Chapter 24
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Second Eclipse (2)
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Silence enveloped the House Noir mansion.
Precisely speaking,
only the servants' quarters set aside in one corner of the mansion.
I turned my body and gazed at the mansion's main building.
Sure enough.
A few lights remained on, the area still noisy.
'Don't those people ever sleep?'
My sister's studio,
my eldest brother's office,
and my little brother's lab showed no sign of the lights going out.
At least my younger sister's room, two years my junior, was pitch black.
'If she stayed up rampaging too, that'd be a headache...'
I clicked my tongue at my owl-like siblings.
Of course, it wasn't something for me, who had slipped out of the mansion at 3 a.m., to say.
Still, I lived a more proper life than my siblings.
A desirable routine of sleeping late and waking early.
Honestly, staying up until this late hour was rare for me.
Unlike my siblings, I was usually asleep by 1 a.m. at the latest.
'Ugh, I'm exhausted.'
I slowly lifted my head to gaze at the sky.
The full moon shining vividly in the night sky was dazzlingly bright.
'...Still gotta steal it.'
The old man was surely fast asleep by now.
Recalling the Head Chef's smile from that day, I lightly stretched my body.
Due to his sudden departure from the kitchen,
there were recipes he hadn't been able to pass on, leaving regrets with the old man—
all I had to do was steal them and fulfill it in his place.
That was my way of repaying him for all the delicious food he'd made since I was a baby.
I muffled my footsteps and entered the servants' quarters.
Exaggerating a bit, it felt like my own master bedroom.
I'd been in and out hundreds of times, so I could find my way even with my eyes closed.
'Here it is. The Head Chef's room.'
Reaching the door, I carefully turned the handle.
As expected, there was no lock at all.
'Gotta have this much guts to serve a lifetime in a thief family.'
Admiring the bold confidence befitting his years, I cautiously stepped inside.
A regular breathing sound echoed in the room.
To be precise, a roar like a steam locomotive was emanating.
"Kroooaaar... kuh... hack..."
"...Phew, he probably didn't even hear the door open."
If even my mutter was drowned out by the snoring, this was shaping up to be the worst theft imaginable.
Letting out a short sigh, I reached out toward the old man.
The moment my hand extended, the moonlight gathered in the room seeped into me.
This theft—
a precious treasure containing one man's lifetime.
But it was a legacy that would never shine again.
'I'll put it to good use, old man.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Steal Head Chef Austin's 'Cooking Skill'. The moonlight filling the bedroom vanished for a brief instant.
In that split-second darkness—
an invisible force extracted the Head Chef's cooking skill and placed it in my palm.
At that moment—
the heavy sensation in both hands made my knees buckle involuntarily.
'Hold on. This is too much.'
The moment I straightened my knees, my body swayed.
It hadn't been like this even when I stole Grand Duke Eliad's judgment.
Now that it was in my hands, I fully realized its weight.
Decades of dedication to making even tastier dishes.
The Head Chef's life, built with passion and sweat, was entirely contained within.
"...You're incredible, old man."
It was a bit hard to hold, but I still smiled.
Because I could partake in the food he'd devoted his life to.
And because having his efforts etched into me felt like an honor.
The sleeping Head Chef's face was utterly peaceful.
Though his snoring was still ear-splittingly loud...
'Don't worry. I won't let something this precious go to waste.'
This would be an incredibly useful ace for me too.
The value of the desserts I made would soar beyond comparison.
At minimum, it came with 50 years of mastery.
Moreover, the Head Chef was a champion who'd swept awards at national cooking competitions.
So, the material rewards would roll in far beyond my imagination.
Assuming I could absorb it all, that is.
Becoming aware of the weight in my hands, a long sigh escaped me.
I didn't need to check the ring to know.
My vessel was far too small to embrace it all.
It was obvious—if I tried to take it all,
I'd gain the cooking skill and lose everything else.
'What to do...'
If he were nearby, I could pull it out and use it bit by bit,
but regrettably, the Head Chef was leaving the mansion soon to spend his remaining years at a small farmhouse on the estate's outskirts.
Fortunately, the compensation period with the Head Chef was generous.
But constantly pulling it in and out while he was here felt like a waste somehow.
