Half an hour later, Bella returned with a cart brimming with groceries.

She was elated by her shopping experience, relishing the joy of being a big spender for the first time.

Because she was buying in bulk, all the merchants had vied to sell to her. After the sale, concerned that she might struggle with the load, they even helped deliver the goods to her door with a pushcart.

Bella animatedly recounted her market adventures, while Luo Wei listened and shook her head with an amused smile.

These merchants were shrewd businessmen. They knew exactly which households in the city could afford meat, so of course they would seize the opportunity when they saw a big customer like her.

After all, with the poor meat preservation techniques and the high cost of salt and spices, it wasn't cost-effective to make jerky. If the meat spoiled, it would be a significant loss.

The poor couldn't afford meat, and the merchants couldn't sell all their stock.

When Bella started to move the ingredients into the kitchen, Roman and Tom came to help. The two boys lifted the heavy milk buckets into the house, straining with effort.

With everything prepared, Luo Wei donned a clean apron and entered the kitchen with Bella.

"My lady, are you... are you going to cook yourself?" Bella's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Luo Wei gave a slight nod, "Come, I'll teach you how to make bread. This is a royal secret recipe."

Bella was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself. A royal secret recipe? Could she really learn it?

Luo Wei instructed Bella to start the fire and put the spices into a clay pot according to the marinade recipe. She covered it and let it simmer. Then she taught Bella how to make butter using the milk.

"Bread without butter lacks soul and can't release that rich milky aroma," Luo Wei explained.

While making butter, they also prepared cream, as it was part of the same process.

Without a high-speed mixer, the eggs and milk had to be whipped by hand. Luo Wei called over the two maids who were taking care of the knights, and along with Roman and Tom, six people spent two hours successfully beating the mixture.

Lacking white sugar and gelatin, Luo Wei used almond sugar and fish glue as substitutes to make the cream base for the cake. She wasn't sure how it would taste.

She made small cakes while verbally guiding Bella in making small loaves of bread. The bread needed to ferment, and the butter needed to settle and separate, which made Bella a bit anxious.

"How could the royal chefs make bread so complicatedly?" Bella wondered. "Would they be able to serve meals to the master on time?"

As the sun set and the evening glow crept across the sky, Luo Wei put the cake base into the bread oven and began to refine the salt.

The coarse yellow sea salt grains had a bitter taste that would ruin the original flavor of the marinade if added directly. It needed to be purified and refined before use.

The almond sugar also contained many impurities and wasn't sweet enough.

Luo Wei sighed at the trouble and began to refine the sugar as well.

"Bella, remember to buy a bag of wheat tomorrow. I'll teach you how to make malt sugar."

She wanted to train Bella to be a chef skilled in both Chinese and Western cuisines, to console her poor stomach that had suffered so much in this world.

"Understood, my lady." Bella's expression was a mix of determination and despair, conflicted to the point of hair loss.

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Her hands had been whipping cream all afternoon and were still shaking. Suddenly, she felt that learning this royal secret recipe might not be absolutely necessary.

But looking at her master, who had just complained about the salt being too bitter and was now grumbling about the sugar not being sweet enough, Bella let out a long sigh.

What could she do? She had encountered such a delicate and picky master. No matter how troublesome, she had to do it!

She couldn't let her kind and beautiful master do it herself, could she?

As a qualified maid, she must learn to share her master's burdens!

Bella rekindled her determination and boldly snatched the almond sugar from Luo Wei's hands, saying indignantly, "How can you do such a thing?"

She picked up the iron hammer and started pounding the almond sugar with loud bangs: "This kind of rough work is not for your delicate fingers, my lady. Please let me, Bella, do it!"

Luo Wei watched as Bella wielded the hammer with a 'one against ten thousand' momentum, and couldn't help but smile.

"Bella, you're so adorable."

Coming to this world and meeting so many lovely people was her luck.

Hearing her praise, Bella blushed and swung the hammer even faster.

The master's voice must have magic, she thought. Perhaps it was like a siren's song that could bewitch people's hearts. Otherwise, how could she suddenly have inexhaustible strength after hearing her words?

As evening fell, Lilith returned.

Luo Wei looked out the window and saw her carrying a wooden box, hurriedly walking into the room of the two knights.

Inside the room.

"Robert, Vincent, wake up."

Lilith walked to the bedside of the two men and called out softly.

The two knights woke up groggily, their bodies burning with fever and their internal organs aching unbearably. Yet they still struggled to get up and salute her.

"Your Highness!"

"Don't move, lie back down." Lilith pressed them down, "You're seriously injured, there's no need for formalities."

The two lay back down, their faces flushed with fever yet showing an eerie grayness.

Lilith put down the wooden box and took out her wand from her sleeve. She cast two spells in succession: "Forbid prying, forbid eavesdropping!"

After reciting the spells, she opened the wooden box and took out two crystal vials the size of chicken eggs, with narrow mouths and round bellies.

"These are healing potions I begged from the dean. One for each of you."

She placed the crystal vials in their hands. "Drink up quickly."

"Your Highness, we are unworthy of such favor," the two knights said, tears welling up in their eyes with emotion.

The healing potion was an advanced magic potion, worth its weight in gold and rarely available on the market. For the princess to beg for magic potions for two lowly knights like them, how could they not be grateful?

Lilith said disapprovingly, "A knight's loyalty is priceless. You are my most trusted men, and you were injured protecting me. I cannot fail your loyalty."

"Drink the potion quickly, my brave knights. I cannot lose your protection and allegiance."

Robert and Vincent were immediately moved to tears. Their Princess was so merciful and valued her subordinates. She would surely become a benevolent ruler!

The two knights quickly drank the potions. The powerful energy of the advanced magic potion repaired their damaged internal organs. Within moments, their complexions had noticeably improved.

Lilith watched their transformation with her own eyes, and her anxious heart finally relaxed. "That's wonderful. The potion is effective. You should be fine after resting for a while longer."

As she was speaking, the two knights suddenly rolled out of bed, enduring the intense pain to pick up their long swords and kneel before her on one knee.

"What are you doing? Go back to bed!" Lilith stepped back.

"No, Your Highness, please accept our oath!" The two knights spoke in unison, their attitude resolute.

Lilith was visibly moved. She slowly stood up straight, clasping her hands in front of her abdomen. "My knights, please make your vow."

"I swear by my life to offer you all my loyalty. To sacrifice for you is my honor, to dedicate myself to you is my faith. My sword will fight to protect you until the last moment of my life. This oath is unbreakable until death!"

After speaking, Robert and Vincent bowed their heads and reverently raised their swords.

"I am willing to accept your oath and grant you honor." Lilith solemnly extended her right hand, touching each of their heads in turn.

With the oath of allegiance complete, the two knights stood up.

This was their second oath. The first was when the king bestowed upon them the knighthood medal.

Lilith looked at the two upright young men, feeling very satisfied in her heart.

Two vials of magic potion in exchange for two loyal confidants – her investment had yielded a rich return.

TBC