Chapter 32

"Hmm?"

Tiara Roses was muttering to herself while making pastries in her private kitchen.

Something was definitely off.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the kitchen itself. In fact, it was specially made for Tiara Roses by Aquasteed, making it exceptional.

The problem lay with the pastries.

"Sure enough, the cookies I baked earlier have decreased in number."

When she tried to transfer the second batch of cookies to a plate, the ten cookies she had baked first had somehow reduced to eight.

The sense of unease she felt while with Aquasteed the other day was indeed correct.

--But why are the pastries disappearing?

She was puzzled by this mysterious phenomenon. It was impossible for anyone to enter this room, and Filine or the other maids would never do such a thing.

If so, the only person who could be responsible was a fairy.

"But if it were a forest fairy, they would ask me for them."

It was utterly perplexing.

"Miss Tiara Roses?"

"Oh, Filine."

Filine, who had heard her muttering, peeked into the kitchen. Since she usually didn't enter, Tiara Roses chuckled, realizing she must have made quite a commotion.

Filine, looking worried, asked if everything was alright. Considering Filine had been her maid since childhood, Tiara Roses decided to consult her about the disappearing cookies.

"Really? The cookies?"

Filine, though surprised, quickly accepted Tiara Roses' explanation.

"We wouldn't take Miss Tiara Roses' cookies... So, it must be a fairy, right? But they wouldn't take them without permission, would they?"

"That's right. That's why it's so strange."

The forest fairies loved the pastries Tiara Roses made. However, they weren't the type to steal them without permission.

Just as she was thinking this, the eight cookies had somehow reduced to seven.

Clearly, something was amiss. They looked at each other and decided to investigate further. Tiara Roses, along with Filine and her guard Tarmo, headed to the garden.

The small garden, filled with lovely pink roses, was a favorite spot for the forest fairies to play.

It was a private garden specially made for Tiara Roses by Aquasteed, and only those with her permission could enter.

"I'll wait here."

"Thank you."

Tarmo stood at the entrance to the garden, guarding them. The garden, designed for easy visibility, wasn't very large. Its main use was for Tiara Roses to have tea with Aquasteed.

The tea parties Tiara Roses hosted for young ladies were held in a different, larger garden.

Thus, this was truly a private garden.

"Oh, there they are."

"Princess is here!"

"What's up? Let's play!"

The forest fairies, laughing merrily, gathered around Tiara Roses. They all had green hair and loved plants, as well as the pastries she made.

"Oh, pastries!"

One of them immediately spotted Tiara Roses' cookies and asked for them. Since she had brought them to give, it was fine, but she needed to confirm something first.

"Wait a moment," she said, and then asked the fairies about the disappearing pastries.

"What! Tiara's pastries are missing?"

"I don't know. We'd get scolded by the king if we took them without permission!"

"That's right. Thank you, everyone."

--It seems the forest fairies aren't responsible.

They mentioned that they would be scolded by the king if they took anything without permission. If the forest fairy king, Keith, was strict, they couldn't be the culprits.

"It seems it wasn't the forest fairies after all."

"That's right. Besides, I'm not liked by the sea fairies, and I have little to do with the sky fairies..."

There were no leads left.

However, it was impossible for a human to be the thief given the circumstances.

"Should you consult Prince Aquasteed?"

"But His Highness is busy with his duties. I can't trouble him over something as trivial as missing cookies."

Filine suggested it, but Tiara Roses shook her head weakly. She didn't want to bother her busy husband with such a minor issue.

However, that was just her thinking. In reality, Aquasteed wanted to know everything about Tiara Roses and would be happy to help with any problems.

Filine, aware of this, smiled wryly and suggested consulting him again.

--At the very least, we need to strengthen security.

After confirming that Tiara Roses was talking to the fairies, Filine went to Tarmo to discuss security. Since the garden wasn't very large, she spoke in a low voice.

"Is something wrong?"

"Has anything unusual happened around Miss Tiara Roses recently?"

