"Young master, are you awake?"
As Lucas emerged from the secret chamber, he heard Nicole's voice from outside the door.
"Come in." Lucas replied, stretching lazily. The air in this world always made him feel so comfortable.
The door creaked open, and Nicole entered. Seeing Lucas there, she let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried that he might suddenly disappear, just as he had appeared out of nowhere before.
The thought of him vanishing and leaving Sedona City was something she found too terrifying to imagine.
"Young master, it's time for dinner." Nicole said softly, moving closer to help Lucas adjust his clothes.
She had been covering for him while he was in the secret chamber. Just half an hour ago, Ayesha had wanted to come in and call Lucas, but Nicole had managed to divert her.
"Mm," Lucas nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at Nicole's gentle, delicate face. Her flaxen hair was tied with a tricolor ribbon, one he had given her.
Nicole smiled as she adjusted Lucas's crooked collar. Every time she got close to him, she felt a mix of nervousness, shyness, and, more than anything, a touch of anticipation.
Suddenly, Lucas's strong arms wrapped around her waist, causing her body to stiffen momentarily before relaxing as she rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady, comforting rhythm of his heartbeat.
"You've worked hard these days." Lucas whispered softly near her ear, the fresh scent calming his restless heart.
Comparing Nicole to the girl Tia from Earth, Lucas realized there was no comparison. Nicole's presence made his heart race in a way that Tia never could.
He soon pushed thoughts of Tia aside. Such girls were fleeting encounters, mere footnotes in his life.
"It's no trouble at all. You're the one who's been working hard," Nicole murmured against his chest. "I've only been able to help with small things; I haven't done anything truly significant."
"Don't say such things," Lucas said with a tender smile, kissing her forehead gently. "Without you managing the castle, it would have descended into chaos by now."
A noble's castle, if left unmanaged, would quickly become disorganized. Even just coordinating staff and tasks was a massive undertaking.
Nicole, her face flushed, tightly gripped the hem of her dress. This was perhaps the happiest moment of her life, even if it was fleeting and only hers.
"By the way, Young Master, it's time for dinner. If we don't go soon, Ayesha will start complaining at me again."
After a quiet embrace, Nicole reluctantly stepped away from Lucas. Though she was reluctant to part from the comforting hug, she composed herself and made the move.
"Let's go then," Lucas said, playfully tapping Nicole's nose with his finger. He walked toward the dining area, shaking his head with a smile as he thought about Ayesha's large appetite.
An odd thought suddenly crossed his mind: Should he hold an eating contest? If Ayesha participated, would she win first place?
Nicole followed behind, her forehead still warm from the kiss. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and a charming smile played at her lips.
This was the first time Lucas had kissed her, and it felt entirely different from the times she had stolen kisses from him.
As they neared the dining area, they could already hear Ayesha's voice, weakly complaining.
"Nicole, you're so slow... Why hasn't the Young Master arrived yet? I'm starving..."
"Ayesha, hang in there a bit longer. Perhaps the master is still waking up."
In the castle, only the rabbit-eared Helen called Lucas "master." She seemed to prefer that term over "young master," as if she wanted a unique title for herself.
"Foolish rabbit, you need to change how you address him. It should be 'young master,' not 'master.'" Annie's clear voice rang out.
Annie was displeased that Helen alone used "master," feeling as though Lucas was exclusively hers in that sense.
"No, I'm used to it." Helen replied, a bit defiantly.
"I want to call him 'master' too." A cute voice piped up.
As Lucas entered the dining hall, he saw the fawn-eared Hazel with her hand raised, insisting on calling him "master."
"Alright, you can call me 'master' too." Lucas said with a smile.
Hazel, slightly shy, pulled her arm back and hid behind Helen, peeking out at Lucas with half of her head showing.
Hazel, the fawn-eared girl, now also lived in the castle with Helen. Lucas had agreed to this arrangement since Hazel was well-behaved and never caused trouble, making her very popular in the castle.
"Young Master, it's time to eat." Mina said softly.
"Mm." Lucas nodded, taking his seat at the head of the table. As he took the first bite, everyone else began to serve themselves.
"Hey, Ayesha! Why are you taking the whole dish away?" Annie exclaimed in frustration.
"Why don't you take a dish for yourself?" Ayesha replied, her mouth full, looking puzzled as she glanced at Annie's scrambled eggs with tomatoes, Mina's meat porridge, and Helen's meat buns.
"But that's specifically made for me." Annie said, protecting her plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. She only got to enjoy this dish once every three days.
Lucas had noticed that the fox-eared Annie had been eating too much sugar lately and had thus restricted her access to scrambled eggs with tomatoes. They could still be made, but without sugar, and only once every three days.
According to Annie, scrambled eggs without sugar weren't really worth it, so she opted to have them just once every three days.
"Is that so?" Ayesha tilted her head, realizing that everyone had a specific dish and thinking she could only choose one.
"Exactly," Annie said, raising her head and perking up her fox ears. "You can choose a dish or food you like, and occasionally, we'll make that special dish for you."
"Eh?" Ayesha blinked, her purple eyes darting towards Lucas for a moment before she quickly looked away. She suddenly opened her mouth and shoved the entire dish into it.
"You—you—you big cow! You ate it all! I only had one bite!" Annie's frustrated voice rang out again.
"Annie, can I have a bite of your scrambled eggs with tomatoes?" Ayesha's purple eyes zeroed in on Annie's plate.
"What? No way!" Annie stiffened, immediately guarding her dish. It wasn't Mina taking her food anymore; now it was Ayesha.
"Just one bite, please. I haven't even tried it yet," Ayesha pouted, looking pitiful.
"Really just one bite?" Annie softened a bit, narrowing her brown eyes. "Only one bite."
"Okay!" Ayesha nodded obediently.
"Then come and take some," Annie pushed the plate forward, her eyes darting warily at Mina, who was reaching for the food. "Mina, are you trying to steal some again?"
"No, I'm not. I just wanted to borrow a piece of egg." Mina said, turning her chopsticks to another dish.
"You... stinky big cow... so annoying..." Annie exclaimed in exasperation, glancing at her plate which had already lost half of its scrambled eggs to Ayesha.
"But I only had one bite." Ayesha said innocently, chewing away.
"You big-mouthed monster..."
"…"
Lucas struggled to keep a straight face, knowing that the fox-eared Annie always seemed to lose out when it came to food.
He turned to Nicole and whispered in her ear, "Next time, make some noodles and fry up some pork chops for Ayesha."
Seeing Ayesha's longing look earlier, he knew what she wanted but was too shy to ask directly.
"Understood." Nicole replied softly.
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