Chapter 92: A choice to change.

She knew that there was something different about Goetia from the moment he had returned back from the camp yesterday night, he had remained silent all through the dinner without even offering a single comment or even looking in the direction of anyone. One might have thought that it was something to do with the comment made by Caspar which had prompted this but Dorothea wasn't so certain.

While she was sure the question had bothered him, this wasn't the sort of behaviour she would have expected from Goetia. He was a rather open person with his thoughts and if the question had bothered him too much, he would have just told Caspar to be quiet and probably would have avoided answering all together. No, he had been the one to basically open up the conversation topic in the first place.

Though even as Goetia's face remained blank for the trip during the day, there was something about his posture that was a little off. If she were to put her finger on it, she would have said it was like he was trying to look innocent. Where one puts a little too much effort into avoiding people looking at them. She had seen such looks before, keeping yourself down to the ground in the hopes that people don't look at you. Goddess above, she had actively used that look in the past.

Goetia was good, no doubt about it, but he clearly wasn't used to acting like that which meant that it was all too easy for her to see that there was something he was trying to hide. Though the question of what it was played on her mind, there were a couple of ideas which bubbled to the surface but there was only one that really took precedence over all others, it was one that she felt almost like laughing at the thought of, not out of mocking but out of pure shock. Like her body was vibrating with the urge to gossip about it with someone else but she stayed her tongue.

After all, the way in which the Archbishop had been acting around Goetia, the comments they had traded which seemed all too casual, the way he had nearly spoken up in defence of her ability to cook food. It was like they weren't even trying to hide it. At least initially she could have excused it as them being closer friends, but now the pieces started to fall into place bit by bit. All those past encounters made perfect sense in her mind.

When Goetia and the Archbishop had gone off to rescue the Professor and Ashen Wolves by themselves, when they had all those secret little meetings in private. But the actions of last night were perhaps the most damning piece of evidence of all to secure the belief in her head.

Goetia had barely managed to move into the forest before the Archbishop had gone sweeping off after him. She doubted others would have noticed, too busy staring at Caspar for just being his regular impulsive self but that was just how Caspar was. There was no harm in his questions so it didn't bother her all that much, though he probably should have known better than to ask the question in the first place.

Regardless of all that, it was all beside the point to the information that now circled in her mind when she considered what happened. Goetia walks off - clearly troubled about something - and then the Archbishop goes in after him. They walk back out at different times with the Archbishop looking rather pleased with herself and Goetia now acting as though even the slightest question was going to get him to shrink in and act defensive.

However, the question was…what was she going to do about it?

Goetia had taken her on a…well, it wasn't a date but at the same time it seemed as though it had been a decent enough outing for the pair of them. She would not deny that she had a pleasant enough time with him during it and he said all of the right things without even trying. More to the point, he also seemed more than a little clumsy when it came to it. If she were to hazard a guess, she would say that it was the first date he had ever been on before. Which made a lot of sense in her mind but also made her think of something a little troubling.

Had Goetia asked her for lunch for her opinion as well as a practice date for when he actually asked out the Archbishop for real? Were they even courting or was it just a few flirty little comments shared between them? She could certainly imagine the reaction if something like that was made public, a person of Goetia's origin being in a relationship with the Archbishop was something of a scandal waiting to happen, even if it was nothing.

Though she really hoped that it was something, if only because of what it actually represented. If there was one thing she was addicted to, it was romance stories and the like. Though her own luck had been less than ideal, that was beside the point. This was the sort of thing that she needed to investigate further. If only for her own peace of mind.

Her eyes landed on the glowing motes of hair that was the back of Goetia's head, her eyes narrowed just a touch as she watched him walk in step with the horses. He'd been up earlier than all of them and there was plenty that she could do. First and foremost - as she had been taught - she needed a plan of attack for getting all the information from Goetia without making it obvious.

Fortunately, she was probably a bit better at this sort of thing than him.

With all of that in mind, she picked up the pace while considering her options. Firstly, she refused to entertain the idea of Goetia trying to court anyone while looking like that. Wearing some plain brown robe and his hair all hanging and messy, that he didn't have any knots in it was almost certainly a result of some magic but she meant what she said the first time they met, Goetia was wasting his potential.

