Chapter 742 - Does He Want to Take My Place as the Family Chef?

This flavor… is completely indescribable!

Irina lacked the vocabulary to describe what she was currently feeling. Never had she ever tasted something this delicious. The combination of the dish’s delectable flavor and exquisite texture struck her with a sense of unrivaled bliss.

In particular, the flavor of that shiitake mushroom was extremely unique and delicious. Mushrooms could be occasionally collected in the Wind Forest as well, but none of them could hold a candle to the shiitake mushroom in this dish.

Swallowing her first mouthful of chicken, Irina then used her spoon to drizzle some chicken broth onto her rice. The faint golden broth was absorbed by the moonlight rice, turning the rice into an alluring golden color.

After absorbing the rich chicken broth, the rice had become extremely delicious, and the more she chewed, the more delicious it became.

What has he been doing for the past three years? He couldn’t even bake sweet potatoes without cooking them into charcoal; how could he possibly make such delicious food?! This is… Irina stared at her braised chicken and rice with incredulity etched on her face. All of a sudden, a dangerous look flashed through her eyes. Could it be that he worked so hard to learn cooking because he doesn’t like my cooking? Is he doing this so he could take over from me as the family chef?

No! I can’t squander my god-given talent like this! Irina shook her head with a determined expression, but it was quickly replaced by a blissful smile as she tasted a piece of shiitake mushroom.

Well, I guess I can allow him to cook one meal a day. I’ll be responsible for cooking the other two meals, though. Irina nodded to herself after making up her mind. She then noticed the pretty little braids in Amy’s hair, and her heart was filled with curiosity as she thought to herself, Even though we’ve only been apart for three years, I feel like I have to get to know him all over again. Cooking, braiding hair, what else has he learned?

The massive forest troll representative had received a portion of the same size as everyone else, and ate an entire bowl of braised chicken and rice in one mouthful. It then smacked its lips as it praised, “This chicken is simply far too delicious. As expected of the chef recommended by the second prince. It’s just that the portions seem to be a little small.”

Meanwhile, the goblin representative ate a small bite of chicken before shooting a disdainful glance at the forest troll. “Only a neanderthal would eat an entire dish in one bite. Such a delicious dish is wasted on the likes of you.”

“Even women don’t eat such pathetic little mouthfuls as you do; can you even taste anything?” The forest troll immediately returned the favor. The goblins and the forest trolls had been at war for a long time, and the battle raging on their borders was just as fierce as the one between the humans and the orcs.

However, they were now in the royal palace of the Roth Empire, celebrating the king’s birthday, so they limited their altercation to a verbal one rather than engaging in a physical confrontation.

All of the representatives of each race were clearly very pleased with the braised chicken and rice, and a chorus of praise rang out within the palace.

Meanwhile, all of the officials were left stranded as they greedily inhaled the delectable aroma wafting through the air.

If this were just a normal dish, it wouldn’t earn such glowing praise from so many prominent figures no matter how delicious it was. However, the chef who had cooked this dish had been invited to Rodu, so the praise they were delivering toward the dish was an indirect compliment paid to Josh himself.

Is it really that delicious? I can only smell it and see it, but I can’t taste it; this is torture! Duke Abraham felt as if there was a river of drool building up in his mouth. He was racking his brains to try and think of a way to taste this dish, but on such an important occasion, even he didn’t dare to do anything out of line.

Is it really that good? Sean looked around at all of the delighted guests, and hesitated momentarily before also tasting his first piece of chicken.

A complex look immediately appeared on his face, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to stop chewing.

This dish wasn’t just good; it was delicious to the extreme!

The tender and delicious chicken had absorbed the fragrance of the shiitake mushrooms. He almost bit his tongue—such was his eagerness to sink his teeth into the piece of chicken. In contrast, Bellmann’s food really did seem rather bland and ordinary.

Looks like he definitely isn’t Alex. Alex is a complete noob when it comes to cooking, and there’s no way that he would become a chef, let alone one that’s this good. Sean put down his chopsticks before taking a glance at Josh.

He knew how much Josh wanted Alex dead, so if that man really was Alex, then there was no way that Josh would’ve let him live for so long.

He wasn’t Alex, but was that little girl Alex’s daughter?

She was a half-elf of the right age, and she possessed extraordinary magical aptitude as well as silver hair and blue eyes that were identical to Irina’s. Wasn’t that too much of a coincidence?

Alex had been completely disabled during the assassination attempt three years ago, so it made sense that he would entrust his child to someone else. In his disabled condition, he wouldn’t even be able to look after himself, let alone a small child as well.

If she really is Alex’s daughter, then perhaps I can interrogate that chef to find out information about Alex. Sean withdrew his gaze as a contemplative look appeared on his face. If he could find Alex, he would be able to deal Josh a lethal blow.

No one would want to support a prince who had orchestrated Alex’s assassination. Alex was a hero of the Roth Empire, and the legacy that he had left behind was very much a lasting one.

Even though the king had already swept this matter under the rug, Sean was not willing to pass up such an opportunity.

He would only get one chance to ascend to the throne, and he had to win this battle for the throne regardless of what cost he had to pay.

He had to find Alex before Josh, and then force him to reveal Josh as the mastermind behind the assassination three years ago to the entire world.

Of course, if Josh hadn’t been completely driven mad by his jealousy, he wouldn’t have been so stupid as to leave Mag alive.

As expected, falling in love with a woman was a dangerous trap. No matter how cunning a man was, their IQ would drop to zero should they be struck with love.

After surveying the situation from the shadows for a while, the attendant finally departed with a content smile on his face. It appeared that the king and all of the guests were very pleased with Mag’s first dish, and he was very glad to see this.

…

The royal kitchen was still an extremely bustling and lively place as all of the chefs continued to prepare dishes. Different dishes had to be prepared and presented at different points during the banquet, so they had to be constantly working. No guest was going to eat only one dish throughout the course of the entire banquet; the royal palace had to showcase the diversity of the human cuisine to all of its esteemed guests.

However, many of the chefs were stealing glances at the secluded corner of the kitchen, where the chef from Chaos City was working by himself. The fact that his dish had been selected to be presented to the king had come as a massive shock to everyone.

Chaos City had only been in existence for just over a century, and the city had no renowned chefs. It was most often the case that chefs were unable to make a living in the competitive gastronomic industry of Rodu, thereby forcing them to move to Chaos City.

For example, the head chef of Ducas Restaurant, Beate, was only as a student of one of Bellmann’s student chefs. With his cooking skills, he most likely wouldn’t even have been chosen to cook for the king during his birthday banquet.

As such, there had always been a hint of bias and discrimination against chefs who hailed from Chaos City.

Now that an unknown chef from Chaos City had been invited by the second prince to cook for the king, all of the other chefs were naturally feeling quite displeased.

“His Highness is most likely going to get screwed over by that guy from Chaos City. There’s no way that he can cook anything even halfway decent,” a chef scoffed, and his words immediately met with approval from many of the other chefs. All of them were speculating whether Mag was going to be detained and executed soon.