The Central Kitchen's Reckoning
“What is the meaning of this?”
Vera bit down hard on her lip.
“It seems we need to have a little talk.”
He called Vera into the kitchen. Olivia, who had been drawing attention in the kitchen under the pretext of training, wore a look of dismay before quickly composing her expression.
“Hah, so you’ve come to collude and oppress the Central Kitchen?”
“Oppress? That’s absurd.”
“Then what’s with that attitude? Drawing eyes from the front while sneaking around from behind—what exactly are you plotting?”
He strode threateningly toward the maids.
“How dare you cause such a scene in my kitchen.”
Vera felt her insides burn with guilt. Because of her mistake, Olivia was now suffering humiliation as well.
“If you have something to say, then say it. Well?”
The situation was overwhelmingly against them. If things had gone according to plan, the ones trembling now would have been the head chef, not themselves.
“I won’t let this incident slide! You can’t oppress us hardworking people just because we belong to the princess’s palace!”
“This is hardly oppression! And that deputy head chef was the one scheming against a powerless woman over personnel authority!”
“That’s a lie!”
The deputy head chef quickly shouted.
“I merely followed a maid whose appearance seemed suspicious. And look at the circumstances. Didn’t I just prevent us from getting entangled in a palace conspiracy?”
“A palace conspiracy……”
Vera was speechless.
The head chef drove them out of the kitchen, his voice sharp and menacing.
“It seems you wanted to sabotage the Central Kitchen no matter what. Let’s go see the head maid right now. You’ve crossed the line after we’ve been lenient with you all this time.”
Just then—
“So the head chef has been lenient with me, and I’m the one who crossed the line.”
Cayena appeared in the Central Kitchen, accompanied by her escort knights. The head chef’s expression briefly soured upon seeing the princess, then he bowed.
“I greet Your Highness the Princess.”
Cayena stared at the head chef in silence. She had witnessed him threatening Vera and Olivia just moments ago.
“That maid was acting under my orders, inspecting departments under the Inner Palace’s jurisdiction. Yet it seems you displayed quite a discourteous attitude.”
The head chef realized Cayena was lying to protect the maid.
“Feel free to report me to the head maid.”
Cayena tilted her head slightly, her gaze cold.
“You must be so confident because there’s truly nothing wrong with the Central Kitchen, correct?”
“Of course, Your Highness. This place is managed more strictly than any other department. That pride alone has sustained me all my life.”
The head chef spoke with a polite yet dignified air. To any onlooker, he would have seemed entirely upright. Cayena let out a soft laugh.
“Then let’s verify that.”
“……Pardon?”
“If you’re so confident, I have no choice but to inspect the management of the Central Kitchen, which is supposedly a model for all departments. I shall examine your efforts and bestow rewards accordingly.”
The head chef furrowed his brow. He hadn’t expected the princess to respond this way. Yet refusing her here would only make it seem as though he had something to hide.
‘What could the princess possibly notice?’
She had only just seized real power in the Inner Palace—what could she possibly uncover? The head chef obediently guided Cayena into the kitchen.
Vera was certain there were problems in the Central Kitchen. But now that the situation had escalated without finding any evidence, she grew anxious.
Cayena remained perfectly composed. She already knew all too well that the imperial palace’s household management was in disarray.
“Bring me the ledgers.”
The kitchen servants exchanged glances before reluctantly fetching the account books. Though the sudden inspection made them slightly nervous, they remained inwardly complacent. They underestimated the young princess who had yet to come of age.
“Hmm, you’ve certainly kept the records well enough to justify such confidence.”
“I’m grateful for your acknowledgment.”
The head chef was just beginning to feel relieved when—
“However, the ingredient disposal rate exceeds eighty percent.”
A disposal rate over thirty percent already strained the budget. Yet this was eighty percent, not thirty or fifty. It meant that most of the ingredients brought in were being discarded.
The head chef’s face hardened. Still, he believed he could talk his way out of this.
“His Majesty the Emperor is currently in critical condition, so we must be especially strict even with the finest ingredients……”
Cayena flung the ledger onto the floor.
“I came expecting strict oversight, given how rigorously the Central Kitchen is supposedly managed. Yet the national treasury has been leaking this badly?”
“Your Highness.”
“You seem unaware that a disposal rate exceeding forty percent results in the responsible party being punished under imperial law.”
At the mention of imperial law, the head chef finally realized the princess had no intention of letting this go easily.
His brow twitched. The high disposal rate in the Central Kitchen stemmed from them siphoning off expensive ingredients. They had been embezzling this way for so long that, though imperial law weighed on his mind, they had continued regardless.
