031 - Torenia: A Talented Maid (5)

"Pardon?"

A well-built middle-aged woman in a white uniform, complete with an apron and a chef's hat, arrived at the table where Faerie was blissfully eating her lunch.

"Your name is Torenia?" inquired the middle-aged woman directly.

Faerie's eyes furrowed for a minute after correctly guessing who had disrupted her lunch. But she soon put on a polite smile. "Yes."

"They stated you were the one who made the food taste better for Young Miss Leslie. I was curious about what was missing in the food until others mentioned you'd 'fixed' the quality. Please explain exactly," she said, simply stating the issue.

'They?' Faerie frowned.

She was annoyed that her lunch break had been cut short. But she was even more irritated when she discovered she couldn't deny requests from individuals older than her because it reminded her of the figure of a grandmother who had looked after her since she was a toddler.

But here's the most aggravating part.

'Who's that person who dares to alter my words at will?'

Faerie had to sample the food in the stew pot by accident while she intended to have her lunch in the canteen. And, thanks to the cooking's skill effects, Faerie could see that the food in the stew pot needed some seasoning ingredients.

When Faerie inquired who would eat this stew, the maids in charge of working in the kitchen all replied that it was potage, Miss Leslie's favorite stew.

Potage is a thick soup made from various vegetables such as potatoes, radishes, corn, pumpkin, or carrots. To enrich the potage, rice grains are sometimes utilized, and meat or fish are generally added.

Potage, in Faerie's opinion, is food for the lower middle class.

'Is Leslie's taste so special that she likes commoner's food?'

Faerie frowned as she remembered how thick the stew was. Also, the informs her that this food isn't succeeding at a perfect score.

The thought of Leslie being so cold since she was just concerned with her family and studies made Faerie believe that the Head Chef would be chastised for the flavor of this potage.

And she had no choice but to step into 'improved' the stew's flavor.

Faerie clenched her fists. It would be great if she didn't have to intervene if she knew it was going to be like this.

"What's the deal with your expression?" The middle-aged woman, who Faerie assumed was the Head chef, glanced at Faerie's frowned face. Her tone had changed from professional to furious.

Anna and Lina, the two maids ordered by Mary to accompany Faerie to lunch, were taken aback by the atmosphere between the two as soon as they finished eating.

They both stared at each other because they were unsure how to stop the two of them and were concerned that if they were left alone, they might get more hostile.

"Anna, call the Head maid!"

'What? No! What if I leave and their relationship gets worse?!'

Faerie had opened her mouth first, while the two were sharing telepathy through eye motions.

"Are you a chef?"

The middle-aged woman, dressed in a chef's apron and hat, nodded curtly.

"My name is Juane, and I've been in charge of cooking meals for members of the esteemed Marquess Berdandy family for nearly 25 years." She gave a comprehensive response.

When Juane described her job, which she had been working on for more than 25 years, Juane spoke with pride.

Hearing it made Faerie feel awful for secretly intervening in the affairs of the work she was so proud of. Hence, Faerie chose to explain the situation properly and respectfully.

"Understand," Faerie nodded and rose from her seat, "then... I'll show you."

Before following Juane the Head chef, Faerie took a quick look at the bowl containing her chicken stock soup which was still full, with a sad expression.

'Goodbye, soup....' Her thoughts were becoming a touch dramatic. Faerie promised to eat all of the food Mona cooked her when she returned to her mansion.

Anna and Lina, who misread Faerie's sadness since the two of them did not help her when the Head chef interrupted her lunch time, could only bend their heads with mixed emotions.

'It's my responsibility, I should have helped her instead of relying on others!'

They regretted it and decided to protect Faerie if the Head chef wanted to corner Faerie further.

'Right! Torenia's talent for cooking wasn't her fault! Juane has no right to be upset about this!'

With such thoughts, Anna and Lina hurriedly packed up their lunch, including Faerie's, and washed them in a short time before sprinting to the kitchen, where Faerie and the Head chef were.

As they walked into the kitchen, they both noticed a situation in which a black-haired girl was busy entering something into a stew pot while the Head Chef and the kitchen maids stood there watching her.

"What are you doing, Torenia?" Anna, who feared thinking Faerie was up to something because she was angry by the Head chef's interruption, swiftly approached her and held her hand to stop her put something else into the stew pot.

