"Your majesty...your majesty!"

Adalwolf lifted his head from the desk and raised his thick stern eyebrows, which scared the crap out of the little monster who had delivered the message, "spit it out."

"Lunch is ready for your majesty, in the pavilion of the bamboo grove in the Royal Garden."

Lunch?

He hadn’t heard that word for hundreds of years.

"Get out."

The little monster wiped his forehead, "your... your majesty! Please do go and have a taste!"

His Grace had given the word that he should invite the king over no matter what, and keep the surprise.

"Are you tired of your boring life?"

The little monster backed off shivering, turned to the door and legged it out of the room, at which he covered his face and burst into crying.

The king was...the king was dreadful!

Moments later, some clamour came into Adalwolf’s office suddenly.

Clamour?

He hadn’t heard that since he slaughtered a little monster who sneezed before his Meeting Hall one thousand years ago.

"Fire! God! It’s on fire!"

"Fire! It IS on fire!"

"Fire?! Where is on fire?"

"Fire!! It’s the the pavilion of the bamboo grove in the Royal Garden!"

...

Adalwolf’s pretty face cracked a bit, he pounded the desk and stood up.

"How dare them!"

The next second he disappeared into the air.

Aster leaned against the pole of the pavilion made of black gold, alone, eyes on the still steaming dishes she made for the king. She glanced at the path again and reckoned that the king should have come with his vigorous steps by now.

But he never came as expected.

She lost her patience and got little upset, "maybe he wouldn’t come, but I’ve prepared for so long...aw"

"OK, never mind! I shall eat them myself! It’s his loss anyway!"

"Well, my loss!"

What?

Aster’s eyes brightened, her heart started to race like boom boom boom!

Excited yet perturbed, here he was!

"Oh, your majesty is here, do sit, the dishes are still hot, mind having a taste?" Aster turned as she flattered, but never had she expected that he stood way too close. She banged her head on his steel hard chest.

The first she got hurt was her nose, and it hurt so much that tears were swelling.

But she dared not to show it, instead, she reached out and patted the place where she had hit him, and feared that he would get mad, "I am... so sorry, I didn’t notice your... your majesty were... are you alright, are you hurt?"

Then her nose felt warm, and something were streaming down.

Aster panicked, her nose was bleeding.

Jesus! Talking of bad luck!

"Your majesty, I am so very sorry, I’ll clean it right away!"

Bleeding nose was nothing to worry about at all, at least she was still alive.

Aster felt that only several days of being here had changed her, and got her on another level she’d never been on.

"Blood."

Aster hastened to fumble out a handkerchief to wipe her nose, but she guessed the blow just now was too heavy, and the bleeding wouldn’t just stop by itself. One white handkerchief soon became red, but that was not what she worried about right now; it was the dishes, cool dishes never tasted good!

"Blood."

Yeah it is blood! So what? Why does he keep talking about it?!

Aster was disturbed and covered her nose with the handkerchief. The next second he reached out one hand suddenly and with the tip of his slender index finger touched her lips where blood had streamed down, then put it on his lips and licked it.

"It’s sweet."

It all struck her like a bang, and the blood in her body stopped and froze. She started to step backwards instinctively, one step by another.

She was like, shit it’s over! How can I forget he used to...drink blood!

Would he bite her to death and drain her?

She wanted to serve him with the food! Not with herself!

"Your majesty! Your majesty! Calm down!"

"What?"

Adalwolf had not seen and tasted blood so very scarlet fresh like this for hundreds of years, with particular fragrance. The moment that blood reached his taste buds, he had to admit that the urge for drinking blood again became alive, and at the moment, it was her blood.

But when he saw her pale face and eyes filled with panic, he put down the thought.

"I think your majesty should try some food made other ingredients, here are several dishes I’ve prepared especially for you. They are rich in taste and texture, and the lingering fragrance! oh my god! You will just want to have more, and some more! I’m sure you’ll forget about that after you have eaten them! I’ve worked so hard for an entire morning, please do sit down and have a bite!" just don’t drink my blood!

Aster kept herself together so desperately and pointed at the dishes. Then she touched her nose and found it had already stopped.

Maybe somewhere in her heart knew that if it kept bleeding, death was only what she’d end up with.

Then the man gave her a careless glance, and cast his proud eye on the dishes on the table.

Aster covered her pounding heart which could stop at any time and watched him walked over.

Dude! Hang in there!

"What are these?"

The man had sat down and adjusted his robe like a king. He looked at the dishes and frowned, he’d never seen anything like these in the plates, the fragrance was new. Are they edible? For human?

Aster heard him asking, so she went forward and introduced for him.

"In the largest plate is called Spicy Chicken, which is made of chicken, potatoes, carrots, and green peppers, etc."

He knew that chicken thing, very feathery, and smelly. That’s what they look like now?

"Potatoes? Green... peppers?"

"Maybe that are not what you call them here. The little monsters said they are edible, but they don’t like them." Of course they don’t! who the hell eat peppers raw?

Aster put one piece of chicken together with some vegetable ingredients in the smaller plate before him, and served him with the most flattering way, "please have a taste, your majesty!"

"What? You want me to eat this rough stuff?" She was serving him with food even the little monsters hated?

The flames of anger in her heart! They could burn the palace down!

She looked at his face which was gorgeous as hell, all she wanted was to slam it into some fe-ces!

But she stayed calm and grinned at him, "just have a taste, ingredients are raw, what matters most is the taste after they’ve been cooked!"

They man still sat like a sculpture, only these radiant ember like eyes blinked. He sneered and said, "fallacy."

Breathe!

One more!

Don’t get mad at a jackass!

Especially one who wants to kill her whenever a disagreement occurs!

Ughhhhhhhh! God how she wants to grab his mouth and pour some fe-ces in!

"What is fees ease?"