It was finally time to deal with Lord Lonato. The Black Eagles and Blue Lions were tasked with dealing with this issue together, for Rhea wished to show what would happen to those who defied the church. The two classes were also joined by Claude, who wanted to see how this type of internal conflict within Fodlan would be solved, and Lysithea, who took interest for her own reasons. "So it seems like we're dealing with this Lonato after all…" Byleth mumbled. It sounded like he was backed into a corner by the Knights, but managed to hold out this long.
"There's a fog up ahead. Be careful to mind your surroundings." Catherine warned everyone. "That fog is largely the reason we haven't been able to pin him down just yet."
"Sounds like a pain." Shez said. This fog was a pain in the ass…
"No matter how many enemies there may be, there is nothing to worry about with Catherine, the wielder of Thunderbrand on our side." Hubert's words held praise, but his tone implied something else.
"I agree, I am quite eager and feel honored to fight alongside someone as distinguished as Thunder Catherine." Dimitri said with a grin.
"Thunderbrand?" Shez blinked. "That freaky sword she carries around?"
"That's right." Catherine nodded, holding out her sword for all to see. "This is a Relic Weapon, only usable by those with Crests. Hero's Relics are very powerful weapons."
"You don't say?" Claude said with intrigue. "I guess we won't be having any problems today with someone so powerful on our side." He then glanced over at Lysithea, who was taking a strange interest in Catherine's sword. "What's up, Lysithea? Wanna sit on my shoulders so you can get a better view?"
Lysithea looked towards Claude, glaring and puffing her cheeks. "Excuse me!? I can see just fine, thank you very much!"
"Oh, okay. Just be careful with this fog. We wouldn't want to lose sight of you." Claude said with a grin. He was definitely pushing her buttons and was well aware of this.
"If you keep talking like that, you won't be found in this fog…" Lysithea had some embers flickering on her fingertips. She was absolutely about to blast him with fire.
"Hey…maybe we don't have to go that far…" Mercedes was attempting to be the voice of reason. The others were watching with mild discomfort.
"The enemy might be alerted of our position with how loud they're being. Are we sure bringing them along was a good idea?" Luke had to ask. So far they were just being troublesome.
"That's enough, students." Hanneman was going to put his foot down. "There's a time for horseplay later. But we have to be on guard."
"Sorry, sorry." Claude waved his hands.
"That aside…" Edelgard had to stand between Claude and Lysithea so they wouldn't fight each other. "Is there any real reason as to why this Lord Lonato would instigate a fight with the Church?"
"I don't know." Ashe shook his head. "He never told me anything about this. I'm his adopted son as well, so…"
"This must be hard for you, Ashe…" Ingrid said with a frown.
"It all goes back to the Tragedy of Duscur." Catherine reported with a frown. Upon hearing that name, Dimitri, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Luke all stiffened up a bit. Dedue just closed his eyes as the mood suddenly became much heavier.
"Christope, Lord Lonato's son, was accused of being involved in that whole affair. He was executed by the Church." Catherine was giving the short version. There was hardly a person in Fodlan who wasn't aware of the Tragedy of Duscur and the scars it left on the land. "Lonato must want revenge for what happened…or rather, his true grudge might be against…"
"I…" Ashe looked at Catherine.
Catherine could not look at Ashe. "No matter what, though, we have to take care of him before he becomes a problem."
"What…? How could Christophe be involved when…?" Luke was thinking about this pretty hard, but his thoughts were interrupted.
Shamir stepped forward. "Hey. The enemy is approaching. I don't think they plan to wait much longer."
"Eh? Who…?" Shez stared at Shamir. She vaguely recalled seeing this woman around the monastery from time to time, but that's as far as it went.
"This is Shamir, my partner! She's pretty good with a bow." Catherine changed the subject. "I doubt this fog will be a problem for her, that's just how it is."
