Chapter 23: A New Storm

The frying pan sizzled.

Xue La, wearing an apron, was trying to cook a meal for her mother using freshly picked truffles.

Foraging for herbs and completing the Manticore Sausage… that was already yesterday.

The freshly made sausages were now hanging on a cool rack, drying.

Just a sprinkle of coarse salt and a few bundles of herbs hung together—time would make them delicious.

Not only that, but Xue La had also added a Black Truffle to the sausage to enhance the flavor…

That meant the Manticore Sausage on the rack, when eaten, would grant poison resistance of 105%—the kind that healed you even when poisoned!

This was truly a masterpiece of her own ingenuity!

Once it was fully dried, offering it to her parents would be the best gift.

However, a good cook shouldn’t let their mind wander while the pan is on the fire.

The stuff in the pan was also important.

Scrambled eggs with Black Truffle—another simple dish.

Smooth, tender scrambled eggs, seasoned with just a pinch of salt and olive oil, with a few slices of Black Truffle added—it was a fragrant delight!

But the most important indicator for this dish was freshness and tenderness.

Whatever you do, don’t overcook it!

Back before she was transported, that poor Western restaurant apprentice had been scolded plenty by the old chef when she first started.

Cooking—it looked easy but was hard to do well.

You could never underestimate it…

Xue La always remembered that, and she cooked steadily.

***

On a wooden plate sat her daughter’s achievement: the golden scrambled eggs were arranged like pieces of gold, finely chopped Black Truffle bits perfectly wrapped by the solidified egg.

Delicious!

Count Brian knew it the moment his tongue touched the dish.

The egg flower melted in his mouth, then tiny bits of Black Truffle burst between his lips and teeth, fresh and tender!

Or, like Lady Catalina, she didn’t use a silver fork but a silver knife to spread it on toast bread.

“Our daughter’s cooking is truly beyond words…”

Count Brian’s eyes sparkled.

“You’ve worked hard to teach her—I used to think she only went to the kitchen to sneak food.”

“Perhaps the family cook was kind. Taught her a thing or two.”

The proud golden-haired lioness never consulted the sheep for their opinions.

“But still, Xue La is a good girl, smart and clever… after all, she carries the blood of the Lyoncote Family.”

The lady put down her knife and fork, looking at her daughter.

To be honest, Xue La felt a bit uncomfortable.

In theory, a mother’s gaze at her children should be full of love, right?

But the other party was a noble mother…

Lady Catalina likely had higher expectations for her children.

“Cooking, being considerate… these are all fine qualities.”

The lady spoke.

“It’s really a pity not to go to the Royal Capital Varna and become a maid in the palace.”

Xue La was so startled that her knife and fork slipped and clattered to the floor.

Clatter—

That was the sound of her heart.

No way!

She absolutely did not want to follow the path in the original world line that led to certain death.

The daughter of a local noble could enter the palace as a maid, becoming a lackey for the royal family.

Then, in the game plot, she would become a spy in the Brave’s party.

And in the ending, she would be killed by the Brave.

Game Over.

Xue La refused to accept that ending!

She had already planned: get along well with the Brave, become a harmless noble parasite in the future, open a restaurant, and live a relaxed, leisurely life in the other world.

Why did Lady Catalina want to take away her dream?

“Your aunts and uncles all live in the royal capital. Your cousins all wear beautiful dresses…”

Catalina described the grandeur there.

“You had one too, bought by your aunts—but you had to waste it on a lowly commoner…”

Xue La was already too tired to argue with Catalina about Luo Yi.

The more she argued, the more she provoked the lioness.

Catalina continued,

“Going to the royal capital as a maid won’t do you any harm… they’re all relatives; they won’t throw you into the fire. Rumor has it that the second prince, Rustan, who acts as regent, is lecherous and debauched—of course, you wouldn’t be his maid, but the kind third princess, Salome…”

Xue La knew this.

These were all key characters in the game plot.

Even though she was a speedrun player who often pressed the skip button, she still knew the ins and outs.

The war between the humans and the Demon Race wasn’t smooth sailing.

The once proud Shield of the Empire, old General Bali Saihe, eventually overturned and lost his reputation in a decisive battle—an unavoidable tragedy.

After all, that battle sacrificed the life of the Crown Prince, who carried heavy expectations, in the Southern Desolate Wasteland.

And that was just the situation in one Kingdom—Norsenia!

It was a joint battle of the Four Kingdoms, unprecedented!

But unfortunately, it failed.

The king of the Eastern Kingdom of Istania and his crown prince were close friends despite their age difference.

They both died on the battlefield together, plunging Istania into a decade-long dispute among its powerful families over who should be the new heir…

The Western Kingdom of Westania was slightly better off.

Their king led the fleet to assist in the battle, and even if they lost, they could hoist sails and make a quick escape…

But it was said that during that war, the Demon Race deployed sea monsters familiar with naval combat, like the Leviathan…

So the entire Western Kingdom’s fleet was nearly wiped out.

Rumors said the king clung to a piece of wood and floated at sea for three days and three nights before making it to shore…

With the fleet gone, the Western Kingdom was scared and refused to form any more joint operations.

They also had to focus on domestic industry and commerce!

They couldn’t afford to play.

But the most unfortunate was the Southern Kingdom.

After all, that country had the harshest climate and the most barren land—because their neighbor was the evil Demon Race across the Southern Ice Sea.

Being their enemy, occupying the frontmost position…

Naturally, it was also the place most prone to devastation.

So, what was the ultimate fate of the Southern Kingdom, Sothnia?

No one knew.

Just by looking at the fleeing refugees and the wandering monsters everywhere, one could guess.

The Four Kingdoms were in a slump.

The failure of the decisive battle was like the deepest scar, harming everyone.

The Northern Kingdom of Norsenia might still be okay—after all, although they lost the crown prince, there was still the adult second prince to govern the kingdom, and a kind princess to boost morale…

But was that really the case?

Wasn’t the Xue La from the original world line a spy designed by that very princess?

You thought she was a kind and harmless princess, the hero winning the beauty’s heart?

Wrong.

All pink on the outside, black on the inside!

So, no matter what, she couldn’t let Lady Catalina convince her to go to the distant and unfamiliar royal capital as a maid.

Xue La could guess how deep the waters were there!

She wouldn’t go.

But Lady Catalina seemed more concerned about something else:

“The problem isn’t that you don’t want to go, but that you… don’t quite meet the requirements.”

“M aids in the royal palace need a spotless family background. You’re a bit unsuitable.”

The lady spoke with a hint of anger.

“Your behavior is ruining the family’s reputation.”

“What did I do, Mother?”

Xue La tried to appeal to her father, Brian.

But her father clearly couldn’t control the lioness in the house.

“Of course, it’s playing around with the lower class!”

The lady said firmly.

“Do you know you’re defiling your chastity? How can you enter the royal capital like this? I now have to consider sending you to a convent to reform!”

“But Luo Yi is a good person!”

Xue La wanted to reiterate his life-saving grace.

The lady did love her, Xue La knew, but sometimes she was indeed too strict…

“What good person? Would a good person’s grandfather try to commit the vile act of theft?”

Xue La was terrified, her heart tightening.

A new storm had begun.