~Chapter 09~
Ruby realized that having meat at every meal wasn’t as easy as she thought.
She wanted to thank the head chef, who had always taken care of her siblings’ meals. So, instead of secretly watching from afar, she stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
“Young lady.”
A maid who helped serve meals quickly recognized Ruby.
“So this is Lady Ruby…?”
Since the head chef had never served food personally, it was his first time seeing Ruby.
Ruby looked up at him and greeted him politely.
“Hello, Head Chef. I’m Ruby Brooklyn. All the food you’ve made so far has been really delicious.”
When Ruby smiled as she spoke, the chef forgot his earlier anger and felt happy.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, my lady. I want to keep making good food for the young masters and misses, but…”
His face darkened again as he spoke.
Instead of replying to him, Ruby turned to the merchant.
“Can I take a look at the old meat you mentioned earlier? I think I might be able to help.”
The chef and the merchant looked at each other at Ruby’s confident words.
After some hesitation, the merchant nodded reluctantly.
“Alright.”
The chef, the merchant, and Ruby decided to go to the merchant’s storage.
“Let’s go, then.”
The merchant took them by carriage to his warehouse.
The warehouse was filled with all sorts of ingredients, as he supplied many places. Ruby looked around with curiosity, seeing many ingredients for the first time.
The chef asked nervously, “Why do you want to see old meat of all things?”
“I think it might still be useful.”
The chef had only ever used the freshest, high-quality meat for Duke Lux’s meals. He had never used old meat before, so he felt uncomfortable.
The merchant brought out the old meat and showed it to them.
Ruby examined it closely and sniffed it.
“It doesn’t seem spoiled. How did you store it?”
“I salted it and kept it in a cool place.”
“May I taste a little?”
“My lady! What if you get sick?”
The chef tried to stop her out of concern.
But Ruby accepted a slice from the merchant and slowly tasted it.
“Hmm, it’s fine. We can definitely cook with this.”
“With this?”
The chef looked surprised and tried a piece too.
“It tastes better than expected, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? I thought it would smell bad because it’s old meat, but it doesn’t.”
Since he usually worked with only rare and fresh ingredients, it was likely that the chef had never tried such common meat before.
Ruby, on the other hand, had grown up eating this kind of food. Though her father held the Brooklyn name, their family had been poor, so they often ate salted or preserved meat.
She knew well that as long as it was stored properly, it could still be eaten.
“But my lady,” the chef still looked concerned, even after tasting it.
“This meat is too salty to make dishes like steak.”
“There are still plenty of other dishes we can make.”
“Like what?”
Ruby leaned close and whispered in his ear.
“It’s like this…”
As she explained, the chef’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“How do you know so much about cooking, my lady?”
“I’ve cooked before.”
“You have, my lady?”
It wasn’t Ruby who had done the cooking—it was Yunsu, her past self. With four younger siblings and a sick mother, Yunsu had to take care of the household and cook often.
But Ruby let the chef misunderstand.
“I had no choice if I wanted to survive.”
Her casual words left the chef unsure of how to respond.
“Don’t worry. I’m not better than you. I won’t steal your job.”
Ruby joked to ease the mood.
The chef understood her attempt to lighten the mood and smiled.
***
Lunchtime was near.
Duke Lux had been focused on work and only lifted his head when Balt called for him.
“My lord, it’s time for lunch.”
“Hmm.”
“You skipped breakfast. How about at least eating lunch?”
At Balt’s polite urging, Duke Lux reluctantly stood up.
He sat down in his usual spot in the dining room. As soon as he did, the dishes were served.
Bruschetta sandwiches, topped with tomatoes and creamy gnocchi, were brought out first.
“How is His Grace responding?”
“No reaction.”
The chef was disappointed but still hopeful.
After finishing the second course, the Duke wiped his mouth with a napkin. He was just about to get up, thinking he’d eaten enough.
Balt stopped him gently.
“Please try the main dish before you leave.”
“I’ve had enough.”
“The chef put in extra effort today. Won’t you at least try it?”
To Duke Lux, it didn’t matter how much effort the chef put in—every dish tasted the same to him.
But because of Balt’s sincerity, he sat back down.
“I’ll just taste it.”
“Bring out the next dish.”
Balt told the maid.
This time, the chef himself entered the dining room, pushing a tray.
The Duke’s eyebrow twitched.
“Why is he coming in personally?”
“Because he worked especially hard on this one and wanted to serve it himself.”
The Duke, who normally had no interest in food, was curious about the dish.
The tray was covered so the food wasn’t visible. The chef carefully placed it in front of the Duke and lifted the cover.
“Hmm?”
What the Duke saw was unexpected.
“This is it?”
In the middle of a large plate sat… a sandwich.
He lifted the bread to look inside.
The filling was thin slices of meat—not even fresh meat, from the look of it.
“What kind of meat is this?”
The chef decided to be honest.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. Because of the Goddess Festival, hunting is banned, and we couldn’t get fresh meat. I wanted to serve something decent this year, unlike last year.”
Since the Duke preferred meat, the chef always tried to include it in every meal.
But during the festival, he had no choice but to cook only vegetables.
Watching the Duke eat less or even skip meals during that time had made the chef desperate to find a solution.
“So I used salted meat instead of fresh.”
“Salted meat?”
Duke Lux knew that was something only commoners ate.
His face turned sour.
The chef quickly added, “Please just taste it first and decide.”
“Hmph.”
The Duke stared at the sandwich for a long time.
He had never seen such a simple dish before. He was used to fancy multi-course meals.
This was a completely new experience.
But thinking of the chef’s effort—and Balt’s hopeful eyes—he decided to try it.
He picked up the sandwich and took a bite.
“Hmm.”
A positive sound escaped his lips.
Balt and the chef looked at each other and smiled in relief.
After chewing and swallowing, the Duke finally spoke.
“The salty meat, vegetables, and bread go well together. Easy to eat, too.”
“Do you like it, Your Grace?”
“From now on, serve this for lunch during the festival.”
“Yes, sir!”
The chef answered in an excited voice, happy that the Duke liked it.
“It must’ve been a tough decision. How did you come up with this idea?”
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🌷Luna🌷͙⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ
