Chapter 208: Extra Meal

Lita set down the wine glass, pulled the chair back slightly, then rose solemnly and knelt on one knee.

“Your Majesty, I have already sworn an oath to protect Lady Cecilia with my life. Please rest assured.”

The King looked at Lita kneeling on one knee and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he waved his thick hand.

“Get up. The food’s getting cold.”

That said, the dishes in front of the King had almost all been cleared away, hot or cold, hadn’t they?

Lita rose and returned to her seat. The dinner continued in a quiet atmosphere. The King resumed his hearty eating manner, as if that previous conversation had never happened.

Lita also picked up her utensils again, cutting the food on the table bit by bit and bringing it to her mouth.

Until the King set down his wine glass and let out a loud belch, Lita knew this banquet had finally come to an end.

“Alright, I’m full.” The King pushed back his chair, his massive body making the floor tremble. “Head back early. You need to perform well at tomorrow’s enfeoffment ceremony.”

Indeed, the next day was the enfeoffment ceremony.

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Hearing Lita’s reply, the King nodded, turned, and left the dining room. His obese back gradually vanished into the shadows of the corridor, like a moving hill sinking into water.

The candle flames flickered on silver candlesticks, casting wavering shadows on the walls. The table was a mess of dishes, and the air still smelled of food and wine.

Lita stood alone in the empty dining room—she had already risen before the King stood up.

The King’s voice still echoed in her mind. She thought about every word he had said to her—the trivial, the important, the ones that struck at the core. The information the King had given her was not much, but it was truly critical, so critical that she might need a long time to verify it.

Then, she thought of Cecilia, that blonde girl who was always stern but had recently shown more expressions.

Now, she just wanted to let out a long sigh.

“Lady Lita.” The attending maid called softly.

Lita turned her head. Seeing Lita’s expression, the maid immediately bowed her head slightly.

“You may continue dining here. When you finish, I will personally escort you back to your room.”

Lita looked at the maid, then at the delicious food on the table.

Then, she sat back down.

*

“How disgraceful! What have you been learning in etiquette class these past few days? Why did you keep eating there for so long after Father left!”

Cecilia held her head in frustration, her gaze as if she wanted to devour Lita alive.

“But… it was really delicious…” Lita defended herself in a voice like a mosquito. “Thrift is a virtue.”

“That’s right, even if Father’s chef is top-notch, even if you talk about thrift, you shouldn’t just…”

Cecilia was so angry she didn’t know what to say. After struggling for a long time, she asked back indignantly.

“Can’t I normally feed you enough?”

That sentence itself was actually not a problem.

But considering Lita was a Dream Demon, the problem was huge.

After saying this angry remark, Cecilia of course realized this. Before Lita could even react, her cheeks flushed red.

Only when she saw Cecilia’s face change did Lita belatedly realize just how scandalous Cecilia’s words were.

“Come here.” Cecilia covered her nearly fully red face with her hand, her tone firm, but through the gaps in her fingers, her flush of shame was still visible.

Lita timidly nodded and stepped closer. Unexpectedly, Cecilia grabbed her by the neck and immediately felt a pain on her lip.

Cecilia glared at her with a vengeful look from under her long lashes, a small canine tooth piercing Lita’s lip. Then she pushed hard, biting Lita’s lip and rolling her onto the carpet together.

To be honest, it hurt quite a bit. For a moment, Lita wondered if Cecilia wanted to tear a piece of flesh off her lip.

But under the commanding gaze of Cecilia straddling her, Lita felt that the pain was just Cecilia’s restless and somewhat excessive way of expressing affection.

At least what she felt again was a peck that was still forceful but much gentler.

Lita found a moment to catch her breath from Cecilia’s kiss. The sound of her rapid breathing made her look particularly flustered.

“Lady Cecilia, tomorrow is the enfeoffment ceremony.”

Cecilia tilted her head. Several strands of blonde hair stuck messily to her neck with sweat. From under her open gown, one could glimpse her not-so-large chest gently rising and falling from the suffocation after the passionate kiss.

“For such an important ceremony, one must be well fed and watered.”

Although she wasn’t hungry, Cecilia seemed determined to ‘feed’ her now.

Before Lita could protest, Cecilia shifted her waist pressing on Lita and blocked Lita’s mouth in the simplest and most direct way.

The food was already at her lips. Even if somewhat reluctant, all Lita could do was open her mouth and taste the delicacy right in front of her.

A long time later.

Compared to the dinner with the King, this meal took much longer.

Lita picked up a napkin to wipe the sauce from the corner of her mouth, also cleaning up the mess after the meal.

Cecilia sat contentedly on the bed, selecting tomorrow’s clothes.

Although this kind of thing was usually done by maids, it was indeed not convenient to have maids disturb them during the meal, so it was better for Cecilia to do it herself.

“Tomorrow is the enfeoffment ceremony. Many people will attend.” Cecilia said, folding a long dress and placing it on the bed. “In the past, the enfeoffment of Crest Knights was done in groups. This time it’s specially prepared for you. It may not be unprecedented in the future, but it is definitely unprecedented in the past.”

“Well, I’m quite impressive, then.” Lita chuckled foolishly twice, supporting her waist as she slowly stood up.

“Brienne has already taught you the routine for the ceremony. Just do as she said. Don’t get any bright ideas.”

Cecilia unfolded another dress, and Lita switched to another cloth. The conversation continued like this.

“Of course not. This kind of thing is very serious.”

“There will be a small change in the ceremony. Since you have already received my Golden Blood, that step will be omitted.”

“I know that. What will be used then is ordinary wine, right.”

When they first returned to the Royal City, Cecilia had asked Aierteer about Lita’s Crest.

Every time Lita used Crest Release, she would fall into a coma. This was obviously unreasonable. As a veteran, Aierteer should know something.

Although earlier, due to Cecilia’s interrogation of Aierteer, they had some friction with Aierteer, Aierteer still answered truthfully.

There were several possibilities.

First, Lita had not yet fully mastered the Crest’s power, causing the Crest’s power to go on a rampage and instead harm Lita.

Second, the Crest was too strong, and Lita’s body could not withstand its power—of course, this was actually unrealistic. If a Dream Demon’s constitution couldn’t withstand it, how could humans withstand it?

Third, precisely because Lita was a member of the Demon Race, the compatibility between the Crest and her was too poor, causing backlash. Humans did not have this problem.

Fourth, initially, a proper ceremony had not been performed. Although the ceremony involved dripping Golden Blood into a wine bowl for the future Crest Knight to drink, who knew where the problem lay, resulting in a problem with the inheritance of the Golden Blood.

Anyway, that was the situation. The only thing Lita could do was to control the Crest’s power as much as possible, making it exert its strength within a range she could withstand.

And redoing a proper ceremony would likely make things worse, so Aierteer suggested omitting the step with the Golden Blood.

To that end, Cecilia asked a few other Crest Knights, and everyone’s opinions were relatively consistent with Aierteer’s. Finally, they decided to use ordinary wine in the ceremony.

Later, lying on her bed, Lita thought back to everything that had happened today and in the past.

‘So, she was really going to become a Crest Knight so smoothly? She was just one step away from her dream? The life of more money, less work, and living in the Royal Palace was about to begin?’

‘It wasn’t that simple. If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected would happen.’

And indeed, an unexpected event occurred.

It was beyond Lita’s expectations.

When Lita, already fully dressed, stood before the gate she had only entered once during the trial, she couldn’t believe it was real.

‘Everything, just so smooth?’