Dinner

After Venus left, it was time for the teahouse to close.

Li Yuan went outside to flip the sign, then returned the copy of 《Chronicles of Kyushu》 to its place on the shelf, pouring himself another cup of green tea as he did so.

He was somewhat interested in this new guest who arrived on a crawler, but only to the extent that he was willing to listen to whatever interesting stories she might have.

After all... it was the first time he had seen such a crawler—a natural creation that existed somewhere between a living organism and a non-living object... or perhaps a magical creation? Or maybe a magical lifeform?

It was likely a lifeform unique to this world, as no such thing existed on the Kyushu Continent. He could think of one or two similar things, but those were artificial creations—for instance, the automated war puppets of the Puppet Sect were such creations that bridged the gap between life and non-life.

But this was different; there were no traces of human intervention. It had evolved purely through natural means.

In any case, it had successfully piqued a sliver of Li Yuan's curiosity.

...

Over the next few days, the exchange between the imperial delegation and the kingdom officially commenced. The Royal Magic and Martial Arts Academy also welcomed a group of exchange students from the Imperial Royal Academy.

In order not to lose face in front of the empire, the academy assigned various tasks to each year. The Second-Year Special Class was no exception, and Setis in particular was heavily involved.

With her status and strength, the academy naturally chose her, their star student, to represent them rather than anyone else.

Consequently, she was bogged down by various tasks for several days in a row. Not only was she unable to visit the teahouse for tea, but even the number of times she could return home for a meal had decreased significantly.

In the evening, the entire family of the Duke's estate gathered at the dining table for the first time in a long while. The dining room finally welcomed its true masters, and the long table was already laden with various dishes.

Roasted meat, vegetable soup, grilled fish, and several types of delicate pastries were still steaming. The head chef, Peters, clearly placed great importance on this rare family dinner.

However, the atmosphere at the table was not exactly harmonious.

Setis sat in her seat, picking at her food. Her fork poked at the plate several times, and the sliced roast meat was flipped and cut repeatedly, yet the amount on the plate barely diminished.

Her gaze was somewhat dull, and she hardly registered the conversation at the table, offering only the most basic, mechanical responses.

Seeing his daughter in such a state, Duke Sebas finally put down his knife and fork.

“It's rare for the whole family to gather for dinner... Setis, why do you look so gloomy and reluctant?”

Setis seemed to just snap back to reality. She looked up at her father and slowly shook her head.

“I'm not reluctant...”

Her answer was stiff and formal, not at all the tone a young person should have.

“And I'm not unhappy.”

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued to poke the roast meat on her plate with her fork.

Sitting nearby, Reinhardt looked at his sister and then at his father, hesitating to speak. Finally, he cleared his throat and explained on Setis's behalf.

“She might just be a bit tired lately. She's been handling most of the exchange activities at the academy. Some of the students from the empire are quite prickly... they aren't exactly easy to get along with.”

Hearing this, the Duke nodded in agreement.

“That's true.”

He picked up his knife and fork again and cut a piece of roast meat.

“That bunch from the empire is indeed difficult to deal with. As a member of our family, it's only natural for Setis to do her part. His Majesty is very pleased with our family's recent performance, so if it's tiring, so be it. Just rest early after dinner.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Duchess sitting beside him chuckled softly.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it drew the eyes of everyone at the table.

The Duke looked at his wife in confusion.

“What are you laughing at?”

The Duchess wiped her mouth with a napkin and glanced at her husband.

“Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?”

The Duke became even more confused.

“Know what?”

The Duchess didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Setis and raised her voice slightly on purpose.

“This isn't from exhaustion. It's because a certain someone hasn't had tea brewed by Mr. Li Yuan for several days, and she's practically sick with longing, isn't she?”

The fork in Setis's hand froze instantly. In the next moment, she snapped her head up and shouted, regardless of etiquette.

“Mother!”

Her face turned red all at once.

“I am not.”

The Duchess blinked, her tone very gentle.

“You don't miss the tea? But that tea is clearly so delicious.”

“No!”

Setis's reply was firm.

“I don't want to drink tea at all!”

The Duchess nodded slowly, putting on a look of realization.

“Oh, so you don't want to drink tea.”

But in just a couple of seconds, she switched to an even deeper smile. Like a child about to pull off a successful prank, her eyes narrowed into crescents.

“Then you must be missing the person?”

The moment those words came out, Setis felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

She never expected her mother to be so blunt. The red on her face spread from her ears all the way down to her neck, and even her hand holding the fork loosened involuntarily.

“Mother—”

Her voice was much softer than usual, sounding almost like she was whining.

Reinhardt, who was busy eating, was also startled by the words and nearly spat out his food. He subconsciously looked over at his father, cautiously observing his reaction.

However, Duke Sebas's reaction was exceptionally calm. He speared a piece of roast meat with his fork and merely nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

“Speaking of which, it has indeed been busy lately. I haven't seen Mr. Li for a while either.”

He put the meat into his mouth, chewed a few times, and continued.

“I actually quite miss the time when he lived here.”

Setis was stunned, and Reinhardt also wore an expression of disbelief.

The siblings didn't know how to respond for a moment, but the Duchess ruthlessly exposed her husband's lie.

“What you miss is Mr. Li's tea-making skills.”

The Duchess turned back to the siblings, her tone carrying a hint of amused mockery.

“Don't be fooled by your father's usual act. Several times when he returned from the palace, he took a detour through the Outer City just to have a cup of tea at Mr. Li's teahouse before coming home.”

Setis snapped her gaze toward her father.

The Duke's face became visibly stiff. He picked up his water glass and pretended to drink, attempting to hide his embarrassment with the movement.

Under the persistent gaze of the three, he eventually set the glass down awkwardly and stubbornly insisted.

“That wasn't a detour. I was inspecting the reconstruction progress in the area and stopped for a cup of tea along the way.”

Hearing this, Reinhardt chimed in offhandedly.

“Isn't Dean Napa in charge of the reconstruction?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he had said the wrong thing.

Sure enough, the Duke immediately glared at him.

Reinhardt silently lowered his head and continued to deal with his dinner.

The table fell silent for a moment. Setis didn't immediately look away as she usually did; instead, she watched her father with a scrutinizing gaze.

Those golden-brown eyes were written with a single message—I need a reasonable explanation.