The King's Mistress

Chapter 73: Standing Up

It was a good dish to round off the earlier dishes she had prepared for them and for the other dishes they had tried so far. No one had made a dessert dish before her. Sierra had taken into consideration the judges of the contest, something the others had not done.

She knew they would have many dishes to taste. It was likely that most princesses would be presenting rich and flavorful dishes to impress the rulers of Drakin and their court.

But no one accounted for the fact that they may need a palate cleanser, or something to round off their meal. Needless to say, Sierra’s dishes and culinary skills left a good impression on the judges. As she stepped off to the side, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"You did great, Princess," Ida whispered as they headed back to their station to wait for the rest of the princesses to present their dishes. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"I couldn’t have done it without your help, Ida. I should be thanking you instead," Sierra chuckled.

After another hour the judging of the contest came to an end. Queen Roxine got up on her feet and announced that they would take a break so that the judges could discuss and determine the winner.

"In the meantime, all of the food that had been prepared for the first challenge will be collected for distribution. On behalf of the refugees in Drakin, I would like to extend my gratitude to those who contributed."

The Drakin Court were escorted out of the hall, to another room where they would discuss the details of the contest. As for the princesses who remained, they were allowed to mingle amongst themselves.

Myra came over to Sierra’s station, eager to try the dishes she had prepared. Taita came too, with dishes of her own for them to try. Other princesses saw what they were doing and joined in on the fun.

Everyone got to taste each others’ cooking. As they enjoyed the delectable food, some of them exchanged cooking tips too.

"I never knew such a dish existed. How did you come up with this, Sierra?" Myra asked out of curiosity.

She had never seen a meat bun before but found the idea to be pure genius. Furthermore, it would serve as a great dish to be eaten while on the road. Sierra bit her lip. The inspiration for the dish came from a similar dish she had eaten a long time ago.

When she used to live on the streets, begging for food, a street food stall owner once handed her a similar bread bun. It was filled with spiced meats and it filled her stomach up quickly. Without it, she might have died of hunger.

But Sierra could not tell that story to Myra. It would give her identity away. So, she spun another convincing tale instead.

"I had something similar once while traveling around my home kingdom of Cair with my father. It seemed like a great dish for the refugees to eat. It is easy to store and easy to distribute."

"You really thought it through, Princess Sierra!" Princess Taita added.

"Yeah! Even I didn’t think that far ahead. You don’t even need a bowl to hold this. Anyone could just pick one up to eat, it’s so simple!" Myra said.

"Hmph, it’s uncivilized. That’s what it is," Princess Agnes’ voice sounded loud and clear across the hall.

Everyone turned to look at her, then back at Sierra. Ida gritted her teeth. She did not like how Princess Agnes would always find every opportunity to put Sierra down. She wanted to stand up for her princess.

As soon as she took a step forward, Sierra held her back and shook her head. It was not worth fighting Princess Agnes, especially after what had happened earlier in the day.

Sierra could not stand back and do nothing.

"Uncivilised, you say?" She asked as she narrowed her gaze on Princess Agnes as she folded her arms, "I could say the same for you."

Sierra knew full well Agnes was simply trying to incite a response from her. If she reacted physically, she would have played right into her hand. However, Sierra was not about to do so. She was going to play Princess Agnes at her own game.

With a bit of luck and perseverance, she just might be able to beat her. Sierra kept her cool and reminded herself that from that point forward, she would play a game of words with Agnes. Words only.

One misstep and she would likely land herself in hot water. She had to be cautious.

"Same for me? Don’t group me together with you, Sierra. I won’t stoop that low," Agnes scoffed.

She was grinning from ear to ear. In her mind, she had successfully lured Sierra into the first phase of her trap. Though she had hoped Sierra would be quicker to anger, she would take what she could get.

"Low? You call this low?" Sierra arched her eyebrow, "It seems like we have different standards, Princess Agnes. I implore you not to group me together with yourself."

Myra gasped audibly, covering her mouth as she did. She was rooting for Sierra and it seemed like she had the upper hand now. Everyones’ attention was now shifted back to Agnes.

They were all waiting for her response.

But there was none. The princess’ mouth was agape. She was trying to formulate a reply, but nothing came of it. Princess Cassandra, who was watching from the sidelines, could not believe how things turned out.

"Perhaps I have underestimated Sierra after all," she muttered to herself. freewёbnoνel.com

As she glanced over to Agnes, she could not help but sigh. She had overestimated her ally.

Sierra would never forget that look on Princess Agnes’ face. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she decided to deal with the final blow. She glanced down at the princess’ ankle, which she claimed to have sprained earlier.

"I wouldn’t put so much pressure on your ankle if I were you, Princess Agnes. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt any more than you already have, now would we?"

Princess Agnes felt a cold chill traveling down the length of her spine. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she took a step back. She did not notice that one of her maids was behind her.

What happened next went by so quickly, that no one really caught sight of it. There was a yelp, followed by a thud. Princess Agnes had fallen backward onto her maid who was standing behind her.

In the process of doing so, she hurt her ankle. This time, the sprain was real. Ida could not help but chuckle. Agnes was getting what she deserved. The other princesses who saw what happened could not help but chuckle too.