‘Even His Highness the Prince didn’t know, so there’s no way the princess could.’
The head chef let his lips droop and spoke in a gentle, coaxing tone.
“Of course, that is what imperial law states, Your Highness. However, one cannot deny that imperial law differs from on-site realities. Especially in the Central Kitchen, which manages food served to His Majesty the Emperor and the two Highnesses.”
Food for the imperial family naturally had to be of the highest quality. Not even the slightest flaw could be tolerated. Nobles who never concerned themselves with saving money found this logic entirely reasonable. He believed he could easily manipulate a young lady.
Yet Cayena’s face remained unreadable, though he soon dismissed it as his imagination and continued.
“Only the finest ingredients must be used here, and anything even slightly irregular in distribution is discarded without exception.”
“I see.”
Cayena responded indifferently.
“That said……”
The head chef swallowed dryly without realizing it.
“Where are the discarded items?”
“……Pardon?”
“If you discarded them, the items should still be here, shouldn’t they? The ledger already records that several were discarded this morning.”
He hadn’t expected her to ask where the discarded goods were and failed to respond quickly, hesitating briefly before smiling again.
“We’ve already thrown them away, Your Highness.”
“Then go fetch them.”
“Pardon?”
“I said to bring them so I can compare them with the ledger.”
Her smooth tone implied there was no reason to delay.
It was impossible to retrieve them. They had already colluded with the suppliers to record nonexistent items in the ledger and paid for them. The transaction had occurred without any physical goods.
‘No member of the imperial family has ever cared about ingredient disposal until now!’
Only then did he realize the gravity of the situation. The head chef wanted to grab someone nearby and vent his fury. But Cayena’s impassive gaze bound him like chains. He swallowed the curses rising in his throat.
“Who is in charge of disposal?”
There was no such person. He needed to sacrifice someone suitable to cut off the tail. He grabbed a powerless servant and pulled him forward.
“This one, Your Highness. Rosh, tell Her Highness the truth about what happened to the discarded items.”
The youngest servant called Rosh realized he had been singled out. He bit his lip hard. If he took the blame here, he would surely face severe punishment. But what if he told the truth?
‘The head chef and everyone else know exactly where my family lives.’
The ingredient suppliers were no ordinary merchants. They employed violent thugs who thought nothing of beating someone to death. In fact, anyone who opposed the head chef had failed to show up for work the next day.
“I—I am the one in charge, Your Highness.”
Princess Cayena was royalty. There was no way a noble or imperial family member who viewed commoners as insects would protect him.
“So you’re the one in charge?”
Cayena’s tone was quite gentle. Rosh’s hands trembled as he looked up, as if entranced by her calm voice.
“What did you do with today’s discarded items?”
When Rosh hesitated, the head chef spoke in a low voice.
“Rosh. Tell Her Highness the truth.”
“Well……”
He squeezed his eyes shut and prostrated himself on the floor.
“I have committed a grave sin, Your Highness!”
“A grave sin? I don’t understand what you mean all of a sudden.”
“I—I was struggling financially at home, so I dared to steal them……”
Color briefly returned to the head chef’s face before hardening again.
“How insolent! To steal from the sacred imperial household!”
He was about to grab Rosh by the collar when Cayena raised her hand.
“That’s enough.”
She turned back to the trembling Rosh and asked kindly once more.
“Your name is Rosh, correct? I like responsible people. There’s no one more trustworthy than someone who cherishes their family as much as their own life.”
Cayena smiled faintly as she spoke.
Rosh sensed that the princess had no intention of killing him. The head chef, sensing something amiss, pleaded.
“Your Highness, you must punish this wretch who dared to lay hands on imperial property!”
“How should he be punished?”
“Well, according to imperial law……”
“You mean confiscating his property and position, and flogging his entire family?”
The head chef fell silent. Cold sweat ran down his back.
‘Stay calm. There’s no evidence. The princess can’t possibly order a flogging!’
Amid the tense atmosphere, a servant entered from outside and spoke cautiously.
“The afternoon ingredient supplier has arrived. Should I send them away?”
The head chef’s heart sank.
“How dare you allow such lowly merchants to set foot in the imperial palace while Her Highness is present! Send them away at once!”
He couldn’t let Cayena meet the supplier. The receipt would list numerous nonexistent items, just like always.
“That won’t be necessary.”
She rose from her seat.
“Let’s go together. It will serve as encouragement for the merchants who have worked hard supplying ingredients all this time.”
The head chef’s complexion darkened completely.