NOVEL NEXT Chapter 375
As winter approached, the twilight curtain was drawn earlier than usual, revealing the moon and stars behind gloomy clouds.
The Great Hall of Winterhome was silent.
Not a whisper, not even the sound of someone swallowing dry saliva.
Even in the most important gatherings, it was natural for people to share whispers, yet here, not even the sound of fabric brushing against itself as one shifted position could be heard.
It was truly an anomaly.
Every evening, the Great Hall of Winterhome would buzz with activity, with everyone except the on-duty staff gathering, clattering tableware and chattering away; a single remark would echo all the way to the spire of Winterhome.
What could possibly make them this serious?
When considering the reason for their gathering, the conclusion becomes readily apparent.
The Dinner Banquet.
The cooking.
A single aroma wafted through the hall for the Memorial Day dinner feast. A scent that unmistakably belonged to the banquet’s highlight.
It was sacred, filled with the scent of smoke, and everyone was too busy savoring it to even think about talking; they sat quietly, merely breathing.
The sound of swallowing saliva was absent for that very reason. When you breathe while gulping it down, there’s no room for sound.
And as the dishes were set, the moment the stars of the banquet piled high, the dam of silence burst.
“Oh, oh my! Tutatis, what a fragrance!”
“The meat just crumbles like butter! I’m not exaggerating, it’s really like that!”
“By Bacchus, good heavens!”
“Bloody hell! This is pure ecstasy! What a divine taste!”
“What?! The bottom is already bare? Wait, no cutting necessary! I will tear into that with my own hands!!!”
“Everyone, calm down! Calm! There’s more than enough for everyone!”
The sounds of tearing into meat were almost unbelievable. The clinking of drinks being poured and gulped down. Spontaneous exclamations of admiration and delight flowed freely.
Among all the gathered people, there was no chatter about pleasantries or social niceties.
At this moment, the Great Hall could be likened to a wild scene.
Monsters and wild beasts with meat laid out before them.
When a whale dies in the sea, a multitude of marine creatures gather for the feast. From tiny minnows to sharks and alligators, they all come.
Yet, there’s no fierce battle for food among them.
The same was true for the tables in the hall.
Overflowing plates of meat that could feed anyone.
The monsters and beasts didn’t fight but were solely focused on shoving food into their bellies.
Piercing, hungry gazes fixated only on what lay before them, with praise and admiration allowed only when indulging in food and drink.
“Oh my! Gulp!”
A squashed shout resonated through the hall, brow furrowing at the disruption of the meal.
“What a divine taste and aroma!”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“It melts the moment it touches the tongue! The sensation is as heart-wrenching as an impossible first love…!”
“Oh, Tutatis!”
“This alone is a holy relic!”
“A gift from the gods!”
“Hail Tutatis! Hail the nameless traveler! Above all, hail the Duke of Iceland and Lord Karem and Lady Skadi for giving us the chance to experience such flavor!”
“Did the gods manifest ambrosia on earth!? Has he reached a divine level of skill…!!!”
The commotion was proportional to the long silence experienced in the Great Hall.
“Oh, almighty deities!”
“Ellie. Here’s some bread and coleslaw—”
“Get that away from me!”
After her morning sickness ended, Elizabeth with her ravenous appetite devoured food like the elderly folks from the Icelandic lineage of Richard, who had been deprived of eating for far too long.
She was so focused on the barbecue that she didn’t even notice Godwin’s food fight at the table beside Alfred.
Even Alfred couldn’t help but feel a little cautious watching her forget her dignity as a noble.
Normally, someone elder from the family would have mentioned it to her, but…
“Mmm, oh. Ah, wow, almighty deities.”
The elder Iona was dipping barbeque sauce and soaking his beard with juice, completely engrossed in the eating frenzy.
“Whoa, is this real?”
Catherine raised an eyebrow, noticing Karem’s amazement and admiration.
“Your reaction is rather suspicious. Do you have a complaint?”
“Me? No way.”
Unless one had a meat allergy, it would be crazy for Karem to dislike barbecue.
“Well then, what’s with that reaction?”
“It’s just even more delicious than before.”
“What?”
“I had a sample a few days ago.”
He could never forget that piece he tasted back then.
The taste was akin to one learned directly from a master in Texas in a past life.
What he was enjoying now was leagues beyond that.
Juices flowed like a flood, meat and fat melted like pudding, and the combination of seasoning and meat aromas was fantastic.
“How could it even be better there…?”
“When it comes to handling fire, it’s tough to surpass dwarves. From the looks of it, fire seems more important than the quality of the meat.”
“A grill the size of a warehouse?”
“That’s why there are eight dwarves working on it.”
Catherine shrugged and bit into her brisket sandwich. However, not everyone took that info nonchalantly.
“Wait, so we can eat this every day?”
William, tiptoeing with a plate piled high with barbecue, whispered small enough to be unnoticeable.
“True, but why is the second prince here?”
“You should be able to sit still and wait.”
“Ah… but why whisper this small…?”
“Of course!”
William squinted down at the common seats.
