Gertrude was feeling pretty smug as a new person... a Demon? In a religious knightly order? As Amy interjected. It seemed the lunk needed to be bailed out. Well, it only figured. He was in way over his head. But as he departed, he got one final shot in. The only one that stung.

Gertrude was here of her own accord. She was ready and willing to use these fools as much as she needed to reach her goals. Merilia didn't [i]force[/i] her to be here, but Renar's words managed to cut all the same. The simple truth was, if Merilia wanted her here, [i]she would be here[/i] whether she wanted to or not. There was nothing she could do about it. She could protest that it was her choice, but the fact remained.

As long as she wasn't the most powerful, she wasn't really free. That old envy simmered, even though it was a fool's errand to compare oneself to a full-fledged Witch.

She managed to grumble one last "fuck you" as Renar departed, before turning to Amy. The Demon was a little taller than the Captain, but Gertrude still towered over her.

Gertrude hid her bitterness at that last remark in a faux-friendly grin, and crouched slightly to come to eye level with Amy. She could have just regarded the woman like a normal person, but Gertrude wanted to make her feel small.

This one was apparently canny enough to put together the context clues and guess at Gertrude's role as a mage. She wouldn't let her expression betray whether Amy was right or wrong, but as long as no one knew she was also a Witch's apprentice, it would be fine.

"Well, Amy, would you call it 'spite' or 'hostility' to be manhandled by an oaf, glowered at by a boor, and threatened with a lynching if you speak out of turn by a scoundrel? Either way, it's hardly knightly behavior, I should think. At least you [i]pretend[/i] to be pleasant. Good on you, the most knightly of the bunch," she said pointedly, drawing herself back up to her full height.

"But, well, far be it from me to look a gift Demon in the mouth. I may be spending some time here, and it would be stupid of me to not get a lay of the land. I hope we'll be going alone, though, because I'm not really in the mood to deal with the rest of these jackanapes."

---

Gretchen was remarkably quiet as they made their way to the kitchens. She didn't even snap at Gerard for offering to help her. She didn't shoot her mouth off at every little thing, knowing that no one could hurt her.

Because they could.

The broom gave her enough mana to defend herself, but she was hardly safe. When separated from Gertrude and her ability to protect the both of them, she largely returned to the meek girl she was long ago. Without power, she was a shadow. She could only get away with so much, because there was no way for her to back it up.

Gretchen and Gertrude were the same person, only Gretchen didn't have the strength she had always coveted, and it felt terrible. She'd just have to deal with it for now. There was very little that either of them could do about it.

Gretchen took the first seat she could grab, which just so happened to be across from yet two more of the original Roses, as revealed by the current. She wanted to rag on Edwin alongside Renar (who she was still pissed at) for being the one that nobody liked, but what if he tried to hurt her? There wasn't much she could say except...

Those pastries looked good.

"Alright, deal me in," Gretchen said, taking Parvan up on his offer, "I'm just here to make sure no one messes with our food, anyways. Might as well have a little fun while I'm at it."

Her skills in adaptability and memorization made her particularly suited for gambling, anyways. The pastries would be hers.