Chapter 657: Jealousy Brews Best In The Morning [Bonus - ]

Chapter 657: Jealousy Brews Best In The Morning [Bonus Chapter]

"Also... The salmon was salted with coastal sea-crust..."

Silas picked up his spoon and took a deep hot sip of the dashi.

The rich savory broth hit his palate, kelp and ginger and the velvet fat of the pork belly, and his eyes closed.

"Mm..."

His shoulders dropped an inch and the line between his brows let go.

’It’s exactly as I thought!’

Martha looked away fast, because her face had done something foolish and if Silas saw it, he wouldn’t stop teasing her.

Silas on the other hand ate three spoonfuls before he could stop himself.

’Gods this is good...’

Nearly two weeks of ration biscuits and cold canned stew in a burning desert had left him with a hollow ache he hadn’t had the words for, and this bowl of soup filled him whole.

’I didn’t have time to cook at all, that’s how busy it was out there.’

Silas was happy though...There was a table, a warm kitchen, a little sister arguing about locusts and a rude houseguest stealing his fish.

"Incredible," Silas said, and dug into the rice with sudden, ravenous enthusiasm. "Martha, seriously..."

"The salmon skin is so crispy it sounds like potato chips!" Lia announced, holding up her empty bowl with a triumphant grin.

"The seasoning on the rolled egg is remarkably balanced," Penelope added, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "The sugar is restrained, which lets the stock dominate... It’s an exceptional execution."

"A culinary triumph!" Harper beamed, polishing off her second piece of fish with shameless gusto. "If House Whitmore could produce a cook with half your talent, Martha, we would never have had to conquer three trade leagues just to secure decent kitchen imports!"

’Conquer trade leagues?’

Surrounded by the praise, Martha’s cheeks went a bright honest crimson.

She ducked her head and smoothed her apron with flustered fingers.

"You flatter me, all of you. It’s only a simple morning spread... I’m overjoyed it pleases the table."

Clack!

Penelope set her chopsticks down, followed instantly by Lia, who swallowed the last pickled radish nearly whole.

"Done!" Lia leaped out of her chair and grabbed her satchel. "Penelope, hurry! If we catch the early tram we can compare the Blessed Land box art before homeroom!"

Martha glanced at the antique clock and slid back into household-commander mode, crossing to the key rack.

She lifted a heavy emerald-enameled fob.

"No tram this morning, girls... I’ll drive you to the academy gates in the Vell-965 as usual. After that I have errands, and the cruiser has room for them."

"Oooooh!" Lia’s eyes turned into giant stars. "We’re taking the emerald land-yacht?! Tommy from the track team is going to explode on the sidewalk!"

’When did you get so excited about trying to impress boys...?’ Silas thought with his eye twitching, was there some specific reason Lia was doing this?

Penelope lifted her chin two inches, a faint, haughty smirk touching her lips.

"A sensible deployment of family assets. Let us proceed."

"Hold on a second, Martha," Silas called, setting his tea bowl down.

She paused at the foyer archway and turned back. "Yes, Master Silas?"

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned forward on his elbows.

"Yesterday, while I was lying on the sofa, I logged into the Europa trade exchange and ordered a few crates of specialized imports... The exact cosmetic formulas, maritime lavender soaps, triple-milled saponin bars, and alabaster bath salts that a close friend of mine uses."

Martha blinked. "Soaps, Master?"

"The highest grade available." He took a folded slip of parchment with a consignment code scribbled across the top out of his pocket and held it out. "The shipment cleared customs at the southern transit hub about twenty minutes ago... After you drop the girls off, go down to Gate Four, hand this manifest to the supervisor, and they’ll load the crates into the cargo boot."

He looked right at her, and his expression softened into one that was warm and earnest.

"There are six crates, Martha. Two have silver seals... Those are for you."

Martha froze with her hand halfway to the paper.

"For me, Master?" she whispered. "No. Master Silas, that’s unnecessary, Celestial saponin and alabaster salts are priced at thousands of credits an ounce and they’re meant for consorts and high lords. A bar of tallow soap from the grocer is more than enough for a housekeeper—"

Pat!

