Severa was starting to feel hopeless. And tired. And irritated. But generally, she was just starting to feel really hopeless. Her mother was undoubtedly a genius. Perfect. The ultimate woman and wife material. She was the great, master chef who didn't own a single cookbook. Not even one. Everywhere she searched, there was not a single one! Not even a recipe written on a scrap of paper! Absolutely none! Cordelia did not own any kind of cookbook but she managed to whip up master dishes that could rival a professional chef in just a short time. It was like the gods were mocking her.

It had already been two and a half hours and she had already ransacked her parents' shared tent and there were still no recipe tomes to be found! In irritation, she growled and threw the nearest book on her parents' cot. Why was it that Cordelia owned a useless dating book instead of the ones crucial to marriage life?

"This is stupid! This is useless! Why do you have to be so perfect in everything Mother?" she grunted and fell on her parents' cot, shoving the book on top of it as she did so. Just as she lay down, Cordelia appeared at the tent entrance, pushing the tent flap open. Looking at the mess around, she gave her daughter an unimpressed glance. "Is there something wrong Severa?" Cordelia asked gently, picking up the scattered books as she went over to her daughter. Severa contemplated on just ignoring or leaving, but she reminded herself not to upset Cordelia too much so instead, she squirmed and moved aside to give enough space for the Pegasus Knight to sit on. Between her mission of changing the future and her feelings for Morgan, she already had enough trouble and fights with her mother were not something she wanted to add to her list.

"It's nothing you should trouble yourself with Mother. Don't pry." Severa answered simply.

"Oh? But if you're trashing your parents' tent. Don't you think I should worry about that?"

Cordelia sat beside her daughter, on the space provided and placed the books she picked up on her lap. As she waited for Severa's answer, she ran her hands along the covers and read the titles silently. They were books she had long since finished and read multiple times. She ones read some with Sumia and Robin and looking at her daughter, who was currently lying down beside her in deep thought, she started wondering if one day she'll read it to Severa as well.

"You don't have cookbooks." Severa finally murmured.

"Hmm? What was that dear?"

Severa frowned and sat up, looking at her mother before averting her gaze to the mess she made earlier and started softly swinging her legs. "I said, you don't have a cookbook." She repeated, the tone of her voice turning sharper than she had originally started. She'd drop short glances from time to time, but she'd never let her eyes linger on her mother longer than she thought necessary. "I mean, I know you're a great cook and all, but isn't it just ridiculous that you don't have any kind of recipe book at all? How much more insulting can you get, Mother?" Severa spat out the word 'mother' as if it were poison, finally sending Cordelia a heated glare in the process. When the Pegasus knight didn't answer at once, the mercenary frowned and muttered a small apology. She huffed and dropped back on the cot, making the couple-sized, collapsible bed bounce up slightly at her sudden movement. A sudden giggle escaped her mother's lips, which Severa definitely didn't miss.

"Sorry… I just… I'm really annoyed that I can't find one right now." She mumbled loud enough for her mother to hear. Cordelia just gave her a small smile before putting her hands on her daughter's hair, gently stroking Severa's twin tails. She marvelled at how smooth and silky they were, but seeing as Severa spent a long time on her hair, it was only to be expected. She reminded herself to one day spend time with her daughter, just to brush her hair.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you need one so much? You're not on kitchen duty anytime soon." She asked.

"I'm not but… I'm cooking for… someone."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Mother, I think that's all you need to know. So do you have one or not?"

Severa quickly threw a question at her mother to avoid answering any more. The blush slowly forming on her face didn't fail to pique Cordelia's interest though and the Pegasus knight just found herself wanting to ask more. Still, she had enough experience to know that she shouldn't just drop questions when Severa was feeling flustered and this moment was one of those times. The mercenary, in turn, just huffed and crossed her arms, waiting for a decent response which was then, given to her not long after.

"All that I know in cooking, I learned from your grandmother and I learned and memorized them by heart so no, I'm afraid I don't have any cookbooks to help you. I'm sorry dear." Cordelia said apologetically, once again returning to stroking the covers of the books she placed on her lap. Severa just sighed and stood up, preparing to leave. "Just as I thought. No use asking you anyway Mother." She grumbled, but before she could even walk close to the tent flap, Cordelia stopped her, having rushed to her daughter and grabbing her wrists.

"But! If it's really important to you, I could write down all that I know for you. It won't take long, I'll give you the best." Cordelia smiled, hoping to please her daughter. Severa frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, slightly shifting her eyes to the ground, suddenly guilty of acting rude towards her mother. She looked back up at the Pegasus Knight and nodded hesitantly, brightening up her mother's expression. "O-Okay… B-But just so you know, this isn't so important." She mumbled shyly, shaking off her mother's hand and crossing her arms.

