How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart

Chapter 3-2

“How much... love you put into it?” she parroted.

“Love is the most important ingredient when it comes to preparing food⁠. What I mean is... when you put a lot of care into your dish, that will come through to those who eat it. It makes them appreciate the dish that much more. It’s something anyone can learn, but it’s one of those basics that’s surprisingly difficult to master,” he explained.

His mother had told him the exact same thing when he was a child, and he remembered how bizarre it had sounded to him back then. In fact, Chiaki has mentioned the same thing not too long ago in some strange coincidence. While he’d likely said it offhand just to impress his girlfriend, it was true that the lunch she’d prepared for him had been amazing.

Perhaps the “romantic” type of love was the special ingredient that gave some food its unique deliciousness, or so Asahi contemplated. Whatever the case was, it was still a technique that laid far beyond Fuyuka’s current level. He needed to focus on teaching her the fundamentals.

“Everyone has to start out somewhere,” he assured her gently. “I was just as bad—if not worse—when I started out. So don’t worry too much about it, okay? I’ll make a good cook out of you yet, no matter how long it takes.”

He knew that an arrogant teacher who acted as if they were in a completely different league would be off-putting to any student. It wasn’t unusual for a student to feel discouraged or frustrated, so it was important to encourage and assure them. That was another trick he had learned from studying under his parents.

“I’m just making sure, but you do want to become better at cooking, right?” Asahi asked.

“Indeed I do. That’s why I’m showing you my complete incompetence,” she replied.

“You really shouldn’t be putting yourself down like that.”

“There’s no point in hiding it at this point. I’m not good at it, as you can clearly see. But you are going to help me with that, correct?” she asked, looking Asahi straight in the eye.

“Just leave it to me,” he declared. “I’m gonna go all out starting tomorrow, so you’d better be ready.”

“Please give me everything you’ve got! Though I’ll warn you—I won’t go easy on you either,” she exclaimed.

“Oof... Don’t go too hard on me, okay?” he appealed with a stiff expression. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the hectic weeks that lay ahead of them, but it also didn’t feel particularly unpleasant. Even the curry had started to taste better than it had a moment ago, strangely enough. When he finally managed to finish his plate, he looked to Fuyuka and said, “Thanks for the food. It was—”

Great. That was what he’d almost spat out by reflex, but he quickly stopped himself by taking a sip of water. He was well aware that he should save his praise for the right occasion. Still, he made sure—as he always did—to express his gratitude to the person who had prepared the meal.

“I’ll work hard until the day comes where you tell me my cooking is delicious,” she declared as her pink-coloured lips softened into a loose smile. Were Asahi’s eyes deceiving him, or was her skin turning a faint red? Whatever the case, one thing was for sure—“The Ice Queen” was smiling at him, and nobody else.

If only she smiled like this all the time, Asahi marveled.

Fuyuka carried the plates over to the sink and began to wash them with her usual frigid demeanor. A faint chuckle escaped Asahi. He felt that even her typical cold expression was slowly beginning to melt the more she visited his apartment.

*

As the days passed, Asahi’s mutually symbiotic relationship with his unfriendly and brusque neighbor continued. He was making his way back to his apartment after a trip to the supermarket when he spotted an unfamiliar woman stepping out of Fuyuka’s apartment. She was tall—around Asahi’s height, if not taller—and had a slim figure. She donned a business suit that complemented her refined appearance.

The woman let out a sigh as she stared at the nameplate that read “Himuro.” She elegantly brushed some aside of her shoulder-length hair. At first, Asahi had assumed that she was upset about something; when he examined her further, however, it appeared as if she was actually worried about something.

Is that Himuro’s mother? he questioned himself. This was the first assumption that came to his mind. Then again, the woman didn’t resemble Fuyuka in any way. He thought that the woman might be a relative of hers. In truth, he didn’t have the slightest clue about who the mystery woman was, but since he came across her leaving Fuyuka’s apartment, he figured that they must be closely related in one way or another.

“Good evening to you,” the woman greeted when she noticed Asahi’s presence.

“Good evening,” he replied, albeit with some hesitation.

“Oh, are you Mr. Asahi Kagami, perhaps?” she asked, stopping him just as he was about to enter his apartment.

“How do you know my name?”

“Lady Fuyuka has spoken quite highly of you,” the woman explained, glancing at the nameplate next to his door and subsequently nodding to herself. Asahi was at a loss—he was utterly confused as to why an older woman would refer to both him and Fuyuka in such a formal manner.

She must’ve sensed Asahi’s bewilderment, because she promptly and courteously introduced herself. “Please forgive my belated introduction. I am Kaori Tachibana, the humble maid who currently serves the Himuro household.”

