Ch.8This is Why I’m Obsessed #4

After morning roll call, breakfast, and then diving into morning training.

I was amazed watching Helena lead the entire process. While I had already seen how exceptional her swordsmanship was, today’s display had a different flavor to it.

If yesterday she had pressed forward like a hungry predator, today’s Helena flowed like the wind, letting everything pass through her.

“She really is incredible.”

Especially the sight of her moving among the knights with her prominent curves firmly secured under leather armor was truly spectacular. Though I desperately wanted to keep watching and forget my duties, unfortunately, I was a servant. I couldn’t postpone my work.

Of course, my master would likely overlook such things, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for someone who had just started working to behave that way. So I quickly turned around and headed to Helena’s tent, gathered the laundry she had taken off yesterday, and returned to the washing area.

It’s difficult to maintain cleanliness by doing laundry or showering during training. Although it was training, the atmosphere resembled actual combat, leaving no room for such luxuries.

It was similar when I was in training, but Helena being a duchess and the head of this training ground allowed for exceptions. It wasn’t a privilege granted because she was a woman, but because she was strong.

That’s not to say the other knights always wore sweat-soaked clothes. They also brought changes of clothes, and some even did their own laundry during personal maintenance time.

But even they couldn’t do laundry during training.

“Ohhh.”

I sat down by the stream and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. Helena’s undergarment, a chest binder, was larger than I had imagined. Moreover, it was black with lace trim—full of elements that stimulated a man’s instincts.

“Honestly, with something like this, even touching it feels like a crime.”

Somehow, I understood why Helena had blushed when handing over her clothes. She must have felt uncomfortable entrusting such provocatively designed undergarments despite her outwardly refined appearance.

Still, my duties remained unchanged. Like a diligent servant, I carefully applied eco-friendly detergent and scrubbed gently, paying close attention during rinsing. Compared to ordinary washing where clothes are simply rinsed in water and dried, this was extravagantly thorough. Naturally, I didn’t smell them.

I folded her outer garments on a large wooden board resembling a cutting board, placed the undergarments in the remaining space, and quickly left. It wouldn’t be appropriate to openly display undergarments.

The area behind Helena’s tent bordered the forest and was perfect for drying laundry since no one came there. So I hung the clothes neatly on the drying rack I had prepared earlier, letting them dry in the sunlight. Being at the edge of the forest, the position allowed sunlight to penetrate through the sparse leaves.

“Phew!”

A sigh escaped me after completing the laundry task. Next, I needed to clean the inside of the tent, but since Helena usually kept it tidy, it only required minimal attention. Thanks to that, my workload was significantly reduced.

Then, it was time to help prepare lunch.

“Sir Zion, what brings you here at this hour?”

When I entered the cooking tent, Bart, who was busy preparing ingredients, tilted his head and asked. I felt quite sorry to interrupt as he was directing others in various preparations, but for that very reason, I got straight to the point without dragging things out.

“It’s lunch for Lady Helena and the knights. I was wondering if I could lend a hand, despite my limitations… would that be alright?”

“What? You personally, Sir Zion? No, I couldn’t possibly burden someone like you with such laborious work, even if you are a servant.”

Having an extra pair of hands in kitchen work is always helpful. However, he was being cautious because of my noble status. He seemed to think that my presence might be an inconvenience, crossing their boundaries.

Of course, I understand this point well. The higher one’s rank, the better it is to simply maintain one’s position rather than meddling in subordinates’ affairs under pretenses like “inspection,” which only creates fatigue.

I’m not that kind of grand person and have no such intentions, but he was likely being careful simply because I’m a nobleman.

However.

“In the grand scheme of things, I’m in the same position as you and everyone else, Mr. Bart. So please don’t hesitate to rely on me.”

With those final words, I joined the group preparing the soup base and started chopping. Judging by the pile of ingredients behind the counter, it seemed they were preparing beef stew rather than soup.

“Uh, um, well…”

While Bart remained frozen, I took a seat in front of a box of tomatoes and began peeling them. My knife skills in the kitchen were confident enough to rival even Helena’s, so my work speed was quite fast.

“Bart. Please give instructions quickly. The senior person here shouldn’t be standing around blankly.”

When I smiled slightly, showing no intention of backing down, Bart finally seemed to give up, sighing deeply before shouting loudly at the cooking staff. Though he had only been frozen for a few seconds, he now drove the cooking soldiers with fierce intensity.

“Everyone move if you don’t want to be called idiots! You’ve got working bodies, so why are you slacking?!”

“Yes, sir!”

Feeling guilty for causing others to be scolded without reason, I still calmly emptied a whole box of tomatoes. My working speed was comparable to having processed them in a blender.

I’m truly sorry. But in exchange, I’ll work my ass off to lighten your workload.

“Wow. Do nobles know how to do this too?”

One of the cooking soldiers who was about to tackle the onions widened his eyes in surprise. This was because I had moved in front of the onion box with a basin of water.

“I told you, I’m in the same position as all of you—serving someone.”

“Even so, doesn’t Sir Chess not know how to do this?”

“He might know it in theory? I’ve never asked him, so I’m not sure… anyway, let’s get moving.”

