future indeed was a mix of unpredictability.

With that thought, Helena found a sense of reassurance that the times ahead wouldn’t be devoid of meaning.

***

Shortly after arriving at the Duke’s estate, Caesar found himself in a new kind of danger.

“What’s… that?”

Lying almost sprawled on the chair, Caesar abruptly straightened up politely as Helena entered the room, holding something suspicious. The contents on the plate were unsettling—a green liquid slowly bubbling with patches of purplish foam.

Eating it seemed like an instant ticket to a grim fate.

Yet, Helena spoke with an overly sunny expression, “I got the recipe from Martha and tried making it.”

“What recipe? Stew made from minced monsters?”

“It’s broccoli soup!” Helena blurted out, turning red to the tips of her ears.

Her words made Caesar’s eyes waver even more dangerously.

As Helena approached and set the dish down, Caesar examined its contents. Something floated within, but it definitely didn’t resemble broccoli. It just looked like organic matter sinking into a green swamp. Though unheard, it probably muttered, “I’d put you out of your misery…”

“It’s good to have broccoli soup when you feel a cold coming on.”

“I… haven’t… caught a cold… Wife…” Caesar spoke with a trembling voice and an exceedingly polite demeanor.

“Everyone got caught in the rain, didn’t they? Catching a cold can happen in an instant.”

“Everyone?”

“Yes. I asked for the soup to be served to the knights too. I made a whole pot of it.”

Are you planning to obliterate the entire Order of Knights?!

“I wanted to give some to Regina too, but I can’t see where she’s run off to. Anyway, coming to the duke’s estate seems to have untethered the wild colt.”

At least that’s a bit of relief. Please, survive and lead the empire in your father’s place, my colt!

As Helena saw Caesar lost in thought, she muttered with a somewhat uncertain voice, “Um… as expected… it’s not really… good?”

Only then did Caesar snap out of it with a sudden ‘Huh.’

Helena fidgeted nervously at her fingertips, her confidence visibly wavering.

“I wanted to do something for you when you were unwell. I convinced Martha not to come to the kitchen and made this dish. Even though it’s relatively simple to make… “

Caesar silently recalled Martha, the kitchen maid at the duke’s estate. You couldn’t protect the kitchen, Martha. Well, she always had a soft spot for Helena from the beginning.

“If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to force yourself. I’ll dispose of it,” Helena said with a gloomy expression. Seeing that expression, Caesar found it hard to refuse.

Above all, the next statement stoked Caesar’s anger.

“Erez always ate it readily. So, I thought even if my cooking looks awful, it might taste okay.”

“…Who?”

“Your ancestor.”

Right after hearing that, a spoon had somehow found its way into Caesar’s hand. “It’s a dish made by Helena, so it’s naturally delicious, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you don’t have to eat it.”

“I will. No, I want to. I won’t give it to anyone else; I’ll eat it all alone. So, whether I finish it or not.” Repeating those words almost like self-hypnosis, Caesar finally scooped a large portion of the soup and pushed it into his mouth.

The taste of the soup was vastly different from what he had expected. It was worse than he thought.

Tears welled up in Caesar’s eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to swallow. After several attempts, he finally forced the food down his throat. Gulp, choke, gulp.

“Helena.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It’s really… delicious…”

“…Is it that good to make you cry?”

“Yes. It’s really good. It’s so good that I’m determined never to get sick or hurt again because of how good it is…”

“Really? That’s rewarding to hear,” Helena said with a bright smile.

Seeing her radiant happiness, Caesar thought he did well to eat the soup. For about 0.5 seconds.

“Thank you. Thanks to Your Majesty, I feel more confident. I might make more and share it with others,” Helena said, excited by the confidence boost.

At those words, Caesar fumbled the spoon. Clatter. It fell into the plate.

As Helena’s gaze followed the spoon, Caesar reached out, firmly clasping Helena’s hand. “Helena.”

“Yes?”

“I want to monopolize your cooking. So please, don’t give it to anyone else, I beg of you.” Caesar’s eyes were on the verge of jittery tension.

But Helena, completely oblivious to Caesar’s tension, widened her eyes and asked innocently, “Wow, is my cooking really that good?”

“Don’t say anything more. I’ll eat it alone.”

“Okay, I’ll only cook for Your Majesty then.”

“Thank you, Helena… I love you!” Caesar pulled Helena into a tight embrace, tears almost welling up.

“Yes, I love you too. Anyway, you’re such a greedy one.” Helena chuckled, patting Caesar’s back as if soothing a child.

However, Caesar didn’t release Helena from the embrace. He was determined not to let go until at least the soup cooled down and the unpleasant bubbling stopped.

***

News of Caesar and Helena’s cooking became the talk of the entire estate by evening.

Those in the duke’s household who had been aware of Helena’s cooking skills were deeply moved by Caesar’s genuine love, as he emptied the soup to the last drop and ended up with an upset stomach.

The duchess remarked, “His Majesty’s love for Helena is truly genuine!” and extended boundless trust toward her son-in-law.

Even the knights, who had tasted a bit of the soup, were moved to tears by their lord’s decision to save them by sacrificing himself.

Their loyalty toward their lord, who sacrificed himself to save those under him, grew stronger and deeper than ever.

Thanks to Caesar’s sacrifice, the estate enjoyed another peaceful and secure day.

The only ones unaware of the true nature of this peace were the two women Caesar cherished the most.