The Saintess Became the Northern Grand Duke's Daughter - Chapter 86

 

Liriette shook her head with a puzzled face.

 

“I apologize, Your Highness. It’s difficult to serve ‘that dessert’ here right now. It might make the ladies uncomfortable.”

 

Them being uncomfortable?

 

What on earth is ‘that dessert’?

 

The ladies’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

 

Raphael muttered with a sullen face.

 

“But I really want to eat ‘that dessert’ right now…”

 

“Please bear with it for a little while. I’ll serve it right after the ladies leave.”

 

So, what on earth is ‘that dessert’!

 

One of the ladies couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.

 

“Young Princess. If His Highness the Prince wants it that much, then please serve it.”

 

Liriette lowered her eyebrows.

 

“But I think it would be rude to the ladies.”

 

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s dessert at best. It’s fine.”

 

“That’s right. I wonder what dessert His Highness is looking for so desperately.”

 

She nodded.

 

“I understand. Thank you for understanding.”

 

Liriette called a maid and told her to bring ‘that dessert’.

 

Raphael began to wait with his eyes sparkling. The ladies who saw him laughed.

 

‘He looks just like a puppy waiting for a snack. Oh my, suuuuuuch a lovely puppy.’

 

One of them said, resisting the urge to bite Raphael.

 

“It seems to be a dessert His Highness really likes.”

 

Raphael replied with an excited face.

 

“Yes. It’s the first dessert I’ve had while staying at the Windsor-Ice Duchy, and it’s really delicious. A unique and wonderful taste that even the Imperial Family has never had before.”

 

The ladies’s interest grew because the prince, who was used to the Imperial Family’s finest desserts, liked it so much. 

 

‘Since she said it wasn’t suitable for the ladies’ tea party, is it commoners’ food?’

 

‘Or snack for children?’

 

The dessert that arrived amidst all sorts of predictions was… an ordinary cake.

 

No, it wasn’t at all ordinary.

 

The cake was a bright purple color.

 

“Oh my. I’ve never seen a cake that color before.”

 

“That’s right. It’s so pretty, like it was painted with watercolors.”

 

Raphael picked up a fork amidst the ladies’s gazes.

 

He cut a piece of cake and put it in his mouth, grinning brightly.

 

“This cake is the best!”

 

The sight was so lovely and delicious. The ladies swallowed their saliva without realizing it.

 

Raphael began to nibble on the cake amidst their gazes.

 

One of the ladies said with a slightly red face.

 

“Young Princess. Excuse me, but can I eat the cake that His Highness the Prince eats?”

 

“That…” 

 

The ladies raised their eyebrows at Liriette’s unwillingness to answer.

 

‘The color is a bit unique, but it’s just a cake. Why is she hesitating like that?’

 

‘Is that cake made with incredibly expensive ingredients? Is that why she doesn’t want to give it to us even if she gives it to His Highness?’

 

Just as they were about to feel a little disappointed, Liriette opened her mouth.

 

“Actually, that cake is made with Kukurk nuts.”

 

“…”

 

The ladies didn’t understand Liriette’s words for a moment.

 

After a beat, the ladies finally came to their senses and let out a small scream.

 

“The cake is made with K-Kukurk nuts?”

 

“The cursed fruit from a polluted land?!”

 

They forgot their dignity as noblewomen as their voices trembled. It couldn’t be otherwise.

 

To them, Kukurk nuts were no different from dirty rats, rotten corpses, and bugs with dozens of legs that they had never seen in their lives.

 

To think that a cake was made with something like that…!

 

It was shockingly creepy. Liriette lowered her eyebrows as she looked at the ladies who had covered their mouths with pale faces.

 

“You were very surprised, weren’t you?”

 

“Yes, I was really surprised. Why did such a hideous…”

 

A lady looked at Raphael, who was munching on the cake with an innocent face, and changed her words.

 

“Why did you make a cake made of such a strange fruit?”

 

It was as if she was scolding a child who had played a terrible prank.

 

Liriette answered in a calm voice.

 

“I went to the village of Kukurk with His Highness the Prince a while ago and saw the Kukurk fruit. Contrary to the rumors, the fruit had a very pretty color and fragrance. So I thought, ‘Can’t I eat this fruit?’”

 

“If you eat the Kukurk fruit, you will be subject to a terrible curse!”

 

She shook her head at the lady’s serious words.

 

“That’s not true. You all know that I have divine power, right? Although I can’t manifest my powers, I can sense ominous auras with the power of the goddess.” 

 

Liriette continued, looking at the purple cake.

