Chapter 7

Luciella looked over the kitchen equipment and swallowed nervously.

Fortunately, Cain had been telling the truth when he said that he had had a doctor examine her while she was unconscious. The sensation had returned to her fingertips.

“Let’s see…”

After washing her hands with the water that had been prepared, Luciella rummaged through the pile of kabocha squash stacked in the corner of the kitchen and picked out a small but heavy one.

“I’ll make kabocha squash soup.”

From that moment on, Luciella’s movements became faster.

She searched above and below the workstation and found the pots and cutting board she needed.

She swiftly removed the seeds from the kabocha and placed it in the steamer, while simultaneously sautéing onions in butter in a pan, drawing out their sweet aroma.

Sizzle—

At that instant, Luciella took a deep breath and drew up the mana buried deep within her body.

“Buff.”

A small, translucent status window flickered before her eyes and disappeared.

Compared to the status window her mother could see, it had very few functions and was almost laughably simple, but this was all Luciella, who was only half a transmigrator, could summon.

She still remembered how proud she had been when she first managed to activate it at the age of two.

[The ‘Buff (Peaceful Rest)’ skill has been activated.]

Targets who consume the cooked food will immediately receive a calming effect on their mind and recover mana. Due to the caster’s current state of mana depletion, the duration of consciousness is limited to 60 minutes.

A warm, gentle energy traveled through her fingertips and seeped into the food.

Sixty minutes?

That’s shorter than usual.

Luciella decided to hurry even more.

“Activate special function.”

The status window flashed once again.

[Special Eye Function: ‘Gourmet’s Guidepost’ has been activated.]

Displays the optimal ingredients within the kitchen.

※Warning: Due to excessive mana consumption, the duration of consciousness will be reduced by an additional 10 minutes.

“Ten minutes? That’s so stingy.”

Luciella grumbled but continued cooking.

She moved through the kitchen as though it were her own home, confidently finding every ingredient she needed.

Her hands moved without hesitation as she picked out only the freshest ingredients from among the supplies the kitchen staff had yet to finish sorting.

Bubble, bubble—

Once the kabocha was cooked to the perfect point, she mashed it finely and poured in rich milk and fresh cream.

The orange squash mixed with the white liquid, gradually transforming into a warm, vivid golden color.

She carefully adjusted the heat while gently stirring the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. The soup gradually developed a silky-smooth, rich texture, while an enchanting aroma began spreading throughout the kitchen.

“What… what is this?”

The sous-chef and several other cooks instinctively sniffed the air.

“Has kabocha squash soup always smelled this good?”

“We eat this all the time… Maybe we’re just hungry?”

“She picked the freshest cream delivered today. It’s rich, too—the kind that pairs perfectly with kabocha…”

Cain, who had been watching from the side, also breathed in the aroma filling the air.

He swallowed hard and deliberately kept his expression stern.

Was it even possible for a smell to feel warm?

And yet, it was true.

The scent stimulating his nose at that moment was as comforting as a soft blanket wrapped around him on a cold day.

Meanwhile, Luciella looked around before spotting a bottle of highly concentrated chicken stock bearing the label of the Golden Olive Trading Company, the finest food merchant in the empire.

She immediately found it in the pantry and opened the lid.

“H-How did she…?”

Jerome muttered in bewilderment.

“That was a gift from the trading company. We haven’t even had a chance to let the Duke taste it yet… It hasn’t even been released on the market!”

The other chefs beside him looked equally shocked.

That little brat had somehow sniffed out the most expensive and precious ingredient in the entire kitchen.

On top of that, the concentration of the stock was completely different from ordinary chicken stock, making the amount extremely difficult to measure.

The sous-chef himself still hadn’t figured out the proper ratio and had been repeatedly experimenting with it. Every time he used it, he ended up ruining the dish, and it had been giving him a headache.

Luciella’s carefree handling of the ingredient somehow pricked at their pride.

She sniffed the stock once, her face lighting up as though she had finally found what she was looking for.

“There you are.”

Then, without measuring a thing, she poured the chicken stock into the soup.

It was an incredibly risky move, but Jerome instinctively knew.

Her measurement had been perfect.

The instant the highly concentrated chicken stock from Golden Olive Trading Company met the soup, the aroma rose to an entirely different level.

Jerome unconsciously swallowed.

Luciella smiled as she looked at the golden soup.

Rich families really are different.

She had managed to find chicken stock with almost exactly the same concentration as the kind she used to make with her mother.

She mixed several herbs together and added them to the soup. With every new ingredient, the depth of the aroma spreading through the kitchen increased.

Whoosh—

Finally, she pulled a small bottle from her pocket and sprinkled a pinch of MSG into the soup.

“Gasp.”

Everyone in the kitchen took another deep breath.

When the chicken stock and MSG powder came together, the aroma in the air became almost violently intense.

“It’s almost done.”

Luciella set down the ladle she had been using to stir the soup and turned around to take the bread out of the oven.

That was when Jerome did something even he couldn’t understand.

