The Tragic Male Lead Chose the Wrong Partner – Chapter 24

Author: amourtentia

I headed to the kitchen to prepare for the officers’ dinner banquet.

The kitchen maids and the chef looked displeased as they eyed the ingredients I’d brought.

“Princess, what even is… ratatouille? We don’t know it, so how are we supposed to make it?”

“Uh….”

I couldn’t exactly explain that ratatouille was a traditional home-cooked dish from southern France, or that it was better known here as the title of a movie about a rat who controls a human to cook.

I figured it would be common enough since they had mackerel pie around here too… Or maybe it just wasn’t famous in this world yet?

“It’s a chance to try a new recipe! It’s cheap, easy to make, and it tastes great. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

The chef frowned as I tied on an apron.

“Someone who probably hasn’t done more than slice a steak is going to cook? I understand wanting to appear friendly to commoners, but in reality, it’s just us who will have to clean up the mess.”

“I learned it as a hobby.” I replied, chin held high. Strictly speaking, it was my profession.

Then the head kitchen maid jumped in to argue.

“You’re not planning to serve the officers a cheap meal, are you?”

“The ingredients I brought are top quality. I just meant it’s a dish that can be made cheap.”

They clearly just didn’t want to follow my orders.

“I’ve already informed them that I’ll be overseeing the dinner banquet. So don’t worry, you won’t get in trouble.”

“Well, aren’t you confident.” The chef sneered, clearly showing his displeasure.

Considering how Rose had been using my name to cause trouble behind my back, I could understand why I didn’t have the best reputation here.

Acknowledging that, I nodded and started slicing zucchini.

“Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes about this thin.”

The assistants assigned to me watched my example and quickly began copying it. They were two young apprentice servants, kids Rose had apparently tormented.

Meanwhile, the chef and the kitchen maids were preparing ingredients for the main course.

‘Ugh, why are they so uncooperative?’

Still, getting angry in this official residence where I had no allies would only backfire on me.

Just wait and see, I’ll win them over, one by one.

When the day comes for all of us to enjoy a cheerful picnic together, they would better not be stuck awkwardly alone with Maceira in an empty mansion.

“Princess, is this how I should do it?”

The children asked nervously.

At some point, even the servants had started calling me ‘Princess.’ It made me so embarrassed and awkward.

I smiled gently as I watched their clumsy knife skills.

“Holding the knife like that will get you hurt. Here, try gripping it like this.”

I took their stiff hands and carefully showed them the right way.

Since kitchen work usually started with chores, this was probably their first time prepping ingredients.

I bet they gave this recipe to the newbies on purpose, assuming it would fail.

Thankfully, ratatouille is a simple dish anyone could make, so we finished the prep in no time.

“Originally, this should be cooked at a low temperature for a long time, but since this is just practice, we’ll bake it for ten minutes in the oven. Aren’t you curious how it will turn out?

“I’m really curious.”

Maybe it was because I had shattered their prejudices, but the apprentices smiled brightly, the tension finally melting from their faces.

While chatting during preparation, I learned their names were Mary and Ginny, that they were refugees from Francia, and that they were fifteen years old. If I had to guess, their MBTI would definitely start with an ‘I’.

When we finally pulled the ratatouille out of the oven, steam rose with a delicious aroma.

“Wow.”

Mary tried to clap her hands, then quickly dropped her hands when she noticed the chef’s gaze.

She seemed happy, perhaps because it was her first time actually making something since she started working in the kitchen.

“Alright, say ah~”

I blew on a spoonful and fed it to Ginny and Mary. Their eyes went wide, cheeks flushing pink.

“Th-this is…”

“It tastes like something I have missed.”

“You’ve had it before?”

Mary hesitated for a moment, as if unsure whether she should speak up, then answered carefully.

“Princess, this tastes just like ratatouille.”

Oh, they also call it ratatouille here.

“Really? Did you know?”

“I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid I would get in trouble for pretending to know. It’s a traditional dish from Francia. The chef probably knows it too, he’s from the same region as us.”

I turned my head and glanced at the chef.

So he did know what it was and just pretended not to?

“Now that you’ve taught the apprentices the recipe, there’s no need for you to stay, Princess. I’m sure someone as busy as you doesn’t have time for hobbies,” the chef said curtly, locking eyes with me.

I looked at him and asked. “Are you planning to leave everything to the apprentices? Or are you going to teach them the recipe I taught them?”

As it was in charge of the meals of high-ranking officials, the kitchen ran on strict hierarchy and authority.

Leaving it entirely to apprentices or learning from them was nonsense.

“Of course we can’t entrust the officers’ meals to the apprentices.”

“So you were never planning to listen to me in the first place.”

I crossed my arms and stared at him.

As the silence stretched and my gaze bore into him, the chef, who’d been pretending to be busy, grew increasingly uneasy.

Eventually, squirming like he was sitting on pins and needles, he spoke up first.

“That dish is for commoners. Hardly appropriate to serve to the officers.”

“There is no class in food. IIf it’s made with quality ingredients and served in a fine dish, it becomes a meal worth honoring. Same with people, don’t they look noble in the right clothes?”

The chef stared at me silently.

I gave him a deliberately smug shrug and smirk.

“What’s wrong? Don’t know how to make it? Or maybe you’re just scared to try? Are you really a chef from Francia? Not some quack from Medeia?”

“How dare you say such insulting things!”

The cook jumped up and got angry.

Of course comparing him to a Medeian chef, famous for their bizarre food, was unforgivable.

“If you can make a ratatouille that satisfies the officers, I’ll acknowledge your skill.”

Like a demon king issuing a quest, I threw down the gauntlet.

The cook grumbled and took out a knife and a cutting board.

“Fine. But if the officers are pleased, I want you to apologize for that disgraceful insult. All of Francia would take offense to what you said.”

“Sure, deal.”

As I turned to leave, Mary and Ginny hurried after me.

“Princess, um, Master Jad might be prickly, but he’s not a bad person. He’s just been through a lot… He took us in when we had nowhere to go after the war.”

So the chef’s name was Jad.

The Francian royal family, which collapsed due to the revolution, was also incompetent. No wonder that resentment had trickled down to me.

“I understand. I believe that one day I will overcome my prejudices and be accepted for who I am. Just like you did for me.”

The fact that they even believed and listened to me showed as much.

Ginny and Mary blinked in surprise and flustered.

“At first… we were scared of you. We thought you were cold. I’m sorry. But now that we have cooked together… we can tell you’re warm-hearted.”

“I’m glad that I get to make a dish from our homeland thanks to the Princess.”

From the look in their eyes, I knew I had just gained two allies.

Two steps closer to defeating the final boss, Maceira.

“Oh, and Chef Jad is definitely a Francian.”

Looks like my words earlier had landed harder than I thought.

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