Only Two Minutes [Mikhail, Victoria]

"I see! To be in command of such a specialized force is surely no small feat, Dame Victoria! How very commendable."

As the question was asked as to his own work, Mikhail seemed to pause very briefly, as if he hadn't particularly expected to be asked that. When he spoke again, there seemed to be a touch less bombast in his demeanor, and though he carried that same confidence about him, he could hardly smile quite as brightly on this particular topic.

"I am committed to a quest on behalf of the Princess Natalya, you see. Several years ago, during a time of great strife, a foul creature placed a curse upon her. Thus, I seek a cure to that which ails her, that her eternal cheer might once again lighten the Kingdom of Nartia."

Even though he spoke assuredly, that shift in tone was hard to ignore, but it hardly seemed as if Mikhail himself was acknowledging it.

"Command." In a way she did, but Victoria also understood her place as Coordinator. It wasn't her Division, she was only second-in-command; the role suited her well enough, she wasn't all that interested in leading or making waves. Though often she felt as if some of these recruits were too woefully unprepared for the cruel realities of the world to survive. At the very with her current rank she could dedicate additional time to training them up to the best of her ability, saving their lives in the process.

Victoria picked up on the minor, if not subtle, change in Mikhail's demeanor right away. Maybe he didn't fully agree with his mission? Or was he perhaps even hiding some unknown truth...? She couldn't be sure, and though she wasn't happy about it, Victoria remained suspicious of him. She considered the content of his answer; if it was true, what sort of "monster" could have done such a thing? She had read about Hollows infecting humans and spirits alike, albeit in different ways. Or was something else responsible altogether?

Reaching over to Mikhail, Victoria gently placed her hand on the back of his forearm for a second and, with her most reassuring voice, spoke "It's okay if you don't want to discuss it, Sir Mikhail. I understand, maybe more than most, how difficult it can be to talk about things from the past." As her hand dropped back to her side and they continued on their journey through the City of Lights, she offered further support to the strange knight "For what it's worth, your cause sounds like a noble one. Only a true and honorable knight would undertake it, I think."

Mikhail's eyes briefly flitted to the hand that Victoria had laid on him, a look less of surprise and more seemingly of natural instinct, checking on an unexpected bit of contact. Just as quickly, however, his eyes returned to her, no hint of malice to be found in them as he offered the woman a small smile.

"Ah, thank you kindly, Dame Victoria. Indeed, it is quite dismaying to think of the Princess' state. Would that I could simply wake her from her sleep, even at the cost of my life, I would do so without hesitation."

In spite of his less jovial tone, the conviction with which he made that statement was nearly ironclad, a forcefulness behind his words and his gaze that did not fully align with the chipper air of the knight. But, even so, Mikhail's smile hardly faltered.

"But, if I did such a thing, then I suppose it would leave the Princess without her loyal knight when she awoke. I could hardly think to inflict that fate upon her, either."