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Unlike the other dinners at noble houses, Éliane ended up not running her mouth as much here, both in respect to Esben and his family and mostly because this was the first time she’d had a proper Skaelan feast since setting out on her journey. After speaking her bit, she’d made her interest in the food bare as she heaped copious servings of poultry, beef, and especially gravy onto her plate, enough to make a girl fat if she wasn’t as active as the pink-haired officer. 

She still told a few stories, and was polite enough to not be chewing through her food while telling them. She was raised properly, after all. They did come mildly at the expense of Rudolf and Esben, though, including the time that Rudolf acted as a cushion for her in combat… and a half-finished, obviously made up story about Esben while schooling that ended up being interrupted by the timely arrival of desserts, pastries, and most importantly, the after-meal coffee. 

Even in a Skaelan noble house, the dessert would never be up to her own standards, although Éliane was perfectly content with her caffeinated beverages.

The rest of the evening and night proceeded uneventfully, and the morning afterwards, she found herself in the courtyard together with the rest of the party after saying her own farewells to their host and Esben’s family. With the extra downtime, she’d found some time to clean up her uniform properly, and together with her refinished equipment, Éliane looked nearly fit for parade, with everything working properly for the first time in months. 

She wasn’t the only one with new or refurbished kit, but Éliane had to raise her eyebrows when she noticed Lene with a new sword, and a familiar one at that. She chuckled in a good-natured manner. “Ooh, very romantic. Very Rudolf.” Pausing, she nodded at herself and then Lene, before continuing. “It’s a shame we weren’t able to speak much last night… the food was very good. I’m sure you’ll be worried about Esben and Rudolf both, now, but on my honor as [i]dame commander, [/i]I intend to keep them both hale and whole if I have anything to say about it.”