Clatter, clatter.
The sound of dishes colliding occasionally echoed around. It was the only noise in the bright and splendid labyrinth.
Hugo mechanically cut the steak placed in front of him. When he pressed down on the meat with his knife, blood oozed out with a squish. Normally he wouldn't have thought anything of it, but today the plate was unusually soaked with blood enough to make his appetite drop.
But this was one of the main dishes of the formal dinner served by the Emperor. Even if it were raw meat, it was the duty of a subject to clean the plate in this setting.
Hugo carefully put the bright red meat that looked like it might still be pulsating on his fork and placed it in his mouth, making sure no drops of blood fell. Though he had to force his jaw to move, it was edible enough, but he had already been repeating this action for thirty minutes.
The food hardly diminished, while the wine glass he had drained to rinse his mouth was being emptied for the third time.
Just then, a servant in white approached, poured blood-like wine into Hugo's glass, and quietly retreated.
"..."
The blue eyes shifted to the right following the presence, then returned to the plate. Unlike his eyes, his nerves extended in all directions. His five senses were measuring every small movement in the strange space.
There were about thirty people inside. But most were buried in light and objects, making it difficult to recognize their presence unless they moved.
Though it wasn't his first time setting foot in Aurasion, the atmosphere that was difficult to adapt to each time remained the same.
The interior was not like the audience chamber where the Emperor's close knights or high nobles would flaunt their authority and act as wings on either side of the monarch. Rather, they suppressed their own existence and silently performed only their assigned duties so as not to disturb His august presence.
Hugo stared at the white-clad humans standing far away wherever his eyes fell, speculating that they might be unable to speak or perhaps blind.
Whether they were born that way or it was acquired, he didn't know. What was certain was that they were undoubtedly selected to keep the secrets of the inner chamber.
They seemed like objects modified to match this labyrinthine background. Their faces lacked blood, and the warmth of the living couldn't be felt. If corpses were to move, would they look like that? If one scraped out a person's internal organs and mummified them to prevent decay, it would be roughly similar.
Hugo, who had downed the rippling wine once again, decided to stop thinking at that point. Since the one who made these assumptions possible was the Emperor of Raina Logia sitting before him, going any deeper seemed like it would only make things difficult for himself.
He stabbed his fork into the meat-like lump to finish the food remaining on his plate. Just then, a heavy voice that weighed down on his shoulders echoed through the inner chamber.
「Does it suit your taste?」
He reflexively stopped cutting. Putting down his knife and wiping his mouth with a napkin, Hugo carefully raised his head.
"Yes, it suits me well."
All sorts of delicacies from land and sea were endlessly spread across the long, classical table. Crossing over to the other side past the candlestick in the center, lavender curtains loosely traversed the table.
Beyond them, a sacred silhouette with its form hidden sat in an ornate chair, staring straight ahead.
Hugo gazed at the hidden other's eyes and gently relaxed his mouth.
"The taste is excellent, perhaps due to the use of good ingredients. I deeply appreciate the grace of preparing such precious food."
Though he had expected it when the appointment time was set at noon, the Emperor served an elegant formal dinner to the one he had summoned to appear. Given the various circumstances intertwined since the subjugation team's return, it wasn't strange. However, it was unusual to arrange a dining setting in the inner chamber rather than a reception space.
Because of this, Hugo couldn't relax his tension from the moment the meal began. But his skills as a duke allowed him to remain a faithful subject.
Only after he had unhesitatingly drained the chalice that might have contained poison did the silhouette beyond the curtain seem satisfied and play with the knife on the plate.
As His Majesty briefly raised his glass suggesting another drink, Hugo naturally raised his glass as well. Just as he cleanly emptied his fourth glass of wine, the Emperor opened his mouth.
「My chef's skills are special. There's no ingredient he hasn't handled.」
"I've heard much about the imperial chef's skills. It's fortunate that such excellent individuals serve by Your Majesty's side."
