Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Cooking Contest
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In the dark plains, amid the bushes.
The White Horse Unit knights hiding there let out deep sighs.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to understand Her Highness.”
“Tell me about it. Why on earth is she suddenly riding in the warden’s carriage...”
The veteran riders yawned, their faces smeared with camouflage cream.
However, they didn’t seem particularly upset.
Their pay was double that of other knight orders, and compared to their usual training, this wait felt more like a break.
“Can’t you tell? She’s trying to make that guy her husband.”
“The Minster family’s youngest??”
Instead, they were worried about their commander’s actions.
The first man to enter her heart, a woman who had shown zero interest in any guy...
Was the young lord of a massive bounty organization that had recently swallowed up even the mafia forces.
“She’s someone without any preconceptions to begin with. Just look at how she recruited us into the knight order.”
The two veteran knights glanced at each other’s faces.
Come to think of it, they were all eldest sons burdened with leading fallen noble houses.
Though their nobility might be diminished, they were the ones who had worked harder than anyone to uphold their families.
Camillia had long recognized that passion and hired talent without prejudice.
Thanks to her, the White Horse Knights always ranked at the top in evaluations.
And their unwavering loyalty followed naturally.
“Yeah, when else could we earn this kind of money?”
Still, they did have one single gripe about the princess.
It was...
“I’m worried, though.”
“About what? That infamous young lord?”
“No, he’s a problem too, but the real issue is something else. Her Highness is cooking herself today.”
“What...?”
The veteran knights turned pale, prompting the newbie female knight to ask cautiously.
“Is there something wrong with Her Highness’s cooking, seniors?”
“You wouldn’t get it since you’re new.”
“I’d sell the tongue that hasn’t tasted it yet.”
The knights, fearless against anything in the world, showed fear only toward their commander.
That sight made even the newbie knight tense up.
“Just how bad is it...?”
The two veterans, faces coated in camouflage cream, grew solemn as if recounting a terrifying legend.
With grave expressions, they shared their experiences.
“It was last winter. During the inter-knight harsh weather training evaluation.”
“Her Highness brought food herself to praise us.”
“Was it meat pie?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The newbie female knight nodded casually.
It was one of the most common dishes around.
“How bad could a meat pie be?”
“You have no idea. The horror of it...”
The knights’ pupils contracted as they recalled the moment they first tasted the princess’s food.
As if they had glimpsed a new world of flavors they never knew existed.
But that new world didn’t seem particularly pleasant.
Among those new worlds were...
“The day we ate Her Highness’s stew, we took first place in the evaluation match.”
“Isn’t first place good?”
Even realms filled with sanity-shattering outer gods existed, after all.
“Her Highness’s cooking was the kind of taste that snapped our chilled minds awake.”
“It was like your brain jolting fully alert from a flavor you’d never tasted before. Like every nerve in your body standing on end from encountering a being from another realm.”
“If we’d lost, we’d have to fight another round.”
“And eat Her Highness’s food again. To avoid that, we had to awaken...”
A taste straight out of ancient myths.
The princess truly was exceptional, even in her culinary touch.
“But Her Highness is a perfectionist, right? If the first one failed, she’ll bring something better next time, no?”
The female knight tried to defend her superior.
But the knights, regretting their past mistake, answered with grim faces.
“Her Highness thinks her cooking is the best...”
“We couldn’t tell her the truth. We forced ourselves to say it was delicious and cleaned our plates.”
The two seniors looked apologetically at the youngest, who would soon taste it herself.
Like heroes feeling guilty for failing to seal away an otherworldly entity.
“N-no... Shouldn’t you have just told her the truth?”
Only then did the female knight grasp the gravity of the situation.
Her seniors’ faces were tenser than when subjugating a great beast.
“Could you look into those dragon eyes and say the food tastes like tentacles from an ancient myth?”
The female knight glanced at the distant Camillia.
At the beautiful face that trained with them daily and praised them sincerely.
“...”
Come to think of it, when she, the youngest, first adjusted, Camillia had helped with everything personally.
