Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Oitaishi ni Dekiai Sareru - Chapter 98
The Villainess Is Being Doted on by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Country 75 – The Happy Land of Marineforest
The sound of the bell signaled that their time was up. Each team put their work on the table in the center of the town square. Once that was finished, the announcer explained to the crowd how it would be judged.
“They all look very delicious! And it is you who will be judging them! You must taste each one. And then you will be given a flower that you are to bestow on the team of your choice. The team that gains the most flowers will win!”
The flowers that had been prepared were small and pink. As there were many people with many flowers, the winning team would end up with a mountain of them.
“As for the winner, as has already been announcedthey will be granted an order as a royal warrant.”
He announced, and the crowd cheered.
A royal warrant was not an honor usually granted. It had to do with trust and continued business. You not only had to be popular, but had to prove that you had longevity.
“But aside from the main prize, there is also a special prize from the judges! This is a prize that the king and queen, head chef and sous-chef, and Liliarge will give to the team of their choice. The team that wins will have their sweets served at a royal banquet!”
The crowd erupted into cheers once again. Both were a great honor, and any store that served food would want this more than anything.
There were also other smaller extra prizes that included money and jewelry.
And then the tasting began.
The judges moved over to the tables and ate the food. While there had been a lot at first, they quickly disappeared from the tables. There were exclamations of ‘it’s delicious!’ And the discussions over which were the best became very pa.s.sionate.
“I’m glad that sweets will become more popular now.”
Tiararose said with a smile as she watched them happily eat the food. However, there was a part of her that was a little sad. The reason was simple. As she was partic.i.p.ating as a contestant, she was not allowed to eat a lot of sweets like those who were judging.
Tiara held a hand to her cheek and wondered if she had made the wrong decision. But no one heard her disappointed mutterings.
And then the sweets were set out in front of King Sotiris and the other special judges. All of them were colorful and looked delicious.
They held back their impulse to eat them immediately, and instead, judged the presentation.
“They all look wonderful. This will be hard to judge. But which one draws your eye in the most? Surely it is Tiararose’s team? Look at these brilliant candy sculptures.”
“Yes, I agree. I am surprised that she was not only educated as a princess, but she can even create such sweets. It’s thanks to Tiararose that this country’s desserts have improved greatly.”
“That’s true.”
As for the others, the two popular ones were a cake covered in chocolate flakes and a madeleine shaped like the national flower. Then they went on to the tasting.
“Oh, so this one is a honey cupcake. The natural sweetness is perfect. I think men would like this a lot.”
The honey cupcake that the head chef praised was made by the master of Flower Honey, one of the most popular cafes in the city. As honey was rare, it was usually very expensive. But Tiararose’s flowers seemed to attract more bees, and so they were recently able to harvest more honey.
This meant that it was not just n.o.bles, but the common folk could also afford to buy it.
After praising the cupcake, the head chef suddenly saw one that was burnt. He c.o.c.ked his head to the side and inspected it. The fact that there was a live crowd had probably made them nervous, and they had made a mistake with adjusting the heat.
Even from far away, it was clear that it was overcooked. It wasn’t just a little more crunchy than usual. It was burnt. No one would want to eat it.
“Still, as a judge, I will have to”
He decided. And so the head chef opened his mouth and Liliarge stopped him with a high-pitched squeak.
“Uhh, Lady Liliarge, friend of Princess Tiararose. What is it? I don’t think you should eat this. It will not be good for you.”
And so the head chef offered Liliarge a honey cupcake instead of the burnt one. However, Liliarge shook her head. She wanted the burnt one.
Still, the head chef wasn’t sure. And so he checked the names of the team that had made it. And there was written: Pheles, Keith, Grail.
Sotiris heard this and said, ‘Ah, I see.’
“That is Keith, the Fairy King of the forest. I did not know that he had decided to partic.i.p.ate.”
“Wh-what! Is it true!!”
Sotiris had seen Keith at Tiararose and Aquasteed’s wedding. And so he realized that these were cupcakes made by a Fairy King.
The head chef looked at the burnt cupcake. His hands were shaking. So this was made by a Fairy King!
“Perhaps Liliarge wants to eat that cake because a Fairy King made it.”
He put the cupcake down in front of Liliarge. And she happily bit into itand then she seemed to frown for an instant. It appeared that it was too hard and burned. It was not good.
“I see.”