Claude/Marianne Support

	C Rank

Claude: ...
Marianne: Um...
Claude: Hmm...
Marianne: Um, Claude?
Claude: Hm? Oh, Marianne! Have the gods taken pity on my lost soul and revealed a sign to me?
Claude: ...
Claude: I've been researching the 10 Elites of Fódlan, but I can't tell fact from fiction...
Claude: Anyhow, what can I help you with?
Marianne: Well, um... I found this pendant, and I think it's yours.
Claude: Ah, right you are. Honestly, I'd resigned myself to never seeing it again.
Claude: It's a keepsake from my uncle, who's passed on. If I'd truly lost it, my grandfather would have had my head.
Claude: Thanks for returning it to me, Marianne. You saved my tail.
Marianne: Please, it was nothing. I should be—
Claude: No, I think that's enough researching for today. Why don't you join me for a nice chat?
Marianne: I just came to deliver the pendant.
Claude: Sounds awfully lonely to only talk to those whom you have business with. Do you really dislike talking to people that much?
Marianne: It's just...I never know what to say. I'm sorry.
Claude: No need to apologize. We'll figure it out as we go. Tell me, are you like this with your father too?
Claude: Within the Alliance, Margrave Edmund is prone to debate. With a father like that, I would have thought...
Marianne: Margrave Edmund is my adoptive father.
Claude: Oh, is he? I didn't know. Where were you born?
Marianne: That is none of your concern.
Marianne: I, um, I really must be going.
Claude: She's hiding something, that much is clear.
Claude: But that just makes me all the more desperate to know her secrets!

	B Rank

Claude: Marianne... Please accept my apologies for my behavior yesterday.
Marianne: I'm not sure what you mean.
Claude: Asking you about your family like that was pretty insensitive of me. No matter how curious I am, that's no way to treat someone. I'm sorry.
Marianne: Oh, no. You weren't being insensitive, I just didn't want to talk about it.
Marianne: I don't spend much time talking about myself. Not to people, anyway.
Claude: If not people...then with who? Unpeople? Nonpeople?
Marianne: Well, yes. I'm much more comfortable talking to anyone who isn't a person.
Claude: I was actually joking, but...now I'm mystified. Who is it you like to talk to?
Marianne: Dorte the horse.
Claude: Ah, of course! Good ol' Dorte. And does he understand what you tell him?
Marianne: We understand each other. He tells me when he's sleepy, or when his stomach hurts, or if his nose itches.
Claude: Sounds like a complainer, that Dorte. But let's table this fascinating discussion for just a moment.
Claude: Now that we've gotten in some small talk, I'd like to know what you're hiding. You are hiding something, right? Your lineage, perhaps?
Marianne: N-no...
Claude: If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If it's all just idle gossip, that's fine too.
Claude: But if it's something silly like, "my ancestors were cursed, therefore I'm cursed," you should know that I won't accept that nonsense.
Claude: That sort of thinking is stupid, and that's all there is to it.
Claude: Say your ancestors were thieves. Does that make you a thief, even if you've never stolen a thing? Of course not.
Marianne: But people have burdens to bear from the moment they're born.
Marianne: My burdens are so big that I...I'm sorry. I can't discuss this anymore.
Claude: People certainly are born with burdens... She's right about that.
Claude: But, Marianne... Don't you know that you can choose not to carry them?

	A Rank

Marianne: Aw, do you have an itch back there? I guess you can't scratch it on your own, can you?
Claude: Hi, Marianne!
Marianne: Ah! Oh, Claude. It's just you.
Claude: Sorry, I know you're in the middle of an important discussion with Dorte, but could I talk to you?
Marianne: About what?
Claude: It's about this thing you think you're burdened with. I've tried to guess what it is.
Marianne: Please don't... This is making me a little uncomfortable.
Claude: There's no reason to feel uncomfortable. It's not like I plan on saying it aloud.
Claude: But if my guess is correct, there's something I want to tell you.
Claude: Will you hear me out?
Marianne: Fine. I will listen.
Claude: Once upon a time, in a faraway place...
Marianne: What the—are you telling me a story?
Claude: Just listen. Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there was a young boy.
Claude: This boy came from a despised lineage. In short, his mother was a daughter of the enemy.
Claude: So the young boy was treated horribly by everyone around him.
Claude: He hadn't done anything wrong. Everyone hated him simply for existing.
Claude: Yelling, fighting back, explaining himself... Nothing he did could change his situation.
Claude: When he was finally old enough, he ran far away from home. He escaped.
Marianne: It sounds to me like he had no choice. I would have done the same, had it been me...
Claude: Thing is, after he ran away, he still found himself in the very same position. People in the outside world hated him for where he came from.
Marianne: Well, now that's—
Claude: The boy thought he had no place to go. All he could do was destroy the boundary between the inside and the outside worlds.
Marianne: Destroy the boundaries?
Claude: Right. If there was no outside and inside, just one side to share, then the people outside wouldn't have a reason to hate him anymore, right?
Claude: It wouldn't be easy, but if he managed it, he could shrug off that burden.
Marianne: ...
Claude: The point is, people are born with burdens to carry. That much is undeniable.
Claude: But whether they bind us or we cast them aside...that's up to us.
Claude: So I think you should try to cast yours aside, Marianne.
Claude: Put that heavy burden down. It's time.
Marianne: But I...I don't know if I can do it...
Claude: It's OK. I'm here for you. We're the same... And I can help you.
Marianne: The same? Claude, we have nothing in common.
Claude: Hey! Did you see that, Dorte? Your friend just smiled at me!
Marianne: Thank you for sharing your story. I suppose I could try casting aside burden, as you say.
Marianne: We can try together.
Claude: Let's do that. And when we're free, we can change the whole world.

	Ending

Entrusting the future of Fódlan to his friends, Claude left for Almyra to reclaim his place as heir to the throne. Several years later, when he became king, he took initial steps to open trade routes with Fódlan, and entered into negotiations with Margrave Edmund. During this time, he was reunited with Marianne, who had grown under her adoptive father's guidance into a wise and talented woman. She offered him her aid, and as they worked together to secure friendly relations between their respective nations, they fell deeply in love.