I only mention her because if you were close it would make explaining things easier. Instead I suppose I have to start from the beginning.
[With a sigh she leans her weight against the nearest tree. Before them is a clearing that allows the bright light of the full moon illuminate their late night discussion.]
How much do you know about our uncle, and the Insurrection of the Seven?
[ Looking at her stripped off her imperial regalia, so vulnerable and pale that it rivals the moonlight, it's almost like she isn't the fierce Edelgard he's met on the battlefield, not at this very instant, at least. She's someone else. Someone closer, and dearer to his memories.
But he's not sure she is, so he has to hold back the urge to ask her yet again if she wouldn't prefer to move elsewhere for this conversation. He's not allowed to show compassion for the Emperor of Adrestia, only for El. ]
I know he is said to have been one of the main instigators behind the coup; he joined with several other nobles, and together they rendered the former Emperor as little more than a figurehead. It was around that time that he defected to Faerghus, was it not?
[ And he also suspects their uncle was involved in the Tragedy of Duscur, along with... his sister, Patricia. But that's something he's keeping to himself for the moment. ]
[Slowly the Emperor sinks to sit in on the ground. While her drunkenness may not be evident in slurred speech or outrageous behavior one who knows her just-well-enough can easily pick out what is off about her. She is lacking in prim-and-proper behavior, no longer are her expression expertly stifled, and ever so clearly does that alcohol flush show against the paleness of her skin. Red and pink hues blooming across her cheeks and spilling over to the tops of her ears as a melancholy look settles on her expression.]
Duke Aegir used to be the man who tried taking most of the credit, but yes. You are correct. Sometimes I think my mother's exile and our year in Faerghus was all planned by him. That maybe even he knew we were friends, and used that against you. It was his hope that you would turn mad and be unfit for rule, after all. Making it easier for the Empire to sway the Kingdom in your time of mental unrest.
[ That... is a lot to process. She'll have to forgive him, if he stares. ]
It might be wrong of me to say, but... I can believe he would use me as nothing more than a pawn in his quest.
[ Honestly, calling him "uncle" was more of a formality than something born from any real affection; as far as Dimitri was concerned, Arundel was never truly part of his family. So unlike Patricia, who had once been nothing but kind to him even through her loneliness and longing... The only mother he had ever known, really.
And yet, she may never have seen him the same way. Edelgard was her child, not Dimitri. Her love for him and his father... all just a fake. ]
However, to use you, his own niece, in such a vile way... There must be strong evidence to support your suspicions. I never knew him at the time, but I heard he used to be a kind man, once.
[In her state she does not begrudge the time he takes to catch up. After all there is so much he was meant not to know. Many a plan relied on his confusion and ignorance. His hatred and rage. She was to be his blood red moon, and him a wild wolf chasing and howling after her in a blind hunt.]
If he was I never knew him as such. My first memories of Volkhard von Arundel that I can remember are of him smuggling me into the Kingdom. To me he was a cold man. Harsh, strict, and unyielding like steel. If I ever stepped out of line I was quick to know consequences for it.
[Physical consequences? No, not until she returned to the Empire. The consequences he gave her came in the form of emotional manipulation, verbal discontent, and the unfair power dynamic an older man holds over a helpless nine year old child. There was a reason she looked so afraid when he called to her the day they were to return to Adrestia.]
But back then I was a tool to him. And now he knows of me as little more than a finely crafted weapon to wield, and he is not wrong. You could say I was not born to rule, but instead made for it.
[ The mention of consequences summons his eye back to her, and the ember of something crackles in him. Something primal. ]
Consequences? Do not tell me that man dared to--
[ He's lunged forward before he realizes, his tone raised by a few octaves. That something he felt, that beastly rage he had tried so hard to bury... It was all still there, neatly blended with a side of protective instinct he didn't know he had-- at least, not over an enemy. But perhaps, this isn't Edelgard he sees; it's his childhood friend, the girl who used to mean the world to him.
