'Don't joke about such things! I was really shocked!'

"Were you worried?"

'Of course!'

"Sorry. I'm glad you're worried though."

Blake took my hand.

'Don't say that. It doesn't feel good to worry about someone.'

I held his hands in response.

His small and plump hands had now turned into the hands of a man.

My heart sank. He was much taller, bigger, and stronger than me but I was still worried about him.

I began to worry as soon as I saw him sitting on the field back then.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Don't make that kind of face."

Blake patted my head.

I tried to smile. I didn't want to see Blake sad.

'You're not really hurt, are you?'

"Yes, I'm not hurt at all."

I rechecked his wrist just in case. Edon approached us.

"Your Highness, what were you doing here? I heard you got hurt, but you seem fine. What a relief."

Edon knew from the beginning that Blake was very strong. Even without checking whether or not Blake was hurt, he could still tell.

"What's the matter Edon?"

"His Majesty called for you."

"Tell him I can't right now. I need to teach Rose."

Blake looked at me.

'No need. I went to the library in the morning. I'd like to take today off because I'm tired.'

"...okay."

Blake sulked.

I didn't expect him to act like that but seeing him resemble a disappointed puppy, my resolve became a bit weak.

'Let's study together at night later.'

"At night?"

'...yes.'

"Okay, let's study at night."

Blake smiled brightly.

***

"Oh my god, what should we do?"

I went into the palace but the atmosphere was somehow tense.

I approached Chelsea quickly, wondering why many people were gathered.

"Miss Rose!"

I quickly wrote in my notebook, asking what was going on.

"The chef is hurt."

I had never seen him in person but I was worried.

— Was he hurt very badly?

Chelsea shook her head.

"No, he must have slipped and twisted his back a little. But he won't be able to cook for a few days."

Although it was dangerous to have a sprained back, it was fortunate that no big incident occurred.

"Chef Terry went to collect ingredients with the other chefs. Melissa will come back late today. We were worried about the meal preparation."

I looked at the maids. They were all in this state because of Blake's meal arrangement.

Many of them were children of nobles. They rarely cooked by themselves.

— I'll make it.

Chelsea was surprised.

"You will?"

I entered the room with a nod.

But Camilla stopped me.

"What?"

Her voice was alert.

"Miss Rose said she'll prepare the meal today."

Chelsea explained for me.

But Camilla's face was stiff.

"What are you doing? Outsiders aren't allowed."

"How is Miss Rose an outsider?"

"She's a guest."

"Yes, but there's no other way. Let's leave it to Miss Rose this time. It's going to be lunchtime soon."

"Yes, leave her with the responsibility."

The other maids agreed but Camilla kept her mouth shut, looking discontent.

"It's a hundred times better than no meal at all."

Even Charlotte who hated me agreed.

I felt nostalgic entering the kitchen after a long time.

Looking at the kitchen, I understood why they were panicking.

Nothing was ready except for the soup.

I had to make everything from scratch.

"Miss Rose, can you do it?"

Chelsea seemed a bit nervous.

But I only grinned at her. There were only two hours left until lunch. I could finish by then.

I took the ingredients out and quickly started cooking.

I was already running late, so I chose to cook a familiar dish.

I chopped the mushroom into small pieces and cooked it.

"His Highness hates mushrooms."

The maids giggled.

Turns out, Blake was still a picky eater.

— Don't worry. This is his favorite dish.

I was worried about what to do if I forgot how to cook, but fortunately I remembered everything.

The maids who were standing outside, hurriedly came inside to help me cook.

"What is this!? Are you going to give him this?"

Camilla raised her voice in astonishment. The other maids also sympathized.

"I thought we could trust you since you were so confident! But what kind of bizarre dish is this?"

"Be careful of what you say. This is a dish from the east."

Chelsea corrected the other maids. She recognized that the dish was from the east, even though I didn't explain.

"Eastern dishes?"

"Yes, I also heard that Blake enjoyed having eastern dishes back then. So there's no problem."

"Is that so...?"

Chelsea's family owned a merchant guild, which was also considered one of the best in the empire, so had all sorts of information and excellent ability to collect them. After listening to her explanation, everyone shut up.

But Camilla persisted.

"That was true when he was a child, but he hates them now. I've never seen him eat eastern dishes."

Blake hasn't eaten any eastern dishes since I left...

Terry didn't make the eastern dishes he learned from me.

"Since it's a dish made by Rose, he'll like it. Camilla please be polite. Miss Rose is an important guest of His Highness."

"Chelsea, you can't warn me. You came in the last among the maids. I am your senior."

"Are you going to be like this?"

Chelsea was dumbfounded.

"I'm your senior. Melissa and the higher ups aren't here. Of course you have to follow me."

Camilla glared at me coldly.

"I've contacted another chef. The chef said he'd be here, so you get out."

"Why are you telling this now?! We already made it! If you were going to do this from the beginning, you shouldn't have panicked!"

"I didn't think she'd make this."

Camilla put my dish down. The irritation she felt showed clearly in her eyes.

"Don't lie! You didn't even come into the kitchen and you called the chef! You didn't want to let Rose cook from the start!"

As Chelsea said, Camilla contacted the chef without even coming into the kitchen. She called him without even looking at my dish.

Even though Camilla's tricks were discovered, she was confident.

"Of course. How can I give His Highness a dish made by a woman like that? What if her disease spread?"

"You can't say that!"

"Well, that's not wrong."

When Charlotte agreed with Camilla, the other maids nodded.

"That's right. We never know."

"I think so too."

"That makes no sense!"

I quickly pulled Chelsea's sleeve.

— It's okay.

All of them agreed, and Chelsea couldn't protest alone.

"But Miss Rose, we already made it..."

I wrote again in my notebook.

— It's really alright.

I tried to smile at Chelsea and left the kitchen.

She tried to comfort me. However, the kitchen was short-handed. Time was running out and we still had to make the other dishes.

I trudged along to the hall, repeatedly saying it was all right. Suddenly, Edon came and asked me, "Miss Rose, where are you going?"

— I'm going to the Amoria Palace.

I pretended to be fine, but I was still upset. I thought going to the Amoria Palace would lift my mood.

— His Highness has given me permission.

I added quickly. Then Edon smiled.

"I know. I'll escort Miss Rose to the palace."

'No need.'

I shook my head and waved my hands. I was just going for a walk. But he smiled.

"His Highness ordered me to escort you. I'll be in trouble if you go around alone."

Edon smiled as he said that.

— Thank you.

I bowed my head politely.

"I'm very grateful."

He thanked me suddenly. When I asked him why, he calmly opened his mouth.

"Truthfully, the Crown Prince had a very hard time after Her Highness went missing. But he's been a lot brighter since he met Miss Rose."

"......"

"It's been ages since I last saw him smile. This is all thanks to Miss Rose. Thank you very much."

I could feel Edon's affection for Blake in his words.

It was fortunate that Blake had many good people by his side.