Crow was relieved to hear that Penelope hadn’t gotten caught assisting him in his escape. The last thing he wanted was to cause her any more trouble than he already had. He felt a little bad that some of her comrades were still holding her responsible for their prisoner getting away, but he was glad her baroness wasn’t upset with her about it. Recalling the authoritative looking woman, he wondered what kind of person she was. Every time Penelope spoke of her, her voice was full of respect. Judging by that alone, he guessed the baroness was a more just person than her comrades were.

At Penelope’s smirk, he returned a smile of his own. He was glad that she seemed to be doing alright since their last encounter. The sight of her proud face was more than enough to put his mind at ease and reassure him that she was doing just fine taking care of herself. He hoped she wouldn’t need to risk so much for him again though. She was already taking a big chance every time she came to Myrefall to meet with him. He didn’t want to put her in any more positions where she could lose her status or her job.

After a short moment of silence, she went on to ask him how he was feeling. He opened his mouth to answer, but then froze as she followed up the first question by asking him about how the knights had caught him to begin with. Shifting his weight, he looked away from her to watch a group of peasants at another table, as if they were suddenly interesting.

Even though he and Penelope were getting along again, he wasn’t about to tell her the real reason why he hadn’t been able to get away. No one knew about his waning health, not even the other thieves. It was a secret he intended to take to his grave—possibly quite literally if he couldn’t find a cure for the illness. He glanced back at the knight. Though they probably wouldn’t be together for more than a few seasons, he didn’t want to tell her either. Knowing how protective she was of the people she cared about, he was sure she would just worry about him unnecessarily. He couldn’t put that burden on her with everything else she was already dealing with.

“They were going to kill Rikki,” he said at last. “She was out by herself and a patrol found her. I saw them and tried to protect her, but there were too many of them for me to take on by myself. They overpowered me before I could get away.” He shrugged, offering her a halfhearted smile. “In hindsight, it wasn’t my best plan, but I’m just glad it was enough for Rikki to get away with her life.”