Chapter 26

This is a nightmare.

Pipi worked quickly to primp Lia, who then grudgingly went down the stairs.

Claude sat in the softly lit dining room, leaning back against the chair in front of the round table.

"You're late," he said, without looking up from his newspaper.

Lia was stunned by how he sipped his coffee with such nonchalance. He was wearing a white jacket with a blue vest and blue pants. There was no sign of the soldier in uniform from the night before. The dining room felt like it had suddenly shrunk in size with him sitting there.

The servant holding the coffee pot next to Claude blushed as Lia approached.

"My apologies," Lia replied. "I didn't get much sleep. What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"What do you think?"

"I wouldn't know, my lord," Lia quipped back. "I can't read your mind."

Claude couldn't help but smirk.