Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince - Chapter 265

Chapter 265

Translator: Yonnee

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“I’ve been having some issues with magic, so I wanted to talk to you about it.”

Seo Ina hesitated after bringing up the topic. She wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries.

Knowing that the woman in front of her was also a dimensional traveler made her feel a connection, but they were completely different entities.

And after all…

She was the Jung-in of ‘that emperor’.

Seo Ina could still remember that day vividly.

When she suddenly found herself in another world, she accepted her new surroundings more positively than expected.

That’s because, in her original world, she had already been disillusioned by reality.

She worked hard and enjoyed cooking, but she never felt like she was living for herself.

It felt increasingly like she was being consumed by money and cooking.

The more people recognized her, the heavier the responsibility placed on her felt.

She just wanted to cook, but she had come too far. As her fame grew, so did the number of people following her.

She had told them several times to stop. Each time, people said she had to endure it, considering the money she was making.

It wasn’t wrong. But she also wondered how much she had to put up with.

She even thought about quitting cooking.

…But cooking was her entire life.

If she couldn’t make a living from cooking, then what was she supposed to do? She still had to live.

Her life needed a change. But what that change was, even Seo Ina didn’t know.

She was deep in thought about her problems when she suddenly dropped into a new world. No one knew anything about her.

Realizing this brought relief rather than fear of being in a new world.

It felt like a new opportunity given to her. Here, she could start anything anew.

She tried everything except cooking, but something felt missing. Eventually, Seo Ina started cooking again.

Strangely, all the ingredients for Korean cuisine were available in this world.

They were just not well known, but entirely not different from Korea.

It just wasn’t mainstream.

‘Korean cuisine, not mainstream? Hmm.’

Seo Ina’s peculiar patriotism ignited. She started introducing Korean food to new people.

Her mind was filled with recipes she had created over her lifetime.

Eventually, Seo Ina admitted that she and cooking were inseparable.

But certainly, being unknown among new people was nice.

Here, she was just a foreigner making somewhat strange but delicious food.

In a strange country where she knew no one, Seo Ina found comfort.

Yet, she was also aware of how talented she was.

Her cooking was becoming famous here too, and just like in Korea, it was only a matter of time before she experienced the same cycle.

‘…What should I do?’

As she pondered, that man appeared.

A man with an unreal appearance and a voice that could melt eardrums.

With thick eyebrows and sparkling red eyes, the man exuded both a languid and sharp atmosphere.

Even Seo Ina, who had little interest in other people, couldn’t help but acknowledge that man.

Albert Grey.

“How about working in the Imperial Palace?”

The Emperor, who had subjugated every foreign nation under his rule, came to hire her as a palace chef.

She had heard that he was returning from conquering a distant country not long ago, but she couldn’t understand why the emperor himself was standing before her now.

Albert, lowering his eyes, seemed bored with the situation.

However, Seo Ina noticed his fingers, resting on his chin, moving somewhat anxiously.

“Your answer?”

“If you can grant what I desire.”

“Conditions…”

Albert’s face softened with a fleeting smile, as if recalling something.

“…I would grant any condition if it ensures return.”

Those words were certainly not for her. The soft smile quickly turned self-deprecating.

After a moment, the man went back to his initial demeanor and spoke.

“If it’s within my power, I will do so.”

Despite demanding conditions from the emperor, Seo Ina saw how the man seemed not at all angered. Rather, he was treating her with a cool but polite demeanor.

‘The rumors truly can’t be trusted.’

The Albert Grey of the rumors was kind and amiable to people. That was probably more accurate when he was a ‘prince’.

Seo Ina took a deep breath to pull herself from her thoughts and laid out her conditions.

First, to ensure her safety.

While being treated as a palace chef wouldn’t be bad, thinking back on her previous life, this preparation made her much more comfortable.

Second, to match her salary.

Though she had been teaching the people here about cooking and doing odd jobs to make a living, the money she earned was significantly less compared to her previous life.

Seo Ina, with her high self-esteem, believed she could earn more than this.

“That’s all, Your Majesty.”

“Accepted.”