Afterward, even though Shade was sitting right there, he failed to hear who said:
"For Shade."
The oppressive atmosphere was finally eased by the young ladies' laughter. Shade strongly suspected Grace or Helen had said it—especially Helen, the younger sister. But the twin girls were each quietly speaking with Sister Devlin and Dorothy, and neither looked like the one who had spoken just now.
Dinner lasted an hour. It was partly a pre-battle gathering, but more importantly, it was meant to raise morale. Thus, not only did Grandma Cassandra speak, but each of the Great Witches gave a speech as well.
When it was Shade's turn, he solemnly promised once more that he would bring Megan and Audrey back safely. The young ladies then complained that he was the one putting psychological pressure on the ladies around the table.
"Shade, promise us that after the Battle of Green Lake, you'll go on dates with us like before."
Miss Aurora made another suggestion. Miss Sylvia and Miss Benanis, who understood what she meant, smiled with faintly flushed faces. The Red-haired Duchess had originally wanted to laugh as well, but then seemed to realize she had a better option. Megan looked thoughtfully at them, while the other girls did not quite understand what Miss Aurora had said.
In any case, once dinner was over, everyone had adjusted their emotions and prepared to face tomorrow night's decisive battle with everything they had.
Naturally, there was no need to worry about washing dishes at an inn. After leaving the dining room, Shade had been considering whether to visit Leisha and Angelina, who still had not moved into Green Lake Inn and would only arrive tomorrow evening. But Audrey called out to him on the stairs and brought him to his room on the third