Ch.335Chapter 335 – My Son-in-Law Cooked?

The monarch of the Gelebrio Empire, Decatro IV, was engaged in a conversation with Karen.

Normally, this would have been a time for attending to his duties, but since the Crown Prince Takitar had begun his formal successor training, most of the state affairs had been handed over to him.

That’s why he could now leisurely spend time conversing with Karen.

He discussed various topics with Karen, but the one to which he devoted the most time was about their married life.

Though he himself had two official wives, his son-in-law had no less than seven candidates for official wives besides Karen.

He had even decided on the timing and order of all the marriages.

If by any chance the hierarchy among the wives were to be reversed, it would cause problems, but fortunately, that hadn’t happened.

However, one piece of news caught Decatro IV’s interest.

“So, Duke Aurelion, no, my son-in-law personally cooked for you?”

“Yes, Father.”

“Ho ho, how fascinating.”

Decatro IV was quite amazed by the fact that Pathos had cooked for Karen and his other wives.

And for good reason—in the Gelebrio Empire, it was rare for men to cook.

Professional restaurants might have men who could stand in front of a fire for long hours and handle heavy cooking equipment, but such establishments were mostly found only in large cities.

To open a restaurant independently, one needed to secure a sufficient number of customers.

But even in the Gelebrio Empire, people weren’t evenly distributed, and above all, people’s spending habits weren’t particularly lavish.

Therefore, most restaurants operating in the Gelebrio Empire also functioned as taverns or inns.

And since these types of establishments were often run by couples, the husband typically handled customer service while the wife took care of the cooking.

In other words, in the Gelebrio Empire, cooking was considered a woman’s role, and among the nobility, men were so unfamiliar with cooking that they wouldn’t even set foot in the kitchen.

Yet a man who was married to his daughter and could be considered a Duke of the Empire had personally cooked for his wives?

This naturally couldn’t help but capture his interest.

“How fascinating. Most men only know how to eat food and judge it, not cook it themselves.”

“You know, Father. He wasn’t originally a nobleman.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Decatro IV belatedly realized that Pathos hadn’t been a nobleman from the beginning and gave an awkward smile.

Because Pathos had risen to the position of Duke in just a few years since appearing in the Gelebrio Empire, he had unconsciously assumed that Pathos had been of noble birth from the start.

“As you know, Duke Aurelion is an extraordinary person. Most people, even if they possess unique abilities that set them apart from others, either fail to utilize them properly or remain trapped within the limitations of their own thinking.”

In that respect, Pathos was an impressive man in Decatro IV’s eyes.

While claiming with his own mouth that he desired a peaceful life, he had actively utilized his abilities to gain favor among a wide range of people.

Even among most noble families, there was hardly any opposition to Pathos’s rise to the positions of Count, Marquis, and Duke.

The most important concern for noble families was producing heirs, and he had enabled noble families who couldn’t have heirs to do so.

Moreover, by curing baldness, which was considered a divine punishment, and treating Prezmerine disease, known as an incurable illness, he had become a beacon of hope for patients with incurable diseases.

“And now he even cooks. If this fact becomes known, I imagine a trend of young nobles wanting to cook by themselves will sweep through.”

“Yes, I think so too. Though he doesn’t seem to realize it, there hasn’t been anyone who has achieved so many accomplishments and risen to such a high position at such a rapid pace in the last decade.”

Currently, the young talents of the Gelebrio Empire were taking Pathos as their role model.

Their goal was to increase their own value and rise to higher positions, and there hadn’t been anyone who had proven their worth and risen to high positions as quickly as Pathos, not just in the last decade but in the last century.

So they analyzed everything about Pathos, starting from how he dressed.

“But not many will be able to match my son-in-law. The real ability I see in that fellow is his knack for winning people over to his side.”

The real ability of Pathos, as Decatro IV saw it, was his ability to gain people’s favor.

He didn’t know the principle behind it. But everyone who had met him or been with him said the same thing:

‘He’s a good person.’

Just look at the people who were by his side—weren’t they remarkable?

His own eldest daughter, Karen.

The former Archmage Regina, the leader of the Heavenly Horse Faith, the Saint of the Sun Order, the daughter of the current Archmage, an Academy professor, a promising commoner mage, and even the daughter of a Margrave.

It would be impossible for people whom ordinary individuals would find difficult to meet even once in a lifetime to all cling to one man saying he was good, unless he truly was a good person.

“So, what dish did my son-in-law make for you?”

The topic of conversation returned to the food Pathos had prepared.

Decatro IV was also interested in the food culture of the Eastern Continent.

“Um, samgyeopsal and geotjeori.”

Though she generally used the common language of the continent, the words “samgyeopsal” and “geotjeori” came out in Korean.

This was because there were no words in the common language of the continent to refer to samgyeopsal and geotjeori.

“Samgyeopsal? Geotjeori? Those are words I’ve never heard before. They’re even difficult to pronounce.”

“Samgyeopsal is the belly part of pork near the ribs, and geotjeori is a salad-like dish made with vegetables of appropriate size using seasonings from the Eastern Continent.”

“Hooh.”

Samgyeopsal and geotjeori. Both were foods he had never heard of before.

Decatro IV became even more interested in the food his son-in-law had prepared.

“Then could you ask if he might come to the imperial palace soon and cook? This father would also like to try the food made by his son-in-law.”

“He has plenty of time, so it should be fine. But have you eaten pork before?”

Karen had never seen Decatro IV eating pork.

Basically, pork was one of the ingredients that was hard to find within the Gelebrio Empire.

“I tried it when I was traveling the provinces during my time as Crown Prince. The lord of a local territory served it to me. It was tastier meat than I expected. I understood why the first Emperor decreed that nobles should only eat beef.”

What Decatro IV was referring to was one of the perceptions spread throughout the Gelebrio Empire: ‘pork is food for the poor.’

This was deliberately established by the first Emperor to ensure that commoners could also eat meat regularly, creating the perception that nobles ate beef while commoners ate pork.

This was to prevent the unfortunate situation where nobles would take all the pork for themselves as well.

“I see. Actually, this was my first time trying it.”

“Pigs are animals that eat almost anything, so they’re easy for commoners to raise. Cows, after all, need to be fed grass.”

Karen nodded at Decatro IV’s words. Pigs could eat fruits that humans couldn’t consume.

“Anyway, your mother would also be very interested in the food made by my son-in-law.”

“Yes, we’ll visit the imperial palace together soon.”

“Don’t worry about the ingredients. The imperial palace has very high-quality pork prepared, and with my son-in-law’s abilities, even the most tasteless meat would become a delicacy.”

Karen didn’t particularly agree with Decatro IV’s words. This was because she hadn’t tasted food made with Pathos’s abilities.

This was also because Pathos was intentionally restraining himself from using his abilities when it came to food.

If he wasn’t careful, the ‘bread incident’ that occurred when he first began his activities in the Empire might happen again.

“Is it that significant?”

“Hahaha. Come to think of it, you don’t know about it. The legendary bread incident that happened around the Academy.”

Decatro IV began to tell Karen about Pathos’s past, which she didn’t know about.

After hearing about the bread incident that had occurred in the past, Karen was desperately trying to hold back her laughter.

“Anyway, he’s been showing a different side of himself since then.”

“Pfft, indeed.”

“So ask him sometime later. The bread that my son-in-law made back then was truly delicious.”

Decatro IV’s eyes were filled with nostalgia as he recalled that memory, and seeing this, Karen resolved to ask Pathos to make it for her as well.