Dorothea & Hanneman C / houses.fedatamine.com

Hanneman enters the scene

Hanneman

Ahhh. Time to relax.

Dorothea enters the scene

Dorothea

Professor Hanneman? Do you have a moment to talk?

Hanneman

Of course, of course, Miss Dorothea. Whatever is on your mind?

Dorothea

I heard you were once a member of the nobility, and you surrendered your title to come here.

Hanneman

Indeed, I was a noble once. Why are you so curious about that?

Dorothea

Ah, I knew there was something noble about your speech and your perfect manners.

Dorothea

You're always impeccably dressed, too, and you have a certain pride about you.

Dorothea

What interests me is that you threw it all away. Why?

Hanneman

I threw nothing away, child. In fact, by stepping away from its trappings, in my heart, I feel closer than ever to the true meaning of nobility.

Dorothea

How so?

Hanneman

Consider this. At its inception, the concept of nobility assumed that the greatest among the populace would rise to power.

Hanneman

In my mind, I believe that means those who value knowledge, those who strive for more, and wish to protect and guide their fellow man.

Hanneman

However, in practice, nobility often serves to keep those deemed commoners down, segregated from those who, by chance, were born to a noble family.

Hanneman

That is one of the reasons I decided to leave that nonsense behind, and dedicate myself to the study of Crests.

Hanneman

Though I have abandoned my position, in my mind, it was to pursue what I consider to be a truly noble pursuit... That of knowledge.

Dorothea

I see. Well, you're definitely a noble in that sense of the word.

Dorothea

To pursue such admirable ideas without regard for your social position... How wonderful.

Hanneman

Pardon?

Dorothea

Oh, it's nothing! I was just very moved by your words.

Hanneman

Ah! Well, I'm quite pleased to hear you say so.