Wait, what? No one had told Damien about this.
Now that he thought about it, when they'd mentioned that Leonide and the others would be his personal attendants, someone had said their wages would be paid from the official consort's estate funds.
It seemed they'd made these decisions without his knowledge. Damien gave Theo a narrow-eyed look, but Theo refused to meet his gaze.
"A-Anyway," Theo stammered, "it was just a matter of internal family drama, and I didn't want to trouble you with it since it's not related to you. Now, I should get to the office and handle this situation."
Theo tried to excuse himself quickly, but Damien caught hold of Theo's robe before he could escape.
Though the lack of any ominous signs confirmed that this really wasn't a dangerous matter for him, he wasn't about to let Theo go without a proper explanation about this "favored companion" business. He tightened his grip, determined to get answers.