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CHAPTER 14…………………………………..
“If someone else tried to imitate it loosely, could they ever achieve this taste? Without precisely calculating the ratios of eggs, salt, sugar, and even water, this flavor simply cannot exist. Therefore!”
Elliot grabbed my right hand with both of his.
“Could you teach me this alchemy?”
“…Um.”
I blinked.
“So you’re asking me how to make steamed eggs?”
“Hm.”
Elliot made a thoughtful sound.
“You could put it that way. But what I really want to learn is something more important. For example, you don’t seem to measure salt and sugar precisely—so how do you achieve such accuracy in taste…?”
I stared at him.
For more complex dishes, maybe that would matter. But no one measures every grain of salt for steamed eggs.
You just… do it by feel.
Still, Elliot Horton being so impressed with my cooking and even wanting to become my disciple was good news.
At least he wouldn’t try to destroy my profession later.
‘Still, no disciple.’
If I took him in as a disciple, my very limited knowledge would be exposed, and he’d probably end up disappointed, saying I was just a normal cook and not some grand alchemist.
‘And he’d start trying to make those weird black lumps again.’
I quickly ran through my options.
Being connected to a genius alchemist like Elliot Horton wasn’t a bad thing.
An alchemist was basically a scientist in this world, right?
So maybe I could subtly convince him to make cooking tools for me.
But becoming master and disciple would be too much pressure. So the only option left was—
“I’m sorry, but I don’t take disciples.”
“I see.”
Elliot’s expression darkened.
I carefully spoke to the dejected-looking man.
“But I can work with a partner… what do you think?”
“A partner?”
His eyes widened.
I nodded.
“Yes. We help each other… I’m actually quite interested in alchemy.”
A complete lie.
“I’ve even tried applying alchemy to cooking before.”
A bigger lie.
“So I think it would be great if I could receive help from a brilliant alchemist like you, Mr. Horton.”
Half truth.
“So you mean… joint research!”
His voice brightened.
“That’s one way to put it.”
I leaned slightly toward him. He looked excited—he was already halfway hooked.
“Since we’re partners now, I’ll share any recipe you want. But there are two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“First, stop your current research. Do you want me to get fired?”
“Of course not!”
Elliot immediately raised his voice.
“Then I’ll stop it.”
“And the second…”
I paused.
“I’ll cook something different for you every day, so make sure you eat properly. And I’ll teach you recipes, so try making them yourself too.”
For now, I didn’t plan to ask him for anything major.
He was only impressed by something as simple as steamed eggs. If I started making demands too early, it would look suspicious.
‘First, I need to make him someone who can’t live without good food.’
Then later, when I needed better tools or techniques for even tastier dishes, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
‘He’s a genius who supposedly created a diamond tree that grows every year in the novel… if I give him ideas, he can probably make anything.’
As the Emperor’s personal chef, I already had access to the best cooking tools of this era—but it still wasn’t enough.
For example, I missed a proper powered mixer instead of the ridiculous hand-cranked wooden one.
I missed a real freezer.
And above all, the furnaces here never produced the level of heat I wanted.
As an alchemist, maybe he could fix that.
Elliot tilted his head.
“Isn’t this too good a deal for me?”
“It is.”
I nodded firmly.
“So accept it.”
“I don’t have any reason to refuse, but why would you want this?”
He looked genuinely confused.
I scoffed.
“You look so frail, I feel like you’ll die before you even benefit from my help. So just eat the food I make every day, alright?”
And just like that, Elliot really did start coming every day to eat my cooking.
Since my only job was preparing meals for the Emperor, I had plenty of time to cook for him.
And to teach him recipes in detail.
But there was one problem.
Elliot Horton was, quite simply, extremely, hopelessly bad at cooking.
When I supervised him, he could make normal food.
But the moment he cooked alone—monstrosities were born.
Despite following time, measurements, and procedure like a true alchemist, the results were a mystery.
The mystery was quickly solved.
I couldn’t stand it anymore and secretly watched him cook alone.
He had a habit of muttering to himself while cooking.
“I should add this. No, maybe more pepper? No, chili flakes instead. Ah, and cheese on top… I’m a genius!”
For reference, he was making abalone butter grill.
A dish that should have tasted good no matter what.
‘Just as I thought.’
I pushed open the door to his research room, which I now freely entered.
“Elliot, what exactly are you doing to perfectly good abalone?”
He jumped in surprise and turned around.
“Haidi!”
I had stopped him from adding honorifics to my name, and in return, he insisted I call him without them as well.
So now we just used each other’s names.
“I knew it. There’s no way this taste comes out without something weird added. What did you do?”
Elliot looked flustered.
I sighed and started fixing the abalone dish that was basically already ruined.
Butter, cheese, chili, pepper… chaos.
Chili flakes were actually a good idea. Pepper, however, would’ve made it irredeemable.
‘Still, this is salvageable.’
But that thought disappeared the moment I removed the cheese.
The abalone was already covered in an unidentifiable sauce.
“I told you to just grill it with butter! What is all this?”
Elliot looked like he might cry.
“Uh… something healthy…”
“Healthy what?”
“Ginseng sauce. I heard you use it often in cooking, so…”
…Oh.
Abalone, butter, ginseng sauce, chili flakes… and cheese.
My mind went blank.
I really had to deal with his excessive experimental spirit.
I shook my head and started salvaging the dish.
Boil the abalone lightly, remove the ginseng sauce, then stir-fry it with a sweet-spicy seasoning—this could still work.
“Move aside.”
I grabbed a pot and poured water into it from a nearby container.
“Wait!”
Elliot reached out.
“That’s not water—!”
Too late.
BOOM!
The moment I poured it in, there was a small explosion and I was thrown backward.
Elliot tried to shield me but ended up falling on top of me instead.
Like something out of a cheap romance novel…
That thought barely formed before I saw his face clearly.
“…!”
I quickly closed my mouth.
Long eyelashes. Bright blue eyes. Delicate features.
Without his glasses, Elliot looked like a beautiful boy straight out of a classical painting.
