The wind blowing through the window turned chilly. Litania got up, hearing the shouts of the knights in the distance.

Until now, the training cries hadn’t been audible, but seeing as piercing screams had been heard constantly these past few days, it seemed they had resumed proper training after a break.

‘I heard Orbis showed his face at the knights’ quarters, and it’s certainly having an effect.’

It appears they’re more motivated when the esteemed dragon god observes their training rather than the mistress who knows nothing of swordsmanship. Litania felt a bit bittersweet about it.

‘Since the knights like Orbis so much, I should send snacks through him from now on.’

Thinking of how the knights would deny this with tears of blood if they heard it, Litania slowly moved her left shoulder. It no longer hurt.

‘It seems to have healed completely now.’

As Litania extended her arm, it smoothly stretched upwards.

“It’s finally healed!”

Litania clenched both her fists.

“Now I can eat by myself!”

Though it was her left arm that was injured, not her right, Orbis had been helping with her meals, saying she shouldn’t overexert herself.

Helping with meals was an understatement; he would sit right next to her and feed her each bite of food.

As if she were a baby bird being cared for by its mother, Litania wanted to refuse out of embarrassment, but each time Orbis would repeat his invincible spell.

Feeling dizzy at the thought that he might even help her breathe next, she eventually had to open her mouth and eat whatever he offered, worn down by Orbis’s persistence.

Now that her arm was healed, she no longer needed to deeply contemplate human dignity.

“Lady Litania.”

“Snow!”

With the jingling of bells, a boy with snow-white hair slipped into the room. Seeing the familiar face, Litania broke into a broad smile and jumped off the bed.

“Snow, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. How about you, Lady Litania?”

“I’m all better too. Look!”

Litania spread her arms wide to show him, then promptly hugged Snow.

“Snow, I’m sorry. For hurting you.”

“Please don’t apologize. I should be the one apologizing.”

“Okay. Let’s not hurt each other anymore.”

As Litania hugged Snow and rubbed her cheek against his, she thought the boy’s body seemed to have grown oddly.

“Snow, did you get taller?”

“I’m always just as you wish me to be, Lady Litania.”

“Is that so? Maybe it’s just my imagination…”

Perhaps she had gained weight from eating well while resting. Or maybe Snow’s muscles had grown since he was a boy. Litania nodded, accepting this explanation.

“I missed you, Snow.”

“I missed you too.”

Snow smiled brightly and pulled in a trolley that had been left outside the door. It was laden with Litania’s favorite snacks.

“From now on, I’ll be serving you again. I’ll do an even better job in the future.”

“Thank you. But why is there so much?”

“I asked Pepper to develop new desserts. There will be a banquet soon, after all.”

“A banquet? What banquet?”

How could there be a banquet that she, the mistress, didn’t know about?

As Litania looked at Snow with wide eyes, the boy brought forward a plate of muffins that she liked.

“Of course, it’s a banquet to celebrate your recovery, Lady Litania!”

While Litania was bedridden, the cold wind blew fiercely elsewhere as well.

The temperature in the dragon castle seemed to have dropped by 5 degrees just from the absence of the mistress, who used to flutter about like a butterfly in her flowing skirts.

At first, it had been tiring to put on fake smiles in front of her, but now that they had grown accustomed to it, the time spent among themselves without the mistress felt terribly bleak.

That’s why they accepted Snow’s suggestion to hold a celebratory banquet when the mistress recovered.

‘That Snow…’

The fact that Snow had confronted the master of the dragon castle was a great shock to the other servants. They were even more surprised that he had survived.

The servants of the dragon castle speculated on how Snow could have survived and came to one conclusion.

‘Snow may be impertinent.’

‘But the mistress is fond of Snow.’

‘That’s right. We’ve all been practicing to smile like Snow.’

That spring-like mistress is the most cherished being of their master. Far more than Snow.

So the dragon god chose to spare Snow for the sake of Litania, who was dear to him, rather than killing the impertinent boy.

