Aubrelle stopped mid-sentence.
The words simply… wouldn't come.
The wind brushed past the railing of the flying vessel, cool and steady, carrying the scent of open skies and distant sea. For a moment, she remained still, fingers resting lightly on her cane, Pipin hovering close as if sensing the hesitation before it fully formed.
"…I skipped some parts," she said at last.
Her voice was calm. Controlled. But there was effort in it, like water flowing around a stone rather than over it.
Trafalgar didn't react. Didn't prompt her. He just waited.
"I softened others," Aubrelle continued. "Changed how they sounded. How they felt." She tilted her head slightly, eyes hidden behind the white bandage, as if looking inward instead of ahead. "And some things… I didn't say at all."
She exhaled slowly.
"It's not because I don't remember them," she added. "Pipin saw everything. Every moment. Every turn of the battle." Her fingers curled faintly. "So I know it all. Perfectly."
