"You know, I was quite surprised to see that you weren't going to reveal your identity after all." He grabbed the cup of tea from the table and took a small sip, then put it down and smirked. "If you had taken off your hood and revealed your identity, your sister would have done everything to take you back from his grasp, and it wasn't like your father would have stayed quiet. You could have been free. So... why?"
Aether leaned back in his seat and stayed quiet for a while. He hadn't thought of it that way. Sure, he was scared to know if Sofia would still know him, but if she did, it was true: he was basically free from the grasp of the Blue Rose, and his family would do anything to get him back. So then why?
Aether lifted his gaze slowly, staring Keres in the eyes. "At the moment… that is not the freedom I desire.
Keres tilted his head, confused by his response. "What does that mean? What's the difference? I don't see any."
