Dimitri knew that waiting was the best thing he could do for now. That didn't mean he had to like it.
Edelgard had hidden him and Dedue in a farmhouse about ten miles outside of Enbarr. The same farmhouse where she had been keeping Lady Rhea. A pregnant Lady Rhea. Dimitri had initially worried that the baby had been conceived...by force...but Rhea had disabused him of that notion. It turned out that she and Byleth had slept together before she had been captured by the Empire, and Edelgard had hidden her to protect the baby from Thales, who would try to kill it if he knew about it. Rhea had also lost her family to Thales, so she had decided to help Edelgard get rid of him.
The more he learned about Thales, the more he despised him. It would feel so good to watch him squirm as he would realize everything he had worked for was collapsing right in front of him.
Even though it might be more satisfying in the long term, however, in the short term Dimitri was restless. It rankled with him to sit and do nothing.
As he walked through the farmhouse's kitchen, he noticed Dedue was cooking a meal. Upon closer inspection, the meal appeared to be a combination of pancakes, fish filets, and cheese sauce.
"Unborn children have no taste," Dedue explained, a look of abject despair on his normally-stoic visage.
"Should I take it to her, or..." Dimitri trailed off awkwardly.
"Take it. I do not want to look at this abomination I have created for another second."
Dimitri took the plate and took it to Rhea's room. As soon as he gave it to the Archbishop, she started stuffing her face with it. Dimitri just sort of sat there awkwardly as she devoured the meal.
"So, was that...good?" Dimitri asked, once she had finished.
"No," Rhea told him. "But I just had to have it."
"Everything tastes the same to me," Dimitri admitted. "So, should I..."
"No, by all means, stay," Rhea said. "Is something on your mind?"
"I hate waiting like this," Dimitri told her. "I know my revenge on Thales will be all the sweeter when I rip everything he worked so hard for away from him, but I hate having to wait for it. I...my head isn't a nice place to get lost in. I want to be doing something. I already cleaned the entire farmhouse today. Twice."
Rhea thought for a moment. "Have you considered what you plan to do after you kill Thales?"
"After?" Dimitri asked, as if he had never considered that before.
"Dimitri, I know what it is like to want to pursue revenge with every fiber of your being," Rhea said sadly. "But you need something to live for after you get it. Otherwise, it will not satisfy you. I know this from experience."
"A reason to live? What sort of reason to live could a bloodthirsty monster like me have outside of revenge?" Dimitri thought. "I do not deserve a reason to live."
"She is right," Dedue agreed, having just entered the room with a plate of beef and potato slices, which he handed to Dimitri. He then bent down and stared at Rhea's baby bump, and whispered, "I will not forget the abomination that you made me create. Once you are old enough to eat solid foods, I will prepare it for you again, and I will make you eat all of it. We shall see how much you like it then." Dimitri and Rhea looked at each other, embarrassed.
"He takes cooking very seriously," Dimitri explained.
Hubert suddenly entered the room. "Oh, thank the goddess," Dimitri muttered.
"I apologize if I was interrupting something," Hubert said. "Prince Dimitri, may I speak with you privately?"
"Certainly," Dimitri said, leaving the room with Hubert.
After the two had left, Dedue sighed. "I worry about His Majesty. I believe in him. His wisdom and compassion are the mark of greatness. But his anger runs deep, and he does not allow himself to heal. He believes himself a monster for what that anger makes him capable of."
"I understand that," Rhea told him. "I will do what I can to help him."
"I fear he might not accept help," Dedue responded. "But I thank you."
Dimitri and Hubert sat at the kitchen table. "May I ask you a personal question?" Dimitri asked.
"I cannot guarantee I will answer," Hubert said. "But you may."
"Do you ever think of yourself as a monster?"
Hubert leaned forward and sighed. "All the time. I know I am responsible for the deaths of many people who did not deserve to die. And I know that I have the power to stop them. But I also know that I will not. I know that the deaths in this war will prevent many more in the future, but that is small consolation to the dead, and their loved ones. So yes, I do think of myself as a monster. I know Lady Edelgard feels the same way, but she is too ashamed to show it. She is afraid to show weakness."
"But you aren't," Dimitri pointed out.
"Sometimes it is better to show weakness, I think," Hubert replied. "If Rhea and Lady Edelgard had not done shown each other weakness, they would never have made peace with each other. There can be strength even in weakness. But Lady Edelgard is not ready. Neither of us trust easily." He looked at Dimitri. "Sometimes, though, there is no other way. So if she will not show weakness, I will."
"You love her." It wasn't a question.
"I do. That is the one weakness I will never show her," Hubert said sadly.
"Why not? Do you think she wouldn't love you back?" Dimitri asked.
"No. She does not now, but if I told her how I feel, she very well might," Hubert said. "But I can never be what she needs most."
"And what is that?"
"An equal. My loyalty to Lady Edelgard is absolute. My life only has meaning as long as I serve her. If she ordered me to cut my own throat, I would do it without hesitation. I can aid her, support her, believe in her. But I cannot guide her. I cannot heal her. I cannot stand beside her the way she would want." Hubert sighed. "I failed her once. I cannot fail her again. Not ever. I fear it more than death or damnation."
"I understand," Dimitri said.
"You believed in her once," Hubert looked him in the eyes. "I hope you can believe in her again."
Dimitri watched Hubert leave. "I hope so too."