The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 46

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

Chapter 46
He’d been mocked.
No—he’d been dismissed.
He’d spent a full twenty minutes talking to that woman, only to realize she’d given him empty answers just to avoid a tedious conversation.
Theo’s eyes turned cold in an instant.
He hadn’t made that threat idly.
She needed to understand what she had done.
Click.
He unfastened the Bracelet he’d been wearing, checking to ensure Lucielle was watching.
Look closely—this is the Magic Stone that could have made Bael walk.
He muttered under his breath.
There could have been hope, but because of you, he’ll never walk on his own feet again.
And you will pay the price.
Theo’s expression turned terrifying as he separated the Magic Stone from the Bracelet, then crushed it between his fingers with force.
When intact, it worked one way. When broken, it worked the opposite.
That was the power of this Purple Magic Stone.
As the Purple Magic Stone split into three pieces and glowed softly, something invisible scattered into the air.
Hum—
A low, unpleasant vibration swept through the room, subtle enough to go unnoticed unless one was paying attention.
And in that same moment, the people seated at the table began to wince one by one.
“Ugh, what is…”
“Suddenly my stomach…”
Someone clamped their mouth shut, another lowered their head.
The Butler, Jerome, Devron, and Edwin—all the same.
Lucielle’s complexion turned ashen.
She too seemed to feel nausea rising.
The room fell into disorder. As everyone struggled to understand the cause, an elderly servant spoke up.
“Could it be the aroma of the food? Perhaps something about the distinctive scent is problematic…”
The older maid quickly pushed the plate away as she spoke.
“It would be best to stop tasting for now.”
The Butler raised a hand in agreement with her words.
Though no one was casting suspicion or wariness toward Lucielle, an instinctive revulsion toward the most likely culprit was spreading through the room.
Even the Duke, who had just lifted a spoonful of Red Tea Crème Brûlée to his lips, froze.
It was then that Theo rose to his feet and issued a command in a loud voice.
“Clear all the food. Now!”
“Wait, we haven’t reached any conclusions yet…”
“By then it will be too late. We must clear the food immediately and analyze what ingredients it contains.”
Cain objected, but Theo raised his voice and cut him off.
Before the tasting had even properly begun, the atmosphere of the Reception Room lay in ruins.
Servants rushed in busily, and Melina’s face hardened completely.
A servant hurried toward Bael and reached for his plate—
Bael grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t touch it.”
His eyes burned with a sharp, piercing light.
“If you take the Green Tea Soufflé in front of me, I won’t let your hand off lightly.”
The servant flinched and withdrew. Bael’s gaze remained fixed on his plate.
No.
Bael could sense it instinctively.
He was a man who had spent years bedridden, concentrating solely on his body’s symptoms and movements.
He was keener than anyone at detecting the onset of pain, the tremor of Mana, the flow of poison through his veins.
Like the others, nausea was rising from his Dantian—but it wasn’t from the food.
It was artificial Mana.
The kind that disrupted bodily sensation in a manner similar to hallucination.
It made the brain believe something was wrong, when the body was actually fine.
Why had this suddenly…?
No, the why didn’t matter.
Breaking free from it did.
Bael’s eyes moved instinctively toward Lucielle.
She looked surprised, but her gaze wasn’t on the food.
Instead, she was calmly surveying her surroundings, as if confident the true cause lay elsewhere.
Then it wasn’t the food.
If she’d harbored even a shred of doubt about her own creation, she would have rushed to clear the plates herself.
Just as she had once staked everything opposing Renar when he’d tried to present the Venison Stew she’d made.
With that conviction hardened, Bael looked quickly around the table.
Breaking free from this unpleasant hallucination required a strong stimulus to the senses.
In other words, a vivid real sensation—sight, touch, taste—to override the brain’s delusion.
Bael instinctively picked up a fork and placed a spoonful of the Green Tea Soufflé closest to him into his mouth.
Aah—
In an instant, his senses snapped back into place.
