Episode 2
I looked at the pot with a sense of pride.
‘They scraped it clean.’
Not a single drop remained, as if the pot had been washed already.
Well, it must be a rare taste in this world.
Recalling my past life, I realized something.
The culinary arts in this world aren’t very advanced.
Most cooking here involves simply chopping and boiling or grilling ingredients.
‘The great nobles cook a bit more extravagantly.’
But even their dishes are quite simplistic compared to Earth’s standards.
They’d consider making broth a waste of ingredients.
Thanks to that, I had an advantage.
The sharp atmosphere among the Irregular members softened considerably.
They even let me move around freely without assigning a guard.
As a result, I could wash the pot and cooking utensils by the river alone.
‘Good, it’s clean.’
When I returned to the cave with the cleaned pot and utensils, the member who had gone to check on the imperial army’s movements came back.
“The imperial army was in disarray. It’s clear the soldiers are having issues.”
The members nodded with an “Ooh.”
“We can move during this window.”
“What about that kid?”
They looked at the leader, as if asking him to decide what to do with me.
I quickly shouted, “Braised short ribs!”
“Braised… what?”
“Next, I’ll make braised short ribs. It’s meat simmered in a sweet soy sauce with chestnuts and potatoes. The meat’s delicious, but mixing the thick sauce with rice is just heavenly.”
Please, take me with you.
I clasped my hands with a desperate expression, and the members’ faces changed.
“Braised short ribs?”
“Is it that good? Better than the soup?”
I nodded eagerly. “Better than the soup.”
The members, who had been enamored with the soup, looked shocked.
Muttering, “That good?” they turned to the leader again.
Under their pleading, starry-eyed gazes, the leader sighed.
“She’ll come with us to the base as a chore worker.”
‘I did it!’
I was overjoyed, practically bouncing.
Now, I’d make myself indispensable and join the guild for good.
I’ll say it again: this man is my only answer.
The Irregular boasts terrifying prowess.
Gossips say they’re a force capable of shaking the fate of nations.
That’s how formidable their skills are.
‘Plus, I have information no one else knows.’
The leader of the Irregular, Aslan.
He’s the hidden son of Duke Esgaroth.
‘A man destined to become a duke.’
In a few years, the Esgaroth ducal family will rival the imperial palace in power.
And I’ll win over the heart of the future duke to protect my organs at all costs.
* * *
The Irregular and I decided to split into three groups to head to the base.
This way, if one group got caught, the other two could create diversions or escape.
But there was a problem.
“We’re taking her.”
“No way, she’s coming with us.”
“We’re not giving up on… I mean, the braised short ribs.”
A fight broke out over me.
“You guys already have the most members!”
“Exactly, which is why we need a porter!”
“With those skinny arms, what’s she carrying?”
The members, who’d been living off dried meat for months, were practically at each other’s throats.
Finally, the oldest member stepped forward.
He asked me, “You decide. Which group are you going with?”
The answer was obvious.
I quickly stood next to the leader.
The other members protested loudly.
“You’ll regret it. The leader’s group takes a longer route, unlike the others.”
“Yeah, and Antonio-sama’s there too.”
They listed the downsides, urging me to reconsider, but I shook my head firmly.
“I still want to stay with the leader.”
“Why, though!”
“Well, um…”
I couldn’t exactly say I needed to impress the future duke.
Rolling my eyes to come up with an excuse, I mumbled, “Uh…”
“Because he’s handsome?”
“Damn appearance-obsessed…”
The members retreated with dejected faces.
I soothed them gently.
“We’re meeting up near the base anyway, right? I’ll make delicious braised short ribs then.”
“Really…?”
“You won’t use up all the meat, right…?”
After nodding about ten times, the members finally left the cave.
Our group was small and simple.
Just the leader, me, and Antonio.
Antonio narrowed his eyes and asked, “You’re really not the leader’s daughter, are you… argh!”
…Now I understood why the members said Antonio being in the group was a downside.
We set off soon after.
Leaving the cave at the foot of the mountain, we crossed a valley and headed north toward a mountain keeper’s hut.
‘North?’
North is near the marketplace.
I asked in a puzzled tone, “Um, this way leads to the marketplace where there are lots of people. Why are we going this way?”
Wouldn’t an assassin guild take less populated routes?
Antonio answered, “Because we need to go to the marketplace.”
“Why?”
“To find something. An ancient artifact—”
As Antonio started to explain, the leader shot him a sharp look.
A warning not to share more information with me.
‘He doesn’t trust me at all.’
My role was strictly limited to being a chore worker.
