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5.52% Saving the Villain / Chapter 22: Cooking day!

Chương 22: Cooking day!

Sunday came, and Cosette was up early to practice cooking. Her day yesterday was a success, spending an entire day with her father, Conrad. She knew it was a success because Conrad seemed pleased.

"Young miss, do you really have to do this yourself?" asked the head chef worriedly, staring at the determined young miss. It was rare for the young miss to step inside the kitchen, let alone cook. So it was a surprise for them she was here, wearing a pink apron with all the pink cooking wares she bought yesterday.

"Mister Leo, just stay there. I will need your tongue for taste testing!" Cosette grinned as she gazed at the table over the kitchen counter where three people sat down. The head chef, her nanny, Lucia, and the head butler — the people she invited to be her guinea pig.

"This is my first time cooking, so I need to make it edible."

"Young miss…" Lucia called helplessly. No one could stop Cosette and even if they wanted to, they didn't have the heart, as she was so determined.

"Nanny Lucia, I'll be fine. Just wait, alright?" Cosette set up the cooking book she had been reading until late at night.

She didn't idle as she started preparing while the three watched her. Lucia's worries were written all over her face, holding her breath every time Cosette chopped some tomatoes.

"Young Miss, I will have a heart attack at this rate," came out a quiet voice, as Lucia was already panting. Not just her, but the head butler, George, and the head chef Leo could feel their heart skip a beat, afraid she would cut herself.

They could only sigh with relief when she finished chopping the ingredients unharmed. Cosette clapped as she read the cooking book briefly before figuring out how to work on the stove. When she successfully set up everything to start cooking, she started sauteing.

"Young miss…" called Leo, the head chef, as he studied Cosette's cook. "… that's too much salt."

Even though the chef hadn't tasted the dish she was making, he already knew it would be bad. Why? Because Cosette was forgetting one essential part of cooking and that was tasting it herself.

Unlike Leo's worries, the head butler George could help but wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes. "The young miss had grown into such a lovely lady." He was already old, but to think he was able to live to witness this day made him happy to the point he teared up.

The three of them patiently waited for the dish the young miss was cooking so earnestly. To be truthful, even if the food she made turned out to be poison, they would still eat it since this was the first time she cooked in her entire life.

After a long time, Cosette finally served her first dish. She said it was General Tso's Chicken, but Leo could not help but smile helplessly as this was far from what the dish was supposed to look like.

"What's going on here?"

Suddenly, Conrad's voice came, leaning his side against the entrance of the kitchen. She told him yesterday that she would practice her cooking today, but he didn't expect she would start this early.

"Papa! Come, come!" Cosette waved, and he sauntered towards the table, taking a seat, and glanced at the three she asked to be her guinea pig.

"Master," the three awkwardly bowed but didn't have the courage to stand up as Cosette asked them all to sit down at the same table.

Conrad just nodded as his eyes fell on the poison placed on three plates. His under-eye twitched but bit his lower lips. Cosette always imposed herself as someone who would never make mistakes, but to think she might be exceptional in other things but cooking, he was pleased to see this side of her.

"Wait, Papa. I'll prepare yours." Cosette excitedly served a portion to a new plate and served it in front of her father. Standing on the side, she glanced at everyone and motioned her hand.

"Dig in."

Lucia, George, and Leo glanced at Conrad apologetically. They already knew this would be bad, and they already surrendered their taste buds to fate, but Conrad… they felt sorry for him.

Unlike their worries, Conrad wordlessly picked up the cutlery to have a bite. He didn't have a change of expression as he chewed on the saggy chicken with strong imbalanced flavors.

"So?" Cosette raised her brows, staring at Conrad in anticipation.

"Not bad for beginners." A huge smile appeared on her face at the feedback she got from her father. She turned her eyes to the other three and they also taste the food. She clasped her hand while waiting for their reaction, but alas, Lucia couldn't fake it as she coughed and drank a mouthful of water.

"Lucia." Lucia froze when Conrad called her name coldly.

"I'm sorry, Young Miss. I didn't chew well, but it's not bad for starters." Lucia panicked as she explained, making Cosette frown.

