The Personal Chef of the Sorceress Who Can’t Eat Alone

Chapter 393




The Memorial Day in Iceland might have long gone, but the entire place was bustling with preparations for winter alongside the final autumn harvest.

Winterhome was no different, and the Wizard’s Tower was no exception either.

Except for Catherine, Mary, and Karem.

Of course, technically speaking, it was a bit different. Catherine had a backlog of work rolling in before winter, but compared to the mountain of tasks from her early days at the Duke’s Family, it was merely like trimming goblin ears or smashing wild undead skulls.

As for Mary, she was the all-purpose house fairy who, while overseeing the provisions of the Wizard’s Tower, would create work if there was none. She had already gathered a few wizards to repair the tower in preparation for winter.

In contrast to the previous two, Karem’s daily routine was not leisurely due to his abilities but simply had a relaxed schedule.

All the urgent tasks had been completed. The meal for Wales was prepared with Mary’s help, and the offering for the gods was set up solo. In between, he had enjoyed a hot spring break with Catherine at the villa.

Other than that, he was left with tasks such as testing new recipes or managing the dried greens spread on the rooftop.

As soon as he woke up early in the morning, Karem climbed to the tower’s rooftop to check the status of the dried greens.

‘Good, they’re drying nicely.’

Thanks to hastily gathering them in a panic when unexpected rain came before it got really cold, nothing had gone moldy. The cold and dry climate helped a lot too.

“Phew, that was close.”

Only after thoroughly inspecting did Karem feel relieved and come down from the rooftop.

Entering the kitchen, Karem put a pot of water on the stove next to Mary, who was busy preparing breakfast.

Today’s morning menu was seafood soup.

For the broth, he mixed kelp dashi and chicken stock prepared by Mary, then added various clams, shrimp, the body of the Ship’s Claw Crab, and vegetables like radish and bean sprouts, simmering it together.

To eliminate the fishy smell, he added a splash of high-proof Drunken Fire and some seasoning to make the soup spicy.

The slightly lacking umami was solved by adding two spoons of garum, and then Karem tossed in some tofu.

Given the quality of the ingredients, no fancy techniques were needed.

Considering Catherine’s condition, he thought it was a bit much to make it too spicy, so he just added a hint of pepper at the end.

“I just need to let it simmer like this.”

Now with time to spare, Karem’s gaze fell on Mary’s meal prepping process.

As she took out the bread packed into the oven just in time, a rich onion smell wafted from the simmering brown soup in the pot behind her.

“How many onions did you put in for it to smell like this?”

“Well, it’s onion soup, so…?”

“Oh, right. If it’s onion soup then…”

But what on earth was that rich smell of chicken fat mingling with the onions? As Mary finished loading the oven with the dough, she casually let this slip.

“To be precise, it’s chicken onion soup.”

“With chicken stock, right?”

Mary, shaking off the flour from her hands, nodded as if it was obvious. After all, chicken stock goes with anything, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Just in case, may I ask?”

Taking the ladle Karem handed her, Mary promptly stirred the chicken onion soup slowly.

“Will the contractor be late today?”

“Um… seems like it, yeah.”

“The reason… is it the one I’m thinking of?”

While she managed everything except cooking, Mary had started picking up on things recently and occasionally entrusted Karem to serve Catherine’s meals.

Just like now.

“Well… you’re not wrong.”

“I was thinking so.”

“What do you mean?”

“The contractor didn’t come down with you, did he?”

“Well, he seemed to be laying dead, but… why am I even telling you this?”

“Hey, no need to feel embarrassed.”

Mary lowered her eyes, as if asking why she seemed a bit late.

“Who do you think does the cleanup afterward?”

Naturally, it was the very person asking the question. But saying that outright would be a bit embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

“It’s not the first time to feel awkward about this. I’ve already seen everything, but now-”

“I get it, so let’s leave it there.”

“Well… if you insist. Then Karem, once that remarkable seafood soup is done, you can serve it up.”

Even if she brushed it off like that, she poked at him whenever there was a chance, leaving him unable to relax. But as Mary said, Karem had things to do.

“Oh, I’ll take care of the cleanup after serving is done, so just leave it as it is and don’t touch it-”

“I know, so shut your mouth.”

Anyway, now that the seafood soup pot was boiling, Karem quickly gathered dishes, bowls, and utensils, then made a swift exit from the kitchen.

Bounding up the stairs two at a time, Karem returned lightly to Catherine’s office and opened the now somewhat familiar door.

The heat from the early morning that had yet to fade pushed against the cool air in the office.

As he turned on the magic stone lamp, one of the culprits behind the warmth appeared.

Catherine was buried in blankets like a half corpse. Yet, her red skin strangely overflowed with vitality.

As if responding to the smell, the eyelids of the slumped figure trembled and barely opened.

“Ugh— What’s that smell…?”

“Seafood soup. How about, right-”

“First… let me wash up.”

Though she lacked strength, it felt too sticky, clingy, and damp to just eat like this.

“Then breakfast might get cold.”

“…What is it?”

“So you’ll be comfortable. It’s seafood soup.”

“You can’t do that…”

Broth dishes should be eaten hot. Catherine stirred, then reached a hand out from the blanket, fingers trembling weakly.

Thwack! Thwack!

With each flick, cleaning magic spread and wiped away the traces of last night from her body and the bed.

