As Edelle pulled the door open with force, a heavy aroma of spices wafted out.

“Hello, Jackie!”

“Eddie?”

A young boy named Jackie, who was polishing glass bottles behind the counter, greeted Edelle. She approached him, leaving Eli distracted by the wall filled with spices.

“Where’s your grandfather?”

“By now, he should have crossed the Ravelia border.”

“Already? Ah, I need lemons too!”

“You’re planning to make lemon salt, right?”

Edelle nodded with a clearly disappointed expression.

Lemons from the Kingdom of Ravelia, which bordered the southeastern part of the empire, were famous for their intense fragrance. Edelle only made her lemon salt with Ravelian lemons.

“I’m running low on lemon salt, so I was going to ask him to bring some while he was there……”

“He already said he’d buy some for you, Eddie!”

“Really?”

Edelle’s wilting face brightened instantly.

Jackie nodded, mirroring her bright smile. Then he discreetly gestured toward Eli.

“But who is this?”

“My client.”

“Client? Are you starting a business, Eddie? Are we finally opening a factory?”

Jackie fired off questions with wide eyes. Edelle burst into laughter, finding his enthusiasm adorable. Jackie had turned sixteen last summer, and while he’d grown taller, he still retained his innocence.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what?”

“I’m just helping with party preparations for a bit. Today we came to think about the menu together.”

Whether he truly wanted to open a spice factory or not, Jackie made no effort to hide his disappointment as he pouted. However, he quickly lowered his voice and asked another question,

“Will you be going to the basement too?”

“Hmm, if necessary?”

Jackie’s eyes widened again, and he began openly scrutinizing Eli.

Edelle giggled as she moved teacups onto a tray from the side of the bar. Only after she had transferred the cups, saucers, and tea leaves did Jackie hurriedly place a teapot of warm water on the tray.

“Please sit over here when you’re done looking, Your Highness.”

Eli, who had been standing as still as a statue, sat at the small table by the window as Edelle suggested. He looked around the shop in confusion and asked,

“What exactly…… is this place?”

Every wall except the one with the entrance door and small window was filled with bottles and boxes. Each varied in shape, size, and material, making the place more disorienting the longer one looked.

“How does anyone sell things in such a cluttered space? Do people actually buy goods here?”

“It’s actually quite organized in its own way. Nothing’s scattered on the floor, is it?”

Edelle replied nonchalantly as she poured the tea. Eli’s lips moved as if to say something, but he just let out a small sigh.

“So what is this place?”

“My treasure trove.”

“……Have you been running a shop?”

“No, this is Mr. Charlie Spice’s shop. As you can see, it’s the finest…… well, almost the only spice shop in Fonete.”

In truth, there were a few other establishments in Fonete’s shopping district that called themselves spice shops.

However, those shops didn’t carry anything beyond pepper and salt. That was why Edelle had become both a regular customer and investor in this ‘Spice Spice Shop.’

“Before we decide on the menu, I have a few questions, Your Highness.”

Edelle broached the subject while offering him a beautifully steeped jasmine tea. Eli raised his eyes to look at her instead of answering.

Perhaps it was because of his pitch-black hair that resembled the darkest night, but Eli’s eyes, so blue they seemed transparent, had a captivating quality.

Edelle stared blankly into those eyes before suddenly coming to her senses and continuing her question.

“How many people can be mobilized for cooking at the grand ducal residence?”

“……The mansion doesn’t have many servants.”

“But you must have a chef, right?”

Edelle sighed in relief when Eli nodded. If the grand ducal residence’s chef had been completely inadequate, she had been prepared to bring Gale, the chef from the count’s residence.

“You’ll need many people to prepare for the party. How do you plan to manage that?”

“That’s for Sir Monty to figure out.”

“……I should probably ask Sir Monty about other things too.”

True to his status as a Grand Duke, this man showed no interest in the affairs of his own mansion. Edelle concluded she would need to ask Monty Swift about the kitchen layout, equipment, and available spices, so she changed her question.

“Are there any specific ingredients you’d like to use?”