To the knights, she was like a radiant sun matching her golden hair.
“I couldn’t...”
The female knight finally squeezed her eyes shut.
She didn’t want to disappoint her idol over mere food.
“Exactly.”
“This time too, we have to somehow keep straight faces and eat it.”
The two knights steeled their resolve with resolute expressions.
“Phew... But I think it’s actually a good thing.”
“Why?”
“We didn’t even flinch from penetrating wounds, but our faces twisted. How do you think the snake-like Minster family will fare?”
“Ah, no way...”
The female knight’s lips parted at the veterans’ cunning intent.
“Yeah. Lovers always get disappointed when their beloved grimaces at their cooking.”
“If her affection for him fades this time, it’ll actually be for the best.”
The knights placed fists over their hearts.
Steeling their will as if nobly fighting for the empire.
“Today, we succeed in managing our expressions no matter what. And we make that Minster bastard the only one grimacing, turning him into the insolent fool. Got it?”
“Yes!!”
Their resounding shout reached even the carriage.
The princess, who had received the ingredients, looked pleased at their spirit.
Everyone’s fired up. Are they so happy thinking about eating my food?
Camillia maintained a regal, dignified expression befitting a monarch.
Her cooking always elicited great reactions, after all.
“Hmm, what dish to make...”
The princess pondered like placing a chess piece on the battlefield.
Her gaze drifted to the warden starting a campfire.
Come to think of it, he ate the duck well at the banquet earlier. Paired nicely with orange juice.
Camillia thought of a dish using both.
The ‘duck with orange sauce’ the imperial kitchen head sometimes made for her.
The perfect harmony of two foods her cherished hatchling liked.
The princess smiled faintly and began prepping the ingredients.
I wonder what that fox-like child will make.
With skilled hands filleting the duck, she watched Clea.
Making ordinary salmon steak and mashed potatoes.
She’s been by the warden’s side, yet doesn’t even know his tastes.
There had definitely been salmon steak at the banquet.
But the warden ate only duck.
Fully grasping a partner’s preferences was part of strategy.
Sensing victory, the princess leisurely finished prepping.
“...”
Meanwhile, Clea maintained her usual blank expression throughout cooking.
She simply made friendly, homey food like she did for her siblings.
“This should be good for grilling.”
Her neat, tidy movements made even her sharp features seem feminine.
A few White Horse knights watching from afar stared openly.
Even the coachman wore a proud look, as if she were his daughter.
Meanwhile, I was dying alone.
How did things escalate like this?
Both Camillia and Clea were the prideful type.
Their synergy had turned dinner prep into a cooking contest.
Picking either as winner would cause issues.
I pondered how to resolve this happily as the dishes finished.
About 30 minutes later.
The long-awaited judging time arrived.
A large full moon hung in the dark night sky.
Beneath it, vast plains spread out.
A long table sat before the campfire.
Two dishes were placed there.
First, the princess’s ambitious creation: “Hatchling’s Favorite”
She reduced orange juice, mixed in butter for sauce.
Golden waves topped with roasted duck.
Next, Clea’s work: “Rockhart Special”
Well-grilled salmon steak topped with rosemary.
Neatly accompanied by mashed potatoes as side.
With titles attached, the judging atmosphere intensified.
I swallowed hard.
“Alright, let’s try them.”
We started with the princess’s, since her momentum was strongest.
I cut into the duck with fork and knife.
As expected of Princess Sis, nothing she can’t do. Even cooking looks decent?
The well-roasted skin cracked with a ‘crisp’.
Then, red meat appeared.
Huh?
The skin was perfectly done, but why was the meat so red...?
Wondering, I glanced at the princess.
Still the confident, haughty queen’s expression.
Can duck be eaten rare too?
Gauging the imperial intent, I took a bite.
And the moment I chewed a big mouthful.
“.................................?”
My eyebrows shot to my forehead from the unprecedented taste.
What is this?
Why does duck taste like raw beef?
A nostalgic homeland flavor blooming in Western cuisine.
But that was just the start.
