Chapter 6 #4
His description alone was enough to make her mouth water.
Though the meals at Calypse Castle were always delicious, they were meat heavy.
Despite Anatol’s vast coastline and its numerous lakes and rivers, Maxi had never seen seafood on the table.
Her stomach growled at the prospect of sinking her teeth into freshly grilled fish.
“B-But the squires c-caught those fish. It would be presumptuous of m-me to…”
“They say they caught them for you, my lady. They’ll be thrilled if you join them.”
Maxi nodded, though not without a slight blush, and rushed out of the banquet hall.
Her eagerness to try the delicacy only grew as she made her way to the kitchen.
When she poked her head inside, she found Ulyseon and Garrow filleting four fish on skewers above the drain, each ocrie the length of a grown man’s arm.
Next to the squires, the cook looked on anxiously, sweating profusely.
“Young masters! Please allow me! I insist.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Ulyseon waved him off dismissively, his light tone entirely at odds with the carnage in his hands. “We need to learn how to cut into creatures like these, after all. Consider it part of our training!”
Beside him, Garrow collected the blood in a bucket held beneath the fish’s severed tail. “Uly, I’m finished bleeding this one out.”
“Give it here. I’ll carve that one too.”
The cook blanched. “P-Please, let me. I can’t let you do such lowly work!”
“Oh, hush,” said Ulyseon. “As I said, this is part of our training!”
“That’s right. And besides, this fish is going on the lady’s table. We are determined to prepare them ourselves.” Garrow’s brow furrowed as he spoke, and he added, “But why did we catch fish, of all things? A fox or a stag would have made a better gift.”
“Garrow! How could you even think of hurting such magnificent creatures?” Ulyseon looked horrified at the suggestion.
Garrow gestured to the fish. “Are you saying these fish met untimely deaths simply because they’re ugly?”
“They had the misfortune of being ugly on the outside and tasty on the inside.”
Maxi hesitated by the kitchen entrance, taken aback by the scene unfolding before her.
The sight of the half-butchered fish prompted a wave of nausea to roll through her, and she quietly turned to leave.
Unfortunately, Garrow happened to stretch his neck at that very moment, turning left and right until he locked eyes with her.
She immediately froze in place, but the squire only grinned brightly and waved, either too ignorant or unperturbed by her visible discomfort.
“Good morning, Lady Calypse!”
“My lady!” Ulyseon glanced up from the fish in his hands and beamed, his head tilting excitedly to one side like a dog’s.
Maxi waved back feebly. “G-Good morning.”
“You’re just in time!” Ulyseon held up a half-butchered fish. “We caught these to thank you for the exciting tale you told us yesterday. They’re the tastiest fish in all of Wedon.”
“We’ll have them on the table in no time.” Garrow returned to his task, lopping off another fish’s head.
Maxi stared at the severed head as it flopped onto the floor with an unceremonious slap.
Its bulging eyes seemed to stare back at her in resentment, and it took all of her willpower to keep from gagging as she nodded.
Again, she quickly attempted to make her escape, but Ulyseon addressed her happily.
“My lady, if it isn’t too much of a bother, would you tell us more about the skirmish with the werewolves while you wait?”
“Uly, I’m not sure she appreciates the sight of all this blood.” Garrow eyed Maxi’s queasy expression uncertainly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Her ladyship is brave! She watched a fountain of blood rain down from a giant ogre! The wife of the most valiant knight in the land can’t possibly be squeamish!” Ulyseon looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to affirm his claim.
Maxi swallowed against the lump in her throat and forced a smile.
Thunk.
Yet another fish head fell onto the ground, and she tried her best not to look.
“O-Of course. Th-This is n-nothing to me.”
“See? Oi! One of you bring a chair for our lady!”
With that, she was trapped, forced to look on with a polite smile as a servant brought in a wooden stool.
They set it down in full view of the squires while Maxi stood by, dreading the prospect of spinning a gory tale while the young men disemboweled their catch.
Holding back tears, she took a shaky breath and perched herself on the edge of the seat.
Meanwhile, Ulyseon cut and peeled away sections of the ocrie’s thick skin, revealing the ivory flesh beneath. After descaling its back and belly, he carved out evenly sliced fillets and arranged them on a plate. Soon, all that remained of the fish was its skeleton.
“I’ve seen a werewolf before.” Ulyseon’s eyes flitted from Garrow to Maxi as he reached for another fish. “It had the fearsome head of a wolf, but its body was humanoid, and I watched as it sprang from tree to tree on its hind legs.”
