Erdene was eating her share of the pie without even realizing that Arkan was staring at her.
Then, a large crumb fell onto her thigh.
“Oh.”
She groaned as if it was a single word, dusted off her dress, raised her head, and only then did she look at Arkan.
The moment their eyes met, Erdene was immediately bewildered.
Anyone who saw Arkan’s gaze as he looked at her at that moment would have had a similar thought.
Arkan... was making a strange and bizarre expression as if what Erdene was eating was not a pie but a bear’s liver.
“What’s wrong with your face?”
Arkan’s eyebrows furrowed at Erdene’s question.
“My face?”
“Your eyes, to be exact. You’re looking at me like I’m eating someone’s arm.”
Arkan pretended to vomit.
“Even if you make an analogy, it’s just like that...”
“No, so why are you looking at me like that?”
Arkan looked at Erdene as if he didn’t know that and finally opened his mouth.
“Why do you eat pie like that?”
Erdene looked down at her plate again, bewildered at his question.
On her plate, the pie was divided into two parts: the pie crust and the pie filling.
Erdene glanced at Arkan as if she had a funny question, then took a piece of the pie crust that had been removed cleanly—Arkan would never know-how—and put it in her mouth with a fork.
“That’s up to me.”
“Who in the world eats the pie filling and the pie crust separately?”
“There it is.”
Arkan’s lips were shut in a straight line. Plat, who was watching this, was thinking this.
‘But still, Your Majesty has some sense left. 'I was worried that His Majesty would lose his mind, saying that it was cute and mysterious if you breathed through your ears instead of your nose or mouth.''
Arkan said.
“What I mean is, why do you eat it like that? Why do you separate the pie crust from the pie filling?”
“Oh, really! It’s my heart! I like it this way. I like eating the crispy and savory part and the sweet part separately.”
“That’s not it! Who eats pie like that? If you were going to do that, you’d alternate between biscuits and chocolate! You’d taste the real flavor of the pie if you ate them together. The crispy part of the pie crust and the sweet, stewed part should mix together in your mouth to truly taste it.”
While Arkan continued his long-winded rambling about eating pie, Erdene was slowly cutting off the pie crust with the tip of her fork and eating it. She was grumbling as she brushed away the crumbs that fell down.
Arkan, who had been watching, couldn’t stand it anymore and snatched Erdene’s plate away.
“What are you doing?”
“I told you that if you eat it like that, you won’t be able to taste the pie properly!”
Erdene stretched out her arm and snatched the plate again, glaring.
“Anyway, it’ll all be mixed together and come out the same way once it’s in my stomach, so what’s the big deal?”
“Stop talking dirty! The Queen has no dignity!”
“I told you that my dignity was thrown away the moment I crossed this border.”
Erdene scoffed and this time scooped up the pie filling with a spoon and put it in her mouth. She was satisfied, but Arkan couldn’t stand it... Although he didn’t say it out loud, he was quite the gourmet and had refined tastes.
He was someone who thought that each dish had its own philosophy.
That’s why he never picked out the ingredients in a dish when he tasted it. Is it possible to express the scenery of a field full of spring flowers with just one color? In Arkan’s view, the way Erdene ate the pie was no different from staring at the roots of a field full of flowers.
“Eat it together. Anne, give the Queen a piece of the new pie.”
Erdene immediately cut Arkan off.
“Don’t cut it, Anne. One piece is enough for me, and I’ll just eat this. Why cut something I won’t eat?”
“Cut it and give it to the Queen. Tell her to share a bite.”
“It’ll all be the same when it goes into the stomach anyway, so I’ll just eat this.”
Anne looked back and forth between the King and Queen, who were engaging in a strange argument as if they couldn’t see each other, and said,
“Your Majesty, I just thought of something urgent. May I go?”
Arkan looked at her with astonished eyes.
But the moment Erdene nodded, Anne ran away without looking back.
She didn’t forget to give Plat a strange look as she ran away.
She said this with her eyes...
‘I’m sorry, but from now on, it’s your turn, sir.’
Plat was sure that he heard Anne say that clearly.
It might have been her mind, but it was still in his ears, and even then, Arkan continued to nag Erdene about eating pie.
Now, his philosophy about the act of enjoying cooking itself, beyond pie, was about to unfold.
“When you eat soup, you don’t pick out all the ingredients in it, eat them one by one, and then drink only what’s left. Why would you do that? If you eat them separately, the taste the chef intended would disappear, right?”
"You can pick out the ingredients in soup too. If there are shallots in the soup, I pick them out and eat them. I don’t eat the shallots separately, I just don’t eat them.”
“Why would there be so many ingredients in a dish? Have you heard of the term synergy? It’s a dish made with many ingredients because various and different ingredients come together to create a synergy effect. But the way you eat it, let alone the synergy, doesn’t even bring out half of the original flavor!”
“No, if you eat the pie crust and the pie filling separately, will the world end? Why are you so stubborn? It’s so outrageous.”
“Is there a rule that says you have to be so stubborn to do something so desperate?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Erdene put a long strip of pie crust into her mouth and turned to Arkan.
