Chapter 48 - 47 - Rose Shaped Potatoes

Chapter 48: Chapter 47 - Rose Shaped Potatoes

A group of night maids who were in the kitchen area immediately came out after seeing me. Those who were part of Duke Adelheid von Blutfeld’s knights had to kneel after seeing a little girl preparing to cook.

Without an apron that fits my body size and a nightgown that could get dirty at any time, I would cook with whatever I had on hand.

My hands immediately reached for the rough potato slices, splitting them cleanly in half with the skins still on. I quickly grabbed a wooden stool to stand on. I grabbed the kitchen knife, which was safely tucked away, and the whetstone, which was nearby to sharpen the knife.

Sriinngg...

"Huufftt... Here we go," with a heavy sigh, I held the kitchen knife and sliced the potato into small pieces before my eyes.

Without excessive movement and a calm mood, there is no panic to cook wholeheartedly.

Srriiisshh...

Srriiisshh...

The rough, dirty, and amateurish potato slices turned into clean, crisp slices in my hands. The well-honed kitchen knife felt like a high-quality knife in my hands. I’d never had a knife this good in my old life, slicing potato skins into paper-thin strips.

The second dinner dish I made was French fries with a special seasoning that can be dipped in tomato sauce.

At least, that’s what I can do with the raw materials filled with potatoes.

Oh! I can also make mashed potatoes with salt and vegetables on top.

A dish that is not too fancy, but can be made quickly and in large quantities.

A thin sheet of potato skin fell to the floor. Master Amagi, who happened to be beside me, immediately picked it up and put it into a new trash bag.

Kirraa...

Kiirraa...

Her pastel purple eyes sparkled in the kitchen, staring at me curiously and seeing the pile of finely chopped potatoes piled on top of the wooden bowl.

"What are you going to cook, Liliana?" Master Amagi asked as she pulled up a wooden stool so she could stand at my level.

"French fries... A simple little dish we can make in the middle of the night, and mashed potatoes with just enough seasoning. Master Amagi likes sweet dried vegetables and salty dried vegetables, right?" I replied while asking Master Amagi and quickening my hand movements in peeling the potato skin.

"French fries? Mashed potatoes?" Master Amagi tilted her head, as if those were foreign words she had just heard.

"Yes, French fries and mashed potatoes. A dish often eaten by knights and commoners in winter because they grow easily in cold weather."

"I-I just know it. Does it taste as good as sweet potatoes?"

"Sweet potatoes?" I paused for a moment when I heard that.

"Are there any sweet potatoes? There are no potatoes with sweet taste, Master Amagi," I said as I sliced the remaining potato and put it in a wooden bowl.

With this amount, it should be enough to make three hungry people in the middle of the night feel full and able to fall asleep soundly with happy stomachs.

"Yes! Sweet potatoes do exist... but how come their shape is different from that potato?" Master Amagi replied, pointing to the brownish-yellow potatoes in a wooden bowl.

"I don’t think that’s a potato, Master Amagi. It’s a sweet potato with an oval shape and a purplish color. It’s a little soft and warm when eaten, right?" I asked, trying to confirm what Master Amagi meant.

"U-Uh, yeah, I guess something like that. I don’t really like eating it because it has a weird hairy texture to it that feels weird on the tongue."

I chuckled at that innocent and funny answer.

My hand reached for the stone pounder that was next to the grindstone. I also took another wooden bowl to separate the fries and mashed potatoes.

Two dishes that could be eaten together, on the same table. That is, if Master Amagi and Marchioness Shinano VII Lichtberg didn’t mind it.

Well, manners in second dinner at late night.

I hope, they will made an exception for this time...

And then, a rough cut of the vegetables caught my attention.

Sruudddhhh...

Srruuuddhh...

My hands moved to mash and grind the potatoes into a smooth shape, not as smooth as the potatoes in my old world but soft enough to be eaten with a small spoon in this kitchen.

The night maids outside the kitchen area stared at me with strange expressions, not stopping to notice my hands pressing a potato into a wooden bowl and another potato I was forming into thin strips. It didn’t resemble the French fries I’d been known for in my old world, but at least it wasn’t too bad and could still be held with two fingers.

Cttaakk...

Ctaakkk...

Sharp kitchen knives seemed to have become a part of my life as a maid. The nostalgic feeling I felt as a home cook head made my hands automatically reach for the spices in the kitchen. I mixed the spices in a wooden bowl without any precise measurements, as if my small hands had already found the perfect balance to seasonings.

Perhaps it’s a past habit, where I always cooked using the "just enough" measurement format.

In other words, there’s no set measurement, but rather experience and the taste of my own cooking.

I don’t want to brag about it, but my cooking isn’t too bad to eat every day.

Kirrraa...

Kirraaa...

Master Amagi, who was standing beside me, was silent, her eyes full of starlight as if amazed at the speed of my hands that sprinkled seasoning on the mashed potatoes and the vegetables that had been cut into small pieces by the kitchen knife in my hand.

Ctaakkk...

Cttaakk...

"L-Liliana!! H-How do your hands move so fast when chopping vegetables?"

"I want to try it too!" Master Amagi shouted, her small hand reaching out for the kitchen knife I was holding.

I stopped my hand movements and looked at Master Amagi. "That’s dangerous, Master Amagi."

"The kitchen knives used by the chefs here are very sharp. The slightest mistake could cut Master Amagi’s finger off..." I said, giving her a small warning.

"E-Ehh? That’s good... At least Duke Adelheid Von Blutfeld didn’t buy cheap knives for the maids who work in the kitchen."

"Yes, I feel grateful for that."

"The problem is... Why is Liliana’s cutting ability so much better than the maids we’ve met?" Master Amagi said in a gentle tone, but I could feel a dangerous, cold aura from Master Amagi.

"..." I glanced at Master Amagi and saw her dark eyes staring at the maids whose main job was patrolling at night.

I think, there is a misunderstanding raging in Master Amagi’s mind, and I have to clear it up before something undesirable happens.

Huh? Cutting ability?

I didn’t hear wrong, right?

I think, I heard wrong...

"M-My cutting skills are just so-so, Master Amagi. Not as good as the maids who are in charge of cooking every day."

"That’s not what I meant, Liliana."

"Hum??" I didn’t understand Master Amagi’s thoughts at all.

Is there something wrong with the way I cut things?

"Liliana, you’re holding a potato cut into a rose. How did you do that?" Master Amagi asked, leaving me stunned as I looked at my hand holding the rose-shaped potato.

"Ahh..." I could only sigh after understanding what happened.

It’s no longer the ability to cut, but rather the ability to sculpt food into different shapes, something I’d mastered in my previous life. I learned these cutting techniques to enhance my lunchboxes beautifulness.

It turns out I didn’t hear wrong...

This is indeed a cutting ability...

My hands moved on their own to cut the potatoes into rose shapes.

"It’s not too bad, is it?" I asked as I handed the rose-shaped potato to Master Amagi.

"Yes, it’s so beautiful... just like Liliana who is so beautiful when she’s focused on preparing food," replied Master Amagi, making me blush.

Bluuush...

That sincere compliment, somehow, wasn’t so bad...

"Haha! I’m glad to hear that, Master Amagi..." I replied.