The Cooking Princess - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Princess Who Cooks

 

Episode 67

 

“The winner is Young Lady Chloe Garnet!”

 

With the announcement of the competition results, the competition hall erupted in commotion.

 

I knew it would turn out this way.

 

That young lady is truly remarkable.

 

Still, how could she win in such a setting? Isn’t this corruption?

 

How could there be corruption when Her Majesty the Empress hosted it herself? And so on.

 

Various reactions went back and forth, and the commotion grew even louder as Chloe, the winner, entered the banquet hall.

 

“Congratulations, Count!”

 

“Duchess, you must be so proud.”

 

“You’ve raised your daughter so well.”

 

Whatever they might have said behind his back, there was no one bold enough to speak carelessly in front of Count Garnet. The Count sat in his seat with a pleased smile, receiving people’s greetings.

 

In truth, cooking was not a noble accomplishment. Nobles were people who ate food prepared by others; cooking was the job of chefs. Making food oneself was something commoners did.

 

However, the Count had watched Chloe work for years to satisfy her discerning palate.

 

That effort was in no way inferior to other activities like swordsmanship training, academics, or the arts.

 

That’s why he was even more proud of his daughter who had won so confidently before everyone.

 

‘The Empress has done something useful for once.’

 

It must have been done with the malicious intent of causing trouble for Chloe, but the result was favorable for Chloe. The Count felt doubly pleased.

 

The Duchess was already smiling brightly at the Empress, clearly provoking her.

 

The Empress was managing her expression quite well, but inside she was probably boiling with rage.

 

‘She’ll become even more venomous.’

 

In fact, this incident couldn’t even be called a conspiracy.

 

Though the Empress had schemed, even if Chloe hadn’t won this time, the Garnet Family wasn’t one that couldn’t handle the situation.

 

It would have been quite troublesome and bothersome, but not impossible.

 

The Empress knew this too, so she had only laid traps while being mindful of others’ opinions.

 

Of course, the evaluation criteria and process had to appear fair, so there would be more room to find fault when Chloe failed.

 

‘Food was submitted anonymously, and the Imperial Palace and Temple evaluated with equal weight. To lose in such a fair competition – in truth, Chloe Garnet’s reputation was merely bolstered by the Count’s influence, and her actual skill is surely just a bubble.’

 

To make such claims, they couldn’t have the Imperial Palace give significantly lower scores or have only the Imperial Palace judge. That would be obviously unfair evaluation.

 

Ultimately, to gain authority in evaluation, they had to maintain fairness – that was the Empress’s weakness.

 

‘So next time she’ll come at us more thoroughly.’

 

More insidiously, more meticulously.

 

But Count Garnet was not afraid.

 

‘To protect my daughter, what couldn’t I do?’

 

The other side wasn’t the only one who could play dirty.

 

The Count was prepared to confront anyone who tried to harm his precious daughter, even if it were the Emperor himself, not just the Empress.

 

And his proud daughter, admirably, continued to strive and improve despite being in a position where she could live comfortably and abundantly without doing anything.

 

The Count watched with deep emotion as Chloe, dressed impeccably, came out to receive praise from the Emperor.

 

“Congratulations on your victory, Duchess.”

 

“I am honored, Your Majesty.”

 

Chloe confidently received her award and approached the Count and his wife.

 

“My, our daughter really seems to grow more each day.”

 

The Duchess was moved to tears with emotion. The Count didn’t cry but agreed with his wife’s words.

 

“Indeed. I feel like I think ‘she’s grown so much’ every day.”

 

That day in the banquet hall, the exclamations of nobles tasting Chloe’s food and expressing their admiration never ceased.

 

It was another moment when Chloe Garnet’s name became widely known to people.

 

***

 

“I’m, I’m sorry, Your Majesty the Empress!”

 

“Quiet. Remove him.”

 

“Please, please spare my life! Just once, just once please give me a chance, Your Majesty…!”

