@TheHedgeKnight
Ah, there you are. Still haunting my father’s good graces like a persistent stray. He will tire of it eventually, though I suspect you may hasten the matter with your usual lack of brains. I do wonder what will become of you when it does. Whether you will find kinder hands, or whether you will be unfortunate enough to fall into mine.
It must be exhausting for you, Ser Duncan, trying to mimic the grace of a true knight. My father Baelor values your loyalty, but i simply find your lack of refinement... distracting. Do not think for a moment that your white cloak has blinded me for the past, years may have passed since Ashford, but i have long memory for the chaos you invited. Nearly burned my family's peace to the ground, i must say.
A noble sentiment, Ser Duncan, though one that reeks of the hedge. You forget that the highest duty of a knight is to the stability of the realm, one you nearly shattered for the sake of one person. My father, in his infinite grace, saw a spark in you, that is much clear. You are a shield now, Ser. A shield does not explain itself, nor does it moralize, it simply stands between the threat and the Blood of the Dragon. Perform that duty with the silence it requires, and perhaps, in time, you will learn that being a protector of the realm means learning to set yourself aside. True leadership is not found in the satisfaction of one's conscience, but in the difficult silence of doing what is necessary for many, even when it feels like a betrayal of the one. It would do you well to learn that in the court, our individual hearts are the first thing we must sacrifice.
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