Kuroshitsuji: The Contract from Birth [Ciel Phantomhive]

[27] Her Butler, Deep Frying

"Why would you say that?" I hissed, slapping his shoulder in agitation. "There's no need to be so dramatic, you said so yourself: the curry is perfect!"

Continuing to shake his head, Lau raised his hand in question towards Soma.

"How so, Prince?"

"Do you see what your butler is doing, Adelina?" Soma asked me, pointing towards the stage.

I glanced over and sure enough, Rodric was making some sort of dough, which was certainly not something I was aware that he was going to do.

"That is called naan." Prince Soma said with a hush, "it's made with fermented paste and wheat which is then baked together in a high temperature oven that is called tandoori."

Salvador's breath hitched and Mey-Rin gasped, hands at her lips in worry.

"But since Rodric lacks such equipment, you say the perfect naan cannot be made." Ciel concluded lazily, to which Soma nodded before adding another point.

"It's not only just the naan. Your butler has the heat on the stove set too high; if this continues it will dry out in a matter of minutes. The painstakingly made curry will go to waste!"

Ciel and I deadpanned, exchanging looks of uncertainty at Prince Soma's clear panic. We, however, stayed silent and kept out eyes locked onto both Agni and Rodric.

If the competition was going to be won, it would be by my hand.

"Time is up, ladies and gentlemen!"

I bit into the last cookie and watched apprehensively as the chefs pushed their played curry towards the main table, each one radiating great confidence. My demon only smiled politely as Agni walked past him, eyes closed as he set his dish down.

"Now to invite all the judges to the stage!"

Almost in unison, all servants from each household scurried towards the front of the crowd, pushing and moving everyone out of the way with no concern for the well-being of the others. Mey-Rin and Baldroy used Finny as a type of ram to clear a straight path while the twins maneuvered their way stealthily with Salvador right on their heels. Sebastian kept his head high in order to watch the oncoming critiquing and even Lau opened his eyes to watch.

"First up is... Persian Tabb Company's beef curry!"

Chef Higharm eyed the dish skeptically before dipping his spoon into the curry, eyes closed as he popped it into his mouth to begin savoring it.

"The beef was cooked in large chunks and seasoned well, it goes down nicely... The flavor is plain and ordinary with no fragrance." He said, paralyzing the chef in horror. "You used curry powder."

My memory flashed back to the first time Rodric had tried to make curry with the same mistake, the criticism from Prince Soma from that day satisfying me greatly. If we hadn't had him taste it, then we would also be in the same unfortunate position.

Pleased, I turned and gave Prince Soma a kind, quick and friendly embrace, smile genuine and wide. He seemed to freeze as I wrapped my arms around his neck and his skin began to flush a deep red as I let go, stuttering out a type of question that took me a moment to unscramble.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known to not use curry powder!" I explained happily, arms open wide.

Still a hot mess, Soma buried his face into his long head wrap and mumbled himself away, slinking towards Lau and Ran-Mao and away from Ciel and I, leaving me feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh dear, I hope I didn't make him uncomfortable." I mumbled, placing a finger on my lips as I watched Soma leave.

Ciel, on the contrary, seemed irked, with arms now crossed.