Cordelia knew it was a lie, because she knew exactly what was going on inside her daughter's mind and if it weren't as important as she said it was, then she doubted that Severa would even make such an effort. Afraid of further embarrassing her daughter and risking a chance of her storming out, Cordelia decided to just keep quiet and march over to her desk and took a pen and a few papers. Behind her, she could hear Severa picking up the other books she scattered and rearranging them back to how it was earlier. Both mother and daughter headed to sit on the cot after and Cordelia started scrawling out notes while Severa watched and read whatever was written. Inwardly, Severa would smile at how simple the recipes were, thinking of how even someone like her could follow them with ease.

"You do know that this will cost you a week of mother-daughter time right?" Cordelia chuckled as she continued to write. Severa leaned back, slightly flustered yet still sporting a frown. She threw her hands up to show her annoyance which didn't convince her mother at all. "Ugh! Why must everyone try to bargain for my time?" she nearly screamed, but Cordelia's curious glance made her rethink her previous statement.

"Really now? So who else is vying for your time?" Cordelia asked with a teasing smile which Severa failed to notice. She did, however went back to writing, stopping every now and then to inspect her work. Severa, on the other hand, didn't spend much time thinking of her answer and simply blurted it out. "There's you and Morgan of course!" she answered fiercely enough to make her mother stop writing, but it didn't stop the smile that quickly found its way on the Pegasus knight's face.

"Oh? Just the two of us? I did notice you spending more time with Morgan than you usually—"

"A-And I have to take care of Inigo, Brady and Yarne! And don't get me started on Noire!"

"Yes, yes, I thought so too." Cordelia only laughed and continued writing despite her daughter vocally protesting beside her. "Don't laugh! Ugh this isn't funny mom!" she groaned, hiding her blush with her hands. Her mother only looked up when she finished writing the recipes which took up four pages, full from top to bottom. "Of course it isn't. I'm sorry, here you are dear." Cordelia handed Severa the papers, who took it hesitantly and skimmed it at once. She frowned upon finishing and handed it back.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Mother, these are all stew recipes."

"And?"

"All of them. Fish stew, vegetable stew, mushroom stew, herb, herb and vegetable…"

"What is up with you and stew?" Severa questioned and retracted her hand when Cordelia didn't take back the papers. The knight only smiled and shook her head. She stood up and stretched before walking back to her desk and replacing the left pieces of paper and pen. "That's fine Severa, trust me, that's the best choice for now. It's simple and effortless and the ingredients are easy to find. Very practical."

Once she had accepted her mother's explanation, Severa followed, standing up and walking over to the tent flap. Before she could leave, Cordelia spoke up, stopping her from her tracks. "Oh and Severa, why don't you go and ask help from Robin while you're at it? After all, she knows what kind of food Morgan loves best."

"M-Mother, what are you implying?" Severa demanded, but rushed out of the tent before she could hear Cordelia's answer, all to hide her red-coloured cheeks.

It had taken a while before Severa had summoned the courage to finally go up and cook something, or at least practice. After her time with her mother, she had rushed back to her own tent, once again surprising Cynthia with her abrupt arrival. She crashed on top of her cot and buried her face, crumpling the recipe papers in the process. Despite that, she couldn't bring herself to care about it as it was long after before she decided to sit up, only to crash into it again, sending waves of worry to Cynthia. The blush on her cheeks didn't just go away as quickly as she had hoped it would, as the thought of her mother catching on about her and Morgan was embarrassing. Actually, Severa could swear that her mother already knew something about her not-so-secret feelings for the prince. How she came to know about it, Severa didn't know, but she was just so certain of it.

Half an hour later, when she was so sure that her blush had finally subsided, she stepped out of her tent and headed out to the mess tent and straight to the kitchens. She held the recipes in her hands tightly, smoothing out the wrinkles she made. However, as she entered, she stopped dead on her tracks upon seeing an unwanted person also inside: Robin.

Severa contemplated on whether to turn back and come later or approach the tactician. She nearly chose the former, suddenly feeling nervous around her new-found love's mother, but her mother's earlier words suddenly crept back into Severa's mind and she found herself walking over to Robin, who was stirring a big pot of what looked like their dinner.

"Ah, yes. Perfect. Adding that dash of fenugreek really did the trick." She heard Robin exclaim as she slurped a bit of what she cooked. Severa spoke up too soon and cleared her throat for the tactician to take notice of her. "Oh, hello Severa. I was expecting you toni—"

In her nervous state, she quickly interrupted the other with a question that she had no trouble asking in an annoyed manner. "What are you doing, Robin?" she added a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, hoping to hide her anxiety. Robin didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't say anything about it.

