by Dr. D
Greed--An inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs
Dezi was well accustomed to what the palace looked like on the outside--tall, apart, superior, and untouchable.
Like most people from the bottom of society, he had never even dreamed of a day that he would witness the glory within.
But one day, the impossible suddenly fell upon him; he was brought into the palace and asked to be the pet of an expressionless and peculiar prince.
After the initial anger, Dezi slowly realized how easy it was for him to obtain money from the prince with the least amount of effort. Accomplishments, women, and status had never come so easily to him.
When Dezi realized that the prince, who would listen to everything he said, was a rightful heir to the crown, his greed swelled like never before.
However, Dezi only saw the palace shining like a gold mine in the sunlight. He didn’t know that it also buried calamity, hatred, and treachery in the shadows. Behind the prince’s oddity lay the deepest and ugliest secret of the royal family.
As the battle for the crown intensified, dark, sinister clouds gathered above this splendid resident.
What will happen to Dezi, who had got lost in the illusion of his ego?
Will he ever turn around and really look into the affection in the prince’s eyes?
Warning: Dark and disturbing back stories. Contains minor m/f sex theme.
Chapter 1
Dezi was running out of time.
He glanced up at the window and clenched the knife in his hand. His fingers were cold and wrinkled from the bucket of iced oysters between his feet.
“I bet the celebration is over by now.” Most kitchen workers had dropped their work and started chatting.
“Yeah, the good smells from the private kitchens are gone.”
“I am starving.”
“Happy Dragon Festival,” someone said sarcastically.
“Why do we only get to be in the back kitchen?”
The angry comment was followed by silence. Almost everyone knew the reason, but no one cared to spell it out.
Dezi kept his head low, picked another oyster from the bucket, and cracked it open with the knife and his numb fingers.
“Who got into the private kitchens?” Someone broke the silence, and chatter resumed. Gossip was exchanged in lower voices. So-and-so had this secret connection, and such-and-such family came up with the money to bribe.
“Perhaps next time,” Dezi heard someone say, and he pursed his lips.
There was no way he could get a chance like this again.
The Dragon Festival happened once every five years. It was the only time that the royals would come out of the mighty palace, host a banquet in this arena, and celebrate the prosperity of the kingdom with their subjects.
Almost everyone here were culinary students. They signed up for this work because several famous chefs would make a rare presence here working on the banquet. If they could assist a chef today, it would be an impressive experience for them to kick-start their careers; some might even dream of getting hired on the spot.
But only a few extra helpers were needed in the private kitchens. Most of the workers couldn’t even get near there.
“Lisa got in, right?” The person sitting next to Dezi leaned over.
The knife in Dezi’s hand slipped, and a thin line of blood appeared on his finger. Dezi breathed in and frowned. “I don’t know.”
The person looked Dezi up and down and turned his head back.
Dezi eyed his red and wrinkled fingers and sucked on the thin cut. Pricking pain dissipated the numbness.
Dezi dropped the knife in the bucket and scrubbed his face with his cold hands.
Suddenly, the manager popped open the door. “Somebody go to the front and clean out some of the empty tables!” the large man yelled.
An idea entered Dezi’s mind, and he jumped up immediately. “I will go. Sir.”
This might be his last chance.
The manager looked at Dezi and frowned at his worn-out garments. Dezi’s hand clenched into fists by his thighs, but he looked up and grinned apologetically. “I am very good at cleaning, sir.”
A few workers winced at Dezi’s smile, as if they couldn’t stand his lack of dignity.
The manager scanned Dezi again, nodded, and waved his hands dismissively. Dezi took off his dirty apron and hurried out of the back kitchen. “Thank you. Sir.”
“Don’t talk to anyone!” the manager yelled as Dezi went past him.
Dezi rolled his eyes, which the manager couldn’t see, while answering politely, “Of course. Sir.”
Dezi jogged, and then started running once no one could see him. The banquet could only host so many people. The nobles took the majority of the seating, and only the outermost layer was for the wealthy merchants. Even if they didn’t even have a good view of the arena, being invited to the festival was still the highest status symbol. Only the wealthiest and most resourceful of them could get in.
As Dezi entered the outer seating of the arena, he could see that there were still many people enjoying their desserts and having conversations. Dezi slowed down, kept his head low, and brought his shoulders close.
Even at this distance, it was still clear that the celebration was over.
Dezi bit his lips and kept walking toward the inner circle around the stage; he didn’t have much time.
The plates for the nobles were different. If he could sneak in and got some of those plates, he might just be able to get into the private kitchen.
As Dezi got closer to the stage, the decorations became more and more elaborate, but fewer and fewer noble guests were still sitting down on the table. Dezi’s heart pounded as he slipped into an empty private dining room. He bent down to check and saw the plates had silver trim and a blue mark that looked like a helmet. Must be a noble family that had won honors in the battle fields. Dezi let out a breath, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and started to pick up the used dishes.
Dezi’s hands hesitated when he looked down at the leftover meat plates.
