"Galina, and Miss Isabella, please don't tell anyone else about this."
The gray-black-haired witch spoke again. Galina nodded, then saw that Miss Isabella had already risen to her feet:
"I'll leave first. You two can continue talking."
"Flora, come directly to me if anything happens. Don't think about hiding things from us; we're all sisters. Galina, I don't think you came to Flora solely because of the oil painting. I won't pry into your privacy, but don't let Flora leave Vesta Woodland anytime soon. I'm worried other problems might arise if she leaves that area."
Thus, Galina and Miss Winslet rose together to bid her farewell. Only after the blonde woman carried those documents through the fog door did they look at one another again.
Golden eyes met golden eyes. The Duchess wore a smile, but the other witch seized the initiative first:
"Galina, you actually dared to hide something like that from everyone else!"
"What did I do?"
The Duchess, having sat back down, retorted before tilting her head slightly upward.
"If you think I did something wrong, why didn't you report me to the Speaker just now?"
Flora Winslet did not answer that question.
"I know you're very skilled with words and taking control of negotiations, but don't use those tactics on me."
"Galina, I'm merely curious where you found him. I'm not particularly curious about why someone like him appeared, since there have been far too many strange things these past few years. I'm curious about him as a person. He's extraordinary."
The Duchess gave a soft snort.
"Shade only went to Creekwood Town to help his teacher, and happened to help you along the way. Don't drag him into anything else. He's mine."
"You suspect I want to steal him? Aren't you looking down on me