章 20: FIRST MEAL TOGETHER

"I APOLOGIZE for greeting you casually earlier, Lady Roseheart," Sawyer, Isaak Viotto's right-hand man, said. The knight was standing in front of Zoe while bowing. "My lord, Grand Duke Viotto, has ordered me to do so to let you know that you can trust me."

Zoe sipped her tea. She was sitting on the couch in her room while Dal was standing behind her. Even though she couldn't see it, she could tell that Dal was glaring at Sawyer. [Aigoo…]

Anyway…

Isaak Viotto probably ordered Sawyer to call her by her "pet name."

She forced the Grand Duke to call her that way. And Isaak Viotto probably told Sawyer to call her that way to let her know that the knight was someone that she could be comfortable with.

[Maybe.]

"It's alright, Sir Sawyer," Zoe said, addressing Sawyer now as 'sir' instead of 'Mr.' when she remembered that he was a knight. "Please take a seat and have a cup of tea."

Sawyer bowed again. "Thank you for your generosity, Lady Rochester."

The knight sat on the couch across from her. His face instantly lit up when he took a sip of his tea.

That reaction made her smile. "It's delicious, isn't it?"

He didn't smile, but he nodded. "The tea is delicious, Lady Rochester."

She pointed her thumb at Dal, who was standing behind her. "Dal brewed it for us."

Sawyer visibly froze in his seat.

If she looked closer, she'd see the fear in his eyes.

Pfft.

She almost laughed at his reaction.

"Thank. You. For. The. Tea," Sawyer said in a stiff and robotic voice while avoiding someone's gaze. "Miss. Dal."

Aigoo.

[Just what did Dal do to the poor knight?]

"Sir Sawyer, I'm not scolding you," she said gently. "But why did you try to enter my room instead of asking for a formal audience with me?"

Now she understood why Dal hadn't accompanied her when she went to her father's room earlier. She found it odd at first because Dal was the clingy type. But now, she realized that her maid probably didn't follow her because she noticed Sawyer's presence.

Zoe elegantly placed the teacup on the table. Then she crossed her arms over her chest. "What kind of report did His Grace send?"

The knight ripped the strange gem-like button off his shirt. Then he smashed the violet gem with his fingers with ease. A translucent violet dome suddenly covered her entire room.

"My lady," Dal whispered in her ear. "It's a noise-canceling spell."

Ah.

She nodded at what Dal said.

[That means Sawyer's message is very important.]

"Lady Rochester, my lord Grand Duke Viotto has already informed His Majesty Emperor Rino that he found Her Royal Highness Princess Leah Runaia thanks to your help," Sawyer said in a serious voice. "His Majesty wishes to meet you, my lady."

Dal gasped loudly behind her.

Zoe, on the other hand, tilted her head to one side. [Leah Runaia?]

Was that Princess Runa's real name?

***

"YOU'RE AWAKE, Princess Runa. I'm relieved," Isaak Viotto, seated on the chair beside the young princess's bed, said politely. "Shall I prepare a meal for you?"

The young Princess Runa looked confused.

[She must be wondering where she is right now.]

At least the young princess didn't look scared of him.

After Princess Runa collapsed from hunger the night he and his men rescued her, he brought the young princess to his mansion stealthily. His territory was the safest place for his niece, since not even Empress Veronica could send a spy on his duchy.

The empress tried to plant some spies in his territory some time ago. Of course, he sent them back to Her Majesty. By that, he meant the corpses.

"M-My lord..."

Being called 'my lord' by the true princess of the empire made him flinch.

Although Princess Runa was his niece, it still didn't feel right for her to address him that way. Her rank was higher than him, even though he was a Grand Duke with royal blood as well.

"W-Who are you, s-sir?" Princess Runa asked. She looked scared, but for some reason, he could tell that her fear was because of being in an unknown place and not because of his presence. The young princess seemed warier of him than scared. "A-And why do you know my n-name?"

Princess Runa's registered name was 'Leah Runaia Sulien.'

'Runa' was the nickname that Emperor Rino and the late Empress Liane had come up with when the empress was pregnant. The pet name stuck to him because his brother and his sister-in-law would always brag about their "little Runa" to him in the past.

He was actually shocked when Lady Zoe said 'Princess Runa' instead of 'Princess Leah' because the latter was how the people at the palace addressed the royal princess before. The fact that Lady Zoe knew Princess Runa's nickname convinced him that the lady had indeed met the late Empress Liane.

