KON POV

“Venti, grab that top part of the tower cake!”

“On it!”

“UoooH, how dare you damn brats mess around with my wife’s cooking!”

“F-father, please calm down desuwa.”

Bottles and tables flew around everywhere as Zack and Venti scrambled to grab the best-looking parts of each dish and shove them into their bags. Won’t all the food inside the bag become mixed and gross like that?

Meanwhile, the father was attempting to smack one of them down with a cane, Bartitsu style. Where did he even get the cane? Too bad Venti and Zack coordinated too well with each other.

It’s like watching a person chasing after two rabbits that crisscross each other, befuddling the chaser. They’re seriously too good at this. No wonder people call them the Marauder duo.

At the end of her specialty full food course, I was guided to the final destination: dessert. It’s her Midnight Milky Way special, lauded as the next coming of Super Masterchef’s procreation.

One that can only be replicated by the true 10star Masterchef.

To think that I am holding a bowl of it right now in the palm of my hand. I could feel my hand trembling as I took in the sight of the legendary dessert that I had only ever seen twice on TV.

The dessert itself resembles an onyx-black soup with slight blue hues, and its consistency reminds me of a Panna Cotta as I shift its weight around. In the middle of the onyx soup is a literal Milky Way, complete with various miniature sizes of heavenly bodies glittering around like a collection of galaxies.

As I tilt the bowl into various angles, I can see the Milky Way shifting its perspective from a top spiral into a gentle curving side view. What sort of magic is this?

Unable to contain myself any longer, I dipped my spoon and took a scoop. I was astonished once again when the area that I dug out revealed another glitter of galaxies. It’s like a piece of cut rock candy!

The moment I put a spoonful of it into my mouth, I could feel my senses tingling with pleasure. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s rich, creamy, and sweet. Most importantly, the depth of the sweetness is far-reaching and unending like an eternal waltz. The light sweetness just keeps on going without any end in sight, and yet it’s not overpowering at all.

Did she incorporate all types of savory sweetness into it?

And yet, as the savoriness started to fade, a pop of flavor started anew, and eventually, my mouth could detect various flavors popping here and there. Is that a slight sourness from Kiwi? I tasted a brief tanginess of ripe mango. Oh, an aroma of chocolate with a hint of grapes. Fruits and citrus flavors just keep popping up all across my mouth.

I unconsciously smiled with a palm resting on my cheek, wishing to savor the moment for a bit longer.

Alas, I eventually swallowed it. However, the taste didn’t end there.

The moment it passed by my throat, I could feel my spine tingled with joy as the aftertaste resurfaced once again, filling my breath with a scent of fresh creamy milk.

A tear made its way into my eyes as I gazed ahead at nothing, enjoying the aftertaste.

It’s so good.

Words couldn’t describe how I felt, so I just kept on moving my spoon in my mouth, trying to savor every last bit of this masterwork that I could. Towards the end, in the middle of the bottom bowl, is an oval-shaped pudding. It’s an onyx-jeweled pudding with various lights refracted inside the gem.

As I scooped it up and brought it closer to my eye level, I saw how the light inside shimmered and glittered in a patterned manner like a kaleidoscope. It was so shiny and beautiful.

I fully witnessed the end of the full course when I put it into my mouth. All the previous flavors that I had tasted were compacted into this tiny gem, and they burst out like an explosion. I was once again taken to the beginning of the Midnight Milky Way and went even further towards the origin of the sweetness.

The beginning of a Big Bang.

So this is happiness. A full stomach satisfaction that will make me sleep well tonight with dreams of the stars and skies above. The skies are still weird and scary, but somehow they felt more embracing and kinder at this very moment.

“Thank you.”

“Ufufu, you are most welcome.”

When Elizabeth said that it was magic, I didn’t understand the significance of it until now. It truly is a unique kind of magic. I wonder how it would feel, or how my life would be if I had a mother like her.

She seemed to notice my brief gaze on her, and she lowered her hand to pat my head gently.

“Ara ara, it’s ok to call me mom, you know.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I…..”

CRASH!

PRANG!!

“RUOOH! I will show you the meaning of Arthur in Arthur Eve Thornland. Thugs be vanquished!”

“Mayday! The continental jelly dish is unapproachable! The final boss exudes a strange aura. Zack, we need to split!”

“Elizabeth! A little help here! Hurry and grab a nearby vase and fill it with the chocolate fountain.”

“O-ok desuwa! Also, you can call me Eliz d-desuyo.”

“Elizabeth my dear, no! You Thugs, how dare you corrupt my daughter! No more playing games, it’s time to burn my KOSMOS!”

They are not wearing SpeedGear and yet they move like they do. Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or does the dad have this vigorous aura emanating from his body? He readied his cane in a pointing position, like a fencing stance. Then, with a near-instantaneous movement, the guy just vanished, skewering Venti.

Venti had to execute a corkscrew flip to dodge it before ducking and swaying from the barrage of fencing swipes from the dad. Even Zack had to duck around and dodge the occasional cutleries thrown from the dad’s blind side.

This is intense. I’m watching a kung fu flick along with the mom while Elizabeth is busy filling a couple of flower vases with chocolate liquid. At some point, I just gave up and grabbed myself a drink to sip on while watching them duke it out.

“Wonderful isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mr. Arthur moves around at that speed without any gears, it’s amazing.”

“*Giggle*, not that. I meant Elizabeth, she seems much brighter now compared to days ago.”

