1. There you are, Hubert! I have been searching [cdb]everywhere for you.
  2. And to what end? Has Her Majesty summoned me?
  3. Oh, she would never use me for a task like that.
  4. I just wanted to thank you, albeit reluctantly.
  5. I do not recall having done anything that would merit [cdb]such a...sincere display of gratitude.
  6. Well, you probably just saw it as part of your normal [cdb]administrative duties.
  7. You fixed quite a big mistake in my last report before Her Majesty had the chance to look at it.
  8. I woke up in a panic when I realized what I had done. Imagine how mortified I was to see you'd already [cdb]corrected everything!
  9. Ah, yes. I may have done something of the sort.
  10. As Her Majesty's loyal servant, it is my duty to [cdb]pare down the number of unnecessary matters [cdb]which wander across her desk.
  11. I must say, I was surprised to see you make such [cdb]a foolish and obvious error.
  12. Have you truly grown so lax, even as you style [cdb]yourself the greatest of our emperor's retainers?
  13. I'm aware of the mistake I made, but I would never [cdb]dream of calling myself something like that.
  14. Well, perhaps I said it once or twice in the heat of [cdb]the moment, but I never actually meant it.
  15. If anyone is Her Majesty's best retainer, it's you.
  16. And without House Vestra's say-so, I could never [cdb]become one of her ser...vants.
  17. ...
  18. At present, I very much doubt you are fit to serve as Her Majesty's servant.
  19. Excuse me?!
  20. It is true that I did not make a conscious choice [cdb]to serve Her Majesty at first. Instead, I simply did [cdb]it because my father decreed it must be so.
  21. But such bounds no longer define our relationship.
  22. I do not serve the emperor. My loyalty is to Lady Edelgard, and her alone.
  23. I stand with her in a manner that goes beyond the [cdb]bounds of ruler and servant. Do you understand this?
  24. I want to be like that with Her Majesty as well!
  25. But I am only the child of a baron, so I don't have [cdb]excuses to linger in the palace all the time.
  26. I have to return to my family's estate once I've [cdb]fulfilled my duties for the day, and I get summoned [cdb]back to our territory often.
  27. I am not like you—I cannot just be at her side unless I have a good reason to be there!
  28. Indeed.
  29. Ochs territory is in the far west of the Empire. I surmise you have had to spend much of your [cdb]time away from Enbarr.
  30. Furthermore, you will be a baron one day. Your duties will prevent you from dedicating [cdb]yourself solely to Her Majesty.
  31. Exactly. Unlike you, I have an entire territory's worth [cdb]of people to protect.
  32. But I still won't give up.
  33. Even from afar—no, precisely because I'll be afar— [cdb]there will be things I can do to protect Her Majesty.
  34. In fact, always being at her side might actually cause [cdb]you to overlook threats from time to time. I may even [cdb]serve Her Majesty in a way you never could!
  35. Heh. That is a promising thought, Monica.