"Royal Chief?" Delphine called out hesitantly as she stepped into the Royal Kitchen.
Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, knowing that she was about to face the man who had humiliated her just this morning.
Legion walked beside her silently.
They were here to follow the Empress's orders... to claim the food supply allocated to the Empress Palace.
The Royal Chief's gaze snapped toward them.
His expression twisted into a look of pure disdain, his sharp eyes glinting with arrogance.
An old man, proud and untouchable, one of the longest-serving Royal Chefs in the palace.
His ability, Gourmet Mirage, allowed him to enhance the taste and appearance of food, making even the most bland meals seem delectable.
It was why the Royal Children tolerated him... why he had kept his place for so long.
Here, in the Royal Kitchen, he was king.
"What do you want?" he sneered.
Delphine swallowed hard.
"We've come to collect the food supply for the Empress Palace, as per Her Majesty's request."
The Royal Chief's expression twisted with disgust.
"Didn't I tell you already?" he spat. "There is no food allocated for the Empress Palace this month."
His lip curled cruelly.
"She's too fat anyway. She won't die if she skips a month of eating."
Delphine flinched but stood her ground.
"Her Majesty instructed us to take from the Vaelundis food supply."
The Royal Chief's eyes flared with rage.
"Are you stupid?" he shouted. "I said no!"
Then, he grinned, his gaze dark and hungry as he raked his eyes over Delphine.
"But…" he murmured, stepping closer, "if you do what I asked of you earlier, I might be generous enough to give you some scraps."
Delphine's face turned pale.
Her stomach churned with disgust, but before she could react...
"She'll do it."
Delphine gasped, snapping her head toward Legion in horror.
Her brother stood calmly, his expression empty, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
"The Empress ordered us to do whatever it takes to get the food supply this month," Legion continued. "If Delphine is the price, then she will pay it."
Delphine's breath hitched.
Her body trembled.
The Royal Chief smirked, amused.
"Hah! And why should I trust you?" he scoffed. "What if I give you the food and you never come back?"
Legion's gaze remained sharp.
"Take me to the food supply room," he said. "I'll collect the rations myself. After that, I'll leave Delphine behind."
The Royal Chief narrowed his eyes, assessing them both.
Delphine kept her head lowered, her hands trembling.
The Chief's smile widened.
"Fine," he said smugly. "But remember... if you betray me, I'll report you to the Crown Princess. Let's see if you can escape execution."
They followed the Royal Chief to a large storage building behind the kitchen.
The moment they stepped inside, both Delphine and Legion froze.
It was massive.
The storeroom was half the size of the palace's ballroom, filled with countless sacks of food, crates of fruits, barrels of drinking water, and supplies enough to feed thousands.
The air was cool, preserving the food due to the natural freezing climate of the kingdom.
But what struck them the most...
Was the sheer excess of it all.
So much food.
And yet, the commoners outside the palace were starving.
The people of Aquilonis would be grateful for even a piece of bread, and yet the Royal Family hoarded more food than they could ever consume.
It was sickening.
"Take one sack," the Chief ordered. "Whatever you can carry in that sack is the Empress's supply for the whole month."
Legion stepped forward, his hands tightening into fists, but he obeyed.
And then, the Chief turned back to Delphine, his eyes dark with desire.
He reached out, lifting her chin with his filthy fingers, forcing her to look at him.
"Now, your part of the deal," he whispered.
Delphine's breath hitched.
Her entire body went cold.
"Here? In the food supply room?" she asked.
The Chief grinned.
"Don't worry, no one comes here except me."
He leaned in, inhaling the scent of her skin, and she felt her stomach twist in revulsion.
Her eyes flickered toward Legion.
A silent message.
A slight nod.
The Chief was too distracted to notice.
"Royal Chief, I just have something to say first," Delphine murmured, stepping back slightly.
The Chief's face darkened, annoyed at the interruption.
But when Delphine gently placed her hand against his cheek, his irritation melted away, replaced by something sickeningly eager.
"Oh? What is it?" he asked, grinning.
Delphine smiled.
And whispered...
"Nightmare."
The moment the word left her lips...
The Royal Chief's entire world twisted.
The storeroom disappeared.
He was suddenly surrounded... by faceless figures.
