At the dinner party, the attendants skillfully sliced the meat strips at the long table beside them, cutting the roast suckling pig, ham, and shank into slices, paired with asparagus and black truffle, drizzled with sea salt and lemon juice, and served.
"Lord Aske, where are you from?" Diophano inquired.
"Constantinople," Aske replied.
This was a question asked with prior knowledge, as Diophano also came from there. Using this as a conversation starter, this noblewoman feigned surprise, covered her mouth, and laughed:
"Ah, you must be the heir of the Achilles family? I remember now, my niece Theodora seemed to have mentioned it..."
She hadn't finished before Eleanor interrupted:
"Mother!" Eleanor smiled, "You must have forgotten. Earlier, I served in the same mercenary group with Theodora; at that time, Aske was our squad leader."
Little Otto snorted through his nose, as if to say, "Mercenary? So this is the so-called Achilles family?"
