I had survived the silverware disaster.



I had recovered from the system's ridiculous penalty.



And I had narrowly escaped dying of secondhand embarrassment in front of Lord Cassian Valenhardt, the King's personal physician and part-time menace to my dignity.



Now, I just needed to keep my head down, avoid more system punishments, and stay out of trouble.



Which was, of course, impossible.



Because the moment I stepped back into the servant's quarters, the head maid was waiting for me.



"Thalia."



I flinched. Oh no.



"I heard about your... unfortunate incident in the workroom," she said flatly.



I straightened. "Ah, yes. A tragic, unexpected accident—"



She cut me off. "You're banned from handling royal tableware for the next month."



"...Excuse me?!"



She ignored my outrage and thrust a folded apron into my hands. "You'll be assisting in the palace kitchens for today. Try not to destroy anything."



[New Task Assigned: Assist in the Palace Kitchen (Difficulty: Beginner)]

Reminder: Failure to complete your task will result in a penalty.



Oh, for the love of—!



~~~



Mara, my only ally in this cruel world, led me down to the palace kitchens, where the air was thick with the scent of spices, sizzling meats, and freshly baked bread.



I inhaled deeply. Ah. Heaven.



If there was one thing I did appreciate, it was good food.



A large, muscular man in a stained chef's uniform spotted us and grunted in approval.



"This the new one?" he asked Mara, eyeing me.



She nodded. "Her name's Thalia. Be nice."



The chef—who looked like he wrestled wild boars for fun—grinned. "Nice? In my kitchen? Ha! Good joke, lass."



I cleared my throat. "I'm standing right here."



He clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Welcome, newbie! I'm Chef Godric. Try to keep up, yeah?"



Try? Oh, please. How hard could kitchen work really be?



"Peel these," Godric ordered, shoving a huge basket of onions at me.



I frowned. "You want me to... peel onions?"



"Got a problem with that?"



"No, no. I was just expecting something... grander."



Mara snorted. "You were demoted from silverware duty. What were you expecting, a royal feast assignment?"



...Okay, fair.



I sighed and grabbed an onion. Simple. Easy. I could do this.



Then, I immediately sliced my finger on the first layer of skin.



I hissed in pain. "What the—?!"



Mara blinked. "Did you just cut yourself... on an onion?"



"...No."



[Alert: Minor Injury Detected! -0.5 HP]



EXCUSE ME?!



I stared at the floating -0.5 HP like it had personally offended me.



"What kind of RPG nonsense is this?!" I muttered.



Godric chuckled. "Better toughen up, lass! You'll be here all day."



I groaned. This was going to be a nightmare.



~~~



Just when I thought my day couldn't get worse, I heard a high-pitched, fake-sweet voice behind me.



"Well, well, well. If it isn't the noble-turned-maid."



I stiffened.



Mara whispered beside me, "Uh-oh."



I turned to see a blonde maid with icy blue eyes and a smirk that could curdle milk.



"Who are you?" I asked, already annoyed.



She gasped theatrically. "Oh dear, you don't even know my name? How tragic! But I suppose that makes sense. You must be far too busy failing at basic maid duties to pay attention."



Mara leaned in. "That's **Elara. She's one of the senior maids... and kind of a nightmare."



Ah. Of course. There was always a rival.



Elara smiled sweetly. "Word around the palace is that you've already embarrassed yourself twice today. That must be a new record!"



I crossed my arms. "You're keeping track? How flattering. I must be very important to you."



Her smile twitched.



Godric, sensing incoming disaster, clapped his hands. "Oi! Less talking, more working!"



Elara huffed, flipping her hair. "Try not to ruin the banquet, new girl."



I narrowed my eyes. Oh, it was on.



As the day went on, I somehow managed to survive the onion-peeling phase without losing a finger.



Just when I thought I was finally improving, Godric dropped another order.



"Alright, Thalia. Make a simple vegetable stew."



I perked up. Cooking?! Oh, I could do that!



I had spent years watching my personal chefs. How hard could it be?



I grabbed a pot and started adding chopped vegetables, broth, and spices.



Mara watched nervously. "Uh, Thalia... are you sure that's the right amount of salt?"



"Of course," I said confidently. "I watched five-star chefs do this all the time."



Five minutes later...



Godric took one spoonful of my stew.



Then, he gagged.



"WHAT THE—?!" he slammed the spoon down. "HOW MUCH SALT DID YOU PUT IN THIS?!"



I blinked innocently. "A... normal amount?"



Mara dipped a finger in and immediately recoiled. "Thalia, this could kill someone."



[Task Failed: Cooking Disaster!]

[Applying Penalty...]



...Oh no.



My stomach churned violently.



I froze. "Wait—what kind of penalty is—"



Before I could finish, a wave of nausea hit me.



[Penalty: Stomachache – Duration: 15 Minutes]



I groaned. "WHY IS THIS SYSTEM SO CRUEL?!"



Elara, who had been watching the whole thing, burst into laughter.



"Oh, this is too good," she snickered. "You poisoned yourself? Impressive!"



I slumped over the counter, cursing the system, Elara, and every grain of salt in existence.



Mara patted my back as I dramatically suffered from my own cooking.



"Well," she said, "at least you're not banned from the kitchen... yet."



I groaned. "Just let me die."



Godric sighed. "You're hopeless, but we need all hands on deck for tomorrow's banquet. Try not to kill anyone with seasoning."



I lifted my head weakly. "I make no promises."



As I staggered out of the kitchen, I caught Cassian standing in the hallway, watching me.



Smirking.



Because of course he saw everything.



He chuckled. "Still enjoying your new life, my lady?"



I glared. "Shut up, Valenhardt."