Chapter 18 – Bickering with Amy and Learning to Cook
[Gray’s POV]
The days passed quietly after Mother entrusted our daily training to Selena.
Morning training.
Meals with Mother whenever her schedule allowed.
Evenings filled with games, endless arguments with Amy, and occasional visits to Mother’s office.
Our routine gradually settled into something comfortable.
Training was still the center of our lives, but it was no longer the only thing we did.
Whenever we found free time, Amy and I would disappear somewhere around the mansion.
Sometimes we played games on the console.
Sometimes we wandered through the gardens.
Sometimes we sneaked into the pantry just to steal desserts before the chefs noticed.
And sometimes...
We argued over the most ridiculous things imaginable until one of us finally gave up.
Without either of us realizing it, those little moments slowly brought us closer together.
Every so often, we would also visit Mother.
Those moments felt different.
Training.
Games.
Teasing.
All of it somehow became quieter whenever we were with her.
To everyone else, Seraphina Starlight was the cold and flawless Matriarch.
But to Amy and me...
She was simply our mother.
Strict.
Busy.
Sometimes difficult to approach.
Yet every time she managed to spare even a little of her precious time for us, it reminded me just how much she truly cared.
It had already been nearly a month since my training began.
Which meant...
Only one month remained until my awakening.
That thought lingered in the back of my mind almost every day.
Because once I awakened...
Everything would change.
Not just my strength.
My responsibilities.
My future.
The direction of my entire life.
So before that day arrived...
There were still things I wanted to learn.
⸻
After another morning of training, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and walked toward Amy.
She was stretching her shoulders after finishing her own exercises.
"Amy."
She looked at me.
"Hm?"
"I’m going to the kitchen."
"I want to start learning how to cook."
"Do you want to come with me?"
She blinked.
"...Cooking?"
She stared at me for several seconds before narrowing her eyes.
"Wait."
"When you mentioned that to Mom before..."
"I thought you were joking."
"You’re actually serious?"
I nodded without hesitation.
"I’ve never been more serious."
Amy tilted her head.
"But why?"
"We have servants."
"You’ll always have someone to cook for you."
"Why bother learning yourself?"
"Because that won’t always be true."
She looked confused.
I explained patiently.
"When I enter the academy, I won’t always have servants around."
"And later..."
"I’ll probably travel."
"I don’t want to depend on other people for something as basic as preparing food."
I shrugged.
"And besides..."
"The more useful skills I learn, the better."
"You never know when they’ll become important."
Amy listened quietly.
Then...
A bright smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Oh..."
"So you’re planning ahead."
She suddenly clasped her hands together dramatically.
"Wonderful!"
"My little brother is becoming my personal chef."
I stared at her.
"...Who said I was cooking for you?"
Her smile froze.
"...Excuse me?"
"I’m learning to cook for myself."
"Not to feed a certain glutton."
Silence.
Then...
"What."
"Did."
"You."
"Just."
"Call."
"Me?"
I answered without fear.
"A glutton."
Amy immediately grabbed my head.
"Owww!"
She began rubbing my hair aggressively.
"I’m not a glutton!"
"Say it properly!"
"You eat three desserts every night!"
"That is completely unrelated!"
"It proves my point!"
She tightened her grip.
"It proves nothing!"
"I was only stating facts!"
"You’re spreading slander about your sister!"
"I’m spreading the truth!"
"You little brat!"
By the time she finally released me, my hair looked like it had survived a tornado.
I sighed dramatically.
"Violence..."
"The final argument of the defeated."
Amy pointed at me.
"I can still hit you."
I immediately walked toward the kitchen.
"I choose life."
⸻
The kitchen was as lively as ever.
Servants moved around with practiced efficiency.
Some prepared vegetables.
Others handled meat.
Fresh bread had just come out of the oven, filling the room with a comforting aroma.
Everything was organized despite the apparent chaos.
