SWST 22

Chapter 22

Hatsen blinked, then quickly frowned.
“Hah. Could it be… you went through more than one entire pot?”

Today, since he was injured, the assistant had cooked. And Hatsen’s assistant was far worse at cooking than him.

But the assistant shook their head.
“That’s all there is.”
“What? You said you made stew for dinner today!”

Hatsen had tasted his stew before. It had been terrible—so bad that he even felt sorry for the servants who had eaten it. He had even considered telling the head chef to replace the assistant.

But now, there were no leftovers? That seemed impossible.

“What kind of trick did you pull?!”
“Trick? I didn’t—”
“Be honest. There’s no way the servants ate all of your food.”
“That’s harsh. But… I admit it.”
“Tell me the truth. What did you do?”

Hatsen grabbed the assistant by the forearm and pressed for an answer.

Then the assistant led him into the kitchen. The aroma inside was unlike anything Hatsen usually smelled—a delicious scent. The assistant handed him a bowl of stew they had set aside.
“Please, try it.”

It looked like ordinary stew, but inside was a lump made of whole wheat dough.
“What is this?”
“Just taste it first.”
“It’s huge.”
“You’ll need to split it in half.”

Hatsen eyed the assistant suspiciously, then sliced the dough in half with a spoon.

“What is… what is this?!”

Inside the thinly torn dough, the filling spilled out. The diced ingredients smelled delicious.
“I minced vegetables and meat into it.”
“Vegetables and meat?”

It had all been mashed together, so he hadn’t realized it at first. But looking closely, he saw carrots, onions, and meat—all common kitchen ingredients. He scooped some with the spoon, and the stew naturally came along with it.

He put it in his mouth.
“Wow!”

Hatsen’s eyes widened. Though made from common ingredients, it was a taste he had never experienced before.

Next, he drank the stew broth. It was similar to what the assistant usually made, yet something was different.
“How did you make this?!”

Especially this mysterious mixture inside the dough.

The assistant grinned at Hatsen’s question.
“Delicious, isn’t it?”

It was so good it hurt his pride. Hatsen immediately understood why there were no leftovers today.

“How did you make it?!”
“Hehe… I just made the stew as usual.”
“It tastes nothing like your usual stew. Yours was terrible before.”
“That’s harsh. I’m technically the head chef’s assistant, you know.”
“Spit it out.”

When Hatsen pressed, the assistant shrugged.
“Actually, a new maid made it.”
“A new maid? That’s strange. I hadn’t heard they were taking on anyone new.”

At Bloody Mary, new maids were only hired twice a year. Those hired last month had long finished their training.
“I found it odd too, but I thought maybe she came from somewhere else since she was with May.”

“Where is that maid now?”

But where she came from, or whether she was new, didn’t matter. What mattered was getting her into the kitchen—for the sake of high-quality meals in the future.

Meeting Getty was on the way back after leaving my dirty clothes at the laundry. She scolded me for taking so long to choose a room, then followed me into the room I had picked.

“Are you really going to use this room?”
“Yes, it’s going to be my room from now on. Is that okay?”
“Seriously? This one?”
“Yes.”

Getty was carrying a tray with warm food. She set it down in the room and looked around, dumbfounded.
“But… this room was so dirty before. The spiderwebs were full of spiders; the kids had given up cleaning it.”
“No kidding, the spiders and webs were wild.”

If it hadn’t been for Junel, I would have killed all the spiders myself.
“Did you really clean all of this yourself?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”

She covered her mouth with her hand—she must have been genuinely shocked.
“Why so surprised? Didn’t I tell you to clean it for use?”
“No… there are so many rooms in this building. Even on the first floor, there are plenty of clean rooms.”

Still, this one was too good to pass up. It was larger than my mother-in-law’s old apartment.
“I like this one. It’s a bit much for just me, but it’s comfortable.”

She asked if I liked flashy things.
“Did you spy on me?”
“No, Butler Karl mentioned a few things.”

Of course, he was correct. Before I was possessed, Halara had lived a flashy, luxurious life. Though superficial, ordinary villagers would have seen her as extravagant and arrogant.
“I’ve changed. After meeting Duke Dotchef.”
“Ugh, don’t say that.”

Getty warned me not to dislike the Duke, saying I’d regret it later. Dotchef was more skilled than the first Duke himself—he just hadn’t awakened yet.
“How could I dislike the young master?”
“Then?”
“I just don’t want to imagine you and the young master together. Among us maids, young masters are… symbolic.”

Getty clasped her hands and gazed into space. I didn’t want to hear her thoughts this time.
“Fine, as long as you don’t dislike him.”
“Hey!”

