"Hah, as someone of lowly birth, staying here is too fancy for you. Why did His Grace even allow you to be here? I really can't understand His Grace sometimes."
The disdain in the man's voice was loud enough for half the room to hear. The pestle in a nearby apprentice's hand even paused mid-grind but Elias didn't flinch.
Instead, he tilted his head with that easy, outgoing smile he wore like armor. "Right… who can even understand someone as noble as His Grace?" he mused lightly, then his smile sharpened. "Oh my, are you perhaps questioning His Grace's decision of letting me stay here?"
A few nearby servants choked on their own breaths. Someone dropped a jar with the soft clink echoed through the medical room.
Unlike Soren who would simply stay put and shut down the argument because he found bickering a waste of time, Elias was not a pushover. If he was in the right, he would fight back and burn the ground beneath anyone who tried to humiliate him.
