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