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Chapter 01
The Malaharque Empire, Elbive Shopping District.
A tall man stood before a small building. Between a café and a bakery, there was a cozy little shop from which delicious smells drifted out.
It didn’t even have a signboard, making it hard to tell at first glance whether it was open for business. The man’s golden eyes gleamed sharply as he stared at the door.
“Are you sure this is the place?”
“Yes, sir.”
At his aide’s polite reply, the man’s neatly shaped brows twisted slightly. He rubbed the space between his brows and parted his lips.
“…Alright.”
He spoke quietly and exhaled deeply. His broad chest—covered by a navy uniform embroidered with gold thread—expanded and then tightened again.
“It has to be. It must.”
With a tense voice, the man carefully pushed open the oak door. The door, slightly shorter than his height, swung open, and the silver bell attached above it rang with a clear chime.
Ding—.
“Welcome!”
The bell had barely finished ringing when a woman’s bright voice welcomed him.
A small, warm shop with only four tables. And brightening the entire place stood a woman with soft cherry-blossom-colored hair.
“Come on in!”
Her fresh, leaf-green eyes sparkled as she smiled like sunlight. The man froze like a statue and stared straight at her.
Meanwhile, unaware of his gaze, the woman bustled around busily.
“Your beef lasagna is ready.”
She set a dish on a table. Light brown, perfectly baked cheese covered the red ceramic plate like a warm blanket.
The rich, savory smell of meat sauce—loaded with minced beef—rose in white steam.
“The dish is hot, so please be careful. Enjoy your meal!”
The customer, who had been entranced by the appetizing smell, finally smiled as she poured water into his cup.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, no need to thank me. Ah—sorry for the wait! Were you dining alo—”
“Lise, how do you make this sauce?”
Lise had been about to go greet the newly arrived man, but a customer at the next table stopped her. She answered immediately, as if she were used to the question.
“If I tell you, Cayden, you’ll stop coming to the shop. It’s a trade secret.”
Cayden shook his head.
“No way. If that were true, why would I have invested in your shop? Even if I knew the recipe, I’d never be able to make it—”
“…So that’s how it is.”
Heavy footsteps echoed as a new customer entered, cutting Cayden off with a low voice. Deep, rich, and smooth enough to tickle the ear of anyone who heard it.
He approached Lise, casting his shadow over her face.
“You hid yourself well. It took forever to find you. Opening a shop in a place like this…”
“…Excuse me?”
Lise looked up at the silver-haired man. He was a whole head taller, forcing her to tilt her chin upward to meet his eyes. For a moment, she admired his stunning beauty.
Shining silver hair, sharp and slightly upturned eyes, a proud nose balanced perfectly at the center of his face, and lips just full enough.
Standing straight in his uniform, he looked like a sculpture carved from the season’s first snowfall.
Lise tilted her head. Incredibly handsome, yes—but unfortunately, she had never seen him before.
“Sir, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“…No.”
The golden eyes—like those of a beast—looked as though they could pierce straight through her. The other customers briefly forgot to eat as they watched the two, overwhelmed by the man’s presence.
Under the weight of everyone’s curious stares, the man grinned.
“I’m not mistaken.”
The sharp gaze that looked ready to devour her softened gently. He cupped her cheek and whispered in a sweet voice:
“Found you. My Alina.”
At the man’s words, Lise—no, Alina—widened her green eyes in shock.
✦ Six years earlier — The Malaharque Imperial Palace ✦
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
A young girl was descaling a flounder in the underground area of the palace kitchens.
Tonight’s dinner menu was fried flounder. Lise, a kitchen maid, was in charge of the prep work.
Her fingertips were reddened from washing fish in cold water, but she was more concerned about the fish sitting in ice.
This is way too good to deep-fry…
The fillets were thick and fresh with no fishy smell at all. How they managed to deliver such fresh seafood despite the palace being far from the sea was impressive. Truly fitting for the empire that ruled the continent.
Everything was perfect—except for the cooking method. In the Malaharque Empire, dishes were prepared in only three ways:
Grill, steam, or fry.
And they’re going to fry this beautiful fish.
