0. Hm...
1. You're in better spirits than I expected. You look at [cdb]least two shades less pale than you did after the battle [cdb]at Fort Merceus.
2. Oh, but Your Majesty does enjoy telling it like it is! Would it be the end of you to show a little [cdb]compassion?
3. No. Then you would just be pitying me. I do not [cdb]know which is worse.
4. Regardless, I am well. Thank you for noticing. Ask of me what you will, and I shall see it done.
5. I don't need anything from you, Ferdinand—or at [cdb]least not in that way.
6. Just give me your usual effort, and that should be [cdb]enough to get us through the upcoming battle.
7. You can count on me. Point me at a foe, and I will [cdb]dispatch them with all haste.
8. I cannot afford to die now, or my page in the history [cdb]books will end in a most horrid fashion.
9. "Plagued by the guilt of striking down his father, Ferdinand welcomed the cold embrace of death [cdb]on the battlefield." Or some such hogwash.
10. Yes, I killed my father—and I would be a liar if I said [cdb]it did not wound me nearly beyond reckoning.
11. But I will not hate myself for it. It was the correct [cdb]choice. I did the right thing.
12. Well, don't feel too bad. Imagine what they would [cdb]write about me if we lose this war.
13. "Despite her futile attempts to wrest power from the [cdb]prime minister, the emperor's people turned against [cdb]her and her life ended in abject failure. The end."
14. I know exactly what the world would say of me, [cdb]which is why I have no intention of losing.
15. I will not permit such a thing to happen.
16. If ever my life were to be weighed against yours, I would gladly perish in ignominy if it meant keeping [cdb]you alive and well.
17. Heh.
18. What? Did I say something amusing?
19. No, it's just... You're so strong. So proud.
20. If all the world's nobles were like you, there would [cdb]be no need to dismantle the aristocracy.
21. That's all. I know it's a futile thought.
22. Nothing is futile! Though even I must admit it seems [cdb]to be so, given the circumstances.
23. Still, you vastly underestimate the potential of [cdb]the aristocracy.
24. For generations, our ancestors worked hand in hand, [cdb]sharing knowledge and wisdom to administer our [cdb]great land and ensure it was well-protected.
25. They acquired knowledge of the region and [cdb]developed good policies to rule it. And in doing so, [cdb]they earned the trust of the people.
26. We cannot throw away everything they have built. It would be folly.
27. Of course not. What do you take me for?
28. I'm dismantling the aristocracy, not their legacy. The commonfolk will take up the torch and carry on.
29. Do you believe they are ready? No matter how gifted [cdb]they may be, they are only commoners. In order to [cdb]replace the nobility, they need to be educated...
30. Wait a moment. I see your plan now.
31. You intend to establish a school, one that is not [cdb]merely for nobles and wealthy merchant children [cdb]like the Officers Academy once was.
32. A school where anyone can enroll, regardless of [cdb]wealth or standing, and get an education rivaling [cdb]that of any noble!
33. Ferdinand?
34. I cannot begin to guess where that idea sprung from, [cdb]but this is exactly why I need you beside me as we [cdb]shape the future of Adrestia.
35. You mean to say that you did not actually... So I was... Well, it is nice to be needed.