When the carriage passed through the rear gate of the palace, the phantom of Lilia's small hand still lingered in Elena's chest. At the farewell, Lilia had clutched six notebooks and waved her small hand from the stone pavement. Elena couldn't avert her gaze until that hand disappeared from the carriage window. (I've entrusted it to you, then.) Those two words had been circling in her chest since last night. Whether in her past life or this one, Elena had rarely entrusted anything to anyone. Work was faster if she did it herself. If someone made a mistake, there was no taking it back. That way of thinking had seeped into her very bones. But last night, she had left behind the pudding recipe. In the ledger's countermeasures column, there were only three lines today. "Royal kitchen · Supervisor: Karl Hermann · Count Dort present · full effort · end of story" End of story. That was all. The carriage came to a stop. Morning light streaming through the palace's service entrance cast long shadows on the stone pavement. Elena cradled the ledger in her arms and stood before the great doors of the kitchen. Before gripping the doorknob, she took one deep breath. Then she pushed it open. "——You've come." A voice flew at her. Low and resonant. Standing in a commanding stance was a large man clad in white chef's whites. The royal crest was embroidered on his left chest in a single, flawless piece of pure white fabric. Broad shoulders, thick arms. Perhaps in his fifties, his black hair streaked with white was cut short, and his posture with both arms crossed before his chest was as immovable as a castle wall. Karl Hermann. The royal chef of the Fleuresia Kingdom. A man who had borne the burden of the king's meals for many years, standing at the pinnacle of court cuisine. Behind him, another figure with crossed arms came into view. Count Dort von Elsbergh. The leading conservative of the Jade Round Table. An elderly nobleman who had orchestrated the Moon Shadow Pavilion's closure and made no effort to hide the hostility in his eyes even now. Today he had his white wig neatly arranged, wearing an expression that clearly said "I've come to witness this." "I doubt a commoner-born merchant woman can prepare court cuisine." Karl's voice was matter-of-fact. He wasn't shouting or provoking. It was as if he were simply stating a fact. And because of that, it carried weight. Elena said nothing in return. Instead, she set the ledger she'd been cradling on a shelf and unlocked the cooling box she'd brought. She took out one pudding and placed it quietly on the counter before Karl. Karl snorted. He took a spoon and scooped the surface of the pudding. One bite. Ten seconds of silence. A voice came from behind. "Karl! You're being seduced! Don't you dare acknowledge it! No matter what tricks they use——" "……There's another one." Karl turned toward Elena and spoke just one sentence. "There is." Elena took out the second one. Karl ate the second bite. Count Dort's voice of "Don't acknowledge it, don't acknowledge it, Karl!!" grew gradually distant. Karl paid no attention whatsoever, directing a questioning gaze toward Elena about the existence of a third pudding. "The third one onwards costs extra." Count Dort let out a shriek. "Are you two only talking about money?!!" Karl slowly set down his spoon. Then he turned back toward Count Dort. His expression didn't change. He simply let out one breath. "Count." "What?!" "This pudding is genuine. I will assist this woman." The count's roar flew out. Karl wasn't listening anymore. He turned back to Elena and said, "Let's confirm the ingredients." Elena opened the ledger. Behind them, Count Dort continued saying something. Eventually, the heavy kitchen door slowly closed. Only the count's voice drifted through from outside, muffled. His angry shouts echoed across the wall. Karl glanced at the door once, then turned back toward the ingredient shelves. "Let's begin the prep work." That was all. ━━━ Less than ten minutes after prep work began, the service entrance burst open with force. With a sound like DOGAN!!!, a figure dressed in tattered rags who appeared to be a farmer shouted "I've brought provisions!!" as he flew inside. Everyone turned around. Gold hair was exploding in all directions from the gaps in a straw hat. Jade eyes sparkled brilliantly. Elena glanced at him once. "Today's disguise gets a 1 out of 10." She didn't hesitate. "Eh?! That's the lowest score yet?! Wait, wait, wait!!!!" Alphonse tried to pull the hat down deeper. It was physically impossible. There was too much gold hair for the hat to function at all. When he pressed the front, it came out the back. When he pressed the back, it came out the front. No matter how hard he tried, the gold hair kept asserting itself. Behind Elena, Sebastian crossed his arms and groaned. The 188-centimeter tall knight commander with silver hair carelessly tied back spoke with an almost critical air. "Your Highness, it's all sticking out of the hat." "Don't you start!!" Karl placed his hand to his forehead. "……The First Prince in farmer's clothing in my kitchen," he said only that, and directed his gaze toward the ceiling. "It's a nobleman who loves straw hats. Happens all the time." "It doesn't happen." "It does happen." "It doesn't." But the moment Elena peered into the provisions basket Alphonse had brought, her hand stopped. Eggs. High-quality eggs. The shells were uniformly colored, the sizes consistent. Beside them was a pale yellow block of butter, and a package of white sugar. All of it was clearly superior quality. Elena silently accepted the basket. Alphonse made a victory pose. His jade eyes sparkled like a puppy's. "It's fine to do a victory pose once, but please go stand in the corner quickly." "Yes!!" Alphonse obediently moved to the corner. The next moment, Sebastian declared "I can be useful too! I'll be the taste tester!!" and held up something