[Claude is quiet for a moment, gathering the jumble of his thoughts. He was known as a man who had a silver tongue, who could charm a crowd of hungry nobles into a allies of a rebellion...but this wasn't a place for charm. Byleth needed comfort, not empty appeasements.]

Perhaps your actions had a hand in it, but I don't believe that you could've changed things even if you were aware of the consequences. [Both of his hands move to grip Byleth's elbows, leaning down to try to catch his eyes--to make sure he knew the sincerity of his words.] I'm not a religious man, as you know--but I do believe that sometimes there are things that are...outside of our control. Fated, perhaps.

[There's a small smile on his lips, even if Byleth can't see it.] I believe that we were fated to meet--that we were fated to reconnect even after you vanished for five years. These...timelines seem like it was just the nature of things. Perhaps predetermined at the moment Rhea did something to your heart to make it stop beating.

[He gives the arms in his hands a gentle squeeze.] You can't punish yourself for something that was set in motion before you were born.