There had never been a time when Crow had been happy to hear Cedric’s voice, but when the knight suddenly called out Penelope’s name in the ballroom, an especially strong pang of annoyance wiped the smile off his face. He had been excited about the short time he would have with her before they both got caught up in all the activity, but apparently her former suitor couldn’t even let them have that. Turning away from Penelope, the viceroy watched the other man stride over to them, dressed in an eloquent outfit just like the rest of the men at the party. For some reason, the sight annoyed him. He knew it was irrational to think that Cedric had fixed up his appearance just to impress Penelope—he had only done so because it was customary for nobles, himself—but his distrust of the knight soured the impression anyway.

As the two comrades began to speak, Crow took a reluctant half-step backward to put more distance between himself and Penelope. Silently, he wished Cedric would just say what he’d come to say and leave, so they could resume talking before any other distractions happened. Already simmering at the unwelcomed intrusion, he couldn’t stop the brief flash of spite that crossed his face when the other man complimented the female knight’s appearance. He hid the expression by taking a swig of wine from the glass Naida had given him. Luckily, Cedric seemed too focused on the noblewoman to notice his slip up, but he continued to watch him through narrowed eyes as the exchange went on.

For a moment, he thought Penelope’s former suitor would be content with making his comment and going separate ways, but to his dismay, Cedric asked her to dance. He had already known he would have to watch her dance with other people tonight, but he didn’t like the idea of leaving her with a man she had been romantically involved with in the past. Just the thought of the knight putting his hands on her made him bristle. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it since they were still keeping their relationship in the dark. Besides, it was just one dance. He could get through that.

“Not at all,” he lied through his teeth when the knight asked if he was interrupting. Unable to say anything else, he turned to Penelope with a half-smile that failed to reach his eyes, “I guess I’ll see you later. Have fun.”