/
In the kitchen, they were busy preparing many dishes. Since the event was held as a buffet instead of a dinner, it was hard to pay attention to every single dish.
Crash!
Chef Hans collapsed.
“Hans!”
Emily called him in surprise. Chef Hans, who had never missed a day of cooking, collapsed. After all the apprentice chefs quit, instead of choosing a new chef, Hans cooked everything.
Normally, Hans could do it all by himself because he didn’t have to cook a lot, but the banquet that served a larger amount than usual even brought down Hans, who had a solid physical strength.
“What should we do?”
The maid, who had been helping in the kitchen, looked at Emily. All the main dishes were done, so there was only dessert left. Only Hans knew the recipe for dessert, and Hans, who was making dessert, left the kitchen on a stretcher.
“I’ll make the dessert. Everyone, please help me.”
Emily rolled up her sleeves and persuaded two maids, and they nodded.
“Bass, knead the flour and butter mixture, and Izumi, cut up the apples and lemons.”
The butler came rushing in as soon as he heard the news that Hans had collapsed.
“Hans collapsed?”
“Yes. So I’ve decided to make the dessert.”
“You? Can you do it?”
He had seen Emily make a lot of simple treats, but never once had I seen her make a fancy dessert to suit the palates of the nobles.
“If I don’t do it, who will?”
The butler nodded. It would take a while to invite a new chef now, and once dessert was served, the food was ready.
“Emily. I’ll give you a bonus after the feast is over.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Emily was happy and worked even harder. The butler was impressed with Emily. Hans was very strict and there were not many people who could stand him.
He thought Emily would quit soon, but she worked surprisingly hard and got along well with Hans.
***
“My name is Carter James. Can you tell me your name? I’ve never seen a beauty like you before.”
Carter was trying to speak as politely as possible in an elegant voice. The woman in front of him looked beautiful and dignified. The dress she was wearing was also made of pretty good material, and if you looked closely, you could see small opals inlaid in it.
The small opals embedded in the black dress reminiscent of stars in the night sky. She was taller than Carter, but it didn’t matter.
“Hahahah.”
The man standing beside the woman, who looked like a knight, was trying not to laugh. The knight had hair that looked like it had been replaced with carrots and wore glasses, but he couldn’t hide his handsome face. The woman poked the knight in the side with her elbow. But he still laughed unstoppably.
“Oh hahahaha, I can’t stop laughing
..”
The woman smiled apologetically at Carter. Even that smile looked so dainty that Carter’s heart throbbed. Her voice was much lower pitched than the other woman’s, but not so low that it sounded funny.
“I’m sorry. My escort knight is a bit silly.”
“No. It looks like the knight is a commoner, but what can you do with an uneducated commoner? You must have a lot of trouble, Young Lady.”
The Young Lady smiled at Carter’s words and the knight glared at Carter. She placed her hand on her chest gently and said softly,
“My name is Abigail Wright.”
“Oh, you’re Baron Wright’s daughter?”
“Yes. 
.He’s coming just in time.”
Baron Wright and Count James were walking towards Abigail. The Count looked at Abigail and opened his eyes wide.
“You are
.?”
Count James questioned, but before he could finish, Abigail greeted him by bowing her head and grabbing her dress, interrupting him.
“Count James. Pleased to meet you, I’m Abigail Wright, daughter of Baron Wright.”
James broke out in a cold sweat when he saw Abigail’s bright red eyes. It was the same face he had seen a month ago, but why did this person come here dressing like this? ‘She’ seemed to have grown a little taller since then. ‘Her’ face was a bit more beautiful.
No, why does ‘she’ look so good? ‘She’ said ‘she’ was coming in secret, but Count James didn’t know ‘she’ was talking about this.
However, the body shape could not be hidden.
His son, Carter, was completely in love with ‘her’ appearance, but ‘she’ was tall with strong shoulders. A 20-year-old young man dressed up as a woman.
James looked at Baron Wright and the Baron winked at him with a playful expression. Count James closed his eyes softly and said to Abigail.
“Yes, is there any inconvenience? I thought I’d introduce you to my son
”
Count James looked at Carter who was drooling over Abigail. It seemed that the introductions were already done, both a month ago and this time.
‘When will Carter learn to see people for who they are?’
Count James’s use of honorifics with Abigail also fell on Carter’s deaf ears.
“Father. I love Miss Abigail.”
Carter said, his face turning red. It was the face of a man who had fallen in love. Count James gritted his teeth at his son.
‘You fool. Can’t you see his wide shoulders and his height? No, what the hell did he put in his chest? How come they’re so big?’
