1. There we have it. The Empire and the Kingdom, [cdb]finally squaring off in broad daylight.
  2. What a fascinating development. And a [cdb]troubling one.
  3. I am well acquainted with that look of yours, Claude. What could you be scheming this time?
  4. If I recall, you made a similar face the other afternoon [cdb]when we swept aside the Imperial army ourselves.
  5. Hey, don't get the wrong idea!
  6. I'm just contemplating the fate of the Alliance, [cdb]the only way I know how.
  7. Don't worry about him, Lorenz.
  8. He doesn't always look it, but Claude takes this stuff [cdb]seriously. I promise.
  9. She's right, you know! I'm constantly thinking about [cdb]our next plan of action.
  10. Thankfully, the Empire's turned its beady little eyes [cdb]away from us for now. It seems they're focusing all [cdb]their attention on the west.
  11. And we owe that tidal shift to Duke Gloucester's [cdb]feigned betrayal. The former Duke Gloucester, I mean.
  12. Thanks to him, we managed to run the Empire [cdb]clean out of Leicester. But there's more to their [cdb]strategy shift than that.
  13. Do you speak of the unrest within the Kingdom? Such internal struggles would certainly leave them [cdb]rather defenseless in the wake of an attack.
  14. But the situation may change anew at any moment. We mustn't grow complacent.
  15. If they emerge victorious against the Kingdom, it is [cdb]difficult to imagine what course of action the Imperial army would take next.
  16. Yeah. Whatever happens in this battle, it'll shape the [cdb]future of Fódlan for years to come.
  17. I might be brilliant, but even I'm having trouble [cdb]predicting who's gonna come out on top.
  18. But whoever it is, I'd bet anything we'll need to strike [cdb]a deal to keep them at bay.
  19. I guess we should be ready for either outcome.
  20. Oh, and Lorenz. I'll be asking all sorts of little favors [cdb]from you, so plan on being busy for a long while.
  21. If needs must, I would do anything for the Alliance.
  22. We can't stand in the crossfire between the Kingdom [cdb]and the Empire forever.
  23. It's high time the Alliance grabbed the reins of history [cdb]and started steering in our own direction.