[I am? She thinks I'm strong and handsome?] Ferdinand wondered and Arabella caught Alwin giving his lord a look of pity for hanging onto her every word.
Ferdinand, meanwhile, was taken aback by the children's gaze of adoration. He wasn't used to it even though the people in the city were so happy every time they get a chance to see him.
Arabella was glad the children easily changed their minds about Ferdinand. They were not yet as biased as adults whose preconceived notions were hard to change. Thus, it was easy to change their opinion with a few simple words.
Or rather, adults had seen too much of reality and had their hopes and dreams crushed right in front of them when it was finally within their grasp. Thus, they see the world differently and were harder to convince that something or someone could be better when they had already seen and experienced otherwise.
'It would be difficult to improve Ferdinand's image among the adults,' Arabella internally sighed.