The underground waterway construction project extending from the upstream to the downstream of the river was completed much earlier than expected. It was around the time when the fierce heatwave had just begun to subside.

‘Incredible……’

Recalling the words of the bureaucratic ministers who said the construction alone would take more than a year, aside from budget issues, Litania found it difficult to discern whether they had been exaggerating or if the servants of the Dragon Castle were truly remarkable.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

As the sun set and the lamps hanging on the trees emitted yellow and blue light, Litania expressed her gratitude to the Dragon Castle servants gathered around the outdoor table.

“Since we’ll start the reservoir construction next week, take today and tomorrow to eat, drink, and rest well. Um…… Pepper prepared the meal, but I’m not sure if I should be saying this.”

“Oh my, cooking is the only way I can be of help to the young lady. Sob!”

As Hazel, sitting next to her, pinched and twisted Pepper’s thigh, Pepper made a strange noise and bit his tongue.

“Ah, no. Lady Litania…”

As Pepper corrected his form of address while wincing in pain, Litania called out to him with a worried expression.

“Pepper, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern, my… lady.”

Seeming awkward about calling her ‘my lady’ instead of ‘madam’, Pepper’s speech became clumsy. Perhaps he disliked addressing her that way.

Litania pretended not to notice and brightened the mood with a cheerful voice.

“Well then, let’s all have our meal. Tonight, let’s not talk about work and just enjoy ourselves.”

Cheers erupted.

The smaller servants sitting on the outer edges swiftly snatched up plates of nuts like squirrels and brought them to their tables.

The elegant group resembling flamingos sitting near Simons sipped fruit juice from long glass flutes.

The mole-like group who had made great contributions to the underground waterway construction heaped long sausages stuffed with minced meat onto their plates, avoiding the light from the lamps.

Litania, who had been watching Snow contentedly as he ate diligently from an entire basket of salad, turned her gaze to Orbis sitting beside her.

‘Oh?’

He had filled his plate with freshwater crayfish stir-fried in spicy sauce and was peeling off the shells.

As their eyes met, Orbis smiled and offered Litania a plate filled with the peeled crayfish meat.

“Please eat, Litania.”

“I can peel them myself.”

“You seem reluctant to eat when it’s inconvenient.”

If anything, isn’t it Orbis who is rarely seen eating? As Litania was about to refuse, Orbis speared a piece of crayfish meat with his fork and held it up to her lips.

Unconsciously accepting it, Litania’s expression melted at the fragrant and spicy taste, but she soon blushed, perhaps feeling embarrassed.

It was frustrating that she couldn’t complain because the dish was delicious.

“Treating me like a child.”

“Is that also a small complaint? Should I sympathize?”

“Don’t tease me.”

As Litania pouted grumpily, his mischievous smile deepened.

When Orbis offered the crayfish dish again, Litania opened her mouth to accept it, as if unable to resist.

The servants’ bustling movements as they ate their own dishes had already stopped.

‘The master is feeding the lady!’

‘My goodness… He who never touched dishes like freshwater crayfish!’

Dozens of pairs of eyes simultaneously turned towards their master and Litania beside him.

The master of the Dragon Castle did not discriminate by situation or place if he had someone precious by his side.

Regardless of whether the servants watched with shocked eyes or not, he was now bringing over red-grilled shrimp, peeling them himself, and placing them in Litania’s mouth.

“Isn’t Orbis eating?”

“I’m eating bit by bit as well.”

“I didn’t see you eating.”

“Now, open your mouth.”

As the small mouth opened, Orbis’s expression softened considerably.

Long, straight fingers picked up a white shrimp and pushed it between the red lips.

As the moist lips closed and the pale cheeks puffed out, the blue eyes narrowed in satisfaction.

“……”

The eyes of the servants watching the scene also narrowed together.

The servants were not unaware of the reason why he brought over shell-on grilled shrimp to peel by hand, even though there were separately prepared peeled shrimp dishes.

However, no one dared to point this out.

‘Is this what they call flirting?’

‘But the master is a dragon, not a dog?’

‘That’s awesome. I should try that later too.’

‘Do you have someone to feed peeled shrimp to?’

The servants who had been whispering and exchanging quick glances bickered, stepping on each other’s feet under the table.

