[ Sylvain’s pace pauses, hesitates as he glances over at Basch, understanding in his gaze. But he continues on, not wanting to stop, not wanting to drag out a painful moment if Basch doesn’t wish to dwell. This doesn’t seem the time, not after they night they've had together. He doesn’t want to drag shadows into it now. ]

I’m sorry. [ His voice is sincere - both over what Basch had endured for most of his life, and the fact that he’d accidentally reminded him of darker times in the first place. ] My own realm has been caught up in war for the past half-decade or so and I’ve spent most of it keeping the Empire from invading our lands, even as they encroached ever further. Any dreams I’d had for seeing more of the world after my days at the Academy got stomped underfoot like so much of our Kingdom.

[ An explanation - not to keep the topic dark, but to show he understood, in a way. Maybe not to the extent that Basch had endured, but war was terrible, no matter what.

But he smiles a bit at the mention of herbs, something he was familiar with as well. ] I had a friend who was very knowledgable about plants and gardening. Things that were used for cooking, for spices, for medicines. I used to escape there to hide, back in our Academy days, because it was always quiet, and he would sometimes tell me about them while I worked beside him.

[ Dedue’s quiet strength had been a lifesaver in and of itself. Basch reminded Sylvain of him, a little. ]