Faerie frowned as her hand was abruptly held. But, because the persons holding her hand were teenage girls, she opted to ignore them and concentrate on her activities.

"Ah! Why do you even keep going? Juane, why don't you stop her from ruining Miss Leslie's lunch, uh?" When Anna noticed Faerie's soft hands holding some spices, she stopped. The spices Faerie was holding gave off a strong aroma.

"... What is it?" Lina, who was only able to observe from behind due to her surprise that Anna had moved first, inquired.

"This is parsley and thyme, aromatic leaves that are used to enhance the flavor and scent."

Juane nodded. "You must have it if you want to make great, tasty potage!"

Faerie also nodded before adding. "Unfortunately, something is still missing from this potage."

Juane knitted one brow. "What exactly is that?"

Instead of responding, Faerie posed another question. "Before that, Chef. Is Miss Leslie a fan of the thick stew like this?"

Juane and the rest confidently nodded their heads.

Anna, who was standing nearby, said, "Every time Young Miss returns from the academy, the Head chef will prepare this dish."

Even though she had expected it, Faerie twisted her face in surprise.

'Ah, I don't wish to understand a genius's thinking. My and her worlds are completely different.' Faerie swiftly shook her head and pushed away her interest, which was unimportant to her.

Anna wanted to explain further because she spotted Faerie's expression, but Faerie had already raised her hand to urge her to stop.

"Okay. Allow me to continue. If you want this to be a special dish for Miss Leslie, you can't just use two spices!"

"Potage is--------"

"It tastes even better with milk and additional seasonings like salt and pepper! You'll know if you try!" Faerie went on and on, as Juane, the assistant chef, and the other kitchen maids listened closely.

Faerie felt as if she were starting a cookery school for the novel world's inhabitants.

"I see..." Instead of being envious that a young girl like Faerie had told her this and that, Juane seemed to accept it with an open mind.

Juane likewise chose to try to feel that the potage was different from the potage she was used to, but she realized that this food would still be potage. The difference is that this potage deserves to be named 'perfect potage'.

The Head chef had only sampled her dish, but the assistant chef and the other kitchen maids had sampled it as well, so they could openly claim that Faerie had 'improved' the taste of the food the Head chef had created.

"Haaa..." Faerie sighed. She felt her energies drain just by explaining a simple dish like potage.

"Torenia, where are you going?" Anna, who had also sampled Faerie's potage, surprised Faerie.

"I have to wash my bowl," a tired Faerie responded.

'Ah... I need to finish this maid test soon so I can go home and ask Mona to make steak!' Faerie was on fire when she remembered how wonderful the dishes prepared by Mona, her chef, were.

While Faerie was busy imagining, the kitchen door opened and a girl with a red ribbon who had been impolite to Faerie in the guest room reappeared in front of her.

"Washing dishes?" The red-banded female appeared to be eavesdropping on the talk, as her face flashed an evil smile.

"Haha! No matter how good you are, you will be asked to clean up. What a shame! My hands would be rough if it were me! I need to safeguard my hands so that I can brew tea for the Marchioness and Young Miss!"

She let out a discordant laugh that was so bad for the ears. Faerie had to work hard to maintain her expression rather than engage in the juvenile conduct of a younger girl than her.

Anna snapped at her as if she was offended by the red-ribbed girl's disrespectful statements. "Nelly! You can't say such things to your fellow maids!"

Nelly, the girl with the red ribbon, narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Lina's censure and responded with even more insulting words.

"Even if you are the next Head maid, I am a maid who deals with tea and snacks! We shouldn't be compared to maids who suffer hand injuries performing menial tasks!"

"Hahaha!" Nelly was pleased and laughed more when she saw Anna was unable to respond to her statements.

Faerie rolled her eyes. 'I don't want to become involved in these pointless child battles....'

Faerie suddenly remembered one of the abilities she gained from her cooking skills while she was trying to figure out how to get out of this annoying circumstance.

[You can use the skill to .]

Faery grinned. She had a silly idea.

"I'd like to try it."

"What?" Anna, Lina, and Nelly were taken aback by Faerie's words.

"Tea."

"I'd want to try brewing and serving tea."