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Chapter 10
“Yes. It was a bad act.”
“No.”
Kailos immediately refuted my words.
“It was a justified action.”
“…Pardon?”
For a moment, it felt like my blood turned cold.
I doubted my ears over and over, but Kailos’s words were clear.
Justified.
Eli bullying me—Adelaide—was justified…
“I will explain.”
His rigid voice continued.
“Now that you have been disowned by your family, you are a commoner. You are expected to obey a young viscount.”
“……”
My mouth went dry.
I had never really thought much about the strict class system of this world.
Even the Emperor, to me, had felt like nothing more than a powerful employer.
But Kailos’s words forced me to face a cold reality.
I swallowed a sigh and answered.
“I’ll be careful.”
“No.”
“…?”
A faint smile appeared on Kailos’s lips.
“You no longer need to be careful.”
“What?”
That was the most confusing thing I had heard so far.
But what came next from Kailos was even more shocking.
“You are now someone the prince addresses formally.”
“…!”
My eyes widened as if they were about to fly out of my head.
Kailos Obern truly knew how to wield his authority.
Even if I was a commoner, if a prince used honorific speech with me, no ordinary noble would dare to treat me carelessly.
Kailos’s golden eyes sparkled with amusement.
They looked less like a hidden mastermind and more like a mischievous troublemaker.
“…Do you want abalone butter grill?”
It was my attempt to show goodwill.
It was immediately rejected.
* * *
Clack, clack.
The sound of knives on cutting boards rang out in perfect rhythm.
A satisfied smile formed on my face.
More than ten chefs were moving according to my orders.
One chopped only onions, another only cucumbers, another trimmed dried figs…
I assigned each of them different tasks, and the prepared ingredients piled up quickly with impressive speed and skill.
‘Being the Emperor’s personal chef… this is actually manageable.’
My lips wouldn’t stop rising.
The imperial chefs did not complain even while handling unfamiliar dishes.
In other words, I was essentially their leader.
‘I was worried about working with so many people…’
Until recently, in my restaurant, I had three staff members who handled serving and payments, but I alone did all the cooking.
I even prepared simple side dishes myself in the early morning.
So I had worried whether I could manage skilled chefs—but it turned out to be unnecessary concern.
Watching all these people move under my command gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Lady Heidi!”
Suddenly, a servant opened the kitchen door and called me.
I frowned.
“I’m busy.”
“Lord Macwood, the viscount, is looking for you…”
The servant looked troubled, but I had no intention of stepping out of the kitchen.
Right now I was only supervising ingredient preparation, but still—
Someone demanding the chef preparing the Emperor’s banquet come without even explaining the reason?
‘Did they forget manners entirely?’
I didn’t even know who this Lord Macwood was, but he was clearly another rude noble like Adelaide’s father…
“…Ugh.”
I groaned internally.
Because I suddenly remembered who Macwood was.
‘He’s one of Eli’s lackeys!’
He must have been in that group last time.
I stared at the servant silently.
The servant took a step back, flustered.
“I-It’s just… my lady…”
“I am no longer a lady.”
I cut him off coldly.
“Tell the viscount this: I am busy preparing the Emperor’s banquet. If he has something to say, he should come here himself.”
Kailos’s words came to mind.
‘If anyone treats you disrespectfully, mention either me or His Majesty. They will not dare bother you.’
It was excellent advice.
“I-I will deliver the message.”
The servant fled in panic.
I smiled slightly.
The cold, villainess-like face of Adelaide suited me surprisingly well at times like this.
* * *
“It’s been a while since a banquet. I’m truly looking forward to it.”
Lady Shiz, sitting a few seats away from Viscount John Macwood, spoke lazily.
Macwood frowned.
‘Looking forward to it, huh.’
The imperial chef in charge of this banquet was none other than Adelaide Sitten.
The former daughter of a noble house, once seated alongside him—if she hadn’t been disowned.
‘That arrogant woman.’
Macwood frowned, recalling how he had been publicly humiliated that morning.
Eli Gannit was not someone who forgot humiliation.
He had planned to summon Adelaide in Macwood’s name and teach her a lesson if she came obediently.
But that plan had failed because a servant got frightened by Adelaide’s sharp attitude.
“I wonder what dishes will be served this time? The Emperor’s banquets always had dishes we couldn’t even imagine.”
“I heard this one is simple since His Majesty has only recently recovered.”
“Even if simple in quantity, it will surely still be new and refreshing.”
The viscount’s daughter spoke cheerfully.
“I used to look forward to imperial banquets since I was young. I was so excited I could barely sleep last night.”
The wrinkles on Macwood’s forehead deepened.
The fact that Adelaide Sitten was overseeing this banquet was practically an open secret.
And yet they were still so excited.
‘Once people are excited, food tastes better.’
As an imperial banquet, the dishes would at least meet basic standards.
Even if Adelaide had planned something messy, the other chefs would not allow it.
‘At least the food will be decent. And if they are excited, even ordinary food will taste good.’
But the real issue was the outcome.
Dishes that succeeded at imperial banquets would spread quickly among nobles and commoners, raising the chef’s reputation.
He could not allow Adelaide to gain such benefits.
He coughed loudly, trying to set a negative tone in advance so the food would be judged poorly.
Macwood was certain Eli was doing the same somewhere else.
“I am somewhat concerned. The chef in charge of this banquet seems…”
“That’s true.”
The viscount’s daughter agreed.
“But surely His Majesty would not entrust such an important task to someone unqualified.”
“She is indeed unqualified.”
Macwood raised his voice.
“It is Adelaide Sitten!”
The table erupted into chatter.
Some shook their heads, thinking his words were too harsh, but most agreed.
“…She really wasn’t a very likable person, Lady Adelaide.”
The viscount’s daughter began distancing herself.
“Not just unlikable—she was worse than that.”
Macwood scoffed.
“She couldn’t dance properly, didn’t know etiquette. She couldn’t even eat properly at banquets. How could she possibly cook?”
“But still, His Majesty must have had a reason…”
“The Emperor probably just pitied her.”
Macwood was convinced his assumption was correct.
“She was disowned after that disgrace, and there were rumors she was even selling food on the streets…”
“Is that true?”
The viscount’s daughter shivered.
Street food… like a beggar.
