User blog comment:Master Sima Yi/Assassinews 25-03-'13 — Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag gameplay trailer/@comment-4519956-20130412151703/@comment-1888015-20130413161202

Back on topic with the interview, after having read Forsaken, I understand the claim why making it so he doesn't necessarily follow the Creed comes into it.

I assume Edward knew Reginald Birch was a Templar, but he didn't let that stop him from having Birch as a business associate. While that inevitably backfired on him, saying that Edward was more attuned to his pirate side kind of allows for some understanding on his part.