"Thank you for waiting!" a man with brown hair and mustache announced, causing the murmurs of the people to minimize their volume in the slightest. "Welcome to the Curry Festival, for the pride of London's curry shops!" a trumpet blew off as he said this, and the six contestant cooks stood on the left side of stage while the three judges were on the other side.

Amelia's eye twitched at the sight of the Viscount who kept waving, blowing kisses and winking at the crowd. "Why is he here? Shouldn't he be in prison or something? Then again, bribery is such a trend." Ciel sighed exasperatedly. "But of course; what more shall you expect from the likes of them?"

Soma looked over the stage then cast his head down, his eyes brimming with sorrow. He turned to the crowd and walked away. Agni watches him go and thinks, 'Prince, even seeing my face must be detestable for you.' But with resolution, he shook his head, 'No! I need to concentrate on the competition.'

"Well then, let us begin cooki—!?"

The emcee was cut off by the sound of their anthem playing and then everyone looked around in surprise.

"Ah, so she did come after all." Amelia mumbled as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, watching as a red carpet was rolled for the Queen and another man, which reminded her of the Barrymore maid. She narrowed her eyes and compared the man to Sebastian who was all black, whilst this one was all white.

"Her Majesty!" Ciel exclaimed.

"This is—! England's mother, our beloved Queen Victoria has graced us with Her presence!" the emcee announced, lowering his head as he put a fist to his chest.

The all-white man held the Queen's hand before they walked side by side as the people murmured.

"Oh! Her Majesty!"

"To actually see her…"

"She certainly has lost some weight…"

The Viscount got on his feet and started to lead the singing of their anthem. "God save our gracious Queen~" Everyone followed singing soon after.

"Long live our noble Queen~"

The brunette housekeeper looked around to see if there was anyone else not singing like she wasn't and saw Bard, a pinky sticking to his ear with a brow raised.

"Send her victorious, happy and glorious~"

Amelia watches everyone with a blank look on her face, before her eyes met with the demon's who was on stage. She blinked once and Sebastian's eyes were elsewhere, he too, seemingly indifferent about all that was happening, and the pair neared the seat especially for the Queen.

"Long to reign over us, God save the Queen~" The song ended, much to the lady's relief. She smirked minimally, somehow both amused and satisfied with Sebastian's reaction, her eyes never having left his face. The butler finally looked back at her with an intense stare which she held for a few seconds but pulled away once the Angela-look-alike man spoke.

"Her Majesty declares, 'We have not seen you in some time, and are sorry to have concerned you. However, our constitution has improved remarkably and now, we are even able to come and sample curry. We wish everyone well and hold great expectations for this food that my late husband loved so much.'"

He finished and the crowd went wild with cheering and applause. Amelia simply raised a brow and stood, thinking, 'Yet another one of their fancy speeches,'

"Well then, to the cuisine!"

The wild cheering and Indian-like music from inside the hall reached Soma's ears. He currently sits by the fountain outside, sorrow still in his eyes. "Has it begun?" he asked to no one in particular as he turned his head towards the noise, then looked down again, remembering Meena's words.

"'You're such an idiot!'" it echoed through his mind.

Back to the contest, Agni's face was full of concentration and determination as he prays, 'My God, Lord Soma,' his bandages on his right hand being removed while he held a frying pan with the other. "My strength is all for you!"

His right hand quickly got some spices on the table beside him in inhuman speed towards the pan. There were sounds of amusement emanating from the crowd. "Incredible! That Indian man's hand has a life of its own!" a man points at Agni as he exclaimed.

"And what a splendid fragrance!"

West scoffed, his arms crossed and a prideful smirk on his face. "This is God's, no, Kali's right hand! Today will be a piece of—!" His haughtiness was interrupted by the crowd's awe-stricken voices.

Sebastian grabbed a few pinches of spices as well and tossed it over his frying pan, his hair flowing rather dramatically. Amelia rolled her eyes at this but continued to watch with curiosity.

"The Funtom Company is amazing too!"

"The fragrance is just as exquisite!"

West raised a thumb to his chin with a scowl and cursed Sebastian in his mind. His attention was brought back to the stage when the man beside him yelled and pointed to Sebastian.

"Hey, what is he doing?!"

"That can't be!"

Sebastian had dropped a few chunks of chocolate into the curry. Amelia sighs, the corners of her lips tugging upwards at the childish memory of their moment in the kitchen.

"Chocolate?!"

The audience started murmuring complaints and hunches that said it was going to be disgusting, revolting. To this, Amelia shakes her head in disagreement and clicks her tongue, "Ah, this is why we, despite our progress, still live a traditional way of living. Our society is afraid of experimenting and innovation; you'll never know the effect of one small ingredient until you've tasted the whole."

Ciel looked up at her, hearing her words. "You managed to do just that?"

The housekeeper nodded. "The idea seems ridiculous, indeed; however, that curry was exquisite. Did I already mention that Sebastian's body as a footrest is quite relaxing as well?" She winked at her cousin and was answered back with a sigh.

The cousins' conversation was cut short by West's laughter. "That's a sweet maker for you! His advertising puff is certainly unique!"

The cousins' faces turned down into scowls.

Agni had a few beads of sweat on his forehead, his eyes wide as he mumbled, watching the butler across him. "No, they're wrong. That's a bona fide ingredient par excellence. Cacao, butterfat and milk, the bitterness blended with the spice and the sugar brings out the fullness of the rich spice even more."

"How did you, an Englishman, ever come up with such an idea?" he asked Sebastian who scooped up his own curry after stirring it and placed it on a small plate to taste it.

