0. Hey, Rodrigue. You got a sec?
1. What's the matter? You look troubled.
2. Well, we ended up spending most of this winter out [cdb]on the battlefield.
3. So I was thinking, if we put an end to the war before [cdb]next winter rolls around, maybe we could all go back [cdb]north and...
4. And? Speak plainly.
5. I wanna have a snowball fight.
6. Dimitri said that's how all the kids in Faerghus play [cdb]during the winter.
7. Figure it would be good to try at least once now that I'm living here in the Kingdom.
8. Yes, a fine idea! The sport's rather profound, if I do [cdb]say so myself.
9. Dividing into factions and formulating strategies [cdb]makes it just as much a battle of minds as it does one [cdb]of hurled snow.
10. Hold on, strategy? This sounds kinda intense for a [cdb]kid's game.
11. It is. When we were still in the throes of our youth, Lambert, Matthias, and I faced off in such a [cdb]contest.
12. With our squires in tow, we traveled to the northern [cdb]mountains to do battle.
13. Hey, that sounds like fun. So what happened?
14. I was the first to fall. I hid in the shadows, biding my [cdb]time and observing the enemy's movements until the [cdb]moment was right to strike.
15. And yet, such an opportunity never came. While his [cdb]subordinates fought freely in the open, His Majesty [cdb]launched a surprise attack on my position.
16. Unfortunately, my men and I were unable to land [cdb]even a single blow on him. Our defeat was a matter [cdb]of course.
17. Now I know where Dimitri gets his tendency to rush [cdb]into battle alone. Like father, like son, huh?
18. Indeed. Still, it's difficult to feel wronged when [cdb]you've been defeated in such a swift and skillful [cdb]manner.
19. My downfall left only Lambert and the margrave. A man notorious for his rotten character, [cdb]even as a child.
20. His strategy was not to attack outright, but to [cdb]prepare an ambush for His Majesty in one of the [cdb]more densely wooded groves.
21. Seriously? All that for just a snowball fight? No wonder Sylvain is so cunning. Anyway, what [cdb]happened next?
22. And? What happened next?
23. We were all familiar with Matthias's ignoble tactics, [cdb]so His Majesty was careful to avoid the cowardly [cdb]ambush which had been laid for him.
24. At last, just as the opposing generals were staring [cdb]each other down...
25. Gunnar—the current Count Galatea and noble many [cdb]years our senior—emerged from the wood to put a [cdb]stop to it!
26. In the end, our final showdown that day was between [cdb]his hands and the scruffs of our necks. All while our [cdb]ears rang with his dire warnings about the mountains.
27. That sounds like Ingrid's dad, all right. Guess that [cdb]means nobody won, huh?
28. You guys must've been pretty disappointed, huh? All that effort and nobody actually won.
29. Yes. The story dates back several decades, but I still [cdb]remember it as if we were trudging through the snow [cdb]only yesterday.
30. Say, if you do end up mustering an army for one of [cdb]these snowball battles...I would be honored to [cdb]observe, should you have me.
31. Tell him he's welcome to watch.
32. Ask him to join in.
33. You'll be the first person I tell. Oh, but it's gonna [cdb]have to wait till the war's over.
34. Nothing like a little friendly competition to lighten [cdb]the mood after years of bloodshed.
35. Why don't you join us? As one of the combatants, I mean. I'm sure Dimitri and the margrave [cdb]won't mind.
36. You won't be facing the same opponents, but maybe [cdb]then you'll finally settle the score. For old time's sake.
37. Hm, a sound point. Very well. I'd be thrilled to [cdb]partake when the time comes.
38. You know, of late I've been dreading the coming [cdb]winter...but now I feel I may actually look forward [cdb]to it.