Shock, Bewilderment, Surprise, whatever word one may call it, those words weren't enough to the emotions Grey and Yuna felt swirling and bringing chaos to their hearts as they heard the King's words.
It was as if their souls had left their bodies from the shock they received. They weren't expecting that there would be a party, on top of that, that they would be attending as guests of honor. In other words, they would be the center of attention of nobles and important figures attending the party.
While there wasn't nobility from where Grey lived back on Earth, there were still high-ranking officials of the government and elites from large conglomerates. He felt like throwing up just thinking about being the center of attention in such a crowd.
"Wait, wait, wait! Your Majesty, can't we just attend the after party as normal attendees?!" ［Yuna］
"That's right! We'll teach the pudding recipe, but please let us not be the guests of honor! Please!" ［Grey］
"No." ［Ernes］
The young couple tried to plead desperately to the King but it was useless. The latter easily crushed their hopes in attending the party normally with just a single measly word. He was ruthless.
That was that. With the King's words, there weren't any more epossibilities for Grey and Yuna to attend normally. While they could just ditch it, it would cause great trouble for the other party, something they didn't want to do.
"Sorry, Yuna, Grey, we already arranged the party to be like that. It's impossible to rearrange things now that the party is on the way." ［Talia］
"Also, if I were to let that happen, my reputation as King and everyone else's at high position will be at risk. We will lose our face towards the public." ［Ernes］
"Please understand, Lord Grey, Lady Yuna. There really is nothing more we can do about it. It's just the way formal celebrations work." ［Anderson］
Before Grey and Yuna could even react to the King's harsh reply, one by one, the trio hit them with sound arguments they couldn't retaliate against. It was a complete defeat for the two of them.
The very moment they show up at the party, nobles will undoubtedly surround them like moths to a lamp. Of course, they wouldn't just be for building good relations, but some would try to use them.
Grey had already read countless fiction works back on Earth about how greedy nobles were, and even though all nobles he had mingled with were nice, he still couldn't let his guard down, especially when Yuna was with him.
To top it all off, after a few months' time, their names would be spread throughout the land as heroes who saved the kingdom and they will inevitably be known. In summary, no matter what they do, it won't end well for them. It was a checkmate.
"Now, don't get too down about it. There's still a number of things that you can do as the guests of honor. Cheer up!" ［Ernes］
"Y... Yeah..." ［Grey］ "U... Un..." ［Yuna］
In unison, Yuna and Grey responded to the King's statement with crestfallen voices. The dissatisfaction in their tone was evident. As for the king, one would be able to see traces of sympathy in his eyes.
It took the two some time to recover from hearing that depressing announcement, but when they did, they immediately talked about their order of business, or rather than business, it would be better to call it an errand to teach the royal castle's head chef about how to make pudding.
The reason why it was only the head chef who would be taught the recipe, it was because he was the one the royal family trusted the most. If it was him, the recipe will stay safe and no other person will know about it.
Although Grey and Yuna appreciated that the royal family considered their rights over the pudding, they are still a little depressed. For them, it still would have been better if they only attended the after party normally.
"Then... Yuna, Grey, when would you like to teach our head chef about your pudding recipe?" ［Talia］
Asked Talia with a slightly concerned face as she took into consideration Grey and Yuna's schedules. She knew that Grey and Yuna were busy being instructors of the Royal Academy so she didn't want to trouble them too much.
Contrary to the mischievous and imposing King, the Queen was a considerate and kind person. She couldn't help but feel guilty and concerned that the kingdom always received help from Grey and Yuna, who doesn't ask too much for compensation. The Prime Minister also shared her sentiment.
"Hmm... If it's possible, we could do it now." ［Grey］
"Now?" ［Ernes］
"Yeah, we still have a lot of things to do before the awarding ceremony. Also, Your Majesty, you were the one who tasked us about the matter in the academy." ［Grey］
"Ah, right... The academy. Well, we better get going to the kitchen then." ［Ernes］
The King said as he abruptly stood from his throne and walked towards the door, as if he was heading to the kitchen with Grey and Yuna. His sudden display left the two at a loss for words.
"Hm? Is His Majesty going as well?" ［Yuna］
"Of course. If I don't, who else will guide you two to the kitchen?" ［Ernes］
The King reasoned out to Yuna's question, making his reasoning sound sound although it was completely unreasonable and stupid. Even his wife, the Queen, was dumbfounded by his answer.
"A King also needs to have a break every once in a while, you know." ［Ernes］
Or so the King said but the Prime Minister's facial expression begged to differ. The latter had already figured out that the King was going to escape his duties just to have some fun.
