Just as Sif's cheeks flushed scarlet and her ears burned, and she scrambled for an excuse to explain herself, a knock came at the door.
"My lord, the cook has arrived," a knight guard reported as he pushed the door open.
Louis looked back and said casually, "Let him in."
Before long, a cook in an apron entered, carefully carrying a wooden tray. "Rabbit soup! It's been stewing for four hours."
This was the rabbit soup Louis had asked him to stew the night before.
Sif glanced at it and immediately sensed that this bowl of soup was no ordinary dish. It looked expensive.
"Put it on the table," Louis instructed casually, then turned to the guard. "Go find Barnes and have him bring Vale here."
"Yes, my lord." The guard bowed and left.
Once the room fell quiet again, Louis turned to glance at Sif, as though he had only just remembered.
"What was it you... wanted to say?"
Sif felt as though she had burst into flames all over again, her face instantly growing redder.
"N-nothing!" She quickly lowered her head, speaking so fast that her words were almost impossible to catch.
Louis nodded without giving it much thought and went back to leafing through the documents on the table.
He read intently, his brows furrowed, having completely dismissed their earlier exchange.
Sif finally breathed a sigh of relief. Bracing herself against the edge of the table, she stepped back and felt her heartbeat finally begin to slow.
Yet the blush at the tips of her ears lingered.
Before long, footsteps sounded outside the door.
"My lord, Barnes has arrived."
The door was quickly pushed open, and an old knight stepped into the room, followed by a boy who had yet to reach his full height.
"My lord,