Especially if he was a King at one point, she really doubted he walked around dressed like that as a King. It just didn't fit the image, despite carrying himself with the air of nobility. Fortunately they were heading to Enbarr, the capital of the Empire was famous for a great many things and especially for the talent of the shopping districts. Taking Goetia around there for a bit of a makeover would certainly be worth it. Especially since there were some rather affordable options which didn't sacrifice your coins for appearance.

She had been to more than a few of those while part of the opera company.

When his head twitched ever so slightly, she knew that he knew she was there. All the same, she wore a bright smile as she moved around and then came up right next to him on his right. Glancing towards him for a brief moment and catching the moment his crimson eyes flickered to her before moving away. A subtle acknowledgement.

"If you intend to ask me about the night's events, then I shall inform you now that I have little interest in discussing them." He spoke before she even got a word out but it wasn't in a rude way, while certainly blunt, more a polite method of warning her off. "There is nothing to discuss and I said all that needed saying, nor do I hold ill-will against the boy for his poorly conceived mental processes."

Goetia really enjoyed flaunting his intellect at times, or maybe that was really just how he spoke.

"Well, you have certainly saved me most of a conversation then." She replied back with a shrug, it was a response she had been expecting. "Though it would still bother me if I didn't hear it from you. That and I was a touch worried that you would have been a little too hard on Caspar, he does mean well but sometimes his mouth is faster than his mind."

A grunt, though perhaps with a touch of mirth if that was possible.

"A conclusion I reached within moments of meeting him, but if you merely came to verify your own suspicions then I have…little else to say on the matter."

She caught the slight hesitation in his voice but let it slip, that was something she wasn't prepared to push on. "Well, so long as you're not being a little too hard on Caspar…and I suppose he is a little simple at times, as though you need to speak plainly for him to understand. He's better at fighting than thinking but he knows that just as much as everyone else."

"Am I to congratulate him on self-awareness now?" Goetia quizzed with a slightly raised eyebrow and a glance in her direction for only a moment. His expression flickered for a second before it turned away once more. "Though perhaps I can spare him some praise in that he is a simple fool who understands his own mind. If he was ignorant of his own faults and you all were content to leave him, then I would not be so open with discussing it…But that is a moot point."

She nodded her head up and down, then hummed as she caught onto something else that Goetia had perhaps missed. "Aside from all of that, while you did say you weren't interested in talking about it I have to ask…are you actually alright with it being brought up? You're…sudden departure certainly raised some eyebrows."

Goetia closed his eyes, letting out a subtle breath before he opened them again. "My departure did not relate to the words of Caspar, something else caught my attention and I had greater interest in investigating that than remaining to speak further on my missing limb."

"...You still haven't answered whether you are alright though."

"...Do you intend to continue this line of questioning until you get an answer from me?" He turned and looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes, she could feel the annoyance but it was barely there. More like he was being inconvenienced by her questioning. "Because the answer I can provide you is that I had barely even thought about my missing limb in much of the time I have been in Fodlan. It does not hamper me in any meaningful way and is nothing more than a cosmetic imperfection."

Her brows shot up at the way he referred to it, all but certain that there would be no one else in all of Fodlan who would speak about losing a limb in such an unconcerned way. She found herself smiling at him, something which clearly made him confused if the faint furrowing of his brows was any indication. She could at least spare him the mystery of it. "Just me being in awe of your optimism, getting over something which most would be quite broken up over."

"Hmph. A difference between us, though I am better prepared for the loss of a limb…" His confidence was certainly something else, though his brows furrowed even further as his eyes moved down towards the empty sleeve where his arm would have been. The look on his face turned thoughtful as he stared at it before he looked away. "...Though I am puzzled as to why I have allowed it to remain for as long as I have."

…Huh?

"Excuse me?"

"My missing limb." He spoke aloud once more, his left hand came up and across, placing itself flat against the robe and pressing inwards, drumming his fingers along the surface of the fabric. "Even now I could likely solve it within the next hour, enhance the regeneration of dead cells and cure myself of this cosmetic imperfection…there is no reason for me to tolerate it and yet I have never once even considered healing it."

