“Why am I so good at this job?”

I muttered while watching my amazing arms peeling potatoes non-stop like a machine.

My adaptation to the kitchen was perfect.

It had already been two weeks since I started working in the kitchen.

I was demonstrating the essence of perfect potato peeling.

Potato turning! Potato julienning! Potato mincing!

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I had honed first-class potato peeling skills in all aspects.

‘I’m still lacking in onion peeling though.’

Peeling onions without shedding tears needed a bit more practice.

My hands were so fast that I started to gain favor with the Chief Chef.

“Harpe. Come here and taste this.”

“Yes!”

The Chief Chef had a warm personality, just like my first impression of him.

However, he was serious about food, so he extremely disliked playing with food or making mistakes.

As long as I was careful about that, working under the Chief Chef wasn’t difficult.

Rather, the most challenging thing for me was reporting Dietrich’s daily life to the Duchess.

Now I was writing lazily and sending it off conspicuously, but the patient Duchess seemed to be reading the letters steadily.

Today, after peeling three baskets of potatoes, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with satisfaction.

Now the weather was getting so hot that I would sweat just sitting still.

“Amazing, Harpe.”

Robert, who had started a full two months before me, wasn’t improving his knife skills at all.

Robert, who was looking at me enviously as I finished my quota for the day, sighed.

“Why aren’t my knife skills improving at all?”

“That’s because you’re afraid of the knife.”

“But Harpe, look at this sharp knife edge. If you cut yourself, blood will drip immediately!”

“You won’t die.”

“Heartless Harpe!”

The Chief Chef, standing behind Robert who was pretending to be weak and grumbling, hit his back hard with his large hand.

“Robert! Stop dawdling and hurry up!”

“Yes…”

Robert, replying in a shrinking voice, had no choice but to concentrate on peeling potatoes again.

“Oh, Harpe. You’re already done.”

“Yes!”

“Your skills are improving day by day. You can take a short break now.”

Robert looked at me with envious eyes, but unfortunately, there was no way to help him.

The Chief Chef disliked passing one’s assigned work to others.

I glanced at the cookies placed on the kitchen table.

It would be perfect to eat those cookies as a snack.

Since I got a break after a long time, I wanted to rest properly while eating cookies.

The Chief Chef approached me quietly as I was lingering near the cookies. Then, taking advantage of a moment when other servants weren’t looking, he examined my expression.

As if he had read my eyes, the Chief Chef gave me all the cookies in a small basket.

“Here, a gift for someone who diligently finished their work. I made these cookies myself, so the taste is guaranteed.”

“Really? Then can I take these and rest for a bit?”

“Of course. Go and rest quickly. I’ll call you when it’s time to peel onions again.”

Had my steps ever been this excited leaving the kitchen?

‘I must be a genius at adapting.’

I was proud of myself for adapting so well wherever I went.

‘Hmm, good. Then shall I go to the shaded hill for the first time in a while?’

Looking at the clock hanging in the kitchen as I left, it wasn’t break time for the maids in the main building.

Then Marie wouldn’t be on the hill.

It would have been nice if Marie was there.

Thinking it was a shame, I arrived at the hill, which was quiet without a single person as expected.

I sat under the shade, thinking I’d rest quietly for a while. How much time had passed?

I soon became bored.

Maybe I had become too accustomed to the bustling surroundings, but the quietness felt too awkward.

As I repeatedly picked up and put down the cookie basket without eating, my eyes caught sight of the large training ground in the distance.

Some time had passed, but the memory of going to the training ground came to mind.

‘I went there to bring a towel to Dietrich.’

Seeing the training ground where I had gone to run an errand for Dietrich made me feel strangely happy.

‘Should I go take a look?’

Sitting still made me feel so restless I couldn’t stand it.

As I approached the training ground with the cookie basket, I could hear the constant sound of sharp metal clashing.

The training ground I was seeing after a long time remained the same.

The knights’ passion for crossing swords was so intense that it raised dust clouds, making the area around the training ground feel hotter than elsewhere.

It was quite fun to secretly lean against the wall of the training ground and peek at the Hareon Knights’ sparring scenes.

Even to my eyes, ignorant of swordsmanship, the skills of the knights were amazing.

The flashing sword auras with each swing were dazzling to the eyes.

However, that lasted only for a moment.

‘If the Hareon Knights are this skilled, how amazing must Dietrich be?’

Dietrich naturally came to mind as I became bored.

In the novel, Dietrich’s swordsmanship was described in one phrase as ‘the brilliant sword of death’.

The brilliant sword of death.

It felt odd to use the word ‘brilliant’ with a sword that mercilessly takes lives.

I remembered it being described that one might die without realizing it, captivated by the mesmerizing swordsmanship.

