Chapter 206: Three Seats

Cassian’s apathetic eyes remained fixed on the woman resting for a while, until the sound of the door opening interrupted him.

"Master, the servants outside insist that we can’t miss lunch."

"Hmm, did they say anything when they saw you?"

Adela shook her head.

"They’re just servants. They don’t ask too many questions." She shrugged, dismissing it as unimportant.

"Are you going to have lunch with us?" he asked.

"Should I join you? They’ll probably ask how I got in when they see me."

Cassian simply changed the subject.

"I don’t think Thalassa will wake up anytime soon."

The maid shifted her gaze toward the woman sleeping with an expression that was both tired and satisfied, then looked back at her master, wearing a slightly mocking yet sour expression.

Cassian got out of bed, walked over to her, lowered his head, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before whispering:

"Don’t be jealous."

Adela puffed out her cheeks, but secretly, she was happy to receive a sweet kiss from her master.

"Anything else you noticed?"

She snapped out of her blissful daze and frowned.

"It looks like they’re preparing something, maybe a banquet or something. I don’t know." Adela shook her head repeatedly to show that she had no idea.

"Another banquet?" he asked.

"Have they already organized one while you’ve been here?"

"Hmm, for Thalassa on the first day."

The maid nodded as she took out some fresh clothes and began helping him change.

Cassian lowered one shoulder to help her slip one of the sleeves of his shirt on.

Once it was on, she proceeded to button each button while he watched with an indifferent, lazy expression.

Once she finished, she turned around and said in a professional voice:

"I’ll go get Xana so the two of you can go to lunch."

"I’ll see if I can wake Thalassa up," he added without much enthusiasm.

The door closed, and Cassian approached the blue-haired woman resting on the bed.

"Thalassa," he called in a voice that was both lazy and firm.

The mermaid shifted in bed and frowned for a moment, but continued sleeping.

"Thalassa," he called again, louder this time, though the boredom in his voice was still evident.

When that didn’t seem to work either, he wondered if moving her would help, but she seemed rather exhausted, so he considered simply letting her sleep.

He looked around the room. He didn’t have much patience, nor did he like insisting over such trivial things. When his eyes settled on his target, he began walking toward it.

It was one of the armchairs. He threw himself onto it, closed his eyes, and promptly forgot about waking her.

By the time Adela returned, she would find the exact same scene.

Her gaze shifted between Thalassa and her master, and she let out a resigned sigh.

Xana, meanwhile, followed behind her, entering with a smile that revealed her small fangs. Her gaze also moved between the two people inside the room, and her smile grew wider when she saw that Thalassa was knocked out on the bed.

"Hehehe, she lost too! Xana is still victorious, though! I managed to stay awake!"

Cassian opened his eyes at the sound of her words and raised an eyebrow at her, barely holding himself back.

Adela also looked at her, but she couldn’t suppress the laugh that escaped her.

Xana perked up her ears and looked suspiciously at the two people who seemed to be laughing at her. Her tail swayed from side to side as if she were testing the waters or waiting for her prey to take the bait.

But the person sitting in the armchair simply shook his head and stood up, heading toward the door.

"Come on. I feel like seeing this race’s hospitality without any intermediaries."

Adela heard those words and understood, following behind him.

Xana stopped wagging her tail and approached the door, but before following the two people ahead of her, she gave one last glance toward the woman lying asleep inside.

Her pupils narrowed as tangled thoughts ran through her mind.

...

In the main dining hall, several nobles of the sea race, along with the familiar faces, were waiting. Most of them wore unpleasant expressions.

Whenever these joint lunches took place, punctuality was paramount, and Thalassa knew that well. Yet she was making them wait like this; even the king had already arrived.

"It seems Thalassa doesn’t want to see me," Nereon’s voice echoed through the room so everyone could hear.

Lumia, sitting beside Zakaer, looked confused and quickly came to her defense.

"She must be tired. We were working on the relief efforts in the Turbid Waters district until late. It’s possible she didn’t hear that you had returned either."

"Did His Majesty not send anyone to inform her?" Nereon asked, looking toward the throne.

However, the princess answered once again:

"I only found out at breakfast, and Thalassa had breakfast in her room—or perhaps she didn’t have any at all, Nereon."

At that moment, the doors opened, interrupting Lumia and revealing a figure.

The princess turned around in relief, but when she saw who it was, she bit her lip worriedly.

Nereon smiled and called out:

"Ereon! Good to see you. Come, come sit down. We haven’t started yet."

The general swept his gaze across everyone seated at the table before fixing it for a moment on the man who had spoken. He then spoke in a firm voice:

"My apologies for being late. I tried—"

But just as he was about to continue his apology, he realized that the woman he cared about was missing.

"Thalassa still hasn’t arrived either? I thought you were waiting for me..."

"No, she hasn’t arrived yet," Nereon replied dryly.

Ereon searched for a place to sit, feeling uncomfortable, his gaze fixed on the doorway through which he had entered. Fortunately for his anxious state, it had remained open, and it wasn’t long before another silhouette appeared through it.

Cassian stopped beneath the doorway, followed by Adela and Xana, as well as a servant guiding them.

His indifferent gaze swept across the room, but did not linger for long.

He walked toward the three empty chairs and sat in the middle.

Adela and Xana sat on either side of him.

An uncomfortable silence spread throughout the dining hall.