Astrid stared at her father as though he had just begun reciting fluent gibberish, her brain visibly buffering for a long second before she managed to scrape a reply together. "What do you mean? You met him before? When... no, why?"
"Did you truly believe you could sneak off and keep company with that man without my eyes trailing every step?" Claude said. "Did you honestly think your old man had gone blind enough to lose sight of his own daughter?"
"I've had eyes and ears on the pair of you for quite a while now, dear, long enough to learn that your precious little scoundrel was both the reason you stomped about like a thundercloud all through the inter-academy tournament and the very thing that coaxed you back into a fine mood the moment it ended."
