Symphony for the Insect Princess

"..."

The head of the family and his good-for-nothing youngest son who was once (forced) to have an affair with his precious little daughter.

Neither of them said a word.

Crafa's black aura can be seen with the naked eye.

Nia's face turned pale as if she was about to faint.

——————————————————————————————————

Amidst the harmonious atmosphere, "someone" was secretly observing the reactions of others.

Everyone was chatting except for one guy.

Listening to their trivial chatter, "someone" chuckled in his heart.

This is truly the Last Supper.

The first one is you, Crafa!

Chapter 3 The World in the Cocoon (Part )

The small talk finally ended and the festival's main program began.

According to the tradition of the Harvest Festival, everyone must cook their own dinner on the first day, and each person must prepare at least one dish.

Everyone was mentally prepared. After all, they were aristocrats who had no contact with the kitchen, so you could imagine what they would make.

Therefore, the key is how to avoid losing face.

Lillian quickly made the above analysis.

Although this tradition has long been a sideshow that no one really cares about, the perfectionist will never allow herself to make a fool of herself. To this end, she has already placed orders with many well-known restaurants in the area, and her requirements are "to make it as gorgeous and sumptuous as possible while looking like it was made by hand." This requirement makes the chefs look at each other in confusion. In the end, she chooses the most suitable dish from the dishes delivered, and there will be no mistakes!

"Then, according to tradition, everyone should show off their best works."

As soon as the head of the family, Crafa, finished speaking calmly, Lillian raised her hand impatiently: "I'll do it! Let me, Lillian, be the first to show my skills!"

Then, she proudly lifted the lid of the plate in front of her—

It was a large baked pancake that looked quite substantial, covered with cheese, ham, shrimp, vegetables and fruits, and many other things. It was colorful and very beautiful, and it made people's mouths water just by looking at it.

““““““…”””””””

However, it was a dull occasion.

Lillian was stunned when she didn't hear the expected praise.

"Well, let me tell you, Lillian... this wasn't done by you at all, was it?" York said, holding his forehead.

"Hate, hate, what are you talking about, brother? Of course I made this myself—"

"But there's no oven here for baking alien food."

"…………Eh?"

Alien food?

Lillian looked at the "dish" she had carefully selected in surprise.

It's novel, yes, but not that strange, right? Is this really something from another world?

York sighed and said, "Let me explain. This is a food called 'pizza,' which requires a special oven to bake. It originates from another world, a country in the Baseline World. With the increasing frequency of cross-border exchanges, it has entered the world at the same time as 'sliced ​​noodles,' 'sushi,' and 'burritos.'"

"I see... Oh, no, no! Actually, I secretly learned how to make it and baked it in a stove somewhere else!"

"……………………Then let's just leave it at that. Moving on, to the next one."

After Lillian's cute little joke, the others followed suit and showed off their own dishes. Although no one really cared, Lillian still wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Now, she had made a fool of herself in front of her father, the rest of the family, and even that annoying insect girl!

She glared angrily at the silver-haired girl beside her with an illusory beauty, but she just glanced at her and looked away. Was this ignoring her? It was really infuriating!

And the cooking demonstration continues.

Ellen brought out bread and dried meat that looked like military rations; Chloe showed off a beautiful vegetable salad while mockingly saying, "Look at this, Anhans, this woman only knows how to make this kind of thing"; York had a mediocre fried fish fillet that was a little burnt; Lux had a thick soup that was obviously made according to the recipe, which was flawless but actually unappetizing; Crafa had a whole plate of roast chicken with a fragrant aroma; Nia had the simplest sandwich, with only lettuce and ham in it; Anhans proudly boasted about the rare ingredients used in his stew, which drew praises from Ellen and Chloe; Molly, a little embarrassedly, served her homemade snacks, which looked very cute.

"Very good," Crafa began the usual speech of this festival, although it was not very good overall. "Praise the benevolent harvest goddess Ansuna for giving us food, and we repay her with the most sincere enthusiasm. Here are... pizza, military rations, vegetable salad, fried fish, soup, roast chicken, sandwiches, stews, snacks, and we - huh?"

Crafa stopped, feeling as if something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

There are ten people here, but only nine dishes.

He was stunned for a few seconds before realizing who was missing.

"...Nelris? Where's yours?"

For the first time tonight, he looked at the silver-gray-haired girl who had been sitting silently next to Lillian. The girl immediately nodded slightly and pointed to something hidden by the shadow of the roast chicken.

"That's it, Father."

His expression was "a little panicked but not a little scared", and his tone was "calm but a little apologetic".

"Let me see, that's..."

Everyone's eyes were focused on the past.

The roast chicken was moved aside a little, revealing a plain white porcelain plate.

There are exactly ten bright green objects on it, each the size of a fingertip, with a smooth surface and a seemingly hard texture.

"Is this...hard candy?" Lux raised his eyebrows.

"It's mints," Nelris explained.

“““““““…””””””””

"One of my favorite foods...maybe the only one," he added.

"……puff!"

