The Materialistic Duke’s Daughter, Episode 10
“If you intend to do harm to His Highness……!”
Sir Loner eyed me warily, his expression full of suspicion. Just then, Anok stopped him.
“It is worth confirming. Lady Kanev. I trust you understand well how much trouble your family will be in if you are making empty claims in this situation.”
“Of course.”
To prove my worth—that I was an emotion expert—I took Anok to the imperial kitchen. Sir Loner had no choice but to guide us, though he kept casting suspicious looks at me the entire time.
“It is here.”
The strange procession of the crown prince heading to the kitchen accompanied by Lady Kanev drew people’s attention. Before the servant could open the kitchen door, a loud voice rang out from inside.
“I don’t know anymore! I’m so anxious day after day that I can’t sleep at night!”
“Do you think you’re the only one? Every chef in the imperial kitchen feels the same way.”
‘What’s going on?’
The servant cautiously gauged the situation, then entered the kitchen first and announced that the crown prince had arrived. A short scream burst out. I naturally checked Anok’s expression.
‘Somehow, I think the loud noise inside was because of the crown prince……’
Soon the kitchen door opened, and the employees standing in neat rows came into view. They had a gloomy air about them, as if they had resigned themselves to something and braced for it.
While I was still bewildered, the man who appeared to be the head chef of the kitchen dropped to his knees in front of Anok, slammed his head to the floor, and said,
“Your Highness, please forgive us!”
I carefully gauged the mood. What was this? I only wanted to borrow the kitchen for a moment……
“It seems there has been some misunderstanding.”
Anok stepped forward himself and spoke to them. For some reason, I had the illusion that there was a trace of weariness in his voice as he said it. He spoke as though he was used to being misunderstood like this.
“I merely came because Lady Kanev said she wished to borrow the kitchen for a short while.”
“We beg your pardon!”
They cried out, their faces turning even paler. I thought I should step forward, since I was the one who had caused this whole mess.
“Um, I wanted to personally cook a dish for His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“……
You, my lady?”
At my words, the kitchen staff, including the head chef, looked at us with bewildered faces.
‘But why has His Highness the Crown Prince come to a place like this together with Lady Kanev?’
Their expressions clearly held that exact question.
“Yes. So I’d like to borrow the kitchen for a bit. Would that be all right?”
“Of course. We will assist you with all our hearts.”
The head chef personally came forward to help me, but I refused his kindness.
“Ah, it’s fine. The more of a mess it becomes, the better……”
The kitchen staff laid out the ingredients in orderly rows on a long table. The knights were watching from outside, and I rolled up the sleeves of my dress.
“Now, I’ll show you that emotions can be felt through food.”
“……
Emotions?”
“What is she talking about?”
Ignoring the murmurs around me, I carefully chose the ingredients. Anok came up beside me and looked over them.
“Is there anything you cannot eat?”
The one who answered my question was not Anok, but the chef.
“His Highness the Crown Prince does not particularly like fishy things or strongly seasoned food.”
“……
I suppose I have not often reached for such things.”
Anok also nodded, agreeing with the chef. I grinned and selected a few ingredients with great care.
I spread apricot jam—sweet enough to make the tongue sting—over soft white bread until it dripped down, then topped it with oysters.
The chef rushed over to me with a horrified expression.
“My lady! What in the world is this bizarre combination?”
“Just wait and see.”
Fortunately, Anok said nothing. I even grabbed a pan. Into it, I roughly ladled some broth that happened to be nearby.
Then I added meat, cheese, spices, and all kinds of vegetables, and boiled it vigorously. Soon, a nauseating smell spread throughout the kitchen.
“Ugh!”
“What is that smell?”
‘Good, good. It’s going very well!’
The key point of this dish was absolutely not to taste it for seasoning.
“Should I try grilling something this time?”
I cracked eggs into a new pan and began making them fluffy like little clouds. I thought that this one, at least, should be bland and completely unseasoned.
“Huh? Why is the fire so strong!”
Regardless of my will to make a soft omelet, black smoke immediately began to rise.
Thinking this wouldn’t do, I transferred it onto a plate even though the top was not cooked.
Mm…… the bottom seemed extremely black, but since it suited the purpose of the dish, I let it slide.
“It’s complete.”
Then someone in the kitchen muttered,
“……
It looks like it came from hell.”
When I placed the three dishes on the table, a silence like thin ice settled over the surroundings.
“Your Highness! This is far too dangerous. Please do not eat it!”
Sir Loner approached Anok and blocked the food.
“Rather, rather, I will eat it!”
He squeezed his eyes shut and shouted. I was dumbfounded.
“It’s food for His Highness. Why would you eat it?”
“This is not food! Your Highness, as expected, Lady Kanev must bear a grudge against the imperial family and be attempting to poison you!”
“No, there isn’t even any poison in it……”
The chef hurriedly backed up Loner’s words as well.
“Your Highness, having watched the cooking process, I believe eating this may upset your stomach.”
“No, it isn’t spoiled or anything……”
Everyone around him was trying to stop Anok, but he silently picked up a spoon. Then he ate the unidentified stew I had made first.
Next, he took a bite of the sandwich with apricot jam and oysters, and finally picked up the plate with the omelet on it.
“My goodness. Should we stop His Highness even now?”
“I think we need to call a physician.”
The moment Anok lightly stirred it with his spoon, the pitch-black burnt underside was revealed in all its naked glory. Everyone in the kitchen let out sighs at the sight.
My stomach turned, so I slightly averted my gaze. Anok somehow managed to eat one bite of everything. That was a little moving. Anok put down his spoon, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said to the knights,
“Arrest Lady Kanev at once for attempting to assassinate a member of the imperial family.”
At those words, the knights strode toward me.
