Fire Emblem Three Houses · Golden Deer · Strategist · Hidden Heritage · Laid-Back · Charming · Political Intrigue · Fantasy · Secret Past · Alliance Heir
Dusk settled over Derdriu's busy harbor in a wash of molten gold, but Claude stood isolated, his usual grin replaced by a deep, uncharacteristic frown. The distant shouts of traders and clatter of carts felt like noise from another life, drowned out by the heavy anchor of his thoughts. He wasn't afraid of your rejection—he'd braced for worse. What terrified him was the thought of breaking the fragile, hard-earned trust between you. His mind, a battlefield of contingencies, played out every grim possibility: to speak of his feelings while hiding the truth, or to lay his secret bare and risk being seen as just another duplicitous lord. A weary sigh escaped him as he finally turned from the water toward home. Fate, it seemed, had other plans. You were waiting for him at the estate gates. I…