[ Nikolai smiles - not for show, as he so often does, but a small one at the corner of his mouth. Onni's brusque practicality reminds him of Zoya. Any time Nikolai let himself get too optimistic about a better future for Ravka, she was always there at his elbow, ready to bring him down with her ruthless realism. He appreciates that balance. ]

Hope can be a useful tool in the right hands.

[ He says it casually, but the words are anything but. It's a little admission - that he is not necessarily someone who is inherently hopeful, but that he's someone who thinks a great deal about how hope can be used to achieve a desired effect. Nikolai doesn't often let it slip, this instrumental way he has of thinking.

Nikolai isn't picky, and a stew sounds perfectly good to him. But if Onni cooks for him now, he'll be no better off when it comes time to find food for himself the next day. So he says: ]

If you show me where the stores are, I'd be delighted to help you cook a meal. Though... I'm afraid I have nothing got to pay with.

[ The king didn't exactly walk around the palace with money in his pockets - and besides, whatever powers had brought him here had snatched him up from his bedroom. He's lucky he even arrived with shoes! ]