“……”
It was early morning.
As the dawn broke in the dim light, Lumia found herself staring blankly at the ceiling.
Like someone waking from a drunken stupor, she had drunk the infusion of red mandragora roots and now felt an irresistible wave of drowsiness wash over her, only to awaken the next morning.
She had fallen into a slumber so deep that she couldn’t even recall dreams, and now, slightly perplexed by a strange feeling of refreshment, Lumia looked around.
And then.
“……”
In disbelief of her own awakening, she glanced over her hands and body with a dazed expression.
She felt light.
Her body, once heavy as if soaked in water, now felt effortlessly buoyant. The muscles that had been screaming in protest were strangely quiet.
Within her hollow spirit, a peculiar warmth lingered.
The hazy sensations around her sharpened into clarity.
“…”
She knew about the red mandragora.
Despite being a plant, it thrived throughout the realm, unaffected by climate or soil, earning its title as the “miracle root.” Its powerful vitality made it top-tier among medicinal herbs.
It was particularly effective for restoring lost vigor, and Lumia, having consumed it for the first time, could only feel astonished.
To think that just one root could restore her energy when she had felt like a walking corpse the day before.
Determined, she slipped out of bed, standing awkwardly as if newly hatched.
Her legs wobbled like a newborn creature, yet they soon steadied under her weight.
Moreover.
Grrr-!
Perhaps due to her restored vitality, she suddenly felt a rumble of hunger after what felt like ages.
It had been a long time since she had experienced that oppressive gnawing in her stomach, after which she had needed to swallow muck. Now, with the sudden reverberation of her belly, she instinctively patted it.
They say the older it gets, the greater its effect.
Judging by her quick recovery after just one dose, it must have been some aged red mandragora. She felt as though she had received a favor from Elden and Ariel that she couldn’t repay.
An overly generous grace bestowed upon a sinner who had found life so harsh that she had once chosen death.
This was a shameful grace to someone whose life was marred by trouble and delinquency, and all she wanted was to return the favor in some way.
Now that she could move on her own.
It felt nothing short of outrageous and shameless for her to regain her vigor when she had nearly sacrificed a treasured person and plunged the whole town into a pit of despair. Nevertheless, it felt only right to do something for those who were risking their safety to help her, despite having the option to turn herself over to the village guards.
It would be equivalent to breaking the promise she had made to Marien not just once, but twice.
Thus, as Lumia paced the room, she seemed to make up her mind and opened the door to step out.
During the days she had spent with them, she had heard that they had found her while heading toward the Marquessate of Eris.
The reason for their journey to the Marquessate of Eris was to embark on a monster-hunting culinary adventure in the eastern part of the Northern Regions.
With limited space and resources, there was only one way to repay their kindness without causing them trouble.
To treat them to a delicious meal.
After all, she had a knack for that.
Since the moment the name had appeared on the Grand Ducal Betrothal Contest list, she had begun a rigorous training in monster cooking with Marien.
As nobles go, a hundred out of a hundred of them would loathe and despise those monster dishes, yet she was determined to announce the start of her revenge with her own hands, practicing her culinary skills during that time.
She realized she had a natural talent and instinct for cooking.
Perhaps due to her innate curiosity and knack for research, the process of successfully combining various ingredients into a single dish was surprisingly enjoyable.
Click.
Having quietly closed the door behind her, Lumia made her way to the kitchen on the first floor.
It was still early morning, and the lodging was tranquil.
Upon arriving in the kitchen, Lumia cautiously moved her hands to check the ingredients and tools.
Fortunately, there were plenty of appetizing ingredients and usable tools available.
Grrr.
At the sight of the ingredients, her now hunger-riddled stomach grumbled again.
Her starving belly urged her to hastily fill it with food, but Lumia decided to prioritize treating her benefactors over satisfying her own hunger and began to cook quietly.
Though wielding a knife was still challenging, moving pots was strenuous, and preparing the ingredients was exhausting, she believed that these were labors she must endure for those who were helping her, so she wouldn’t break her promise to Marien.
Thus.
Lumia was now showcasing the monster-cooking skills she had honed for the purpose of revenge, to repay her benefactors.
*
“Mmm! This isn’t half bad!”
“R-Really?!”
Hmm…
Among the monster dishes Ariel had prepared, the seasoned roast from a dire wolf’s foreleg was the most delicious…
It seemed the special seasoning made by Chef Nellen, who had veered off with his fated partner during the expedition, played a huge role in that…
Slurp…
“Oh, that dish is…”
“How is it, Lord Elden?”
It was pig’s feet.
A whole roasted pig’s foot, golden-brown and crispy.
The pig’s feet that she had always had to live vicariously through while watching Mukbang videos were now right before her eyes.
