Nikephoros was currently in deep despair.

"......"

The reason? He had only just realized that tomorrow was the Princess's birthday.

Even if he sought out the most skilled craftsman or artisan, it would be impossible to create a decent gift in a mere 24 hours.

A wave of helplessness washed over him. He could already feel her cold gaze.

Nikephoros hung his head in misery.

Just then, the door opened and heavy footsteps approached.

"Sir, here's this month's guard duty report."

It was Haakon, the Varangian Guard captain. As always, he wore that irritatingly carefree expression.

"The deadline was the day before yesterday."

Nikephoros spoke with a cutting voice, taking out his frustration on the man.

But Haakon, as usual, gave a casual nod.

"My subordinates are quite lazy. I'll make sure to discipline them properly when I return."

"That's your problem. You're always saying you'll educate them, but nothing ever changes."

Nikephoros continued to vent his irritation.

Finally, Haakon straightened his posture with a start.

He quickly composed his "why the sudden attitude?" expression and bowed politely.

"I'll correct it, sir."

"I don't want empty promises of correction, but immediate action. I'll be watching until next month, so handle it properly."

"Yes, sir."

Haakon straightened up again. He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly stopped, as if something had occurred to him.

He cleared his throat and asked calmly:

"Tomorrow is the Princess's birthday, isn't it?"

...A flinch.

"We in the Guard have also prepared a gift."

"Th-that's not necessary."

"No, it is. Our beloved Princess is pregnant with her first child—this much is only natural."

Haakon looked at Nikephoros with an expression that said this was obvious.

"Anyway, if I may ask, what gift have you prepared, sir? If there's any overlap, we'll prepare something else."

"A-another gift? Would there be time?"

"Anticipating something like this, I placed orders with several craftsmen in advance. Clothes, perfumes, jewelry... Well, you needn't worry about duplication."

Haakon stared directly at Nikephoros.

"So what have you prepared, sir?"

"......"

It felt as if the marble floor beneath him was collapsing. Sweat rapidly formed on Nikephoros's palms.

Now that he realized it, tomorrow was Anna's first birthday since becoming his true bride. Their first proper birthday celebration as a married couple.

Nikephoros chewed his lower lip nervously. Haakon's gaze narrowed as he waited for an answer.

After digging his nails into his palms, Nikephoros finally spoke as if he'd made a decision.

"Um, Haakon..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't lend you our gift. We've already engraved the Guard's emblem on it."

"Ugh..."

At this remark that seemed to see through everything, Nikephoros hung his head even deeper.

With an expression that said "just as I thought," Haakon sighed deeply and asked:

"May I speak frankly, not as your subordinate but as a fellow man?"

"...Please do."

"Where on earth is your mind these days?"

"...I wonder that myself."

Nikephoros covered his face with both hands.

"I have no excuse, but I never thought time would pass so quickly. As you know, I was extremely busy last month."

"Perhaps you should tell the Princess that. 'I'm sorry, but I was too busy to remember your birthday.'"

"...Do you have some grudge against me?"

"Didn't you ask me to speak frankly?"

Haakon shrugged.

"So what will you do? Shall I prepare a swift horse for you right away?"

"Do you have any recommendations?"

"How about fine wine? I hear there's a winery near the Golden Gate that gourmets praise highly."

"Should I really settle for something like that as a first gift? I want something that will remain in the Princess's memory for a lifetime."

"...Picky despite your predicament."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything."

After pondering briefly, Haakon answered:

"How about visiting the Venetian embassy? You might find something good there."

"The Princess is quite familiar with Latin goods. She'll immediately notice it's not handcrafted but mass-produced merchandise bought from Venetians."

He could already imagine the Princess's reaction: "Surely you're not giving me this cheap, pasta-smelling trinket as a birthday gift?"

"Then what will you do? You don't like this, you don't like that."

"That's why I'm asking you for an answer."

"...Haah."

Haakon sighed deeply and crossed his arms.

After a long pause, he spoke again as if something had occurred to him.

"I have it. Something that will remain in the Princess's memory forever and that anyone would recognize as prepared by you."

"What is it?"

"Cooking."

"...What?"

"Food, sir. You could prepare a birthday meal for the Princess."

"So... you want me to cook?"

"Yes, the Princess would surely be touched."

"...Ha."

Nikephoros had spent his forty years honing only the sword that cut men. How could a man like him handle a kitchen knife?

"No, that doesn't seem like something I could do."

"Is that so?"

Haakon nodded and immediately turned to leave.

Nikephoros hastily grabbed his elbow to stop him.

"W-wait. Where are you going?"

"I can't think of anything else. I'm sorry, but I'll take my leave now."

Haakon's eyes narrowed more than ever before.

"Besides, you don't seem particularly desperate right now, sir."

"Ugh..."

It felt like a stab to the heart. Nikephoros unconsciously released Haakon's elbow.

Haakon dusted off his arm and looked down at him intently.

"Will you do it? Cook?"

"...Yes."

"Good. Then I'll immediately find a cooking assistant."

"A cooking assistant...?"

Who? Nikephoros looked up at Haakon weakly.

Haakon nodded with a grin.

"The best chef I know."

※※

"This is unusual, Nikephoros cooking."

The familiar kitchen somehow felt brighter than usual.

As I put on an apron with a smile, Nikephoros—already wearing an apron and chef's hat—awkwardly scratched his head.