The bitter taste of green tea flooded his mouth, sharp against his tongue, while beneath it the sweet cream melted softly, colliding with that bitterness in exquisite tension.
It was subtle and delicious. But it was more than simply delicious.
There was an intensity that drew all his senses into a single point.
The fog that had clouded his mind lifted with that taste.
The headache vanished.
“…The food shouldn’t be removed. Rather, the opposite.”
Bael spoke quietly.
“Eating it will relieve the symptoms.”
A few others, exchanging uncertain glances, hesitantly picked up their forks.
Aah—
Mmm—
Smack—
The moment they took a bite, their expressions cleared one by one.
Devron and Edwin, who had been hunched over, each placed a Red Tea Crème Brûlée in their mouths, then slowly straightened.
The Butler tasted the Black Sesame Blancmange and color returned to his face.
Even the older maid who had first pushed away the food ate one spoonful of each dessert and recovered completely.
“Ah, I feel alive again.”
“And… it’s delicious?”
Slowly, those recovering from their symptoms began to savor the food.
As if by design, the eyes of those who tasted grew bright, and their attention fixed on their plates.
“Did you infuse the tea into the dessert? It’s bitter at first, but mysteriously addictive…”
“The Black Sesame Blancmange is a perfect ratio of milk and sesame—truly exquisite.”
“Listen! Everyone should eat the Green Tea Soufflé before it cools. This is the best!”
“Who told you to rank them without even cracking the surface of the Red Tea Crème Brûlée?”
Those tasting began to debate vigorously.
The atmosphere of the Reception Room had completely transformed.
Having forgotten the nausea from moments before, they were now fiercely championing their own preferences.
Those who hadn’t yet tasted were reaching for their forks when—
“I’m not eating.”
A boy’s voice cut through the room.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the speaker.
Standing before the food with arms crossed in firm refusal was Theo.
“…Come to think of it, isn’t this strange?”
He muttered with a twisted expression, unable to accept the situation.
“Everyone started feeling nauseous the moment the food was served, right? But you’re saying eating it cures it? I can’t even smell properly right now.”
“Young master, I thought so too, but if you just try one bite…”
The maid spoke carefully.
“Take it away. Don’t you dare try to order me.”
The maid hesitated.
“The food is no longer guaranteed safe. It should all be cleared. Or shouldn’t we first interrogate the cook about what she put in it?”
Theo glanced at Lucielle as he continued speaking.
Beneath his crumpled expression lay a deep anger beyond mere displeasure.
“Think about it—the hunting incident was the same way. Ever since that woman started working in the Kitchen, haven’t problems with the food been appearing?”
“Don’t make baseless accusations.”
Celine cut in.
“Words carry responsibility.”
“You’re one to talk about thinking, Celine.”
“What?”
“When you think about it, Bael still can’t walk either…”
Theo’s eyes left Lucielle and turned to Celine, then back to Bael.
“Before you said it was his illness preventing him from walking. But now his complexion is fine, his arms are fine—yet despite all this treatment, his lower body remains immobile. Isn’t that strange? What if the food hasn’t been helping him recover, but actually preventing him from healing completely?”
Everyone’s eyes naturally turned toward Lucielle.
Seeing gazes that were not entirely warm directed at her, Bael’s face went cold.
“Watch your mouth.”
Bael warned quietly.
At his chilling command, Theo’s expression twisted further.
“Why? Did I lie?”
Theo continued with a sneer.
“It’s still strange right now. That girl must have put something in the food—that’s why your mind is affected, isn’t it? Even if you’re pretending to be fine, your judgment still…”
“I warned you to be careful.”
“Anyway, I’m not eating. Filthy hands made filthy food. Who knows if touching it will make me a cripple like you…”
Bang.
Before Theo could finish his words, his body—chair and all—flew backward.
“Ugh…?”
A heavy blow struck Theo’s lower abdomen, and the world spun.
Lying on his back, he blinked several times.
When his vision cleared, he saw Bael standing over him.
One of his legs remained suspended in the air, aimed at where Theo had been.
Theo quickly processed what had happened.
So it was Bael—that sickly bastard.
He had suddenly risen and kicked Theo with his leg.
…!
The Reception Room fell completely silent.

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