Translator: Nox

Chapter 22

22. Royal Consort (3)

"The Royal Consort is arriving!"

Everyone gathered at the Royal Investigation Bureau turned their heads in unison toward the voice.

Ji-young also turned her head, and the first thing she saw was Jang-geum, a kitchen apprentice from the Royal Kitchen.

And behind her stood the mother of the nation, the Royal Consort.

It was Shin, the Royal Consort and head of the Inner Court.

Jang-geum had brought the Royal Consort from the Queen's Residence at the perfect moment.

"H-How...?"

Upon seeing the Royal Consort with her own eyes, Nok-su's already pale face turned even whiter and began to tremble slightly.

As the Royal guards who escorted the Royal Consort spread out to the left and right, one familiar face caught Ji-young's eye.

He was wearing a Military Uniform now, but she had seen him in the marketplace a few days ago wearing a Navy robe.

It was the man who had delivered the Royal Consort's Secret Order.

Escorted by him and the other Royal guards, the Royal Consort slowly walked into the Royal Investigation Bureau.

"What is all this commotion?"

There was a subtle sense of authority lurking within the Royal Consort's elegant and gentle voice.

"Y-Your Majesty, Royal Consort. Is your health well? I heard you were suffering from a sudden illness..."

Nok-su, trying to hide her embarrassment, bowed her head as if to greet the Royal Consort.

She usually maintained a straight posture when meeting the Royal Consort, but the atmosphere was not conducive to such stiffness now.

"Royal Consort, what is going on? I heard the same news and was greatly concerned."

Yeonsangun's face also revealed clear signs of bewilderment.

He had received a report that the Royal Consort was seriously ill, which had infuriated him to the point of personally conducting the interrogation, but now the Royal Consort was appearing in perfect health.

What on earth was going on?

Not only Yeonsangun and Nok-su, but also the Royal Investigators, Guards, and Royal Secretaries gathered at the Royal Investigation Bureau could not help but focus their attention on one person: the Royal Consort.

With a moderate build, balanced posture, a lightly flushed and bright complexion, and a belly that was full and auspiciously protruding with child, there were no signs of illness anywhere.

"Your Majesty, what are you saying? How could I dare to suffer from an illness with Your Majesty's prince in my womb?"

"I-I heard that you had a severe reaction to the food you ate last night."

"A reaction? I ate the sweet Western Cake that Your Majesty personally ordered to be sent, and I enjoyed it immensely after a long time. How can you say such a thing? Thanks to it, the prince in my womb seemed to be happy as well. I was only worried about how to repay your boundless grace."

The Royal Consort slowly smiled as she stroked her protruding belly.

And the one who was becoming increasingly anxious as she watched this scene was none other than Royal Concubine Jang Nok-su.

"W-Why...? The food from yesterday was made with Wheat Flour...!"

In her anxiety, her true feelings spilled out, and Nok-su covered her mouth in surprise.

There was no way the Royal Consort would not notice that.

"I do not know what went into the food I ate yesterday, but I am certain that it was not Wheat Flour. My body suffers from Acute Gastroenteritis when I eat Wheat Flour."

Having said this, the Royal Consort looked at Nok-su's pale face and added,

"Royal Concubine Jang seems to be well aware of this."

In that instant, Nok-su's always haughty expression twisted dramatically.

"N-No, that's not true. I only learned about it while trying to find the cause of Your Majesty's sudden illness."

"What is going on, Royal Consort? The royal physicians of the royal hospital also said the same thing about your constitution, so how can you be so healthy?"

At Yeonsangun's words, which indicated that he still did not understand the situation, the Royal Consort turned her gaze to Ji-young, who was tied to the torture rack.

"Let's ask this child."

At those words, everyone's eyes turned to Ji-young.

This was the moment that Ji-young had been waiting for.

"Your Majesty, the food presented to the Royal Consort did not contain Wheat Flour."

"What?"

A look of bewilderment crossed Yeonsangun's face at those words.

"Are you saying that you sent different food to the Queen's Palace yesterday?"

"No, I did not. How could I disobey Your Majesty's command? However, the ingredients were different."

"The ingredients... were different...?"

The King still seemed confused, his eyes wide.

Ji-young's eyes, looking at him, began to shine more and more brightly.

---

In front of the marketplace.

The note given by the man in the Navy robe.

