The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 52: Own Recipes

After all was said and done, both Mineah and Nikolai got dressed and went back to the stone house. Neither of them talked about what exactly happened between the two of them back in the crater lake, but the tension between them was palpable even as they finally arrived back in the warmth and safety of their current arrangements.

Mineah let out a soft sigh as she finally sat down on a soft couch after what felt like ages of being in close proximity to Nikolai. Not that she didn't like being near him, much to her own detriment, but she still wanted some kind of rest after… well, everything that had happened.

"I'll go ahead and get something," Nikolai announced as soon as he had put her down. "You can go ahead and relax while I'm gone."

Mineah blinked at his sudden cold tone. Why? After everything they've been together?

'This is awkward,' she couldn't help but grumble to herself as she watched him silently leave. 'I know I didn't do something wrong, but why does it feel like he's keeping his distance from me again?'

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Tried as she might, but she just couldn't wrap her head around him. Or maybe she was just being paranoid. After all, they did just…

'Or maybe he's planning something again,' she inwardly thought, her face reddening as her imagination suddenly began to spiral out of control. 'Maybe he's going to come out naked again… Or maybe he's going to make me follow him to the privy and make things happen between us again…'

"Mine…"

Inevitably, her mind began playing out the same images of what happened between them in the crater lake. The way his hands roamed her body… of how her own began to caress his rock-hard muscles…

"Mine…"

The sensations that ran through her body earlier that day were something that she would never forget. Why, she could already feel herself getting wet just from thinking-

"Mine."

Mineah flinched at the sudden interruption, her train of thought grinding to a screeching halt as she heard Nikolai firmly calling for her.

Her cheeks were still red from her daydreaming, she did her best to look composed as she asked, "Y-Yes?"

"I was asking if you want something to eat," he casually stated, a hint of worry coloring his tone. "You clearly had something in mind, however. Or are you feeling unwell? You're blushing."

Before she could even deny his words, Nikolai had already closed the distance between them, his forehead touching hers as if to check his temperature.

"I-I'm fine, Lai," she insisted as she weakly waved her hands against him. "I'm just a bit hungry again, I think…"

That last statement was a lie, but he didn't need to know that. She just wanted him out of her personal space before something else happened between them again.

Thankfully, he seemed to be satisfied with what he felt from her as he gave her a small smile. "I see. You weren't too warm as well. Shall we cook something up then?"

Just from hearing his offer, Mineah couldn't help but smile as she stood up. "Sure. Do you need me to do anything to help?"

"Nothing much," he casually waved his hand to her. "In fact, I want you to watch closely. You want to learn how to cook, right? Then you better keep up."

Mineah eagerly nodded as she fell into lockstep behind him. Making their way to the kitchen, she watched as he pulled out a few supplies from the cabin's storeroom. From what she could gather, he was going to prepare a soup of some kind with dried meats and vegetables as ingredients.

"Here."

She blinked as Nikolai handed her a knife. Looking at the tool, she gingerly held it in her hands as she assumed what she had to do.

"I want you to chop up these ingredients," he instructed her, to which she quickly nodded as she took her place beside him by the counter. "Chop them up into cubes. Don't make them too thick, however. Doing so would make it harder to cook them."

"Right."

Nodding to herself, Mineah got to work following her husband's instructions. And after she was done chopping up the ingredients, she was then quickly put to work tending the fire over their stove.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was busy preparing the meat, his hands moving with purpose as he rubbed salt and spices onto every ingredient that needed such treatment.

"Now, Mine, every type of meat requires a different way of preparation for them to be tasty," Nikolai lectured as he began to put ingredients into the boiling pot of water.

"In this case, dried meat will need a bit more care put into them by lightly seasoning it with salt and pepper. Having already been smoke-dried, it already has a lot of flavor waiting to be released in the water."

"I see," Mineah nodded. "That means putting after the vegetables, right?"

"Exactly," he hummed as he did exactly that. "Normally, such isn't the case. But seeing as the meat is already partly cooked by the smoke, it wouldn't need much heat put into it, allowing us to put it in after the harder to cook vegetables."

Mineah eagerly nodded as she watched him work. Stirring the pot, her eyes kept observing each and every action he took, until eventually, they had a tasty-smelling pot of stew just waiting for them to eat it.

"And that's done," he announced as he pulled out two empty bowls. "Stews are hard to get wrong, and I'm sure that you can liken it to potion making."

"Indeed," Mineah hummed in agreement as she grabbed the bowl of fresh stew he just gave her. "I just have to keep the temperatures constant and make sure that I don't get my seasonings wrong."

"Exactly," he nodded in approval. "Now, let's eat."

Trailing behind him once more, Mineah allowed herself to sit beside him on the dining room table as they partook in their collaborative work. Taking a sip of the stew, Mineah couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction at its deliciousness.

"Good, right?" Nikolai smirked.

"I'll make sure to replicate this some time in the future," she determinedly nodded. "And once I get my flavors right, I can make my own recipes for you to try."

"I'll be looking forward to them then."

The two of them ate in comfortable silence, the tension from earlier quickly melting as they both enjoyed each other's presence. All the while, Mineah was already thinking of how to make her own version of this stew they just cooked. Surely, she just had to follow things step by step.

Not unlike potion making, he said… If so, then she was sure she was going to succeed.