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Chapter 04
“No—Your Highness, Prince Kailos!”
The two knights flanking the door shouted urgently and drew their swords to stop him.
‘Seriously?’
I stared blankly.
Knights daring to oppose a prince—what remarkable loyalty.
Unfortunately, their skills didn’t seem to match that loyalty.
Before they could even properly attack, Kailos swung his sword still in its sheath, and both of them were sent sprawling.
With a scoff, he pushed the door open.
Bright light poured out.
Only then did I understand why the corridor had been so empty.
This… was the Emperor’s bedroom.
“What is it, Kail?”
A frail voice came from behind the curtains of the bed—so weak it was hard to believe it belonged to an emperor.
“Father…”
For the first time, Kailos’s voice carried a hint of emotion.
Whatever else he might be—the hidden villain of the story—his feelings for his father seemed genuine.
We approached the large bed where the Emperor lay.
He looked to be in his sixties. Once, he must have been robust, but now he was gaunt, like someone who hadn’t eaten for months.
“Please, try this.”
Kailos took the plate of dalgona from my hands and respectfully offered it to the sickly Emperor.
As if it were some miraculous elixir.
I tried not to show how absurd the situation felt.
Surely dalgona wasn’t some cure-all medicine.
Even in a novel, that would be too much.
But even more astonishing—
The Emperor’s eyes widened as if he were seeing something unbelievable.
“This is…!”
With trembling hands, he took the dalgona.
“Kailos… did you make this?”
Kailos only smiled faintly.
I swallowed nervously.
There was a tender father-son moment here that I didn’t dare interrupt.
The Emperor took a large bite.
Crunch.
The crisp sound echoed through the room.
It wasn’t fresh from the kitchen anymore, so the sweet aroma wasn’t as strong—but the sound alone made the taste imaginable.
Crunch. Crunch.
The Emperor kept chewing without pause, unable to take his eyes off the dalgona.
As if it might disappear the moment he looked away.
Kailos, too, couldn’t take his eyes off him.
But that fragile balance broke in an instant.
Tears welled up in the Emperor’s golden eyes.
“…?”
I tried to hide my confusion.
Sure, I made good dalgona.
But not that good…
“Yes… this is exactly how Selene used to make it. Perfect.”
Selene?
Fortunately, I quickly recalled the name.
‘Empress Selene.’
I didn’t remember anything about her being a cook.
But she was a minor character who had died before the story even began.
Naturally, there were many things about her I didn’t know.
“I saw how it was made,” Kailos explained quietly.
“It doesn’t require rare ingredients, so you can have it whenever you wish.”
“…Thank you.”
The Emperor gazed at the last remaining piece, then carefully placed it in his mouth.
He chewed slowly, as if it were the most precious food in the world.
I spoke cautiously.
“Your Majesty, shall I make more?”
If I’d known he’d like it this much, I would’ve made several.
“…Who are you?”
Only then did the Emperor seem to notice me.
“My chef,” Kailos answered quickly.
“She was selling this confection in the marketplace.”
“In the marketplace…?”
“Yes. She claims she invented it herself.”
“Invented it…”
The Emperor’s gaze drifted into the distance.
“Selene said the same thing.”
“Yes.”
Kailos nodded.
“It brings back memories. I shall grant a reward. Sir Rodolphe!”
At that moment, a man I hadn’t even noticed stepped forward from the corner.
With a gray goatee and a monocle, he quickly approached the Emperor.
“Write this down. Kailos’s chef—what is your name?”
I was about to answer, but Kailos spoke first.
“Lady Adelheid Seaton, daughter of Count Seaton.”
“The Count’s daughter?”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
“If you employ a noble lady as a chef, the aristocracy won’t remain silent… Does Count Seaton know of this?”
I realized this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
The Emperor himself was offering me a reward—there was no reason to stay loyal to a family that had thrown me out.
“Not anymore.”
I answered clearly.
“I’ve been disowned.”
“…!”
The Emperor’s eyes widened.
He looked me up and down in disbelief, then nodded as if understanding.
That made sense—I was wearing clothes covered in pockets.
Street vendors used them to store money safely, but to him, I probably looked like a fallen noble in rags.
“Then you can no longer use the name Seaton. Record her as Adelheid.”
Before Sir Rodolphe could write, I cut in.
“Please write ‘Heidi.’”
The Emperor, Rodolphe—even Kailos—looked at me in surprise, but I didn’t care.
I wasn’t the foolish Adelheid from the novel anymore.
At least my name should be different.
Heidi the dalgona seller—that was my identity now.
“Very well, Heidi.”
The Emperor’s voice softened.
“From this moment on, Heidi is my personal royal chef.”
“…!”
Rodolphe’s pen slipped, leaving an ugly ink blot on the page.
“Your Majesty!”
I blinked.
Why was he so shocked?
Kailos had already wanted to hire me as his chef.
Was being the Emperor’s chef that different?
“This is unacceptable! Your Majesty already has a royal chef. How can that honorable position be—!”
“Rodolphe.”
For the first time, the Emperor dropped the formal title.
“She will prepare my meals. That is all.”
“…As you command.”
Though displeased, Rodolphe didn’t argue further.
“Kailos.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Take good care of her. A noble lady raised in luxury must have suffered greatly.”
“I will.”
The Emperor leaned back against his pillow, looking exhausted.
The brief spark in his eyes faded back into dull darkness.
Kailos gently tugged at me—a silent signal to leave.
Unlike before, he didn’t touch me at all on the way out.
Though he said nothing, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.
“Why was Sir Rodolphe so shocked?”
“…Ah.”
Kailos stopped walking.
“Of course—you wouldn’t know.”
I didn’t bother reminding him I was no longer a noble lady.
“Becoming the Emperor’s personal chef means… becoming the highest authority in the royal kitchen.”
I frowned.
“So the salary must be high.”
Kailos laughed.
“Yes. Very high. One million penta per month.”
“…!”
My mouth fell open.
One million?!
That meant ten million in just ten months.
Of course, I had already been promised ten million for one dalgona—but a steady salary was on a completely different level.
In just a year, I could earn over ten million.
Add the promised ten million, and that’s twenty million total.
I had been scraping by on barely a hundred or two hundred penta a day—and now this?
It was overwhelming.
‘I’ll just work hard for a few years. The more capital I have, the better.’
