When Penelope said she was sure everything would be fine, Crow just shrugged in response. He wasn’t as convinced that Cedric just wanted to be friends with her. If the nobleman had tried to get something out of her before, he was probably trying to do it again, even if they couldn’t see the reason why. He planned to stay on alert and watch the other man more carefully the next time they crossed paths, just in case his suspicion was correct.

As Penelope spoke to him again in a quiet voice, he turned to her with a smirk. “Well that’s good, because I intend to watch out for you whether you want me to or not,” he nudged her teasingly before moving to put some space between them again. Even if she’d asked him not to, he knew he couldn’t help himself. As long as he saw Cedric as a potential threat, he was going to try and stay a step ahead of the nobleman in order to keep her safe.

Crow glanced down at Penelope again when she shifted closer to him. “Right, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” he murmured back to her, his eyes flitting alertly over the corridor they were walking through as the sensitive subject was brought up. Being new to the castle, he still didn’t know where anyone lived aside from his father. He didn’t even know where either of the Vermillions were staying. It was rather impossible for him to return anything to anyone until he learned where to go.

“Tell me everything you know that could help,” he smiled at her slyly. “And if you could get me in touch with your father before nightfall, that would be great too.”