The Castle Town of Valance - Part 3

"There's no standard procedure for that, those fools," Ingolsol said, thoroughly amused.

"Don't be drawn in by him, Oliver," Claudia cautioned. "There are times and uses for ceremony."

It wasn't as though Oliver had particularly intended to further the scene that Blackthorn had already caused, but he heeded Claudia's warning nonetheless, and made a conscious effort not to do anything of the Blackthorn level of strange.

The end result was a stiffer gait than he was used to, with his hands threaded behind his back. It was both thoroughly uncomfortable to do, and thoroughly uncomfortable to look at. It was very much the gait of a soldier on duty, and with the suddenness that he'd adopted it, it was almost as if he was mocking the Asabalian soldiers.