Chapter 246

"Your Highness, please don't worry. With Grand Princess Perry's courage and wisdom, she'll certainly be fine." Freya softly reassured her.

"Mm." Annie sighed. Grand Princess Perry was the most outstanding among all the princes and princesses, rivaling even the Valtoria Great Knight in skill.

She speculated that Perry was likely engaged in battle somewhere right now.

"Alright, let's eat first, then take a break." Lucas interrupted the somber mood.

He could tell that the topic of the Valtoria Beastkin Kingdom's destruction—buried under snow and ice after the harsh cold wave—was dampening the spirits of the beast-eared girls present. Even the usually cheerful cow girl wasn't saying much.

After all, being exiled from their homeland and separated from loved ones wasn't something anyone could easily smile about.

"Yay! Food!" Ayesha forced a small smile and raised her hand, cheering. For her, eating was the ultimate comfort—everything else was secondary.

"Freya, sit down and eat with us," Annie said, turning to the wolfgirl standing nearby. "Don't be so formal. Valtoria is gone now, so you don't have to treat me like a princess anymore."

"No, you'll always be a princess," Freya insisted stubbornly, shaking her long orange hair. "You'll forever be my princess!"

"Then, I order you to sit down and eat with us," Annie said with a helpless smile. She knew Freya all too well—stubborn, rigid. After all, they had grown up together, and Freya was the one who had been by her side the longest.

"Yes!" Freya responded crisply, sitting upright next to Annie. She stared blankly at the dishes in front of her.

Tonight's dinner consisted of stir-fried dishes: boiled cabbage, cucumber salad, stir-fried kai-lan, and braised pork ribs. The focus was clearly on vegetables, with noticeably less meat than usual.

"Hurry up and eat before it gets cold again." Lucas said, being the first to pick up his chopsticks. These dishes had already been reheated once.

Freya widened her eyes in disapproval. How could the princess not take the first bite? She opened her mouth to say something but was silenced by a sharp glare from Annie. Reluctantly, she closed her mouth and stayed quiet.

"..." Annie let out a silent sigh. She had no intention of putting on airs as a princess, as it would only create distance between her and the others. She didn't want to return to the lonely life she once had—this current lifestyle was exactly what she longed for.

"Start eating!" Lucas, sensing the tension, casually picked up a piece of braised pork rib and placed it on Annie's plate, offering her a reassuring smile.

"Mm!" Annie responded with a soft laugh, her fox ears twitching as she picked up the rib and began to eat. Under the table, she gently tugged at the hem of Freya's clothes.

"Uh…" Freya reluctantly shifted her glare away from Lucas. How dare he serve food to the princess? The audacity! If the princess weren't holding her back, she'd insist on taste-testing that piece of meat first!

"Come on, eat. These dishes are far better than anything made in the palace," Annie said, picking up some food and placing it on Freya's plate. She pointed them out one by one, saying, "This is braised pork ribs, and this is braised pork belly..."

"Yes!" Freya answered respectfully, finally picking up a fork and beginning to eat.

"Huh? This meat? It's delicious!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

With just one bite of the braised pork, Freya's eyes widened in shock, completely captivated by the flavor. She began eating voraciously, even going so far as to compete with Ayesha over the food.

"Hey, hey… you wolf-girl, that was my piece of meat!" Ayesha glared at her with her violet eyes, upset that the last piece of braised pork on her plate had been snatched by Freya.

"No, it's the piece I grabbed," Freya retorted, promptly stuffing the meat into her mouth.

Even though the two knew each other, neither was willing to give up their prize once they'd claimed it. Before long, the dining table turned into a battlefield, the two taking turns snatching food from one another.

The scene made everyone burst out laughing. It was a familiar sight—every newcomer to the castle's meals seemed to transform into a food-grabbing fanatic.

Half an hour later, dinner was over, and the table was left in a chaotic mess. Realizing this, Freya blushed deeply, lowering her head in embarrassment.

'Ugh, Freya, you're such a failure! Acting so disgracefully in front of Her Highness... How embarrassing…' Freya internally scolded herself in a harsh mental tirade.

"Freya can stay with you tonight, Annie," Nicole suggested gently. "We'll prepare a separate room for her tomorrow. The houses in the castle's backyard need stoves installed; otherwise, it's far too cold to stay there."

"That's fine! I can have a good chat with Freya," Annie nodded, agreeing without hesitation.

"T-this… how could I? I can just sleep on the floor." Freya said, flustered, waving her hands defensively.

"That's an order!" Annie rolled her eyes, standing up and dragging Freya out of the room. She was determined to talk things over with the wolfgirl—leaving things as they were would only make things awkward for everyone.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Freya obeyed, allowing Annie to lead her away.

"...."

As they walked, Annie was deep in thought, trying to figure out the best way to persuade Freya. However, before she could say anything, Freya spoke first.

"Your Highness, tomorrow I will escort you out of here." Freya said seriously.

"What? Leave? Why should we leave?" Annie was taken aback, frowning. "We've been fine here; I don't want to leave."

"Your Highness, staying here is too dangerous. This is a human city, and it poses a significant threat to your safety."

Freya's voice was filled with concern. "Also, Prince Santner has been searching for you. If you stay here, it will eventually be exposed. He will use force to seize the treasure map from you."

This city, Sedona City, would soon be discovered by Santner. Even if they weren't here, he would eventually take control of it.

"My master will protect me, and you've come to help, haven't you?" Annie smiled lightly. "I trust that you will protect me, just like you always have."

From what she knew about Sedona City's military strength, as long as the enemy didn't send thousands of beastmen knights, the city would be safe.

"Master?" Freya's voice stretched in surprise. This term was used by servants or lower-ranking individuals to address young nobles. How could Her Highness use it?

"Hehe..." Annie stuck out her tongue. After living with Mina for so many years, she had long abandoned her princess identity. Being taken in by Lucas was already the greatest stroke of luck for them.

"Your Highness, you really need to change that way of addressing him. You are, after all, a princess!" Freya quickly advised.

"Alright, we'll talk about it later." Annie waved her hand dismissively.

Freya felt that Her Highness had changed too much. How could that human nobleman make the princess address him as "master"? This was intolerable!

No, she had to get the princess out of here as soon as possible, and before they left, she would definitely make sure to teach that nobleman a lesson.

"Let's go, you need a bath." Annie urged.

"Your Highness, I can handle this myself," Freya said shyly.

"This is soap. It's for your bath…"

"Huh? There are so many bubbles…" Freya gasped in amazement.

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