Fabri, who had been nervously clasping his hands, the servant standing in front of the serving cart, and the servant waiting at the kitchen entrance all looked only at Rose.
Rose didn't notice those gazes at all. She was merely staring intently at the soup generously scooped onto her spoon.
‘What is that? Is she looking for flaws?’
‘Perhaps a hair fell into it?’
‘Well, it's not the chef. He doesn't have any...’
‘Shut up.’
‘Or maybe she's hesitant to eat it because it might be cold?’
While Fabri and the servants busily exchanged glances, I observed Rose's expression with an impassive face.
‘That's...’
Only I could perfectly read her expression right then.
Nom.
Rose finally brought the spoon to her mouth. She chewed it softly like a squirrel nibbling on an acorn.
“Ah...”
A small exclamation slipped from Rose's mouth. Interpreting it as a sigh of disappointment, Fabri hurriedly approached her.
“Madam, how is it?”
“This is too...”
“Yes, it is a bit cold-”
“It's too, delicious.”
“...Pardon?”
Fabri asked back with a dumbfounded face.
“As always, no, your cooking skills are truly excellent, Chef.”
“Huh? No, so are you saying that the soup is delicious?”
“Yes. It's even more delicious because it's refreshing. It really opens up my appetite.”
Rose lowered her gaze back to the soup.
“I've wanted to eat this so much...”
A murmur full of longing.
In the novel, that is, in her past life. Her husband, Dane Schmaichel, rarely came to the castle, and the servants were kind to Rose but indifferent.
The only person who had shown warmth to the withering Rose was Fabri.
He always had food prepared for her no matter when she came to the dining hall. Saying that there should be no starving people in the Schmaichel castle.
During her cold and desolate marriage, Fabri's food was Rose's only solace.
And besides...
‘It was the last food she ate before she died.’
This soup was the food that Fabri had struggled to prepare and brought to the prison for Rose, who had been framed as my poisoner and ended her life in a cell.
It had become something with a special meaning to Rose.
Clack.
Rose without delay scooped up the next spoonful and put it in her mouth.
“I mean it. It's really delicious, Chef.”
Then she showed Fabri a bright smile. It was the first smile she had shown since coming to this castle.
“-!”
It felt as if time had stopped for a moment.
Powerlessness, sorrow, emptiness.
The smile that revealed itself after the dark clouds that always lingered on Rose's face disappeared.
‘Was she a woman who knew how to smile like that?’
It was like a clear sunlight that brightly illuminated even the overcast skies of the north. Not a light that pierced the eyes, but one that brightened the heart.
“Haa...”
Fabri let out a low groan.
Beneath his bewildered cheeks, the corners of his mouth twitched wildly. The chef's dignity and pride were holding him back from bursting into a wide grin.
Having barely calmed down, he spoke a word.
“...Thank, you. Madam.”
“Not at all. Um, if it's not too much trouble.”
Rose blushed as if feeling shy.
“Could you introduce me to some other dishes? I'm curious.”
Words of praise that couldn't be heard from the madams who had visited here so far. A few simple words, but full of genuine sincerity.
“Of course!”
I had finally won Fabri over.
Clap. Clap.
He beamed with a wide smile and clapped his hands.
“Bring out the prepared dishes, at once! All of them!”
The bustling servants snapped to attention. The food waiting in the kitchen was instantly brought out in abundance.
‘Just as expected.’
Only then was I able to eat my meal in peace.
I thought Rose would like this soup, and I was right.
‘For now, giving delicious bait is a success.’
No matter how wary a wild animal was, it would helplessly let its guard down in front of food. Especially if it was in a state of starvation and exhaustion.
On top of that, I selected the food by precisely targeting Rose's tastes, so the effect was naturally bound to be excellent.
“Wow, how does it taste like this? What is this sauce?”
“It's called remoulade. It's made with mayonnaise and...”
Rose and Fabri were enthusiastically chatting back and forth. It had been a while since Fabri showed such a bright expression.
‘He won't bother me for a while.’
I was a master whose reviews of meals were notoriously harsh—no, practically nonexistent. I was sick and tired of hearing him lament that cooking held no reward, so this worked out perfectly.
'If Fabri whines again in the future, I'll have to bring Rose along.'
While I was nibbling on my food with deep satisfaction,
“Seeing you so pleased, Madam, I've made up my mind to bring out my next dish. A very special dish that can only be tasted in the Schmaichel fief.”
Fabri's suspiciously excited voice brushed my ears.
...Wait, don't tell me?
“Did you know there is a large lake to the north of the Schmaichel fief?”