"Don't oversell me." Shamir replied with a deadpanned tone. "Anyway, hurry up and get into position. The fog is starting to get thicker. It won't be long until it gets annoying. I hope you all prepared and brought torches to light the way."
"I heard there was fog, so I did." Byleth said, handing torches out to everyone. "Be careful with them."
"Thinking ahead, nice, Teach." Claude said.
"Fire magic will also work just as well." Hanneman handed out a few touches as well for his students to use.
"If things get bad because of the fog, don't forget your power." Arval told Shez.
"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to rely on it too much. I'm only gonna use it when the situation calls for it, otherwise it'll just be a crutch." Shez responded, following alongside everyone else as they walked forward.
"Alright. Your judgement has been getting a little better…but I'll step in if I need to. Don't forget that. We're partners after all." Arval was trusting Shez in this matter.
As everyone walked off, Yuri was the one who lingered behind. He watched Ashe walk ahead, the expression on his face still uncertain. "…It's now or never."
.
The battle in the fog began. There was shouting within the fog and Dimitri could hear the knights fighting. Everyone was a little scattered with their torches to illuminate as much of the field as possible, while staying close enough together to avoid being ambushed. This was already hard on Dimitri, because he was fighting his own people as the King to be. He did not want to fight his own subjects, but he had no choice. They were coming at him with violent intent, and he had to fight back. A militia solider approached him with his sword, and Dimitri quickly thrust his spear outward to take them down. "Tch…"
While this happened, someone did attempt to attack Dimitri from behind, but Dedue was already standing at the ready with his axe. "You will not lay a finger on His Majesty." He said before delivering a mighty swing with his weapon, easily overpowering the incoming militia solider that even dared to attack Dimitri.
Another solider attacked Dimitri. He swung his sword, but Dimitri blocked it with the handle of his lance. "Lord Lonato doesn't deserve such sadness and anger! Now it's your turn to suffer!"
"You think we're going to sit here and do nothing while you try to kill our lord!?" Another militia solider exclaimed. This one was an archer, and he tried to attack Dimitri with an arrow while he was distracted.
Ashe had no choice but to act. He fired an arrow of his own faster than his enemy's. It…was a direct hit. Not only this, but it was a fatal shot. As this happened, Dimitri pushed back the militia solider he was engaged with, slashing at them with his lance to take them down as well. The mere act of doing this already weighed heavily on their hearts. "Why, Lonato?" Ashe asked, but Lonato was currently nowhere near to hear his pleas. "Why did you drag so many others into this!?"
"L-Look out…!" Bernadetta shouted. Ashe was so into his grief at having to kill people he knew, he never noticed that one of them was attempting to attack him! So, in her panic, Bernadetta let an arrow fly to take down the one that tried to attack Ashe. "Ooh, this fog is really making my anxiety that much worse…!"
"Snap out of it, Ashe." Luke said while walking past him. "If this is too hard for you, let the rest of us take care of this." Luke fully understood the emotional toll this was taking on Ashe. "You shouldn't have to pay for your father's sins."
"Luke…Bernadetta…" Ashe snapped out of his shocked stupor. "I-I'm sorry. The battlefield is no place for hesitation. They're all…really trying to kill us." It was a hard reality to accept; a bitter pill he had to force himself to swallow.
"T-They are…" Bernadetta gulped. "That's why I'm content with letting the Knights do most of the fighting. B-But I'd feel bad if someone got hurt while I could've stopped it."
"Thank you." Ashe gave Bernadetta a soft smile.
"I do not blame you for how you feel, Ashe." Ferdinand stepped forward. There was a look of disappointment and disgust on his face. "It is not the mark of a noble to drag their people into a battle such as this. This is the complete opposite of what nobility stands for; this is the act of a monster, and I swear, as Ferdinand von Aegir, I will ensure nothing like this can ever happen anywhere again!"
