Vivia stared at the breakfast before her, astonished. Not because it looked delicious, but they were far from the meals like in the Human Realm.
There was something that resembled eggs but cooked to a deep purple hue with its yolk slithering across the plate. A bowl of porridge emitted gloomy, black fumes, who any normal human wouldn't even dare to touch. The three sausages on her plate looked like they came from some mysterious species she had never seen before. A mix of exotic fruits released eerie and ghostly vapors.
Vivia picked up a donut glazed pitch-black, sprinkled with glowing sugar poppins.
"Ehehehe~" it playfully wriggled in her hand.
Did the donut just move and chuckle?
Curious, Vivia took a bite.
"Oouch~"
"..."
Why is a donut moaning like that?
She took another bite and it said, "Ah, please be gentle~"
"..."
Vivia choked violently.
Such vulgarity. Does the Crown Prince really eat this?
And yet there he was right in front of her, calmly eating his breakfast without even batting an eye. None of the food items on his plate were making any embarrassing, suggestive sounds.
Zerath said, "I apologize. I did ask the Chef to prepare a suitable meal for you but…"
His golden gaze sharply narrowed toward the entrance where he sensed a few demons lurking in the shadows. The demon head chef, along with his sous chefs, who were eavesdropping in their conversation, flinched and scattered away from the doorway in panic.
Zerath's smile remained intact. "I believe there has been some misunderstanding. Rest assured, they will be duly punished."
The head chef, Andras, trembled.
Yes, my head will be cut off for overturning my lord's orders, but I'l gladly face my death! As if I'll prepare a measly human meal for a measly human! These filthy humans soiling our Demon Realm…
Meanwhile, Vivia casually waved her hand while stuffing the whole donut into her mouth. At one point, she choked and patted her chest hard.
"Princess!" Zerath stood abruptly and rushed to her side, offering her a glass of water.
Vivia managed to gulp it down on her own. "Phew! I thought I was going to die, haha."
Andras threw her a dirty look.
This vixen is trying to frame me!
"Chef Andras, this lowly human will blame the donut for her misery! Your head will be cut off!" A sous chef cried.
"We shouldn't have gone against my lord's orders!" Another one burst into tears too. "If this news spreads in the Human Realm, they will accuse us of trying to kill their princess!"
"Hm?"
Vivia blinked, puzzled but popped the whole slice of suspicious-looking toast into her mouth nevertheless. "I don't need any special meal. This food is delicious!"
Zerath stared at her amusingly. "You sure eat heartily."
"Naturally~" She grinned.
She wasn't exactly showcasing table manners befitting for a royal princess.
The two sous chefs whispered in awe. "She ate that whole toast in one bite! Is she secretly a demon too-"
Andras smacked their heads. "Enough!"
"Chef, that human liked our food!"
"Of course, she liked it! I didn't feed her poison for her to complain," he snapped. "Now enough dilly dallying and get back to work!"
But you dragged us here to eavesdrop…
"And don't drop your guard just because she appreciated our meal! Humans are never trustworthy," his eyes squinted.
Back in the dining hall, Zerath felt their presence disappear. He scratched his chin and looked at Vivia who looked the least bit fazed by the eerie food before her.
"Have you been to the Demon Realm before? I mean, as Vivia."
"No."
"Then it's a little strange how you look so comfortable with the demon cuisine."
"Oh!" Vivia understood the source of his concern.
"I was indeed surprised by how your food looked, and I did wonder what it would taste like. But my master is well-versed with the human and demon history and many cultures, cuisine and traditions of the Demon Realm. I'm her disciple so because she has taught me a lot of things about your race, you can say that I'm acquainted with demons in a sense."
"Quite frankly, I was always curious to try your food, and I wasn't disappointed at all! I'd love to meet your head chef and properly express my gratitude," she smiled brightly.
"I see…" Zerath tilted his head. "My master is similar. She is very knowledgeable about the human race, and it's because of her that I don't hate humans like the other demons do."
"Oh my, that is wonderful!" Her gaze beamed. "Can I meet her?"
"Unfortunately, she doesn't live in the palace. She is quite a wanderer, so I don't know what part of the realm she is in right now."
"Alas…" she sighed. "She seems like a wonderful demon. I would've really loved to meet her."
"Wise yes, wonderful…" Zerath gave her a deadpan stare, "I'm not too sure of it."
"Yes?"
He cleared his throat. "Nothing. Back to the matter at hand, I'll see to it that Chef Andras doesn't repeat this mistake. I'm grateful that you liked the meal, but I still think you would've felt more at ease if it was your realm's food. He disobeyed."
Vivia felt a grave concern. "Do-don't tell me he is ready to get his head cut off for this disobedience?"
"I believe so, but I wouldn't want to go so far. You see…"
Zerath glanced away as if searching for the right words to explain to her.
"It's true that we're the royal family and they do serve us so yes, they follow our orders. But demons, in their nature, have their own code of honor and ethics. There are some things they won't yield to. Naturally because of our history, the demons don't hold humans in high regard. So it's extremely humiliating for some demons to serve humans, which is probably why Andras stubbornly served you demon cuisine."
The captain of the border patrol unit, Vorxath, came to her mind. He was afraid of Zerath for sure, but he did firmly hold his ground toward a suspicious human entering their territory.
Vivia cast a warm smile. "I believe it's quite admirable. From Princess Clairette's memories, the servants in her palace won't ever dare to do something like this. They're fearful of the King. But here, the feeling is different…"
She chirped. "Please don't worry so much. Even though Chef Andras didn't make my realm's food for me, he did his best to serve me the demon meal. That says a lot about his pride and love for being a chef. I don't have any complaints."
Zerath's lips ever so slightly parted as he gazed at her in a trance.
"You've a very kind heart."
She sweated. "No, I think the demons are too quick to offer their heads…"
A demon knocked on the door and bowed.
Zerath turned. "Ah it's you, Lucian."
"Rise for the Crown Prince. The Order of the Council demands your presence, my lord."
*Clang!*
The fork slipped from her hands as a suffocating pressure suddenly gripped her chest, threatening to sweep her away under its weight.
"Princess!"