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There you are, Hubert! I have been searching everywhere for you.
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And to what end? Has Her Majesty summoned me?
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Oh, she would never use me for a task like that.
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I just wanted to thank you, albeit reluctantly.
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I do not recall having done anything that would merit such a...sincere display of gratitude.
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Well, you probably just saw it as part of your normal administrative duties.
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You fixed quite a big mistake in my last report before Her Majesty had the chance to look at it.
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I woke up in a panic when I realized what I had done. Imagine how mortified I was to see you'd already corrected everything!
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Ah, yes. I may have done something of the sort.
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As Her Majesty's loyal servant, it is my duty to pare down the number of unnecessary matters which wander across her desk.
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I must say, I was surprised to see you make such a foolish and obvious error.
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Have you truly grown so lax, even as you style yourself the greatest of our emperor's retainers?
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I'm aware of the mistake I made, but I would never dream of calling myself something like that.
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Well, perhaps I said it once or twice in the heat of the moment, but I never actually meant it.
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If anyone is Her Majesty's best retainer, it's you.
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And without House Vestra's say-so, I could never become one of her ser...vants.
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...
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At present, I very much doubt you are fit to serve as Her Majesty's servant.
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Excuse me?!
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It is true that I did not make a conscious choice to serve Her Majesty at first. Instead, I simply did it because my father decreed it must be so.
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But such bounds no longer define our relationship.
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I do not serve the emperor. My loyalty is to Lady Edelgard, and her alone.
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I stand with her in a manner that goes beyond the bounds of ruler and servant. Do you understand this?
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I want to be like that with Her Majesty as well!
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But I am only the child of a baron, so I don't have excuses to linger in the palace all the time.
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I have to return to my family's estate once I've fulfilled my duties for the day, and I get summoned back to our territory often.
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I am not like you—I cannot just be at her side unless I have a good reason to be there!
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Indeed.
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Ochs territory is in the far west of the Empire. I surmise you have had to spend much of your time away from Enbarr.
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Furthermore, you will be a baron one day. Your duties will prevent you from dedicating yourself solely to Her Majesty.
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Exactly. Unlike you, I have an entire territory's worth of people to protect.
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But I still won't give up.
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Even from afar—no, precisely because I'll be afar— there will be things I can do to protect Her Majesty.
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In fact, always being at her side might actually cause you to overlook threats from time to time. I may even serve Her Majesty in a way you never could!
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Heh. That is a promising thought, Monica.