It is comforting because it means that many, perhaps most, of those who are leaders hide things. Which means that it is not a weakness unique to Edelgard and not something I should hold against her in comparison with her alternatives.

[If Rhea, Claude, and Edelgard are all hiding things - and it was common throughout history - then it is not a sign that Linhardt had made the wrong decision. Of all of the Black Eagles, Linhardt had had the most freedom to leave or object. It had put him in a very awkward situation when the Professor had disappeared.

Linhardt decides not to think about that anymore. It is uncomfortable.]

Lady Rhea outright telling everybody she was Seiros was helpful. I had known something wasn't right, but the details had eluded me. And the actions were very hard to detect: Verifying Edelgard's claims gave me a headache-

[Linhardt isn't the sort of person who would accept 'trust me and my shadowy associates', especially with his father sending him messages that amounted to 'Given recent events, is the stability of the Emperor a Concern?' That happens when you declare war without telling the people responsible for the logistics.]

- and I have arguably better access than anyone to records the Church couldn't tamper with.

You should know. Both the Church and Arundel's people will still be present in Fodlan even if Edelgard is gone and the rest of us are dead. You should have the information you need in order to make good choices. And to protect yourselves. It is also relevant in that all of Leicester's historical records may be compromised as the nation was established after the Church and the Others - [Linhardt is not using Hubert's stupid name that he must have come up with when he was twelve-] - had time to get their hands in everything.

[Linhardt sees no reason not to share this information with Hilda. He is not invested in Adrestia winning the war - he is invested in solving the problems that are holding Fodlan back and preventing Linhardt from having many peers. If Leicester accomplishes that, all the better.

There is no connection in Linhardt's mind to Claude - he just assumes Claude doesn't know. Claude spent time in Abyss and might know some things, but there is too much that can only be ferreted out with access to a lot of historical records.]

I don't know; I don't know what he eats. I always avoided his group in the dining hall: They yelled too much. Mostly Ingrid.

[If she wanted to lecture Sylvain about his night time activities, surely she could have done it somewhere that other people weren't using. It had been very rude. Far ruder than Sylvain's actual actions which as far as the gossip Linhardt had heard were limited to him being overly casual with his bedmates. (He admits to some sympathy - why is the person who isn't making a big deal out of things seen to be the one causing the problem?)

Linhardt reads quickly; Hilda has barely sent the message before a response pops up:]

Why must life insist on making talking to people a requirement for learning basic information? I appreciate the advice. Does 'our friend' mean you and Claude? Or all of you from Fodlan? Or some subset of the Summoned?

Of course they wouldn't admit it. Not unless it was part of hiding something else they were doing. I will assume I am being tracked at all times, though I also hope that I will escape anyone's notice. From what little I have seen, they are very political. The apprentice started trying to tell me about who is in power. As though that is of any interest. But it may mean they focus their attention on the loudest and most charming Summoned.

Hopefully.

I would stay in my room but they're shared. I will need to find somewhere to be. Hm.

What would Bernadetta do?

[He doesn't actually intend on sending the last sentence.]