The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 19

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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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Episode 19
Standing beside Osborn was a small girl.
She had the same platinum blonde hair as Osborn, but her eyes were a brighter shade of blue.
She was likely Theo’s younger sister and Osborn’s daughter.
“I’ve disposed of the matter.”
Theo answered with a shrug.
“It was a pittance, but for a single maidservant, it’s better than throwing her away.”
Osborn’s gaze shifted slowly toward Lucille.
It was cold and calculating — the look of someone appraising an inferior.
As if he were assessing what Lucille was worth and pricing her accordingly.
“So it’s you.”
He spoke.
“The young cook Cain brought without even asking my permission.”
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
Lucille bowed her head.
Osborn studied her for a moment, then laughed softly — a soundless laugh.
“I hear there’s a wager. If the child Cain brought becomes Theo’s maidservant in a month’s time…”
He turned his head and continued.
“That does sound amusing.”
His gaze, cold as ice, fixed upon Lucille.
“But if I win, you’re to give me that horse.”
“Ha-ha.”
Osborn laughed shortly at Lucille’s words.
This time, his expression was genuinely amused.
“Theo has been riding since he was three. His skill in Horsemanship surpasses most knights. And you think you can break a horse in a month that he couldn’t tame in three years?”
……
“Fine. You have one month.”
“Father.”
The young girl standing beside him tugged at Osborn’s sleeve.
Her gaze, fixed on the horse with wide eyes, was earnest and pleading.
“I like that horse…… I wanted to try giving it a carrot.”
“Hush. Hold your tongue.”
Osborn commanded his daughter coldly.
“If you need another, Father will buy you a better one. Like your brother’s — that horse is broken.”
“But……”
“Come, Isolde.”
Isolde looked back at the horse once more before following her father with tears welling in her eyes.
Their footsteps faded away.
“Just wait. Once you’ve become my maidservant, you won’t see that wretch Bael again.”
Once Theo and Ruben had departed, only Lucille and the horse remained in the Backyard.
Lucille placed her hand on the horse’s mane. Tangled hair caught between her fingers.
Nuzzle.
One month would be more than enough.
Of course, she had never learned Horsemanship.
She’d ignored the old stable keeper’s advice to at least learn the basics.
But that hardly mattered.
Because the horse had never truly belonged to anyone anyway.
* * *
“So you’re really going to do this?”
Lucille crossed her arms and stared hard at the horse.
Unaware of her gaze, the horse ambled leisurely across the Front Courtyard.
The moment it had been let out of the Stable, it moved with obvious pleasure, expressing through its entire body how much it hated confinement.
It loved being allowed to walk.
When she let her Magical Power flow gently, it responded.
When Lucille extended her hand, it would exhale and approach.
The problem was its back.
The moment Lucille shifted even a single step to the side, the horse naturally turned and widened the distance.
There was no hostility in it — just a look of “Oh my, why are you doing that?” before it withdrew.
Without intent to attack or accept, the horse maintained a heavy iron wall of indifference.
And it refused to eat.
It ate only small amounts of Horse Feed and carrots.
When she tried to force-feed it, it would turn its head away entirely.
Now she understood why it was all bones despite being so lean.
‘What did Grandfather say back then……’
“When you confine a Wild Horse, it stops eating and dies. Without freedom, life has no meaning. They’re born with such hearts.”
This one had half Graben blood, which was why it had barely managed to survive.
Lucille sighed and leaned her back against the courtyard fence.
How dare it refuse to eat what she offered.
In fourteen years, she had never been treated this way.
Only when she recalled how Bael had demolished a Honey Crepe she’d brought in two bites that morning did her heart finally settle.
Wait.
What I give. What others give. What’s the difference?
‘Horse Feed is Horse Feed whether I give it or someone else does.’
So the difference must be……
“Status Window!”
Lucille suddenly cried out.
The horse startled, ears pricking up.
A small translucent window flickered into being in the air.
“Does this work on horses too? Can it show me what foods the horse likes?”
The Status Window blinked briefly before displaying a message.
[Target: Unidentified Sacred Marriage Horse Hybrid — Preference Analysis Complete]
Preferences: Charred scent. Slightly cooked rather than raw grass. Nutty and savory flavor over sweetness. Varied textures eaten simultaneously.
