However, things had gone too far to tell the truth.
The nobles already believed without a doubt that all of this was designed by Aristine.
From making dishes using distant foreign ingredients to the power struggles over the tteokbokki.
All of it was a plan to advance the Empire!
“As expected of Your Majesty.”
“Even while you are not overseeing state affairs, you still work so hard for the Empire.”
“No ordinary person could ever think up such a plan.”
‘I mean, no normal person would ever think up this nonsense.’
But instead of saying that, Aristine just laughed.
“Well, indeed. I suppose you can say this is the cornerstone for furthering the advancement of trade and consumer goods distribution.”
“Your Majesty has elevated the economy of the Empire.”
The nobles looked at Aristine with faces full of admiration.
Although her conscience felt pricked, Aristine remained steady.
‘At least, this is better than people thinking they truly fought over trying to make tteokbokki that I like.’
Sometimes a well-packaged lie was better than the truth.
But then, why did she feel so embarrassed?
‘After everything, even the common people have heard about this!’
The power Aristine needed right now was not the Monarch’s Sight.
‘I could use regression right now. Why wasn’t I born with the ability to regress?!’
She wanted to turn back time.
〈p style=”text-align: center;”〉* * *〈/p〉
The Emperor, the Emperor Emeritus, the Grand Duke, the Marquis and the Grand Princess, the generals, the court ladies, the Archmage, and even the number 1 slav…uh, number one blacksmith who had been granted a title…
The very people who were called the leaders of the Empire were now…
“I’m sorry.”
“I was wrong.”
“I won’t do it again…”
They were all bowing their heads deeply.
In front of one person.
Aristine sat before them, flipped through some newspapers and magazines.
All the article titles contained a single theme.
〈Tteokbokki War: How Did It Start And How Did It End?〉
〈The Empire’s Leaders compete for Her Majesty’s Favor〉
〈The Secret Power Struggle For Tteokbokki!〉
〈A Spy Operation to Acquire Tteokbokki Recipes〉
〈Tteokbokki: What Kind of Food Is It?〉
〈Grand Duke Launelian: “I Am the Winner of the Tteokbokki War”〉
〈Emperor Emeritus Nephther: “My dear daughter-in-law ate my tteokbokki the most…”〉
〈Anonymous Source: “Her Majesty Aristine Praised the Mage’s Tteokbokki as Magical”〉
〈The Grand Princess’s Secret Tteokbokki Recipe: Perfect for Sister Rineh’s Taste!〉
〈Emperor Tarkan: “My wife only ate my own.”〉
〈Conflicting Claims! A Crisis in the Imperial Palace?! What is the Truth?!〉
〈em〉Crunch!〈/em〉
Aristine crushed the newspaper till it crumpled in her hands.
“It’s gotten to the point where they’re even talking of a crisis in the Imperial Palace.”
“That gossip magazine likes to spread nonsense. If you sneeze, they start saying you have health problems…”
“So you’re proud of yourself?”
“No.”
“Not at all.”
At Aristine’s roar, the powerful figures flinched and bowed their heads.
“‘She liked mine more’; ‘she barely ate that one’. Why did you even give his interview?”
“It wasn’t exactly an interview; I just stated the facts as they are—.”
〈em〉Shing.〈/em〉
Aristine’s gaze turned to hikm and Launelian shut his mouth.
But only for a moment.
He soon opened his mouth again.
“That is the most important part here. That my sister liked my tteokbokki the best.”
“Don’t spout your twisted version of the truth, brother-in-law. My wife loved my tteokbokki the most. I know what she likes better than anyone else.”
“Ha! What do you inexperienced children know? My tteokbooki was infused with the wisdom of life and my daughter-in-law enjoyed mine the most.”
“Since when can you infuse tteokbokki with wisdom, Royal Father? After wandering around and exposing myself to all sorts of cuisines, my tteokbokki—.”
“Well, pardon me but I think you’re wrong. Her Majesty has always loved the food we make. Naturally, the tteokbokki as well—.”
“That’s nonsense! Our thumb princess needs to eat a lot! The real winner is the one who made lots, like me!”
The room quickly devolved into chaos, like they had never been bowing their heads in reflections.
From their behavior, you could tell they would never concede on this matter.
Aristine pressed a hand to her head, feeling a headache coming in.
‘Haa, I was wrong for even thinking they would reflect.’
Giving up was best for her mental health.
Time passed and Aristine’s embarrassment grew stronger but the tteokbokki craze did not die down. Instead, it continued to be a massive hit.
Along with the story behind the tteokbokki itself.
In any case, it turned out to be a good thing for everyone.
The expensive foreign spices became cheaper, allowing even regular households to easily enjoy them.
The advancement of culinary culture brought forth the advancement of other cultures.
It wasn’t only spices that were affected but even the prices of other consumer goods were dropped, improving the quality of life.
In the process, the national treasury filled up, which happened to be another effect.
‘This is what I hoped for when I installed the demonic beast barriers nationwide but…’
Why did it feel so uncomfortable?
Aristine pondered while cradling her swollen belly.
If the expansion of trade had come from something other than tteokbokki…
No, at the very least, if the rumors of the tteokbokki power struggle hadn’t spread.
‘…Won’t the history books say that trade expanded due to the tteokbokki gate?’
Just imagining it made her shiver.
She was tempted to check with the Monarch’s Sight, but Aristine held back.
It was better not to open Pandora’s box.
Thus, the peaceful(if you could call it that) days continued.
And then one day.
“Impewial Mother! Impewial Father! The baby is coming!”
Actsion yelled, burrowing into the arms of Tarkan and Aristine.
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