Dorothea Coyett bore a strong sense of nobility. This was more than the pride of Swedish aristocrat, though. Rather, hers was the nobility claimed by a great many mages. Possessing abundant assets and vast domains, as well as wielding Mystics so powerful that no ordinary person could even fathom them, mages such as her were effectively superior beings. Perhaps for them, the title of "noble" was right on the mark. And those in superior positions must partake in suitably superior fare. Take breakfast, for example. Even while in a foreign nation of the Orient, freshly baked bread was a must. Ham, cheese, and a butter spread went without saying. "I'll have a nice gouda to go with fresh bread. Ham and butter too, of course. And I'll leave how to prepare the eggs up to you." These were the instructions she was said to have given regarding her breakfast menu the morning she decided to accompany her father, Fredrik Coyett, on his voyage to Japan. Her requests were completely unreasonable.
Bread—not an especially difficult order. Needless to say, it had to be made with pure wheat flour. This much was ordained by the house retainer, Giovanni. Bread made from rye or maize may have been a choice, with the rye variety being especially popular in the Netherlands. Dorothea, however, preferred the softness of wheat bread. And though the scale of production was less than that of rice, wheat was readily found in Japan. Compared to making castella, the ingredients for this bread were probably still easy enough to find. On the other hand, baking bread required a stove, which needed to be assembled on-site with all haste.
Cheese and butter—these presented a challenge, as dairy products were still uncommon in Japan at this time. Dairy products had come over long ago during the Asuka period of the seventh century, but the Japanese would have to wait until decades after the Keian era before dairy farming would become more popular. Considering the lengthy voyages needed to import gouda and other hard cheeses that kept well, finding even a sliver of cheese in Japan was no mean feat. As such, there was no choice but to start from scratch with milk from draft cattle.
Ham—Dorothea was especially fond of the pork variety. With the decrease in meat consumption brought about by the arrival of Buddhism, pig farming had dwindled in Japan to the point that pork had become an even rarer commodity than cow's milk. Mercifully, there was still some in the Satsuma domain. When the Satsuma invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom at the beginning of the century, they brought home many meat swine. From that point on, their culture adopted pork into the local cuisine. It was possible to make ham by importing pork from Satsuma. Knowing that the alternative would require sailing to Formosa, Dorothea's retainer was allegedly quite relived.
Eggs—the easiest to obtain of the listed ingredients. Chickens were commonly kept in Japan as an excellent means to tell the time. Because of this, eggs were easy to come by.
Thankfully, that was everything. What was little more than a single part of Dorothea Coyett's daily routine proved to be a toilsome task for many of her underlings. In the end, however, her precious, hand-crafted breakfast was complete.
"How have this morning's eggs been prepared?" "Poached, my lady." "I see." Just another morning. Following this casual exchange with the retainer, Dorothea Coyett set about gracefully eating her breakfast. After a time, she turned to address Kouga Saburou, the imposing Assassin standing nearby. "I want you to patrol a bit further afield today. We must ready ourselves for battle." She had no qualms about giving orders to a supernatural entity that could very well be considered an embodiment of Mystics. This was Dorothea Coyett's nature—a born ruler with a regal air who commanded others to fulfill her obligations to her domain and people. Such impeccable conduct, her Servant thought. If only my descendants could see this fine figure of majesty... "Was there something else, Assassin?" "No. I was simply lost in thought." "I see." Dorothea pondered for a moment and added, "I don't mean to belittle the might of a divinely endowed Heroic Spirit, but you would do well to remember that if you ever hide something from me, my magecraft will lay it bare." Assassin tittered and said, "You have such a way with words, Princess." "And stop calling me 'princess.'" She sighed and raised another bite of poached egg to her lips. "Goodness. Today's eggs are delectable."
Later, when Giovanni the retainer passed this compliment on to the chef, he was moved to tears. His children and their children would cherish this momentous day for generations to come.
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of dorothea coyett & assassin.
