What does が do in this sentence?


[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pNPvC.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pNPvC.png)

> そこまで言いかけたリュー **だったが** 、へたり込んでいるリリを見てすっと目を細めた。

I'm not sure if が is acting as a conjunctive particle or a subject marker. Is
it correct to interpret this as

> (そこまで言いかけたリューだった)が、へたり込んでいるリリを見てすっと目を細めた。

Thank you!




This が is a conjunctive particle which corresponds to "and", "but", etc.

「そこまで言いかけたリュー」 could be a noun phrase, but 「そこまで言いかけたリューだった」 is not a noun
phrase, and thus can't serve as a subject.




This が is a conjunctive particle which corresponds to "and", "but", etc.

「そこまで言いかけたリュー」 could be a noun phrase, but 「そこまで言いかけたリューだった」 is not a noun
phrase, and thus can't serve as a subject.

