"You'll have to forgive my eavesdropping, it's a terribly useful habit I picked up over the years." Claude dusted off his coat as he rose from the ground. "But I couldn't help but overhear that apparently her imperial highness is planning to start a war."
"Against the Church, if you recall." Byleth said.
"And a few others, if I heard right. I'm sure the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus will be ecstatic to hear the news. And I'm sure her highness will take the time to explain to all the lords of the Alliance that attacking the Church that they've known all their life is for their own good. Not to mention her inevitable demands to move troops through Alliance territory, which will in no way be a takeover of my poor little country." Claude paused to look around the courtyard for any witnesses.
"My magic still blocks the ears of whomever I do not wish to hear." Byleth walked to a nearby bench, sitting down under the midday sun.
Claude followed hesitantly. "And who's the whomever you want to hear our little chat? Dimitri? Lady Rhea?"
"Both of them would act rashly, and start the war themselves if I did." Byleth's expression was glassy and distant, as if she were discussing the weather. "Telling them now would be counterproductive to stopping the war."
"Yeah, message received." Claude said. "But really, who else have you decided to let listen in on our little chat? There's a whole monastery worth of people who'd be quite interested to listen in on us, and you've only told me not to mention this whole mess to two people."
Claude saw the faintest hint of a smirk. "No one else is listening to us. I promise."
Claude studied her. Deciding that this was the most assurance he was going to get, Claude elected to play along. "So. Care to share any of my secrets to prove you know me better than I do?"
"Almyra."
Claude blinked. Byleth looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She was daring him too respond.
Well, Claude knew better then to leave a lady waiting. "…That's it? You spill Edelgard and Hubert's darkest secrets at their feet, spell out what they plan to do for the next decade, all while telling them everything they are fighting for isn't worth it, and you just give me one word?"
Byleth cocked her brow. "Do you want me to say anything else?"
"…Yeah, I guess not." Claude sighed, letting himself calm down before continuing. "Maybe I'm going crazy. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I was killed by bandits and this last week was one long fever dream."
"Maybe."
Claude groaned. "And wondering about this won't get me anywhere. Fine, I'll play." One way or another, this was going to get messy. Claude supposed he might as well dive headfirst. "This might seem to brutal for my taste, but were talking about a war, so I can't exactly play nice. Why not just kill Edelgard and be done with it? Your little chat made it seem like she's going to start the war all by herself."
"This conflict has been brewing for far longer then she has been Imperial heir. Many important politicians want it to happen for one reason or another. Within the empire, the gears of war are already turning." Byleth said as she watched a butterfly dance on the gentle spring breeze, darting between well-groomed flowers. "If Edelgard were to die now, the war would still come, sooner or later. The easiest way to stop the war is to convince Edelgard to stop it."
"You seem quite certain of that."
"I am."
"And the various parties that also want the war? They'll just lay over and accept this hypothetical peace?"
"A certain level of internal struggle will be inevitable. Though you would agree that a smaller conflict would be better for everyone."
"…Are you going to make a habit of telling me what I think?" Claude asked.
The smirk almost returned to Byleth's lips. "My hobbies have grown eclectic."
Claude wasn't convinced, but then again, he wasn't sure he was convinced about anything he'd heard in the past half hour. "And what am I supposed to do with this knowledge? Am I supposed to fight Edelgard to a duel to take control of the Empire? Should I bring her sweets and flowers until she falls madly in love with me and can't be bothered to start a fight? You've dropped this problem at my feet, and I barely even know where to start."
"For as long as I've known you, you've always remained resourceful. When given no pre-warning, you've managed to turn this very problem into a resounding victory." Byleth looked into Claude's eyes. "You don't always get everything, but you often get enough."
"Pretty words." Claude said. "It doesn't sound much different from what you told Edelgard, and still hopelessly vague."
"Would you like me to dictate a letter for Count Riegan and Lady Judith for you?" Byleth asked. "I can all but guarantee they will react the way you want them too."
