[He nods. Whether or not it was fair was a discussion for another day -- even that explanation was still leaving an awful lot out of the story. But there was a reason he needed to explain at least this much.]

The reason I brought it up is because it relates to the problem I've been dealing with between Anise and Arietta. Anise has been my Fon Master guardian from the very beginning. It was her job to protect me... but that position originally belonged to Arietta. And Arietta was one of those kept in the dark about the original Ion's death...

[It sounds as though the more he talks about Arietta, the sadder his voice becomes. He still feels so much guilt -- much of it unnecessary -- for the pain Arietta has had to deal with. Perhaps even more so for the pain she still deals with, knowing her Ion is dead and the one in front of her is just a replacement.]

[And it's that line of thinking that gives merit to Anise wanting to keep Arietta away from Ion.]

Replicas have no memory of the past. When I was born, I didn't even know how to walk or talk properly... if Arietta spent too much time with me, she would have noticed the difference. And even now that she knows the truth, she still doesn't completely understand the difference between a replica and it's original.