He was going to let it lie, but he can't. Era won't face the truth on her own. Ardbert is hating this already.

"You've yet to shed a tear when you shed plenty about me the first day I came back. I think you're in denial about your own feelings. Especially when it took this long for me to start grieving for him, and I barely knew him compared to you. And before you forget, I wandered for over a hundred years being able to do naught but watch a dying world. I've see people grieve—and I've seen people pretend they were done grieving, only to break later."

Ardbert's voice is so achingly gentle.

"You don't have to hold yourself all up on your own anymore, Era. I'm here. I'm strong enough and adjusted enough now to support you as you've supported me." He even can cook simple fare now and knows how to do the chores so she needn't worry about him if she needed time to herself. "Else I wouldn't have otherwise accepted your ring. ... so I won't let you fall into that stupor again, and I can be there for you when you break. You'll do so in my arms."