“That’s all competition down there.”
“Competition?”
“Yeah. If I sit here, all the food might disappear.”
Honestly, William’s worries seemed excessive. Yet, seeing how fast those large barbecue morsels vanished, they were worry-worthy.
“Absolutely… this is a taste that even I find impressive.”
Mary spread sauce on a slice of pork belly barbecue and rolled it up.
“Never did I think I’d feel a rare sense of awe like when eating a whipped cream jam doughnut sandwich from a chunk of meat like this.”
“Wait… you found it that impressive?”
“Don’t you understand?”
“No, that much makes sense. Your reaction has been rather placid. It’s been the same monotone response every time you’ve eaten, hasn’t it?”
When Mary truly was moved, the reaction would resemble ripples across a tranquil lake, her eyes trembling, and her body shaking as if on the verge of a fit, with her fingers continuously twitching.
Or more accurately, had that reaction lessened since then…?
“Isn’t that only natural?”
Truth be told, finding her calm façade a bit annoying made it hard for him. But Mary, undeterred, raised a finger.
“It’s because I’ve built self-discipline.”
Stunned by her astonishing words, Karem momentarily forgot his own thoughts. Overwhelmed, he shrugged and poured barbecue sauce over the pulled pork he hastily shoved into his mouth. Responding to everything was indeed tiring.
“Wait a moment, Karem Junior. What’s that reaction about?”
“Nothing. Just nothing.”
“That’s not a reaction of nothing.”
“Catherine. Here, try this sausage.”
Ignoring Mary, Karem extended his arm, stuffing a plump, wrinkly sausage into Catherine’s mouth.
Chomp, splutter!
“Mmm, this is… exceptional!”
“It’s because it was smoked while keeping moisture intact, preserving the juices, that the flavor is concentrated.”
“Yeah. Undoubtedly the best I have ever tasted among the many sausages I’ve had.”
Then his gaze darted back to Mary, who shot him a sharp look as he took a bite from the partially-eaten sausage he snatched back.
‘More than that.’
Karem scanned the hall, from the royal seats to the common ones.
Just as he had anticipated, everyone was tearing, chewing, and tasting with their bare hands like it was the norm in the old Iceland, with utensils left untouched.
What a satisfying scene it was, though there was one bothersome thought.
“Where has Lady Alicia gone?”
Then he noticed Robin was missing from beside him as well.
*
*
*
Alicia loves food. However, she didn’t obsess over it to the point of monopolizing; she knew how to share.
Of course, there were rare occasions where she would blatantly rebel and eat everything herself, but those incidents were indeed very few. Alfred was surprised by those “little revolt” incidents.
This time it was different.
People adapt.
Just days ago, thanks to Richard’s gift, Alicia had plenty of barbecue, so much that she’d even left some. Now, she had her dream fulfilled. (The leftovers were all gone to Richard.)
She regained her composure.
Visiting the underground tomb naturally brought on the thought.
‘It’s a bit stingy to let only grandfather eat.’
She thought about how she wanted to share that deliciousness with grandmother.
“Hey, pig.”
Robin, who had followed Alicia down into the basement, queried.
“We will all gather at the end anyway. We can just do it then, right?”
“Robin, you’re a fool. You know only one thing but nothing else.”
“What?!”
The reality that she, of all people, called him a fool froze Robin’s brain in place, while Alicia continued.
“Then it’d be so sad for grandmother.”
“Well, that’s…”
“Moreover, grandfather has already tasted everything before. Grandmother would naturally want to eat it too.”
The nodding head and shrug made it clear she expected Robin to disagree.
There was no way he could deny her words.
‘If I deny this, I’ll just be the bad guy.’
Even overlooking whether the undead could genuinely enjoy food or taste it… No, mainly, there was no way Grandma would come back once she had already passed, so could she even show up as a ghost?
Nevertheless, Robin, not wanting to be seen as a bad guy, followed Alicia as she trotted determinedly onwards.
“We’ve arrived.”
“…No one’s here.”
The tomb remained serene and somber. Coffins and statues, flickering lights from ghost lamps and turnips. Nothing had particularly changed since a few days before.
As Alicia strutted forward and carefully placed the bowls of assorted barbecue from the basket onto the coffin, Robin, unable to stand still, lined up plates of side dishes beside her.
“Hey, pig.”
“What?”
“Where are the forks and knives?”
“Oh… just a second.”
Alicia rummaged through the empty basket, finally turning it upside down and shaking it, donning a look of realization.
“I forgot…!”
“Honestly, this pig…”
[You shouldn’t call your sister a pig!]
A strange voice seemed to echo.
“But I’m not a—…. huh?”
Robin, who was justifying himself, suddenly fell silent. Upon locking eyes with Alicia, she sensed something unusual, biting her lip and blinking rapidly.
‘Did you hear that?’
‘You too?’
The two children turned their heads sharply.
A woman in a plain dress, a middle-aged beauty with grayish, translucent skin, sat leisurely beneath a statue, savoring the scent of barbecue from a plate she held.