The Devil’s Cage

Kuer Horton knew his friend Colin wasn’t used to a dinner scene in a noble house, which was why he left his personal servant with Colin and hoped that the servant could act as a buffer to the situation.

Kuer Horton had quite the confidence in his servant’s improvising capabilities, but…

As he looked at the fallen or frightened guest throughout the main hall, Kuer Horton suddenly realized he had underestimated how straightforward his friend was.

Most of the time, Kieran was a straightforward person because it would save him a lot of time and allow him to focus on the important things and things he liked.

It was without a doubt that dealing with strangers did not fall in the category of ‘things he liked’.

Therefore, when facing a bunch of gentlemen who felt aggrieved at how coldly treated the ladies were, Kieran swept his cold gaze over them before they could even get near.

He didn’t go all out at them, all he did was release a bit of his presence, and despite how reserved he was, it was enough for the hot-headed greenhouse wallflowers who knew nothing better to understand cruelty.

Smelling the pungent smell in their noses, a sea of bodies appeared before their sight, dying wails echoing in their ears ceaselessly.

These noble young men, who aggrandize themselves as bold and brave and could brag about how they hunted down a rabbit for three months, fell on the ground one after another, some even peeing their pants.

Even those guards who were meticulously handpicked had a hard time standing up.

On the other hand, Marquis Horton’s servants took it better than them, the looks on their faces not changing at all, only their breathing hurried.

Then, the gaze of the servants at Kieran went through multiple changes, especially the personal servant of Kuer Horton.

He knew a little more than others and wasn’t surprised at how strong Kieran was, but..

‘Isn’t this a little too strong? It’s just a gaze!

I think he is at the level of the captain of the royal guardians, right?

But it’s good news to the young master!’

The servant thought of something and couldn’t help but heave a breath of relief in his heart.

However, when the servant turned around to the noble guests in the hall and saw the mess that single gaze created, his face turned bitter.

He would surely be scolded by the lord marquis!

Once he thought of the scolding from the strict and rigid face of that lord, the servant’s bitterness extended to his eyes and it looked even more brazen.

Marquis Horton, the deputy finance minister of Edatine Vi, has a very strong sense of prestige that no one could comprehend in his own mansion.

Therefore, when the marquis came into the main hall, all the servants bowed in union.

Aside from the neatness, the salutations they performed were of noble standards.

It made the old marquis nod in satisfaction as he was very particular about manners.

Though a trace of unpleasant flashed over his eyes right after that.

The fallen and limp nobles across the floor of the main hall were all from the smaller appendage family to his, though he would never look down on them because he once used to be like them, one of them to be precise.

If it wasn’t for the wise eyes of Edatine VI, he would have fallen into the sea of nobles.

Therefore, he was willing to give a chance to anyone—given that they were of noble background and understood the importance of manners.

It was without a doubt that Kieran did not match either of those criteria, and with the rashness that he displayed, the old marquis was not fond of him. It was fair to even consider that he hated Kieran.

What Kieran did was no different from those boorish mercenaries, he might be even more ignorant in this case. After all, those mercenaries still knew to hold themselves back in a marquis’ mansion and not cross the line.

If it was possible, the old marquis wanted to expel Kieran from his mansion, but he couldn’t.

The debt of saving his son was real, twice to be exact.

Had he expelled Kieran without repaying a single bit, he would go against the manners that he believed in deeply. So, the old marquis held it down.

Beside the old marquis was his son. Kuer Horton felt the hurried breaths from his father and knew what was going through his father’s mind, so he quickly went up to Kieran.

“Colin, this is my father.”

Kuer Horton practically turned a blind eye at what happened in the main hall, going over with a smile and introducing his friend to his father.

“Hello.” Out of manners, Kieran stood up to greet the old marquis.

“Mm,” the old marquis nodded with a grunt and did not say anything else. He then walked over to the nobles who shamed themselves in front of Kieran and chatted with them, in hopes of subtly dissolving the awkward situation.

“The dinner is going to be delayed,” Kuer Horton whispered.

The number of nobles present in the manion were not many but not exactly few either; there were a dozen of them.

The old marquis chatted with each and every one of them, so the process would be time-consuming.

“Come, I’ll bring you to a good place.”

Kuer Horton pulled Kieran’s sleeve and then headed to the corridor beside the hall. Kieran quietly followed.

