(A/N: This marks the first chapter with a separate focus! Yay! I won't normally remark chapters like this unless I plan for it to drag out for a little while. Also, this is ANOTHER chapter where I used a chapter title from the game, but this time it directly opposes the previous chapter's title.)

Yes, Byleth had told him not to go to Gronder Field. But the voices…his father, step-mother, Glenn…they were telling him to go. Telling him that she would be there. His guard nor army understood the order: "We're going to Gronder Field, and killing anyone who gets in our way."

As per Dedue's request, Dimitri stayed behind just far enough that he could still hear and see the Imperial army approach. When he saw that Edelgard led them, he was all but ready to march straight to her. The only thing that stopped him was Byleth's warning of death. No one wanted to watch the king fall just yet.

It didn't seem like the Imperial army was worried about being quiet. They were talking amongst themselves, giving commands or wondering what the next battle will bring. Edelgard scanned the field just as Dimitri did, and although he was hidden, their gazes met.
In that instance, Edelgard gripped her weapon more firmly. "There's another army on the other side of the field. All units, atta—"

She was cut of by a cry from one of the Imperial soldiers. There was a lance driven in a place that wouldn't cause death unless it was from blood loss, seemingly caused by another soldier that lacked a weapon. Shortly after, more Imperial soldiers followed suit of the first.

"Kill them where they stand," Dimitri told his army. "Spare the insurgents; they might be worth saving."

It was both satisfying and vexing to see Edelgard's reaction. Soldiers tried to protect her, but she seemed to struggle with who she could trust by her side. Hubert whispered something, and her attention moved from the bloody display in front of her to the battle the Kingdom forces threatened her with.

For the whole time, Dimitri and his guard stayed behind the group. Edelgard only moved when a soldier came too close—even then, Hubert dispatched enemies as soon as they drew near. The Imperial insurgents were killed instantly; but they had wounded enough of the soldiers that the Kingdom army could finish them off quickly.

It was a little while before the battle ended. Dimitri had the honor of killing a few Imperial soldiers himself—he also had the honor of witnessing one of his own soldiers wound Edelgard to the point where she could barely stand.

That's it. She's done. Now she can be finished off. Now they can—

"R-retreat! Make sure they don't pursue." Edelgard quietly told Hubert something, and he nodded; they were both out of sight in an instant, leaving their army to flee for their own lives.

"Should we follow them, Your Highness?" One of the soldiers asked.

Dimitri glared at the spot Edelgard had been in moments before. "…No. We can let them live, for now. Check the bodies of the insurgents and identify them."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier replied. He went on to tell the rest, and Dimitri and his guard simply watched.

"That was a bit of anticlimactic battle," Sylvain said after a few moments.

"Sylvain! Don't sound disappointed about that!" Ingrid retorted, looking at him. "Should the battle have been any fiercer, we might not all be standing here."

"You can say you're talking about me," Dimitri said simply. Both Sylvain and Ingrid stayed silent; Dedue only tightened his grip on his weapon. "I'm no more than a husk at this point, following the will of those who died in the Tragedy of Duscur. You three are the only people who know of it."

Of the three people close by him, no one spoke. It gave Dimitri time to debate what he would do next—and to enjoy the memory of Edelgard with a wound that could've been fatal, but regret his in capability to finish her off.

…

Dimitri now stood in front of Byleth, who was…surprised, to say the least. He finished explaining his 'trip' to Gronder Field, all except the final detail: "The bodies of the insurgents turned out to be from the Church and Alliance; people that were stationed at the Great Bridge of Myrddin. We gave them a proper rest, left the Imperial soldiers there, and came to Garreg Mach."

"Who sent out the Knights and Alliance soldiers?" Byleth asked, directing the question towards Seteth. Claude was, according to Byleth, still in the Alliance assuring that the Church would have a unified force behind them.

"Claude made the strategy; I gave the order," Seteth replied. "I apologize that it led to bloodshed. But I still thank you, Dimitri, for giving them a proper burial."

"Of course," Dimitri said. He already had the voices of the dead to contend with; he might as well help the newly dead allies find rest. "It's taken considerable thought, but I've made my own decision as well."