NOVEL NEXT Chapter 95: What are you worried about?
Rian felt some inexplicable worry. What if Ren Xiyang lost simply because he couldn’t finish in time? If only he could cook as well, then he could support his (future) boyfriend!
Both sides on the duelling field sped up to finish and plate their dishes.
Baron Natrium stopped heating the stock and the lamb. He left the lamb to rest and moved on to finishing up the sauce for the lamb.
The servants strained the stock. Then, Baron Natrium heated the stock again to reduce it, before pulling out heat to cool it down quickly. The servants whisked in egg whites under Baron Natrium’s gentle simmer until it formed a crust on the surface. Baron Natrium cooled the soup down again before the servants passed the soup through a clean cloth. The result was a clear golden-brown soup—their starter, chicken consommé.
The servants cut the roast lamb stuffed with apricots and mint onto serving plates, revealing the soft filling, the pink tender lamb and the richly browned outsides. Baron Natrium drizzled over some gravy they had made during the cooking time. With a small side of rosemary roasted potatoes, their main was done.
For dessert, Baron Natrium personally plated the soft, custardy cheese-cake buns with golden browned caramelised figs, pouring warm honey on top to serve.
And so, their three-course meal was done.
Meanwhile, Ren Xiyang’s helpers prepared whipped up a sauce for the bao and another sauce for the beef wellingtons. Ren Xiyang stepped in to cook and heat anything that needed to be cooked and heated, while the helpers started the meringue.
Neither the buns nor the sponge cake took long to cook. When they were done, the helpers came in and pulled together the starter: crispy pork belly in bao, with thinly julienned carrots, spring onions, spicy mayonnaise, and topped with coriander and chopped roasted peanuts.
The beef wellington pastry was golden and flaky, with medium-rare beef, and there were no soggy bottoms. Ren Xiyang cooked green beans, making them vibrant green via a quick flash of heat at the beginning akin to blanching. He plated the cooked green beans and the reduced hoisin-based sauce on the side with the beef wellingtons as his main course.
His helpers cut out rounds from the sponge cake. With time narrowing down—and with Baron Natrium’s side already completed—Ren Xiyang super-froze the liquid ice cream. By freezing it quickly, no big ice crystals had time to form, creating a velvety soft texture.
He scooped out the ice cream and placed them on top of the sponge cake rounds and covered it with meringue. Direct flame licked across the meringue, turning the white peaks golden. Finally, Ren Xiyang melted sugar to the hard-crack stage and made ‘lace’ out of them, placing the sugar lace on top. And so, their dessert was done: mini bombe alaskas.
“Time is now up!”
Rian let out a quiet sigh of relief. Ren Xiang had finished just in time!
“Judges, please come forward.”
Of the ten judges, six of them were from Angio: Julia Terra, Hadrian Terra, Aeliana Natrium (Baron Natrium’s younger sister), Marianus Natrium (Baron Natrium’s younger brother), the mayor of the largest town in the Natrium fief, and the distinguished head healer from the Natrium fief.
The four judges from Sedaveria were: Duke Mauveine, Count Aegean, Lady Sage, and Lord Celeste (the lightning mage in the Sedaverian convoy).
The judges sat in a row and Ren Xiyang and Baron Natrium personally served them three dishes each.
Baron Natrium indicated to Ren Xiyang, so Ren Xiyang stepped forward and introduced his dishes first. Baron Natrium then followed.
Each judge had a judging card, which asked about the use and display of magic in cooking and subsequent outcome as determined by taste.
While the judges started, Ren Xiyang and Baron Natrium swapped dishes.
“By the way, I noticed you made a twelfth set of dishes,” Baron Natrium said.
“It’s for Prince Rian,” Ren Xiyang said. He turned over to the audience and beckoned Rian over.
Rian smoothly stood up and walked to Ren Xiyang’s table. He wasn’t one of the judges—Baron Natrium had asked and he had declined, letting someone from Angio take the judging position instead.
Baron Natrium smiled faintly. “I see. Please, enjoy.”
“You too,” Ren Xiyang said. He and Rian sat down, Ren Xiyang with Baron Natrium’s dishes in front of him, and Rian with Ren Xiyang’s dishes.
None of the dishes in front of Rian were new to him, which meant he knew all of them tasted great. He picked up the bao first, biting through the soft bun, the crisp fatty pork belly and the fresh carrots and spring onions. The spicy mayonnaise was just the right level of spiciness for him. It was so moreish he could have multiple bao for the meal.
