Nanalie tilted her head, but she still understood what Aislin was warning her about: although the two of them were alone in this underground passage, someone on Gilbert's side was still watching.
Naturally, that could only be those two students... the ones from the Hainalson Family.
Nanalie truly had not expected Aislin to refrain from using any coercive methods when she knew perfectly well that those two children would hear their conversation!
It could not have been a sudden pang of conscience. That woman had none.
Nor could it have been something Rute had said... he had far too much on his plate to pay attention to such a minor issue.
"I never realized Gilbert held such an important place in your heart." She still had no intention of getting straight to the point.
"You don't need to probe. I can tell you that I am genuinely, deeply wary of this junior fellow student of mine, and I would never lightly do anything to upset him.
"So I hope you understand this too: if Gilbert makes me afraid to even entertain the thought, is he really someone you can afford to provoke?" Aislin, however, had no desire to play games of deception with her. When respectable elders knew children were eavesdropping, they would never let those children see just how devious they really were.
Besides, there was a vast difference between strategic planning and clever talk.
"Then rest assured. I never intended to provoke even the Hainalson Family... aren't you the one supplying all the people?" After considering it, Nanalie chose to go along with Aislin's serious approach.
She truly struggled to adjust to this Lady Aislin, who seemed almost like a different person from the last time they had met. But Nanalie was, after all, a mother of two