“Wait, wait!”
I raised both hands and stopped them.
“Have you forgotten the purpose of this food? This is food of anger!”
“Anger?”
“Food that makes you angry when you eat it.”
At that, everyone looked down at the plates and nodded. It was an accurate naming worthy of the food.
“Hmm. I do not know whether this is anger, but I feel as though I have lost my sense of taste.”
At his exaggeration, I shook my head. There was no way he would lose his sense of taste just because I put some oysters on jam-covered bread.
“Your Highness has quite a tendency to exaggerate.”
I politely asked the head chef,
“Could you perhaps make one simple dish? Something His Highness the Crown Prince might like.”
“Something His Highness might like……”
The chef’s expression darkened. He looked down at the three plates of food I had made, then hardened his resolve, nodded, and said,
“Understood. Please wait just a moment.”
The servants quickly cleared away the food I had made and began preparing to make proper dishes.
He sliced tomatoes and placed thick pieces of cheese and arugula between them. On a pure white porcelain plate, he even plated it with dressing. On another plate, he laid down bread and finished it with vegetables, shrimp, and herbs.
“As expected of the head chef! It’s on a completely different level from that meal from hell we saw earlier.”
“My mouth is already watering.”
It looked as though he was only moving lightly here and there, but the dishes were made in no time. This time, he stir-fried beef cut into bite-sized pieces, poured sauce over it, then quickly stir-fried it over high heat with mushrooms, onions, paprika, and the like before placing it on a plate. In an instant, he had filled three plates just as I had.
“This time, please try each of these one by one.”
People were looking back and forth between me and Anok as if wondering what on earth we were doing. With all eyes focused on him, Anok tasted each of the dishes the head chef had made.
The chef standing beside me swallowed dryly and watched Anok with a tense face. The atmosphere was so tense it was almost as though a cooking competition had begun.
This time as well, he silently tasted the three dishes. The only difference from before was that he emptied the plates.
“They are delicious.”
Bright smiles appeared on the faces of everyone, including the chef. Anok looked down at the plates for a long while, then spoke directly to the chef.
“I did not even know that I liked food like this. Yet you have grasped it accurately. All three were easy to eat.”
“……
I am deeply honored.”
The chef bowed his head. Anok’s words did not end there.
“I think I understand why people eat delicious food.”
At that one sentence, the chef’s eyes reddened. I could faintly tell how much hardship he must have gone through until now to suit Anok’s palate.
‘Because of the crown prince, who could not feel emotions, Empress Caroline always watched over his condition with particular care.’
Since he could not feel anything that could be called a mood, he did not express likes or dislikes either. Empress Caroline would observe Anok closely, and if his reaction differed even slightly from usual, she would often replace the employees.
When I read it in the book, I only felt Empress Caroline’s emotional hardship, but now that I was seeing the atmosphere among the employees in person, I could feel how much stress they were under and what a suffocating environment they worked in.
“How was it? Didn’t you feel differently when you ate the food I made compared to when you ate the food the head chef made?”
“Hmm.”
He was lost in thought for a moment, then began speaking calmly.
“When I ate that strange soup, it was so disgusting I felt like I was going to vomit. My face wrinkled on its own. When I ate the sandwich with jam and oysters together, I felt something similar to what I felt when you suddenly bumped your lips against mine.”
Mm, the crown prince had a talent for saying harsh things without batting an eye.
“And I learned for the first time that food turns that color when it burns. I also realized today that I have never once eaten burnt food like that.”
“Ahem, that wasn’t burned on purpose……”
“And when I ate the dishes the chef made, I learned that I like sour flavors.”
“That is correct. You generally tend to finish dishes with a refreshing and clean taste.”
“Certainly…… eating delicious food improved the unpleasant mood I had because of you.”
At the crown prince’s final words, everyone in the kitchen was shocked. The surroundings quickly became noisy.
“……
What does this mean? His Highness can feel moods?”
“She said it earlier. Lady Kanev said she was making food that causes anger! So that means all of this was to make His Highness feel a mood?”
“No, how could His Highness suddenly have emotions……!”
I grinned and stood proudly before Anok.
“Now you believe me, don’t you?”
He met my gaze and admitted, as if reluctantly,
“……
I am still half in doubt, but I will acknowledge that I am feeling something I have never felt before.”
“My goodness!”
“How could such a thing happen……”
Half the people were purely amazed, while the other half still seemed doubtful, as though they could not believe it. Loner was still glaring at me with a face full of suspicion, but I paid it no mind.
“It has grown late.”
As he said, the sun had already completely set.
“The knights will escort you, so return directly to your room without encountering any reporters.”
We left the kitchen. Anok looked at me for a moment as if studying me, then turned and left first.
‘Good grief, how prickly……’
I was also returning to my room under the knights’ escort when someone called out to me.
“Lady Kanev!”
When I turned around, I saw the head chef from earlier running toward me, panting.
“What is it?”
He took off his hat and bowed deeply to me.
“Thank you.”
“Pardon? For what……?”
Unable to understand his actions, I looked at him with suspicion.
“I heard that with your special power, His Highness is able to feel emotions. That is why you taught him the joy that can be felt through cooking, is it not?”
“Th-that’s right.”
More than that, my goal had been to make him feel anger.
“I know that His Highness truly did feel emotions. Because…… that was the first time in my life I had ever seen him like that.”
Having said that, the chef once again paid his respects to me politely.
“Not everyone may be able to believe in your power right away, my lady, but I truly wanted to thank you. Because you saved my people.”
As he showed me respect, I felt a little awkward and returned the bow.
‘All’s well that ends well.’
It was not something I had done seeking gratitude, but it did not feel bad to know I had helped someone who was working hard to live.