Chapter 18
Chapter 18
“Excuse me, may I ask who you are?”
The man was tall.
His well-maintained blond hair sparkled even indoors, and his fair skin belonged to a young master who had never experienced hardship.
With distinct features and an elegant demeanor that could be felt just by standing still.
The faint smile draped over that angelic face was something I often saw in the social circles of the Empire.
Moreover, every piece of clothing he wore was expensive.
‘He’s from the highest nobility of the Empire.’
[Oh, really?]
‘I want to steal those earrings.’
I wonder if I could win in a fight.
If I sold those, I could pay off part of the debt due next month.
The man, oblivious to my thoughts, smiled more deeply.
“Well, who could I be?”
“It’s alright if you don’t want to answer.”
It’s not like I could win in a fight anyway.
I turned my head back to my precious stew.
Now the smell was truly fantastic.
It smelled so delicious that if I were to make this stew in the forest in the dead of winter, even a bear would sit quietly next to me waiting for its share.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
As I was scooping the finished stew into a bowl, the man naturally passed me another bowl.
I filled his portion as well, feeling slightly confused.
The reason I’m cooking like this in the kitchen is because, although I’m a noble, I have a rather unique background.
“The smell passes the test, at least?”
But this person… anyone could see he’s a great noble among great nobles.
Unlike Cassis, he doesn’t seem to be bankrupt, so why is he hanging around in the kitchen?
“This would go well with some bread.”
Before I knew it, I was led by the man to sit at the table with a bowl of stew in front of me.
When he snapped his fingers, steaming bread appeared before us.
“Here, eat comfortably.”
“Are you a magician?”
The man nodded and took a spoonful of stew into his mouth.
His smiling face became even brighter.
It seems this ‘C-‘ grade recipe beef stew suits his palate well.
“Wow, this is really delicious! Are you perhaps a new cook who just arrived?”
I blinked and then chuckled.
Instead of thanking him, I brought out the Seike wine I had prepared in advance.
Playfully shaking the wine bottle slightly, I said,
“I’m Irina Seike.”
At my words, the man’s eyes widened slightly.
“Ah, that Seike wine.”
“You know it?”
“Seike wine isn’t a luxury item, but it has established its place through the most innovative and aggressive methods.”
Saying that, he got up from his seat and came towards me, taking the wine from my hand.
The whole sequence was as natural as flowing water.
He seemed to look at the wine label, then snapped his fingers to summon a corkscrew.
As he removed the cork, the aroma of the wine hit me, sitting right next to him.
I thought I had done well in preparing the best wine.
Meanwhile, the man summoned wine glasses with another gesture, gently placed them on the table, and poured the wine.
He poured wine into two glasses and, holding the bottom of the glass with his fingertips, smiled as he handed one to me.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
His dazzling face coupled with a smooth smile was the icing on the cake.
‘……’
[Arschen. I think she’s fallen for his face.]
[Irina, Irina……]
Fallen for his face, nonsense!
I carefully scanned the face of the blond beauty before me, then smiled slightly as I took the glass and turned my head.
Noticing that I had turned away out of embarrassment, he burst into laughter.
He’s disgustingly handsome.
“Why are you laughing?”
The man replied “Well…” and clinked his wine glass against mine.
The clear sound of glass touching rang out.
He closed his eyes and greeted elegantly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Isiel Lemiere.”
Lemiere.
I blinked.
Why is Lemiere appearing here?
I slightly opened my mouth and then quietly closed it.
That handsome face suddenly looked even more beautiful.
This person.
He’s rich.
‘I almost got into big trouble if I had picked a fight earlier.’
[Why lol]
‘How could I possibly win against the heir of a ducal family?’
The Lemiere family is the current Empress’s family and one of only two ducal families in the Empire.
While the Grand Duke Luwin’s family is bankrupt and struggling like this, they’re probably the most prosperous family in the Empire right now.
Moreover, if he’s Isiel Lemiere, he must be the heir to the ducal family.
Eight out of ten rumors floating around the Empire are all about Isiel Lemiere.
“Your reaction is less than I expected.”
Isiel grumbled as he sat down, seemingly disappointed.
“No… I’m just very excited to meet a ducal family member for the first time.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Of course.
Where would I have seen a young master from a ducal family in my life?
“Hmm.”
As I nodded vigorously, Isiel grinned.
He ate the stew elegantly, looking a bit smug.
Finding his reaction amusing, I decided to flatter him a bit more.