"I'm just putting the finishing touches on tonight's stew." Robin replied as she turned back to the giant pot and continued stirring, just as she had been doing earlier. "It's my turn in the galley, you see." Severa wondered why it was Robin's turn. Just the other night, she had cooked for the army along with the others. Her turn shouldn't come up until next month or so. However, the thought was quickly dismissed when Severa stepped forward and a delicious aroma drifted to her and distracted her enough to voice out her confusions.

"It smells pretty okay… are you, like, a professional cook or something?" she asked, coming closer to the pot to get a better smell. The contents of the said pot were of a delectable colour, and she could see the many different ingredients that Robin used. "Me? Oh, gracious no. It's nothing special. I just tossed a few things in the pot." The tactician stated as she added another tablespoon of what looked like salt before continuing to mix.

"Pfft. False modesty is so overrated. I can tell by the smell alone that a lot of work went into that stew. Ahhh… all kinds of herbs and stuff. You musta been cooking for hours." Severa stated as she took another whiff of the aroma. She could definitely tell why Chrom and their kids were excited about her cooking. Her roasted boar was an army-proclaimed delicacy as well, a favourite among many of the Shepherds.

"You're very kind, but I really think I just got lucky today. Usually when I cook, it ends up tasting like mud. …Or burned mud." Robin confessed as she finally put out the fire and set the long-handed spoon she had been holding. "I told you already, that stuff is totally overrated! Gawds!"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, really! Why do you think Morgan loves your cooking so much? A-And Chrom and Lucina too! It's not just because you're their wife and mother you know? But another thing! What in blazes are you doing fiddling around with soups, anyway?! I know for a fact that you're not actually on kitchen duty!"

"Gracious, that was quite a speech Severa, but… heh. Well, you got me. I just thought I should help you cook for Morgan."

"Wha—why does everyone think that I'm doing this for Morgan?" Severa groaned, nearly crushing her mother's hand written recipes. Robin didn't look like she needed to think of an answer as she was already opening her mouth to give Severa a reply. She could tell she was blushing furiously and that was nothing new. At least, not today. Does everyone know about her motives? This was embarrassing!

"You do know that we heard you the other night… right?"

" The other—we? Who's we?"

"Everyone in the mess tent. You screamed something and everyone just stopped to listen. Thank Naga you did, Frederick was getting his lance ready just to control the commotion. I think I heard Morgan say something about wanting to marry Gerome if he were a girl and you telling him, that you'll cook him something." Robin stated simply as she moved the dinner to a table and set another pot by the fire.

Severa could only look in horror as Robin said nothing else and took out the ingredients. "So… everyone heard?" she asked in a hushed tone, which Robin could barely hear. Everyone really knew?

"Well… Vaike was already out cold by then."

Two days. It took Severa two days to perfect Cordelia and Robin's collaborated fish and vegetable stew. It took her a lot of sweat, blood and tears before she reached that point and she had to work with both Cordelia and Robin to make it, always having to insist that she was doing it purely because Morgan had questioned her feminine capabilities (no matter how sexist it made Morgan appear) and nothing else. It didn't seem like the two believed her despite all her convincing, but Severa was too tired to even argue further.

She finished her final product just before the army marched again and she was lucky enough to have spotted Morgan quickly as it saved her the trouble of leaving her creation unguarded for an extended amount of time. She found him standing beside Cynthia in what seemed like a conversation. A one-sided conversation that involved Morgan talking and Cynthia staring. As Severa drew closer, she began to suspect that it wasn't a conversation at all and more like a staring contest as the two stared at each other without speaking. She could see Morgan trying to keep his smile intact. He was nearly grimacing.

"I can actually feel myself growing old waiting for you to finish a sentence. I'm starting to think this was a bad idea." He finally said and his smile slipped, replaced by a worried frown. Severa waited for a few more moments and watched Cynthia narrate tiredly. It wasn't long till they finished and Cynthia skipped ahead of Morgan, who rubbed his temples in obvious frustration.

"Not that I could tell her without breaking her heart though… ah, well. At least she's smiling again." He sighed. Severa wondered what he meant by that but decided not to just spring up and ask about it. Instead, she casually strode over to him, pretending as if she had just noticed him. "Ah, there you are. Come here, Morgan." She called authoritatively and was greeted by a smile, which just appeared from Morgan's face all of a sudden when she called him.

"Mmm? Did you need me for something?"