The soldier and I sat facing each other with the basin between us, placing the onions in the water-filled basin as we pulled them out. This method helped dissolve the pungent compounds in water, somewhat preventing eye irritation.

Also, when peeling onions, the root should be cut last because most of the pungent compounds are concentrated there. All this knowledge came from the divine realm’s library of miscellaneous learning.

“Wow… that’s fucking fast.”

Take an onion from the left box, soak it in the central basin, process it, and stack it in the empty box on the right. This method was quite efficient, allowing for a decent pace. Thanks to this, I received sincere admiration from the cooking soldier.

“Is he really a noble?”

“Even if he is Sir Chess’s son, this is too much. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

After quickly peeling onions, carrots, and potatoes, exclamations came from all directions. Most of the admiration came from those kneading bread dough, apart from those preparing the beef stew base.

I prepared potatoes, carrots, onions, as well as thyme, laurel, and bay leaves. The only remaining task was slicing the meat, but that had already been completed. This meant I wasn’t the only one working diligently.

“You’re truly amazing. We finished much faster than usual.”

Bart’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me with my now-empty hands. The concern he had shown earlier had completely disappeared, replaced by trust typically shown only to reliable colleagues.

“That’s good to hear. I’m really sorry about earlier.”

I sincerely apologized for my stubbornness and bowed my head. Bart hastily waved his hands and raised his voice.

“No! On the contrary, I should thank you! Thanks to you, the cooking time has been shortened, and all that’s left is to cook the stew and let the dough rest before baking, which makes things much easier. As you know, Sir Zion, the preparation is the most laborious part.”

“Yes, I know well. I’ve wished more than once that someone would sell pre-prepared ingredients.”

“Exactly! But due to issues with ingredient freshness, we can’t do that, which is really…”

Bart had become a complete chatterbox, seemingly pleased that someone understood his struggles. While I wasn’t in a position to truly understand kitchen hardships, I nodded along, pretending to understand and trying to humor him. In reality, I did understand a little.

“Oh, by the way, could I use some ingredients too? I need to make a snack for Lady Helena.”

“Of course! It’s only natural to use ingredients purchased by the Krauser family for Lady Helena, the daughter of Krauser. From now on, please don’t hesitate and feel free to use whatever you need.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

Bart is the master of this kitchen. Therefore, it was only natural to get his permission to use ingredients, but I never expected him to grant me such freedom with the supplies.

Without hesitation, I gratefully accepted his offer and stood at the counter to make cookie dough with the remaining ingredients.

“Um… does Sir Chess cook himself too? Did you learn these skills in the Altram household kitchen?”

“Uh… yes, that’s right.”

Although I hadn’t learned it at Altram but self-taught at Hypnos’s estate, I decided to just go along with it. I was too tired to get into the long, complicated story that would start with dying from a quack doctor’s overdose of medicine.

And even if I hadn’t been tired, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. It would only create unnecessary commotion.

“Ah, this should do it. The rest just needs to rest before being baked in a pan.”

Helena’s house had an old-style brick oven, but there was nothing like that here. So I had to use a frying pan heated over low heat. Having done it yesterday, it wouldn’t be difficult.

I wrapped the dough in a clean cloth and placed it in a bowl. Then I left the cooking tent and walked to Helena’s tent, putting the dough in a cool place. The cooking staff would handle the rest of the cooking and serving, so all I needed to do was bake the cookies here. Just like yesterday.

“Yaaawn—. About thirty minutes to an hour…”

Taking advantage of the free time, I sat down in a corner of the tent and closed my eyes. It was a strategy to pass time with a short nap and reduce fatigue a little.

Fortunately, my consciousness faded as soon as I closed my eyes and regulated my breathing, and I seemed to have slept for a period that felt both long and short.

“Huh?”

I woke up to a rustling sound and quickly wiped a trail of drool from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve. It seemed the tent was brushing against the ground as it collided with the wind, causing the noise.

“Lunch time hasn’t come yet, I guess.”

Helena would return straight to this tent after receiving her portion of food. No matter how respected she was by the knights, she was still their commander. If that commander mingled with the knights, they wouldn’t be able to comfortably joke around and eat. She would inevitably have to maintain a certain formality.

In other words, her eating alone was an act of consideration for the knights.

So, I decided to reward this admirable behavior by baking cookies for her.

“Is it done?”

The cookies baking in the frying pan needed to be covered with a lid and cooked over low heat. Otherwise, they would burn, and without a lid, the mild heat wouldn’t circulate properly inside the pan, preventing them from baking properly.

I nodded with satisfaction as I looked at the freshly baked cookies. Cookies didn’t necessarily need to be warm, so I could prepare them in advance and serve them with tea when the time came.

Still, a final check was necessary. Although I had tasted the dough while mixing it, I wanted to make sure the finished product was good.

“Hmm. As expected, it’s delici—?!”

The right sweetness and crispness. The cookies were well-baked, just like yesterday. There was clearly nothing wrong with them.

However, the moment I picked one up and ate it, intense pain surged from my throat.

Unable to even scream properly, only making choking sounds, I felt a sharp, needle-like pain stabbing through every blood vessel in my body.