Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 259 Extra: Gleanings from the Old Sea - Greta (4) 3.6k
Sothos unfolded the parchment map, looked at it, and then gazed at the distant, rolling mountains.

"Hiss, this map seems to be drawn incorrectly."

"You led us the wrong way," Rean said speechlessly.

After leaving the village, we traveled for another two days, but we still couldn't see any signs of human habitation. The continuous mountains and forests blocked our view ahead.

"Actually, it's not that much of a difference. If we go around in circles like this, we can still get there. It just might take an extra day or two," Sothos said after studying the map for a while.

Rean sighed. It was almost sunset, and they couldn't continue their journey after sunset, so they had no choice but to rest for the time being.

"Let's rest for a bit. There's a water source here, so let's set up camp here," he instructed.

Everyone dismounted and cleared an open space to rest.

Rean placed the spell sentinels, looked up, and saw the petite and thin Grace gathering firewood in the woods, already carrying a large bundle in her arms.

She came over, panting, carrying firewood, threw it all on the ground, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

After washing her body and changing into clean clothes, she finally looked like a girl. She was only in her teens and couldn't be called pretty, but she was quite pretty, though a bit thin.

"Alright, alright, now that you've gathered the firewood, go stand over there. Kids, don't get in the way."

Fanet, who was preparing the campfire, waved for Greta to leave. The girl took several steps back, stood there helplessly for a moment, and then looked at Rean.

“If you have nothing to do, go cut some more grass to feed the horses,” Rean said, packing up his equipment, looking at her. “You should recognize horse grass, right?”

"Yes, sir,"

Grace quickly jogged into the woods.

As dusk deepened, Sothos was preparing rations for everyone when Meyeris and a companion ran out of the woods, their faces beaming with excitement, each carrying a large rabbit that must have weighed at least eight or nine pounds.

The rabbit had brown fur, a tail with black feathers like those of birds, drooping limbs, and no wounds on its body; it appeared to have died from a broken neck.

"Look what we caught!" Meyeris exclaimed excitedly.

The crowd gathered around, astonished to see that it was actually a black-feathered rabbit.

“I’ve heard about this in Newdes City before. It’s high-grade meat! It’s incredibly delicious!” someone exclaimed excitedly.

“Indeed,” Sothos nodded. “However, while the meat of this animal is very delicious, it is also highly poisonous. If the poison glands in its body are not completely removed, eating it can be fatal.”

"Sothos, can you?" someone asked.

Sothos shrugged: "Sorry, I really don't know how."

The people around looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward.

“Then we’ll just have to bring it with us and find someone to deal with it when we get to town,” Rean said.

“No, if the Black Feather Rabbit’s venom glands aren’t removed within a day of its death, the toxins will spread, and the entire piece of meat will be unusable,” Sothos said, shaking his head.

“This…” Meyeris scratched his head: “Then I should have caught it alive. I killed it mainly because it was too jumpy.”

"Then you won't get to enjoy this meal," Rean sighed.

"Let's peel off its skin; at least then it'll still be somewhat useful."

Everyone was disappointed. Black Feather Rabbits were a rare treat, even for royalty and nobility. Now that they had the opportunity, they could only watch helplessly.

Just when they were at their wits' end, a weak voice came from behind them: "Um, could I give it a try?"

They turned around and saw Grace standing there, still holding the hay, her hand raised cautiously.

"You can?" Rean asked.

“My father does. I ate at the master’s house once before, and I helped him with the cooking,” Grace said.

"Your father?"

“Yes, my father is the master’s chef, and my mother and I are both servants in the master’s household,” Gracea said.

Chefs hold a high position in noble households, so it seems that Grace's family also has some status with the city lord, which explains why they were able to escape with him.

But I'm still a little worried about entrusting such an important task to a small child.

"Forget it, you've only seen it, you haven't done it yourself. If you don't handle it properly, we'll all die," Rean said, waving his hand.

But when I turned around, all I saw were pairs of expectant eyes.

“Let’s give it a try, we can’t afford to go any worse,” Sothos said.

“Yeah, now that we have this opportunity, if we don’t give it a try, we might regret it for the rest of our lives!” Fanit said, swallowing hard.

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Rean thought to himself.

But since everyone said so, he had no choice but to let Grace try. Logically speaking, just by watching her initial treatment method, he could determine whether she really had the ability to treat the poison glands, and then make a judgment.

After handing a skinning knife to Grace, Mayeris put the rabbit down and let her handle it.

Holding a knife longer than her forearm, she squatted down, lifted one of the rabbit's ears, and skillfully cut open the fur, starting from the scalp, and quickly skinned the rabbit whole.

As dusk fell, illuminated by the campfire, a group of grown men huddled together watching a young girl prepare the meat they had been longing for.

Grace was right; she was indeed very skilled at handling it, but she was unfamiliar with the Black Feather Rabbit's anatomy and had to think for a long time before each incision.

She cut open the rabbit's abdomen, splitting it completely in two, and removed the internal organs. Then, carefully, she felt out a dark gland and, following the trail, slowly cut open the muscles and blood vessels connected to it. This step required extreme caution; if she wasn't careful, the poison gland would leak out, and the entire rabbit meat would be ruined.

Grace cut it open little by little, then ripped it off with a single, forceful tug.

"All right."

She opened her arms, showing everyone the bloody poison glands.

