[ byleth stops, turning to face him. she doesn't owe him an explanation, she thinks, but the man is leaping to conclusions in a way that she doesn't care for at all. the depth of her certainty, the thing she clings to above all, is far too personal to even allow claude a hint of.

but she can tell him this much. ]

The Claude I know told me himself that he'd had the same ambition as Edelgard. I don't know if that's true for you, but don't presume to lecture me for the things I've done. I've seen my friends die senselessly more times than I can count, undone timelines gone awry, then stood as the only one who remembered, all to ensure that the flow of time went as it should. To carve out a future worth seeing. Have you ever actually asked your Professor what Sothis's power allows him to do? [ it all comes out colder than she'd like. ]

How do you think you've won your battles so cleanly, Claude? [ a shot in the dark, but if his professor used the divine pulse in a way anything like she had... ]