Chapter 44: A Farewell Meal

“Go on in!”

Inside a dim prison, Ketia casually chose an open cell and pushed the three individuals beside her inside.

Caught off guard, the trio stumbled from Ketia’s shove, sprawling onto the cell’s hard, black floor.

With a soft thud, Ketia closed the cell door.

“Well then, you’ll just have to wait quietly here for His Majesty’s judgment,” Ketia declared, her voice low and resonant, as she gazed down at the three rising from the ground.

Rubbing her slightly aching backside, Qi Lin looked up at Ketia.

“What will that Novas do to us?”

“I don’t know.” Ketia’s gaze met Qi Lin’s with an unnerving calm as she uttered a completely unhelpful response.

Upon hearing this, Qi Lin gnashed her teeth in frustration.

Ketia ignored her, scanning the cell before turning to leave.

She had taken but a few steps when Ketia suddenly halted.

“Unless there are any unforeseen circumstances, this should be our last meeting.”

Without so much as a glance back, Ketia addressed the empty air before striding away.

This time, she made no further stops. After opening the main prison gate, allowing a sliver of moonlight to pierce the gloom, Ketia stepped out of the prison entirely.

Once the iron gate clanged shut, Ketia cast a final glance back at the prison entrance before heading towards her quarters.

As she passed a knight who saluted her, Ketia slightly lowered her head in acknowledgment.

“Colonel?” The knight remained in his saluting posture, puzzled.

“Prepare some provisions and send them to the cell holding a white-haired maiden and two beastmen,” Ketia instructed, returning the salute without breaking her stride as she continued on her way.

‘Though I don’t know how His Majesty will deal with you, outsiders specifically targeted for capture by His Majesty rarely come to a good end. Consider this meal a farewell.’

Watching Ketia’s retreating figure, the knight scratched his forehead, then thumped his chest and called out into the air, “Yes, Colonel!”

****

Watching Ketia’s departing back after she closed the door, Nia lowered her gaze to the pitch-black floor.

‘If I’m not mistaken, Ketia was probably speaking to them, or perhaps to me. But why would she say such things?’

Pursing her lips, Nia dismissed the confusion in her eyes and lifted her head.

“What should we do? Our demonic energy is sealed; there’s no way to leave this place.”

Ailin slumped onto the cool ground, propping himself up with his hands as he gazed up at the pitch-black, lightless prison cell, sighing deeply.

“All this power, yet utterly useless.”

Gritting her teeth, Qi Lin raised her manacled hands and yanked fiercely.

She tried to snap the shackles, but it was a futile effort.

The shackles began to faintly shimmer with countless tiny runes, even smaller than ants, as if mocking Qi Lin’s overestimation of her own strength.

After persisting for a while and realizing it was utterly useless, Qi Lin frowned, crossed her arms, and sat down on the spot in resignation.

Seeing Qi Lin and Ailin’s resigned expressions, Nia found herself at a loss for how to comfort them.

*Clang-thud!* The iron door of the cell, covered in metal filings, was pushed open with a heavy groan.

Before the moonlight could fully penetrate, the main door was swiftly shut again, emitting another dull thud.

Hearing the commotion, the trio looked towards the knight shrouded in shadow, their eyes devoid of any ripple of emotion.

The knight surveyed the surroundings, then strode towards the three with heavy steps.

The silent prison echoed with the clanking of the knight’s plate armor.

“Two beastmen, and a white-haired girl… so it must be you… Wait, pointed ears?!”

The figure encased in the helmet spoke in a muffled tone to the three within the cell, but upon mentioning Qi Lin, and noticing her slightly pointed ears, their voice carried a distinct note of surprise.

“…What about pointed ears? Did they eat your rice?” The knight’s astonished reaction left Qi Lin somewhat speechless.

“Uh, cough, cough, cough.”

The figure inside the plate armor’s mouth twitched slightly, then they began to clear their throat awkwardly.

“…By the way, do you need something?”

After waiting for a moment and seeing no further action from the knight, who merely stood there staring at them, Ailin asked, perplexed.

“Ah, oh, cough, cough, indeed I do.”

Clearing their throat a few more times, the knight cautiously unlocked the cell door as if they were a thief.

Seeing the knight step inside, Ailin instinctively shielded Nia, wary that this individual might harbor ill intentions.

“Hey, hey, there’s no need for that, is there?” The knight spread their hands, noting Ailin’s grave expression and subtle gesture to protect Nia.

