[Byleth's brow furrowed slightly as he raised his head from where he'd bowed it despondently. He looked at Shez, clenching that whistle in his fist, trying to understand what he meant. That the Shadow meant nothing? That it was equal to the reflections in that maze: a trick intended to drive them apart? Well, it was far less harmless than those reflections, if that was the case...]

Are you saying that the Shadow was... nothing?

[Ugh. He winced at how bluntly those words came out, frustrated at how difficult he found this. He raised a hand, trying to signal that he was going to add to that, groping for the right words until he decided to just blurt the first thing to come to mind. By this point, Shez should be able to translate his words, right?]

I mean, like the mirror reflections. That it was an outside force trying to cause us harm, rather than... an actual failing on either of our parts?