She was barely paying attention, still reeling from what he was saying before eventually finding her footing in the conversation once more. She leaned forwards and looked him up and down before she brought up her hands and shook her head. "It is saying something about the way in which you act that I can listen to you boast about growing an arm back and I believe you…You have spoiled my expectations for being surprised, Gotie."

Red eyes lingered on her before the lips of the man curled up for a brief moment. "Indeed, I am aware of the effect I have on the people of Fodlan. Though that is through no fault of my own." he pulled his arm back to his side. "I see no reason to limit my abilities just because you are incapable of replicating my feats of magical prowess. It would be akin to demanding an artist not paint out of courtesy to the blind."

She didn't know if that was an honest comparison or if he was making a joke.

Her brows dropped back down, though now confusion remained. "Hang on, if you could heal it easily then why are you just thinking of it now? Wouldn't that have been one of the first things you thought of doing when you realised you had a missing arm?"

Silence from Goetia, for a good many moments. "...Perhaps…Though to return to what you had asked. It brought with it the thoughts of something I had not considered in many, many weeks and perhaps that is…a discourtesy on my part." he announced with a tone of voice that was almost troubled. "The one who inflicted this injury unto me, it occurred that I have not been thinking of them as often as I should."

Nope, she was still confused. "Is that a bad thing?"

"...I am not entirely sure what it means. Though Ritsuka Fujimaru is a human who deserves to have me think of them, at least to devote some of my time to them every single day. If only in such a meagre capacity as to acknowledge they existed and what they achieved." A shrug of the shoulders, his head lolled back and he stared up at the sky as he walked. "It is not something I expect you to understand. Just understand that Ritsuka Fujimaru is someone I shall never allow myself to forget. Neither him nor Mash."

That sounded exceedingly personal and certainly lacked all of the hatred she would have expected if one were to talk about the person who beat them in a fight and took their arm. Rather, the look upon Goetia's face was almost…no, but that couldn't quite be what she was seeing yet the longer she looked, the more difficult it was to ignore. It was almost as though Goetia looked ashamed of the fact he hadn't been thinking of them every single day.

Humming quietly, she turned straight ahead. "...Well, as long as you are feeling less dour…though I noticed the Archbishop was one of the first to rush to you." she paused, then glanced at him with a raised eyebrow and a touch of a smile. "I can't even think to imagine how some of the clerics would react if they saw something like that."

Goetia's expression returned to his usual blank stare, though it felt more at ease now with the topic. Certainly if the growing aura of irritation was of any real evidence. "She has flung herself from one end of the spectrum to the other…Though I cannot even complain heavily on the subject considering I was the one who told her to become more personally invested."

Her brows almost shot up again at that little bit of news, she fought back the smile that was threatening to split her face, instead clearing her throat and inclining her head to the side as she looked him up and down with a faux look of thought. "You speak of the Archbishop rather casually, I didn't think you were that close."

The look she received was certainly interesting, scrunched up brows, parted lips and squinted eyes.

"Close?" He repeated the word back to her before making a noise. "...I cannot even correct you on that front. I shall not deny that I have spent more time speaking with Rhea than I would have ever expected to, especially in recent weeks. Though her more cordial approach to dealing with me is less irritating than her tolerance beforehand."

She hummed. "Someone might say that you've gotten to know each other a little better, there's probably a couple of examples of most people meeting good friends where they least expect to find them." Now came the part where she would distance herself from being accused. "Then again, you aren't exactly most people so perhaps you'd be an exception to this. I think the only ones you would consider friends can be counted on one hand."

Goetia scoffed loudly but didn't sound offended. "Friends, what a novel concept…There are those who are more cordial with me than others. I just happen to prefer their company because it is less irritable to deal with for extended periods of time."

