My Lady Chef

Ely's POV:

Linda stared at the fluffy-looking rice I cooked in the pot.

"This is rice?" she looked at me while I began frying some garlic and a few more aromatics in another pan. "This looks different from the slop we feed to our livestock."

I then asked her to add some sliced chicken and the mushrooms as well while I stir the garlic and onions and a small cube of butter. The sizzle of the deep pan resembling a wok made me lick my lips as I added the soy sauce I obtained from an Exotic Land seller near the port.

I added the smoked chili flakes and some searched coarse pepper smoked with nut wood as my mind added the rice little by little until the pristine white grains turned light brown. I finished it off by adding my pepper and folded some mozzarella cheese into it and added some dried parsley.

"Milady. Is that even edible?" She then sniffed the buttery smell and swallowed. "It smells amazing in contrast to its appearance."

I scooped a few of it into the bowl and gave it to Linda to try after garnishing it with some more parsley.

Thanks to my fire mana's assistance, The bowl of chicken garlic fried rice has a good amount of heat and the meat stayed plump and juicy.

"Try it and tell me if this is good enough."

My mind nodded and took a spoonful and ate it. She gasped and took another spoon while closing her eyes in pleasure as she gobbled up the food.

"Mmmm! This is a flavor I have never tasted before. It was very smoky that the flavor deepens with each bite, the pepper was incorporated well with the rice and it cheese oddly works to numb the spice from the chili flakes." My mind sighed as if I have given her a gift. "This is truly an honor to sample your food. milady."

"This will be our little secret then. We can serve this to Lady Baristani. I wonder if she would recognize the rice in the rice bowl as I prepared a bowl for two just as the door to the kitchen opened and a maid showed Lady Baristani inside.

I immediately told her to sit down and served her the bowl of rice and her expression was also apprehension and reluctance because of the dark brown color of the grains.

"I used an Exotic Land ingredient for this bowl. I called it chicken pepper rice." I grabbed a bowl and took a bite out of it.

She saw that I was enjoying it and also started to eat and she looked at the grains that were plump and glistening with the soy sauce and chicken.

"This... This is delicious! How can something so brown taste so good!" she ate faster and savored every bite. "The chicken and the garlic melds so well together too! Is this stretchy thing cheese? It goes well with it too."

After the bowls were empty. I explained to Lady Baristani that rice is a versatile food that can give energy to the soldiers and will not spoil as easily as bread.

She then promised a hundred sacks of rice to the military camp as long as I write down recipes for it.

"I can write down a recipe for chicken rice porridge that all the soldiers would love. It is fairly easy to prepare too." I smiled as Linda gave us cold glasses of peach iced tea that was brewed and cooled yesterday.

"Lady Aisenburg. Do you think that maybe you can help me with this volunteer work? I swear that your husband will not see you. We can disguise you as one of my maids who help me distribute the food and you can teach the soldiers how to cook your dishes. I want it to be a success because I want my father to grant me a boon."

"Call me Alaina or Ely. We have been friends since that day you helped me out at Lady Lorax's coffee tasting party." I patted her hand. "I am intrigued. What boon does a daughter of a count need?"

"I..want him to send me to the Kalderos Culinary Institute for Higher Learning," she said slowly. "Ever since I have spent time with you, I was fascinated by the world of food and...I wanted to learn how to make beautiful sweets and cakes that you seem to create out of magic. Plus...my father might be in a better mood once my charitable spirit reflects well on him."

I was touched as she drank her iced tea as her cheeks become pink.

"Have you ever cooked or baked before?" I asked her.

"Well. I sneak into the kitchen and then the head chef used to help me make cookies and simple sweets for my parties. Nothing too fancy but I can say that I know more than most young ladies of the ton."

I smiled at her honest answer. She was a very honest one and was not afraid to bare her soul to me.

"Lorelei." I used her first name and she looked up from her glass. "I would be happy to help you out."

"Really?"

"Yes. This is a good opportunity to raise the reputation of the House of Aisenburg if they knew that I am helping out our soldiers."

"What about His Grace? Don't you want to see him? I heard that he has been more active in the siege lately...."

The thought of Ezran clad in his military clothes and armor, his hand holding a wicked bloody blade and his red eyes glowing from the heat of war made me long to see him even more.

"That too." I hid my blush by drinking the great of my tea. "When will you be able to get everything ready?"

"We can leave in 5 days. I have already organized almost everything. Just bring yourself and one trusted knight for protection if you want."

"And how many days till we reach the encampment?" I asked as I mentally made a list of what to bring.

"The rations team has received special permission from the Royal Palace to use the Warp Crystal Point so we should get there in 2 days." Lorelei finished her tea with a soft sigh. "You have to teach me how to make this cold iced tea. It is becoming my favorite."

I laughed and promised to teach her how to make it. I even went the extra mile and gifted her the same peach tea blend I mixed up myself and wrote down the instructions.

Once I saw her off to her carriage, I summon Milford to my study. The Head Butler was surprised at first but a strange smile spread across his face when I informed him that I would be doing some volunteer work in 5 days.

"Very well, Your Grace. I see no problem since you have organized and approves the budget for the household and the expenditure reports have been taken care of for this month very fast because of your diligence."

He still seems in awe of how quickly I have settled the accounts and reports for the mansion. What he was not aware of was that I do these things daily for my business back on Earth; the reports and expenditures here were very different but it was simple once I got used to how they calculate things.

In this world, most ladies are not educated in complicated math, science, economy, or even politics because they take "lady" appropriate lessons. I have skimmed through countless memories of Lady Alaina's lessons on the violin, etiquette, and walking that made me feel so bored.

Thank God that this body is gifted in gracefulness and poise because I would scream if I had to re-take lady classes on fans or...ugh etiquette.

"I have a few things I would like you to purchase for me." I gave him a small piece of paper and he gave it a quick look before storing it in his front pocket. "Please inform Captain Niles to pick his very best and discreet knight to accompany me to this volunteer work. He must not be recognized by my husband so make sure it is someone my husband has not seen before."

"Yes, Your Grace." he bowed, and at my dismissal, he left to carry out my orders.

I laid back and looked out the window. Somehow, the thought of seeing my husband after so many months made me feel strange.

There was a mix of anticipation and restraint. It occurred to me that he loves war and since he is in a place where he is comfortable. Maybe he is not thinking about me as much I think about him.

His letters stopped coming 2 months ago and that was when the strategy I advised him to use came to fruition and he is pushing to end the war by getting more involved.

He did mention that he would be busy from then on in his last letter so I understood but I could not help but worry....

And miss him.

"I won't disturb him. Just a glimpse of him and I would be content.." I prayed silently as I count the days when I would see him again.