The succulent meat was pink in the center and soaked in thick, sweet sauce. These were meats from magical beasts, cooked by famous chefs.
The young man swallowed and glanced up at the open door.
There were a few well-dressed servants bustling about outside, but nobody seemed to notice him.
Dezi swallowed again at the mouth-watering aroma in the air, but shook his head and stacked the dishes together. He couldn’t risk letting someone seeing him eating the leftovers. He would hate to be scolded over it. It would be too shameful and pathetic.
Just when Dezi was ready to carry a full tray of dishes back to the kitchen, someone suddenly yanked hard on his arm, turning him around.
The delicate china slipped out of Dezi’s grip, fell to the floor with a loud crash, and broke.
“What the fu-” Dezi almost jumped.
But he shut his mouth as soon as he saw the stranger’s shoes. This pair of black leather boots was probably worth more than his life.
Cold sweat immediately came down Dezi’s back. He looked up timidly and was ready to get down to his knees to apologize.
It was a handsome young man looking back at him with a blank expression. Dezi’s gaze tried to look at his thick lashes but was instantly sucked into a pair of pitch black eyes--they held nothing inside but bottomless darkness, stretching farther and deeper than the starless night sky.
For a moment, that pure darkness captivated him, and Dezi couldn’t help but wanted to search for something in the void of those eyes, and he forgot about the situation.
It was not
until the young man started to grab Dezi’s face that Dezi was able to snap out of it and noticed how exceptionally well-dressed this young man was. Combined with his smooth black hair and his flawless features, there was no doubt that he had a noble bloodline.
Dezi felt like that that he should be shaking with fear for offending a noble, but somehow, that wasn’t his body’s reaction.
“I am deeply sorry. My Lord.” Dezi frowned over his calmness and tried to bow.
But the odd young man didn’t let go of Dezi’s jaw. Instead, he brought him closer and examined his face as if Dezi had a horn on his forehead.
"Baba?" he said.
“Pardon me?” Dezi said.
"Baba," the young man said again as if that was Dezi’s name. His gaze moved up, and used his other hand to stroke Dezi’s hair.
Dezi raised his eyebrows at the young man’s behavior.
“You … you are funny in the head, aren’t you?” Dezi mumbled uncertainly, and then cracked out a smile.
Dezi peeled off the hand on his jaw.
The young man obediently released his grip but grabbed onto Dezi’s hand instead. He looked down at their hands and studied them for a few seconds, and then his warm fingertips rubbed across the thin cut on Dezi’s finger.
Dezi’s lips curved up more without him noticing.
“All right now …” Dezi was going to help him to find his family, but a deep voice from behind startled him.
“Your Highness.” An older nobleman came into the private room.
Dezi trembled and dropped the young man’s hand like it was a burning coal.
The nobleman walked past Dezi and said to the young man after bowing, "Please. This is not Baba."
Dezi bowed his head to his thighs and clenched his pants with his fists.
Did he offend a prince?
Dezi blinked nervously at the thought, but his mind was blank with fear. Before he could try to apologize, he saw a group of nobles walking toward him, and in the middle was shockingly her highness, Princess Tatiana.
Dezi felt weak in the knees and dropped down to the ground with a bow.
He saw the princess's elegant dress in front of him, bringing a flowery fragrance to his face.
Dezi heard her whisper, “Is Baba a person this time?” He didn’t know if she was talking to the young man or muttering to herself.
A manager hastily came in, apologizing profusely, and asked if Dezi had offended her highness.
Dezi tensed up at the moment of silence. But luckily, the princess spoke the next second. “I do not think so.”
Dezi could barely swallow. The tone of her voice was hard to interpret.
But the manager seemed to get the idea that the princess wanted Dezi to be out of her sight, so he signaled Dezi to move his ass with a stressed expression. Dezi bowed, his forehead hitting the floor, and ran off without looking up.
"Acheron. I will find you a better one." Behind him, Dezi could hear Princess Tatiana gently coax the young man.
After this, Dezi was scolded and thrown out without a copper coin in pay. He never got a chance to be close to the private kitchen. He cursed under his breath and kicked the trash bins on the way out, but there was nothing else he could do.
Chapter 2
“Don’t leave any reserves!”
“Of course not. Sir,” Dezi looked back and promised to the man who was pacing behind him.
He was holding a low-level bone craft, which was made out of a skeleton of a limu fish. Limu fish was a common magical beast that could produce water. The bone craft was drawing the magical energy in Dezi’s body and filling the massive bathtubs with fresh water like a live limu fish.
A person’s magical ability was sorted in five magical ratings, ranged from A to E. It was determined upon birth, and could be accurately assessed around two years of age with a testing gem. Dezi’s rating was D, the second worst one. It didn’t take long until the limu had drained nearly all the energy in him, but the large public bath was still half-empty.
Private bathtubs and toilets were luxuries reserved for the nobles. Most citizens relied on public bathhouses and public toilets.
