The Reincarnated Princess" Adoration (2) “…”
I gulped loudly as I intently stared at the heated iron plate. My hand holding thinly baked chapati dough was shaking in excitement. I must have served dozens- No, if we were talking about all of the Kua, then it must be in the three digits already. Despite that, I still nervously shook like it was my first time all over again.
Calm down, Rosemarie.
Do it like you always do and you"ll be fine, I"m sure of it. Yes, probably… Hm? This should be slid in at about a 45-degree angle, right?
Despite my efforts, some doubts ultimately surfaced in the end.
I tried to take a deep breath and keep a cool head, but at that moment-
As if someone was watching, a call came from behind me.
“…Princess?”
“Hyaa!?”
I made a weird sound again!
As I stood stupefied sounding like a weird hiccup, the chapati dough slid from my hand and landed on the hot plate below.
“W-W-W-What is it?”
Looking back, I saw Sir Leonhard standing there.
He looked at me and laughed, a little embarra.s.sed.
“Nothing much. It"s just that… Is there anything I can do for you?”
“It"s alright! Please have a seat!”
Cooking together?! I"m not ready for that! Not in a million years!
I immediately dismissed the thought as fast as it came. Leonhard muttered, ‘Is that so?" and backed down, dejected. I felt a little nauseous for a while after that. So cuuute! The dejected Leonhard is so cute!
I"m really sorry to have refused your kindness, though.
But honestly, considering how weak my heart was whenever it came to Leon….
If he were to be next to me, I was sure I wouldn"t boil an egg properly.
Yep! I praised my own good decision before suddenly realising-
…Eh?
What he said to me just now, doesn"t it seem like we"re newlyweds?
‘Can I help you?" ‘It"s alright, please have a seat." Isn"t that the conversation for couples who just got married!?
“…!!”
The agony of regretful hindsight made me pinch my cheeks with both hands. The powder on my fingertips stuck to my face, but I didn"t notice it.
Waiiit! The fact that I went through that event was no joke! I wanna redo it again! Someone please, quickload it for me!
I"ll cherish the audio forever! I"ll experience it later with all my five senses…!! Huehuehue…
Ahh, it"s such a waste…! The least I could do is to remember today"s events in great detail. The weather, temperature, humidity… and what else…? Hm? What"s this smell…?
“…Ah!”
I screamed, finally noticing the iron plate in front of me. The edges of the dough were now scorched.
“Aaaaa…”
I"ve done it now…
Since not much was burnt, it wasn"t totally inedible, but it was far from the perfect result that I had aimed for. I dropped my head down pitifully.
However, the tension in the room had been lifted with my slight blunder.
As the chickpeas simmered in the pot, I fried up some onions in a frying pan. I then added garlic and ginger when the water cleared up. As I stirred the ingredients, a nice savoury smell hit my nose and stimulated my stomach.
The chopped tomatoes and chicken were added to the pan when it was ready, Oh! That sounds good! I fried everything gently while occasionally shaking the pan.
This looks delicious enough as it is, but… to be truly perfect, it needs all the spiiiices from the Kua! I said it like Doraem*n did, though I couldn"t help but worry that it might not have the same effect.
I further added the tumeric and three other spices. After a while, the appropriate amount of chickpeas that I boiled before was put in.
I lightly simmered the ingredients and adjusted the flavour with salt and pepper accordingly.
The tomato curry and chapati (improvised) with chicken and chickpeas is complete!
I don"t want anyone to tell me it"s not suitable for supper, alright? Even I would like to cook something wife-like for him, too. Maybe even sea bream and chazuke would be good. But I don"t have the ingredients, so what can I do?
When I looked back, my eyes met with Sir Leonhard"s.
Were you looking at me as I was cooking the whole time? I was so embarra.s.sed when I thought about it, so I turned my gaze away from him and grabbed a bowl. I promptly filled it up with curry and served it side by side with the slightly charred chapati in front of him.
“What kind of food might this be?”
“Um, this one is called curry. Tomato curry.”