'Do I have to absorb the whole thing? Can't I just take part of it? This much seems manageable.'
At that moment—
what I held cracked, and a small piece flowed into me.
A feeling of something foreign entering me.
A chill ran down my spine.
Worried something had gone wrong, I hurriedly checked the ring.
Fortunately, the ring's color was a slightly cloudy white.
I'd accidentally succeeded in partially absorbing it, not the whole thing.
'...This works?'
There was no mention of anything like this in our ancestor's ancient tome.
It only emphasized the risk of overreaching and losing the ability.
"Kuhuh... kuh..."
The Head Chef tossed and turned, flipping the blanket.
I hurriedly returned the unabsorbed remainder and slipped out.
The moment I stepped into the mansion's garden, the sweltering midsummer air enveloped my body.
As I quickly headed to my room, I organized my thoughts.
No matter how much I racked my memory,
there was no mention in our ancestor's tome of being able to take only part of it.
Which meant—
this might be the difference between our ancestor's unique ability and mine.
Our ancestor had to swallow everything whole, but perhaps I could break it into pieces and handle it.
'Maybe it's not a degraded version... but a difference in direction.'
Our ancestor could steal without the moon's restriction,
but I could only do so once a month, on a full moon night.
In terms of opportunity frequency alone, mine was severely disadvantaged.
In exchange, the fact that I could handle only what I needed opened up different possibilities for my ability.
Stability over versatility.
Making only the necessary one truly mine, instead of swallowing everything.
In other words, trading countless opportunities for one sure thing.
'If that's true... I like it much better.'
Because I valued a sure possession over uncertain potential.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As soon as the sun rose, I headed to the kitchen.
To test the 'cooking skill' I'd taken from the Head Chef.
Maybe because it was still early, there weren't many cooks in the kitchen.
"Oh, Fourth Young Master. Did you sleep well?"
"What brings you to the kitchen at this hour...? Hungry? I can whip up some simple soup."
"No. More like, anything I can help with?"
"Help?"
Other nobles wouldn't set foot in a kitchen, it seemed...
But our family was House Noir.
Born far from true nobility.
So the cooks weren't surprised and readily handed me a task.
"Then could you shred some cabbage for me, Young Master?"
"Sure. How should I do it?"
"It's for salad, so thin julienne."
I nodded and picked up the knife on the counter.
"Whoa..."
The feel of the knife in my hand was somehow different.
The sensation of the absorbed piece moving my fingers on its own.
It was like someone else was holding my hand beside me, correcting every motion.
'Amazing.'
I quickly placed the cabbage the cook handed me on the cutting board.
A steady, crisp sound unlike before.
The kitchen knife danced swiftly across the board.
"What..."
The julienning finished in an instant.
The large half-head of cabbage was sliced into thin threads, neatly piled up.
It was definitely me doing it, yet it didn't feel like me.
Dazed, I just stared at my hands.
The nearby cooks gaped, eyes wide.
"Wh-what is this, Young Master?"
"Have you been hanging around the kitchen every day practicing or something?"
"Uh, uh..."
Just in case, I glanced at the ring.
It was subtle, but the inscription was clearer than before.
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"...Ha, jackpot."
The foreign sensation slowly seeped in, assimilating.
At this rate, I could fully make it mine.
From that day on, I holed up in a corner of the kitchen, practicing cooking whenever I was awake.
Chopping with knives,
prepping ingredients,
learning to stir-fry and boil over the fire.
Tasting, adjusting, repeating over and over.
"Head Chef, how do you make beef stew taste good?"
"Ah, to remove the gamey smell from the meat, drain the blood thoroughly and marinate in spices..."
In between, I made time to ask the Head Chef for recipes.
I'd stolen his cooking skill, but not his knowledge.
I could jot down knowledge without House Noir's power.
"Head Chef, mind if I visit often?"
"Hoho, you're always welcome, Young Master."
"Brace yourself. I might come so often it'll get annoying."
Even after the Head Chef left the mansion, I visited him periodically to learn recipes.
Recipes in my head,
his cooking skill in my hands,
and back at the mansion, I turned them all into my own.
Days passed busily, time flying by unnoticed.
"Fourth Young Master!"
"Huh? What?"
"A letter from House Eliad!"
The formal invitation from House Eliad had arrived.