As they walked to the Great Hall, Crow noticed that Preston was glancing at him again. He wasn’t sure why, since he wasn’t acting strangely anymore. However, since he was no longer in a foul mood, and the boy’s staring didn’t particularly bother him, he didn’t snap at him. Instead, he decided to have a bit of fun with his servant.

“You’re not as subtle as you think, you know,” he spoke up, breaking the silence between them and casting the attendant a smirk.

Preston blinked confusedly, “What do you mean?”

“Come on,” Crow rolled his eyes. “You’ve been staring at me since the day we met. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

The attendant said nothing, clearly unsure where the viceroy was going with this.

Crow grinned at him and leaned closer, going on in a low voice, “I think you’re smitten.”

“What?” Preston’s eyes shot open and he turned red.

Crow bit his lip to keep from laughing. “I can’t say I blame you,” he went on with a shrug, carrying on with the act. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time together, so it’s only natural that you’d fall for me. And you know what?” His smile turned sultry, and he wrapped an arm around the attendant’s shoulders. “I think I’ve taken a liking to you too.”

Preston’s reaction was priceless. The servant scrambled to distance himself from the viceroy, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he did. His eyes were round as disks, and his face was scarlet. “N-No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! I-I wasn’t staring because I’m smitten. I was just thinking you looked like you were in a better mood than you were this morning, and… err…” He began to fumble over his word as he tried to recover.

Unable to hold back anymore, Crow burst out laughing. “Gods, you make this too easy,” he snickered, wiping a tear from his eye.

“W-What?” Preston stammered, confused again.

“I was just messing with you, kid,” the viceroy nudged his arm. “But maybe you’ll think twice about accusing me of such things in the future, huh?”

“Maybe,” the attendant muttered, still as red as a beet as he stared down at the ground. “But I know I’m right about you and that knight.”

“You never learn, do you?” Crow shook his head.

“I learned you’re an ass,” Preston pointed out.

“Yes, but that was already established,” the viceroy said flippantly.

Before the attendant had a chance to rebuttal, they arrived at the Great Hall. As always, Crow ran a quick sweep of the room to look for familiar faces. Since it was still early and there weren’t very many nobles eating yet, it didn’t take long for him to spot Penelope sitting alone at a table. He smiled and took a step toward her but didn’t get any further before he was cut off by someone else.

“Hey, Collin,” Wayne greeted him with his usual fake smile. “Need some company for supper?”

Crow glanced over the nobleman’s shoulder at Penelope, tempted to just keep going, since he wanted to spend time with her. However, he knew it would look strange for him to blow Wayne off for the knight when they were still trying to keep their heads down. Besides, he was already going to spend the evening with her. There was no point in risking their secret to win a little more time together than they were already going to have. So, even though he didn’t like it, he forced a polite smile and nodded to the other man, “Sure.”

“Great,” Wayne seemed surprisingly eager. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Really?” Crow raised a brow. He wondered if his plan to use the noble to build more connections around the castle was finally paying off.

“Yes,” Wayne beckoned him to follow as he led the way to a nearby table, where a woman in a bright yellow dress was seated. She had dark hair and eyes, and she sat with perfect posture with her ankles crossed and her hands resting daintily on her lap. She reminded the viceroy of a porcelain doll he’d seen in the house of a noblewoman he’d robbed long ago.

“This is my sister, Mercia,” Wayne introduced with a grin. “I think you two will get along famously.”