Book 3: Chapter 4
Only mom and I were at the dinner table as usual, except there were so many dishes placed before me I didn’t know where to start. I must say, mom is a million times better than the empress at cooking. Every time I recall that purple stew that tasted like rubber, all the hairs on my body stand up. The meat pie mom made is the best meat pie I’ve ever had.
The only problem was that I couldn’t finish more than twenty of them, plus a noodle dish like spaghetti and a mushroom risotto… Is this made of rice? It looks longer and thinner than the rice in my memory, but it did taste similar to rice. Mushrooms here are like tree leaves. I actually did think they were tree leaves initially. I only realised they were mushrooms after I ate it. Most of the crops in this world are different to the crops I’m familiar with…
Everything tasted amazing, but I was stuffed…
Mom watched me eat with a smile on her face. She joyfully said: “How is it, my son? It tastes good doesn’t it? Eat plenty, okay? I’m so happy. That woman wouldn’t know how to cook. She can’t even tell if a fruit is edible or poisonous. I was worried that she’d get you poisoned to death when you weren’t here.”
I lowered my head as I cut my meat pie and replied: “She’s not that bad… Mommy Elizabeth actually dotes on me a fair bit. Her cooking isn’t good, but… It was pretty fun over there.”
*BANG!*
The sound of metal clanging suddenly came towards me. I looked up with surprise and saw mom sitting there astonished. Her fork and knife inlaid with precious jewels had already dropped onto the plate, but her hands still held their posture as though they were still in her hands. She looked at me with her blue eyes that were filled with astonishment and fear.
I nervously stood up and asked: “What’s wrong, mom?”
“What… What did you… What did you…just…call that woman…?” Mom stood up as she quivered while pressing her hands on the table and clenching the table cloth tightly. Her facial expression looked distorted due to her surprise and despair. Her voice was stiff as though she was choking.