Ch.337Chapter 337 – The Aftermath of the Recipe Reveal

Samgyeopsal and geotjeori spread throughout the empire in an instant.

It all began with the food I had prepared for the ladies, but word got out among the nobility that His Imperial Majesty had been served it and was satisfied.

And rumors, as they tend to do, get exaggerated as they spread.

“I heard that Duke Aurelion served His Imperial Majesty a dish called samgyeopsal and geotjeori, and even prepared it with his own hands.”

At first, many people simply relayed the facts as they were, without embellishment.

“Did you hear that Duke Aurelion won the Emperor’s favor by cooking with his own hands? That’s why His Imperial Majesty was so pleased.”

But then people began adding their own interpretations.

“I hear Duke Aurelion won over the Duchess and the duchess candidates with his cooking skills. That’s why the Emperor was satisfied too.”

“I heard His Imperial Majesty granted the Duke title to Marquis Severio not because of his marriage to the Imperial Princess, but because he’s such a good cook!”

Eventually, some people even began spreading completely false information from who knows where.

Naturally, since these false rumors would cause headaches for many people, my father-in-law issued an imperial decree.

[Anyone spreading false rumors regarding Us and Duke Aurelion shall be found and subjected to severe punishment.]

After this threat to severely punish rumor-mongers, the gossip seemed to die down, but there were always those who wouldn’t listen…

“Did you hear? Someone was spreading false rumors… they were immediately taken by the knights and sent to the labor camp.”

“Goodness, he should have been more careful with his words. I knew that would happen to Bruce.”

The rumor situation seemed to settle down as word spread through eyewitness accounts of people being arrested in the act and dragged off to labor camps.

However, the situation wasn’t completely resolved yet.

“So, what exactly are these ‘samgyeopsal’ and ‘geotjeori’ that Duke Aurelion served to His Imperial Majesty?”

To the people of this world, the names samgyeopsal and geotjeori were unfamiliar terms.

That’s because in the Gelebrio Empire, pork was simply classified as front legs, hind legs, head, and body.

Beef cuts were relatively more detailed since nobles ate it, but pork was primarily consumed by commoners.

So they didn’t know what samgyeopsal was.

Even the samgyeopsal I had was something I had managed to identify based on my memories from a program about Korean dining that I had watched in my previous life.

Not all pork belly is samgyeopsal, after all.

Even butchers who handled pork didn’t know much about this specific cut, so I had to personally locate the right part and explain step by step how to prepare it.

Through this process, I was finally able to obtain samgyeopsal, and afterward, I contracted with that butcher to secure a stable supply.

If even I, who knew what samgyeopsal was, had to go through such trouble to obtain it, how would nobles who had barely eaten pork know about this specific cut?

Especially when even butchers didn’t know about it.

‘They’ll lose interest after some time passes.’

I thought that since it was an unfamiliar food, people would be curious at first, but if I stayed quiet, they would eventually move on.

But what was this?

[Samgyeopsal, Geotjeori. What are they really?]

[The Empire’s greatest gourmet says he’s never heard of these dishes before.]

[What is this mysterious food that captivated the Emperor and satisfied the Empress?]

Rather than diminishing with time, people’s curiosity about samgyeopsal and geotjeori only grew stronger.

If I had been living in a mansion in the capital, the level of curiosity about samgyeopsal and geotjeori would have caused an uproar.

But where am I living now?

“The barriers of Glesius Academy are quite sturdy at the moment.”

I’m in the Chancellor’s residence at Glesius Academy, which isn’t easily accessible to just anyone.

Only the Chancellor and their family can enter this place. Naturally, I’m living here because I’m family to Chancellor Regina, my sister.

“But that won’t last long. Right now, various families are sending letters to the academy trying to find out what samgyeopsal and geotjeori are.”

Karen was now fluently using the words samgyeopsal and geotjeori.

By the way, the noble families were instructing their children attending the academy to find out about samgyeopsal and geotjeori.

