Chapter 123 - Grand Finale

 “And now, I am sad to say, that for the final time, I can present you a new treasure of Saniya. To celebrate the end of this banquet, I have the privilege to present the full work and dedication of Saniya's unique ensemble of chefs. Here it is, the great creation of master Chuku, and unique treasure of Saniya, lemon supreme!”

His arms spread wide to mirror the smile on his face, King Corco stood in front of the tables of the various lords, in between a large array of men and women, while his baritone voice rang out among the lords collected in the hall. After the king had come back from his short break, he had lost no time to make himself the center of attention once again. Even though he still had to visit all the tables, the king had already announced the end of the banquet.   

To Lord Macuy, it was a shame, by multiple measures. All throughout the evening, he had enjoyed the food and drink presented by the cooks of Rapra Castle. What had touched his palate this evening had been food the simple 'cow lord' from the countryside had never even dreamed of. At the same time, the beautiful, novel music on display all evening had formed a perfect backdrop and supported Macuy's great war with the so-called 'treasures of Saniya'. However, his vigor had only gotten him drunk, which only worsened his displeasure.

Even though the king had announced the official end of the banquet with this so-called lemon supreme, Kind Corco still hadn't so much as visited Lord Macuy's table. No matter how much the king tried to play charmer, no matter how much he had done for the power of the estates back in Arguna, if he never made it to the table here, none of it would matter to Lord Macuy. Corco would remain a shameless and power hungry fiend, like the rest of them.

Thus, with a frown compounded by the nausea the brandy had spread in his head, Lord Macuy looked down onto the cloth which covered whatever mysterious desert the king's cooks had prepared. At least he could look forward to the taste and return home with some new experiences, he thought, while the servant behind him pulled the cover away. However, what he found before him was nothing but another disappointment.

“A lemon?” Confused, the lord looked down onto the yellow fruit before his eyes. All throughout the evening, the lords had been presented with the exotic produce in all kinds of forms. He wasn't a fan of its combination with the brandy, but the lemon juice had been an excellent addition to the fish, if nothing else. Even then, as a poor lord positioned in the lowlands of Sachay, far away from the open sea and too poor to import the lemon, he wouldn't know what to do with the knowledge.

Still, there it lay, yellow and plump, with a fresh, green leaf sticking out the back, to taunt him for his own poverty. Even the dew still dripped from the precious fruit. It was by far the largest and prettiest specimen he had seen today, but even so, he couldn't understand just what was so 'supreme' about this specific lemon.

“Lord Macuy seems dissatisfied.”

“Bunch of high-strung fops,” he mumbled into his beard. With annoyance, the lord thought back to his own home, to the drab halls and backwards cuisine which would await him there. After today, he would have to return, back to the quaint life he had been accustomed to before. His trip to Arguna during the succession war had taken far longer than expected, and so his house had wasted more silver than he would have liked. For now, they would have to save up for a while, and settle for turnips in milk. If that was his future, he at least had hoped for a perfect climax, the perfect last meal before he left the fairyland that was Saniya and returned to his own, gray life.

As he stewed in the murky waters of his own thought, Lord Macuy was about to touch the lemon with all the derision in his body, but someone poked him first. With a sharp elbow, his attendant reminded the lord of his duties. Although his mood only soured further, at least Macuy still had the presence of mind to look up before he unleashed all the curses of the countryside. It was his good fortune. Stood before his table, armed with a patient smile, was the man Lord Macuy had blessed with his nasty answer. Over here stood King Corcopaca Titu Pluritac.

“Oh, King Corcopaca. I was not... not aware. Excuse me, the lemon looks... good,” the lord lied with what could only be a crooked grin. Even though the alcohol colored clouds in front of his eyes, he could see the king's own smile turn wider, as he picked up the silver spoon the servants had placed next to Macuy's lemon. As the king held the spoon out to the lord, he sat down at the table and spoke again.

“Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. Seriously, don't knock it till you try it. And try it you should.”

After the initial shock, his anger had returned, fueled by the king's casual attitude. Thus, with a grumpy snort, Macuy grabbed the spoon from the king, maybe with more force than necessary. Even though Utusku estate was a small territory, there was no reason for King Corco to ignore them for so long. Still, at least where he came from, men knew how to be polite. He would play along with the king's charade and pretend that the sour fruit was delicious. He wouldn't stay much longer anyways.