Ren Xiyang sipped the chicken consommé. It was silky smooth, with a deep complex umami flavour, yet it was also fresh and clean and not heavy. It was simple, elegant, and impactful.
“How is it?” Rian asked in a lowered voice.
“Very well made.” He levitated over a clean spoon. “Have a taste for yourself.”
Rian dipped the spoon into Ren Xiyang’s bowl. Annoyingly, it tasted good, with a rich chicken flavour and hints of vegetables and herbs that were perfectly balanced. He wouldn’t have known that Baron Natrium had cooked it in such a short time frame. However, Ren Xiyang’s starter was better because it had multiple textures and brighter flavours.
They didn’t eat the entire dish, just tasted it, and moved on.
—It was currently the judging session, and everyone else was waiting for the results so that they could have lunch. As the judges tasted, Natrium servants quietly entered and cleaned up, taking away the cookware and putting back multiple tables and chairs.
Rian had a piece of the beef wellington next. The pastry that gently shattered and melted in his mouth, the flavourful mushrooms, soft crepes and tender beef…the additional spices—including chilli—that Ren Xiyang used made it different from the usual beef wellingtons and quintessentially ‘Ren Xiyang’ in Rian’s mouth.
Lastly, he tasted the dessert. His fork cut through layers of meringue, ice cream and cake. The sweetness from all the elements, creaminess from the ice cream and slight acidity from the fruit mixed in the ice cream made it both refreshing and indulgent.
Rian felt as though he could taste a little bit of Ren Xiyang’s magic in the dishes.
Rian thought Baron Natrium’s lamb was good. The outside was well browned, and the inside was tender and juicy and deliciously fatty, balanced out by the mint and apricot. He thought Baron Natrium’s cheese-cake bun was good too, golden but not browned on the outside, soft and decadent on the inside, with added depth from the caramelised fig on top. But these dishes weren’t as good as Ren Xiyang’s. The lamb could have used more spices and the cheese-cake bun was too rich.
Admittedly, those were Rian’s personal preferences. He knew he couldn’t be a judge because of course Ren Xiyang would win! Rian wouldn’t be so stupid to rank Baron Natrium higher, in case Ren Xiyang would use that fact in arguments in the future once they were together.
“If the judges are ready, please write down your scores,” Baron Natrium said.
The judges finished tasting all the dishes and wrote down their scores. Duke Mauveine added up the scores and all the judges confirmed that it was correct.
Rian reluctantly put down his knife and fork.
Duke Mauveine turned to the audience. “I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we had an enjoyable time watching two highly skilled mages, Baron Vitus Natrium and Earl Ayden Rosewood, compete in this cooking duel. I have gained a new appreciation for all the forms and uses of magic. Every single dish was superb and we all had a difficult time assigning scores. However, we have counted and we have an order.” He paused for dramatic effect. “It is my pleasure to announce that the winner of this cooking duel is Earl Rosewood, leading by ten points! Let’s thank both Earl Rosewood and Baron Natrium for their wonderful display and delicious dishes!”
The audience clapped warmly.
Rian turned to Ren Xiyang with a grin. “Congratulations, Earl Rosewood.”
“Thank you.” Ren Xiyang was the calmer of the two. It was as though Rian was the one who had won, not Ren Xiyang.
Baron Natrium walked over to them. Ren Xiyang went to meet him in the middle.
Baron Natrium pulled a wry smile. The two shook hands.
“Congratulations, Earl Rosewood,” Baron Natrium said. “Your magical control was dazzling.”
“Yours as well,” Ren Xiyang said.
“I could tell I had lost while watching you cook,” Baron Natrium said.
Ren Xiyang inclined his head. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching you, I was in a hurry.”
Baron Natrium’s lips twitched. He chuckled. “I see my error, then.”
Rian pressed his lips together. It felt like they were holding that handshake for too long.
Just as he thought that, Baron Natrium and Ren Xiyang released their hands.
“I’ll enjoy the rest of my lunch now, thank you,” Ren Xiyang said.
Baron Natrium nodded. “As will I.”
With the cooking duel over, it was time for lunch. The audience who hadn’t been judges were very hungry!
The tables had been reorganised. The audience took a seat at the table and servants come out with the starters first.
Rian took a glance at what they were being served, and even visually, he could tell they were inferior. Well, it wasn’t fair for him to compare. He turned back to Ren Xiyang who had sat down again next to him.
