[ She turns back then with a hard bent to her eye, all traces of doubt gone from her face. ]

No, Tristan. You shame me with your self-blame. You cannot misguide me any more than a sheep can misguide its shepherd. In the same vein, a king's subjects cannot make excuses for him. If I who championed Rhongomyniad walked a stray path, it was not because you failed to stop me. It was because I lacked the strength and clarity to uphold my oaths, as must have been the case if Chaldea saw fit to intervene.

[ Still, she doesn't know enough. She closes her eyes and calms herself before regarding Tristan again with more of her usual even tone. ]

But come. Tell me more of what I thought a king must do.