I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

After spotting Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, who had quietly appeared before me with some seasoned dipping sauce, I immediately checked my surroundings.

If I talked with him alone in this setting, it could easily lead to misunderstandings with Ethan or the others.

“…What about Ethan?”

“I asked him to distract Seraphine for a moment.”

“Selena?”

“Seriste is keeping her occupied.”

“……”

Thorough. Just what kind of important conversation requires all this?

“If you’re going to ask me to help with another event like this time…”

“Don’t worry about that. I won’t be needing your help anymore from now on.”

“…Then, what is it?”

“Just, well, thank you for all your help until now. Looking back, I made you go through trouble with things that weren’t even your business.”

“…Whatever. It’s better for me to help you defeat the Demon Lord anyway if I want to live peacefully in the future.”

“Meeting with you alone like this makes me conscious of Ethan and Seraphine anyway… In any case, I won’t need to meet with you alone like this anymore. If I have something important to tell you, I’ll pass it through Agnes or Seraphine. They can keep secrets and they’re our mutual acquaintances, so it should be fine.”

Gyeongmwajogyegigwat said with a grin that since they’re women, Ethan wouldn’t freak out or be suspicious.

“Yeah, that’s better. We had different objectives in this world from the start, anyway. It’s about time we go our separate ways.”

“But this… It’s really amazing, you know. Didn’t you hate Ethan the most in your previous life?”

“…Among Luminor Academy characters, yes.”

“And now, that same Lili-fanatic is working so hard to get a pure love ending with Ethan. When I return to the real world, I’ll report your current situation on LuAGal.”

“…Don’t, unless you want to die.”

This guy doesn’t seem to know, but because I was so active in that forum, I had social connections with some people there, and there were even a few who knew I was a man.

If this kind of news got leaked to the guys in the Steam co-op game group chat, I might literally die of embarrassment. …Though that wouldn’t mean much since I already died in my previous life.

“Well, doesn’t this still achieve your wish in the end? You said you wanted to see Lilith’s pure love ending in Luminor Academy. The only difference is your target isn’t the protagonist, but you’re still achieving your goal.”

“…Actually, I’ve been thinking lately that this isn’t so bad, and that’s making me troubled, so please shut your mouth.”

“Pfft, hehehe… Ah, really…. That Lily-fanatic becoming Ethan’s fiancée….”

“…If you came to pick a fight, just get lost.”

“Ah, right. And this.”

As I quietly fixed my gaze on the familiar-colored seasoning sauce placed on the table, the Hero explained what he had given me.

“Here, some ssamjang. Thought you might need it.”

“…Where did you get this?”

“Made it with ‘Cooking Recipe.’ You wrote down the recipe locations in your walkthrough, right?”

“…Ah.”

“I haven’t collected them all, just gathered what wouldn’t interfere with story progression, so unfortunately there’s no kimchi.”

“…It’s fine. I’m in no position to be picky when I’m receiving food.”

Besides, if we grilled something like kimchi with meat here, we’d have to deal with countless stares directed at me and Gyeongmwajogyegigwat, so it was an impossible dream from the start.

“Don’t you use ‘Cooking Recipe’? If I remember correctly, there were two or so you could get at the Blackwood Estate.”

“…Lilith couldn’t learn them. Probably a protagonist-only privilege. If it had worked, the ssamjang recipe wouldn’t be in your hands now, would it? I would have secured it first.”

“True. If I had to compete for recipes against a veteran player, I’d have no chance of winning.”

“…Anyway, thanks. I was missing Korean food. I’ll enjoy it.”

“If you want to wrap it, the mandrake leaves over there work well. Though not exactly the same, they taste similar to perilla leaves *1.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright, then.”

With those words, Gyeongmwajogyegigwat left just the ssamjang and leisurely returned to his harem.

Did he really come just to give me ssamjang and not to ask for another unreasonable favor? I feel a bit sorry for being suspicious at first.

But considering how much he’s pushed me around until now, it seems like it was a reasonable suspicion. Anyway, now that he said he won’t bother me anymore, I felt somewhat bittersweet.

‘This really tastes like ssamjang.’

My tongue reacted automatically, probably because it was my first taste of Korean food in almost seven years since being in this world.

Well, more accurately, it’s been seven years since I regained my memories. 

Except for the garlic taste being a bit stronger, it was surprisingly similar to the ssamjang I ate in my previous life.

The characteristic sharp taste must be how Lilith perceives garlic, so I’ll have to accept it. Still, the basic flavors of ssamjang – saltiness, sweetness, spiciness, and umami – blended well enough to make it quite edible.