She studied the four of them and aside from Conrad's unchanging countenance, the butler was sweating buckets, while the head chef's face turned red. It was obvious there was something wrong.

"Are you sure it's good?" she asked with a frown, realizing that whatever she would do, they would only say good things about it. So, to know whether they were telling the truth, Cosette served herself a small portion and ate it.

As soon as the chicken touched her tongue, she instinctively spat it back on the plate in an unsightly manner. She scrunched her nose up, gazing at her father, who actually ate this poison without complaint.

"It's bad," she grumbled while glaring at Conrad. "Papa, do you want me to kill the cat I am wooing? I need honest feedback! Honest! How will I improve if all I hear is it's good?"

"But it's not bad." Conrad tilted his head as he truly think the more he ate, the more bearable it become.

Cosette pinched the space between her brows, as everything she would do would be good in Conrad.

"Young Miss, it's really not bad for beginners. But while watching you cook, I noticed you are forgetting some essential part of cooking." Her brows raised as Leo mustered his courage to voice out his opinion. "How about I guide you since cooking takes a lot of practice and with proper guidance, your skills will improve in no time?"

Cosette rubbed her chin about it. She didn't consider asking Leo to teach her because she wanted to do it herself. But he had a point.

"What do you think, Papa?" she asked, setting her eyes at Conrad. Although she knew she didn't need Conrad's permission, she still wanted to take his opinion.

Conrad hummed before he rocked his head. "Leo will be an excellent instructor if you are really determined to do so."

"Then, that's settled!" Cosette gazed at Leo, who offered her a kind smile. Lucia and George could not help but smile as well as they also thought this was a good idea.

Sunday passed with Cosette cooking throughout the day. Conrad, Lucia, and George accompanied her and stood as her guinea pigs. With Leo's guidance, the dishes she made afterward had drastically improved. It wasn't perfect, but it was edible.

But more than filling their stomach, she had filled their hearts with her earnest efforts. Whoever this cat that Cosette was going the extra mile to gain his trust was surely lucky.


Chương 23: It's not healthy to skip class with an empty stomach!

The next day, Cosette was up earlier than usual to make lunchboxes. Leo also helped her, knowing the young miss would make her first lunch box. To her surprise, more servants were present to cheer her on.

"Let's put some smiling face here," she muttered, designing the food cutely just in case it would somehow catch Maxen's heart.

Leo smiled subtly as she looked content with the outcome of the lunch box. But, he couldn't help but ask why three lunch boxes? She told him about the cat, but what about the green one?

"Young Miss, can I ask why you're making three lunch boxes? Is it for a friend?" Leo raised a question, watching her raise her head and smile.

"Hehe." Cosette just giggled playfully and everyone would soon find out the answer.

****

Conrad quirked his brows, gazing at the green lunch box in front of him. He veered his eyes at his daughter, who was holding it with a wide smile. He was about to leave for work when Cosette called him and hurriedly caught up to him in front of the mansion.

"This is yours," she repeated with the same smile. "You have to eat it, Papa, since your daughter put her heart in preparing you a lunch box."

"For me?" he asked, stunned, and saw her nod profusely.

A shallow breath slipped past his lips as he accepted the lunch box. "Thank you," came out a soft voice as he gazed at the lunch box with gentle eyes.

"Make sure to eat it on time, alright?!" She nagged with a pout, although she already knew Conrad would surely eat it willingly.

"Mhm." He rocked his head, smiling subtly as he gazed at her in her uniform.

Since when… did his daughter look so bright? Her uniform in the academy was surely better, but somehow, in his eyes, Cosette looked lovelier than ever. She was finally acting her age and his heart warmed up.

"Would you like to ride with me?" he offered, something he had always wanted to ask her but was afraid she would turn it down coldly. His heart almost melted when her face slowly brightened up and nodded.

"Yes!" came out a cheerful response, giving joy to his heart more than she could ever imagine.

With that being said, Cosette hitched a ride with her father. Conrad offered he would drop her off at the school, but Cosette insisted on taking the bus. He had heard that his daughter's chauffeur would only drive her to the bus stop and she would commute from there to her school.

