Chapter 17: Workshop

A large table in the center of the bare marble work room. Above it is a marble workbench. There are several empty bookshelves and cupboards mounted on the walls.

Most of them are empty, but the honey, sugar, and fruit wine we received just yesterday are already on top of each other, and there are many shiny copper bowls stacked on top of each other. The beautiful curves that are thinly hammered out…I was amazed that this was not an industrial product, but a handmade one, and at the same time, I admired the craftsmanship.

“Oh, wow.”

“I’ll try to get a few things for you that you might need.”

“Yes.”

Glad to hear it. It’s not the kitchen, but it’s…my workshop.

It reminds me of the cookies and sugar pies I created from the living room, and then the pancake sandwiches I made while being mistaken for a handmaid…I didn’t call myself a handmaid, just in case I went into the kitchen to make them.

I don’t have to worry about spilling hand-washing water and flour on the expensive carpet anymore, and I don’t have to use the blackened marble workbench in the kitchen after I’ve polished it with all my might.

Gently patting the table. I’m glad. If I wasn’t in the public eye, I’d rub my cheek on the desk.

“Now, Sir Vigzam and Sir Reyes will bring the ingredients in for you.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you making today? Your Highness.”

“It’s pound cake.”

I hope you don’t mind if this conversation is stilted English conversation practice. I try not to talk too much. I don’t want to talk too much, because I don’t want to create a rumble.

“I don’t want to talk too much…Um, the girls in the main palace wanted to try it too, and they were…envious.”

Alice says, trying hard.

I look at Lilia. I don’t know what’s going on, so I can’t make a decision. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lilia nod as if to say it’s okay.

“It’s fine…I’ll give some to Julia and to Miredei.

“Oh, thank you, Your Highness.”

“Thank you.”

They both laugh happily.

“Please do your best to help me. I’d like to bring in the guards today as a token of my gratitude to them as well.”

““”Yes.”””

I’m sure it was the first time to ever been envious of those working at the Crown Prince’s Palace. Lilia said it’s dangerous and there’s a lot of turnover.

The other day when I was making pancake sandwiches in the kitchen, the cooks were also talking about it.

They said that the corner where the West Palace of the crown prince is located, is the hardest part of the palace.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince prefers silence, so if you make any loud noises, His Royal Highness’ household member, Baron Fasalt, will rush into a rage and become angry. The crown prince also dislikes the scent of cosmetics and other fragrances, so if you perfumed the area with the scent of a perfume, he would become very unhappy.

I heard that this was why he was in such a bad mood on the days when he attended evening parties.

On top of that, he isn’t so particular about eating as he finishes his meals with food rations, and if he doesn’t like the taste of tea or coffee, he won’t talk after that.

Silent pressure…That’s what I’m afraid of. I can still fix it if you complain about it.

I’ve heard it said that in the Western Palace, it is said that if His Highness asks for a replacement, you will be full-fledged.

Of course, it’s not just His Highness. Her Highness, in other words, me, am also in trouble, and it is said nobody knows if I’m really there if it wasn’t for a lady-in-waiting coming and going.

I may be a good match of a princess, but everyone said that if I didn’t do it at least in a lively and glamorous manner, the Western Palace would continue to be silent as if I had died.

I thought they had a point, but what would be the point of making it glamorous? I thought to myself.

I was pitied for not responding to anything. Laughing and deceiving is a habit of the modern Japanese people.

But I don’t say this because I’ve been told so many things, but to be honest, I don’t think the people in the kitchen are of very good quality. I don’t think they are bad people, but I was surprised to see some of them smoking in the kitchen even though we were taking a break.

Cigarettes that look like paper cigarettes that they rolled themselves. Cigarettes don’t seem to be that expensive here, and some of them are expensive enough for them to be able to afford them as a luxury item, and about half of them were smoking them.

Many royalty and aristocrats also seem to like it, and the royal palace is said to have a smoking room, and cigarettes are said to be among the gifts given by His Majesty to his servants as a light reward.

…Personally, I don’t think cigarettes are a good idea.

Cigarettes can upset the tastebuds and make your hands smell. A lot of people who cook don’t like it.

Well, it’s my personal preference, and there are cooks who like to smoke…but you can’t smoke in the kitchen.

The kitchen makes what goes into people’s mouths. You can’t just drop the ashes in case you do. Foreign contamination is shameful, and there is no recognition of it.

The subordinates who work hard try their best, but the cooks who are actually making the food are not aware of it.

