Chapter 15
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Chapter 15 : Even Good Medicine Tastes Bitter (1)
Imperial Head Chef Marty was biting his handkerchief in anxiety, staring at the culprit who was making a mess of his beloved kitchen early in the morning. Cold sweat beaded on his bald head, which he had deliberately shaven smooth for ten years, vowing not to tolerate even a speck of dust on the Emperor’s food.
“Th-That, if you handle it like that…!”
“It’s fine, my lord.”
The one making a mess of his kitchen since dawn and causing severe damage to his stomach’s health was none other than Legina. Marty had been preparing to showcase all his skills for the first time in a long while, as she, who had previously rejected all the Emperor’s invitations, had expressed her rare intention to join a meal. Yet, Legina had stormed into the kitchen since early morning, directly holding a chef’s knife and preparing ingredients not previously authorized.
The ingredients were none other than the Danilan flowers brought from the Duchess of Vestein’s garden. Legina, who had carefully replanted the flowers, roots and all, into pots and brought them to her own garden, had personally brought two of those pots to the kitchen this morning and begun preparing them herself. “Preparing” mostly involved pulling them from the pots, quickly washing off the soil, and mincing them from root to stem with a chef’s knife, leaving nothing behind. But the thump-thump sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was making Marty’s face turn progressively paler in real-time.
“Be c-careful with the knife, Your Highness! You’ll get hurt!”
“Don’t worry, my lord. Even if I look like this, I’m quite skilled with a knife.”
After fleeing the Imperial Palace to escape the traitors and engaging in numerous large and small battles, she had to manage quite a lot on her own. Cooking was one of those many tasks, and like someone with a prodigious talent for handling swords, she showed great aptitude for preparing ingredients. However, to point out one problem, the taste of the dishes she created was terrible. And the bigger problem for others was that she had started taking an interest in cooking.
It was Johan who actively discouraged her from seriously trying to learn cooking. After eating her food and being in agony, temporarily forgetting how to speak, he had managed to strip her of all opportunities to cook, using the excuse that swordsmanship was more important to her right now than cooking. The fact that Johan received immense applause in places Legina didn’t know about was a secret she alone hadn’t known before her regression.
“Perhaps I should take up cooking as a hobby this time?”
Legina, unaware of this fact, casually blurted out something so monumental that if Johan from before her regression had known, he might have shouted that he’d resign as escort knight and retire to the countryside. She then pushed all the finely minced Danilan flowers into a pot. After repeating the same action twice more, Legina placed the pot over the fire and waved her hand, and Una, who was waiting, poured the prepared clear spring water into the pot.
“Yo-Your Highness Legina, the roots of the Danilan flower are very bitter and not suitable for consumption.”
“I know.”
“Then…”
“Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous.”
If it was good for the body, it was good. If it was bitter to the taste, it was good for the body, so what was the problem? Of course, there was the problem that Danilan flowers were not to the Emperor’s liking, and their roots were incredibly, truly, maddeningly bitter, but Legina decided to ignore this very lightly. Good or bad, bitter or sweet… in any case, it was better than dying from poison.
Every time she stirred the pot with a wooden ladle, Una helplessly stamped her feet, and Selma furrowed her brows.
“What on earth are you planning to use that for?”
“It’s good to drink before a meal.”
“…Whose meal…?”
“Naturally, His Majesty’s and my beloved brother’s.”
To anyone, it looked like something meant for poisoning. And she intended to make the Emperor and the Prince drink it before their meal. As Selma recoiled, feeling a slight dizziness, Johan, seizing the opportunity, approached and supported her, subtly glancing into the pot.
Horrifying.
As time passed, the contents thickened, losing their original form, but surprisingly, unlike their monstrous appearance, they emitted the faint, unique scent of Danilan flowers. Johan, supporting Selma, retreated, offering thanks to God that he wouldn’t have to drink this.
Danilan flowers were unusual in that even when their petals, stems, and leaves were boiled together, their colors did not mix. And the roots were the same, so the unidentified viscous liquid Legina had created by mincing and boiling the entire Danilan flower had a suspicious appearance, with the red of the petals, the dark green of the stems and leaves, and the ivory of the roots all tangled together.
‘And despite all that, the Danilan flower scent remains, making it look even more dangerous!’
If Legina hadn’t been the one making it, it would never have been allowed in the Emperor’s kitchen. Legina confirmed that Marty, with his pale face, was steadfastly watching her make the medicinal tea without fainting. This was the kitchen of the Emperor’s direct head chef. It was a place where food for royalty, specifically the Emperor, was prepared, so there were no ingredients or food items that could harm him, and many personnel were constantly inspecting the kitchen interior in case of emergencies. Furthermore, she had intentionally left all the kitchen staff present and openly revealed the entire process, so even if she made something suspicious, any suspicion that something could have been added to threaten the Emperor’s life would be avoided.
