The Possession-Spoon Chef Feeds the Empire - Chapter 84

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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 84
Bacliff asked in return.
What about Bael?
What’s going on with Bael?
He couldn’t bring himself to ask the question aloud.
Not when the girl looked up at him with gleaming eyes full of expectation—he couldn’t tell her that he was disappointed it wasn’t someone else, disappointed it was her.
The flower pastry still sat half-chewed in his mouth, and its sweet, rich flavor spreading across his tongue made it even harder.
“I know you’re disappointed.”
“No, it’s not that!”
Luciel smiled without seeming to care about his disappointment at all.
“Bael won’t be at the Mansion for a while. He’s used to training alone, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Well, I suppose so, but still…”
Though Bacliff hadn’t even said Bael’s name, Luciel spoke as though she understood his heart completely, and so he let his regret show.
“I can already use Magical Power. So please teach me.”
She made her request with complete confidence.
So much confidence that Bacliff found himself unable to refuse.
“Well, I do know about it.”
He said this quietly.
“Bael mentioned you struck the Crown Prince with Magical Power.”
“That’s exactly why—so such accidents won’t happen again. He said if I want to control it properly, I need to become stronger.”
……
“Don’t you want more of your homeland’s food?”
“What? Of course I do!”
“If my Magical Power grows, it will help my cooking too.”
Really?
Bacliff found himself leaning toward her without thinking.
Now that he thought about it, this was something he already knew to some degree.
He used a knife in the kitchen too, so if his Magical Power grew stronger and he learned to control it well, it would certainly help with the precision of his work.
“I’ll make it so you think to yourself, ‘It’s truly astounding—my homeland isn’t Haren, it’s Luciel’s kitchen.'”
Bacliff’s heart quickened.
Luciel, whom he had observed from the side, was a careful child.
She didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep.
“I’ll really work hard.”
Her eyes as she spoke were grave in a way that didn’t suit her fourteen years.
“Time is short, and there’s so much to learn.”
An odd discomfort settled over him.
Eyes like those—he felt as if he’d seen them before, long ago.
Childlike purity in a smiling expression.
Yet occasionally a gaze that burned with fierce concentration.
The last time he’d seen that audacity…
‘It was him.’
Kaellis Siebel.
The disciple he had loved most, and resented most.
She resembled him.
“If you give me a chance…”
“I will.”
Bacliff answered as if entranced.
This time, he meant it.
He wanted to teach this girl before him.
Her eyes, her audacity—they stirred something deep within him.
Like that moment so long ago.
“Really?”
“But.”
He set down a condition gravely.
“You must be prepared for something quite demanding.”
“Of course. I’ll train without even sleeping, I—”
“Once a month, you’ll make me an exceptional stew. That’s the resolve you need.”
“Oh, that.”
Luciel smiled broadly and extended her right hand.
“That’s my specialty.”
As Bacliff took her hand, he found himself remembering his former disciple once more.
She truly resembled him—even that confident smile.
But this time, the outcome would be different.
This was his first disciple in over a decade.
Perhaps less talented, but kind-hearted and pure, a considerate girl who would cook stew for her teacher.
He decided to trust Luciel just once.
This innocent girl who loved only cooking would never act on rash impulses like him.
He’d finally have a cute child to teach comfortably in his declining years.
He would trust her just this once and burn his remaining passion in her training.
All that trust came crashing down years later.
* * *
Five years later.
“Then, in accordance with the imperial will, we shall increase the Crown’s percentage of Mana Stone extraction this year, and the Crown Prince’s requested quantity shall be supplied by the Bellaon Family, so—”
“I have an objection.”
Osborn Bellaon’s words were cut short once again.
The entire Aristocratic Council fell into heavy silence, and Osborn’s face crumpled.
“You again, Cain.”
“Is that any way to speak in a sacred council, brother?”
Cain smirked and crossed his arms.
“I have grounds for my objection.”
“You’re becoming increasingly shameless.”
Osborn spoke in a flat voice.
“Once you were so rigid I thought you might break.”
“It seems brother has lost the patience you once had. Judging by how you’re raising your voice.”
Cold gazes that bore a faint resemblance collided in the air.
Again, it was Osborn who furrowed his brow first.
“Impudent wretch.”
Whether because his words kept getting interrupted from the start of the day, or because it was Cain of all people doing the interrupting, his patience had genuinely worn thin.
“Mind your tongue in this council. I’m here representing House Riamond.”
At Cain’s pointed remark, Osborn’s fist tightened.
“Then say it.”
Osborn replied with sarcasm.
“Why does House Riamond do nothing but oppose the imperial will?”
His cold eyes bore into Cain.
“Because the Bellaon Family’s representative is attempting to make a promise he cannot keep.”
Cain answered with fluid ease.
“Cannot keep? Mana Stones are ordinarily—”
“While it’s difficult to approve adjusting the Crown’s percentage, the Mana Stones requested by the Crown Prince are special—moreover, they are for weapon crafting. Unlike common Mana Stones, the Duke manages them with particular strictness.”
“He didn’t forbid their transfer. The Crown will provide appropriate compensation—”
“The Duke has stated he will judge directly whether that compensation is appropriate. And furthermore.”
Cain straightened his posture as he continued.
His already considerable height seemed to loom larger, and a subtle, oppressive presence settled over the entire council chamber.
“Are you not aware? The Duke rarely agrees to the Crown Prince’s requests.”
“If you speak for House Riamond, stop meddling in Bellaon affairs.”
“It’s precisely because I don’t want to see my brother return home and make excuses about how he was forced to break his promise due to pressure from the council.”
“You little—!”
“Enough!”
As the two men’s dispute grew fiercer, the Emperor let out a sharp cry.
“I’ve heard enough.”
His face had flushed red, perhaps because the Crown Prince had been mentioned.
“The seizure of Mana Stones from noble private lands—since it faces opposition from more than one party, it is suspended. Suspended.”
He sighed deeply as he spoke.
A portion of the Mana Stones extracted annually from noble private lands belonged to the Crown.
He had attempted to raise the levy ratio under the guise of reducing other taxes this year, but he abandoned the effort in the face of the sharp opposition from Houses Riamond and Payton, among others.
“And as for the Crown Prince’s request—the Crown will handle that on its own.”
Cain smiled slightly, and Osborn’s face crumpled further.
It was Osborn’s complete defeat.
‘Damn it.’
He cursed silently.
The Mana Stones the Crown Prince wanted were extraordinarily rare, beyond the question of money.
If the Bellaon Family couldn’t supply them, they would surely demand that Osborn procure them himself.
To find them, he would have to search actively and participate in auctions, and then…
His gaze turned toward Cain once more.
‘I’ll end up facing that bastard at the auctions too.’

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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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