Constance & Ferdinand A

Constance
Ahaha! You there!

Ferdinand
Ah! Is there something I can do for you, Constance?

Constance
Is there something you can do?! Of course there is!

Ferdinand
Well, what is it?

Constance
It ought to be plain.

Ferdinand
I...do not follow. Please clarify what you mean.

Constance
Have you forgotten the day I revealed to you my silly little dream?

Constance
If you weren't paying attention, I shall be cross.

Ferdinand
Oh, yes... You must be referring to the oblique request you made concerning peaks and valleys.

Ferdinand
Not seeing a peak ahead of you, you hoped I might help lift you out of your lowly sta—

Constance
Precisely! You've summed it up completely.

Constance
Now that you know of what I speak, I want you to forget it immediately. Act as if you heard nothing.

Ferdinand
You want me to forget the occasion you just asked me to remember. I see.

Ferdinand
Before I discard this memory entirely, might I be so bold as to ask...why?

Constance
Is it not obvious? I don't want my weakness bandied about.

Constance
I vowed to restore House Nuvelle through my own grand achievement.

Constance
Just as I would not abandon this dream, I would not accept it being handed to me.

Constance
Though if I am to be quite honest...

Constance
The real reason is that letting you in on this vulnerability was an indiscretion I won't repeat.

Ferdinand
I see. What a curious situation.

Constance
I don't take your meaning.

Ferdinand
To borrow your words...I was in a valley and a thick shroud of fog obscured the peak before me.

Ferdinand
Now the cloud has lifted a bit, and I can see a glimpse of what lies ahead.

Constance
And what, dare I ask, do you see?

Ferdinand
There is a towering cliff for you to scale...and a long, rocky path lying ahead of me.

Ferdinand
Rather than ascending separately, we can join hands and face these obstacles together.

Ferdinand
Then we can reach the heights of our forebears— or, dare I say, even higher.

Constance
Even higher, you say?

Constance
Now you remind me once more of the boy I knew. I have but one concern.

Ferdinand
And what might that be?

Constance
That I shall outpace your laggardly efforts.

Ferdinand
Huh? I was being sincere, you know!

Constance
Ahahaha!