"Hello citizens of my kingdom! It is time for the annual Viertel castle's cooking contest!"

"Stop calling it your kingdom!" Astaroth yells.

Orias stood from a platform overlooking everyone who was brought to the courtyard.

It was time for one of the many festivities that happened in this castle as Clarissa recollected. Following the webnovel, Katherine wins this cooking contest because the duke purposely sabotages everyone else's equipment.

"The rules are the same! But for the new people, like you Clarissa-" Orias winks. "There are no teams, and up to twenty-five people can sign up due to limited equipment. We will have three different rounds, and the theme will be randomized. It ranges from meat dishes to dessert.

Fifteen people will be eliminated the first round, seven people in the second, and the winner will be determined among the three in the final round. Like every previous year, the judges are going to be me and Peter. You have until one noon to register by writing your name on the board with the chalk provided. That's all!" Orias steps down and a few rush to sign up, Clarissa still unsure.

would Peter be more fond of me if I proved to be a good cook? In that case, I should join. I wouldn't have to worry about Orias sabotaging me till the final round. Vixen is my only competition, most can't actually cook or can only do simple dishes at best.

She stepped forward and wrote her name on the board, dusting the chalk off her fingers.

"I'm surprised you're joining." Astaroth and Vixen wrote their names next, and Katherine shakily added her name too.

"All four of us will be joining! This will be fun! Lets all do our best."

"It's my first time joining..."

"Katherine my sweet! You're joining!?" Orias gasps. "But I thought you were too afraid of joining competitions? What happened?"

"You're going to make her change her mind." Vixen shakes his head. "Whatever the reason, I'm glad you're taking part this year Katherine."

"I need to... Become better."

"Mhm! That's my Katherine!"

Astaroth rolls his eyes, Clarissa was already off thinking about what dishes to prepare.

If this completion is following the story, the first round's theme is going to be pasta, followed by cookies, and then soup. A very weird order but the duke is weird so it makes sense.

I will make Peter see how amazing I am!

Thanks to her parents of this world, Clarissa has experience in cooking many things. Without them she would be standing at her station with no idea what to do.

---

Once noon hits, the equipment and ingredients are prepared and all participants are at the courtyard about to begin.

"Hello everyone! The annual cooking contest is about to begin! I'm skipping formalities because I never do formalities! You all know me! The amazing Orias Viertel! And for the first round the dish you will be making is pasta. Whatever pasta you want and can make with what is here before you.

Select your ingredients and return to your spots, once everyone is ready we'll start. There is a hour time limit for this round." Orias announces and all scramble to get their ingredients.

Pasta from scratch was going to be challenging. But for those that weren't up for a challenge, there was the pasta that you just had to boil.

Very few took the longer route and intended to make the pasta from scratch, Vixen being one of them. Clarissa chose the easy option. She took ingredients for pesto pasta and waited back at her station for the others.

"And we'll begin in three, two, one! The annual cooking contest begins now!"

Not even ten minutes in, some contestants were in tears. Orias already sabotaged some of the equipment.

"D-duke! I can't get the fire to work! How will I boil my pasta!?" One contestant cried out.

"Figure it out! Part of a chef means overcoming such difficulties!" He stomps his foot.

The contestant looked at Orias with shock and despair.

Meanwhile, the individual beside Clarissa was struggling to prepare the pasta from scratch.

Vixen was cooking with ease, Astaroth seemed fine, and Katherine seemed like she had no idea what she was doing. But even if she were to present the most gross looking pasta anyone's ever seen, Orias would not eliminate her out of his personal bias. Does Clarissa even have a winning chance?

By the end of the round, no eliminating had to be done because fifteen contestants either gave up or their equipment wouldn't work. Those that managed to finish their pasta got to present them regardless.

"Hello, Peter." Clarissa greeted as she put her nicely plated pesto pasta on the table before the rat and the duke.

"C-clarissa!" Peter hitches a breath before noticing the fragrant food. "This looks wonderful! I didn't know you could cook."

