Over four months had passed since the secret meeting, and Hubert had been busy. Prince Dimitri had given a list of troublesome Kingdom nobles that Hubert had needed to subvert or eliminate, without arising too much suspicion, in addition to his normal duties for the war effort. He hadn't been doing the same in regards to the Alliance, but to be fair, Alliance nobles being troublesome was a given.
But it wasn't the nobles he needed to talk about. Nor was he seeking out Prince Dimitri. The prince would not understand his dilemma, not truly.
"You need my advice?" Dedue asked. "I do not understand. Why do you need my advice?"
"Because you are the only one who can understand my situation," Hubert explained. "You and I both swore to serve our lieges with all that we are, body, mind, and soul. And ever since then, we have lived up to those oaths. You are the only one who can understand the dilemma in which Lady Edelgard has placed me."
Dedue nodded in understanding. "If I am the only one who can help, then I will help. What is the dilemma?"
"Recently, Lady Edelgard has told me that she plans to name Prince Dimitri as her successor, then be killed in battle against Those Who Slither In The Dark to cement his rule of Adestria and Faerghus alike. She has ordered me not to try to save her, and to serve the prince as I have served her," Hubert explained.
"His Majesty made no mention of this to me," Dedue said.
"Lady Edelgard also said that Prince Dimitri was not in agreement with her regarding this plan," Hubert explained further. "Regardless, I am conflicted. My sole purpose in life is to serve my Lady. Without her, I am nothing. But I also truly believe in her dream of a better Fódlan without the Crest system, the religious hegemony, or the ancient conspiracy that have all held the continent back from its true potential, and she maintains that the best way to achieve that is for her to die and for me to live."
Dedue thought for a moment. "Why do you serve her so faithfully? Is it because you believe that only she can create this better future?"
Hubert clenched and unclenched his hands. "I believe she can create the best future. But we always knew that there was a chance we would not survive this endeavor. If that were to be the case, we agreed that we would pass that responsibility to someone else, someone capable of understanding the underlying problems of Fódlan that led to this war.
"But in that case, we had planned to die together. How will I be able to live, knowing I let her die?"
"While I know I would feel similarly about allowing His Majesty to die, even if he commanded it, I have one more question," Dedue asked. "Is the only reason you serve her because you love her? Is that the reason why you are so afraid to fail her?"
"Her siblings' deaths were my fault!" Hubert confessed. "When I was seven, my father told me to serve her so that he could kidnap the Hresvelg children and hand them over to Arundel. And I did not recognize his intent! If I had, then I could have saved them! Because I was a naïve fool, all of the royal children save for Lady Edelgard were killed, and she underwent unspeakable torment! I failed her totally!"
Dedue was speechless. Hubert continued, "She would have been within her rights to kill me for failing her. Instead, she not only let me live, but allowed me to serve her once more. She says that what happened was not my fault, but I know the truth, and I serve her to atone. To atone for a mistake that cost her everything.
"Since then, I have never failed her. Not once. But now, I do not know what to do. How can I avoid failing her? I swore to protect her, but how can I protect her from herself?"
"I have no answer for you," Dedue said sadly. "You and I are not so different, it is true. But this is a question I do not know how to answer. Even so, I will tell you something about myself.
"Ever since His Majesty protected me, and what little of my countrymen he could, I have believed in him, that he is the hope of the people of Duscur, that we may be restored. But not all men of Duscur can see that. The event that allowed us to fake our deaths was an attack by a band of Duscuri. They captured His Majesty, and planned to execute him for the crimes of his people. They would not listen to reason. When I saved him, I tried to spare as many as I could. But when fighting for your life, you do not always get that chance. I knew I had to save him, for his sake and theirs. But I thought, 'I am killing my own people. I protect His Majesty for their sake as well as his, but I am killing them to do it.' And I wonder if there was a better way. A way that I could make them understand, so that I would not have had to kill them."
"I am sorry," Hubert said. "You are even more like me than I realized. Are you saying I should look for another way, or that there is no other way and that I must make peace with that?"
"My story is my story," Dedue told him. "Your course of action is for you to decide. But I will offer you this advice. Whichever choice you make, when you act, do not hesitate."
"I won't," Hubert promised.
Suddenly, both young men heard a scream. "What's going on?" Hubert asked. "That sounded like the Archbishop. Is she all right?"
"It's time! She's going into labor!" Mae, the midwife, shouted.
Across the continent, Flayn was sound asleep. While some people's dreams were abstract and incomprehensible, Flayn's dreams were always more like memories. They weren't always just like her memories, but they always took place in places she had been, with people she had met. This dream, however, was different. She had never been in this place before.
But she did recognize the woman in front of her. "Great-grandmother?"
"It's me, Cethleann," her great-grandmother spoke.
"Great-grandmother...it's been so long..." Flayn said, hugging the dead Goddess.
"Too long, Cethleann," Sothis agreed. "Though admittedly, I was asleep for most of it, and only remembered things even later.. I am caught up on some recent things, though. For instance, that boy from the Deer, Ignatz? Very nice lad. I approve."
"Great-grandmother," Flayn said, embarrassed. "...Don't tell Father, please?"
"My lips are sealed," Sothis acceded. "But even though I would love to just stay and speak with you, there is actually an important task I need you and your friends to carry out."
"Name it," Flayn agreed.
"I need you and your class to go to Zanado and find Byleth. He's still alive, and even though he has yet to develop his dragon form, he is in a state of dragonsleep to recover from his injuries, and I do not yet have the power to heal them. He will wake up on his own, but we don't have time to wait. You must find him and heal him. I know you can do it."
"I will. I promise," Flayn agreed.
She then woke up. The dream-message was still fresh in her mind, and she had no intent to forget it. She opened her door and saw Cyril sweeping the floor. "Lady Flayn? Is something wrong?"
"The Goddess sent me a message," Flayn told him. "If you would, please fetch my classmates. We have a job to do."
I suppose this is where I confirm the timeskip ends early.