“Who knows?” Crow smirked when Penelope said his offer wouldn’t be very appreciated. “Maybe our two troublemakers have finally grown up.” Despite his teasing words, he knew the knight was probably right. Alistair was completely smitten with Olivia, but he had no idea how committed she was to him. Even if she did care for the thief more than she let on, she was going to be put in the same position Penelope had been in two years ago: Would she let go of her criminal lover to keep her status as a noblewoman, or would she give it all up to be with him? Not knowing her well enough to make any guesses, the viceroy had no idea which path she would choose.

While Penelope read the letter Gavin had sent her, Crow worked on his breakfast. He practiced eating with the provided utensils instead of with his hands, reluctantly accepting that he was going to have to adapt to noble culture at least a little before the upcoming party. The change forced him to slow down and take smaller bites, so he wasn’t able to devour it all as fast as he wanted to, but it wasn’t too hard now that he was getting better at using a fork.

Just as he was finishing the last of his food, he glanced up at the knight who had begun to explain what Gavin had told her about the warfront. At the mention of the battles being rough, he frowned. It wasn’t good news, but maybe it would help persuade his father to listen to the petitioners who wanted to seek peaceful terms with Younis. Any push they could use to convince the king was needed since he was so determined to form an alliance with Gorm. There weren’t very many more weeks left before he was going to be sent to negotiate with the neighboring kingdom too.

As Penelope added that Layth had been asking about them, Crow rolled his eyes. Her brother just couldn’t focus on the war when there was anything else happening that he didn’t like, could he? They were a three-day journey away from him, and it sounded like he was still making it his mission to tear them down in any way he could. He hoped the stubborn knight would learn to keep his nose out of their business soon or else their next meeting was going to be a heated one.

Apparently he was also trying to revoke the barons’ rule to protect the villagers too. That made the viceroy’s blood boil. “That’s absurd,” he scoffed incredulously. “It almost sounds like he [i]wants[/i] to kill them. There’s no reason for anyone on the frontlines to be attacking their own people, even if they’re of a lower class.” Surely the barons wouldn’t let him get his way, right? He’d met Mia. Just based on their few interactions, he could tell that she was a caring person. The fact that she had been willing to hear out an infamous criminal instead of simply judging him based on his reputation was proof enough of that. With her strong voice on the peasants’ sides, he wanted to believe they would remain safe despite Layth’s whining.

“Me too,” he shook his head tiredly, popping the last bite of food into his mouth. “This is the only war I’ve ever lived through, but compared to the stories I’ve heard about past ones, it’s been a disaster. Someone needs to end it already.”