"That is probably one of the nicest things you have ever said to me." Leaning back, she placed a hand over her heart and smiled rather widely at him. He glanced at her without making a single sound and showing not even a single ounce of emotion on his face. It was hard to take any real heat from Goetia, especially because it was very easy to engage in light conversation with him. Almost as though there was an innocence about him. "Alright, perhaps not friends because I am not sure that-"

"The basic definition with a friend is someone you have cordial relations with to the point of finding their being less grating than others and sometimes more desirable." He cut her off with a bland tone of voice, turning his head from her and looking straight ahead. "So in the broadest sense of the word…yes. You are an acquaintance that holds a decent standing within my mind."

That hadn't been something she had expected, she was feeling a little caught on the back foot now, blinking profusely as she tried and failed to respond to that. Goetia might as well have just told her she was one of his best friends with the words he had given, she didn't even know if he did friends but he said it without saying it. Her lips thinned for a moment as she felt herself return to her usual posture, losing the surprise from her face as she did so.

"...Thank you, Goetia."

"You are thanking me for your own behaviour making you less irritable?" That brought a short mirthful noise from her as she shook her head from side to side at his antics. Even when he admitted it, there was still something about him like this.

"Well, since we're such close friends-"

"I recall making no such declaration-"

"And given that last time you were the one to ask me out, I believe that the time has come for me to return the favour." She smiled rather widely at him, taking a little pleasure in the way his expression was twitching and turning more and more exasperated, altering her voice, she raised it and smoothed out her speaking in such a way that it would appear an exaggeration of the regular nobles. "I would say we partake in a common activity among friends when we arrive in Enbarr, especially because of its fame in that regard. I hereby propose we get you a new outfit."

Goetia stared in complete silence, then hummed at her in a low tone. "Incredible. Even without Clairvoyance, I could tell exactly where you were going with this discussion. I have said it before and I shall say it again, there is no need for me to change my clothes-"

Now she was getting a little agitated at his refusal time after time. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have an aversion to trying to appear presentable? I would have thought that someone like you would have actually put a lot of effort into making sure they looked good."

A raised eyebrow. "Someone like me? You assume because I am royalty-"

"No, Gotie." Her denial was clearly something he wasn't expecting if the sudden silence and furrowed brows was any indication. "It's because you genuinely seem to be the type of person who would dress nice, besides…it doesn't look good if you have the means of taking care of yourself but don't…Also I actually believe I might be getting an allergic reaction to plain brown robes at this point."

Bringing her hand up, she cupped her chin and squinted at the man for a moment before she hummed. "And I mean what I said when we first met. You truly do have quite a bit of potential for being a show stopper, this is my experience in the Mittlefrank Opera company speaking by the way. We all developed a little eye for that sort of thing."

Goetia looked less than impressed at her hidden skill, his lips curled into a frown before he spoke. "Why do you truly care about my appearance? I have told you time and time again that I have no interest in it and yet you all insist on commenting about my attire as though it were your own. Is there something I am missing?"

"You mean you dressed like that back home?"

"Of course n-" He cut himself off instantly, probably realising his blunder but he was much too late to correct himself now. Red eyes turned sharp, almost daring her to comment upon the slip he had just made. A pity that she wasn't all that phased by his looks, especially on the topic of fashion of which she held interest in.

"Really?" Slowly pulling her lips up into a triumphant smirk, she angled her head to the side and made a pleased sound. "So you have worn something different than a plain brown robe?" though there was something else that might have obstructed him, she internally started to grimace as she realised what it might have been. "Is…is it a matter of affordability? I know that the better looking clothes-"

"It is not a matter of finance." Goetia cut her off, sounding tired as he spoke. "It is…I do not attach the same importance to fashion that you clearly do. Though if you would educate me, why do you consider this a topic worth making a stand on? Most would have taken my first denial and never brought the topic up again and yet you persist." his eyes narrowed. "Why?"

That was a fair enough question.

Probably more than fair.

"...When you look at me around the Monastery, what do you see?"

Goetia blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Is this some manner of trick question?"

She couldn't blame him for asking that. "Just humour me, Gotie. What do you see when you look at me in the academy with the other students?"

"...A gathering of students."

