Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Luna attempts to figure out that his favourite dish turned out to be an utter failure. She realised it was better to find it out by other means than to ask directly. The blow would be harder.
So she headed for the main chef.
Luna rolled up the sleeves of the borrowed shirt and stood over the counter, the kitchen quiet except for the low hum of the exhaust fan. The lamb shanks lay on the chopping board—thick, heavy, unapologetic. She studied them for a moment, remembering the recipe she'd watched twice already.
Remove excess fat. Score the meat so it absorbs the flavour.
Simple enough.
She steadied one shank with her left hand and picked up the knife. The blade was sharper than anything she owned back home—balanced, expensive, unforgiving. She pressed it into the meat, drawing a careful line along the surface.
Too careful.
Her hand slipped—not dramatically, just a fraction. The knife kissed skin before she realised what had happened.
A sharp sting.
She froze.
Then red bloomed.
"Ah—" she hissed under her breath, dropping the knife as blood welled from the side of her finger, spilling onto the pale wood of the board. It wasn't deep, but it was clean. The kind of cut that bled more than it hurt.
"Damn it."
"Miss, what have you done?!" The head chef at Luna's service had been surprised when she expressed her willingness to cook. Nevertheless, she could not deny. So she stayed at a distance in case Luna needed help.
The last couple of interactions between Luna and Daimen were enough to set it in stone that the Master of the house cherished this woman. If anything happened to her, the servants won't be spared.
"It's alright. Just a little... Ouch!" Blood began to trickle down drop by drop.
While a commotion ensured inside the kitchen, Daimen happened to pass by. He stood at the door, and a woman clutching her hand caught his eye. The deep red.
His face hardened.
In big strides, he approached her.
"Huh?" Luna was taken aback when Daimen showed up all of a sudden.
"It's nothing really." She tried to withdraw her hand, but it was grasped firmly by Daimen. The next second, someone was rushing speedily insid,e bringing in the first Aid. Daimen took hold of it.
"All of you, step away." A simple command yet authoritative and effective enough to clear the premises. He led her to a nearby chair.
His gaze fixed upon her wound.
The wound had bled out. Only a trickle of blood remains. He brought her finger closer to his mouth and licked it clean.
Luna's eyes widened.
In her mind, she screamed. 'What are you doing?' The slippery touch of the deep red tongue and the slight sting caught her off guard. But in her words, only a dry "Ah" could form. She didn't even attempt to withdraw her hand, so confused she was with the overall situation.
Daimen pretended as if he hadn't just licked her finger like a freaking vampire and proceeded to personally clean her wound. He applied the ointment and wrapped the white gauze around her finger.
Luna was a mixture of surprise and discomfort. After recovering from the shock, she realised how he had behaved so exaggeratedly over such a small incident. She initiated.
"There was no need-"
A glare silenced her.
What?
She didn't do anything wrong.
She didn't get injured on her own.
While she was confused, Daimen was done with the dressing. Neat and perfect. Just like him.
"Are you angry?" Luna asked despite herself.
"Why would I be?"
Did he care?
Wait!
That was her chance.
"I was cooking for you. I heard you like lamb shanks." She said, careful with her words.
"You can cook when you learn to be less clumsy." He remarked, acrid. Then, in a loud tone, he announced. "From now on, you are barred from the kitchen." He made eye contact with a maid standing nearby holding the first aid.
"Understood, Sir." He acquiesced quickly. "I'll convey it to the head chef."
"Wait, no, it was just a small cut. I still wanna make those shambs." Not just shambs. She wanted to cook other stuff too. Although she was a mess in her department and her cooking endeavours always ended up with someone injured or the kitchen aflamed she was certain that with the security protocols here, she could manage to cook something!
"My decision is final." He threw the eventful words before making it to the dining room.
And with that, Luna's plan to get the man by his stomach crumbled like her hopes for freedom.
"It's alright, I will have Sierra here tonight. That should lift my mood."
Later that evening, Sierra arrived with a small bag for a sleepover.
"Travelling here from all the way from the city is such a pain in the ass," Sierra commented as a matter of fact. "Say you manage to get permission for the university, how are you gonna commute?"
"The private transport here will see to that." She commented as they strolled through the garden.
"So how did the cooking experiment go?"
"Well," Luna drawled. "I'm barred from the kitchen."
"What!" Sierre's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she ended up rolling over her belly and laughing at Luna's misery.
"Hey, that's not nice."
"Did the Devil develop diarrhoea from your horrendous cooking?"
"Ehh, things never got to that point." Luna sighed.
While they had their happy exchange in the garden, someone was observing each and every interaction.
"Is there something that's bothering you, Sir?" Jack asked when he found Daimen's face darkening by the seconds.
"She is never this happy with me."
Someone was jealous.