Crow smirked as Penelope reminded William about their escapade in the Younisian castle two years ago. The male knight was clearly frustrated over being reminded of the time when he had been forced to rely on a criminal in the past, which he found quite amusing. Their old comrade deserved to be made uncomfortable though, what with his constant—and accurate—accusations about them. He hoped it would be enough to make the older man back down, but instead he remained just as stubborn as ever about remaining close to them while they were in the castle.

To make things worse, it looked like it was about time for Penelope’s audience with his father, which meant he was about to be left alone with William. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the thought, suddenly wishing he could go with her to speak with Albin. Of course, he knew that wasn’t a good idea though. Aside from the fact that his appearance would likely be suspicious to the king, Toreus had clearly given the task to her and only her. It wasn’t his responsibility to get involved in that conversation, so he was just going to have to trust that she could handle it on her own.

“Good luck,” Crow said, offering her a reassuring smile, though his dipped his head in a more curt and formal gesture to keep up their charade in front of William. Turning back to the older knight, he sighed resignedly. “I suppose if I’m just going to be stuck with you, I might as well go back to my room. Wandering the castle just isn’t worth listening to you whine all afternoon.”

“You’re just upset because you know I won’t let you steal anything,” William accused with a snort.

“See?” Crow groaned exaggeratedly. “It’s already started.” He turned to Penelope with a lopsided grin. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when you’re done talking with the king, so I can explore this place with more tolerable company.” With that, he headed back down the hallway they had come from with William following closely at his heels to make sure he actually returned to his bed chambers.