Please Fall in Love with Me! – A Villainess on Her Second Loop, using 'Seduction' to Avoid Ruin! - Chapter 4.6

At my bright, heartfelt smile, Lord Siegvard blinked in surprise—then let out a small, somewhat bashful chuckle.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

◇＊◇

“T-This is…!”

The head chef’s eyes widened in shock as he dropped his spoon.

“Huh?! Was it… bad? Did I mess up?!”

Panicking, I rushed over to him.

“I-I’m sorry! You can spit it out if you need to!”

“No! Absolutely not! There’s no way I’d spit out something this delicious!”

The head chef shook his head furiously as if rejecting such a ridiculous notion.

I blinked in surprise.

Delicious…?

“Oh, so you liked it? That’s a relief.”

I let out a deep breath, pressing a hand against my chest. His reaction had been so dramatic that I thought it must have been terrible.

“The flavor isn’t common in this world—or rather, in the empire—but what do you think?”

“It’s certainly unfamiliar, but it has a gentle, comforting taste. I quite like it.”

“Really? What about everyone else?”

“It’s delicious!”

The other chefs and kitchen maids nodded enthusiastically.

“The taste is new, yet it doesn’t feel strange or out of place. It was surprisingly easy to accept.”

“I agree. Despite being unlike anything I’ve had before, it has an incredible depth and complexity. The broth—was it bouillon?—has such a delicate yet rich flavor. And that seasoning… was it called Seuyu? It has a distinct taste, slightly sweet, with a sharp ginger kick, yet it remains refreshingly light…”

“The broth itself seems different from the usual ones we use in the empire. That might be contributing to the layered depth of flavor.”

“Ah, you’re right. It’s not just the Seuyu.”

Everyone was seriously analyzing the taste—Heh. Just like in my “first round,” soy sauce and bonito flakes are a hit again.

I had already mentioned before that, in my “first round,” I created and sold new seasonings like mayonnaise and curry powder. But aside from that, I had also sought out and imported ingredients that didn’t exist in this empire—primarily Japanese seasonings.

Soy sauce, miso, bonito flakes, kelp… even Japanese rice.

Because I absolutely had to have them.

This world was modeled after late 19th-century Europe.

Which meant… there had to be a country like Japan somewhere in the Far East.

After all, by that time, Europe had already begun trading with Japan to some extent.

In my first round, my longing for a bowl of steaming white rice and miso soup drove me to track down a rare world map. I confirmed the existence of “Zipang”—the name used here for Japan—on the far eastern edge of the map.

From there, I exhausted every possible avenue to find someone with ties to Zipang.

Eventually, after a year and a half of persistence, I managed to secure a connection with a merchant from Zipang—and at last, I successfully obtained Japanese ingredients.

This time around, thanks to my first-round knowledge, I was able to obtain them without all that effort.

“I was thinking of serving this dish to Lord Siegvard. What do you all think?”

The dish I had them taste was tender ginger-simmered chicken.

It was made by combining broth, sugar, soy sauce, sake, and vinegar, then simmering sliced and grated ginger with chicken thighs.

“For the appetizer, I’m planning a mijoté packed with root vegetables. The first course will be a dill-infused milk risotto, followed by this chicken dish as the main. For dessert, I’d like to serve the head chef’s banana mousse. Finally, we’ll end with a cup of chamomile tea. What do you all think?”

Mijoté was a French-style braised dish, and I intended to use plenty of root vegetables—ingredients known for their warming properties.

Taro, burdock root, carrots, lotus root, daikon, broccoli…

The dish would be colorful, vibrant, and sure to whet the appetite.

Dill was an herb whose name originated from an Old Norse word meaning “to soothe” or “to calm.”

In Europe, it had long been used to help babies relax and sleep better.

Hot milk infused with dill seeds was commonly consumed as a sleep aid, making dill-infused milk risotto a particularly calming dish.

For the main course, I chose ginger-simmered chicken because heavy meals can disrupt sleep quality.

However, a lack of satisfaction from a meal can also be detrimental.

So, I wanted a light yet satisfying meat dish—something rich in flavor without being overly fatty.

Ginger also had a warming effect on the body, promoting better relaxation.

For dessert, I selected banana mousse.

Bananas are rich in tryptophan, which helps produce serotonin—a neurotransmitter that regulates dopamine and norepinephrine, stabilizing emotions and promoting mental relaxation.

Naturally, I planned to keep the sweetness minimal, relying on the natural flavor of the bananas.

Finally, for the last course—chamomile tea.

With its soothing and sedative properties, chamomile was well-known for aiding sleep and promoting relaxation.

A perfect way to end the meal.