"Is that all right?"

“Yes,” Grisa nodded, “we can start cooking now.”

Grace's skillful movements gave everyone some confidence, and finally their attention turned to Sothos, the only one who knew a little about cooking.

"I'll give it a try, but since it's outdoors right now, I can only make simple soups."

“Well, I know another way to make it. If it’s okay, could I try it?” Grace said again.

“What is it?” Sothos asked.

“Roasted rabbit, I think it would taste better than stewed rabbit,” said Grace.

All eyes turned to Rean.

“Alright, then it’s up to you. You can decide what needs to be done,” Rean said readily. After seeing how she handled things, he felt that this kid was indeed quite capable.

Now no one doubted her anymore. The allure of the delicious food spurred everyone to act with great enthusiasm. Under Grace's arrangement, they chopped tree branches to make a barbecue grill, fetched water to clean the rabbit, and even Sothos brought out spices he never used. Everyone's enthusiasm was at its peak.

Grace ran into the woods and soon returned with a handful of wild berries, which she crushed and smeared on the rabbit's surface.

"What is this?" Sothos asked curiously.

“Wood flower fruit, using it to marinate meat makes it even more fragrant, my father taught me that,” Grace said.

“You know quite a lot. I didn’t know this. I think I’ve seen this kind of fruit many times before,” Sothos said.

"No, no, I only know a little bit," Grace said shyly.

The rabbit was set up on a grill, and then a group of men surrounded the little girl, eagerly watching her prepare the rabbit on the grill.

As night fell, the aroma of meat filled the air, enticing everyone's noses. At this moment, a rabbit had already turned an alluring brownish-red, its surface glistening with oil and sizzling.

Grace wiped the sweat from her forehead; her face was blackened and reddened by the fire. She sprinkled some spices on it one last time, roasted it for a few more moments, and then looked up and said.

"It's ready to eat."

An enticing aroma filled the air, but no one dared to approach.

It's hard to say whether the toxicity has been removed, but tempted by the delicious taste, one's own life comes first.

"I'll come, I'll come!"

Fanit volunteered again, cutting off a small piece of rabbit meat and stuffing it into his mouth despite the scalding temperature.

He chewed, and all eyes were on him.

Fanit swallowed it and sat there for a moment. The poisoning time was about two minutes. If something went wrong during this time, then it was still poisonous.

"How is it?" someone asked.

Gradually, Fanit's expression became increasingly distorted.

"What's wrong with you? Are you poisoned?" The crowd was a little panicked.

But the next moment, before anyone could react, Fanit suddenly pounced on the rabbit meat and ruthlessly cut off another large chunk.

"You bastard! Give in!"

By the time everyone realized it, he had already taken another bite, and then everyone rushed over and started scrambling for it.

"Calm down!" Rean shouted, but the delicious temptation had already made everyone lose their minds and they all rushed to grab the food.

"Really." He sighed helplessly.

A rabbit weighs only about eight pounds, not enough for several grown men to share. As the leader, Rean gave his share to them and didn't participate in the fight. He sat down and started eating dry biscuits.

At that moment, Grisa secretly came to his side, took out a rabbit leg, and handed it to him.

"Sir, this is what I secretly left behind. Here you go."

Looking at the juicy roasted rabbit, and then at Grace's face covered in soot, Rean looked away.

“You eat it. You’ve been working so hard just now, this is what you deserve,” he said.

"I...I already ate some," Grace said softly.

But as soon as she finished speaking, her stomach growled, and her face flushed slightly.

Rean found her expression somewhat amusing, but still took the rabbit leg and took a bite.

The meat juices are indescribably delicious, flowing with flavor. Combined with spices and the roasting technique, it's so delicious it's like your brain is on fire.

"Is it good?" Grace looked at him expectantly.

“It’s delicious, a taste I haven’t had in a long time,” Rean said without any exaggeration.

"You did very well."

"hey-hey."

Grace laughed foolishly.
Rean ate a few bites and then handed the rest to Grace.

"The rest is yours."

"I...I can't eat that much," Grace quickly waved her hand.
"Take it." Rean shoved it directly into her hand.

Grace took it, took a small bite, chewed, and a satisfied look appeared on her face.

She tore off another small piece and held it to Rean's lips.

"My lord, please."

Rean frowned as he looked at her.

"No, I'm sorry, I... I was so impolite," Grace quickly lowered her head.

Rean took the piece of meat and put it in his mouth.

“Don’t call me ‘adult’ anymore, it sounds awkward,” Rean said.

"Just call me Rean."

"This, this is not allowed, this is too rude," Gracea said quickly.

"So, what would you like to call me?"

“Hmm,” Gracea lowered her head, “You, sir, have a fatherly feel to you, just like my father, strict yet gentle.”

"So, are you going to call me Dad?" Rean looked at her amusedly.

“This, this, how can someone of my status…” Grace blushed instantly.

"Alright, hurry up and eat, stop worrying about this," Rean said.

Anyway, we'll be breaking up in just a few days, so there's really no need to worry about how to address each other.

Grace sat obediently beside him and began to eat in small bites.

To be honest, Rean was looking at her differently today. He hadn't expected that this young girl would be such a good cook. If she could stay and work as a cook...
But Rean quickly shook his head.

Such excellent skills are wasted if left in their nomadic group. She will surely find a better place in town.

(End of this chapter)