He rose from his chair, closed the distance in two easy strides, and set his broad warm palm on top of her hair.

He ruffled it gently, exactly the way he did with Lia when she was being stubborn with his eyes crinkling.

"Stop that nonsense, Martha. You get up at four every morning to make sure my little sister eats warm rice... You wash my clothes, you run the wards, you keep this place from falling apart while I’m in my territory so no, you’re not ’just a maid.’... You’re part of this house."

He pressed the slip into her trembling fingers.

"Take the soaps and soak in the tub for an hour tonight... You’ve earned it ten times over."

Martha stood completely rigid.

A fierce wave of heat climbed her neck and flooded her cheeks, her ears as well as the bridge of her nose.

Her heart hammered like a trapped sparrow as she looked up into his relaxed, handsome face, and her dignified composure turned to dust.

"I... I..."

She folded at the waist in a bow so deep and fast that the hem of her apron nearly brushed the floor.

"I shall see to the logistics immediately, Master Silas! Th-thank you! Thank you profoundly!"

Clutching the paper to her chest, the dignified head housekeeper spun on her velvet slippers and scurried toward the foyer like a startled rabbit with her face hot enough to fry an egg.

Silas let out a low chuckle and crossed his arms.

Lia bounded over to tug on the sleeve of his pajamas. "Bye-bye, Big Brother!"

He leaned down, and she planted a loud, sticky kiss on his right cheek.

"Be good in class," he said, tapping her nose. "Don’t use the signed figurine box to gamble for snacks..."

"No promises!" she chirped, and ran after Martha.

Penelope stopped in front of him, adjusting the strap of her satchel.

She glanced at Silas, then past him at her older sister, who was leaning against the table with an amused, feline smirk, and her sharp violet eyes narrowed.

"Goodbye, Silas," she said smoothly then she locked onto Harper with the merciless judgment of an inquisitor. "And, Sister, please do not make any babies while we are gone..."

Silence dropped over the kitchen like an anvil.

Harper’s smirk vanished as a blinding shade of magenta exploded from her collarbones to the tips of her ears.

"PENELOPE MARIE WHITMORE!" She slammed both palms onto the table, her violet hair flaring with static. "WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT?! WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT?! YOU LITTLE BRAT, GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT—"

"I am departing for my education," Penelope announced in a flat immaculate monotone, already turning on her heel.

The heavy cedar door swung shut behind her with a solid thud.

"I’M GROUNDING HER FOR THREE MONTHS!" Harper fumed, pacing along the hardwood and fanning her burning cheeks with both hands while Silas leaned on the counter while clutching his ribs. "No allowance! No library privileges! The audacity of that child! She doesn’t even know what she’s saying!"

’I thought she would use this as a chance to tease me but I’m glad she’s back to normal...’

"She said what she said," Silas wheezed. "Very clearly."

VROOOOOOOOM!

Outside, the Vell-965’s twin turbines purred to life with a low rumble, and the iron gates groaned open along their oiled tracks.

The big emerald land-cruiser slid down the cobblestone driveway, floating over the ruts without a single vibration reaching the cabin, and swung out into the morning lane.

Silas walked out into the foyer and pushed the front door open.

The air hit his face as he stood on the landing running a hand through his messy hair.

’Right... Martha’s helping me out, there’s barely anything I can do like this.’

He took two steps toward the wrought-iron gate and stopped.

Through the thinning fog of the private lane, two figures were walking side by side with their footsteps steady and unhurried on the asphalt.

’Ah...’

To a lot of people, they were pretty well known and it was the same for Silas, he would have known those silhouettes anywhere on Earth.

’Why are they here?’

Walking on the left was Seraphina Bloom.

Her crimson hair tumbled in loose wild waves over her shoulders, glowing like rubies in the early light.

