Penelope gave a small nod as Crow agreed with her sentiment about returning to the castle. The knight was just beginning to look away, thinking that the conversation would fall into a brief silence, to scan her green gaze over their surroundings again when the viceroy spoke up again. She tilted her head with questioning curiosity as he admitted to needing to ask a favor of her. It seemed to be of the private nature too as she noted how he eyed to make sure the others around them wouldn’t be able to over hear. In an attempt to keep their conversation private as well, she leaned a little more towards him, craning to hear his whispered words to come but also being careful not to lose balance.

As Crow brought his companions, the knight was quick to catch onto where he was going with this favor. Her gaze flickered away from his as she took in his words. It’d be lying to say she didn’t feel a bit disappointed. They had barely gotten much time together since they began courting and to give up an extra day of that wasn’t something she was overly fond of. But that was just her own selfish feelings. Despite the disappointment, she understood Crow’s desire to see his friend again, especially when there was no certainty of when he would have the opportunity again. [i]We’ll have plenty of days to come after this.[/i] she reminded herself firmly. It was senseless to be disappointed over one day when they had so many more ahead of them.

With her initial disappointment gone, she met his gaze with a smile and reached over to rest her hand on his arm. “We can part ways tomorrow. You gave up that whole life for me, giving up one day is the least I can do.” she assured him in a lowered voice. That also meant she’d be returning to her battalion a day sooner than she originally planned. Though that wasn’t an issue, she was beginning to think a little more seriously about her plans to speak with her barons about only acting defensively on the warfront. Her task of convincing the king was done and successful but the knight still felt it was her duty to help establish peace between the two kingdoms in whatever way she could. Not to mention that acting defensively would also give a bit of relief to the outer villages. 

Her smile curved into a teasing smirk as a separate thought pulled her away from thinking about the war. Looking back to Crow, a playful gleam entered her gaze.“However, this is going to count as your favor for winning our little competition in Bellmare.” she added with a wink. “Gotta make it worth it for myself after all and escape whatever else you may have been planning to trade that in for.” Penelope said jokingly as she gave an exaggerated shudder.