“Of course... th-that is, I've never heard of it.”
“Yes, and there is a fish that only lives in that lake.”
“A dish made with very rare ingredients, I see.”
“Exactly.”
I stared at Fabri, whose face was flushed red like a young girl, with cold eyes.
“...”
Bringing out a rare dish he had only ever served to me... that was slightly annoying, but it wasn't a real problem.
The biggest problem right now was,
‘That's not a fish, it's a monster.’
The ingredient of that dish.
While cooking on the frontlines, Fabri faced a shortage of ingredients. So he pondered whether he could cook with monsters.
He started using orc meat instead of pork, and the flesh of a lake fish instead of regular fish.
The taste was surprisingly excellent. If one ate it without knowing the ingredients, they would consider it a delicacy.
Above all, the people of the Schmaichel fief had no aversion to such things.
‘Ooh! To think we can cook and eat those monster bastards, isn't this a total win-win!’
‘It is an outstanding way to solve the food shortage problem! I'll develop a cooking manual and distribute it!’
- was the kind of reaction they had.
But this was a reaction limited only to this fief.
‘Kyaa!’
The first lady to see this dish fainted on the spot.
‘Ugh...’
The next lady, who forced herself to eat it to curry my favor, threw up right then and there.
‘No matter how well Rose eats, this is too much.’
It seemed Fabri was so excited that he had lost his reason.
Above all, Rose had just recently returned. In the novel, it was a much later event when she was able to eat those foods well.
I had barely succeeded in the delicious bait operation, only to face a crisis.
“Now, then...”
The moment Fabri grabbed the food cover,
“Wait!”
I sprang up from my seat.
“Your Excellency?”
Fabri's hand stopped. Beneath the half-opened cover, the grotesque figure of the lake fish came into view.
The first thing revealed was the lake fish's massive, triangular body. Beside it, slices of its flesh cut to a uniform size were neatly arranged.
Finally, finishing the display was its elongated tail, the creature's primary means of attack.
It was an appearance that would definitely inflict a tremendous assault on Rose's eyeballs.
I had to stop it. Absolutely!
“Fabri. You haven't forgotten who your master is, have you?”
“Of course. Naturally, Your Excellenc-”
“Then you know full well whose service you should be attending to.”
As I spoke with displeasure, Fabri stammered.
“Huh? But earlier you said you would eat alone...”
“Bring that over here. Right now.”
“Uwa...”
Just as Fabri showed signs of hesitating, Rose stepped in.
“I'm fine, Chef. I've already eaten enough.”
“Madam, but still...”
“It's fine, so please go to His Excellency at once.”
“Yeees...”
Fabri drooped his shoulders,
Clack.
And put the food cover back on. It was the moment the gruesome figure of the lake fish sashimi safely disappeared.
“Your Excellency, then-”
As Fabri approached and set the plate down,
“Bring out the dessert.”
I quickly beat him to the punch. I intended to give him not even the chance to open the food cover.
Fabri made a crying face.
“Now? You're not going to eat anymore?”
“I'm full now. How about you, Madam?”
Rose, who had been flustered for a moment, perhaps not expecting to be called, answered.
“I am as well.”
“She says so.”
I nodded and called the servant standing beside me.
“Clear this away.”
“Yes, sir.”
The time-bomb-like lake fish sashimi was swiftly cleared away.
With things proceeding so quickly, Fabri looked utterly bewildered. I whispered loud enough for only him to hear.
“Exclude the slime pudding.”
“How did you know about... Gasp.”
Only then did Fabri snap to his senses and jump in shock.
“I'll deal with you later.”
As I added that one remark, Fabri's face turned dark and gloomy.
“My God, what have I done...?”
He staggered back, struck by the shock.
Be that as it may, I turned my attention to the dessert plates the servants were bringing in. They were very normal (?) and ordinary types of desserts.
‘That was dangerous.’
The pleasant dining table had almost turned into the scene of a horrific torture session. It was a good thing I hadn't let my guard down.
And, reaching this point, a thought crossed my mind.
‘There is no one I can trust.’
From the loyal butler to the chef who never went against my tastes. Trusting them and entrusting them with tasks only led to them committing absurd acts without hesitation.
It seemed I had placed too much blind faith in them all this time. I needed to readjust my assessment of them.
“Wow.”
Watching Rose marvel as she ate the sherbet, I renewed my resolve.
‘I will keep a strict watch until the very end.’
The day was not over yet. The most important event awaited me.
‘Tonight.’
The first night I would spend with Rose would become the most crucial turning point.