barrierabovethecrowd | 名前を呼んで

A betrayal...that it very much was.

[The expression on Dimitri's face turns grim, even visible by the torchlight.]

I learned very recently that several nobles of the kingdom were involved in the conspiracy to assassinate my father. They chose to stab the man they swore oaths of loyalty to in the back, all because he sought to give the commoners more power in our land. Furthermore, it was they who spread the rumors to rile the people.

[Dimitri doesn't like lust for power, but he can at least respect it when the person is overt about it. When they connive and sneak through the shadows, and then preach hypocrisy when it comes to their motives, he absolutely hates it.]

And to think, they felt they had the ground upon which to speak of upholding fairness and justice. Their "justice" was built on a foundation of corpses.

[The mere mention of a betrayal of oath gets her to glare. Her tone remains even, and yet--]

...am I to believe these same nobles stand as officials?

Hm?

[He hadn't been expecting such a question. Dimitri had figured that calling them nobles would be enough, but he fails to realize that Scáthach is literally older than feudalism.]

I...suppose you could say that, yes. These are people who serve as vassals under a lord to govern the land upon which they live. The chief difference is that their titles are passed down through hereditary lines, rather than appointment.

[For whatever it's worth, she doesn't seem to bring much attention to it. Her mind remains centered on the backstabbing ruling class.

She huffs, almost derisively, as she processes this information.]

...if what you say of these traitorous bog-crawlers is true, then they should have lost any claim to such lofty positions the moment they drew weapons on your father. [It was a safe assumption that Dimitri's father was the ruling king at the time of this incident, given his title. By that turn...

...The anger she'd hidden behind her gaze flares for a moment.] I may not know of him, of his character, or of his merit as ruler -- but I know this. Your 'nobles' and their willingness to sow discontent, to drag the people they seek to rule over to their knees, to betray the sovereign that leads them... they deserve scorn. Such behavior is tantamount to betraying a geas placed upon one to repay a debt, or taken to serve others unflinchingly.

[Dimitri nods as he listens. He takes a deep breath before responding. There were things she said he didn't understand -- like a geas, for one -- but he doesn't need to know immediately.]

I agree...and not just because the man they conspired to murder was my father. There has been more to their treachery since then, and they must be judged for their crimes. I must show the people that nobody is above the law, regardless of their station. Even if doing so means I must wield the executioner's blade myself.

The days of nobility doing as they please with impunity in Fódlan are over.

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