Unfortunately, last time it didn’t seem like Dietrich had fully demonstrated his skills.

Probably because he was facing a rookie knight.

‘If Dietrich is here, I wonder if I could see it today?’

I strained my eyes to see if Dietrich was among the many knights today.

Then I paused.

‘Wait. Why am I looking for Dietrich?’

No, come to think of it, it’s ridiculous.

I came out to rest during a rare break, so why am I looking for that annoying guy!

I must have been momentarily dazed by the heat.

‘Get a grip, Harpe!’

Slapping my forehead seemed to bring me back to my senses.

Once I decided to stop looking for whether Dietrich was there or not, for some reason, peering into the training ground lost its appeal.

Thinking I should leave now, I turned around.

Someone poked my shoulder from behind.

When I turned my head, it was an unfamiliar face.

No, maybe not unfamiliar.

I looked up at the sky-blue hair slightly damp with sweat and asked.

“Knight… Blaine?”

After calling him Blaine, I belatedly realized that this man was a new recruit in the knights.

Blaine’s sky-blue eyes widened a little, as if he hadn’t expected me to remember his name.

For some reason, I awkwardly scratched the back of my head like someone who had done something wrong.

It was understandable, as I had been hiding by the entrance wall of the training ground, watching the knights’ training, so how suspicious must I have looked?

“Ahaha, I’m not a spy or anything like that. I was just curious about what kind of training you were doing today.”

After saying it, I realized it sounded even stranger.

Why would a mere maid be curious about what kind of training the Hareon Knights were doing?

However, words once spoken couldn’t be taken back.

I quietly observed Blaine’s reaction.

From the moment he poked my back, Blaine hadn’t said a word.

‘What if he thinks I’m a spy from another knightly order or something?’

It seemed like it was time to quietly return to the kitchen.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

I was planning to stop watching the training ground anyway.

As I tried to slip away sideways.

“Would you like to watch?”

A voice slightly lighter and higher than Dietrich’s, sounding excited, suggested to me.

I thought he would question why I was peeking at the training ground, but suddenly he’s asking if I want to watch?

I turned back and stared directly into Blaine’s sky-blue eyes.

Continuously, as if in a staring contest.

‘He seems serious.’

Blaine’s pale sky-blue eyes were sparkling with a strange joy and expectation.

But why?

Had I ever had any special conversation with Blaine?

I hadn’t.

The first time I saw Blaine was during his duel with Dietrich.

‘But that expectant look in his eyes…’

I fell into deep thought.

What was Blaine expecting from me?

‘Could it be…’

I looked down at the cookie basket clutched tightly to my chest with a surprised expression.

Is he expecting these cookies!

As expected, the Chief Chef’s skills were amazing.

To think the reason he was filled with expectation upon seeing me was because of these cookies.

Now everything started to make sense.

If he wanted to eat them, he could have just said so honestly. I would have shared them earlier.

I rummaged through the basket and took out a cookie slathered with strawberry jam, handing it to Blaine.

“Here.”

“…Pardon?”

“Eat this.”

Blaine, who received the cookie, looked bewildered. He probably didn’t think he’d receive what he expected without any cost.

I looked at Blaine with a broad smile.

“Weren’t you craving cookies?”

“Was I craving cookies?”

Maybe not.

But even so, Blaine was preciously holding the cookie I had handed over.

‘Does he want more?’

If that was the case, it wasn’t difficult. There were too many cookies in the basket for me to finish anyway.

I put the cookie basket on the ground and took out even more cookies than before.

With both hands full of cookies, I extended them towards him.

Blaine, looking at the cookies filling my palms, asked in a slightly flustered voice.

“Um, why are you giving me so many cookies?”

“You wanted them, didn’t you?”

“I did?”

“Yes.”

I extended my hands further towards him, hoping he would take them quickly.

After silently staring at my palms for a while, he suddenly bowed his head and mumbled quietly.

“Thank you.”

And then, with his arms full of cookies, he vanished into the training ground in an instant.

Leaving only words of gratitude, Blaine’s figure disappeared into the distance.

‘He must have really wanted them.’

As expected, he’s a pure young man, just like his appearance.

It seemed quite good to have such a pure and innocent-looking young man in the knightly order full of rough and charismatic knights.

I picked up one of the remaining cookies and crunched it.

The savory taste filled my mouth.

‘After seeing Dietrich, it’s surprising how Blaine can be so angelic.’

If it were Dietrich, he’d probably say “You eat it” as soon as he received something like a cookie.

Just imagining it makes me angry.

I picked up the cookie basket I had put on the ground.

I won’t give cookies or anything like that to Dietrich, who hasn’t been seen for a few days.

Making that resolution seemed to improve my mood a bit.

However, Dietrich had an innate talent for provoking my anger.