Ah, Charlie. I wanted to thank you for the gloves.
[ BUT WAHOO... RANDOM REFLECTIVE OBJECT NEARBY STARTS TO PLAY A MEMORY
—In Ailell—the aptly named Valley of Torment—over a hundred Imperial soldiers die at the hands of your strategy.
Well. Technically, they die at the hands of the church forces sent to ambush them. But Edelgard had requested that you send support to her troops with two objectives: 1) rescue her soldiers, and 2) eliminate the church's presence. In order to ensure you achieved objective 2 without any casualties to your own men, you had to forfeit objective 1.
Because you're in a precarious position: a newly titled king with everything to lose. The other nobles don't trust you, and the citizens are exhausted by war. You have to keep casualties to a minimum if you want to protect the delicate power of balance that has been laid out for Leicester, even at the cost of your allies' lives.
You had decided already that you would prioritize being a good king over being a good man. Now it's time live with the consequences of that decision.
[ she's about to say something else, but then!! the memory!!! oh no a memory happened!!! she watches it play out in silence, and, eventually: ]
... I'm sorry I saw something so personal. Do you.... nevermind.
[ He probably doesn't want to talk. Or hear anything I have to say. ]
[ even though a part of her can truly understand this. she's technically at war with heaven, after all. and she already lost pentious. maybe alastor. she doesn't want to sacrifice anyone else. ]
Circumstances have a lot to do with this. Some people just aren't in a position to make decisions that don't cause some kind of harm. Especially in war. [ significant look ]
But you have to remember, Claude, that I come from Hell, which is nothing but sinners. Some of them are genuinely cruel, and don't have a good reason.
Well, Claude, I'm not going to say I agree with your choices, but... it doesn't make you irredeemable in my eyes. I was going to say that you can't change the past... but the angels have said that if you are redeemed, you can choose your point in the timeline to return. So. Things can change, and you can as well.
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w6, monday
Hi, Claude. How are you today?
[ no escape from this friendship. also give me a memeshare ]
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[ BUT WAHOO... RANDOM REFLECTIVE OBJECT NEARBY STARTS TO PLAY A MEMORY
—In Ailell—the aptly named Valley of Torment—over a hundred Imperial soldiers die at the hands of your strategy.
Well. Technically, they die at the hands of the church forces sent to ambush them. But Edelgard had requested that you send support to her troops with two objectives: 1) rescue her soldiers, and 2) eliminate the church's presence. In order to ensure you achieved objective 2 without any casualties to your own men, you had to forfeit objective 1.
Because you're in a precarious position: a newly titled king with everything to lose. The other nobles don't trust you, and the citizens are exhausted by war. You have to keep casualties to a minimum if you want to protect the delicate power of balance that has been laid out for Leicester, even at the cost of your allies' lives.
You had decided already that you would prioritize being a good king over being a good man. Now it's time live with the consequences of that decision.
But your friend doesn't see it the way you do, her outrage as fiery as the battlefield you stand on. You field her anger, and Judith's chastising. Because you have to. It's your responsibility to be sympathetic to the people that you serve, even though it stings when she questions your friendship. One of your dearest friends. How could she think that about you?
But perhaps being a good king means you can't be a good friend either, and that's just something you'll have to bear. ]
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[ she's about to say something else, but then!! the memory!!! oh no a memory happened!!! she watches it play out in silence, and, eventually: ]
... I'm sorry I saw something so personal. Do you.... nevermind.
[ He probably doesn't want to talk. Or hear anything I have to say. ]
[ even though a part of her can truly understand this. she's technically at war with heaven, after all. and she already lost pentious. maybe alastor. she doesn't want to sacrifice anyone else. ]
Are you okay?
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I'm fine. It's not like you all didn't already know I'm a crooked person.
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War's not black and white. And you wanted to protect your people more than anything. Isn't that right?
[ hence why he'd sacrifice allies for it ]
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And I don't think you're a villain for wanting to protect your people.
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Do you want me to see you as a villain?
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[ ha ha bible jokes ]
But if I may ask, Claude, what apple did you want, and why?
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He hesitates because he doesn't really share information but... What does it matter at this point. ]
The one to revive someone from the dead. I wanted to bring back sometime who died from a mistake I made.
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[ foremost ]
To answer your question, no, I don't think that's inexcusable. I can understand why you'd want that apple.
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But you have to remember, Claude, that I come from Hell, which is nothing but sinners. Some of them are genuinely cruel, and don't have a good reason.
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[ He sounds a little uncertain, but it's directly mostly at himself. ]
I don't want to get comfortable doing terrible things, just because my reasoning might be good.
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If you could go back, would you change your decision?
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I don't know. [ ... ] I think I would, but not because I regret what happened to Randolph.
But it set off a chain of events that ended up down a path I didn't want.
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Well, Claude, I'm not going to say I agree with your choices, but... it doesn't make you irredeemable in my eyes. I was going to say that you can't change the past... but the angels have said that if you are redeemed, you can choose your point in the timeline to return. So. Things can change, and you can as well.
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Knowing that I could've just returned to a point before she died is just salt in the wound.
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My point is... there's still time to turn things in your favor.
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Well, that much I know. I'd never have it any other way.
[ sipp... my mem..... ]