Just as I was about to wrap the meat dipped in the ssamjang that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat had charitably given in a mandrake leaf, Ethan, who had been talking with Seraphine for a while, returned to my table.

“Lili, what’s this?”

“It’s a condiment the Hero left, Ed. He said it goes well with grilled meat.”

“…It’s not suspicious?”

“Of course not.”

“He gave this only to you and not to the others? Is it some kind of drug that makes you feel strange if you eat too much….”

“It tastes similar to a secret seasoning my mother used to make. Since it’s a sweet and salty seasoning, it goes well with plain meat. Is it a similar sauce, maybe?”

“Th-That was just a thought. So, so it’s similar to what your mother used to make….”

Actually, it wasn’t the taste of my mother’s cooking of this world but my previous life’s mother’s, and it wasn’t even homemade but tasted just like store-bought ssamjang.

I said that just to quiet Ethan’s nitpicking about every little thing. If I let him continue being suspicious of even small gestures of goodwill, the conflict between Ethan and Gyeongmwajogyegigwat would never end.

Ethan should know that Gyeongmwajogyegigwat has no reason to have lingering feelings for me now that Seriste has awakened as a true Saint, so his concern in this situation, while appreciated, was a bit excessive.

‘Anyway, him loving me too much is also a problem.’

Though he was already completely different from the original Ethan in every way, the one thing that was identical was his obsession with Lilith.

Feeling sorry for scolding Ethan, I placed a piece of meat on a mandrake leaf, added garlic, ssamjang, and some vegetables to make a pseudo perilla wrap, and held it out to him. After all, a carefully wrapped ssam from someone else was always right for resolving conflicts.

“Here, Ed. Say ah~”

“…Huh? Lili?”

“I said say ah~. You just put it all in your mouth at once.”

“…You’ve gotten better at joking, Lili. Even so, putting such a large piece of food in one bite is a bit…”

“Last time, you forced something even bigger and less tasty into my mouth, didn’t you? And now you’re saying you can’t accept what I’m offering….”

“Chomp! Mm, mmmmmmmm…. It-It’s delicious, Lili….”

Watching Ethan hurriedly eat the wrap before I could finish speaking, I quietly made a small wrap for myself and put it in my mouth.

Actually, I did know how to make my own ssamjang. 

Back when I lived alone and cooked in my previous life, I had tried making my own doenjang *2 out of curiosity by buying meju *2 and making it myself.

I had seen meju being fermented several times when helping at my grandmother’s farm, so I could probably recreate it. 

I could probably make ssamjang, too, by adding some seasonings and adjusting the consistency of the homemade doenjang.

Of course, I had given up on that idea as soon as I realized it would be impossible to ferment meju as a maid of the Blackwood family.

‘I’ll try it after I become independent.’

Since I wasn’t planning to get married anyway, there wouldn’t be anyone to say anything to me then. I should try making not just ssamjang but soy sauce and doenjang too.

While thinking about this and looking around, one couple particularly caught my eye.

Somehow, it was obvious that others had deliberately made way for the two of them, as they stood alone with one feeding the other, unconsciously entering my field of vision.

“Hey, open your mouth.”

“…I-I’m already eating, Lady Agnes.”

“……”

Gulp.

“You’re done eating, right? Open your mouth.”

“…I can at least hold a fork myself, Lady Agnes. Only my right arm is injured, my left arm is still fine.”

“Shut up. If you weren’t injured, you would have eaten with your right hand.”

“…Well, that’s true, but…”

“Just let me take care of you for three days until you’re healed, and don’t try to be unnecessarily considerate. That hurts my pride more, you know?”

“Understood, Lady Agnes.”

“If you understand, open your mouth.”

“…I’m telling you I can’t eat that much at once.”

Agnes was strangely stubborn about taking care of Prince Antonio. And the Prince, while seemingly hesitant, accepted her kindness with a happy expression.

Just what had happened during the battle at the Eastern Lake? I needed to hear about it at least once.

After all, I also needed to find out why a monster that wasn’t in the original game had suddenly emerged from the lake.

T/N

Perilla leaves are also used to eat samgyeopsal. Once grilled, the pork belly slices are wrapped in perilla leaves, optionally with some garlic and/or ssamjang.
Doenjang (된장) is a fermented soybean paste and is one of the ingredients of ssamjang. To make doenjang, soybeans are boiled in salt water and then pounded or coarsely ground. These crushed soybeans are then compressed and shaped into spheres called meju (메주). These spheres are dried before being sold and are fermented in the process. 

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!