ALL NOVEL Chapter 37
Karem examined the ingredients and pondered deeply.
At first, he thought of cotton candy.
But then he quickly dismissed the idea.
Even if the recipe only called for sugar, where on earth was he supposed to pull sugar out like thread? He didn’t even have a cotton candy machine! He remembered seeing it made with a whisk in a historical drama from across the sea, but that was something he’d save for later.
The origin of cotton candy dated back to 14th century Italy, where it was likely handmade, but naturally, Karem had no idea how that was done.
Thus, cotton candy was crossed off the list.
Karem reviewed his mental checklist, taking into account his own tastes and quirks.
Then a dessert popped into his mind.
Pişmaniye, or as he was more familiar with it, Dragon’s Beard Candy.
No, the methods might be different, but the principles and techniques were fundamentally similar.
As Karem gathered his ingredients and entered the kitchen, Catherine followed in with Mary.
Seeing the ingredients laid out on the table, Catherine wore a puzzled expression.
“There seem to be fewer ingredients than I expected.”
“When you look at it, it doesn’t seem that grand,” Karem replied.
“But it’s just too…”
Simple.
All it consisted of was honey, sugar, flour, and some chopped nuts and almonds.
“By the way, will this turn out as I expect? Mary?”
“What is it?”
“I’ll handle the proportions, so could you grind the flour and sugar together?”
“Hmm?”
Typically, the Dragon’s Beard Candy Karem had seen at markets or busy streets used cornstarch and powdered sugar, and that was all he knew about it.
But there was no chance he’d find cornstarch here.
Yet Karem thought to himself.
Cooking was like a patch job anyway.
If he considered cornstarch merely as a finely ground carbohydrate, then couldn’t he substitute it with flour? After all, powdered sugar was just a combination of sugar and starch.
Of course, starch and flour were inherently different, and saying cornstarch could be replaced by flour was like saying that dogs and wolves were the same because they’re both canines, but what could he do?
There was no starch to begin with!
“How fine should I grind it…”
“As fine as you can until I say stop.”
“Contractor, is this correct?”
But Mary found it hard to understand.
Anyway, mixing a large amount of sugar with a bit of flour and grinding it?
Why was he doing this meaningless task?
Yet Catherine had only one thing to say.
“Mary.”
“What is it?”
“Are you better at cooking than a child?”
“…I can’t deny that.”
“Then just do as you’re told.”
Ah, the joy of simple repetitive labor.
An undeniable reality.
While Mary ground the mixture with complexity in her heart, Karem removed the pot filled with bubbling syrup of honey and sugar from the heat.
In Dragon’s Beard Candy, there were typically two variations: ‘Jeongdo’ and ‘Sado’. Jeongdo was the base made by mixing natural ingredients like honey and maltose, then aging and fermenting it.
Sado was straightforward. Ultimately, it was all about being able to pull threads long, right? There were even recipes where the proportions flipped, using syrup and oligo syrup with just a dash of honey.
In that sense, Karem felt confident.
After all, honey and sugar were precious in a medieval fantasy setting as well.
Using this much natural ingredients counted for both Jeongdo and Sado; he didn’t care.
Suddenly, a famous non-chef came to Karem’s mind.
“The more sugar you add, the tastier it is.”
Anyway, as long as it tasted good, that was all that mattered.
As it melted and changed color, Karem turned his gaze towards Mary.
With every thud! of the pestle hitting down, a light yellow sugar-flour mist billowed up.
He had asked her to do it, but who would have thought she’d grind the brown sugar finer than the flour?
Karem was stunned by Mary’s extraordinary strength he never expected.
“You’re grinding it down this finely. Are you even human?”
“I’m a Brownie.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. That’s enough for now.”
“Cough, it seems we ought to clean thoroughly afterward.”
Karem piled the powdered sugar from the mortar onto a wide tray like a mountain.
Honey and sugar were ingredients full of versatile changes in color and form.
He poured the warm, not too hot, dough over the improvised powdered sugar.
“Phew, now I have to knead this.”
“Hm, fine. A bit of a service.”
“Sir Atanitas?”
Without a word, Catherine snapped her fingers, and a faint light flickered around Karem’s hands before vanishing.
“It’s basic protection magic.”
“Oooh, oooh! This is convenient!”
The heat he felt just a moment ago completely disappeared.
Karem tested the hot syrup and found he felt no heat or pain at all, so he immediately covered his hands in the kneaded dough with powdered sugar.
“This is quite a unique sensation. I don’t think I can use this often.”
“Hmm? Is there a reason?”
“I can’t control the heat, so it won’t help with cooking.”
Unless there was a proper thermometer or timer, he couldn’t rely solely on experience and intuition in this situation.
However, for it to block this much heat…
If Karem had a tool with protection magic as good as Catherine’s, he was sure it would be a tremendous hit in modern cooking.
Feeling a little mischievous, Karem asked, “Are there gloves that would allow you to feel the heat to some extent while under protection magic?”
“They’re thin, but to what extent?”
“Um, since sensitivity is vital in cooking, I believe the thinner, the better.”
He said it with the mindset of hoping for the best, but as Catherine pondered seriously with her arms crossed, he couldn’t help but feel a swell of anticipation.
Then Catherine opened her eyes.
“It wouldn’t be a problem to make.”
“R-really?”
“However, you should be prepared for them to be quite expensive.”
“Gulp. That can’t be helped.”
He had already fully experienced that magic tools were costly.
