"It would be wrong," he said quietly, "to the memory of your mother. Wrong to the love she gave you. Wrong to the life she fought to protect."
He reached out, not touching the child, but close enough that she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"You deserve a home untouched by blood," he said. "A place where your memories are honored, not rewritten."
Straightening slightly, he gestured behind him, to the noble stands, to the banners of the Sun Kingdom.
"Come with us," he offered. "With me. I will adopt you as my own. You will have warmth, safety, education, and love. You will grow surrounded by people who will never remind you of the day everything was taken from you."
His voice softened further.
"You do not need to carry the burden of forgiveness. You are too young to be asked to atone for crimes that were never yours."
He bowed his head to her.
"Stay with your own kind," he said. "Let the dead rest knowing their child was protected by the living."
