Chapter : 08
【 Is a shared room okay with you? 】
After adding the remaining chilies, scallions, and garlic, I called Killian.
“Killian. It looks like the food will be ready soon, so could you call everyone over?”
“Got it.”
Maybe he was hungry, because he dashed outside like an arrow and gathered the people who were working. One by one, they came and sat at the table.
“Oh my gosh, Vanessa! Is it spicy food today at last?”
“The spicy braised fish Leila’s been wanting so badly!”
“I love it!”
After putting on gloves, I set the pot on the table.
When I lifted the lid, the braised fish bubbled away, perfectly cooked.
“Thank you for the meal!”
“Let’s eat!”
“Thank you for treating us. I’ll eat gratefully.”
Even though he’d already suffered once from the spicy chili, Killian couldn’t bring himself to refuse the braised fish I’d made with care. As if bracing himself, he shut his eyes tight and took a big bite. He chewed cautiously—then his eyes widened.
“I-it’s delicious, Vanessa!”
At that, six spoons and forks all moved toward the braised fish at once.
I scooped up some fish along with the turnips and ate. The spicy kick of the chilies, the tender fish, and the refreshing taste of the radish blended together into something amazing.
“It’s so good!”
Leila said with tears in her eyes. Eric kept spooning up the broth and exclaimed,
“Lady Vanessa! What is this flavor? It’s amazing! Hmm? Eww! Thwack!”
He must’ve bitten into a chili—Eric spat it out into a napkin.
“Agh! It’s spicy!”
“Here, water.”
Having already learned his lesson about chilies, Killian quietly placed a cup of water in front of Eric. Killian himself was enjoying the food too, moving his fork faster than anyone as he grabbed more fish.
Before we knew it, the pot was empty.
That was a really satisfying meal after a long time.
I patted my stomach contentedly. Killian stood up and said,
“I’ll do the dishes today.”
“No, Your Highness! I’ll do it!” Count Clark protested.
Killian shook his head.
“I want to.”
“But—”
“It’s fun. It suits me.”
“…….”
At those words, the count awkwardly sat back down, apparently unable to argue with it’s fun.
Free from further interference, Killian hummed to himself as he started collecting the empty plates. When the count tried to follow, Killian said firmly,
“I’m more comfortable working alone.”
“Yes, Your Highness……”
“Shall we get up as well?”
I said, standing from the table.
At that, Killian asked urgently,
“Are we harvesting potatoes again tomorrow?”
“Yes, yes.”
I nodded reluctantly.
He was completely obsessed with potatoes.
* * *
“Looks like it’ll rain all day.”
From early morning, a steady drizzle fell.
I hurriedly set out the rain barrels. Since I used rainwater to wash clothes, even rain was precious in this apocalyptic world.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door.
“Yes, come in.”
I answered while tying my hair up tightly.
To my surprise, it was the crown prince. Fidgeting, he cautiously held out a hoe in front of me.
“What brings you here…?”
“Well… didn’t you say we’d be harvesting potatoes again today?”
So that man—
No, the crown prince—had come to my room early in the morning, basket and hoe in hand, because he wanted to dig up potatoes again.
Impressive in many ways.
“It looks like it’ll rain all day today.”
“So?”
“I’m worried you might catch a cold working in the rain.”
“It’s fine. More than anything, digging wet soil sounds fun.”
He replied with sparkling eyes, like a child who wanted to play in the dirt at a playground.
“I think I need to check on the livestock today.”
“Then I’ll go alone.”
Seriously? In this rain? You’re really going?
He truly was an amazing man.
Fine. Go ahead.
I handed him a raincoat.
“Here, wear this.”
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Smiling happily as if he’d received a treasured gift, he put on the raincoat. Raincoats—and the plastic used for greenhouses—didn’t originally exist in this world. I’d gotten them by carefully explaining the properties of plastic to a mage skilled in both alchemy and magic.
Because Killian was so big, the raincoat fit tightly, but thankfully it didn’t tear.
He really is huge.
His expression was cold, but his gentle way of speaking made it easy to forget. Now that I looked again, his nearly two-meter-tall frame felt even more imposing.
“Is there anything else I should do?”
“Please check if any of the plants in the greenhouse have fallen over.”
“Understood.”
Wearing Count Clark’s boots—apparently borrowed from the storage shed—he strode out proudly.
Number one man who’d do anything for the sake of digging potatoes.
I put on my own raincoat and headed diligently to the barn. Even though it was spring, the rain made it chilly, and I was worried about the calves.
In winter, I’d put padded clothes on them right away, but right now the weather’s kind of awkward.
When I arrived, the calves and cows greeted me.
