Byleth held a wooden rattle above Leraye. Hearing the noise it made, Leraye was attempting to swat it.
"I should be back within a few days," Rhea promised. "I do not know if Macuil will be willing to help, but it's worth a try. Seteth has already left to retrieve Indech."
"I remember Indech," Byleth mused. "Actually, I get the strange feeling that I met him before I was supposed to." That particular feeling had been bothering him for a while. Eh, it was probably just his imagination.
Rhea kissed her infant daughter's forehead. "I will see you soon, my sweet."
Byleth gave Rhea a kiss as well. "Stay safe out there."
"I will," Rhea promised.
"Putting it off won't make it any easier," Edelgard reminded herself.
The Black Eagles were the only students left in Enbarr, and they were also the ones whom she had wronged the most. Making amends would not be easy. It might not even be possible. But she had to try.
She knew where Linhardt would be, at the very least. She headed to the library.
Linhardt was there, but so was someone else she hadn't been expecting, namely, Constance. "Constance? I thought you left with the Deer."
"I would have," Constance said. "But I discussed it with Claude, and my illustrious presence is more needed here. I am to try to discover a method to disable the disguises employed by our foes. Linhardt is acting as my research assistant."
"Assistant?" Linhardt raised an eyebrow.
"The challenge is, there are too many unknown variables!" Constance continued. "Is the disguise polymorphic, illusory, or glamouric? Is it Reason-based? Faith-based? A combination of the two?"
"I'm not sure I can help you with that..." Edelgard began.
"Oh, but you must!" Constance insisted. "While I am aware of your lack of magical prowess, seemingly minor details can often be immensely important! I must insist that you answer our questions to the best of your ability."
Edelgard internally sighed. This would be painful.
Constance interrogated Edelgard for well over an hour. At some point, the topic went from the Agarthan disguises to Edelgard's actions as the Flame Emperor, then to the war. She hadn't been entirely satisfied by Edelgard's testimony, and grilled her for details on dozens of facets of the war.
Eventually, she seemed satisfied. "Thank you for your time."
"I will have Hubert assist you," Edelgard told her. "He should be better equipped to assist with your spellcraft."
"That would be quite beneficial, yes," Constance agreed.
"May I borrow Linhardt for a moment?" Edelgard asked.
"Certainly."
Edelgard and Linhardt moved out of Constance's earshot. "Perhaps her true calling is interrogation rather than spellcraft," Linhardt joked.
Edelgard didn't laugh. "Linhardt, I know I have deeply wronged you. I understand if you cannot forgive me. But tell me, is there anything I can do to atone for betraying you?"
Linhardt thought about it. "There is something you can do. Lysithea, like you, has two Crests, and they are slowly killing her. Professor Hanneman and I have been working on a cure, but researching her condition is somewhat difficult and would be easier with a second dual-Crested subject to whom her condition can be compared. If you would help, curing Lysithea would be much easier, and I would consider your debt to me paid in full."
"Then I will," Edelgard agreed. "I should have some time before the final battle. If I can help Lysithea during that time, I will."
She found Petra practicing her marksmanship at the archery range—along, unexpectedly, with Bernadetta. "Bernadetta? I didn't expect to see you out of your room."
"W-well, I decided it was time for me to be brave," Bernadetta said. "So I decided to try going outside more."
Edelgard nodded, "That's good." She then asked what she could do to atone for what she had done to them.
"Since Garreg Mach, I have been fearing for Brigid," Petra told Edelgard. "Brigid was having been conquered by the Empire, and I was having to keep it safe before the war. I was fearing Brigid would be made to pay for my choices. And even before, Brigid was having been conquered. I am wanting Brigid to be unconquered."
"If you want me to end the Imperial occupation of Brigid, then I will," Edelgard agreed. "Bernadetta, what about you?"
"I don't really need you to do anything for me," Bernadetta said.
"Isn't there anything I can do for you?"
