* * *
I headed to the kitchen to prepare the officers’ dinner banquet.
The kitchen maids and the chef were eyeing the ingredients I had bought with displeasure.
“Princess, what on earth is Ratatouille? How can we make something we don’t even know?”
“Uh…”
I couldn’t exactly explain that Ratatouille was a home-style dish from southern France, made famous by a movie about a rat controlling a human to cook.
They even had sardine pie, so I thought they’d have it here too… Or maybe it’s not famous here yet?
“It’s a chance to learn a new recipe! It’s cheap, easy to make, and delicious. I’ll make it once.”
The chef frowned as he watched me tie on an apron.
“Someone who’s only ever cut steak wants to cook? I understand you’re trying to be commoner-friendly, but the reality is that it only makes things difficult for us.”
“I learned it as a hobby.”
I said, holding my head high. Strictly speaking, it was my livelihood, though.
Then the head kitchen maid chimed in.
“Are you saying we should serve cheap food to the officers?”
“The ingredients I bought are top-notch. I just mean it can be made cheaply.”
It seemed like they just didn’t want to do what I told them to do.
“I’ve already said that I’m in charge of the dinner banquet. You don’t have to worry about getting blamed.”
“Of course, you would.”
The chef sneered, making his displeasure very obvious.
Rose had been selling me out and causing trouble behind my back, so their image of me probably wasn’t good.
Understanding their feelings, I nodded and sliced a zucchini.
“Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes this thinly.”
Those who were assigned to assist me started following my example right away. They were two young apprentice servants who had been bullied by Rose.
Meanwhile, the chef was preparing the ingredients for the main dish with the kitchen maids.
‘With them being so uncooperative…’
But getting angry in the annex, where I didn’t have a single ally, would only hurt me.
Just you wait, I’ll win them over one by one and make them all my allies.
If they don’t want to be stuck awkwardly with Masera in an empty annex while we’re all enjoying a pleasant picnic in the future, they better do a good job.
“Princess, i-is this okay?”
The newbies asked with nervous faces.
At some point, even the servants started calling me Princess. It’s so cheesy and awkward.
I smiled kindly as I looked at the children’s clumsy knife skills.
“You’ll get hurt if you hold the knife like that. Let’s hold it again.”
I took the trainees’ stiff hands and showed them how to hold it properly.
Kitchen work usually starts with chores, so this was probably their first time preparing ingredients.
Maybe they were planning to make me order the beginners to make the dish I suggested.
Still, I’m glad it’s an easy dish that anyone can make.
The Ratatouille recipe was so simple that I was able to finish preparing the ingredients quickly.
“Normally, you have to cook it at a low temperature for a long time, but since this is practice, let’s just bake it in the oven for 10 minutes. Aren’t you curious about the dish we’re making?”
“I’m really curious.”
Perhaps because my actual self was different from what they had thought, the apprentice servants, now relaxed, smiled brightly.
While chatting during the cooking, I learned that their names were Mary and Ginny, that they were refugees from Francia, and that they were fifteen years old. Their MBTI is probably introverted.
When I took out the finished Ratatouille, a delicious smell wafted out with the warm steam.
“Wow.”
Mary was about to clap her hands, but she stopped, noticing the chef’s expression.
She seemed happy, probably because it was the first dish she had ever made since starting kitchen work.
“Here, say ‘ah’.”
When I blew on the food and fed it to Ginny and Mary, their eyes widened and their cheeks turned red.
“Oh, this is…”
“It’s a nostalgic taste.”
“You know the taste?”
Mary hesitated for a moment, probably afraid of being scolded for pretending to know, and then said cautiously.
“Princess, this is the same as Ratatouyou.”
Ah, so they call it Ratatouyou here.
“Really? Did you know?”
“I was afraid I’d get scolded for pretending to know, but it’s a traditional Francian dish, and the chef probably knows it too. He’s from the same region as us.”
I turned my head and glared at the chef.
So, he knew what I was talking about but pretended not to know how to make it?
“Since you’ve taught the apprentices the recipe, Princess, you can leave now. You’re too busy to spend time on hobbies.”
The chef said curtly, meeting my eyes.
I looked at him and asked.
“Are you going to leave it entirely to the apprentices? Or are you going to have them learn the recipe I taught them?”
As it was in charge of meals for high-ranking officials, the kitchen was an authoritarian and strict place. Both were impossible.
“How can we entrust the officers’ meals to apprentices?”
“So you never intended to listen to me from the start.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him.
As my silence and gaze grew longer, the chef, who had been pretending to do his own thing, became increasingly uneasy and started to read my expression.
After a long time, the chef, who was as uncomfortable as if he were sitting on thorns, spoke first.
“That’s commoner food. It’s not a dish worthy of serving to officers.”
“There’s no such thing as high or low in food. If you use good ingredients and serve it in good dishes, that’s hospitality. It’s the same with people; they look noble if they wear good clothes.”
The chef looked at me silently.
I shrugged, giving him the most irritating smirk I could muster.
“You don’t know how to make it, or you’re not confident, are you? Is being a Francian chef a lie too? Were you actually a Medean chef or something?”
“How dare you say such insulting things!”
The chef jumped up and became agitated.
He definitely couldn’t stand being compared to Medea, which was famous for its bizarre food. Francians have a lot of pride in their cuisine.
“If you can make a Ratatouyou that satisfies people, I’ll acknowledge your skills.”
When I spoke like a demon king presenting a challenge, the chef huffed and took out a knife and cutting board.
“Fine. If the officers are satisfied, apologize for the problematic statement that all Francians will be outraged by.”
“Okay, fine.”
As I accepted the challenge and was about to leave, Ginny and Mary hurriedly followed me.
“Princess, Chef Zad is prickly, but he’s not a bad person. He’s been through a lot of unfortunate things… and he took us in when we had nowhere to go because of the war.”
Zad was the chef’s name.
The Francian royal family, which had collapsed due to the revolution, was incompetent. So the hatred must have spread to me as well.
“I understand. I believe that one day, I’ll be recognized for who I am, without prejudice. Just like you did.”
Just the fact that they believed I was someone who would listen to them showed that.
Ginny and Mary were startled and stammered.
“At first, we were scared because we thought you were a scary person, Princess. We’re sorry. But after cooking with you, we realized… that you have a warm heart.”
“I was happy to make my hometown food thanks to you, Princess.”
Looking at the girls’ affectionate eyes, it seemed like I had gained two allies.
Does this mean I’m two steps closer to the final boss, Masera?
“And Chef Zad is Francian.”
I guess what I said earlier was a wide-area provocation.
* * *
The kitchen after Cynthia left.
The servants frowned and whispered.
“This commoner food can’t be served at the banquet. The officers from commoner backgrounds will definitely be offended.”
“If it’s Chef Zad’s hometown food, made with all his effort, no one will be offended.”
“Isn’t that what she’s aiming for? To get recognition by pretending she made it herself. No wonder she bought the ingredients herself.”
Hayden, the tutor who had come to get a snack, asked the servants the reason for their sour expressions.
After hearing the whole story, he gave a clear solution.
“Just ruin the dish.”
He pointed to the tomato sauce boiling in a large pot. It was an important sauce for Ratatouyou.