Overwhelmed by the smell of the unfinished dish, he quietly approached the workstation like a thief.

“…Hup.”

He scraped some soup off the ladle with a spoon and tossed it into his mouth.

“W-Wait…”

“Chef Jerome!”

The other chefs didn’t even have time to stop him.

Jerome only realized what he had done after the soup had already gone down his throat.

But by then, it was too late.

“……!”

The next moment, his eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

The intense sweetness of the kabocha.

The rich flavor of butter gently coating his tongue.

The herbs subtly enhancing the overall flavor.

And then…

“What… what is this? Could it be because of the chicken stock…?”

It was as though thousands of chickens had been condensed into a single drop. A profound richness pressed against his tongue, followed by an explosive wave of umami.

A flavor so dense and abundant that it sent chills down his spine.

No. Even if the chicken stock was exceptional, it couldn’t possibly create a taste this incredible on its own.

Then was it the strange powder she had added halfway through?

He focused again on the lingering flavor in his mouth.

This time, he noticed an astonishing texture.

Somehow, she had controlled the heat and cooking time so precisely that the soup flowed over his tongue as smoothly as silk, yet every now and then, soft pieces of kabocha crumbled pleasantly throughout his mouth.

The pieces maintained their shape until they touched his teeth, at which point they melted away like honey.

Jerome couldn’t bear to swallow them, reluctant to let each tiny piece disappear. He savored them in his mouth as carefully as possible.

It was an extraordinary dish.

It perfectly fulfilled every expectation one could possibly have for kabocha squash soup, while at the same time offering a fresh shock unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Jerome realized something clearly.

The essence of this soup wasn’t some magical ingredient.

It was Luciella’s ability to combine all those ingredients and transform them into a single dish.

This seemingly simple bowl of soup contained a depth and resonance greater than any dish he had ever known.

The pride of a man who had won the Imperial Cooking Competition and served as a senior chef in the Imperial Kitchen crumbled after a single bite.

Seeing his reaction, the surrounding chefs began whispering.

“Chef Jerome, how does it taste…?”

One after another, they picked up spoons and crowded around the pot.

“N-No… this can’t be!”

“Good heavens, it tastes like something is wrapping me up as warmly as a blanket.”

“If I could eat nothing but this soup for the rest of my life… I could die without regrets.”

Jerome abruptly turned toward Luciella.

She was holding a piece of bread in one hand and looking at them as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“You already tasted it?”

“……”

“What? I made plenty on purpose, but there’s only half left!”

“……”

“If you’ve eaten, could you please move aside? I’m trying to plate it.”

“You… how did you make this?”

Luciella waved her hand, trying to shoo them away like flies, but Jerome desperately grabbed the hem of her dress.

“What?”

“Please. Teach me.”

There was even reverence in his eyes.

“Just once. I want to make food like that with my own hands.”

Despite finding him bothersome, Luciella was secretly relieved.

Of course it would taste good.

But he didn’t notice the buff effect.

Well, they were chefs, after all. They would naturally have focused on the taste and texture rather than the effect.

“…Did I pass?”

“Pass? You don’t even need to ask! If a child like you could work in our kitchen…”

Huh.

At Jerome’s complete change in attitude, as sudden as flipping over one’s palm, Luciella narrowed her eyes.

“This is ridiculous. I never said I was going to hire this girl under you.”

Cain seemed to have reached the same conclusion. He gave a hollow laugh as he lifted a hand and pulled Jerome away from Luciella.

“I-I was arrogant, Lord Cain.”

Jerome lowered his head deeply and apologized. The other chefs also hesitated before bowing their heads.

“This wasn’t a test. I learned something from her. No—I want to learn from her. The way she used that stock, the properties of the powder she added earlier, the way she used herbs that aren’t normally added to soup, the precise control of the heat, and…”

Jerome earnestly begged her to teach him.

Luciella’s mind briefly flashed back to Nigel at the lord’s castle.

That bastard had tried to manipulate and exploit her in every way imaginable from the very beginning.

Compared to him, Jerome seemed like a fairly honest man. He also appeared to have genuine passion for cooking.

“Maybe later. I’m in a bit of a hurry right now.”

She ladled the golden soup into a neat bowl and placed freshly baked bread beside it, the rich aroma of butter filling the air.

It was a perfect meal.

“Let’s go.”

She waved her hand several times, shooing away the bothersome chefs, then grabbed the sleeve of Cain—the only person in the entire kitchen who was still managing to maintain his composure.

“It looks excellent… Wait.”

Cain unconsciously smacked his lips as he looked down at the food.

Then he suddenly noticed Luciella’s complexion and frowned.

Her face was as pale as it had been when he first found her in the forest.

“You don’t look well.”

“……”

“Where does it hurt?”

He leaned forward to examine Luciella’s face.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

“We need to go now. It can’t get cold.”

“……”

“Quickly.”

Luciella spoke firmly.

According to the status window, in an hour—or perhaps only a few dozen minutes—she wouldn’t even be able to remain standing.