TPCFE 03

Chapter 3

“I thought we wouldn’t be able to catch her until that person joined the extermination force……”

“Basilisk poison! Spit it here! This is the right guy!”

“Exactly. There was someone here…… Oh my? This person……!”

The woman examined Cain’s body and suddenly noticed the crest of the Bellaon family.

She flinched in surprise.

Then, as though she knew him personally, she brushed Cain’s hair aside and examined his face. She even opened his eyelids with her fingers to check his eyes.

“Cain Bellaon…… Why is he already here?”

“Ah! This oppa is ugly.”

Even as he drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness, the child’s cry struck Cain’s heart like a dagger.

He had been praised as one of the Empire’s most handsome boys since the day he was born.

Although he was only a collateral member of the family, hadn’t society’s high circles once pinned their hopes on him because of his sculpted nose and cool, sharp eyes?

It was a little unfair that he was being judged on his appearance at the ugliest, most pathetic moment of his entire life.

“You’re right, Lucy. He is ugly. But that’s because his face is swollen from the monster’s poison. According to the setting, he’s actually handsome.”

“……Ugly. Only his eyeballs look like jewels.”

“Is this my fault……? Maybe after that incident, the Imperial Army concentrated more manpower on guarding the capital, which made the extermination force desperate for recruits.”

Cain couldn’t understand what the woman was saying.

Why would the Imperial Army needing more guards be this woman’s fault?

“Mom…… my head hurts.”

“Oh! Right, my daughter! You used up all your mana, so let’s go get your headache treated. The valley would be a shortcut, but I guess we have to take the long way around today.”

“Are we going to see Doctor?”

“Of course. The doctor will give you a mana restoration potion. And after this, you mustn’t recklessly put buffs on food anymore, okay?”

“But buffs…… are fun.”

“What should we do about him, though? One point of stamina, one point of strength, and his mana is completely depleted. If we just leave him here to die……”

Cain had lost his sight and much of his hearing, so he couldn’t properly make out the conversation between the two.

Even what he could hear contained very little that made sense to him.

But they didn’t leave.

It was as though they were trying to find a way to save someone who had been soaked in monster venom and was practically no different from a corpse.

“Basilisk Wyrm venom. It drains the life force of humans and withers them to death…… So the problem isn’t so much the toxicity itself as the life force being drained.”

“If he doesn’t have his…… will he become ugly?”

“I suppose so?”

“Then save him. He became too ugly. He can’t breathe. Lucy’s heart hurts.”

“……”

Perhaps the child’s words moved the woman.

There was a rustling sound, and then the woman brought something right up to Cain’s face and whispered.

“Eat this. If you can chew and swallow it, you might survive. If you do, cross the river and find Lady Bellamont. She’s a swindler, but when it comes to treating monster venom, she’s better than most doctors.”

After finishing her words, the woman pushed a small, soft lump into Cain’s mouth.

At the same time, he felt the child’s soft, warm palm touch his cheek with a gentle pat.

“Ugly oppa better now?”

“If he’s lucky. If we happen to meet him again someday, we should make him pay plenty for the bread…… No, forget it. He probably won’t remember any of this anyway. Let’s forget about it too. This isn’t even in the original story, so it might just confuse things later.”

The warmth against his cheek disappeared, and the woman left with the child.

He didn’t even have time to protest being called ugly.

The moment he began to recognize the taste on the tip of his tongue, the senses he had left became numb all at once.

It was a softness and sweetness he had never experienced even once in his entire life.

The fishy taste of the egg disappeared without a trace, leaving only a warm, comforting flavor that filled his mouth.

The Bellaon collateral branch wasn’t particularly wealthy, and frugality was a tradition in Cain’s household. Having chewed nothing but hard rye bread since childhood, this texture was nothing short of a shock.

No, it wasn’t just the rye bread.

Cain could confidently say that even in the Imperial Palace, it would be difficult to find bread this light—this soft—as a cloud.

Then something strange happened.

The moment he swallowed the bread, his blurred vision cleared, and strength returned to the muscles that had previously been limp and useless.

His mana circuits were purified, and even his swollen face returned halfway to normal.

Cain miraculously managed to get back on his feet, crossed the river, and met Lady Bellamont.

She had clearly told him the treatment would cost ten gold coins, but after learning Cain’s identity, she raised the price to one hundred gold coins and shamelessly overcharged him.

Still, he returned home with all four limbs intact.

The duke kept his promise.