Even though she almost made a mistake due to lingering fatigue and heat. If Mary found out, it would cause a ruckus.

Fwoosh—

“Ugh—”

It was worth it.

Leaning back against the bed, Catherine sipped her broth repeatedly, feeling as if she had drunk the highest-grade healing potion, vitality seeping from her mouth to her stomach.

Meanwhile, the blanket slowly slipped down.

But Catherine didn’t mind.

Whether the dim light of the magic stone illuminated her soft skin or not, she savored the taste of the broth flowing from her mouth. Rich and oily to the point of sticking in her mouth, yet the aftertaste was surprisingly clean and light.

Slurp— Slurp—

“Ugh—”

“Oh, the sound that stirs the soul. Feels like it’s soaking in, right?”

“Yeah… and this oily texture and taste can’t just be explained by seafood—”

“It’s the chicken stock Mary made plus the kelp broth.”

The greasy essence filled every crevice in her mouth and throat, smoothly gliding down even though it felt heavier than the seafood aroma. There was no time to pause in between sips.

The lingering greasiness, like an aftertaste, was tantalizing, and the refreshing flavor felt as though it was seeping into her body.

To put it plainly, it called for wine.

High-proof wine or spirits.

“Not happening.”

The strange longing sensed from Catherine’s slightly opened eyes was cut off by Karem without hesitation.

“You overdid it last night, after all.”

“But I brought this amazing broth dish!”

“How about just having some tofu instead.”

“Seriously, telling me not to drink is outrageous—”

Catherine flinched as tofu was abruptly popped into her mouth, but she had no choice but to savor its savory flavor.

Unlike the sticky texture of the broth, the tofu was bouncy and soft, filled with a nutty essence that didn’t require chewing to feel.

Almost lost in the gentle sensations gliding through her mouth and throat, Catherine barely managed to shake her head.

Gulp—

“Is this really something the culprit of the excess should say?”

“Uh, to be precise…”

Swoosh— Karem extracted the meat from a mussel and popped it into Catherine’s mouth.

“I intended to control the strength, but I ended up giving in to someone’s request and did it like before. In that sense, how’s your waist feeling?”

“I downed a potion beforehand.”

Shifting his gaze away from her probing stare, Karem felt dumbfounded. His worry was suddenly washed away by incredulity.

“Can I just ask one thing for confirmation?”

“What is it?”

“Is that silly provocation of yours possibly because you took the potion early—”

“Gulp— Ahem. I think I’d prefer just the broth now.”

Of course, that was expected. In this roundabout way, Karem ceased to probe further and served the broth as she liked. Catherine, perhaps feeling her pride hurt, or maybe embarrassed by being knocked down even after having the potion, didn’t utter a single exclamation and only sipped the broth.

“But really, are you just going to drink the broth? The vegetables are cooked perfectly.”

“I’m too stuffed to eat the solids.”

“Didn’t you while you were sleeping—”

“Who do you think was the one who fed you all that white stuff?”

Inquired about memories, this time, Karem chose to remain silent.

*

*

*

Catherine truly did only consume the broth.

Even while saying she felt bloated due to last night’s events, she finished every last drop of broth Karem poured. As a result, Karem had to eat the remaining solids.

In his past life, Karem wasn’t too fond of seafood.

He liked clams and fish but found crabs or lobsters annoying to peel. Though tasty, the inconvenience outweighed it.

But now, it wasn’t the case at all.

Just a light grip would cause the shells or joints to crack easily, like twisting a child’s wrist.

Thus, Karem meticulously picked the flesh and innards from the body of the Ship’s Claw Crab using just his thumb and index fingers and four others.

And Mary, coincidentally, arrived right after breakfast was finished, swiftly completing the cleanup.

“If you have any plans today, clear out.”

Thus, relaxed on the guest sofa in the office, Catherine tossed this casually while leaning against Karem’s thigh.

“No, wait. Just in case, if you have plans, let me know.”

“Today? I’m supposed to meet Sir Zigmeser in his private kitchen, and after lunch, I was planning to head to the greenhouse.”

“Hmm. Those are all fine matters. Let’s postpone to the next time. Ahh—”

Saying that, Catherine’s mouth was still bustling with the crispness of the Seophone Chips Karem had put in her earlier. Mary, sitting across from her, grabbed a napkin and wiped away the salt residue from her lips.

“Well, it’ll be fine if you ask for permission, but are you going anywhere?”

“Well, that’s not wrong. The invitation had your name on it as well.”

“Invitation?”

“Hey, what did that tone just imply?”

Naturally, it was no surprise for Karem to be astonished by the fact that Catherine, who usually didn’t venture out of the house, would respond to an invitation.

And naturally, Karem began to deduce who might have sent the invitation, and just then, a certain name popped into his mind.

“Just to ask, it’s not that your Grace, is it?”

“Not at all.”

“The Felwinter siblings… are not invited, they just show up uninvited.”

“Neither Elder Iona nor Olivier is involved since he’s below us.”

With that, there was effectively only one person left whom Catherine couldn’t refuse the invitation.

“No way.”

“Last I saw, she was preparing herself for it.”

“The Duchess Elizabeth?”

“You’d better start dressing up. Mary, help him get ready.”

Specifically, this encounter was sooner than the morning snack time.

An unavoidable meeting was just around the corner.



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