Chapter 32

A man who could cook was always appreciated. And even though that was such a cliché, the statement still held true nonetheless. 'The audience definitely agrees.' Luciana's pale eyes raked through the masses seeing multiple women fan themselves at the sight of both Agni and Sebastian. She had to admit they were both charming and attractive in their own ways, so the reactions weren't much of a surprise to the young time traveler. Actually, Luce was waiting for someone to faint- just like in the movies. 'That would be so funny hehehe~' A giggle escaped her lips as she practically bounced on the balm of her feet.

"Do I want to know what you're thinking?" Ciel interrupted her cheery laughter, narrowing his eyes at the maid.

"If you want...I'll gladly tell you." She grinned suggestively at his disgruntled expression. It was just fun to mess with the kid.

"Pass." The young earl sighed turning his gaze back to the stage while her eyes twinkled with mirth, seeing the light color of a blush spread on his cheeks. "I guess we just sit back and wait for the curry now."

Luciana's head tipped to the side as she hummed along. What did people usually do at events like these? Just stand there all day and wait? Her brows furrowed. She really didn't like the sound of that. And they could have at least gotten the audience some chairs. 'I mean one can only stand so much...'

"Hey!" The shout got her attention and Luce swiftly turned to the left, seeing a gruff looking noble point towards the stage. "What is he doing?!" Similar appalled exclamations caught her ear from all around.

"Is t-that...CHOCOLATE?!" The doubt and disgust laced into their voices was so clear, as they all watched Sebastian add chunks of Funtom chocolate to his curry.

Admittedly, looking at it from this standpoint it did look disgusting -almost like dipping Oreos into orange juice. 'So wrong.' Luce wrinkled her nose. However, she was sure that Sebastian's curry would taste heavenly -or in his case sinfully delicious. She cracked a smile just in time to catch the demon's eye. 'Sinful indeed...' Her smile widened into a grin as his eyes flashed that gorgeous fuchsia.

"As expected of Funtom, a sweets and toy corporation!" West, the thorn in their side exclaimed laughingly. "This sure is a new form of advertising!" Her smile turned into a sigh. Couldn't he just shut up for one minute? 'Sebastian and I were having a moment.'

"What is that?" Rolling her eyes the black head returned her attention to the stage. This time however the spotlight was on Agni. "A blue lobster?!"

'Damn.' Luce whistled, impressed as she leaned down to the earl's level. "Would it be wrong if I tasted Agni's curry?" The moment shared with the butler long forgotten as something more interesting appeared. She really wanted to try the Indian butler's curry.

"Yes." Ciel deadpanned, crushing her desires- though she remained unsure if he did it out of pride or etiquette.

That was too bad. Luce sighed. Guess she just had to hope that Agni wouldn't end up in jail after this ordeal was over. Maybe then she could ask him to make it for her.

"And...the time is up!" 'Finally.' She let out a breath of relief listening to the moderator. "Will the contestants please line up with your finished product? When I call your name, please step up and present the dish to the judges." So they did. One after the other the crowd watched the judges react. They frowned at the cook who dared to use curry powder, calling him a disgrace. Another dish was much too bland and soup like to be called curry. In the end it was between Agni and Sebastian; the one with the hand of god against the demon who couldn't even taste human food. Luce giggled silently.

"Next we have the Harold West Company's chef Agni."

"This is my curry-" He lifted the silver lid off the tray, "blue lobster and seven types of curry, an imperial feast." Simply said; it looked amazing -like one of those food pictures on Instagram. The center of the dish displayed a steaming hub of rice, adjacent to a cooked and peeled lobster. He had rounded the dish up with seven small bowls of curry, each in a different shade of color. 'I'm definitely gonna ask him to make it again.'

When it came to the taste testing the judges reacted odd. At least that was Luce's opinion. It was almost as if they were having an orgasm.

"Is he...moaning?" Luce stared incredulously at Viscount Druitt as he suddenly began spinning around the stage, comparing the dish to a lady.

"My heart! It has been stolen from me~" He praised with sparkles in his lavender eyes, making her nose wrinkle in disgust. Don't get her wrong; Luciana enjoyed food as much as any other person but that was just over the top. It sent unpleasant shivers down her spine.

"Last to the stage is the Funtom Company!"

Sebastian stepped forward in his usual butler attire, looking as prim and proper as ever. "This is my curry." The lid opened to reveal...

...a bun.

.

.

.

'Way to get people's hopes up.' The little black head bit her cheeks so as not to break out into a fit of giggles in the utter silence. The judges and audience were left speechless, unsure of how to react. "W-what are you trying to pull?!"

Without a word he proceeded to deep fry the bun and placed the finished dish with the judges. "This is our company's curry; the curry bun." As the judges cut into the dough the to perfection cooked curry drizzled out, like molten chocolate from a lava cake. "Please have a taste."

Their eyes widened in surprise and awe. For something so simple looking to taste so wonderful left the judges at a loss. They left praises left and right, commenting on the bun itself that was extra crispy yet soft on the inside, before tasting the rich flavor of curry on the inside.

"This is...perfection~" The viscount exclaimed, "It is like that young girl at the ball that made me want to love her tenderly...the mischievous mockingbird, singing like a child in daytime." He didn't repress the dreamy sigh. "I want to hold you in my arms!"

The little earl next to her made a sound of disgust, paling and shuddering as the viscount talked. "Does this have anything to do with how you know him?" If at all possible Ciel turned even paler. 'I'll take that as a yes.'

After a brief intermission where the different styles of curry were distributed among the audience, the contestants and moderator returned to the stage. "And the winner of today's curry contest is..." Luce mentally added an imaginary drum roll, "Agni from the Harold West trading company and Sebastian from Funtom. It's a tie!"

"...you have got to be kidding me." Her brow ticked, barely restraining the urge of hitting that moderator -maybe even the judges- when suddenly the trophy was whipped out of the moderator's hand.

"Please wait." A monotone voice came from a man dressed completely in white with blonde hair and- 'Are those sunglasses?' Luce stared wide eyed at the man. She didn't even know sunglasses were invented yet.

However, before he could say anything else, the man was trampled down by a horse and an old lady dressed in black. "Bloody hell, is that...?"

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

I might post a follow up chapter on the weekend just to end the curry competition.