(Even now, he still holds her dear; right now, he wants to just hold her.) ]
This is all so... preposterous. [ By the work of a miracle, he manages to hold himself back, but that primitive fire is still there, scorching his throat, choking up his words. ] If that man mistreated you so, then why did you side with him? Why do you continue to fight the Church? Why won't you--
[ Why won't you join me, he wants to say. But that, too, burns to a cinder. ]
My fight against the Church is complex, Dimitri. It may not have started out as my fight. I may be their weapon. However I found a way I could make this my own. I reclaimed the fight of merely unseating the children of the goddess to something more. But before I continue I need to ask you something, Dimitri.
[She shies away from his half-lunge not unlike a person leaning away from a dog attempting to jump on them.]
Would you rather live a life of ignorant bliss, or be tormented by the thought of a looming enemy you may never touch? Even if that enemy never meets you in battle, it might release itself on your grandchildren's grandchildren. It may not be a threat again for another hundred, or maybe even thousands of years, but it's there.
[At first she thought she'd grant him that one mercy. She'd force herself into a grotesque monster to encourage him to land the final blow. And with her dead, and Professor at his side, he could move on. Live a happy life without the knowledge of her past or the people who hurt her.
But her drunk self... it pulls out her longing. The tiny ache in her heart to be with her childhood friend. Her first love. The last person who knows her as "El" even if she insists she died the day she was brought back to the Empire.]
[ There's a pained frown when she shies away, and he wonders if she was scared of him. Even if she remembers their past now, he couldn't blame her if she was. Sometimes, even Dimitri was.
So he takes a step back and keeps his distance, letting her words sink in. Even as he tries to parse them, there's so much that's beyond his comprehension. Edelgard speaks of being their weapon, but whose? And who are the children of the Goddess? None of that makes sense to him...
Until something finally does. ]
I already live a life of torment. That will not change until the day I die.
[ Already, he is doomed to listening to the screams of the dead, clinging to his soul... To remembering the faces of those he killed and carrying their sorrows, to living in eternal regret over those he could not save. Most of all, he will have to forever live with the guilt of having abandoned his people in their greatest time of need, and allowed himself to buy into a lie for the sake of pursuing unwarranted revenge against someone who, he now realizes, might have been just as much of a victim as him. All because he was left in the dark. Because he didn't know.
He can never bring the dead back. But this much, he can still change. ]
I have faced away from the truth for far too long, but that is no more. If there is another enemy I must fight, then I will shoulder whatever burden comes with the knowledge. So, please, share it with me.
Very well. Try to recall each time you have faced my imperial forces. Remember the mages with the plague masks? Their magic strange, and their tactics more ruthless than the rest? Recall the horrible sight of Remire village? Kronya, and Solon? They are all connected. I do not know their real names, but if there is a true enemy of Fodlan it is them.
[But why, Edelgard, did you agree to side with them? Why accept their toxic help? Well... whether or not it's something she wanted to do, it's something that was necessary. It turns her stomach but in all honesty she was never really "saved" from the dungeon. Merely let out because the experiments were concluded. Ended in "success". Her physical chains merely became invisible. A new kind of binding.]
I never did play a role, Felix. The man standing before you now, and the monster you saw before... they are both real. They are both me. Hate me if you must, but I will never face away from that truth again.
[ There are few things Dimitri truly hates about Enbarr; the first is the summer season.
Since marrying Edelgard, he's come to love the imperial capital almost as much as his own place of birth. The streets bustling with business, their colors so vibrant, their crops so rich and fragrant-- they must make for delectable dishes, he imagines. And the people, oh, those are his favorite. Whereas some may still eye him with suspicion, so many are simply curious, the concept of royalty -- hailing from Faerghus, no less -- walking among them still so foreign... Despite years of (an admittedly misguided) war, the people had never been his enemy, and he loved hearing both their anecdotal tales and their plight alike.
The children had their own way with making him feel less out of place, always so free to speak their truest minds-- and lacking just enough awareness of social positions to attach themselves to the soft cloak trailing behind the king. He supposes this, too, is lending him their kind assistance; layers of fur on top of a heavy suit of armor don't make for a very comfortable southern summer ensemble, now do they?
