Just seeing her serious expression, if they really were bullied, someone would be in trouble.

Although she withdrew from it early on, she was one of the few in the town who frequently interacted with the Lord, so everyone had to give her some respect.

"No! The Lord hasn’t forgotten our family."

Sure enough, the boy’s emotions improved a little when this was mentioned.

Because indeed that was the truth.

The Lord hadn’t forgotten them, and neither had the townspeople. The Lord handled their father’s funeral personally and had him interred in the Heroes’ Cemetery, and after learning about their family’s situation, people around them took good care of them.

The pension was regularly distributed monthly until both of them turned fourteen and came of age. His sister was given a new job, and he was exempted from tuition fees and allowed to study.

It was precisely for that reason he wanted to do something.

"Can I trouble you to give this copper coin to the Lord?"

"Aren’t you going to school? Why are you going to the sea?"

"It’s really my catch!" The child felt Susan doubted him and quickly explained.

Because he lived with his sister, he didn’t live at school, which is why he had a chance to gather these before classes, and it was all he had.

"Alright, but don’t do it again in the future, understand?" Susan still transferred the shellfish from his clothes to the basket.

"Please don’t tell my sister, okay? If she finds out I went to the seaside she’ll scold me." The child shrank his neck, looking somewhat frightened.

"Silly child, don’t go to such dangerous places like the seaside again, your sister will worry." Susan could certainly understand his sister, because they were each other’s last family, and the sea was too terrifying for his sister.

Rules are rules, Susan still fished out a copper coin and handed it to him, "Take this."

"No! No!" The child shook his head, his hands tucked behind his back.

"The Lord will not take your things without paying, that’s the rule." Susan said while placing the copper coin into his pocket, "Don’t go again next time, the Lord hopes you study hard, to become someone who can contribute to Hamlet."

The child still wanted to refuse, but with Susan’s words, he turned and ran back as if fleeing.

"Class is about to start, you don’t want to be late, do you?"

Susan watched the child’s running back, and unconsciously a complex emotion she had suppressed earlier appeared on her face.

But it quickly turned firm again.

This is the meaning of the Lord’s presence, he will lead us to happiness.

......

A sumptuous seafood feast was laid on the table in the Lord’s Mansion’s hall, Lance sat among it, eating with a spirited demeanor, not a hint of fatigue.

"My Lord, try this." Susan sat beside him, ladling a bowl of porridge and handing it over, recounting the encounter with the child earlier.

"I paid for him to study, this boy skips class to catch fish? Or does he not have enough homework..."

Though Lance said this, he still seemed quite pleased, stirring the porridge made with shellfish, tasting particularly fresh and sweet.

"Not bad, save some for Boudica, that lazybones won’t wake up until noon."

Susan just smiled at this, intending to say something, but her gaze was drawn elsewhere, and she picked the bones from the plate and stood up.

"I’ll go to the kitchen to set aside some."

Susan’s departure left only Lance in the hall, Sofia emerged directly, watching the man’s back, feelings particularly complex.

Only after emerging did Sofia realize she wasn’t ready to face Lance.

After all, last night’s experience seemed like a dream, she couldn’t discern if it was real or just a dream?

Only waking up in that familiar yet unfamiliar study forced her to accept it.

What puzzled her more was that she was perfectly fine, with nothing unusual except a blanket covering her.

Despite no practical experience, she wasn’t ignorant of those people, the ugly manipulation of those men made her deeply disgusted.

Now, this situation was difficult for her to endure. If Lance had laid hands on her, she could still have the moral upper hand, but last night’s disgrace was clearly her own doing, even recalling it slightly made her tremble, as if her weakness had been seized.

Instantly realizing the terror of this place, she instinctively wanted to flee.

But the hall was here; she had to pass through to leave, but didn’t dare.

She was forced to listen in the corner to the conversation between them.

There was an ease and casualness in their words that she couldn’t comprehend.

As a princess, she often had up to six personal maids and a plethora of attendants.

But the situation of sitting at the same table for a leisurely chat was impossible.

At her meals, no one dared to speak, much less join her at the table.

After listening to that little story, she realized she couldn’t avoid it and came out herself.

"Uh~ Good morning." Sofia’s actions appeared particularly awkward, her embarrassed expression difficult to suppress.

Lance glanced back, his demeanor unchanged, merely inviting with a smile.

"Good morning, come and have some breakfast, though not overly lavish, this is what we have."

Sofia looked at the table, unsure how to respond, so she could only awkwardly smile and ended up joining the table.

Ah! Are you really going to eat?

Her action took Lance by surprise.

He was just being polite, wasn’t she supposed to say "No thanks," or excuse herself?

"Try this seafood porridge, just a pinch of salt gives it a wonderful flavor, even though there’s no rice, just wheat to stew with, it still offers a different taste."

Since she joined the table, it was settled; Lance served her a bowl with the utensils meant for Boudica.

He didn’t say much else, just talking about how to eat it, how the seafood was prepared.

"A touch of pepper would elevate the flavor profile, really make it stand out..."

Sofia initially felt embarrassed, but listening to this gradually eased her tension.

After tasting it, whether it was psychological or not, she found it quite delicious.

The Imperial Capital was inland, and these were foods only commoners ate; as a princess, she’d never tried them before.

This was tasty, and that was also good...

"Time is slipping away, the distillery may be leisurely, but being late for work isn’t ideal."

Lance saw her engrossed in the seafood and had to remind her.

Hurry up and go, you’re really freeloading off me now, aren’t you?

Sofia was momentarily stunned by this, nibbling on half a crab claw, turning her head to look at Lance, just then realizing something.

Why was she not daring to come out before?

She hesitated because she didn’t know how Lance would treat her.

She had prepared herself to face the consequences because, no matter how she looked at it, her actions were extremely wrong.

But...

"Are you telling me to go back to work?"

"Funny, what are you staying here for? There’s no lunch reserved for you." Lance was speechless, breakfast was one thing, now you want lunch too?

"Really? You’re letting me go?" Sofia still found it hard to believe and asked back.

Lance saw her surprised and confused expression and guessed what she was thinking, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Is it really me not letting you go? It’s just you not letting yourself go."

This sentence resounded like thunder in Sofia’s mind, the crab claw in her hand fell onto the table without a response, she froze, muttering to herself.

"I’m the one not letting myself go?"

"Isn’t that right? Not to mention anything else, how many times have I let you go already? It’s you who insists on punishing yourself."

"What should I do next?"

Lance waited all this time, finally waiting for her to ask.

"Let go of your obsessions and embrace a new life, do what you like. If you don’t like bartending, you can find something else to do.

Besides, I haven’t forbidden you from making fragrances, no need to do it so secretively, if you run out of money, you can always borrow from me..."