They complained about it quite a bit, but now that I think about it, the food at Elzevert’s castle was better than the food here.

“What’s wrong, Princess?”

“Hmm, the staple food of the Crown Prince…It’s not just that he is not interested eating, but also because the food is not so delicious…Oh, but the Crown Prince doesn’t care much in the first place, so the chef’s skills will have no motivation to rise…”

They say it’s the customer that makes the chef grow, and this is so true. If someone tells you that your food is delicious, you work hard, and if someone tells you that your food was a little too strong today, you try to figure out why.

Even if it was only once a week at my senpai’s bar, the best training I could have had was working face-to-face with customers. I got to hear directly from the people who were eating the food.

Basically, the taste of professional chefs is not that inconsistent. Depending on the ingredients, you may have to reduce salt a little. But whether a dish tastes good or not depends on the physical condition of the person eating it. I’m not sure how much flavor you can add to a dish, but it’s an important part of my life to learn how to do it live.

“I don’t know which came first, but it’s true that the Western Palace chefs are not very good. That’s why those subordinates are looking forward to going to the main palace to eat.

That’s nice, Alice and the others. I want to try the the main palace food too.

Well, I think I’m looking forward to chatting with them. Lilia laughs.

”It’s not just a matter of skill…but since it’s a chef of the crow prince… it’s not up to me to say anything about, is it?”

If I had the authority, I’d do a thorough cleanup! For now, though, I cleaned the oven thoroughly. I pretended not to see the rest of the place. I’m sorry.

…Later on, Lilia said to me, “It’s not a good idea for Her Royal Highness to clean the oven.

“Yes. I am sorry to say that they are not the princess’ chefs, so the princess cannot fire them…Originally, Her Royal Highness had her own cook, but she had a problem with them once, and they destroyed the kitchen here. I heard it’s the room where they keep the clothing now.

“Ah…”

That walk-in closet that looks like a huge hall was meant to be a kitchen.

In a room so large you’d think it was a library, with shelves and a chest of drawers lined up neatly in a room so large you’d think it was some kind of dance hall.

In the wardrobe, there are already-tailored items, and the shelves hold things that are still in their original state of undress. Most of the clothing material is stored in scroll form, but this is …… not just a hundred or two hundred pieces. I can open up a store, specializing in luxury goods.

“Your highness, the ingredients are ready.”

“Thank you.”

“Is there anything else you need for me to do?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

The reddish-brown, short-haired Sir Vigzam who carried the crate and Sir Reyes, whose dark hair was cut around his shoulders, were both in their mid-twenties. The average age of my guards is about thirty or so, so they are somewhat young.

But in terms of the entire Kings Guard, they are the middle of the pack.

Generally speaking, if you follow the usual steps, you can become squires after the age of 12 and can be knighted as early as around 18, or between 22 and 25 at the latest. They were both gems who were knighted as soon as they turned 18 years old. They have already served in that capacity for more than five years.

According to Lilia’s explanation, the Crown Prince has kept the number of his guards at the usual level for my return to Elzevert, but he has been very selective in their abilities. It is a blessing to me that all of them have offered me their swords.

But I am sorry to say that the job of “my guards” is not a very rewarding task for them.

I hope I can reward them eventually, but I don’t know what will happen.

“What will you be making today?”

With great skill, Miredei arranges the ingredients on the workbench.

Flour, butter, eggs, milk…nuts and dried fruits are essential. Then there is the sugar and the nectar.

The sugar cones are crushed with special pliers before being used. The nectar is a thick amber liquid that comes from the Callis tree, which grows wild in the north. It has a unique aroma similar to maple syrup. It’s mainly found in the northern part of the country, but the taste differs greatly depending on the region.

I’m going to make a pound cake.

Cake Basics: Pound cake. It has a variety of flavors and is less likely to fail than a chiffon cake or sponge cake.

I’ve already confirmed that this one can be applied to cake molds as well, because the molds for bread are small.

“You don’t need herbal honey?”

Herbal honey is a light syrup nectar extracted from sweet vine grass. It’s a little greenish, but it’s delicious with citrus juice.

“Yeah. I won’t use it today.”

“Your Highness, yesterday’s jar.”

Alice and Julia bring me a jar. This is what I prepped yesterday.

It’s a thin white porcelain lidded jar, and the contents are lemons soaked in honey and dried fruit soaked in brandy. Dried fruits are used as portable food for the army, so there were many kinds of them.

