Rodric dipped the tongs into the pot of oil once more, pulling the now golden and crispy bun out and gently placing it back on its plate with a small smile, obviously content win himself now that he had caught the judges so off guard.
"Now it is complete." He told them confidently, bowing his head slightly. "This our company's curry."
Still unconvinced, Chef Higharm exclaimed to Rodric once more in another complaint. "But where the devils is the curry!"
Besides him, the Viscount had already begun to cut into his own golden bun with narrowed eyes, and at once let out a sharp cry, making Ciel jump in his place.
"Th-The curry... is spilling from the inside!!"
Agni and West both shouted out in disbelief whilst Ciel and I only blinked in surprise, impressed at the feat Rodric had just managed to pull. Even Sebastian nodded in approval, eyes closed, smirk wide and hand at his chin.
"This is the curry that our industry proudly presents to you," Rodric said, hand now at his chest, "and its name is... the curry bun!"
The name echoed loudly from the mouths of the audience members, bouncing around until finally the Viscount lifted a small chunk of the bun in the air, silencing everyone with a simple flick of his wrist.
"I must taste it!"
I bit the inside of my cheek as the judges chewed the bun yet my worries were set at ease instantly.
"The contrast between the crunchy exterior and the fluffy interior of the fried bread, not to mention the thick, robust curry finish... It is a most skillfully formulated study in textures!" Mr. Carter shouted, continuing to eat into the dish with rapid speed.
"The truly magnificent aspect of this dish is it structure. 'Sealing' the curry in the bread it was a stroke of brilliance! The bread literally seals the curry's taste, aroma, everything about it, and blooms in the instant one's knife cuts into it!
Moreover, the chicken is toothsome and contributes nicely to the body of the curry, making for yet another plus to the dish. This is cookery at its finest."
Again, Viscount Druitt began to moan with empty fork held high in the air, eyes shut closed in ecstasy.
"A young girl at the ball that yearns for me to love her tenderly! The mischievous mockingbird like a child in the daytime but in the evening showing her true colors!"
Ciel winced alongside me, visibly turning a pale shade of green with shoulders now raised up in a type of disgusted and somewhat disturbed notion. Sebastian on the other hand seemed to be trying his hardest to contain a few chuckles and so I decided to not ask, hoping that his reason for turning green was not as bad as I thought it was.
"The heartstring pulling smile behind your mask, a young girl, alone... all I would like to do...is hold you tightly in my arms!!"
Viscount Druitt's eyes began to sparkle as he finished the small bun, turning to Rodric now with a content and warm smile.
"Astounding innovation and undoubtable quality!" He exclaimed with a raise of his hand, "What a remarkable and memorable curry the DelMare Industry has given us today!"
Automatically, Rodric bowed and thanked him for the praise, cueing the shouts of excitement that roared from the crowd as even Soma seemed to be satisfied and relieved with the result of Rodric's curry. My hands clapped together once as I proudly looked towards him up on the stage, blown away at how yet again he has surprised me and left me without words.
Hand at his heart, Rodric smirked at me and gave me a small wink before stepping off and following the rest of the chefs back into the waiting room from before.
What a cocky demon I had.
"Why are you shaking, Lord Earl?"
I turned puzzled and saw Ciel indeed holding his arms with a troubled look on his face, trembling slightly. My eyebrow arched.
"Are you cold?" I asked, beginning to unbutton my own coat, "If you'd like you can..."
Instantly, he shook his head and raised his hand to stop me, holding onto my arm before I could slip the sleeve off.
"Don't be daft, I'm fine." He said, letting go.
I rolled my eyes at him, unsure on whether he had stopped me to be a gentleman or because it would have hurt his pride to be helped by a woman. Either way, I nodded and pulled my coat back up.
All around us, everyone had begun disperse to go and taste the curries.
Now that there was a substantial less number of people blocking the way to the front of the stage, I managed to spot out the servants rather easily. They were flocking around two plates of curry and hungrily stuffing their faces, seemingly having forgotten that Yuki had been thrown out and that they had only had breakfast mere hours ago.
Waving Ciel and Lau to come along, I stepped up to them with a slight roll of my eyes. Mey-Rin was the first to spot us coming their way and in an instant, they were all lined up and bowing towards Ciel and I obediently. Salvador held Agni's tray of homage bleu curry and Finny held Rodric's, sneaking a last bite in as we stopped in front of them.
"Tasty, I presume?" I asked, hiding my smile.
"Quite so!" The twins harmonized happily.
I was about to open my mouth to remind them about Yuki when Ciel beat me to it, pointing to Baldroy lazily. "See to it that Ms. Chiyiko is let back inside."
A salute later, he was off, peeking through every doorway and window there was to find her.
"Thank you Ciel," I said, to which he only nodded, "I appreciate it."
