As the two siblings continued to talk and share stories, Crow found that he got along quite well with Naida. So far, he’d learned that she was three years younger than him, that she was a knight in their father’s army, and that the reason why she hadn’t joined the battlefront yet was because Albin hadn’t wanted her to risk his daughter’s life in the war against Younis. Her personality was appealing to him as well. She had a carefree attitude that was remarkably similar to his own, which was surprising to him because of their vastly different upbringings. Overall, he found that he liked her more than he’d been expecting to.

As he grew more comfortable around her, Crow transitioned from sitting rigidly at the edge of the bed to laying on his back with his arms propped behind his head. The two went on chatting casually with each other until the door handle rattled, and someone else stepped inside. The thief lifted his head lazily as he checked to see who had come to visit him this time, only to perk up right away when he realized it was Penelope. Grinning eagerly, he sat up to ask how her conversation with his father had gone, but then paused when he caught sight of the confused expression on her face.

As she suddenly addressed Naida by name, he blinked in surprise, looking between the two women as it became clear that they already knew each other. However, he didn’t get a chance to ask them about it before his sister spoke up. “Penelope!” Naida shrieked excitedly, sliding down from the bed to greet her friend with a hug. “I didn’t know you were back. How’s the war going? Are we [i]destroying[/i] Younis?” Suddenly, she blinked as she seemed to realize Penelope had asked her a question first. She looked back over her shoulder at Crow and made a face, seeming unsure how to explain what she was doing in his room.

“I… Well, I was… err…” she fumbled, obviously not used to coming up with a lie on the spot.

Crow watched her with an amused smirk. Though they shared blood, his half-sister definitely didn’t share his ability to outfox other people. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and climbed down to join them near the door. “It’s fine,” he assured her. “Penelope already knows about my relation to the king.”

“Oh, thank gods,” Naida exhaled in relief. Turning back to her friend with giddy excitement, the princess stood up straighter and threw one arm over Crow’s shoulders. “I came here to meet the next viceroy and found out I’ve got a brother instead!”

“I told you I haven’t decided whether I’m taking the job or not,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you will though,” Naida shot him a knowing wink and looked at Penelope again with a joyful grin. “Isn’t this great?”