Hilde smiled wryly. Just like any other nations, Arnica was not without its faults.
"Thank you, Lord Leal, you may now put me down."
While following another worker, Leal had reached the staircase on the right corner of the main floor. It presumably led to rooms upstairs, and he'd been about to mount it. He paused at Hilde's words and bowed his head to look at her. Her pale gray eyes met his intense blue ones squarely.
Her face's pallor aside, Leal saw that Hilde really thought she could now stand on her own. He himself couldn't see how that was possible—just a few minutes ago, she was shaking like the last leaf on a tree before the first snow fell.
Neither replying nor doing what she asked, Leal raised his dark eyebrows a tiny fraction.
Hilde could not help it. The implied condescensi
