If being a noble meant watching other people do work for you that you were perfectly capable of doing yourself, Myne wouldn't have the heart for it. Even if she did have to give up books and hot showers.

As it was, she'd been resigned to watching Lutz and the chefs disinfect the new kitchen. She sighed, supposing she should be grateful she was out of the house at all. The flurry of recent activities had tired her out, so Mom made her rest at home. It was nice for the first day, but after that, doing nothing else besides being Tuuli's test subject model was brain rotting. This was the first time she'd been out in days.

Benno-san had called her over that morning to teach the chefs her recipes. Hugo-san and Ella-san were younger than Leise-san, but that wasn't surprising. New employees were often more malleable than ones who'd been at their jobs for years.

They were nice enough, if quiet. She'd caught them staring at her a few times. Not that she could blame them. A girl younger than them and whose uniform denoted her as a commoner, yet placed in authority above even their supervisor, Lutz. Imagine how much drama she would've stirred if she'd worked at Benno-san's store.

At her instructions, Hugo-san, Ella-san, and Lutz wiped down the countertops and cooking equipment with white vinegar. It was strong enough to dissolve grime and kill bacteria, yet gentle enough when combined with water to leave the countertops unstained. Thankfully, vinegar had been in abundance since Babylonian times, and was fairly cheap, making it an easy investment for Benno-san to swallow.

Myne had been ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work with them, but Lutz had herded her back to her corner. "You can't teach us if you collapse," he'd said. The baffled look on Ella's face hadn't escaped her notice.

After about a half bell's time, the scent of vinegar no longer stung her nose, although she knew she'd be reminded of it in the coming days whenever she'd catch a whiff of her clothes. Next, she'd taught them how to wash their hands, dipping them in water and lathering up to their elbows with soap. "Repeat this before you start cooking, after you handle raw meats, and twice after relieving yourselves."

Ella frowned, crossing her arms. "We don't rub our hands in dirt."

"But you still wouldn't want to eat it by accident, would you?" Myne said. "Washing properly keeps our customers from getting sick."

Ella looked like she wanted to argue, but bit her lip. The expression wasn't lost on Lutz, though. "Come with me for a moment," he said. He didn't look to see if she'd followed as they stepped out of the kitchen, the girl casting a nervous glance back.

Myne chewed the inside of her lip as she watched them go. She knew Lutz had to keep firm expectations, but still…

Hugo squirmed now that they were alone. He'd kept his head down and hadn't said much the whole day. "Have you…been cooking for a while?" she'd asked to break the tension.

"A few years, yes." His eyes flicked back and forth, unsure where to look. "You…know an awful lot, for someone so young."

"So I've been told," she said, chuckling. "I have to stay home a lot for my health, so I have plenty of time to think of new recipes." It wasn't a lie. The recipes were new…to them. "I can't do much of the cooking myself, but my older sister helps. We experiment together."

Hugo nodded, looking more comfortable now that he had a plausible explanation. Benno-san had told her not to hold back on teaching the chefs recipes—that were officially paid for, of course. Apparently he'd made them sign a contract swearing to keep her and her recipes secret.

Of all the contracts to exist, it had to be a nondisclosure agreement.

Myne itched to hear what Lutz was saying to Ella, but before she could invent an excuse to inch closer to the door, they returned. Lutz kept his expression carefully neutral; only the tension in his shoulders gave him away. Ella, to her credit, dipped her head in silent acquiescence as she rejoined Hugo.

Myne held back a sigh. She doubted that'd be the end of it. However, no need to make things more awkward. Myne handed a recipe to Hugo. "We'll start with the sausage soup."

But he flushed, looking down. "I'm afraid we cannot read this, Myne-sama."

"Oh." Myne blushed, too. "That's fine. I'll read it, then. First, we need to prepare the vegetables."

