The Villainess Doesn't Want To Fall In Love

Chapter VIII: The Winter Fruit Part 3

“It's already cold.” She felt a huge disappointment after she opened the ceramic bowl and saw that the food she prepared had become cold already. They rested in a shallow cave, with a bonfire that the prince made. She was at that moment when the prince took a scope of it using a wooden spoon.

“It's delicious,” he complimented. “What do you call this food?”

“I don't know. I've just invented it recently.”

It's an imitation of the popular bilo-bilo or binignit of the Philippines which is best consumed during rainy days. However, it was traditionally eaten during holidays. Since there was no coconut in this world, she wasn't able to make the original.

Wait a minute...

Her eyes shone like the brightest stars in the sky as she fixated them on the mysterious trees of glassy fruit. She had mentioned earlier that the winter fruit has an uncanny resemblance with the tropical fruit she's familiar with.

“Can we take some of them home?”

The prince simply nodded and volunteered himself to get enough numbers of it. She told him that it's much better to eat the food when it's warm and she was about to drop her jaw when she witnessed how he heated the bowl easily by using only his palms.

“It's sweet and delightful. Can you tell me what is this food made of?” asked the prince while eating a bowl of it.

“It's made of sweet potatoes, purple yams, plantain, tapioca pearls, milk, sugar, etc.” Her lips formed an arch as she glanced again at the frozen trees. “It lacked one ingredient though but I've found it already. It would make a perfect combination.”

“How did you come up with a food with the ingredients that seemed to be difficult to find?” She only shrugged her shoulders. “Seriously, your intelligence in inventing new recipes had always fascinated me,” he added which made her smile even more.

“Are you familiar with rice, Your Highness?”

“I'm not sure. What is that?”

“But you're familiar with the type of grains that are commonly consumed as a medicine, right? What if I tell you that it can be a staple food that can feed hundreds of people?”

She's never been a fan of history and the timeline of the origin of rice on Earth might not be the same in this world. However, she knew for sure that planting rice was possible. Her gut feeling kept telling her that rice exists in this world too. It may have already been discovered in some countries, especially in the tropical regions of this world. She just has to look for it.

“Aside from the tension between House Marqaux and House Scarlett, including the rebellion of the archduke, there has been a crisis regarding the food in the market. The demands are higher than the supplies, thus, making the values of the goods expensive. It may not affect the Royal family directly but the people of the empire are the ones who suffer the most,” Prince Darius explained.

She knew everything about it since it was also mentioned in the novel. Corrupt officials from the aristocratic families, especially the noble houses that had expertise in merchandise began to hoard the food supplies and sold the goods at a higher price in the market. Among all those houses, in terms of corruption, House Lucrene stands out the most.

“Is it the reason why you always get stuck on your desk and not even having ample rest?”

“As a member of the royal family, I must do research on how to solve the matter. About that rice you mentioned, can its crops survive the four seasons?”

“It won't, maybe. But still, there's nothing wrong if we try. If we consider the geographic location of Louvern City, summer here takes longer than in the other regions. We should be able to grow the crops and harvest them within the time before the next season comes. If it fails, we can plant different crops each of which can withstand the four seasons, and make a trade offer to the neighboring lands.”