Abigail’s breasts are even bigger than most women’s. The Crown Prince would definitely flat chested. But Carter was fooled because of that face. Abigail’s escort knight next to her kept giggling the whole time.
***
For dessert, there were fruit tarts and apple pies. Then there were potatoes and various vegetables that had been dusted with flour and fried thinly. They had never seen such fried vegetables before, and the nobles were buzzing.
“Delicious! The tarts are great, but this is truly amazing.”
Baron Wright couldn’t help but marvel. He picked at the fried vegetables. The nobles were more interested in the new dessert than the mundane tart. Potatoes and sweet potatoes were usually avoided by the nobles because they were the lowest of the low. And yet it was a wonder they tasted so good.
“Father! Brother!”
At that moment, Emma James accompanied by her maidservant came running in from afar. Unlike the aristocrat of her age, she was different. The gold necklace, bracelets, earrings, and hair decorations were shiny.
“It looked like Hans had collapsed and Emily had made dessert! She dusted it with flour and eggs and fried it in oil!”
Emma usually hated vegetables, but fried vegetables with flour and eggs were very tasty. Emma was curious about the cooking method, so she ran to the kitchen to ask. Her cheeks, plump and fat at eighteen.
“Really?”
“Yes! I’ll have to fry vegetables like this from now on!”
The sight of Emma adorned in gold brought more wrinkles to Count James’ forehead. She wasn’t bad looking, but there was definitely a reason why she didn’t get any marriage proposals. Carter would inherit the count’s title, but how much dowry would his daughter have to pay to get a match?
“I’m going to go get some fresh air?”
Abigail said and went out into the garden with her escort knight.
Carter tried to follow, but was grabbed by Count James.
“Where are you going? Let’s say hello to other young ladies.”
“As long as I have Abigail
”
Count James hit Carter on the back of his head and grumbled. Carter couldn’t help but follow Count James. Emma was busy eating her dessert. Baron Wright said as they ate their vegetable tempura together.
“I see that your chef Emily is quite good. Please introduce me to her later.”
“Of course! Baron.” Said Emma excitedly.
***
“You seemed to have fun out there.”
The knight chuckled at Abigail’s words.
“I believe the Count’s son is about to propose to you.”
“

 Oliver.”
The knight, who was called Oliver, stopped talking at the call. The trees around them were swaying and the sound of the wind was unusual. Abigail’s eyes met Oliver’s, and he took out his sword and said,
“One, two, three
 There are six. That’s not good.”
Before Oliver could finish, the shadows that had been hiding in the grass jumped out and started attacking them. Oliver began to fight, and Abigail also took out the dagger she had hidden in her dress.
Meanwhile, Emily went outside to sharpen her knife. The kitchen was very crowded at the moment, so she wanted to sharpen her knives in the well to relax and enjoy the breeze.
“It’s dark.”
As she walked through the dark garden, illuminated by a lamp, she heard the sound of swords clashing. She turned her head toward the sound.
Then she saw a young lady in a dress and a man trying to protect her, fighting with a sword. There were men with masks covering their faces, armed and ready to kill the woman and the man.
Gasp.
Emily hastily turned off the lamp. Nothing good would happen if she was caught watching.The man who seemed to be the Young Lady’s  knight was injured in the arm. The Lady was also fighting, not sitting still, but she seemed to be struggling.
“It’s the right thing to help, right?”
No matter how she looked at it, those men were suspicious, and if they weren’t, why did they cover their faces with a mask?
Emily took out the kitchen knife she had brought with her. It’s an important cooking tool, but it was nothing compared to a human life.
“A knife is the basis of a cook’s life, and only if you handle it well can you cook well.”
Emily threw the knife at the men. The knife spun around and quickly approached the masked men.
“Ah!”
“Ah!!”
“What is this?”
The knife flew hard at the back of one of the masked men’s hands and hit it. The man missed the long sword he was holding. He held his arm and screamed as blood trickled down.
Clank!
The sword dropped to the floor. Oliver took the opportunity to try to subdue the men, but the masked men fled quickly.
“Who is it?”
At the low voice, Emily stood up, thinking that she had heard that voice somewhere before. Emily was dressed in white and even wore a hat. It was a color that could be seen clearly in the dark, so she didn’t look like an assassin.
“I’m the kitchen assistant for this mansion. The young lady was in danger and I didn’t think
”
“Did you learn sword fighting?”
“No, Lady.”
Emily turned on the lamp. She picked up her knife from the floor, wiped the blood off with a towel, and placed it carefully in her knife pocket. Then she looked at the woman in the black dress, thinking she had a familiar voice.