Ascension Of The Villain

The atmosphere was full of the mouthwatering scent of roasting meat and a medley of exotic spices. Noble ladies, more often seen elegantly sipping tea or gliding through ballrooms, were now bustling around the open kitchen.

Today, they traded their fans and parasols for knives and spatulas, and the results were both impressive and amusing. After all, it was their turn to shine in the festival.

Lady Gretchen was preparing thick slabs of Tryclaw Sentinel steak to grill. Beside her, Lady Seraphina was daintily marinating cuts of another beast, her hands working with a blend of rare herbs and honey as if she were crafting a love potion. And then there was Princess Althea, casually letting magic do most of the heavy lifting—because why get your hands dirty when you can just magic it?

At the far end of the counter, Iyana stood silently, her violet eyes focused on the task at hand as she expertly sliced the Talonraith meat into smaller pieces.

As a certain host decided to hover next to her, probably in search of some witty banter, she shot him a look that could have frozen the entire festival. "How is it that I ended up with your kills, of all people?"

Vyan raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. "Who knew that playing philanthropist and handing out my kills to random ladies in need would lead to this?"

"Well, pardon me for having a fiancé who decided to ditch the festival this morning and thought it would be hilarious to skip putting in the ballot." She brought down the knife with a sharp thud, clearly imagining the meat was Easton's head.

Vyan blinked, taken aback. Although he was totally responsible for Easton's disappearance, he had no idea Easton wouldn't even pause to think about Iyana's humiliation—the moment she found out there was nobody who dedicated their kills to the Crown Prince's betrothed.

"So... how is the cooking coming along?" Vyan asked, smoothly changing the subject before Iyana turned her wrath on him.

"It's fine," she grumbled, gathering the chopped pieces into a bowl. "It has just been a while since I last cooked, so I might be a little rusty."

"Rusty or not," Vyan smiled, "I am sure it will be amazing. Cooking was one of your hobbies for quite some time, after all."

Iyana paused, blinking in genuine surprise. "Was it?" she asked, as if trying to pinpoint the exact moment in her life when she might have transformed into some sort of domestic goddess. "I didn't think I was the type who liked it."

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"Oh, you did. A lot, actually. I was your very own guinea pig," Vyan replied, placing a dramatic hand over his abdomen as if just recalling the experience made him want to hurl. "You put me through a lot of experiments."

She shot him a glare, eyes narrowing. "You must be exaggerating."

He leaned forward against the counter, laughing lightly. "Oh, definitely. You were already pretty good at cooking when I first became your knight, and as far as I remember, it was the best food I ever had at that time."

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow, fighting back a smile that threatened to break through her serious demeanor.

He nodded, smirking. "Although, I do remember you had a penchant for making things a bit... fiery."

Iyana stopped, mid-pour with the red chili powder. "And you can't handle spicy food?"

"It's complicated. I didn't have much of a say in what I ate back then," Vyan shrugged. "I mean, I learned to eat just about anything. Spicy food wasn't the end of the world—your cooking included," he added with a teasing grin. "In short, I can handle it. So go ahead, make it as spicy as your heart desires."

"Alright," she said, but subtly adjusted the amount of chili, reducing it just a touch. "So, what about you? Can you cook?"

"Not really. I never had the opportunity to learn," he admitted, casually twirling a knife between his fingers while she focused on her cooking. "Back at the orphanage, my culinary duties were limited to stirring the curry or stew—on a good day. On a bad day, I was stuck chopping onions."

She chuckled, the sound soft and warm. "I am tempted to make you chop onions now, but that might draw a bit too much attention." She threw a quick glance at the uneasy stares they were already getting. "You just standing here and chatting with me is already creating quite the buzz."

"Well, I was just doing my rounds and happened to find you," he replied, feigning innocence. "Besides, it's not exactly unreasonable for me to be here, considering you are cooking my monster kills."

She hummed in response, and they were quiet for a moment before she spoke up, "I wonder why Prince Easton left without informing me. What could have been so urgent?"