Claude looked at her oddly. "You want to bring the old man in on this?"
"Both are your natural allies in the Alliance. Count Riegan is intent on keeping his legacy intact. Lady Judith has fought for the Alliance before. She will again."
Claude huffed out a laugh. "Really? That's your plan? Convince five men who are all various shades of greedy, cantankerous and petty, to join forces against a threat that one of their grandkids overheard at school? I've only had the displeasure of hearing them argue together twice and already your plan is bordering on impossible. This is, of course, assuming I can find solid evidence of the brewing war in the first place." He turned to Byleth, arms crossed under his chest. "Just because Judith 'likes' me doesn't mean she'll just come running to my aid if I say something this crazy. I may not know the old man well, but I know him enough to say that he'd call me mad if I came to him saying I knew a war was coming because I overheard some mercenary gossiping."
"With the Imperial princess." Byleth said. "Evidence doesn't have to be absolute. All it needs is enough weight to make the lords look into things to confirm it themselves. At this point, the far-fetched nature of your report works in our favor. No matter how much evidence there is to the contrary, Alliance Lords earn their place at the table with their wits. All of the Roundtable won't be able to dismiss their suspicions if you tell them you overheard it from Edelgard of all people. Truth is stranger than fiction."
"Yeah, about Edelgard." Claude said. "What exactly does she want? Why start a war?"
"She believes that the Church has too much power, and enforces the Crest system that unfairly keeps people without Crests away from power they deserve."
"And the nobles? Last I checked, they had plenty to do with keeping the Crest system around."
"She plans to strip those who don't deserve their power and establish a meritocracy."
"Just strip the titles they've been raised from birth to believe they deserve, huh." Claude sighed. "That sounds like a logistical nightmare."
"You disagree?" Byleth asked.
Claude looked at her flatly. "You already know the answer to that."
Byleth gave a short, almost mocking nod. "I do."
Claude rolled his eyes. "You seem to be planning to steer Edelgard away from this whole war idea, so what's the point of going through all the trouble of alerting the Roundtable in the first place?"
Byleth gave a small huff. "My memory is vast, but it does not encompass everything. Many small details are lost to me. I may be able to convince Edelgard to stop. But sometimes she refuses to budge."
"And it's better to be prepared if the worst comes. Right, I get that." Claude said. He already felt his brow furrowed as he tried to grasp the situation he'd stumbled into. "And if you are successful in turning Edelgard, I suppose no one will be able to hide a power struggle on par with the insurrection of the seven. So then I won't be the idiot grandson looking to make a name for himself over a false alarm." Claude raised his eyebrow, rising form his seat and looking Byleth dead in the eye. "Right, friend?"
Byleth met his stare. "Exactly right."
Claude sighed, massaging his temples. "I suppose I'll take that as seriously as the rest of this conversation. I need to go think about…everything."
Claude turned to leave, before stopping. "I almost forgot. I don't have much experience with crests, but something tells me having two isn't something that's normal…or even possible."
Byleth stood up. "House Ordelia has some experience on the subject." With that, she walked past Claude, disappearing into Garreg Mach's hallways. Claude watched her leave, before doing his best impression of a casual stroll towards his own room.
Claude wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do with all the information that Byleth had dropped at his feet. She had made it sound so easy, but this was, at best, a problem he would have to convince the Roundtable to acknowledge, somehow make all five of the bastards agree to a untied front, only to watch the Empire repeat it's decade old internal turmoil. He could already hear his ears ringing from their inevitable complaining and posturing once the lords learn that they wouldn't get to prove their valor on the battlefield, or whatever nonsense they would whine to him about.
