I Will Quit the Entourage of the Villainess

The bamboo shoots that everyone gathered were taken to the kitchens, where the harshness was removed.

The harshness would increase as time passed, so it was necessary to do this while they were still fresh.

In the meantime, tea was served to all the tired people who had enjoyed the bamboo shoot digging.

Well, it was really only a few who had been doing it seriously, the rest were mostly just watching.

I viewed them from the side, as I quickly started to peel the bamboo shoots.

There was a dish that you could only eat while it was fresh.

And so I had procured young and thin bamboo shoots for that purpose.

I had eaten it once in my previous life, but I thought it would be nice to have it again.

I cut off the roots and lightly washed the peeled bamboo shoots. Then I cut them into thin slices and put them on a plate.

All done!

It didn’t even take me three minutes, it was that easy. The bamboo shoot sashimi was done.

I would have liked to have it with wasabi and soy sauce. But as I, unfortunately, had neither, I ate it with salt and lemon.

Chomp-chomp-chomp.

Hmm.

It is kind of like a combination of apple and pear.

To be honest, it wasn’t exactly good.

It was kind of weird, but I suppose it was nice to taste the flavor of fresh bamboo shoots when in season.

As I chewed on it alone, George and the others approached me.

“Cosette, what are you eating? Bamboo shoots?”

“Yes, it is sashimi made with bamboo shoots. It’s something that you can only eat while its fresh. But it’s not very good.”

“Sashimi? It looks like you eat it raw then. Perhaps it is like a salad.”

“Ah-! It really is a salad, now that I think of it.”

After that, the others tasted it too. Their reactions were mixed.

It was just better to cook these after all.

As we waited a little while, the bamboo shoot dish was finally brought to us.

There was no soy sauce and mirin here, so it was unfortunately not Japanese style, but western. But the cook was able to develop amazing bamboo shoot recipes.

Bamboo shoots simmered in cream, bamboo shoots cooked with rice, sauteed bamboo shoots…mmm, amazing!!

The others who participated in the event relaxed in the garden and enjoyed the dishes as well.

It looked like even Remy and her friends were eating the bamboo shoots and feeling better.

Translations by AsianHobbyist Website

“Remy, Marietta. How are the bamboo shoot dishes?”

“They are very good, Cosette. You to do have a very talented cook.”

“Thank you. Marietta, that was good work you did today.”

“Cosette…”

Marietta seemed very depressed, and she had not eaten much either.

I had no intention of being part of a one-on-one duel, but I also had no intention of helping someone who was in one either.

Especially as my house and Signora were involved in both this one and the previous one, my position was not too far from that of a sponsor.

After all, part of it was to find candidates to become the prince’s wife. I had no wish to fill that spot, and I had no clear feelings about wanting someone else to be queen either. And so I was afraid to get involved.

Unlike the game, I could not retry later on.

And so, all I wished for was that those who wanted to take the queen’s seat would try hard so that they would have no regrets.

All I needed to do was make a receptacle for the girl who lost the battle.

However, I was a little troubled that the contents of the duels were starting to diverge from the game.

There was no battle over bamboo shoots in the game.

It was likely a change brought on by memories from my past life.

But unlike the game, the ladies in the duels were no longer directly fighting each other, which also meant that the injury to their name was lessened.

Perhaps that was why Marietta seemed to slowly return to her cheerful self.

“Cosette, this cream sauce is very delicious! I wonder if our cook can make the same thing?”

“Oh, that makes me very happy to hear! Well then, I shall ask my cook for the recipe.”

After that, we all talked pleasantly of bamboo shoot dishes and I handed them some boiled bamboo shoots to take home.

“That was a tiring day.”

I was now in my room, drinking some tea that Sisie had poured for me.

Translations by AsianHobbyist Website

As I was alone, I could roll around in bed and ponder on what Master Alfred had done.

Why had he done such a thing?

Did he have any reason to take Angie’s side?

The only thing that made sense was that there would be some kind of advantage to him if she became queen.

However, I hadn’t quite figured everything out in regards to the nobility here. And so the fine details were a mystery to me.

I would have to ask father about it later. I thought as I fell into a deep sleep.