CH 1.16

“That’s actually the problem. If the meat’s not correctly managed, bacteria can spread, and it will go bad. One needs to carefully consider different temperature levels when aging them,” Peter explained to Marie.

“So will the meat be okay?” Marie asked cautiously.

Peter’s expression darkened as he replied, “This storage room is designed to maintain a consistently cool temperature to prevent the meat from spoiling. Normally, the aged meat here is safe without any issues. However, we’ve recently encountered a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Due to the rain in the past few days, the air in this underground storage room has become more humid. I’m concerned that the meat might spoil,” Peter explained.

“Ah…”

“We have a banquet in two days, and if these meat spoil, we won’t have high-quality meat to use for the main course,” Peter explained.

More than 200 people would attend the banquet, and the dishes made with the veal meat were the highlight of the banquet’s main course. Thus, it’s essential to use high-quality meat for such an important event. However, it’s impossible to get high-quality meat that could accommodate so many delegates from various nations on short notice.

“So this is why we’re here?”

“Yes, I came to check if there’s any meat that’s changed. When the air is humid like this, bacteria can breed and cause the meat to spoil rapidly.” Peter replied and started examining the meat carefully.

He checked for any spoiled parts, bad smells, or changes in meat color. Unfortunately, he found quite a few pieces with such issues.

“We should dispose of these.”

“Are they spoiled?”

“Yes, possibly due to the bad weather. It’s worse than the last time I was here,” he said with a gloomy expression.

“Usually, the air is dry at this time of the year, but unexpectedly, it’s humid, and I’m concerned.” Peter sighed. “The banquet is in two days, and if the meat goes bad, we won’t have any way to replace it.”

“Aren’t there any other meat in the palace?”

“We have, but it’s not easy to find the highest quality meat. Besides, there will be hundreds of people attending the banquet,” Peter said, looking worried with a somber expression. If the meat deteriorated and caused any problems with the preparation of the banquet, it would be his responsibility.

“Anyway, we need to come back tomorrow and check again.”

The following day, Marie accompanied Peter to the storage room. Unfortunately, they found that some of the meat had deteriorated even more than the previous day.

“O-Oh, we have a big problem,” Peter said anxiously. “The air here is becoming more humid. We can’t allow this deterioration to continue to spread. We’re going to cook it tomorrow, so I just need to keep the meat fresh for one more day.”

“Can the meat change like that in a day?”

“It’s possible. More and more meat are spoiling, so we need to address the issue quickly,” replied Peter.

As they were discussing the issue, Count Gilbert, the palace manager who supervised all the palace’s affairs—including the upcoming banquet—arrived unexpectedly.

“So, how are the preparations for the banquet going? There will be delegations across Europe, so you must serve only the best dishes.” Gilbert’s mustache twitched. He said, “His Highness the Crown Prince is also concerned, so it must go smoothly.”

Upon hearing this, Peter hesitated before opening his mouth to speak. “Your Lordship, there is actually a bit of a problem.”

“What problem?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

“Well, the thing is…” Peter explained that the humidity in the underground storage had increased due to the weather, causing problems with some of the meat, and that there was a risk of further decay in the future.

Upon hearing the explanation, Gilbert bursted in anger. “What the hell! How could you possibly have stored it like that! Are you out of your mind?!”

Peter lowered his head with a pale complexion. It wasn’t entirely his fault that the air had become humid, but as the person in charge, he would be responsible.

“I’m sorry.”

“Regardless of the weather, you should’ve stored it properly! Isn’t that your job?!” Gilbert asked with an anxious expression. “Haa. This is a big problem. So, does that mean we won’t be able to serve the highest quality meat at the banquet tomorrow?”

“Not necessarily. We’re keeping a close eye on it, so the probability of it is low. However… since the air continues to be humid, I think we should prepare additional meat just in case.”

Count Gilbert shook his head. “That’s not an option.”

“Why…?”

“I don’t know exactly how many people will be there, but we aren’t equipped to get hundreds of meat now. Of course, we can use low-quality meat for thousands of people if needed, but if we serve such inferior meat at the banquet, the delegations from various nations will mock us. Tomorrow’s banquet must serve only the finest quality meat.”

“…”

Peter remained silent. The Palace Manager was correct. If they served low-quality dishes at the banquet, he didn’t know what kind of ridicule they would face.

“So, make sure to take all measures to keep the meat from spoiling. If there are any problems with the preparation, I will hold you responsible. Do you understand?!”

“…Yes, I understand.”

As Gilbert huffed away, Marie called Peter.

“Chef…”

Peter shook his head, as if telling her not to worry. “It’ll be alright. I’ll keep a close eye on it.”

However, Marie also heard from Peter that it was impossible to completely prevent the spoilage of meat due to the changes in humidity. The meat changing in various ways was already an ominous sign.

‘The amount of spoilage is increasing as time goes by.’

They didn’t even notice that the bacteria had already spread throughout the meat.

‘Is there any way to prevent it from spoiling?’ She recalled the dreams that could work miracles for her. ‘If only I could have a dream that could help the head chef.’

However, no matter how much ability she would gain from her dreams, there was no way to prevent it from spoiling. All she could do was pray for everything to be alright. ‘Lord, please. Help ensure that the banquet goes smoothly without any problems.’

Was it thanks to that prayer? That night, Marie had a ‘dream.’ It was a lucid dream where she felt like she’d become a different person.