“Oh….. She did experience a sort of enlightenment when she gave me a house tour.”

“All thanks to you.”

“No, I didn’t do much. Although there’s something I have been meaning to ask.”

“Hm?”

“Is her dialect a part of aristocracy’s way of speaking?”

“Ara…..”

She put her hand on her cheek, looking troubled. Is this a sensitive topic? Does it have something to do with an Eastern culture that’s hard to disclose?

“Maa…. She studied a certain culture too hard, and it has stuck with her ever since. I think it was the show called ’The Magical Lily of Louvre.’”

“A…. show?”

“Oh yes, it was a popular cartoon among the ladies that depicts the life of a princess in a kingdom.”

“You mean like the one where the characters laugh Ohohoho while putting the back of their hand near their mouth?”

“Ara, you watched it too?”

“Uh, I saw the preview.”

“I see. Elizabeth was enamored by the grit and willfulness of that main character. Well, the character portrayal does remind her of my childhood past a bit.”

This is getting weirder, and I felt stupid for imagining the worst-case scenario. It turns out that Elizabeth just has a bit of eighth-grader syndrome.

Come to think of it, if such a show is popular in Eastern culture, doesn’t that mean there will be more people who speak like Elizabeth over there? Will the adults over at Victoria go, ‘My right hand of darkness,’ or something like that?

“This Cane of mine has been forged from the very darkness itself. Sebastian is as unbreakable as my will to vanquish the hoodlums and thugs!”

“Kuh! Zack, the old man is too strong! I can’t buy any more time!”

“Damn it, tactical retreat! Leave those fries behind! Rendezvous at the meeting point! Eliz, distract him!”

“E-eh, Awaawa desuwa!”

On second thought, I think I know where she gets it from.

And with that, the two Santa Claus like burglars, threw something on their feet and vanished like smoke while carrying those large bags on their backs. Do those two always carry smoke bombs around at all times?

Throughout the whole ordeal, the servants kept a composed face, but I could see some of them smiling at the chaotic ruckus and boisterousness.

“To think those thugs know ninjutsu, Elizabeth dear you must be careful, lest they manage to put you into their illusionary techniques.”

“Don’t worry Father, they are not bad desuyo.”

“N-no, this can’t be. Their dastardly clutches have reached this far! Honey, we must do some-”

THWANG!

The way Elizabeth’s father flopped onto the ground felt eerily similar. It’s like déjà vu.

I cannot stress how fast the attack was as Lady Kathy pulled her frying pan out the same way Mister Arthur pulled out his cane and let loose a strike out of nowhere. I don’t think I could ever dodge one of those attacks even if she telegraphed it beforehand.

“Kon, your celebration with those two is not over yet, right? Go on, I will clean up after this.”

“Mrs. Kathy, thank you for the wonderful full course. It was very delicious.”

“Fufu. The pleasure is all mine.”

The dinner banquet is concluded, and now I have to search this giant mansion for where two food burglars could be. Thankfully, my sense of smell and taste are heightened right now.

For some reason, after eating Lady Kathy’s cooking, my senses have been sharpened beyond the norm. Right now, if I were to go to a kitchen and cook, I feel like I could tell what it is that I want my end product to be, judging from the ingredients itself.

In other words, I can tap into the ultimate potential of every ingredient.

I can sense the spice tolerance that an ingredient can handle before it becomes too overpowering. Furthermore, freshness now plays an even higher level of importance than I could previously imagine.

Having experienced the highest level of dishes, my cooking limits and expectations have subconsciously expanded to accommodate it. It’s like my cooking sensitivity has leveled up.

I hope I’m not going to become obsessed with becoming a Masterchef or something. Fresh ingredients and luxurious spices aren’t cheap, and I still want to enjoy better-quality personal care products.

Anyway, to follow Zack and Venti, it’s simple. All I had to do was follow the scent of their gross mixed-up loot. Good lord, I hope they’re not putting desserts and hot dishes together in the same bag. I dread to think of puking out Lady Kathy’s full course. That would be heresy.

Following the scent, I found myself in front of their room door. Without much ado, I just opened it and was greeted by Zack and Venti doing karaoke while snacking on their loot bags.

I couldn’t tell if this was a bedroom or a living room. There’s a bar, a toilet, a TV with sofas, and King-sized beds so big you could swim in them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bathroom even had a sauna.

“Look who’s finally come to join us.”

“TAKE CONTROL! TAKE-, Oh hey Kon, check out our loot.”

With large plastic bags sprawling around, they looked like two burglars who had finished terrorizing Halloween kids and stole their bag of goodies.

“Uh, no thanks. I’m full.”

“Oh, in that case, sing some Jazz for us! The karaoke system is hella cool. There’s even acoustic and a bunch of instruments for accompaniments.”

“I will play some instruments instead. I don’t want to burp out my stomach’s content.”

“Alright, grab the guitar, Imma play some medley and Mashups for starts.”

“Sure, sure.”

BLAM!

All of a sudden, the door swung open with such force that I could almost feel the rush of air. Today has been one thing after another, hasn’t it?

“I thought today’s our celebration desuwa? Did you forget about me desuka!?”

Elizabeth stood there with her arms crossed and a pout on her face. Was she feeling left out? I sensed another person fast approaching. It was the dad, and it smelled like trouble. Well, at least the night was still young, so there was plenty of time to weather more mayhem.

Worst comes to worst, I would just sneak out to another room.