The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 26
* * *
Clop—
Bael and the black horse moved as one body now.
The two of them cutting across the Garden’s center bore no resemblance to their earlier movements.
Gone was that awkward first phase, when Bael had fumbled with his magic to steer her.
The moment his intent flowed through his fingertips, Estelle’s body was already turning in that direction.
In the meantime, Bael had changed noticeably.
He was taller, and his facial features had grown sharper.
The porcelain pallor that had once marked his skin now bore the unmistakable traces of the sun.
His stamina had improved beyond recognition.
Even after spending an entire day in the saddle, he no longer collapsed as though he’d fainted—if anything, he seemed reluctant to dismount and eager to ride more.
But his legs—they had not improved any further.
That alone remained unchanged.
Aila knew it. Luciel knew it. Cain knew it. And Bael himself knew it.
No one simply spoke of it first.
As Bael dismounted with Cain’s support, Luciel set a large feed trough before Estelle.
“This is yours, Estelle.”
At the sound of her name, the horse trotted over eagerly and began eating the roasted barley and oats, charred vegetables, and dried fruit sprinkled with sugar from the wooden trough.
Estelle’s stamina, too, had improved tremendously.
Her monstrous speed and reflexes went without saying—she had even become strikingly beautiful.
A few days prior, Theo had come personally to demand the horse back, picking a quarrel a second time.
“You should have trained her well while you had the chance.”
“I said I’d stake her on a wager with you—I never said I’d give her to that fool! The moment he gets off that horse, I—”
“If you can ride her, I’ll give her back to you.”
“Ha! Can’t ride a trained horse?”
Theo could not ride her.
Estelle was the sort who didn’t forget a first impression easily—rather stubborn and inflexible in her ways.
Besides, Theo had brought only a dirt-smudged carrot stub, which hardly appealed to Estelle’s now-refined palate.
When Theo tried to force his way into the saddle, Estelle simply shook herself once, sent him tumbling far away, and never returned to him.
“Horseback riding seems sufficient at this point.”
Cain, watching from the corner of the Riding Grounds, offered Bael a cup of water as he spoke.
“According to Aila, aside from basic Detoxification Herbs, there’s no further need for medicine either.”
Bael, leaning back in his chair, shrugged as though it were nothing.
But Luciel caught a fleeting smile of satisfaction crossing his lips for just an instant.
“How’s your arm strength?”
“My arm?”
Bael raised his arm to show.
Thanks to his recent practice drawing a sword even while mounted, his movements were both powerful and clean.
“Starting today, how would it be if you set the sword aside and practiced something else?”
“Something else, you mean…?”
“Archery.”
Cain answered.
“The Bellion Hunt, in other words.”
Bael’s eyes widened.
“To participate in the Hunt? Already?”
Cain nodded.
“Your body has recovered well enough that some stimulation will be necessary. The Ancient Forest, where the Hunt is held, has excellent air as well.”
…
“And Estelle needs the experience of running outside the Duke’s Residence too.”
“So that’s what the Hunt means…?”
Bael murmured as if lost in thought for a moment.
“What is the Bellion Hunt?”
Luciel tilted her head and asked.
“A competition held once every five years. Anyone under eighteen who belongs to the House is eligible to participate.”
Now that she thought about it, she did have a vague memory of hearing about it.
Not from her mother, but the Hunt itself was quite well-known throughout the Empire.
It was said that the finest young nobles of House Bellion gathered for a rather high-level competition.
“Do they perhaps hunt some enormous monsters…?”
Luciel asked eagerly.
She had always been interested in cooking with meat from large monsters, but such meat was scarce and spoiled so quickly that she’d almost never had the chance to cook with it.
“That’s unlikely. Rabbits or a few hare, or if one is exceptionally skilled, perhaps a red deer.”
Cain shook his head at once.
“Though the Ancient Forest teems with life, large monsters exist only in the Restricted Zone, separated from the hunting grounds.”
