Darkness.
It was complete darkness. Like a void in space with no stars.
Suddenly, a speck of light came forth, it blinked a couple of times and expanded, revealing itself as a light bulb.
Suddenly, more light bulbs shone, removing the darkness and showed the room full of cables and tubes. The metallic scent was extremely thick, so much so that a normal person would suffocate if they went inside.
All around the room was computers, processing lots of data at once. There was no one there, except for one man.
His face was hidden by a red robe that draped over his shoulder and down to his feet, dragging onto the cold steel floor.
On the screen, some sort of complex codes went all over the place.
"Aldred… HE. HAS. TO. DIE."
…
Aldred and Edeline smiled. Mary and his other wives also looked at each other and smiled.
"This might be my first day as Emperor, but for me, it's another special day with my friends and family. No matter what crown on my head, and no matter what people call me, I still be and will be the Aldred you know."
The soldiers raised their glass of wine and cheered!
Edeline also raised her glass and cheered at the top of her lung. Bartrem and the other soldiers were shocked to see this side of her.
Empress Edeline had always been known as cold and expressionless. Her mind and intention was impossible to predict.
It was known that no one was able to please her because they did not even know what she wanted.
Her expression was like a dark abyss. Deep, mysterious, and trying to explore it could be one's doom.
But now they all saw her smiling, laughing, giggling, and touching playfully with Aldred.
Anyone that knew the Empress would be shocked to see this scene.
Edeline on the other hand was very happy. As someone in power, she only had few people to trust, so she couldn't really become herself in public setting.
Truly, she was just a woman who wanted friends to play with, and a man to love.
And she got it all here, she thought as she stared at Aldred with a smile.
Grabbing a fork, she stabbed it into a slice of mango and put it in front of Aldred. "Open your mouth, darling."
Aldred smiled before he opened his lips.
His wives wanted to do the same thing, so they grabbed their own fork and stabbed on a random fruit before feeding it to him at once.
"Whmait, wjait, mhe muth ihs fhull." Aldred swallowed all the food and took a deep breath.
"Are you guys planning to kill me?"
They looked at each other and laughed.
Aldred looked at them who seemed to have a good time and his lips curled into a smile. Their happiness was his happiness as well. At this point in time, the thought of political affair and every other affairs were out of his head.
He wanted to enjoy this moment to the fullest, and he did not want to ruin it by thinking about works. Of course, if his wives wanted to talk about works, then that would be fine as well.
He could be flexible. He would talk about whatever the mood was.
After their drinks, Bartrem stood up and volunteered to grill food for them.
Everyone cheered because of that.
"You will like his food. During our journey, he was the one who cooked for us all the time." Aldred pointed.
"Oh, is that so?" Edeline looked at Bartrem.
"Yep. He can use any ingredients he found in the wild. He could pick up a random leaf and turn it into a fantastic dish. He's that good."
Edeline smiled. "Good work, Bartrem."
Bartrem jolted. This was the first time the Empress had praised him.
His idol… his idol praised him. His savior. The very reason why he could be here, meet Aldred, and grilled for the Emperor and the Empress, and everyone else… it was all because of her.
Suddenly, his body moved a little smoother, and he was more confidence in his skill.
The flame came ablaze along with the meat, flipping perfectly in the air before they landed back on the grill.
The soldiers cheered for his show of skill which made Bartrem even more confidence.
Nalythra leaned on Maverick's shoulder. "Maverick, you're a vampire right. Why don't you drink my blood?" She slightly pulled her clothes, revealing her left shoulder and then craned her neck.
Her neck seemed so enticing. If Maverick leaned in and bare his fangs, he could dig in and suck her blood.
Maverick shook his head. "You're an undead."
"Aldred said I can have blood when I am in my real form."
"But you still an undead."
"Oh, come on. Isn't vampire some sort of undead as well? Just try it. Drink my blood."
They debated back and forth as Naly tried to force Maverick to drink her blood.
Zafrina giggled at her brother's problem. She thought that the snake woman was cute and should be suitable for her brother.
Even though she was an undead already.
After half an hour, Bartrem finished cooking and Stella teleported all the meat and the plates on every table.
It was a burger complete with thick and juicy meat with melted cheese, tomatoes, and Bartrem's homemade sauce.
"This looks good." Edeline gracefully moved her hands with the knife and sliced it into a smaller part and put it in her mouth.
She did not have any dramatic expression, but she nodded and praised the food. "It's good. Perhaps even better than our Royal Chef."
Bartrem laughed. "I don't think I am that good yet."
"I believe your cooking is the best in the world," Aldred said.
"Really?"
Aldred nodded. "No matter how many expensive restaurants we have visited, your food will always be the best."
Everyone nodded when they heard that. Bartrem's cooking was not only good in taste, but it contain so many meaning. First of all, it symbolized how far they have went.
His first time cooking, he knew nothing about it. It was to the point that Mareona had to pull a flower out of her underwear to add some taste to the food.
Thankfully, they did not have to do that anymore.
Not only that, wherever they go, Bartrem was always there cooking for them. Whether it was in harsh cold weather, extreme heat, inside the darkest cave, and on the deadliest mountain, Bartrem was always ready to cook a good food for them.
Whenever they ate his food, they would feel energized and motivated again. One of the reason why the journey was so much fun was because of Bartrem's cooking.
They said this to Bartrem and the man's heart shook hard. It even manage to get him teary eyes. But he collected himself and reminded his own mind that he was a Knight, a captain, and a leader for his soldier. He had to show strength.
But Aldred stood up and hugged him. "Thank you for your service all these time, Bartrem."
His wives stood up and hugged Bartrem, the soldiers also gathered around him and hugged him with a smile.
Tears began to drip from his eyes.
"Thank you. All of you."
