Sylvia entered the kitchen with a dejected expression.
“Your Highness, the Empress. Have you arrived?”
The head chef greeted her as usual.
“I need to borrow the kitchen for a bit.”
“Of course, anytime.”
The original head chef was the first to be dismissed the day Felix returned to the palace.
It was a natural consequence since he had tampered with Felix’s food.
The new head chef, brought in from a renowned restaurant, was someone who took great pride in his culinary skills.
Yet, even he eventually became a fan of Sylvia’s cooking.
“What will you be making today?”
Sylvia showed the freshly caught items to the head chef, who asked with curious eyes.
“What is this?”
“It’s a fish called anchovy.”
“What are you planning to make with such small fish…?”
“I’ll leave some for the chef as well.”
“Thank you!”
Humming a tune, Sylvia selected only the largest anchovies.
Originally planning to make fish sauce with the anchovies, she couldn’t pass up using such fresh catches for another dish.
After selecting the big ones, Sylvia easily filleted them with wind magic.
She carefully placed the filleted anchovies in a bowl, then grew parsley, cucumber, perilla leaves, red and green chili peppers, and cabbage.
She cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and started boiling somen noodles on the side.
Without gochujang, she made a dressing based on soy sauce and chili powder.
She mixed the tangy, sweet, and nutty sauce with the vegetables and anchovy fillets using wind magic.
Finally, she drizzled sesame oil over it, mixed it a few more times, and then plated it. She drained the boiled noodles, rolled them up neatly, and placed them next to the mixed dish.
It was the perfect amount for a palate cleanser.
Sylvia handed over a portion for the head chef and carried her plate to the office.
“Even though we came in together.”
Felix, having won the bet, was waiting in the office with a face full of anticipation.
What did it mean to insist on waiting inside instead of entering together?
“I know what it means, though.”
It was more annoying that she truly understood what he wanted.
“Sigh.”
Now she had to fulfill that obligation. Sylvia stood in front of the office with a determined expression.
Then, a knight guarding the door saluted her with precision.
“Your Highness, the Empress!”
“Thank you for your hard work. Could you announce me to His Majesty?”
“Yes! Understood! Your Majesty, the Emperor! The Empress is…”
Before the knight could finish his announcement, the office door opened. Felix was the one who opened it.
“Darling, you’ve arrived?”
With a blatantly calling attitude, Sylvia managed to force a trembling smile as she entered.
Not only Felix was in the office, but Hubert and a few aides were also there, working.
“Why, aren’t you saying anything, darling?”
As Sylvia remained silent, Felix asked with a slightly disheartened expression.
Feeling her resolve weaken at that expression, Sylvia decided to bite the bullet and spoke up.
“Have some of this first, da, darling.”
“What’s that?”
His feigned ignorance was truly fox-like. But a bet was a bet. Promises were promises.
“It’s the fish you were curious about. You can eat it like this.”
Sylvia placed the tray she brought on a table at one side of the office. She had brought small plates in advance for Hubert and the aides and served them their portion.
Then, Felix and Sylvia went out to the balcony to eat the fresh anchovy mix together.
“Are these the same small fish from earlier?”
“Yes, that’s right. They’re called anchovies, and you can eat them raw like this, mixed.”
“Hmm…”
Having already tried raw fish before, Felix picked up his chopsticks without any hesitation.
“Try it before mixing it with the noodles. Don’t just eat the fish; it tastes better with the vegetables. Especially the parsley, make sure to eat that.”
Sylvia pointed to the parsley cut into finger lengths. However, Felix half-listened to her advice.
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
She thought he’d be fine since he had eaten raw fish before. Was it not to his liking?
Glancing over, she thought she saw stars pouring into his black eyes due to the overwhelming anticipation in his expression.
Sylvia blinked, wishing she didn’t know what he wanted.
Sylvia barely managed to open her trembling mouth, not forgetting to pick up some of the fresh anchovy mix with her chopsticks.
“…Darling, ah.”
“Yes, darling.”
He opened his mouth wide, as if he had been waiting for this moment, to accept the offered anchovy mix.
“Hmm…”
After feeding Felix, Sylvia couldn’t resist the tangy, sweet, and nutty aroma tickling her nose and quickly took a bite herself.
“Yum! Delicious!”
The fresh anchovy melted smoothly in her mouth, offering a pleasantly chewy texture.