It was a strange sight, but on the other hand, it looked like she was sticking her tongue out and teasing him.
Of course, she intended the latter... Arkan fell for Erdene’s intentions once again.
“I told you to eat it together!”
“Your Majesty, meddling in how others eat and sticking to your own way is also a disease. Do you know that?”
Arkan opened his mouth wide and let out a “huh?”
Then, a large crumb fell onto her thigh.
“Oh.”
She groaned as if it was a single word, dusted off her dress, raised her head, and only then did she look at Arkan.
The moment their eyes met, Erdene was immediately bewildered.
Anyone who saw Arkan’s gaze as he looked at her at that moment would have had a similar thought.
Arkan... was making a strange and bizarre expression as if what Erdene was eating was not a pie but a bear’s liver.
“What’s wrong with your face?”
Arkan’s eyebrows furrowed at Erdene’s question.
“My face?”
“Your eyes, to be exact. You’re looking at me like I’m eating someone’s arm.”
Arkan pretended to vomit.
“Even if you make an analogy, it’s just like that...”
“No, so why are you looking at me like that?”
Arkan looked at Erdene as if he didn’t know that and finally opened his mouth.
“Why do you eat pie like that?”
Erdene looked down at her plate again, bewildered at his question.
On her plate, the pie was divided into two parts: the pie crust and the pie filling.
Erdene glanced at Arkan as if she had a funny question, then took a piece of the pie crust that had been removed cleanly—Arkan would never know-how—and put it in her mouth with a fork.
“That’s up to me.”
“Who in the world eats the pie filling and the pie crust separately?”
“There it is.”
Arkan’s lips were shut in a straight line. Plat, who was watching this, was thinking this.
‘But still, Your Majesty has some sense left. 'I was worried that His Majesty would lose his mind, saying that it was cute and mysterious if you breathed through your ears instead of your nose or mouth.''
Arkan said.
“What I mean is, why do you eat it like that? Why do you separate the pie crust from the pie filling?”
“Oh, really! It’s my heart! I like it this way. I like eating the crispy and savory part and the sweet part separately.”
“That’s not it! Who eats pie like that? If you were going to do that, you’d alternate between biscuits and chocolate! You’d taste the real flavor of the pie if you ate them together. The crispy part of the pie crust and the sweet, stewed part should mix together in your mouth to truly taste it.”
While Arkan continued his long-winded rambling about eating pie, Erdene was slowly cutting off the pie crust with the tip of her fork and eating it. She was grumbling as she brushed away the crumbs that fell down.
Arkan, who had been watching, couldn’t stand it anymore and snatched Erdene’s plate away.
“What are you doing?”
“I told you that if you eat it like that, you won’t be able to taste the pie properly!”
Erdene stretched out her arm and snatched the plate again, glaring.
“Anyway, it’ll all be mixed together and come out the same way once it’s in my stomach, so what’s the big deal?”
“Stop talking dirty! The Queen has no dignity!”
“I told you that my dignity was thrown away the moment I crossed this border.”
Erdene scoffed and this time scooped up the pie filling with a spoon and put it in her mouth. She was satisfied, but Arkan couldn’t stand it... Although he didn’t say it out loud, he was quite the gourmet and had refined tastes.
He was someone who thought that each dish had its own philosophy.
That’s why he never picked out the ingredients in a dish when he tasted it. Is it possible to express the scenery of a field full of spring flowers with just one color? In Arkan’s view, the way Erdene ate the pie was no different from staring at the roots of a field full of flowers.
“Eat it together. Anne, give the Queen a piece of the new pie.”
Erdene immediately cut Arkan off.
“Don’t cut it, Anne. One piece is enough for me, and I’ll just eat this. Why cut something I won’t eat?”
“Cut it and give it to the Queen. Tell her to share a bite.”
“It’ll all be the same when it goes into the stomach anyway, so I’ll just eat this.”
Anne looked back and forth between the King and Queen, who were engaging in a strange argument as if they couldn’t see each other, and said,
“Your Majesty, I just thought of something urgent. May I go?”
Arkan looked at her with astonished eyes.
But the moment Erdene nodded, Anne ran away without looking back.
She didn’t forget to give Plat a strange look as she ran away.
She said this with her eyes...
‘I’m sorry, but from now on, it’s your turn, sir.’
Plat was sure that he heard Anne say that clearly.
It might have been her mind, but it was still in his ears, and even then, Arkan continued to nag Erdene about eating pie.
Now, his philosophy about the act of enjoying cooking itself, beyond pie, was about to unfold.
“When you eat soup, you don’t pick out all the ingredients in it, eat them one by one, and then drink only what’s left. Why would you do that? If you eat them separately, the taste the chef intended would disappear, right?”
"You can pick out the ingredients in soup too. If there are shallots in the soup, I pick them out and eat them. I don’t eat the shallots separately, I just don’t eat them.”
“Why would there be so many ingredients in a dish? Have you heard of the term synergy? It’s a dish made with many ingredients because various and different ingredients come together to create a synergy effect. But the way you eat it, let alone the synergy, doesn’t even bring out half of the original flavor!”
