Eloise’s strategy was to deeply penetrate the heart of such a judge.

My shoulders slumped.

“Now, Miss. You should also explain the soup you’ve made.”

The Crown Prince announced it was my turn with an embarrassed smile.

Sensing the atmosphere around me, I could hardly speak. The expressions of those who turned their attention to my soup were indescribable. Especially notable was the face of the attendant standing beside the Crown Prince.

Mercilessly furrowed brows. Raised eyelids. Endlessly downturned lips. Upper lip protruding almost to the nose.

Well, that’s inevitable.

My soup was yellowish-brown and thick, resembling potage (thick soup) made from collected leftover bread.

Potage was a representative commoner’s food of this era.

Most households ate potage made from mashed beans or pumpkins as their staple food.

But my potage particularly resembled the food of beggars. Potage made by collecting bread crumbs dropped under the table.

“My soup is potage.”

“Yes, it looks that way. Though it may seem humble, it’s a sacred food responsible for three meals a day for countless citizens. It’s the source of strength that keeps many people alive, so it is indeed an ordinary yet special soup. Moreover, it’s a simple yet heartfelt meal. You’ve done well too, Miss.”

The Crown Prince, his eyes twinkling like a mischievous child’s, comforted me.

He was fitting my food into the problem he had posed, suddenly acting as if he felt sympathy for me.

But those around us didn’t hide their contemptuous gazes. Dare you present beggar’s food to the Crown Prince, even if you come empty-handed? How dare you?

“But Your Highness, my soup also has its own true specialness.”

Looks of condemnation poured in from everywhere. Gazes that criticized my ill manners for talking back to the Crown Prince who was trying to cover for me.

I tried to maintain my composure and continued speaking with dignity.

“The first problem Your Highness gave us, ordinariness, is as you said. This soup is used by all citizens and can be called the most ordinary food in our kingdom.”

“Then what specialness have you thought of?”

“I too believe that the ingredients of this potage are uniquely novel. Its main ingredient is a special grain.”

The Crown Prince, who had been trying to wrap up the competition, adjusted his posture. He seemed to have regained interest.

“A special grain?”

“Yes. While the Count’s daughter used special bacon, I used a special grain from the eastern continent—rice.”

“Rice? Ah, I’ve heard of it. A large quantity was sent to our royal palace from a foreign country, but we don’t know how to cook it, so it’s just been piled up, unused.”

“Yes. This potage was boiled with ground rice, sesame seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. It’s a potage full of the savory flavors of dried seeds, based on the taste of newly imported grain from a distant land.”

The Crown Prince picked up a spoon and stirred the potage. He seemed to have realized something he had missed.

“So that’s why. When the two soups were placed before me, I was captivated by a food aroma I’d never smelled before. A clean yet deep fragrance. I thought it clearly wasn’t the scent of tomatoes or romaine. It was the smell of this potage.”

The Crown Prince savored the aroma of the potage with an expression of appetite. It was a gesture that confirmed my dish had lost in appearance but won in fragrance.

The Crown Prince looked around as if wanting to share the same experience with others.

He gestured to his attendant to smell my soup. The attendant, who had been reluctantly watching, reluctantly bent down.

Then came the attendant’s rapidly changing expression. The consistently dissatisfied man licked his lips. The savory aroma that tingled all the way to his brain must have melted his salivary glands.

The attendant swallowed repeatedly like someone with a flood in his mouth. His Adam’s apple showed an inappropriate reaction to the food smell he had never encountered before.

“Your Highness. This soup has an enchanting aroma unlike its appearance. How can such a soup be made without traces of extraordinary spices?”

The attendant looked up at me with respect.

The various seed powders were natural spices, so this potage could actually be called a soup full of spices.

Due to the attendant’s wide-eyed admiration, the luncheon suddenly became solemn. This was because everyone except the Crown Prince and his attendant knew the reason.

It was like a running competition where runner 1 had broken runner 2’s leg. Yet runner 1 still couldn’t completely outpace runner 2.

Naturally, the servants and maids looked around cautiously. They glanced awkwardly at their master who had committed a blatant foul yet failed to create a significant gap.

