Crow finished off the rest of his food in silence and set his plate aside, letting out his breath in a content exhale. Though he disliked being among so many knights, he supposed his stay in their camp wasn’t completely without its perks. The tent had been comfortably warm, and the breakfast had been good. Of course, the pleasant accommodations didn’t make up for the lack of enjoyable company—the knights’ cold faces just made him miss his companions all the more—but he was used to taking what he could get. After all, he was going to have to get used to doing so when he returned to the castle and surrounded himself with hostile people.

Luckily, he wasn’t alone for very long. After a short time passed, Crow heard the sound of approaching footsteps off to his right. He looked up and smiled as he saw that Penelope was up and had come over to greet him. Her friendly face was a welcomed break from her scathing comrades, and he wished he could wrap his arms around her when she sat down beside him. However, not wanting to give away their relationship to anyone before he had made a more respectable name for himself, he refrained from moving aside from shifting slightly to give her some space on the grassy patch where he had been reclining.

“Of course,” Crow grinned at her proudly when she commented on what he had done to her comrades. “There was nothing else to do around here while you were asleep, and I had to entertain myself somehow. Besides,” he lowered his voice as he glanced at the knights, who were still eyeing him coldly. “I figured it would be fun to get inside their heads a little before my father sends the news that I’m going to be his viceroy. I just wish I could be here to see their faces when they find out.”

“Hey, look, they’re still here.”

Crow turned to see Olivia walking toward them from the other side of the camp, with Gavin trailing along slightly behind her. The female knight sat herself down on the thief’s other side with a grin, “We were starting to think you left without saying goodbye.”

“What are you talking about?” Crow rolled his eyes. “I haven’t moved from this spot all morning. You just must not have looked hard enough.”

“Oh yeah?” Olivia raised a brow. “Well then, I blame Gavin. He said you wouldn’t be anywhere near our comrades, so that’s why we didn’t check here.”

“It seemed logical at the time,” Gavin muttered defensively, averting his gaze as he sat across from the rest of the group.

“You’re not wrong,” Crow shrugged amusedly. “It’s probably wiser to stay away, but I prefer to stick close and ruffle their feathers instead.”

“Yeah, Gavin,” Olivia nudged the other knight teasingly. “You should’ve known him better by now.”

“I didn’t hear you giving any other ideas,” Gavin snorted, though he had turned slightly red in the face. Seeming eager to change the subject, he quickly turned to Penelope. “So, you’re leaving this morning, right? Do you have everything you need for the trip?”