Special Notes: Due to Wild Horse instinct, avoids artificial additives. Responds only to ingredients foraged from nature.
[Recommended Menu]
① Lightly Roasted Oats Feed
— Toast oats in a dry pan to develop a nutty aroma. Same texture as raw feed, but transformed fragrance. Stimulates the instinct to consume grass charred by wildfire.
② Perilla Grass Mixed Hay
— Blend Perilla Grass from the Northern Mountain Region into the hay. A plant the Sacred Marriage Horse bloodline instinctively seeks, also effective for stabilizing Magical Power. ※Recommend confirmation with the medicinal supplier.
③ Honey-Soaked Dried Apple Slice
— Dry completely over low heat. Will reject fresh apples, but may respond to the concentrated sweet aroma developed during drying.
“……That’s it.”
Lucille trembled with joy.
Click.
She closed the Status Window and looked up, only to find the horse had drawn near, gently touching its nose to her head.
“Just you wait.”
Lucille pressed the bridge of the horse’s nose with a smile of determination.
“I’m going to turn you from a horse into a honey pig!”
Back in the Kitchen, Lucille immediately began rummaging through the cabinets.
The Oats were found quickly.
She’d obtained the Perilla Grass just moments before by asking Cain.
Apples were piled high in one corner of the Kitchen.
“Oh, what are we cooking today?”
Jerome’s eyes lit up as he approached.
His hand, reaching for writing materials, was already trembling with anticipation.
Hearing his voice, several cooks working in the Kitchen hastily gathered around.
Clang.
Instead of answering, Lucille pulled out a thick Iron Pan and poured in a generous amount of Oats.
Swish, swish, swish, swish.
Lucille’s wrist moved fast and steady.
The cooks watching gasped in admiration.
After about two minutes of continuous roasting, a nutty aroma began to rise.
It was a rough, natural scent — similar to what dried grass gives off when baked in sunlight on a mountainside.
“That should do for the oats.”
Lucille withdrew a handful of Perilla Grass and rubbed it coarsely between her hands.
A rich fragrance burst from the leaves.
Rustle.
As the Oats began turning golden, she removed the pan from heat and scattered the Perilla Grass across it.
Since the horse preferred varied textures eaten at once, Lucille intended to satisfy that picky palate.
“Oats and Perilla Grass…… Are you making a diet meal?”
Jerome, who had been diligently recording, carefully ventured a question.
“Last time I noticed Aila and Cain seemed to have gained a bit of weight. Though both were so thin to begin with, I thought they looked quite good…”
“Those two need to gain more weight.”
This was food for another creature, a future pig.
“Ah, I see.”
Jerome nodded earnestly despite his confused expression.
From his observations, Lucille could not cook and teach simultaneously.
So one had to learn her recipes by paying close attention.
“Toast the oats…… add the Perilla Grass…… and then pile hay on top……?”
Jerome’s hand stilled in mid-air.
What on earth was she doing?
But Lucille offered no explanation.
She simply added a handful of aged hay to the roasted oats with practiced efficiency.
Hay that had been cured long enough to have deeper fragrance and lost its fresh sweetness.
……
Jerome and the cooks stared at Lucille with expressions of disbelief.
The aroma was certainly pleasant. Decidedly pleasant, in fact……
“Um, could there be a new trend spreading through the Imperial Palace that we don’t know about?”
One of the cooks beside him asked seriously.
“Something only young people know about……”
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
His voice was drowned out by the sound of Lucille slicing apples.
She dipped the thinly, evenly cut apples into honey water made from carefully selected premium honey.
It was absurd to lavish such care on a single horse, but Lucille was someone brimming with competitive spirit.
A determination to see that horse eat her food drove strength into her entire being.
Ten minutes of soaking, removing, and roasting in the pan.
“Ooh, this actually smells delicious.”
By the time someone swallowed hard, the sweet aroma of honey mixed with concentrated apple fragrance filled the Kitchen.
Lucille gathered the finished Dried Apple Slices and arranged them neatly beside the roasted Oats and Perilla Grass hay.
A subtly appetizing, fragrant and savory smell permeated the Kitchen.
The cooks rubbed their palms together in anticipation.
“F-finally, we get to taste……”
But their words never finished.
With a rushing sound, all of it went straight into the horse’s feed trough.
And at last, the day of the final test arrived.

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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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