The single line written in Vernacular Script inside.

[Do not send Wheat Flour to the Queen's Residence]

Ji-young recalled that phrase again immediately after receiving Yeonsangun's order to send food to the Queen's Palace.

In principle, Ji-young, who worked in the Royal Kitchen for the King, would not have any reason to send food to the Queen's Palace, so the message was meaningless.

But surprisingly, not long after receiving the message, she actually had to send food to the Queen's Palace.

That meant that the person who sent the message was accurately predicting what would happen inside the palace.

'…So I must not ignore that phrase.'

In modern terms, this could be called the customer's allergy information, which a chef must check before preparing a dish.

And there was something that Ji-young had experienced quite often while working as a chef, so that was why a specific word came to her mind at that moment.

Celiac syndrome.

This disease, well known as one of the main causes of 'gluten intolerance,' is a condition in which the body cannot digest 'gluten,' a type of protein found in wheat flour.

'This condition tends to become more sensitive, especially during pregnancy. That's why I used to check even more carefully when there were pregnant women among the customers when I worked at the restaurant.'

According to modern research, about 1% of the total population is known to have the genes for this condition, so it is not a rare occurrence.

The general symptoms of celiac syndrome are mostly mild, such as indigestion and abdominal pain.

However, in women, it can cause irregular menstruation or, in extreme cases, even miscarriage and infertility, so it is not something to be taken lightly.

'Nok-su must have known about the Royal Consort's constitution and intentionally induced her to consume wheat flour.'

The thought that she almost sent that Tiramisu to the Queen's Residence as it was sent shivers down her spine.

But she could not simply not send the Tiramisu.

If she failed to follow the King's orders, she would certainly be held accountable for that.

'…There is a way.'

The only way to serve customers with celiac syndrome is not to use gluten, that is, not to use wheat flour.

Tiramisu without wheat flour.

If this were the modern era, it would not be a difficult task. There are plenty of ingredients that can be used for gluten-free baking.

Gluten-free flour, rice flour for baking, or coconut flour or almond flour can be used to bake without gluten without much difficulty.

'The problem is that this is the Joseon Dynasty…'

There is no way that coconut, almonds, or gluten-free flour would exist in this era.

And she could not just send a completely different, random food that was different from what the King had ordered to be sent to the Queen's Palace.

That would only provide Nok-su with another excuse to attack.

At this moment, one memory flashed through Ji-young's mind.

A unique recipe that she had encountered while researching various forms of gluten-free bread when she was working as a chef.

It was a chestnut flour cake, a specialty of Tuscany, Italy.

'That's it! Chestnut flour is something that I can get easily in this era!'

As soon as that thought came to her mind, Ji-young hurriedly spoke to the former Royal Kitchen Staff.

"Former Royal Kitchen Staff, I have a favor to ask... Can you get me some chestnuts?"

"Chestnuts? Are you talking about the chestnuts we eat? Chestnuts are an item that is indispensable for ancestral rites, so it won't be difficult to get them..."

"Ah, that's a relief. Please do me a favor."

"But didn't you say that you were going to send the same food that was presented to His Majesty to the Queen's Residence? So I'm preparing the ingredients in the same way..."

Ji-young looked and saw the Royal Kitchen Staff taking out a bowl of Wheat Flour and sifting it finely, just as they had done before.

"No. It's a little different this time. Instead of Wheat Flour, I'm going to finely grind dried chestnuts and use that flour."

"Chestnut flour? No, why...?"

"Does anyone know what the Royal Consort enjoys eating and what she can't eat?"

No one in the Royal Kitchen readily answered.

The former Royal Kitchen Staff carefully spoke up.

"It is difficult to know for sure unless you are a Queen Dowager's Kitchen Staff. Moreover, Royal Concubine has strictly ordered that those who serve the King should not freely mingle with the people of the Queen's Residence."

Hearing those words, Ji-young began to get a rough idea of the situation.

'As expected, it was an environment where it was impossible to get proper information about the Royal Consort's constitution!'

Nok-su must have been plotting with this in mind.

Ji-young had no choice but to briefly explain why she needed chestnut flour instead of wheat flour.

"Actually, I happened to find out that... the Royal Consort is unable to digest Wheat Flour due to her constitution. If we present the food as it is, something terrible might happen."

As soon as those words were spoken, the inside of the Royal Kitchen began to stir lightly.

