Where to start, indeed? Her hand squeezes Edelgard's, perhaps in anticipation that she'll want to pull away in a moment.

"I suppose the only place I can start is back in our school days at Garreg Mach. You know I was the only commoner in the Black Eagles. I didn't mind it, really, though it could get a bit tiresome at times. Well, then Professor Byleth came, and she... persuaded me to join her house. The Golden Deer."

Dorothea knows that Edelgard is almost frighteningly clever; someone like her should be able to imagine how differently things could play out with a change like that.

"When you left, I stayed behind. It's been almost six years now since I've really seen you."