[ At her flinch, he halts the movement but allows his grip to remain, keeping hold of her hand. A tether between them as they stumble their way forward through this conversation. He wants to do a great deal more, to give in to the freedom of exploration and feel each and every part she's revealed to him. From the softness of her skin to the lines of scar tissue between.

And yet, he cannot. Not until or unless the time comes when she will allow it. ]

I fear certainty may be too much to ask for when dealing with territory as uncharted as this.

[ Would having greater experience in these matters make this easier? He'd wager not. No one else is Edelgard, after all. For better or for worse, she's always had a tendency to make his life infinitely more complex. ]

But I can say, with utter assurance, that my feelings towards you haven't changed. Not in these last few minutes, nor in the years since we first met.

[ They're grown, yes. Become less... innocent, in a multitude of ways, since the days when simply holding each other would have been scandalous, but the spirit of that connection remains. Has shattered and been reforged strong enough to give him the confidence to believe they can continue to overcome uncertainty and fear. ]