### Chapter 51: The Dance of Flying Flowers and Swords – A Drunken Melody of Friendship (Part 1)
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Time crawled like a slow-motion replay of a face getting smushed by a cart wheel – each second felt like a year.
Victoria was still holding me. Her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders, my head nestled against her armored chest, which felt as cool and hard as a rock but emitted a surprisingly warm breath…
She was hugging me tighter and tighter! Meanwhile, I was trying to lift my head, but it felt like lifting a mountain.
So I wriggled and squirmed a little.
“W-What are you doing…”
There were so many people around, all watching… I had pot ash on me… the food was still cooking! How could she do this…? She’s a queen, for crying out loud, this isn’t at home… not that it would matter even at home!
I was feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration—it was super cringe! I wanted to push her away and flee, but I was all out of energy.
“Let me go…”
The muffled words that escaped my lips made me feel… like a little bullied puppy that could only whine.
It had me feeling even more embarrassed and angry.
“Viki…”
I poked her.
The spoon in my hand lightly tapped against Her Majesty’s waist armor, making a “ding” sound, like a little copper bell ringing.
Then I heard her say, “Hmm, I’m back.”
Her voice was as clear as a spring, as pure as water, with a thin nasal tone—seemingly carrying a cool distance, yet it somehow soothed my nerves.
As she spoke, the queen released me and took a step back. Just when I thought I could finally breathe easy, she suddenly cupped my face with her seemingly stern yet affectionate eyes, staring right at me.
Then she smiled.
“I’ve missed you a bit.”
That smile drained the color from the garden full of flowers.
Here I was, back again, and she’s telling me she missed me. The unparalleled Queen Ethanbel, after all the bloodshed and tough decisions on the battlefield, first told me something like this upon her victorious return.
Such words left me utterly speechless, not knowing how to respond.
Given the vibe, I should gracefully reply with, “I missed you too,” right? Otherwise, I’d feel like I was ruining Victoria’s mood and come off as a total social faux pas. She just told me she “missed” me—normally, two close female friends would hug and say, “I missed you!” to each other after a long separation, and the other would chime in, “I missed you too!” Not a big deal, right? But saying that felt like I’d unwittingly stepped into a romantic territory, and I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Couldn’t say it, but didn’t want to brush it off either.
If she hadn’t kissed me just then, I might’ve… Urgh, that’s not something I can even talk about…
So I stood there, feeling a little lost.
“Your face is all dirty.”
Victoria wiped my face with her hand, and her fair-as-jade fingers immediately turned smudged with grime.
“Um…”
I suddenly realized and quickly stepped back, raising my sleeve to wipe my face. Upon checking, sure enough, the cuff was a mess.
My face must have been even dirtier…
Panic surged in me as more eyes seemed to zero in on us. I dared to sneak a peek and saw that everyone who had come with Victoria to the courtyard was now watching us—Rekt, Sharman, a few familiar faces I couldn’t name, and a whole bunch of completely unfamiliar soldiers and officers. They were all staring and laughing… why were they laughing…? They must be laughing at me… they saw everything…
…Run!
“I-I suddenly remembered! I left my pot on! The soup’s boiling!”
I almost shouted it with my eyes closed and, in my flustered state, accidentally let out a burp that almost bit my tongue. But I didn’t care; I turned and ran, not daring to look back at the reactions, bolting back to the inner chamber, slamming the door behind me while my heart pounded in my chest, exhaling in relief.
But with that relief came a wave of regret.
I didn’t… say anything to Victoria…
Would she be mad…?
Would she think… I didn’t want to talk to her…?
Thoughts bounced around in my head as I absently trudged back to the kitchen. I checked the fire first, then lifted the lid off the simmering pot, peering inside at the bubbling beef bones, radishes, tomatoes, and ginger. I took a little sniff, glanced at the spoon still in my hand, washed it in clean water, scooped up a ladle of soup, and slurped it down, clicking my tongue.
…It tasted bland.
So I grabbed the spice box nearby, sprinkled salt and pepper into the soup, stirred it with the spoon, and tasted it again.
Still felt like something was missing…
Tilting my head, I spotted the radish cubes floating in the broth, and suddenly, inspiration struck! I peeled two oranges and tossed them in, then covered the pot again.
There, done!
Wait a minute, did I even tell Victoria I was cooking?
Totally forgot…
My head was like mush back there. What had I said or done? It was all subconscious reactions…
They should have all moved into the inner chamber by now… it’s quiet outside now…
…Should I go back and tell her?
While I pondered, I peeled and ripped apart a head of cabbage, soaking it in a basin of water to clean it. The pot that I earlier used for stir-frying tomatoes and eggs got splashed clean, I added oil and rekindled the fire, tossed in the cabbage leaves with salt, and began to stir-fry…
“Ah!”
Then I burnt my finger on the hot oil.
I gently blew on it and popped my finger in my mouth, frowning with a dazed expression.
I can’t go back now…
I only planned to make enough dinner for two. But there were so many people over there! If I went and said something, they’d all want to eat, and what then? I couldn’t just refuse them…
I didn’t want to cook dinner for so many people…
I didn’t have that much food…
But what if Sharman was cooking too? What if Victoria joined them for dinner? They looked like they had something to discuss…
At that thought, my brows deepened in worry, biting my finger, staring blankly at the sizzling cabbage in the pot. After a while, when I smelled a hint of burning, I quickly gave it a stir.
…Forget it.
If she’s over there eating, I’ll just deal with all of this myself…
I mean, it’s not like I can’t finish it all…
Hmph.
Before long, a dinner that wasn’t particularly lavish, a blend of East and West, was ready.
Vegetable salad, beef bone soup, scrambled tomatoes and eggs, hand-torn cabbage, boiled peas, cold cucumber salad… Each plate of not-so-stunning dishes was served on the table. The long-missed familiar aromas teased my nose, and I thought how perfect it would be if I had rice to steam.
Then suddenly, a thought hit me, and I dashed upstairs into my bedroom, ran to the vanity mirror… Wow, I had dirt smudges all over my face, mixed with sweat—it was almost like I had turned into a little calico cat…
I felt a wave of discomfort. Without a second thought, I stripped off my clothes, dashed into the washroom for a quick rinse, and before I had a chance to dry off, I suddenly heard the sound of the door opening downstairs.
Someone came in…
My heart leapt with joy.
It must be Victoria…
She wouldn’t leave if she came in looking for me, right?
Thinking that, I quickly grabbed a towel, wiping my body haphazardly, not even bothering to check if I was clean, tossed the towel off, dashed out of the washroom, hurriedly slipped on my little shorts and nightgown, too lazy to put on a bra, while yelling, “I’ll be right down!” and bolted out of my bedroom toward the stairs.