The accompanying vegetables, the aromatic parsley, crunchy cucumber, sweet cabbage, and spicy peppers added to the experience.
Although she missed gochujang, the soy sauce and chili powder-based dressing matched quite well.
Especially the slightly tickling scent of sesame oil at the end was truly delightful.
After a few bites of the mix, she mixed the remaining portion with the noodles. Seeing Felix waiting like a baby bird, she recalled a past moment.
Sylvia chuckled and said,
“Ah.”
“…”
Of course, this time, a simple “ah” wasn’t enough to make him open his mouth.
“Here, darling.”
“Yes, darling.”
Sylvia smiled as she watched Felix eagerly eat the noodles and mix.
“Do you really like being called ‘darling’ that much?”
She asked, having become a bit more accustomed to the term after saying it a few times.
Felix, after thoroughly chewing and swallowing the food, beamed with a smile.
“Yes, I love it.”
She hadn’t expected such a brightly happy response.
Seeing him smile like a child, Sylvia shook her head as if admitting defeat and then stuffed her mouth full of noodles and mix. As she chewed thoughtfully, she remembered they were running low on soy sauce.
“Right, I need to get some soy sauce.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember the pink lake we visited? The second one…”
“Of course, I remember.”
“And I wonder how the people from the first and third lakes are doing.”
Felix recalled the letter from Benjamin as he listened to her.
“A letter came from Ansy Village today.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it seems they’re adapting well. Especially, it seems like the terrain you created has influenced the place.”
“…Really? I can’t remember at all. How far did the dragon’s magic influence?”
The fact that Sylvia had created it was somewhat ambiguous.
After all, without the creation magic circle provided by Aethernum, it wouldn’t have been possible.
“I’ve only been to places nearby, so I’m curious to see how much has changed. Right?”
Upon hearing Sylvia’s words, Felix momentarily thought of the pile of documents stacked on his desk before dismissing the thought.
“Shall we go then?”
At Felix’s suggestion, Sylvia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…Is that really okay?”
Of course, Sylvia also wanted to go on a trip. However, she wondered if it was alright for the Emperor to leave the palace at this time.
There was that time when the Duke of Sabelisa had frothed at the mouth…
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, that’s not it. Not at all. But…”
“It’s okay, darling.”
Felix reassured her, holding her hand that was on the table.
“Who would say anything if the Emperor and Empress were going to check if the walls are being built properly?”
Oh, indeed. What a good excuse.
“I see this as a very important matter. The land where the walls extend will become the territory of the empire.”
‘I thought Felix was only cunning with me, but that’s not the case.’
Sylvia realized something she hadn’t known before. He was quite a fair Emperor in this respect.
Since his suggestion wasn’t bad, Sylvia smiled, crinkling the corners of her eyes.
“Siri, you said it was the scenery from where you lived?”
“Yes, that’s right. But I haven’t been to all of it; some I’ve only seen on broadcasts.”
“Broadcasts?”
“Yeah, there were things called broadcasts where I lived.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s like…”
While explaining, Sylvia fed him seasoned raw anchovies. She diligently fed herself as well, finishing off the large plate of seasoned raw anchovies.
“So, work hard… darling.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard to make a vacation, darling.”
As Sylvia was about to leave the office, Felix caught her and peppered her face with kisses.
As if he was reluctant to let go, he kept fiddling with her hand until Hubert stepped forward.
“…Your Majesty, the next document is regarding the right of immigration for foreigners.”
“…Understood.”
“Then, work. I’ll go.”
As Sylvia was about to leave, Felix tightened his grip on her hand. When she looked at him quizzically, he gave her a look that seemed to beg for something.
“…darling, come back quickly.”
“Yes! I’ll come back quickly, darling!”
Click.
“Sigh…”
After leaving the office, Sylvia lowered her head in embarrassment. Then, a knight who was standing by asked her.
“Empress, shall I escort you?”
Seeing that she didn’t look well, he asked.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Yes!”
As Sylvia started walking away, she saw Barbara approaching at a fast pace from afar.
To march with such an elegant demeanor. Indeed, the food eaten in the royal palace was not for naught.
“Empress! It’s almost time for your dance lesson!”
Sylvia wanted to avoid Barbara, who seemed to have been waiting just for this moment.
‘I really want to go on that trip.’
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