Simons, who had been watching the scene with a look of exasperation, suddenly spoke up.

“Lady Litania. Is our mission over once we complete the reservoir?”

“Yes. You’ve all been truly amazing. You’ve so simply resolved an issue that the bureaucrats couldn’t solve for decades despite putting their heads together.”

“Then will our efforts be recognized?”

“Of course. His Majesty will reward…”

“We would like to serve Lady Litania as our mistress again.”

The atmosphere, which had been buoyant with the summer night’s heat, suddenly cooled.

Pepper, with a mouthful of horse meat, stared at Simons with wide eyes.

His expression seemed to protest, ‘You who mercilessly struck my side when I called her madam, what are you saying now?’

The other servants, not feeling as wronged as Pepper, all closed their mouths and looked at Simons and Litania.

Wanting to serve Litania as their mistress again.

Simons, as the manager and butler, had spoken on behalf of what everyone wished for in their hearts but dared not say.

They waited for Litania’s answer, not even daring to breathe.

“Hmm. I think I ate too much. I’m full.”

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up.

“I’ll go in first. Everyone, enjoy your meal.”

As Litania bade farewell and turned away, Orbis also stood up.

Dozens of pairs of eyes followed the two.

However, no one dared to call them back.

‘Did I say something unnecessary?’

‘Ah. The mood has soured.’

‘Maybe we were too hasty.’

‘Madam, what if you never come back at this rate?’

The hands that had been busily picking up food now set down their plates lifelessly.

The servants sighed with dejected faces.

In the night that had fallen silent, only the stars in the sky twinkled faintly.

Even though their spirits were dampened, their bodies did not slow down, and so the reservoir construction was quickly completed.

By building a dam upstream to change the flow of the river, it was not difficult to create a reservoir in a suitable location near the village.

Thanks to their efforts to lay a solid foundation to prevent villagers from flooding while also being mindful not to harm the natural landscape, the reservoir looked just like a lake formed by ground uplift when viewed from afar.

Litania marveled at the sight of sunlight dancing on the sparkling water. She thought it could be developed into a tourist attraction if boats were to be launched.

“I didn’t expect such a large reservoir to be built so quickly.”

“Since it’s the first time we’ve worked outside the Dragon Castle, I actually thought it took longer.”

“If humans were doing this, they couldn’t dig underground waterways and build a reservoir within a month. While the bureaucratic ministers spent decades in armchair discussions without considering the people suffering from floods, it can be completed this quickly with the power of the divine dragon.”

“It wasn’t just armchair discussions. I had no intention of getting involved.”

“Pardon?”

“Have I ever moved for anything other than matters related to you?”

Despite being the guardian deity of Beriberbium, Orbis had never once done anything for the empire of his own accord.

Blocking the invasion of magical beasts was to protect his nest, not the empire, and the reason other countries dared not invade was because they succumbed to the majesty of the divine dragon proclaimed by the empire.

If any of them had mustered the courage to invade the empire, they would have realized that the divine dragon would not intervene even in the face of danger to the empire.

“The rain ritual, flying far to exterminate magical beasts, building the barrier, leaving the Dragon Castle to visit foreign countries with you as envoys, and even creating underground waterways and reservoirs outside the capital.”

Orbis had used the power of the divine dragon entirely for Litania’s sake.

To protect her.

And to fulfill her wishes.

“I never said I would protect the imperial family of my own accord. I only protect you.”

“Orbis……”

“Well then, shall we take a look around to see if the final construction has gone well?”

Orbis, who had stepped onto the white stones encircling the water, held out his hand towards Litania. As she grasped his hand, her body was lifted up effortlessly.

“Oh, Orbis!”

“The water is clear.”

Orbis wrapped his right arm around Litania’s waist and held her hand with his left, leading her as if dancing.

Their reflections were mirrored upside down on the water that held the deep blue sky.

Perhaps feeling like she might fall and plunge into the water at any moment, Litania pressed herself close to Orbis. He kissed the top of her head soothingly and asked in a low voice.

“Do you remember? The lake I first took you to was about this size. And when I taught you how to swim in the lake at the Dragon Castle…”

“……”

“Litania?”

Puzzled by her complete lack of response, he lowered his head to find Litania’s expression had become rigid.

She had turned pale, as if frightened.