Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Chapter 110: What Gets Left Behind

Court reconvened again before we knew it. Mariela's tea parties were slightly less terrible than the dowager queen's had been. Partly because I got to spend the majority of the time holding baby Roland and partly because she made sure to include lemonade for me.

Unfortunately, it didn't change the fact that tea parties were hot spots of gossip and inane chatter that made my brain bleed. Every single morning I had to sit around and deal with it.

Rosenia got bad-talked in that special noblewoman way a lot in her absence. Everyone whispered about her fallen state and how she had gotten pregnant too late, being careful to be sure the queen didn't hear. She probably would have burst a blood vessel if she was here so it was for the best that she was stuck in bed.

I briefly wondered what these people would say about me once Al and I ran away to the mountains. Not that I cared. This pack of vultures meant nothing to me.

The countess would probably lose her mind though, which could be a bit bothersome. She had been over the moon since I became a princess. The cynical part of me thought that Adele better marry very advantageously to make up for how much of a disappointment I would be.

Technically speaking I would be the "queen" of our new nation but the Kanta were so small and even further behind technologically than the rest of this already primitive world. She would likely be horrified.

I was petty enough to enjoy thinking about her future distress but also felt a tiny bit of guilt for the mess that would leave my fake siblings in. We had been spending a lot of time with them lately. It became harder to leave the palace when so many nobles were milling about.

Percy had begun actively seeking a wife at his parents' insistence and was not at all happy about the prospect. Out of all of my siblings I saw him least because he was too busy calling on various noble families with marriageable daughters.

Adele clung to me like glue whenever she visited, which I didn't mind one bit. But every time I saw heror any of my fake siblings, reallyit made me miss Abby even more than usual.

Edmund hung out with us a lot too but usually found an excuse to go to the kitchens, be it by himself or with us accompanying him. Al's earlier theory that he might have a crush on Marcy didn't seem so far-fetched.

He had been finishing up his final exams at Calabaster Academy in the spring and hadn't been able to join the family when they came up for court so this was his first time visiting since my wedding. I was surprised he had remembered Marcy from their one encounter.

"What are you making?" Edmund asked eagerly, leaning over to peer into the contents of a bowl of red liquid.

Marcy smiled sunnily at him and continued chopping strawberries into mush. I was amazed that she was actually pureeing something without the use of a blender. I supposed people must have done it somehow before they were invented but had never seen it personally.

"I'm trying to get the juice out so I can have strawberry-flavored whipped cream to put on top of miniature chocolate cakes. I've never done this before but it's fairly easy; all I have to do is mash up the strawberries with a knife and stick them over some cheesecloth to filter the juice."

I was floored. She had simultaneously invented strawberry frosting and cupcakes. I had never heard of either of those things in this world before now.

"You're making cupcakes," I said stupidly.

Marcy raised her eyebrow at me. "That's a cute name for them. I suppose the wells I've been baking them in are like cups. You have the most interesting ideas sometimes, Katie."

I flushed. Oops. It was a good thing she didn't say anything about the doughnuts, which Edmund would definitely realize were not from the country. This wasn't the only time this had happened either.

She was a culinary whiz and had invented multiple things from my home, including ice cream without me saying a word about it. It tasted a bit different than what I was used to but I wasn't complaining.

Marcy liked experimenting in her free time. During the off-season when the nobles were at their country estates she had more time for that sort of thing. She created caramel, marshmallows, and even tapioca pudding after receiving some imported cassava plants from Idaris.

I was most excited about the marshmallows. It took a long time for her to boil down the gelatin but at least there were a lot of bones to use around here. Meat was on the menu almost daily in the palace.

I would miss the ready availability of marshmallows for my hot chocolate and all the other sweets Marcy made when we left here. No one would ever be able to replace her culinary talent but I hoped she would give me some recipes so I could still try.

Adele held my hand as she watched Marcy continue dicing and straining the strawberries curiously. She looked up at her with big blue eyes and blinked innocently.

"Can I have some first when you are done?"

The pastry chef beamed at the little girl. "Of course you can! I would be honored to have you be my first taste tester."

Edmund continued chatting with Marcy and eventually the subject changed from her culinary experiments to what it felt like for him to be done with school. Al and I hung back to give them a little space and make sure Adele didn't touch anything she wasn't supposed to.