When we arrived at Fhirdiad, the streets were full of commoners protesting and waving wooden signs. A few of the knights dismounted so they could create a path for us down the streets.
"It's His Majesty!"
"King Dimitri?"
"Your Majesty, break the system!"
"The nobles are oppressing us!"
Everyone was shouting and thronging even closer towards us. The horses neighed and reared up from the people's outstretched hands. The knights were trying to push people back, but it wasn't working. We were trapped in the middle of the road. Up ahead, I could see the palace gates. A group of knights dispatched from the palace was trying to open the streets for us. Dimitri held a hand up, and those around us quieted. I patted my horse to calm her.
"Everyone, I've heard your voices and your concerns," Dimitri said. His voice carried easily to others several buildings away. The protesters stilled, and their voices fell to a hush. "I would like you all to know that I will take action to dismantle the Crest system. Now please let us pass, so that I may return to address this issue."
"His Majesty supports our views too?"
"As expected of His Majesty!"
"King Dimitri!"
People were clapping and cheering. Dimitri's message was rippling through the crowd to those further away, and they stepped back to make room for us. After we'd passed through the palace gates, Dimitri sighed.
"Were you serious about that?" Lord Rodrigue asked him, as we dismounted.
Dimitri nodded. "If I don't do something, they'll be marching into the palace next. There's too much unrest."
Lord Rufus briefed us on what we'd missed. There was a smaller protest in Gaspard territory too. Ashe had written a letter detailing the event and asking if he could say that he supported the commoners.
"Tell him he can, but to watch out for other nobles attacking him," Dimitri said. The royal scribe nodded and wrote down a response. There were even more letters from other nobles, demanding Dimitri find the author of the essays and to denounce the message. Dimitri skimmed through these letters and then tossed them back down on the table.
"I'll make a public announcement," Dimitri said. "In support of taking down the Crest system. It'd be good to tell everyone that Edelgard and Claude are supportive too, and that this will be a Fodlan-wide initiative."
"Can we say that?" Rodrigue said, resting his chin in his hand. "Are we sure we won't get backlash from the Empire or Alliance lords?"
"I wouldn't worry about the Empire lords," I said.
Dimitri nodded. "Send a letter to Claude then and ask him if he'd be all right with that. If we want to announce our joint efforts, we should do it together."
The scribe glanced up from his papers. "To Emperor Edelgard as well?" he asked. Dimitri nodded. The scribe jotted down a note. "Very well, Your Majesty."
"It'd be best to calm the nobles down too," Rufus said, leaning his hands on the back of a chair. We were all standing from having sat too much during the ride back.
"Yes, we'll have to reassure them that they won't be losing their positions," Dimitri said. He picked up a stack of papers that Rufus had prepared. "I'm going to review this in my room. Byleth, feel free to take the rest of the day off."
"Yes, Your Majesty," I said, though I wasn't planning to do so. Our group dispersed to our own rooms, where I found my own stack of papers to go through. Back to work.
Dimitri joined me in my regular meetings with Lady Rhea and other church officials. After our first chat, Rhea agreed that she would like to be a part of our discussions, so Dimitri had her filled in on what we had so far. Although Rhea didn't mind the Crest discrimination idea, she didn't like our task force idea.
"We won't have any way to defend ourselves from enemies," Rhea said.
"The three nations will work together to protect the Church," Dimitri said.
"But what would stop the nations from attacking us?" Rhea said.
"If people are faithful, then why would the nations attack the Church?" Dimitri said. "That would only anger our subjects."
After that, Rhea conceded to the idea. Dimitri wrote the news to Edelgard and Claude, with hopes that we'd make even greater progress next time. There was a public speech scheduled for next Saturday evening as well, and the royal scribe was working hard with Dimitri to formalize his speech.
Meanwhile, after the protest, I received news that the publishing company had been burned down. The employees were all right, and they claimed it was an accident - one of the printing machines overheated and caught on fire. I sent them a small bag of money. I doubted the fire was an accident.
Everyday, more letters from nobles and commoners came in. There were people saying that they wanted everyone with a Crest publicly executed, while others were saying that they wanted all of the nobles reevaluated and replaced with better commoners. Some even suggested demolishing the noble system entirely. Most of them were anonymous. The nobles claimed they were being attacked, targeted, and marginalized. Some said they were terrified of leaving their homes.