Tarmo, surprised by Filine's question, recalled recent events. --But nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

There were no suspicious points in terms of security. He shook his head and conveyed this.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if there's any hostility, but something seems to be changing around Miss Tiara Roses. Can you keep an eye out?"

"Understood."

Tarmo nodded at Filine's concise words.

He could report the missing pastries, but that might create a bias in the security team. If they focused only on the maid's concerns, they might miss a more significant issue.

They needed to be vigilant about everything around Tiara Roses.

Filine relaxed, feeling a bit more at ease.

"Filine, should we inform Prince Aquasteed?"

"No. I just noticed it myself. I haven't told His Highness, but Miss Tiara Roses might not want to worry him."

"I see."

--Tarmo will inform Prince Aquasteed.

Though he was now Tiara Roses' personal guard, he was originally one of Aquasteed's close aides. He was more suitable for the task than Filine.

Leaving it to Aquasteed, she was confident he would handle it well.

She could easily imagine him gently and sweetly getting Tiara Roses to confess, even without her saying anything.

Just thinking about it made her feel satisfied, but she knew the reality would be even sweeter, like honey.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, after finishing his duties, Aquasteed returned to Tiara Roses.

He was also looking forward to seeing how his beloved wife would react, having received Tarmo's report earlier.

"Welcome back."

"Thank you."

Tiara Roses, who had been leisurely embroidering on the sofa, greeted Aquasteed with a smile.

"You're late."

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your hard work."

Aquasteed kissed Tiara Roses' forehead and then hugged her tightly. This had become a routine upon his return, and he was replenishing his energy from her.

Today, his work had been particularly long. Normally, this would be a time to relax.

--But he had been reviewing Tiara's security, so it couldn't be helped.

He had no intention of delaying this any further. If there were any concerns, they needed to be addressed immediately.

"Did anything happen today?"

"No, I adjusted a dress and made some pastries."

"Okay."

Tiara Roses, not intending to mention the earlier incident, smiled and said everything was fine.

--She's so cute.

Aquasteed felt a mischievous urge to make her confess. His grin made Tiara Roses shiver slightly.

"A-Aquasteed...?"

"Um?"

He gently smiled and stroked her beautiful hair, responding to her voice.

Pretending everything was normal, he picked her up and headed towards the bedroom door. It was still a bit early to go to bed.

"Ah, wait!"

"What's wrong, Tiara?"

Held in Aquasteed's arms, Tiara Roses blushed.

--He definitely knows!

Tiara Roses was certain from Aquasteed's behavior that he knew about the earlier incident. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken her to the bedroom so quickly. Her instincts told her she would be made to confess everything.

"Actually, earlier..."

"Already confessing, huh?"

"Don't look so disappointed..."

Aquasteed chuckled, amused by her cuteness. Reluctantly, he sat down on the sofa to listen to her.

"--That's what happened."

"Cookies, huh. It does seem more likely that a fairy was responsible than a human."

"That's right. But the forest fairies wouldn't do such a thing..."

Aquasteed nodded, considering the situation.

--Sea fairies, perhaps?

He thought about the most likely suspects and mentally simulated ways to investigate.

If it were sky fairies, he could easily contact them due to his blessing, and they wouldn't do such a thing.

"I'll look into it, so you don't need to worry, Tiara."

"Aquasteed... But you're so busy. It's just some missing cookies, it's no big deal."

"No, it is. Tiara's cookies are mine, after all."

He laughed, joking that he was even jealous of the cookies, and stroked Tiara Roses' cheek. He kissed her gently a few times and caressed her back to reassure her.

--We need to handle this before it escalates.

While Tiara Roses was still thinking about the cookie disappearance, he wanted to resolve everything. He believed the situation would only get worse if left unchecked.

It was a challenging task, but he had no intention of letting anyone interfere with his time with Tiara Roses.

◇ ◇ ◇

However, a few days later, the incident took an unexpected turn.

Tiara Roses witnessed the cookies disappearing right before her eyes.

"Wh-What!"

A sea fairy had emerged from the kitchen faucet and taken one of the cookies.