[ Even with his attention ostensibly on the game before them while he waits for Sylvain to move his next piece, it's difficult to let go of that what if which still feels like it's echoing through his mind with all the repercussions of it. Had this been when he'd arrived, it would've impacted him less. Claude recognizes that without a doubt because it's the weight of everything else following now that they've been here adding to the feeling. There'd been costs in the war which he'd always known, and a handful of them have only come into further focus with perspective.

He shouldn't dwell on them. Maybe he's losing his touch in disconnecting thoughts before they latch on too much to interrupt everything else, though he takes a deep soundless breath and attempts to do that anyway. Sylvain's offered him something to focus on with that talk of strategies used being the further perfect distraction to let it go. ]

That's a good way of using something they'd never see coming.

[ A grin as he taps a finger against his jaw in supposed thought, though whether it's over his next game move or this new revelation Sylvain's offered him is difficult to say. Five years was a long time to hold what little remained of the Kingdom together - in some ways far more than dealing with the Alliance even if both of them balanced on a very fine edge. A hum and then Claude takes a moment to consider what Sylvain might be doing with the lone pawns out there when there's not enough indicators for it yet. ]

Though I don't envy you for it. Spending years arguing with the Alliance lords suddenly seems like a better route when it comes to that, even though that was plenty frustrating in and of itself.

[ Time to gamble on the chess strategy when he reaches for a different piece to slide it into play after going down the list of options. ]

Horrifying your father in the process is just a bonus to that since I think you and Lorenz had that in common when it came to our side of the war.