Chapter 9
There was a peculiar scent coming from the branches. But it didn’t seem like a fragrance suitable for cooking. The sharp, pungent aroma was almost overpowering.
“Wouldn’t it be better to use this as an air freshener or firewood?”
“What? Use this as firewood? …Well, I suppose that’s one way to think of it.”
Chloe was initially horrified at the idea of burning such a rare spice, but then she remembered her own mother, who had created bizarre dishes, and regained her composure.
Of course, Vance, who didn’t know this, just continued to tilt his head in confusion.
“What exactly are you thinking…?”
“What fruits do we have here?”
Chloe cut off Vance’s question with her own. It was as if she was saying: whatever I’m doing, the results will speak for themselves.
“We have apples, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and a few oranges and lemons brought from the Southern Continent.”
“That’s enough!”
Chloe asked him to bring the apples, oranges, and lemons, then took the wine stocked in the kitchen.
She poured the wine straight from the bottle into a pot, added the cut fruit, and then threw in some branches as well.
Vance sighed at the princess’s eccentricity.
‘Now I really don’t know what’s going on.’
He thought the frightened princess was just tossing ingredients into the pot at random, following whatever whim came to mind. He could only hope that, since she was the beloved daughter of the Garnet family, Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t punish her severely.
Of course, he had no idea that Chloe already had a complete menu and recipe perfectly mapped out in her mind.
She brought the wine to a boil with fruit, cinnamon, and cloves. As the alcohol evaporated, a fragrant, sweet aroma filled the air. Honey was added for extra sweetness.
‘Mulled wine is the best when you’ve caught a cold.’
Ginger tea or citron tea would have been good too, but with the ingredients at hand, mulled wine was perfect.
Chloe poured the finished mulled wine into mugs, then sliced fresh lemon and orange, floating a slice neatly in each cup.
For a side dish, she made simple apple canapés. She layered cheese on crackers, topped them with baked apples sprinkled with sugar, and finished with a dusting of cinnamon.
“Are you really going to serve this to Her Majesty the Empress?”
The head chef’s voice trembled with anxiety. He had never seen a combination like this, not the mulled wine nor the apple canapés.
“Take a sip.”
Chloe ladled some of the mulled wine remaining in the pot into a cup and handed it to the head chef. She also poured a cup for Shuel, who was standing beside her with sparkling eyes.
“Your Highness, Prince, please try some as well.”
“I’m not supposed to drink wine yet.”
“It’s fine if it’s boiled. You eat foods cooked with wine, don’t you?”
At Chloe’s words, Shuel accepted the mulled wine.
“……!”
The head chef, closing his eyes as if he were drinking poison, tasted it—and his eyes went wide.
“This is really delicious, Princess!”
Unlike the head chef, Shuel drank his without suspicion and beamed with delight.
“Try this as well.”
Chloe handed a piece of the canapé to both Shuel and the head chef.
After tasting the canapé, the chef looked as if he might faint.
“How… how can something taste like this?”
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
“Delicious doesn’t even begin to cover it! This flavor is unprecedented. Truly… truly amazing!”
He seemed ready to kneel and beg Chloe to explain how she thought of making a drink by boiling wine, and how she knew the branches would produce such an aroma.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time left.
“I must take this to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“If it’s this, I’m sure Her Majesty will find it excellent!”
With the head chef now fully trusting Chloe, she carried the mulled wine and canapés back to the Empress, Shuel trailing behind her once again.
However, there were guests this time.
In the reception room, aside from the Empress, there were two other people. One was an Imperial noble, and the other seemed to be a foreigner with darker skin.
‘Good thing I brought plenty.’
Chloe bowed to the Empress, who nodded wearily. The noble glanced at Chloe and asked:
“Your Majesty, why did you summon Princess Garnet?”
“To put it simply, I told her to cook.”
‘Isn’t that a bit too brief?’
Chloe silently parted her lips in slight protest. The noble seemed satisfied enough not to ask further, perhaps fearing the Empress’s displeasure.
“Then bring it here and let’s see.”
Following the Empress’s words, Chloe laid out the mulled wine and canapés on the table. The mulled wine, still hot, was in a thick ceramic pot.
“What is this?”
The noble, staring at the unfamiliar drink, murmured in confusion. The Empress’s lips curled slightly.
“This is food that can be eaten, right, Princess?”
“Of course. The head chef tasted it and said it was okay to serve to Your Majesty.”
“…I see. Vance said so.”
The Empress still looked aggressive, though she spoke.
“Then I’ll judge it myself. Take a sip.”
“It’s hot, so sip it slowly as you would tea.”
The Empress followed Chloe’s instructions. The noble across from her did the same, and the silent foreigner began with a canapé.
“……Hmm.”
The Empress drank a sip of the mulled wine without showing any expression.
‘…Not good? No, that can’t be.’
She took another sip of the mulled wine, followed by a canapé.
Seeing the Empress silent, the others remained quiet. But the noble looked at Chloe with wide eyes, astonished, while the foreigner smiled.
After a long pause, the Empress asked Chloe:
“Explain what you’ve made.”
Chloe swallowed and calmly explained:
“It’s a beverage made by boiling red wine with spices and fruit. I added apples, oranges, and lemons.”
“What spices did you use?”
“I haven’t used them before, so I don’t know the name.”
“You’ve never seen them before?”
“The head chef showed them to me. I hadn’t used them, but when I smelled them, I thought they’d go well with wine and fruit.”
Chloe made a quick improvisation. While she had used cinnamon and cloves before, claiming she had only seen them as gifts in the royal household seemed safer.
“To think you would use ingredients you’ve never seen before in food for me…”
The Empress’s tone trailed off subtly. Chloe couldn’t tell if she was pleased or displeased.
‘Hopefully, I won’t be punished for being reckless or presumptuous.’
As Chloe rolled her eyes in anxiety, the Empress asked the noble:
“Ask the head of the guild what he thinks of the taste.”
The noble quietly spoke to the foreigner. From the sound, it seemed to be in another language.
‘So he’s the interpreter.’
That meant the foreigner must be the head of the Southern Continent’s delegation, likely the one who had gifted the cinnamon and cloves. Chloe was curious whether spices were commonly used in the Southern Continent, and whether this culinary culture was unique to the Empire or widespread.
“They say they’ve never seen spices used in a drink like this before.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Yes. Usually they’re used for seasoning meat or in broths, but they said it pairs surprisingly well with the apple in the canapé. Even they’ve never seen this combination before.”
The noble translated the guild master’s praise.
“They are amazed at the young lady’s creativity. They said they want to try having their own chefs replicate this when they return home.”
Hearing this, the Empress fell into a momentary contemplative silence.
“…I see. In that case, the Princess has every reason to be confident in this dish.”
“!”
Chloe quietly clenched her fist at the Empress’s praise.
It wasn’t outright high praise, but for the Empress, who rarely said anything positive, this meant she had clearly enjoyed the taste.
“Princess, what you said about the Prince was also reasonable. However, that talent for speaking should be applied to political matters, not food reviews, Prince.”
As always, the Empress didn’t say anything complimentary to Shuel.
‘Why expect so much from a child?’
Chloe thought the Empress’s standards were harsh, but there was nothing she could do. She was the Empress, and Chloe was merely a princess.
‘My earlier defiance was already more than enough.’
Determined not to stir up more trouble, Chloe kept her mouth firmly shut this time.
When they left the Empress’s reception room, all of the mulled wine and canapés had been completely consumed.
