His complexion still worsened at times, but since meeting him, he did feel as though he had gained a bit more room in his heart.

"Right? Come on, you can thank me now."

It was probably a joke.

The way he puffed out his chest made it clear.

"I will not."

"That is unfortunate."

Even though he likely did not mean it, Sergei felt grateful that Rohen could brush it off with a smile like this.

"It looks like there is nothing to worry about with Ranga. You can have the captain play with him like this from time to time."

"That sounds fine."

"Though I am not sure if he is the one playing with Ranga or the one being played with."

"Pfft!"

At Rohen’s remark, which hardly seemed appropriate to direct at their captain, both Sergei and Qiong Xing burst out laughing.

After letting Ranga play to his heart’s content, they returned to the room.

When Qiong Xing handed him a small bottle and a dish, Sergei did not understand.

"Are you going to make something?"

"Huh? Are you hungry? That is not it. This is Ranga’s meal."

Looking closely, the liquid in the bottle seemed to be milk.

Following the instructions, he poured it into the dish, and Ranga sat properly, waiting.

"..."

Yet, he made no move to drink.

Instead, he stared at Sergei as if waiting for something.

"Hehe, he is waiting. You have to say it is alright before he will eat."

Standing beside them and watching, Qiong Xing explained while holding back laughter.

"...Go ahead."

The moment he gave the signal, the pup, clearly very hungry, dove in and began drinking eagerly, almost burying its whole head in the dish. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

It was not bad.

It was not bad at all, but he simply was not used to it.

After filling its stomach, the wolf pup fell asleep just like that, but for some reason, when Qiong Xing saw Sergei about to start working, he placed the sleeping pup onto Sergei’s lap.

"Hey."

"At that size, it will not get in your way, right?"

It would not, but it was distracting.

However, seeing Qiong Xing smiling at him, Sergei felt that if he tried to move the pup away, he had no idea what would be said to him, so he gave up.

"By the way, I was called by Mr. Paulo the other day and went to see him, and it turns out he works at the castle."

"...You did not know?"

Even while moving his hand smoothly across his work, it was not difficult to carry on a conversation.

Since it was not about work, it did not irritate him either.

"I only found out recently. And I received a pot from him."

A pot?

The topic had shifted so abruptly that his hand stopped.

"It seems there is no such thing as hot pot cuisine here. So I had trouble finding a good pot, but when I was searching, Mr. Paulo kindly gave me one. Next time, let us have hot pot together, Prime Minister."

"...I see."

That was all he could say.

For a moment, he wondered if they were going to eat the pot itself, but since it was called hot pot cuisine, it was probably just a cooking method using a pot.

It was hard to imagine actually biting into the pot.

"Prime Minister, are you okay with miso flavor?"

"...What is miso?"

Conversations with him were enjoyable, but sometimes the topic jumped so suddenly that it became hard to follow.

"Ah, did I not mention it? The other day when I had a meal with Brat and the others, the seasoning used in the soup we drank was that. Did it not taste good?"

No, it had been delicious.

He clearly remembered the flavor.

It was rich yet not overwhelming, light on the palate, and somehow comforting.

"It was good. So you cook using that?"

"Yes. Simply put, it is like scaling up that miso soup into a pot. You add fish or meat, vegetables too, and let it simmer."

That sounded... quite appetizing.

When asked if he had any preferences for ingredients, he said he would like more vegetables, and Qiong Xing smiled and nodded.

"The meat was brought back thanks to Albe and the others working hard, so tomorrow I am thinking of going to the sea to catch some fish. Seafood makes a great broth, so please look forward to it."

"I will."

It almost felt like a conversation between a married couple, which made him chuckle, but working while having such casual conversations was not bad at all.

More than anything, knowing that someone was trying to make something delicious for his sake made him genuinely happy.

"My children love miso too. Oh, that reminds me, I will be bringing them next time, so they will come to greet you. Hehe, do you remember? The child who kept crying the first time I came to the castle."

Now that he mentioned it, it did seem vaguely familiar.

It probably felt like a distant memory now because he had blended so naturally into Sergei’s life.

Thinking back to the child who had cried nonstop back then, he found it somewhat moving to imagine that the child had likely grown quite a bit by now.

"Perhaps they take after me. They are rather easygoing, or something like that. They will probably warm up to you quickly as well, Prime Minister."

"..."

Sergei was well aware of his own appearance.

He considered himself well featured, but not someone children would easily like.

His sharp eyes and tall build could be intimidating to young children.

In fact, even the princes had once cried, saying he was scary.

At the time, he had not cared whether he was liked or not, thinking it was unnecessary for his role, but when it came to a friend’s child, he could not help but wonder what he would do if they were frightened of him.

"They have grown very attached to Katarina and the others, but... they still dislike Mr. Paulo. It is because he startled them when they first met."