…
Well, of course.
Luciel tried to hide her disappointment.
It seemed unlikely she’d have the chance to cook Iron Buffalo meat in this lifetime.
“Do you like people who hunt well?”
Bael suddenly spoke to Luciel, glancing up at Cain.
“Like Uncle?”
“Hmm? All of a sudden?”
Luciel looked at Cain with an equally puzzled expression.
Suddenly she found herself remembering him—lying down with a puffy face after killing a Basilisk Worm.
…He hadn’t been a particularly endearing sight.
“…There will be no cases of poison or facial swelling involved,” Cain said defensively, as though he’d read her thoughts.
“Hunting is a kind of play and training. No different from riding Estelle. Whether you stop midway or end having only ridden, it matters not at all. Only that you leave the Duke’s Residence…”
Creak—
Cain’s words trailed off mid-sentence.
Behind him, as he watched Bael and Luciel, someone pushed open the wooden door and entered the Riding Grounds.
A tall woman.
A light but elegant pale-blue skirt caught the eye, along with silver hair swept up without a single strand out of place.
Beneath long eyelashes, a pair of strikingly clear blue eyes fixed upon Cain with a cool gleam.
“Still as unpleasant with your words as ever, I see, Cain.”
“…Melina.”
At the sound of Cain’s voice, Luciel’s eyes widened slightly.
Melina Bellion.
The youngest of the Duke’s three sons and one daughter, and the only lady of House Bellion.
Only then did Luciel realize that this woman had been in the Garden with the Duke.
That day, the sunlight had been so harsh that she’d barely caught a glimpse of their silhouettes standing together rather than their faces.
Now, seeing her face again, Luciel found it almost unreal in its beauty.
She resembled both Cain and the Duke, yet with far greater delicacy—as though carved from ice itself, perfectly flawless.
‘What did Mother say about Melina again…?’
“She’s a game character, but in the early days she had more fanclub members than some idols. Maybe the best character design they ever made.”
“I see. Mother said she joined at first too, but later switched to Bael, right?”
“Mother loved ability-type characters. A female character managing and growing such a massive commercial enterprise of a noble house wasn’t common, was it? And Bael used to read books Melina wrote about business when he studied alone.”
“…Honestly, you could just say she’s a face fan. I learned that word.”
Her popularity wasn’t quite on Bael’s level, but she had “core fans” or whatever, equally devoted.
Later, that role and popularity seemed to have shifted naturally to her daughter.
“What brings you to the Riding Grounds? I was quite certain no one was scheduled until evening.”
Cain spoke with a tone that seemed polite yet made his displeasure transparent.
“I’m planning to acquire several breeding horses, so I came to inspect the Riding Grounds personally for any issues…but…”
Melina’s eyes moved quickly across Cain, Bael, Estelle, and Luciel.
Her piercing gaze made Luciel feel, the moment their eyes met, that she had been thoroughly assessed.
“You’ve been spreading your arrogant nonsense again, haven’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Bellion Hunt is neither play nor training.”
She spoke low and distinctly.
“It’s a stage for politics and dealings, and where the succession order is decided.”
She too regarded Cain with an expression of annoyance.
Their eyes clashed in the air between them.
Two faces as still as statues, and their mutual displeasure laid bare.
Not quite hatred, but fundamentally different in character, they rubbed each other intensely the wrong way.
“For someone in business—or rather, commerce—I suppose every place looks like a market to you as well.”
Cain chuckled and shrugged.
“For me, the hunting ground is a playground. Neither complex nor frightening.”
At the words “nor frightening,” Melina’s face tightened slightly.
Suddenly, an old memory surfaced—that when Cain had participated in monster subjugation, all three of the Duke’s living children had refused to take part.
To say that monsters were not frightening might well have been a sore point for Melina, who had refused their father’s command out of fear.
In her mother’s words, she was now annoyed—no, scratched.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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