A couple of heartbeats passed before Viscount Renard cleared his throat.
"I see…" he said.
Leal guessed that like him, even though the elder lord did not know the whole story, he had suspected that something lay deeper beneath that snippet of the princess' life that she had shared. A person would have to be uncommonly insensitive not to have picked up on it.
"This teacher of yours seems to be special indeed," the Viscount ventured. "But permit me to say, Your Highness, I find you to be an even greater marvel."
"You honor me, Lord," Hilde replied without hesitation. "Thank you."
From her tone, Leal could tell that the spare smile was back on her face. He wasn't sure why he had expected her to be flustered. Perhaps it was the fact she was not yet sixteen, and Leal knew girls older th
