Carina still looked like a puffed-up squirrel as she sat facing Zion, whom she had invited into their palace for dinner.
Alnair sat beside her and looked at this scene with amusement. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0velFire.ɴet
Zen sat beside Zion with arms crossed over his chest, waiting for his sister and her husband to arrive at the table.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait for long before the Celestial finally made her appearance.
Rana Avior arched an eyebrow at the sight of a stranger seated on their dining table. However, seeing Zen beside the teenage boy, she thought there might be a reason why the young man was there.
Rana’s husband, Caelum, also noticed Zion, which made him frown.
Still, he didn’t say anything since not many people were able to join them for dinner without an invitation.
"It seems that we have a guest," Rana said with a smile as she sat on the head of the table, while her husband took a seat by her left side, right next to Carina.
"His name is Zion," Zen replied. "He’s the one I mentioned yesterday."
"Ah, yes. The butterfly peddler." Rana nodded before shifting her gaze to the young man, who was looking at her with a calm expression.
"Is my wife beautiful?" Caelum asked in a teasing tone.
"She is very beautiful, My Lord," Thirteen answered. "You are very lucky to have married her."
"I feel that everyday." A faint smile appeared on Caelum’s face after hearing the teenage boy’s reply.
Rana also smiled. It wasn’t everyday that her husband would admit his luck to marry her aloud.
"Have you sold your wares to my daughter?" Rana inquired. "She won’t stop talking about how amazing your butterflies are."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Thirteen answered respectfully. "Lady Carina got what she wanted."
"Then why is my darling daughter pouting?" Rana eyed her daughter, who had an expression filled with injustice.
"Mother! Zion, Brother, and Uncle were bullying me earlier!" Carina complained. "All of them are bullies!"
"Mother, don’t believe her." Alnair immediately defended himself. "Uncle and I did no such thing."
Zen smirked but didn’t say anything to support his nephew’s claim.
Suddenly, another young man entered the dining room.
Donning an officer’s uniform, he walked straight toward the seat on his mother’s right side.
"You’re finally here, Izar." Rana smiled. "Did you just finish your training?"
"Yes, Mother," Izar answered. "And I am starving."
Rana no longer delayed their dinner and signaled for the maids to start serving them. She then gave Zen the, "why is that boy here?" gaze, prompting her brother to answer her unspoken question.
"Zion not only sold Carina the toys that she wanted, he also prepared a special performance for her," Zen stated. "She was so overjoyed by the performance that she dragged him all the way here to have dinner with us."
"She did?" Rana arched an eyebrow before glancing at her daughter, who was still pouting.
"Yes, Mother," Carina said. "I invited Zion to join us for dinner."
"I see." Rana nodded. "Since he’s a special guest, we ought to make sure he is well fed."
Several dishes were served at the table, and all of them looked delicious.
After Rana gave the signal to start eating, everyone ate, with Carina glancing at Zion from time to time, looking at his reaction to the food that he was eating.
She was certain that once the bully tasted the food prepared by their chefs, he would be so impressed by its taste that he’d finally realize how amazing her family was.
However, the look of surprise she expected never came. He was frowning instead.
Carina wasn’t the only one who noticed. The strange look on his face also caught the attention of Alnair, Zen, and Rana, who wondered if he accidentally swallowed a fish bone or something.
"How’s the food?" Carina asked. "It’s good, right?"
"It’s not bad," Thirteen answered after he finished chewing the food inside his mouth. "It could be better, I suppose."
Immediately, the sound of utensils moving stopped as the Avior family looked at their guests with varied expressions on their faces.
Carina looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open, while Alnair was frowning.
Zen looked troubled as he gazed at his sister, who didn’t look pleased with Thirteen’s "choice" of words.
"Is the food not to your liking?" Caelum asked.
"It’s passable," Thirteen answered.
The maids then glanced at the chef, who was looking at Zion in contempt.
He wanted to tell the boy that a peasant like him didn’t know any better, so he should just shut up and eat.
Rana was also quite displeased with the teenage boy’s words, especially since she had hired the best chefs in the continent to serve her family.
Still, she didn’t want to make it seem that she was trying to bully a child who didn’t know better.
"Zion, please stop with the jokes," Zen tried to calm everyone down before things escalated. "I’m sure you haven’t tasted anything more delicious than the food being served here."
Thirteen blinked. "But I have tasted food better than this."
"Oh, really?" The Chef was finally unable to hold back his contempt and spoke out loud. "Then tell me, is there anything wrong with the food that I cooked?"
Rana narrowed her eyes at the stranger, who made her feel as if he was just trying to catch everyone’s attention.
If their guest didn’t give them a proper explanation, she would ask her guards to kick him out of the palace, even if he was supposed to be their daughter’s guest.
Thirteen calmly set his fork down. "If you want my critic then you shall get it."
The teenage boy then gestured toward the main dish.
"The braised lamb has potential, but it’s unevenly seasoned. The rosemary overpowers the natural sweetness of the meat. You’d get a cleaner balance if you reduced the herbs and let the fat render longer."
The chef froze after hearing his reply.
Thirteen then lifted his spoon and tasted the bisque. "Your seafood bisque is delicate but lacks depth. You strained it too early. This dish has lost its soul. Try simmering the shells longer, or add a splash of cognac to give it warmth next time."
The room had gone still. Even Caelum had stopped eating mid-bite.
Zion reached for the vegetables next. "And these greens... boiled instead of blanched, yes? The color’s fine, but they’ve lost their crisp. Shock them in cold water after blanching next time to preserve texture."
The chef’s hands trembled slightly as Zion continued with the poise of a food critic dissecting a high-end restaurant.
"The sauce on the duck confit doesn’t taste half bad. You used citrus to cut through the fat, didn’t you? Smart choice. But if you reduce it just a little more, you’d bring out the caramel notes instead of the bitter edge."
Every word hit with precision. Zion sounded neither arrogant nor condescending but purely objective.
By now, Rana’s irritation had shifted to curiosity. The boy spoke like someone who had judged dishes in royal banquets, not like a guest from humble origins.
Finally, Zion looked up and met the chef’s eyes. "Your skill is remarkable. But the food feels... soulless. You’re cooking to impress not to satisfy.
"A good meal should make you feel something. I’m sure you’ve cooked these dishes countless times before, so, understandably, you are confident with its taste. But it’s the minute details that make the difference."
Silence filled the dining hall as everyone looked at their guest, who didn’t seem to be someone who truly understood fine dining at first glance.
But as he continued to point out the flaws in each dish, all eyes turned to the chef. The man was growing pale, looking like an apprentice caught being stingy with ingredients by his master.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, the chef asked, "... Are you trained in the culinary arts, Young Master?"
Zion blinked, almost looking embarrassed that he critiqued all of the dishes that the chef had made. "I once trained under the God of Cooking, alongside a good friend of mine.
"I apologize for being overbearing. How about I share with you a simple but extremely delicious dessert recipe that can be prepared within ten minutes as my apology?"
The chef no longer looked at the teenage boy in contempt and happily accepted his proposal. If he were to learn something from a Master, then this incident would become a blessing in disguise for him.