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Chapter 6
I was so surprised by his unexpected apology that I almost messed up preparing the chicken.
“Is that really something so surprising?”
Kailos looked slightly flustered.
“It’s not exactly common for a prince to apologize to a mere chef.”
“I’m not an ordinary prince.”
There was a sense of pride in his words that made me let out a small laugh.
“Yes, yes. Your Highness is very exceptional.”
It was meant as polite flattery, but his reaction was unexpected.
Kailos shook his head.
“You’ve misunderstood me.”
I blinked.
His voice had grown strangely subdued.
“I… don’t have friends either. Chef Heidi.”
It wasn’t particularly shocking.
In the novel, there had never been any mention of Kailos having friends.
He was described as a lonely, gloomy prince overshadowed by the shining crown prince.
“That’s why I have my father…”
He seemed to realize he had said too much and stopped himself.
But it was already too late.
I had already understood what he meant to say.
‘He doesn’t mean he lacks friends in the ordinary sense…’
What Kailos meant was that there was no one in the entire imperial palace who stood on his side.
Not a single person.
Except the Emperor.
Even the Emperor likely didn’t favor Kailos over the Crown Prince or intend for him to inherit the throne.
Just the natural affection of a father toward his second son.
But for Kailos, this was a matter of survival—of life itself.
‘…’
I wet my dry lips. Knowing the future felt heavier than I expected.
The Emperor would die, and Kailos would fall into darkness, plunging the entire empire into civil war.
Even if he had no allies now, it would be easy for him to gather factions dissatisfied with the crown prince.
Honestly, when I had only read spoilers, I didn’t understand why Kailos went that far.
Even if he had been framed and exiled, he was still a prince.
He could have lived quietly under an alias with hidden wealth.
But seeing him now…
‘I think I understand.’
Without thinking, I spoke.
“I’ll do my best to help His Majesty recover.”
It was also in my interest for the Emperor to live longer.
If he died, I’d lose my position as his personal chef.
And I was already on the Crown Prince’s bad side.
If he became Emperor, I wouldn’t even be allowed inside the palace.
Of course, I planned to step away if the Emperor’s condition worsened—but ideally, it wouldn’t come to that at all.
Kailos scoffed.
“You’re not a doctor. What can you do?”
But despite his words, his gaze toward the boiling pot was unexpectedly earnest.
I checked the broth.
Perfect.
The rich aroma of chicken broth rose from the simmering liquid of chicken feet and vegetables.
It wasn’t too thick, since I had been careful not to overboil it.
Now all that remained was to add the prepped young chicken stuffed with soaked rice and chestnuts, shape it, and simmer once more.
There was another method—boiling the entire chicken from the start—but making stock separately with chicken feet created a far deeper flavor.
Focused on cooking, Kailos stopped speaking.
I was quietly relieved.
I stuffed the soaked rice into the young chicken.
Contrary to expectations, rice wasn’t rare in the empire; it was cultivated in some regions.
While people didn’t really eat plain rice, rice pudding-like dishes were quite popular.
Now it only needed one final boil to finish.
I smiled and turned toward Kailos.
But instead of returning the smile, he looked startled and quickly averted his gaze.
I awkwardly turned back to the pot.
‘Right… I was the villainess, wasn’t I.’
I understood his reaction.
Even I had been surprised when I first saw Adelheid’s appearance in the mirror.
I had forgotten what she looked like after not seeing a mirror for so long.
Adelheid had water-colored hair and golden eyes—beautiful, but cold and sharp, like a textbook villainess.
Though I had never properly seen her smile, I could easily imagine a cold, sinister expression.
Even the future hidden villain had been momentarily startled by her.
So I said nothing.
Kailos didn’t either.
Only the pot continued to bubble in silence.
After a while—
“It’s done.”
I lifted the lid.
A cloud of steam rose, revealing the completed samgyetang.
All the tension melted away in an instant.
I transferred the soup into a fine porcelain bowl and prepared pepper-salt seasoning.
Then someone knocked three times on the door.
The signal that the food taster had arrived.
I sighed.
A stranger had to taste the Emperor’s food first—an unpleasant tradition meant to prevent poisoning.
Kailos looked at me.
“If you don’t want to, I can test it instead.”
I shook my head.
“I’ll do it.”
I had already tasted it while cooking, and I was also curious how it had turned out.
Cooking samgyetang in a world without gas stoves or electricity had been a real challenge.
Carefully, I tore off a piece of tender chicken with a fork.
…!
The fatigue vanished instantly.
Soft, tender meat.
Rich, savory broth.
A subtle hint of ginseng that wasn’t overpowering.
I wanted to keep eating, but my job was only to taste.
And there was still a bowl I had prepared for myself.
Well… maybe I could give one chicken leg to the handsome prince who kidnapped me, out of gratitude for his filial devotion.
Suppressing my regret, I finished plating and placed the bowl on the tray brought in by the attendant.
It was time to see whether the Emperor, who had barely eaten anything for a month except for a single piece of dalgona, would accept this meal.
…A new dish.
Zavez Obern, Emperor of the Empire, slowly sat up without expectation.
This strange illness he had suffered for a year had drained all desire to live.
Including his appetite.
He had only been able to eat a confection that resembled what Selene used to make—but even that was limited to one piece a day.
Soon, a servant placed the dish before him.
And in that moment—
The Emperor knew instinctively.
Today was different.
What… is this?
He stared blankly at the bowl.
Steam rose from a thick, creamy soup, revealing a whole chicken inside.
The chef’s explanation—that the meat could be eaten with a fork and the rice with a spoon—barely reached his ears.
He wanted to eat it.
For the first time in a long while, he felt that desire.
He picked up a fork, tore off a piece of meat, and dipped it into the pepper-salt seasoning.
So tender.
The chicken, soaked in rich broth, melted the moment it entered his mouth.
He lifted a spoon and tried the soup.
…!
A faint herbal aroma lingered—but it wasn’t unpleasant.
Instead, the ginseng balanced the richness of the broth perfectly.
Was there such a dish?
But that wasn’t all.
Inside the soft chicken, he discovered something unexpected.
Rice—cooked together with chestnuts.
