Chapter 146: What the Princess Wants
There were a few moments of Irene witnessing Leif’s embarrassment that the thought ’typical male’ flitted across her mind and she realized she was being unfair.
More important was defending her friend in front of a stranger who had already rubbed her the wrong way for a variety of reasons. He walked into the dining hall of what was to be their home and decided to start talking down on them simply because he was the son of a marquess.
"Anyone would think she was beautiful," Irene reasoned. "It is rare to see someone quite so delicate around here. The interest doesn’t go beyond that. Perhaps it is your own curiosity that is clouding your opinion of us."
Despite how certain Arin was that the other apprentice was lying, he was met with a confident green-eyed gaze that caused him to say nothing further on the matter.
Simply opting to continue eating his food, the apprentices from the north did the same.
Unlike usual, the maids that walked by the tables seemed far more generous than what was normal with their refills of the spiced ale. There was even mulled wine for the Royals who seemed to have trouble keeping warm at the very front.
Arin soon spoke up again and, at his voice, Irene was on edge. She hoped that the comments about the Princess would be dropped. If she was blamed for stirring trouble, she would be very irritated yet have no leg to stand on considering how little faith Sir Gunnar had in the boys she surrounded herself with.
"What is one supposed to do around here when it’s this cold outside?" Arin asked. "It isn’t as if you can do anything outdoors."
"We practice outside at sunrise every day," Felix explained after pulling the mug of ale from his lips to respond. "Half of us still have outdoor duties at any given time as well."