Chapter 126
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Actually, I had anticipated that bad rumors would circulate beforehand.
Why would nobles bother bringing expensive and horribly tasteless food to banquet halls as if gilded with gold?
It's to directly show at banquets that they're different from lowly beings.
But if their tearful efforts are disrespected by lowly commoners?
If they hear things like "So the nobles are eating such tasteless things because they have money rotting away, nobles aren't much after all."
Of course they can't help but be upset.
If I were just a baron, by now the Sforza ducal faction would have bribed clergy to accuse me of "the sin of greed promoting luxury."
Though not legal punishment, I would have been extorted huge amounts of money as atonement for committing an "ethical problem."
The same challenge is a strategy if you calculate all risks and move, but rushing in without calculating risks is a shortcut to a dog's death.
'I have no intention of dying like a dog.'
"These days, young ones are fools who can't even properly follow what their fathers say. Among them, you're an incomparably meticulous person. So this must have all been a thoroughly calculated plan too?"
I couldn't help but smile.
The Emperor was smiling as if he could bet his neck that his guess was right.
There's nothing bad about this being found out, so I can honestly confess.
"Yes, Your Majesty. All of this was planned by me."
"I thought you wouldn't make such a sloppy mistake and give the clergy something to nitpick about. I won this bet with the Grand Chamberlain."
The Grand Chamberlain standing quietly behind sighed.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Since you won the bet with me, I'll present the best bottle stored in my wine cellar by tomorrow."
"You must be disappointed you can't take my wine."
"How could I not be disappointed about the imperial secret wine becoming bubbles?"
The Grand Chamberlain, equivalent to the Chief Royal Eunuch in Joseon (head of eunuchs always around the king), has to be close to the Emperor, but…
Unlike other court servants, he seems to have an even more special relationship with him.
I should give this person a bit more gifts from now on.
Because knowing how to stand in line is also a skill.
'In our empire, not being able to give gifts and flatter isn't being incorruptible, just being a fool.'
If you ignore this rule, 99.99% of your life and family will fall into hell.
Of course, if I were a walking natural disaster-level figure like Admiral Yi Sun-sin, it would be okay.
No matter how I think about it, there's no way I can be compared to our Admiral.
So I have to keep everything everyone works hard at.
The Emperor lightly apologized to me.
"Sorry, I was too happy about winning the bet."
"It was an honor to see Your Majesty looking satisfied."
"Is that so, anyway. Why on earth did you have this idea? Answer as honestly as possible, it's just because I'm curious."
When someone who doesn't share interests with me says this, you should never believe it.
The words about being curious are probably true, and wanting to hear honestly isn't a lie at all either...
But if they learn the whole truth, they'll stab me in the back or side with the information they obtained, and try to eat up all the benefits I was occupying.
But the Emperor is not only sharing interests with me.
'Is there any disadvantage in telling him the motivation for starting this business?'
"I came up with this cuisine thanks to Erica."
Hearing my words, the Emperor's eyes widened.
If there was popcorn or food that could be easily picked up by hand here, he looked like he would eat it frantically.
He signaled with his eyes for me to continue speaking.
"When I first met Erica, we didn't have a long conversation, but. While talking about hobbies, she asked me to make my own dish for her if cooking was my hobby."
"It's not a flaw for a noble to cook. But you really have a unique hobby."
"It's because I'm clumsy at things like hunting or martial arts."
"If a person is good at everything, isn't that a god, not a human?"
Even machines that make far fewer errors than humans make mistakes, how could a mere human be good at everything?
There's nothing wrong with what the Emperor said.
Yes, my being clumsy at swordsmanship or hunting, which are basic qualities of nobles, is a 'human aspect'.
From now on, if someone tells me to learn hunting, I should repeat these words exactly.
'Adding that the Emperor said it.'
And honestly, the Emperor asked me to speak without hiding anything...
Whatever it is, I should use everything that can make money and help raise my evaluation.
Especially these days, people are spreading rumors that I seem like a cold-blooded person who wouldn't bleed a drop even if stabbed with a knife. I should clear up wrong misunderstandings when I have the chance.
"When I heard those words from the woman who will be my wife, I pondered a lot. How I could make a dish that's like me."
The part about pondering is true.
But rather than thinking about making a dish like me, I thought about how to introduce nouvelle cuisine and stick a straw in nobles' pockets.
"As a result, after careful thought. I came to the conclusion of trying to make food that brings out the original taste of ingredients to the maximum. And when I made this and theoretically checked it, it matched the four elements and four humors theory too."
And I handed over a document containing advice received from the Grand Archbishop of Florence.
"Even from a religious perspective, I received advice that bringing out the taste of ingredients to the end as I made is better than the spice lumps nobles eat that are just flashy."
The Emperor nodded at my words.
"So wouldn't it be better to widely spread the new cuisine I made (nouvelle cuisine) rather than current banquet dishes focused only on spices, various flashy colors, and appearance?"
The former Baron Medici, my father, said this:
Until he was young, being fat or an extremely muscular macho was considered ideal among nobles.
The reason is that macho is cool because it's 'knightly', and being fat is the lord proving and showing with his whole body that the territory is prosperous.
I heard that when serfs saw a fat lord, they felt reassured that the territory must be peaceful for him to have such a good physique, and when they saw a macho lord, they felt reassured that if war broke out, he would cut off all the enemy's heads with a sword.
Of course, times have changed a lot now, so nobles don't forcibly fatten themselves anymore.
But formalities remain, so there's a culture of showing off 'luxury' and 'wealth' while eating tasteless food they've eaten since before.
"I'm fine even if I eat meat or food with lots of spices that nobles enjoy now, but. Aren't most nobles, including Your Majesty, quite old?"
Even after turning 30, people experience pain like they're going to die if they eat beer, soju, and all sorts of greasy food like they did in their 20s.
Moreover, nobles who inherited titles are mostly in their late 30s to 40s.
Is such greasy, salty, stimulating banquet food or everyday food really good for health because of spices?
'They might think it's fine because they've always eaten like that.'
But in reality, it's extremely bad for health and makes you feel bloated.
"Certainly when I was young, I lived without knowing what bloating was. But after turning 40, meals started to feel a bit burdensome."
"Deus uses people's bodies as temples. That means human bodies are masterpieces created by God. Conversely, if we feel discomfort, it might mean it's not the meal God desires."
Except for specific organs like the liver, the body immediately sends signals like pain or bloating just before getting cancer or a serious illness, or when overworking.
And humans are most beautiful when healthy.
Even Chloe, though not to the point of being unrecognizable compared to when she was in the countryside, has become so pretty you have to rub your eyes a few times to see.
"How about Your Majesty taking the lead in enjoying this cuisine that's frugal, pure, and furthermore good for the human body? Of course, after observing for a few days if this food is good for the body."
I heard there are only two joys in life as you get older.
One is the pleasure of eating, the other is seeing your children grow well.
Someone like the Emperor has wealth and power too, so he has many things to enjoy.
'Sexual desire won't be like before either, so the proportion of eating pleasure has probably increased.'
It will be an offer he can't refuse.
"Frugality and taste, this cuisine is much better than just flashy banquet food."
"That's too kind, Your Majesty."
"At this level, even those who were cursing you behind your back will be speechless. If the medicine you prescribed has an effect after I try it myself, I'll have it served at the next banquet."
And I immediately went to find Erica.