[Aether very gently starts working on cleaning the wound, pressing the wet cloth to the injured skin in order to remove the pooling blood. When Childe asks him the question, the only reaction he gets is the way the prince's eyes narrow, but he says nothing at first.
Eventually, he sighs.]
I can't do that and it doesn't matter how I feel about it.
[Because Childe is right. Aether doesn't want to marry a girl he's never seen in his life. But royalty doesn't have the luxury of choosing their life partners. They marry whoever is the best for the country's political alliance and it's the fate that awaits Aether and, eventually, his sister as well.
There are times when the prince wishes to just run away from the palace, travel the world and never come back. Then he thinks about his family, about his dear sister and about... his knight. He has too many people he cares deeply about, he can't leave them for some selfish reason.
When Aether begins to bandage Childe's wound, his eyes are distant, sad, but also fond. There's too much keeping him here.]
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Eventually, he sighs.]
I can't do that and it doesn't matter how I feel about it.
[Because Childe is right. Aether doesn't want to marry a girl he's never seen in his life. But royalty doesn't have the luxury of choosing their life partners. They marry whoever is the best for the country's political alliance and it's the fate that awaits Aether and, eventually, his sister as well.
There are times when the prince wishes to just run away from the palace, travel the world and never come back. Then he thinks about his family, about his dear sister and about... his knight. He has too many people he cares deeply about, he can't leave them for some selfish reason.
When Aether begins to bandage Childe's wound, his eyes are distant, sad, but also fond. There's too much keeping him here.]