Roland was too overwhelmed by the swell of emotions to develop an immediate response. He wanted to reproach her for risking her own life, but his words, which were about to come out, finally yielded to a look of resignation when he saw Nightingale's beaming smile.
In the end, he patted her on the back and said, "Be more careful next time."
Nightingale nodded and then shook her head. She whispered to him in a voice that nobody but he could hear, "Unlike Anna, I can't convert those drawings to physical entities... This is the only thing that I can do for you." She then paused for a moment and went on, "But please don't worry. My top priority is to protect you... and stand by your side. I won't recklessly put myself in a dangerous situation."
Nightingale flushed at her own bluntness. Although her voice kind of trailed off in the middle, Roland still clearly heard the word "you".