It wasn't the first time the King ditched his job for unreasonable reasons, rather, the King did it pretty often. After serving him for decades, the Prime Minister had already given up on him. Still, he was still exhausted by such actions.
If there was someone to be pitied amongst the people present in the throne room, it would be the Prime Minister. After all, even if the current King would retire, the next one was just as troublesome.
"Then I'll also go as well." ［Talia］
"Great! Then Anderson, please manage the papers for us in the meantime. We'll be back before you know it!" ［Ernes］
"Yes, Your Majesty..." ［Anderson］
To the King's words, the Prime Minister could only sigh exasperatedly as he looked at the long day in front of him. The King didn't even bat an eye to his expressions and just continued to head out with the others.
On the way to the Kitchen, the King and the Queen always received polite gestures from everyone they passed by. And as the ones walking besides them, Grey and Yuna were under curious gazes for many instances.
It took the group of fours almost 10 minutes to arrive at the kitchen. The castle was much larger than Grey and Yuna anticipated. They also got to see a lot of new scenery on the way.
"Oh! You're here!" ［Vanessa］
Unexpectedly, the moment they entered the kitchen, the first one to greet them was Vanessa, who had been waiting for their arrival. As for her younger brother, Kurt, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Your Majesties, you came along as well?" ［Vanessa］
"Yeah, I thought I'd show Grey and Yuna around the castle. They haven't had a tour around the castle after all." ［Ernes］
"I also wanted to see what this pudding you were talking about, Vanessa. I've been curious about it ever since you told me about it." ［Talia］
Contrary to Grey and Yuna, neither the King nor the Queen was surprised with Vanessa's presence in the kitchen. They didn't even bat an eye when the latter was wearing an apron.
Grey already had an inkling how the King and the others knew about pudding, but after hearing the Queen's words, there was no more questioning about it. Just as he expected, the one responsible was none other than Vanessa.
"It's really delicious!" ［Vanessa］
"Un, it is!" ［Yuna］
"Fufufu, then I'm looking forward to it." ［Talia］
Since the topic now changed to that related to pudding, Yuna suddenly became energetic and joined in with Vanessa and the Queen's chat. Her previous dejected expression was now nowhere to be found.
Seeing the three ladies chat merrily despite their age differences made Grey realize that no matter what age, race, or dimension they may be in, girls will always love their sweets. It was a universal thing for them.
"Your Majesty, were these the people you were talking about" ［???］
"Oh, Carlton, just about time." ［Ernes］
Just as the girls became very comfortable with one another, a muscular man entered the kitchen. If he wasn't wearing a chef outfit, one would have mistaken him as one of the castle's knights.
"And yes, they were the ones I was talking about. They said they will be teaching the recipe to you right now." ［Ernes］
"That's awfully quick!" ［Carlton］
"Well, they have a busy schedule so this would be the perfect time, or rather, this is the only time they can do it." ［Ernes］
"I see... I am called Carlton, the castle's head chef. It's my great honor to meet you, Your Highnesses, Lord Grey, Lady Yuna. I've heard a lot of great things about about the two of you," ［Carlton］
After having a limited conversation with the King, Carlton walked towards Grey and Yuna and greeted them politely with a bow. Now that he was bowing, he looked even more of a knight than a chef.
"It's a pleasure as well. I am called Grey." ［Grey］
"My name is Yuna, we'll be in your care." ［Yuna］
"Haha, same for me.... Actually, after hearing about pudding from Lady Vanessa, I haven't been able to sleep well because of excitement. I hope I won't be too much of a burden for you." ［Carlton］
"Don't worry, Mister Carlton, it's just a simple recipe. How about we get started with it?" ［Grey］
"Ah, of course!" ［Carlton］
Excitement painted all over his face, Carlton quickly cleaned up the kitchen and prepared the table for making pudding. He then unlocked the pantry, showcasing a myriad of ingredients cooks would die for.
But while such a thing was happening, one peculiar thing was happening at the corner of Grey and Yuna's eyes. Vanessa started preparing the oven and took some ingredients from the pantry.
"Umm... Big Sis Vanessa, what are you doing?" ［Yuna］
Asked Yuna as she curiously eyed the beautiful lady in front of her who was taking sacks of flour and sugar towards another kitchen table. There, a few kitchen tools and wares had already been prepared.
