?Chapter 597:


    The next morning, she received the address from Ethel.


    Just as she was about to head out, she opened the door and saw Ellis standing there with breakfast in hand. For a second, her brain froze.


    After sleeping on everything, it all still felt a bit unreal.


    Ellis handed her the breakfast, his long fingers looking oddly graceful.


    “Breakfast.”


    Freya wasn’t sure how to describe what she was feeling. Ellis, who had once been so distant, was now bringing her food and asking her out to meals. It made her uneasy.


    Ellis caught the shift in her expression and said simply, “You don’t want to eat?”


    “You should go back to how you used to be,” Freya replied. “There’s no need to be overly kind. I’m your employer now, but I’m also still your teammate and friend.”


    Ellis withdrew his hand and gave her a helpless smile. “Freya.”


    “Yes?”


    “Do you really think I’m trying to suck up to you?”


    It wasn’t about sucking up—but it definitely felt off.


    “Just take it and eat.” Ellis pushed the breakfast into her hands without hesitation. “I seriously don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours!”


    Freya was speechless, inwardly grumbling. Clearly, he was the one acting out of character.


    Back in training, if she showed upte, Ellis wouldn’t let her eat at all. And if she didn’t meet her goals? No food and extra penalties. But now? He was hand-delivering breakfast. How could she not overthink this? Maybe he was still holding a grudge fromst time, and this was all part of some long game—pretend kindness followed by revenge. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.


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    She blurted out, “Captain, just get to the point and stop dragging out my suffering.”


    She truly believed—this was Ellis’s way of getting back at her. Because of what happened before, he was using this to apply mental pressure. And it was working.


    Ellis clenched his jaw, sorely tempted to knock some sense into Freya. Could she not twist his good intentions?


    “What are you even talking about?” he asked.


    Freya looked up at him, lips pressed together, and finally forced out two words. “You know it in your heart.”


    “Go eat,” Ellis said, one hand tucked in his pocket, still looking ridiculously good. “Stop with the wild guesses.”


    Freya took a few steps back, stood there at the doorway for a few seconds, and then raised her hand to close the door.


    Ellis was left standing there, caught somewhere between amusement and frustration. He had to admit, Freya was really a piece of work.


    Freya’s thoughts were a tangled mess.


    For her, overthinking came naturally. The Captain she remembered was apletely different person from the one in front of her now. The Ellis she remembered was the one who used toy traps for her. The man who had just handed her breakfast? That felt like someone else entirely.


    Lost in her thoughts, she looked down at the breakfast he’d practically shoved into her hands and took out her phone to make a call.


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