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Chapter 73
Early morning.
Fleur was being dressed and groomed by the mansion’s maids.
She sat quietly, receiving everyone’s attention, but the atmosphere was oddly subdued.
She quickly scanned the room with her yellow eyes and noticed that everyone seemed somewhat gloomy.
“Ahem… did you all… have a fight?”
Cautiously, she opened the conversation. Among the maids, the youngest suddenly burst into tears.
“Sniff… It’s just… tomorrow, Fleur-sama will be leaving for the capital… so I’m already sad…”
Fleur’s eyes widened as she finally realized the reason for their melancholy.
“Ah… it’s because of me?”
“Sniff… The mansion became so bright after you came… but once you leave, you probably won’t come here again, right?”
As the maid spoke through tears, the others nearby began to tear up one by one.
“Wha—wait, why is everyone crying…?”
Fleur couldn’t just stay still. She jumped up and tried to comfort them.
But telling people not to cry often makes them cry even more.
Since their sobs only grew louder, she hesitated for a moment before spreading her arms wide and hugging them tightly.
“Why think of it as the last time? I’ll come again. I’ll visit unexpectedly to check if you’re eating the dishes made from the recipes I taught. So don’t cry.”
Patting their backs, Fleur welcomed the other maids into her embrace. She spread her arms wide so she could hug them all.
“Sniff… then when you come next, will Colin-sama come too…?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, Dylan-sama is your aide, so of course he’ll come along.”
“By then, you might even be married to Aidan-sama.”
The maid Fleur was holding suddenly pulled away and playfully glared at the other maids.
“I don’t think that’s what I want to see right now. Are you really crying because you’ll miss me leaving?”
“Of course! We’re really going to miss you the most, Fleur-sama.”
Seeing the maids’ earnest eyes, Fleur smiled warmly in return.
“I’ll be watching next time to see who greets me first.”
“You have to come and see it for sure!”
With this playful exchange, the situation lightened, though the corners of her eyes still held a subtle redness.
The end of Shamal was drawing near.
“What are they going to show us?”
“Apparently, they’re going to teach us a recipe?”
“Hah! A kid who seems like they were just born yesterday is going to teach us cooking? They should just eat their own food!”
Since it had already been announced that recipes would be presented, the square was crowded with people.
The grandmothers, as well as Su and Ju’s parents, were watching in the direction of the mansion, waiting for Fleur.
“Look! Pretty sister is coming!”
At Ju’s shout, everyone turned their heads.
Shane, Leonardo, and Fleur were coming down with the palace servants.
Since the townspeople didn’t know the three men, only Fleur attended with them.
“You’ve all gathered.”
Fleur greeted brightly, and the residents stood up and bowed in return.
“Fleur-sama, thank you so much.”
“Huh? Me?”
Taken aback by the sudden expressions of gratitude, she stammered.
“I haven’t done anything yet…”
“You’ve taken care of our Su and Ju.”
The children’s parents approached Fleur and clasped her hands gently.
“I heard that you got caught in a trap because of our children. You could have been seriously hurt, but instead, you took care of them at the mansion. Thank you so much.”
“It was only natural…”
“Thank you again for saving the children in our village.”
They all bowed deeply in thanks again.
Feeling shy and unsure of what to do, Fleur hesitated. Leonardo, smiling warmly from behind, came closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Our lady has done something remarkable. But there’s more to show, so would everyone join us?”
He smoothly shifted the topic so she could present the recipes.
Thanks to him, she could finally showcase the new recipes she had been preparing.
The dining room servants led her to a temporary cooking station, and as expected, the grandmothers approached closest.
They watched her hands carefully, ready to point out even the slightest mistake.
But Fleur had prepared thoroughly and felt confident.
“The first dishes are tomato scrambled eggs and ‘bomb’ steamed eggs.”
The word “bomb” startled some, just as it had with Leonardo before, so she quickly explained.
“You can cook eggs like this?”
It was a decent reaction, so she immediately moved on to the next dish.
“What kind of soup is this? Pumpkin soup, but the broth is clear?”
“It’s not soup—it’s hand-torn noodle soup.”
“Hand-torn noodles?”
“Instead of making dough into noodles, you can just tear it by hand. It’s easier this way.”
It was a dish similar to gnocchi.
“Using Shamal’s root vegetables for the broth makes it even more refreshing.”
“Hmm, the texture is interesting.”
“And there’s no need to shape it perfectly, which is convenient.”
In the cold region, a new warm soup was naturally welcomed.
Finally, she presented the dish that got the best reaction from the household—and her personal favorite.
“Shamal even has cabbage.”
“Yes, it does.”
“The colder the region, the sweeter the cabbage, so it’s very versatile. But here, it’s mostly used for broth, which is a shame.”
With cabbage as the main ingredient but still light to eat, she made a dish using the outer leaves as cabbage pancakes and quartered the inner leaves for roasted napa cabbage.
“Cooking it this way means nothing is wasted.”
“Indeed. Normally, we end up discarding so much cabbage. But this tastes so good, I regret ever throwing it away.”
“The sauce is amazing too! Its tartness pairs perfectly with the sweet cabbage.”
As expected, this dish received the best reaction.
She presented all the prepared recipes.
Even though she had prepared plenty to feed everyone, the food was almost entirely finished.
“You can also thinly slice meat, fry it, and drizzle it over the roasted napa cabbage—it’s delicious.”
“Hm, that’s a good idea. Or pair it with a slightly dry cut of meat.”
She even shared alternative ways to enjoy the dishes, completing her role.
Once the successful presentation ended, her gaze naturally returned to Leonardo.
He watched her with a proud smile, as if he had never looked away.
“You did well. Truly impressive.”
“Thank you for cheering me on.”
Just through their eyes, it felt as if their thoughts were communicated.
Fleur had done her best. Now, only Leonardo’s decision remained.
It was the last night in Shamal.
Leonardo had informed her that they would return to the capital first thing in the morning, so she lay in bed early.
Even so, she couldn’t sleep and kept tossing and turning.
Returning to the capital would determine whether she could become the empire’s first female household head. She also needed to have serious discussions with Dylan and resolve her relationship with Aidan.
There was much to do, yet her thoughts kept wandering.
“…I can’t do this. I should take a walk.”
Lying down was making it harder to sleep, so she chose to move instead.
She wrapped herself in a thick shawl, lit a candle on the stand, and stepped outside.
“Shall I go to the garden?”
Having mostly stayed in the dining room, she hadn’t really explored the surroundings.
Taking advantage of the fact it wasn’t snowing, she headed to the entrance, planning to take a look around alone.
“Oh, Fleur-sama?”
She came face-to-face with Shane, who was coming in.
“Shane-sama? Where are you going at this hour?”
“Ah, I couldn’t sleep well, so I went to tidy the back garden.”
He removed his gloves, covered in dirt, and hid them behind his back.
“Even as a duke, you manage it yourself?”
“Oh, occasionally.”
“I also grow crops in the capital, so I like touching soil.”
“…I see. But where are you headed, Fleur-sama?”
“Ah, I wanted to clear my head, so I came for a walk. I also feel like I’ve never properly seen the Dalos Duke’s mansion, so I thought I’d take a look.”
Shane’s eyes widened at her words, then cautiously spoke.
“Then… may I guide you?”
“You’ll do it yourself, Shane-sama?”
“Yes. Since it’s my mansion, I know it best.”
He spoke with firmness, a stark contrast to how he had always trembled around her before.
Fleur paused, then nodded.
“Yes. Please.”
