"Food's ready! I sure hope y'all like it!"
The woman came out, carrying three, steaming, filled plates on each arm. She placed them on the table and looked at the four kids, only then noticing the tension.
"Uh, I'll be in the back if anyone needs me. Enjoy~" she said, waving.
"Thanks for the food! We'll talk about your arrangements later, alright?" Alwyn said.
"Of course, of course!"
She scurried off, probably to return to her nap. She looked awfully tired.
"Looks... good! Yum!" Linnie said, scooping food onto his plate.
Liora and Alwyn quickly followed his example, piling steaming hot food onto their plates. The three of them started to dig in.
Linnie and Liora ate unceremoniously, ripping apart the meat with their hands and completely neglecting the wooden utensils. The young lady scowled at the sight, and fished from her pocket a silver fork and a knife.
The girl most definitely kept those, like her gloves, everywhere she went. Well, at least when she went out to eat.
Marielle and The Prince then hesitantly picked some food from the table and tried it. To their surprise, they liked it, and too scooped up food.
There wasn't much talking—from everyone besides Liora—as they ate. Everyone was too busy stuffing their mouths.
"Wow, Marielle! You really know how to eat!" Liora said, still chewing.
"Excuse me? That's Lady Marielle to you. And what's that supposed to mean!?"
"Huh? I didn't mean anything by it."
"Hey, Marielle, you're not a lady anymore. Not while you're my apprentice. Don't expect Lin or Liora to call you by your title," Alwyn said nonchalantly.
"What?"
"You heard me. Don't expect them to treat you any good just because you're a noble. They've been my apprentices longer than you have."
'Hehe, it feels good to have Alwyn stick up for me. What the hell am I thinking!? I don't need him to—dammit!'
"Pffft, as if that means anything! It's not like you've taught them any magic, right? You took them in only recently. They've been your apprentices barely longer than I have."
"You're going to need to stop talking down to me, too, you know, and start taking what I say seriously. You're just... a little girl looking for an education, got it?" He pointed his fork at her.
He was talking serious again, while picking his teeth with his fingernail.
Linnie realized that this was how he was going to deal with her nasty attitude. It made him smirk, knowing that Alwyn, too, wanted to humble the girl.
"Whatever."
"I assume I don't need to tell that to you, too, young prince?"
"No, I understand."
Linnie looked at Liora and raised his eyebrows up and down. She just looked back at him with a confused expression, and then turned back to her plate, continuing to stuff her face.
After that, the two nobles didn't speak much. Well, The Prince hadn't spoken much since the beginning, but it seemed like Alwyn scared Marielle for now.
Soon enough they finished eating, Alwyn said goodbyes to the owner, and they left.
On the way back, Marielle walked ahead, not bothering to socialize with anyone. The Prince followed a step behind her.
"Pssst, Lin, come here," Alwyn whispered.
"What is it?" Linnie asked.
"I was being serious, you know. While I'm busy, don't leave them alone. I need you to get them to warm up to you, or it's gonna be a real pain once we get back on the road. Types like them... like her—they're complicated."
. . .
"She's a total bitch and she hates our guts, how are we supposed to get close to her?"
"Don't call her a bitch. Didn't you get angry at me for calling Aliza that!? Follow your own example, you rude idiot! I need you two to help fix her behavior. Soften her up! Even if it's just a little bit. The Prince... you don't have to worry about him too much. Just get friendly with him."
"I don't know if I'm the person for this job... why don't you ask Liora? She's way better at being all friendly. I'll probably just end up fighting with them. That's all I'm good for, you know that."
"Hey, don't say that. Ahem, even if it's true. But that's why I'm telling this to you—I already know Liora's gonna try and be their friends. I'm telling you not to antagonize them. They're not like you two. They're... annoying. Because they're nobles."
Linnie narrowed his eyes, but eventually huffed.
"I'll try, I guess. But I'm not gonna become some fool for them, okay!?"
"Yeah, I get it. Thanks Lin. This is your first real mission as my apprentice, alright? Don't disappoint me!" He patted Linnie on the back.
And with that, they arrived back at the estate. Alwyn, however, didn't follow them inside, and instead headed back into the city.
Once they entered the manor, Marielle immediately started walking in the direction of her room.
"Hey, wait up! You guys wanna play a game or something?" Liora said.
There was no response, to her disappointment.
"Sorry. I'm not in the mood to play right now," The Prince said. "Maybe next time."
And he, too, went off. Most likely to his own room.
"Wow, they're interesting people!" Liora said.
"That's... definitely a way to put it. Assholes, I'd say!" Linnie laughed. "Pompous, annoying, schmucks!"
"What's a 'schmuck'? And, they're not that bad!" she argued. "What was Alwyn talking to you about back there?"
"He was telling me that we need to make them our friends and whatever. And he was being super serious about it, too."
"Aw, that's not too hard. I was gonna do that anyway."
"I know... that's why he only said it to me. I bet it's because he doesn't think I can do it. Make them my friends, I mean."
Liora laughed, shaking her head.
"Yeah, you should give up. There's no way you could ever make a real friend—not unless they didn't care about your terrible personality, like me and Alwyn and Aliza!"
"I can make a friend if I want! I've had plenty of friends! I just don't really care to make them that often. What're friends good for?"
"Now you sound like Marielle," she giggled. "Sounds like you have something in common. Maybe you guys will become friends, after all."
"Except I'm not lying! I'm nothing like her. In any way."
"Yeah, yeah. Wait, what about that prince? He's seriously a part of the royal family? I didn't even know there was a fourth prince!"
"Probably for a good reason. He's totally weird. I bet he's a bastard son or something."
"That's, like, so rude!" she giggled, slapping Linnie in the back of the head.
"Yeah, it's true, though!"