Gulp…
“Surely you won’t misunderstand my withdrawal declaration. How about just one taste?”
The roasted hind leg of the red longor she had sampled at the Grand Ducal Castle…
Just having to take a single bite had felt so regretful; it was a monster dish…
If not for that declaration of withdrawal…
She could have devoured that delicious hind leg greedily…
Slurp.
Slurp.
Perhaps it was just having had to limit herself to a single bite, but she had never encountered red longor’s hind leg roast that surpassed the flavor she had experienced during the first encounter at the Grand Ducal Betrothal Contest…
Hmm…
Hmmm…
Huh…?
A savory and delicate meat aroma wafted through the air…
For some reason, the scent felt familiar…
Ding!
She opened her eyes.
The familiar ceiling came into view.
Flashes of her day with Rachel during the white storm, including that enigmatic duel.
It had been quite a tiring day, and after having dinner, she had collapsed almost immediately into sleep.
Now awake, she found herself in a glorious morning.
Sniff, sniff.
“…What’s that smell?”
The scent that she thought could only be experienced in dreams was intensely wafting even after waking up.
Entranced, she got up from her spot and followed the smell.
Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway.
Gulp.
The nutty and delectable aroma had her saliva flowing uncontrollably.
It seemed she wasn’t the only one who noticed it.
Click.
Ariel appeared from the opposite bedroom, rubbing her eyes in her pajamas.
We exchanged glances, both filled with the same question in our pupils.
“…What’s that?”
“I think it’s a smell coming from the kitchen?”
“But who’s cooking?”
In the expedition team, Ariel was responsible for the cooking.
Rachel had no interest in it, and the old butler Rendler was a complete novice in the kitchen, so he never laid a hand on it.
In other words, someone else must be cooking in the kitchen on the first floor.
Though I had an inkling of who that someone might be, it was hard to believe, and Ariel and I cautiously descended to the first floor.
Tap tap.
Rustle rustle.
The sounds grew clearer as we moved down the stairs.
It was clearly the sound of cooking, and there was something careful about it.
The slow noise of items being placed down gently.
Every time a loud noise occurred, a hush would fall over the area.
It was a brief pause, then those sounds would return again.
The cook was trying to keep the noise to a minimum, clearly to avoid waking us up, which only confirmed our assumptions.
Before long, we reached the first floor, greeted by a powerful smell of food.
As we got closer, I began to recognize the familiar scent of meat.
‘This is… the smell of the red longor’s hind leg, isn’t it?’
Rendler had once told me that while he couldn’t distinguish other scents well, he had a remarkable knack for identifying monster aromas.
Thanks to that, it seemed there wouldn’t be a shortage of food in the Northern Regions during November.
So, sure enough, the smell lingering in my nostrils was from the red longor, and since I had hunted several red longors to gather ingredients for this very occasion, I was certain of it.
Soon enough, Ariel and I arrived at the kitchen.
Before us was an unbelievable and heartwarming sight.
Lumia Winterfell.
She was in the midst of cooking.
Her once lifeless face now wore a spark of vitality, and though her body seemed stiff, it was moving nonetheless.
Just then, as she placed the large roasted hind leg of a red longor at the center of the table, our eyes met.
“…!”
Lumia nearly spilled the dish onto the tablecloth, startled by our gaze, before hurriedly jotting down something.
[Sorry. I tried to keep quiet… Did I wake you?]
Technically, it was the delicious smell that had woken us, so Lumia definitely was partially responsible, but that wasn’t what mattered.
“Are you alright?”
[I’ve improved a lot. Thanks to everyone. I felt like I had to do something… so I tried cooking, but I’m not sure if it’s to your taste.]
Just the scent alone was already promising an excellent flavor, so any worry on my part faded away.
The fact that Lumia had recovered was far more important than how the food tasted.
Smack!
“Wow! Are you saying this was prepared by Lady Erencia, uh, I mean, the Grand Duchess? You know how to make monster dishes?!”
Ariel was thrilled to meet a fellow monster-cooking enthusiast.
“I’m so relieved that you’ve recovered.”
I felt glad for a comrade who was supposed to be in a victim’s role now being back on their feet.
A moment later.
“Wow! Am I truly looking at the Grand Duchess herself?”
“You’re awake, I see.”
With the sudden noise, Rendler and Rachel had joined us in the now bustling first floor, allowing us to partake in the breakfast personally prepared by the Third Northern Duchess.
[Thank you so much, everyone.]
Lumia lifted the hind leg of the red longor and took a generous bite.
“Mmm…!”
It was the taste that felt as if six months had been erased, taking me back to that day.
Being allowed only a single bite due to the declaration of withdrawal had left me yearning for that flavor, but now it all vanished with that one bite.
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