Laughter is Born From Madness

Chapter 25

This late morning has brought the Earl Phantomhive, Lau, Prince Soma, and Red to the dining room's table, waiting for breakfast. The Phantomhive butler, Sebastian Michaelis brings out a cart with dishes of curry. He presents the guests and his master a fake smile as he places each of their dish in front of them, excluding his master who isn't fond of curry. As the two young teenagers and man were about to start eating, the older teenager voiced his opinion.

"YUCK!!"

Everyone stared at Soma with a blank look on their face as Sebastian was about to pour his master's tea.

"Was it not to your taste?

"Gyah!" Soma exclaimed as he soon began to explain at a fast pace. "I-It's not that...It's just very different from the curry that I always eat in India, so, well...and this is good in its own way...um..."

"It is fine. Please, continue."

"Phew," the older teenager then began to explain. "First, the flavour is weak, and it has no aroma. Not to mention it's gritty, so the texture is rough on the tongue. This doesn't count as curry."

"How odd. Even after I used the best curry powder available..." Sebastian thought aloud.

"Curry powder? What is that?" Red asked, voicing Soma's question as well.

"In the current era, curry, which Anglo-Indians brought back to their homeland upon their return, had taken firm root in British cuisine. But as the blending of spices was difficult for an amateur, the spices were ground and blended together, and sold as prepackaged curry powder. Yes, 'curry' of the kind that employed curry powder was peculiar to the cuisine of Great Britain alone."

"I've never seen anything like that in India, and Agni didn't use it either. At least as far as I know. Yes, spices determine the colour and heat of curry, but what is most important is their flavour. When they aren't freshly ground, their aroma evaporates. At my palace, I have masalchi dedicated to that task alone." Soma explained.

"So in other words, using something like curry powder in which the spices have been ground up prior to being packaged and sold, is out of the question." The butler clarified.

"Yes. And depending on what he put into it, the soup of Agni's curry would look and taste different. I think he chose and blended the spices to complement the ingredients."

"Then we must first track down fresh spices of the best quality." Red said, placing down her spoon, as she showed a look of distaste from the curry in front of her.

"In that, West has the advantage. His company controls the distribution, so he can secure the best of the bunch for himself." Ciel spoke up.

"I fear we are running short on time. Let us find ourselves some traders..." Sebastian spoke as he had a moment of realization.

Everyone at the table looked towards Lau, who was eating away at the curry in front of him with the same clueless smile on his face. After all, he is the branch manager of a trading company.

"Hm?" he looked up at them. "Ah, yes! I heard you were having trouble sleeping Miss Red, are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, indeed. It was only a bad dream. However, when I fell asleep again, I felt as if I was being hugged by a warm kitten. It was such a lovely dream!" she beamed with a smile across her features.

Soma smiled, while Sebastian was trying to control his fits of laughter as his master turned as red as Red's hair.

"Ah, young lord, is everything all right. You haven't caught Miss Red's fever, have you?" Lau questioned... still clueless.

"Shut up!"