I chose some of the softer fleshed ones…apricots, prunes and grapes are three different kinds!

Oh, I’m getting all excited.

“I’m not sure what His Highness likes, so I’ll make a brandy-infused one for him. I wonder if His Highness will drink brandy?”

“He drinks. I hear His Highness is a good drinker.”

“Okay, then it’s okay. These are great for people who like to drink.

“……Hmmm, for now, shake off about 3kg off flour.

Three kilos is a bit much, I think, even for me. But the performance of the oven over here…the skill of the cooks in charge of baking is too uneven.

It’s a good thing that the knights of the guard are willing to take care of the slightly burnt or overcooked mistakes.

Count Stassen likes sweet and spicy flavors, and Count Robert, his adjutant, likes things super sweet. The first time I gave him a cookie, he shed tears and offered his sword to me again.

Basically, people here think that sweets should be as sweet as possible, and the amount of sugar in them is often wrong, but I also want them to know the right amount of sweetness and the taste of the ingredients.

“We’ve arranged for one oven to be available all day.”

“Thank you, Miredei.”

Miredei told me that she had recently decided to become an apprentice to a lady-in-waiting. Maybe that’s why Lilia has been educating her often, and she’s been able to take care of a lot of things in these places.

There are two types of maids: the bride training type, whose goal is to learn etiquette at the royal palace and use their close service to the royals as a foil, and the career type, or as they call it over there, the type who serve the royals in their respective capacities and aspire to become a lady-in-waiting.

Alice and Julia are the former, and will probably retire in a few years. The children of nobility here are usually engaged around the age of 16, and usually married by the time they are 20. Both of them seem to have already decided where to marry.

Miredei’s decision to become a lady-in-waiting means that her engagement has been decided to be put on hold. The marriage of a lady-in-waiting is not forbidden, but as long as she serves the master in the royal palace, a proper marriage is difficult.

“‘Well then…let’s get started.”

I smile at everyone.

Today I’m wearing a pale pink, simple dress. And I have an apron that matches the aprons of the maids. My hair is also neatly tied up in a triangular band. I have to be comfortable to move around in, after all.

The reason why the maids say it’s dangerous to be in the kitchen is because I can get all kinds of things caught on the hem of my dress and on my sleeves, don’t you think?

It’s certainly not safe to enter the kitchen looking like that.

“Miredei, chop up that candied lemon peel into small pieces. For garnish…yes, leave a quarter or so sliced in a circle.

“Yes.”

“For Julia, shake the flour twice and put it in a bowl with two cups each. Alice, put the butter in a bowl and knead it together with these two cups of sugar to make it white and fluffy.”

“I understand.”

“It’s fluffy.”

“When it’s fluffy, add three eggs, beaten a little at a time, and mix them together. This is the most important thing…When you’re done, Miredei can help Alice with this too.”

“Yes.”

Lilia and I, meanwhile, butter the molds and prepare each variation. Once we get to the point of mixing with the eggs, we shake in the flour again and mix roughly.

If you remember that the basic ingredients of a poundcake are, egg, butter, flour and sugar, in similar amounts, it’s hard to make one badly.

I pick up a piece of fruit in brandy with my hand, though it’s not very well-behaved.

Oh, it feels good.

It was worth the fork gouging to get the brandy to penetrate it. This kind of effort is what makes the finished product so delicious.

Oh yes, this brandy is an amazing thing. Oh, I think I’d love to have it as a nightcap, but it’s not the sort of thing a 12-year-old princess should do, so I resisted.

On my 13th birthday, I’d like to root around so that I can at least have a glass of wine.

Today I’ve got two menial workers in the oven, two men who bake every day and are used to using the oven. There are also people who I thought would be worth watching when I walked into the kitchen.

Actually, this is the first step of my ambition to train a professional oven-maker, since I can’t use the oven myself.

In a streamlined process, I finished one cake after another and poured them into the molds.

Plain, lemon, nectar, raisins, and Sagiya tea. Now it’s a second flush. But I used it because it’s still as fragrant and delicious as ever.

The first bake was okay.

It wasn’t undercooked, but it was still unevenly cooked, and half of it was still burnt.

I called out the oven workers and asked them what they thought about it.

I told them, “Since the heat is different depending on the position of the oven, if you change the position of the oven, or reverse the direction of the oven, the unevenness should go away.”

“Hiii, I think Her Highness is right.”

…You didn’t have to be so frightened.

I’m not a doll, even if the doll princess is my nickname.

“If so, then I ask you to please do so.”