‘Then if we also catch the mistress’s eye… does that mean we can survive?’

The servants of the dragon castle didn’t dislike being loyal to their master. However, dragons were capricious beings, and the threat of death for displeasing him loomed large.

But if they caught Litania’s eye.

‘It means we’d at least be given one chance to live, right? That’s amazing!’

‘But… the mistress only likes Snow.’

‘How can we make the mistress like us too?’

The servants sought out Snow during his break and questioned him thoroughly about what Litania liked and what humans do when they recover from illness.

Snow, never tiring of matters concerning Litania, shared in detail everything he knew. The idea for the celebratory banquet came up during these conversations.

‘Let’s make the mistress happy!’

The servants’ goal was set. The surest way for them to survive. To imprint their existence on Litania, who enveloped this bleak dragon castle like warm sunlight!

The scenery of the dragon castle was slowly transitioning from the dazzling end of autumn to the onset of winter’s chill.

Only a few withered, twisted leaves remained on the large branches of the garden trees, and dry fallen leaves occasionally danced in the cold wind.

Although the first snow had not yet fallen, the servants of the dragon castle were bustling about, preparing for winter.

Under the direction of butler Simons, garden servants swept up scattered leaves with their brooms, while in the kitchen, chef Pepper reviewed recipes and taught the assistant cooks how to prepare ingredients.

“Lady Litania likes sweet yet savory dishes. Avoid overly greasy foods.”

“I got it, Snow, stop nagging and get out! The kitchen is my domain!”

Pepper waved his bear-like arm as if to shoo Snow away. Snow sniffed the air to check the state of the dishes, smiled brightly, and left.

Watching the quick rabbit-like figure that appeared suddenly to nag and then vanish swiftly, Pepper sighed deeply.

“If only the mistress would realize that brat’s annoying true nature.”

The main gate of the dragon castle was open for the first time in a while. Servants in thicker clothing due to the approaching winter were driving cargo wagons.

As the wagons stopped, the rear compartments opened, and boxes of alcohol were unloaded one by one.

Knights returning from training cast expectant glances at the servants carrying the cargo.

Alcohol!

They would see the recovered lady at the banquet and drink alcohol too.

Isn’t this killing two birds with one stone?

The knights whistled, eagerly anticipating the evening’s banquet.

“Everyone go wash up! You’re not planning to enter the banquet hall reeking of sweat, are you?”

At Captain Bain’s command, the knights who had been distracted by thoughts of alcohol scurried off to the annex. Bain clicked his tongue, watching their retreating figures moving in a herd.

“Have they lost their minds from training, or is it because they haven’t seen the lady in a while? They’ve all turned into children these days.”

As the serene moonlight rose, a banquet for Litania was held in the main castle.

The long golden table in the banquet hall was filled with various meticulously prepared dishes alongside gleaming silver tableware.

Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and silver candlesticks on the table filled the hall with warm light.

“My lady, congratulations on your recovery.”

“Mistress, please come this way.”

Faces brightened at the sight of Litania’s healthy appearance after so long. Litania, feeling a bit shy, smiled bashfully as she took her seat at the head of the table.

Since the mistress couldn’t share a table with servants, Litania’s seat was at the knights’ table.

Several small tables were set along the edges, where the servants apparently planned to enjoy the banquet while standing.

Even Snow, the small attendant who always stayed by her side, was standing with the other servants today, looking at her with a contented smile.

“Wow… there’s so much!”

Litania marveled at the dishes laid out on the table.

Grilled salmon, risotto with cream sauce, beef steak, triangular whole wheat bread topped with savory ham and cheese. The table was filled with dishes made from ingredients of unknown origin.

“Those fellows wanted to fill the table with only your favorites, mistress, but I strongly insisted that a variety would be better for your health.”

Hazel chimed in with a subtly proud voice.

As a servant of the dragon castle, he should have been standing back against the wall, but having inadvertently become something like Litania’s personal physician, he was allocated a corner of the knights’ table.