Flounder this fresh should be lightly pan-seared in butter, scented with lemon, sprinkled with dill, and served on a silver platter.
Just imagining the tender flakes coming apart under a fork and melting on the tongue with the aroma of herbs and lemon made her sigh.
As she finished cleaning the last fish, the prep room door burst open.
“Lise!”
A maid with black hair and purple eyes hurried over and crouched beside her. Resting her chin on her hand, she spoke in a solemn tone.
“Hey. I have huge news.”
Lise neatly arranged the fish on a tray as she asked,
“What is it?”
“For lunch today… we’re having pancakes!”
At the groundbreaking news, Lise’s ears perked up like a rabbit’s.
“Pancakes?”
“Yep!”
“That’s really amazing news…”
Lise spoke seriously, though her heart was pounding.
Pancakes.
Pancakes!
The Malaharque Empire was generous to its workers, but pancakes—filled with eggs and butter—weren’t something they served every day.
Normally it would be toast with jam and some questionable stir-fry made from leftover ingredients.
Lise raised her voice in excitement.
“Is there some special occasion? We haven’t had pancakes since last year’s Harvest Festival.”
Marika’s cheerful face suddenly darkened.
“Well… maybe it is a special occasion.”
Her smile faltered.
“Because apparently… you’re the one making all of it. For everyone. Starting right now.”
Her second piece of news was far more tragic.
“Haha…”
A stiff laugh slipped out of Lise.
“You must’ve heard wrong. How am I supposed to make twenty servings by myself?”
“Well, yes, but… it’s true.”
“You’re telling me the head cook is assigning the entire lunch menu to a kitchen maid? Greta said that?”
“Ordinarily, you’d be right—that’d never happen.”
Marika crossed her arms and nodded firmly.
“But it’s you, Lise. At last year’s Harvest Party, your roast turkey was legendary. Everyone was fighting for seconds. Oh! And that seafood risotto you brought? The flavor was unreal.”
She swallowed at the memory of the golden-brown turkey and the tomato risotto topped with all kinds of seafood.
“Greta even said if you had more experience, she’d promote you to sous-chef on the spot. How could she treat you like a regular kitchen maid? Making lunch is nothing.”
“Still, strictly speaking, this isn’t a job for someone of my rank. What are the others doing? What about the sous-chef?”
“He went on vacation. Well—‘vacation.’ Truth is, he caused trouble and ran off. The whole kitchen is a mess.”
“Trouble?”
Lise’s eyes widened. Marika answered dryly,
“When has he ever not caused trouble?”
She shrugged and put the flounder into the prep room freezer.
“Thanks to Trudy suddenly disappearing, the main kitchen is in chaos. Now imagine if today’s lunch was just jam toast again. They’d riot.”
Leaning against the freezer door, Marika sighed.
“So everyone needs something delicious. Something sweet that can make you happy with just one bite.”
Which meant that pancakes had been chosen by Head Chef Greta to boost morale. Lise clapped her hands and stood up lightly.
“Preparing twenty servings will be tough, but I’m in. It’s not every day a kitchen maid gets to use the frying pan.”
“I’ll help!”
Marika rolled up her sleeves as Lise returned with a basket of eggs. Lise smiled and set them down.
“It’s fine. You still haven’t completely recovered from your cold. Oh—did you drink the lemon-honey tea last night?”
“Yes, it was great. Thanks.”
Marika smiled warmly. Lise nodded, relieved.
“Good. So—why did Trudy take vacation? What exactly did he mess up this time?”
Lise began cracking eggs. She cracked one whole, then pulled out two bowls and separated yolks from whites.
Marika tilted her head at the sight, then replied:
“He caused a mass food poisoning.”
Lise’s eyes widened.
“Food poisoning? Who? How? Why?!”
Marika rolled her eyes.
“One question at a time, please.”
“Right. Go ahead.”
“It’s a long story. You know how the Imperial Knights prepare meals when they go out to capture the Zenotath royal family?”
“They still haven’t caught all of them?”
“Nope. The crown prince and the youngest princess are still missing.”
Lise whisked the eggs while nodding. Nothing new so far.
