"Eh?"
"Hmm? Whatâs with the surprise?"
"A princess... cooking for herself?" Gracelle asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
Delya chuckled softly, still hugging her jar. "Itâs normal here. Even Armandâs First Queen, Lady Mother, sometimes cooks for Father-in-Law."
"Oh..." Gracelle murmured, her mind trying to process the idea of royalty cooking their own meals.
Delya smiled warmly, her eyes softening as she spoke. "Maybe itâs because Big Sis wants to cook for Danna-sama, so she ends up cooking for everyone too. I heard from Big Sis Gloria that back when Danna-sama was still a child, she rarely cooked unless he specifically requested it."
"Oh~"
Delya continued, her voice gentle. "But now, she starts cooking every time everyone is gathered together. Sheâs like the anchor of our family, always considerate and making sure everyone is well-fed and happy. Felicia, Mimi, and I have also learned cooking from her..."
Before Delya could finish, Mimi suddenly shoved her face in front of Delya, a cheeky grin spreading across her lips.
"Ne ne~"
"Mimi!! Donât just suddenly appear like that!" Delya said, startled.
"Eh? Mimi didnât do anything wrong, nya!"
Delya exhaled, shaking her head as Mimi plopped down onto the chair beside her. "So, what were you two talking about?"
"Nothing... just chatting." Delya paused, then gave Mimi a teasing glance. "Speaking of which, werenât you being âpunishedâ by our husband earlier?"
"Punish? When, nya?" Mimi tilted her head, her expression one of exaggerated innocence.
Delya sighed, deciding to drop the subject. "Where is Danna-sama now?"
"Nya? Husband was summoned by Father-in-law~"
Delyaâs eyes widened slightly as she glanced at Mimi. "Really?"
"Nya? Yes. Sir Alf came while I was..." Mimi paused, catching herself before she mentioned being chased by her husband, and quickly continued. "...and he said that Father-in-law requested his presence, nya."
Delya exhaled softly, and Gracelle tilted her head in curiosity. "Why did you sigh?"
"Nothing, really." Delya leaned back in her chair, her gaze drifting up to the ceiling. "Itâs just that every time Danna-sama is summoned by Father-in-law, it usually means thereâs a new mission or something important coming up."
"Oh." Mimi crossed her legs on the chair, leaning back with a relaxed posture. "Well, itâs always like that, but it never takes too long, nya."
Delya let out a soft mumble, her voice tinged with a hint of longing. "I just wish... that sometimes, heâd take us along. Like during the Arjam Intervention, when we werenât left behind in the estate."
"Nya?" Mimi tilted her head, her ears perking up. "But wasnât it like that before? We were all living in our own castle back then, nya. And then everyone decided to live here in Armand."
Delya puffed her cheeks and narrowed her glare at Mimi. "Youâre my best friend! You should be agreeing with me, not brushing it off!"
"Nya? I donât know what youâre talking about~ Ehehehe~" Mimi replied, grinning mischievously.
Delya shook her head, letting out a soft sigh. "Big Sis probably feels the same way too..."
"Nya? Yeah, if Husband isnât here, itâs boring. But there are plenty of things we can do, nya! Eheheh~ And we can always contact him with the mana talkie, or if we want to see him, we have the mana glasses and the mana phone, nya!"
Mimi pulled out a sleek, glowing device from her pocket, its surface smooth and polished.
Gracelleâs eyes widened as she stared at the device. "What is that?"
Mimiâs tail swayed excitedly as she held it up. "This thing here, nya! It can take pictures, record videos, and even make video calls with Husband, nya!"
Gracelle stared at the mana phone, her expression shifting to one of disappointment as she mumbled softly, "I didnât get anything from Javier-sama..."
Delya and Mimi exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Before they could respond, a voice came from behind.
Liana stepped forward, carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit, and set it down at the table.
"Itâs not that Young Master abandoned you or forgot about you. Itâs because you havenât fully recovered yet, so no mana phone, no mana talkie, and no mana glasses for now. The reason Iâm training you so hard is so that you can recover and catch up with everyone else, not because Young Master doesnât care about you."
Liana crossed her arms and glanced down at Gracelle.
"And besides, that thing Mimi mentioned, everyone who is one of Young Masterâs future wives will receive one. For your information, Young Master already prepared one for you. He told me he was going to give it to you. But I took it and said youâre not ready yet."
She raised her palm, and a shimmering dimensional storage portal flickered into existence, causing Delya and Mimiâs eyes to widen in surprise.
"Eeeehhhh!? Big Sis has the dimensional storage skill?! I thought only Husband had that!" they both exclaimed in unison.
Liana nodded calmly.
"Itâs a special skill only Young Master possesses. Everyone knows itâs extremely rare, and not everyone can have it. A real user of this skill has infinite storage, but Young Master built a small one specially for me. Of course~" She raised her wrist, showing a delicate gold bracelet with a unique mooncrest charm. "First wife privileges, even if the storage I have is small~"
She reached into the shimmering storage space, pulling out a beautifully crafted box. Opening it in front of Gracelle.
Inside lay a sleek mana glasses, a mana phone, a mana talkie, and several other items, all gleaming and new.
Gracelleâs eyes widened as she stared at the contents.
Liana closed the lid and placed it back into her dimensional storage, a faint smirk on her lips.
"Thatâs why you need to train properly first and be acknowledged by me. Only then will you be ready to receive these gifts and become a proper future wife for Young Master."
Liana leaned in close to Gracelle, her voice a sweet, hushed whisper.
"The reason Iâm training you so hard is to make sure youâre ready for your honeymoon. Only then will I acknowledge you as one of us, as part of our circle of Young Master future wives."
She smiled, straightening up and walking toward the main door, leaving Gracelle with flushed cheeks, biting her lower lip in a mix of embarrassment and anticipation.
Liana paused, glancing over her shoulder with a warm, confident smile.
"Donât be jealous, my juniors~ This is the privilege of being the first love and the first wife. You can call me anything you want, but the fact remains... I will always be his first~"
( End Of Chapter )