Chapter 17: Soup Kitchen

The carriage rumbled down a snowy path. The youth inside was slightly jostled and bit his trimmed nails. He was wearing a fuzzy scarf that covered his chin and the bottom half of his pink, pert lips. His eyes were lidded as his round pupils glittered with thought.

Rizer sat across from him in a crossed-leg position and said nothing. Behind the carriage was a congruent one venturing along the path. In that one, Aris and Nym, a large pot, and half of their Frostwreath were aboard.

Yunho leaned more into the warm scarf. The group was headed towards a nearby village to finally act on his plan.

—

A few hours ago…

Marella blinked in confusion at the young master's sudden ask. She had felt that there was more to his sudden want to start a garden, but she didn't see how it could be related to a large pot.

The older woman nodded and made her way to the kitchen storage. She returned a few moments later with a large pot. It was currently being used to hold some crates and extra items since it wasn't being consistently used.

The pot was one that could be heated up and used to cook bread on its sides or large amounts of soup and broth for parties and social gatherings.

Yunho analyzed the pot and determined that it would work for his plan. He saw Marella staring at him with a curious expression on her face. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll explain in detail later…" The youth said.

Eventually, everyone was gathered downstairs, so Yunho could finally announce his plan. The more help he had, the better it would be.

He cleared his throat and couldn't help feeling a bit shy, but he suddenly grew resolute as he remembered his motives and the recent world-shaking letter he had received.

"With the recent instability from the growing crop failure, I've decided to use the Frostwreath we've grown to help alleviate some of the weight off of the nearby struggling villages," Yunho started.

He saw the servants' in the room expressions change. They, of course, wouldn't be so quick to fire down an idea of their young master, but it was obvious that they didn't have much faith. Yunho couldn't blame them. Frostwreath was a weed and not really seen as human food.

Even in the novel, there was some doubt about the female lead, but her status as the high priestess and a possible beacon of hope made people feel more secure in trusting her. Iris didn't even have half of that reputation, even with his recent personality change.

Yunho took a deep breath and continued, "I did some research, and Frostwreath is okay for human consumption and even has some vitamins. By giving people this option, some may be able to make it through these hard times who wouldn't have been able to before."

There was a wave of silence, but then Yunho noticed a sincere smile form on Aris' face. It wasn't one of mockery but one of appreciation. Aris had been the most worried. Since she consistently went out to get groceries and run errands, she saw the effects of the crop failure the most personally.

Nym wasn't too far behind her either. He came from a farm upbringing, so he was naturally anxious too. He had just masked this emotion.

Hearing Yunho's words, both servants were appreciative. Though they didn't know how helpful the Frostwreath could be, they decided to trust their young master.

Rizer was silent before he made a quick movement with his hands. It was a single clap, one of acknowledgment as the man stood up. The older man had a slight smile on his face. He had never seen his young master so resolute before. He was really becoming a kindhearted adult.

Rizer was reminded of Marella's words: "Who knows? Maybe he has things more sorted out than we think?"

He hummed inwardly. Maybe that truly was the case. Whatever the case, he'd trust his young master on this one. Something told him that it was the right choice.

"So, Young Master Iris, what is it that we need to do?" Rizer said, placing his hand flat on his own chest.

Yunho smiled as he felt the energy in the room change. Even the less proactive servants, the skittish servant girl and the other female servant he had taken with him, seemed to be willing to help.

Yunho's heart couldn't help but feel warm. To have so many people put their trust in him, even when he was currently proposing an unheard-of idea, felt good.

In his original life, he was disregarded by pretty much everyone except Jangmi, the nurse at the hospital. Even if he wasn't terminally ill, with the lack of support and nonexistent social life he had, Yunho wasn't sure he would've lasted very long anyway.

"I need the coachmen to drive us and the supplies out to the villages. There, we can distribute some meals and even seeds to the residents," Yunho said.

Rizer nodded and alerted the coachmen. Yunho still felt anxious about the letter, but he felt a newfound sense of control over his own destiny.

—

That had brought them here.

Despite being 174 cm, which is average, Yunho was small against the large seat of the carriage. His brain drifted to the pot that was sitting in the following carriage.

He was planning on doing a soup kitchen-like project to provide relief. In his original life, soup kitchens had large pots of soup and other food stock to give out to the sick and homeless in an area.

Yunho hadn't cooked much in his past life due to his weaker constitution, but he did have some basic knowledge. He knew how to boil water and add seasonings like salt and pepper to make food taste better. It was already more knowledge than some others had. Plus, there were still the other servants to help.

The ones who cooked daily, Marella and the two less talkative female servants, stayed at the lodge to not crowd the trip, but Yunho believed that Aris had cooking skills. And the butler, Rizer, had the dependable aura of a man who knew at least some common sense when it came to the culinary arts.

The two carriages rolled to a stop. Yunho looked out the window and winced. The Village surrounding them had a dense, depressing energy.

"I thought the famine wasn't in full swing yet?" The youth thought. "How has it gotten so bad?"

They were currently in a small village that wasn't too far off from the nearby town that he had visited and Aris went to to run errands. Yunho had initially planned on helping that town first, but Aris told him there was another place that needed assistance more urgently.

