Chapter 31

Chapter 3 begins.

Thank you very much!

Aqua Steed, the crown prince of the Great Marine Forest, and Tiara Rose, the daughter of a marquess from the neighboring country Lapis Lazuli, have become a married couple this time.

And now, as the next queen, Tiara Rose is spending a whirlwind of a daily life.

Tiara Rose Lapis Clementine's name has changed to Tiara Rose Lapis Marine Forest.

The fact that Lapis is included in her name is because Tiara Rose received a blessing from the forest fairy king Keith.

As the wife of Aqua Steed, Tiara Rose has been given a new room.

The rooms are connected by a passage, and the bedroom is shared with Aqua Steed. In other words, they can freely enter each other's rooms.

Currently, Tiara Rose is in her own room, where a dedicated designer is making a dress for her.

"Are you still making dresses?"

"Of course, Lady Tiara Rose. As the wife of Prince Aqua Steed, your public duties will increase, and we still need more!"

Tiara Rose, with her honey-pink hair gently flowing, is making the final adjustments to her new dress. Standing like a doll, the seamstresses are busily adjusting the dress for her.

Overseeing the scene while looking at the dress design is her maid, Philine.

Later, she will carefully consider which hairstyle suits Tiara Rose the most. Philine thinks about her more seriously than Tiara Rose herself.

"Are you tired?"

"If we adjust the ribbon here, you can take a short break."

—A short break, huh.

Hearing the seamstress's words, Tiara Rose sighs, knowing it's far from over.

Seamstresses coming almost daily and nobles and merchants paying their respects to the crown prince's wife.

She tries to accept it as part of her public duties, but there's no time to rest at all.

Straightening her back, she has the ribbon on her back adjusted.

The princess-line dress might be a bit childish, but considering she is a new bride, it's also strangely cute.

"The position has been confirmed, Lady Tiara Rose. Please take a moment to relax."

"Thank you."

She slowly takes off the dress and changes into a casual one for the fitting.

Sitting on the sofa, a warm cup of tea is prepared for her.

"You've worked hard, Lady Tiara Rose. We have two more dresses to adjust. If you find a design you like, we can make that one too. However, there's a ball tomorrow, so let's not overdo it..."

"I see."

Sinking into the sofa, she feels dizzy from Philine's enthusiastic words. There's also the matter of checking accessories and cosmetics, which is not a laughing matter.

Tiara Rose, who grew up as the daughter of a marquess, is of course used to such things. However, this time, the number and intensity are more than usual.

"We've also prepared a cake."

"Sweets! "

On the table is a cake made with peaches.

She has a sweet tooth for pastries—sweets—since her previous life. She loves them.

That's right—

Tiara Rose has memories from her previous life.

Memories of living as a Japanese person. And this life is a continuation of the game "The Ring of Lapis Lazuli" that she loved in her previous life.

The game's ending has concluded, so she is happy now, but—occasionally, she feels a bit uneasy.

—What if the game's power suddenly works and Aqua falls in love with someone else?

Although Tiara Rose doesn't usually think such things, she sometimes wonders. However, seeing how much Aqua Steed dotes on her, no one would think such a thing.

She takes a bite of the peach, savoring its freshness. Her cheeks relax involuntarily, and Philine smiles contentedly.

She loves seeing Tiara Rose looking happy.

"By the way, are you using the kitchen tonight?"

"Yes. I'll make some cookies. Aqua-sama said he wanted to eat them."

"I'll prepare it for you."

Philine nods at Tiara Rose's words and gives instructions to the maid.

The well-trained maids all move to serve their mistress. Philine nods in satisfaction and returns her gaze to the design sketches.

The kitchen in this room was prepared by Aqua Steed for Tiara Rose, who loves pastries.

Therefore, all the equipment is custom-made for her. Honestly, as a queen, she doesn't have much time to cook.

However, Aqua Steed, who adores her, has not only built a kitchen but also sends her favorite pastries and even prepared a dedicated garden.

She is always surprised by how much he does for her.

—How happy I am.

Smiling, Tiara Rose finishes her tea.

Of course, it's because Philine said she would adjust the dresses. The short break is over.

"Two more dresses. Please take care of them."

"Leave it to me, Lady Tiara Rose."

The two seamstresses bow and start adjusting the dresses.

◇ ◇ ◇

After a hard day's schedule, the evening is free time.

From then on, it's Tiara Rose's sweet time.

"I won't make too many, so maybe I'll bake them in cute shapes?"