As I fell silent, Antonio shrugged.
“No use getting upset.”
“Huh?”
“Weren’t you sulking?”
“I was thinking about where to cook dinner tonight.”
Blinking at him like he was speaking nonsense, Antonio looked dumbfounded.
“Don’t people usually get depressed in situations like this?”
“Wouldn’t it be weirder if someone who just showed up out of nowhere was trusted right away?”
“Well, sure, but…”
Antonio let out a hollow laugh.
“What a peculiar kid.”
He said that, but I genuinely wasn’t upset about not being trusted.
Trust has always been far from my life.
I was falsely accused of poisoning my half-sister because I couldn’t earn my family’s trust.
So why would I be depressed just because someone I met today doesn’t trust me?
‘Instead, I should focus on how to earn their trust.’
With that thought, we arrived near the marketplace.
We passed the checkpoint using forged IDs carried by the two men.
Having worked often in the marketplace, the guards let me through after a glance at my face.
Our destination was a junk shop deep in the marketplace.
In front of it, Antonio said, “Stay outside.”
“If it takes a while, can I go buy some necessities in the meantime?”
“Do what you want.”
The leader and Antonio entered the junk shop.
I folded the robe Antonio had entrusted to me and tucked it into my bag.
‘Alright, let’s make this quick.’
Even using a gate, it would take over four days to reach the base.
To feed the Irregular during that time, I needed to stock up on ingredients.
‘Judging by how they ate in the cave, what we have now won’t be enough.’
They probably hunted or foraged for meat locally.
So I’d need seasonings and vegetables.
I headed straight to the market within the marketplace.
“Hello, ma’am.”
“Well, if it isn’t Eustea!”
I often visited the market to buy ingredients when I worked at restaurants.
Having gotten to know the vendors, they were kind to me.
“I’m here to buy dried vegetables.”
Dried vegetables are less flavorful than fresh ones but take up less space and weight.
They also last longer.
The vegetable vendor said, “I’ve got just the thing,” and pulled out some dried vegetables.
I said firmly, “Ma’am, those don’t look properly dried.”
“I was going to set those aside. Here’s what I meant to show you…”
“Ma’am?”
“Those were meant to be set aside too, my hand slipped. Here’s the real…”
“Ma’am?”
“So many things to set aside.”
She always tried to pass off subpar goods if I let my guard down.
“So picky.”
Grumbling, the vegetable vendor handed over her prized stash of dried vegetables.
Next was the seasoning shop.
“Sir?”
“This is Naza salt.”
“Sir?”
“Who’s the thief trying to take Naza salt for 20 coppers?”
“Sir…”
“Damn it. Take it all. Take it!”
I bought the desired items at a bargain from the seasoning shop too.
‘Now, just the general store.’
A multitool with a knife, bottle opener, small hammer, and even a screwdriver would be handy.
And some thread and needles too.
I noticed the Irregular’s hoods were all worn out.
I’d mend them.
Carrying an armful of cooking ingredients, I headed to the general store.
Thud.
I bumped shoulders with someone.
“Oh, I’m sor—”
“Goodness, miss.”
I froze mid-apology.
It was a familiar voice.
Looking up, I saw faces I always tried to avoid.
Servants from the Andres marquess’s estate.
“Look at the state of you. How heartbreaking.”
A maid smiled brightly at me.
Her words were kind, but her expression showed no sympathy.
These were the servants who adored Stella, the game’s protagonist and the daughter of Father’s first love.
While other Andres servants despised me after I was cast out, these ones hated me especially.
They believed I poisoned their beloved Stella, so they were out for blood.
‘They’re part of why I kept changing jobs.’
They always found out where I was working and harassed me relentlessly.
When I worked at a restaurant, they plastered signs on the door saying, “The place where the sister-poisoning villain works.”
When I was catching tuna, they bribed the captain to fire me.
At the knight barracks, they spread rumors to make the workers shun me.
‘If this causes a scene, it’ll be trouble.’
I turned to run.
Or rather, I tried to run.
The moment I moved, I tripped over a servant’s foot and fell.
“Ugh!”
As I fell, my nose hit a seasoning bottle.
It shattered, and a shard must have cut me because blood started dripping from my nose.
Stella’s loyal guard laughed mockingly.
Beating and harassing me had become routine for them.
No one ever helped me, no matter how cruel they were.
Everyone feared the Andres marquess’s estate.
“Such unrefined behavior.”
The head maid, leader of the loyal guard, crouched in front of me as I lay sprawled.
She grabbed my cheek.
“Poor thing.”
