Conquering the Emperor

“You’re cooking for me so of course, you’re allowed to,” Ren said as he smiled adoringly at me.

It was probably the first proper smile that Ren showed me since his return. Suddenly the long and boring days of lessons after lessons felt like they were nothing.

“Come to think of it, I don’t even know where the kitchen is here…” I said in sudden realization.

“…me neither…” Ren concurred.

We stared at each other hopelessly before we both started laughing. Since we both didn’t prepare our own meals, we had no idea where the kitchen was. Well, Ren doesn’t live in the inner court, so he has a valid excuse; on the other hand, I lived here but still didn’t know.

“I guess I’m adapting to being a court lady now. I’m so used to food magically appearing on the table that I don’t even know where the kitchen is anymore…” I said with a dry laugh. To be honest, I wasn’t convinced if that was a good thing.

“Glad to hear that you’re fitting in,” Ren said, smiling back at me.

Thankfully, it was still early in the evening and some maids were still up and wrapping up their duties. With confused looks on their faces, they very hesitantly pointed us towards the direction of the kitchen.

“Why are you laughing so hard?” Ren asked as he stared me.

I couldn’t stop laughing no matter how hard I tried. My stomach was starting to hurt, and I wished that my laughter would subside soon as well.

“The look…on their faces…hahaha!” I said in between my giggles.

The look on the maids faces when I asked them where the kitchen was, was priceless. They were confused enough that I was asking; however, when they laid eyes on Ren who was standing behind me, they just froze in shock and began stuttering so much it became hard to understand what they were saying. Then, of course, Ren got so annoyed at their reactions.

“If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to starve…” Ren muttered, acting as if he was moody.

“I’ll make sure that you get fed,” I said, dragging him along by the hand as we headed towards the kitchen.

…

“Do you want me to help you cook?” Ren offered when we were in the kitchen together.

The kitchen was big and clearly it was designed to cook food in mass. Everything in the kitchen was oversized. The pots, the pans, and mixing bowl…everything was big and designed for cooking large portions for many people.

“You…can cook?” I ask, suspiciously.

I’m sure that there were many things that Ren could do but I doubt that cooking was one of them. I mean, the crown prince doesn’t cook. Cooking is a feminine task for one and, unfortunately, considered a lowly job.

“I can’t,” Ren said, as if it was supposed to be obvious.

Sure, it’s supposed to be obvious, I guess.

“Then why did you offer to help cook?” I asked as I stared up at his face in disbelief. This man isn’t making any sense.

“Hmm…I thought that it would be more fun if we did it together…” Ren said after some thought.

I honestly never expected that response.

“You really do have a way with words, huh?” I commented as I squinted up at him.

“Really? No one’s ever told me that before…” Ren said innocently.

“Liar…” I muttered under my breath.

I watched as Ren laughed softly at me and began looking around the large kitchen in wonder. His reaction did not surprise me, I could bet my life that this was Ren’s first time in a proper kitchen with the intent to do some cooking. Talk about different lifestyles…

Opening the storage, I could see that virtually every ingredient I could dream of was available. After deciding what I wanted to make for Ren, I started reaching for the required ingredients. Ren watched me with genuine interest as I went to work.

“Is there seriously nothing that I can do to help?” Ren asked.

“Hmm…you can chop some vegetables, I guess. I mean, you can use a knife, right?” I suggested.

If he could fight with swords and knives then he should be able to cut some vegetables, right?

“I have never tried but I should be able to…” Ren said as he looked around for a knife.

Truly, I appreciated his enthusiasm and goodwill of wanting to help but I could imagine this going wrong in more ways than one. Keeping Ren’s tasks simple would be the safest.

When Ren started chopping up the vegetables, I had to say that he was decently skilled with the knife. After reassuring myself that he would not kill himself cutting up the vegetables, I went to complete the other tasks.

After setting up the pot, brewing the soup base made of chicken, it was finally time to put in the vegetable.

“Ren, you’re done, right? Please put the vegetables in the pot,” I instructed.

Ren came to stand next to me in front of the pot with a large tray of chopped vegetables in his arms. My eyes widened when I saw the large tray that he was holding.

“Umm…isn’t that a bit too much?” I asked.

A bit too much was an understatement. I think he had enough vegetables to feed at least ten people chopped up.

“Vegetables are supposed to be good for you, no?” Ren asked, sounding confused.

“Ever heard of having too much of a good thing?” I asked back.

Ren looked at me and then down at the vegetables on the tray. I sighed loudly. I guess this was partially my fault for not telling him how much to chop up.

“I think you’ve got enough vegetables there to feed a mini army…” I said as I pointed to the pile of chopped vegetables.

“Oh…” Ren murmured as he began to get my point.

“Wasting food isn’t good, Ren” I said as I placed my hands on my hips mockingly.

“Even I know that…” Ren mumbled.

I giggled at the sight before me. Ren looked so young and clueless at that moment; I had never seen him this way before. It made me wonder, what Ren was like when he was younger. What kind of childhood did he have? Did he have many friends?

Maybe not now, but I hoped that he would share the memories of his past with me one day…

--To be continued…