Chapter 184: Barbecue
The vineyard was beautiful, serene, and bathed in the warmth of lamplights and starlight—perfect for a refined evening stroll. At least, it would have been, if not for Blake.
The daemon prince, who had been quietly raiding grapes one by one like a thief in the night, decided subtlety was overrated. Spotting a wooden barrel left open near the terrace wall, he ambled over, peered inside, and found it nearly brimming with freshly harvested fruit waiting to be pressed.
His purple eyes gleamed.
"Oh ho... jackpot."
"Blake," Lux’s voice immediately carried warning, the kind of tone one reserved for a mischievous child about to destroy priceless artifacts. "Don’t you dare."
Blake looked at him over his shoulder, juice staining his chin, and with the confidence of someone utterly shameless said, "Relax, I’m just... investigating quality control."
Before anyone could stop him, he climbed onto the edge of the barrel and plopped inside with a splash of grape juice.
"Ahhh—now this is the life!" Blake sighed, leaning back as though he were soaking in a hot spring instead of sitting in crushed fruit. He grabbed a handful of grapes and stuffed them into his mouth. "Better than training. Better than running. This... is luxury."
Adam’s face darkened to storm-cloud levels.
"You lazy bastard—get OUT of there before I smash that barrel with you in it!"
Azalea was doubled over, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. "Oh heavens—look at him! He looks like a wine god who gave up on life!"
Blake stretched out one arm dramatically, grape juice dripping like purple ink. "Bow before Bacchus Blake, Lord of the Vineyard!"
Khione pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closing.
"This is disgraceful..." Yet, if one looked closely, there was the faintest twitch at the corner of her lips, quickly suppressed.
Elreth, however, was not amused. "You are fouling the harvest, you fool. Get out before I incinerate you and the entire barrel solid."
Blake shot her a sleepy grin. "Wow relax princess."
Lux’s patience finally cracked. He rubbed his temple, muttering under his breath about how this was exactly why he never let Blake near anything valuable. Then he raised his voice sharply. "Enough! Blake, if you do not climb out this instant, I will personally drag you out and chain you to tomorrow’s treadmill until you collapse."
For a moment, Blake pretended to consider, swishing his hand lazily through the juice.
"...Tempting. But no thanks."
That was when Adam snapped. With a roar, he stomped toward the barrel, sleeves rolled up, veins practically bulging in his forehead.
"Alright, you asked for it!"
Blake panicked, slipping further into the juice with a splash. "Wait, wait, calm down—! This is artisan marination! I’m adding flavor!"
Adam lunged, Azalea cackled, Lux buried his face in his palm, and even Nero—who had been silent most of the evening—smirked faintly at the chaos unfolding.
By the time Adam finally hauled Blake out of the barrel by the collar, the daemon prince looked like a walking wine stain, dripping purple from head to toe. He grinned sheepishly, holding a grape between his fingers.
"...Worth it."
Azalea laughed so hard she nearly fell off the stone bench, clutching her stomach. Elreth sighed and muttered about "idiots," while Khione turned away with icy composure, though her ears were faintly pink.
Lux, meanwhile, simply gestured at the mess and told his servants, with all the authority of a man defeated by his friends,
"Burn the barrel. We can’t risk contaminating the vintage with Blake’s laziness."
The group erupted in laughter again, the vineyard echoing with the kind of warmth that only came from chaos shared.
°°°°°
The night had deepened, stars scattering like diamonds across a velvet sky. The group had retired to their rooms after the vineyard incident, but it wasn’t long before Lux, brimming with restless energy, sent a message to gather again.
"One last gathering before we head to the main villa tomorrow," he said when they assembled in the spacious courtyard, lanterns glowing warmly overhead.
A massive grill stood at the center, wood already stacked. Elreth stepped forward with her usual fiery confidence. "Stand back."
With a snap of her fingers, flames erupted, roaring to life. The firelight danced across her crimson hair, giving her the look of a queen commanding her element. "Perfect. The heat’s just right."
Azalea tied her hair into a ponytail and joined Lux, the two moving smoothly to prepare skewers, steaks, and vegetables. Her laughter echoed through the courtyard as she teased Lux about his overly meticulous seasoning style.
