The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 5

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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 5
The fact that Mother occasionally disappeared meant I had to fend for myself.
For that reason, Mother had armed me with every scrap of knowledge she possessed.
“Luciella, when the Crown Prince takes the throne, you must flee immediately. Infiltrating among pirates is one option. They’re always searching for skilled cooks.”
“Luciella, when you turn ten, a typhoon will strike the South Sea, and when you turn eleven, sugar prices will skyrocket. We must stockpile ahead of time.”
“The House of Belleon is rife with intrigue and scheming. Be absolutely cautious if you meet anyone from that family.”
Luciella stared at Cain intently, blinking her eyes.
So this man was Cain Belleon.
Even without Mother’s voice, there were few in the empire who didn’t know his name.
The Grand Duke’s fifth cousin.
A man who, despite not being a close relative, had pushed aside every direct heir and seized the title of Baron.
A formidable commander who would certainly have become the successor had he been born as the Grand Duke’s own child.
Society judged him as ruthless.
They said that a man who had displaced the Grand Duke’s direct descendants—descendants cunning as serpents—and held his ground there could be nothing short of cruel.
In fact, when Mother first began the game, she mentioned dying at his hands several times.
Recalling those words and studying his face again, his gaze seemed all the sharper.
“You must be curious why you’re here. For your information, half a day has passed since you lost consciousness.”
Cain spoke to Luciella, who was turning possibilities over in her mind.
“Nothing appears to be amiss, according to the physician. He says it’s merely a matter of Stamina and Mana Depletion.”
Right—why am I riding in the same carriage as Belleon people?
Suddenly, a chill ran down Luciella’s spine.
Kidnapped?
No, arrest seemed far more likely.
Perhaps he’d discovered that a woman he’d met during his Imperial Army days was a Wanted Criminal and had tracked her here.
Or perhaps he’d nursed a grudge over what Luciella had said about his appearance that day and was now exacting revenge.
Or perhaps……
Luciella suddenly felt at her waist. The gold coins she’d stolen from Nigel weren’t there.
‘……That’s it.’
I’ve been arrested for a Theft Charge.
“Sir, I don’t think I handled everything well.”
Luciella, realizing she was done for, swallowed hard and opened her mouth.
“But from my position……”
“Ask plainly.”
Cain’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.
“Can you recreate that butter potato from before, and the Castella you made long ago?”
“Pardon?”
“That crispy, salty, oddly-shaped potato your hands made. And that fluffy, cloud-like Castella—can you make them again?”
This time it was Rukan who spoke.
Luciella’s eyes widened as she looked between the two men.
Looking closely, traces of seasoning still clung to their lips.
The very herb powder she’d sprinkled on the Whirlwind Potatoes.
Had they eaten it? While I was passed out?
The ones that fell on the ground?
‘……How disgusting.’
Seeing her expression of dismay, Cain cleared his throat and handed something over.
“Here—take this back first. Officially, it’s yours. Your belongings and your Severance Pay, as deemed. The Lord asked me to deliver them.”
Luciella’s eyes widened.
What Cain handed her was Mother’s Diary, an MSG Bottle, and the Pouch he’d taken from Nigel’s waist.
Though its weight had become roughly ten times heavier than before.
“An explanation is warranted. After you lost consciousness, I entered Lord’s Castle and assessed the situation. The kitchen staff lied to the end, but after hearing the custodians’ testimonies, it appears a man named Nigel had used them quite severely.”
“……”
“Using the accusations and statements you left behind, I had them all punished.”
“What? Everyone from the kitchen?”
“All those with connections to Nigel were expelled. Since they misappropriated the previous lord’s goods, no noble in the empire will hire them.”
Cain nodded with an expressionless face.
“I was considering adding flogging to the head cook’s punishment, but he’s already been pierced by Poison Scales and can feel nothing. In a week’s time, he’s said to experience pain sufficient to kill him, so take note of that.”
“……And the Lord?”
Luciella asked, her expression bewildered.
It was difficult to believe that the people who’d tormented her for a year had been dealt with so easily.
Exhilaration at her vengeance being complete mixed with shock at Cain’s efficiency in destroying their lives in mere hours, leaving her mind in turmoil.
“Since he lacks the capacity to properly govern his subordinates, I’ll restrict his authority and dispatch an inspector. He seemed rather sorrowful.”
“Ah……”
Luciella murmured with sympathy.
Lord Nor, nearly eighty years old this year, wasn’t a wicked man.
The problem, if there was one, was that his age made him easily deceived by those around him, including Nigel.
To suffer such a shameful punishment at that stage of life would shock anyone.
“Upon learning that the special dishes he’d been eating all this time—particularly the French Fries and Apple Pie—were your handiwork, he wept, pounding the ground, saying he could never eat them again. He called my actions cruel and grasped at me, but the decision cannot be reversed.”
Cain’s gaze, cool and settled, brushed across the scars and calluses on the fourteen-year-old girl’s hands—marks far too harsh for her age.
“……”
Luciella was momentarily stunned, then grew solemn.
The Lord had indeed been particularly fond of Apple Pie.
He’d lived for it as his life’s delight, and how relentlessly Nigel had driven her to make more of it.
She glanced up at Cain.
In any case, he’d added punishment even to an old man who’d lost his life’s sole joy.
The Cain reflected in her eyes seemed even more merciless now.
“In any case, that’s why we’re heading to the Grand Duke’s Residence in the Imperial Capital.”
“What?”
I froze in confusion.
How did we arrive at that conclusion?
“The……Belleon Grand Duke Residence?”
Mother said that place was swarming with terrifying people!
“Yes. I need to have my nephew taste your cooking.”
“……”
“That potato dish just now, or perhaps that Castella from before. If you’ll make things like that a few times, I’d be quite satisfied. The compensation will be generous.”
Luciella immediately understood what he meant.
‘What he wants is the Buff.’
The power to increase a consumer’s physical ability and Mana by twenty percent or more.
Luciella could imbue her cooking with such power.
If she simply burned through her own Stamina and Mana.
“How strange and fortunate, our precious daughter. Your father mentioned that a child born between people from Two Different Dimensions would have unique talents, but I never imagined one so adorable!”
“Luciella’s Buff?”
“That’s right! Cooking alone is an incredible talent, and you have a Buff too! But you must use it carefully.”
“Why?”
“Because our Luciella’s ability is so remarkable that wicked people might try to exploit it.”
Suddenly, Mother’s warning flashed through Luciella’s mind.
When she looked up again, she saw Cain’s eyes gleaming bright as a beast of prey.
Could such a wicked person—one seeking to exploit her ability—be standing right before her?
She hadn’t expected gratitude for saving her, but she’d never imagined being pursued this far.
Luciella’s mind raced rapidly.
“What if I……can’t?”
“Then your talent would have uses I’d thought of that amount to nothing.”
“……!”
A chilling threat spilled from Cain’s lips.
His face was lovely enough to make onlookers catch their breath, but his characteristic expressionless countenance—neither smiling nor frowning—and his aura were quite threatening.
Luciella didn’t trust people easily. After Nigel, she’d developed a habit of concluding toward the worst whenever something was ambiguous.
Just as he’d had Mother’s character killed in the game, would he kill me when I became useless?
Cold sweat trickled down her back.
‘I must endure until Mother arrives……!’
As she remained frozen, she felt the carriage slow and come to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
Cain said.
“Get down. I want to see your skill with my own eyes.”

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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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