"Princess Runa, my name is Isaak Viotto," Isaak Viotto said respectfully. "I am your biological uncle, so please address me casually."

"U-Uncle…?" Princess Runa asked, her eyes wide open. Then she pointed at herself. "B-But why are you calling me p-princess, sir?"

[It looks like it will take time before Princess Runa becomes comfortable addressing me casually.]

He couldn't blame the young princess for it.

[That could wait. My priority right now is to let Princess Runa know who she really is. I can't bring her back to the palace yet. But I could at least tell her about her real identity.]

"Princess Runa, you are–"

The young princess's stomach growled loudly.

"You are hungry," he said bluntly. Their big talk could wait. "I shall feed you first."

Princess Runa's face turned red, as if she was embarrassed. "I-It's okay, sir," she said while waving her hands to reject his offer politely . "I c-can just e-eat breakfast t-tomorrow morning…"

"Princess Runa, we are the same," Isaak said gently. "I'm also a human turned ghoul."

***

ISAAK was silent while watching Knoxx, his personal chef, set the food on the table inside Princess Runa's room.

He and the young princess were sitting across from each other with a round table between them. Since Princess Runa was too small for her age, he had to put several cushions on her chair for her to reach the table comfortably.

"My lord, I apologize, but I haven't procured the right cutlery for children yet," Knoxx said in his usual crisp voice while placing a sharp knife on Princess Runa's side of the table. Then the chef turned to the young princess and bowed. "I apologize for my inadequacy, Your Royal Highness."

Princess Runa's face turned red, then she shook her head vehemently. "I'm f-fine, s-sir. T-Thank you f-for preparing all of this for m-me…"

"Please speak casually with me, Your Royal Highness," Knoxx said, with a deeper bow this time. "And Her Royal Highness doesn't have to thank me for doing my job."

The young princess looked like she didn't know what to say.

"You may leave now, Knoxx," Isaak said, dismissing the chef. "Tell everyone not to approach this room until I call for them."

Knoxx bowed his head and politely said goodbye to him and Princess Runa before leaving the room quietly.

Now it was only him and the young princess in the room again.

He immediately noticed that Princess Runa was looking at the raw "steak" on her plate. On the outside, the piece of meat on their plates looked like uncooked rib-eye steak. But he could tell by the look on the young princess's face that she knew it wasn't animal meat.

"It s-smells like h-human f-flesh," Princess Runa said in a trembling voice, then she raised her head to look at him straight in the eye. "B-But it's still d-different. S-Sir U-Uncle, w-what kind of f-food is this?"

['Sir Uncle?']

He held back a smile at how cute Princess Runa was and the "nickname" that she came up with for him.

"Princess Runa, there are two types of known ghouls in the empire," he said in a serious voice. "The first type is what we call Grimlings– the ghouls that hunt living humans for their flesh."

The young princess gulped, and her pupils shook from fear.

"The second type is what we call Gravelings– the ghouls that eat human corpses," he explained as gently as he could. "Gravelings are shape-shifters and they usually copy the form of animals. They linger in graveyards to dig human corpses and eat them." He politely pointed at Princess Runa's plate. "That meat came from a Graveling that I hunted in the graveyard of this town. The meat from a Graveling smells like human flesh because of the corpses that they ate when they were still alive."

Princess Runa covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped softly.

"We can't eat raw animals because they do not have the essence that ghouls need from human flesh," he continued with clenched hands. "Ghouls will die if they don't eat human flesh or corpses. But since we were born as humans and not ghouls, we can survive as long as we get the essence that the ghouls get from eating human flesh. Thus, I chose to eat Gravelings that look like animals instead of eating human corpses directly." He smiled sadly at the shocked young princess. "Do you think I'm repulsive, Princess Runa?"

The young princess looked at him with teary eyes.

He could see the emotions playing on her face– sympathy, sadness, and admiration.

"I e-eat d-dead m-mouse at n-night because I w-want to l-live," Princess Runa said. Her voice was still shaking. But the determination in her eyes looked firm. "S-Sir Uncle, w-we also d-deserve to l-live."

Isaak smiled and nodded. Then, he picked up his steak knife and began to cut the Graveling steak on his plate. After that, he exchanged plates with Princess Runa so that the young princess could eat more comfortably. The meat of Gravelings was tough and rubbery compared to animal meat after all. "You're right, Princess Runa," he said, then he smiled at the young princess. "Let's eat now."

***

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