Chapter 49: Chapter 48 - Baked Smashed Potatoes
Sluuush...
Master Amagi, who was standing beside me, suddenly leaned closer. Her luxurious nightgown-clad body brushed against the skin of my arm, which wasn’t covered by my nightgown. My hand, busy mixing spices and vegetables into the mashed potatoes, now felt the faint softness of Master Amagi’s skin.
Her gaze was still fixed on the maids on duty at night, and occasionally looking at the rose-shaped potato in her hand.
"This... is too beautiful a shape for a potato, Liliana," the soft words sounded like a whisper in my ear.
After the praise I heard earlier, my face still tried to remain calm, without betraying the blush of embarrassment I felt.
"Potatoes can be beautiful in the right hands, Master Amagi," I said, adding the final touch of my secret seasoning, salt, mixed evenly with the mashed potatoes.
For a second dinner at midnight, mashed potatoes mixed with vegetables and salty fries were more than enough.
"Master Amagi, I’m going to start cooking soon. Please don’t get too close to the burning stove," I said to Master Amagi as I got down from the wooden stool I was using to stand on.
"I can help cook like my mother, who helps my father cook!" said Master Amagi, her eyes shining and her seriousness about helping me cook.
"Master Amagi can help with the cooking? That’s quite strange for a noble who’s used to enjoying cooked meals, isn’t it?" This sweetly sarcastic remark slipped out of my mouth, harmless for others to hear, but it would make people smile, especially those who understood its meaning.
"It’s not strange! Ehh... but it is strange when I think about it. My mother always hugged my father while he was cooking and didn’t let go until the food was cooked," Master Amagi muttered in a soft tone of voice that made me smile wryly at Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg.
She was still sitting quietly on a simple wooden chair, engrossed in the thick book she was reading with subtle eye movements. The subtle joke that sounded like a mockery of the noble family... somehow escaped her ears, and she didn’t take it as an insult.
That’s good news for me, though.
If that gentle sarcasm becomes a problem later on, I will craft my words to be more subtle and filled with respect.
"L-Liliana... I know this sounds embarrassing."
"C-Can I hug Liliana while cooking?"
"I want to understand... why my mother always does that kind of thing with my father."
"In our residence, several Butlers and Maids always made delicious food. But when my father came home... they suddenly left the kitchen empty and let him cook with a big smile on his face."
"I want to feel... what my mother feels when my father is cooking."
Hearing such words and eyes sparkling like stars at night, I had only two choices: surrender or grant Master Amagi’s request, which sounded strange to my ears.
Hugging someone who is cooking will disturb them.
Doesn’t Master Amagi understand how difficult it is to cook and be hugged?
Luckily, the dinner I was making wasn’t too complicated, and I nodded my head in agreement.
Nod...
"Okay, but Master Amagi must be careful with the hot oil that could explode at any moment and hit Master Amagi’s skin. I don’t want to be responsible if Master Amagi cries in pain," I said in a relaxed tone and glanced at one of the night maids to borrow their magic abilities.
With a relaxed movement of my fingers, I pointed towards the magic oven that I would use to bake mashed potatoes and the magic wood stove that needed to be injected with magic first.
Sruusshh...
My finger, which was giving codes to the night maids, was touched by Master Amagi.
"Let me do it, Liliana."
"I’ll be the one helping Liliana with cooking magic!"
"At least, I’ll be more useful than hugging Liliana throughout the cooking, right?"
The whisper in my ear spread quickly from my head to my entire body. The chill of the midnight air made my ears sensitive. I smiled to keep calm, my heart beating fast, making my blood flow warm in the chilly night air.
"I understand, but please be careful, Master Amagi," I replied, taking the option of giving in and fulfilling Master Amagi’s request.
"Yes, I will be careful so that Reina doesn’t find out about my signs of love too."
"Hmm?" My ears seemed to hear a strange answer.
What connects this midnight dinner with Master Reina?
Sometimes, I don’t understand the minds of the nobles who live comfortably every day.
I immediately put the wooden bowl into the magic oven whose basic mechanism was not much different from the electric oven in the previous world.
Hahaha!! This is the importance of writing magic technology that is part of world-building!
I don’t need to bother heating the oven manually like a gas oven where all parts are hot.
With a calm expression and trying my best to create a delicious dinner, my hands quickly touched the small buttons filled with numbers and calculations based on my instinct of "just enough."
An instinct I’d always used in my past life when cooking.
"Please do, Master Amagi..." I said after setting up the magic oven and handing over the final touches to Master Amagi.
Master Amagi’s hand touched a small spot on top of the magic oven, and a gentle, pastel purple magic seemed to fill the spot. The spot glowed, and something hot immediately erupted from the inside of the magic oven. There was no glass room to peek at the food inside the magic oven, so I would rely on my instincts of "just enough" to cook the mashed potatoes mixed with the secret spices.
Sniff...
Sniff...
The aroma of finely chopped dried vegetables and soft mashed potatoes immediately wafted out from within the magic oven.
"Oh woow!! Liliana!! That will definitely feel good in my mouth!" Master Amagi said, smiling at me.
Greeppp...
"Now, we’re going to fry the potatoes to make them into French fries, right?" Master Amagi asked as she pulled my hand toward the magic stove.
"Yeah, you are too excited, Master Amagi," I was forced to smile and suppress the excitement in my heart after seeing Master Amagi excited.
It reminded me of my past cooking experiences, when I could make my own dinner without fail. The thrill of practicing, putting in the effort, and achieving the best possible results. I felt that sensation again from Master Amagi pulling my arm, arranging the wooden bench to stand on facing each other, and her arms getting ready to embrace me from the front.
Wait... hugging from the front?
I didn’t see it wrong, did I?
The position is much more dangerous to hug from the front.
Kirraa...
Kiirraa...
I wanted to say something about that, but Master Amagi was already standing in front of the magic stove and stretching out her arms for a hug. The wooden stool she was standing on was in front of me, meaning I would be using the wooden stool behind her as a foothold.
Master Amagi’s smiling face at me seemed to say, "Hurry up and hug me, I can’t wait anymore!"
Master Amagi didn’t say those embarrassing words, but the expression on her face said it.
Krraaakk...
Before I could step forward, I heard the sound of the kitchen door opening wide and saw two figures with glowing red eyes from the darkness.
Like a mouse meeting a snake in the middle of the night, I stood frozen without being able to say anything.
Master Reina and Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld stood behind the kitchen door with red eyes fixed on me.
It seemed... the aroma of mashed potatoes had woken up the hungry monster in the middle of the night.
"U-Uhm..."
"Uh, w-welcome?" I said with calm voice.
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