The banquet was underway, and the table was laden with food. This was mainly because, after Richard accepted Gelo's invitation during the day, he had followed him on a half-day hunt and ultimately brought back quite a bit of game.
Though there were few large beasts, they had caught plenty of small animals. The table was now filled with roasted pheasant, wild duck, quail, hare, and wild goat meat.
Prince Gelo sat in the middle of the tent, deep in animated conversation as he waved his arms and went on about something.
Richard sat to one side, using his knife and fork to cut into a half-charred steak. He sliced it into bite-sized pieces, put them into his mouth, and slowly chewed and swallowed. With no seasonings beyond a little salt, the meat did not taste particularly good—worse, even, than meat from domesticated livestock. Yet Richard continued eating without expression, occasionally looking at Gelo and nodding to show that he was listening.
Pandora sat beside Richard. She was more interested in the tableware than the food. She had not touched the steak on her plate, merely fiddling with the silver knife and fork with great interest. A faint gleam shone in her eyes, making her look exactly like a dragon that had discovered treasure. After playing with them for a while, she brought the fork to her mouth and cautiously bit down on it.
To ensure hardness while reducing costs, silver tableware was generally mixed with copper and tin. But Pandora's teeth were not comparable to those of an ordinary little girl. With one light bite, a clear tooth mark immediately appeared on the fork.
Another bite, another tooth mark.
She kept biting. A third tooth mark...
After a while, Prince Gelo had reached the end of a topic