Further complicating matters was that Byleth had said that the war would start with or without Edelgard, but had also prophesied that the princess would be the one to start the war. Crossing up the stairs, Claude's thought's drifted towards assassination. It wasn't his style, but if there was a chance that one death could stop a war before it began, Claude would do well to swallow his pride. If Edelgard died, the empire would be heirless, and that would probably throw the war plans into chaos. Both Byleth and Edelgard had insinuated that the imperial princess would at very least be an important figurehead for the Adrestian armies. But even putting aside Byleth's predictions, an assassination at Garreg Mach, and on the heir to the imperial throne of all people, would be extremely risky at best. There would be countless factors Claude would have to juggle if he hoped to get away with a crime that serious. Not to mention what would happen to Claude if the assassination was ever connected back to him.
Claude suddenly regretted making himself known as the local poison master.
Still, It was early in the year, and there was plenty of time for things to develop. The assassination idea would be shelved, at least for now.
Claude entered his room, slammed the door shut, and collapsed on top of his bed. He hated to admit it, but Claude didn't have any easy path forward. He would have to play this slow. Byleth had mentioned that Judith and Count Riegan would be good places to start, which was true. Count Riegan was blood, which might count for something, and head of the Alliance. Getting the old man on board would do wonders for his credibility. And even if Judith had been kicked out of the roundtable, she still held quite a bit of sway as a hero to lords and the common man alike.
That left four other houses to convince. Claude knew Lorenz made a show of being pious, so perhaps Count Gloucester was the same. If he could prove that Edelgard was out for the church, it might sway the man. Claude didn't have much of a read on Margrave Edmund, but could probably probe Marianne for information. Byleth had given him a tantalizing bit of potential blackmail on Ordelia, but he still wasn't sure what to make of someone having two Crests, and what exactly that meant. It would be best to play clueless student asking Hannemen strange hypotheticals, as well as prod Lysithia for anything she might know.
Goneril's major objective was to keep the border with Almyra secure, and a war to the south would be bad for that business. If he could convince them that the war was coming before anything major started, House Goneril would likely work to end the threat of the Empire quickly, so they would not have to turn their backs on the Fódlan's Throat, or so Claude hoped. He could only pray that Hilda's laziness wasn't hereditary.
Then there was the Church and Kingdom to think of. How much should he tell them? Byleth had mentioned Dimitri was unstable, but his classmate wasn't in charge of anything yet, and other, cooler heads were present in the Blaiddyd court. And even if Claude didn't like Rhea or her Church, there was no denying many of his classmates and soon to be subjects did. Should he let them dangle in the wind, or offer what he had for future favors, as well as help in accomplishing his own dream?
But before Claude tried to work his way into the heart's and minds of the other houses, it really was in his best interest to convince his grandfather. Claude pinched himself, and when his surroundings failed to change, decided that even if he was lying in bed, he had not been dreaming the past hour. Claude sighed.
He'd come to Garreg Mach to secure what power he could to bring his dream into reality. Playing politics with the Alliance lords this early on in his life had not been part of his plan. Still, not everything about the situation he'd been conscripted to was bad. Even if Byleth succeeded in turning Edelgard, getting the credit for making sure the Alliance wasn't caught by a surprise attack would be a huge boon.
Claude rose from his bed, and set to work. No matter what Byleth said would happen, Claude wasn't going to let this opportunity slip. He'd get something out of this situation. No matter what the world threw at him, Claude would see his dream become a reality.
It's a theme week with these two, right?
And then Byleth slammed open Claude's door, threw him onto his bed, and then they made sweet, passionate love, uniting Almyra and Fódlan. At the wedding, Edelgard was maid of honor, and Dimitri best man. They both wept after Byleth, lamenting the one who got away. Rhea stared on in bewilderment through the entire event.
In the past. And possibly the future.
Not sure why I bothered to give a date last chapter, my apologies. From here on, I'll make sure your flying as blind as me. In all seriousness though, expect one chapter every two weeks or so.
Expect something a bit lighter next time, and a bit of a break from Byleth telling characters things we already know. The next few chapters will have a bit more forward motion I hope.
Also, the story has hit over 1000 views. Thanks everyone!
As always, please review.
