He watched her expression carefully. He didn't have to listen to her heart to have an idea of what she was thinking. The hug was a little surprising, but not unexpected, and he folded his arms around her carefully, one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head. He wasn't at all fond of physical contact, but Athena was an exception.

"For you, it wasn't difficult to sacrifice things." Well, it was still difficult... but bearable, if it was to save her. "How could I let anything happen to you? I owed her more than that. I owed you more than that." Even if she would have gotten a lighter sentence because of her age... "I blamed myself for not keeping both of you safe. And what sort of prosecutor would I be if I let a child get hurt? I knew you would never have ill intentions."

He just stood there a moment, holding her. His grip tightened slightly, and when he spoke next there was a small hitch in his tone, regret and pain being held back. "... I never told you... when you spoke at my trial... how you were the only one to truly defend me. I wished I could have reassured you then, told you it was for the best. I wanted to watch over you for her... my only real regret was that I couldn't." It was impossible to tell back then what had really happened, that it had been the work of the Phantom. The things he hadn't known... but now they knew. That fear, at least, had been put to rest.