Maintaining the Status Quo

“Tch, if you can’t, you can’t. Why make so many excuses?”

A trainee, hiding in the corner, couldn’t help but mutter.

But Cook was stunned.

To test Flora, he had prepared two dishes: one with ingredients similar to those in the morning, looking vibrant and appetizing, and the other the complete opposite.

He had never expected Flora to choose the darker-colored one.

Even more unexpected was Flora’s reason: she thought dinner shouldn’t be too flashy.

Honestly, he, like that trainee, still suspected Flora was making excuses, just trying to be low-key and subtly compliment his plating.

But when he saw the blonde girl looking intently at the food after saying that, her face full of anticipation and enthusiasm, that dirty thought completely vanished.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but think of the distant past.

It was when the Crown Prince was still young, and he was still one of the sous-chefs.

The head chef in the residence was a seasoned old imperial chef.

“Cook, food is for people to eat.”

Back then, the old imperial chef always told him that.

He heard it, but always felt it was nonsense.

Now, so many years had passed, and he had been striving for the level of the imperial chefs in the palace, learning many dishes and various exquisite and gorgeous methods.

Technically, he was close to an imperial chef, and he believed he could one day advance to that level.

But for some reason, he always felt that the gap between him and the old imperial chef was still very large.

Especially since the old imperial chef retired, the Crown Prince had never praised their dishes.

Before, it could be explained by the chaotic kitchen, but in recent years, after the Crown Prince gradually took power, the kitchen had stabilized, but the situation remained unchanged.

This was undoubtedly his problem.

He made exquisite dishes for his own sake, only thinking about not losing face for the Crown Prince, but never considering what the Crown Prince wanted to eat or should eat.

As the only chef in the residence, he was too derelict in his duty.

Fortunately, he still had a chance to redeem himself—

“Flora, just tell me what to do… By the way, do you have any suggestions on seasoning?”

On the way back, Ryan Rowland realized that his silence at breakfast was actually a form of approval.

But on second thought, he decided against making a statement.

His negation would have too much of an impact.

The best way was to leave some.

He usually didn’t finish all the dishes.

If too much was left, or if he finished everything else and left one dish alone more than twice, that dish would no longer appear on his table.

Those boring fellows always liked to guess his thoughts through such roundabout ways.

This time… well, he had also become fond of using this boring method.

How ironic.

Returning to the mansion, he passed through the familiar silence and fear.

He didn’t go to the study first, but went directly to the dining room.

As the old butler opened the plate covers one by one, Ryan felt increasingly bored.

Similar to the dishes in the morning, they were now arranged in the usual uninspired way.

They looked good, but he was already tired of them.

However, when all the dishes were opened, he noticed that something was wrong.

Many dishes seemed to be arching and surrounding the dish in the very center.

But that dish was not only not gorgeous, but rather ridiculously rustic.

It was like a simple village girl suddenly breaking into a dazzling and colorful ball.

But Ryan had to admit that this dish had become conspicuous because of it.

He also began to wonder about the taste of this dish.

He picked up his utensils and put the food in his mouth.

The hidden depth, the exaggerated stimulation that he had expected did not appear.

Like the appearance, the taste was particularly ordinary, and a little salty. The only thing commendable was that it was still not greasy.

It was simply a dish made to replenish his strength and energy.

It wasn’t delicious at all.

But for some reason, his hands and mouth couldn’t stop.

It was like a traveler who had been wandering for many years, eating all kinds of delicacies, finally returning to his hometown and eating the home-cooked meals made by his old mother.

He recalled ten years ago, the kind and amiable old chef at home, who didn’t require him to be on guard.

He remembered the other party always asking him what he liked to eat, what he didn’t like to eat, urging him not to be picky, and knowing when to give him what to eat.

(No, this is far from that.)

Although Ryan evaluated it this way in his heart.

But when he came back to his senses, the plate holding this dish was already empty.

Still feeling unsatisfied, he hesitated for a moment, but still reached out his fork to the other dishes.

The surprise did not reappear.

But for some reason, there was no longer the usual greasiness and boredom.

No.

It was precisely because it was exactly the same as usual that he had this feeling.

The first dish represented the past.

The rest represented the present.

But the present was not unchangeable.

This rare “past” was the best proof.

That was why the remaining dishes became more delicious than usual.

(Has it become so boring… is it my fault?)

Ryan silently finished all the food and returned to his study. He called the secret guard responsible for monitoring the kitchen.

“Who came up with the idea for that dish?”

“Your Highness, it was Flora Haggia.”

Even though he had expected it, a trace of change still appeared on Ryan’s unchanging iceberg face.

It was her again.

This woman had been very suspicious from the beginning.

Ryan initially thought this woman had come as a spy or assassin.

But she was so frank when she asked for the list of servants’ names, and even when she broke into the study, she only glanced at the door and then retreated.

To say she was innocent, yet she was constantly showing goodwill to Ryan in a way completely different from others.

To say she wanted to approach Ryan to assassinate him or wanted to sell herself as a lover, yet she dared to disobey Ryan’s orders and do things that would obviously displease him.

This was the first time Ryan had encountered such a strange woman.

It was also the first time he had encountered such a troublesome woman.

Even if he demoted her to a place where she couldn’t be seen, she could still appear in front of him in such a wonderful way.

It was really annoying.

“Your Highness, should we expel her from the kitchen?”

Noticing Ryan’s expression, the secret guard couldn’t help but ask.

“Step back.”

Ryan glanced at the secret guard, who immediately understood that he had overstepped his bounds, couldn’t help but shudder, and quickly disappeared from sight.

Ryan was already used to this.

He had never really trusted these secret guards, so he always made sure that at least two of them stayed by his side, so they could restrain each other.

However, what Ryan was dissatisfied with just now was that the secret guard’s suggestion was really inconsiderate.

That woman had already been demoted to the kitchen, a place where she couldn’t retreat any further. If he expelled her again, even if Ryan didn’t intend to dismiss her, that group of boring fellows would take it upon themselves to do so.

Therefore, the correct approach was to gradually restore that woman to the status of an ordinary maid, so that he wouldn’t have to eat this kind of food all day long—

(…)

Thinking of his epiphany just now, and that woman’s extremely annoying performance as an ordinary maid.

Ryan finally decided to maintain the status quo for now.