~Chapter 100~
“Hm…”
I stood in front of a pot of boiling water, wearing an apron.
Beside me, the head chef looked restless, watching me as if he were guarding a child near a river. He kept warning me again and again.
“L-Lady, please be very careful. If you get hurt while cooking, the masters will scold me severely.”
“Yes, yes. I got it, don’t worry.”
That’s right.
What I was doing now was none other than—
Making tteokbokki!
‘Well, the painting is the painting, and tteokbokki is tteokbokki.’
I decided to put aside thoughts of Freddy for now and continue what I had originally planned.
To cook tteokbokki for Fabian, I had entered the kitchen for the first time in Irene’s life.
Remembering the tteokbokki I used to eat in my past life, I began cooking… but there was a slight problem.
“What do I put in here again…?”
In my past life, I had always bought tteokbokki. I never made it myself.
I had somehow managed to steam flour and knead it into rice cake shapes.
But the problem was—I didn’t know the recipe.
I had no idea how to make it taste like real tteokbokki.
“Do I need to make broth first? No, wait, maybe I should just put in the chili powder right away…?”
I had focused only on finding chili powder for the spice, but I didn’t know what else was needed to bring out that unique tteokbokki flavor.
Of course, there was no recipe book in this world.
And in my past life, I had hardly ever cooked.
The only dishes I knew were instant ramen and fried eggs.
‘I’m doomed…’
I inhaled sharply and frowned.
The more ingredients I added, the more it turned into some kind of hell-born tteokbokki.
“Damn it.”
I regretted it. Why had I so confidently decided to make tteokbokki?
Just because I had eaten it many times didn’t mean I could actually cook it.
I thought if I just remembered the taste and threw in ingredients that matched, it would work… but clearly, I had overestimated my cooking skills.
After struggling at the stove for a long time, I turned around gloomily.
“…Sorry, Chef. I think this dish needs to be thrown away.”
“What were you trying to make, My Lady? Perhaps I could assist.”
“No… it was just something I wanted to try making myself…”
I glanced at him. Maybe I should just ask the chef?
I could explain the taste I was aiming for and get his advice on what ingredients should go in.
But how could I even describe tteokbokki? Tteokbokki just… tasted like tteokbokki.
“Huh?”
At that moment, I heard a voice.
When I turned around, I saw a woman I had never seen before.
She was wearing a maid’s uniform, tilting her head curiously as she looked at us.
Judging by her unfamiliar face, she must have been one of the new maids who joined the household recently.
“What is it?”
“O-oh, forgive me.”
The maid quickly stepped back and bowed.
“It’s just… I think I’ve seen a dish similar to what you’re making now, somewhere before.”
“…What?”
My eyes widened.
“…Emily?”
I raised my brows, staring at the woman standing before me.
“Lady Hartmann, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”
The woman in front of me was none other than Emily.
With her pretty brown hair and eyes, she smiled brightly, her eyes curving.
[“Actually, I once worked as a maid in Countess Elina’s household. Back then, one of the maids craved something spicy and made a similar dish for the servants as a snack. It was the first time we’d seen it, but it was so delicious that it became really popular.”]
The maid who had mentioned seeing a dish like tteokbokki before had gone to fetch the one who knew it.
And the person she brought back—the owner of that recipe—was Emily.
‘Emily appeared here, just like that?’
I tilted my head at her, feeling something was odd. But for now, I asked,
“I heard… you once made something similar to this dish?”
“Ah, I see.”
I handed Emily my hell-born tteokbokki. She frowned, trying hard to figure out what exactly it was.
But come on—taking that long just to identify it was a bit embarrassing.
Feeling awkward, I kept watching her until suddenly she exclaimed,
“Ah, you must mean the Spicy Flour Dough!”
“Spicy… flour dough?”
I tilted my head in confusion. Emily grinned and nodded.
“Yes. One time, when I was hungry while working, I borrowed the kitchen and tried making something similar myself… Now that I see this, it really does look alike. I’ve always liked spicy food, you see.”
“I… I see.”
I furrowed my brows slightly.
I didn’t recall ever reading that Emily liked spicy food.
Still, judging by the name, it sounded quite similar to tteokbokki.
So, I carefully asked her,
“Emily, could you try making that Spicy Flour Dough here as well?”
“Here, the dish is finished.”
When the head chef lifted the dome lid, the food on the plate was revealed.
Emily stood beside me, smiling quietly.
“Wow…”
I stared at the plate in front of me.
‘This is…’
This is… just plain tteokbokki, isn’t it?
Emily’s so-called Spicy Flour Dough turned out to be surprisingly similar to tteokbokki.
The steamed, kneaded flour cakes, the sauce spread over them—
‘At least in appearance, it’s completely tteokbokki…’
The important thing now was the taste.
I picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of rice cake, and put it in my mouth.
Both Emily and the chef watched me with tense expressions.
Chew, chew…
As I slowly bit into it, my eyes widened.
Clatter!
The fork slipped from my hand and fell. The chef flinched in shock.
“L-Lady, are you alright?”
“Uh? Y-Yeah…”
I managed to reply blankly, but inside, my mind was shouting in joy.
‘…No way.’
This is real tteokbokki…?!
Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same as the tteokbokki I’d eaten in my past life.
But with the ingredients of this world, it was an incredible imitation.
Not 100% identical—but close enough that it felt like the maker knew the taste of tteokbokki and recreated it.
‘How is this possible? The heroine knows how to make tteokbokki?’
I had never once read that Emily liked spicy food, nor that she could cook such a rare dish.
If she had such a unique skill, surely it would have been mentioned at least once in the novel.
It was suspicious. Very suspicious.
As I eyed her doubtfully, Emily smiled sweetly.
“How is it, My Lady? Do you like it?”
“…Mm. It’s delicious. Exactly the taste I was looking for.”
I nodded, then carefully asked her,
“How did you come up with this dish, Emily? Did you create it yourself?”
“Yes, of course. I developed it myself. Since I like spicy food, I thought making something like this would taste good. I’m so glad it suits your taste.”
She tilted her head with a smile.
“Shall I write down the recipe for you?”
“…Yes, I’d appreciate that.”
I nodded quietly.
It was far too strange to be just a coincidence, but I had no excuse to press further.
“Understood. I’ll leave the recipe here. If you have any questions, please let me know. I’m truly happy I could be of help to you.”
Emily bowed politely, then turned and headed back into the kitchen.
‘Suspicious. Emily, you’re very suspicious… just like last time.’
I frowned slightly, staring at her back for a long while.
