“welcome…I had every intention of greeting you with the full dignity befitting a Karsten… but it seems my composure slipped the moment I saw you.”

she smiles warmly

“Hmph. How troublesome of you, to put me at ease so quickly. Still, your presence is a true honor, and I am sincerely glad you are here. Come—there is much I wish to discuss, and even more I simply wish to share in your company. Do not mistake my face; it warms more easily than I care to admit.”