Everyone in the main hall saw the two of them leave but they decided to turn a blind eye to it because when Marquis Horton arrived at the hall, the protagonist in the main hall had changed.

Only Kuer Horton’s personal servant was left behind, standing there with an ugly look.

He knew the old marquis’ attitude.

Had the young master stayed back obediently and born the consequences of the mistake with his friend, it would end after a mere scolding. But leaving prematurely?

Finished!

The young master would have to be caned again!

And he himself?

As the personal servant of the young master, he would have to bear the punishment as well.

If the young master received 10 canes, he would receive 20 canes.

Immediately, an imaginary burning sensation ravaged his back already.

Even more so when the servant saw where his young master and friend was headed to: the kitchen. He closed his eyes in despair.

‘Young master, please eat less with your friend.

The dinner is about to begin.

If the marquis is embarrassed, I think I will be caned to death.’

…

“Tada! It’s the kitchen! Surprised?”

Kuer Horton pointed at the building further away and boasted to his friend.

A kitchen was nothing to be proud of or boast in many people’s minds but Horton Family’s kitchen was an exception because of Kuer Horton.

Kuer Horton had displayed an unusual talent for eating since he was young. He didn’t just rebuild the kitchen into a two-storey independent building, he even opened up the two floors in the basement to store all kinds of ingredients.

The interior of the kitchen was spacious and wide.

There was a row of cooking stoves lined up in the center of the room.

With enough space reserved for walking, surrounding the row of cooking stoves were tables specifically built around them. There were many chopping boards and knives on the tables and there were 20 cooks working in an organized fashion under their respective chef’s orders.

The scene in the kitchen reminded Kieran of Theorate in the dungeon world [Meaning of Eat].

He had seen such a big scale kitchen before. Back in that [Meaning of Eat] dungeon world, ingredients and culinary skills had reached the epitome of its state.

Unknowingly, the saliva in Kieran’s mouth started to flow out like a river.

Perhaps the food in this world was quite far away from the food in [Meaning of Eat], but it was still satisfyingly delicious.

Beside Kieran, Kuer Horton was gulping his saliva uncontrollably, his eyes gleaming brightly, as if it was going to materialize.

Though the heir to the family knew what he should do.

“Let’s go up to the second floor,” whispered Kuer Horton.

Kieran quietly followed him and went up to the second floor.

The chefs saw them off to the second floor but none of them bowed.

It wasn’t arrogance or pride, Kuer Horton ordered them not to.

He thought it was important for one to concentrate on what they were doing, not focusing on window dressing. Therefore, he gave special permission to all the chefs that should anyone of them be busy in their work, they were exempted from the greetings.

After all, should they miss the timing in cooking just because they had to greet him, the food would go bad and it wasn’t something that he was willing to see.

Compared to the first floor, which was spacious and wide, the second floor was a little smaller and tighter.

Of course, the definition of tight in this context was when compared to the first floor, which was as big as a basketball court. In other people’s eyes, the second floor was still very spacious.

The second floor had a table, two chairs, and many cabinets surrounding the walls.

“Sit,” said Kuer Horton before he strode towards one of the cabinets. He brought two delicate looking sets of eateries out, then set them up on the table and headed to another cabinet to bring out a tea set. He then went to the cabinet behind Kieran and brought some pastries out to go with the tea.

“Did you know? I’ve always dreamed about having a friend in my secret hideout so that we can eat and drink together. Now, my dream has come true! I am so happy!” said Kuer Horton excitingly, his face even starting to flush.

“I am also happy being able to taste these pastries,” said Kieran honestly.

Kuer Horton’s happiness doubled after Kieran’s honest remark.

He arranged the pastries on the plate in front of Kieran and put a small piece of tea cake into the teapot before he placed it over the coal heater.

After all the preparation, Kuer Horton sat opposite Kieran, then grabbed a piece of lemon tart and ate it with a single chomp.

The sourness of the lemon and the sweetness of the biscuit intertwined to form a unique taste in his mouth.

The cabinets were specially enhanced by secret spells, so the food stored inside could last for a long time before going bad, still tasting as if it were freshly baked. The taste made Kuer Horton squint his eyes pleasantly.

Kieran also picked up the lemon tart.

The taste was okay, the ingredients used were top-notch, the seasoning was meticulous, and the control over the fire was handled with skill.

As the comments came afloat in Kieran’s heart, he picked up the pastries from the plate one after another and tossed it into his mouth.