On Saturday, the palace was flooded with commoners to hear Dimitri's speech. We'd arranged for the speech contents to be published the next morning, so the rest of Fhaerghus could hear the message Dimitri had to give.
"As everyone knows, there's been a lot of discussion around the Crest system, and how our current society favors those with Crests over those without. I'm here today to let everyone know that I will not stand by as these injustices occur," Dimitri said. The people in the crowd cheered and applauded. "Emperor Edelgard of the Adrestian Empire, Lord Claude of the Alliance, and I are all working together to rid ourselves of the Crest system through leadership and new laws. To change our society takes time and effort from everyone. Our first step is to prohibit discrimination based on someone's Crest, or absence of a Crest."
Shouts and whistles burst out from the crowd as they clapped.
"Remove the nobles!" someone yelled. Others joined in a chant that lasted a few seconds until Dimitri held his hand back up, and everyone quieted.
"I understand everyone's concerns, but we need the nobles' leadership during these times. All current nobles will remain in power. In fact, I'd like to request the help of all my fellow lords in assisting us as we strive to create a more equitable world."
At this point, Lord Rodrigue strolled up to stand beside Dimitri. Dimitri smiled at him, then Rodrigue said, "Everyone, I shall be the first lord to pledge my assistance to His Majesty in his efforts to remove the Crest system."
People clapped and cheered Lord Rodrigue's name.
"And I know Lord Rodrigue won't be the last," Dimitri said. "Everyone, please rest assured that your voices have been heard. We will do our best. Thank you, and good evening."
The next day, the newspaper headlines were all about Dimitri's speech. In the Empire, and in the Alliance, Edelgard and Claude had announced their part in the allegiance. Ashe, as the resident Lord Gaspard, sent a letter saying that he'd like to pledge his assistance as well.
Not all of the nobles agreed. Lady Cornelia published a scathing essay, arguing that the Crest system was in place by the Goddess's will. Crests were a gift from the Goddess, and if we stopped favoring Crests, the Goddess would punish us for our sins. This unsettled many commoners, and protests across Fhaerghus quieted.
Lord Gautier arrived at the palace a week after Dimitri's speech. I was wrapping up training with Jeralt in the late afternoon when I saw Gautier entering the palace.
"Oh," I said. His bright red hair looked just like Sylvain's.
"You know him?" Jeralt asked. I shook my head. "Looks like another noble." He sighed, crossing his arms. "There's been so much trouble lately."
"Thanks for the training today," I said, bowing at Jeralt.
"No problem, kiddo."
I dashed back inside and asked a nearby servant where the lord had gone. "Ah, Lord Gautier went to see His Majesty in the audience hall."
"Thank you," I said and hurried through the halls. The double wooden doors were open, and Lord Gautier was bowing to Dimitri, who sat on the throne. I slipped into the room. Dimitri glanced at me and nodded.
"Lord Gautier, it's a pleasure to see you," Dimitri said. Lord Rufus and Dedue were standing on either sides of Dimitri.
"Your Majesty, the pleasure is mine." Guatier grinned. He was taller and broader than Sylvain, and his face more square with a bushy beard. There was a small scar that ran from the top of his temple to his forehead. "I'm here to inquire about Your Majesty's plans for future nobles. I've read your speech. Your Majesty, are you truly planning on removing people with Crests?"
"If you read my speech, then you would know I have no such plans," Dimitri said, tapping a finger on the armrest.
There were hurried footsteps, and Lord Rodrigue appeared behind me through the opened doors. He shut them behind him and bowed at Dimitri. "Excuse my interruption, Your Majesty."
Dimitri nodded. Guatier glanced back at Rodrigue with a thin-lipped smile.
"Your Majesty, that's what Lord Itha is saying. Is your new law not putting us nobles at risk of being overthrown? If we can't appoint our heirs based on them having a Crest, then our weak first-born sons would be heir. Won't that leave us vulnerable and weak?"
Rodrigue strode forward to stand beside Gautier. "Itha is spouting such nonsense?" Rodrigue said. Gautier nodded. Itha was a small lord with lands between Fraldrius and Gautier.
"If your first-born son isn't fit to lead, then there's nothing stopping people's second children from becoming heir," Dimitri said. "However, if your first son is as competent and as skilled, then one shouldn't make a decision based off of Crests."