‘What kind of dream is it this time?’ As far as her experience went, the dream was most likely related to what would happen in the future. Perhaps there was some practical way for her to help Peter. However, the content of the dream was odd. Although it was related to meat, it was not what she’d hoped for.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you’ve all been waiting for. Finally, the time has come to decide the ultimate winner of the Grand Beef Master’s cooking competition!”

It was a dream where Marie was participating in a beef cooking competition.

She became speechless in disbelief. ‘What is this? Why a beef cooking competition all of a sudden?’

In her dream, ‘she’, an Asian woman with dark hair, was a finalist against a blond man. Currently, they were waiting for the judges’ evaluation of their respective beef dishes.

“Now, the first dish is Joseph’s fillet mignon. It’s a dish that solely relies on the texture of the highest quality tenderloin. The delicate taste is heavenly!”

Then, the person hosting the competition introduced the dish of the Asian woman. “On the other hand, the second dish is completely opposite in style. The meat used is of low-grade quality and can be found at home! However, through simple yet excellent techniques, the dish transforms the low-grade meat into a taste that can rival even the highest quality. The tender yet rich taste makes one doubt if it’s really the same dish we know.”

The host then announced the name of the dish the Asian woman made. “The name of this dish that everyone knows is…!”

“Marie! Marie! Wake up!”

“…!”

The dreamer jolted awake at the sound of her name being called. Before she could even think about the meaning of her dream, she heard a frantic voice.

“Something urgent has happened! You need to hurry and go to the Lily Palace!”

“What? What happened?” Marie’s eyes widened at the mention of something urgent.

‘Could it be?’

“There seems to be a problem with the meat! The entire Lily Palace is in a state of panic right now!”

“…” Her heart sank. She was anxious, as it turned out something had gone wrong!

She rushed to the Lily Palace’s kitchen, where Peter was standing with a pale complexion.

“Chef?”

Peter and the sous chefs were discussing as their faces continued to turn pale. “It was fine when we checked it last night, right?”

“Yes, Chef. It was definitely fine yesterday.”

“But why? Haa.”

“It seems that the meat, which originally had some decay, has undergone significant deterioration due to the humid air that entered during the night. We tried to prevent this by opening up as much airflow as possible.”

As they assessed the situation, it seemed that the bacteria that had been living among the meat had spread significantly due to the increased humidity during the night, causing most of the meat to spoil.

“What if we use a lot of spices to mask its scent?”

“That won’t be enough.” Peter bit his lip. “We can’t use these meat.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Tell the food suppliers to prepare new meat for the main dish ASAP.”

“Then the quality of the dish will be greatly compromised, Chef.” The sous chefs exclaimed in surprise.

Peter, the head chef, said with a pained expression, “I know. But it can’t be helped in this current situation.”

He groaned inwardly. ‘After this banquet, I won’t be able to avoid punishment. I wonder what kind of punishment I’ll get,’ Peter panicked as he thought of Rael, the one who had risen to the title of Crown Prince after eliminating all of his half-brothers.

The Crown Prince’s honor was at stake at this banquet. Peter didn’t think the Crown Prince of Blood would simply let him go for putting a dent on his reputation.

‘Worst case scenario, I might lose my head.’

“Perhaps… this would be my last dish to cook,” he said bitterly, as the chefs called out to him with pitying voices, “Chef Peter!”

Marie also looked at Peter pitifully. She was also worried about what punishment Peter would receive for not preparing the banquet properly.

‘Is there any way I can help him?’ she thought anxiously. She didn’t want him to get punished by the Crown Prince of Blood.

Sure, it was under his charge when the meat went bad, but technically speaking, wasn’t it an inevitable situation? It’s not like humans can control the weather. Leaving that aside, she wanted to help the person who treated her warmly.

‘Please, there must be a way…’ At that moment, one method suddenly came to mind.

A way to make a high quality dish with low-grade meat! In the dream, the Asian woman’s dish was exceptional despite using low-grade meat.

It was the method she dreamed about last night. The Asian woman’s dish was so exceptional that it could turn even low-grade meat into the best dish imaginable.

‘But will it be recognized as a grosse pièce?’ She was worried, but soon nodded her head. ‘Well, if it’s the same as what I’ve dreamed, it will be. It’s a taste that won’t fall behind any other grosse pièces.”

The woman in her dream was able to turn an ordinary household dish into the most extraordinary dish imaginable. That’s why she was able to compete with dishes made from top-quality ingredients and even made it to the finals. Her cooking would surely satisfy the palates of the delegates.

‘The problem is, how do I tell Chef Peter about this?’ she thought.

She’s just a junior maid whose job was to assist him in the kitchen. Cooking was his lane, and even though she’d recently received a lot of compliments for her work, it would be impertinent of her to tell him how to do his job.

‘What should I do?’ As she was pondering this, an unexpected voice loomed before them.

“Is there a problem with the banquet preparations?”

“······!”

Her body froze as soon as she heard his voice. Not only her, but also Chef Peter, the sous chefs, and the kitchen maids came to a sudden halt as if frozen in shock.

t/n: how the hell does she recognize the Crown Prince’s voice but not figure out that him and unknown blond dude were one and the same? she needs to get the detective vision/dream asap, girlie is in need of deductive reasoning skills

also that one random sous chef’s suggestion? excuse me? are they for real… mask the foul smell with spices?

rael: 2

marie: 3