Why?! Why me?! How did I end up in such a mess?!
"Your Majesty, here is the next dish: partridge in its robe on a bed of green pearls accompanied by golden apples."
The majestic dish arrived in front of Marcus, who could take no more. His stomach seemed on the verge of exploding from all the food he had eaten. The quantities ingested were at least ten times greater than anything he had experienced before. At the beginning of the meal, two hours earlier, he had begun to believe that serving as the emperor's stand-in was a good thing, but after the pies, mousses, confits, soups, roasts, and other sophisticated dishes, he increasingly considered this job the worst in the world.
I can't take it anymore... Kill me! Please! Urgh! I feel like throwing up...
With a trembling hand, he picked up a tiny piece of smoking meat covered in juice with his fork and brought it to his mouth. Only then could the guests begin to eat their new dish.
With a trembling hand, he placed the shiny cutlery back on the long table covered with dishes and colorful flowers. His face had become pale, but no one seemed to notice his condition.
I can't even taste the food anymore.
Although he suspected that this dish was good, even exquisite, he could not savor it despite his efforts.
Marcus turned slowly to the grand chamberlain, his eyes filled with despair, seated on his right. Throughout this time, he had kept an eye on him since it was his first performance as the Emperor's face. The chamberlain returned him a huge smile as if to mock him.
Bastard! Help me!
Marcus suffered in silence since he had no other choice. Two days earlier, when he had met the emperor and his cursed chamberlain in the office of the Academy's director, he had made it clear to him that no other response than "I accept with joy this immense honor and this mission, Your Majesty" was acceptable. They had convincing arguments since it was easy for them to crush him like an insect.
During these two days, he had been instructed very quickly on the etiquette at court. They had also changed his appearance to make him look more like the emperor, notably by applying dye to his hair. It was a necessary step, as His Majesty did not wear a powdered wig at every appearance. His hair had also been cut before being styled.
He was currently wearing black shoes with golden buckles and small heels to make him look taller. The most embarrassing was certainly his new outfit, composed of several layers of fabric. These were of the highest quality, sewn with golden thread, with runes integrated to make it lighter. His current outfit could nevertheless be considered modest, since it was an ordinary meal and not a grand event.
Around his neck hung a heavy gold chain with the emblem of the Empire at the end, and on his head sat a ridiculously voluminous wig, larger than those worn by other nobles or the one he had received upon entering the Academy. It was as white as snow and made fine curls falling onto his shoulders.
Marcus, in his role as Emperor of the Glorious Hispanic Carthaginian Empire, a pompous title, but one that was more symbolic than real, sat at the head of the table to be able to see all the guests. As emperor, he was naturally served first. When he had finished, everything was cleared by the servants to move on to the next course, whether the others had finished or not.
If he listened only to himself, he would eat a small piece and immediately move on to the next to finish this masquerade with a taste of torture. Unfortunately, he couldn't. The instruction he had received earlier was to make this meal last between three and four hours. They had started around eleven o'clock and were supposed to stop around two or three in the afternoon. It was therefore too early to finish this endless meal.
This left him ample time to observe the people around him.
T-they're monsters! How do they eat so much?!
There were exactly forty at the table, all from the highest nobility of the Empire. Since the beginning of this meal, he had had time to memorize their faces. One of them had particularly caught his attention. He physically resembled a wild boar, and like a wild boar, he ate. His thick beard was full of crumbs and his fingers covered in meat juice. Marcus was disgusted every time he saw him, yet he couldn't help but watch him eat.
The richly dressed man brought a golden cup to his mouth, and some of the wine ended up in his beard and on his clothes. It was as if he were deliberately trying to shock. Yet, almost no one paid him any attention.
Discreetly, he leaned toward the grand chamberlain, who did the same.
"Who's the guy over there?" Marcus murmured. "With the big beard."
"Duke d'Olivera. A very powerful man."
"Does he always eat like that?"
"Yes, you get used to it over time, don't stare too much."
"Is he dangerous?" Marcus asked, looking away.
"In a way, yes. He awakened at thirteen with a very high affinity for water magic. He may seem unreliable, but he's a great magus, an important asset for the Empire. All factions seek to gain his favor. Luckily, he's not interested in politics."
Marcus nodded slightly, but found it very difficult to imagine this man as a great magus. The only magic he seemed to master was making wine and meat disappear.
He doesn't like politics? Then what's he doing at the Emperor's table?
There were many noble titles, but most had become hollow. They were merely relics passed down for centuries, associated with a certain prestige. The title of duke retained immense power within the Empire. Above that, there were only those of prince and emperor. In other words, this man who couldn't eat properly was one of the most influential men in the empire.
Even Baltsar's dogs eat more cleanly than this guy! Can't he make an effort?!
The other guests ate more cleanly than Duke Rollo Decimus d'Olivera, but it wasn't much better for most of them. The women had better manners and took the time to bring the fork to their mouths before pulling back to avoid spilling sauce on their beautiful dresses.
During his "training," the grand chamberlain Rodrigue Barde de Tolède had shown him how His Majesty was used to eating. He stood slightly bent, held his fork in his right hand and the knife in his left, drank his wine with his right hand, and wiped his mouth with his left. He spoke little with the guests and never with those who were more than three seats away from him.
The emperor was quite discreet, so he should not stare directly into the eyes of the guests. He never left the meal before dessert and drank very little during the meal. He didn't eat oysters because he couldn't stand them and very rarely ate other seafood. On the other hand, he liked to eat fish, whether fresh or in soup. Finally, at the end of the meal, he took an hour to rest before going hunting in the forest behind the imperial palace.
After a while, young Marcus leaned to the side again and whispered to the grand chamberlain to avoid being heard.
"H-hey, old man, is it still long? How many dishes are left?"
"Another hour, I'd say? Maybe an hour and a half? There's still cheese, snacks, and dessert."
"I-I don't know if I can make it to the end..."
"It'll be fine. We usually serve a large amount of cheese, but His Majesty doesn't eat much of it. The snacks are small, so they go down pretty well. The dessert, however..."
His gaze met that of the old man, who didn't seem to be joking. Marcus feared the worst. With a desperate look, he repositioned himself and stared at his piece of partridge. It was accompanied by peas and potatoes, a root imported from the Atlantean continent. It was an immense continent the size of Europe and Ifrikia combined on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Without ever having set foot there or received even minimal education, Marcus knew it was a very dangerous continent populated by half-naked savages, but very powerful.
What was less known, unless one had access to history books, was that when Carthaginian ships first arrived on the other side of the ocean, they were rejected into the sea by these savages. Indeed, far from being as backward as they were most often imagined, the inhabitants of these lands had built advanced civilizations and counted among them many very powerful magi.
Since then, there had been some exchanges but no lasting settlement. Europeans sold them clothing, alcohol, and magical artifacts in exchange for gold, silver, and local products like tobacco and cocoa. The potato, because it came from these distant lands, was considered a luxury product everywhere on this continent. Here, they had been cooked in oil with spices from Persia and India