Rex decided to deal with it.
"It's time for me to play the role of a false hero and help that bum, because I believe this approach will likely make it easier to reach Nerith and Mireya."
He walked across the plaza's broken surface to where Valentina and Apollo were. He walked in a way that made it look like he had made a deliberate choice to move, not an impulsive one.
"Rex Rexilion," Valentina said, and her tone was the one she used for people she respected and was also mildly annoyed by.
The knights at the perimeter had turned to look at him. Rex registered this and kept moving.
"Lady Valentina, with all due respect, I am here to stand for Apollo regarding what he has done to Aethelgard." Rex declared this while placing his hand on his chest.
He stopped about three meters from where Apollo was kneeling and looked at him for one moment with the expression he had built for exactly this kind of moment: the one that said something real without performing it.