"Thank you."

Peter grabs a tiny fork and tastes the dish, and so does Orias.

"Wonderful! My taste buds are going to climax!" The duke moans, and all the contestants react negatively, murmering amongst themselves.

"What the fuck Orias!?" Astaroth rubs his temples.

"Onto the next one!"

Katherine comes forward with pasta that looked edible, but the sauce looked like grey mud.

"Interesting..." The duke gulps. "This is my first time seeing your cooking Katherine! You did amazing!"

Katherine awkwardly plays with her hair.

Carefully taking a fork full of pasta with the sauce into his mouth, Orias closes his eyes and eats it all in one go, barely chewing. it's awful! He struggled to keep a smile.

"It tastes w...wonderful Katherine! Next..." Orias looked like that pasta sucked the life out of him.

At least Vixen's cooking was there to flush out whatever that was.

There was a thirty minute break till the next round began. Orias left to hide in the restroom, terrified for what Katherine is going to make next. Once he returned, the remaining ten constants were ready and so were the ingredients.

"Welcome back! To the remaining ten, you will be baking cookies for this second round. Remember, if something happens to your equipment then figure it out yourself, if you give up you're disqualified, obviously." He said with a sigh. "Select your ingredients and return to your spots, once everyone is ready we'll start. There is a hour and a half time limit for this round."

For this round, Clarissa is going to make banana-oat cookies. Vixen is going to make red velvet cookies, the typical chocolate chip for Astaroth, and Katherine intends to make something edible.

No one seemed to struggle with the cookies, but four contestants lost the battle to sabotaged equipment. Though Orias made it look like a randomized hurdle instead of what it really was.

"Clarissa you done with your cookies yet?" Vixen asked from his station that was two stations behind hers.

"Almost."

"I can't wait to see 'em, your pesto pasta looked amazing."

"Thanks."

"Katherine really seems to be having a hard time. There's only ten minutes left and she's only made multiple batches of charcoal burnt cookies." Peter said as he was observing the six that were still baking.

"So what if they're burnt! Burnt food can still be beautiful! And delicious!"

"If you're so honest about that then eat every cookie she brings to us."

"Urgh- but we still have another round after this."

"Then eat them after. Eat every single burnt cookie Katherine made."

The duke didn't respond to such daring request. He would do many things for Katherine, but his stomach will go to hell and back, and hell again if he did that.

"Aaand time is up!" Orias announced. The burnt smell somehow overpowered every good cookie there was.

"We'll uh, have Astaroth go first." He couldn't take his eyes off the plate of crumbling burnt cookies Katherine had ready.

Astaroth comes forward with the nostalgic smell of chocolate chip cookies.

"Hmm, nothing amazing. Just the classic, boring chocolate chip." Orias acts as if he didn't want another bite of the cookie that melted in his mouth.

"You act like some dudes tsundere girlfriend." Peter says to Orias and both men gag at each other.

Clarissa's turn finally comes around. Both Orias and Peter are pleased by the taste of the cookies she made. And following her pleasant cookies are the most-awaited, charcoal special.

"Katherine! You know I used to think the cookies and biscuits you brought us in the castle were baked by you, until I learned they were not... Because the cookies you've made today are far more extravagant!" His shaky hand picks up the cookie, half of it crumbling and falling back onto the plate.

He puts the cookie in his mouth, and slowly chews with smiling eyes that clearly showed suffering.

Katherine knew it was horrible, but she does her best to keep her composure.

Peter takes the tiniest crumb.

"Ok Katherine you can go back to your station now!" Orias waits for her to return. "From the six of you remaining! Only three will move on to the next round! I will now announce the finalists."

"Wait Orias we need to talk about this." Peter tugs on Orias' ear.

"Moving on to the next round! Vixen! Clarissa! Katherine!"

"Orias!?" Peter starts tugging him more aggressively.

Astaroth was dissapointed but not surprised.

"And now we'll have an hour break! I'll see you all again as evening approaches."