With a gentle pat on each head and a world of velvety blue that four tiny hands could barely hold, Dimitri sends them off back to their home, wondering a minute too late if their parents would presume the cloak to be the product of theft instead of a gift. Well. He's sure he can write them a letter and clear the incident up, though for now he can at least bask in the relative relief from the stifling heat.
Which leaves him with only the second of his southern foes: the unnerving shadow that tracks his moves, often without warning... or consent, really. ]
Do you truly intend to follow me all day, Hubert?
[ He doesn't turn, but it's said loud enough that it can reach its destination from whatever distance the man has decided to keep this time. ]
[Hubert appears from the shadows as an apparition might, only some twenty feet from where Dimitri stands. Despite the heat, he's clad in all black as usual, and seems to hardly be breaking a sweat. He's accustomed to it, much more so than Dimitri.]
I will only follow you for so long as you insist on traipsing about without your personal guard. Whether that is all day is up to you.
[He comes closer, unconcerned about the startled or suspicious looks of the commoners who give him a wide berth. He's not particularly amused by Dimitri's decisions on this day, and it's clear on his face.]
Need I remind you that our enemies are hardly vanquished? Enbarr is full of rats who thirst for Faerghan blood.
[ There are several points Dimitri could bring up in retort: that he is a skilled warrior and can keep himself safe; that he doesn't need a weapon to crush a man's skull; that this is hardly the first (nor, he imagines, the last) time Hubert stalks him down even within palace walls. However, they would, at best, sound confrontational, and at worst, a threat; none the course of action he would like to take.
So instead, what he offers is: ]
In that case, you may consider dealing with these rats my gift to you. For your amusement more so than my sake.
[ It's... said in as much good humor as he can muster, given what he knows of Hubert. He's in a light-hearted mood today and not about to let anyone ruin it! ]
At any rate, if you must come along, then I would much prefer if you would accompany me. [ You know, instead of following him like a creepy shadow? ] There is no reason we cannot walk side by side; you are no foe, after all.
[Well, he does like sticking rats, he can't deny that. But that isn't the only reason he follows Dimitri around.
He hadn't initially trusted Dimitri with Edelgard, constantly on alert for when their relationship would turn out to be a trap, or for the moment it would simply turn sour. That was why he often followed Dimitri, trying to gauge his true intentions.
In the end, he'd only been reassured that Dimitri's feelings for Edelgard were true... which had almost been worse, in a way. Because it meant he had to resign himself to his fate for good; always at Edelgard's feet and never at her side.
By now he's over it (mostly, anyway). Now his stalking of Dimitri really is more out of concern than malice; if something were happen to him, it would not be good for Edelgard or the union between their countries.
It's simply his duty.]
No, I am but your humble servant. [He gives a slight bow.] But if walking by your side is what you wish of me, I suppose I can indulge you.
[ The bow feels... well, not necessarily out of place, since Dimitri does understand the workings of servitude, but that doesn't mean he agrees with them, especially not so with closer relationships-- and sure, he may not be close with Hubert, but Edelgard is. He doubts she sees him as a servant any more than Dimitri regards Dedue as a vassal.
He also doubts pointing that out now would bear results, really. ]
Nonsense. [ Instead, he offers a frown, though his tone still rings light. ] You are the minister of the imperial household, and personal servant to the emperor. I am no emperor, but the king of Faerghus.
[ The king of Faerghus who happens to be married to the emperor of Adrestia, yes, and sure, he understands that technically does make him as much a part of the imperial household as Edelgard is queen consort in the Kingdom, so by extension and sheer technicality -- very technically!! -- he can see that Hubert is also in his service, but listen, that's just... not right, okay, the bowing and following two steps behind is completely unnecessary, please don't do that. ]
Regardless, I was considering one final stop for tea before retiring for the evening. [ It's a compromise, see? He won't be parading around in the streets of Enbarr with a big Faerghan target on his back for much longer! ] In Faerghus, it is customary to extend an invitation to present company. I don't imagine customs are much different in Adrestia, are they?
