“That Pepper guy, after pondering for a few days, seems to have made everything he could make.”

“Is this it? With so many, there must be something you like, right?”

“Yes. Thanks to that, I also got lucky.”

Hazel, who had stacked plates filled with fruit on one side and cheesecake on the other, answered while rubbing her hands together like a squirrel.

“Please eat a lot, my lady. You are too thin. You need to gain more weight.”

“Haha. Alright, Hazel.”

Litania laughed, pleasantly brushing off Hazel’s nagging.

While the banquets at the Imperial Palace were uncomfortable and boring, the banquet with the servants and knights of the Dragon Castle felt comfortable, perhaps because they felt like family.

There were so many dishes on the table that even if she just tasted each one, she couldn’t eat them all, but for Pepper who had worked hard to prepare them, she cleared her throat and announced the start of the banquet, hoping others would enjoy the food.

“Thank you for gathering here for me. Today, let’s not think about complicated things like status, and everyone enjoy themselves.”

With the permission of the banquet’s protagonist, the knights began to enjoy the abundant food with excited faces.

Some people eating cheese on thick bread without even cutting it, others eating seafood beautifully plated with spicy sauce, and some showing their satisfaction with delicious food by bringing spoonfuls to their mouths with joyful expressions…

Seeing how even their eating habits varied, it seemed that not all Imperial knights had the same background, contrary to expectations.

The captain, Bain, glared at his subordinate knights with a slightly displeased expression but didn’t reprimand them.

It was partly to avoid disrupting the atmosphere, and also because if he intervened after Litania had given permission, it might be seen as finding fault with his lord.

‘It’s a banquet celebrating the lady’s recovery, but anyone watching would think it’s for those guys.’

He sighed lightly and began eating the precisely cut steak, placing his fork and knife in the exact position.

As he had felt since first arriving at the Dragon Castle, the cook here was definitely skilled.

The cook sent from the Imperial Palace being relegated to just one of the assistant cooks rather than head chef was probably not just due to favoritism.

“Sorry for the wait. Pepper’s special dish for the lady, ‘White Horse’s Heart’ is ready!”

The kitchen door opened, and a man as burly as a bear appeared carrying an equally massive special dish.

It was an unfamiliar dish with white lotus flowers arranged on the plate, and herbs sprinkled over faintly glowing white meat.

As Pepper approached and set the dish down in the center of Litania’s table, her eyes widened.

“Did you really cook a heart…?”

“I worked hard on the presentation. It looks even more like a heart when you cut into it.”

“What?”

You fool! Snow shouted internally.

Pepper had decided to devise a new dish for Litania’s recovery celebration banquet.

Unlike the knights who mainly ate meat-based meals, the servants of the Dragon Castle, except for a few like Pepper, generally ate vegetarian.

So he wanted to make a fake meat dish that had a similar flavor to meat by cooking seaweed, and have Litania taste it.

Snow thought this was fine up to this point.

The problem was naming the new dish. Pepper named it ‘White Horse’s Eyeball’ because it was made with seaweed that tasted like his favorite delicacy, eyeballs.

As soon as Snow heard the name, he was horrified and said the lady would dislike it, so they should stop, but Pepper insisted on using his favorite horse in the name because it had the same taste and texture as a meat dish.

Since Pepper was adamant, Snow made a few suggestions.

White horse was fine. But avoid using body parts that evoke disgust, like eyeballs, in the name.

Also exclude unhygienic parts like nostrils or soles of feet from name candidates.

The name should be as artistic and beautiful as possible.

Pepper agreed to Snow’s suggestions, and said it would take more time to come up with a name, so Snow nodded in agreement, expecting that much, and turned away.

‘Heart… Well, at least it’s not kidney or duodenum.’

He shouldn’t have trusted Pepper’s naming sense; he had been too complacent. Snow’s eyes clouded over.

