The sight of her brought back nothing short of an aching guilt. Mauvier knew that what had been done was done and yet to see her alive as if by some miracle, he was at a loss for words. To see her at a distance was one thing, he could mistake her for a ghost. But he could dismiss it no longer.
His approach was swift but measured. It was Marni without a doubt. Mauvier was unsteady on his feet as he approached her and knelt before her, bowing as he only ever had before one other person. "Marni. Please forgive me for failing to keep you safe. I was negligent in my duty toward you as a fellow Hound and was too late to stop you from being harmed." He had not expected Zephia to, act as Zephia had. It was his mistake. Too slow to act because he hadn't seen it coming. "That will not be the case again, if you will accept my full protection going forward."
She hadn't asked Griss, hadn't even considered asking Zephia. She wouldn't have been able to bear it if they lied, if they told her whether Mauvier had lived or died. Either option hurt in equal amount when she couldn't know to believe them.
She hadn't needed to.
"W-woah, hey, c'mon now..." Fingers flex at her sides, awkward and unsure. They want to reach for him, to assure herself that he's real or maybe to tell him she's sorry in a way that words can't. She doesn't. She's not sure that she knows how.
A short laugh bubbles up her throat, cut off at its end with a sound more like a sob. When had she started crying?
"Don't be like that- not like I could've predicted it either." Marni shrugs, shaking her head. "But I can't accept that, sorry. I'm a knight too now, and that means I'm gonna be the one protecting from now on."
A weak smile pulls at her lips. To reassure him, she thinks, though it is in equal parts to reassure herself. If Mauvier believes in her then, well, maybe she's got a shot at doing something good after all.