[ Also known as: join him for tea, Hubert! Or... whatever it is that you drink-- other than the blood of your enemies, naturally!! ]
[Dimitri is right that pointing it out will get him nowhere. Hubert is more comfortable this way, anyway; he and Dimitri are not friends, and having clearly delineated roles gives him a script to follow, a way to act.
Being anything else would be uncharted waters.]
The customs in Adrestia are much the same, yes. Are you asking me to join you, then?
[Even if that is the custom, he hardly expects Dimitri to actually want to get a drink with him. Even if they aren't at each other's throats, he knows most people don't enjoy being with him socially.
(Though, even that has changed, over time.)]
If Lady Edelgard's Lord Husband wishes it, then so it shall be.
[ Lady Edelgard's Lord Husband. Damn, and he thought "Your Majesty" was too formal.
At any rate! By this point, he's also figured out this is the best he can get out of Hubert in terms of easy cooperation, so he will take what he can; if they can't establish more friendly relations, then at least he can aim for something a step farther from stalking. ]
Very well. And where do you suggest we make our stop? You are far more familiar with Enbarr than I am, after all.
[ Or: if Hubert has to lead the way, then he can't follow. See, Dimitri can be sneaky! ]
Besides, I suppose coffee must not be readily available in most teashops. I hear that is your preferred drink?
It is. I prefer the taste, and it keeps me awake more than tea.
[Sneaky Dimitri. But he does step forward a bit, to lead him.]
I know a place. It's somewhere Ferdinand and I often go.
[It still feels odd, to talk about going out to a cafe with his friend, to be telling this to someone he considered an enemy before... like he's a normal person with a normal life, even though he's always been so far from that it feels foreign to him. Like he's playacting at best.
But if playacting is what is being asked of him, he'll do it.]
[ If he keeps going then Dimitri will have to retaliate by means of awful puns and that's just going to be a blooddyd path no one is ready to walk.
He can, however, trail behind Hubert, easily falling into pace as they redirect their trek -- and people's attention -- to this other shop he's being taken to. In all honesty, it does all feel odd to him; the company alone is unusual, the idea of hot drinks in an even hotter day possibly ill-advised, and a whole afternoon dedicated to his leisure enjoyment, away from any sort of work, is... about aas foreign to him as Enbarr itself.
(Perhaps he should think of dealing with Hubert as work, troublesome as it can be.) ]
I do wonder what coffee tastes like. [ But wonder is all he can do, so he quickly moves on from that train of thought. ] I prefer tea, myself. Chamomile, as it helps me relax.
[ Different like night and day, it seems. Still, if his personal experience with restless nights is anything to go by, then he does wonder: does Hubert have a preference for coffee because he has trouble staying awake? ]
It is good to see you and Ferdinand are on friendlier terms these days, though. I recall some animosity between the two of you, back in the Academy. [ Okay, and maybe he heard a teensy little bit of a complaint or two from Edelgard. On occasion. ] It reminds me of Felix and Dedue, in several ways.
[ Except, you know, Felix is more angy cat than excitable puppy, and Dedue is... well, perhaps just as fiercely loyal and intimidating, but certainly not as scary as Hubert. ]
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I only mention her because if you were close it would make explaining things easier. Instead I suppose I have to start from the beginning.
[With a sigh she leans her weight against the nearest tree. Before them is a clearing that allows the bright light of the full moon illuminate their late night discussion.]
How much do you know about our uncle, and the Insurrection of the Seven?
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But he's not sure she is, so he has to hold back the urge to ask her yet again if she wouldn't prefer to move elsewhere for this conversation. He's not allowed to show compassion for the Emperor of Adrestia, only for El. ]
I know he is said to have been one of the main instigators behind the coup; he joined with several other nobles, and together they rendered the former Emperor as little more than a figurehead. It was around that time that he defected to Faerghus, was it not?