"For the little one on the way, I should at least know how to make basic baby food."

"Ooh, how sweet is that?"

Good boy. I playfully patted his shoulder.

After tying my hair in a ponytail, I looked down at the prepared ingredients—onions, clams, and the like.

"So today you want me to teach you how to use a kitchen knife, basic ingredient preparation, and how to control the heat?"

"Yes, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to cooking."

"Alright. But stay focused. Teacher Anna is not to be taken lightly."

It always felt good when Nikephoros stepped into my domain.

I naturally picked up a kitchen knife, then had a thought and handed it to him instead.

"Here, hold the knife."

"Weren't you going to demonstrate first?"

"Don't worry. I'll help you through it all."

"Umm... okay."

Nikephoros awkwardly took the knife.

I moved behind him and gently wrapped my hands around his knife-holding hand. Along with the firm touch, a subtle soap scent tickled my nose.

'This is just like those drama scenes!'

I'd always wanted to try this. Though I hadn't imagined my partner would be such a large man.

I moved his hand to the cutting board... and suddenly froze as reality dawned on me.

"Princess?"

Nikephoros turned to look at me quizzically.

"...Can't see."

"Pardon?"

"Your back is too big—I can't see the cutting board."

It was only natural. I'm barely 150 cm tall, while Nikephoros is well over 180 cm of pure muscle.

Cruel reality... I clicked my tongue in disappointment and released his hand, stepping back.

Nikephoros looked alternately at his hand and me, then smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Then how about this?"

He naturally positioned me in front of him, embracing me from behind. Our positions were now reversed from before.

"Ah... this way I can definitely see."

Well, it didn't matter. It wasn't what I had in mind, but it worked.

I took his hand again and placed it on the cutting board. Then I took an onion from the basket.

"First, the most important thing when using a knife is your left hand that holds the ingredient. Your right hand with the knife just moves uniformly."

I made what's commonly called a "cat's paw" and turned to Nikephoros.

"Meow."

"Pfft..."

Nikephoros burst into laughter as if I were utterly adorable.

I shook my head and waved my hand.

"Try it yourself. Meow."

"M-meow?"

"Yes. This is the basic knife position, nya."

I put my hand next to my cheek, imitating a maneki-neko.

After staring at my face for a moment, Nikephoros finally laughed and made a cat's paw.

"Like this?"

"Say meow, nya."

"M-meow."

Nikephoros put his hand next to his cheek, imitating me.

"Pfft..."

I had told him to do it, but it was still funny. A forty-year-old man acting cute.

"Y-you told me to do it, Princess!"

When I burst into laughter, Nikephoros blushed and raised his voice.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized, then cleared my throat to compose myself and looked down at the cutting board.

"Anyway, the point here is to use your index finger."

"Index finger?"

"Yes, the index finger. Guide the knife's movement by supporting the side of the blade with the joint of your index finger."

I moved his hand to show him the proper position.

Then tap-tap, I began slicing the onion.

"The next important thing is rhythm. With good rhythm, the pieces will be uniform, and you'll avoid unnecessary mistakes."

Tap-tap, tap-tap, the knife continued making even sounds.

Perhaps because he was used to handling a sword, Nikephoros maintained his posture without any wavering.

In no time, we had neat onion strips that were hard to believe were cut by a beginner.

"Wow! You're really good at this!"

I turned to Nikephoros with a bright smile.

But for some reason, Nikephoros was staring blankly at the cutting board with a stiff expression.

"Nikephoros?"

I asked, puzzled. Why is he suddenly acting like this?

Nikephoros stared at my face for a moment, then carefully released the knife and said:

"Princess."

"What?"

"I want to do it."

"Do what?"

"I want to hold you."

"...?"

What's he saying all of a sudden? I was completely confused.

Then I felt something hard pressing against my back.

"W-wait?!"

Only then did I understand what Nikephoros meant.

Nikephoros wore an expression that said "this is your fault" and continued:

"Well, you kept rubbing your bottom against me."

"Th-that was just to keep the rhythm..."

"While knowing I was behind you."

"I-I really had no intention..."

Of course, I had felt something touching me, but...

Nikephoros's expression changed to a slightly pitiful one.

"May I?"

"Ugh..."

Of course, there was no reason to refuse. But still...

After pondering for a moment, I sighed and nodded.

"Fine. Let's go to the bedroom quickly."

In this state, proper education was impossible anyway. Men are just like that.

As I clicked my tongue and turned around, Nikephoros pounced on my lips as if he'd been waiting for this moment.

"Mmph?!"

The kiss was too deep to be just a thank you. His tongue invaded my mouth, and I heard the clang of the knife being thrown aside.

Nikephoros lifted me onto the cutting board and naturally began to undo his waistband.

"W-wait, you're not planning to do it here?"

When I managed to turn my head and ask, Nikephoros nodded as if it were the most natural thing.

"Yes."

"Why?!"

"Because you look so beautiful right now with your apron and tied-up hair."

Then he laid me down on the cutting board and licked his lips.

"Well then, I'll enjoy my meal."

The man... after leaving me speechless with his words, he covered my lips with his once more.

'Why is the chef being eaten?!'

A scene that would make the freshly cut onions laugh. Truly a fitting end for our couple.

'I was hoping to build up a lot for tomorrow...'

Still, with the mindset of embracing my precious husband, I gladly accommodated his wishes.