“I had just gotten out of prison, love. What did you expect?” Crow rolled his eyes when Penelope teased him about his eating habits. “I needed to put back on all the weight I had lost when my old guards cut my portions.” The trip to Younis was by far the worst condition he’d been in throughout his life. Even when he’d been orphaned in the outer villages, he’d become a skilled enough thief to steal all the food he needed to satisfy his appetite. It was why he could boast a more impressive height than most other peasant men who were underfed during that crucial growing period in their youths. However, with grander stature came a grander hunger that took more food to quell. At least, that was what he had concluded when comparing his appetite to others’.

“I think you enjoyed watching this [i]annoying thief[/i],” he grinned at Penelope and planted a kiss on her cheek. Reflecting on their past, it amused him to think about just how much they had gotten under each other’s skin when they’d first met. If someone had told him that he would fall head over heels for the knight who had initially been the embodiment of everything he despised about the noble class, he would have laughed in their face. Now, two years later, he couldn’t imagine his life without her by his side, and he’d given up everything to ensure that he’d never have to find out what that would be like.

When Naida exclaimed about the break, Crow turned toward her and shook his head. Despite her complaining, he was impressed that she had managed to make it the rest of the ride without clamoring for attention again. It showed some growth on her part, and he hoped she would continue to work on it when they were back on the road.

Following Penelope over to join the princess, he sat down in the grass at her feet. The other three knights strode over to join them as well. Percival sat on a fallen tree on Naida’s other side while the Therouldes both remained standing across from them.

“You’re quiet most of the time,” Naida stuck her tongue out at her friend as they conversed. “I find silence torturous.”

“That’s because your head is so empty, there’s nothing in there to keep you occupied,” Crow snickered.

His sister turned to him with wide eyes, taken aback by the comment. After a moment, she folded her arms over her chest indignantly. “Ha ha, very funny,” she drawled.

“I think I am,” the viceroy shrugged, turning away from her as Preston brought him his ration for lunch. Unlike the first trip, there was plenty of food to keep him full and satisfied on the journey to Younis. “Why don’t you sit down?” he said to the attendant, patting the ground beside him. “This break is for you too.”

Preston’s eyes flicked toward Otto, and he quickly shook his head, “I’m still on duty.”

Crow frowned. It was out of character for the boy to treat him so stiffly, and he wondered if the baron’s words had gotten to him. Either way, he didn’t care what the older man thought of their unorthodox master-servant relationship, so he changed his approach. “Alright then. Sit down and rest. That’s an order,” he rephrased with a knowing smirk.

Preston hesitated for a moment longer before he nodded and planted himself by the viceroy’s side. Though he acted nonchalant, Crow could hear a quiet breath of relief escape through the boy’s nose.

“So,” Naida turned back to Penelope, too full of pent-up energy to let their conversation drop so soon. “You’re going to see Gavin when you get back to the battalion, right? Is that going to be weird now that you’re being courted by someone else?”