Chapter 20

After being thoroughly brushed, the silver wolf seemed satisfied and left the forest with Moer. After seeing them off for a while, Edgar and the remaining wolves also returned, so Lucian and I decided to return to the detached palace. When we opened the front door and entered the indoor area, a beastgirl servant was waiting.

"Milady Letitia, there's a message from the kitchen."

She bowed politely. The black-haired servant, Krona, has fluffy triangular ears standing straight on the side of her white brim. Her slightly slanted eyes are golden, with vertically elongated pupils. She is a cute black cat maid with a face that could be described as a typical catgirl.

"From the kitchen? Does that mean...?"

"It seems you can use the kitchen until it's time to prepare dinner today."

Yes!

I made a fist in my heart and headed to my room on the second floor to change out of my wolf-fur-covered clothes. When I arrived, a change of apron dress was already prepared.

I changed clothes, grateful for the efficient servant, and Krona came over.

"Milady Letitia, may I tie up your hair?"

"Yes, I would appreciate it."

Krona's slender fingers reached the back of my head. With a slightly ticklish sensation, my hair was quickly braided and tied into a ponytail.

"Your hair braiding skills are always impressive."

"Milady Letitia's hair is very enjoyable to work with."

Though Krona's expression remained unchanged, the tip of her tail was swaying slightly from side to side. She had created a hairstyle that combined ease of movement with elegance, with braids on both sides of my head and a ponytail tied with a crimson and white ribbon at the back.

I thanked her and stood up, and Krona looked at me intently.

"Krona, is something wrong?"

"Milady Letitia, are you going to make sweet pastries now?"

"Yes, that's the plan. Would you like to watch and try some?"

"Yes!!"

She answered immediately. It seems that, like on Earth, many women enjoy sweet things. I could relate to that feeling.

"Hehe, I did it...! Now I can secure some precious pastries!" Krona muttered.

Krona, with her cat-like appearance, is quite laid-back in her actions and words. One might think it's strange for a servant to be so laid-back, but she is actually an excellent worker.

She is well aware of the line she cannot cross as a servant and shows a certain level of respect. The other servants were somewhat hesitant around me, a foreigner, so I naturally ended up relying more on her for my daily tasks.

There are familiar servants from the Duke's mansion, but it's also important not to rely solely on people from my own country. I want to gradually get to know the other servants, starting with the confident Krona.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

After tidying up, I headed to the kitchen. Compared to the Duke's mansion, it is smaller but still spacious enough for over ten cooks to work simultaneously. The ingredients I had requested were neatly lined up on the counter.

Lucian placed the cooking utensils next to the eggs and sugar. These metal utensils were made through 'Refinement' for today's pastry-making.

With the tools and ingredients ready, I was about to start cooking when the head servant came into the kitchen.

"Krona! Come over here! The silverware polishing is taking longer than expected, and we need more hands. Milady Letitia, I'm sorry, but I need to borrow Krona."

Krona left with the head servant, leaving behind a reluctant sigh. It's a bit pitiful, but as a servant, she has more responsibilities now. I decided to bring her some pastries later and focused on cooking.

First, I separated the eggs into whites and yolks. I used magic to create ice and placed the bowl of egg whites in a box to keep them cool. While it's not necessary to chill them for cooking, doing so should make it easier to whip the meringue.

This is my first dish in this country, and a memorable (or not) first item is a chiffon cake. Despite the change in country, my cooking is still heavily spiced, and my taste buds are tired of strong flavors. I want to refresh my palate with a light and flavorful chiffon cake.

While the egg whites were chilling, I mixed the yolks with sugar to make the chiffon batter. I used a whisk to mix them and gradually added plant-based oil. The oil is made from the seeds of a plant called Gina, which has a flavor and appearance similar to salad oil, so I adopted it as a substitute.

In this world, there are ingredients similar to those on Earth, as well as new and different ones. While familiar vegetables like cabbage and onions exist, it seems that eggplants do not. However, there is a vegetable similar to eggplant, which is oval-shaped with a red skin and yellow flesh, and tastes like eggplant, so it should work as a substitute.

I plan to start with familiar ingredients and gradually explore more as I get used to them. First, I'll make something simple with fewer ingredients. There are a few concerns about the chiffon cake, but I want to make it successful with magic and ingenuity.

I gradually added the ingredients and mixed them vigorously with the whisk. On Earth, I used a hand mixer, but now everything is done by hand.

Work my muscles! Mix the ingredients! Show the results of my strength training here!

I increased the speed from low to high, mixing the contents of the bowl with all my heart.

Finally, I mixed the meringue until the streaks disappeared and poured the batter into a homemade chiffon cake pan. To ensure the cake rises properly, it needs to be inverted and cooled after baking. I used a 'Refined' stand with a wine bottle in the center to hold the pan upside down.

I placed the pan in the preheated oven and took it out when it turned a golden brown. I inverted it for a while and, after confirming it had cooled, used a metal skewer and palette knife to remove it from the pan.

"Soft and fluffy..."

It feels great. It's neither sticky nor deflated, and it bounces back when pressed. The bottom part didn't come out perfectly, but that's just a quirk. As my first attempt in a different world, it turned out quite delicious.