「He is most adept at cooking human flesh. Yes, that before you is one of his ambitious works.」
The blue eyes glanced down at the dishes placed in front of him. The protein lumps buried in elaborate plating appeared different from before.
「It's the flesh from a young, fresh thigh. The texture is exquisite.」
At the Emperor's signal, a white-clad servant approached and pushed a plate forward in front of Hugo. On the plate that had come closer, a tanned meat dish was generously piled. The meat juices dripped and pooled in the plate's groove, and the buttery aroma blended with the aged meat was even fragrant.
Hugo, with contracted pupils, stiffly raised his head. His Majesty, with his chin resting on the table, was staring at him intently.
「Eat.」
Strong pressure approached with just one word. Hugo's fingers, which had been motionless, slowly picked up the cutting fork and knife.
Soon, only the small sound of cutting through thick thigh meat echoed in the inner chamber. It didn't take long for the cross-section of meat harmonized with fat to enter the Duke's mouth.
「How is it?」
An implicit expectation settled in the majestic voice. Hugo chewed while trying his best not to taste it. He held his breath and repeated only the chewing motion solely to tear the meat.
A moment later, his Adam's apple moved once, and after tidying his mouth, he continued his answer.
"I've heard that beef produced recently in Gremore has been presented as a tribute. I was concerned whether it would suit your taste as it differs from the previously offered breeds, but I'm glad it tastes good."
A low laugh flowed from beyond the barrier that could never be crossed.
「Haha, you don't give me a chance to jest. You're too quick-witted.」
"I failed to grasp your profound meaning. Please forgive me."
「What forgiveness, I like those who are quick-witted.」
The horror of chewing and swallowing something that betrayed human ethics was no different from eating human flesh. But fortunately, what entered his mouth was beef.
「All those I cherish are like that.」
The Emperor said this while slowly extending his hand to a figure sitting near him. The figure approached its master like a well-trained animal and abruptly pressed its head against his hand.
Then it rubbed its face first, melting into the monarch's touch. Occasionally, it let out the frivolous laughter that didn't match the situation, which Hugo had heard when the door of Aurasion first opened.
Hugo blankly watched the scene of the Emperor caressing the figure. The figure's hair, not hidden even by the lavender veil, gradually took away the smile lingering at his lips. Each time the light wheat color, no, the gold color shimmered, it was difficult to maintain composure.
「I've replaced the servants with children. Isn't it much better now that there's vitality in the palace?」
"Yes, that's right."
When he gave any answer to shake off distracting thoughts, the Emperor pushed aside the shoulder of the figure leaning towards him and ordered:
「The Duke's glass is empty. Come, you should pour him a drink.」
No sooner had he finished speaking than the figure rose from its seat. The figure received a wine bottle from a white-clad servant and immediately strode out from behind the opaque veil.
Hugo's gaze also rose following the approaching other. The one who came across the long table of about 8 meters was clearly wearing servant's clothes, but his appearance and attire were completely different from ordinary servants. He was wrapped in high-quality ivory fabric rather than white, and wore thick accessories on his fingers.
'A ring in the inner palace...'
Moreover, unlike the others whose presence was faint, the servant before his eyes emitted vitality that couldn't be hidden.
He stopped at Hugo's right and gave a bright eye-smile. No matter how much he was the Emperor's servant, looking directly into a duke's eyes without permission was an act that thoroughly violated etiquette. However, neither Hugo nor the Emperor reprimanded him for it.
Everyone in the inner chamber simply waited silently for the youthful boy who began pouring wine into the empty glass.
The boy's eyes were sharp but his impression was pure, and though not small in build, he was slender. He, who exuded a strange atmosphere, was a beauty if one had to define him. Hugo felt as if the moment he poured the blood-colored liquid lasted an eon.
On the other hand, he also thought it would be nice if the wine glass were a bit deeper.
So that it wouldn't be strange for him to examine closely the boy's eyes that hadn't become completely golden