Men and women holding knives, their expressions blank, their postures stiff.
A hand suddenly grasped his arm.
He turned...
And saw a woman with gaping, black eye sockets, her mouth stretched into an unnatural, eerie grin.
The Chief screamed.
He stumbled back, but his legs gave out.
The faceless figures closed in.
Their laughter echoed, distorted and wrong.
Then...
He realized he was no longer standing.
He was tied down.
His arms and legs were strapped to a table.
His torso bare, his chest exposed.
And the faceless figures were standing around him, holding knives...
And slicing into his skin.
Cutting through his flesh as if he were a gourmet dish.
His blood pooled beneath him.
His screams were music to them.
And the worst part...
He could feel everything.
"N-No... !"
He thrashed, his eyes wide with horror.
"S-STOP... !!"
But his pleas were drowned by the eerie, echoing laughter surrounding him.
In the real world, Delphine stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the Royal Chief as he collapsed onto the ground.
His body convulsed violently, his mouth wide open in a silent scream.
Trapped.
Trapped inside his own nightmare.
His twisted, agonized wails echoed through the storage room, growing weaker, until they became nothing more than a desperate whisper.
Delphine finally exhaled, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
For so long... all her life... she had been afraid.
Powerless.
Weak.
But now...
She was never going to be powerless again.
"I can see it," Delphine murmured, still watching as the Chief whimpered on the floor.
"The nightmare he's seeing… Shadows are eating him alive. It should be terrifying… But why don't I feel afraid?"
Legion, who had stepped closer, glanced at her before shifting his gaze back to the quivering old man.
"Your mind must be protected," he stated. "If you are the one casting the nightmare, then it only makes sense that you wouldn't be affected by it."
They waited.
They watched.
Would the Chief be able to escape the nightmare on his own?
No.
He remained there... trembling, whispering, his body curled up in terror.
He was too weak to fight it.
Finally, after a long pause, Delphine spoke the word:
"Daylight."
The nightmare broke.
The Royal Chief's body stilled...
And then, instead of waking up...
He fainted.
A heavy silence settled over the storage room.
Then...
They heard footsteps approaching from the outside.
"Hold my hand."
Legion's voice was unfazed.
Delphine grabbed his outstretched hand just as the footsteps grew louder.
Holding the sack of food supply in one hand and Delphine's hand in the other, Legion uttered a single word...
"Teleport."
And in an instant...
They vanished.
The moment they disappeared, the storage room doors swung open, revealing Royal Guards and Knights who had come running after hearing the bloodcurdling screams.
But they found only an unconscious man lying on the ground, his face twisted in horror.
Legion and Delphine reappeared in the middle of the Empress Palace kitchen.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Delphine sank into a chair and burst into tears.
Legion immediately crouched beside her, his usual cold demeanor melting into concern.
"Hey. What's wrong?"
Delphine wiped at her tears, shaking her head.
Then, through soft, trembling sobs, she spoke.
"How can we ever repay her?"
She looked up at her brother, her eyes brimming with emotion.
"This gift… This is no ordinary blessing, Legion. Because of her, I don't have to be afraid anymore. I can defend myself now. How do I even begin to thank her?"
Legion didn't answer right away.
Instead, he pulled his sister into a rare embrace, letting her calm down.
"We just have to do what she asks of us," he said after a moment.
"That's all she wants."
Delphine nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as she wiped away the last of her tears.
And this time...
When she smiled, it reached her eyes.
"You're right," she said, standing up.
"And I should start by making her something good to eat. She hasn't eaten yet… I wonder if I could use the Malvera fruit to make a pie. Maybe she'll like it."
Legion smirked, setting the sack of food onto the counter.
"And you don't have to worry about getting the Empress's budget anymore," he said.
Delphine paused, looking at him questioningly.
Legion's smirk widened.
"I can just teleport directly into the storage room and take whatever you need."
Delphine's eyes widened, but before she could question him, he continued...
"So don't hold back. Cook whatever you want for her. If you need ingredients, just tell me."
For the first time since they started working at the Empress Palace...
They worked happily.
They didn't have to worry about running out of supplies.
They didn't have to fear their next meal.
Delphine just hoped...
That in her own small way, she could repay the Empress for what she had given them.