[byleth glances up, seeing nothing but warmth and kindness, and relaxes in the other's hold. some may think claude says nothing but what the listener wants to hear, but byleth knows better. he knows that's just the persona claude exudes, a tactic that he uses to various degrees to keep others guessing and fog his words.

but byleth knows better.]

Thank you... I don't regret doing whatever it took to save each and every one of you. [a lil smile.] I only wish I could have stopped the entire war, to stop the needless deaths of so many innocent people.

[byleth has a lot of quiet guilt]