He simply carved out one barony from among the titles his children had coveted so desperately and granted it to Cain.

Even after ten years had passed, Cain could never forget that taste.

Nor could he forget the strange experience of recovering his strength after eating the bread, or the warmth of the people who had refused to ignore him when he was on the verge of death.

Recently, his vassal, the Lord of Nor, had visited the Imperial Capital and proudly let Cain taste a new dish his chef had supposedly developed—a cake called Castella.

The moment Cain took his first bite, he froze.

It was the exact same food he had eaten in the forest ten years ago.

The technique was more refined, and the texture was much softer, but the way the ingredients had been handled was unmistakably the work of the same person.

Even though he couldn’t feel the miraculous restorative effect he had experienced back then, he was certain.

I finally found it.

He absolutely had to meet this chef.

Because there was someone wasting away in a corner of the Bellaon Ducal Estate.

That child.

He needed to feed her this miracle.

Two long shadows fell over Luciela.

She slowly raised her head.

Two imposing men stood before her.

“Are you a maid from the lord’s castle?”

The brown-haired man, who appeared to be a guard, asked her.

“We’re looking for the castle’s chef. I heard he’s exceptionally skilled.”

“……Nigel?”

“Nigel?”

The man tilted his head as though that wasn’t the name he had expected.

“The lord said that was his name. It’s a rather masculine name, but yes, that’s the man.”

The man standing behind him, who appeared to be a nobleman, nodded.

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

Perhaps because the sunlight was too bright, or perhaps because the strength was gradually draining from her body, she couldn’t make out their faces clearly.

But she had the strange feeling that she had seen those vivid blue eyes somewhere before.

“Can you take us to Chef Nigel?”

Cain asked Luciela.

“He is my benefactor. I’ve been searching for him for a long time, carrying a debt of gratitude.”

Luciela’s eyes widened.

“……You mean the man whose brain is made of lard?”

Perhaps because all her strength was gone, the thought that had only existed in her head slipped straight out of her mouth.

As she spoke, she swayed slightly.

Her arms and legs were no longer obeying her.

I should’ve eaten the potato before leaving.

If I had, the buff would have let me last another hour.

“Ahem. How dare you speak so disrespectfully about Baron Cain’s benefactor?”

“……”

Lucan was about to scold her, but Cain raised a hand to stop him.

“Child.”

Cain called to her in a low voice.

From a distance, he had thought she merely looked dirty.

But up close, her condition was even worse.

Her complexion was deathly pale, and her thin arms and legs trembled violently, making her look as though she were on the verge of death.

“It doesn’t matter if his brain is made of lard. I need to find him.”

And so, he spoke to her in a gentler voice than usual.

“Lead us to him. Afterward, Lucan will take you to a doctor……”

Thump.

But before he could finish speaking, Luciela collapsed sideways.

“Hey! Child!”

Cain hurriedly caught her.

Lucan, who had rushed over after him, felt her neck to check her pulse before tilting his head.

“Her pulse is steady.”

“She doesn’t seem to have any major injuries…… Has she been abused over a long period of time?”

Cain frowned as he examined Luciela’s collapsed body.

“What on earth happened inside the lord’s castle……”

Just as they stood there in silence, overwhelmed by the miserable situation—

Crunch.

A frivolous sound broke the silence.

Cain turned his head.

Lucan was holding the potato skewer that the girl had dropped and chewing on it.

“……Lucan, are you eating the potato right now……? In this situation……?”

A look of contempt appeared on Cain’s normally composed face.

“Ghk, that……!”

Startled by Cain’s icy reprimand, Lucan quickly lowered the skewer.

“I’m sorry, Baron! My hand moved before I even realized it…….”

He genuinely looked bewildered himself.

He had always liked food, but he wasn’t so shameless that he would steal food from a child who had collapsed on the roadside.

“I-I couldn’t resist the shape and smell.”

“You insane bastard, what kind of nonsense are you……”

“I’m serious. And the taste…… The taste is incredible! The texture is amazing…… What kind of herbs did they mix into this?”

“You fool, if you’ve eaten it, put it down……”

“Ah, just have a bite and then tell me.”

Before Cain could finish speaking, Lucan shoved the remaining piece of potato toward Cain’s mouth.

“I said I don’t want……”

Cain flatly refused.

But the rich aroma of butter tickled the tip of his nose, followed by the savory flavor of salt.

Without realizing it, he opened his mouth slightly.

Chomp.