Chapter 32: Breakfast
The dining hall was smaller than Hajin expected.
Not small in a cramped way, but intimate compared to the throne room. A long table sat in the center with enough chairs for maybe twelve people, though only a handful were filled. Candles burned evenly along its length, their light catching the polished wood and the silver dishes laid out in careful rows.
Hajin sat near the middle of the table with Juna on his left, her tail wrapped tight around her leg under the chair. She had not said a single word since they walked in.
Across from them sat Didi with her mother to her right and a younger boy Hajin did not recognize to her left.
The boy looked maybe twelve, with the same sharp eyes as the King but none of the weight behind them yet. He kept stealing glances at Juna’s ears before looking back down at his plate.
The King sat at the head of the table, his posture relaxed in a way that felt deliberate, like someone trying very hard to make a formal breakfast feel casual and failing completely.
Nobody was eating.
The servants had brought out the first course, a warm porridge with honey and berries on top, and it sat steaming in front of everyone while the silence stretched long enough to become uncomfortable.
Hajin stared at his porridge and wondered if there was a rule about when royalty started eating or if everyone was just waiting for someone else to go first.
’This is painful,’ he thought, keeping his hands in his lap. ’Did someone die and nobody told me?’
Juna’s ears twitched every few seconds, tracking the servants moving along the walls and the guards stationed at the doors.
The Queen cleared her throat quietly, then did not say anything.
Didi looked at her father, then at Hajin, then at her father again, her expression stuck somewhere between pleading and irritated.
The King finally set down his glass.
"Well," he said, his voice carrying easily across the table, "I must say, you both clean up remarkably well."
Hajin blinked, looking down at his own clothes before he could stop himself.
The servants had laid out fresh outfits for both of them before the meal, simple but well-made clothes that fit better than anything he had worn in years. A dark tunic with clean lines and pants that actually reached his ankles.
No holes, no bloodstains and no monster guts crusted into the fabric.
Juna had been given a fitted top and dark pants that left her arms free, the material soft enough that she had stopped tugging at it after the first few minutes.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said, dipping his head a little. "It’s been a while since I had anything new."
The King’s expression shifted a little after hearing that, the easy smile on his face not disappearing but turning more restrained.
"Then I am glad the palace could correct that much at least," he said, looking between Hajin and Juna. "You brought my daughter back alive, so there is no reason for either of you to be treated like strangers here."
Hajin felt a little pressure settle in his chest, ’he says things so directly,’ he thought, keeping his posture straight. ’I seriously don’t know how I am supposed to respond to a king acting this nice.’
Before he could say anything else, the Queen leaned forward a little and smiled in a much softer way than her husband had.
"My husband means well," she said, glancing at the untouched food in front of everyone. "But he has a habit of making even breakfast sound like a royal decree."
The King’s brows lifted slightly, "I do not."
"You absolutely do," she said, not missing a beat. "You sound one sentence away from rewarding the porridge for loyal service to the crown."
For a second, nobody reacted, then Didi let out a short laugh before trying to hide it behind her hand.
The younger boy at her side failed much worse, snorting into his cup so suddenly that he had to lower it and cough.
Hajin stared at the Queen for a second, then at the King, and the whole thing felt so unexpected that a small laugh slipped out of him too.
Juna looked around the table in confusion, her ears twitching once.
’That was a joke?’ she thought, looking at the King’s face. ’Humans in palaces joke like that with each other?’
The Queen smiled a little wider after seeing the tension break.
"There, that is much better," she said, picking up her spoon at last. "If everybody keeps sitting here like this, the porridge will get cold and then all the cooks in the kitchen will blame me personally."
She turned her attention toward Juna after that, her voice staying gentle.
"Please eat comfortably," she said. "No one at this table is bothered by your ears or your tail, so you don’t need to hold yourself so stiffly."
Juna froze for a moment, clearly not expecting to be addressed that directly. Her tail tightened around her leg under the chair.
"...Okay," she said quietly, still sounding a little unsure.
The Queen gave a small nod, then looked at Hajin again, "and you as well," she said. "You don’t need to worry about using the wrong spoon or bowl. This is simply breakfast, not some test."
That hit a little too directly, making Hajin look down at the table setting again, the sheer number of utensils still feeling unreasonable.
’So she noticed,’ he thought, feeling a little embarrassed. ’Was I really that obvious?’
"That helps a lot actually," he admitted, scratching his cheek once. "I was just about to copy whoever moved first and pray for the best."
This time even the King laughed, a deep sound that made the room feel far less suffocating than before.
"A practical strategy," he said. "I can respect that."
"See?" the Queen said, looking at him. "Now you are speaking like a person again."
The King shook his head, though there was no annoyance behind it.
"Eat," he said, giving in at last as he lifted his spoon. "That is an order from your King, if that makes it easier."
"Father," Didi muttered, already rubbing at her forehead.
The moment he started, the rest of the table finally moved.
Hajin picked up the nearest spoon and took a careful taste, then had to stop himself from reacting too much because the porridge was actually incredible. It was warm and rich, with a sweetness from the honey that made his whole body feel lighter after just one swallow.
’Yeah, no, this is dangerous,’ he thought, taking another bite. ’I could get used to this kind of life way too fast.’
Juna took her first spoonful much more carefully, her posture still tense, but her ears gave a tiny upward twitch after the taste hit her tongue.
The main course came shortly after, eggs and toasted bread with preserved fruit that actually made Hajin’s eyes sting a little because it had been so long since he sat at a table with real food and people who weren’t trying to kill him or rob him.
The Queen kept the conversation moving, asking Juna about her favorite foods in a way that didn’t demand much, which Juna answered in short, quiet sentences while slowly relaxing into her chair.
By the time the plates were being cleared, Hajin had almost forgotten he was sitting in a royal palace. The King had spent most of the meal talking with his son about sword practice, and Didi had joined in to tease the boy about losing to her in their last match.
It felt almost normal, which was exactly why Hajin tensed up when the King’s mood shifted.
The servants had just finished collecting the last dishes when the King set down his glass and straightened in his chair. The easy warmth drained from his face, replaced by the same focused gravity Hajin had seen in the throne room.
"Now that we have all eaten," the King said, his voice carrying the weight of a man who never stopped being a ruler even during breakfast, "it is time to return to business."
Hajin felt his stomach drop a little, ’here it comes,’ he thought, setting his own glass down and sitting up straighter.
The King lifted one hand and waved toward the corner of the room where an older man in formal house colors had been standing so quietly that Hajin had honestly forgotten he was there.
The head butler stepped forward immediately, his movements precise and smooth, carrying a polished silver tray in both hands. Two sealed letters sat on top of it, each one bound with different colored wax.
He stopped beside Hajin and lowered the tray, bowing slightly, "these are for you, sir," the butler said, his voice flat and professional.
Hajin stared at the letters for a second, then looked up at the King. "What are these?"
"Your future," the King replied, leaning forward with both elbows on the table, his eyes locked onto Hajin’s with an intensity that made the air in the room feel heavier. "The recommendation to the guild for your Ranker evaluation, and your provisional gate permit."
Hajin reached out slowly, picking up the first letter and feeling the weight of the wax seal under his thumb.
"But before you open any of them," the King said, his voice dropping lower, almost quiet, "listen carefully."