(Orlax POV)
I extended my hand and began eating slowly to evaluate the food, feeling just a bit hopeful.
’It’s a little bad. I should focus more next ti I prepare the al.’
"This is absolutely delicious!"
Riana exclaid as she ate quickly, as if the food would vanish if she stopped.
"You’re right. Food made by Lax is definitely different."
Alice was eating calmly, still maintaining table manners, unlike Riana who devoured her food like soone who hadn’t seen food in years.
"This is good."
Elena spoke softly as usual, but the light in her eyes revealed her admiration for the food.
"Enjoy your al."
I continued feeding Sera and stopped eating myself because I didn’t like the food.
"Hey! That’s my plate, don’t take from it, Riana!"
Alice shouted angrily at Riana, who had stolen her food and was eating it fast.
"Mmufgh slummh gyumh."
Riana spoke with her mouth full of food, saying several things, but none of us understood what she was trying to say.
"Don’t speak while eating, it’s annoying."
I wiped Sera’s mouth after feeding her a piece of pie and turned to Riana in annoyance.
On the other side of the table, Elena had piled up a lot of food in front of her and was cautiously watching her surroundings so that Riana wouldn’t steal any of it.
"Elena, return the food to the middle of the table. No one is going to steal it from you."
Elena reluctantly returned the food to the center as if giving up one of her children.
"Hey, not again! Don’t do that!"
Alice shouted at Riana again because she had taken food from her plate once more.
"Or maybe you should be more careful."
I quickly took a bit of food and put it on my plate to feed poor Sera, who would’ve been left to starve if she stayed with Riana.
After a while, all the plates on the table were cleared, and Riana sat lazily in her chair, ignoring the fact that she ate more than half the food on her own.
"I’m still not full."
Alice looked sadly at the sparkling-clean plates, still feeling hungry.
Even Elena had the sa look on her face, and she hadn’t eaten much.
The only two people satisfied with breakfast were Riana and Sera.
Sera sat relaxed in the sa posture as Riana, rubbing her belly because she had eaten a lot.
"This was really delicious!"
Sera shouted happily after eating, making all of us smile.
"Well then, since we’re done, according to house rules, the one who ate the most has to wash the dishes. Riana, that’s your task."
Riana nearly collapsed after hearing Alice’s words and turned to her with a terrified look.
"What? Since when is that a rule? Aren’t the servants supposed to wash the dishes?"
"That’s true. But since Lax was the one who prepared the food, soone who ate should be the one to clean up. Isn’t that right?"
Alice looked at and signaled with her eyes to go along with it.
"Yes, we made this rule a while ago."
’This is the price of your greed.’
Riana collapsed to the ground after hearing my words, mumbling incomprehensible things.
We all ignored Riana, who had lost her spirit, and got up from the table.
I handed Sera to Alice so she could take care of her and headed toward my office with Elena.
I sat at my desk, which now had a pile of new docunts I hadn’t seen yesterday.
"Elena, since you don’t have much experience in such matters, watch for a few days before you start working on your own."
"Understood."
Elena stood silently behind , observing as I dealt with the docunts.
I paused at a docunt I found sowhat interesting.
"A petition to build a dam for water collection."
I read the request carefully for a while until I felt Elena move closer behind .
"What is it?"
I didn’t turn my head, knowing she was on my right side.
"Oh, nothing. I know this town because I’ve been there before. Will you approve their request?"
Elena returned to her position behind , watching silently.
"No. There’s already a dam on that river in another city. And between that city and the one requesting a dam, there’s an agreent guaranteeing them a sufficient annual water supply."
I placed the petition in the pile of processed papers and was about to continue my work when Elena stopped .
"Your Majesty, pardon my interruption, but the city requesting the dam relies heavily on agriculture. Water is their most critical resource. When I was there, I saw they had a severe water shortage—not just for farming, even for drinking."
I was surprised by Elena’s information and turned to look at her.
’Looks like I found a treasure.’
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, Your Majesty."
Elena’s calm and confident voice made believe her.
"Then Elena, I’ll leave this matter to you. Prepare a report for detailing every step you take. Let’s see how you handle this."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Elena accepted the order without objection, took the petition, and began reading it.
"Also, investigate the city with the existing dam and check if the water they’re allowing through matches the agreed amount in the contract."
She nodded after placing the docunt aside and stood silently behind .
’Matters like these aren’t an emperor’s duty, but I want to see how Elena handles it.’
I returned to my work, but every ti I picked up a new docunt, Elena spoke and interrupted my thoughts.
"Your Majesty, I believe you should reject this proposal because..."
"This might be beneficial for that town due to..."
"I’m not really familiar with such matters, but from what I saw when I visited..."
And so on. Elena kept giving her thoughts and sharing what she’d seen in those towns, which helped greatly with my work.
After about two hours, I had finished the entire stack of docunts on my desk much earlier than usual.
I turned to Elena, who stood silently behind , observing intently, and looked at her with admiration.
"You’re really helpful, Elena. You’ll make a great assistant."
A slight smile appeared on her lips upon hearing my praise but quickly faded back to her usual expression.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Since there’s no more work, I’ll begin handling the matter you assigned to . May I take my leave?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
I waved to her and said goodbye before relaxing in my chair.
’I thought I’d suffer due to Armanthor’s absence, but Elena has been an excellent replacent—perhaps even better. That’s good.’
I slowly stood from the chair, stretched my body after sitting for so long, and left the office heading to the training yard.
I took off my shirt and placed it aside to avoid getting it dirty and began my usual training.
I wore a weighted bracelet and started swinging my sword.
Swish!
Swish!
Each swing of my sword produced a sharp sound due to the force behind it.
"Phew..."
I exhaled and sat on the ground to rest for five minutes before resuming my training.
After about an hour, I finished all my exercises, put my shirt back on, and went to my room.
The room was unusually empty—I usually found Sera here, but since I had given her to Alice to take care of, it seed she had taken her to her room.
I grabbed so clean clothes and headed to the bathroom, relaxing for half an hour before finally coming out.
I sat on the bed and fiddled with my phone until it was two in the afternoon.
"Looks like it’s lunchti."
I left my room and headed to the kitchen.
There, I found several maids and servants working, so I signaled them to leave alone.
Unlike in the past, none of the servants showed fear or hatred toward . The only thing I saw in their eyes was respect, which made feel a bit refreshed.
’Looks like Lyra is doing her job well.’
I snapped out of my thoughts and began preparing lunch.
’This ti, I’ll prepare a perfect al.’
While I was busy cooking, I felt a small girl with red hair sit on my shoulder.
"You again? Why don’t you stay with Riana? She might need you."
The red-haired girl on my shoulder shook her head and pointed behind .
At the door, Riana had just entered, smiling as she looked at .
"Hi."
She waved when she noticed I’d seen her and stood beside .
"What are you making for lunch?"
Riana asked curiously, checking the closed pots and opening them one by one to see what was inside.
’Even my little haven has been invaded.’
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