“No, if you eat the pie crust and the pie filling separately, will the world end? Why are you so stubborn? It’s so outrageous.”
“Is there a rule that says you have to be so stubborn to do something so desperate?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Erdene put a long strip of pie crust into her mouth and turned to Arkan.
It was a strange sight, but on the other hand, it looked like she was sticking her tongue out and teasing him.
Of course, she intended the latter... Arkan fell for Erdene’s intentions once again.
“I told you to eat it together!”
“Your Majesty, meddling in how others eat and sticking to your own way is also a disease. Do you know that?”
Arkan opened his mouth wide and let out a “huh?”
“A disease? What disease?”
“Well, you can call it whatever you want. A disease of wanting to dominate, a disease of wanting to control, a disease of obsession...”
“Where in the world is there such a disease?”
“Why not? There are so many of them. Anyway, the point is, don’t tell me how I eat pie. Others eat the crust or the plate.”
That’s ridiculous. Arkan shook his head. Then, suddenly, another worry occurred to him.
What if other people eat like this too? Up until now, while eating with Erdene, he had never once thought that her eating style was strange, but maybe he was just lucky.
Who would know if she only ate pie strangely or if she ate other things strangely?
“I have something to ask you.”
“If you’re going to keep talking about pie, don’t ask. If you keep nagging me, I don’t know what I’m going to do to your pie next time.”
Plat’s face, standing behind him, had lost some of its color, but Arkan was no longer swayed by such threats.
It was similar to how it hurts when you get hit once, but if you keep getting hit in the same spot every day, you lose all feeling.
“I’m not talking about pie. But the context is similar to what I was talking about with pie. Do you eat boles in the Empire?”
Boles was a dish made by mincing the flesh of a wild boar, forming it into a ball, and frying it.
Since the number of wild boars was incredibly large in the inland areas and the northern part of the Empire, both the imperial family and the common people enjoyed them.
Boles were a popular dish because the ingredients were easy to obtain, and they were convenient: You could fry them into balls and eat them with sauce.
“Of course. Where doesn’t eat boles?”
“Do you pour lime sauce on the fries? Or do you dip the fries in the sauce?”
Erdene frowned as if asking an absurd question, and spooned the pie filling—Arkan couldn’t help but lick his lips as he watched—and said,
“Of course, you should pour it, why are you dipping it in the pie? And lime sauce, ugh. You should pour hot sauce on the boles. What do you mean lime sauce on a plate that’s already fried and sloppy?”
I can’t believe it. Arkan thought. He had been gaping with his jaw open when he suddenly began to speak passionately.
“Fried food is burdensome, so we eat refreshing lime sauce! As you say, how can you eat a plate that’s already fried and sloppy with hot sauce? And you pour the sauce! Do you ask the person next to you before you pour it?”
“What do you ask? If you pour it, you just assume it’s poured and eat it quietly!”
“Well, you can call it whatever you want. A disease of wanting to dominate, a disease of wanting to control, a disease of obsession...”
“Where in the world is there such a disease?”
“Why not? There are so many of them. Anyway, the point is, don’t tell me how I eat pie. Others eat the crust or the plate.”
That’s ridiculous. Arkan shook his head. Then, suddenly, another worry occurred to him.
What if other people eat like this too? Up until now, while eating with Erdene, he had never once thought that her eating style was strange, but maybe he was just lucky.
Who would know if she only ate pie strangely or if she ate other things strangely?
“I have something to ask you.”
“If you’re going to keep talking about pie, don’t ask. If you keep nagging me, I don’t know what I’m going to do to your pie next time.”
Plat’s face, standing behind him, had lost some of its color, but Arkan was no longer swayed by such threats.
It was similar to how it hurts when you get hit once, but if you keep getting hit in the same spot every day, you lose all feeling.
“I’m not talking about pie. But the context is similar to what I was talking about with pie. Do you eat boles in the Empire?”
Boles was a dish made by mincing the flesh of a wild boar, forming it into a ball, and frying it.
Since the number of wild boars was incredibly large in the inland areas and the northern part of the Empire, both the imperial family and the common people enjoyed them.
Boles were a popular dish because the ingredients were easy to obtain, and they were convenient: You could fry them into balls and eat them with sauce.
“Of course. Where doesn’t eat boles?”
“Do you pour lime sauce on the fries? Or do you dip the fries in the sauce?”
Erdene frowned as if asking an absurd question, and spooned the pie filling—Arkan couldn’t help but lick his lips as he watched—and said,
“Of course, you should pour it, why are you dipping it in the pie? And lime sauce, ugh. You should pour hot sauce on the boles. What do you mean lime sauce on a plate that’s already fried and sloppy?”
I can’t believe it. Arkan thought. He had been gaping with his jaw open when he suddenly began to speak passionately.
“Fried food is burdensome, so we eat refreshing lime sauce! As you say, how can you eat a plate that’s already fried and sloppy with hot sauce? And you pour the sauce! Do you ask the person next to you before you pour it?”
“What do you ask? If you pour it, you just assume it’s poured and eat it quietly!”
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