“You know,” the king continued, unperturbed by Macuy's lack of reaction, “I'm really sorry that I'm only getting to you last. However, since Utusku is so vitally important, I thought it would be best if I came to your territory together with the grand finale. It's much more dramatic that way, isn't it?”

“Sure,” the lord nodded, absentminded. Somehow, his spoon was still stuck on that lemon's peel. All the lemons he had seen today had possessed a rather soft rind, but this one was hard as glaze. By now he also realized that the lemon had been chilled down to freezing temperatures. Determined not to loose to a fruit, the great warrior put more force into his arm and pushed the spoon down into his helpless foe.

With a crack, the lemon opened to reveal the treasures inside. Fascinated the lord stared at the strange phenomenon present on his spoon, his anger forgotten. In fact, the lemon didn't appear to be a lemon at all. Rather, it's rind was a hard, brittle shell, similar to a birch tree's bark in texture, while the inside was filled with a white, soft cream of sorts. Only the center itself appeared like a lemon, as little yellow droplets crowded together to form a core for the fancy desert. Truly, whether or not this was created by nature, it was a marvel, a work of art.

Astonished, the lord raised his head again, and stared back at his host.

“Go on, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.”

Still filled with suspicion, the lord followed King Corco's hand gesture and lifted the strange desert up to his mouth. However, as soon as the spoon entered his mouth, he forgot all around him. First was the rind, or crust. A strange, yellow shell, hard and brittle. However, the taste was sweet and creamy as the substance began to melt in his mouth. Even creamier however was the wonderful mass the shell had encompassed and protected, a heavenly concoction. Despite the extreme cold, Lord Macuy could taste and feel the cow's milk which must have been one of the main ingredients used for the treasure.   

Back home, Macuy was intimately familiar with cows and all the products gained from them. After being surrounded by them all his life, he thought that he had seen enough of milk for the rest of his life, that he would never enjoy its taste again, but this magical creation changed everything. Even now however, the lemon supreme still wasn't out of surprises. Once the shell and cream were melted away, he reached the small yellow pearls in the center. Just the slightest of pressure was enough to burst them open and fill his mouth with the lemon juice he had become so familiar with over the day. However, in combination with the cold cream and hard shell, its effect was entirely different. Cold and refreshing like morning dew, sweet and acidic at the same time, it was a divine taste like none Lord Macuy had ever tasted.

At a loss for words, the lord searched around, to look for someone who could explain this divine marvel to him, and soon his eyes fell upon King Corcopaca, who sat before him with a complacent grin.

“What'd I say? Pretty good, huh?”

“What is this? How is this possible?” the lord muttered under his breath.

“Ah, it's not that complicated, really,” the king smiled, intent to show how complicated it was. “The outside is just white chocolate. Oh, chocolate is an exotic type of fruit my cousin Atau discovered halfway across the world. Anyways, we melted the white chocolate and poured it into a hollow glass form, then turned it until it hardened up. Oh, and the center is made of lemon caviar. It's just some agar agar and lemon juice, dripped in ice water to form pearls, just some trickery. It's a nice effect though, right? Finally, we surrounded the lemon caviar with some ice cream and put it into the chocolate which we had cut into two halves. We sealed the two halves shut with more molten chocolate and worked on the outside a bit to get that realistic bumpy exterior. Yeah, it's still a bit rough around the edges. Normally, I wanted to use vanilla for the ice cream, but Ronnie is still working out the details for our vanillin production and Atau hasn't found actual vanilla yet, so for the moment milk flavor will have to do. The lemon is pretty dominant anyways, so I think it still works quite well.”

“Oh no, King Corco. The milk flavor was outstanding, to that I can attest!” Lord Macuy interrupted as soon as he had found a topic he could speak on. “After all, no lord should know more about the cow business than lord Macuy of Utusku.”