Sebastian smiled. "It was by my Master's order." His smile turned into a slightly wicked one. "As long as my Master gives an order, I will make it happen no matter what it may be. After all, I am one hell of a butler."

Amelia turned her head down towards Ciel with an amused and shocked look altogether. "You really did order him that? How?"

Ciel decided to ignore her, and instead makes a side comment aimed at his butler. "Tch. Is that supposed to be sarcasm?" he grumbled which made Sebastian look down on him from the stage with a small smirk.

Agni's eyes widened as he stared at Ciel and Sebastian. His brows furrowed in the slightest and mumbled, "What a humble bound," His head snapped up to look for someone, the prince, in the crowds.

His face fell, not finding Soma. 'Prince, you really won't forgive me, will you?' he thought in his head. He frowned again, turning around and bent down on one knee to get a blue lobster from a basket.

'No. That is why I can't afford to lose!'

Once again, the people reacted, seeing the lobster. Amelia grunted. "When will those people just… shut up? I mean, how long could they even last just staying quiet?" Ciel answered her, "Nowhere near long enough, Mia."

"See, even he stood up and reacted." She motioned for the Viscount who had slammed his hands on the table upon seeing the blue lobster.

"The legendary lobster said to live off the coast of Brittany! That deep cerulean that even compares favorably to Chartres Cathedral! Wrapped in its delicate, colorful shell."

He paused. "It's just like a fine lady in a blue dress. Hidden underneath that dress is a delicate sweetness of the highest quality, said to lead people to delirium." The Viscount was now blushing as his hands cupped his own face.

Amelia's eye twitched, feeling goosebumps on her skin.

West boomed again, pointing towards Agni. "As you can see, this is the highest quality ingredient for a curry! It's no merely some cheap little additive!"

"With all my strength, I shall defeat you Sebastian!"

And there goes Agni once again, going all inhuman with his inhuman speed and cooking skills. The brown-haired-eyeglasses cook that met Angela a few moments before the contest looked more pressured.

So, he decided to bring out that small brown bag Angela gave him and poured the rather glittery powder on his curry.

"Time's up!" the emcee exclaimed while raising his arm up.

"Ow, my ears. What a noisy day… what a noisy guy." The housekeeper mumbled as the contestants stopped in their curry-making.

"Now, the judging will commence. First up is Persian Tub's Beef Curry." A chubby man with ash brown hair, mustache and freckles placed some of his curry on plates to present to the judges.

"There are large pieces of beef generously mixed in. This is quite splendid." Black-haired chubby judge said.

"However, this flat taste and fragrance…" a man that sort of resembles Barrymore's beard and sideburns but is slightly grayish because of his age, grumbled and shook his head then opened his eyes again to look at the cook.

"It's abominable for a professional cook to be using curry powder!" the said cook had his eyebrows furrowed and a frown plastered on his face drew back slightly, hurt from the judge's words.

Viscount of Druitt tasted the second cook's curry, which happened to be the one who accepted and poured Angela's glittery powder onto his curry. "This is your own home spice, isn't it, Doll Company?"

"Y-Yes!" he stammered.

"What is it? One thing stands out, producing an amazing fragrance." The Viscount continued, making the cook gasp.

"But the overall balance is poor. And it's overpowered by the fragrance." The grumpy judge, for lack of better description, commented again.

"Well, I'll give you points for trying." The Viscount finished off.

Agni took a step forward, his curry in hand as the emcee called his name. "Next up is Chef Agni from the Harold West estate."

"May I present, my curry." His hand reached to remove the lid off his platter and placed it in front of the judges. "Lobster and a seven-flavored sauce."

The three judges' mouths were hung agape, eyes wide at the delicious food laid out for them. Grumpy judge spoke first, "What amazing brightness!" he took a spoon and began eating.

His eyes went wider now and exclaimed. "D-Delicious! The tender meat spreads a delicate sweetness throughout your mouth the moment you bite into it!"

Chubby-glasses judge piped in. "Moreover, with a seven-flavored curry, each flavor blends harmoniously with the lobster!"

"Ah~! Yes, this is it!" the Viscount started rather dramatically before he continued.

"The graceful beauty I met at the ball! Like seven jewels adorning your overwhelming elegance; a heart-shaped golden brooch, a sapphire and pearl bracelet, a garnet necklace, cameo cut pin and on your fingertips, a diamond and emerald ring!"

The image of a dark brown haired lady entered his mind as he said this.

"All of them to bring out your beauty even more! I had my heart… stolen by you!"

There was another round of amused noises from the crowd as the Viscount stood up, having a dramatic pose once again.

Amelia groaned, shivering in disgust. "I could literally see sparkles and glitters emitting from him." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Such high class!" the emcee said. "Will the winner be decided just like that or will we see an even better appraisal?" He motioned an arm towards Sebastian. "Our final contestant is the Funtom Company!"

He stepped closer towards the judges. "I humbly present my curry." As Sebastian lifted the lid, it seemed that the inside was glowing brightly, a blinding light emanating from it.

Grumpy judge gasped. "Th-This is!"


A/N: Wow, it's been almost a week. I just noticed. Hehe. Btw guise, I appreciate reviews. Gosh I never said that in previous chapters lol. Criticisms and all that, yeah. *hides behind Sebastian with knives and forks on his hand*

jenny: thank you and about that... I don't think that would fit in the story so well. It would kind of uh, ruin the whole thing. And tbh, it'll just make my life more complicated. So yeah.

Luna Bass: Really? It's hilarious? *happy dances while letting out tears of joy* I really thought it was going to be corny, and up til now I think it is. But I don't know anymore, I shall blame the excruciating summer heat here. Yes, congratulations once again for being engaged to Soma.