Humming, she nodded her head. "When you look at the officers academy and see me, you don't see some girl who has been elevated into the academy with the other noble heirs. You see a student of the officers academy who might well be another member of a centuries old house. The point is…you don't see a commoner. When people approach me, when they speak with me, they don't see something I'm not."

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked away. "...Most people get their first impressions from the way people look. Not even caring to know anything about the beyond what they see first. If I had dressed in the academy the way I used to dress before…before going into the Mittlefrank Opera company, then most would have just looked at me and seen another silly little commoner girl who isn't all that smart."

Her eyes darted to him. "It is a cold fact that people will often judge others by how they look. Similarly when people look at you, when they see you for the first time it…it leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I think about it because I have gotten to know you." she lowered her voice a touch. "I know who you are and what you're like, I know you're a talented mage who was once a King from a faraway land but others…they would just look at your skin, your hair and the way you dress and…"

When she looked back to Goetia she saw the understanding of what she was saying, but there was also the bemusement as well. When he spoke, it was slow and almost unsure. "Are…do you mean to suggest that you are the one uncomfortable with the idea of me being profiled as some foreign vagrant by those who do not even care to know me?"

He spoke like she had just told him something surprising. She raised her brows. "Of course I am. Gotie, it is a rather ugly thing to see and much more to feel, while I am sure you have a thick skin it would still make mine crawl just thinking about one of my friends being looked at and all they see is just…" bringing her left hand up, she gestured to him up and down.

"Is that so…?" Goetia repeated the words quietly, still looking at her rather oddly before he spoke up again. "Is there…is there more to it or…?"

Was there more to it?

"I told you that people dress to express themselves." She replied, bringing her hands back and placing them together. "I do believe I should tell you about the time I got my first dress. It was for my first rehearsal at the opera and it was a rather simple thing, all black and no sleeves. Right down to my ankles as well. A little tight around the chest as well in some places but that is beside the point."

He didn't even look as though he cared for that part of the conversation.

"I had gone most of my life without ever thinking I was going to see myself inside a dress, even then I always made sure to clean myself up. Every morning and every evening as best I could. Because no matter how bad the day was, no matter what it was like, I made sure that it never showed on my face."

She could already feel herself smiling.

"When I looked in my reflection and saw myself in that dress…I didn't really care how it felt to wear. All that mattered to me was that I felt as though my inside finally matched my outside…which might be a little shallow of me to say but it was like I was finally able to show everyone what I felt every morning when I woke up. They could all see what only I had been able to."

She turned and looked him in the eyes.

"So…I don't want everyone to look at you and see nothing but an old robe and some shaggy looking sparkly hair, Gotie, because I know that's not what you're like inside. When people look at you, I want them to see you for the interesting person that you are…I want you to look in the mirror and see your reflection and go 'I like this.'."

Another beat of silence.

She frowned just a bit, she didn't know if she was putting it into the right words. "It really is just something that people do. Dress to impress and all of that but mostly I think it's because…well…it really is just a bit of fun to look in front of a mirror and see yourself in a way you've never seen yourself before. I'm a bit simple in that I like staring at myself wearing a nice dress."

Goetia remained silent for a few seconds, his eyes remained on her own with an intensity to them that she was rather surprised by. For a moment she thought he might have just dismissed her before she saw something in his eyes, it was hard to place but it looked different to her. Like he was unsure before his eyes hardened and he turned from her. "...What became of your first dress?"

Her first dress? That was what he wanted to know?

"I still have it in the academy." She replied rather quickly, tilting her head before she realised something else and frowned a bit. "Though I'd need to have another look to see if it survived the little…uhm…Demonic Beast attack."

The expression Goetia made after she revealed that - which was an admittedly small detail - was rather unexpected. His features tightened for a split second before he turned his head from her to stop her seeing whatever sort of face he was making. She leaned forward but was still unable to see his expression.

He remained silent for a moment, then turned his face back so she could see it and revealed that it had returned to his regular lack of emotion. When he spoke, it sounded slow and exasperated. "That would be unfortunate if that were the case, but I am certain there are some spells that would repair the damage."

