The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 38

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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 38
Luciella looked up at her with a bewildered expression.
Melina appeared more serious than ever.
“You’re preparing afternoon tea with Bael and Father, aren’t you? Celine and I will join you.”
Celine’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes, yes! We have to taste it ourselves before we believe you. Until then, consider us skeptical.”
Melina crossed her arms with an arrogant air, as if determined to get to the bottom of the truth.
“Serve me as well, and be quick about it.”
She commanded coldly.
“That Pistachio Cream Mille-feuille and Black Sesame Ganache Tart you speak of.”
* * *
The moment the Hunt Festival ended, those gathered in the Tea Room were the Duke, Bael, Cain, Melina, and Celine.
For reasons unclear, Dale was there as well.
“What are you doing here?”
Bael asked.
“Ah, my parents told me to assist Celine…….”
Disapproving looks turned toward Dale in unison.
Celine’s among them.
“Your parents have already left.”
Celine said coldly.
“After they threw a tantrum and refused to go, insisting on staying one more day.”
“That is…… I thought there might be remaining matters in the Duke’s household, and I wanted to help.”
“You mean you wanted to put your mouth in, don’t you.”
Bael muttered.
“Do not neglect our guest.”
The Duke said.
“Dale, you may stay longer. You are welcome to join us for afternoon tea as well.”
“Thank you!”
“However, you may eat only one portion.”
The Duke added with an extremely serious expression.
“There will be no allowance made for a growing boy.”
Dale looked around nervously.
Upon closer inspection, it was not the Duke alone.
Everyone seated at the table was watching him with similarly grave expressions.
“……I will remember that.”
At that moment, Dale swallowed dryly, and the Kitchen door opened as Luciella appeared, wheeling a tray.
“Thank you for your patience!”
Oblivious to the stiff atmosphere, she wore a bright smile, satisfied with the dishes she had prepared.
On the tray, plates were arranged to match the number of guests.
Upon each sat a cake layered to the thickness of two fingertips.
Melina examined the cake with narrowed eyes.
Thin crepes were stacked dozens upon dozens of times over, with pistachio cream filling distributed evenly between each layer.
In cross-section, the alternating pistachio-green cream and ivory crepes formed such precise layers that it seemed a shame to cut into it.
Atop it all were placed a few pistachio slivers, glistening with a golden hue.
‘The appearance is quite beautiful.’
Her gaze turned to the dessert arranged beside it.
A small, neat tart.
Upon its thin, crispy-baked shell, the Black Sesame Ganache sat glossy and set.
The deep gray, bordering on black, looked rather refined.
Melina straightened her posture.
Was this it.
The dish the child had touted, the one that held more interest than sapphire.
Yet its appearance was scarcely larger than her palm.
Melina’s gaze naturally drifted toward her father.
“…….”
She tilted her head.
The Duke’s expression had changed.
What was that glimmer in his eyes?
It was a look she had only seen in the distant past, when Cedric was still alive.
She turned her head again to look at Celine.
Her eyes too were bright with anticipation.
Unlike usual, this child had set aside the red-marked game fish she had caught and insisted on taking afternoon tea first.
Bael and Cain were no different—their expressions were ones she had never seen before.
Bael in particular wore a smile brimming with anticipation, looking almost happy.
This was not the sensitive, sharp-edged boy she knew.
‘Could Luciella’s words truly have been the truth.’
Had her judgment been in error.
Could cooking truly transform people like this.
“Please, enjoy.”
Luciella said.
Melina picked up her fork.
She hesitated briefly over which to eat first, then chose the mille-feuille.
The moment the fork touched the crepe.
The crepe layers slid gently apart.
‘This… how is this possible……!’
Melina marveled inwardly.
Rather than cracking under pressure, even the lightest touch caused it to separate smoothly along its natural grain.
“Mm.”
The moment she placed it in her mouth, the crepe’s moist, tender texture enveloped her tongue, and between its layers the pistachio cream slowly melted forth.
It was nutty and rich, yet not cloying.
The deep, subtle aroma peculiar to nuts spread across her entire palate, finishing with the quietest of sweetness.
Melina then moved her fork toward the tart.
The Black Sesame Ganache Tart, was it.
As Melina understood it, black sesame was used primarily in medicine, medicinal soups, or nourishing congees for health.
She had never heard of it being used in a dessert.
With some doubt, she took a bite.
Crunch—
The moment the thin tart shell broke crisply, the ganache slowly melted across her tongue.
Melina’s eyes widened.
The distinctive toasty, deep aroma of black sesame brushed her nose, and the rich, grainy flavor of grain settled beneath the sweetness, filling her mouth completely.
It was sweet. Yet not the cloying, heavy sweetness she had avoided her entire life.
It was clean and deep, leaving behind only a pleasant, savory aftertaste without any unpleasant lingering flavor once swallowed.
This was it.
The taste she had been seeking.
She had not known she was searching for such a thing, yet unconsciously she had wandered in search of this very taste.
Melina had never enjoyed desserts throughout her life.
Too sweet, too cloying, and always followed by regret after eating.
Yet this taste lingering on her tongue now was of a different kind entirely.
Somewhere toasty and unpretentious.
A taste that struck her preferences with perfect precision.
“Mm.”
She accelerated her pace, bite after bite.
Rather than growing tired, each subsequent bite only drew her in further.
Just one more taste.
One more bite.
The heavy, cloying satiation that invariably arrived by the third bite of ordinary desserts never came.
As the savory aroma continued to refresh the sweetness, the plate seemed to grow only cleaner the more it emptied.
Clink.
When she came to her senses and set down her fork, not even a trace of the Black Sesame Ganache Tart remained on the plate.
She did not even know when she had finished it all.
For the first time in her life, Melina felt it was a shame that nothing remained.
“……Mother?”
Celine’s voice reached her through her daze.
Only then did Melina, barely recovering her wits, realize that the Duke and everyone else were staring at her.
“Could it be…… you ate an entire plate of dessert?”
“Someone who ate only what was necessary for survival her whole life…….”
Celine asked in astonishment, and the Duke too stared at Melina with disbelief, his fork still at his mouth.
Rather than answer, Melina sought out Luciella.
From behind Bael, Luciella was smiling at Melina with satisfaction.
As if she held goodwill toward this Melina who had eaten all of her cooking.
“Ha.”
Melina laughed in exasperation.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
And in the next moment her eyes grew sharp.
“In this world there is always something I do not know, and human judgment cannot escape error, or so I have heard.
She murmured quietly.
It was something Cedric, her elder brother, had taught her long ago.
“A taste that makes one remember a forgotten truth. And this mite of a thing fed me such a thing.”
“Ah…… I’m just glad you enjoyed it.”
Luciella answered awkwardly, as if she did not fully grasp her meaning.
Though her satisfied expression as a cook remained unchanged.
“Preferences can be quite divided, so I was worried. If you enjoy black sesame, next time I could make a Black Sesame Latte…….”
“Make them all.”
Melina cut her off.
“Pardon?”
“Whether it’s a Black Sesame Latte or Black Sesame Ice Cream—make every dish you’re capable of making.”
“…….”
“And while we’re at it, sign here.”
She withdrew a sheet of paper from her pocket.
It was the Partnership Contract with Bellaon, which she always carried, never knowing when an opportunity might arise.

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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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