[Ding! Cooking Excellence Has Reached Level 9!]

[Ding! Cooking Excellence Has Reached Level 10!]

Swish!

Cut!

Slash!

Her knife moved with impossible precision, the edge gleaming in the light as she effortlessly commanded the kitchenware. Her knife cut through vegetables so effectively, twirling the short blade in her fingers as her eyes danced around the cutting board, a rush of power flowing in her veins.

’Holy shit...why does this feel so good?’ Loraine questioned inwardly, ’It’s like my body’s moving on its own.’ She thought, grabbing a few vegetables as she tossed them into the air, positioning her arm backwards before thrusting at the air with quick speeds and power, cutting the vegetables into an extravagant bundle of pieces as she assembled them all as they fell down, laying them down elegantly onto the board.

The air shifted, the cooking that once was dominated by the chefs and their profession was immediately overrun by someone who supposedly had never cooked in their life. The air smelled good, more than that in fact, it smelled absolutely heavenly, a powerful assault over their senses as they couldn’t help but salivate at the utterly delectable, and exquisite smell.

"How....how is she doing that?" A chef questioned, utterly dumbfounded as they watched Loraine play with the spices, spinning the pots and pans in her hands with the brilliance of a master. "I’ve been cooking for over 13 years...and even I can’t move like that!"

"Gods that smells so good!" Another chef responded in a flustered tone, her eyes glued on how the maid handled the preparation of food with such skill and fluidity that it left her utterly amazed, and somewhat jealous in fact. "Is this really the maid that can’t do anything? She’s even better than all of us here!"

’Oh?’ Lorraine’s ears perked upon hearing their admiration for her, visibly taken aback. ’That’s strange, usually they’d be mad upon knowing who I was.’ She thought, a small smile forming on her face.

’Well that’s good, not everyone hates my guts it seems. I would’ve found out sooner if they actually gave me permission to do things here, freaking Margret....sigh.’ Loraine thought with a sigh, annoyed before returning her focus back on the task in front of her.

"Don’t say that, I’m not a good cook or anything. I’ve just learned some recipes from reading in the library is all." She said, glancing at over the chefs who were still stunned by how she moved.

"That’s not true! You’ve definitely cooked before!" One commented.

"Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone move like that before, it’s like you’re wielding a sword when you move like that. Honestly a bit freaky if you think about it..." Another added, the last one making her laugh as she found it hilarious.

’To be honest, It’s almost like my actions are predetermined the moment I lay my eyes on something.’ Loraine thought, cutting a piece of butter and throwing it in the pan, watching it sizzle before melting, as she proceeded to add a piece of Venison, spicing it with black pepper and proceeding to cook the meat around all sides.

’I can immediately tell what would go well with what, even before picking it up. I know for a fact that this food shouldn’t smell as good as it does right now, its far too early for that, but I guess this can be attuned by [Mystic Amplification] Talent.

Anything thats made from these hands are going to end up being absolutely crazy.’ She thought, remembering all the times things almost broke valuable stuff with her [Clean] Skill, the mere act of sweeping capable of causing powerful hurricanes.

A small chuckle escaping her lips.

"Could you tell me what you guys are working on?" Loraine asked, turning her attention to the chefs as she watched them cook. "I could even help you if you want, perhaps give you some pointers while I’m at it." She said with a small smile, catching the chefs off guard as they weren’t expecting her to help them.

"Oh, I’m preparing soup!"

"I’m making some pie! All nobles can’t resist a slice of delicious pie!"

"Since you’re handling the meat, I’ll make some eggs to go along with it!"

The chefs began to list all their items they were preparing, a calculative expression forming on Loraine’s face as she began to take them all into consideration. She was an awful baker, so creating a pie would’ve ended in horribly if it weren’t for her [Cooking Excellence] Skill and [Mystic Amplification] Talent making it far better.

Besides that however, everything else was a piece of cake as she wouldn’t really have any problem helping them out at all.

Leaving her station for a bit as she began to help around the kitchen to the best of her abilities, sometimes giving instructions and helpful insights with the intuition she gained from [Cooking Excellence], and other times doing the manual task herself, which made the food smell and look even better.

"You’re really amazing at this! This would’ve been far more stressful if you hadn’t arrived." A cook said in admiration, watching Loraine cook.

"Don’t you guys prepare food everyday? What’s so different about it now?" Loraine asked with a raised brow.

"Well...that is true, but Margret always insists that everything should be cooked to perfection and all that. She isn’t satisfied if the people who visit aren’t enjoying the food being made, especially if they are important guests like the Vincent family." He said with a sigh. "So that’s why we’ve been stressed out, and we couldn’t afford making a mistake."

Lorraine was surprised to hear this, personally knowing what it was like to be on Margret’s bad side. She let out a small chuckle, finding it amusing to hear that she wasn’t the only one who had it on the bad end of things, even if hers was often far worse.

Don’t worry about it." Lorraine smiled, setting down the last platter as she wiped a sweat off her brow, covering the dish with a casing before backing away to admire her work. "I’m happy to help whenever I can." She said with a smile, reaching out to grab her knife once more as she twirled the blade in her hands, her ability to cook having levelled up a lot with the few meals she had prepared.

[Ding! Cooking Excellence Has Reached Level 18!]

[Ding! Cooking Excellence Has Reached Level 19!]

[Ding! Cooking Excellence Has Reached Level 20!]

’These skills really level up quick huh? I guess it makes sense as they aren’t really used for fighting or anything, and they were originally meant to be weak too.’ She thought, glancing over at the chefs and cooks whose spirits were noticeably lifted by her guidance and cooking excellence, still admiring her work amongst themselves.

’It does feel a bit weird to have supposedly made friends with these guys, despite my terrible reputation in this house.’

A small smile appearing on her face, before being interrupted by the hurried sounds of footsteps, angrily marching down the halls, Loraine’s mood immediately turning sour as she could already feel who was making their way towards them.

’Great...’

Margret burst into the kitchen, eyes blazing with anxiousness and rage as she scoured the area, eyes locking on everyone like a predator eyeing her prey. She was visibly sweating, agitated and irritated at how calm and relaxed everyone was.

Had they not been taking their task seriously? At a time like this?

She wasn’t going to let them off easy, this was a grave offense!

"You-!" Margret was about to yell at them, pointing her finger at Loraine as she moved towards her, before a delicious fragrance hit her nose with the force of a tital wave, her eyes widening in shock as she was taken aback by this.

’What the...what smells so good!?’ She thought, absolutely stunned and unable to wrap her head around it all. The smells of spices, or juicy steaks and warm fluff of eggs, bread, pie, and more delicacies was far more exquisite than anything she had ever smelled before.

It was utterly out of this world!

"....." Margret didn’t know how to respond, she wanted to lash out but it was clear that she would just appear stupid if she had done that. They had already prepared the meal, and it smelled absolutely divine, scolding them now would just be making noise.

"Well done..." Margret applaud them, a satisfied smirk appearing on Loraine’s lips at the embarrassment she was facing.

’Heh....’ She thought, a grin forming on her lips. Seeing Margret so speechless was oddly empowering, she was so used to seeing Margret yelling at the top of her lungs and lashing out violently.

’If anything she’s far more violent than the bandits I’ve fought in that alleyway.’

"Pack everything up, we’re going to the dining hall." Margret said, clapping her hands as she signaled for them all to begin moving.

"Our guests are seated, and they are waiting. We must hurry!"