Floyd sat at the head of the long, wide table, with Kirshan and the knights seated on both sides, chatting noisily. Various dishes were laid out on the table, and servants frequently cleared away empty wine bottles and brought new ones.

Hexten laughed loudly upon hearing about the demand for compensation from the Kingdom of Enilta.

“I would have loved to see Jorge III’s expression when Arsen said that.”

“He looked like he’d seen a demon. But what could he say with our lord’s flames flickering? Enilta’s knights were frozen in fear at the sight of our lord’s flames.”

Adrian continued Cain’s words.

“I think even that wasn’t enough. We were very lenient on our side. 31 people were injured, and 12 of them were severely wounded. Some will take over half a year to recover. If only that bastard Jorge had been honest about the extent of the damage, we wouldn’t have had so many casualties. Ah, I should have killed him after all.”

Adrian clicked his tongue regretfully. Hexten said,

“Still, it’s fortunate that the Black Bears accompanied us. Hurrying because of the princess’s matter turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

After learning that the bodies of the Franche royal family had been thrown into a well, an enraged Floyd brought along even the Black Bear Knights to finish quickly and return. Thanks to that, they were able to complete this expedition without any fatalities. If there hadn’t been additional troops, it would have been a considerably dangerous expedition.

Adrian nodded.

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. We have one more reason to treat the princess well. Alright, as expected, a knight’s oath…”

“I’m telling you, your oath isn’t necessary.”

While Adrian and Cain were bickering as usual, a servant announced Roxiana’s entrance. As the dining room door opened, everyone except Floyd naturally stood up. Even Arsen.

Wearing a deep blue dress, Roxiana looked calm and elegant. The dress, made entirely of silk without any lace, swayed gently and was deeply cut around the neck, clearly revealing the slave’s brand engraved on her collarbone.

However, no one could think of her as a ‘slave’. An elegance that overwhelmed the knights made them unable to dare think of her as such.

Roxiana grasped her skirt and slightly bowed her head in response to the knights who were showing her courtesy. Immediately, Adrian raised his hand.

“Sit here!”

The place Adrian pointed to was the seat next to him, between Floyd who sat at the head of the table and Adrian. Adrian personally stood up to pull out the chair, and Roxiana gave him a slight smile before sitting down.

Only after she was seated did the other knights sit down.

“Thank you for inviting me to the banquet.”

Floyd nodded slightly and raised his right hand. Then, the door leading to the kitchen opened, and an employee entered pushing a trolley cart.

Several large soup bowls were placed on the trolley cart, all covered with dome-shaped lids so that the contents inside could not be seen. One large bowl was placed in front of each person.

Roxiana, who unconsciously opened the lid, let out a small scream.

“Eek!”

A creature that looked like a ‘monster’ no matter where you looked was contained in the bowl. She tried to quickly close the lid, but her hand lost strength and she dropped it, fully revealing what was inside.

Although she knew she should manage her expressions well as this was an important occasion that would determine her future position, she couldn’t calm her startled heart due to the strange creature in the bowl. Floyd and the knights smiled slightly at her terrified reaction.

“This is…”

As she turned her head quickly to ask a question, she suddenly came to her senses upon seeing the smile on Floyd’s lips. She had unknowingly acted too lightly. She knew that it was a noble virtue not to show outward reactions no matter how surprising something was.

‘Are these people teasing me by putting an inedible monster in here? Or are they testing me? To see if I have the capacity to help or not?’

While she was lost in all sorts of thoughts, Hexten explained.

“It’s a lobster, Princess. This creature is often caught during this season. It’s in season.”

She had heard the name lobster somewhere before, but had never actually seen one.

The creature Hexten called a lobster had hard-looking pincers and several small legs, with a reddish shell that looked like that of an insect. She had heard it was a heavenly taste, but the one in front of her looked completely inedible no matter how she looked at it.

“We… eat this?”

Adrian answered as he lifted the lid placed in front of him.

“Of course. It’s incredibly delicious. Well, lobsters don’t make it far inland, so it’s understandable you’re surprised. Haven’t you seen them in rivers though? Small crayfish. They’re smaller than this guy but look similar.”