Lillian finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!! Who are you trying to fool, my dear Third Sister? How can you use peppermint candies as food? And you didn't even make this yourself!"

As for the pizza incident just now, she had already forgotten it.

"I made this by hand, but I didn't do much because it was a bit troublesome."

"Tsk, who would believe you! You actually served something like this on the table? Should I say that people who spend all day with bugs really have a unique way of thinking? Don't you agree, Brother Anhans~~?"

"Hmm? Ah...right!"

When Lillian suddenly called him, Anhans, who was just dealing with the two sisters with ease, immediately turned into a pig-like face. Lillian's powerful charm that attracted both men and women dealt a heavy blow to him.

"Those mint candies are so shabby~~ Lillian's are better~"

"Isn't that so?" Lillian was very satisfied and glanced at Nelris demonstratively.

"Oh, that really makes everyone embarrassed." The person who was stared at just stood up, bowed slightly, and whispered a polite apology.

--------------------------------

Hmm...is this okay?

I sat back in my seat and thought.

Sure enough, serving mints at dinner is a bit strange, I'll be more careful next time. But I do like mints.

At this moment, Lillian was still looking at me proudly. Everyone else chose to remain silent, except for—

"Hey, hey! Stop it, Lillian!"

Good girl Molly couldn't help it.

"We're all just having fun, so there's no need to say... whether it's good or bad or anything like that. Besides, it looks delicious, doesn't it, Nellis?"

With an apologetic smile on her face, she quickly took a mint and put it in her mouth, then her eyes lit up.

"Hmm~~ As expected, it's cool and sweet! It's really delicious. Thank you, Nelris!"

"Well, thank you too, Miss Molly."

I twisted my facial muscles into a faint smile and nodded.

However, in the end, no one except Molly touched my mints, but everyone else's works were basically eaten up.

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Holiday dinners are always long.

By the time it was over, it was almost bedtime.

Besides, everyone went to bed early today, and Anhans and Molly will also stay here.

At ten o'clock in the evening, the several layers of barriers protecting the house had been deployed. Everyone returned to their own rooms and the hall was empty.

It was time for everyone to go to bed—except for the two shadow servants of the master, Crafa.

During the Harvest Festival, all the servants, guards and even the housekeeper in the house were on holiday, but the safety of the head of the family still had to be protected by someone. The two people in charge were the two shadow guards who only obeyed Crafa's orders, whose true faces were almost never seen by others, and who hid in the dark to protect his personal safety 24 hours a day.

Even if Crafa fell asleep, these two absolutely loyal shadow servants would take turns hiding in the dark to protect his life.

Ten past ten.

Nelris put the book back on the shelf, checked the insect tank, and went to bed.

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Then, the next day came.

Half past seven in the morning.

That's the scene at the beginning.

In the hall in the early morning, the biological father of the Zelah brothers and sisters, Krafa Zelah, was lying flat on the ground with a ferocious expression and his eyes closed. He fell in a pool of half-coagulated blood and was already a corpse.

There was a big bloody hole in his chest, and there was nothing inside. Someone had dug out his heart.

A trembling atmosphere spread, and everyone expressed shock and fear in their own way.

“Who…did this happen?!!!!”

The first to come to his senses was the eldest son York.

He stared with bloodshot eyes and shouted madly in the direction where no one was.

"Arian, Angele! Where are you? Come out!!!"

no respond.

An ominous premonition gradually took shape. He swallowed his saliva and shouted again: "Arian and Angele, the two shadow servants who serve and protect my father, Krafa Zelah, I command you as the eldest son to show up and obey my orders!"

Still no response.

“…Tsk!!”

Chapter 4 Cage

7:40 in the morning.

Nine people—ten yesterday—were now gathered in the hall.

They were either standing or sitting, their expressions showing fear, shock, grief and helplessness. No one said a word. Everyone needed time to sort out their feelings and come to terms with what had happened.

The current head of the noble Zelah family, Krafa Zelah, was found dead in a pool of blood in the middle of the hall of his own mansion on the morning of the first day of the Harvest Festival. His heart had been dug out, and he was deader than dead.

The eldest son, York, was standing closest to the body. His face was pale and his lips were almost bitten to bleed.

The second son, Lukes, stood beside him, his face ashen, cold sweat on his forehead, and tears in the corners of his eyes.

Ellen, the eldest daughter, had been pacing anxiously since a while ago, with her eyes red and swollen and her fists clenched tightly.

The second daughter, Chloe, leaned against the wall, her pale hand on her forehead, as if she would faint at any moment.

The fourth girl, Lillian, huddled in the corner, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, her whole body trembling.

The third son, Nia, hid beside Lillian, his face ashen, as if he would be the next to die.

Anhans frowned and, like York, carefully observed the traces around the body.

Molly knelt on the ground trembling, hugged her body tightly with her hands, and sobbed silently. This was the first time she saw a corpse.

Nelris also had a serious expression on her face. She stood a little distance away from York and the others, observing the corpse.

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"Someone" looked at all this and his own work, and felt relieved.