Chapter 60

After leaving Lady Kate's palace, I decided to make a light meal to soothe my salty mouth.

To prioritize speed, I chose to combine ingredients that could be eaten as they were. I quickly changed my clothes and headed to the kitchen.

"Mr. Gilbert, have the bread you prepared finished baking?"

"Yes! It looks delicious."

At the end of Mr. Gilbert's gaze was the bread, baked to a deep fox color. It was the sliced bread, a staple of breakfast from my previous life. I had made it for tomorrow's breakfast, but since it was freshly baked, I decided to enjoy it now. It seemed to have cooled down just right, making it perfect to eat.

"That sliced bread, it's baked in an interesting way."

Mr. Gilbert was closely examining the rectangular metal box placed next to the sliced bread. Sliced bread is made by baking the fermented dough in a mold. In this world, most bread is shaped and baked directly, so it must have looked fresh to Mr. Gilbert.

"Using a mold when baking is similar to making a cake. By adapting cake molds, it's possible to create cylindrical and various other shapes...?"

While looking at the bread mold I had refined, Mr. Gilbert muttered to himself. It seemed that in his mind, several ideas were being developed, starting from the sliced bread I had introduced to this world.

Looking forward to the creative ideas Mr. Gilbert might come up with, I started slicing the bread. I warmed a well-sharpened knife over a flame and gently applied it to the bread, moving it in small, quick motions. The white cross-section that appeared was soft and fluffy, and it looked delicious even on its own.

But here, I decided to add a little extra effort. When it comes to sliced bread, it's toast! So, I decided to make grilled toast.

I preheated the grill and started toasting each side until it was golden brown. I paid attention to avoid burning it and enjoyed the fragrant aroma. It was a moment of rising anticipation.

"Butter and strawberry jam, and..."

After taking the bread off the grill, I added the toppings at the dining table to complete it. The butter melted and spread smoothly over the bread's surface. I applied it lightly, letting it soak in, and took a bite.

"This is the taste of morning...!"

...Even though it's already past noon, for now, this is breakfast. The aroma of butter and the crispy texture hit my teeth. When I bit down with a little force, the soft inside was revealed.

Enjoying the aroma, I reached for the strawberry jam. I spread it on the surface of the bread and used it as an adhesive to top it with sliced strawberries.

"I'll give you some too, I-chan."

Where there are strawberries, there is I-chan. As expected, he quickly ran to the kitchen. He looked at the sliced bread with a slightly wary eye, poking it with his front paws, but his appetite couldn't be resisted. He skillfully held the bread with his paws and bit into it, making sure not to drop the strawberries on top.

I did the same, bringing the bread with the bright red jam to my mouth. The burst of strawberry flesh, the smooth sweetness of the jam, and the crispy texture of the bread. By the time I finished the tea prepared by Lucian, I had eaten two whole slices without realizing it.

I-chan also seemed satisfied and was already sleeping on my lap. I gently wiped the strawberry jam from his whiskers, and his nose twitched. As I softly stroked I-chan, who showed no signs of waking up, the saltiness in my mouth had completely disappeared.

"Lady Kate and Lady Sienna..."

Looking at I-chan's ears, I was reminded of the two young ladies of the Lynx clan. As I had heard from Lady Natalie, they seemed to have a rather poor relationship. Given that they had different mothers, it might be inevitable to some extent, but being caught in their sibling rivalry was no fun.

"Oops... My irritation is coming back..."

Thinking of Lady Sienna's face, I inadvertently felt my irritation resurface. But this level of irritation should subside soon...

"Let's make good use of it, then."

Returning to the kitchen, it was still early for the night preparations, and the space was free. Fortunately, I had successfully made the sliced bread. If so, I decided to make a large quantity and spread the word among the palace staff by making more dough.

Mixing, kneading, kneading, kneading, slamming, slamming.

While slamming the dough, I also put in my frustration and anger, slamming it onto the counter with a shout. Normally, this would be a tedious task, but it was a good stress reliever for me now. As I energetically kneaded and slammed the dough, the cooks joined in, and we ended up making a lot of sliced bread together.

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And so, I ended up making too much. The many slices of bread that were made couldn't be eaten by the staff alone, so they were also provided to the carpenters who were working on the palace construction.