Late at night, the guest house in the Viscount of Minster’s territory was brightly lit.
“Did anyone else see it?”
After settling the white-haired girl, Norma looked seriously at the subordinate who had been with her for less than a week.
“No, the only witnesses were a group of goblin brats, and I’ve already taken care of them,”
Rocco replied respectfully, bowing his head.
“Good,”
Norma said only these two words, and then the atmosphere fell into silence.
“Count, is there anything else you need?”
After a while, Rocco spoke first.
“Rocco, I know you’re new here, and you have many questions about both me and this child. I’m sorry I can’t explain anything to you right now, but I can assure you that everything I’m doing is beneficial and not harmful to the Papal State,”
Norma said earnestly.
“You were personally selected by the Pope to be my guard, and I have absolute trust in you. I also hope you have absolute trust in me.”
“I know very well what I should do, my lord,”
Rocco replied in a low voice.
“I’m glad you think that way,”
Norma’s expression softened.
“How is she?”
“It seems she just fainted from hunger because she hasn’t eaten for a long time.”
“This child, didn’t I tell her to come to me for food if she’s hungry?”
Norma rubbed her forehead, seemingly a bit helpless.
Norma couldn’t quite understand why, despite showing so much goodwill, Mo Li still refused to trust him even a little, always avoiding him intentionally or unintentionally.
Now, Norma’s mood was like that of an old father being rejected by his child, full of worry about how to get the child to accept him.
“I think it’s probably because of the difficulty of repaying kindness,”
Rocco spoke up.
“What do you mean?”
“Mo Li seems to be the type who doesn’t like to owe others. You’ve provided too much help unilaterally, and the more the kindness accumulates, the more Mo Li might be afraid of not being able to repay it, so she chose not to ask for your help.”
“Is that so?”
Norma hadn’t considered this.
Being in the situation, it was hard for him to think of this aspect.
He called for the maids in the house, of course, these maids were all under Count Norma’s personal employ; he didn’t trust using servants arranged by others.
“What are your orders, master?”
“Have the kitchen prepare some dishes… no, prepare a table full of dishes, enough to fill a long table. Oh, and bring over the long table from the conference room.”
“Understood, I’ll prepare it right away.”
The maid was a bit surprised, wondering if the Count was entertaining guests so late.
“Have the chef hurry a bit.”
“Yes, sir.”
The maid left the room.
“Should we wake Miss Mo Li first?”
Rocco thought for a moment and then changed his wording.
“No need, she’ll wake up naturally when it’s time to eat.”
“Sniff sniff.”
The dragon girl on the sofa twitched her nose, her eyelids opened slightly, and the first thing she said when she opened her eyes was, “Meat… smells so good, is it time to eat?”
“It’s time to eat,”
Norma squatted beside her, pointing to the long table filled with exquisite dishes that looked and smelled delicious.
“Oh oh oh!”
Jasmine blinked her big eyes.
There’s nothing more blissful in the world than waking up hungry to find a table full of delicious food in front of you.
This happiness made her wonder if she was dreaming.
Instinct always moves faster than thought.
Desperate to grow wings and fly to the dining table, she didn’t notice the oddity of the current situation.
Having not eaten all day, “hungry”
was far from enough to describe her current state.
Hunger burned away her reason, and instinct devoured her thoughts.
As she moved through, the food on the table was swept away like a plow through a field.
Even though it wasn’t the first time Rocco had seen her eat like this, he still broke out in a cold sweat for her.
He was really afraid this girl would burst her stomach.
“Gulp gulp.”
The long table full of food was completely cleared, and the girl lay back in the chair, satisfied, sucking the oil residue still on her fingertips.
Looking back at the table, only a mess remained.
The plates were licked clean, even the sauce and seasoning were gone, and some plates were even broken, with only half remaining.
The girl ate too quickly, seemingly not paying attention, and ended up swallowing half of the cutlery and plates.
Feeling full and rejuvenated, she stretched lazily, licked the remaining meat juices off her fingers, casually wiped her hands on the tablecloth, and hummed an unknown tune happily.
“Ahem…”
Seeing the girl lost in her own world, Count Norma coughed at the right moment to remind her of his presence.
“Huh?”
Only then did Long Ji notice Count Norma sitting on the sofa next to her, with Roco standing beside him.
“Mr. Norma? … What are you doing here?”
“This is my residence in the Viscount of Minster. If I’m not here, where else would I be?”
Norma replied with a hint of amusement.
“… How did I end up here?”
Jasmine looked around, trying hard to recall her memories before she fainted from hunger.
“Well, you probably hadn’t eaten for too long and fainted. Roco happened to pass by and picked you up,”
Norma explained succinctly.
“Oh, so that’s what happened…”
Jasmine nodded drowsily, then suddenly froze.
Her differently colored dragon eyes widened, and her neck turned towards Norma as if wound by a spring.
“Hi,”
Jasmine greeted mechanically.
“… Hi?”
Not knowing what Jasmine was up to, Norma responded.
“… Who are you, who are you? Don’t get it wrong, I don’t know you!”
Finally realizing she was still in her dragon form, Jasmine quickly denied, trying to cover up her mistake.
Only now did she react?
This girl’s reflex arc is way too long.
“Hey, Mo Li, don’t get excited.”
“Who is Mo Li, who is Mo Li?! Don’t randomly give people nicknames. I don’t know you, and I certainly don’t know any Mo Li! You must have mistaken me for someone else. I want to leave, I want to get out of here!…”
Jasmine refused to accept reality.
She didn’t understand why, despite being so cautious, her identity was still exposed.
She had imagined the consequences of her identity being discovered, the best being imprisoned and turned into a puppet at others’ mercy, and the worst, of course, being turned into a weapon or a meal on the table.
“Calm down, Lord Mo Li, I’ve known your secret from the start. Don’t deceive yourself or me. Stop pretending, it’s pointless,”
Norma’s voice pierced Jasmine’s heart like a cold arrow.
Feeling utterly hopeless, she pouted in grievance and burst into tears, trying to hold back the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing.
She picked up a plate from the table and started gnawing on it.
“What are you doing?”
Norma was amused by Jasmine’s sudden action and couldn’t help but ask.
“Don’t talk!”
Jasmine, with teary eyes, mumbled as she gnawed on the plate, her small mouth forming a stubborn curve.
“I’m about to become a meal on the table, can’t I at least die full? Hmph… Even if you chop me into pieces, I’ll make sure it hurts you!”
With that, Jasmine desperately gnawed on the porcelain plate.
Eat you into poverty, hmph!
