[color=goldenrod][i][h2][center]Gerard Segremors[/center][/h2][/i][/color]
[center][@VitaVitaAR][/center]

Gerard could only smile as the formerly abrasive young woman began to start off. It seemed his instincts hadn't failed him— Violette [i]wasn't[/i] so bullheaded as to never admit fault. Forget being nobility— simply as a girl, as practically still a child, this was testament to her true character. Despite the lost face, despite it being evidently against her nature, despite the vulnerability of guilt, she had gathered the courage to set this right.

[color=goldenrod]"Good luck."[/color]

He watched her go with pride, before Angenese's only half-joking question drew a soft, yet hearty chuckle from his lungs as he returned his gaze to the two that remained. Their eyes were wide as saucers... they really were young, weren't they?

[color=goldenrod]"That [i]would[/i] be something, wouldn't it?"[/color] he mused, through the stubborn remnants of a snicker. [color=goldenrod]"But no, I couldn't be further from either. I've never had schooling or talent for magecraft, and I'm actually more a Reonite."
[/color]

For a moment, he remembered a young woman, just a few years their senior, taking hold of the spear he had given her.

[color=goldenrod]"Nah, I'm just a swordsman. Before I was a knight, I was a mercenary, and before that, a simple farmboy. I'd have been torn apart if I couldn't handle bluntness. Though I must admit, you three [i]did[/i] somewhat overwhelm me at first."[/color] he inclined his head to Angenese, acknowledging her fears. [color=goldenrod]"I was worried I'd make a fool of myself, or slight you unwittingly. I can be too blunt in my own right, too harsh. If I was, I'm sorry as well."[/color]

He had always considered nobility to look less rustic by simple nature than those of rural background, and when they'd approached him with such refined mannerisms and autonomy, he'd honestly misjudged their youth. Younger than him? Without question. Younger than Sir Jarde? Maybe. Their Captain certainly looked quite young in her own right even when one knew her age, especially compared to the Princess— Perhaps they could have been similarly youthful in countenance, and perhaps their stress-free lives had simply compounded it. Such was his hasty conclusion.

But now, as he spoke [i]honestly[/i] with them rather than fearful of tripping over his own feet, he saw his error plain as day. This felt almost... mentorly. Less like he was speaking to social superiors, less like peers, and more like brotherhood. Like he needed to guide. It had certainly sprung forth in his lecture to Violette.

[color=goldenrod]"But hey, chin up."[/color] he followed the chord of emotion after a moment, patting the girl on the shoulder with a palm clad in polished metal. [color=goldenrod]"If she needed to hear my words to learn to apologize as you say, then [i]I[/i] needed to experience all [i]this[/i], too. It's my first Royal Ball, you know? I've never had to deal with anything like it before. But sure as the Sun rises, there's going to be more to come now that I'm in the Order."[/color]

He retracted his hand, bringing it back to tap at his skull with a finger with wry edge to his grin.

[color=goldenrod]"You [i]could[/i] say you're helping me learn how to be a real knight. We're all growing, bit by bit. Sometimes it's awkward or painful. Sharpening a sword grinds away at the steel, but in the end it cuts a little better than before. So long as you can say the same, and move forward remembering what you learned from this, then it's all the atonement I'll need."[/color]