“Well……”

“Perhaps specialties from Norton…… Ah!”

Edelle clapped her hands together as an idea struck her. She smiled brightly at Eli and added,

“Northern beef is famous for its quality, isn’t it?”

“……We do tend to eat a lot of meat.”

“Then let’s use Norton beef as the main ingredient!”

Edelle had already taken out paper and pen and began scribbling. Watching her, Eli asked,

“If you were curious about the mansion, it would have been better to visit directly.”

“Well…… that’s true, but there are too many watchful eyes.”

“Watchful eyes?”

“Don’t you know that you’re currently the most talked-about person in Fonete?”

Edelle, tapping the end of her pen with her finger as she pondered, added,

“It’s better to avoid unnecessary rumors.”

“You’re worried people might spread rumors about me dating you.”

“I thought you were completely oblivious to such things, but apparently not.”

Edelle muttered with a slight smile. Displeased by her comment, Eli unconsciously furrowed his brow.

However, by the time Edelle looked up again, his expression had returned to normal.

“Are there any foods you can’t eat? Anything that makes you sick or gives you hives?”

“Not particularly.”

“That’s good.”

Without food allergies, planning the menu would be much smoother. Edelle cheerfully pushed the paper toward Eli.

Eli swallowed a smile as he looked at the round, bubbly handwriting that matched its owner’s personality. Oblivious to his suppressed amusement, Edelle continued her explanation,

“Muir wine tends to be somewhat sweet. So I was thinking of preparing two types of meat.”

“You mean adding pork as well.”

“They’re slaughtering many pigs before the Grand Festival. Norton beef and Grand Festival pork. Doesn’t that sound meaningful enough?”

Norton, originally a kingdom in the northwest of the empire, continued to face discrimination even after being absorbed into the empire. Despite only visiting the capital once every few years due to defending the borders from monsters, people’s prejudices were slow to change.

Recently, however, negative perceptions of Norton had begun to shift. Whether this was thanks to the young Grand Duke’s seven-year war against monsters, or because the Grand Duke was handsome enough to make one’s eyes roll back, was unclear.

“Feel free to incorporate any themes of unity or harmony. Some nobles in Fonete still feel uncomfortable about Norton.”

Serving pork slaughtered for the empire’s largest annual event, the Grand Festival, alongside Norton beef would send a rather sophisticated message.

Edelle had identified something that even Eli hadn’t considered. He examined her with a somewhat surprised expression before slowly speaking,

“What about you, lady?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you…… also feel uncomfortable about Norton?”

Eli’s eyes wavered as much as his hesitant voice. Edelle blinked a couple of times before bursting into laughter.

“Ahaha, of course not. Would I be preparing a party for the grand ducal residence if I did?”

“……I’m glad to hear that.”

Eli visibly relaxed. The tension in his broad shoulders dissipated noticeably.

As Edelle pondered his strange reaction, she soon arrived at a plausible assumption.

‘Ah, is he worried I might prepare strange food because I hate Norton?’

Edelle unconsciously frowned. Even if she did feel uncomfortable about Norton, she would never tamper with food.

Barely restraining her desire to ask if she really seemed like such an ill-mannered person, Edelle leaned further toward the paper.

“The beef needs to marinate in seasoning for about half a day, so please prepare it in advance.”

“By seasoning, you mean……”

“You’ll need Muir olive oil, salt with Ravelian lemon, whole peppercorns, and rosemary. Ah, I’ll send the salt to the grand ducal residence in advance.”

The count’s residence food storage had just enough lemon salt left to prepare for the grand ducal party. Edelle licked her lips at the thought that she wouldn’t even be able to see any lemon salt until a new batch was made.

“For the pork…… let’s prepare tenderloin cutlets.”

“Cutlets?”

“Fried food. Fried pork tenderloin.”

They heard Jackie, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, swallow with a sound of admiration. Both Edelle and Eli turned to look at him simultaneously and couldn’t help but laugh.

Just as Edelle was about to suggest side dishes with an amused expression—

BANG- SLAM!

“E-Edelle Michelin!”