A Capable Maid

ny problems.’

Was it thanks to that prayer? That night, Marie had a ‘dream.’ It was a lucid dream where she felt like she’d become a different person.

‘What kind of dream is it this time?’ As far as her experience went, the dream was most likely related to what would happen in the future.
Perhaps there was some practical way for her to help Peter.
However, the content of the dream was odd.
Although it was related to meat, it was not what she’d hoped for.

“Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you’ve all been waiting for.
Finally, the time has come to decide the ultimate winner of the Grand Beef Master’s cooking competition!”

It was a dream where Marie was participating in a beef cooking competition.

She became speechless in disbelief.
‘What is this? Why a beef cooking competition all of a sudden?’

In her dream, ‘she’, an Asian woman with dark hair, was a finalist against a blond man.
Currently, they were waiting for the judges’ evaluation of their respective beef dishes.

“Now, the first dish is Joseph’s fillet mignon.
It’s a dish that solely relies on the texture of the highest quality tenderloin.
The delicate taste is heavenly!”

Then, the person hosting the competition introduced the dish of the Asian woman.
“On the other hand, the second dish is completely opposite in style.
The meat used is of low-grade quality and can be found at home! However, through simple yet excellent techniques, the dish transforms the low-grade meat into a taste that can rival even the highest quality.
The tender yet rich taste makes one doubt if it’s really the same dish we know.”

The host then announced the name of the dish the Asian woman made.
“The name of this dish that everyone knows is…!”

“Marie! Marie! Wake up!”

“…!”

The dreamer jolted awake at the sound of her name being called.
Before she could even think about the meaning of her dream, she heard a frantic voice.

“Something urgent has happened! You need to hurry and go to the Lily Palace!”

“What? What happened?” Marie’s eyes widened at the mention of something urgent.

‘Could it be?’

“There seems to be a problem with the meat! The entire Lily Palace is in a state of panic right now!”

“…” Her heart sank.
She was anxious, as it turned out something had gone wrong!

She rushed to the Lily Palace’s kitchen, where Peter was standing with a pale complexion.

“Chef?”

Peter and the sous chefs were discussing as their faces continued to turn pale.
“It was fine when we checked it last night, right?”

“Yes, Chef.
It was definitely fine yesterday.”

“But why? Haa.”

“It seems that the meat, which originally had some decay, has undergone significant deterioration due to the humid air that entered during the night.
We tried to prevent this by opening up as much airflow as possible.”

As they assessed the situation, it seemed that the bacteria that had been living among the meat had spread significantly due to the increased humidity during the night, causing most of the meat to spoil.

“What if we use a lot of spices to mask its scent?”

“That won’t be enough.” Peter bit his lip.
“We can’t use these meat.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Tell the food suppliers to prepare new meat for the main dish ASAP.”

“Then the quality of the dish will be greatly compromised, Chef.” The sous chefs exclaimed in surprise.

Peter, the head chef, said with a pained expression, “I know.
But it can’t be helped in this current situation.”

He groaned inwardly.
‘After this banquet, I won’t be able to avoid punishment.
I wonder what kind of punishment I’ll get,’ Peter panicked as he thought of Rael, the one who had risen to the title of Crown Prince after eliminating all of his half-brothers.

The Crown Prince’s honor was at stake at this banquet.
Peter didn’t think the Crown Prince of Blood would simply let him go for putting a dent on his reputation.

‘Worst case scenario, I might lose my head.’

“Perhaps… this would be my last dish to cook,” he said bitterly, as the chefs called out to him with pitying voices, “Chef Peter!”

Marie also looked at Peter pitifully.
She was also worried about what punishment Peter would receive for not preparing the banquet properly.

‘Is there any way I can help him?’ she thought anxiously.
She didn’t want him to get punished by the Crown Prince of Blood.

Sure, it was under his charge when the meat went bad, but technically speaking, wasn’t it an inevitable situation? It’s not like humans can control the weather.
Leaving that aside, she wanted to help the person who treated her warmly.

‘Please, there must be a way…’ At that moment, one method suddenly came to mind.

A way to make a high quality dish with low-grade meat! In the dream, the Asian woman’s dish was exceptional despite using low-grade meat.

It was the method she dreamed about last night.
The Asian woman’s dish was so exceptional that it could turn even low-grade meat into the best dish imaginable.

‘But will it be recognized as a grosse pièce?’ She was worried, but soon nodded her head.
‘Well, if it’s the same as what I’ve dreamed, it will be.
It’s a taste that won’t fall behind any other grosse pièces.”

The woman in her dream was able to turn an ordinary household dish into the most extraordinary dish imaginable.
That’s why she was able to compete with dishes made from top-quality ingredients and even made it to the finals.
Her cooking would surely satisfy the palates of the delegates.

‘The problem is, how do I tell Chef Peter about this?’ she thought.

She’s just a junior maid whose job was to assist him in the kitchen.
Cooking was his lane, and even though she’d recently received a lot of compliments for her work, it would be impertinent of her to tell him how to do his job.

‘What should I do?’ As she was pondering this, an unexpected voice loomed before them.

“Is there a problem with the banquet preparations?”

“······!”

Her body froze as soon as she heard his voice.
Not only her, but also Chef Peter, the sous chefs, and the kitchen maids came to a sudden halt as if frozen in shock.

t/n: how the hell does she recognize the Crown Prince’s voice but not figure out that him and unknown blond dude were one and the same? she needs to get the detective vision/dream asap, girlie is in need of deductive reasoning skills

also that one random sous chef’s suggestion??? excuse me??? are they for real… mask the foul smell with spices???

rael: 2
marie: 3