[If there is ever the possibility of Leslie seeing the tension in Hubert’s body when he chooses to hold in his feelings, it wouldn’t be through teary eyes. Especially not when he tries to keep it confined to where she can’t see behind his back.]

[Even her understanding that he must be suffering has been pushed aside by her own grief. She will remember it later, but she has briefly forgotten the consideration she attempted to show him before she read the letter. Though she’s spent most of her life not knowing any adults worth relying on, she’s learned over almost a full year the child’s privilege of turning to an adult who seems emotionally invincible for comfort.]

That’s right. The people around Lady Edelgard — everything I’ve heard and seen proves that she’s surrounded by reliable companions.

[In an unknowing mirroring of Hubert’s own hands, she clasps her hands together tightly, though her own are in front of herself. She lowers her gaze a little.]

I’m happy for her. That she got to return.

[Despite the words she chooses, she sounds miserable.]