"Didn't take her for military,"

Could be an easy quip, if he wasn't checking Byerly's expression from the corner of his eye. Cedric isn't unaware of the man's old title - and the relief with which he's sunk into the casual has been tempered by a faint, persistent whiff of desperation.

"She thought you could help her with," Fumbling to remember: "Her petition for a title?"

Something, something, failure to ratify.