No one responded, merely observing the knight with caution.

Shrugging resignedly, a faint green light shimmered in the knight’s hand.

“Here, this was ordered by a colonel named Ketia.” After arranging some food on the floor, the knight stood with one hand on their hip.

“Ketia?” Qi Lin’s lips pressed together, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.

She couldn’t fathom why they were being given such a lavish meal.

Staring down at the neatly arranged dishes on the ground, Ailin swallowed hard.

Having gone without food for an entire day and night, he felt his body’s desperate craving for these provisions.

The knight, sensing something, looked at Ailin with amusement.

“Hungry? Then eat!”

Seeing that the trio remained motionless and still wary of them, the knight spread their hands helplessly, stating, “Don’t worry, it’s not drugged.”

Apparently deeming words insufficient, the knight crouched down and picked up a piece of fatty meat from a dish.

*Chomp!* After devouring the fatty meat, the knight stood up.

“See? No poison, so rest assured.”

Swallowing the fatty meat, the knight smiled.

After a few scrutinizing glances at the knight, Ailin nodded to Nia and Qi Lin before moving towards the food-laden ground.

Crouching down, Ailin cautiously picked up a dish of meat and began to eat.

After a few bites, and feeling no adverse effects on his body, he nodded.

“Indeed, it’s not poisoned.”

At his words, Nia brightened, immediately walking over and picking up a dish to eat.

“I told you it wasn’t poisoned, yet you still didn’t believe me,” the knight mumbled, arms crossed.

Soon, the cell was filled only with the sounds of hearty eating.

“You’re not eating?”

Leaning against the wall, the knight looked at Qi Lin, who remained motionless.

“Uh, I…”

Qi Lin’s mouth parted slightly, but she was unsure how to answer.

‘How should I explain? Should I say that I don’t even know if I can eat these things?’

Pursing her lips, Qi Lin thought for a moment before walking over to Nia and crouching down.

She felt she ought to at least try it.

Casually picking up a knife and fork, she speared a piece of lean meat and brought it to her mouth, biting into it.

Her sharp fangs quickly shredded the meat in her mouth.

Feeling it was sufficiently broken down, she swallowed it.

With eyes tightly closed, Qi Lin waited in silence.

After a long moment, Qi Lin opened her eyes.

‘How to describe it? The taste was strange, a bit dry, but still acceptable.’

She blinked, then speared a green vegetable.

Qi Lin intended to see what the vegetables tasted like, apart from the meat.

After expressionlessly swallowing the vegetable in her mouth, Qi Lin focused on the sensation.

‘Hmm, also within an acceptable range of taste.’

Opening her eyes, Qi Lin nodded.

‘It seems becoming a Bloodline only changed the taste of things, but it’s still within what I can tolerate.’

‘However, there was still a tiny problem: there was no sensation in her stomach afterwards. No feeling of fullness or anything, as if the food simply vanished after she swallowed it.’

‘These foods were quite different from consuming blood!’

‘If it were blood, no matter what, her stomach would give feedback on how full she was, but meat and vegetables offered no such feedback.’

‘Fortunately, there was no discomfort afterwards.’

‘All in all, not bad.’

Qi Lin mused silently.

Several minutes later, when Qi Lin emerged from her thoughts, the food had already been devoured by Nia and Ailin.

‘Well, that was a thorough clean plate policy!’

“Are you full?”

The knight approached the trio, looking down at them.

Nia and Ailin exchanged glances, then nodded in response.

“And you? You only ate one green vegetable and a piece of meat; you shouldn’t be full, should you?”

When questioned by the knight, Qi Lin replied, “These aren’t my kind of food, so eating them doesn’t do much.”

The figure beneath the helmet raised an eyebrow but said nothing more on the matter.

Turning, the knight walked towards the cell door and opened it.

Seeing the knight preparing to leave, the trio looked at the ceramic dishes on the floor that hadn’t been recalled into the demonic energy space.

‘What does this mean? Are we supposed to clean up after ourselves? But this is a prison cell; there’s nothing to wash with.’

Qi Lin’s mouth twitched slightly.

“What? You don’t want to leave?”

Stepping out of the cell door, the knight tilted their head, looking at the motionless trio.

“?”

The trio blinked, their faces full of confusion.

‘What does this guy mean? Let them go? Isn’t he afraid of Novas’s wrath?’

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