I had prepped them beforehand, so the second baking started right away.

It was good because there are so many bread molds.

The two I would give to His Highness were the two I made myself, the fruit-filled ones with brandy and tea. I had to rely on the oven and the artisan to do the baking!

“Lilia, please make some tea. Let’s take a break.”

“Yes.”

Cut off the outside and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

The bowl is a small cafe au lait bowl with a beautiful olive green glaze.

Now garnish it with whipped cream and mint leaves.

“Now, let’s enjoy.”

It was hard to whisk the whipped cream.

I had some sort of prototype whisk, but it was hard to use.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I want an electric mixer…but I want at least a solid whisk.

Also, the copper bowl is too heavy…I wonder if they don’t have a stainless steel one. It’s thin and light.

“Wow.”

“Looks good~”

“Thank you.”

I love the look on everyone’s face at this moment.

“Delicious.”

“It’s amazing~!”

“Her Highness is a magician, isn’t she?”

“It’s really delicious. I’m sure His Royal Highness will love it.”

Four different impressions. My smile is sparkling.

After all, I still love making sweets.

I like to be creative with the way they look, but I’m more than happy to see their smiles.

“Pound cake is actually better when it’s cold. It’s more to my liking.”

It’s usually better to let it sit for three days to allow the flavors to blend in and taste better.

But I really want to bake it and eat it right away.

“Lilia, later on, you’ll have to offer these to the oven people.”

“Understood.”

I’ll be bringing some in to the people in charge of the oven.

I thought it would be encouraging to eat something we all baked ourselves.

“Your Highness, is it alright for Sir Vigzam and Sir Reyes?

“…I’m still baking. That’s right. When the second one is baked, we’ll take turns inviting everyone on duty today to tea.”

“““Yes.”””

They look look happy, Alice and Julia both. Didn’t you have fiancés?

That day was Pound Cake Day.

All the maidservants were present and Count Stassen came to take a peek, so it became something of a big event.

After a couple of baking sessions, the people in charge of the ovens seemed to get the hang of it, and the end result was fantastic.

I made two of them myself for the second, third and fourth baking sessions.

I knew the best one was the last one. While brushing the brandy from the brandy cake with a brush, I thought I would offer it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

There were a total of 30 of them baked.

Eight of them were for our snacks. We ate three of them together during tea time.

Of the 22 remaining, 8 were divided among the maidservants, 6 were my share and 8 were given to the knights for their stuffing. I figured His Highness wouldn’t eat six of them, but I reminded myself that pound cake preserves well, so I’ll use half of them for my own stash of food.

“…You’re pretty strict about this.”

All the shelves where the ingredients were stored had doors, and Lilia locked them all. The shelves where the finished pound cakes are lined up and stored were not only locked, but also sealed with paper, and the handles were chained and locked.

Her Highness was the one who said that unsanitation was the worst thing that could happen, and you were upset that something foreign would get in there.

“That’s true, but…”

Lilia must be afraid of poisoning.

“…Am I going to be targeted again?”

Maybe I’ve been a little laid back lately and not paying enough attention.

“I don’t know about that. My concern is not that Her Highness will be directly targeted, but that the poison will come from what she has created.

“That is…”

“It’s just a precaution. I’ve double-locked the door, and will be locking up this workroom as well. The windows in this room are also locked, and there are no hidden passages of any kind here.”

When I looked at it, I saw that the window handle was also chained and had a lock on it.

“I thought it would be safe to start with if I kept this one on…The keys are for Your Highness to take the front door and one of the cupboards, and I’ll take the rest. It’s a mechanism that won’t open without mine and Your Highness.’

“Understood.”

After we finished cleaning up, I went straight to the couch and sank down.

I was more tired than I thought I was going to be.

“…You don’t have to…Let her sleep like this.”

A man’s voice. A voice that is pleasant to the ear and resonant.

“But, Your Highness the Crown Prince…”

“The Princess will catch a cold if you don’t, brother.”

“…Brother? Who’s that?”

“Lilia, show me to the bedroom. Brother, please carry her up.”

I wonder who it is: …….

I can’t get my thoughts together. I try to open my eyes, but I can’t.

“…This is too light. You’d better fatten her up a bit more.”

“Brother, stop talking about fattening up, we’re not talking about livestock…”

That’s right, it’s timid…delicate…lady-like…

I wanted to say it back, but I couldn’t even spin the words, and my consciousness was dragged directly into the depths of deep sleep.

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