Putting Aside Nationalistic Bias, It’s Really Delicious

37 – The kimchi was made and left by Duke Lucas.

The empire’s capital, Crosselelia, was the most prosperous and splendid city on the continent.

The political, economic, and magical center of the most powerful nation on the continent.

All roads on the continent passed through Crosselelia and so did all cultures.

The Night Castle.

The bright empire’s capital, which was as bright as day even at night, made it difficult to guess the power the empire had.

The land, filled with mountains and deserts, was made into a lush greenery by the power of the first emperor and the magician assisting him, making it a legendary place that gathered those who had nothing.

Those who dreamed of success headed towards Crosselelia, and the gathered talents made the empire stronger.

Even countries that did not like the empire acknowledged the scale of Crosselelia.

The richest country and,

the most affluent city.

That was the word that symbolized the empire and Crosselelia.

And the most splendid palace, Crossele.

Within it, the elegant Rose Palace was the residence of the princess.

Princess Diana checked the documents that came to her in the Rose Palace.

Elegant hair ornaments adorned her neatly tied hair.

The most shining decoration among them was the thin golden crown embedded with jade green gemstones.

Though the crown symbolizing her status as a princess glittered, what was more noticeable was Diana’s silver hair.

Her beautiful silver hair, which was said to be like a silver lake dancing among lush reeds, shone even more in contrast to her red eyes.

Her half-open red eyes, seeming bored, read the documents.

– Report on the commercial success in the Glendon region.

– Regional Imbalance Report due to the Eastern War.

– Report on the efficiency of military weapons and magic cannon.

– Recent magic changes report in the Wizard’s Tower.

– Changes in the culinary world, becoming popular in the aristocratic circle.

The empire’s economy, military, cultural trends, and even magic.

Various types of reports were delivered to her.

It was not unusual for many of the empire’s documents to be sent to her, who had not yet become the emperor.

Often, the direct royal family of the empire received copies of documents that the emperor received to test how well they could handle the empire’s affairs before becoming the emperor.

It was a system where all the stories exchanged in solving a case and during the process were reported to the current emperor.

Starting with the first prince, other direct imperial family members also received the copies, reviewed them, and made decisions.

It was no exception for the princess.

The empire believed that anyone with the ability could become the emperor, regardless.

“Ha, boring.”

Princess Diana sighed.

It’s all obvious stories.

It was not difficult to decide whether the analyzed data from experts in the field was correct.

Checking whether the job had been done through proper investigation or whether there were any flaws in the report.

That was easy for her.

“Let’s pass this one, reject this one, and this seems like a good plan. I’ll put this one on hold.”

Diana stamped the documents that came to her.

She left her stamp, symbolizing the princess, on the reports that seemed okay to proceed with.

For reports that had good plans but vague implementation possibilities, she left a V mark for hold.

For absurd or false reports, she left an X mark to indicate rejection.

“Prime Minister, how did Abamama say they would handle this issue?”

Diana asked the Prime Minister Bonpleo, who had brought the documents to her.

After stamping the document, it was customary to ask the attendant who brought it.

It served as a way for them to see how different their decision was from the current Emperor’s choice.

“His Majesty said to leave it to Her Highness’s judgment.”

“The Emperor?”

“It seems that His Majesty has a good opinion of Her Highness’s abilities to assess situations.”

“I’m not sure about that. He is quite unreadable. He might have said the same thing to my brothers.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

After finishing her review, Diana handed the document to Andy standing beside her.

“Your Excellency, please convey this to His Majesty and tell him that this is my decision.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Receiving the document through Andy, Chief Minister Bonpleo bowed and left his seat.

She watched as he walked away.

A man who had risen to the position of Chief Minister by surpassing many influential families with his business acumen alone, coming from a wealthy merchant background.

‘I like the look in his eyes.’

His gaze remained unshaken even when it met hers, which she found appealing.

He was a man of resolution and integrity.

She also liked his attempts to elevate himself.

‘He must be trying to figure out if I am after the position of the next Emperor.’

Such audacity was not something anyone could possess.

Whether or not it was by his own volition, he had received the Emperor’s orders.

A man who led the palace bureaucrats as the core of the new force.

If she were to become the Empress, he was a person that she needed to recruit.

Most of the nobles supported her brother, Prince Xenon.

Although she had her own supporters, they were far less than those who followed Xenon.

‘He is someone I need to win over, but he is equally dangerous.’

She didn’t have many options without any power.

‘I remember there was one more person with those eyes.’

A few months ago, Princess Diana thought about a knight named Lucas, who had quit the knights.

The first knight she employed after becoming an adult.

However, a man who claimed to be better at cooking and became a kitchen knight.

Now, a man who went back to his hometown, saying he would go.

‘There’s no need to hold onto someone who’s already gone.’

A single knight wasn’t that important to her now.

Grrrr.

Her biological clock rang.

It’s already lunchtime.

“Annie, I’m hungry.”

“I’ve heard that the cook has prepared a meal. Lunch will be served soon.”

“By the way, how is the cook? Is there any dissatisfaction?”

“Yes. He says it’s an honor to feel that he is serving the princess.”

“I heard he’s a very capable man, too.”

“Yes. He is the winner of the cooking competition hosted by the emperor himself.”

“… Tsk, even so, it’s not that different.”

Princess Diana sighed.

“He’s not as good as Lucas. He can’t handle meals for 300 people alone.”

She recalled when she hired him as her personal chef after the tournament.

-500 servings on your own? That’s an unbelievable amount. You need at least 10 more people…

Although she added more people, he would often complain.

She even provided generous support to his small complaints.

