TTMLPTWW ~ Chapter 25

“She even told the officers she was preparing it herself. If she’s humiliated, she won’t try to show off and interfere again.”

After the tutor Hayden left his advice, the servants stared at the tomato sauce, troubled.

“But to ruin the dish completely…”

“The princess said she’d take responsibility, didn’t she? If she tries to gain recognition by using us, she should be prepared to take responsibility too.”

One of the servants picked up the salt shaker and sprinkled it generously into the finished sauce.

Too much would make it obvious they were deliberately trying to ruin it, so just messing up the seasoning would be enough.

Later, Cynthia entered the kitchen just as the dish was supposed to be finished.

“Can I have a taste?”

The servants, who hadn’t expected her to actually come and check, were momentarily flustered, but they silently sneered, imagining her mortified face.

‘Let’s see how you like it.’

The chef, Zad, who had no idea what the servants had done, presented a plate of Ratatouyou with a confident expression.

“Please, try it. I believe I make the best Ratatouyou in the world.”

Cynthia took a bite and made a strange expression.

Just as the servants who had sabotaged the dish were anticipating her reaction, she smiled brightly.

“Wow, so this is what the original tastes like. The vegetables are cooked perfectly, and the clean sweetness creates a harmony of flavors that produces a savory taste.”

‘Delicious? And not salty, but sweet?’

At her effusive praise, the servants looked at each other in confusion.

The chef, who had also tasted it, was equally bewildered.

“It didn’t taste like this before? But, it might be better now that the acidity of the tomatoes has been balanced…”

“Did you add more salt? Adding salt to sweet ingredients enhances the sweetness, you know. I can taste that unique, clean sweetness.”

The servants all looked at the salt shaker at the same time.

Those who hadn’t properly learned to cook had no idea that salt could enhance sweetness. Furthermore, they didn’t know how much to add to ruin the sauce, so they had inadvertently created an even better result.

At that moment, Cynthia looked at the servants who had helped with the cooking and put on a serious face.

“I came to check because I thought you seemed unhappy earlier and might try to ruin the dish. I didn’t realize you were all so dedicated to your cooking, regardless of your feelings… I’m ashamed of myself for being prejudiced. I’m really sorry. You’re all excellent chefs.”

At her apology, the face of the servant who had added the salt turned bright red.

Cynthia smiled innocently.

“The food in the residence has always been delicious. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to get to know everyone and thank you all for your hard work behind the scenes. Well, I’m counting on you until the end.”

While everyone stared at Cynthia with blank faces, she turned around and waved to Zad as she left.

“I’m sorry for calling you Medea earlier! I was being too harsh!”

After Cynthia disappeared, a servant who didn’t want to admit that she was a good person said,

“She’s so fake. Just you wait, that woman will try to take credit for making the dish herself.”

She had to be a bad person. Otherwise, they would be the bad ones.

* * *

Masera, who had been out for a while, returned to find officers coming out of the residence.

The colonel and lieutenant colonel, who hadn’t noticed Masera, began to gossip.

“Ha, giving these guys cookies? What a joke. I was sweating bullets trying to pretend to be happy.”

“Captain Cherta’s wife engraved expensive watches and handed them out, what a comparison. The captain has a wonderful wife, so his promotion is as good as guaranteed.”

Now that the war was over, it was difficult to get promoted based on combat performance, so political maneuvering within the military was rampant.

As a result, the role of the wife was very important.

She had to be a good supporter and strategist, and most of them took the lead in expanding their networks for their husbands’ promotions.

“How can a country bumpkin princess who has been hiding in the countryside all her life be a proper wife?”

“The Brigadier General thinks highly of the Queen of Medea, so I don’t understand why he wants to marry a fallen royal.”

“Maybe he’s planning to use her and then divorce her. He pretends not to, but it’s obvious he dislikes her.”

The colonel threw the macaron box on the road and sneered.

Masera, who had been watching them walk away, took out his notebook and wrote something down.

Then he returned to the residence and handed it to his aide, Diego.

“Exclude these two people from all invitation lists.”

“Did something happen?”

Diego asked, eyeing the macaron box in his hand.

He received it from Cynthia earlier and brought it again, did he extort it from a lower-ranking officer?

Masera, who was staring intently at the macaron box in his hand, said only one word.

“Rude.”

It wasn’t just a matter of not sending invitations.

Masera was a war hero.

Not being invited by him would spread the story that they had caused trouble and been marked. In short, their promotions were as good as gone.

* * *

In the evening, the officers gathered in the banquet hall.

Captain Declan, who was hostile to Cynthia, was also present.

Most of the officers were not interested in the banquet prepared by Cynthia. They had come to discuss the wasteland development project.

Captain Declan scoffed when he saw Ratatouyou being served for the banquet.

‘Bringing out a commoner’s dish from Francia to show off her egalitarian ideals. How predictable and cliché.’

It was a method that some officers’ wives had already used.

At first, it was praised, but because everyone followed suit, it had long since lost its meaning, and it could even be an act of ignoring officers from commoner backgrounds.

The fact that some commoner officers were making uncomfortable expressions proved it.

Captain Declan did not miss this opportunity.

“A commoner’s dish, I see. Princess, is there a reason why you presented Ratatouyou for the banquet?”

At best, she would talk about the commoners of Francia who suffered from the tyranny of the royal family. Officers who had been to several banquets could recite it by heart.

She was also from an incompetent royal family, was she going to be self-deprecating?

“But what is the standard for commoner food? Everyone says the same thing. To me, it’s just delicious food.”

Cynthia asked a question that was completely different from what he expected.

Seeing that Captain Declan couldn’t answer right away, Cynthia said,

“If I were to answer first, it’s because it’s a dish that appears in a story I like. A rat with excellent cooking skills manipulates a human to make food…”

“Excuse me? A rat? Are you trying to spread a plague or something?”

Another officer made a slightly disgusted expression.

‘Come to think of it, it might sound strange.’

She coughed and told the general plot of the movie.

The officers listened intently to Cynthia’s story. There was something about her story that made people immerse themselves in it.

“So, does that rat become a great chef?”

An officer who was so immersed in the story that he even started to root for the main character rat asked.

“Of course. The theme of this story is ‘Anyone can cook.‘ Before listening to the story, it’s just a disgusting rat, but as you listen, you feel like it’s a cute and wonderful chef, right?”

“That’s certainly true. This food also looks special.”

Captain Declan, unhappy with the unwanted atmosphere, gripped his fork tightly.

“I understand the story and meaning of the food. Regardless of the type, delicious food is great food.”

It meant that it was all useless if the taste was bad.

Taste is subjective, so the evaluation is bound to be subjective as well. He deliberately put the Ratatouyou in his mouth.

“This, the taste is…”

To be honest, it was delicious. He couldn’t find anything to criticize, so he trailed off and made a serious expression.

“It’s delicious.”

At that moment, Masera, who had been sitting quietly as if he didn’t exist, said.

The officers, who had been watching, agreed and praised her.

“Thank you for your hard work in preparing this, Princess.”

Masera gave Cynthia his unique social smile.