Seeing that Maria wasn't displeased, Julia continued, "I heard from someone that a slave who went to graze the livestock spotted wild cats at the edge of the forest. It seems they also heard the cries of kittens. If you want to keep one, I could ask them about it."
In the Middle Ages, people weren't particularly friendly to cats. They feared these creatures whose eyes glowed in the dark, thinking they were incarnations of demons. But that was something that would happen later on. Now, cats weren't yet associated with demons or rumored to be the pets of witches, so most people merely disliked them rather than hunting them down.
As for Maria, she had never kept a pet, but she did have a fondness for furry creatures like cats and dogs, especially when there were mice around.
"Then please go ahead and ask for me," she said.
Receiving this response, Julia happily nodded and continued with her tasks. She had once seen kittens before she started working at the castle. They were very weak and seemed difficult to keep alive. Julia loved small animals, but she couldn't afford to take care of them—back then, she was nearly starving herself. In the end, she could only watch as they died from weakness. Now, hearing that Maria wanted to keep one, even if it wasn't the same kittens, gave her a small sense of satisfaction.
Lucia glanced helplessly at the emotional Julia and at Maria, who seemed equally pleased at the thought of having a cat. She didn't mention that the castle's previous owner had hated cats, which was why there had never been any kept in the castle.
However, Lord Simon didn't seem to dislike cats, so it should be fine, right?
Lucia decided she should mention this to the steward.
After Lucia helped Maria with her hair, Maria asked them to take her to the kitchen.
She had promised to cook for Simon, and after reviewing the recipe last night, she had a good idea of what to do. Waking up so early also meant she wanted to get a head start, as she still wasn't familiar with the kitchen's setup.
When Lucia heard Maria wanted to go to the kitchen, she hesitated and explained that the kitchen was likely busy preparing food for the servants at this hour, so it might be a bit chaotic.
But Maria only focused on one thing: "So, you haven't had breakfast yet?"
The two maids exchanged glances and honestly nodded, "No, but we brought some food with us."
They pulled out dry, hard black bread from their clothing—this was their breakfast. Because they needed to come up early to attend to the guests, the kitchen had allowed them to take the bread in advance.
Black bread was made from wheat flour mixed with a large amount of bran. It was hard and unappetizing, but to ordinary people, it was considered a rare delicacy—if it hadn't come from the castle's bakery, it might have contained sand and sawdust. Moreover, ordinary people didn't have enough firewood to bake bread.
Maria, who had been feeling a bit hungry, suddenly lost her appetite when she saw the bread they brought out.
The maids hadn't brought Maria breakfast because the people here only ate two meals a day, with commoners eating earlier while nobles typically didn't dine until around ten in the morning.
However, Lucia quickly realized that Maria was not like the nobles they were used to, especially since she had woken up so early; she might be feeling hungry by now.
Noticing this, Lucia immediately said, "I'll go to the kitchen right away and ask the chef to prepare breakfast for you."
"No need to trouble yourself; aren't we heading to the kitchen now?" Maria said as she stood up, lifting her skirt.
"If the chef doesn't mind, I'm afraid I'll need to borrow the kitchen for quite some time today."
The chef certainly didn't mind; in fact, he appeared somewhat flustered when Maria arrived.
The kitchen was located near the back door of the castle, and opening the door revealed the moat outside, making the air quite unpleasant. The masters of the castle never came to this side, much less the guests. If they needed anything, they would always send a servant instead.
This was the first time the head chef had seen a guest in the kitchen, which made him extremely uneasy.
Especially since it was the servants' mealtime; when Maria arrived, she naturally ran into everyone who was having breakfast in the kitchen.
Maria hadn't thought much of it at first, but when she saw everyone in the kitchen hastily stand up and bow to her, she realized she might have come at an inconvenient time.
Finally, the steward, who was also having breakfast, approached her. "Good morning, Miss Maria. Is there something you need?"
"Good morning, Steward Pedro," Maria glanced at the others. "I apologize for interrupting your meal. I promised the Duke yesterday that I would prepare a dish for them, so I came by to see what the kitchen has."
Steward Pedro was flattered by Maria's demeanor and also surprised at her swiftness.
He had been serving during dinner last night, so he knew about Maria's agreement with Simon and had already informed the chef, but he hadn't expected Maria to come to the kitchen so early.
He hesitantly glanced at the chaotic kitchen, unsure whether he should let her in and have everyone else leave or ask her to wait a moment since the kitchen was indeed in disarray.
Maria decided for him: "However, I'm feeling a bit hungry right now. Could I ask the chef to prepare something for me? I'd like to dine in the garden."
"Of course, my Miss."
Maria looked at the half-eaten food on the table and ordered, "Just some bread and salad, and please prepare a cup of hot milk for me."
"Certainly, my Miss."
These were the simplest, so they wouldn't take much time to prepare.
Maria, being the center of attention, left the kitchen and, guided by the maids, went to the garden, where she chose a nearby pavilion to sit. Compared to the foul-smelling interior of the castle, the air in the garden was much better. The fragrance of flowers and plants masked the distant moat outside the castle, making the garden a refreshing retreat.
The breakfast she ordered was quickly brought over by the butler himself. The bread was the same white bread she had eaten the previous night, and the salad no longer contained the strong-flavored vegetables like onions and carrots, indicating that the butler had paid attention to what she had eaten last night.
The only drawback was that the milk had a strong gamey flavor, which Maria, despite being fond of dairy products, found hard to accept.
She couldn't help but tell the maid beside her, "Next time, you can add some fresh fruit juice or cinnamon and nutmeg powder to the boiled milk to make it taste better."
Originally, she wanted to suggest adding tea leaves, but she realized that at this time, tea would be hard to find in the West, and even if some had made their way here, it would likely be extremely expensive.
The maids took note of her words, knowing how to prepare milk for Maria in the future.