"You are doing well, my dear."
Elena could not help the wide grin that covered her face when she heard the compliment from one of the people she looked up to the most in the world.
"Thank you, Baba Yaga." She bowed her head, still beaming.
The old man with a head full of white hair smiled again and shook his head before turning to look out of the window of his house on the mountain top.
"I heard from your father that you wish to take part in the war, hmm?" Baba Yaga asked without looking back at Elena.
"Um, yes. I want to get more battle experience." Elena bowed her head and fiddled with her hands in her lap.
"Is there another reason? A person, perhaps?" Baba Yaga's smile widened as Elena's ears trembled atop her head. Her neck and cheeks went red as she became even more flustered.
"N-no! It's not like t-that!" She instantly tried to defend herself.