"Supply. Demand. Compound interest," deadpans Isabella. "I'm not completely optimistic - I mean, presumably they can do the work, but if she just does the work and isn't smiley and friendly while she's doing it because everything about him is screaming I actively dislike you and expect you to do potentially horrifying things? Remember that when we met I was in a fairly good mood and managed to impress you with pretty much the first substantive thing I said beyond 'yes of course you have a talking bird why wouldn't you have a talking bird'."
More seriously, he says, "I don't think I am capable of actively disliking someone who does what you do. Even if Iobel isn't smiley and friendly, she would still be doing that. So admiration of some kind would follow."
"I don't actively dislike her," says Edarial. "She's just - frustrating. And occasionally distressing."
"It's not like I have been eating bonbons and playing board games with my cat for the last several months," Iobel points out. "I've been doing my best."
"And you're welcome. But Adarin's optimism seems already contradicted, is the point."
"Well, during most of the last few months I was avoiding you because you were - not personable for completely understandable reasons. So I - admittedly might have missed most of it?"
"I'll have to translate them into Marlese and separate them out from neighboring personal things, but yes."
"You're welcome. Shouldn't take me more than a day or so, I haven't found that many things to do."
"I've liked what you've done so far with the things I've given over."
Iobel rejects two potential responses and finally settles on, "I'm glad."
"They'll figure it out, love," he murmurs to her, in English. "I kind of feel like if there's a next time with another pair of us I should just... Not mention the paranoia."
"Yeah. So it might not solve anything after all. But you made it past my paranoia wall pretty nicely, and I don't think you were aware how deep it went at the time."
"I wasn't, but - she was aware that he wasn't treating her like a trusted ally, even if the exact underlying psychology was a mystery."
Edarial notices the conversation, but obviously doesn't understand a word of it. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't ask.