"Hm, me...? I'm baking cookies." ［Vanessa］
"Eh?" ［Yuna］
"She may not look it, but Vanessa is one of the best bakers in the kingdom. Her cookies are especially delectable." ［Ernes］
""Ehh?!"" ［Grey and Yuna］
Yuna and Grey were plenty shocked hearing Vanessa is going to bake cookies, not to mention when the King said an unexpected fact. The Queen and Carlton were also in agreement with him.
No matter how they looked at Vanessa, she didn't look like a baker a single bit. She didn't even look like a military officer which was her occupation, not to mention being a master baker for a hobby. It was completely unexpected.
"Well, Vanessa only started baking cookies to capture Ranzel's heart. Now look at her, she's one of the best bakers in the kingdom. Fufufu, love really is powerful, isn't it?" ［Talia］
"Your Majesty, stop that! It's embarrassing! That's already a story of the past! I was only a teenager back then!" ［Vanessa］
"Oh? But aren't you still striving to improve your baking for your husband? I don't see any changes between then and now." ［Talia］
"Uuu... That's right, but still..." ［Vanessa］
Vanessa tried to think up of an excuse to escape the situation but she couldn't find a counterargument against the Queen. All she did was become redder as she recalled the past where she gave sweets to Ranzel on a daily basis.
That was the first. The first time Grey and Yuna saw Vanessa be defeated by someone other than her husband. Even the usually mischievous and energetic Vanessa was not acting shy and timid. It was a complete 180.
Completely defeated, Vanessa didn't talk back to the Queen anymore and only prepared the ingredients with rose tinted cheeks. As for the Queen, she was giggling to herself as she watched over the former.
"Is there something wrong, Lord Grey, Lady Yuna?" ［Carlton］
"A-Ah, nothing... Umm.. Mister Carlton, why don't we start with the first step?" ［Grey］
"Of course!" ［Carlton］
Carlton, full of enthusiasm, they then grabbed a couple of ingredients from the pantry and placed them on top of the kitchen table. The only thing Grey took out from his "Inventory" was vanilla extract.
Although vanilla extract is not yet known to Merusia, it can easily be made by processing vanilla beans with the help of magic. The one Grey made was just as fragrant as the ones back on Earth.
"Hm? What is this liquid?" ［Carlton］
"That's vanilla extract. It's made by processing vanilla beans. It can be used to flavor and make food fragrant. It can also be used in cosmetics." ［Grey］
"An extract that can be used on cosmetics and food...? I haven't heard of such a thing before..." ［Carlton］
Carlton opened the lid of the container in order to inspect the strange extract before him, and when he did, a fragrant smell wafted his nose. He wasn't familiar with it but it was something which immediately captured his liking.
"Oh～ What a fragrant smell..." ［Carlton］
"Is it really?" ［Ernes］
"It is! Your Majesty, you can experience it for yourself.! ［Carlton］
In order to sate the King's curiosity, Carlton passed the bottle to him. The Queen also took part and tested it together with her husband as she too was curious about what scent Carlton was talking about.
"Oh my! What a beautiful scent. It could rival the perfumes I'm using!" ［Talia］
"I knew that vanilla was a fragrant garden plant, but to think it could be used like this... Truly interesting..." ［Ernes］
The King, Queen, and Carlton enjoyed the smell for a little while with relaxed faces, and piqued by her curiosity, Vanessa, who was just recently dejected, also joined in as well.
"Grey, can I have some of this? I want to use them in my cookies?" ［Vanessa］
"Ah, sure, but please test it out first." ［Grey］
"Ok, thanks!" ［Vanessa］
With a smile on her face, Vanessa grabbed an empty drinking glass and poured some vanilla extract in it. She got about a hundred ml of it, enough to last her for quite some time.
"Hm, I wonder what this tastes like..." ［Vanessa］
"Ah, Bis Sis Vaneー" ［Grey］ "Wait, Bis Sisー" ［Yuna］
Grey and Yuna tried to stop Vanessa, but it was already too late, Vanessa had already dipped her finger in the extract and tasted it courageously. The next moment was very predictable.
"Bitter!" ［Vanessa］
Tears almost formed in the corner of Vanessa's eyes as she stuck out her tongue. She looked exactly the same when Yuna tried tasting vanilla extract the first time Grey made pudding for her.
A mix of regret and surprise was evident in Vanessa's face when she tried to wash off the taste by rinsing her mouth with water. Everyone all watched her amusingly as such an act was happening.
After that little exhibition from Vanessa, Carlton, Yuna, and Grey continued with making pudding. Vanessa also continued with her cookies while trying to forget the taste of vanilla extract.
