CHAPTER 757: CHAPTER 757: SUDDEN DINNER DATE

But as Ferdinand walked to his seat, she couldn’t help but glance at his crotch and noticed that he had managed to regain his composure.

The bulging tent earlier was gone.

’How unfair. How did he manage to calm down so quickly?’

Arabella pouted as she squirmed, feeling the moist his needy kisses had caused between her legs. She only realized it when she sat down and felt the dampness.

’When did I become such a wanton woman? We just kissed,’ Arabella internally complained.

But how could she help it when she missed him constantly and now he was finally back?

Who wouldn’t get tempted when he holds her tight and kisses her so needily? Especially when his kisses were usually what turned her on.

[This scent?! Is Arabella aroused?] Ferdinand glanced at her and Arabella quickly looked down at the food on the table, not wanting to confirm his suspicion.

She knew he would know if their gazes met again so she avoided it.

’Why could he smell it from so far away?! It’s just a bit!’ Arabella bit her lip.

It was just a teeny tiny bit. She just felt a bit warmer than usual and got a bit moist down there, and yet, he could already smell her arousal. She could not hide anything with that nose of his.

"Arabella," Ferdinand gulped as he eyed her.

The look in his eyes gave butterflies to her stomach. How could she eat with him giving her such heated looks?

"You know, I’m ready whenever you want," Ferdinand said, and Arabella glared at him in frustration.

It sounded like she was the one asking for it when he was the one who got hard first and was eyeing her so lasciviously now.

The way he said it was also like he was teasing her. And yet, his face was innocent.

Ferdinand was just offering that he was ready to satisfy her whenever she wanted. They could go to her room and be lovey-dovey despite his effort here and he would still be fine with it.

He was already seated but he looked like he was ready to go elsewhere if she said the word.

However, Arabella did not want to abandon their dinner date and waste all the effort that went into preparing this.

Ferdinand had been so thoughtful in arranging for this to be set up, and their maids and butlers worked diligently to create the romantic atmosphere.

Hence, she did not want to just go into her room and stay there until the morning without using this set up properly.

Likewise, now that there was food in front of her, she realized she was hungry as well. She needed to eat first.

If they have time later, after their discussion, maybe, they could manage to spend some time to make up for their time away from each other before Ferdinand heads to Sibruh again.

"I’m fine. Let’s eat first. I’m starving," Arabella said and picked up her fork and knife.

Ferdinand blinked twice and stared at her for a few seconds before he picked up his fork and knife.

"Right. Let’s eat," he muttered more to himself than to Arabella, steeling himself to focus on the meal.

They ate in silence until they both got rid of all the naughty thoughts and finally just focused on eating a meal together.

’He does not know about today yet, doesn’t he?’

Arabella figured Riley and Alwin had not informed Ferdinand yet about her meeting with Princess Seraphina which was why he was so calm instead of scolding her.

She did not want to give him more work when he was already busy, but she had no choice since it concerns their people.

"How is everything going in Sibruh and the other affected territories?" Arabella asked, concerned about the situation there.

Ferdinand only wrote a letter to her yesterday so she figured he was too busy to come home. Perhaps the situation in Sibruh had escalated.

"We have burned all of the disease-infected crops to prevent it from spreading. It also helps so that the pests would have no sustenance. However, since we have used magic barriers to prevent them from moving to neighboring territories, the pests diverted their attention to all plants in the area. They have become more aggressive so we had to use spells to protect the forests and trees," Ferdinand sighed heavily.

"They’re even attacking the trees?" Arabella gasped in disbelief.

"Yes. They have begun consuming all the leaves they could find. If we do not stop them, they would eventually eat the bark and trunk as well. If the pest were allowed to continue, once spring comes, there might not even be seeds left to sprout."

Ferdinand explained that if the pests and the disease they spread devastated all the flora in the area, including the trees, it could also lead to floods and landslides in spring as snow and ice from winter thaws. Further, it could lead to drought in summer and fall which could be worsened by the following winter if not rehabilitated immediately.

It sounded like a simple pest and disease problem at first, but now, it has such impacts in future events.

"Will everything be alright?" Arabella asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Ferdinand smiled warmly at her worry. "Yes, of course. It may take some time, but we will ensure all the affected territories recover."

"I see, that’s good then," Arabella nodded.

They had ample supply here in Riva so they could shell out support for the affected territories in the meantime.

"What about the non-crop plants and trees that were infected? Did you have to burn those too?" Arabella inquired.

"Yes, unfortunately. We had to. For shrubs and trees, we trimmed off the infected parts. But if the disease had spread to the trunk, we had no choice but to burn them," Ferdinand admitted.

He explained that in Safiro, regeneration methods were feasible because there were no pests or disease involved.

Further, the cause of the lack of flora in Safiro was initially a vast forest fire then, the curse that prevented the entire land from supporting greenery and the magic spell to prevent the rains.