The two knights talked casually for a short time until Penelope's gaze glanced past Cedric as she spotted Crow enter the Great Hall. The two were sitting at a table towards the back of the room and not wanting to miss him, she waved to catch his gaze. While she knew he wasn't fond of Cedric, she hoped that the viceroy would still join them. Of all people, she was eager to tell him most about the letters and the progress that was being made to stop the war. In her eagerness, she didn't even think twice about gesturing for him to join them. 

Naturally the gesture didn't go unnoticed by Cedric. The male knight looked over his shoulder to see whom she was beckoning over. As his gaze landed on Crow, an unreadable glint entered his gaze and he turned back to Penelope with a smile. "Oh seeing him reminds me that I owe him an apology. Seems like I was completely wrong about him and the princess." he chuckled. 

At his words, Penelope raised an eyebrow. The male knight had seemed so certain of the two being together before that she was surprised that he didn't seem to hold any suspicion about it now. It made her wonder if he had learned something... [i]Or perhaps I was a bit too eager..[/i] she cringed at the thought. A flash of worry sparked through the knight as she wondered if perhaps she hadn't been keeping enough distance from Crow as she should have been. "O-oh really? Why the sudden change of mind?" she asked him, shifting slightly as she awaited his answer. 

"Oh.. Right you were gone this morning." Cedric mused. He did a quick glance towards Crow before leaning closer to Penelope and lowering his voice. "Seems he slept with some noblewoman last night. One of the guards saw her leaving his room with nothing but a bed sheet to cover herself in the middle of the night." The male knight leaned back once again and gave his shoulders a shrug. "Certainly not the most chivalrous way to part ways but that's all everyone's been talking about today."

Penelope stared at Cedric as she took in what he had just told her. Her initial reaction was to scoff in disbelief but she didn't get the chance to as her thoughts immediately went to Elizabeth. The female knight quickly lowered her gaze, hoping to hide the way her face paled with realization. If what Cedric had heard was true, the knight didn't doubt for a minute that it had been Elizabeth that the guards had seen leaving Crow's room. Just the thought of it made her feel nauseous. She didn't want to believe it but why else would such a rumor suddenly start? Hurt by the thought, she felt her throat beginning to grow tight with emotion.  

Her gaze flickered to Crow again and she quickly looked away from him, suddenly unsure how to act in his presence. With Cedric there and her emotions swirling at the potential betrayal, the knight would be forced into acting normal for the sake of keeping the male knight in the dark about her relationship with the viceroy. With that in mind, she tried to take a stabilizing breath and looked over at Crow again, forcing a smile. "Hey." she greeted in a quiet voice, worried her voice would crack if she spoke any louder.