The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 41

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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 41
“Your grandfather, with the House of Belaon watching, lost to Cedric’s son. I cannot abide such humiliation.”
Osborn’s measured voice cut through Theo’s struggling form.
“You were the one who insisted on releasing the Frost Water Snake. You claimed to have a method. You asked me to leave everything to you from beginning to end. Based on your word, I even had that stew fed to Isolde.”
“Father, wait—just a moment, please!”
Renar, who had seized control of the kitchens while eliminating most of your rivals, was cast out because your foolish subordinate let his tail be caught by that girl. Do you understand how grave a loss that is?”
“Father…!”
“A chef’s position is not merely about preparing food.”
……
“It is about deciding who eats what, and what they do not eat. It is a position from which one can administer poison when necessary, or ensure immunity to it. Do you have any idea how much effort I invested to place my own man in that role?”
“Cough! Father…”
Thud.
The magical pressure released.
Theo gasped and clutched his throat, coughing violently.
“Ruben assured me no one saw him. I obtained the antidote in advance, as planned. How was I to know the snake possessed such an ability?”
“Did you not speak of how abilities sealed in the Primordial Forest might awaken?”
Theo bit his lip.
He could mount no further defense.
Losing at the Hunting Contest was humiliation enough, but that was not all.
The moment Theo fell from his horse while fleeing the Frost Water Snake, every spectator witnessed it.
And immediately after, Bael had fired an arrow at the snake, drawing its attention to himself.
Bael had saved him.
His victory stolen, his life preserved—by an enemy.
By a cousin only two years his junior, one who had spent the past two years bedridden and had only just recovered.
“At least Selene, who was eliminated when her arrows ran out, has an excuse.”
Osborn shook his head as though the entire affair were beneath contempt.
“You trained in horsemanship for over ten years, yet lost to Bael—a boy who cannot use his legs.”
Theo looked up at his father with a stricken expression, but Osborn’s face remained unmoved.
“It wasn’t a defeat in horsemanship, sir.”
Theo protested.
“That horse was strange. My steed couldn’t even take a proper step because of the snake, but his moved as one with him like nothing I’ve ever seen. If that girl hadn’t stolen my horse away…”
Theo spoke through gritted teeth.
Yes, that girl bore much of the blame.
To dare deceive him—it was intolerable.
Only later had he learned from a cadet expert that the horse was a crossbreed of Sacred Horses.
An impossible bloodline, one that could not be bred intentionally, they said. A miracle.
Through her magical power, Bael had forged a bond with that beast that no ordinary rider could achieve with any horse.
He had, with his own hand, delivered the greatest gift of Bael’s life.
The thought twisted his stomach.
And at the same time, the familiar dread crept back in.
That sense of pressure he’d lived with his entire life—the fear that he could never surpass Bael. For two years he’d been free of it, but now it had returned.
Osborn’s face remained cold.
“And the failure to break in that horse first—that too is your fault, is it not?”
……
As Theo lowered his gaze, Osborn seized his chin and lifted his face again.
“I said I would not directly involve myself in your competition with your cousins. Just as it falls to me to contend with your uncles and aunts, so does contending with your cousins fall to you. Do you know why?”
“I… am not entirely certain, sir.”
“Your grandfather’s eye is sharp when judging his children, but not when observing his grandchildren. So long as his guard does not rise, there are no rules governing the children’s competition.”
……
“If an adult harms a child, that becomes a different matter entirely. Therefore I do not take the front. At most, I arrange minor branches to test one another at the Hunting Contest, or provide necessary funds. Nothing more.”
Theo swallowed hard.
It was not entirely new information.
It was the reason he’d had to obtain the Frost Water Snake himself.
Should the Duke ever trace it back, a mere boy like Theo would be forgiven.
Of course, he had ensured there were no hunters left to carry tales.
“But I find I can no longer trust you with such tasks.”
“What?”
“You are inferior to Bael.”
At Osborn’s cutting words, Theo’s already ashen complexion turned to ash.
“The only saving grace is that the boy’s body remains compromised. In matters of succession, it is still more likely that you and Selene will be favored—in other words, myself and Melina.”
“Of course. Bael is nothing. Had that girl never appeared in the first place…”
“…provided you are never made to stand in direct comparison to him.”
Osborn cut through his son’s words with another chill in his voice.
“Therefore, for a time, you will stay out of your grandfather’s sight.”
“What?”
“Until the memory of your display before the Frost Water Snake fades, you will send your regards through Isolde alone. You can blame a lingering stomach complaint.”
“Through Isolde? What good is a small child like her…?”
At Theo’s indignant cry, Osborn smiled coldly.
“I raised you through exposure to various schemes, but I have allowed Isolde to remain innocent. Each has her usefulness.”
……
“What is useful now is Isolde. She treats your grandfather with genuine affection, and therefore your grandfather loves her.”
With that, Osborn turned and left the chamber.
Alone in the sudden silence, Theo stood motionless.
Gradually, various bitter emotions began to churn within him.
For as long as Theo could remember, Bael had been a thorn in his side.
Though he was two years older and had prided himself on certain talents, once Bael turned five, he felt the first prickle of unease.
It was Bael who grasped lessons more quickly, even under the same tutor.
It was Bael whose magical talent awakened first.
Just as Theo thought he was closing the gap in martial prowess, Bael fell ill.
Theo had known few joys greater than that.
And now, he felt as though someone had stolen even that joy from him.
……
As this thought took root, the bitter emotion in his heart slowly transformed from anxiety into rage.
And that rage, though it burned hot, was directed not at Bael but at Lucsiella.
“If only that girl didn’t exist…”
Then that horse would never have met Bael at all.
Even if the horse had existed, Bael would have been eliminated early from the Hunting Contest after eating Renar’s stew.
Theo bit his lip until blood came.
She had to be removed. He could bear it no longer.
His father had ordered him to lie low for a time, but it was impossible.
If he remained still, he would lose his place not just to Bael but to Isolde as well.
But how?
!!
As his mind raced desperately for an answer, something suddenly caught his eye.
A drawer in Osborn’s desk, left slightly ajar.
And within it, a key.
Theo knew what that key was.
It opened Osborn’s Mana Stone Safe.
Theo was aware that it contained items that could not be obtained through wealth alone—things that even Melina and the Duke did not possess.
“Yes. There’s nothing else for it.”
He muttered to himself.
Had his father not said so? That dealing with his cousins was Theo’s responsibility?
If that was the case, then removing the cook attached to his cousin was equally Theo’s work.
* * *
Silence filled Bael’s bedchamber.
Cain, Ayla, and Lucsiella sat in their respective chairs, lips sealed tight.
The gaze of all three converged on a single point.
Bael.
Bael lay on his bed with his eyes closed.
He appeared to sleep, yet was more still than sleep allowed.
His fingers did not twitch, his eyelids did not flutter, even the rise and fall of his chest had stilled. He lay rigid as a corpse.
According to Ayla, this was the process of detoxification.

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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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