𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄

3 ✧ Sweet Breakfasts

Mayari didn't think she would be able to sleep after being in a coma for a while, but she managed to sleep quite soundly that night. The soothing bath and soft bed probably helped.

Regardless, her brush ran through her hair, untangling any knots from sleeping. She sat in front of the vanity, gazing at herself through the mirror. Even after another night, she was still there. The chances of this all being a bizarre dream shrank more and more as time passed. At one point, she's going to have to accept this wasn't just something she can wake up from.

Last night, she tried looking for anything in her room that could aid her, anything that could tell her more about her circumstances. She searched through her clothes' pockets, peeked into every drawer, scanned every shelf, and even attempted to find some kind of hidden door. Nonetheless, her search bore no fruits.

How troublesome.

A knock interrupted her.

She glanced at it. "Come in!"

The door slowly opened to reveal a lady-in-waiting, who didn't appear very familiar to hear. She bowed. "I greet Her Imperial Highness, the Maharlikan Princess."

"You may rise." Mayari nodded.

She straightened her posture and spoke, "His Highness told us to prepare breakfast for you to eat in the garden."

Mayari stood up. "Ah, thank you for notifying me. I'll get ready in a bit."

"Yes, Your Highness."

✧ ✧ ✧

Mayari decided to pick out a white cape blouse that resembled a barong tagalog. She paired it with a turquoise mermaid skirt with a ribbon at the top, a star brooch sitting at the center. It went well together with a pearl necklace that had a golden moon hanging from it.

She followed the lady-in-waiting to the garden, still looking for any sign of Kayena. Hopefully she'd show up today. She's the main character of this whole manhwa, after all. Things would certainly be concerning if she never appeared.

When she got to the garden, her eyes were greeted with a beautiful sight filled with a variety of flowers decorating the white gazebo; hanging wisteria, lilies of the valley, pink carnations, orchids, irises, magnolias, you name it. In the middle of this idyllic scene was a table with a cloth spread over it. A chair sat beside it.

She raised an eyebrow at the lone chair and turned to the lady-in-waiting. "His Highness won't be joining breakfast?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid he's a little busy with work in his office."

She hummed. "Would it be rude to swing by and give him my thanks? I'd like to make something for him."

"Princess Mayari wishes to cook for His Highness?" She seemed shocked.

"Yes," she answered, "I feel bad for imposing so I wanted to give him something. You can have someone watch me if you suspect I might do something wrong."

"I will have to ask Prince Regef about this. Please enjoy your breakfast in the meantime." She bowed again and left.

Mayari sat down on the seat provided for her, inspecting the food. The selection had many pastries and desserts. Regef seemed to know what she liked based on that one line he mentioned the night before. She took a chocolate macaron and popped it into her mouth, chewing. At least eating alone means she won't have to be conscious about the way she eats as much. Memories of her grandma scrutinising her way of eating flashed in her mind, souring her mood. A huff left her lips. It's like that woman would never be satisfied with her, no matter what she did.