Bon Appétit

Bang!

A knife that missed the avocado hit the cutting board and made a loud noise. Luana finally came to her senses after hearing the bang.

“Oops!”

You don’t cut avocados like this. Luana shook her head, trying to pull herself together. She might cut her hand if she’s not careful. Luana put down her knife and slowly sat down on the floor. Although she has been uncomfortable being born a princess, she has never contributed to the kingdom. She tried not to dwell on her original position.

She didn’t take it seriously when Ingrid asked her to call her older sister or when she used the duke as an excuse for her position. She had no choice but to do that since she had never lived like a princess. She never thought about her duty because she never received any order to do anything kingdom related. But now, the kingdom’s death squad came to contact.

Of course, Luana would say no, but she couldn’t help feeling strange.

‘What should I call this feeling?’

Luana sighed deeply and messed up her hair. She can’t even complain about this as she had no intention to join them, but Ingrid insisted on joining. Luana’s wrongdoing could result in blocking Ingrid’s path.

‘I should keep my mouth shut.’

At least until Ingrid left this place.

“Whoops.”

With strength, Luana rose from her seat and began to cut the avocado again. She picked a ripe one, made a cut, sliced it in half, and removed the seeds. Now it’s done, she can chop it and use it in sauces or add it to other dishes.

“Should I make guacamole?”

Or maybe add eggs. The more she devotes herself to cooking, the more she forgets other thoughts. And after she came to her senses, she did several dishes with avocado.

“Now, the dessert.”

Today, Luana is going to make macarons and mousse cake. Fortunately, she has tried macarons several times in her previous life, so it wasn’t difficult to make them. If there were a problem, it would have been about freezing the mousse cake, but that’s solved by magic. At least the magic is enough to freeze a cake. However, if she thinks about it differently, she can set how frozen the cake would be.

“Maybe it’s possible to make ice cream, too?”

Luana began to get excited, and her energy started to come back. She decided to forget about the kingdom’s death squad for a while. They may come back in contact one day, but then she will tell them about her choice.

She has no intention of joining the death squad.

“Okay, done!”

Macarons, a lovely dessert of various colors, have been completed.

‘I never thought I would succeed in making the colors.’

Luana was a pro when it came to cooking. She picked up the macarons she had made herself. She reduced the sugar from the recipe, so the shape didn’t come out as pretty as she wanted, but when she put it in her mouth, she realized…

“Delicious!”

She was glad she made various kinds of buttercream for the filling. She thought it was a good idea to put fruit jam in between. Luana seemed like she could eat this forever.

The cream is blended with the properly baked macarons. It tasted fantastic. Luana clapped her hands, but she was suddenly disappointed as she wanted to taste the mousse cake she made with lemon, but Luana decided to endure it.

‘I have to eat it with the duke.’

The mousse cake itself is fine, but Luana decided to make grilled meat with avocado as the main dish for the duke. She thinks about grilling the pork or beef ribs, then coating them with sauce and serving guacamole with bread and salad. And for dessert, macarons and mousse cake.

“Perfect.”

Luana grinned and began to cut the meat. She thought that if she started now, she could finish it by the time the duke arrived at the mansion.

And that idea was right.

“It smells delicious.”

As soon as the duke returned, he immediately looked for Luana. However, Luana didn’t know someone was entering the kitchen as she was too immersed in cooking.

‘You lack self-awareness. Well, I understand because you said you were abandoned all along. What would they have taught the abandoned princess?’

His mood sank when he reached that point.

They locked Luana in the abandoned palace. Without any support, Luana and her nanny had to live on their own, so their clothes were a mess when they first met. She could never have thought of herself as a princess. At that time, it was just a passing thing, but now it’s different. Luana wasn’t someone who deserved to be treated that way.

The duke was glad that such a kingdom was destroyed. At least with the disappearance of the kingdom, Luana can do whatever she wants! And that will not change in the future.

