Hoffman was momentarily speechless at the completely unexpected response.

‘Who in the world could have said such a thing?’

He felt a different kind of urgency. The armor made from the hide of the mutated black bear was one of the many treasures Lagos possessed.

Fortunately, its secrecy was not of the highest importance.

Mutated black bears were such monstrous creatures that hunting them was exceptionally difficult.

Even if news of them spread to the continent, no one would come rushing to capture one.

“Madam, it’s just one of the many pieces of armor His Lordship possesses. Even without this vest, I assure you he wouldn’t have gone out unprotected.”

“…Oh.”

‘Of course. How foolish of me.’

Cecilia felt embarrassed, as if she had become a child who knew nothing.

‘He’s the lord of this land. There’s no way he has only one set of armor.’

She was ashamed of herself for unconsciously assuming he was a poor lord.

“Madam, shall I keep this vest safe and return it to His Lordship when he comes back?”

“No. Borrowed items should be returned personally.”

After Hoffman left, Cecilia gazed at the black vest with mixed emotions.

Perhaps she should have just handed it to Hoffman.

If she summoned him to return the vest herself, wouldn’t it look like a signal that she wanted another kiss?

It was exactly the kind of discreet yet suggestive gesture nobles often used.

“Even if we did it again…”

She muttered unconsciously and then jolted in surprise at her own words.

“Let’s go. I’m starving.”

She hurried the maid unnecessarily as she left the sitting room.

When Cecilia entered the dining hall, she looked around.

It was about the size of a small room, with a table on a carpeted floor and a single chest of drawers in the corner.

When she first came here, she had thought it was terribly unimpressive.

But today, it looked different.

This was a private dining hall, the only one in Lagos Castle, created suddenly just for her.

‘A dining hall just for me…’

Even the lord himself didn’t have a private dining hall.

The surroundings were quiet throughout her meal.

The atmosphere felt familiar—completely different from the communal dining hall she had visited the day before.

‘It was noisy and chaotic there.’

The flaws alone were endless.

No elegant noblewoman would ever eat in such a place.

And yet, she kept thinking about the communal dining hall from the previous evening.

After finishing her meal, Cecilia asked Helen a question.

“Is the communal dining hall open all day?”

“It’s always accessible for people to bring food or use as a place to talk. But meal distributions take place twice a day at set times.”

When Cecilia had first been shown the communal dining hall upon her arrival at Lagos Castle, it had been nearly empty.

It must not have been a distribution time.

At the time, she had vaguely assumed it was similar to the dining halls in the grand duchy.

There was also a communal dining hall in the grand duchy, where knights and administrators ate their meals.

So the scene she had witnessed yesterday surprised her.

The grand duchy didn’t have a dining hall for servants.

Cecilia had never thought about where the servants ate or seen them eat.

“Let’s go to the communal dining hall.”

“Yes, Madam.”

On the way there, they encountered Lagos maids pulling carts.

The wooden carts had several tiers stacked with trays of food.

When the maids noticed Cecilia, they stopped.

Since the corridor was wide, there was no need to step aside.

Cecilia passed them but suddenly paused.

‘Who are they bringing that food to? Administrative officers? Hunters?’

She felt a sudden sense of incongruity.

In the grand duchy, it was common for servants to deliver meals to their superiors.

There were many nobles, including the grand duke’s kin and vassals.

But in Lagos Castle, the only superiors were the lord and his wife.

Moreover, even the lord went to the communal dining hall himself, so why would others have their meals delivered?

Cecilia, though new to Lagos Castle, found this behavior completely out of place.

“Helen, who is that food for?”

Helen couldn’t answer immediately.

Cecilia felt a sudden realization.

“The servants I brought with me, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, Madam.”

Cecilia let out a short, bitter laugh.

‘Those insolent brats.’

Conflicts among servants were common.

It was a problem prevalent in most noble households.

Such issues were especially likely when someone new joined the household through marriage and brought their own close servants.

Often, the losing side in a power struggle between the old and new servants would be completely replaced.

But that sort of behavior always depended on having the support of their master.

Cecilia had never instructed the servants from the grand duchy to assert such superiority.