Ethan Laurent's Italian is actually very fluent, but he speaks standard Italian.
However, the lady responded to him in the local dialect and spoke very rapidly, rattling off a whole lot, leaving Ethan clearly stunned for a moment.
Veridia has many local dialects, and they vary greatly, so even if one is fluent in standard Italian, many dialects are incomprehensible.
Ethan didn't understand a single word she said...
This was actually his first meeting with the lady. He was visiting on behalf of Esther Shaw and didn't expect this situation to arise.
Ethan was stunned for several seconds after the lady spoke, entirely unaware of what she said, but his expression didn't show it.
Just as he was pondering how to resolve the issue, a fluent local dialect of Italian suddenly sounded from beside him, "It's an honor to be here and meet you, Madam. Thank you for personally hosting us and for the dinner this evening. We are going to have a wonderful time!"
