Lucius and Lia walked down the stairs wearing slightly oversized pajamas decorated with little bunny designs. Lia was practically beaming, hurrying down the stairs with barely contained excitement while still trying to be careful not to slip.
Every few steps, she would slow herself down, only to speed up again when she remembered what was waiting downstairs.
Lucius, meanwhile, looked mentally drained and slightly annoyed by the entire day. The only genuinely bright part of his day was the aroma drifting through the house. It was the smell of food he had never experienced in his life, and for once, his curiosity was stronger than his exhaustion.
All three maids stood beside the dining table, respectfully waiting for Lucius and Lia to arrive.
Lia ran straight past the living room and only stopped when she reached the dining table. Her eyes widened as she stared at the feast laid out before her.
There was a full grilled chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, dinner rolls, macaroni and cheese as an additional side, lemonade, and apple pie waiting for dessert.
For someone who had spent most of her life surviving on the same miserable meals as every other Dreg, the amount of food on the table looked almost unreal.
"I’ve never seen this much food before..." Lia stared at the table as though she had discovered the Holy Grail.
Her stomach practically growled at the sight, and she swallowed before raising her head toward the three maids. "Can I really eat all of this?"
All three maids wore faint frowns at the question, but before any of them could answer, Lucius’s figure loomed behind Lia like the angel of death. His cold eyes settled on them, and the memory of Skull’s warning about the woman who had been killed in the Bureau of Talents immediately returned to their minds.
Whatever judgment they had been preparing to make disappeared before it could reach their faces.
"Of course you can eat all of it. It’s yours. Everything here belongs to you, including these three people who cooked it," Lucius’s voice rang out from behind her.
Lia’s face immediately brightened. She quickly picked a seat, but despite the food practically making her mouth water, she patiently waited until Lucius sat beside her.
Lucius smiled and gently ruffled her hair before looking over the food.
"Come on, take whatever you want."
Lia nodded enthusiastically and immediately reached for the chicken. She tore off a large thigh and began munching on it with barely concealed happiness.
Lucius watched her for a moment before shifting his attention toward the three maids, who remained standing beside the table.
"Of course not, Esteemed Guardian. The academy provides housing facilities for its employees. We leave when you decide our services are no longer needed for the day," Ben stepped forward to explain.
"Your services are no longer needed for the day," Lucius said coldly.
All three maids visibly shrank back before slowly nodding.
"Good night, Esteemed Guardian," Ben, Emma, and Isabella said together, giving a small, rehearsed bow.
Lucius simply stared at them in silence as they turned around and left. He did not take his eyes off them until they had walked through the door and disappeared from his sight. Only then did his gaze shift toward Skull, who was approaching the table carrying a plate filled with chicken breasts, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, and a few other things.
"You are mean..." Skull said with a light laugh as he pulled out a chair.
"Can you get them changed? I don’t feel safe leaving Lia with them," Lucius asked directly.
Skull paused with genuine surprise written across his face. He clearly had not expected that request. Before he could respond, Lia nudged Lucius from the side and casually shoved part of the chicken thigh she had not finished eating into his face.
Lucius blinked at the sudden attack before simply taking a small bite from the chicken thigh with a smile.
"Thank you," he said in a low voice before turning his attention back toward Skull. The smile immediately disappeared from his face.
"They look at us with disgust. They are accustomed to this life already and now look down on people who just escaped the life they once lived. I can’t leave Lia alone here with such people, or I may end up killing three more people before the week runs out. Bring me someone who only escaped the life of a Dreg like us," Lucius explained, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable seriousness.
Skull frowned. He wanted to argue that his squad would protect Lia and that there was no need to replace the maids, but after remembering what had happened at the Bureau of Talents, he decided against it. He released a heavy sigh and nodded.
"I’ll look into it..." he said.
Lucius nodded in satisfaction before finally turning his attention toward the food. He scooped a portion of macaroni and cheese onto his plate and took a bite. His eyes widened slightly at the taste.
For a moment, the exhaustion on his face disappeared as a small smile slowly bloomed across his lips. He reached for the chicken next and cut himself a portion before taking a little of everything else on the table.
He wanted to know what each dish tasted like, and after a lifetime of eating whatever scraps were available, having so many different foods in front of him felt almost ridiculous. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Skull sat down on the opposite side of the table and watched Lucius begin sampling everything. After hesitating for a moment, he finally decided to bring up the matter he had been thinking about.
"Why don’t you make my squad your official security team?" Skull asked nervously.
"Guardians get official security teams?" Lucius asked without looking up, his mouth full of food.
"Of course. Every Guardian is entitled to a security team from the American Army. And once you have contributed enough to the country to become a nobleman, you can even own territories and land beyond the state. Though you still need to pay fifty percent tax for every proceeds gained from the land’s resources," Skull explained.
"Like the Gatesfield mine in Pennsylvania?" Lucius stopped midway, his spoon hovering just beside his lips.
"Exactly!" Skull clapped excitedly. "The Gates family is actually one of the Big Four families."
Lucius immediately waved his hand, signaling him to stop. He leaned back and gulped down an entire glass of lemonade. Only after placing the empty glass back on the table and letting out a satisfied sigh did he return his gaze to Skull.
"Not tonight. You can tell me about these people another time. I just want to eat and rest, and probably deal with academy related issues tomorrow."
Skull nodded understandingly. "We will help with your registration, shopping, and other errands. All you need to do is head to class and maybe agree to make us your official security team."
Lucius rolled his eyes at the sheepish yet pleading smile on Skull’s face. It looked ridiculous enough that he almost laughed. "Sure... Sure... But William never drives as long as he works for me."
Skull abruptly stood up and saluted. "If he ever gets behind the wheel, I will personally break his legs!"
"And his arms too... Legs are not enough," Lucius said with a firm nod.
Skull revealed a bitter smile and slowly lowered his salute. "You are a bit too brutal for a Guardian."
"I was a Dreg before I became a Guardian. Blame my past. Maybe when I get accustomed to the Guardian life and forget my Dreg past, I’ll be a little more benevolent," Lucius said with an indifferent shrug before returning to his meal.
The rest of the dinner became surprisingly quiet, aside from Lia repeatedly trying to feed Lucius despite him having perfectly good food on his own plate. Every time she offered him something, he accepted it without complaint, which only made Skull stare at the two of them with an increasingly suspicious gaze.
For one thing, the two did not look particularly similar, and the way they looked at each other seemed far deeper than what Skull would normally expect from a simple sibling relationship. Still, he knew it was not his place to ask personal questions, especially after everything Lucius had already been through. So Skull kept his thoughts to himself and simply continued eating until he was completely full.