in his right hand. Drawing closer, it was a bundle of large, bright red chili peppers. "If we add a pinch to every dish, it'll be perfect. I'm certain of it." His expression was serious. His eyes were earnest. Elena hit Sebastian's hand with a ladle. The chili peppers scattered across the floor. "There's no spicy food in court cuisine." "A cultural defeat……" Sebastian gazed at the floor. At the fallen chili peppers. His silver hair drooped with melancholy. Karl approached and tilted his head. "What is 'spicy'?" he asked with a pure, innocent expression. Sebastian's eyes lit up. "Let me explain! If you go to the Moon Shadow Pavilion——" "Please don't explain." Elena cut him off immediately. Sebastian protested "I haven't even said anything yet!!" Elena replied "I can predict what comes next." Sebastian shouted "How?!!" Karl simply said "……Let's continue the prep work" and returned to his station. In the corner, Alphonse was still trying to adjust his straw hat. He hadn't given up. ━━━ Once the prep work began in earnest, Leon moved. The chief researcher of the Court Magical Institute had been observing the heating magic circle since arriving in the kitchen. His jet-black short hair with a single vivid red streak bent quietly toward the floor. His golden eyes behind his glasses traced the patterns of the magic circle. "The efficiency is poor. I'll make some modifications." His voice was flat. Almost no emotional inflection. Elena raised her gaze from the caramel pot. "Just minor ones, please." "Of course." Leon began moving his hands. His incantation was short, his finger gestures swift. He held his hand over part of the magic circle, and light ran across it. Three minutes later. White mist erupted from one corner of the kitchen. With a sound like SHUUUUUUU!!!!, the temperature dropped rapidly. Frost raced across the stone floor. Glass containers on the shelves began fogging from the inside. A thin layer of ice began forming on the surface of the pot where consommé soup was simmering. "……The output was higher than anticipated." Leon said quietly. "My consommé soup is starting to freeze———!!!!!" Karl's scream echoed through the kitchen. Sebastian hurriedly tried to pick up the chili peppers, but they rolled across the frost-covered floor as he chased after them. Alphonse, still holding the provisions basket, shouted "Wait, the ingredients are going to freeze too?!" Elena immediately moved her right hand. She ran an incantation while concentrating her magical power on temperature correction. Intermediate magic, temperature manipulation——a composite system of fire and water. Precise control adjustable in 0.5-degree increments was now operating at full capacity. "Please anticipate it!!" She shouted while applying corrections. The temperature gradually began returning. Karl clutched the freezing consommé pot to his chest. Sebastian slid across the floor chasing the chili peppers. In the midst of that chaos. Alphonse, still holding the provisions basket, lost his footing on the frost-covered stone floor. His body tilted. Elena reflexively extended her arm. She grabbed Alphonse's sleeve and caught him. Both their movements stopped abruptly. They were separated by only a few centimeters, with the basket between them. White mist still drifted thinly. The frost on the stone floor was beginning to melt, but the air was still chilly. Elena's breath came out faintly white. So did Alphonse's. Alphonse's eyes met Elena's. (……Close.) Elena's thoughts stopped for just a moment. In a place where rational judgment had no room to enter, something beat one extra time. It was a sensation that couldn't be classified in either her past life's memories or her current world's experiences. Alphonse's ears were turning red. The redness spread gradually from the edges. At the same speed as before——when she'd been tasting the caramel for the pudding trial, when she'd been gazed at by those jade eyes from thirty centimeters away. Exactly the same speed. Elena's gaze was drawn toward that ear. In the chilly air, Alphonse's body heat transmitted through. Even through the sleeve, it was warm. (……Outside my duties.) Elena immediately began erasing the unnecessary registration from her mind. It didn't completely disappear. "Please be careful of the floor." She said it in a flat voice and released her hand. Alphonse answered "Ah, ah……" His voice was slightly hoarse. Elena averted her gaze while precisely recording the redness of that ear in her peripheral vision——as an off-duty record. Whether that was actually true or not, she decided not to think about it now. Leon's voice ended that silence. "Correction complete. Temperature returning to normal." Everyone turned toward Leon. Leon adjusted his glasses and spoke. "The magical operation was flawless." He showed no remorse whatsoever. Angry shouts flew from all four directions——Elena, Karl, Sebastian, and Alphonse simultaneously. "It wasn't flawless————!!!!" Leon murmured "I don't understand why that reaction occurs." More angry shouts flew. ━━━ As evening fell and prep work intensified, the kitchen door opened. Count Dort von Elsbergh entered with an expression that said "I'll check on how things are going." His white wig neatly arranged, his gait dignified and composed, he stepped onto the stone floor——and in that instant. ZUZAZAZA!!!! His feet slipped spectacularly at the entrance. "——!" The frost left behind after Leo had frozen the floor and it had melted was still there on the wet stone. The count fell on his rear. His hands went to the floor. As he tried to compose himself to shout, his body was only half-raised, making it difficult to maintain dignity. Sebastian silently offered his hand. "I won't take the hand of an enemy!!" The count refused. He tried to stand on his own. His feet slipped again. This was the second time. "……!!" On the third attempt, the count tried to get up again, but his feet ta