Alinia began to sound somewhat unsure of herself as she talked, not quite understanding why, though the reason was almost painfully obvious to Lycoris.  When she told the princess about Mikhail's escape, Alinia blinked in surprise, slowly shaking her head.  "No... no, he wouldn't... but he..." she said, confused until the bard put her arm around her.  Looking up at her bodyguard, she blushed and leaned in to kiss Lycoris, quickly pulling away and blushing deeply.  "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.  I just... I feel so much better with you here, Lycoris."  She looked around, trying to change the subject, and saw the nearby town.  "Do you know what that town is?  I want to rush home and find out what happened, but I feel that if I tried I would collapse before going anywhere.  Do you think they'd have a place to stay?"