She had to know how to take care of others as long as it didn’t harm her own power.

Isn’t generosity the most important virtue for a leader?

But lately, it’s been more about arrogance.

‘Always trying to climb up.’

It was annoying and put him in a bad mood.

If they had shown proper consideration, they should have made a fitting dish…

“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

Andy, having read Diana’s expression, bowed his head.

“Leave it. Accepting the displeasure of subordinates is a necessary skill to become an accomplished leader. Didn’t our leader do that as well?”

She stood up from her seat.

“Let’s go to the dining hall. I don’t want to eat at the workplace.”

“I’ll accompany you.”

“Alright.”

As Diana walked toward the dining hall in the Rose Palace with Andy, she thought,

‘Lately, Andy has been paying more attention to my mood.’

Her stress had increased since some time ago.

She became angry and irritated over small discomforts.

Her head often felt heavy.

Her thoughts sometimes stuttered; her mind didn’t spin as fast as before.

It felt as if blood had stopped flowing in her head, making her feel terrible.

It wasn’t because of the magic day that came once a month.

It had been happening quite frequently lately.

Today was no exception.

Looking at the documents, the boredom fueled her anger.

The desire to just quit and abandon everything slowly arose.

It wasn’t like this before, what could it be?

Should I say I want to act impulsively?

A strong desire to rip up the documents and throw them at Jaesang welled up inside of me.

‘Is it because I couldn’t sleep…?’

I couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but one thing was for certain.

At mealtime, my impulses subsided.

That was the reason she looked forward to every meal.

“Today, we have Your Highness’s favorite kimchi stew.”

It was the kimchi stew they had eaten for lunch every day.

Lucas had left months ago, but her routine had remained unchanged.

The satisfaction of eating the spicy kimchi stew was one of the few diversions that comforted her in her monotonous palace life.

Normally, the moment she entered the dining hall, the smile would spread across her face at the aroma of the kimchi stew, but it wasn’t the case today.

‘What’s wrong?’

She looked intently at the bubbling kimchi stew in the imperial-style pot.

Something was different today.

It was undoubtedly the same kimchi stew.

A remarkable kimchi stew made with the red soup containing fog meat, and well-fermented cabbage.

There seemed to be no difference in appearance, but the smell was not the same.

Diana picked up her spoon and sipped the broth of the kimchi stew.

That’s when she realized.

The discomfort she had felt.

“It’s tasteless.”

Clang.

“Wh, what? That can’t be… I carefully selected and made it…”

Her anger surged at the sight of the chef trying to make excuses.

This was supposed to be the time for her to relieve her stress.

The only time to relieve this dreadful stress, caused by the daily tedious tasks and the inexplicable headaches and stuffy feelings.

It disappeared because of this incompetent chef.

“What’s your name?”

“Kaleng, Your Highness.”

“Kaleng, is there something wrong with my taste buds?”

“N-no, it’s not that…”

Diana sighed again as she looked at Kaleng, who was stammering and avoiding her gaze.

“The flavor of the soup is different. It doesn’t taste like the one I used to like. Was there any change during the cooking process?”

“Change, during the cooking, you say?”

“Yes.”

“That is…”

“Hurry up and speak. My patience is not very wide.”

The flustered chef Kaleng hesitated and opened his mouth.

“The Knight Lucas, who left the kimchi recipe, had run out of the stored kimchi, so I made the kimchi stew by putting it in according to the recipe.”

“He left the kimchi recipe?”

“Yes, that’s right. The stew you’ve had so far has been made using the kimchi that he left…”

Diana felt a throbbing headache.

She thought that the new chef and staff who succeeded the talented and impressive Lucas had filled his vacancy well.

But was it not so?

Diana’s thoughts raced quickly.

She realized that she was able to relieve her stress while eating food, not only because she loved kimchi stew.

It was probably because it was Lucas’s kimchi stew.

‘Is there something special about his cooking?’

However, she had no way of knowing anything about the food.

“Kaleng.”

“Yes, yes! Your Highness the Princess.”

“What do you think is the difference between the kimchi made by Duke Lucas and your kimchi?”

“Uh, that is… I’m not sure either…”

“Incompetent.”

“Please, kill me! Your Highness!”

Sighing as she looked at Kalleong who was shaking with his head down, Diana turned to Andy.

“Andy.”

“Yes, your Highness the Princess.”

“Where did Lucas say his homeland was?”

“I heard it was the Lorang region, located in the northwest of the Empire. He comes from a fallen noble family, so he doesn’t have a separate territory.”

“Send someone to let him know I am looking for him.”

“Understood.”

Andy bowed his head.

“And Kalleong.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“From now on, serve your main dishes instead of Duke Lucas’ cooking. Mediocre imitations will only ruin my taste.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

After finishing her words, Princess Diana stood up from her seat.

“I’ll consider today’s lunch eaten.”

“Th-thank you, Your Highness.”

Diana sighed and walked out of the dining room.

Gurgle.

Although she was hungry, there was nothing she could do.

She had no intention of filling her mouth with a mediocre imitation.

“Achoo!”

Ah, what’s wrong?

I feel a chill in my body.

“Boss, are you alright?”

“It’s been a few days since I started working here, when will you get used to using polite speech?”

“Ah, I’ll get used to it eventually.”

I’m preparing to open the store while bickering with Andrea.

Ting-.

The door opened, and a bell rang.

“Ex-excuse me.”

A young lady with blue hair in a fancy dress cautiously entered through the door.

She was a regular customer who always looked for fish dishes at the restaurant.

“…Who is… this person?”

She asked, pointing to Andrea.