Princess’s Point of View

I woke up with excitement as today was the day the new spice bundles would come in. One of the greatest joys in my life now is tasting all the new and unique foods my chefs can cook with those bundles. My mouth started to water as I thought of it; my food choices are heavily curated, and the only way I can eat anything good is if it is covered in those spices.

I got my clothes ready as I made my way downstairs. While I was in an unnaturally good mood, it also meant the house staff was in a similar upbeat mood to me. I rushed downstairs and enjoyed an extremely delicious breakfast mixed with many new spices I had never tried before. It was so delicious I couldn’t help but rub my cheeks in delight, which I hadn’t done ever since I was a child.

I was forced to grow up too soon; my entire life was already planned for me, and I was not much more than a trophy wife to give away to whoever won the succession race at this point. I would become the wife of a nobleman who supported the first prince, most likely, which was unfortunate, but there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.

The breakfast was good, but I could tell by the smirk on the chef’s face that it was only the start, which made me look forward to lunch, or perhaps dinner. I not so patiently waited for the time to pass until I could eat again. Normally, I’d be at an etiquette lesson or doing needlework, perhaps even reading, but today I was just so excited that I waited out on the veranda talking with the maids about how delicious breakfast was.

Soon enough, I was waiting for the chef to bring out the lunch… And as I looked at it, I was underwhelmed. It was just toast and blueberry jam? The chef smiled as he mentioned. “That jam is from Ultra-Lux, which is the farm that makes the spice bundles.” Now he had me intrigued. It wasn’t much for lunch, but that was how most of my meals were: it was either bland and plentiful or rich and meager.

It was most of a jar(possibly one bite taken to test for poison) and half a loaf of freshly baked bread, unless this jam was something special, I’d be disappointed. I prepared a piece of bread with just the jam and no butter first; my palate was extremely delicate, and I could taste the difference. The butter was most likely churned today, but it didn’t look like the compound butter I would normally eat this bread as it was prepared to be eaten with the jam.

It only took a single bite for me to know what was different about this jam. Besides the intense burst of strawberry flavor, it was cold, physically cold, which shouldn’t be possible. It gave it a taste more closely tied to soft serve ice cream than jam or jelly. I had eaten ice cream before, but I knew it was a very expensive treat that took an experienced chef to make correctly.

I coated my mouth with the delicious taste as I smacked my lips and asked. “I’m curious. How much did this cost?” The chef frowned slightly. “Five platinum coins.” I paused for a moment. That seemed about the same cost as making ice cream, so it wouldn’t have much of a consumer base at this price, possibly people buying it one off just to taste it.

“Hmm. That price seems awfully high for what it is. Is there something special about it?” The chef spoke again. “Yes… That magified strawberry jam you’re eating is of rare quality and, unlike ice cream, it will stay that temperature regardless of the temperature outside.” That made me freeze for a moment. Ice cream was expensive here, but it would be even more so in the north, where ice to make it would be much harder to come by. 

I quickly ate the entire container before rubbing my belly in satisfaction. My body felt refreshed from the jam, and while I ate it quickly, there were no signs of brain freeze that came with normal ice cream. The chef wheeled out another small dish. My eyebrows raised as I looked on it as I thought the jam was my entire meal. With a smile, he said. “That jam is far less calorically dense than normal ice cream, so we also have a sampling plate of chicken wings covered in northern spices for you to try.”

A sampling plate meant I couldn’t eat the entire wing, only a single bite to taste the flavor being provided to me. It was still a welcome surprise. Eating the wings from least spicy to most first, I tried the first one. I critiqued them like normal as I did so. “This tastes very similar to what’s grown here, does this also have an improved quality above normal.”

The chef smiled as he explained. “Yes, this is the rare spice bundle. Not a single spice is below the rare level of quality… This bundle was much more expensive… But it can last years depending on how often we use them.” For him to bring up price, it must have been dramatically expensive, at least twice as much as the strawberry jam I just ate, no, that was a single meal, so possibly closer to four times as expensive.

Some weren’t that great, I could feel the increase in heat, but none of them really stood out to me as I made a suggestion. “Next time you serve me this meal. Serve them both at the same time, the coolness of the jam would help with breaking through all this heat.” “Of course, Princess Cynthia.” I smiled before getting back to the chicken.

It was getting too hot for me to tolerate around the halfway mark. “Is… How much hotter do these chicken wings get?” With the smile dropping off his face, he answered. “They get much hotter, but that next wing might help you finish them.” I looked incredulously at the ‘special’ wing. It didn’t look different. Consuming it, I could tell it was spicy, but I felt my hot body, which had begun to sweat, start to cool down as my mouth suddenly hurt significantly less.

“Wow, another magified ingredient, this must be why the bundle was so expensive.” “Well, that and the last few peppers can only be grown in the north. Miss, I’d suggest you hurry. The cooling effect of the spice only lasts about ten minutes.” I quickly finished the rest of the meal, and besides the uniqueness of it, it wasn’t for me. Perhaps if I were visiting with a northerner, I could have this same meal prepared for us, but I might possibly only want this type of meal once or twice a year.

“We have one more thing to show you from the Ultra-Lux farm.” He brought a… Clay box frame forward before putting it on the table. “There were wooden ones, but I figured the clay was more beautiful and you’d prefer it.” It looked like a pot someone might decorate their home with, perhaps grow some type of plant or use as a container. “What is it?”

As I asked, the pot rotated toward me, making me jump up in shock. The butler who was watching from the side explained this time. “It’s a specially made transport golem. It can hold things for you and follow you on flat surfaces.” I picked it up and felt its weight; it wasn’t that heavy, but hugging it felt natural. I wasn’t allowed to have pets, so I immediately began to bond with it as I tried to figure out a name for the little golem. “Franklin. Its name is Franklin.”