[ And he also suspects their uncle was involved in the Tragedy of Duscur, along with... his sister, Patricia. But that's something he's keeping to himself for the moment. ]
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Duke Aegir used to be the man who tried taking most of the credit, but yes. You are correct. Sometimes I think my mother's exile and our year in Faerghus was all planned by him. That maybe even he knew we were friends, and used that against you. It was his hope that you would turn mad and be unfit for rule, after all. Making it easier for the Empire to sway the Kingdom in your time of mental unrest.
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It might be wrong of me to say, but... I can believe he would use me as nothing more than a pawn in his quest.
[ Honestly, calling him "uncle" was more of a formality than something born from any real affection; as far as Dimitri was concerned, Arundel was never truly part of his family. So unlike Patricia, who had once been nothing but kind to him even through her loneliness and longing... The only mother he had ever known, really.
And yet, she may never have seen him the same way. Edelgard was her child, not Dimitri. Her love for him and his father... all just a fake. ]
However, to use you, his own niece, in such a vile way... There must be strong evidence to support your suspicions. I never knew him at the time, but I heard he used to be a kind man, once.
[ What could have made him change so much...? ]
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If he was I never knew him as such. My first memories of Volkhard von Arundel that I can remember are of him smuggling me into the Kingdom. To me he was a cold man. Harsh, strict, and unyielding like steel. If I ever stepped out of line I was quick to know consequences for it.
[Physical consequences? No, not until she returned to the Empire. The consequences he gave her came in the form of emotional manipulation, verbal discontent, and the unfair power dynamic an older man holds over a helpless nine year old child. There was a reason she looked so afraid when he called to her the day they were to return to Adrestia.]
But back then I was a tool to him. And now he knows of me as little more than a finely crafted weapon to wield, and he is not wrong. You could say I was not born to rule, but instead made for it.
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Consequences? Do not tell me that man dared to--
[ He's lunged forward before he realizes, his tone raised by a few octaves. That something he felt, that beastly rage he had tried so hard to bury... It was all still there, neatly blended with a side of protective instinct he didn't know he had-- at least, not over an enemy. But perhaps, this isn't Edelgard he sees; it's his childhood friend, the girl who used to mean the world to him.
(Even now, he still holds her dear; right now, he wants to just hold her.) ]
This is all so... preposterous. [ By the work of a miracle, he manages to hold himself back, but that primitive fire is still there, scorching his throat, choking up his words. ] If that man mistreated you so, then why did you side with him? Why do you continue to fight the Church? Why won't you--
[ Why won't you join me, he wants to say. But that, too, burns to a cinder. ]
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[She shies away from his half-lunge not unlike a person leaning away from a dog attempting to jump on them.]
Would you rather live a life of ignorant bliss, or be tormented by the thought of a looming enemy you may never touch? Even if that enemy never meets you in battle, it might release itself on your grandchildren's grandchildren. It may not be a threat again for another hundred, or maybe even thousands of years, but it's there.
[At first she thought she'd grant him that one mercy. She'd force herself into a grotesque monster to encourage him to land the final blow. And with her dead, and Professor at his side, he could move on. Live a happy life without the knowledge of her past or the people who hurt her.
But her drunk self... it pulls out her longing. The tiny ache in her heart to be with her childhood friend. Her first love. The last person who knows her as "El" even if she insists she died the day she was brought back to the Empire.]
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So he takes a step back and keeps his distance, letting her words sink in. Even as he tries to parse them, there's so much that's beyond his comprehension. Edelgard speaks of being their weapon, but whose? And who are the children of the Goddess? None of that makes sense to him...
Until something finally does. ]
I already live a life of torment. That will not change until the day I die.
[ Already, he is doomed to listening to the screams of the dead, clinging to his soul... To remembering the faces of those he killed and carrying their sorrows, to living in eternal regret over those he could not save. Most of all, he will have to forever live with the guilt of having abandoned his people in their greatest time of need, and allowed himself to buy into a lie for the sake of pursuing unwarranted revenge against someone who, he now realizes, might have been just as much of a victim as him. All because he was left in the dark. Because he didn't know.