“Why don’t you do all that when you’re cooking for me?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“The flying ingredients and all.”
“It’s unnecessary.” He leaned in “I almost cut myself with the flying knives and burned myself with the flying hot pans,” he said in a lowered voice.
“You? Never!”
“I’m not all-powerful.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Ren Xiyang’s lips quirked up—he wasn’t immune to flattery. “Eat your lunch before it gets cold.”
“Yes, right away.”
The healers’ meeting was during the afternoon.
After the meeting concluded, Baron Natrium, Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood went to Baron Natrium’s office to talk further.
Baron Natrium, and the Natrium family more generally, had a history of making various magical devices. The family had a mixture of fire mages and metal mages, leading to a unique internal collaboration.
Baron Natrium’s office—the office of the head of the family—contained displays of items made by the family in the past. Baron Natrium introduced various enchanted swords, bows, arrows etc., many of which could burst into flames on command or impact, increasing their damage.
“…These weapons are all well and good, but they all rely on something fundamental: the metal they’re made out of.” Baron Natrium gave a quick smile. “The mirror devices you make require smooth metal. If you could make a thinner layer, you could reduce the amount of metal you use, reduce materials cost, and reduce waste.”
Ren Xiyang nodded.
“I’m interested in two processes: first, the extraction of metal and metal ores. And second, the purification and enhancement of metals. We can’t make metal products without metal, and we can’t make high-quality products without high-quality refined metal.”
Ren Xiyang nodded again.
“Within each of those two processes, there are multiple processes in turn. For example, we need to find metal ore deposits, we need to reach those deposits and we need to take them out. None of these are easy tasks.”
“And they can also be dangerous tasks,” Ren Xiyang said.
Baron Natrium nodded. “There are many improvements we could make to the process. There are many things a mage can do better than a non-mage, but a mage’s time is costly. I’ve seen how your heating lamps can be used by non-mages and I was inspired to see whether I could create similar products.”
Rian showed an expression of interest. “And how is your progress? What sort of products did you want to make?”
“I’ve been developing some new spells to detect metal ore deposits and their extent. It uses a similar mechanism to your heating lamps and lights up upon detection of metal ores within a certain distance. They’re not ready for production yet, but I have some prototypes.”
“Are you willing to show us? We can sign any relevant disclosure agreements,” Rian said.
Baron Natrium smiled. “There’s no need to sign anything.” He showed them his prototypes.
Rian provided some small tips. After that, they started talking about other parts of the metal acquirement and refinement process and how magic could make improvements. For example, smelting metal ores and melting metal for shaping required high heat and large amounts of fuel. Yet, metal mages—such as Baron Natrium—could manipulate and refine metals without such large energy requirements. What was it about magic that allowed them to shape cold metal?
The mysteries of magic was a popular topic of discussion among many mages. Rian carried the general question to the dining hall that evening and received a broad range of answers and musings from the different mages present during dinner.
The next morning, Rian exchanged gifts with Baron Natrium. In the end, they didn’t agree on any firm plans for future collaborations, but the possibility remained open.
“If you have time, come visit us,” Rian said.
Baron Natrium inclined his head. “We shall see what the future holds. Until then, keep in touch.”
After the farewells, Rian ushered Ren Xiyang into the Imperial carriage.
Once the convoy started moving, Rian gave Baron Natrium a final wave through the window. Then, he closed the curtains and gave Ren Xiyang a piercing look.
“What?” Ren Xiyang asked.
Rian frowned. Ren Xiyang’s cool red eyes and oblivious face stared back at him.
“If you have nothing to say, I’ll rest,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian huffed. “Did you want to stay longer to chat with Baron Natrium?”
“I felt as though you really liked talking to Baron Natrium,” Ren Xiyang said.
“You seemed to like him almost as much as Florence,” Rian grumbled.
Ren Xiyang blinked. His lips twitched. “Rian, you’re much richer than Baron Natrium. What are you worried about?”
Rian: “…”
For the first time, Rian felt weird about the fact that Ren Xiyang liked his money. That made Rian even more worried.
Rian studied Ren Xiyang very carefully. His heart skipped a beat with Ren Xiyang atypically avoided his gaze.
Ren Xiyang crossed his arms, leaned against the side of the carriage, and closed his eyes, trying to hide his avoidant gaze under the actions. He felt awkward under Rian’s scrutiny, so clearly he needed more sleep.
Oh. Rian had a sudden realisation. Ren Xiyang was jealous of him talking to Baron Natrium!