“Now I’ll announce which of the two soups I’ve chosen. The owner of the gold coin.”

But when the Crown Prince was about to name the winner, there wasn’t any particular tension.

This was because although Eloise had been caught up to, she was still ahead.

Eloise scored 1 point for color, and I scored 1 point for aroma.

Both of us had submitted complete answers for ordinariness and specialness.

Nevertheless, Eloise was still ahead of me with her storytelling of maternal love. Naturally, the Crown Prince’s hand moved toward Eloise’s soup.

“But not yet.”

My words rang out then. The Crown Prince’s hand paused.

“I haven’t finished my explanation yet.”

“Not finished? It seems I’ve already heard all the answers to the problem.”

“I haven’t yet told you the answer to the third problem.”

“Third problem?”

“Your Highness posed the challenge like this: You wanted us to make food for you. An ordinary dish good enough to eat for lunch every day, yet a special soup that could fill the brief, happy rest period given to you.”

“And?”

“So there are three problems. Ordinariness, specialness. And a soup suitable for Your Highness’s lunch.”

“Ah……”

“The potage I’ve presented is a soup made especially for Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince’s pupils dilated as he looked at me. He was clearly excited by an interesting curiosity.

“A soup especially for me?”

“Yes. This soup, when eaten for lunch, will reduce Your Highness’s suffering by half.”

“Reduce my suffering by half?”

“Your Highness mentioned that after performing rigorous studies all day, your energy depletes in the afternoon and you become troublingly drowsy.”

“And?”

“The pumpkin seeds and peanuts in this potage have blood-purifying effects. Additionally, sesame seeds energize the liver, and walnuts are food that awakens the brain. For these reasons, a prince from a mysterious eastern country reportedly enjoys this for lunch. It helps clear the mind, chase away drowsiness, and aids in afternoon studies.”

The potage I boiled would be called ‘Ojajuk’ in Korean. It means porridge boiled with five kinds of seeds.

The Crown Princes of Joseon often ate Ojajuk for lunch. They too were people tormented by studying all day, so they had the same concerns as the current Crown Prince.

After explaining the deeper meaning of my soup, I carefully observed everyone, including the Crown Prince.

The expressions on people’s faces were now blurred with ambiguity. I could clearly see their minds tangled with various thoughts.

They seemed unable to predict the outcome. Everyone’s complexion appeared to have fallen into complete confusion.

“Ahem.”

After a brief silence, the Crown Prince laughed quietly.

“Now I will truly announce the soup I’ve chosen. My conclusion is this.”

Then the Crown Prince picked up a spoon. Without hesitation, he chose Eloise’s soup and stirred it.

“You both did very well. It was such a close competition that it’s difficult to reach a conclusion. I simply cannot choose the better soup. So I hope everyone will understand.”

What does he mean? Is it a tie?

“I’m sorry I can only judge such wonderful food this way. I won’t select a winner, but rather decide the match by choosing a loser. By eliminating the dish with flaws.”

The Crown Prince spoke while still focusing only on Eloise’s soup. Eloise gnawed on her lower lip at his unpredictable behavior.

“But I swear this doesn’t mean you did something wrong. It’s just a flaw I found to determine the winner. The answer was in the third problem. A soup suitable for my lunch. A problem even I almost forgot.”

In the silence that felt like cold water had been poured over everyone, the Count, who had been watching cautiously, asked on Eloise’s behalf.

“Is there perhaps some problem with the soup my daughter presented? I will gladly accept any criticism. Please don’t feel uncomfortable and give us your honest assessment.”

“It’s this bacon in the soup. The very thing that makes it too special became the problem.”

The bacon, Eloise’s ultimate weapon, was the problem?

Unable to contain herself any longer, Eloise hastily spoke up.

“May I dare ask? What aspect became problematic?”

“This soup was perfect in both ordinariness and specialness. But the bacon used as an ingredient is not suitable in terms of ‘a soup good for my lunch.'”

“Forgive me, but I don’t understand. It was made with the special cooking method of our grandmother, the master chef……”

“That’s right. Because it was made with a special cooking method, it’s bacon that only the Ruargo family has. In other words, it’s an ingredient that royal chefs cannot obtain.”

“……”