Given her elegant and refined tone, she must have been telling the truth. I guess the rumors about Himuro coming from a well-off family were true after all, he thought. Her household had their own maid and everything.

“Mr. Kagami, I implore you to take good care of Lady Fuyuka. She may come off as cold-hearted, even ruthless at times, but I can assure you that she is a fragile and delicate young girl underneath the surface,” Kaori pleaded with a deep bow, then took her leave without so much as waiting for a response.

Take good care of her, huh? he pondered. Kaori’s request seemed sincere, but he wasn’t exactly sure what he could even do for Fuyuka. The only thing he could offer was cooking lessons.

A fragile and delicate young girl underneath... Hmm... he mused. Kaori’s words swirled around in his mind as he opened the door to his apartment. At the same time, Fuyuka’s apartment door opened.

He turned around when he heard the door open and greeted her. “Great timing. I just came back from buying ingredients.”

“O-Oh, that’s good to hear. Thank you for going to the trouble,” she replied. Asahi took a look at the clock—it was five minutes before their arranged meeting time.

“Come on in. It’s pretty cold outside,” he urged.

“Um, Kagami...” she awkwardly called out to him as he was about to enter his place. He turned around and stared at her. “Did you happen to see a woman wearing a suit just a moment ago?” she asked.

“Yeah. Seems like she’s your maid.”

“How do you—”

“Know? She introduced herself to me,” Asahi explained. Fuyuka hung her head, a troubled expression on her face. After a while, she appeared to have made her mind up on something. She lifted her head and stared at him with determination.

“Kagami... I have to tell you something,” she said.

*

“So what did you want to talk about?” Asahi asked after they had finished eating dinner and washing the dishes. They had postponed the discussion until they had finished with their daily routine.

“Tachibana, the person you met earlier...” she started. Fuyuka proceeded to explain that Tachibana, while a maid, worked exclusively for the Himuro household. She was highly capable and served, in a way, as Fuyuka’s caretaker.

“Wow, I guess rich people do live in a world of their own,” Asahi marveled.

“I appreciate that you’re impressed, but it’s mostly thanks to my father. When it was decided that I was to live alone in this apartment, he sent for a maid to look after me.”

“So that’s why you’re allowed to live alone.”

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked with a hint of suspicion.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re imagining things,” he smoothly glossed over it. Fuyuka heaved a sigh in response.

“Tachibana attends to all of my daily necessities, from preparing my lunches to taking care of the housework. So, as you said, she helps me a fair amount.”

“Damn, I’m kinda jealous. Actually, wait a second...” his voice trailed off. Something about what she’d just said bothered him. He took a second to organize his thoughts before he spoke up again. “So if you have a maid, why didn’t you depend on her until now?”

Asahi was referring to all the events that had taken place between them recently, such as her sprained wrist and her intense fever. Perhaps her maid had simply not been on duty when Fuyuka had fallen ill. He could also see Fuyuka refusing help when she had been searching high and low for her blue ribbon. Still, it didn’t explain why she hadn’t called on her maid when she had injured her wrist. It had taken several days to heal. It didn’t explain their current situation either—why not just have Kaori teach her how to cook?

“Well, you see... she’s taking a break because of family matters,” Fuyuka elaborated.

“Okay, now it makes sense. So now she’s back, and she came over to tell you the news?”

“No. Quite the contrary, actually—she came to let me know that she won’t be able to attend to me for a while longer. She was wondering if I wanted somebody else to take her place,” she explained with a hint of sadness. Just as Kaori seemed to be genuinely worried about Fuyuka, Fuyuka seemed to worry equally as much for her maid.

“So what are you gonna do?”

“I... I think I’ll just wait for Tachibana to return.”

“You sure you’ll be able to handle all that housework on your own?” he asked dubiously.

“So you are making fun of me...” she grumbled with an icy glare that caused Asahi to wince. Though his doubts were warranted, given her previous track record, he decided to drop the subject.

“It isn’t like Tachibana is here all the time, either. I do get the opportunity to do the cleaning and the laundry sometimes,” she protested.

“You have a point there,” he said. His doubts were now dispelled... save for one, that is. “What about the whole food situation?”

“Tachibana made meals for me in advance,” she replied after a hesitant pause.

“I knew it was too good to be true!” he exclaimed. Fuyuka’s incredibly mediocre culinary skills were hardly a recent development. Given that Kaori was out of the picture for a while, he had been particularly concerned about her eating habits. Asahi suspected that the culprit behind why she had fallen ill to begin with, in addition to the fact that she was living solely on convenience food, was entirely a result of Kaori’s absence. Fortunately, she now had a stock of home cooking to depend on.