"You said you wanted to taste my cooking, right? Well, now's your chance. I just finished making something."

"You did? Just for me? Gosh, I'm flattered!" Morgan practically skipped over to her to close the distance between them and it flustered her to see how a small blush appeared on his cheeks. He was smiling so happily and expectantly at her that she failed to control her own blush from showing. She hurriedly turned away and started walking back to the mess tent in an effort to hide her steadily reddening face, with Morgan trailing closely behind.

"Not for you! I was just bored. I decided to cook on a lark." She growled. Morgan sat on a nearby table and watched as she went over to a large pot and scooped up a plateful of stew. He wondered if it usually took cooking a large pot of stew to satisfy her boredom. However, he decided not to ask, lest Severa decides that feeding him was a bad idea after all.

The mercenary slid the plate on his table carefully so as not to spill it. "Here. Try this stew." She ordered and Morgan reached out for it, sniffed slightly and scrutinized it. "Whoa, it looks amazing. Pretty too!" he complimented.

"The red tomato base is balanced by the green beans and the orange carrots. I see a good choice of fish and the fine selection of spices is obvious—" Severa was getting more and more flustered with Morgan's comments. Although it pleased her to hear him praise her, it also made her increasingly nervous. She wondered why he put so much attention to presentation anyway.

"Less talking, more chewing!" with her current anxiety, her breath nearly hitched as she ordered him to eat.

"Ah! Right… mmm…" Severa could swear that her own heartbeat was louder than war drums as she watched Morgan shove his first spoonful inside his mouth. His reaction was quite delayed and she started worrying over his next comment, whether he'd announce her cooking to be delicious or horrible.

"Wow, it's delicious!" he smiled and continued shoving spoonful after spoonful, continuously, one after the next. It almost seemed as if he no longer stopped to chew and Severa released a sigh of relief. Her hands, which she hid behind her back, squeezed her mother's recipes tight, further crumpling them as she muttered a silent thank you repeatedly like a mantra. He had already finished the stew, looking content and pleased when he stated his added comments.

"But…" he started, sitting up properly.

"…But?!" Severa questioned, unable to believe that there must be something else.

"I feel like it's missing something."

And there it was. It was missing something? Severa racked her brain as to what it could be. "What? Did I leave out a spice?" she asked, still trying to remember what it was she left out.

"No, it's not that… it's missing… hmm, what's it missing? I can't quite put a finger on it." He said, putting a hand up his chin and closing his eyes, concentrating hard to determine and find an answer. Watching him irritated Severa. "Are you sure you even know what you're talking about?"

"Er, I guess not?" he laughed and sent her a worried glance before stopping. "But it really was good! I mean it! I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but that really wasn't my intent."

"You can't just tell someone their amazing stew is missing something and not say what!"

"I wish I knew." He shrugged.

"Argh! You are so frustrating me right now!" Severa groaned as she sat across him and slammed her hands on the table. Morgan, on the other hand stood up and rushed to her with the intention of appeasing her. "I know, I'm sorry! …Maybe it's fine. I could just be feeling weird. Regardless, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be much of a cook. I mean, you seemed like more of the spoiled princess type, you know? But a hearty stew full of fish and veggies feels like classic home cooking."

His praise made her look up at him and her glare softened. Just as she thought that the reddening of her cheeks were about to subside, it had to return worse than before. She could feel her mouth starting to form a small smile but she hid it just before he could see it. A triumphant grin pasted itself on Morgan's face as he attempted to make eye contact with her.

"T-That's enough commentary!" Severa exclaimed.

"But the fact that you didn't contradict means you agree, right?"

"Shut it! Just finish your stew and just get out of here!" she growled, pushing him away softly and standing up. Morgan stepped away, furrowing his brow and shrugging. "Okay, I'm leaving right now! I promise!" he exclaimed, but stayed in place despite his statement. Severa raised an eyebrow and stared at him, watching him, waiting if he wanted to say anything else. Her frown deepened when he smiled bashfully and stepped closer to the pot.

"What?"

"Um, can I get seconds for the road? I'm really hungry." He asked.

"What? You've got the nerve huh?"

"Erm… uh right. I'll just join Cynthia then—"

"Fine! Take it! Whatever! Just, out! Now!"

Morgan visibly brightened up at her statement. She would have expected him to take another plateful, maybe two, but she didn't think he'd take the whole pot shamelessly without even looking back. Somehow, his actions made her laugh. But remembering earlier events made her feel slightly irritated as well. Severa chose to smile anyway and as she exited the mess tent, she didn't notice Robin and Cordelia standing in the distance, watching her with a knowing glance.