Roxanne offered the man a reassuring smile, and perhaps in her ignorance and unwillingness to accept the reality of the situation of the kingdom, continued to deny to herself the possibility of a wizard attack to even occur on the castle itself, "I...of course, yes. I do believe there will be no immediate need for you to fight off any magic-wielders. For that, I am thankful, truly. Their kind seem so...so driven by malice, it almost is frightening sometimes. It almost is frightening to try and fathom just what runs through their minds when they so ruthlessly..." she paused here, lingering on the memory of her mother a final time, "...do what they do. Dust bunnies and dirty stockings are a much meeker evil, as I'm sure you know."

His fading smile and look of surprise only made her more curious, and his following words though a little suspicious were not unreasonable. His father seemed like an interesting man indeed. Stubborn to the point of not leaving his home, even if it meant a cure for his illness? A way to prolong his lifespan? She shook her head ever so slightly in quiet disapproval of this strange man's choices.
[i]It is a funny way in which these common folk think. If it was any haughtier a noble, perhaps they would value their own lifespans over their place of burial. But no, in fact. Even nobles have their own worldly pride.[/i]
She wondered what kind of man Rivalen's father was. An older gentleman, with dark hair and dark eyes like his son, beginning to gray? A man who once in his prime tended fields and sported sinewy muscle, now reduced to a cripple with a bad temper? Perhaps he was a quiet man? Or was he loud, and easily angered? Was he depressed, and paranoid, like her own father after losing his wife? Roxanne would have to ask what took Rivalen's mother's life at some point in the future, perhaps when she'd get to know the man better. For now, she considered it a wound she did not intentionally want to bring up, and in addition, pour salt into.

"Your father definitely sounds a strange man, Rivalen."
Sighing deeply, genuinely for once, she looked the man right in the eye. It wasn't like she was blaming him for how his father was, but finding nobody else to convey her disapproval to, she decided it would be him. "Are you absolutely sure? Perhaps you should write to him and...ask how he feels about it, personally. You never know; he just might appreciate the invitation, whenever it occurs. If ever it occurs, of course."

She shrugged her shoulders and sipped more of the tea, continuing to listen attentively as Rivalen spoke. She couldn't help but smile when he mentioned he had written to his father, the very first thing. He definitely looked like a family man, despite that silver tongue of his. It was quite apparent he really did care for his father all that much. Being royalty, Roxanne did love her own father, but perhaps was never forced into a situation where a bond like that would develop between father and daughter. Sure, her mother had passed away as well, but there was never a shortage of servants, never a shortage of caretakers to step up and fulfill those roles. It almost made her feel a little jealous, a little hollow inside, that she couldn't ever fathom that kind of fatherly bond.
"He sounds a strange man, but a man who has raised a good son. I wonder if you picked up your [i]roguish charm[/i] and silver tongue from him, or your mother, Rivalen..."
She spoke the words as more of a rhetorical statement to herself than a genuine question to Rivalen. Although she did flatter him, it was flattery on genuine bases. He really did have a [i]roguish charm[/i] about him that continued to catch the princess off guard. Every time he smiled at her with ease. Every time he confidently spoke up. The honesty and simplicity behind his character was apparent, and a trait she figured she'd quite come to appreciate, despite his sense of humour and gusto. Admitting to such a thing made her laugh again, her cheeks a carefree hue of pink yet again.
"Your father certainly wasn't the only one surprised when you acquired that position, let me tell you, Rivalen."

"Ah! A man who would love to read!" the teacup, now empty, placed on the saucer resting in the platter, she clapped her hands together delightedly, her eyes glistening in a way that was characteristic of them whenever she was excited. "If there's one good thing that will come from you being my personal attendant, it would mean that there would be a lot to read, indeed. I realise that perhaps literature was difficult to come by in your village of... [i]Oldpine[/i], was it? But here, most definitely, I want to extend our library to you, as a welcoming gift for becoming a part of the castle of the ruling family of Miroin. I'm quite impressed, really. I didn't expect a boy who worked in the fields his whole life to be able to read, but power to you, Rivalen. It is an amazing thing, is it not?"
Realising she was gushing, she bit her lip and nervously laughed it off, slowly rising to her feet and gracefully making her way, past him, to her desk, where she searched for some books among the mess of them. Some of them required her to bend down and reach for them, as there were small piles to either side of the desk, until about four rather thick-looking books, some of them with intact spines and some not, rested safely cradled in her arms. 
The romance novel was left, quite strategically, untouched on her desk. Though unfortunately, it was in such a way that it was apparent that it was [i]the very same[/i] novel she had been currently reading.

She turned to Rivalen again with a mischievous grin, "I'm sure for someone who comes from a village, really, all this would be magical. Just [i]wait[/i] until you see the library. You might just fall in love with it, like I have...it's a beautiful, beautiful set of archives. Since I am free for the next..." her glance fell to the window, noting the clock with the large hand pointing at the notches for 8 and the small hand pointing a little under the notches for 2. 2:40pm.
"...err. For the next hour and twenty minutes, I think I'll go down to the library and make the exchange of these books for some more. I would very much like if you did accompany me, Rivalen. You could start by holding either the door - or these heavy books - for me, if such a thing interested you, at this very point in time. Of course, if you have other plans..."
She looked him over where he was on the stool, and couldn't help but smirk wider.
Something about him told her that he would be quite the interesting reading companion.