QTMWSFC Chapter 43.2

Thanks to Freya not having the king’s favor, life in the side palace had remained very peaceful for over half a year, with few visitors disturbing them. After Lant’s arrival, they had even achieved freedom when it came to ingredients. They no longer had to endure the main kitchen’s obstructions!

The attendants had long stopped going to the main kitchen, to the point that the head chef’s side almost forgot that the Sixth Princess even existed.

Rumor had it that Kane was extremely busy every day. He was busy protecting the king and busy involving himself in the intrigues and schemes among the various factions. He was so exhausted that he had lost a lot of hair.

The king initially felt reluctant to accept the situation regarding Lant. He had summoned Freya several times and had both openly and subtly hinted to Lant that he wanted to recruit him. But Lant always acted as if he did not understand, remaining completely loyal to Freya. The king had no choice but to finally give up.

As a high-ranking mage, Lant was not confined by a mere palace at all. He could come and go as he pleased. He never tried to hide this from Freya and Lita. Every time he went out, he would bring back something interesting.

Over time, Freya and Lita grew accustomed to him suddenly taking out all sorts of fine things. Sometimes it was freshly hunted high-quality ingredients, other times it was magical items they had never seen before.

Freya’s health had improved greatly after being nursed back to care. Even her appetite had increased to the point that she was now frowning with worry whether she should lose weight. Her desire to learn horseback riding also grew increasingly fervent.

The cold winter had already passed. The ice and snow melted, temperatures rose, the weather warmed until it became hot, and the variety of vegetables in the garden gradually increased.

“Kemi! We’re having extra tonight!” Lant, who had been catching wild chickens on the Solnak Plains just a moment ago, appeared in the side hall’s kitchen the next second.

“Oh my, Lant! You scared me again!” A boy with short orange hair was so startled that the spatula in his hand dropped to the floor.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll leave this to you.” Lant took out two large, ‘blood-soaked’ fat chickens from his space.

“Hey! Knight Lant is back!” Tila, who had just returned from picking up vegetables from the vegetable garden, hurried over at the sound of his voice. “Wow! Such plump chickens! Let me handle them. Kemi, how about we make chicken stew with potatoes today?”

“No problem!” Kemi replied, full of energy.

“I’ll be going, then.” Lant handed the chickens to Tila and turned to leave.

“Got it! You’d better head back quickly. Otherwise, your princess might start missing you again!” Kemi joked with a grin as he tossed the ingredients in the pan.

Lant unexpectedly tripped over the doorframe.

“Hehe, Kemi! Watch your status! Don’t go around blurting out such honest truths!” Tila was enjoying the show.

Lant hurried off even faster.

In the back garden, Freya sat listlessly on a swing, swaying back and forth. “Lita, when do you think Lant will be back?”

Lita had already been asked the same question twenty-one times, and her head was starting to ache. “Princess, why don’t you just use the communication ring to ask him?”

Freya shook her head. “No, what if he’s busy? I might disturb him. Never mind, I’ll just wait for him slowly. Oh my, what if he runs into danger? Maybe I should make him a new protective charm? Yes! I’ll make another one!”

Freya stood up and decided to return to her room right away to make another protective charm.

“Princess, I’m back.”

Just as Freya got to her feet, a familiar male voice sounded from behind her.

She turned around, and there was Lant walking towards her from outside!

“Lant! You’re back!” Freya ran over to him. “How did it go? Did you run into any danger? Were you injured?”

“Of course not. I caught two wild chickens today, very plump. Kemi and Tila are going to make stew,” Lant said. Then he took out a box from his space. “I also went to the market today. I saw this and thought it would suit you, so I bought it…”

Freya opened the box. Inside lay a delicate, small hair ornament.

“It’s enchanted. It can block one high-level magical attack. The design is also relatively low-key,” Lant added.

As a knight, giving an ordinary hair ornament would be far too ambiguous. But giving defensive equipment like this gave him a reasonable excuse.

Lita felt that he was obviously trying to cover up his true feelings, so she deliberately teased him in a sarcastic tone. “Oh my, why don’t I get one? I thought we were all friends. How heartbreaking!”

Lant remained perfectly calm. “That style wouldn’t suit you. Besides, I was always only the princess’s knight.”

Freya’s face turned bright red in an instant.

Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Lita giggled and ran off. “I’m going to check the kitchen! I want to see just how plump those chickens really are!”

Freya watched her retreating figure and felt a bit embarrassed. “She’s just like that. Please don’t be upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Lant said frankly.

“This hair ornament is very beautiful. I really like it. It wasn’t cheap, was it?” Every time Lant gave her something, Freya could not help worrying that he was spending too much money. Since most of what he gave her were magical items, they were naturally more expensive.

“I enchanted it myself. It wasn’t very expensive,” Lant replied truthfully.

If he relied solely on his salary, he certainly could not afford so many magical items. So occasionally, he would take on quests under the guise of an adventurer or hunt beasts and monsters to sell for money.

“Princess, the weather has been very nice lately. Would you like to learn horseback riding?” In four years, the Otherworld Demons would awaken. Time was very tight. Lant felt it was time to put learning magic and horse riding on the agenda.

“Really? You’re finally going to teach me to ride a horse? That’s wonderful! I’ve been well for a long time now. Let’s go right now!” Freya was so overjoyed she could barely contain herself.

She had been looking forward to this day for so long!

“Princess, please wait. You need to eat a proper meal first.” Lant reached out and stopped Freya, then quickly withdrew his hand.

Realizing she was too excited, Freya lowered her head shyly and smiled, but her heart kept racing with excitement.