Legina, who had come here for that very purpose, watched a droplet of water form on the spout of the water pitcher where the spring water had been, then slowly trickle down. The silver pitcher showed no signs of discoloration.
Since it’s a pitcher I deliberately prepared, no one would think that the spring water might be poisoned.
Moreover, the Danilan flower boiling in the pot was known to aid in body purification, so there was no way to find any toxicity.
Of course, it’ll taste bitter like drinking poison, but I’m not the one drinking it, so it doesn’t matter.
The ‘Witch’s Tear’ that the Emperor suffered from before her regression strangely had no ill effects on women. Some said it was because it was a poison created by a witch, and others claimed that something unique to women prevented the poison’s activity, but nothing was ever definitively proven. Even the antidote’s creation was the result of a series of incredible coincidences.
Legina looked into the medicinal tea, which swelled greatly and then receded, then gestured to Una to bring a teapot. It was Marty who despaired at that gesture. Thinking that the grotesque and bizarre liquid—which couldn’t even be called a beverage—created in his kitchen would soon go down the Emperor’s throat, he simply wanted to faint.
“Your Highness Legina, it’s time for breakfast… Hmm?”
Just as Marty was seriously debating whether he should throw himself to overturn the pot, the kitchen door opened, and the Emperor’s chief attendant appeared. He first expressed puzzlement at the scent of Danilan flowers, which the Emperor disliked, coming from the Emperor’s chef’s kitchen, and then questioned why Legina was holding a wooden ladle and stirring the contents of the pot on the fire.
“Perfect timing.”
“Your Highness?”
“Just a moment, my lord.”
Legina took the teapot Una handed her with trembling hands, opened its lid, and used a ladle to scoop up the sticky substance from inside the pot. She carefully repeated the action of pouring it into the teapot several times, finally putting down the ladle only after thoroughly scraping the bottom of the pot.
“Prepare two teacups, larger than usual.”
“Y-Your Highness?”
The Emperor’s chief attendant desperately shook his head, sending signals to Marty that he shouldn’t take that, and looked at Legina’s maids, whose faces were utterly pale. His instincts, honed over long years in the Imperial Palace, were warning him.
You must not guide the princess to the Emperor like this!
But there was no way to stop her! The Emperor had already descended to the dining room and was seated at his place, waiting for Legina. He was a little more excited than usual at the thought of finally spending some quality family time after a very long time, and he couldn’t be made to wait any longer.
While the attendant hesitated, Legina, who had personally retrieved the teapot and two teacups, lifted a beautiful silver tray. Her action conveyed a determination to carry it herself, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
And a moment later, the chief attendant, with a stiff face, walked towards the dining room where the Emperor and Theore were waiting. Legina, firmly clutching the silver tray with both hands, walked behind him. Along the way, there were attempts to overturn or snatch the tray she was carrying, but Legina, deftly dodging them all, smiled brightly and said, “If you’re doing this because you want to eat it, just wait a little. I’ll make it for you myself.”
At Legina’s words, the attempts at sabotage ceased. It was because they had all witnessed the entire manufacturing process of that unpleasant liquid filling the teapot.
Thus, quietly walking, they soon arrived at the dining room. The chief attendant, swallowing a sigh at the sight of the large door, slowly opened it and announced Legina’s arrival.
“Greetings to Your Majesty.”
“Yes.”
Legina, bowing slightly, looked at the Emperor seated at the head of the table and Theore seated to his right. Legina smiled, finding it endearing that Theore had arrived first and was waiting for her, even with a face full of complaints. It seemed her previous ‘education’ had been effective.
And the Emperor…
“Ahem, it’s been a long time…”
“Please drink this first before your meal.”
He was ignored. Well, not completely ignored, but simply cut off. Was the smile she had given Theore earlier just an illusion? The Emperor swallowed dryly, looking at the teacup Legina had placed before him, his face exuding a chilling coldness. His daughter had poured the tea herself, but no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like something that would cause serious trouble if consumed. And the scent of Danilan flowers, of all things… The Emperor looked at the large teacup full of the unidentified liquid and questioned Legina.
“W-What is this?”
“It’s good for your body.”
“What?”
As the slightly dazed Emperor asked again, Legina smiled brightly and repeated, “Drink it. It’s very good for your body.”
– Mochinuna.