Adam, naturally, volunteered for what he called "the most important mission"—fetching bottles of wine from the cellar. When he returned, arms full, his grin stretched ear to ear. "Tonight, we drink like kings!"
Meanwhile, Blake... was already sprawled on a lounge chair, sipping juice from a crystal glass as if he had nothing to do with any of this. His purple hair glistened faintly under the lanterns, his expression one of divine laziness.
"I provide moral support," he said when Azalea glared at him.
"You mean dead weight," she shot back, rolling her eyes.
Khione, for her part, stood beside Lux and Azalea, quietly helping with the preparations. She didn’t say much, but the way she moved—deft hands arranging plates, her posture composed—added an unexpected elegance to the otherwise rowdy scene. Every so often, her eyes drifted toward Nero, who was carrying trays of marinated meat to the grill. Their exchanges were simple: a nod here, a quiet word there. Yet, in that silence, there was a rhythm between them.
Of course, Elreth noticed. Her golden eyes narrowed as she turned the skewers, sparks of flame licking the meat.
"You two seem rather cooperative," she remarked, her tone laced with a sweetness sharp enough to cut glass.
Khione, without looking up, replied evenly,
"It’s called teamwork. Something you lack."
The air chilled for a second. Elreth’s lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
"Teamwork, or hiding behind someone stronger?"
Before the tension could snap, Nero cleared his throat and placed another tray down.
"The food will burn if you two keep this up."
Adam returned just in time to witness the scene, bottles clinking in his arms. "What did I miss?"
"Two cats hissing," Blake answered lazily from his chair. "Pass the popcorn."
The words nearly earned him a fireball and an ice spear simultaneously, but Lux quickly intervened, laughing a little too loudly.
"Alright! Enough! This is supposed to be a barbecue, not a battlefield!"
Once the food hit the grill, the tension melted with the aroma of sizzling meat and spices. The crackle of fat meeting flame filled the courtyard, mingling with laughter and the occasional bickering. Adam poured generous glasses of wine, toasting loudly to "youth, strength, and good company." Even Blake, after enough coaxing (and a few threats), finally got up to flip a skewer—only to nearly drop it into the fire, earning a chorus of groans.
The courtyard filled with warmth—the kind that wasn’t just from Elreth’s fire. The scent of roasted lamb, charred vegetables, and spiced skewers lingered in the air, chased by the sharp bite of good wine. Plates clattered, laughter erupted in bursts, and even the crickets seemed to keep rhythm with the revelry.
Adam was the first to raise a challenge after his third glass of wine. "Alright, enough eating. Time for a real game."
Blake, mid-bite into a perfectly grilled kebab, froze. His instincts screamed danger. "No."
"Yes," Lux grinned, producing a set of carved dice from his pocket as though he had planned this all along. "Drinking dice. Loser drinks double. Rules are simple."
Blake sat up, shaking his head. "I refuse. I’ve already suffered enough today."
"Then suffer more," Elreth said sweetly, handing him a cup already half-filled.
Azalea smirked, setting her glass down.
"C’mon, prince of laziness. Where’s your fighting spirit?"
"I left it in my room," Blake deadpanned.
But the group wouldn’t let him off. They crowded around the table, forcing him to roll first. The dice landed with a loud clatter—snake eyes.
"Drink!" everyone chorused.
Groaning like a condemned man, Blake tipped his head back and downed the cup.
"You’re all demons."
"Coming from you?" Adam roared with laughter, nearly spilling his wine.
The game spiraled from there into chaos. Lux lost a round and was forced to drink until he admitted one embarrassing secret—he confessed he once fainted after losing control of a light spell during training. Elreth nearly fell over laughing.
Azalea rolled high twice in a row, earning the right to give drinks instead of taking them. She handed one each to Adam and Blake with an evil glint in her eye.
Adam took his like a man. Blake whimpered dramatically, clutching his chest. "This is bullying! I’ll write a letter to the Emperor."
"Go ahead," Khione said dryly, finally joining in with a faint smile. "Maybe he’ll laugh too."
That earned a ripple of laughter around the table.