8

I am the clear subject of affection.

The servants? The head maid? The staff? No. Only Duke Aubrey and the Duchess.

“Wh-what are you saying…?”

“My father brought me here, so you’re doubting my father?”

I covered my cheek with my palm and tilted my head.

“I’m a genius, so I can relay the exact conversation I just heard to my father.”

As I spoke innocently with my eyes narrowed, the faces of the three servants turned ashen.

“So, this is your true self…! If they find out about this side of you, they’ll surely find it appalling!”

“So?”

“You might be expelled!”

“Really? My mother loves me so much, so my father would expel me, his own daughter? Should I believe you instead of my father?”

“Your being his own daughter is not certain…”

“Ah, doubting my father?”

“We’re only worried about the Duke…”

“Alright, then I’ll go to my father and ask whether I’ll be expelled or if you’ll be expelled. Sounds interesting, right?”

I spoke with innocence and tried to pass by the three servants, but they quickly ran to block my way.

“What’s this about?”

“Y-you mustn’t.”

“What shouldn’t I?”

I blinked and asked.

“W-we’re sorry. We’ve overstepped. Please, don’t tell the Master.”

“Ah? With empty words…?”

As I stared at them with wide eyes and a tilted head, the servants’ faces turned even paler.

“W-what should we do…”

Feeling ashamed to apologize to someone, they bit their lips hard and asked.

“There’s a way to apologize to someone, right? Should I keep looking up at you?”

Hearing my words, the servants’ faces turned red, and they slowly knelt down.

“Forgive us…”

“Forgive us.”

“We were wrong…”

I blinked again.

“What? I can’t hear it clearly. It seems I need to ask my father…”

As I murmured quietly and tried to pass by them, their voices finally rose.

“FORGIVE US!!”

The three of them shouted simultaneously with loud voices. I smiled widely and nodded.

“Yes, I accept the apology well. Now, I’ll go tell my father and report back.”

“Y, of course! They said if I apologize, I won’t say anything…”

“When did I say that?”

I asked, still with my eyes wide open and head slightly tilted, as if I had no idea what they were talking about.

“I never said anything like that.”

“Ah, ah…”

The servants glared at me with expressions of shock and their eyes almost bulging out with frustration.

“I only told you how to apologize. Of course, I might not tell you right now. It depends on how you treat me from now on.”

“W-what does that mean…?”

“I don’t like being looked down upon by rude people.”

I grabbed the shoulder of one of the servants in the middle with all my strength.

In reality, my grip was almost nonexistent, more like a tickle, but if it served as a threat, that was enough.

“From now on, if you see me, kneel.”

“W-what does that mean…?”

“Your answer? Oh, of course, I don’t care if you answer or not. But it seems like my father is a rather frightening person.”

As I was about to leave, the three servants opened their mouths.

“W-we will do as instructed. Please, don’t inform the Duke…”

After hearing their answer, I did not respond and simply smiled faintly as I walked past the servants.

‘Although I’m saying this, I won’t actually report this incident to the Duke.’

I didn’t want to trouble the Duke with such complaints.

‘But at least it will be quiet for a while.’

Since they wouldn’t know when I might report them, they might try to avoid me and lose sleep.

If someone is expelled from a noble family due to issues, it means they will be labeled as a ‘troublemaker’ for future employment.

Since head servants from each noble family exchange information regularly, such news would spread quickly.

Most likely, finding employment in a noble family again would be difficult.

I headed straight to the kitchen and peeked my head through the slightly open door.

“Hello.”

As I greeted them, the attention of the cooks, who were busy chopping ingredients in front of a large tub, turned to me.

Since they were cooks, many of them had large bodies with well-defined muscles on their arms.

“May I use the kitchen?”

When I asked with a smile, the cooks exchanged looks with each other.

Then, one of the larger men among them stood up and approached.

“I don’t know who you are, but you can’t. It’s dangerous. If you’re just a trainee maid, you should leave immediately…”

“Miss, how can I help you in the kitchen?”

At the sudden voice, I turned and saw a thin man with a bunch of ingredients in his arms.

He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, with a teardrop mark under his eye.

As soon as he arrived, the cooks who were chopping ingredients immediately stood up straight.