He can never bring the dead back. But this much, he can still change. ]
I have faced away from the truth for far too long, but that is no more. If there is another enemy I must fight, then I will shoulder whatever burden comes with the knowledge. So, please, share it with me.
[ The knowledge and the burden. ]
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[But why, Edelgard, did you agree to side with them? Why accept their toxic help? Well... whether or not it's something she wanted to do, it's something that was necessary. It turns her stomach but in all honesty she was never really "saved" from the dungeon. Merely let out because the experiments were concluded. Ended in "success". Her physical chains merely became invisible. A new kind of binding.]
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asjkhfd
I didn't roleplay sex!
[It's definitely not the right way.]
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[ Or... he should hope Felix didn't roleplay sex as a child, at least. That would be far too precocious. ]
I was talking about how you used to play knight all the time, when we were young. That is all.
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Right.
Well.
I learned the err of my ways, so I don't do that anymore.
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[ Whether he likes it or not, Felix is a lot more knightly than he's willing to admit. ]
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[That may be going a bit below the belt but Felix is far too gone now to backtrack or even offer an apology.]
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I never did play a role, Felix. The man standing before you now, and the monster you saw before... they are both real. They are both me. Hate me if you must, but I will never face away from that truth again.
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[Would anything have changed? Felix isn't so sure himself. It wouldn't have changed anything about Glenn, that's for sure.]
Whatever. Like I said, it doesn't matter anymore.
for @sourcery
Since marrying Edelgard, he's come to love the imperial capital almost as much as his own place of birth. The streets bustling with business, their colors so vibrant, their crops so rich and fragrant-- they must make for delectable dishes, he imagines. And the people, oh, those are his favorite. Whereas some may still eye him with suspicion, so many are simply curious, the concept of royalty -- hailing from Faerghus, no less -- walking among them still so foreign... Despite years of (an admittedly misguided) war, the people had never been his enemy, and he loved hearing both their anecdotal tales and their plight alike.
The children had their own way with making him feel less out of place, always so free to speak their truest minds-- and lacking just enough awareness of social positions to attach themselves to the soft cloak trailing behind the king. He supposes this, too, is lending him their kind assistance; layers of fur on top of a heavy suit of armor don't make for a very comfortable southern summer ensemble, now do they?
With a gentle pat on each head and a world of velvety blue that four tiny hands could barely hold, Dimitri sends them off back to their home, wondering a minute too late if their parents would presume the cloak to be the product of theft instead of a gift. Well. He's sure he can write them a letter and clear the incident up, though for now he can at least bask in the relative relief from the stifling heat.
Which leaves him with only the second of his southern foes: the unnerving shadow that tracks his moves, often without warning... or consent, really. ]
Do you truly intend to follow me all day, Hubert?
[ He doesn't turn, but it's said loud enough that it can reach its destination from whatever distance the man has decided to keep this time. ]
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I will only follow you for so long as you insist on traipsing about without your personal guard. Whether that is all day is up to you.
[He comes closer, unconcerned about the startled or suspicious looks of the commoners who give him a wide berth. He's not particularly amused by Dimitri's decisions on this day, and it's clear on his face.]
Need I remind you that our enemies are hardly vanquished? Enbarr is full of rats who thirst for Faerghan blood.
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So instead, what he offers is: ]
In that case, you may consider dealing with these rats my gift to you. For your amusement more so than my sake.
[ It's... said in as much good humor as he can muster, given what he knows of Hubert. He's in a light-hearted mood today and not about to let anyone ruin it! ]
At any rate, if you must come along, then I would much prefer if you would accompany me. [ You know, instead of following him like a creepy shadow? ] There is no reason we cannot walk side by side; you are no foe, after all.
[ Although not quite a friend, either. ]
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He hadn't initially trusted Dimitri with Edelgard, constantly on alert for when their relationship would turn out to be a trap, or for the moment it would simply turn sour. That was why he often followed Dimitri, trying to gauge his true intentions.
In the end, he'd only been reassured that Dimitri's feelings for Edelgard were true... which had almost been worse, in a way. Because it meant he had to resign himself to his fate for good; always at Edelgard's feet and never at her side.