The head chef noticed us almost immediately.
She approached with a respectful bow.
"Young Master."
"Young Lady."
"What brings you here today?"
I returned the greeting politely.
"I’d like to learn how to cook."
The chef blinked.
"...Cook?"
She looked genuinely surprised.
Which wasn’t strange.
A young master from one of the world’s most powerful noble families asking to learn cooking...
It wasn’t exactly common.
I continued before she could say anything.
"I already received Mother’s permission."
"I wasn’t able to start because of training."
"But now I’d like to learn properly."
"Not just recipes."
"I want to understand the basics."
"Knife skills."
"Ingredients."
"Preparation."
"Everything."
The chef studied me carefully.
There wasn’t disbelief in her eyes.
Only curiosity.
Finally...
She smiled gently.
"If that’s truly what you wish..."
"I’d be honored to teach you."
"But I have one suggestion."
I nodded.
"I’m listening."
"Most beginners start with a single dish."
"They slowly build experience before learning more advanced techniques."
"I don’t recommend trying to learn everything immediately."
I shook my head.
"I don’t want shortcuts."
"I want to understand cooking itself."
The chef looked at me silently for a moment.
Then she smiled.
"I understand."
"Please follow me."
⸻
She led me toward one of the preparation tables.
Then she handed me an apron.
Amy couldn’t help laughing.
"Pfft..."
"I never thought I’d see Gray wearing an apron."
I ignored her and tied it around myself.
The chef nodded approvingly.
"Good."
"Before cooking..."
"You must first learn how to handle a knife."
She placed a chef’s knife in front of me.
I picked it up carefully.
It immediately felt different.
Completely different.
Compared to a sword, the knife was lighter.
Shorter.
Its balance was closer to my hand.
Every movement required precision instead of power.
The chef noticed my grip.
"Relax."
"A kitchen knife isn’t something you overpower."
"You guide it."
She demonstrated a few simple cuts.
Clean.
Smooth.
Efficient.
No wasted movement.
I watched carefully before trying it myself.
...
The first attempt...
Wasn’t great.
The slices came out uneven.
Some were thick.
Some were paper-thin.
Amy peeked over my shoulder.
"...Those vegetables died for nothing."
I ignored her.
The chef simply smiled.
"Again."
So I tried again.
And again.
Each attempt became slightly better.
Without realizing it...
I began comparing cooking to swordsmanship.
Both required precision.
Both required control.
Both punished unnecessary movement.
A sword wasted energy through excessive motion.
A knife wasted ingredients.
Different tools.
The same principle.
That realization made learning much easier.
⸻
Time passed surprisingly quickly.
Eventually, I began preparing simple ingredients with reasonable consistency.
The chef nodded with satisfaction.
"You learn quickly."
I smiled awkwardly.
"I still have a long way to go."
"That’s true."
She laughed softly.
"But your attitude is excellent."
"That matters more than talent."
Amy leaned against the counter.
"I still think you look funny."
I glanced at her.
"You’ve been watching me for nearly an hour."
"Don’t you have anything better to do?"
She shrugged.
"This is entertaining."
"You look so serious."
"You make cutting vegetables look like you’re preparing for war."
"...Focus."
"Yes, Chef Gray."
"Don’t call me that."
"Yes, Chef Gray."
I sighed.
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
⸻
As I continued practicing...
Another thought crossed my mind.
In my previous life...
Cooking had simply been a necessity.
Something I did because no one else would.
Simple meals.
Silent rooms.
Lonely nights.
There had never been anyone waiting for me to finish.
No one to share food with.
No one to laugh beside.
But now...
Everything was different.
I wasn’t cooking because I had no choice.
I was learning because I wanted to.
Because one day...
I wanted to prepare meals for the people I cared about.
For my family.
For the future.
A small smile appeared on my face.
For the first time in both my lives...
Learning something as ordinary as cooking...
Actually made me feel happy.