Instead of her tailored suits or high-collared combat silks, she wore a big oversized white button-down, the cuffs rolled carelessly up her forearms, and loose black trousers that pooled over her leather loafers.

It looked absurdly casual on a Bloom heiress, like she’d grabbed whatever was on the floor on her way out the door.

...Sera still looked good in it too.

Beside her, tall and easy and golden, walked Valerius Sterling.

His blond hair caught the sun like polished brass as he wore a charcoal vest over an open-collared cream shirt, and a warm lazy grin sat on his handsome face.

As they crossed the threshold of the open gate, Valerius spotted Silas and raised a hand.

"Yo, Silas!" His deep voice carried across the courtyard. "Looking lively as ever! I hear you’ve been busy playing house!"

Silas lifted a hand back, a faint smile touching his mouth. "Valerius."

They hadn’t spoken since the aftermath of the Ititius Secret Realm.

Silas had barely seen the idiot throughout the Tournament Of Succession, and seeing the blond man strolling around in one piece was a small welcome relief.

’Still,’ he thought, shifting into sharp focus as they walked past the iron pillars, ’why are they here at seven in the morning with no escort too.’

They should have brought the butler of last time... It would have been a lot better.

Before he could ask, Seraphina broke into a brisk purposeful stride.

She didn’t look at the garden as her red eyes went straight to Silas, to his wrecked hair, his rumpled violet pajamas and his tired face with the focus of a hawk who had spotted prey.

She closed the distance in three long steps and threw both arms around his neck.

"Oof—" Silas grunted, slippers skidding half an inch across the flagstones as her momentum hit him.

She buried her face in the curve of his neck for one greedy heartbeat, breathing him in with a small shaky shudder then she pulled back just far enough to look up at him with her red eyes looking bright and dilated.

"Good morning, handsome," Seraphina purred, low and smoky.

She reached up and threaded her fingers through his messy dark hair, brushing it back from his forehead in slow, deliberate strokes.

"Look at you... Your hair’s gotten longer since we last saw each other, It suits you, Silas. Makes you look remarkably dangerous, just like I wanted."

Silas raised an eyebrow, his hands settling lightly on her waist to steady her.

"Sera, what are you—"

"I decided," she said, her voice dropping, "that you deserve a proper reward for surviving the rifts."

He barely had time to blink.

PULL!

Her fingers tightened in the hair at the base of his skull, and she hauled his head down.

SMACK!

She kissed him.

It wasn’t a polite peck of greeting... how could anyone expect Sera to do such a thing...? When she did something, she liked doing it with all of her might and the situation didn’t change now.

The kiss was hot and a little fierce with her soft lips pressing hard against his, her tongue slipped past his teeth as her free arm locked around his neck and pulled her flush against his chest.

SMACK!

Silas froze with his eyes wide.

That lasted one heartbeat then his hand slid from her waist to the small of her back as his eyes closed and he kissed her back.

’Kissing me out of nowhere...? When did that start?’

However he would naturally lean into it, the first was to get back at Harper for not only licking his face all night but teasing him about it in the morning and as for the second, he wanted to tease Sera more.

"Mhm~"

Seraphina made a small startled sound against his mouth as her fingers curled tighter in his hair.

’Idiot...! Why are you trying to outdo me?!’

How would he not outdo her... Sera didn’t have any experience in these things at all!

Behind them, in the open doorway of the residence, Harper had just stepped out onto the threshold with a half-eaten honey roll in her fingers.

She froze.

Her jaw dropped and her violet eyes went wide as saucers as the pastry slipped out of her limp hand and landed on the limestone doormat with a soft pathetic plop.

Right in the middle of the driveway, locked in a mouth-to-mouth embrace with Silas, was Seraphina Bloom.

And without breaking the kiss, without letting go of a single millimeter of Silas’s mouth, Seraphina slowly opened her red eyes.

Her gaze slid over his shoulder and locked onto Harper’s horrified face as her lips curved against Silas’s in a victorious smirk.

’He’s mine...’ She thought as her red eyes began burning with triumph.

’...you jealous bitch.’