link Dimitri volume_up
Time certainly does fly, Ashe. Why, it's already been a year and a half since you became a knight.
link Dimitri volume_up
Still, it must be difficult working in such unfamiliar lands. Are you doing well?
link Ashe volume_up
Yeah, I'm great! Everyone in the capital has been really nice, honestly.
link Ashe volume_up
If anything, I guess I'm still just unsure if I have what it takes to be a knight.
link Dimitri volume_up
Do not give in to doubt. Remember, most knights currently in the service of House Blaiddyd only entered the castle after I became king.
link Dimitri volume_up
You have fought with me for much longer, so in that sense, you have the advantage.
link Ashe volume_up
Sure, but I'm not nobility. I don't even have a Crest.
link Ashe volume_up
So I want to repay you for appointing me, even if it costs me my life.
link Dimitri volume_up
I see. Tell me, Ashe, what exactly does knighthood mean to you?
link Ashe volume_up
Huh? I'd say knights are loyal to the king and willing to give their lives to protect the crown and their people! That's right, right?
link Dimitri volume_up
That is indeed what many claim a knight should be, but reality is rarely so rosy.
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Put bluntly, it is the job of a knight to dispense death.
link Dimitri volume_up
The code of chivalry emphasizes loyalty, yes, but this is only to ensure knights remain under the complete control of their lords.
link Ashe volume_up
Well, I mean...I guess that's true.
link Dimitri volume_up
I have no quarrel with your dedicating yourself to such a code, but there is no need to stake your life upon it.
link Ashe volume_up
But...
link Dimitri volume_up
My closest friend was a knight who served the royal family. He was near to my own age, and I admired him greatly.
link Dimitri volume_up
But one day, I watched him die. He stood his ground and fought bravely, but his life was snuffed out in the blink of an eye all the same.
link Ashe volume_up
You're talking about Felix's brother, right? I remember Lord Rodrigue mentioning him.
link Dimitri volume_up
His dying screams echo in my mind to this day.
link Dimitri volume_up
My point, Ashe, is that there may come a time when you must decide between your loyalty and your life.
link Dimitri volume_up
And though I know this to be a selfish request, when that day comes, I want you to choose life.
link Ashe volume_up
Even if it means turning my bow against you?
link Dimitri volume_up
Especially then. If you find yourself unable to follow through, I beg you to leave the battlefield quietly and with all haste. I pray it never comes to that.
link Ashe volume_up
Right... I have something to say, though.
link Ashe volume_up
I don't think that friend who protected you threw his life away because he was a knight.
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He just wanted to save his best friend.
link Dimitri volume_up
Even if it meant destroying futures that might have come to pass had he but lived?
link Ashe volume_up
Look, I don't know if what he did was right.
link Ashe volume_up
So if you're asking me not to throw my life away, I promise that I won't.
link Ashe volume_up
But I don't think it's wrong to fight to the end for someone that you love.
link Dimitri volume_up
Well put. Perhaps you're right.
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In any case, I must be off. I have drills I must attend to.
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After all, I must do everything in my power to be the sort of ruler worthy of such loyalty.
link Ashe volume_up
You've done more than enough, Your Majesty. We all respect you to the ends of Fódlan.