Xili served food to the guests who had come to pay their respects.
Bishop Byrne picked up a spring roll and tried it with both the sweet sauce and the salty, spicy sauce, looking pleased with both.
He picked up a second, dipped it in aromatic vinegar, and took a bite. He frowned slightly; clearly, he could not accept that flavor just yet.
Kallen's own tastes leaned toward lighter food. Although he occasionally ate something oily and spicy for a change, his usual dipping sauce was a small dish of homemade aromatic vinegar.
But Xili knew that most people did not share her young master's fondness for aromatic vinegar, so she had provided other dipping sauces as well.
Bishop Byrne curiously lifted the vinegar dish to his nose and sniffed it, then smiled. "I've never seen this kind of vinegar before."
"It's homemade," Kallen explained.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to know so much about cooking, too."
"Everyone needs a few hobbies."
When it came to eating habits, his maternal grandmother was still the best match for him. Although she had spent half her life cooking Vien cuisine for her family, it had never risen above the status of "pig feed" in her eyes.
She said she was like a livestock keeper, ladling feed onto everyone's plates after cooking each day, then watching her family tuck into it with gusto.
Once Kallen had inspired her with new dishes, his grandmother had become unstoppable. She kept asking him for special ingredients such as tofu, and even invited his maid over to study recipes together.
Richard had said that his grandmother used to sit by the window in the afternoon, drinking tea and knitting as she waited for everyone to come home from work. Now, she spent the whole afternoon working on