That wasn't quite what she was expecting and it wasn't like the dress meant as much to her anymore, she really only kept it for sentimental reasons. All but certain that it wouldn't actually fit her anymore, she had grown up a fair bit since she last put it on. Not only in height but in other areas altogether.

"As for the discussion about my attire…" Goetia trailed off for a moment, red eyes turned and lingered on her for a moment, she could see something move within them before he replied. "I…suppose that it is something that could not truly harm me in any real way, that and I have accumulated a small sum of finance that I currently have no use for. Appearing more presentable to the masses - if only to cut down on the annoying comments I would receive from both ends of the spectrum - is not something I shall argue against."

That sounded like he agreed with her.

A smile started to creep onto her face, clapping her hands together as she realised that she had effectively - and finally - won an argument against Goetia. He was rather stubborn, more so than most people she had met in her life. So being a little proud of what she had achieved here felt right to her.

"That is absolutely wonderful news, Gotie." She stepped forwards and nudged him with her shoulder, containing her excitement about the prospect of it all. That and she felt as though she was actually contributing to something that really mattered. Setting it up so that Goetia and the Archbishop could get together for some forbidden romance was something she was all about. Nevermind her studies, this was much more important.

Goetia rolled his eyes at her. "I would hardly describe the news as 'wonderful' merely that you have irritated me enough with your consistent heckling about my attire. Besides…I have never selected my own clothing before this, making use of only what was available and little else." he brought his left arm up and pinched the robe between his fingers meaningfully. "Having the opportunity to do so for the first time is a…novel prospect."

Wait, he never got to select his own clothes before?

That didn't make sense to her. If he was a King, then surely he would have been able to go out and find clothes that best agreed with him in the first place. Unless there was some sort of cultural difference here, maybe there was a ceremonial robe that a King had to wear at all times or something like that. She didn't feel like asking him about it because it might stir some unfortunate memories within him. So she settled for just nodding her head up and down and let herself be content with what she was doing.

"Oh, you are going shopping for a new outfit?"

And just like that, whatever good feelings she had decided to jump off a bridge and die the second she heard the elegant voice of a certain speaker. Her features twisted into a polite mask of a smile and she stared straight ahead as the footsteps of the speaker visibly came up alongside them.

"I would say this is rather splendid news, Goetia." Ferdinand von Aeir approached from her right and fell into step with the group. "Though I hope you will forgive me for eavesdropping on the latter part of the conversation, I just happened to be passing by when I caught wind of what you were saying."

"If I wished for the conversation to be private, I would have ensured it were so." Goetia replied slowly and almost in a bored tone of voice, she kept her own comments to herself on the matter. "Though I am more bemused as to why you would even have much to say on the topic of fashion."

A chuckle from the noble. "While I am certainly not quite so adept at discussing clothing as others would be, it is still important for any noble to take care of themselves. But you are right to consult Dorothea on the subject, I believe that her experience far exceeds mine. Though…I am not quite so sure as to how skilled she would be when it comes to men's fashion-"

"Why do you say that?" She turned on the ginger within an instant, tilting her head and staring at him. He froze like a deer in the sight of a hunter, blinking rather owlishly and opening his mouth to speak, though she cut him off before he could manage it. "Perhaps you mean to infer that my talent in fashion lies only on my own person. As though - when it comes to all else - I am rather useless?"

"N-no. That was not what I was implying, just that-"

"Just that I would offer to take Goetia shopping because I - in my simple little commoner mind - thought that I would just throw some dresses on him without any consideration for what he might like to wear?" She cut him off once more, placing her hand on her forehead and making a noise of faux shock. "I had not even considered how foolish I could have been until you said it just now. Clearly I should have known better that Goetia could not wear women's clothes."

A flat look was levelled at the boy. "Thank the Goddess that you were here to inform me of this. I'm not sure where we would be without your advice."

Ferdinand just thinned his lips and glanced away from her slowly, clearly spent when it came to conversation. She watched him for a few seconds longer, then turned her eyes towards Goetia and immediately noticed he was glancing between the two of them with a raised eyebrow, then grunted and turned from them. Clearing her throat, she stepped back. "Well, we'll speak later then, Gotie."

