The Shrimp Gambit

The sound came from the family head, who had dropped his spoon with a stunned expression on his face.

The head of the family stared at Rocco with a piercing gaze.

It was so terrifying that Rocco pretended not to notice it and continued to stare at Sylas's soup.

Eventually, the head of the family with his voice slightly shaking, murmured softly.

"…Shrimp, you say?"

At the sound of his voice, Sylas's bodyguards, who had been standing behind him, seemed to snap into action.

The brown-haired man peered into Sylas's soup, seeing the shrimp, his eyes widening in shock.

With a disgusted look, he pushed the soup away from Sylas and called out to the family head.

"Y-Yes, it's true! There's shrimp in the young master's soup!"

Rocco's mother, who had been watching the growing commotion, immediately wiped the smirk from her face, turning pale.

It was clear she hadn't expected the situation to escalate like this.

Serious allergic reactions could sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences.

Even a child could have predicted that this would cause an uproar once discovered.

In the original story, after Sylas eats the shrimp and collapses, Rocco's mother further fuels the hatred from the father.

This act of harassment ends up backfiring, putting the noose around her own neck more than it torments Sylas.

However, it seems that Rocco's mother never even considered such an outcome.

"To make such a mistake...!"

Rocco's father, with an expression of pure fury, immediately issued an order, his voice as heavy as that of a mafia boss.

At first glance, he may seem cold and merciless, but... it appeared that he truly loved Sylas.

The anger in his face was undeniably that of a mafia boss, but more than that, there was pure murderous intent for the person who had put his son in danger.

However, what was more important now was the line spoken by the family head, which could not be ignored.

It seemed like he was losing his cool, entirely consumed by anger.

Hearing the words "Take the chef to the dungeon," Rocco's mother, with a smile of relief at avoiding punishment, was oblivious to the situation, not noticing his focus shifting.

Due to the changes in the story Rocco had caused, the culprit was now being blamed as the chef, not his mother.

This was bad.

If this continued, the innocent chef could end up being killed.

The entire situation had been set into motion by Rocco, and to prevent an innocent person from suffering, he had to act quickly.

"U-Um..."

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly when Rocco's faint voice broke through the tension.

Silence once again fell, and numerous gazes were turned toward him.

His father, glaring at him with frustration in his eyes, made Rocco's body want to shrink back in fear, but he forced himself to continue speaking.

"A-Ah, well... Could it be that my brother dislikes shrimp?"

"...And if so?"

His father narrowed his eyes suspiciously.