No longer as worried about the turn of events than he had been before, Crow leaned back against the wall by the front door while Letitia went on to question Penelope. It seemed the servant wasn’t very quick to trust him, though he couldn’t blame her for being suspicious. After hearing which details the knight’s uncle had chosen to share about him, he would have been skeptical too. It sounded like the head of the Vermillion family had tried to make him look like scum of the earth.

Of course, everything Edward had said was true, but he’d done much more than just sabotage the Brerratic battalion and attempt to kill Penelope’s brother. He’d also stolen from the Younisian frontlines plenty of times, and he’d been instrumental in the defeat of the thieves who had done far more damage to the knights than he ever had. In his opinion, the baron owed him some respect after everything he’d sacrificed on the battalion’s behalf—well, Penelope’s, really, but he [i]had[/i] helped the other nobles too.

Crow folded his arms loosely over his chest, watching the two women converse from a slight distance. As Penelope attempted to get the Letitia’s mind off the negative things she had heard about him, he noticed the old woman hesitate a bit more. It seemed that they were finally getting through to her. He was relieved about that. Even though he doubted she would go running to the guards anymore, he didn’t want her to keep looking at him like he was a terrible man who was just going to abuse the knight or some other nonsense. He’d had more than enough of that treatment in the past few months.

As Penelope shifted closer to his side, the viceroy slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her to himself in a half embrace and casting her an affectionate smile of his own. Whether the servant supported them or not, it was too late to hide the fact that they were together. He saw no reason to pretend like he wasn’t proud to be with her as long as the old woman already knew about them.

Crow turned back to Letitia with an amused look as she mentioned that Penelope had taken after her father. He supposed she would have been around the Vermillion family long enough to find the current situation familiar. Offhandedly, he wondered if John’s past with Liliana would encourage or discourage the old woman from supporting the knight in her decision to be with a man who was once a wanted criminal.

It seemed the latter was true.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he grinned when the servant said she would be keeping an eye on him. At her following words, the viceroy turned back to Penelope, his features softening as he held her gaze. “Well, that’s good, because making her happy is everything I strive for.” He pressed a playful kiss to her cheek. “I must be doing a good job if you think so too.”