She left before she said something unkind.


Dorothea retreated back the way she had come which left him alone with the rather puzzled looking boy, who appeared less angered that he was so blatantly insulted and more bewildered that it had actually happened in the first place. Given the dialogue from last night, it was apparent that Dorothea did not have a high opinion of Ferdinand and yet he continued to speak with her.

Meaning one of two things, he was either the type who actively enjoyed it when another would verbally degrade them in public in front of all their peers, or he was the sort who was just ignorant as to how others perceived him.

"I feel as though I should apologise for approaching you and allowing you to see that." Ferdinand spoke quietly after a moment, placing his hands behind his back and sighing with a shake of the head. "I knew she would not respond well to me being here but I thought that with you there, perhaps she would have not been quite so eager to use such language but…it would seem as though that didn't really stop her at all."

At least it confirmed that the boy wasn't a fool, nor did he seem pleased by the insults.

All the same.

"You approached her with the knowledge that she despised you, yet even if you attend the same academy, I am surprised you have taken such a series of insults without breaking face." It was something, he supposed, that was worth commenting upon. He was aware of a great many others who would not have allowed the common-born girl to even glance upon their general direction, let alone to speak to them so disrespectfully. "You are not interested in her, are you?"

"Dorothea?" Ferdinand jolted and turned to him, then made a small noise and shook his head from side to side. "I will not say that I find her uninteresting, but it is nothing romantic. Merely that I find myself a little confused as to why she hates me as much as she does. Especially to the point where she will speak to me like that so openly…she has never seemed the sort to despise someone without a reason but I cannot even consider an instance in which I have caused her offence to warrant this treatment."

Hmmm. So he was aware of her hatred and only approached her in the hopes of learning why it was that she hated him. Unwilling to let the matter lie, was he? Well, it was hardly as though he could fault the boy for pursuing the mystery. Not when he was in more or less the same position.

"And you assume that just walking up to her and getting repeatedly insulted will unlock the answer to that mystery?"

Ferdinand winced. "She has already said that if I were to guess correctly, she would confirm why she hates me…she has compared me to a bee in the past, though I am certain she does not mean in the sense that I am a diligent worker for the hive." cupping his chin, the boy hummed quietly to himself. "I'm sure there is some deeper meaning to it that I have not yet understood…thus I have endeavoured to solve it."

"...Perhaps she merely finds your constant buzz around her annoying."

The boy perked up for a moment, then frowned. "I had considered that already, yet her hatred of me began from the moment we first traded words with one another. I could see this…chill in her eyes when we first met. It was as though she had already decided she did not like me." he waved a hand. "At first I thought it was my imagination but…the barbed comments and frosty approach eventually warranted me asking her. To which she confirmed that she did hate me."

She was honest, brutally so it seemed. Perhaps Dorothea was slightly more deserving of his attention than he initially believed. Though it would seem she could do with reigning her temper just a touch, not every noble would appreciate being spoken to in such a manner. Unless she had already deduced that Ferdinand was an exception to this rule. Well, it was none of his business.

"And thus you have now dedicated yourself to understanding why." He concluded with a grunt, sparing the boy a single look and then turning away from him. "And what shall you do once you have obtained this information, for the sake of curiosity."

Ferdinand smiled at him out of the corner of his eye. "I intend to correct this behaviour to ensure that it does not happen again. It must have been something rather severe if she despises me as much as she does. I would most certainly like to avoid offending someone the same way in the future…I believe that it is perfectly natural to try and correct our faults as they appear."

"...If you say so." A thought occurred to him. "Did you come to me in the hopes that I would-"

"Goddess, no." Ferdinand shot him down before he could even finish the sentence, his irritation at that was only subdued by the nature of his denial. "I would prefer to unlock this mystery for myself. Therefore I would ask that - even if Dorothea confides it within you - that you do not tell me. It would hardly be right if I were to just have the answer given."

Slowly but surely, his eyes returned to the ginger boy and he stared long and hard into the expression they were making. "...That is, perhaps, the greatest answer you could have possibly given me. I shall offer you praise for that and that alone. Though you will be pleased to hear that Dorothea has not seen fit to tell me the reason for her dislike of you, it was not even something I took notice of until just this moment."