“Welcome, Assistant Cook!”

The man who looked significantly younger compared to the other chefs was wearing round glasses and a pristine white chef’s uniform.

“Miss…?”

The man who had previously asked me whispered softly.

“This is the Princess who returned yesterday. Do not make any mistakes.”

The head chef, who was big and burly, seemed weak and thin among the chefs, looking quite innocent, but miraculously, none of the chefs moved a muscle when he spoke.

“May I borrow this kitchen?”

“Please, speak casually. We are here to serve you, Miss.”

With a simple smile, I returned their smile and nodded.

“Oh, can I borrow it?”

“No.”

The head chef, who appeared quite soft, refused with a smile on his face.

“Why not?”

“It’s dangerous. This is not a place for playing. If there’s a dish you want to eat, we can make it for you.”

Being treated like a child.

That doesn’t help.

Duke Aubrey had wealth, honor, power, and even a genius-level intellect, so there were many ways to make him interested.

However, like in the novel, he would not dismiss those who tried and showed results.

Because he values effort.

However, that effort had to be made personally. So, I needed to make the food myself.

‘…Huh? Novel?’

I momentarily stopped moving. Lately, strange memories have been surfacing often.

The depth of the information I gleaned from newspaper articles turned out to be deeper than I had thought.

Duke Aubrey, who doesn’t like to make himself known, would certainly not have written such things in the newspaper.

‘No, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’

I quickly brushed aside the strange thoughts.

‘It looks like I’ll have to use my trump card.’

Then I lifted my head and spoke.

“In exchange, I’ll teach you a new recipe.”

“Pardon?”

“A method to completely remove the odor from meat.”

Although in about three years, this method will become widely known after the barbarian delegation attends the peace conference, it is still unknown in the Empire.

“We already know how to remove the odor from meat. By using high-quality ingredients and proper seasoning, the smell can be eliminated.”

“What if you want to enhance the flavor?”

“For that, we are already quite good…”

“This flavor can be achieved even with cheap meat costing 100 derks, and I’ll also teach you how to make it tender.”

The head chef frowned.

His eyes widened at my last statement.

He looked at me with disbelief but couldn’t hide the ‘impossible’ look in his eyes.

However, because he felt it was quite disrespectful, he quickly lowered his gaze.

“…May I ask what you intend to do in the kitchen first?”

“I want to cook for Father.”

There’s no need to be loved by Duke Aubrey. However, gaining his sympathy and trust is beneficial.

After all, Duke Aubrey had initially adopted me to stabilize his wife’s mental state.

‘Yes, gaining points is also good.’

To obtain initial capital for revenge, Duke Aubrey is crucial.

‘Telling him about synthetic magic stones and getting a small share…’

Yes, that would be enough.

And for some reason, there was an odd anxiety as if I needed to earn these points.

Like before a storm.

Gulp—

A sound of someone swallowing saliva was heard. There was a palpable thirst for knowledge.

“If you want, just bring me all the ingredients I mention! I’ll make it for you. Of course, expensive meat is also fine.”

With a broad smile, I listed the ingredients, and the head chef wrote them down seriously before snapping his fingers.

The chefs began to move in an orderly fashion.

***

The door was ajar.

The sound of an impolite knock caused Duke Aubrey, who was engrossed in a stack of documents, to let out a slightly indifferent sound.

Soon after, the door creaked open a bit, and a small figure entered the cold and unwelcoming office.

Duke Aubrey, focused on his papers, didn’t notice, but the Old Servant accompanying him widened his eyes a little.

The first thing that caught the servant’s attention was the tray held by the child, carried with both hands close to her body.

The tray, covered with a dome-shaped lid, seemed to contain food.

“Master, how about a snack while you take a break?”

The clever servant gently suggested to his master, who still didn’t lift his gaze from the documents.

“Pedro, do you think I’m resting right now, but… you…”

Duke Aubrey raised his head and stopped short when he saw the child, Anisha, smiling brightly and extending the tray.

“Dad, have this snack!”

“…A snack?”

He furrowed his brow, crossed his arms, and then frowned with a haughty expression.

‘So, she came to report.’

Duke Aubrey, whose name was Shakol, squinted as he recalled the recent events in the corridor.