I appreciate the show in trust in me, even if I do feel that being in a whole new world that forces humanity on everyone and that isn't affected by any politics or actions we might have been part of back home means that a lot of the details we consider most significant about ourselves have surprisingly little meaning here. You're not the only non-human here by a long shot, which definitely waters down what alarm that idea could inspire in those who are human. You're also not the only one with an ethically questionable background, but unless that carries over into this place, how much practical concern is it for people here?
I'm not trying to undercut the importance of what you've said, mind, even though I suppose in a way that's how it sounds. Rather, I'm trying to say that maybe you don't need to be as worried about sharing these things with people as you are. In a place like this, the threshold for what people are willing to accept, what people have no particular reason to condemn or fear, is a lot higher than it probably is in any of our worlds of origin. The spectrum of people and experiences here is just so vast.
Anyway, I just had the thought if you could let go of some of the anxiety tied up with the secrets you're keeping, perhaps you'd be less worried about being your real self with others. I don't know if I've communicated that very well, though.
But on a personal level, you don't have anything to worry about entrusting me with this information. I'm a pretty secretive guy myself, and I don't let any secrets slip easily - mine or other people's. I've got no reason to condemn you, either. I've used some fairly underhanded tactics of my own on occasion...and while I've never gone so far as to employ assassins, I still have enough political savvy to know that there can be grim necessities. And for all that I'll always prefer diplomacy, I may not even have the luxury of avoiding that sort of thing in the future.
I forget how much I've mentioned to you, but I used to be the duke - and de facto leader of the ruling council - of a country called the Leicester Alliance. I stepped down from that title after reunifying that country with Dimitri's own country. What I definitely haven't mentioned before was that, due to some complicated international tangling of bloodlines, I had to give up being duke of my mother's country so I could return home and become the king of my father's country. (Of course, both countries hate each other. And me, for having a foot in both worlds. Life's never easy, right?)
So, as a king myself, am I supposed to judge you? When I might have to ask someone just like you to get his hands dirty for me someday? If anything, I can only hope I can find someone who's as devoted to serving the greater good by finding the lesser evil as you.
That said...I'm curious that you say assassin and executioner. Do you mean to say you handle deaths both judicial and, shall we say, extrajudicial? I wouldn't expect those roles to both be played by the same person.
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I'm not trying to undercut the importance of what you've said, mind, even though I suppose in a way that's how it sounds. Rather, I'm trying to say that maybe you don't need to be as worried about sharing these things with people as you are. In a place like this, the threshold for what people are willing to accept, what people have no particular reason to condemn or fear, is a lot higher than it probably is in any of our worlds of origin. The spectrum of people and experiences here is just so vast.
Anyway, I just had the thought if you could let go of some of the anxiety tied up with the secrets you're keeping, perhaps you'd be less worried about being your real self with others. I don't know if I've communicated that very well, though.
But on a personal level, you don't have anything to worry about entrusting me with this information. I'm a pretty secretive guy myself, and I don't let any secrets slip easily - mine or other people's. I've got no reason to condemn you, either. I've used some fairly underhanded tactics of my own on occasion...and while I've never gone so far as to employ assassins, I still have enough political savvy to know that there can be grim necessities. And for all that I'll always prefer diplomacy, I may not even have the luxury of avoiding that sort of thing in the future.
I forget how much I've mentioned to you, but I used to be the duke - and de facto leader of the ruling council - of a country called the Leicester Alliance. I stepped down from that title after reunifying that country with Dimitri's own country. What I definitely haven't mentioned before was that, due to some complicated international tangling of bloodlines, I had to give up being duke of my mother's country so I could return home and become the king of my father's country. (Of course, both countries hate each other. And me, for having a foot in both worlds. Life's never easy, right?)
So, as a king myself, am I supposed to judge you? When I might have to ask someone just like you to get his hands dirty for me someday? If anything, I can only hope I can find someone who's as devoted to serving the greater good by finding the lesser evil as you.
That said...I'm curious that you say assassin and executioner. Do you mean to say you handle deaths both judicial and, shall we say, extrajudicial? I wouldn't expect those roles to both be played by the same person.