"Bye, take care." Cosette waved as she bent down out of the car to take a peek at her father in the back passenger seat. When Conrad nodded, she jogged towards the shade to wait for the next bus.

As they sped away, Conrad's eyes were fixed on his daughter's figure. He couldn't help but smile again, thinking that Cosette was always too intelligent. It was her idea to switch schools for her character development, and everyone was pleased with her gradual change.

"Master, it seems the young miss' new school had some positive effect on her." Suddenly, his assistant, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, looked back to see his boss smiling.

"Mhm." Conrad hummed and glanced at the rear mirror to see that Cosette rode the bus. "Can you believe she spent all her day yesterday cooking, instead of studying the company affairs?"

Warren, Conrad's assistant smiled. His boss had been bragging about Cosette at every opportunity he would get, and he even told him about his date with her since he told him to empty his weekend schedule.

"I'm glad then," Warren politely remarked before noticing the lunch box next to Conrad. "It seems you had a great weekend, Sir."

"I did." Conrad smiled as he gazed at the window. "It will be nice to spend every weekend like that."

"Then I'll rearrange your schedule."

*****

Cosette was slowly getting the gist of Maxen's pattern. Whenever he would go to school looking exhausted, he would skip class. So when lunchtime came, Cosette followed him to the rooftop excitedly.

"Maxen!" she called as soon as she barged through the door, making him nearly jump at her energy.

Maxen furrowed his brows as he watched her storm her way towards him. It was her first time calling his name. Did she decide to take on a different approach this time?

"Go away. I'm tired." He grumbled and clicked his tongue, but Cosette enthusiastically sat beside him.

"Don't sleep yet!" she said while rummaging through her bag and taking out two lunch boxes. "Let's have lunch first! You know it's not healthy to skip class with an empty stomach."

"…" His mind momentarily lagged as her remarks sounded so wrong. Skipping class was not healthy in itself.

Cosette meticulously laid a handkerchief on the floor, serving the pink and black lunch boxes. "Here's yours and here's mine."

"Who said I will eat it?" his tone was dead, not pleased with this new approach she was making.

"Even if you don't like it, you should at least try, right?" she frowned as she looked at him with puppy eyes. "I spent the entire weekend practicing how to make you a lunch box."

"You've wasted your time."

"Well, I will continue to waste my time because I planned to make lunch boxes every day!" Cosette stubbornly argued with him as that had always been her plan. She knew Maxen would reject this kind gesture, but she was not the person to give up.

Maxen studied her stubborn expression before a sigh escaped his mouth. He clicked his tongue, feeling helpless as it seemed she was determined to do what she pleased. This was only for them to get it done and over with.

"I will eat it… but this is the first and last time. Don't waste your time in making this shit." He gave in, picked up the black lunch box, and opened the lid. His brows creased as soon as he saw the smiling face on the rice.

"It's cute, right?" he glanced at her as she proudly held the pink lunch box.

"This is the first and last." He repeated, ignoring her last remarks just to make that clear.

"Hehe. Sure…" Cosette giggled and averted her eyes while biting her tongue. Her reaction was obvious that she automatically ignored his words. That she planned to do this the next day and the following days.

'Just what will make her stop doing this?' he asked himself as he forked out steamed broccoli. 'What will you gain by doing this?'

Maxen glanced at her as he chewed the broccoli, watching her eat happily while glancing at him from time to time. Deep down, even though he wanted her to stop tailing him, he was had been constantly looking over his shoulder to check if she was there.

The last weekend felt boring, although it was just like any other weekend. He never liked school, and he was only attending for the sake of a 'better' future. But now… he didn't know anymore.

When Maxen tasted the main course, his brows furrowed. She said she just learned to cook and the taste might not be that good, but for someone like him who had never eaten good food, this… was delicious that touched a part of his heart.

"How was it, Maxen?" she asked with a bright smile with anticipation in her eyes, while he kept his poker face.

'It's good,' was what he wanted to say, but he kept silent and just chewed the food down.

"Hehe. I'm so happy!" she giggled while staring at him. "I should make you more large portion."

"I said this is the first and last."

"Right, right?" Cosette whistled as she averted her eyes, making him feel helpless as nothing would stop her for sure.


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