Must've been pretty hard-hitting, to get a rise out of someone as unflappable as you.
[So he says, but he knows Byleth can react to things in the moment just as much as anyone. It sounds like it was personal, so he decides not to press the matter.]
Let me think about how to explain this... [He sits back again, scratching his beard.] Meridian and Zenith are like Fódlan used to be before the war. The peace was tenuous at best, neighbours could interfere with one another, unexplained incidents could wipe out noble lines or make important people disappear overnight. But on the surface, me, Dimitri and Edelgard had to make nice together at school, because the future of Fódlan hinged on that peace.
Of course, if I'd known Edelgard was the Flame Emperor all along, I might've looked at things differently. But even before I knew her real intentions, we were always going to be rivals with a long history of conflicts, big or small, between our nations. Does that make sense?
[He hopes so; it's not exactly straightforward information for a sheltered mercenary, but comparing it to home might help.]
The same could be said for the Church of Seiros. They claimed to have all kind of noble ideas of peace and stability for Fódlan, but they did all kinds of shady things behind the scenes, to the detriment of everyone. For better or for worse, wielding power tends to involve offering a hand out to peace, all while hiding the knife behind your back. That's just how it is.
no subject
[So he says, but he knows Byleth can react to things in the moment just as much as anyone. It sounds like it was personal, so he decides not to press the matter.]
Let me think about how to explain this... [He sits back again, scratching his beard.] Meridian and Zenith are like Fódlan used to be before the war. The peace was tenuous at best, neighbours could interfere with one another, unexplained incidents could wipe out noble lines or make important people disappear overnight. But on the surface, me, Dimitri and Edelgard had to make nice together at school, because the future of Fódlan hinged on that peace.
Of course, if I'd known Edelgard was the Flame Emperor all along, I might've looked at things differently. But even before I knew her real intentions, we were always going to be rivals with a long history of conflicts, big or small, between our nations. Does that make sense?
[He hopes so; it's not exactly straightforward information for a sheltered mercenary, but comparing it to home might help.]
The same could be said for the Church of Seiros. They claimed to have all kind of noble ideas of peace and stability for Fódlan, but they did all kinds of shady things behind the scenes, to the detriment of everyone. For better or for worse, wielding power tends to involve offering a hand out to peace, all while hiding the knife behind your back. That's just how it is.