"Why? Does that make you upset?" Vyan asked, his gaze fixed on her, studying every little expression she made. But she seemed to be utterly focused on stirring the seasoned meat sizzling in the pan.

"Not really. Just curious," she replied, sneaking a glance at him. Then, with a hint of mischief in her voice, she added, "Just like how I am curious about why you have been clinging to me even more since I mentioned drawing a line between you and I. Did you not understand?"

Vyan's grin widened. "Oh, I understood it loud and clear," he said, lightly brushing his upper arm against her shoulder. "I just decided to ignore it." His voice dropped to a sotto level as he continued, "Because I like being close to you. I don't… want there to be a line between us."

Iyana was about to sprinkle some black pepper when she almost dropped the entire jar into the pan. "What?" She whipped her head around to see if he was joking, but the seriousness in his eyes made her breath hitch instead. "Stop joking about stuff like this," she muttered, turning away quickly as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"I am not, though," Vyan replied, feigning innocence, though the sparkle in his eyes suggested otherwise.

"Just go away. You are ruining my peaceful cooking time," she shooed him off with a wave of her hand, trying to mask her flustered state.

"What? I have been nothing but a delight," he protested, hands raised as if he were the picture of angelic behavior. "You are not the one I pranked at the very least."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What prank are we talking about here?"

Vyan's grin turned mischievous, and Iyana could practically feel the impending doom. "So, about that thing I said earlier regarding spiciness…"

———

About two hours later, Althea was wandering around the tents with a tray of food in her hands, trying her best not to drop it. She stopped in front of a particular tent and called out, "Clyde, are you in there?"

There was a brief moment of shuffling and then a surprised voice from inside. "Y-your Imperial Highness?" Clyde stammered before practically tripping over himself to come out. "Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that," she retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Why didn't you show up at the dining area?"

"I thought you might feel pressured to make me try your food if I were there. I didn't want to make things awkward, so I figured I would—"

"But I wanted you to try it," she cut in firmly. "So, can I come in?"

Clyde blinked, momentarily stunned, before a bright smile spread across his face. He quickly stepped aside to let her in. "By the way, I am sorry if what I said on stage made you feel awkward—"

"It's fine. I actually admired your courage," she admitted, and Clyde's heart practically did a backflip.

"Thank you," he mumbled. He was glad to know that it was worth putting on that show on a whim. Obviously, he was sincere, but like, in front of everybody, he later regretted that he might have embarrassed Althea too much. But thankfully, she seemed okay.

Althea set the tray down on a small table in the corner. "Now, why don't you get to eating?"

"What about you? Have you eaten yet?"

"I will, once I know what you think of it," Althea said, her tone turning a bit mischievous. "Although, fair warning—I am not exactly an expert in the kitchen."

"It's fine, you don't have to worry about it; I am pretty good at cooking," Clyde replied confidently, then immediately let out a flustered chuckle. "I mean, uh, sorry, I don't know why I said that, haha."

Althea's cheeks reddened slightly at his indication as she sputtered, "Um, why don't you just take a bite already?"

"Yes, yes, of course." He quickly grabbed a spoon and took a big mouthful of the dish she had prepared. "Wow, it's really good! It's…"

"Really?" Althea clapped her hands in delight, only to freeze when she noticed Clyde's smiling tightly with— "Oh, my, why are you crying? It can't be that good, can it?"

"I can't… s-speak… f-food… it… b-burns…," Clyde choked out, pressing a trembling hand to his mouth while desperately reaching for water, tears streaming down his cheeks like a waterfall.

"What?" Althea panicked, nearly knocking into his nightstand. "What do you mean?"

"I can't eat spicy food at all, Althea! It burns my throat and tears me up!" Clyde managed to cry out between gulps of water.

Althea gasped. "But how can that be? Vyan told me—" She paused, then facepalmed as it all clicked. "My gosh, that little scoundrel!"