Then came an overwhelmingly intense sweetness.
Followed by orange’s unique sourness.
And a bizarre saltiness piercing the tongue like her grandiose Landruin.
It felt like the dead duck revived as an ancient outer god, destroying my taste buds.
Is this poison? What did I do wrong...?
I looked at Camillia again.
But she still had that empress-like confident gaze.
She thinks her food is delicious.
If not for my underworld days training in expression control and acting, my face would’ve crumpled.
“Whew...”
I calmly drank water first.
Struggling to forget that electrifying taste.
“Next, the vice warden’s dish.”
I moved to Clea’s side.
She handed me fork and knife without fanfare.
“If it’s too salty, pair it with the mashed potatoes.”
Like a wife curtly serving breakfast.
“Got it.”
As recommended, fluffy potatoes topped with thick salmon.
Like ham on rice.
Following that familiar, appetizing sight, I took a big bite.
Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief.
Like escaping the tentacles of an ancient outer god back to my homeland.
“Haa...”
Yes.
This is ‘taste’.
I closed my eyes gently.
Regaining humanity, my expression softened again.
“Can I give my verdict now?”
Camillia with arms crossed alone, Clea holding one of my arms.
The aproned golden beauty and the cool woman fitting her subtly answered together.
“Go ahead.”
“Please do.”
I exhaled deeply.
Then, without flattery, pointed firmly at the vice warden.
“Clea’s was tastier.”
“...?”
The moment I answered.
The distant bushes twitched violently.
Chilling gazes from the swarming White Horse knights pierced me.
Shooting killing intent demanding I retract that statement.
“Well, obvious result.”
Clea smirked like a haughty fox.
“...”
Meanwhile, the princess wore a bold expression.
Surprisingly, no sign of wounded pride.
“Was there a problem with mine...? If so, tell me honestly.”
Instead, she seemed reflective about her dish.
As expected of a northern ruler’s mindset.
“Absolutely not.”
Though the taste was horrific, her intent toward me was palpable.
Not wanting to be an insensitive subordinate, I emphasized that.
“Clea’s tasted better overall, but if eating again, I’d choose Her Highness’s.”
“...What does that mean?”
Overall taste better from the other, but prefer hers next time?
Her lowered eyes began rising slightly again.
“I felt Your Highness’s care for the other in the menu choice and effort.”
I smiled with my eyes at her.
The distant White Horse knights sighed in relief.
“Actually, what you just made was mostly what I ate at the banquet. You remembered and did it on purpose, right?”
“Yes. You seemed to enjoy it...”
“Making an unfamiliar dish, risking it all just for the other. It felt like Your Highness’s considerate kindness. Really great.”
I scooped a bit of the at least edible sauce with a spoon.
Feeling the zingy sweetness, I emphasized again.
“Thank you truly, Your Highness. If there’s a next chance, I’d love to try it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s outdoors here, unfamiliar gear too. Next time, somewhere familiar.”
“Familiar place... Then my private kitchen?”
Camillia murmured hands behind back, playing innocent.
Then, as if struck by a good idea, regained her general’s dignity.
“Fine. You said you’d come yourself?”
A bit far, her last mutter barely audible.
Still, assuming some imperial palace section, I answered naturally.
“If invited, it’d be an honor.”
Camillia approached with a satisfied look.
Stood beside me and boldly asked back.
“Then, will you slowly teach me what was wrong? That way, I can improve next time.”
“Of course. I’ll help.”
The side-by-side man and woman began cooking together.
The contest winner simply watched their backs intently.
“...”
Felt like she lost despite winning.
Clea placed a hand on her chest, slowly stroking down.
Of course I’m glad things are going well with my superior, but why...
Always calm around any woman.
But perhaps because she first felt this odd distance tonight.
Clea’s ever-clear eyes began changing subtly.
Like a fox that only eyed prey now opening to other things.
Hmm. Thought I’d fully trained his palate.
The vice warden picked up the fork he’d used.
Naturally tasted the remaining salmon steak.
As if replenishing energy for later.
Guess I need to tame him more.