Idle chatter went by as the minutes droned on and soon after, Baldroy returned with a seething Yuki following him, teeth bared and chattering. She stood between Sebastian and I and he gingerly draped his coat around her shoulders and Tanaka even extended his own cup of tea to her. The kindness from the others seemed to alleviate some of her fury, but her eyes continued to dart over to the stage and I knew there would be Hell to pay back at the manor.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her, hoping I sounded as sincere as I meant it.
Her answer was cut short (much to my relief as well because a few Japanese swears had begun to lace her response) as the large curtains were opened once more, revealing the host with a glistening trophy in hand.
The winner was ready to be announced.
"We apologize for the wait," he said, and at once we all turned to face him in impatience, pausing from eating long enough to hear him speak. "but after much discussion, we have a winner for the curry competition!"
Rodric and Agni stepped out of the shadows and bowed, standing up straight to express their own anticipation. Agni clasped his hands together at his face with eyes closed whilst Rodric only eyes the judges carefully, eyebrow arched as he awaited the result. West stood a few feet away from our group and was grinning maliciously and I couldn't help but scowl at his confidence.
"We have concluded this show to end with a ti--!"
CRACK
I flinched harshly and hurried to cover my face with my hands, still able to see that the trophy was suddenly no longer in his hand and that a long leather tail held it in the air instead, bringing it to a waiting black glove held up behind everyone in silence. Taking a few seconds to assure myself that nothing was wrong, I looked the odd man over.
Shaggy, silver, chin-length hair, choppy and loosely framed around a well-structured face that was partially covered with pair dark goggles. Bleached uniform and golden medal at his heart.
It was none other than the Queen's Charles Grey.
"Please wait a moment." He said calmly, irking me.
The last time I had had an encounter with Grey, he had taken all the desserts at my disposal at the Queen's Royal Monthly Dinner to irritate me without any ulterior motive. I should also mention that Ciel failed to attend said dinner due to 'unavoidable circumstances', so he claimed.
"The victor--"
The doors burst open seconds later and a horse tramped Grey to the ground, hoof meeting skull in a sickening crack as he hit the floor. The white horse came to a halt feet before us, whining a bit before letting out a small snort to signify it was done moving and the old woman that was proudly holding its reigns smiled wide.
At once, Ciel and I rushed forward to her.
"Your Majesty!" I cried out with a grand smile, hands clapped as I approached.
She seemed a bit surprised to see us both, but her shock melted away into happiness the moment everyone gasped, realizing that it was the Queen herself.
She waved at them all kindly. "Good day to you all."
"What brings you here?" Ciel asked in slight amazement.
I throughly enjoyed the time I was allowed to spend with Her Majesty, no matter how quick it may be, she was always the loveliest and sweetest woman in the nation, without a doubt. Not only was I showered with gifts and praises whenever we met, but she also never failed to make me feel loved, even if I was part of her royal court.
She was like a second mother.
Ciel's eyes flickered to Grey when Her Highness didn't answer.
"Are... are you alright?"
Rolling my eyes at Grey's small digression of a response to Ciel, he rose from his spot on the floor and looked towards the judges at the stage, getting back to the point at hand.
"...I believe Her Majesty has something to say."
Aiding her off her horse, Grey flashed me a smile before the Queen began speaking, leaving me with a scowl.
"The aroma that filled this venue reminded me of the curry I once ate with dear Albert on the Isle of Wight..."
She snapped open a small locket that she had in her hands and instantly collapsed to the ground in a heap, sobbing over her late husband as Grey bent down to comfort her with the usual Albert doll he carried around just for situations as such.
The people around us seemed mortified at her sudden state and I couldn't help but smile embarrassedly, now understanding why Rodric had initially told me that it would have been best if she did not attend.
"Quite the character the Queen has, hm?" Lau asked, smiling cheekily.
"ALBERRRT!!"
"Your Majesty, please pull yourself together."
"WOULD THAT I COULD HAVE EATEN THIS CURRY WITH YOU AS WELLLLL!"
Murmurs began to float around when the doll began to speak in consolable phrases and Ciel snapped at Lau, also glancing at the Queen in uncertainty.
"Hold your tongue, Lau."
Dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief and standing back up, Her Majesty spoke once more, sniffling a bit as she did so.
"I received invitation to be a judge for today's event, that would mean I too have the right to cast a vote, is that not so?" She asked, stepping up to the stage and taking the trophy with her.
"And I choose the DelMare Industry and its representative, the butler Rodric." Placing the trophy in his gloved hands, she smiled and nodded at him. "Yes, you, young man."
West cried out in disbelief the moment she had let go of the prize, sprinting up to her in such a way that I was ready to order for Rodric to stop him in his tracks. However, he was only questioning her and I was displeased to know he still wouldn't be getting his due payment. Yet.
"H-How?! How can the curry we made lose to a fried doughnut stuffed with curry?"
Her Highness pointed to the crowd of Englishmen and woman and spoke, unfazed by West's rudeness.
"Look there."
Ciel, Lau, Soma and I also turned to see what she could be referring to and it took me a moment, but when I understood both her and Rodric's intentions, I smirked, arms at my hips in pride.
What a devilishly clever butler I had.
-
...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...