The Cooking Princess - Chapter 9

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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 9

The tree branches did have a distinctive fragrance. However, it didn’t seem like a scent that would be used in food. The spicy and pungent aroma felt intensely strong.

“Wouldn’t it be better to use this as air freshener or firewood instead?”

“What? Use this as firewood? …No, I suppose you could think that way.”

Chloe was shocked at the idea of burning precious spices, but then remembered her mother who used to make terrible food, and regained her composure.

Of course, Vance, who didn’t know this, just continued tilting his head in confusion.

“I have no idea what you’re thinking….”

“What kinds of fruits do we have here?”

Chloe cut off Vance’s words and asked a question. As if showing the results would be sufficient explanation for what she was doing.

“We have apples, figs, pomegranates, and grapes, plus some oranges and lemons brought from the Southern Continent.”

“That’s enough!”

Chloe asked for apples, oranges, and lemons to be brought, then fetched some wine that was stored in the Kitchen.

She poured the entire bottle of wine into a pot with a splash, cut up the fruits and added them, then put the tree branches in as well.

Vance sighed at the Princess’s eccentric behavior.

‘Now I have no idea either.’

He thought the frightened Princess was just randomly throwing in ingredients as they came to mind.

He could only hope that since she was the precious daughter of the Garnet Family, the Empress wouldn’t impose too severe a punishment.

Of course, he had no way of knowing that Chloe had a perfect menu and recipe in her mind.

***

She boiled wine with fruits, cinnamon, and cloves. As the alcohol evaporated, a fragrant and sweet aroma emerged. She added honey for sweetness.

‘Mulled wine is the best when you have a cold.’

Ginger tea or citron tea would be good too, but the ingredients available were perfect for making mulled wine.

Chloe poured the finished mulled wine into mugs and beautifully floated freshly sliced pieces of lemon and orange on top.

As an accompaniment, she made simple apple canapés. She placed cheese on crackers, topped them with sugar-sprinkled baked apples, and finished with powdered cinnamon.

“You’re really going to serve this to Her Majesty the Empress?”

The head chef’s voice trembled with anxiety. Both the mulled wine and apple canapés were combinations he had never seen before.

“Try a sip.”

Chloe poured the remaining mulled wine from the pot into a cup and handed it to the head chef. She also poured a cup for Shuel, who was watching with sparkling eyes nearby.

“Your Highness the Prince should try some too.”

“But I’m not supposed to drink wine yet?”

“It’s fine when boiled. You eat food cooked with wine, don’t you.”

At Chloe’s words, Shuel also accepted the mulled wine.

“…!”

The head chef, who had closed his eyes tightly as if drinking poison, opened them wide in surprise.

“This is really delicious, Princess!”

Unlike the head chef, Shuel drank the mulled wine without suspicion and smiled brightly.

“Try this too.”

Chloe handed a piece of canapé each to Shuel and the head chef.

After tasting the canapé as well, the head chef looked as if he might faint.

“How is this flavor even possible!”

“It’s delicious, right?”

“It’s not just delicious! This is my first time experiencing such flavor. But really… this is truly amazing!”

The head chef was ready to kneel before Chloe, asking her to tell him how she thought to boil wine to make a drink, and how she knew these tree branches would have such fragrance.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time left now.

“I should go to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“With this, Her Majesty will surely say it’s truly excellent!”

With the head chef’s farewell, who had come to trust Chloe completely, she headed back to the Empress with the mulled wine and canapés. This time too, with Shuel trailing behind her.

However, this time there were other guests.

Since an audience was in progress, there were two more people in the Reception Room besides the Empress. One was an Imperial Nobleman, and the other appeared to be a Foreigner with dark skin.

‘I’m glad I brought plenty.’

When Chloe greeted the Empress, the Empress nodded with a tired expression. The Nobleman glanced at Chloe and asked.

“Your Majesty, why did you summon the Princess of Garnet?”

“To put it simply, I told her to bring me some cooking.”

‘Isn’t that a bit too simple an explanation!’

Chloe silently opened and closed her mouth. The Nobleman’s questions weren’t answered at all, but he nodded as if he’d rather not ask more lest the Empress become angry.

