Raised in Dungeon

In the realm of a prosperous kingdom, where status and hierarchy were paramount. Unlike ordinary nobles, the royal family had the right to decide on one's life and death. If a royal family received a clear insult, an affront so severe that it was universally acknowledged as an unmistakable form of disrespect, it would not be surprising if a peasant had his head cut off on the spot because of it.

Margareth had the right and choice to do that to Allen, so asking Allen to be her "servant" for a day was a form of mercy.

"Yes, my lady," Allen replied when he saw Ayde's pale face. 'It seems like it would be dangerous for me to refuse,' he thought.

Margareth then smiled slyly. But that smile disappeared as soon as she saw the faces of everyone in the room, which were originally tense, become disappointed.

Not just the soldiers, but even Ayde and Michael as well.

Before Margareth could ask, Ayde asked with a worried face, "Your Highness, I apologize for my impertinence, but do you have any important business with Allen right now?"

"What does that mean?"

"It's lunchtime soon, so can you use Allen after lunch is over?"

Margareth's face was filled with confusion, "What does that mean? What's the connection between lunchtime and Allen?"

"Well, Allen is the cook in this house. And he has to start cooking, not just for me, but also for all the soldiers here."

"?"

"?"

"Hm?"

"Are you kidding?-"

Margareth looked around, then saw Allen.

"I'm begging you too," Allen said as he put his hand on his chest. "Can you forget about the punishment for the next hour? It doesn't have to be until after lunch, just until I finish cooking."

To her surprise, all the soldiers joined in and pleaded for Allen to be allowed to cook first. They all bowed their heads in unison and said,

"We also ask for your generosity!"

"Please, let Allen cook first!"

"We will also be your servants for a day to replace him!"

Margareth and Bertoph were immediately shocked.

"What the hell?"

Confusion, surprise, and anger were all mixed up inside her. For the first time in her life, she felt intimidation other than from her family. As a person who always hates everything, she really likes to move not according to people's expectations; she likes to make others upset with her decisions. But, seeing the people in front of her, bowing to her, just because of Allen, made her feel compelled to accept them.

'Allen, who exactly is he? What makes him so special to them?!' Margareth thought irritably.

...

...

...

Margareth Aldebra Wildenhall was originally known as a quiet child who often cried. But suddenly, once she received her god's blessing at 9, her nature changed. She publicly mentioned everything she hated, even to her mother and the king. Her mouth became a razor, cutting anyone who heard it.

Her striking and beautiful stature, coupled with her haughty and misanthropic demeanor, made her aura eerie, so that whenever she stepped into a room, people would immediately look at her with a bad feeling. And she enjoyed that feeling—a feeling that everyone was watching her and intimidated by her presence.

And now, as she sat in the kitchen watching Allen cook, it was as if she never existed. Not only was she ignored, but Margareth was sure that Allen had probably forgotten she was even there.

"Risa, can you please get more water in the back?"

"A-alright!"

"Bell, turn on the fire on the side, and start heating the rest of the water."

"Okay!"

"Palmer, if I'm not mistaken, there are ear mushrooms in the back of the house. Can you get them for me?"

"I will!"

In front of Margareth, Allen worked quickly with the maids. The maids were initially afraid to work while being watched by Margareth, but Allen instilled confidence and alleviated their initial apprehension. They grew accustomed to her gaze as time passed and gradually disregarded her presence altogether. It seemed as though Allen's contagious enthusiasm for the cook profoundly affected the maids, as they became engrossed in the tasks he assigned them, completely oblivious to the tension within the room.

'This is humiliation... This is really humiliation," Margareth thought. She was sitting in the main room of the kitchen in a plush chair that the soldier had brought her. It was near a large window, and Bertoph stood outside it.

Since the kitchen was not a place for nobles, Margareth changed her clothes into the most ordinary clothes Ayde had, and she wore a mask to get rid of the kitchen's unpleasant odor, but the smell still pierced her nose until she kept holding her nose with her hand.

"Lady, you'd better wait in the dining room," Bertoph whispered.

'He's right,' Margareth thought. 'What am I doing here?'

'I came to see how Allen was cooking. But it seems he's quite good at it, to the point where all the soldiers are begging me to let him cook.'

Margareth looked at Allen, who seemed to be busy with the ingredients, and she immediately remembered the Allen she had met who had tried to kill her brother in front of everyone.

'Cooking? Seriously! I originally asked him to be my servant to see his panicked face, but it turns out he wasn't far from servant status to begin with!'

Everyone had already completely ignored Margareth, even the knight, who was watching Allen seriously.

'Aaah I hate this,' Margareth thought. 'Staying here and watching him cook—I'm such a fool.'

Margareth finally stood up from her chair. The maids immediately reflexively looked at her, feeling anxious. When Margareth started walking, they immediately dropped what they were doing and saluted her.

"Hilda, please take the meat," only Allen did not salute.

Margareth looked at Allen sharply. Maid, who was standing next to Allen, tapped Allen on the shoulder to make him realize about Margareth.

"Ah!" Allen looked back and saw Margareth standing there, along with Bertoph, who seemed to have entered through the window.

"So-sorry for my impudence. Had we passed an hour? Please wait a little longer!" Allen said.

Margareth was silent. And Margareth's silence deafened the room. About a minute later, Margareth turned around and walked towards the door.

"I'll wait in the dining room," she said before walking out of the room.

...

Because of Margareth's presence, the dining table became a little awkward; Ayde and Michael were silent as they bowed their heads.

Margareth sat on the guest chair, along with her knight, who sat to her left. The maids then came with the food and placed it on the table. After they prayed, the hood was removed.

"What is this?" asked Margareth as she looked at the food before her.

"It's called leek soup, your highness. It's specially made whenever guests come," Ayde replied.

"Don't patronize me; I know what this is. Are you seriously giving this to a guest? Isn't this peasant food?"

"What do you expect? The cook is also a 15-year-old peasant," Bertoph said.

"Well, why don't you eat it first, your highness. If you don't like it, we can replace it with something else," said Reynold who had already started to spoon the food into his mouth.

Margareth stares at the food.

'It looks good and smells good too; it's probably fine,' Margareth thought.

She then looked at Bertoph, who had already started eating the soup with gusto.

Hesitantly, Margareth began to lift her spoon and put the soup into her mouth.

___Five minutes passed

Allen came to the dining table in new clothes. Reynold asked him to come to the dining table when the guests arrived. And before coming, in five minutes, he had to take a quick bath and change into the official Boldenville family knight clothes because as a cook, he would be asked many questions by the guests.

As Allen arrived at the dining room,

"I'm full," came Margareth's voice, and the clink of her silver spoon fell to the floor. Allen was at the entrance gate behind Margareth.

Rachel picked up the spoon, and then just as she was about to clear Margareth's plate, Rachel looked at the soup, which was almost untouched, it seemed like she had only eaten up to five spoons.

"Was the dish not to your taste?" Rachel asked.

"Aah no, I liked the dish. It's good," said Margareth. "But I hated it, hated it so much that I didn't want it to fill my body; please bring me an ordinary loaf later."

She then stood up "I will go to the room provided. I'm a little tired today." She turned around and saw Allen standing behind her.

"So you're there apparently; that's good. Come to my room later. There are many things I want to talk to you about. About the old you and my brother, Leofric."

"A-alright," Allen replied. His heart ached to know that the person in front of him hated the food he made so much that he didn't realize she spoke Leofric's name.