Chapter 167: A Corridor of Small Truths
Lyria's POV
Earl Hawthorne frowned slightly at my words, as though the thought itself had settled uncomfortably upon him.
"You were quite young," he said at last, more softly than before.
I gave a small nod.
"Yes," I replied. "V-very young."
We continued on in silence for a while after that, our steps falling softly against the polished stone as the corridor stretched ahead of us, lit by candles that trembled faintly in their sconces, casting long, wavering shadows that seemed to breathe with the palace itself.
His gaze returned to me from time to time, as though he were considering something and then choosing, each time, not to speak of it.
It was not unpleasant.
Only… noticeable.
After a moment, I spoke again, my voice lowered slightly.
"I never e-expected," I said, "that you would be c-considerably older than I am."
A faint sound left him—something that might have been a laugh if it had fully committed to being one.
