The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 36

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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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Chapter 36
“…….”
Luciel tensed every muscle in her body, fixing them with a gaze that could bore through stone.
At the same moment, Cain was no longer looking at the Crystal Orb.
His eyes had already shifted to the far side of the forest, to Bael and Estel standing at the water’s edge, and to the water snake.
A Silver Magical Mark flickered to life at the nape of his neck.
“What in the world is this……!”
Even the Duke looked shaken for once.
Since when had such a creature appeared in the Primordial Forest hunting grounds?
‘Did it slip through from the Forbidden Zone?’
The Duke clenched his fists.
He would have to dismiss all the knights responsible for safety inspections, but there was no time for that now.
He had to save Bael.
That came first.
“Block it at once——”
He was about to speak in urgent haste when—
The coiled snake opened its jaws wide and lunged toward Bael and Estel.
It struck at Estel’s torso, leaving Bael exposed only to the creature’s hard head—a surface even a blade would struggle to pierce.
Fwoom—
Cain expelled mana from his entire body.
Blue light spread like wildfire, cutting across the forest.
But the distance between the water snake and Bael was too great for it to reach in time.
And in that instant, Estel twisted her body with lightning speed, angling away from the snake’s trajectory.
Whoosh—
The fangs missed Estel’s torso by inches, and at the same moment, Bael threw himself in the direction the snake’s mouth was gaping.
Or rather, he slid down from Estel’s back.
His body was aimed directly at the water snake’s maw.
“Bael, you reckless fool——!”
Cain desperately expelled mana again, but Bael’s body was already halfway inside the snake’s mouth.
And the next instant—
Thud.
With the sound of something sharp tearing through flesh, everything stopped.
Estel, Bael precariously clinging to her, the Frost Water Snake—all of it frozen in place.
A long silence stretched out.
The Head Butler slowly rotated the Crystal Orb containing Bael to a different angle.
As the perspective shifted, what was revealed was the inside of the water snake’s mouth.
The Frost Water Snake hung rigid in the air.
Deep in its mouth—precisely at the center of the roof of its jaw—Bael’s sword was embedded.
Thump—
The suffocating silence broke; Bael gripped Estel’s neck and pulled himself free from the snake’s mouth, and the water snake slowly toppled to its side.
With a heavy thud, a little dust rose into the air.
It was over.
“…….”
Everyone watching stood frozen.
Each of them seemed to struggle to process what had just happened before their eyes, their mouths opening and closing wordlessly.
“……Lord Bael has……”
The Head Butler slowly opened his mouth.
Astonishment was written plainly across his usually unflappable face.
“Lord Bael has defeated the Frost Water Snake…… has defeated the Frost Water Snake……”
“Ha.”
The Duke let out a short breath.
His expression was bewildered, shocked, and touched all at once.
All of it layered together across his face.
“Hahahaha!”
The next moment, laughter suddenly burst from his lips.
“Hahahaha! The boy has nerve—real, solid nerve.”
The Duke uncrossed his arms and slapped his knee.
“Cain, isn’t that quickness of reflexes something like your old self? Without any preparation whatsoever, facing down a demon beast and claiming complete victory.”
Color slowly returned to Cain’s pallid face.
“Ha.”
A small sigh escaped his lips.
He collapsed back onto the ground, burying his face in both hands.
Relief and shock swept through Cain simultaneously.
‘Was that truly what I was like in the past?’
Perhaps in some ways……
He glanced from afar at Bael, who was climbing back onto Estel’s back.
No, that fool is far more reckless than I ever was.
When Cain had slain the Basilisk Worm, hadn’t he devised hundreds of plans, revising each one mentally hundreds of times over?
Bael had been given only a fleeting moment.
In that fraction of a second, he had executed a plan far more dangerous than anything Cain’s younger self would have dared.
A man with injured legs, dismounting and leaping directly into the creature’s gaping maw.
“Ha.”
In the midst of it all, Luciel sat with equal parts admiration and relief washing over her.
Her body was as drained of strength as anyone’s, yet her heart swelled with pride.
Bael had lived. Estel too.
And more than that—they had won.
“The victor is beyond question. And Bael even saved Theo in the process.”
The Duke spoke, his smile still lingering on his face.
The result was so clear that no one disagreed with his words.
Except for one—Lenar alone.
“That’s……that’s impossible……”
Pale-faced, he trembled where he sat.
“How……”
Creak—
A long shadow fell across the trembling man.
“Today, Lenar.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying you’re to leave today. You gave your word yourself—you must honor it.”
“No, this is unjust! After twenty years of service, to be cast out in a single day——!”
“Unjust, is it. You know well enough what you did wrong.”
Lenar’s face hardened further.
He looked toward the Duke, thinking to plead, but the Duke merely gave a cold nod of assent to the Head Butler and turned his gaze away, as though the matter were already settled.
As though it were already finished.
“I, I didn’t devise this scheme.”
Lenar realized instinctively: the Duke had never actually suspected his stew.
With a look of despair, Lenar dropped to his knees and spoke.
“I only……”
“I don’t care who hired you. It’s common enough in noble houses. Similar attempts will always arise in the future.”
“Then why……”
“That’s precisely why I need subordinates who won’t be swayed.”
The Head Butler’s eyes were cold and resolute as a blade.
“No letter of recommendation. Accept retirement, accept defeat, and accept the dishonor that comes with it. I hear you have gambling debts—those are yours to handle. You’ll receive no severance either.”
“…….”
“Wherever you go, whatever you make, no one will seek out your cooking. Word of today will spread far and wide.”
Lenar seemed to understand the Head Butler’s meaning; slowly, he covered his face with his hands.
“And to be frank——”
The Head Butler paused, then spoke again.
“By taste alone, that child was superior anyway.”
Gah——
Rage, injustice, shame, and despair.
Countless emotions swept across Lenar’s face.
He turned toward where Osborn sat, but what met him was a look of killing intent.
All color drained completely from his features.
“……I’ll leave at once.”
Once Lenar had entirely vanished, the Duke called Luciel to his side.
“That was your victory.”
A smile hung at the corners of his mouth as he regarded her.
“Do you understand what it means?”
“That I’ll remain here.”
“That goes without saying.”
The Duke continued.
“It means your cooking now symbolizes the Fortune of Empire. You have claimed that honor from Lenar.”
“The Fortune of Empire……”
The Duke’s words echoed in Luciel’s mind.
‘I see.’
It wasn’t only Bael who had won at this Hunting Festival.
She too had claimed victory.
Her heart raced, and a smile bloomed across her face.
She understood now why her mother had kept playing games.
This was the ‘dopamine’ her mother had spoken of.
This was what winning felt like.
Overcoming one crisis after another, making the impossible possible.
If she continued like this, if Bael could grow completely——
The thought crossed her mind that the future of the Empire could change entirely.

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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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