The men in front and the soldiers behind them had already straightened before she was halfway done with her private litany. The eldest of the men formally intoned in his own tongue: "Our Kingdom's condolences for your Queendom's loss, Princess Hilde."
The portly man had stepped forward after he said this, and it seemed his intent had been to take Hilde's hand and give her a second greeting—one he perhaps thought was more befitting of a lady.
Hilde recovered her scattered mind just in time.
"Thank you, Lord," she said. Her tone was a tad chilly… and she was also speaking the language that belonged to these men, the better to drive home a point. "I humbly accept your condolences, but you may not be aware: unlike Lyseans, we Arnicans do not kiss people's hands as a form of greeting." Then,
