"I'll come after my works done, with any luck, I'll be have enough energy to learn."
"I'd like that," he told her with what he hope was not with too much excitement.
As she told him that she wanted to meet with the Patriarch, he paused in thought. Patriarch Julius did not normally like people to drop by unannounced unless it was someone important like a member of the royal family, but he had seen him be more lenient towards servants and lowborn. The man was more concerned by slights directed at him by aristocrats who despised him for his lowly origins. Besides, it would be a good idea for her to meet him.
"Of course," he told her with a smile. He stood up and gestured for her to follow him. The walk wasn't too long, but one could clearly see that the interior of the halls they walked was much richer than that of the wing where the servants resided. It was a lot higher too, he thought wryly as he climbed the last step and knocked on the Patriarch's door politely before entering.
"I will speak to His Grace in the morning. I would prefer her to be on hand so that I might introduce her." Julius told Leo before the prince smiled wryly.
"Of course. And it seems she is just in time to meet with you."
The old man frowned, but he said nothing as he looked her over. He stroked his chin.
"You have a talent, it seems, for befriending those above your station. I did as well," he rose from his desk and paced the room. Lelinus grinned slightly as he made his way to the door.
"I better inform my lady wife that I will not be exerting myself further today."
Well, that meant that Julius was sold, right. The old man bowed his head slightly as the prince left before turning his gaze back to Evangelina.
"If you gain the new king's ear, they will always despise you. It is an unpardonable sin for a lowborn man to surpass his betters due to royal favor. But a foreign, lowborn woman? That is worse."
As he stepped into the training yard, Lelinus was half tempted to sneak up behind Ingrid and greet her with a kiss on the cheek, but he was liable to be cut in half on accident if he did so. Instead, he took a seat on the bench and watched. He could not help but notice how her leathers hugged her form once more even as she attacked the training dummy like a wolf clawing open a deer's belly.
"You're looking well. I can see the tension evaporating from your shoulders," he told her with a grin. He took a moment to close his eyes. It was a nice day. The sun was warm and the breeze cooled his skin.