CH 96

Tea Party and Lorschel (10)

“……what?”

Vernon, the Chief Chef of the Palace, tried to answer casually, but he raised his head instead. He thought that he was actually hearing something.

As he thought that perhaps his ears heard wrong, he asked back to Kergel, the Emperor who was before him, in a cautious tone.

“Your Majesty, what you just said…… I mean… Don’t tell me, you…”

However, Vernon could not easily speak as he stuttered. That was how ridiculous the order which Kergel had given him seemed to have been.

As if to reconfirm it once again, Kergel nodded and opened his mouth once more even before Vernon could finish speaking.

“Yes, teach me sincerely and well so that I can make this by myself—within this month and as soon as possible too.”

“What do you mean, by this month? There are only about five days left!”

Vernon listened to Kergel’s words with a shut mouth like a man who was completely out of his mind for a moment before he came to his senses belatedly and retorted in protest.

Within this month, the deadline that he had set was due to a sense of crisis. However, Kergel, who was merely sitting diagonally in front of Vernon, raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth in a calm manner.

“Five days are just enough. Are you going to whine that the Chief Chef of the Imperial Palace can’t even do such a thing?”

“What do you mean, whining! I’m not complaining like I’m just a kid! How can I teach Your Majesty how to make snacks? And even more so, in five days……”

“You’re only teaching me one recipe for this snack. I didn’t mean for you to teach me any great dishes either. Aren’t you just ignoring talented people like me too much? I think I can learn how to make these sweets in just a day or even a few hours.”

Kergel instantly cut off Vernon’s wails in the middle and said confidently.

Did his words touch upon the Chief Chef’s pride?

Vernon’s brows twitched as he clenched his fist. At a first glance, he seemed to have wanted in seeing Kergel, who had made a name for himself as a fighter from long ago.

“Uh, Your Majesty. On the surface, it may perhaps be a simple dish, but the process is not that simple at all. You have to go through this and that, starting with the preparation of the ingredients in the first place. Isn’t that right, Vernon?”

At that moment, a silent servant intervened. It was to prevent Vernon from acting in such a demeanor, no, looking like he was about to commit treason.

No matter how much he said that there were no eyes except for himself, he just couldn’t make the Emperor and the Head Chef of the Imperial Palace fight with each other.

Kergel glanced at the attendant before he scratched the top of his nose as if he had guessed what was going on inside of him and made an awkward expression. Then, he opened his mouth to Vernon once again.

“I made a slip of the tongue just now. I’m sorry, Vernon.”

“Oh, no. Your Majesty.”

Vernon eventually opened up his fist towards Kergel and bowed his head in embarrassment. And when he saw the book in front of him once again, he immediately appeared rather curious.

“By the way, there were so many recipes that had disappeared a long time ago. If I had known that there were records like this, I would have already tried this and that much earlier.”

Vernon couldn’t take his eyes off the book as his hands began to flinch. If he could, he wanted to take that book at once and run away as it was.

“If you could help me make Lorschel’s snacks perfectly, I don’t mind lending you this book.”

Kergel said as if he was throwing bait at such a Vernon. Then, Vernon, who had quickly swallowed the bait, started raising his head.

“Wi, will you really lend it to me? You mean, that book?”

“Of course.”

Kergel replied with a nod. Vernon’s eyes then opened wide and stirred busily from side to side. Subsequently, his own Adam’s apple also moved as he was heard to be gulping and swallowing some saliva as well.

The faint sound eventually raised the corners of Kergel’s mouth. And at the same time, Vernon’s loud voice could then be heard clearly.

“I will definitely do my best, Your Majesty! Shall we proceed with the theory or practice right now?”

Vernon’s eyes began to flash with such excessive motivation.

* * *

“……He’s busy today as well?”

Roelin tried pretending to be okay with what Lucy had said in embarrassment, but she couldn’t hide her sullen face completely. Silloa looked at the figure and opened her mouth while not knowing what to really do.

“Well, Empress. Shall I ask them again?”

“No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t be interrupting a busy person.”

“Still! It’s ridiculous that he’s busy without even having some time to eat together! Honestly, he has been working on a lot more so far. Since when has His Majesty been so busy……”

Silloa grumbled as if she was the one who had been rejected before she hurriedly closed her mouth. It had been because she was worried that Roelin would become even more hurt by what she had just said earlier.

But Roelin smiled as if she was all okay. Of course, it was not that okay deep down inside her.

For three days, to be exact, she had not been seeing Kergel. At least, he was not in the bedroom at night, so she couldn’t even see him at all.

When she asked through Lucy or Silloa, the only same answer was reported back.

He was busy or he had something to do, so he stated that he wouldn’t be able to dine with her and he also said for her to go to bed first.