“It’s made from seaweed from the northern sea. Originally it becomes transparent and mushy when heated, but I used fruit salt to make it chewy and appear white.”

“Ah, so it’s just named heart…”

Litania sighed in relief, stroking her chest. Snow also finally relaxed at her reaction.

“Now, my lady. Please try it.”

“The taste isn’t like organ meat, is it…?”

Litania skeptically cut into the glossy surface with her knife.

Surprisingly, the fake meat made from seaweed cut smoothly without much force.

“It’s pretty…”

She had worried there might be blood vessels inside since it was called heart, but unlike the white exterior, the inside was divided into four sections filled with red and yellow fruit salt, looking just like a cake.

‘But won’t it be salty with so much salt?’

Litania cut a small piece of meat and brought it to her mouth.

Pepper’s special dish, which eliminated the distinctive seaweed smell, really had a chewy texture. And unexpectedly, it had a nutty and subtle sweet taste.

“Wow, this is delicious!”

“Right? I thought you would like it. Heart is my second favorite part after eyeballs!”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said I’m so happy you’re enjoying it that my heart is pounding and my head is spinning!”

…That doesn’t seem to be what he said before.

Anyway, since Pepper’s dish was flawless, Litania had it shared with the knights and servants as well.

Litania watched them eat with satisfaction, then asked the knight captain Bain, who had not yet touched the food.

“Bain, how is training these days?”

Barely suppressing the stiffening of his shoulders at the word ‘training’, Bain answered politely.

“…We are devoting ourselves wholeheartedly.”

“I heard Orbis has been watching the training every day lately. Is he observing well?”

“It feels like greeting the grim reaper every day…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. My words slipped for a moment.”

His true feelings had burst out for an instant, and Bain bit his lip. To let his inner thoughts escape aloud, his mind must have become lax to make such a mistake!

“Haha. Bain, you’ve grown to resemble Orbis with your jokes?”

Resemble who? Bain looked at Litania with surprised eyes, then quickly lowered his gaze.

“He’s unexpectedly friendly when you meet him in person, right?”

“Pardon? Friendly…”

“I thought he’d be arrogant since he’s a divine dragon, but he’s kind and gentle, though sometimes he makes jokes that are hard to understand, maybe because his way of thinking is different.”

“…?”

Kind? Gentle? Jokes?

Who is she talking about now? Bain’s eyes wavered. The eyes of the confused knights wavered along with his.

“Anyway, maybe it’s because Orbis goes there himself, but the shouts from the training grounds lately sound different.”

Shouts? Wouldn’t those be death throes?

The knights recalled Orbis mercilessly striking them with an icy expression that left no room for even a needle to enter, and their hair stood on end. The grim reaper of death must surely wear the most beautiful poker face.

They say to train as if it were real combat, and truly, Orbis showed no hesitation in threatening death.

The divine dragon’s ability to revive even the dying acted as a curse rather than a miracle on the training grounds.

As long as they had a shred of life left, Orbis could heal them even from fatal wounds, so the knights repeatedly went to the brink of death and returned.

The boundary between this world and the next, which others would cross only once at the end of life, the knights crossed back and forth with each training session.

Originally, a divine dragon is a being that can kill any creature without mercy. For the first time, the knights could indirectly experience what would happen if the supreme being protecting the empire became their enemy.

After training ended, the knights sprawled on the training ground floor gasped for breath and begged Bain for salvation.

When Bain shouted, the knights shed tears of regret for their past.

They shouldn’t have complained about not seeing the divine dragon even once in over three months since coming to the Dragon Castle.

If they had known they would have to endure this insane training, they would have been content to never see the divine dragon and just eat the snacks the young lady brought.

They say ice rain falls and lightning strikes in the Dragon Castle, and it was true.

They had never cried in fear even on the battlefield, but to think they would cry like children and beg for their lives when struck by the divine dragon’s merciless sword!

Bain furrowed his brow and clenched his fist tightly, trying to forget the momentary surge of shame.