The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 75

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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 75
“We don’t have much time.”
Cain spoke.
“Now that everyone’s confirmed who’s ally and who’s enemy, we should discuss the possibility of the Crown Prince visiting directly——”
“Serion will come.”
It was Luciel’s voice that cut him off.
“He will. Here. Directly. Probably very soon.”
She was certain of it.
The Serion she knew and had observed did not tolerate having his prey caught by another’s hand.
He even enjoyed watching his quarry one last time before capture.
“Then we must find another way. Perhaps sending you down to Cain’s estate——”
“I’ll stay here.”
The moment Melina opened her mouth, Luciel cut her off.
If she fled to the estate, Serion would only accelerate his pursuit.
Besides, the solution was not there.
“There is a way.”
She said.
“At least to weather this crisis, and perhaps beyond it as well——”
If fortune favored them, it could even become an opportunity.
“You’re certain of this?”
Luciel nodded at Cain’s question.
Serion’s gaze.
His temperament as she knew it.
The detailed particulars she’d heard from Mother about him.
The countermeasures he’d demonstrated across hundreds of scenarios.
Except for Mother, Luciel knew Serion better than anyone.
Every piece of information about him lay in her hands.
Therefore, she could devise a way to stop him.
Not Bael. Herself.
“You said you’d trust me, didn’t you?”
Everyone nodded.
“Then for now, do as I say.”
She spoke.
“Actually, not just for now—keep helping me going forward. For a very long time.”
Luciel took a deep breath and continued.
To weather this ordeal, then the next, and the next.
Until someday she brought down Osborn and the Crown Prince.
She needed them.
Not merely for protection, but for their conviction and trust in her.
“Of course.”
It was Bael who spoke after a brief silence.
“I’ll listen. And I’ll believe.”
He spoke with bright blue eyes blazing.
Though he was only fourteen, Bael’s words carried a strange weight and gravity.
The fact that Melina, Devron, and even Cain nodded at his words was proof of it.
“Whatever you say.”
He continued quietly.
* * *
The Crown Prince arrived at the Mansion in only three days.
The moment he was shown to the Reception Room and seated across from the Duke.
“I’ll be direct.”
He began with something explosive.
“I’ve come to take Luciel away.”
“Speak plainly.”
“I received House of Bellaon’s apology well. The letter bearing an official seal, sent in the Duke’s name.”
Serion withdrew the letter Devron had sent from his bosom and waved it.
“The Duke’s seal carries the weight of gold itself. Your promise to find a way to compensate for the disrespect and seek forgiveness must be sincere.”
……
“I’ve found the way for you. All I need is to take Luciel away. Then I shall forgive you. The disrespect shown to me by Bael of Bellaon.”
As Serion finished speaking, a bitter smile played at his lips.
The Duke listened to his words without revealing any expression.
Only his two eyes bore down on Serion steadily.
“It seems the Imperial Palace is short on cooks.”
At last he spoke slowly.
“Given how often the Imperial Family tries to take my people.”
“Certainly, there is no one quite like that girl.”
Though displeased, Serion continued with ease.
“But my desire for her is not merely about cooking. Rather, it’s because of that other dimension I witnessed then.”
He gazed into empty space with a dreamy expression.
“The two of them opened a dimension and brought me with them. To a place where time and space were separated. I wish to possess that space.”
“And your reason for this is——?”
The Duke observed Serion as he asked.
“Is it not marvelous? A space where one could confine a person eternally if one wished.”
Serion answered with a smile.
“At first, for the one confined, it would be pleasant—there is wind, sun, plants. But soon it becomes exquisite torture. To exist in this world for a long time while ceasing to exist at all.”
He met the Duke’s gaze directly as he spoke.
“I’m curious to know what becomes of a person who endures such an experience. Whether they go mad or simply perish. And so I shall make it mine.”
It was said with supreme confidence.
His voice was steady, as if he understood precisely how his words sounded.
‘A madman.’
In the adjoining room, listening to the conversation, Luciel’s skin crawled.
She’d persuaded the Duke with Melina’s help to wait in the room beside the Reception Room, but no matter how many times she heard Serion speak this way, she could never grow accustomed to it.
Serion was no fool.
The Duke of Bellaon surely understood that his authority as Crown Prince alone could not suppress him.
Yet he did not hide himself. Rather, he deliberately revealed his true nature.
As if to make clear he would do anything to obtain what he wanted.
‘Does he have another plan?’
Luciel thought.
There must be a reason why he provoked the Duke this way.
“Continue.”
The Duke spoke in a level voice.
“It was two people who brought me there, but reflecting later, I understood who the true master was.”
Serion too spoke calmly.
The room was thick with tension, yet neither man allowed emotion to break through.
“The girl. She was closest to being the ‘master’ of that space.”
……
“She was the one who knew what lay in that garden, and without hesitation took them to her own mouth.”
Her fierce eyes were likely blazing bright again.
“The one who created invisible barriers to contain the dishes, invisible barriers again to contain the smoke, who fashioned what cannot be grasped into the form of food and let me taste that unforgettable flavor—that girl. I desire that girl.”
He spoke as though recounting the most fascinating story in the world.
Luciel frowned and sighed from behind the wall.
“I’ve heard enough.”
From the Reception Room, the Duke’s voice rang out again.
His expression remained unchanged from the beginning.
“I’ve heard tales that the Barrier caused hallucinations, but I did not know treatment remained incomplete.”
“Are you calling me mad?”
For the first time, Serion’s composure cracked at the Duke’s steady, seasoned tone.
“If this disrespect is to be explained, it’s the Imperial Family who must claim Your Highness is mad.”
The Duke said.
His unfathomable gaze held an authority that could not be dismissed.
So much so that even Serion’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.
The attendants who came with him likely remained motionless because of that very authority.
“Your Grace.”
“If you thought the possession of one sealed letter gave you leverage over me, then His Majesty has utterly failed in your education.”
“Do you remember who I am?”
“Your Highness is the shame of the Esselred Imperial House. The dishonor of His Majesty himself.”
The Duke declared without the slightest wavering.
Serion’s composed face twisted slightly.
“I am an invited guest.”
“Then mind your manners and partake of the Apple Pie placed there. Made by Luciel. The letter promised nothing more than offering you food she made once more.”
“You’re telling me to eat leftover food?”
“Hastily made three days ago by that girl will surpass what the Imperial Palace’s head cook labored over for an entire day.”
……
The two men stared at each other for a long moment.
Blazing golden eyes and cold silver eyes clashed powerfully in the air between them.
It was Serion who looked away first.
Crunch.
As if his momentum had been blunted, he slowly picked up the Apple Pie and took a bite.
Then another. And another.
Just as it seemed the long struggle between the two had reached its conclusion.
“Cough!”
Serion clutched his chest and coughed blood.
“Hack! Cough!”
“Your Highness!”
Several attendants rushed to his side, and the Duke’s brow creased.
“The pie……”
Serion muttered through bloodstained lips.
“There was poison in the pie.”
His mouth red, a bitter smile on his face.
‘So it came to this after all.’
Behind the wall, Luciel shook her head slowly in understanding.
Extortion disguised as an assassination attempt.
Exactly as she’d anticipated.

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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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