Because Alaric did not reply, Aleksis looked back and accidentally touched Alaric's chin. She could feel the man's breathing gradually becoming heavy.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Aleksis asked again.
Alaric took a deep breath and shook his head. He slowly shifted his body so Aleksis would move away from his lap. After he managed to free himself from her charm, he patted his chest and then started coughing a little.
"Want some breakfast?" he asked her as a form of distraction. He then rose and reached out to help Aleksis up.
The girl nodded. After accepting Alaric's hand, they walked together into the large dining room and saw that on the table, a variety of hot dishes were already laid out.
"Can you cook now?" Aleksis asked curiously. She remembered that Alaric made really sad-looking fish tartare 8 years ago.
The man shook his head.
"I am a person who eats to live, not lives to eat," he confessed. "My staff prepared everything."