Dinner was quiet. The braised pork ribs on the stone table were picked clean.
Saina carried a stack of greasy empty plates toward the kitchen, her footsteps heavy.
In an unprecedented move, Elena did not go upstairs for her beauty sleep. She leaned back in her chair, idly playing with the tassel of the Ice Soul Rapier in her hand.
Elonore stood nearby with a basin of hot water, wiping down the stone table. She rinsed the rag again and again.
Su Li rose from the wicker chair and pointed toward the well.
"Stop wiping. Come wash your hands."
Elonore hurriedly tossed the rag into the basin and ran to the well to scrub her hands clean.
"Come with me." Su Li turned and headed toward the thick ginkgo tree in the backyard.
Elonore obediently followed behind him, her head lowered as she stared at the tips of her shoes.
There were no magic lamps beneath the tree, only a faint yellow glow filtering over from the kitchen in the front yard.
Su Li leaned against the trunk and looked at the flustered elven girl before him.
"Since the Grand Elder tossed you over here, she never intended to let you go back." Su Li went straight for the jugular without beating around the bush. "I never get up early without profit. Free high-grade labor is free high-grade labor."
Elonore said nothing, twisting the hem of her clothes between her hands.
"I'm not firing up the forge tomorrow morning." Su Li pulled a small cloth bundle from his pocket and stuffed it directly into her hands. "We're holding a family banquet in the yard."
Elonore froze where she stood.
Those two words went around in her head three times.
"A family banquet?" She raised her head.
"We'll serve the meal