"You came all this way just for this, Gautier?" Rufus said gruffly, arms crossed. Rodrigue's eyebrows were raised as if he wanted to ask the same question.
Gautier sighed. "Yes, I was worried when I'd heard the news. Your Majesty, you know the Gautier lands can't hold the border if the Lord can't wield the Lance of Ruin."
"And you must know that I can't grant your family an exception to this law," Dimitri said.
"What are you worrying about? Sylvain is already heir," Rodrigue said.
"Yes, but his first son might not have a Crest," Gautier said. "Why, Your Majesty, while you're at it, why don't you make discrimination based on gender illegal too?"
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea." Dimitri rested his chin in his hand.
"That was a joke, Your Majesty," Gautier said. "Women are physically weaker than men. We can't possibly put the two on the same footing-"
My mouth dropped open, but I didn't know what to say. Rodrigue sighed, shook his head, and said, "What are you worried about, Gautier? If you properly train everyone, there's no reason why a Crestless heir can't or won't be as strong of a leader."
"A Crestless heir can't wield the Lance of Ruin. That makes a huge difference," Gautier said, waving a hand in the air. "Are you really going to tell me that if none of your grandchildren bear the crest of Fraldrius, it won't bother you the slightest?"
Rodrigue's mouth hung open for a second, but before he could reply, Dimitri said, "Lord Gautier, what can I do for you to ease your worries? The law won't be changing, and there won't be any exceptions. Let me make it clear that the law doesn't prohibit people from selecting their second or third child to be heir, but that their choice can't be made solely based on Crest status. This will still give any Crest bearing successors an advantage."
"Really?" Gautier's eyebrows furrowed, and he clasped his hands together. "Your Majesty, I thought your law meant that heirs must be the first child, Crest or no Crest."
Dimitri shifted in his seat on the throne. "Where did you get this idea from? It only asks that people consider everyone's merits, skills, and abilities, rather than focusing on people's Crests."
Gautier nodded. "I see. I see. I'm mistaken then."
"Is that all?" Lord Rufus said, arms still crossed. "His Majesty's time is short, Lord Gautier, especially when you arrived unannounced."
"My apologies." Gautier bowed. "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty." After Gautier and Rodrigue had left the room, chatting among themselves, Dimitri turned to Rufus.
"It seems there's been some miscommunication and confusion around the law," Dimitri said.
Rufus nodded. "How would you like us to remedy that?"
"Another formal announcement, perhaps? Or letters to all of the nobles?" Dimitri said.
"Either would work, Your Majesty," Rufus said.
"Very well, whichever one is easier for the scribes." Dimitri stood up and nodded at Rufus, who reached into his thick notebook and pulled a few sheets of paper out. Dimitri locked eyes with me. "Byleth, take a look at this."
While Rufus spoke to a servant, I took the paper from Dimitri. It was a letter, with narrow, slanted handwriting.
"I heard that the person behind the Crest system essays is none other than Miss Byleth, your advisor. Are you aware of this, Your Majesty? I'm concerned, as it seems your advisor may have ulterior motives. Unless, Your Majesty, already knew this. In which case, it makes me wonder if you had a hand in this."
I glanced at Dimitri. "Who sent this?"
"We don't know." He shook his head.
"It wouldn't be that hard to find out I was behind the essays," I said, pacing back and forth in front of the throne. "Either by bribing or threatening the publishing company. My guess would be threatened."
Dimitri nodded and took the letter back. "We're investigating who sent it, but for now, be careful."
"Of course," I said. We had a brief chat over some other news, and I returned to my office with another stack of papers to review.
When I entered, my main maid, Tania, said, "Miss Byleth, there's a letter for you."
"Thank you," I said. I picked up the envelope and unsealed it. It was from one of the information brokers I'd been working with about the mysterious person roaming in Abyss. The first page contained the contents of what they'd found of the person.
Name: Myson.
No known surname. First seen in the Empire in the year 1171. Unknown employment history. Current occupation: Imperial mage, enlisted in the year 1179. Resides mostly in the Empire. Seen a few times in the Kingdom in the years 1174 and 1176.
That was it. Below there was the cost of the information - fifteen gold coins. Myson. I pulled Byleth's notebook out from my shirt. The name was familiar. Flipping through, I found it listed under TWSITD.
