Ellesian's lips managed to quirk themselves into a smirk at the cheeky tone of Ephraim's voice. [i]'Always the optimist.'[/i] And she was fond of that part of him, though she couldn't allow herself the same joviality. Her lips pressed back into their usual slight frown as she thought about the report of the knight, Cain Argus. Something too good to be true was always something to look more closely into, and her mind reeled with the possibilities of invasion from the neighboring Kingdoms, and not to mention the rumors of the Kingdom of Lucifer coming back from the grave. Those monsters dwelling there had extremely potent reasons to attack all of the sovereigns, the foremost being when the ancestors of the Three Kingdoms cast them down into the abyss. 

[b]"The drive for vengeance is the most powerful panacea."[/b] She hadn't realized she said it out loud until she looked up to find Ephraim next to her, a concerned look painted across his delicate features. For a brief moment she struggled to recall what he had said to her, normally she didn't give herself the leeway to be caught up in her own thoughts to such a degree. [b]"I'm just anticipating the Round Table, Ephraim. This is pivotal event in my reign as Queen, and I have to take every eventuality into account. You let the knight, Argus, know that he was coming with us? I need his battle prowess in my attendance."[/b]