“The judges are those with circles marked on the papers you have now. Those individuals, please come forward.”

Fifteen gentlemen stepped forward. The reason they were all men was because the qualification itself was given only to men. In the empire, all such matters were the privilege and responsibility of men.

Looking at those who stepped forward, five were people who would support Kaius, five would support Rantiano. Another four were people whose intentions were difficult to guess, and the remaining one was someone whose face could not be recognized because he had his hat pulled down low.

“Judges, please take your seats. Now we will begin the competition.”

As the bell rang to signal the start, Kaius called Lemon and instructed him to go check on Ariel.

Demian kept checking behind him as he took out ingredients. While taking out meat and vegetables, Ariel appeared.

“This is my assistant chef. There were circumstances that made her late, so please let her in.”

Demian quickly spoke to the knight who was blocking Ariel. The knight who had been looking at her suspiciously opened the way.

“Haa…”

Ariel calmed her breathlessness from running with a few deep breaths.

“Shall we start now?”

Ariel, who had been hiding behind Demian’s back, stepped onto a platform as long as the table he had prepared in advance.

***

Kaius didn’t pay much attention to the relatively perfectly prepared dishes.

He inadvertently turned his gaze to the cooking area while observing the judge who had his face hidden with a deep hat. There was a woman standing next to Demian.

It seems to be the assistant he mentioned earlier… Is she a shy person?

She looked excessively bundled up. Suspicious, Kaius observed the movements of Demian and the assistant chef for a long time. It was then that his eyes twitched. Demian’s movements were unnatural.

It wasn’t just the movement of an injured hand. He was a warrior before he was a businessman, and he had lived on the battlefield for five years.

Kaius moved as close as he could. Right behind the judges. His cool gaze closely watched Demian and the assistant chef. At a glance, it seemed like she was just helping, but the assistant was doing most of the arm work.

Demian was clearly uncomfortable moving, and he brought an assistant. But the assistant is doing the main chef’s work?

His gaze, which had only been observing their movements, began to examine the assistant’s appearance. Gloved hands, white apron, scarf wrapped around the neck, and the occasionally glimpsed jawline. She had covered herself up excessively.

Suddenly, the words that Ariel was sick came to mind, but even at a glance, she was taller than Ariel and dressed differently.

Surely not, right?

She wasn’t a woman reckless enough to do something that would be discovered so quickly. That’s when Lemon’s voice was heard from behind.

“Your Excellency.”

Lemon, who had come close, whispered in his ear.

“Madam is still asleep.”

Lemon relayed what he had heard from Anna, and Kaius thought Lemon had confirmed it himself. Kaius withdrew his suspicious gaze and turned his eyes back to the cooking area. Leisurely crossing his arms.

Just as the smell of steak began to spread, exclamations flowed from here and there. Ariel became curious about which side the judges were looking at. With the thought of checking for just a moment, she slightly raised her head, which had been bowed as much as possible.

Their gazes were directed at both sides. Well, the other side was also a first-class chef. It was then that she felt an intense gaze. When she unconsciously turned her head, there was one man she absolutely must not be discovered by, Kaius, standing there staring directly at her.

Ariel, startled with a gasp, instantly lowered her head.

***

“He didn’t see. No, he shouldn’t have seen.”

Ariel’s hand, which was muttering to herself quietly, was gripping the frying pan handle tightly. So tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

“Pardon?”

Demian asked about that small sound.

“It’s nothing.”

It was a very short time, and she had only raised her head a little, and the bonnet was pressed down deeply. It seemed that he couldn’t have recognized her in any way, but Ariel’s heart wouldn’t calm down.

I need to focus.

Six frying pans were lined up on the grill, and three steaks were being cooked in each pan. The reason for the increased number of steaks was because, in addition to the judges, portions for the emperor and empress and the empress dowager had been added. In this situation, she couldn’t afford to be distracted elsewhere. After taking a couple of deep breaths in and out, her mind gradually calmed down.

Ariel took the frying pans off the fire in order, and Demian silently began to baste the meat with oil. No explanation was necessary. They were just acting as planned.

[Kaldenbach is grilling the meat in a frying pan, and Berihaus is grilling the meat directly on the grill.] [The smell is too good from both. My mouth is watering. I envy the judges. To be able to taste that.]

People focused more on the steak than the dessert. That was because dessert was just dessert, and most men didn’t particularly like sweet things.

Meanwhile, the steak was wrapped in paper. Now that it was resting, all that was left was to cook the vegetables. The sound of chopped vegetables sizzling as they were poured into the frying pan was deliciously audible. And Elia spices were sprinkled on top of that as well.

