In the kitchen, on days such as this one, the cooks were even grumpier than usual. Sera stood in a corner, quietly staring at the cook as he stirred the stew.

“Gah! Why are the vegetables not prepared?!” she heard him scream. She deliberately instructed the servant girl who oversaw preparing the vegetables to cut and peel the fruit for the king’s feast instead.

Sera moved out of her corner and stood a few feet away from him.

Putting on her most docile face, she peeked at the man though her lashes.

 He turned around and spotted her. “You, there!” the cook gestured at her angrily, “Come prepare these vegetables!”

“Y-Yes, sir!” Sera rushed over, picked up the knife. With a shaky hand, she purposefully began cutting them poorly. Watching her as he stirred away, the cook flared his nostrils.

“What are you doing, girl! Did they not teach you how to prepare bloody vegetables?! Stir the stew while I cut them,” he grumbled, “What a useless little bitch you are!”

Quickly swapping places with the cook, Sera began stirring the pot. Noticing that the cook was focused on his task, she pretended to adjust her sleeve and opened the vial and allowed its contents to pour into the stew. She quickly stirred away the contents until the powder could not be seen by the naked eye. After he finished cutting the vegetables, the cook returned and rudely shoved her aside.

“Go clean the pantry. Be done before dinner and then help serve the food, understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir…” she responded meekly and fled to the pantry with an indifferent expression on her face.

The servants’ dining hall was packed today with about thirty men in armor, seated on the wooden benches. The men celebrated happily as the sound of clanging tankards and lively conversation filled the room. Once the bell rang, the servants began pouring out of the kitchen, each carrying large quantities of food. Accepting a loaf of bread and some cooked meat from passing servants, Andyr looked around until he spotted a girl with light blonde hair leaving the kitchen. The two made eye contact as she casually made her way over to the men.

“This is meat stew,” she said, holding up the large pot. “Would any of you like some?” she asked politely.

“Not interested.” Andyr responded harshly, without any hesitation.

“O-Oh, I see…” Sera trailed off, looking almost teary and dejected.

“But we’d love some, right, men?” Edmund exclaimed.

The men seated around Andyr boomed in excitement, eagerly accepting ladlesful of stew from her. By the time the men were served, a rosy blush decorated her cheeks as she smiled softly, “Enjoy your meal, men.”

The men glared at Andyr as Sera walked away.

“You shouldn’t be so harsh, Andyr!” Edmund scolded.

“Yeah! You’ll never find a wife that way!” August added, “And if a woman offers you food, you always take it.”

Andyr rolled his eyes, “Shut your mouth and eat your food.”

His comrades shook their heads. For a few minutes they ate in an awkward silence, but shortly afterwards continued to scold him about his nonexistent love life. Having been chided by his comrades long enough, Andyr’s suffering was brought to a swift end as the bell rang once again, signaling the guards to go to their posts.

“Already?!” Several guards grumbled as they slowly got up and began leaving the room. Now talking about their own love lives and desires in detail, the men entered the hallway and began making their way towards the treasury, where they were stationed for the night.