“where’d you get that bloody nose?”
Where? From the asshole that jabbed him in the nose not half a minute prior, but he wasn't about to admit to her that it happened because his hands had been all over the man's lover about a week ago.
"It's nothing," he muttered before pulling out a kerchief and using it to clean away the blood that had dripped down to his chin. It hurt, but he wasn't about to show weakness in front of Maria. "A bit of a scuffle, but worry not. I chased the perpetrator off."
He sniffed to be sure his nose had stopped bleeding before tucking the kerchief away and giving her as much a smile as he could muster with a throbbing nose.
"See? I'm perfectly fine. He dared speak ill of your honor, so I saw fit to teach him a lesson! He shan't be showing his face around here again - not when it's been beaten far worse than what he'd done to me." The prideful grin he gave her was all a farce, but he'd play it up anyway if it meant she thought him gallant and brave for doing something he very much hadn't done.