“Well then, let’s see what you’ve brought.”

At the Empress’s words, Chloe set out the prepared mulled wine and canapés on the table. The mulled wine was brought in a thick ceramic bottle and was still hot.

“What is this?”

The Nobleman muttered in a confused voice, faced with an unfamiliar drink. The Empress raised one corner of her mouth in a smirk.

“This is edible food, isn’t it, Princess?”

“Of course. The head chef tasted it and said it would be acceptable to present to Your Majesty.”

“…Is that so? Vance said that.”

The Empress’s expression remained aggressive as she spoke.

“Since I said I’d judge it, I suppose I’ll have to try it.”

“It’s hot, so please sip it slowly like tea.”

The Empress brought the cup to her lips following Chloe’s advice. The Nobleman sitting across from the Empress also picked up his cup, while the silent Foreigner picked up a canapé first.

“…Hmm.”

After taking a sip, the Empress remained silent without any change in expression.

‘…Does she not like it? No, that can’t be.’

The Empress silently took another sip of the mulled wine. Then she picked up a canapé and put it in her mouth.

Since the Empress wasn’t speaking, the others seemed unable to say anything either. However, the Nobleman looked at Chloe with surprised eyes. The Foreigner was smiling.

After a long silence, the Empress asked Chloe.

“Tell me what you made.”

Chloe swallowed once and explained calmly.

“It’s a drink made by boiling red wine with spices and fruits. I added apples, oranges, and lemons.”

“What spices did you use?”

“I don’t know the names since I’ve never seen them before.”

“You’ve never seen them before?”

“The head chef showed them to me, and though I’d never used them, when I smelled them I thought they would go well with wine and fruits.”

Chloe improvised an explanation. She had used cinnamon and cloves before, but it would be stranger to say she already knew how to use spices that were only received as gifts in the Imperial Court.

“You used ingredients you’d never seen before in food you were presenting to me….”

The Empress’s words trailed off subtly. Chloe was confused, unable to tell if the Empress was in a good or bad mood.

‘I hope I’m not being punished for being reckless or presumptuous.’

While Chloe was rolling her eyes around, the Empress asked the Nobleman.

“Well then, ask that merchant leader what he thought of the taste.”

The Nobleman, following the Empress’s command, spoke to the Foreigner in a low voice. From the sound of their conversation, they seemed to be speaking in a foreign language.

‘He came as an interpreter.’

Then that Foreigner must be a merchant leader belonging to the Southern Continent foreign delegation that had arrived. He would be the very person who had gifted the cinnamon and cloves.

Chloe became curious whether spices were commonly used in the Southern Continent. This was an opportunity to find out if only this Empire had such poor food culture, or if other countries were the same.

“What they brought are indeed spices, but this is the first time he’s seen them used in a drink like this.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes. They’re generally used as seasoning for meat or added to soup dishes, but he says they pair wonderfully with the apples sprinkled on these canapés too. This combination is also a first for him.”

The Nobleman acting as interpreter relayed the merchant leader’s praise exactly.

“He says the young lady’s creativity is quite surprising. He wants to have his own cook try this when he returns home.”

After hearing the merchant leader’s words, the Empress fell silent as if lost in thought.

“…I see. With food like this, no wonder the Princess was so confident.”

“!”

At the Empress’s praise that finally came, Chloe secretly clenched her fist.

It wasn’t high praise, but if such words came from the Empress who was in a bad mood, she must have certainly enjoyed the taste.

“The Princess does make a valid point about the Prince. However, that eloquence should be demonstrated in government affairs rather than food criticism, Prince.”

The Empress didn’t give Shuel any kind words until the very end.

‘No, what are you expecting so much from a child who’s still young?’

Chloe felt displeased, thinking the Empress’s standards were too harsh, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She was the Empress, and Chloe was merely a Princess.

‘What I said back earlier was more than enough already.’

Resolving inwardly not to act out any further, Chloe kept her mouth firmly shut this time.

When they finished their conversation and left the Empress’s Reception Room, the vin chaud and canapés that had been placed before everyone were completely empty.

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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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