By now he's over it (mostly, anyway). Now his stalking of Dimitri really is more out of concern than malice; if something were happen to him, it would not be good for Edelgard or the union between their countries.
It's simply his duty.]
No, I am but your humble servant. [He gives a slight bow.] But if walking by your side is what you wish of me, I suppose I can indulge you.
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He also doubts pointing that out now would bear results, really. ]
Nonsense. [ Instead, he offers a frown, though his tone still rings light. ] You are the minister of the imperial household, and personal servant to the emperor. I am no emperor, but the king of Faerghus.
[ The king of Faerghus who happens to be married to the emperor of Adrestia, yes, and sure, he understands that technically does make him as much a part of the imperial household as Edelgard is queen consort in the Kingdom, so by extension and sheer technicality -- very technically!! -- he can see that Hubert is also in his service, but listen, that's just... not right, okay, the bowing and following two steps behind is completely unnecessary, please don't do that. ]
Regardless, I was considering one final stop for tea before retiring for the evening. [ It's a compromise, see? He won't be parading around in the streets of Enbarr with a big Faerghan target on his back for much longer! ] In Faerghus, it is customary to extend an invitation to present company. I don't imagine customs are much different in Adrestia, are they?
[ Also known as: join him for tea, Hubert! Or... whatever it is that you drink-- other than the blood of your enemies, naturally!! ]
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Being anything else would be uncharted waters.]
The customs in Adrestia are much the same, yes. Are you asking me to join you, then?
[Even if that is the custom, he hardly expects Dimitri to actually want to get a drink with him. Even if they aren't at each other's throats, he knows most people don't enjoy being with him socially.
(Though, even that has changed, over time.)]
If Lady Edelgard's Lord Husband wishes it, then so it shall be.
[He isn't backing down.]
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At any rate! By this point, he's also figured out this is the best he can get out of Hubert in terms of easy cooperation, so he will take what he can; if they can't establish more friendly relations, then at least he can aim for something a step farther from stalking. ]
Very well. And where do you suggest we make our stop? You are far more familiar with Enbarr than I am, after all.
[ Or: if Hubert has to lead the way, then he can't follow. See, Dimitri can be sneaky! ]
Besides, I suppose coffee must not be readily available in most teashops. I hear that is your preferred drink?
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It is. I prefer the taste, and it keeps me awake more than tea.
[Sneaky Dimitri. But he does step forward a bit, to lead him.]
I know a place. It's somewhere Ferdinand and I often go.
[It still feels odd, to talk about going out to a cafe with his friend, to be telling this to someone he considered an enemy before... like he's a normal person with a normal life, even though he's always been so far from that it feels foreign to him. Like he's playacting at best.
But if playacting is what is being asked of him, he'll do it.]
Follow me.
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He can, however, trail behind Hubert, easily falling into pace as they redirect their trek -- and people's attention -- to this other shop he's being taken to. In all honesty, it does all feel odd to him; the company alone is unusual, the idea of hot drinks in an even hotter day possibly ill-advised, and a whole afternoon dedicated to his leisure enjoyment, away from any sort of work, is... about aas foreign to him as Enbarr itself.
(Perhaps he should think of dealing with Hubert as work, troublesome as it can be.) ]
I do wonder what coffee tastes like. [ But wonder is all he can do, so he quickly moves on from that train of thought. ] I prefer tea, myself. Chamomile, as it helps me relax.
[ Different like night and day, it seems. Still, if his personal experience with restless nights is anything to go by, then he does wonder: does Hubert have a preference for coffee because he has trouble staying awake? ]
It is good to see you and Ferdinand are on friendlier terms these days, though. I recall some animosity between the two of you, back in the Academy. [ Okay, and maybe he heard a teensy little bit of a complaint or two from Edelgard. On occasion. ] It reminds me of Felix and Dedue, in several ways.
[ Except, you know, Felix is more angy cat than excitable puppy, and Dedue is... well, perhaps just as fiercely loyal and intimidating, but certainly not as scary as Hubert. ]
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