 

The man prostrating and desperately pleading before the Empress was none other than Daniel.

 

He had moved under the Empress’s orders and was supposed to win the competition, but.

 

“I set up everything for you, yet you ruined it all. Do you have more to say?”

 

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. Please…”

 

“Your tongue is long. Shall I cut it for you?”

 

Daniel trembled, unable to bear the Empress’s cold fury.

 

“What did you accomplish? Poisoning the chef’s wine? Even that was something I gave you. I have many under me who could have done such work even without you.”

 

“Your, Your Majesty…”

 

“Shut up. I gave you the opportunity to work under me because you said you would obey me. Isn’t your job cooking? You couldn’t even do that one thing properly and lost to that young girl.”

 

“…”

 

“Even to my palate, that girl’s food stood out. Even if I wanted to choose your food, I couldn’t bring myself to do so!”

 

Daniel bowed his head even deeper in humiliation, shame, and fear. It was true that he had nothing to say.

 

The Empress had done everything she could for him. She had told him the competition theme in advance and established a private mark so the Empress could immediately identify which food was Daniel’s.

 

Moreover, it was the Empress who had tampered with Chloe’s sugar. Having put in so much effort, the Empress had no choice but to be furious.

 

“When you opened the Imperial Kitchen door the night before the competition, it was my attendant who poisoned that girl’s sugar and delivered it to her precisely. You only had to pick the fruit from the field I had cultivated, planted seeds in, and tended!”

 

The poison the Empress used on Chloe’s sugar was the same as what was put in Vance’s wine – it took time to show its effects.

 

Being white powder, it wouldn’t show when mixed with sugar, and it showed no reaction immediately after being applied.

 

But after exactly one day, it would turn pitch black.

 

She had gone to great lengths to prevent that girl from cooking properly while ensuring her own involvement would never be discovered.

 

Unable to contain her anger, the Empress threw whatever was within reach at Daniel.

 

Clang, crash-!

 

Daniel didn’t dare dodge the flying vases and teacups, only covering his head with both hands while prostrating and trembling.

 

“…Ugh. I can’t stand the sight of you. Remove him from my presence immediately.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

 

The Empress’s hands and feet – her guard knights and attendants – stepped forward to drag Daniel away.

 

“Please, please spare me. Please spare my life, Your Majesty…!”

 

Daniel’s pitiful cries continued, but no one listened to him.

 

***

 

Several months after the competition ended.

 

There were many changes in Chloe’s position as well.

 

First, after winning the competition, she excellently managed the food for the founding ceremony, and not only nobles but even commoners came to know Chloe’s name.

 

Through this competition and preparing food for the founding ceremony, Chloe also felt she had grown considerably.

 

‘Not being able to use proper ingredients and having to create flavor with only what was given… It was truly a great challenge.’

 

Having realized the importance of ingredients even more through the competition and founding ceremony, Chloe spared no effort to obtain more diverse food ingredients.

 

She continued sending people to the North to obtain seafood, but no one had yet brought back the types Chloe wanted.

 

‘They probably don’t think of them as food.’

 

Previously, Chloe had declared that even pumpkins and chestnuts were edible ingredients, and greatly rewarded those who brought them.

 

As a result, even without Chloe specifically mentioning them, people wanting rewards began bringing ginkgo nuts and walnuts on their own.

 

‘Do you really need something that smells like this?’

 

‘This looks like nothing but chunks of wood to me, but would you take a look?’

 

‘This time I should give specific instructions.’

 

Chloe instructed the people dispatched to the North to look for ‘sea monsters with large shells attached.’

 

For this purpose, she raised funds to prepare ships, and since they might encounter truly aggressive sea monsters, she even deployed several mages for combat purposes.

 

And after some time had passed, Chloe was finally able to obtain the harvest she had truly wanted.

 

“Oysters and clams… And pen shells, scallops, shrimp, and crabs too!”

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