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He sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to change the subject to spare his brother from further awkwardness, someone else beat him to it.

"Of course, Brother Andreas knows you\'re his grandfather. It\'s silly to announce it like that, Grandpa," Nicol said with the innocent candor only a child could muster.

The Duke cleared his throat and didn\'t respond to Nicol\'s remark, but the slight hint of red on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment.

Casey laughed out loud at Nicol\'s comment. He ruffled his nephew\'s hair and said, "You\'re a real treasure, Nikki. Don\'t ever change, even when you grow up."

Reas was also relieved that the kid had broken the awkward atmosphere. Honestly, he didn\'t know how he would have reacted. Perhaps he would have just ignored the duke, because what could he say? "And I\'m your grandson"?

Nicol, on the other hand, only tilted his head. His expression seemed to be asking, \'Did I say something wrong?\'

At that moment, an announcement echoed throughout the lounge area.

[Ahem. To our distinguished guests in the lounge area, we will be taking off soon. If you are standing, please find a seat in the center of the lounge area and make yourselves comfortable. Thank you.]

Astrid quickly recognized the voice as Hildred. He seemed to be enjoying acting like a spaceport announcer.

As instructed by the announcement, they quickly found seats in the center of the lounge area. The moment they sat down, seatbelts automatically secured them. This must have been why Hildred asked them to sit there—those seats were equipped with seatbelts.

After a while, they felt the spaceship lift off. It didn\'t take long before they left the spaceport behind and were traveling through the sky. Astrid looked out the window from the lounge area, watching as they broke through the atmosphere of the capital star. Moments later, the vast expanse of space unfolded before his eyes.

Finally, the journey back home had begun.

-----

As lunchtime approached, Astrid decided to prepare a meal for everyone. He temporarily bid farewell to the people in the lounge area and made his way to the cockpit to ask for directions to the kitchen.

Wulfric noticed him and quickly got up from his seat, approaching with concern. "Is everything alright, Aster? Do you need something?"

Astrid shook his head. "No, I just wanted to ask where the kitchen is. It\'s almost lunchtime, and I want to cook for everyone." Continue your story on m,v|l-NovelBin.net

Wulfric paused for a moment. He had almost forgotten that Aster had planned to cook for everyone during this trip. Perhaps it was because he was still a bit salty that everyone, especially his captains, would get to enjoy Aster\'s cooking. In his opinion, they needed to earn the right to deserve Aster\'s food.

But he couldn\'t stop Aster from doing what he wanted. So, he planned to accompany him to the kitchen. Before he could, however, Hildred suddenly appeared beside him, once again being his usual extra self.

"Wow, do you know how to cook? I hope you don\'t set off any smoke alarms," Hildred said with a playful grin.

Wulfric frowned and aimed a kick at Hildred\'s leg, but Hildred swiftly dodged, as if he had already expected it.

"You\'re damn lucky you get to eat Aster\'s cooking at all," Wulfric snapped.

Hildred raised both hands in mock surrender. "Chill, Wulf, I\'m just joking." He then turned to Astrid. "Sorry about that. I didn\'t mean anything by it. I just can\'t help teasing people."

"It\'s fine. I don\'t mind a bit of teasing," Astrid said with a smile. "Just be careful not to go over the line or I might just tease you back."

Despite the sweet smile, anyone with discernment could tell it was a warning. Hildred raised an eyebrow at that. Instead of being offended, he was impressed. At least now he knew that the person Wulf was so obsessed with wasn\'t a pushover. Astrid would definitely need that kind of grit if he ever wanted to be with Wulf in the future.

"Come on, I\'ll guide you to the kitchen," Wulfric said. Before walking away, he turned to Hildred, his golden eyes clearly conveying a silent command: "Behave."

Hildred only grinned at that.

As the two disappeared, Hildred muttered, "I hope he\'s really good at cooking. I\'d hate to have to give a false compliment."

"I don\'t think Hil should worry about that. He, Mr. Townsend, he\'s really good," Edmund said from behind.

Hildred looked back at Edmund with interest, even Slade also glanced at the other.

"Really? How do you know?" Hildred asked.

"Remember when I was with the General and we accidentally landed in Delryria? That\'s where we met Mr. Townsend and his family," Edmund said with a reminiscent smile. "We ate the food he made there, and it was really, really good."

Hildred became intrigued after he heard that. "It\'s really that good?"

Edmund nodded like an excited puppy. "It\'s the best home-cooked meal I\'ve eaten."

Because of what Edmund said, a spark of anticipation lit up in Hildred\'s eyes. He found himself genuinely looking forward to the meal. However, hearing Edmund praise someone so much left him slightly annoyed.

Determined to have some fun, he walked over to Edmund, planning to tease him until lunchtime.