With the slow nod of a sage, the king accepted the compliment. “That's great to hear. If even you like it, I don't think there should be any problem with the other tables. Still, I think we could have done with some better milk. In the future, Saniya will need much more milk to make this sort of ice cream, but we'll also need  slew of other products, like leather. That's why I'm here last. Utusku estate is a key to the wealth and success of the south. I'm sure our two estates will work well together from now on.”

“Of course,” placated by the food as much as by the king's humble attitude, Lord Macuy agreed to a cooperation without thought, before he caught up with his own enthusiasm. “However, I am unsure if Utusku will be able to provide Saniya with the amounts it would need. These days, feed has been getting more expensive as less merchants travel south in these troubling times.”

“Aaah, I've waited for this problem. I love solving problems, you know? I mean, you already should know that we've been selling our fertilizer to other lords, so feed will get cheaper over the following years anyways, but there's other methods I can help you with. My people have come up with new methods of keeping livestock and I don't mind sharing those with you. Enclosures will make your life as lord much, much easier, so I'm sure your industry will soon bloom a new leaf.”

Since he couldn't comment much more on matters he didn't understand, he decided to accept the king's gracious gift. Satisfied, the lord nodded and leaned back in his seat. However, as soon as his eyes fell on all the splendor around him, a sigh escaped his lips.

“What's the problem, Lord Macuy? Anything not to your satisfaction?” Corco asked with concern in his voice but another smile on his face. He would hope to sell more favors, of that the lord was sure.

“No, In fact, everything today has been magnificent. Perfect, even. I am simply concerned that the evening is to end soon. Tomorrow, I will have to return home. And please do not misunderstand. I love my wife, love my sons and my daughter. Still, after a taste of the high nobility and refinement of Saniya, it would be difficult to return to a simple farmer's life once more. I suppose we would not see each other again for a long time.”

“That's no problem at all!” the king raised a finger, as if he had only just come up with the idea. “Why don't you just come back over in a season? We plan a grand banquet in Saniya, for the winter solstice, a festival to last an entire three days. I'm sure you would enjoy it a lot. You can bring your wife and children too of course. I already planned this in my head, but a lot of lords have expressed similar desires, so I made it official only a little while ago.”

“Oh, that is glorious news. If the food then is as delicious as this lemon, I am sure to be there, come rain or hail.” Macuy tried to hold a calm smile, but he could feel the corners of his mouth creep up further and further, at the thoughts of ever greater marvels from the king of the south. For the first time in a while, the noble lord felt like a little kid again, giddy at the great treasures the world had to offer him.   

However, he wouldn't go overboard and lose himself at the mere thought of food. Instead, he understood quite well that if he wanted to secure the best trade deals for his house, he would have to retain a good relationship with the young king. Since King Corco seemed to enjoy political talks over food, the banquets of Saniya were bound to become the political center of the south. Reminded of the harsh reality of the political arena, his smile soon turned quiet.

“King Corco, would not offer an invite to all the lords of the south, would it?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“You're worried about the easterners, huh?” Corco grinned, and pointed back to the side, where Epunamo Villca, the villain of today's events, still sat isolated from the other lords.

“After all, they have caused great trouble, and they have disrespected the high office of king. I believe our times would be more enjoyable without them,” Macuy hinted.

“True, but if I don't invite them, don't I essentially announce that the king gives up dominion over the eastern estates? I'd rather not leave things in the hands of Cashan, to be honest. They can't even take care of their own sons, how could they guarantee a future for the south?”

Under the laughter of the warriors and lords within earshot, the king raised his shoulders to reinforce his mockery.

“Anyways, whether or not I invite them, I doubt any Villca lords will show up next time, not after the disaster of today. Epunamo is by himself, and probably the only lord who isn't having fun, while Uchu has already left.”

“Ah, I wondered where the bandit went. What uncouth behavior to disappear without a word.” Angered by the thought of the commoner, Lord Macuy only just managed to avoid spitting on the floor in the king's presence. However, the king waved off the complaint, without any intention to slander a man in absence.

“Aah, no, it's fine, really. I did meet him in a side corridor earlier. I just wanted to avoid a scene. Not to worry, I think we could reconcile our differences and he left on a good note.”

“In that case, I wish lord Uchu a safe return, and may he stay with his own,” the lord said, and dug his spoon deep into the fake lemon.