Thankfully, that was the easiest part. Her mom had warned her enough times about the peculiarities of vegetables that she knew how to prepare them without second-guessing herself. Scalding the vegetables before using them; smashing the radish-like garlic for seasoning; adding the diced rezzuch at the last minute. Thankfully the recipe didn't call for roasting dancing mushrooms. Hugo and Ella followed these steps without question.

And Lutz, too.

"Aren't you supposed to be supervising?" she'd whispered as he grabbed another cutting board.

"Like I'd ever miss out on food," he said. "Besides, I'm still taking notes."

He had been scribbling a lot in that wooden frame he'd been carrying around. A double-leaved diptych, she noticed. Where was that when she was screaming for books?

The food preparation went smoothly…until she told them not to drain the vegetable broth.

"But that's—" started Ella, but then caught herself.

Hugo cleared his throat. "I'm concerned about the sanitation of that, Myne-sama."

"Why's that?" Myne asked. Her mom had protested against it, too, but hadn't explained herself. Was there some magical residue that had to be purged first?

"The vegetables are grown in dirt," he said, not quite hiding his puzzled expression. "The water may carry filth and sicknesses."

"Ah. If you're worried about that, you can peel the vegetables first. The boiling will take care of the rest."

"Do we...throw the peels away?" Ella asked reluctantly.

Myne hesitated. Normally she would, but it would probably be a sign of waste. "No. Throw them in another bucket. We can use it as fertilizer or food for pigs."

They added the meat to the vegetables and broth, then boiled it for a while longer. Hugo tasted a sip; his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's…incredibly flavorful!" His reserve disappeared as he quizzed Myne with questions, asking about the reasoning behind her techniques. Finally, someone with an appreciation for fine dining!

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ella sip the soup with a begrudging look of appreciation.

They cooked the rest of the recipes without incident. Eventually, the only thing they had left to do was the clean up. Hugo and Ella were at the sink washing the pots and pans, while Lutz and her cleaned up the scraps. At least she could do that.

"How'd you two know about Master Benno's job opening?" Lutz asked eventually, glancing at the chefs. Good question, Myne thought, wondering why she hadn't asked it herself. It wasn't like there were online job applications you could apply to.

"Heard it from my cousin," said Hugo. He held each pot to the light, checking for missed stains, before setting them aside to dry. "He'd said there was a job opening for a chef, and I was getting tired of chopping salads."

"Was restauranting your first profession?" Myne asked.

He tilted an eyebrow at her. "How'd you learn a word like 'profession'?"

"Oh, Benno-san taught me," she said with a quick smile, ignoring Lutz's sideways glance.

"Hmm. To answer your question, no, it wasn't. I'm the youngest of seven sons. My family didn't need more apprentices, so my cousin helped me get a job in a restaurant. It put food on the table, but I wanted to do more."

Myne nodded. "No wonder Benno-san hired you. He admires ambition."

A corner of his mouth lifted. "Does he? That's good to know. He scared me, first time I met him."

"You'll get over that soon enough."

"How soon?"

Lutz snorted before she could answer.

She elbowed him. "You're used to him!"

"I just hide my fear. He can smell weakness."

"Well…that's true."

Hugo and Ella glanced between them.

Lutz cleared his throat. He moved beside the older girl to help wash the pots."What about you, Ella? How did you hear about the job?"

"Give that here," she said, grabbing his rag from him. "You'll leave scratches if you scrub that hard. Soak it in some water first."

"Where'd you work before this?" Myne prompted again.

Ella gave her a sideways glance. "My uncle's tavern," she said after a long moment. "Old man didn't teach me a thing about cooking, but his place was good at attracting all sorts. You talk nicely to the right folks, learn their favorites, and luck finds you."

"You networked," said Myne.

"Never heard it called that, but sure, miss. I've never forgotten a face. Or an order, for that matter." She sounded proud. "And you two? How'd you come here?"

Both she and Hugo-san kept their eyes on their work, but Ella couldn't hide the interest in her voice. They were anomalies, after all.

Some things never changed. With a glance at Lutz, who nodded in silent permission, Myne retold the story of how they'd met Benno-san.