[What on earth is that? When it went into the meat earlier while grilling, the smell became even better.] [It seems to be a spice. Different from the usual ones.]

As time passed, people began to notice the presence of the spice. It was a fitting reaction since the flavor was different.

As talk of the spice began, the lips of the judge wearing the hat curled up gently. His gaze had been directed at Ariel from the moment she first stepped onto the cooking station.

***

“The Demon Realm Plant Guide is gone?”

In front of Ludvian, the librarian of the Demon Realm library was prostrated, trembling violently. Flames shot up in his red eyes. His roughly brushed back red hair shook.

“I checked it here before? Now it’s not here?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Who took it?”

“That…”

Ludvian’s eyes, which had been burning red, began to grow colder. It meant he was getting angrier and.

“There’s no record! It seems someone secretly took it out!”

The librarian quickly finished speaking and pressed his head to the floor.

“Lord Ludvian, could Lucifer Tanark have taken it? Because of the seal?”

“He already knows what plant is needed to break the seal, doesn’t he? The problem is that even knowing that, he can’t obtain it. It’s not him.”

Ludvian, roughly brushing up his hair again, looked at Kitra.

“Tell the director to hire a new librarian.”

As he briefly swung his arm, red demonic energy shot out.

Nothing was going according to plan. If he could just send the Demon Realm Plant Guide to Duke Elbartan, everything was supposed to flow smoothly. It had to.

Ludvian glared at the librarian, who had already stopped breathing, once again with cold eyes.

“Is there a way to find it?”

“Seeing that it can’t be found with the rune code, it seems to have flowed into the human realm.”

“The human realm? Is there a way to find the book there?”

“…There isn’t. However, we have a list of demons who visited the library, so we can check with all of them.”

Ludvian’s eyes closed as he made an irritated expression.

“Round them all up and check. You may use the Beloas Knights if necessary, but make sure to find it.”

***

For a while, Kaius thought he had seen an illusion.

Red lips? All women attending the banquet color their lips red. A slender chin? That too could be true of anyone else. So the woman there must be a woman he doesn’t know. It had to be.

The woman who was said to be sick couldn’t be there. She wouldn’t do such a thing without consulting him first. So she absolutely couldn’t be his wife.

But his head already knew.

Although only red lips and a chin were revealed, it was his woman, Ariel, who could be no one else.

Suddenly occurring to him, Kaius beckoned to Lemon, who immediately approached.

“Did you personally confirm that madam was inside?”

“No, I heard it from Anna.”

Kaius looked at the woman in front of him, wrapped up from head to toe, and laughed mirthlessly. Unbelievably, she still excluded him from important decisions. As if he were a stranger.

“Your Excellency, it seems to be over.”

Along with Lemon’s words, the bell rang out. It was the signal that the steak cooking was over. Servants began to bring plates to the judges. In a short time, two plates each were placed in front of the judges. The dessert was still in progress and was scheduled to be ready by the end of the steak meal.

“Then we will begin the judging.”

The servant announced again loudly. Amidst the clattering of tableware, exclamations began to flow out one by one. Their wide-eyed gazes were directed at Kaius.

[As expected of Kaldenbach.] [It’s my first time. Such a taste. I think I’ll never forget it until I die.] [It melts. It’s melting.] [This is… really perfect.]

Even amid the judges’ exclamations and praise, Kaius’s gaze remained detached, like someone without emotions. The current result was just a proper outcome, nothing more.

Moreover, all of Kaius’s attention was focused solely on Ariel, who was standing still without moving. It was then that the gentleman with the hat pulled down low asked Kaius a question.

“It seems that an unfamiliar spice was used in Kaldenbach’s steak, is that correct?”

Kaius turned his head towards the soft voice.

“That’s right.”

“What kind of spice is it?”

“We plan to disclose it, but it’s still a secret for now.”

“Then when can we know?”

Kaius patiently answered the impolite man who didn’t even make eye contact.

“The owner of the spice is the Elia company. We plan to decide after consulting with them.”

Satisfied with that answer, the lips of the gentleman who had asked curled up gently. Only then did he slightly lift his hat and make eye contact – it was Edward Camellon himself.

“I see. Thank you for your answer. And the steak is really tender and delicious. The chef’s skills must be considerable.”

Kaius’s gaze deepened at the memory that remark evoked. Following Edward’s gaze towards the cooking area, Kaius also turned his body towards Ariel.