0. Well, there's a face I'm not used to seeing on the [cdb]training grounds. Something wrong, Hubert?
1. I have merely come to examine the equipment. I hear [cdb]whispers that it is in quite the state.
2. Further, my being here should come as no surprise. Her Majesty and I train in these grounds often.
3. Get jealous of Hubert.
4. Get jealous of Edelgard.
5. Question if that's true.
6. I never would've guessed. Can't say I'm not jealous, [cdb]though.
7. Shall I put in a request with Her Majesty on your [cdb]behalf? I'm quite certain she'd join you.
8. Nah, that's all right. Maybe she'd throw me a bone [cdb]from time to time, but that wouldn't make us training [cdb]buddies the way you two apparently are.
9. Ah. Well, it is true this has been a long-running [cdb]custom of ours.
10. I never would've guessed. Can't say I'm not jealous, [cdb]though.
11. Shall I put in a request with Her Majesty on your [cdb]behalf? I'm quite certain she'd join you.
12. Oh, that's not what I meant. She's actually the one I'm jealous of.
13. I mean, I never get to train with you.
14. Me?
15. No kidding? I don't think I've ever seen you two [cdb]around here.
16. Naturally. We tend to pick times that allow us to [cdb]avoid a crowd.
17. In any case, if you do desire a session with either [cdb]myself or Her Majesty, you only need ask.
18. A mercenary with no backing such as yourself has [cdb]much to gain by earning Lady Edelgard's favor.
19. Of course, we would not be without benefit. Your rise [cdb]in standing would paint an ideal picture for our [cdb]people.
20. How do you mean?
21. Many commoners crave progress. A path upward in [cdb]life. And your example would prove that path exists.
22. The commonfolk would never expect to see their [cdb]emperor train alongside someone of your dubious [cdb]origins. At least not outside the pages of a fairy tale.
23. Laugh off the insult.
24. Sulk a bit.
25. Dubious origins?! Hah! Little harsh, don't you think?
26. Still, it doesn't sound too bad if I can use that to help [cdb]lift people up.
27. Dubious origins, huh? Yeah, I...guess you're [cdb]not wrong.
28. Even so, it feels good to think about using that to [cdb]help lift people up.
29. On the other hand, your presence would also cause [cdb]great turmoil amongst the elites of our society.
30. They may even despise you. A symbol of the [cdb]ungrateful commoner granted privilege well beyond [cdb]their station.
31. Oof. But hey, Dorothea's a commoner too. Why don't they hate her?
32. Dorothea is a famed former songstress, well esteemed [cdb]in the upper echelons of society. Your situation is [cdb]vastly different.
33. Right. Well, no point worrying about it if it's gonna [cdb]happen no matter what.
34. Precisely.
35. Things may yet change in the years ahead, but for [cdb]now all we can do is live with it.
36. So coddling the elites means the commoners end up [cdb]oppressed, while hoisting commoners up only agitates [cdb]the elites.
37. Glad I'm not the one who has to rule the Empire. This whole thing sounds like a total mess.
38. Heh. A mess, indeed.