The boy chuckled. "I see. I was worried that it was rather obvious to everyone-"

"It most certainly is, but I suspect they do not give it much thought. The other houses are much the same." A raised eyebrow at the young man. "Unless you have not yet witnessed the verbal spars that Lysithea will engage with Von Riegan over?"

A wince. "Ah, yes. Those I know well enough…and have heard on some occasions. As I am similarly familiar with the rumours regarding some members of the Blue Lion house, but I do not put much stock in gossip until I see it for the first time."

"An understandable approach, word of mouth is hardly a reliable source of information. All have their bias." He paused for a moment, then spoke again. "In which case, I have expectations for you now and hope that you live up to them in discovering the answer of why Dorothea holds you in such a low opinion."

"I shall gratefully accept your words, Goetia." The boy bowed his head ever so slightly with a rather pleased tone in his voice. "I shall similarly wish you luck when you go on your outing with Dorothea when we arrive in Enbarr. I do hope that it proves fruitful."

He was at the very least aware that Dorothea had some problem with nobility, but she clearly made exceptions for some. Edeglard was at the very height of nobility and she considered her a friend. So, at any rate, Ferdinand had done something. It might well have related to their views they expressed during the night but he had no reason to suspect those were not commonplace within the nobility. The difference between the highborn and the lowborn. Though they were all humans to him.

Perhaps he was now mildly curious as to why there was such discourse between the two of them, though he would leave the matter be for the time being…probably for the future as well. If recent events had proven anything, there was not a lot that he understood when it came to human interactions. He was missing some of the nuances.

"...Does it trouble you that you are disliked, or that you do not know the reason for the dislike?" Ferdinand blinked at his sudden question, prompting the elaboration. "Suppose that it is an issue that you cannot repair, a flaw that cannot be fixed, what will you do if you have to bear her scorn for the rest of your life?"

A hum from the young man. "An interesting conundrum, I admit. One that I have not given too much thought to until now…but perhaps it is possible that Dorothea will never like me. All the same, I would still prefer to know the reason as to why. If only for the peace of mind that it would bring. It would be better to know why you are disliked, than to be hated without ever knowing the reason."

How long had it been since he could empathise completely with a human over such a trivial little issue? There had been a time where this thought would have brought him only misery. But to completely understand why Ferdinand was doing what he was doing, to know that a part of his mentality was indeed human.

…How liberating that he was making progress, if only a little.

"As you were then." He turned away from Ferdinand-

He stilled at the muffled noise that reached his ears, sensitive enough that he knew Ferdinand would be unable to listen in on it. Though it was now like a dull ringing. The muffled cries from his inner robe pocket. He spared a glance towards the young man before he withheld a sigh and reached towards it, pulling open his robe and parting the entrance of the pocket to stare within.

Beak open and fumbling around in the near dark, the little bird reacted immediately to the light and intensified its pathetic cries for attention. Pathetic in the sense that its vocal cords were downright pitiful, likely on account of being only a couple of days old at most. It had been fed less than an hour ago and now it was demanding yet more food?

It was fortunate he had seen fit to grind additional worms into paste just to prepare for the future stages of the development.

With a twist of his finger, he materialised a small portion of the worm paste and lowered it towards the chick, as though it had not touched food in years it ravenously gorged itself on the feed and chugged it down until it disappeared, with a faint grunt he looked it over for a couple more times and then closed his pocket up once more, bringing his eyes up and finding himself staring at the bewildered face of Ferdinand.

"...Goetia, I believe I might be mistaken but…I could have sworn I heard chirping coming from-"

"We walk in the countryside." He flatly pointed out. "There are likely hundreds of birds surrounding us at this very second. It could have come from any direction." With that said, he gently closed his robe once more and swiftly turned his eyes from the young man.

"A-ah, yes…how…how silly of me to assume you would keep a bird in your clothes." Ferdinand replied, rapidly nodding his head up and down while giving him a somewhat bewildered stare.