The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 56

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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 56
Breathe in.
She drew a deep breath.
In her mind, the recipe she’d prepared seemed to unfold slowly once more.
Luciel ran her eyes across the prep counter.
The ingredients were sufficient.
Including what she’d brought with her.
Luciel accepted the cloth-wrapped bundle and tools from Edwin’s hands, spreading them across the counter.
Several small glass jars containing dried herbs and spices tumbled out.
“Let’s start with this.”
Satisfied with her preparations, she handed the Mana Gloves to Bael.
“Put them on. I’ll tell you when to use them.”
Bael put on the gloves without a word. He checked the lever position at the wrist and began channeling Magical Power gradually into them.
The Circuit activated, and the back of his hand glowed softly.
Luciel began searching the pantry first.
Chicken bones, leek, celery, whole peppercorns. And in the far corner of the pantry, a handful of dried shiitake mushrooms she’d discovered.
While the ingredients simmered in the pot, she worked without pause, skimming away the foam.
Luciel strained the sufficiently infused broth through cheesecloth, then returned it to low heat to reduce. In the meantime, she whisked in egg white.
As the white coagulated and drew in the impurities, she strained it once more.
When the Consommé had cleared to near transparency, Luciel checked the temperature and adjusted the seasoning with spices she’d brought herself.
Once she’d achieved the flavor she desired.
She opened one glass jar and sprinkled its contents—just a touch—into the broth.
She was really sparing with this.
Luciel was careful not to use too much of the powder.
It was Coagulation Powder—made long ago in the cottage of her mother’s garden, processed from ingredients even Luciel herself didn’t fully know.
The effort she and Bael had taken just days ago to visit again had been worth it.
“Success! Mom made this.”
“Mom made something strange again?”
“It’s not strange—it’s Sodium Alginate.”
“Sodium what?”
“When dissolved in liquid, it forms a thin membrane on the surface.”
“…”
“If I mention it’s a cooking technique, would our little Luciel be interested?”
“Huh…? Wait, so you could trap food inside a membrane like that?”
“My clever girl—that’s exactly how they do it in Molecular Gastronomy. If you use it with Calcium Chloride…”
Mother had never been good with cooking, so she’d never actually demonstrated the technique.
She’d only talked about it.
But for Luciel, that had been enough. After recalling her mother’s words dozens of times and researching thoroughly, she’d managed to master the technique.
Luciel dissolved the Sodium Alginate powder thoroughly into the Consommé, then opened a second glass jar.
A coagulation catalyst solution—the liquid her mother had made using Calcium Chloride.
She carefully divided the Consommé into small spherical molds, then looked at Bael.
“Keep the temperature steady. It can’t be too cold or too hot.”
Bael silently brought his gloved hand to the side of the coagulation catalyst solution.
Soft hum.
His Magical Power control was remarkably precise.
As the Magical Power flowed in, the liquid’s temperature stabilized with absolute consistency, not a degree’s deviation.
Luciel slowly lowered the molds into the coagulation catalyst solution. The two substances reacted, and a thin membrane began to form uniformly across the Consommé’s surface.
In mere seconds, transparent spheres formed inside the molds.
The exterior had solidified into a thin film, but inside, the Consommé remained in liquid form.
The moment a spoon touched it or it entered the mouth, the membrane would rupture, releasing the concentrated broth all at once.
The Emperor and Empress’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
“What… until just a moment ago, it looked like she was making soup…”
“Did it transform into a solid sphere?”
Something extraordinary had happened, but what exactly, they couldn’t fathom.
So—were you supposed to crunch and eat these pretty little beads?
“…”
Crown Prince Serion’s expression was blank.
Only his upper body, which had been resting back, shifted forward ever so slightly.
Luciel placed the perfectly formed sphere on a plate and moved to the next stage.
This time, it was meat.
Luciel selected a thick tenderloin from the pantry.
Judging by its color and firmness, she picked the freshest piece, salted it generously before any other preparation, and let it rest for a moment.
Meanwhile, she heated the pan thoroughly. When smoke began to rise, she placed the meat on it.
Sizzle.
The sound of sizzling filled the area around the prep counter.
Luciel didn’t touch it until the surface turned golden, then flipped it, cooking the sides in turn until each was done.
As she transferred the meat to a plate, Luciel melted premium butter in the same pan.
The Crown Prince watching furrowed his brow.
“Without even washing the pan you just used…?”
Was she really expecting them to eat that?
A look of distaste crossed his face, yet he continued to stare at Luciel’s movements.
He couldn’t say why, but her actions had been irritating him from the start.
A cook younger than himself, and despite his deliberate intimidation, she seemed not to understand, her expression unwavering—that alone displeased him.
That she’d begun cooking under the gaze of the royal family without appearing flustered was equally unsatisfying.
Since the cooking began, she’d appeared utterly at ease.
Unlike the imperial chefs who cooked with meticulous detail and fastidious precision, following procedures so exacting that nothing jarred, her method was unorthodox.
She used unfamiliar ingredients to create forms of food he’d never seen, and in the process, even put the Prince of Bellaon—her own patron—to work.
He’d thought the finished dish would be ordinary regardless, but that bead-like sphere from her hands was certainly something he’d never encountered before.
‘If that even counts as food.’
Her manner remained unrestrained even after that.
The very fact that she mixed other ingredients into the meat-oil-stained pan while knowing full well he was watching proved it.
The imperial chefs, who knew his nature pursued cleanliness to excess, would never have done such a thing.
What irritated him most through all of this was, above all, the radiance of her expression—bright as a polished mirror.
Her movements carried such absolute certainty, as if this dish couldn’t possibly fail, and her eyes shone with the light of someone thoroughly enjoying the process.
Hadn’t she heard the rumors about the Crown Prince?
Was she ignorant enough not to know what royalty meant?
Or did she truly believe she could satisfy him?
Crackle.
As the butter began to turn brown, she added thyme and garlic that Bael had found in the pantry beforehand, drawing out their fragrance.
The moment Serion turned his head away with a sneer.
Waft.
Sweet, savory, and briny notes intertwined—a complex aroma defying singular description—spread through the air.
It wasn’t merely a pleasant smell; it was the kind that made the body respond first before thought.
“…!”
The Emperor, the Empress, and Arnene, Serion’s younger brother, all leaned forward simultaneously.
At the same time, Serion’s eyes, which had been watching quietly, widened.
“What in the…”
Without thinking, he found himself sniffing the air.
It wasn’t ordinary butter.
The meat juices released during cooking had dissolved into the butter, mingled with the fresh herbaceous notes and the sharp edge of garlic all at once, creating an entirely different depth of fragrance.
Serion froze for a moment.

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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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