"Miss Alisa, your lunch is ready," the maid knocked on Alisa's door with trepidation.
"Oh? Who is the chef for today's lunch?" Alisa asked carelessly as she opened the door, her delicate features barely masking an air of arrogance.
"Miss Alisa, today's lunch was prepared by the Golden Rose's chef, Rhodes," the maid replied humbly, her head bowed.
"Rhodes, huh? I still remember the Enchanting Dragon Meat he made last time. What has he made this time?" Alisa extended her arms as another maid approached to help her comb her hair.
"This time it's grilled volcanic rockfish, accompanied by top-grade caviar purchased from the icy seas," the maid quickly answered her mistress's question.
"Hmph, last time it was Fake Dragon meat, how come the quality has dropped this time? When did such inferior food deserve to be on my table?" Alisa said angrily as she smashed a lamp nearby to the ground.
Both maids immediately knelt on the ground in fright, not daring to look into Alisa's eyes.
"Where is father? Tell that chef to get out, and take his inferior ingredients with him," Alisa said as she closed the door and went back to her bedroom.
The two maids exchanged worried glances.
"Alizee, how much longer is this going to continue?" the maid on the left asked anxiously as she began to pick up the broken glass pieces from the floor.
"Sigh, it's quite normal for the miss to be unable to accept it. After all, the Duke was beheaded by the King for treason," Alizee said with concern as she looked at the locked door. She and Erin were the last two servants remaining in Duke Rose's Mansion.
"But the miss can't keep smashing things... Now we can only afford to live in this shabby house, and even a glass lamp like this costs a silver coin," Erin lamented, looking at the shattered lamp on the floor.
In the past, even using such lamps would have been below her station, but now they are all she had to offer to the miss.
Alizee sighed; it had been over a month since they had fled to this city, and their money was running low.
"Go and inform the chef," Alizee instructed Erin, "and ask if we can return the imitation volcanic rockfish and caviar."
They had to save where they could, hoping the miss would soon come out of her despair. She was no longer the Duke Rose's heiress, just a fallen noble in exile.
Alisa sat in her room, feeling very hungry, but her pride would not allow her to eat the inferior food; only the finest delicacies were fit for her palate.
"I'm really... so hungry..." Alisa held her stomach, which hadn't seen food for days.
"What is that..." Alisa looked toward a corner of her bedroom, where, instead of the wall, there now stood a door.
Strange characters were written on the door.
Alisa rubbed her eyes; the door remained where it was, proving she wasn't seeing things.
Alisa hesitated before rising to her feet, and after a moment's struggle, she slowly walked over and opened the door.
A rich aroma wafted through, making Alisa's stomach growl uncontrollably.
Alisa's face turned red with embarrassment as she covered her stomach. She had never experienced anything like this before, nor had she felt such gnawing hunger.
Chen Ze looked at the girl standing at the entrance of the restaurant. She was well-dressed, without any distinguishing features, just appearing to be a foreigner.
At least for now, she seemed human.
Chen Ze wiped his hands with a towel and stepped forward, smiling at the girl with the flushed face.
"Welcome to Dream Restaurant, guest,"
Alisa looked at Chen Ze with a blank expression; she didn't understand what Chen Ze was saying.
Chen Ze patted his own head, wondering if he had been making chive pockets for too long and even Arcane Wisdom had failed him.
Chen Ze returned to the kitchen and pressed the stone tablet that Riesel had given him. A burst of light flashed, and Chen Ze understood that Arcane Wisdom had taken effect.
"Welcome to Dream Restaurant, guest. What would you like to eat?" Chen Ze asked with a smile.
"Restaurant? Why would your door open into my bedroom?" Alisa asked in confusion. If it weren't for the fact that Chen Ze was alone and unarmed, she might have fled already.
"That door you mentioned, I'm not clear about it either, but this place is indeed a restaurant," Chen Ze said, not sure how to explain about the door and simply brushed it off.
"Restaurant... then make me some Golden Awn Grass grilled Dragon Meat," Alisa made her request and then took a seat on a chair.
"Tsk, inferior wood," Alisa looked disgusted.
The corner of Chen Ze's mouth twitched. It was the first time he had seen such a picky guest who would even be disdainful of the chair's wood.
But, what did she just say?
"Golden Awn Grass grilled Dragon Meat? Sorry, guest, we don't have that dish," Chen Ze shook his head. He had never even heard of Dragon Meat or Golden Awn Grass.
And now, do the humans of this other world all have such high tastes? Always wanting to eat Dragon Meat. Don't dragons have any dignity?
"Tsk, I knew it, a simple restaurant like this wouldn't have a dish like Dragon Meat. What do you have here? Bring me your most expensive dish," Alisa said arrogantly, and Chen Ze felt an urge to flip the table.
"We only have Sundae, Light Cheesecake, and Chive Pockets," Chen Ze tried his best to control his emotions.
"Never heard of them. What's a Sundae? What's a Chive Pocket? Are the ingredients used in them worthy of someone as noble as me?"
"Sigh... They're all very ordinary ingredients."
"Then forget it, ordinary ingredients don't deserve to enter my mouth."
"How will you know if you don't try? Your stomach's growling yet you're still being stubborn," Chen Ze didn't waste any more words. In his view, the best way to judge a chef was by tasting their cooking.
Luckily, he had stayed up all night the day before and asked an old man selling breakfast in the morning, and he had managed to make Chive Pockets that were to his satisfaction.
Alisa turned her head away in anger, looking at Chen Ze who had gone back to the kitchen, and said loudly, "I, Alisa, would rather die of hunger today than eat your garbage food!"
Chen Ze was stunned for a moment. He really wanted to ask Alisa, are you perhaps a transmigrator?
But Chen Ze quickly dismissed the strange thought and brought out the Chive Pockets, placing them in front of Alisa.
The fragrance she had smelled upon entering was now even stronger, causing Alisa's stomach to embarrassingly growl again.
Alisa's face turned redder; she didn't want to eat, but she was really hungry, and the smell was indeed very enticing.
So after hesitating for a moment, Alisa still couldn't help but pick up a chive pocket with her fork and put it in her mouth.
"It's delicious!"