Chapter 55

"Milady Melfiera, I have finished cleaning up here."

Chaos's voice pulled me out of my reverie.

"Thank you. Then, let's go to the dismantling of Berginion... Ah, but, Mr. Chaos, you should really get some rest."

I suddenly remembered that Chaos had been hungover until this morning. No matter how much the magic circle had extracted the alcohol, he had immediately gone to battle the monster afterward. His fatigue must have been incomparable to mine. With the Duke resting, I thought it would be best for him to get some rest as well. However, Chaos shook his head.

"I was ordered by His Excellency to 'wait under the magic barrier,' so I have been on standby. I am not as tired as you think, Milady Melfiera. More importantly, thank you for letting His Excellency rest."

"I haven't done anything to deserve your thanks... That is, that, your magic circle must have been a burden, right?"

I had actually seen Chaos deploy the magic circle and look strained. He must have felt exhausted after consuming so much magic power with an unfamiliar circle. However, Chaos smiled reassuringly.

"Not at all. I am also a knight of Galbreath. However, I have just realized that I have relied too much on His Excellency. His Excellency is always active, and perhaps we have become accustomed to it."

Chaos clenched his fist and said, "Since I am to welcome Milady Melfiera as the Duchess, I must work even harder!"

From my perspective, Chaos works just as hard as the Duke. The word 'Duchess' made me feel uneasy, as if I needed to do more.

"Mr. Chaos..."

"What is it, Milady Melfiera?"

"Um, when will the education for the Duchess begin?"

Until spring, I am here to receive education to become a proper Duchess of Galbreath. Even though the Duke has said I can do my research as I please, to the people of the domain, I am just an unknown noble girl from the north. Chaos groaned.

"Mr. Chaos, is there something seriously wrong?"

I was breaking out in a cold sweat, wondering if I had already been deemed unsuitable as a Duchess.

"Even if I am asked about education, it has been a very long time since the Duke of Galbreath has welcomed a Duchess. I hope that you will support His Excellency for a long time to come, but... education... education..."

Seeing Chaos genuinely troubled, I joined him in thinking. The situation of the domain is not one where I can indulge in social graces, and I am not good at such things. Moreover, the Duke mentioned that his administrative work often lags because he is often out. I usually summarize research, so writing documents is not a problem for me. Perhaps organizing the documents so that the Duke can easily check them would be a proper job.

"I don't have the strength to fight, but I can help with the Duke's paperwork, which often lags. I am good at organizing..."

"Really?!"

Chaos eagerly jumped into the conversation.

"I have also been trying to manage the daily accumulation of documents in my role as an assistant. There are clerks, but when His Excellency is out, there is nothing we can do... If Milady Melfiera, as the Duchess, can help as His Excellency's proxy, it would be a great help to us!"

Chaos, looking unusually lively, grabbed my hands and pleaded.

"I will strongly recommend this to His Excellency. Personally, I would be very grateful if you could help."

"Y-Yes. If the Duke allows it, I will start immediately."

"Ah, that's great. If Milady Melfiera helps, His Excellency will surely be more diligent at his desk."

Chaos, beaming, packed the used magic tools and the smoky crystal, which had just absorbed Berginion's magic, into a box. I sealed the box and handed it to Chaos.

(Good... I found something I can do, even if it's just a little.)

Chaos and I walked out of the shed, where cheerful voices could be heard.

"Then, Milady Melfiera, I'll see you later."

"Yes, I will return to the Duke once my work is done."

Chaos is supposed to take the box to the storage, so we will part ways for now.

A temporary dismantling site was set up a short distance from the shed. Kitchen workers and knights were running around following Reina's instructions. It must be the Berginion that was brought here earlier. Reina was plucking the large creature's feathers. I put on leather gloves and decided to join in the feather plucking.

"Those are really fine flight feathers."

"Milady Melfiera?!"

Reina, surprised, jumped up. Her braided hair bounced with her movement. Reina, who is called 'Junior Kitchen Head' by some of the knights, is shorter than me but has a dignified and imposing presence.

"Let me help. I am used to preparing monsters."

"B-But..."

