The following day, Minsoo reached the kitchens to prepare for the upcoming meeting with Lady Loder. The first step in his plan was to make the two lovebirds put aside their ‘divergence of opinion’, and in order to do so, he needed the meeting to go well.

And food was a good way to put people at ease. Maybe it could also help Lady Loder forget that the duke killed her parents.

Minsoo sighed. "Well, to solve that problem, maybe I’ll need to lie a bit."

He entered the kitchens, and the delicious aroma of cakes and roasted meat filled his nostrils. For a moment, he felt at home again, before his father decided to ruin his family with an affair. Their chef was really good at both Italian and Korean cuisine, but his favorite dish was the risotto his mother prepared from time to time; she used to say that it was a typical recipe from her family.

A pang pierced his chest, similar to homesickness. For a long moment he wished to go back to his world, in his old body. To turn back time before the incident with the tram, when he was alive and well, and his only worry was studying for the upcoming exams.

And in that moment, another thought crossed his mind.

What will happen once I reach the end of the story?

"Sir Glennhort!"

Minsoo flinched and turned. A tall woman, with a stern gaze and light-blond hair was looking at him from the other side of the counter, her hands white with what seemed to be flour.

"Yes?" Minsoo asked.

"What are you doing here, sir? Do you have something to tell the kitchens?"

"No, I… Well, I do." He reached her. "Can I talk with the head chef?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I’m the head chef."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I need to ask you to prepare a particular dish."

"Your wish is my command, sir."

Minsoo nodded, but for some reason he felt uneasy. "So, um, could you make a risotto?"

The chef stared at him blankly, then she parted her lips. "What is a risotto?"

"It’s… rice with other ingredients. But it’s not boiled. It’s like… toasted, and then you pour broth or water over it. Oh, and my nanny used to put mushrooms and sausages."

"I apologize, sir, but it’s the first time I ever heard of such a dish. Perhaps it’s typical of a foreign country?"

"Yes! It is! I’ve just remembered it the other day, and I wanted to eat it again. My nanny came from a foreign kingdom, but it’s been a long time since then."

The chef furrowed her brow as if she wasn’t buying his lies. "I understand. If you ever find the recipe, I could try to prepare it for you."

"Thank you! Ah, I have another favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

"In two weeks, Lady Loder will come here to meet with His Grace. Since this meeting is of the uppermost importance, I thought that we could serve pastries and appetizers to put the lady in a good mood. And I need the kitchen’s help with this."

The woman rubbed her chin, lost in thought. "I don’t know what the lady likes to eat, but we can serve her northern local dishes."

"That’s a wonderful idea!"

"I got it. When it comes to food, I’m the best in all the North." She gave a confident smile. "Leave it to me, sir. You won’t be disappointed."

Minsoo nodded, then gave her a few indications and left the kitchens. That first step was completed, now he just needed to find a way to put the duke in a good mood. He was sure that Lady Loder would be swayed more easily than the guarded Duke Corvaliso, but he didn’t have any idea how to bring them together.

"Considering that the duke only cares about himself, maybe I have to highlight how useful it could be to marry Lady Loder. Then, love will find a way."

He stopped in the middle of the corridor and tilted his head.

"But how could I do it? The duke seemed not to trust me."

He glanced at the window on his right and came closer to take a look outside. Some knights were grouping just under the window, and the duke was standing in the middle with a sword in his hand; before him, there was the same man who mocked Minsoo days ago.

If I remember correctly, he said he was the vice-captain. But what are they doing right now?

The man lunged at the duke, but Corvaliso stepped back and avoided him. Minsoo pressed his face against the glass. Could it be that they were fencing?

The vice-captain gave an angry cry and lunged at him once again, but this time the duke disarmed him and pointed the tip of his sword at the man’s throat. Minsoo’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Was he going to kill him?

He turned back and sprinted toward the staircase. He hated that man for mocking him, but he didn’t want him to die. Well, maybe he did want it, but if the duke killed him, then his plan to survive would be at risk. Lady Loder wouldn’t fall in love with an assassin.

Not that he isn’t one right now, since he killed her parents. But I could lie and convince her that it was a misunderstanding. That the real killer was someone else. But if the duke killed that vice-captain bastard, I couldn’t cover him.

He rushed down the stairs, almost running over some servants, crossed the entrance and dashed toward the knights.

"Wait!" he shouted. "Don’t kill him!"

Duke Corvaliso turned his head and narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here, aide?"

Minsoo bent over, panting and taking sharp breaths. Running wasn’t his strength; he always hated PE hour during high school. He didn’t even like sweating.

"Don’t… kill him…" He took a sharp breath and a pang pierced his side. "Please… He’s just an idiot…"

"What?" the vice-captain shouted. "You’re kidding me!"

Minsoo ignored him and looked at the duke in the eye. "There’s no need, Your Grace. Even if he mocked you—"

"He didn’t." The duke’s voice was as cold as his gaze. He turned toward the knights and gave a brief nod. "Go back to your duties. All of you."

They scattered quickly. The vice-captain glared at Minsoo, bowed to the duke, then followed his comrades.

Once alone, Duke Corvaliso turned to Minsoo.

"I wasn’t going to kill him."

Minsoo blinked. "Really?"

"I wanted to punish him. For daring to insinuate that my aide was a fraud."