Chapter 177. Childhood Friend – Cooking
[Achievement: Gangster ‘273’ men – Stronger when dealing with gangsters. min(10)]
Covered in blood, Lev sheathed his sword. He left the bodies of the gangsters who couldn’t escape on the leafy hillside and went to find Leo.
“How’s your side?”
“Sorry, I missed a few.”
Lev nodded. It wasn’t feasible for the two of them to slaughter all four hundred gangsters, so he didn’t blame Leo.
But just because it was difficult to kill them all at once didn’t mean it was impossible. The two young men retraced the mountain path littered with corpses and pursued the gangsters who fled on horseback.
Using {Tracking}, they killed every last one of them.
“Phew.”
A fight that lasted three days finally ended. Lev and Leo had attacked the Theovic Family’s weapon caravan, and the spoils of war lay before them.
Dozens of carts filled with weapons and armor. The two young men had endured an exceptionally tiring few days and had gotten slightly injured, but they had no time to rest. They started gathering the dispersed carts.
The horses tethered to the carts had dragged them around uncontrollably due to thirst.
There was no way they could move all the carts by themselves. ─ After feeding the horses, Lev and Leo drove two carts at a time to a nearby village.
They showed their knight insignias to the village chief and asked him to take care of the carts for a few days.
They handed over a few swords as compensation, knowing the chief would likely skim off some of the weapons, though that was a fair trade-off in this corrupt and slapdash world.
Soon, Marquis Harvey Guidan would arrive. With weapons to arm the barbarians, Lev and Leo turned their horses towards Guidan territory to gather the materials needed for persuasion.
If it came to it, they planned to use the last bead on {Barbatos’s Bracelet}. Hopefully, the marquis would assist them just for the sake of waking up his wife…
“Lev, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I got hit a few times, but nothing serious.”
“Let me see.”
They paused for a meal, and while Lev cooked, Leo inspected his body.
Lev had a ghastly wound on his back. Despite tightly bandaging it to staunch the bleeding, blood still seeped from the thumb-wide gash.
Although they would seek treatment at a church upon arrival, Leo applied crushed herbs to the wound. Lev had displayed remarkable martial prowess, but singlehandedly facing four hundred gangsters was certainly taxing.
If the gangsters hadn’t fled and fought to the end, things would have been challenging. Without Lev’s enhanced swordsmanship from scenario rewards, {Swordsmanship.5v: Forte Style}, they likely wouldn’t have managed.
“Ouch. That hurts.”
“Bear with it.”
Leo said soothingly. But Lev shot him an incredulous look.
“No, I can bear it, but you’re shoving herbs into the wound.”
Such clumsy hands.
Leo apologized, saying, “Sorry, I’ll be gentler,” and applied the herbs more carefully. He tried to wrap the bandage again but was politely declined, “Sorry, but I’ll do it myself.” Leo sheepishly handed over the bowl, deciding it was time to eat.
But when he raised his head, he saw that Lev, instead of eating, was gazing blankly southward.
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. Whatever you’re thinking about, I’ll find out in the next session anyway.”
“…”
Lev was silent for a moment. After staring south for some time, he spoke.
“Leah is nearby.”
“…”
I shouldn’t have asked. Using {Tracking}, Leo realized Leah was moving quickly in their direction. She must be in a carriage, passing close by.
Leo thought about what to say but decided against it. Despite their shared memories, this wasn’t his business, and Lev was the protagonist of this session.
It was his choice whether to rush to Leah likely heading to the Capital Church. I’m just an assistant…
Leo waited for Lev to collect his thoughts. In the biting cold, they warmed themselves by the fire until Lev sighed and turned his head.
“…Let’s go.”
* * *
“Who are you?”
As soon as they returned to Guidan territory, Leo and Lev were detained by the marquis’s wife, who immediately questioned them.
Leo cautiously answered, “As I said before, I’m Leo de Yeriel.”
“I’m not asking for your name. I want to know if you’re really a prince. Please answer truthfully. Even if you’re not, I won’t turn you away.”
“I have never lied to you. However… I don’t have many ways to prove it.”
Leo removed his necklace. It was a white emblem, the only possession of Prince Leo, featuring three engraved water droplets.
