Chapter 16  

“……”

Dragging my traumatized body back to the ducal residence, I tried to pull myself together.

Get a grip. That wasn’t me. Even if the memories feel vivid…

When one memory opened the floodgate, all the childhood memories of bullying him came rushing in like a tidal wave.

I spent the entire carriage ride home writhing in shame.
Why did I have to suffer so vividly for sins I didn’t even commit?!

After agonizing deeply, I reached a conclusion:

It’s someone else’s mess.
Focus on my own tasks.
And never—never—see that man again.

Just thinking about him triggered the avalanche of embarrassing memories.
Never again.

Feeling spiritually battered, I shook my head violently to scatter the memories and began making rice cakes.

“Carl, did you get the honey? ”

“Of course, of course.”

Repetitive labor was the best cure for unwanted thoughts.

I pounded the rice flour with strong arms, letting the memories scatter like dust.

By the time I finally regained full sanity…

The rice cakes I wanted were finished.

Garaetteok—long, cylinder-shaped rice cakes.

Hugging a giant pile of them, I headed to the trash heap—no, the Black Hawk Knights.

***

Anyone who likes food wouldn’t hate rice cakes!

Especially garaetteok—chewy, soft, with the sweet honey blending with the nutty rice flavor… absolutely fantastic.

I expected this strategy to work.

But I didn’t expect this level of effect.

“Huff—huff—this is TOO good! ”

“What is this chewy texture?! I can’t stop chewing! ”

“Damn it! I let my guard down! Was this unassuming appearance merely a tactic to lower our defenses?! I’ve become its slave! ”

Huge muscular men gripped garaetteok in both hands, dipped them into honey jars, and devoured them like starved beasts.

“Oh! OHH! OHHHH! ”
Their loud, rough voices split the sky.

So delicious!!

I stepped back.

Yes, I caused this.
Yes, it was nice to see them happy.

But seeing massive, muscular men tearing into garaetteok with crazed eyes?

Not great for my mental health.

Anyone would instinctively step back.

“Oh. This is good.”

At least one person reacted like a human being.

Leon—the captain and my former favorite—was nibbling the garaetteok politely, not losing his mind like the others.

Maybe the qualifications for being captain were
(1) good at grilling skewers
(2) weirdly refined?

“What’s this called? ”

His voice didn’t have the drunken slur from yesterday.
Thankfully, the drinking hadn’t started yet.

Just like yesterday, they were all sitting plopped down in the training yard, but sober.

I smiled kindly.

“It’s called garaetteok.”

“Hm. Unusual name. Nyom.”

…Why was he making that sound with his mouth?
Nyom? Nyooom??

He chewed the rice cake like a small animal, then asked seriously,

“What is it made from? ”

He suddenly had a notebook in his hand.

On the cover was written: “The Path of Gourmet.”

I pretended not to see it and smiled.

“It’s a dish made from a new grain called rice.”

“Rice…?”

Leon’s eyes widened.

I nodded.
His pen flew across the page.

Garaetteok. Rice. Delicious.

Then I opened my mouth with a gentle expression.

“Ahem. I heard the Duke ordered you all to help me. Is that correct? ”

“Yes, that’s what we were told.”

“Well, the thing you need to help with is producing this rice.”

“Ah.”

Leon nodded slowly.

His messy silver hair swayed with the movement.

With his usual slightly dazed face, he said,

“But our motto is wolru… Did I already tell you that? ”

Ah yes.
Their excuse: “We don’t work.”

Not today!

“Before that.”

“Yes?”

I dramatically lifted a garaetteok stick like a judge holding evidence.

“Think about the original purpose of this club! ”

“!”

Leon’s red eyes trembled.

I struck while the iron was hot.

“Gourmet food. Enjoying good food properly—isn’t that your purpose? ”

“W-well, yes…”

“Then you must help me completely.”

I straightened my shoulders like I was quoting a famous line from an old drama.

By now, the garaetteok-crazed knights had gathered around, listening solemnly.

“If you put garaetteok on a skewer and grill it over fire—like yesterday’s meat skewers—it becomes even better.”

“!!”

It didn’t match the flow of conversation at all, but they didn’t care.
Their eyes locked onto the rice cake in my hand like it was holy.

“But there’s only this much left. You won’t get a chance to taste grilled garaetteok.”

“!!!”

Their eyes filled with despair.

I lit last night’s firepit with a match, skewered a stick of garaetteok, and began to slowly grill it.

The once slightly hardened rice cake turned golden-brown, crisp on the outside, and soft and bouncy inside.

“But I’m not cruel enough to deny you a tasting. Here—be careful, it’s hot.”

I sliced pieces with a prepared knife and handed them out.

Their trembling hands gently took the pieces.
One by one, they tasted it.

“HUUUUUH—!”

The bald knight who had thrown salt yesterday clapped both hands over his mouth like a fangirl meeting her idol.

His eyes screamed, “It’s so gooood, oh my goooood!!”

They wordlessly stared at the rice cake like it had shown them the meaning of life.

And of course—
There were no garaetteok left.

“How… how do we eat this again…? ”

Ah.
There it was.

The anticipated question.

A tanned knight asked, trembling.

I smiled brightly.

“To eat this again… it’s simple. Just help me with what I asked earlier.”

“T-that’s all?! ”

“Yes! And don’t worry. This is for garaetteok, so your wolru motto for the Duke isn’t affected.”

“!”

Leon suddenly looked enlightened.

“This is a separate job. Outside your official duties. Like part-time work. You want more garaetteok, right? ”

“Yes!”

“Good. Using rice, we can make endless dishes.”

Their eyes sparkled with hope.

I leaned in and whispered, like sharing a forbidden secret.

“We can also brew alcohol.”

“!!!”

They practically exploded.

“Please work us to death, sister!!”

Who are you calling sister?!
I’m clearly younger than all of you!

I calmed the overly excited gorillas and explained the tasks.

First—we need to build paddies.
Raise banks, connect irrigation channels, and so on.

Almost finished explaining when someone asked:

“By the way, did our lord taste this food? ”

He had tasted rice, at least.

I opened my mouth to answer—

But someone cut me off.

“Why would you ask? You know he despises anything the lord eats first.”

“But what if he tastes this chewy, heavenly delight and becomes a glutton?! We must protect our garaetteok! Eliminate the competition! ”

A lot was wrong with that conversation.

But one thing stood out.

“What? The Duke dislikes eating? ”

“Ah… you didn’t know? ”

Leon looked at me, blinking, notebook open.

“Our lord has a strange condition. He can’t eat well. Says everything tastes bad. Tsk tsk. Not knowing the joy of gourmet food… tragic.”

I remembered his words from before.

‘…Yes. It’s good.’

And then he ate until he almost burst.

Before I could puzzle that out, the bald knight scratched his head and asked,

“Uh, by the way… who are you? ”

“…Pardon?”

“We heard you were a lady, but not the details. Haha.”

Only then did I realize—
I’d fed them garaetteok without even introducing myself.

“Oh! I’m Cillia Evanroar. Daughter of Viscount Evanroar. Nice to meet you.”

“Aha! Would you like to join our gourmet club? ”

“No.”

My firm refusal broke the bald man’s heart, but inside I cheered.

Yes. Food rules all.

Anyway—
I had successfully acquired workers.

How useful this trash would be…
Well, we’d see.