Abandoned Empress's Survival Manual Beside the Male Lead - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29
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Past midnight, Gonnet Castle lay silent. Only a handful of servants remained on night watch, and they quickly bowed their heads at the sight of me.
The long corridor was dark. Lamps hung intermittently along the walls, shedding pale yellow light, but the ceiling stretched away into shadow, endless.
My footsteps echoed off the stone floor, carrying far down the passage.
By day, hundreds would have moved through these halls, but at night the castle felt as hollow and still as a dead giant’s belly. The smell of old stone and cold ash hung in the air.
Yet I wasn’t afraid—perhaps because Bridget was here?
‘The Gonnet Knights commander—the kind of person who breaks things with just a few words.’
Even though she wasn’t at my side this very moment, it didn’t matter.
Knowing she was somewhere in this same castle was enough to give me a courage I had no right to feel.
With the world’s final villain’s closest confidante beside me, how could I possibly fear anyone else?
The first floor was freezing.
“You cold? Latku make you warm, yes?”
I was shivering so badly that my eyes widened.
That was true.
Latku was the Sun Spirit—judging by the way he spoke, clearly something great that commanded fire itself—surely warming up one person was nothing?
“How are you going to warm me up?”
“Hug you!”
I embraced Latku eagerly, full of hope.
“……That’s not very warm, actually.”
Latku’s ears drooped.
His round body shrank halfway down, then he burrowed into my arms like a ball of cotton, poking only his face out.
“Latku still weak…… very tired…….”
“Why are you talking like that?”
“Want look cute for you!”
……
I stroked Latku’s belly as I walked, making my way across the long gallery of the first floor and into the great kitchens.
There I found two servants on night duty.
One was dozing in a chair while the other peeled potatoes.
“Your Grace?”
The dozing servant jolted awake at once.
“Do you take turns sleeping?”
“I—I’m so sorry!”
I shook my head lightly. I was genuinely just curious.
“It’s fine. The castle has never caught fire, has it? You’re doing well. Just make sure one of you stays awake at all times.”
“We’ll remember that, Your Grace.”
The servants laughed shyly, tucking their hair back.
“Are you hungry? You haven’t pulled the bell cord.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Cute Latku say come make food! Want give you something yummy!”
Latku chattered away beside me, but the servants didn’t seem to hear.
‘They can’t see Latku, it seems.’
A small disappointment bloomed in my chest.
Most people know little about the Sun Spirit. I myself had only known him as Fasa’s national treasure.
That Latku, who appeared as a colossal dragon before crowds, now followed at my heels in this chubby little form—and no one else could witness it!
When he was so adorable!
When he was so endearing!
‘I suppose there’s nothing for it.’
“Make food now, yes?”
“I’ll do it myself. I learned a few recipes when we visited the Gaiard Imperial Palace.”
“Pot! You need big one!”
“Where are the pots? I’d like a large one.”
“Water! Milk! Eggs! Sugar too—very much!”
“Set the pot over the fire and fill it with some water. Then get me milk, eggs, and sugar.”
“You so smart!”
The Ducal House’s meals were prepared across several kitchens.
Of course, only this central kitchen was in use now; the rest were closed off.
This main kitchen was enormous, since it currently fed the entire household. In sheer size, it rivaled three of the Duke and Duchess’s bedrooms combined.
I moved toward the hearth where flames were already burning, speaking as I went.
“Leave me be for the rest. I’ll take my time with it.”
“Understood, Duchess.”
Once the handmaidens had withdrawn, I asked Latku in a hushed voice.
“But if it’s pudding, wouldn’t it need things like vanilla beans and whatnot?”
Latku was already mesmerized by the flames, tail wagging with unbridled excitement.
Not just the tail—the creature’s entire hindquarters were wiggling with glee.
“……?”
Pudding demands meticulous care.
Moreover, in this era, cooking methods themselves were treated as closely guarded secrets.
To such an extent that even in the capital of Fasa, there was supposedly only one dessert shop that knew how to make pudding.
Yet Latku, with utter confidence, produced something that looked like an absolute disaster.
“This is just sweet scrambled eggs, isn’t it?”
“No! Pudding, for real!”
Latku puffed out both cheeks in protest.
“Wait and see!”
I watched in stunned silence as Latku leaped straight into the flaming logs. Like a creature merging with the fire itself, the spirit vanished entirely.
Yet it ceaselessly made its presence known.
“Latku’s doing great! Don’t you worry about Latku!”
A short while passed.
“This is strange, Latku…….”
Latku tilted its head, tail still swishing.
“Latku?”
“You clearly just threw in the ingredients roughly and boiled them, didn’t you? I know you did, so how…….”
It hadn’t even taken ten minutes.
The presentation was rather lacking—I’d simply poured it into a bowl without molding it—yet the texture and aroma were utterly perfect, unmistakably pudding.
I asked in bewilderment.
“Can I try some?”
“Latku!”
Carefully bringing a spoonful to my lips, I nearly dropped the utensil in shock.
It truly was pudding.
Extraordinarily delicious pudding at that.
The moment it touched my tongue, it dissolved without needing to be chewed, and the rich, creamy sweetness of milk and egg suffused my entire mouth.
The dense sweetness of sugar welled up with an almost moving intensity.
“Tasty, yeah?”
Latku asked with a beaming grin. I nodded eagerly.
“Latku’s amazing! Latku’s amazing!”
Latku bounced up and down on the spot, proclaiming with pride.
“Praise me more!”
“Latku, you’re amazing!”
“More!”
After bestowing ten earnest rounds of praise, I asked.
“Latku, how are you so skilled at cooking? Is it some kind of ability you have?”
“Because Latku is a Sun Spirit!”
“Is it your Fire Control?”
“Latku!”
My pulse quickened with sudden hope.
“So you can cook absolutely anything?”
“That’s wrong.”
“Huh?”
“Latku can do anything no human could ever replicate.”
“I’ve truly made a contract with an extraordinary spirit.”
“Latku!”
I devoured the pudding in a single breath. At first I’d been grateful it was just one portion, but now that I’d tasted it, I could think of nothing but wishing there were more.
Setting down the spoon, I spoke with reverent solemnity.
“You’re remarkable, Latku. You’re truly remarkable.”
“Woof!”
Latku laughed with delight, then grew shy and covered its face with both front paws.
I decided, for now, to keep this skill hidden.
People knew only that a Sun Spirit stood behind me.
What that spirit’s power truly was—no one knew. And what we don’t know frightens us.
Whether it was power enough to burn an entire empire, or the strength to call down lightning itself.
But what if the true nature of this power—that it could produce Pudding beyond perfection—became known to the world?
A backer gains strength and advantage the more formidable and fearsome it appears.
Wouldn’t that make me at least a fraction safer in this cruel Desolate World?
So then……. The backing that the world believes to be a legendary sacred blade, when in truth it’s merely a kitchen knife…….
I decided to keep that secret for now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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