"I beg you to forgive her, sir," Pieter said with as much diplomacy as possible, though he was noticeably biting the insides of his cheeks. "She has faced trying times lately." As we all have.

He motioned the others to follow him outside. Only when the door slammed behind them did he allow himself to double over in a fit of breathless laughter. Leaning on Lothar, it took him half a minute to recover.

"Oh gods, Illiiya, you really have a way with people," he chuckled, mussing up her hair. "Don't ever change."