The marquis’s wife examined the necklace but didn’t recognize the emblem.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t confirm anything with this. Do you have anything else?”
“That’s the only thing I have to prove my identity.”
The marquis’s wife frowned, and Leo continued.
“I understand your concern. You might be worried that we are swindlers. However, my sister and I were expelled from the palace when we were just five or six years old. If there had been sufficient evidence, that would have been even more suspicious.”
“I don’t think you’re frauds.”
The Marquis’s wife spoke, recalling the naïve young lady who knew nothing about etiquette. It would be far-fetched to defraud someone with such a lady. Besides, with her appearance, there would be plenty of other things she could do without impersonating royalty.
“I just find it hard to understand why your manners are so impeccable, while the princess’s are so clumsy.”
“…Lev. Give me the emblem.”
Leo handed over the insignia of a guard from the Kingdom of Belita, with the name ‘Noel’ written on it.
“I did not wish to reveal my shameful past. I was a guard in the Kingdom of Belita. That is why my manners are proper. And there were some… incidents there.”
Leo loosely adapted his story.
He had worked as a guard, left his younger sister in a theater, and fled because Princess Chloe de Tatalia suddenly kissed him, fearing that his identity would be exposed.
Aside from the purpose and duration, it was almost a true story.
[Achievement: Met Aeton de Lognum – Gained minor favor from all nobles serving the Lognum royal family. Gained minor favor from Aeton de Rognum.]
[Achievement: Met Alzier de Lognum – Gained minor favor from all nobles serving the Lognum royal family. Gained minor favor from Alzier de Rognum.]
The Marchioness Sierra listened to Leo’s words. It made some sense and provided enough information for verification, so she decided to let the two young men go.
She then called for the butler.
“There is something I wish for you to check. Contact the… hmm… contact the Marchioness of Tatian from the Kingdom of Belita, please.”
“…I apologize, but the Marchioness of Tatian passed away three years ago.”
“Oh? Did she now? What happened?”
The butler shrugged just enough to not seem disrespectful.
“I do not know the details. I only heard that she passed away due to weakened health.”
“…I see. Then,”
Who else did she know?
Sierra Guidan recalled the ladies she had met during her travels to the Kingdom of Belita. She soon remembered a countess with strikingly curly black hair and black eyes.
“Please contact the Countess of Peter. Send her my greetings, and ask about Princess Chloe de Tatalia. Oh, and could you also bring the prince and his bodyguard? They seem to be injured.”
“Understood. I will head to the church now.”
* * *
“Eek! Brother, what is with the blood…!”
Lena rushed over. She had intended to change her clothes before coming to see them, but her sister, who was outside in the yard with the maid, noticed them first.
“It’s nothing. Just a bit of blood…”
“Not you, brother. You look fine. Lev, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Huh? No, it’s just some splattered blood. I’m not hurt.”
“……”
To Leo’s dismay, Lena bypassed him and grabbed hold of Lev. A strange sense of loss overwhelmed Leo.
‘There’s an old saying that it’s useless to raise a daughter.’
“Lena. We need to change our clothes, so go away for a bit.”
“No. You never tell me where you’ve been. Do you think I’m a child?”
Indeed, she was a child…
Lev and Leo shared this thought.
Lena seemed young to them. She had not yet reached adulthood, and they saw her as a precious little one who needed protection.
To be honest, Lev himself wouldn’t be considered an adult until next year, but for some reason, his younger sister always seemed to be just a little girl to him.
“So, are you going to follow us even when we change our clothes? Go away. Here, do you want some candy?”
“No, thanks!”
Lena’s expression grew sulky.
She puffed her cheeks and glared at them… but despite her words, she took the candy. Having experienced shortage, she couldn’t resist anything sweet.
Munch munch.
Rolling the sweet candy in her mouth, Lena followed her brothers. She intended to find out where they had been and why they came back covered in blood.
At that moment, the Marchioness appeared from the other side of the corridor, accompanied by the butler. She bowed deeply to Leo.
“I was so rude to have doubted you, Your Highness. Will you forgive my impudence?”
“No.”
Leo answered.
