Evening talk

Morgan: Thank you for allowing me inside your bedroom, Edmond. Edmond: I didn't invite you. Morgan: Nevertheless, you allowed me in. Edmond: Lately, it seems my room has become the preferred meeting place for Servants who want to talk to me. Morgan: Should I call you father-in-law? Edmond: No. Morgan: How emphatic. Edmond: Very. Edmond: Sigh. What exactly do you want? Morgan: I was wondering if you might tell me something about yourself. Edmond: I hope this isn't about your self-proclaimed marriage to Ritsuka. Morgan: How unfortunate. I had several things to say about it. Edmond: I am certain you did. Morgan: Then let us speak of vengeance instead. I heard that you once stopped your vengeance when a child died. Edmond: Sighs heavily. I didn't stop. Not precisely. Morgan: Explain. Edmond: I simply decided that I didn't want more innocents to suffer from the fallout of my retribution. Morgan: You knew innocents could suffer? Edmond: Of course. What I couldn't predict was that a woman's psychosis would become severe enough for her to kill her own child. Morgan: And you tried to save the child. Edmond: I tried to resuscitate them. Morgan: And failed. Edmond: I was too late. Morgan: You still carry that with you. Edmond: Responsibility and guilt are not quite the same thing. Edmond: After a brief pause. Besides, that particular part is entirely Dumas's retelling, not my own actions. Morgan: You mean the story was embellished. Edmond: Among other things. The only thing I told him was that I tried to resuscitate the child, but was too late. Morgan: And despite that, you continued your vengeance. Edmond: Yes. But I learned where to draw the line. Morgan: Interesting. Morgan: Then tell me, Edmond. What do you think of my vengeance? Edmond: Chuckles. Yours? Morgan: Yes. Edmond: I understand why you did it. Morgan: Do you? Edmond: You tried to save Faerie Britain. Again and again, you tried to correct its course. And every time, the fairies thwarted you, betrayed you, and ultimately accused you of being the cause of everything that had gone wrong. Morgan: ... Edmond: You were not merely taking revenge on people who wronged you. You were punishing a kingdom that had repeatedly refused to change. Morgan: Then perhaps you understand me after all. Edmond: I understand you. Edmond: I simply think your punishment was a joke of vengeance. Morgan: A joke? Edmond: Punishing someone with stasis is not avenging them. Morgan: They suffered. Edmond: And then they continued exactly as they always had. Morgan: ... Edmond: That is the problem. You would not allow them to die, but neither would you allow them to live and face the consequences of what they had done. Morgan: They deserved to suffer. Edmond: Yes. Morgan: Then what is wrong with what I did? Edmond: You denied them the punishment they actually deserved. Morgan: Explain yourself. Edmond: You froze them in place. Again and again, they were given no opportunity to change, no opportunity to repent, and no opportunity to receive the consequences of their actions. Edmond: Instead, you condemned them to repeat the same sins over and over again without ever truly paying for them. Morgan: ... Edmond: That isn't justice. Morgan: You would call your vengeance justice? Edmond: No. Edmond: I would call it vengeance. Morgan: And what is the difference? Edmond: Vengeance accepts that something has been broken beyond repair. Edmond: But if you intend to punish someone, you must be willing to let the punishment end. Morgan: You make it sound simple. Edmond: It isn't. Edmond: That's why I stopped when I realized my vengeance was beginning to consume people who had nothing to do with it. Morgan: And I could not stop. Edmond: No. Edmond: You couldn't allow them to end either. Morgan: ... Edmond: And so, in trying to punish their treachery, you committed another treachery of your own. Morgan: You really are insufferable. Edmond: I've been called worse. Morgan: Perhaps that is why Ritsuka tolerates you. Edmond: Don't change the subject. Morgan: Smirks. I thought you didn't want to discuss my marriage. Edmond: I don't. Morgan: Father-in-law. Edmond: No. Morgan: Worth trying. Edmond: Apparently, my room attracts more than just unwanted conversations.