The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 51

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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 51
“No, the settlement day keeps me rather busy. I hardly have time to eat…….”
“Come on, let’s go!”
Luciel practically dragged the Butler to the kitchen.
“Wait here.”
After seating him at a small table in the corner of the kitchen, she quickly found a pot and began to cook.
Soup would be perfect.
She filled the pot with water, sliced in chicken, added a few pieces of ginger and whole peppercorns, then covered it with a lid.
While the broth simmered from the bones, she cut carrots and celery into thick pieces and added them, then seasoned with salt and skimmed away the fat.
A fragrant aroma filled the kitchen. It was quite a good dish.
“Please, eat quickly.”
The Butler looked down at the soup, then let out a soft laugh.
“Yes, I’ll enjoy it.”
He moved his spoon slowly, eating the soup.
He ate without picking at the ingredients, steadily bringing meat and vegetables to his mouth, bite by bite.
Yet Luciel’s brows furrowed as she watched him.
Something felt off.
She knew well how people reacted to her food.
There were those like Bael, Celine, and Estelle whose eyes would light up, devouring everything in an instant, and then those like the Duke who would savor each bite slowly.
Melina remained relatively composed, but it was clear the taste had made a profound impression on her.
But the Butler was different.
He simply wore a small smile as he brought the food to his mouth, expressing neither shock nor delight.
“……Thank you. That was delicious.”
When he finally set down his spoon, it was Luciel who felt the shock.
It was over.
The meal had finished, yet the Butler had shown no admiration whatsoever.
It would have been better if he’d feigned indifference out of poor manners.
But the Butler had been perfectly courteous, cleaned his bowl entirely, and even expressed gratitude.
And yet his reaction fell flat. That meant only one thing.
‘My food…… my food didn’t suit his palate?’
A hairline fracture appeared in Luciel’s pride.
Though she tried to console herself that everyone’s tastes were different, that it was enough he’d eaten well, she couldn’t escape the sting of defeat.
She’d fed a starving old man, and he’d felt no appreciation whatsoever.
“Did…… did the taste not please you?”
“It couldn’t have been otherwise. I simply don’t care much for food in general. I do recognize it was objectively excellent, though.”
The Butler answered with a gentle smile, as if apologizing.
“But at the Tasting Event…….”
“That was part of my duties. The food I ate that day was indeed better than other desserts I’ve had in the Empire, but I don’t care much for desserts either.”
“……You don’t?”
“What?”
“Then what do you like!”
Luciel asked, feeling somewhat wounded.
She couldn’t let it slide, even if it was childish.
In her entire life, she’d never met anyone so indifferent to her cooking.
“Home cooking, of course.”
“Where is your home?”
“A country that no longer exists.”
The Butler stood up as he answered.
“But I say again—thank you for the meal. Regardless of other things, your sincerity came through clearly.”
Luciel bit her lip.
That’s an insult.
He’s saying the sincerity was good but the taste was mediocre.
“I’ll be going.”
The Butler left the kitchen with a brightened expression, but Luciel couldn’t help but kindle a fierce determination as she watched his back.
‘Status Window.’
As she muttered while gazing at the Butler’s departing figure, there came a soft pop, and the Status Window appeared.
‘What on earth is old Grandfather Butler’s favorite food?’
Pop—
The Status Window flickered once, and dense text materialized in the air.
[Subject: Duke’s Residence Butler – Food Preference Analysis]
Preference: Spicy, intense heat. Deeply brewed, rich broth. Dishes where meat and vegetables harmonize. Food braised or boiled in spicy seasoning. Without stimulating flavor, appetite does not stir.
Special Note: Appetite rarely awakens without the distinctive spices and cooking methods of his homeland, the Haren Kingdom.
Extended consumption of Empire cuisine, which centers on butter and cream-based dishes, has caused chronic dissatisfaction with heaviness. Currently the primary cause of decreased appetite.
Gasp.
Luciel’s eyes widened.
I know what this is.
At the same time, a forgotten memory flickered through her mind.
“A chef from the Haren Kingdom opened a restaurant! Luciel, let’s go with Mother.”
They’d traveled far and wide to find it.
“Oh…… it’s closed today. They’re not open. What do we do?”
“Mother? It’s okay? Don’t cry.”
“No, this can’t be. My Sundubu…… I needed Sundubu to wash away years of feeling so heavy…….”
“Mother, let’s come back later. Later.”
“…….”
“Or I can make it for you.”
That day, five-year-old Luciel saw her mother’s face showing disappointment so profound it went to her bones.
“I’ll…… I’ll make Sundubu for you, Mother.”
Seeing her mother’s sad expression for the first time, Luciel’s own face crumpled as she made this declaration.
On the day the restaurant was closed, the day her mother had sighed as if the earth were swallowing her whole and could not smile all day—
Luciel understood.
Haren Kingdom food had characteristics quite similar to her mother’s homeland cuisine—what she called Korean Cuisine.
That was why Mother, upon discovering this fact by chance, had become so attached to it.
Regardless of whether she missed home or not, a flavor that had been carved into her bones—no, into her very soul—was impossible to live without.
So Luciel made a decision.
She would learn Korean Cuisine.
It was a fiendishly difficult process.
Korean Cuisine was so different from Empire cooking, and even finding similar ingredients was not easy.
Though Mother had studied food science, she was hopeless at practical cooking and couldn’t explain what ingredients went into Korean dishes or in what amounts.
She could only describe the tastes.
And Mother’s descriptions, while passionate, proved utterly useless for actual cooking.
“It’s spicy and sharp, but it’s not just heat—there’s depth to the spice. Kind of savory and refreshing? But refreshing doesn’t mean cold, it’s more like your insides feel clear and open.”
“…….”
So what are the actual ingredients?
Luciel felt helpless.
She decided to start by finding similar ingredients.
Knowing Mother would tell her to stop and not suffer on her behalf, Luciel went shopping alone while Mother was at work.
Miraculously, she found a merchant from the Haren Kingdom and procured several ingredients.
A red, spicy spice to substitute for the Red Chili Powder that wasn’t cultivated in the Empire, and fermented ingredients that resembled what Mother called Doenjang.
Tofu she could obtain from another merchant.
She began to cook, and failed countless times.
The first attempt was too spicy and failed.
The second had too much fermented ingredient and was too bitter, so it failed.
The third had broth that was too clear and failed.
“The color should be very cloudy and dark. And it seems like something more is needed.”
Luciel received feedback from the merchant from the Haren Kingdom while each new attempt incorporated one of Mother’s descriptions.
She adjusted the spice ratios, varied the types of fermented ingredients, and controlled the boiling time.
She tasted, recorded, and tried again, in endless repetition.
Then, one day after dozens of attempts—
Luciel finally did it.
She perfectly recreated the spicy Sundubu her mother had so desperately wanted.
“It’s…… delicious.”
Upon tasting the finished dish, Mother’s eyes nearly filled with tears.
“You made this? Without even telling Mother? When did you start practicing? How could you work so hard when you’re so small?”
“Luciel wanted to feed Mother Sundubu and…… to see her smile…….”
Mother tried to scold her but couldn’t manage to finish her words.
Her hands kept moving constantly, carrying Sundubu into her own mouth.
“Luciel…… if you go wandering around without telling Mother, swallow, what if something dangerous happens, swallow, how…….”
“Won’t you eat it?”
“Of course you will! Our daughter made it!”
“Then you can’t leave Luciel behind. Luciel will make all your meals for you.”
“…….”

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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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