Chapter 40: The Stingers’ Unveiling
LUCA handed off the white and black stingers to the head chef. When he tasted them, his eyes widened in surprise at the unique scent and jolt of flavor, neither of which he had experienced until now.
“Manager, do we have Lady Bertine to thank for these as well?”
“That’s right. She discovered them somewhere in the Southern Federation.”
“Black for meat and white for fish, yes?”
“Is what she said. Also, you can use however much you want to your taste.”
The head chef folded his arms and scrutinized the stingers for some time. Tonight’s main dish would be braised beef tongue. He wondered if he should put a few of the black ones in while the stew simmered. Or might it be better to sprinkle some on at the end?
“I’ll try out various arrangements. This will certainly test my skills, eh, manager?”
“There’s a good chance they’ll wind up as popular as the jams and marmalades.”
“Do you plan to sell them? I would rather not have other chefs get their hands on these just yet, so kindly hold off on your plan. They’re called stingers, right? Why don’t we just keep them as a special privilege for our hotel’s guests only?”
“Hmmm.”
If Luca had only the hotel to consider, he would have readily agreed to the head chef’s suggestion. But he personally wanted to increase Bertine’s profits from this venture too. After all, the Rose Hotel only existed because of the marquess. So Luca decided Bertine should take priority in this situation.
“How about we do this? Once the stingers have become the talk of the town, I’ll first sell them off in small amounts at a high price. Those sales will determine how to deal with them after.”
He would need to get Bertine’s permission before implementing his course of action. Moreover, he wanted to inform the marquess of her activities. Not to mention she had given him a letter to give to her father.
So Luca decided to hide two letters, his own and Bertine’s, inside a package containing confections baked at the hotel. The marchioness wouldn’t be suspicious of anything coming from the hotel. He tied off the package with a pretty ribbon to make it look like a gift, then included a card sporting the Rose Hotel’s name. It was addressed to the marquess.
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A week had passed since the head chef came into possession of the stingers. At the Rose Hotel, a luncheon was being hosted by ten nobles whom the emperor favored strongly with his trust. The latest topic of conversation among them was how uniform the price of Federation wheat had become, set to a minimum of seven large silver coins per wagonload.
“What an aggressive price increase. It seems some in the Federation realized the chronic wheat shortages here in our country. At the emperor’s behest, we’ve been purchasing the wheat wholesale on individual contracts with Federation sellers, so this is absurd.”
“It must have been Cecilio, the Federation’s leader, who noticed the shortage and raised the prices. Otherwise, there is no way he would have been able to enforce the minimum price throughout every corner of that enormous nation.”
“Cecilio’s appearance on the political stage has pushed the Federation forward a decade, no, two decades into the future in a single stroke. Astounding progress.”
“I wish they had continued living in their tribes fighting amongst each other. Would have continued making our lives easier, eh?”
“He’s an eagle who doesn’t fly with pigeons.”
“An aggravating man indeed.”
The others nodded in agreement, their expressions acrimonious as they recalled that very bird of prey Cecilio embodied on the Federation’s flag. While conversing, they steadily made their way through the appetizer and soup courses. Then they started on the main dish, flounder basted in butter.
“Hm? What are these white seeds?”
“Count Adler, please taste it yourself. The flavor is incredible!”
“I wonder where this crushed powder comes from. Such a stimulating aroma and taste.”
The ten nobles sampled their morsels dusted in the powder and were all surprised by the flavor. These parts of the flounder were far more delicious than the pieces breaded and basted in butter. When they bit into the mysterious powder, the aroma flooded their mouths.
“This powder really brings out the flavor of the flounder, doesn’t it?”
“I agree. After experiencing such an amazing taste and scent, the butter-basted bits leave me unsatisfied.”
Their discussion on wheat prices disappeared completely as they all concentrated on the butter-basted flounder. They continued making astonished comments while they ate. Once the fish course was over and their empty plates were taken away, they were served braised veal. One of the aristocrats questioned the waiter.
“Can you tell us if the mysterious powder on the flounder was some sort of herb?”
“Yes, I believe so. It goes by the name of ‘stinger,’ and we recently acquired a supply of it.”
“Stinger, you say?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
The noble looked down at his plate and saw a black powder dusting the braised veal. This time, they all took a bite of the dish.
“Wow! The aroma is much stronger than the white one.”
“Pungent and spicy but also very fragrant.”
“I would love to know where these powders come from.”
“They will definitely sell well. Before they go on the market though, I’d rather take some home with me for my chef to use.”
It hadn’t taken long for their conversation to center around the stingers now.
“I’m quite partial to the black.”
“Ah, but the milder flavor of the white can’t be so easily dismissed.”
“I want to buy some for myself.”
As they raved about the stingers, the waiter brought them their dessert course. It consisted of cheese coated in honey and pastries. The pastries were covered in a soft yellow marmalade and bright red sauce.
“Such a refreshing sauce, although the aroma differs from berry fruits.”
“I’ve never seen this fruit before either. What a rich scent.”
“I think the white stingers would go well with this honeyed cheese.”
Clearly, a few of them had already fallen completely under the stingers’ spell. After their luncheon ended, they asked for the chef because they wanted to know more about the stingers. The manager arrived instead.
“Those things called stingers are marvelous. So aromatic too. Very appetizing indeed.”
“Thank you very much. They were actually gifted to our hotel and are quite a precious commodity. We currently have one jar each, around this size, of the white and black stingers.” Luca used his hands to describe the size of the jars.
“Only one jar of each? Is that all you have in stock?”
“Yes, at present.”
“Will you be receiving a greater supply anytime soon?”
“I certainly hope so. We’re currently doing our best to negotiate a stable supply for the hotel.”
“Which means if I want to eat these stingers again, I have no choice but to dine here?”
“Unfortunately, that’s exactly the case.”
Luca did his best to project an apologetic expression to accompany his polite reply, but he was afraid his lips would split into a grin at any moment. Since Bertie had wanted the Rose Hotel to be the first sales hub for the stingers, he knew it wouldn’t be a problem to acquire more supplies. But people were easily lured in by the words “precious” and “limited.” However, they would dismiss a product if the price didn’t match its value, so it was the merchant’s responsibility to find that fine line.
The nobles’ luncheon started with a discussion on wheat and ended with one on stingers. They had no notion whatsoever that a young woman was responsible for both topics.