Ilaria blinked at the brunette boy beside her, belatedly realizing she had absolutely no reason to be crouching like a thief. Why was she crouching? Why was he crouching? Why were they acting like they had committed treason by existing too loudly?
The boy kept his hands clamped over his mouth, eyes darting everywhere except at her. He looked like a rabbit caught stealing vegetables from the royal garden in front of the Princess.
Then very slowly, like someone lowering themselves before a guillotine, he lowered his hands and bowed again, quietly this time, almost whispering his shame into the tiles.
"…Your Highness," he murmured in a strained whisper, "I sincerely apologize. I-I mean no disturbance. I wasn't… supposed to fall."
"You weren't supposed to fall?" Ilaria repeated, her eyes wide, baffled. "Are you often up there?"
He choked at the statement, ears turning red, and immediately veered his gaze away.