This was more than the pride of Swedish aristocrat, though. Rather, hers was the nobility claimed by a great many mages.
Possessing abundant assets and vast domains, as well as wielding Mystics so powerful that no ordinary person could even fathom them, mages such as her were effectively superior beings. Perhaps for them, the title of "noble" was right on the mark.
And those in superior positions must partake in suitably superior fare.
Take breakfast, for example. Even while in a foreign nation of the Orient, freshly baked bread was a must. Ham, cheese, and a butter spread went without saying.
"I'll have a nice gouda to go with fresh bread. Ham and butter too, of course. And I'll leave how to prepare the eggs up to you."
These were the instructions she was said to have given regarding her breakfast menu the morning she decided to accompany her father, Fredrik Coyett, on his voyage to Japan.
Her requests were completely unreasonable.
Bread—not an especially difficult order.
Needless to say, it had to be made with pure wheat flour. This much was ordained by the house retainer, Giovanni.
Bread made from rye or maize may have been a choice, with the rye variety being especially popular in the Netherlands. Dorothea, however, preferred the softness of wheat bread. And though the scale of production was less than that of rice, wheat was readily found in Japan. Compared to making castella, the ingredients for this bread were probably still easy enough to find.
On the other hand, baking bread required a stove, which needed to be assembled on-site with all haste.
Cheese and butter—these presented a challenge, as dairy products were still uncommon in Japan at this time.
Dairy products had come over long ago during the Asuka period of the seventh century, but the Japanese would have to wait until decades after the Keian era before dairy farming would become more popular.
Considering the lengthy voyages needed to import gouda and other hard cheeses that kept well, finding even a sliver of cheese in Japan was no mean feat.
As such, there was no choice but to start from scratch with milk from draft cattle.
Ham—Dorothea was especially fond of the pork variety.
With the decrease in meat consumption brought about by the arrival of Buddhism, pig farming had dwindled in Japan to the point that pork had become an even rarer commodity than cow's milk. Mercifully, there was still some in the Satsuma domain. When the Satsuma invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom at the beginning of the century, they brought home many meat swine. From that point on, their culture adopted pork into the local cuisine.
It was possible to make ham by importing pork from Satsuma. Knowing that the alternative would require sailing to Formosa, Dorothea's retainer was allegedly quite relived.
Eggs—the easiest to obtain of the listed ingredients.
Chickens were commonly kept in Japan as an excellent means to tell the time. Because of this, eggs were easy to come by.
Thankfully, that was everything.
What was little more than a single part of Dorothea Coyett's daily routine proved to be a toilsome task for many of her underlings. In the end, however, her precious, hand-crafted breakfast was complete.
"How have this morning's eggs been prepared?"
"Poached, my lady."
"I see."
Just another morning.
Following this casual exchange with the retainer, Dorothea Coyett set about gracefully eating her breakfast. After a time, she turned to address Kouga Saburou, the imposing Assassin standing nearby.
"I want you to patrol a bit further afield today. We must ready ourselves for battle."
She had no qualms about giving orders to a supernatural entity that could very well be considered an embodiment of Mystics. This was Dorothea Coyett's nature—a born ruler with a regal air who commanded others to fulfill her obligations to her domain and people.
Such impeccable conduct, her Servant thought. If only my descendants could see this fine figure of majesty...
"Was there something else, Assassin?"
"No. I was simply lost in thought."
"I see." Dorothea pondered for a moment and added, "I don't mean to belittle the might of a divinely endowed Heroic Spirit, but you would do well to remember that if you ever hide something from me, my magecraft will lay it bare."
Assassin tittered and said, "You have such a way with words, Princess."
"And stop calling me 'princess.'" She sighed and raised another bite of poached egg to her lips. "Goodness. Today's eggs are delectable."
Later, when Giovanni the retainer passed this compliment on to the chef, he was moved to tears. His children and their children would cherish this momentous day for generations to come.