"I have Chaos's permission. I won't interfere with the kitchen, so please be lenient until the preparation is done?"

I grabbed a Berginion feather and pulled it out forcefully. Despite being fresh, the feathers were firmly attached to the flesh. Still, Reina did not stop me as I continued plucking the feathers smoothly.

"These flight feathers could be used as quills."

Berginion's flight feathers are thick and glossy, with a rich texture. If processed into quills, they would make a sophisticated writing tool.

"Y-Yes. I didn't expect this bird to have such fine flight feathers."

Reina joined me, plucking feathers efficiently.

"The down is quite fluffy. I wonder how many pillows we can make with this amount."

The quality of the down is not top-notch, but the quantity is substantial. As I worked happily, Reina asked, "Milady Melfiera, you seem very happy, but isn't repetitive work tiring?"

I looked up at Reina. The knights and kitchen staff plucking feathers from other creatures also seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I, of course, felt the same way.

"I have rarely worked with many people before, so doing the same thing together and having fun is very fresh and enjoyable for me."

In the Marshall Raid, no one else made magical creature dishes except me, and I usually worked alone. When a big catch came in, I would get help from knights or hunters, but there was no conversation, and the preparation was done in silence.

Under Reina's direction, the process of preparing Berginion for consumption was simple, but it was enjoyable for me. After plucking a significant amount of feathers, we singed the remaining fine feathers with fire. Then, we carefully removed the internal organs and washed them with running water.

"Oh... it's completely black."

Berginion's skin was as black as charcoal. After plucking the feathers, we singed the remaining feathers with fire, but it shouldn't have been burnt. Upon closer inspection, the skin itself was black.

"Reina, how do you plan to serve this bird's skin?"

I asked Reina while cutting the Berginion into pieces. The kitchen knives, though not from the Lucébure Forge, were very easy to use. Reina, peeling the meat from the bones, pinched the unique-textured skin and frowned. The skin, thick with subcutaneous fat, looked very delicious, except for the color.

"It's completely black and the color is a bit off. I was thinking about it too, but bird skin is a divisive ingredient, and I thought people might not like it if it's served as is."

Indeed, Reina had similar thoughts. Bird skin is an ingredient that many people dislike due to its appearance and texture. Especially with a black-skinned meat-eating bird, the number of people willing to eat it would be limited.

"I see... I love bird skin, but is there a good way to serve it?"

Reina and I stopped our work and pinched the freshly peeled Berginion skin to think. It had a bouncy texture like regular bird skin, but the color was unusual.

"I think it would be delicious to sprinkle salt and fry it until it's crispy."

Crispy bird skin is a dish enjoyed in both the Marshall Raid and the capital's street stalls. Since it is a popular dish among the common people, I thought Berginion would be delicious too. Reina agreed wholeheartedly.

"Ah, crispy bird skin! I love it too. After boiling it briefly and slicing it thinly, you can mix it with vegetables."

"Reina, I understand! It would be delicious with a bit of sour or spicy seasoning!"

"But still, serving it black..."

Seeing Reina's troubled face, I had an idea. If the color is the issue, what if we stuffed the bird skin with meatballs, coated it thinly with flour, and fried it? That way, the black skin would be hidden, and the texture might not be as noticeable.

"Reina, what if we finely chop the Berginion meat, stuff it into the skin, and fry it?"

Reina immediately responded to my suggestion.

"Meatballs! I was thinking of adding meat to the Berginion bone soup that the kitchen head is preparing, but the amount is too much. If we make meatballs for a different dish, we'll have an additional dish!"

The knights had been so enthusiastic that they had prepared more than ten birds. Berginion is large, and a significant amount of meat can be obtained.

"In the Marshall Raid, we add a lot of vegetables and binders to the meatballs. If we wrap them in this bird skin and fry them, they would be quite satisfying."

Reina clapped her hands together.

"That's a good idea, Milady Melfiera. Let's add a lot of vegetables! Yes, even more like vegetable balls. If the thin coating can hide the black color that some people might find off-putting, it would be perfect."

Good, Reina agreed. We nodded at each other and decided to look for the appropriate parts of the Berginion to use for the meatballs.