It was only after Asher finished three plates of food that he finally snapped back to reality. A huge smile spread across his face, his stomach full like a stuffed duck.
"Oh, forgive my manners. How are—OH MY GOD…!"
His eyes suddenly snapped to the queen sitting at the far end of the table.
"What a strikingly beautiful...wait, are you a dude?"
A noble slammed his fist onto the table. "What utter disrespect is this? Mind your tongue in the presence of the Queen!"
A female minister snarled, her expression darkening. "A mere man ogling our sovereign? How utterly revolting!"
Asher felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Oh… right.
Their reactions reminded him of the time he had sat at a long table like this with the Queen of the Zephandria Kingdom and her royal council.
Despite almost everyone being furious with him, the Queen herself burst into laughter. The sound was so bright and genuine that the council fell into an uneasy silence.