“I do not forgive, as there was no impudence. I am merely grateful that you accepted us.”
“Your Highness is most gracious. Now… I am not sure what you have come to request, but please discuss external matters with my husband. I wish you the best of luck.”
Smiling, the Marchioness bowed gracefully once more. Then she extended her hand to the princess.
“Princess, may I have a moment of your time?”
“Uh… right now…”
“Yes. We need to change our clothes anyway, so it’s good to have someone to take care of my sister. Thank you for your consideration.”
Damn.
With the elegance of their manners, Lena couldn’t throw a fit. She followed the Marchioness obediently, expecting perhaps a simple tea session. However, the Marchioness led her to the kitchen.
The maids were bustling about the kitchen, preparing dinner.
“Welcome.”
The maids greeted the Marchioness who suddenly visited. However, there was no discontent in their demeanor about why a high-ranking noble was there.
Rather, they seemed genuinely happy, as if it had been a long time, confusing even Lena, who was unfamiliar with the lifestyle of nobles.
“Princess Lena.”
“Yes?”
“Do you like cooking?”
“If you mean eating…”
The Marquis smiled and took off her coat. She handed it to a maid nearby and rolled up her sleeves, saying,
“I like cooking. I’m pleased when I see well-prepared ingredients, and I’m happy when I obtain unique spices.”
Why is she telling me this? Lena looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“Cooking is like politics. The basic ingredients are the background. The spices are my strategies to be added to the political landscape.”
– Clang, clang.
The Marchioness knocked on a pot. After checking the thickness of the iron pot, she instructed a maid to bring a very small amount of water.
“But no matter how good the ingredients are, or how lavishly you use expensive spices, it doesn’t guarantee a delicious dish. A bad cook will only ruin the ingredients.”
Lena nodded. Hadn’t she seen how her brother spoiled the meat their other brother brought home?
The Marchioness, having succeeded in capturing Lena’s interest, put the pot on the fire. She added just enough water to cover the roughly chopped potatoes and seasoned them with an appropriate amount of salt to boil.
While the potatoes were boiling, Marchioness Guidan ordered some parsley roots to be cut. She put a frying pan on the fire and melted a piece of butter in it.
She fished out the adequately boiled potatoes and stir-fried them with the parsley roots.
“Politics shouldn’t be lazy. Properly season the basic ingredients,”
A cutting board arrived. On it, pieces of meat that had been soaked in milk to remove odor were neatly arranged.
The Marchioness touched them to check their condition. Instead of hastily pouring them into the pan, she first added thinly sliced sweet potatoes to bring out the sweetness.
“Pay attention to the order. Sweet potatoes are more delicate than potatoes. If for any reason you prioritize a Baron’s household over a Count’s, there will be consequences. Sometimes it’s intentional, but choose wisely.”
Then in went the much-anticipated meat.
The sizzling sound made Lena’s mouth water, and the Marchioness continued speaking.
“What do you think nobles are like? They are usually greedy. If there are only potatoes and sweet potatoes, they won’t even glance at them.”
What started as a simple dish was reaching its conclusion. The nicely browned meat, well-seasoned potatoes, and appetizingly golden sweet potatoes were placed on a heated plate.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“Nevertheless, justification is important.”
Fresh vegetables were added to the plate for color. A spicy sauce to mask the greasy taste was drizzled, and two sorts of sauces were served in small containers on the side, for preference.
“Nobles won’t move just for pieces of meat. They are aware it’s greasy, but pretend it’s not, pretend it’s a refined matter. Only then can you capture the hearts of nobles. Ah, and royalty too. How does it look? Delicious?”
The Marchioness offered the plate to the princess. Lena swallowed hard.
‘I need to teach this person a bit. To live as a princess in the future…’
That was the conclusion she came to.
She wanted to help the benefactors who had awakened her, but the prince was already beyond the stage where she could teach him. It wasn’t because his abilities were outstanding, but he seemed to have his own methods.
That’s why he had come this far.
But this pretty princess was—
Wasn’t she an empty plate, that could be filled with anything.
Yum, yum!
Lena ate the food the Marquis offered her deliciously. The candy her brother gave her, she simply swallowed.
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