"But babies don''t eat andze around all day. Only piglets do that," Lucas dered with a teasing smirk.


    Melody shot him a re, "Grrr! You!"N?velDrama.Org content rights.


    Beatrice approached them to check on the situation and asked Thalia to take a break. "You''re our guest, Thalia. There''s no need to trouble yourself with all this."


    She did not have a knack for that, and her tortellini would not be able to hold together when cooked because they were practically falling apart.


    Thalia felt a pang of embarrassment but persisted, "I can practice! Cooking is all about practice, right? Once I get the hang of it, I can cook them once I''m back in Molomia."


    Melody''s smile dimmed slightly when she heard that. Lucas noticed the change in her mood but could not discern the reason behind it, so he decided to mischievously smear some flour on her nose. "Go over there and rest, or you could help fetch some water for me."


    "I thought you wanted me to sit over in the living room? Well, you can fetch some of that water yourself!" Melody retorted.


    Lucas was secretly relieved that she continued to pay attention to him.


    "Don''t you want to eat my tortellini? I''ve stuffed them to the brim, and each bite is loaded with all that stuffing!" Lucas teased.


    Melody replied, "If you won''t let me eat yours, then I''ll eat Grandma''s or Grandpa''s. The ones Grandpa made are big, round, and look so cute."


    Beatrice joined in, "Yes, you can have ours. Let him eat his overstuffed ones."


    Laughter echoed through the room, and Thalia''s earlier remarks remained unanswered. Thalia felt her face burn with embarrassment after they responded to Melody''s remark but not hers. She could notprehend Lucas''s actions either, wondering why he stood so close to Melody and if he did not hear what he said.


    After taking a deep breath, Thalia decided to butt into the conversation, "You''re pretty good at this, Lucas. You nailed them on the first try even though you piled them up with filling. Mine doesn''t look nice at all. I still end up with some burst ones. It''s not as easy as it looks."


    Lucas nced at her efforts and noticed the less-than-impressive tortellini she held. They were clearly falling apart. "These aren''t going to hold up when cooked. Go rx on the sofa with Melody." Thalia pursed her lips and said, "You don''t like them?"


    Lucas shook his head. "It''s not about whether I like them or not. Can they be cooked? If not, then the fillings will all go to waste."


    Melody nced over and felt a twinge of pity. Lte had prepared the filling specially for her.


    Thalia gnashed her teeth, wondering if they had to be so serious for just a bunch of tortellini.


    "Sorry... I just wanted to learn how to make some and help out while I''m at it. I didn''t expect mine to go to waste..."


    Her aggrieved demeanor made it seem as though everyone had conspired to bully her, which made Beatrice feel more than a tinge of annoyance. It was ludicrous for Thalia to be sulking when there was such a minimum of exchange in their conversation.


    "It won''t be a waste. Lte can fry it in the pan and make it like a stuffed pancake," Melody suggested. She remembered that Lte had prepared something simr before, and her gesture would save some of the awkwardness from Lte.