Ji-young calmly continued to speak.

"But you don't have to worry. There is an ingredient that can be used instead of Wheat Flour. That's the chestnut flour that I just asked for. I've seen something similar being made with chestnut flour in the place where I used to work."

At those words, the former Royal Kitchen Staff thought carefully and nodded.

"Now that I think about it... there are cases where chestnut flour is mixed in when making Sweet Rice Cake to add stickiness. If we do it well, it seems like it could be a good substitute for Wheat Flour. Please wait a moment. I'll select the best ones and grind them into a fine powder."

While the former Royal Kitchen Staff hurriedly brought the chestnuts and ground them into a fine powder, Ji-young and Jang-geum pounded rice to make rice flour.

"We mix the rice flour and chestnut flour in the right ratio like this."

In front of Jang-geum, who was looking with sparkling eyes, Ji-young added egg yolks, milk, and sugar to the flour and kneaded it while checking the consistency from time to time.

"When it reaches a consistency similar to the wheat flour dough we made earlier, we try it in the same way."

Soon, when the right consistency was achieved, Ji-young put the dough in an earthenware pot and pushed it deep into the corner of the stove.

"I wonder... will it work?"

Ji-young replied to the former Royal Kitchen Staff, who asked with worried eyes.

"We have no choice but to believe and try. There's no other way..."

How long had they waited?

A moment later, when she took the earthenware pot out of the stove, a bright smile spread across Ji-young's face.

A yellow and fluffy, beautiful Tiramisu cake was revealing its radiant appearance.

---

"Indeed, amazing."

Those were the first words that came out of the Royal Consort's mouth after she put a piece of Tiramisu in her mouth with a small silver spoon and savored it for a while.

"The taste of this Western Cake is amazing, and so are you for making it all the way here."

"I am deeply grateful..."

The Royal Consort smiled lightly, amused by Ji-young's awkward use of honorifics that she was not yet familiar with.

"I heard that you came here from a foreign country?"

"That is... correct..."

"Thanks to you, I am having a precious experience in this Deep Royal Palace."

"I am... honored..."

The Royal Consort took a sip of chrysanthemum tea that came with the Tiramisu and continued to speak.

"Would you like to have an even more precious experience?"

"...Yes?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Ji-young raised her head, her eyes meeting the Royal Consort's intelligent eyes.

"The fact that you, who serve the King, came to this Queen's Residence must have come from Royal Concubine Jang's mind."

"...How did you know...?"

"And the fact that I ate this and have been fine until now means that there is no Wheat Flour in it."

Indeed, she was a surprisingly intelligent woman.

Sitting deep in the Queen's Palace, she knew what was going on inside the palace as if it were the back of her hand.

"Royal Guard Captain, are you outside?"

At the Royal Consort's call, the paper door soon opened, and a man entered the room, knelt down, and bowed.

Thick eyebrows and sideburns, the very man who had delivered the Secret Order to Ji-young in the marketplace.

"Y-You are...!"

The Royal Consort introduced the man to Ji-young, who was surprised with wide eyes.

"He is Shin Su-hyeok, the Royal Guard Captain who protects the palace. And... he is also my older brother."

The Royal Consort turned her head slightly toward the Royal Guard Captain, who was kneeling.

"Older brother, you have done a great service by taking on the difficult task of delivering the Secret Order."

"Your Majesty, please lower your words. People are listening."

The Royal Guard Captain in Military Uniform bowed his head even deeper as he replied.

The Royal Consort continued to say more and more perplexing things to Ji-young, who was still bewildered as to what was going on.

"Ji-young, was it? A little while ago, I asked if you would like to have a precious experience?"

"...Yes?"

"I have set a trap in the palace, would you like to see what gets caught?"

"A t-trap..."

It felt like a strange smile briefly flashed across the Royal Consort's gentle face.

"Wouldn't you like to see Royal Concubine Jang cornered and wailing...?"

※Author's Note

Shin Su-hyeok, the Royal Guard Captain and older brother of the Royal Consort, is a fictional character and an original character in this work.

However, there is a motif.

In the original history, the Royal Consort had three older brothers, Shin Su-geun, Shin Su-yeong, and Shin Su-gyeom, in that order.

So, you can think of Shin Su-hyeok as the Royal Consort's fourth older brother, who does not exist in history.