Philine is dismissed, and Tiara Rose goes to the kitchen in the room to make pastries.

Although she was offered to join, Tiara Rose prefers to be alone because she has pastry-making knowledge from her previous life.

Of course, there are exceptions.

"That smells good, Tiara."

"!"

She is suddenly embraced from behind.

Aqua Steed buries his face in her neck, snuggling up to her.

Her beloved husband.

"Welcome back, Aqua-sama."

"Yep. —I'm home, Tiara."

He hugs her tightly and gives her a gentle kiss.

Aqua Steed Marine Forest.

The crown prince of this country and the main character to pursue in the game "The Ring of Lapis Lazuli."

Originally, he was supposed to end up with the heroine, Aishira. However, Aqua Steed has always been devoted to Tiara Rose, loving her alone.

"Hmm, today's cookies are cute. They look like you."

"...Stop it. I made them in animal shapes."

In Tiara Rose's hand is a cat-shaped cookie. After baking this, the cookie dough will be used up.

The baked ones are in the shapes of cats, rabbits, and turtles.

Thinking to let Aqua Steed taste one, she reaches for a baked cookie—Tiara Rose tilts her head.

"Tiara, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no. ...I was going to let Aqua-sama taste it."

—Am I just imagining things?

Tiara Rose picks up a rabbit cookie to give to Aqua Steed.

However, he refuses.

Shaking his head slowly, it's clear he doesn't intend to take it, and Tiara Rose understands.

"Tiara"

"..."

Just as she thinks he won't eat it, she feels a bit disappointed.

Aqua Steed calls her name and opens his mouth.

He's silently asking for a bite.

Although they've done this before, it's still embarrassing for Tiara Rose, who was raised as the daughter of a marquess.

"Ugh... Just this once, okay?"

"Cute."

Blushing to her ears, she feeds the cookie into her husband's mouth.

He bites the rabbit cookie and licks her fingertips as if by chance.

"! Ah, Aqua-sama!"

"Because Tiara is much sweeter than the cookies."

Aqua Steed says this without a hint of shame, smiling happily.

However, Tiara Rose isn't really bothered, so they suit each other.

"Ah, by the way..."

"?"

"The tea party you host is very popular among the young ladies, you know?"

She puts the last cookie in the oven and watches it bake.

While the dough changes color, Aqua Steed mentions the forest tea party.

"Is it because the pastries are popular?"

"Tiara really loves pastries. I'm almost jealous."

"Of pastries?"

She laughs and asks Aqua Steed, thinking it would be strange.

Her pastries are indeed delicious.

Moreover, she uses recipes from modern Japan, which are hard to replicate.

"Yes, of course the pastries are popular. But everyone wants to get closer to Tiara."

"As the crown princess, that's—"

"No, it's not."

Aqua Steed interrupts her thoughts.

Confused, she looks at him and is enveloped in his arms.

"Tiara, who has received the blessing of the forest fairy king, wouldn't be here just to please me, would she?"

"But—"

In Marine Forest, fairies exist.

Forest fairies, sky fairies, and sea fairies.

Tiara Rose was welcomed by the forest fairies and blessed by the forest fairy king at her wedding.

Sky or sea fairies wouldn't be a problem.

However, it's almost unheard of for the forest fairies to bless a human, let alone from their king.

It's impossible to keep this a secret.

"Tiara has a solid education, but you undervalue yourself."

You should have more confidence, he says with a smile, gently kissing her forehead.

"Is the forest tea party popular because of Keith's blessing?"

"Probably. It's rare for a fairy king to bless someone, even among the royal family."

Even as he says this, Aqua Steed admits he's a bit jealous.

The cookies are done, so he ends the conversation.

"I'll make some tea."

"Thank you."

Tiara Rose looks at the baked cookies with satisfaction.

She happily prepares to make tea, so he can't possibly say he wants to hug her more.

—My wife is so cute.

Of course, she wouldn't refuse if he hugged her.

He knows she would be affectionate if he spoiled her.

But Tiara Rose really loves pastries.

It would be a shame to interrupt her sweet time.

—Well, it's fine. The night is still long.

"Aqua-sama?"

"Yep, I'm coming."

Tiara Rose, carrying a tray with cookies and teacups, looks at Aqua Steed curiously.

He says he was just thinking and they leave the kitchen together.

Next time, we'll talk about the strange feeling Tiara Rose had.

I'll update leisurely every Thursday.

I have 15 episodes planned, so I'd be happy if you could stay with me until the end!