Yunho was hesitant, partly because he only knew that Alec did business in the nearby town. But he wasn't heartless, so he decided to go on Aris' suggestion. Looking at their current surroundings, the girl had clearly not been over-exaggerating.

Rizer also looked out the window and furrowed his brow. He was unsure, but he remembered that he resolved to trust Iris.

"We've arrived!" The coachmen called out.

The butler uncrossed his legs and opened the door, offboarding first. He helped Yunho out of the carriage who still inwardly grumbled about being assisted by a man triple his age.

Standing on the uneven stone road of the village, Yunho could see the state of the small town more clearly. It lacked the robust nature of the other town and didn't have many stands or people roaming around.

The few people that were out looked at the newcomers. A small and insignificant village like this one wasn't likely to get visitors, so they were very curious.

The two servants in the other carriage had offboarded, too, and were taking out the pot and the other things that were packed inside the carriage with them, including a large sealed bucket of water.

Yunho walked over to them and helped unpack a bit, too, though he didn't prove too useful.

After everything was taken out, Aris looked at Nym. "So what's next?" She asked.

Yunho smiled with a hint of mischief, "cooking."

Everyone went blank. (-_-?) Cooking?

—

Yunho panted with sweat dripping down his white skin. His face was blushed, and his arms were sore.

Cooking was really hard!

The pot was bubbling with the yellow-green liquid, and the steam from the hot water was enough for the boy's face to become red.

The servants flitted around him and added Frostwreath and spices on his command.

Aris originally offered to do the main cooking job, and Yunho was about to let her when he realized that this could be an opportunity for extra social points. What was more virtuous than a noble who fed struggling villagers with food from his own hands?

He was confident then, but now, he was stressed. But he remembered the cooking shows from his past life, just add more spices! Did they have MSG in this world?

Finally, it was done, and the Frostwreath soup looked decent. Yunho drew a spoonful and gazed at it with some trepidation. He laughed, "Who wants the first taste?"

Everyone was silent when Nym took a deep breath and then extended his hand to take the spoon. Yunho quickly gave him the spoon, and the servant boy slowly sipped the liquid contents.

There was a pause… and Nym blinked at the empty spoon.

It actually tasted…good.

—

With permission from the village leader, the group ladies the Frostwreath soup into the villagers' bowls.

Villagers began to gather around them as they brought bowls and plates from their houses to eat.

The small village was one based on agriculture. They already had infertile soil and unstable crops, but with the blight, almost all the crops in the village were wiped out. Even though the kingdom as a whole hadn't faced the brunt end of the blight yet, they had.

Aris and Nym were the main ones distributing the soup, but Yunho helped here and there.

A young child came up sneakily for seconds with anxiety on their face. She clearly hadn't eaten well in a while and was afraid there wasn't enough for them to have more. The bowl held in her small hands shook.

Yunho swallowed and felt a pang in his heart. He knew how it felt to be so weak. He bent down, took the bowl from her hands, and personally filled it. The girl looked up with stars in her eyes and smiled.

Yunho returned the gesture and said in a gentle voice, "eat well." He handed the bowl back to the girl who scampered off.

Rizer was overseeing the whole process and caught Yunho doing this in the corner of his eye. The old man smiled and was almost moved to tears. So this was his young master now?

—

The next few days were filled with helping out villages and giving away some seeds to farmers who were struggling to find a stable crop.

Yunho just hoped that this was enough, especially with Iris' parents' celebration party for Irene coming up soon.

Unbeknownst to him, at the northern grand Duke's estate…

A cloaked figure sat down in a plush chair. They were drinking a cup of tea and stuffing snacks into their mouth.

A tall man sat across from them and raised an eyebrow. His hands were crossed and there was an air of oppression about him.

He was looking at the cloaked figure in front of him. Illegitimate son of a noble or not, he still was nobility but never seemed to act like it

"You said there was something that I should be aware of,...Alec de Windsow?" The man said. He had dark brows and a firm jawline. His nose bridge was high, and his eyes were striking, matching his pale honey complexion.

The cloaked figure sighed and placed his hands behind his head. "You know I'm not a "Windsow" right now. It's better just to call me Alec, but the information…" Alec paused.

"There's been some movement from that young master from the Evastine House. One of my informants told me that he's been feeding the villagers in the towns in your territory with Frostwreath," Alec said, taking another sip.

Informants were a nice way to call what were basically spies.

The man paused. "Frostwreath…the weed…? But nevertheless, why should I mind that?"

"Oh, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but with that young master's previous reputation, one can't be sure he has all good intentions. He may be trying to win over the common people and garner power. As the Northern Grand Duke, your grace should know what other nobles are doing in your land. I just felt that you should know," Alec said with a sigh.

The man's eyes narrowed. "And how did he get all of that Frostwreath?"

Alec went silent. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow. "I think it's time for me to go!"

The cloaked figure left as quickly as he came.

The Grand Duke looked at where the cloaked Alec had gone for a while before making a "tch" sound. Selling the Evastine young master the Frostwreath, then going to him and selling information to him about it? Alec was truly a shameless businessman.

But that young master from the House of Evastine…Iris, was it? Maybe he'd pay him a visit. It would be good to sound his intentions out.

—

End of Chapter 17