‘Indeed, nobles will stop at nothing to keep up with trends.’

If I were an ordinary person, noble students would have approached me long ago, trying various methods to learn about samgyeopsal and geotjeori.

But students can’t approach me now because my position in the Empire is extremely high.

Status? The other party may be noble, but so am I. Moreover, I’m married to an Imperial Princess, making me half-royal.

Power? The Emperor is my father-in-law, an Imperial Princess is my wife, and I am the Empire’s only Grand Duke.

Military might? The people at my left and right are an Archmage and a Celestial Horse. Need I say more?

Wealth? This is somewhat ambiguous, as I don’t know exactly how much I’m worth. Since getting married, I’ve entrusted all financial management to Karen… but I know it’s not a small amount.

Anyway, comprehensively speaking, I’m not inferior to anyone at this academy in terms of status, power, or might.

“But you can’t keep it a secret forever.”

“It’s not really much of a secret…”

Samgyeopsal is the part of the pig that includes the ribs and belly, and geotjeori is just vegetables mixed with seasoning.

The problem was simply that the people who ate it happened to be His Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Highness.

“I’m planning to release information about samgyeopsal and geotjeori soon, but I’m concerned about how it might affect the commoners who eat pork.”

“Oh, that should be fine! Actually, we don’t eat belly meat much because it’s too greasy. Usually, belly meat is bought by people who really can’t afford anything else. And generally, we eat more chicken than pork. After all, many people dislike pork because of its strong smell.”

“Ah.”

Hearing Mina’s advice, who grew up in a commoner household, I think it should be fine to reveal samgyeopsal and geotjeori.

Instead, I should specify that it’s the belly meat attached near the ribs of a female pig. After all, I only eat samgyeopsal from female pigs.

At first, I bought male pig meat without knowing any better because it was cheap, but the boar odor made me vomit—it was terrible.

In this world too, male pig meat was only eaten by the very poor who couldn’t afford anything else.

People grow through experience, so now I strictly serve only female pig samgyeopsal.

“So will you register the recipes for samgyeopsal and geotjeori?”

“I must. If unscrupulous people sell male pig meat and people can’t eat it because of the boar odor, the imperial family will be blamed. We need to recognize it as samgyeopsal and geotjeori only if the recipe is strictly followed. Of course, we must also prevent any wordplay or deception.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Karen took out parchment and a quill and began writing something diligently, then called Shannon and handed her the parchment.

A few days later.

“Duke Aurelion. His Imperial Majesty requests your presence at the palace.”

Someone from the imperial court came looking for us, and Karen and I headed to the palace.

“So, you want to register the recipes for samgyeopsal and geotjeori, and only allow those names to be used if the recipes are followed?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I explained to my father-in-law about what might happen if the recipes for samgyeopsal and geotjeori weren’t followed, adding a slight exaggeration.

For matters like this, it’s better to add a bit of exaggeration rather than being completely dry.

“Hmm, is that so? Then I shall handle this matter. It’s been a while since I had a drink with Bergen.”

When my father-in-law mentioned the Prime Minister’s name, it meant he intended to create or modify legal provisions related to this matter.

The day after His Imperial Majesty said he would have a drink with the Prime Minister, recipes for samgyeopsal and geotjeori were released throughout the empire in the name of the imperial family.

[These recipes are being released with the permission of Duke Aurelion and after verification by the imperial family. If not followed, the names samgyeopsal and geotjeori cannot be used, and if poor quality or different ingredients are used to deceive consumers, it will be punished severely as fraud.]

It sounded intimidating and might even seem threatening, but this is a society with a class system, ruled by an absolute monarch.

However, while there were benefits to making the recipes public, there were also drawbacks.

“Your Grace, due to increased demand for pigs, it has become difficult to obtain high-quality pork.”

“…”

The sad story was that the increased demand for pork meant I could no longer get the samgyeopsal I wanted to eat.

The stabilization of pork demand would be a story for the distant future, around the time of my graduation.