"You? No," Bernadetta told her. "I'm not still mad at you, Edel. Not anymore. I know you want to make it up to us, but I have to find what I need on my own."
"Then let me know if you change your mind," Edelgard acceded. "Or Hubert, if something happens to me."
"I will," Bernadetta agreed. "Oh, one thing. You and Hubert can call me 'Bernie' again. I don't mind."
"All right, Bernie," Edelgard agreed.
Next was Yuri, whom Edelgard found in conversation with Anna. "Okay, I'll take care of it," Anna said before walking off.
Edelgard walked up to him. "Clever plan going into effect?" Clever boys never seemed to rest. There was always something to be done.
"Well, when your work takes place underground, you always have to make extra sure the roof doesn't come down on you," Yuri told her. "Both literally and figuratively."
"I understand," Edelgard agreed. She then asked him how she could make things right with him.
Yuri leaned against the wall next to him. "It's my job to look after Abyss. Even though a lot of its people got driven out, the people of Abyss are my responsibility. And it's not easy. We just don't have that many people on our side. Rhea did what she could to help, but her Church politics kept getting in the way of her being able to do much for us." His tone of voice conveyed a fair amount of displeasure, making it clear that while he was thankful, he also blamed her for letting such politics get out of hand. "You, though, you don't let politics get in your way. If you wanted to help Abyss get the legitimacy it needs, you would do it."
"True," Edelgard said. "Though, I doubt you would want Abyss to stop being a place for those with nowhere to go."
"Of course I wouldn't. That's what makes Abyss special," Yuri agreed.
"I will aid Abyss as best I can," Edelgard promised. "If the people of Abyss have no other allies in the entire world, they will still have the Imperial throne looking out for them."
Yuri smiled more genuinely than Edelgard had ever seen him smile before. "Thank you."
Edelgard found Caspar arguing with Randolph at the training yard. "I don't understand why the Emperor decided to not only pardon you, but allow you back into her good graces. Even if the entire war was a scheme engineered by Arundel, you have proven that you hold no loyalty to Her Majesty. You should never have been allowed to return here."
"Maybe she was sick of being surrounded by boot-licking toads like you," Caspar sneered.
"What did you say?" Randolph asked angrily.
"You heard me," Caspar said snidely. "Maybe I did go against Edelgard. But I thought for myself. I made my own way in the world. And that's what Edelgard respects. You, though, all you've ever done is ride the coattails of your mom and stepdad. You're pathetic."
Randolph fumed with anger. "Had Her Majesty not ordered me otherwise, I would take your head for such an insult, family or not!"
"You could try," Caspar said sarcastically.
"That is enough," Edelgard interjected. "Caspar, Randolph has served me faithfully, even to his own detriment. And Randolph, Caspar might have betrayed the Empire, but he demonstrated great honor and courage, and was able to see through Arundel's deceptions even when I could not. The support he provided to my teacher was invaluable, and without that support, Arundel's wicked machinations might not have come to light and a peaceful resolution to the war might have been impossible to achieve."
"You heard Edelgard, uncle. Get bent," Caspar dismissed. Randolph, fuming, walked off.
"Caspar, I truly, greatly wronged you," Edelgard admitted. "Is there any way I can make amends to you at all?"
Caspar took two training axes off of a rack. "Let's go a few rounds. I've gotten better since Garreg Mach. Let's see what you're made of."
Edelgard fought as hard as she could during the spar. Caspar obviously wasn't holding back, and she knew he hated it when his opponents did. Even despite being much stronger than him, Edelgard struggled to land hits effectively. Caspar would knock her blows aside before they could gain enough momentum to be decisive, or duck out of her effective range before she could compensate, or close in for a punch when she overextended herself. He didn't fight perfectly, though, and several times her training axe left a bruise even through his light training armor.
Eventually, the two were too exhausted to continue fighting. "That was a good fight," Caspar said, before taking a swig of his canteen.