Garrow nodded. “And their canines protrude like boar tusks. In Balto, they stuff werewolf heads and display them as trophies.”
“What? Why? I’ll never understand Northerners and their aesthetics.”
“Wolves are a symbol of courage for them.”
More ivory fillets were added to the growing pile. As the ocrie began to look less like creatures and more like food, Maxi’s nausea abated. She took a deep breath to regain her composure as Ulyseon turned to her, drying his hands on a strip of cloth.
“It’s laughable that they mount werewolf heads to show off their bravery. The Remdragon Knights slaughtered dozens of those beasts in mere moments and don’t need to boast of it with stuffed heads.”
“Please tell us how Sir Riftan fought in that battle, my lady,” Garrow requested, his voice milder than his companion’s.
Another forced smile, another deep inhale, and Maxi began her story, starting with how effortlessly Riftan had decapitated three of the beasts with a single fatal flash of his sword.
From there, the tale only grew taller. As the knights advanced through the woods, dozens of the werewolves’ heads fell down, thudding like hail through the forest. Her fabricated story of flesh, blood, and bones seemed to delight her young audience, and their infectious enthusiasm gradually made her forget her previous discomfort.
She had never imagined herself talking so happily in front of others.
Just as the story was nearing its end, the cook interrupted. “The marinade is ready, young master.”
“Excellent!” said Ulyseon. “Start grilling. I’m famished.”
The cook wasted no time dropping the fillets into a bowl of dark liquid. Next, he heated an oiled pan on the stove while he put together a salad of lettuce, onions, and herbs. Maxi’s mouth started to water again, her appetite reinvigorated.
“The ocrie will be ready in just a moment, my lady.” The cook bowed his head toward her, placing the marinated fish on the pan. “Each bite will be grilled to golden perfection and served with this salad. It’ll be nothing short of divine.”
As the fish began to sizzle, a wonderfully savory smell wafted through the air.
Garrow, in his impatience, insisted on eating the fish fresh off the stove instead of waiting for it to be served in the dining hall, and so Maxi and the squires found themselves sitting around a small table in the corner of the kitchen.
Soon, the fresh salad and grilled ocrie were set before them. Maxi sliced off a piece of steaming fish and brought it to her lips. The soft flesh, slightly sweet from the marinade, melted in her mouth, and her eyes grew wide.
“It’s d-delicious!”
“Of course!” Ulyseon grinned. “Nothing can compare to freshly caught ocrie. It’s one of the best things about the fall season.”
Though the fish was tender, the cook managed to retain its texture, and it did not have a hint of pungent odor usually associated with a fresh catch.
In the blink of an eye, Maxi finished two large fillets.
Meanwhile, Ulyseon and Garrow were already polishing off their third serving.
After helping herself to more of the crunchy salad, she served herself another slice of fish.
“Th-This is one of the m-most amazing things I’ve ever t-tasted, truly.”
“We’re pleased to hear that you like it.” Ulyseon clasped his hands above his clean plate, having been the first to devour every bite of his food. “Perhaps we’ll catch more for you soon, my lady.”
Maxi returned his smile, grateful for his kindness. “I-I look f-forward to it.”
—
The flurry of activity continued over the next few days until, at last, the renovations were complete. Maxi and the servants gathered in the great hall for a final thorough inspection.
By now, the space had transformed beyond recognition.
An enormous golden chandelier illuminated the once gloomy hall.
Underneath it, a striking crimson and gold carpet covered the floor.
A similarly patterned rug ran up the grand staircase to the second floor, where the now lavishly appointed banquet hall could put even the royal palace’s accommodations to shame.
After ascending the stairs, Maxi stood awestruck at the entrance of the spacious banquet hall. Sleek marble tiles gleamed where drab stone once was, and three silver chandeliers shimmered between the arches of the hall’s high ceiling.
“Is everything to your liking, my lady?” Aderon asked apprehensively.
Maxi nodded, brushing her fingertips against the crystal windows. Sunlight streamed in through the glass, bathing the entire chamber in a warm glow.
“I-It’s splendid.”
Seeing Aderon’s face break into a satisfied grin, Maxi found herself smiling as well.
Although he had been a rather aggressive salesman, he was, at his core, an honest one.
He had gone to great lengths to procure high-quality goods for her at reasonable prices, and he helped her hire diligent staff as well.