A TWSITD person. I cut up the letter with a small blade and slid it into a new envelope, then wrote down a quick letter to Yuri and tucked that in too. He'd know better what to do with this information. Dropping down into my chair, I pulled up the papers. Time to brainstorm how to handle the news leaking.
After the nobles received a new wave of letters from Dimitri, clarifying the law, the protests from them quieted down. Dimitri and I prepared to return to the monastery to continue our discussion next moon, Pegasus Moon (2). But, a week before, another headline took the newspapers.
"Crest system essays written by His Majesty's advisor," the newspapers said. A picture of my face was pasted below. "Did his Majesty know? Was this all a plan to weaken other Kingdom nobles, so the royal family could gain more power?"
I dropped the paper and looked at Dimitri, who was cradling his head in his hand. "Your Majesty, do we know who provided this newspaper their information source?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, and asking would make it look like we're trying to punish whomever it was. There are calls for you to resign from your position." He pushed another piece of paper across the table. It was a petition signed by six of the smaller Kingdom lords. "But there are also many subjects who believe you're working for the common people."
I stared at the second petition, a long sheet of paper with at least a hundred names, from subjects of Fhirdiad. "If I resigned, wouldn't that mean I was guilty? We didn't do anything wrong, Your Majesty."
"You don't have to resign," Dimitri said. "We'll figure something out."
A week later, both petitions had tripled in length. There were some knights, some Church officials, and even some famous celebrities who wanted me to resign. We had to postpone our plans to return to Garreg Mach, which was fine because Edelgard and Claude were struggling with similar backlash from their nobles.
"We'll need to make a statement soon, Your Majesty," Rufus told Dimitri, while standing over Dimitri's shoulder. Ingrid was looking over a letter she'd received too, but soon crumpled it up in her fist.
Dimitri glanced at her. "News from your father?"
"Nothing of value, Your Majesty," Ingrid said. She passed Dimitri another letter. "This is from Sylvain, though. He says sorry for his father's behavior."
Dimitri glimpsed at the letter before returning it back. "No worries. We can't spend all our time dealing with this constant tug-of-war between what the nobles and commoners want. Let's be honest in our statement, that Byleth requested permission to have her essays published, precisely because she understood the sort of controversy that might come of it. This law was decided on after long discussions with the Empire and Alliance leaders and wasn't created to reduce the power or influence of nobles."
The royal scribe, sitting beside Dimitri, scribbled furiously. "Anything else, Your Majesty?" the scribe asked, adjusting his glasses.
Dimitri looked at Lord Rufus, who said, "That sounds good. We should include that Miss Byleth believes that the Crest system is detrimental to our society and kingdom. Miss Byleth, you don't have a Crest yourself, do you?"
"No, my lord, I don't," I said.
Rufus nodded and paced back and forth behind Dimitri's seat. "Yes, we should include that. Since the commoners are viewing you as a hero, we must leverage that to get them on our side."
The scribe wrote some more. "Yes, my lord. I will write up a draft by the end of tomorrow for you to review." He bowed his head and left the room, while Rufus led us in discussing the economy next.
The next morning, while going through my mail, I'd received several letters from nobles pleading, threatening, or bribing me to resign. I tossed those into a pile to be discarded. Then I picked up an envelope without a return address.
Dear Miss Byleth,
If you wish to leave your current position as advisor to His Majesty Dimitri, I would gladly introduce you to a Sreng prince as his future wife. I'm only suggesting this out of concern for you. Doesn't marrying a prince sound so much easier and more comfortable than working as an advisor? You wouldn't have to worry about politics or policies or the public. I hope you'll keep this offer in mind. If you wish to ever meet me, please first resign from your position, then come to the border between Fhaergus and Sreng. I will meet you there.
I had half the mind to burn it on the spot. Resign and marry a prince? What kind of idiocy was this? If I really couldn't keep my position, I could at least be a knight or a mercenary and work closer to Abyss. Who would want to move Sreng? Taking in a deep breath, I returned the letter back into its envelope, then massaged my temples with my index fingers.
What was more unnerving was the fact that all palace mail went through regular inspection. I'd never once personally received an anonymous letter before. Whoever sent this had someone on the inside, and whoever that was desperately wanted me gone.
Thanks for reading!