“And Isiel Lemiere is the heir to the ducal family!”
“Oh, that sounds nice. Do go on.”
“Lemiere, you’re the best!”
As I struck a fighting pose while saying this, Isiel burst into laughter.
After laughing for a while, he wiped the tears from his eyes and said,
“Haa, did you say Irina? You’re really funny.”
“You can speak comfortably to me.”
“Should I?”
I found it amusing how he switched between casual speech and formal speech when addressing me as Lady Seike.
He readily accepted my offer.
“Well, it’s also my first time meeting the owner of Seike wine.”
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
The blue ribbon on the collar of his white blouse made him look even more like a young master.
I tried to remember how old the heir to Duke Lemiere was, but gave up, recalling only that he was older than me.
I continued to eat the bread and stew that Isiel had conjured with magic, while Isiel ate slowly, matching my pace.
“So why is the owner of Seike wine in the North? You’re not here to get a job as a cook, are you?”
He said this while picking up the empty bowl and putting it down again.
He seemed quite satisfied that he had cleaned the bowl.
If I could satisfy such a great noble with just a C-grade recipe, how delicious would B grade or A grade recipes be?
[That’s why you should accept that quest to find a chef, shouldn’t you?]
‘How can I find a chef in just a week? It’s impossible.’
“Well, His Grace the Grand Duke recognized my business skills and asked me to help.”
At my words, Isiel looked at me with a slightly pitiful expression.
“That’s… not a scale you can repay, is it?”
“Haha, I came to repay it, so I’ll do my best.”
Isiel shrugged and refilled the empty glass with wine.
He swirled the glass, savoring the smell, and took a sip.
“Instead of doing that, why don’t you come work for our family as my cook? Lemiere isn’t bad either.”
“I’ve already signed a contract, so that would be difficult.”
“Really?”
He slumped down, pretending to be very disappointed.
I knew he wasn’t really upset, but seeing a handsome man act like that made my heart waver a bit.
It was also because he was a completely different type of person from Cassis.
[Irina, you shouldn’t waver.]
‘But System, how is he really so opposite to Cassis?’
If the male lead is the Grand Duke of the North, then the second male lead is a dazzling blond from the capital.
Is he the second male lead?
“Yes, it’s not possible. But Lemiere, may I ask you a question?”
“Hmm, sure. Go ahead. And you can call me Isiel.”
“Okay, Isiel. I’m curious why you’re at Grand Duke Luwin’s castle.”
“Ah, for a successful businesswoman, Lady Irina Seike seems quite oblivious to rumors.”
He smirked and continued.
“Cassis and I were classmates at the academy. We were also close friends.”
Oh…
Right, our Cassis might be like this now, but just a few years ago, he was the young master of a great noble family.
“Then did you come to see Cassis today?”
“That’s part of it, among other things.”
He came closer to me, smiling broadly.
“By the way, Irina, you really are a good cook. Don’t you want to try making something other than stew?”
As soon as he said that, there was a ‘ding!’ sound of a quest notification.
[SYSTEM | The reward for the ‘Find a Chef for Orsha Palace (Grand Duke Luwin’s Mansion)!’ quest has been unlocked!]
[SYSTEM | Reward: ■■ ■■ ‘■’ ■■■ ■■ ■ >> ‘Cooking Skill ‘1’ point level up’. (D+ > C-)]
Leveling up the cooking skill was really almost impossible.
The system was generally generous to me, but it was strict when it came to cooking.
Considering my original cooking skills, it said that ‘cooking skills and recipes are too close to cheating’, so it couldn’t allow reckless leveling up.
But a skill level up?
‘Really…?’
[It’s not over yet.]
No sooner had those words ended, the system window rang once more.
[SYSTEM | The quest has been updated!]
[Additional Quest
(4) Satisfy thirty people with Irina’s cooking.
Reward: Cooking Skill ‘1’ point level up. (D+ > C-)
Additional Reward: 3 B and C grade recipes]
I quietly covered my mouth.
[Are you still not going to do it?]
“…I’ll do it.”
Of course I have to do it.
This means I should find a chef even if I have to put aside paying off Luwin’s debt for a while.
It’s not like I can immediately pay off the debt by doing something more for Luwin right now.
Maybe finding a chef and having delicious meals happily until the world ends might be more beneficial.
“Is there a problem…?”
I immediately got up from my seat and grabbed Isiel.
“What would you like to eat?”