The duke approached Luana, who was still preoccupied with cooking. He stood behind her and looked at her little hands, which were briskly moving over her shoulder.

“It’s done!”

Luana, who was raising her head, found the duke only belatedly.

“Oh, when did you get here?”

“I just got here.”

“You came just in time. I just finished cooking!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, you can look forward to dinner tonight!”

‘The way she lifts her head is cute.’

“Didn’t you say I can look forward to every meal?”

“Because it’s always delicious!”

“I can’t deny that.”

Luana, who left the tray to the maid, naturally walked beside the duke. In the morning, Luana showed she was burdened and rejected the duke’s idea, but she seemed to have forgotten it while cooking. The corners of her mouth went up as she proudly explained the dish.

The sky blue eyes, which were usually cloudy, sparkled only at times like this, revealing a strong presence. The duke stared into her eyes, fixed her loosened hair and held her swinging hand. Luana was surprised and looked at him, but he casually held her hand. Her hand stiffened in his warm hand.

“D-did Vyan teach you this, too?”

“Yes.”

He said yes, but actually Vyan didn’t teach this to him. He just wanted to hold her hand, so he held it. However, if Luana withdrew her hand by any excuse, the duke would blame Vyan. Vyan has been getting a lot of money anyway, so it was okay to blame him.

“Ugh.”

Luana gritted her teeth and muttered in a low voice. It seemed like, ‘I’ll see you, Vyan!’ Thinking about it made her feel better.

After arriving at the dining room, they let go of their hands and started eating. Out of embarrassment, Luana explained the dish when he began to eat it.

‘Aah, yes.’

The food was really delicious. A woman named Rio was also good at cooking, but her dish tasted like edible garbage. But what Luana made tasted different from that. The white bread was fluffy and savory, and the taste deepened when he dipped it in the sauce. Both the slightly sour and spicy flavors were just pleasant.

Of course, he couldn’t leave out the dessert. He really liked the macarons, which tasted various flavors due to the jam inside. He doesn’t know how many he ate. The mousse cake that followed was the same. The cold cake he tried for the first time melted in his mouth, leaving a refreshing lemon scent.

“Next time, I’ll make ice cream too.”

“Ice cream?”

“It’s made by freezing milk and sugar. It’s delicious!”

Every time he listened to Luana, he always looked forward to the next meal because he knew the word ‘delicious’ came from her was all true. He then realized he had something to say.

“I decided to take a day off tomorrow.”

“Can you take a break that often?”

Since she arrived at the Empire, the duke took a lot of breaks. Luana could only raise her doubts since he is the commander of the Imperial Knights; how can he take a break so often?

“I’ve been wandering around all this time, so it’s fine to take a break like this. His Majesty won’t say much.”

“Then that’s good to hear. What are you going to do while on break?”

“Didn’t we decide to go on a date?”

“A date?”

Luana trying to finish the remaining mousse cake stopped her movement. He scheduled a date as soon as possible, and Luana was embarrassed to hear that.

“Yeah, you’re free tomorrow, right?”

“I can make time.”

She has nothing to do except cook anyway.

“Then let’s go out together.”

“Do you know where to go?”

“No problem, I’ve got it all figured out in advance. You just need to prepare yourself.”

“Shouldn’t we pack a lunch box?”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t think it’s fair to ask you to pack a lunch box for our date, right?”

However, if she doesn’t pack a lunch box, the duke will only eat a little. Luana offered after much consideration.

“Then let’s make it together!”

“Do you want to make a lunch box with me?”

“Yes, it’s not difficult.”

She smiled, and he couldn’t refuse. Eventually, the duke nodded.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Then I will prepare it in the morning, so do you think you can get up early?”

“That’s not difficult.”

She made an offer on a whim, but it was a pretty good one. Luana smiled slightly and looked at the duke, who was caught up in the mud.

Seeing Luana, the duke also smiled at her.

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TL/N: Thank you, Nn, for supporting me on ko-fi! <3