Saved Him, Now I'm Obsessed (10 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 20

Ileina told me I could use the cheese-making kitchen.

She said the cheese-dedicated kitchen, which had existed since the mansion was granted by the imperial court, was meant for turning fresh milk—brought daily from a nearby pasture—into cheese. But currently, no one living in the mansion enjoyed cheese.

Because Ileina always suffered stomachaches from dairy, she hadn’t assigned a separate maid for cheese-making, and since the space was just sitting unused, she said I could use it freely.

I’d been worried about what excuse would sound natural when asking Ileina for permission to visit the apothecary district or to borrow the kitchen, but she granted it far too easily—almost disappointingly so.

Perhaps because I’d only recently come back from the brink of death, she treated me with extra tenderness and caution, and since I’d been exhausted from etiquette lessons for the banquet, she seemed willing to let me do whatever I wanted, just for today.

The cheese kitchen was located on the first floor, with a small, thick wooden door leading straight into the garden, and large wooden sliding windows that seemed perfect for ventilation.

Most of all, I was delighted by the large iron cauldron hanging over a deep, sturdy hearth.

Ileina told me I could use all the utensils left over from cheese-making. In the center of the kitchen sat a large worktable made of thick timber—ideal, I thought, for preparing medicines.

“Now, shall we really get started?”

First, I sorted the medicinal ingredients according to how they needed to be prepared: those requiring washing and drying, those needing to soak in alcohol to draw out toxins, and those so delicate they could only have dust brushed off with a soft brush. I organized and processed them based on their individual properties.

“If only the apothecary hadn’t been ruined, this would’ve been much easier.”

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

After meticulously preparing all the herbs, I laid out the kitchen’s cooking tools.

Without my usual equipment, I had no choice but to make do with whatever cooking utensils were available here.

“Well… this isn’t going to be easy.”

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