Before Kuer Horton realized it, the pastries on the plate were swept clean.

Kuer Horton was stunned.

What happened? Where’s all his pastries?

They were just there a moment ago!?

The amount of pastries were enough to serve 5 pax! It was that much yet it was gone?

After the sharing earlier in the afternoon, Kuer Horton thought he had a certain level of understanding of Kieran’s appetite but the scene that happened right before his eyes told him that he was wrong by a mile or more!

Then…

“Colin, you didn’t eat enough during lunch?” Kuer Horton asked softly.

His countenance was a little embarrassed because he really thought he had treated his friend well enough.

It wasn’t scrumptious but it should be sufficient.

Now though…

“Mm,” Kieran nodded frankly.

The embarrassment grew heavier on Kuer Horton’s face after Kieran’s nod.

“Please hold on for a moment!”

As his first friend, Kuer Horton cherished Kieran’s company a lot. He quickly jumped up and headed to the cabinet, more specifically the special ones.

A while later…

It wasn’t just pastries that were served, there were golden loaves of bread, big pieces of ham, and a wheel of uncut cheese, plus many more small plates of sliced cheese were put on the table.

After that, grilled beef ribs, the back of a whole lamb, and a bowl of fish and vegetable salad the size of a face washing pail; the soup served was mashed potato mixed with cooked milk.

It tasted a little bit weird, so Kieran grabbed the bowl and finished it in a single gulp.

Eat the less tasty food first before eating the tastier ones, it would make the tastier ones taste better.

However, the way Kieran started to eat shook Kuer Horton.

He stood there full of hesitation before he clenched his teeth and headed to the biggest cabinet.

Inside the biggest cabinet was the extra meal that he kept for the harvest season.

He also went the extra length to hide it away from his father, putting it here.

Now he had to bring it out in advance!

To serve it to his only friend though… it was fair to say that his efforts in getting this particular dish were worth it!

Gak Tssk! Gak Tssk!

Amid the squeaking noise of the wheels of the cart, Kuer Horton carefully pushed it over to the table.

On the cart, was a cow! A fully roasted whole cow!!

Kieran’s nose was tingling.

He didn’t just pick up the smell of beef, there was lamb, pork, goose, duck, chicken, pigeon and quail also! All types of smell of meat were mixed together.

Kuer Horton took a pair of gloves from underneath the cart, put them on, and flipped the whole cow over. Holding the sharp knife in his hand, he stabbed it into the cow’s stomach and started to slice it open with a strong arm.

The roasted cow opened up like a blooming flower.

Layers of meat bloomed like flower petals under Kuer Horton’s skilled cutting technique, not a single pause in the motion.

When the roasted quail stuffed inside the whole cow was cut open, a golden grape appeared inside, as if it was the stamen of the flower.

Fragrance! A very strong fragrance!

The peculiar thing was, the strong fragrance of meat didn’t smell muddled up. Instead, every single type of meat emanated its own unique smell and was very distinguished, especially that golden grape. The fragrance that it emanated was unlike the heavy meaty one, it was the refreshing smell of a fruit.

Under the layers of meat, the refreshing fragrance was like bringing the entire dish to life.

Kieran’s eyes were locked on the golden grape.

Inside his heart, Gluttony’s saliva was already watering like a river.

Gluttony tried his best to control his drool but he failed, drooling ceaselessly.

“B-Brother, I want to eat that!” said Gluttony with the purest of thoughts.

Kieran nodded a tad, then stood up as Kuer Horton carefully scooped out the golden grape for Kieran.

“Thank you,” Kieran thanked Kuer Horton sincerely.

The fact that the special roasted whole cow wasn’t revealed at the beginning stated that this dish meant a lot to Kuer Horton, let alone the essence of the entire dish.

Since he was willing to share with Kieran the most delicious food in his possession, it was natural that Kieran thank him.

“No need, we are friends. Give it a taste, it is the tastiest now!” said Kuer Horton.

Kieran delivered the golden grape into his mouth.

With the lightest bite, the whole grape exploded in his mouth.

The sweet juices filled his mouth.

“Awhuuuu~”

Gluttony howled pleasantly, the Cardinal Sins Force ran ludicrously and then the energy was converted.

Unlike the Power of Faith, this particular eat and convert felt a lot purer, a lot more from the heart!

Meanwhile, Bloody Mary had run into some hiccups.