To Brian, who had no idea what had happened, I explained it away as the man having left on urgent business. Well, it was nothing more than a light jab, hardly something others needed to know about.
In any case, the interviews continued. Besides nobles, there were lower knights of Radensdorf and former mercenaries as well. As for the mercenaries, I accepted most of them as long as they weren't extreme cases.
And then the peasant boys I'd been most curious about sat down before me, fidgeting awkwardly. Only when Brian glared at their persistently unmannered behavior did they sheepishly mind themselves.
How would peasants know noble etiquette?
Don't be so stiff about it.
"You ride quite well. Who taught you horsemanship?"
"The man at the ranch taught us!"
The boy's voice shook badly, probably from nerves. They had neutral dispositions, but they didn't seem like bad kids on the whole. Not everyone who passed the interviews had a positive disposition.