“Dinner at 10, how nice.”

I passed her and began examining the food. The quality was far above the usual maid’s meal. I even secretly shared some meat with Junel.

“You eat too, Getty.”
“I’ll go to the main mansion dining hall. Searching for you tired me out.”

I waved as she left.
“Wake up early tomorrow; I’ll show you around the mansion.”
“Okay.”

Apparently, Getty also knew the annex dining food wasn’t good—otherwise, she wouldn’t go to the main mansion.

[This is good too, but the pocket you made earlier was even better.]

I watched Junel eating the meat, shaking my head.
“That was a dumpling. The dough was rough since it was whole wheat, but it tasted fine.”

[Fine? That was excellent! The best I’ve eaten in 100 years.]
“Thanks for the praise. I’ll make it often.”

[So glad! Following you was the right choice!]

Korean food is the best. Western meals are nice but limited, so they get boring. Korean meals are varied in taste and type, so you never get tired of them.

“What is this? Looks like bread but tastes amazing!”
“This is the first time stew has tasted this good. But isn’t this the same stew from earlier?”
“No! Totally different. This one is perfect.”

I remembered the maids and servants being delighted by the dumpling stew earlier and smiled. The stew had been enhanced with extra seasoning and turned into a surprisingly delicious dumpling soup.

“I think I’m good at business. Seeing people happy is amazing.”

Maybe I should have become a maid instead.
[Just keep cooking! Wasting that skill is a sin.]
“Can I?”
[Of course. You’ll save this family, so do what you want!]

I wasn’t trying to squander the family fortune.
“We’re doing this to survive!”

Hehe, I held Junel close and laughed. She purred happily in my arms.

At the same time, in the main mansion.

Francesca had finished a quick breakfast alone and sighed while looking out the window. Karl poured her tea and reported:
“The knight who left with Young Master Helbern has returned.”

She whipped her head around, having dark circles from sleeplessness.
“Helbern? Any letters?”
“He said convincing Sir Nilsen would take some time.”

Helbern persuading someone? Whether he could logically persuade them was unknown, but it bought a few days.
“Good that Helbern helped at least.”
“But if the first young master finds out, they may send another knight.”
“Watch Nikolai.”
“I’ve already assigned someone.”

“Thanks, Karl. Now you’re acting like a proper butler.”

Karl’s lips pressed tight; he seemed about to burst into tears. Praise was rare after all the scolding he had endured.
“I’ll dedicate my life to this family.”

Francesca handed him her handkerchief.
“And the girl?”
“Ah, Halara. Now she must be called ‘little mistress.’”

“Of course. Though a commoner, she is officially Dotchef’s wife. She must be treated well to not embarrass the staff.”

The one who insisted on bringing her, even if she didn’t like it, was Francesca. She had no intention of nitpicking her. How Halara lived here was her own responsibility.

Getty appeared at 7 a.m., despite being told to wake up early. I had asked Junel to wake me, but I was already up.
“Here’s the main mansion so far.”

Until lunch, I toured the mansion with Getty. The annex was where I stayed, and the main mansion housed the Bloody Mary family.

The main mansion was an endless maze. Morning was worse, as Getty had given me an uncomfortable dress. Maid uniforms were much better for mobility. This outfit was flashy, impractical, and awkward.

[Ugh, silly Bloody Mary descendants. Stashing legendary swords in the warehouse.]
[Wow, Halara! Here’s a special forging recipe for swordsmanship! Let’s take it!]

Junel found hidden treasures everywhere in the mansion.
“I need to take them before anyone sees.”

Unused rooms and abandoned valuable items were everywhere. Before leaving the mansion, I could use them as business capital—or for Dotchef’s awakening. He was, after all, the protagonist.

“Hey!”

Getty froze and stared at me.
“You’re not Halara.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Cheapskate.”

When I thought of your name, I craved jajangmyeon. I pouted, and Getty asked:
“Where was the 18th room?”

18th room… next to the sword recipe room!
“It was a room previously used as a library. Old, unused books piled up there.”

Rooms 18 through 21 were all stacked with books.
“…Then the 32nd room?”
“That was Young Master Helbern’s wardrobe.”

A room I would never enter. I remembered never going near it.
“…Right.”

Getty murmured.
“Of course, if you can’t memorize that, what kind of person are you?”
“Give me some credit.”
“Worth teaching. If you didn’t know, I’d make you do another round.”

Phew, thanks to Junel’s info, I avoided unnecessary trouble.

“What about the afternoon?”
Hopefully, some easy tasks.
“No special plans yet.”
“Resting, then?”
“Yes.”

I eyed Getty suspiciously.