“Let go.”
“Still so fiery. Isn’t that why your mother’s paying the price for you?”
My jaw clenched instinctively.
Even though I knew staying quiet would end the harassment faster, this was why I couldn’t help but fight back.
I couldn’t stand them bringing up my mother every time.
I slapped the maid’s cheek.
“Kyaa!”
Fury sparked in her eyes.
“You little…!”
She stood and kicked me, sending the items in my arms scattering.
Screaming, she shouted, “Your name’s been erased from the family register, and you’re still so defiant!”
“…”
“You’re nothing but a worthless stray now!”
Thud!
Another kick sent me sprawling again.
My bag’s button caught on my clothes and popped off.
‘No!’
The bag nearly opened.
Inside was the robe Antonio entrusted to me.
I’d seen it in the cave.
The Irregular’s emblem was embroidered inside the robe.
If that got exposed, it’d be a disaster.
I frantically hugged the bag.
“Look at this.”
Stella’s loyal guard’s expressions changed.
“Must be something valuable.”
“No way a filthy girl kicked out of her family would have anything valuable.”
“Then it must be stolen.”
Grinning maliciously, they approached me.
A servant roughly yanked my arm.
In that moment, I bit down hard on his forearm.
“Argh! You…!”
Not just the maid, but the burly male servants started kicking me too.
Pain like my bones were breaking shot through me, but I clung desperately to the bag.
‘No way.’
Absolutely not.
If they took the hood, I’d never be able to join the Irregular.
“Alright, you’re in for it today.”
The servant I bit glared around, panting.
He grabbed a laundry bat from a nearby general store stall.
As he raised it to swing at me—
Crack.
A strange sound rang out.
I looked up, startled.
The servant’s arm was twisted grotesquely.
“Aaagh!”
He let out a horrific scream.
Clutching my bag, I stared blankly behind him.
It was the leader.
A chain of mana extending from his hand had twisted the servant’s arm.
“Who are you people!”
The maid asked, panicked.
The leader’s mana was so overwhelmingly powerful that even an untrained civilian could feel it.
Even without that, his presence exuded an instinctive terror.
Taking advantage of the loyal guard’s confusion, Antonio approached.
“You—”
The hood peeked out slightly from the bag I was clutching.
His gaze moved from the hood to my battered face.
And finally to the scattered vegetables and seasonings.
I hurriedly explained, “I-I bought them with my own money.”
“What?”
“I didn’t waste your resources. I protected the hood, too.”
“…”
“I’m sorry for causing a scene. I swear this won’t happen again. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
The leader and Antonio silently watched me plead desperately.
The maid, observing the situation, smirked and said, “Ohh.”
“So these are your new employers?”
“…”
“As you can see, she’s useless. You know the disgraced daughter of the Andres marquess, don’t you?”
“…”
“She’s the criminal who caused the infamous poisoning of Lady Stella.”
The maid looked at me triumphantly.
She was certain I’d be cast out now.
Her belief was well-founded—those words had gotten me thrown out by others before.
I lowered my head.
‘Am I going to be abandoned after all…?’
I’d revealed I was the Andres daughter from the start, but I was still uneasy.
For a group like the Irregular, who needed to move discreetly, I must seem like a liability.
But then—
“Huh…?”
The maid muttered in a flustered voice, touching her cheek.
A strange sword mark appeared on her face.
And along the mark, blood began to trickle down.
“Kyaaa!”
“…!”
“…!!”
It wasn’t just her.
The two servants who had kicked me also had sword marks on their faces.
A shape like an inverted cross.
It was a famous symbol no one in the empire could mistake.
“The Inverted Cross!”
“It’s the mark of the Irregular!”
Some onlookers shouted.
Yes, this was the Inverted Cross, the emblem of the Irregular.
The leader strode toward me.
“If you want, I’ll kill them.”
At those words, Stella’s loyal guard, screaming from the marks, turned pale.
I stared at the leader in a daze.
‘Why…?’
No, thinking about it, I could guess.
The reason he’d do this for someone like me.
“It’s because you’re looking forward to the braised short ribs, isn’t it…?”
“What?”
“Don’t worry. A few seasoning bottles broke, but the rest is fine. I can make it tonight.”
“…”
If not for the braised short ribs, there’d be no reason for him to step in for someone like me.
‘Still, thank you so much.’
Three years since I was cast out from my family.
I never thought anyone would protect me.
“I’ll make the braised short ribs delicious.”
The leader sighed as if he had a headache.
“Just get up.”
He extended a hand to me.
The leader was a good foodie.