Roxiana shook her head while confirming that there was also a lobster in Adrian’s bowl.

“I didn’t have many chances to play in rivers.”

“Ah, I see. I suppose as a princess, it wouldn’t be easy to go outside the palace.”

She carefully observed Adrian’s profile, wondering if he was mocking her, but he just seemed busy dissecting the lobster.

‘I guess this really is edible.’

The other knights were also grabbing the lobster’s claws and breaking them off. Roxiana still didn’t feel like touching this strange creature, so she kept reaching out her hand and withdrawing it.

How long had she been doing that?

Floyd switched the bowl in front of him with Roxiana’s. The lobster that had been in his bowl was already completely dissected, with only the white flesh remaining in the bowl.

Roxiana turned to Floyd with wide eyes. She was worried that the knights might be displeased by the fact that the ruler himself had personally picked out the meat, which was something servants would normally do.

So she glanced around, but the knights were still furrowing their brows, busy picking out the lobster meat.

“There’s no poison, so don’t worry.”

Floyd said gently. Roxiana thought it would be impolite to refuse the food he had personally prepared, so after taking a deep breath, she poked the meat with her fork.

She had intended to chew and swallow without breathing, but she ended up exhaling in surprise at the texture that seemed to melt on her tongue. Soft flesh, savory and salty flavor, with a slightly creamy texture.

“It’s delicious.”

Roxiana murmured unconsciously. Floyd grinned and continued dissecting the remaining lobster. As if passing all the carefully picked lobster meat to her wasn’t something deserving of thanks.

As Roxiana put another piece in her mouth, Cain shouted,

“I’m done!”

He pushed a plate piled high with lobster meat towards Roxiana.

“Please eat this too, Princess.”

Adrian intercepted the plate that came across the table.

“How dare you offer something picked with your dirty hands? I’ll eat this, Princess, please have this instead.”

The lobster meat Adrian had picked out looked so pristine it seemed as if its original form was still intact. It was an impressively clean and sharp skill.

“Ah, then give me mine back!”

“I don’t want to. I’m going to eat it.”

While Cain and Adrian were squabbling over a single plate, Roxiana was contemplating whether she should eat what Adrian had prepared as well. Watching her, Floyd said,

“I hate to admit it, but Adrian is the best at picking out meat among us. Probably because he’s used to stripping human flesh.”

Thinking she had heard something frightening, Roxiana decided to pretend she hadn’t heard the last part he added.

Throughout the meal, the dining room was bustling. Cain and Adrian frequently argued, Hexten laughed heartily, Kirshan spoke softly saying his piece, and Arsen silently moved his fork. And Floyd continued the lively dinner, laughing at his subordinates’ words and sympathizing with their outbursts.

The dinner that started with lobster soup and scallop salad ended with cheese-topped meat stir-fry and sweet sherbet. After the meal, while cleansing their palates with fruit wine, Floyd got to the main point.

“Kirshan says he has found a way to remove the Princess’s brand.”

As Roxiana turned to look, Kirshan carefully said,

“There are two methods. One removes the brand but leaves a scar, and the other completely removes the brand. The first one isn’t painful, but the second one requires deeply cutting out the flesh, which is terribly…”

“I’ll do the second one.”

Roxiana said firmly before Kirshan could finish his explanation.

“It will really hurt. Even with anesthesia, it won’t completely eliminate the pain, and for days after scraping off the flesh, it will be excruciatingly painful.”

“I can endure it. Please use the second method, Lord Lepe.”

The pain of cutting and scraping living flesh was nothing. Because she had been feeling even worse pain every day, she was confident she wouldn’t scream even once if her flesh was torn off.

No matter what price she had to pay, she wanted to be whole when she stood before them later. She didn’t want to show them the miserable, broken, and trampled appearance they might expect.

‘Lucas. Elise. What expressions will you make when you see me without a single blemish? What will you think when you see me smiling just like I did in Canta?’

The corners of Roxiana’s mouth slightly turned up.

‘For that, I can do anything.’