 

“Yet I didn’t feel that kind of energy at all from the Kukuruk fruit. This is an extremely ordinary fruit.”

 

That’s a lie.

 

Liriette doesn’t have that kind of ability.

 

‘The reason I thought I could eat the Kukurk fruit was because it wasn’t much different from other fruits. I became even more certain of it through research.’

 

However, mentioning ‘divine power’ had a much greater impact than saying that honestly.

she had thought so.

 

Whether it manifested or not, divine power was a special power in itself.

 

When a girl with such power spoke with such clear eyes, it was hard to simply deny her words.

 

One of the ladies who had a confused expression said,

 

“Even if the Princess says there is no curse. Still, it’s a clear fact that the Kukurk fruit is dangerous. There are actually records of people dying after eating the fruit.”

 

It was a reasonable point.

 

But Liriette had something to say about that too.

 

“That’s right. So I studied the Kukurk fruit with the help of a renowned scholar. It turned out that the seeds of the fruit were poisonous.”

 

“…!”

 

“It’s not a lethal poison that can kill a person. But one has to be careful. So I completely removed the seeds and ate them. There was no abnormality in my body at all.”

 

Raphael also smiled and nodded.

 

“I’m proof of that. I eat cakes made from Kukurk fruit every day and I have no problems at all. I’m a little worried that I will get cavities because I eat too much.”

 

As he said that, he licked the purple cream on his lips with his tongue.

 

The ladies were momentarily taken aback by his cute kitten-like appearance, but soon came to their senses and furrowed their eyebrows.

 

“No matter what, eating Kukurk fruit…”

 

Liriette said with a face that seemed to understand everything.

 

“Yes. It would be repulsive. That is why I don’t want people to know about this. We only eat it secretly at Windsor-Ice Castle.”

 

Raphael sighed. 

 

“Thank goodness. Thanks to that, I can purchase such delicious fruits without any competition.”

 

The ladies reacted quickly to the word ‘purchase.’

 

“Purchase?”

 

He nodded.

 

“Yes. I decided to buy Kukurk fruits from the Duke of Windsor-Ice. As you all know, the land of Kukurk is only in the north, so it’s impossible to produce them in the capital.”

 

Purchase. Production.

 

So what the Prince said was…

 

A lady, who thought quickly, asked without hiding her surprise.

 

“Your Highness. Are you really planning to sell Kukurk fruits in the capital?”

 

Raphael clapped his hands together.

 

“The noble ladies of the north are indeed quick-witted.”

 

“…!”

 

“I also heard from the Young Princess. The people of the north don’t even think about eating these fruits. They say they’re ugly and ominous. But the people of the capital are different.”

 

There is no Kukurk land in the capital. So there was no prejudice against Kukurk fruits. To them, the pointy purple fruit was just a rare and unique fruit that they had never seen before.

 

“But just because it’s unique doesn’t mean it’s necessarily preferred. Rather, it’s more likely to be rejected.”

 

Raphael smiled brightly at the lady’s sharp words.

 

“No. I’m sure they’ll like it.”

 

Red has been the color that symbolizes the Imperial Family for generations.

 

That’s why the capital’s nobles, including the Imperial Family, liked the red color scheme, and naturally, pink was also popular.

 

Pink flowers. Pink lipstick. Pink dresses. There are many things, but no pink fruit.

 

“If you add to that the fact that it’s a fruit that the famous Duke of Windsor-Ice of the North secretly enjoys…”

 

Raphael spoke with a confident look in his eyes.

 

“Kukurk fruit will cause a huge craze among the capital’s nobles.”

 

The ladies froze at the shocking story.

 

Looking at the ladies, Raphael put another piece of cake in his mouth.

 

Hehe. I’m so happy that I can eat such a delicious cake all by myself♡

 

With that expression on his face. The ladies’ eyes began to shake violently.

 

‘You’re selling Kukuruk fruit in the capital? That’s ridiculous. One can’t buy such horrible fruit!’

 

‘But it’s just as the Prince said. Even His Grace the Duke of Windsor-Ice is respected as a guardian who protects the people in the north, yet in the capital, he’s called a slaughterer who slaughters monsters. Their thoughts on Kukurk fruit might be completely different.’

 

…If things go as Raphael said, Kukurk fruit won’t be a cursed fruit, but gold.

 

The land of Kukurk will also become a gold mine filled with gold!

 

A lady who finished her calculations first mustered up her courage and spoke.

 

“Young Princess. Could you give me a cake made with Kukurk fruit? I’m curious about the taste since the Prince said it’s so delicious.”