21

Jade’s POV

Abigail’s entire demeanor shifted instantly as a warm, sweet smile spread across her face. She tightened her arms around Rita’s shoulders, pulling her even closer in an affectionate squeeze.

"Oh, thank you so much, ma'am!" Abigail chirped, her voice dropping into a soft, overly polite tone as if she hadn't just been screaming seconds ago. "At least I will finally be completely free from trouble for the day!" She took an eager step toward the head servant, clasping her hands together in dramatic gratitude. "I honestly don't even know how to thank you properly, ma'am... May I give you a hug?"

The head servant woman took a swift step back, her posture turning rigid as she held up a hand to block Abigail’s approach. "No. Keep your hugs to yourself," she snapped, her cold eyes narrowing with irritation. "I do not do touching."

She turned her sharp gaze back toward me, pointing a thick, scolding finger directly at my face. "And as for you... you cannot come into this house and make other people feel uncomfortable or threatened. If I hear even one more complaint about your behavior today, I will personally report you to Alpha Nicolai."

I simply lowered my chin in a brief nod, keeping my lips pressed tight in silence. I didn't bother offering a defense or explaining Abigail's lies, because arguing with this woman wouldn't change a single thing.

Satisfied with my silence, the head servant smoothed down her uniform and looked across all four of us. "Before any of you report to your assigned duties, you will head down to the staff refectory to eat your morning breakfast. After you finish, you rush straight to your stations and begin work immediately."

With those final orders, she turned on her heel and strode out through the heavy oak doors, her hard shoes clicking loudly against the stone floor.

Once she was gone, Bakito and I grabbed our small washing kits to quickly brush our teeth and clean our faces. The moment we finished, we walked side by side down the long, winding hallway toward the staff refectory.

The dining hall was absolute chaotic noise. Servants, guards, cooks, and castle staff were packed shoulder to shoulder inside the wide, vaulted room. Everyone had already formed a massive, sprawling line that snaked around the perimeter of the room, each person waiting patiently to collect a tray of hot food from the long serving counter. Once they received their meals, the workers scattered toward the rows of long wooden tables, finding open seats to eat quickly before their morning shifts began.

Bakito and I took our places at the very back of the line. The queue moved at a steady pace, and after several minutes, we finally stepped up to the front counter.

My eyes widened in genuine shock as the kitchen staff loaded our trays with food. They were serving a massive, classic American breakfast spread—fluffy buttermilk pancakes stacked high, crispy strip bacon, golden scrambled eggs cooked with melted cheese and fresh herbs, alongside hot hash browns and a small bowl of mixed berries.

I blinked at the overflowing plate, completely stunned. I never expected this brutal pack to serve such high-quality, rich, and content-filled food to hundreds of ordinary servants every single morning.

Bakito and I carried our heavy trays away from the counter, scanning the noisy room until we spotted an empty two-person table near the quiet corner wall. We slid onto the wooden benches and immediately began digging in.

Bakito took a few massive bites before she suddenly leaned across the small table. Her dark eyes darted around the room nervously as she lowered her voice to an urgent whisper. "So... how do we start planning our escape? How do we get out of this place? When are we actually leaving?"

My eyes went wide, my fork freezing halfway to my mouth. I quickly leaned across the table, fixing her with a firm, cautionary look.

"Lower your voice when you are talking about things like that," I whispered sternly, glancing over my shoulder to ensure none of the passing guards were listening to us. "Don't ever speak about escaping in the open where other people might hear us. And you need to calm down, Bakito. We can't just run out the front gates blindly like this. We have to find a safe place to stay outside first, and we have to carefully observe every guard pattern and exit route before we make a move. Just be patient and calm down."

I was still mid-sentence, trying to explain the importance of careful planning, when my eyes drifted down to Bakito’s tray.

I blinked in utter disbelief. In the short minute we had been sitting there, Bakito had already scarfed down every single bit of her food. Her plate was completely bare, and she was actively scraping the flat of her fork against the porcelain, trying to lick up the tiny leftover crumbs of hash browns and syrup.

I looked back down at my own plate—I had barely eaten half of my scrambled eggs and pancakes.

"Wait..." I asked softly, a warm, pitying smile touching my lips. "Are you still hungry? Do you want to eat more?"

Bakito froze, her face turning bright red with sudden embarrassment. She slowly lowered her fork, looking up at me through her lashes before giving me a tiny, eager nod of her head.

Without a second thought, I pushed my loaded tray across the wooden table toward her. "Here, take mine."

Bakito’s eyes lit up with deep gratitude. She pulled the plate toward herself and immediately began wolfing down the food, devouring the pancakes and bacon as if she hadn't seen a full meal in weeks. Within minutes, the second plate was wiped entirely clean.

She let out a soft, satisfied sigh, dabbing her mouth with a paper napkin as she looked up at me with shiny eyes. "Thank you so much, Jade... Thank you."

I smiled at her softly, sliding off the wooden bench and dusting off my clothes. "You're very welcome. Now come on, let's go—we have work to do."