Karem decided to focus on the situation unfolding before him.
Though he couldn’t feel the heat of the dough, the sensation of it urged him not to delay any longer.
As he punctured holes in the heavily powdered dough and pulled it, it stretched to about the width of his chest.
“Surely, this won’t be the end after stretching it like this?”
“Would I do that? We’re just getting started.”
“I’m worried it’ll break.”
“Don’t worry. It won’t break.”
Catherine tilted her head as if to see for herself.
Karem then pulled the ends, crossing them with his hands and adding more powdered sugar.
“This is quite a sight!”
“Isn’t it fascinating?”
“Wow, this is amazing!”
Natural, both Catherine and Mary were astonished, watching Karem stretch the Dragon’s Beard Candy like modern-day people do at street stalls.
Nonetheless, Karem was sweating bullets on the inside.
The strands were carefully increasing every time his hands moved.
But the sensation at his fingertips was inversely proportional to the number of strands he was creating.
Snip, snip, snip.
Strands were starting to break.
Could it be the sugar-to-honey ratio was off? Or did substituting flour instead of starch lead to this?
Either option was possible.
But it was expected. After all, Karem had never actually made Dragon’s Beard Candy in his past life.
He had only sought videos out of curiosity.
Instead, he felt quite proud of himself for coming this far on just his knowledge.
But that was that, and this was this.
Would it have been better to just take some time and extract starch?
Or maybe stick to something simpler, like crepes or shaved ice?
Karem lamented his own short-sightedness, regretting his decision to make something fancy.
Anyway, if he stretched it any further, it would really break.
With a swift action, Karem released the strands from his hands before they snapped.
He had stretched it twelve times, yielding around 4000 strands.
He hadn’t even met a quarter of his goal.
But Karem decided to be satisfied with this much.
He tidied up the strands and stuffed them with chopped nuts, rolling them up.
“Hah, kid, you had a reason to be so confident.”
“Kitty! Kitty! Can I taste it?”
“Princess Alicia. It’s not ready yet—”
What did I just hear?
The awe-struck Catherine, curious Mary, and Karem, who was handling the candy, all turned towards the source of the voice that shouldn’t have been heard.
On one side of the kitchen table where the group was gathered, a chubby-cheeked, golden-haired girl’s head suddenly popped up!
Karem, stunned, unconsciously spoke.
“Princess Alicia?”
“Hehe. That’s right. It’s Alicia!”
“Goodness.”
Catherine instinctively slapped her forehead.
*
*
*
As for the punishment given to Alicia from earlier, it was as follows.
A week of being grounded.
No snacks during the grounding.
After the grounding period, she was required to always be accompanied by a servant or maid.
It was a relatively light punishment for her misconduct.
However, for a child with the relentless stamina of youth and the freedom of spirit like Alicia, it was almost better to be spanked.
Those who endure are blessed, though.
Time passed, and soon Wintersend was just around the corner.
Alicia seized the opportunity.
As the castle bustled with preparations for Wintersend, amidst a moment of distraction from the servants and maids, Alicia successfully regained her freedom!
“Proudly, she declared.
Catherine’s response was simple.
“Mary, the princess—”
“A- Ah! Kitty! Just one time! Just let me have a look! See? This time, I didn’t touch Kitty’s snacks without permission! Just once!”
Hmm, thinking back on it.
Karem looked on with a newfound perspective.
Certainly, Alfred seemed like a very fair person.
A child spoiled by love often develops bad habits if not properly reprimanded.
Especially for a child from the upper class, it went without saying.
The behaviors of errant third-generation chaebols were infamous, after all.
In that sense, Alicia seemed to be growing up quite well. Though her manner of speaking and her brazen attitude were somewhat annoying, it was still within the realm of tolerable cuteness.
In other words, annoyingly adorable.
Most importantly, Alicia no longer touched others’ snacks without permission as she used to.
Disregarding the fact that it was Karem who gave her those snacks.
As Karem glanced at Catherine with a look that asked, “Sir Atanitas? What should we do?” she sighed deeply and waved her hand dismissively. The meaning was clear.
“Princess Alicia?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“I’ll share some with you, just be careful while taking the powdered sugar.”
“Oooh! Oooooo!!!”
A rare and precious treat for her to enjoy all at once.
Unlike her previous indulgence in pudding, Alicia now savored the Dragon’s Beard Candy with extreme care.
“Hmm! It’s crispy, sweet enough to make my teeth tingle, and goes perfectly with the almond and walnut that disappears without a trace!”
“Um, kid. What’s the name of this item?”
“Um, it’s called Dragon’s Beard Candy.”
At that moment, Karem jumped.
Catherine and Mary, who were savoring the candy, along with Alicia, all simultaneously frowned.
Alicia shouted.
“What kind of name is that?!”
The child’s innocence was shattered, and she slammed her hands on the table in anger.
Catherine and Mary agreed with her.
Karem felt wronged.
Wasn’t that its original name?
Would it have been better to just call it dragon’s beard candy?
Of course, if he had done that, Catherine would have fact-checked him saying dragons definitely don’t have beards.
*
*
*
And amidst all this, there was a single dwarf with a resolute heart that was beginning to waver.
“Princess Alicia! Why…!”
Zigmeser.
The only dwarf in history who had shaved off his head and beard for cooking.
The head chef of the Felwinter family and Winterhome.
He adored Alicia as if she were his own granddaughter, and he was boiling with anger at the scoundrel who had taken her from him.