Constance & Jeritza B

Jeritza
Hey.

Constance
Ahaha! Did you send for me, Emile?

Jeritza
Stop gossiping about me.

Constance
Gossiping? About you? You wound me, Emile. So what if your name falls from my lips now and then?

Jeritza
If you speak of my past, there will be consequences.

Constance
I am aware. I have been silent regarding you secretly being of House Bartels.

Constance
No, when I speak of you, I bandy gentler truths, such as your fondness for kittens and ice cream.

Constance
All the silly little details that make you seem human.

Jeritza
Those details are nobody's business but mine.

Constance
Oh, Emile. Do you have any notion what the rank and file say about you?

Jeritza
No.

Constance
They use words like "unapproachable," "menacing," and "inscrutable."

Constance
Regardless of your skill with a blade, fighting a war as if it were a long series of duels will end in death.

Constance
And that is why I do what I can to ingratiate you with the soldiers you lead! No thanks necessary.

Jeritza
I see you are still...unhappy with me.

Constance
Ahaha! Whatever do you mean?

Jeritza
The battlefield is solitary, in the end. I've no interest in camaraderie with soldiers.

Constance
Are you implying that, in combat, you are an utterly matchless warrior?

Constance
That you can vanquish any foe singlehandedly? That you need no cohort supporting you?

Constance
How perfectly presumptuous! Even I can admit my reliance upon others.

Jeritza
...

Constance
While you fight, who stands beside you to gauge the tide of battle?

Constance
Who eliminates the archers aiming for you? Who heals whatever injuries you might sustain?

Constance
These are questions you should be asking yourself, Emile. I ask them for you because we are old friends.

Jeritza
Always quick to cut to the heart of the matter.

Constance
Just as you are ever an ache in my side.

Jeritza
Whatever.

Jeritza
But...there is a truth in your words.

Jeritza
However, it is not up for discussion. Stop gossiping about me.

Constance
I shall...consider it.