“Tomato curry.”
Nodding, Leonhard repeated my words with interest.
He said his prayers before picking up the spoon.
My heart was beating so fast that my chest hurt.
To distract myself, I poured a cup of water and placed it within Leonhard"s reach. When I glanced at him, I saw the spoon approach his sensuous mouth. I was too scared to see his reaction, and so I closed my eyes shut.
It was Leonhard"s quiet mutter that broke the silence a few seconds later.
“…Delicious.”
I told myself that it was a misunderstanding, that I simply misheard it, and that I didn"t deserve the praise. However, I couldn"t control my feelings and opened my eyes.
Leonhard scooped another bite of the chicken and chickpeas with the spoon and brought it to his wide-open mouth. His black eyes, which were usually calm, appeared to shine as he chewed.
He then tore into the chapati, and a few seconds later, another praise came. Perhaps he was really hungry that"s why he said the chapati and curry was so good? It"s amazing that you still eat at that speed and still not spill anything.
“Would you like a second helping…?”
“Please.”
At the same time, he pushed a plate towards me. That made me really happy.
After serving the curry on the plate, I sat opposite him and watched him eat.
It was fun to see the contents in the plate getting smaller and smaller. The chapati… I wonder if three was enough.
There was a commercial with the catchphrase “I like it when you eat a lot!” Now I can understand what they meant. A gluttonous family is nice.
Imagine if the person you like made a happy face in front of you. I was plenty happy with just that alone, but if they were also satisfied with my cooking, there was nothing more that could make me a happier girl.
I was immersed in pure maiden"s bliss.
When Sir Leonhard had nearly finished his meal, I put the water to boil.
Once he had finished, he brought over his dishes.
“Thank you for the food.”
Leonhard laughed while looking a little shy.
With my heart fluttering restlessly, I could only answer with, ‘It"s nothing." Once he had brought over the dishes, he said, ‘At least let me do this much," and gently stopped me.
When I stared at Leonhard, who had started rolling up his sleeves ready to do housework, I fell for him all over again. Is it just me who thinks that a man"s arm is quite s.e.xy?
“Curry is a strange dish, isn"t it?”
“Um, y-yes!”
That was close. I was so fascinated by his arms that I was out of it.
“It has a curious range of spices, but they stimulate the appet.i.te over and over again. It went really well with the flat dough you gave me.”
“I"m glad it is to your tastes.”
I was happy to be praised, but at the end of the day, it was still embarra.s.sing.
I removed my gaze away from him and brewed tea with the boiled water.
“You are not only good at making sweets, but also cooking too.”
“T-Thank you…”
I was so embarra.s.sed that I had to squeeze out my voice. This is something I"ve always dreamed of, so why am I acting like this? I wanted to run away and stuff my head in a pillow.
I offered Sir Leonhard some tea after he finished washing the dishes.
After wiping the dishes dry with a cloth, he stopped his hands as he was about to get the teacup from me. His gaze was on my hands that held the cup.
My hands had numerous tiny scratches with parts of my nails chipped away. It would be a disappointing sight for any girl my age.
When I was at the castle, the maidservants always polished them up for me, but since I hadn"t been taking care of myself lately, it would naturally fall apart.
A different kind of embarra.s.sment rose up from within me this time around.
I wanted to hide them immediately, but with the cup in my hands, I simply couldn"t. While I was all uncomfortable, Sir Leonhard gently grabbed the cup away. I was relieved and tried to pull my hands away, but he stopped me before I could do so.
He put the cup on the table and held both of my hands tightly in his grasp.
TN: Actual j.a.panese references. Wow.
And the chapter streak continues!
I have been informed that this is called "having a schedule".
EN: "Sensuous mouth." Hm. Never wanted to know that, Rose. Also someone get hand lotion for our princess, pls.
"Spiiiices" is said in a special way like Doraemon as he pulled out one of his gadgets here: Dubbed episode but the line was delivered similarly: Chazuke: Cooked rice with green tea poured on it. The CM in question: is not part of this references section, but now it is!