1. Sorry for the wait, Lorenz. So, what is it you wanted [cdb]to talk about? Ooh, don't tell me, is it about a girl?
  2. No. I wish to discuss the consequences of your [cdb]strategy at the Great Bridge of Myrddin.
  3. Oh, that. If it's an apology you want, I'll say it as [cdb]many times as I need to. Both to you and your father.
  4. My plan left a cloud of treason hanging thick over [cdb]the honorable House Gloucester. I'm sorry, Lorenz.
  5. Please, I have already accepted your apology. And besides, did my father not agree to your scheme?
  6. Luckily, my own person remains unsullied. And I will [cdb]soon remedy the blemishes on my family name, [cdb]you have my word.
  7. If that's not it, then what do you want to talk about?
  8. There is something I wish to confirm with you. A matter regarding the future of the Leicester Alliance.
  9. ...
  10. Can we really trust you, Claude?
  11. I have no qualms admitting that your work has freed [cdb]the Alliance from a number of tight situations.
  12. And yet, I have never been able to fully place my [cdb]trust in you. The same is true even now. Were it as [cdb]simple as choosing to believe, I would do just that.
  13. But this situation makes me uneasy. Day after day I find myself forced to rely on a man with unclear [cdb]roots and even more unclear intentions.
  14. Your tongue's as sharp as ever, Lorenz.
  15. But I can't say I don't get where you're coming from. I wouldn't trust me either in your shoes.
  16. Hmph.
  17. If I were you, I wouldn't let my loved ones touch [cdb]a guy like me with a ten-foot poleaxe. Let alone [cdb]count on me to keep them safe.
  18. You are quick to disparage yourself.
  19. Yeah, maybe I took it a little far there. I mean, I'm not that bad, am I?
  20. Still...I'm not all-knowing or all-powerful like the [cdb]goddess is. There's no way for me to know what [cdb]the future might hold.
  21. Which means there's only one thing I can do: [cdb]stack my deck with as many cards as I can, [cdb]so we're ready for anything that comes our way.
  22. ...
  23. But on that front, the possibilities are kind of endless. No matter how many tricks I've got in my pocket, [cdb]there's still this lingering worry I just can't shake.
  24. That's what I meant by not being able to trust [cdb]myself. I feel like I'm constantly walking this [cdb]tightrope, with no clear end in sight.
  25. ...
  26. Uh, Lorenz? Are you even listening? If you were [cdb]any quieter I'd think you'd have died on the spot.
  27. I am present, yes. I was just so shocked to hear you [cdb]voice your anxieties that I struggled to find words.
  28. Could this be another of your schemes? What do you hope to gain by deceiving me so?
  29. Whoa, slow down there. You're the one who brought [cdb]this whole thing up, remember?
  30. Kind of rude to react like that after I go and spill my [cdb]heart out to you, don't you think?
  31. Forgive me, I...seem to have lost my presence of mind [cdb]entirely. I fear I may be entering a state of shock.
  32. Yeah, you're not the only one.