Dezi had started working on his first part-time job before sunrise. The underground furnaces weren’t stuffed yet, so the room was cold. The keeper who was watch him soon left, rubbing his hands on his arms. As soon as the keeper was out of the sight, Dezi rolled his eyes, unfastened his canvas bag, and filled his own bottle with water from the Lima. He stuffed the bottle back into the bag, went to find the owner, and got paid three coppers.
As Dezi walked out, another young man stepped in for his shift. They exchanged a look, knowing that even if the limu fish was the cheapest bone craft, this bathhouse still would rather ask their workers to start working early than get another one to fill the tub more quickly.
When Dezi got close to his tenement, the sun had just risen. His stomach growled loudly. Dezi frowned and rubbed his stomach until the skin was red and hot, as if it could counter the hunger that had started to hurt. Using his magical energy always made him extra hungry.
“Hey, Dezi,” a neighbor called him. “Someone is at your front door.”
“Damn.” Dezi came to a halt. “I told them I would pay; it is not even time yet.”
The neighbor had a weird expression on his face. “No, I really don’t think …”
But Dezi didn’t hear him. His mind was full of regrets that he spent so much effort getting the job in the dragon festival. He had to bride his way in like everybody else, but it used up all his savings and he didn’t even get paid.
It wasn’t worth it at all.
“Thanks for letting me know.” Dezi turned around and headed out of the building.
Dirty, narrow alleys led to clear open roads as Dezi headed toward the magic school in the city. He ran past the stone walls and saw the two significant buildings that made up the school with the arena in the back.
The building on the right stood proudly on the soil, with its perfect gray stone walls and oversized windows. It held the study of magical plants. The most well-known application was magic-enhancing pills and healing pills.
The structure on the left was intimidatingly tall and had two impressive towers. It held the study of bone craft. By utilizing magical beasts’ bones correctly, the bone craft would preserve the original powers of the creature, but turned it into an obedient machine.
The making of both bone craft and essence pills not only required study and practice, but also a high level of natural control of the magical element, which meant that all students in those two studies need to have a C rating.
Dezi ran past the two big manors without stopping, and there was a smaller building behind the doom of the arena. It was the culinary school.
The meats of the magical beasts could replenish one’s magical energy better than other foods. The cooking of magical beasts was also nothing like normal household cooking that could be down with a kitchen range and fire. The process required a good control of, and a stable supply of, magical energy.
But all the beauty of culinary arts was for the enjoyment of the taste buds, rather than practicality in battles. Thus, it would never be held to the same high standards as the other two studies.
Dezi’s fingers had started to tremble from hunger by the time he jogged into the culinary building. He panted with his hands on his knees, and gulped down water from his bottle.
He looked at the sun and knew he still had time to sneak into the school kitchen to cook his breakfast.
As he walked, he ran into someone he knew. The petite girl had a nice figure and sexy, full lips. Although not always the case, people with higher magic rating tend to have darker hair colors. Being a brunette made her looked like she could be from one of the richer families around town.
“Lisa,” Dezi greeted her.
Lisa glanced at Dezi lightly with her large brown eyes and went back talking to the group of friends that she was with.
Dezi twitched his mo
uth and walked behind them silently. He knew that they thought that he was below them.
“What do you think this is for?” Lisa asked her friends eagerly.
“I don’t know; maybe someone caught a noble’s eye?” the girls giggled.
Dezi learned from their conversation that some butlers came to the culinary building and the principles called in all the records of the kitchen helpers. They believed that they were secretly looking for a student who had helped out in the Dragon Festival.
Dezi eyed Lisa and looked away. He did know that Lisa got into the private kitchen. He also knew that she got in because of Chris, the man that had his arm around her. She was with him all night before the Dragon Festival. Loud enough to keep Dezi awake.
Dezi couldn’t afford a room on his own, even though the tenement he lived in have some of the cheapest rents in the city. Most young people couldn’t and large families were often cramped into a few small rooms. Dezi didn’t have a family to rely on so he did the cleaning and cooking for Lisa and her parents to sleep in their kitchen at night.
Dezi had liked Lisa since the beginning and had tried numerous times to flirt with her, but Lisa had always looked at him down her nose.
Lisa and her friends kept on talking and headed to the arena, but Dezi took the turn that led to the kitchen. The only thing he cared about at the moment was his empty stomach.
He got into one of the empty kitchens and checked the kitchen range. The maid hadn’t cleaned it yet, so there were some burnt wood pieces in there from last night. Dezi smiled, poured all the water from his bottle into a pot, and lit up the wood. He rummaged in his bag, took out a bag of table scraps, and dumped them into the water.
Dezi hugged himself and stood by the door. He shifted his feet, impatient between waiting for his food to cook and checking at the hallway to see if the cleaning maid was coming. Eventually, the water boiled and a loose, watery stew was cooked.
Dezi grinned in relief and took it off the range.
It only had a bit of oil flowing on the top and some content just covering the bottom of the pot. The large amount of warm liquid helped to smooth his fatigue and gave Dezi a false sense of fullness. Dezi’s body had learned to rely on it until dinner. Dezi drank the last drop, cleaned the pot, and headed to the lecture rooms.