"You literally stepped on my foot on purpose. Don't even try to deny it, Reiner. I can feel the bruise forming through the leather."
"Oh, please. Give it a rest, Ezek. I thought becoming Lord Cherion's personal shadow might actually encourage you to look at the world with something other than that permanent, dark-tinted scowl. But no. Still seeing everyone in the worst possible light, I see. It's exhausting, really."
Cherion, walking a few paces ahead of his bickering entourage, didn't bother to turn around. He just let out a long, quiet sigh that got swallowed by the huge, drafty hallway of the estate. He'd been listening to this back-and-forth for the better part of twenty minutes, and honestly? It was becoming the background noise to his life.
