The Virtually Exiled Duke’s Daughter Is Troubled When Her Fiancé in a Neighboring Country Says, "I Will Never Love You" - Episode 16

Deborah kept peeling the onion skin relentlessly, unable to stop the tears streaming from her eyes.

The embarrassment of showing her face to Mrs. Lauren and Peter made her eyes well up even more, but after a while, the relentless assault of the onions seemed to subside, and her tears gradually dried up. However, her arms became heavy from the unfamiliar task, her delicate fingers were stained with dirt, and her hands and apron were covered in small brown peels.

“Lady Deborah, I’ll take care of the rest myself…”

Seeing this, Peter awkwardly called out to her. Deborah looked up at him with still tearful eyes.

“Please. Let me do it a little longer.”

“Ha, hahi!”

At Deborah’s pleading, Peter turned bright red and, after floundering around, grabbed the peeled onions and scrubbed them vigorously at the kitchen sink.

The onion, now free of dirt, shone even more brightly with its white skin. Peter grabbed it firmly once again and moved it in front of the cutting board on the kitchen counter.

After cutting off the inedible parts at the root and the head, he split it in half with a clean cut. Peter placed the half-spherical shape face down on the cutting board and quickly began to move the knife in a rhythmic manner.

Toto-toto-toto-toto…

Before her eyes, the onion was being thinly sliced. Caught up in the scene before her, Deborah involuntarily stopped peeling and became transfixed by Peter’s hands.

“n”

Having finished slicing a whole onion, Peter paused and picked up one of the slices to inspect it. The speed at which he worked was impressive, but the onion slices were so thin they were almost translucent, like lace.

“Wow… Is it okay if I take a closer look?”

Peter hurriedly stops Deborah, who almost leans over the counter without thinking.

“N-no, I can’t! If I get hit in the eyes and nose by onions again, I’ll end up crying!”

「「！」」

Deborah and Mrs. Lauren, who was by her side, almost simultaneously covered their eyes and noses with their hands and stepped back.

“……Is Peter okay with cutting onions?”

“Oh, this is more about getting used to it, or rather, having a trick to not cry. At first, I… I cried a lot too, but now I’m fine.”

“Oh my! That’s amazing!”

When Deborah’s eyes sparkled with admiration, Peter turned red again and pulled out the next onion.

“I’ll keep cutting, so please keep peeling too, Lady Deborah!”

“Yeah. I’ll do my best!”

Thus, the processing of the onions was divided, and all the onions in the basket were peeled and transformed into thin slices by Deborah and the others.

“Oh, is everything done?”

Chef Vito arrived. As he looked at the sliced onions, his words carried a hint of surprise, but it went unnoticed by anyone.

“Yes, somehow I managed to peel it.”

“Huh?”

Vito now clearly expressed his amusement aloud.

“Well then, young lady, are you interested in what happens next?”

“Yes, very much so. … But, Chef, I have one request.”

“What’s this?”

Deborah stared intently at Vito.

“Isn’t calling me ‘young lady’ a bit much?”

“Then should I call you ‘Hostage-sama’?”

Instead of getting angry at the head chef’s light-hearted remark, Deborah responds with a perfect smile.

“It’s better to be called that way. But I have the name Deborah. If possible, please use that.”

“Ha! You’re really something. The previous lady was quite strange too, but you’re even more so!”

“Oh, is that so?”

Deborah tilted her head slightly and looked around at Vito, Peter, and Mrs. Lauren. Peter and Mrs. Lauren remained silent with subtle smiles, but Vito, unlike his usual unsociable self, laughed cheerfully.

“That’s right. No matter how whimsical the nobles are, it’s quite rare for them to peel this much onion skin all at once. Lady Deborah has some promise.”

“Well! Then, would you hire me if I said I wanted to work as a laborer?”

“Hahaha!! That’s great!!”

Deborah asked Vito half-seriously, but of course, Vito took it as a joke and laughed so hard that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. His booming laughter echoed far and wide, and when Martha, who had come into the kitchen wondering what was going on, saw her husband doubled over with laughter, she was quite surprised.

“…sigh, it’s been a while since I laughed this much. Alright, let’s continue with the preparations. Deborah-sama, it’s dangerous, so please stay there.”

Vito transferred a mountain of sliced onions into a large pot and began to sauté them. After a while, he removed the pot from the heat, tilted it towards Deborah, and showed her the contents.

“How about that? The onion from earlier has shrunk this much.”

The onions were translucent, their moisture had evaporated, and their volume had decreased.

“Wow! It’s true. How could this happen…?”

“If you keep sautéing from here, it will get even smaller.”

“Huh!? Is that so?”

Seeing Deborah with sparkling eyes, listening intently to the story, and Vito enjoying her reaction, Martha remembered how her son used to be so curious about his father’s work when he was little, and she left the scene with a smile.

“Peter, you continue frying.”

“Wait, is that okay?”

“Got it? Don’t burn the onions.”

“Y-yes!!”

Peter took over the task. It was a painstaking job that required constant stirring to prevent the large amount of onions from burning, as well as careful attention to the heat. However, the seriousness on his face was due to the new responsibility he had been given and the feeling that he couldn’t waste the onions that Deborah had peeled.

The onions began to sizzle with a small sound, releasing a savory aroma that filled the air. Deborah savored the scent as she observed the cooking.

That evening, Marquis Sisley had dinner with Deborah.

After the appetizer, what came out was caramelized onion soup.