"Now that I think about it, are these ingredients really everything we need in making pudding? I thought we needed way more than these..." ［Carlton］
"Actually, it's a really simple recipe. These are all the ingredients we need." ［Grey］
"..." ［Carlton］
Not making a single comment, Carlton eyed the ingredients curiously, still not being able to understand how a delicious dessert would be created from them. They were all common ingredients in his eyes.
"Yuna, I'll be making the base, please prepare the caramel sauce." ［Grey］
"Un!" ［Yuna］
Heeding Grey's instruction, Yuna immediately grabbed a bag of sugar and a saucepan and headed to a nearby stove. She then poured sugar and water to the saucepan and turned on the stove to medium high.
"Should I watch Lady Yuna first?" ［Carlton］
"Ah, there's no need. All that's left for her to do is to watch out that the caramelized mixture doesn't burn." ［Grey］
"Huh?! That's all?!" ［Carlton］
"Yeah. Like I said, this is a really simple recipe." ［Grey］
Still not able to believe Grey's words, Carlton observed Yuna for a while only to witness her looking out for the caramel sauce not burning, just like Grey had said. He looked extremely baffled.
"Ah, Mister Calrton, please warm this milk for me." ［Grey］
Grey said whilst handing a jug of fresh milk to Carlton. While he usually uses magic to heat the milk, as he was teaching Carlton, he decided it would be best to just make it normally. After all, not all people are as adept as him at controlling magic.
Hearing Grey's words, Carlton immediately shifted his attention from Yuna to the jug of milk, and followed the former's instruction without question. He did his work very meticulously.
While making sure Carlton was watching, Grey then whisked the eggs, sugar, and the vanilla extract inside a mixing bowl. He made sure he was whisking it without wasting anything.
When the milk was warm, Grey then asked Carltonto pour the milk on the mixing bowl while he continued whisking the mixture. By the time Grey finished whisking, Yuna was also done with the caramel sauce.
Yuna then prepared the moulds and poured the caramel sauce on each of them. As for Grey, he was straining the mixture to make sure there were no large particles in the pudding.
After straining the mixture, Grey then poured it on the moulds with caramel sauce already in it. And with that finished, he then placed the pudding inside a steamer. All that needed to be done was wait.
"Was that really everything that we needed to do?" ［Carlton］
"Well, after waiting for the pudding to finish cooking, we still need to chill them, but all in all, we are pretty much done." ［Grey］
"Un! Pudding is easy to make and delicious!" ［Yuna］
After minutes upon minutes of waiting, the pudding was finally done. All that was needed was to chill it in the refrigerator. Of course, it was a magic refrigerator which could chill it faster than ones back on Earth.
Meanwhile, Vanessa had also finished with her cookies, and completely outside of Grey and Yuna's expectations, they smelled and looked fantastic. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that they were very tempting.
"Woah～!" ［Grey］
"Big Sis Vanessa, these cookies are delicious!" ［Yuna］
"It's delectable as always, Vanessa." ［Talia］
"As expected of Vanessa." ［Ernes］
"Fufufu, thank you!" ［Vanessa］
Everyone showered Vanessa's cookies with praise, making the baker really pleased with it. She wasn't able to hide the smile on her face as she was smiling from ear to ear.
'Ah, how nostalgic...' ［Grey］
The cookies reminded Grey of his childhood where his mother would always make it for him after school, and paired with a glass of warm milk, it was one of the things that made his day.
"Well, other than being delicious, it also is fragrant now. That vanilla extract really was a miracle worker. Hey, Grey, would you mind giving me more of those extracts?" ［Vanessa］
"Oh, sure, but in exchange, please teach me how to bake these." ［Grey］
"Sure! It's for Grey and Yuna after all." ［Vanessa］
Vanessa ended her statement with a blooming warm and sincere smile. It was a smile which reminded Grey of his mother. Because of it, Grey now knew the reason why he couldn't bring himself to hate Vanessa despite how troublesome she was.
Well, he knew full well that that wasn't the only reason. It was because even though they weren't related by blood and they had just met not that long ago, Vanessa had already become his and Yuna's older sister, something he couldn't fully understand as well.
"Grey, the pudding's ready～!" ［Yuna］
"Ah! Be there in a minute!" ［Grey］
A few moments later, pudding was also served on the kitchen table. With the cookies and pudding on the table, everyone enjoyed their afternoon by eating and chatting to their hearts' content.
Although pudding and cookies weren't really the best of combinations there was, it was something that filled both their stomachs and hearts with a satisfaction and warmth. It was sweets which brought them closer with one another.
CHAPTER 90 END