“Moo—”
As if asking why I was late, the cows licked my hand.
“Sorry I’m late. It rained today, so I was delayed.”
“Moo—”
“Okay, okay, sorry. I’ll give you feed quickly.”
“Moo, moo.”
“It’s good? That’s a relief. This hay’s good, right? I dried it really carefully.”
“Mooor—”
The cows buried their noses in the feed, chewing noisily. Meanwhile, the calf clung tightly to its mother, nursing.
“Excuse me for a moment!”
While the cows ate, I milked them diligently. I got much more than last time—enough to fill four buckets and still have some left over.
“Eric!”
I called out to Eric, who was cleaning the horse stable in the distance. He came running over.
“Can I help with something?”
“Could you move these to the storage shed like last time?”
Eric puffed out his chest confidently.
“Of course! Absolutely! I may not look it, but I’m strong!”
“Thank you, Eric.”
With a hearty shout, he carried two buckets at once. Heave-ho, heave-ho.
I set the remaining buckets near the barn entrance so Eric could carry them easily, then headed straight to the pigsty and filled the troughs with feed.
I collected eggs from the chicken coop and checked the fish traps by the fishing spot. By the time I was done, it was already noon.
Grrr—
My stomach clock rang right on time.
But with the rain, I didn’t really feel like eating just anything.
I didn’t want my usual fried eggs or grilled fish, and even hard rye bread didn’t appeal to me today.
On a day like this, pajeon and makgeolli would be perfect. Or sizzling pork belly on a griddle, wrapped in greens with soju!
But there was no flour here, no makgeolli, and no soju.
And pork? Forget it. Those were future provisions—saved for the very last emergency.
Then a great idea suddenly hit me.
That’s it! Potato pancakes!
Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?
We had potatoes. And having potatoes meant we could make potato pancakes! On top of that, I even had a grater for shredding potatoes (I’d quietly taken it from the old mansion kitchen).
I ran to the potato field to find Killian.
“Killian!”
Startled, he looked up from his intense potato digging.
“What is it?”
The basket was already piled high with potatoes—nearly a whole crate’s worth. Enough to feed a whole family potato pancakes for dinner and still have leftovers.
“What are you going to do if you dig up this many?! Potatoes dug up like this sprout easily, and once they sprout, they become poisonous and can’t be eaten!”
Killian drooped and set the hoe down.
“I’m sorry… I got carried away because it was so fun.”
“What kind of person loses their reason digging potatoes? In all the world……”
I let out a deep sigh.
Thank goodness the storage shed has preservation magic.
Still, I needed to teach him properly this time, so he wouldn’t repeat it.
Hmph! That pitiful look won’t work on me!
When I turned my head away with a huff, he seemed to realize his tactic wasn’t working and lowered his head dejectedly.
“Hurry and grab the basket and hoe.”
“Okay……”
He picked them up and stood.
Trudge, trudge. His steps on the way back were heavy, and he kept glancing at me, gauging my mood.
Meanwhile, I was already thinking about something else.
I’ll drink one bucket of today’s milk as-is, and ferment the rest again.
“Could you pour those buckets into the barrels and put them in that room again?”
“I can.”
He still looked gloomy, and I began to feel bad.
Was I too harsh?
Half of those potatoes would be gone once we made potato pancakes anyway. Thinking I might’ve scolded him too much, I patted him gently.
“It’s raining, so I’ll make something tasty for you today.”
“…Are you not angry anymore?”
Color instantly returned to his face. With a refreshing smile, a deep dimple appeared on his pale cheek.
“I wasn’t that angry. I was just worried you’d do it again next time.”
“I won’t. Never again.”
“Then that’s fine.”
Brightened once more, Killian followed me closely, basket in hand.
Back in the kitchen, I put on my apron and started washing the potatoes. Watching me from the side, Killian asked,
“Is there something else I can help with?”
“There will be soon.”
I peeled the potatoes in smooth spirals. Once I had enough for pancakes, I took out the grater and started shredding them.
“Are you making gnocchi?”
“No. Something even better.”
“Even better?”
“Yes. Once you eat it today, you’ll think about it every time it rains. Here—grate the rest of the potatoes like this.”
I transferred the grated potatoes into another bowl and handed him the remaining ones. It was almost time to heat the oil and start cooking.
I’d heard some people added starch when making potato pancakes.
But as someone who’d been a Gangwon-do native in my past life, I was different.
I put the grated potatoes in a sieve to drain the water, transferred them to another bowl, sprinkled in salt, and stirred vigorously.
It was the grand gesture that heralded the birth of a potato pancake everyone would go crazy for.
End Of Chapter : 08