"So, are you still angry?" Edelgard asked.
"Nah, we're good. I just needed to burn off some steam. You made a mistake, but you realized it and you're trying to make it right. I can respect that," Caspar told her. "Word of warning, though. Ferdinand isn't too happy with you. And you really need to patch things up with Flayn. She's the one you need to apologize to the most."
"I know."
But first, Edelgard apologized to Dorothea. When Edelgard asked how she could make amends to the songstress, Dorothea seemed to ignore the question at first. "I thought a lot about your plans for abolishing the nobility. At first, it seemed like the sort of thing that I could endorse. It's no secret that I have little love for nobles, and placing more power in the hands of the common folk is something that I would wholeheartedly approve.
"But upon further consideration, I began to reconsider how much your plans would truly benefit the common folk. The only ones to actually receive any sort of power would be those who could show merit through action, and how many commoners would actually be able to do that? Even if they could develop the necessary skills to elevate themselves, how much opportunity would they have to demonstrate those skills? Especially when the new political class would be busy placing friends and family in the most important positions they could get away with.
"And what of the common folk who don't show that sort of merit? Would they simply be left to their squalor? The more I thought about it, the more I came to believe that your plan gives lip service to the common people, not meaningful power."
"You are right," Edelgard admitted. "I intended to make real change, but I did it poorly. I was so caught up in what I thought was best that I never listened to anyone else. But I am willing to listen now."
"If you're willing to listen, then I'm willing to forgive you," Dorothea told her.
Edelgard nodded. "So, what do you suggest?"
Dorothea began her analysis. "One of the main problems keeping commoners from having any sort of meaningful power is that they cannot own land. Because the land they work belongs to the nobility, laborers are effectively in permanent debt, preventing them from having any sort of upward mobility..."
Edelgard found Flayn playing with Leraye. "You are asking a lot," Flayn told her.
"I know. I should never have allowed Solon to experiment on you, nor-"
"No, that is not what I mean," Flayn clarified. "Solon experimenting on me was just something that happened to me. It was a horrible experience, but it is over now. That was not what truly affected me on a personal level, the way it was for you.
"What truly affected me was having to live on the run. For the majority of my life, I never truly had a home, nor real friends, because if I let anyone know who I truly was, I would be hunted down. Believe me, it is a harsh existence.
"And I know, had you won the war, even if you had let me live, I would have had to remain on the run forever. Your original vision for Fódlan had no place for me or my family, and we would never have been able to stop hiding."
Edelgard stayed silent. Flayn wasn't wrong.
"You didn't go through with it, but it will be difficult to completely forgive anyway," Flayn told her. "But if you truly want to make amends, there is a way. You are still able to shape the future of Fódlan. Create a future where we no longer have to hide. I will gladly forgive you then."
"I will do all I can," Edelgard agreed.
She had saved Ferdinand for last. "Do you want to know the worst part of it?" Ferdinand asked. "It was not being betrayed by someone I trusted and respected. It was not even being forced to fight my own people, the people my life's duty is to serve. No, the worst part was being completely unable to do anything about it.
"I could not see the war coming. I could do nothing to prevent it, nor to end it. I did not even have much to contribute, to make a difference. Worst of all, after my father was placed under house arrest and Arundel...Thales...took over the Aegir lands, I knew my people were suffering under him. I knew they were starving, overworked, and overtaxed. And I could do nothing for them. Even though my life's duty is to serve and protect them.
"I might have been able to forgive you for betraying me, and for forcing me to fight my own people. But after you, knowing who Arundel truly was, allowed him to oppress my people anyway? No, for that, there is no forgiveness. Not from me."
Edelgard hung her head. "I understand."
As she left, Ferdinand sighed. "Perhaps I was being unreasonable," he thought. "Edelgard is hardly the only one to blame. At least she did something about Thales."
He looked at his hands. Ferdinand von Aegir, noble scion of Adrestia. What a joke.