Before Silena could retort, the herald's voice rang out from the upper level.
The announcement cut cleanly through the tension.
Zirron and Mavis descended the stairs.
Mavis looked sulky, his collar pulled high to hide his neck. Zirron, by contrast, looked thoroughly satisfied. But the moment Mavis spotted the scene below—the spilled food, the gathered nobles that were drawing far too much attention…
—and the red mark on Sylene's cheek—
he gasped.
The sulk vanished instantly.
And without hesitation, Mavis stormed straight toward them.
"What is going on here?" he demanded, clearly flustered. "I leave you alone for one moment and you get bullied like this?"
He reached up at once, rubbing Sylene's cheek where the red mark still lingered, his touch gentle despite his agitation.
Sylene flinched slightly. "It'll heal anyway…"
Mavis shot him a look—half scolding, half worried—then turned slowly toward the noblewoman. A smile spread across his face, bright and perfectly polite.