"Way to set your sights to the sky." Luke said while rolling his eyes. It sounded like Ferdinand's heart was in the right place, but far be it from Luke to try and figure out what's going on in that guy's mind. "Dimitri. Are you going to stand like a deer caught in a lantern, or are you going to fight?"
Dimitri was caught spacing out, staring out at his own bloodied hands. The hands of his people. Luke's slightly callous words brought him back to earth. "…You're right, my apologies. I cannot risk being a liability in a fight such as this."
"Your Highness…are you sure you are alright?" Dedue was silent the whole time, but he was standing ready at Dimitri's side, not once leaving it. He knew the Prince could handle himself, so he wasn't exactly worried for his physical wellbeing. Mentally, though…
"I'll be alright, Dedue." Dimitri lied, but he was putting on a front for the others. With the Kingdom soon to be his, he had to keep a brave and composed face on.
"If only we could get rid of the fog…" Bernadetta huddled closer to the group out of fear of being singled out in the fog. As long as this fog remained, they wouldn't really be able to make any moves.
.
Catherine was tearing up what she could see of the battlefield. She did have a few Knights by her side, but with Thunderbrand in her possession, most of the enemies that came her way were easily dealt with. She wasn't leaving much in her path, and those that followed her were only serving as potential backup for an ambush. "Whoa! She's so cool!" Caspar said with delight. Catherine was every bit the legendary knight he had heard!
"This is very convenient for me." Linhardt said with a yawn. "This means I won't have to do much work."
"You should still keep your guard up, Lin." Dorothea said. She could see a shadow moving from the corner of her eye, and she managed to spot someone closing in. She held her hand out, only to hesitate for a second. She was…about to kill someone again. There was a spark of lightning on her palm that was going to fire, but Dorothea's hesitation wouldn't matter, because Caspar noticed now too.
"I see someone! Finally, some action!" Caspar lunged into action, bringing his gauntlets up to defend against the predictable strike. One arm served as defense, while the other was for offense. He slammed his iron gauntlet into the attacker's chest, causing them to fold over before being knocked off their feet, crashing into the ground.
"Excitable about battle as ever. If you run too far out into the fog, we won't be able to see you." Linhardt warned.
"…." Dorothea silently lowered her hand.
"…Why did you hesitate?" Lysithea asked. She was interested in Catherine and Thunderbrand, which is why she went with this group. "You could've gotten the kill."
"I know that, but…" Dorothea paused. "Killing is…"
"In a battlefield like this, it's either you, or them." Lysithea stated, mildly annoyed by Dorothea's hesitation on the battlefield. "You're lucky enough to get away with it here because Caspar noticed, and Shamir is…somewhere nearby. I'm sure her arrow would've struck true. But if you're on your own and it happens again, are you going to hesitate because you don't like how it feels?"
Lysithea was pretty blunt about this. Dorothea was unable to tell if Lysithea was trying to push her in the right direction, or just push her away. "…I'll do what I have to do, if it comes down to it."
"Hmph." Lysithea let out an annoyed little scoff.
"Keep moving, or we'll leave you behind." Shamir said, suddenly walking ahead of the two girls. Admittedly, she actually did come from nowhere. They didn't even hear her movements, so she startled them.
"W-Where did she…how did she…?" Lystithea hadn't the faintest clue of how Shamir did that, and neither did Dorothea.
.
.
Shez used one sword to deflect the sword of an attacker, before using her secondary sword to slice them and finish the job. She grit her teeth, a little annoyed at the situation. This fog was more problematic than she expected it to be, even with slightly increased visibility. "Damn it…I can't tell where I am anymore."
"Why are you acting like this is a new problem?" Arval couldn't help but slide that remark in.
"H-Hey! I'm getting better!" No she wasn't. Shez completely lost track of where she was, on a battlefield no less! She felt like a sitting duck.
"Gwah!"
"What was that!?" Shez snapped around in the direction of the voice. Accepting the fact that she's been separated from the others, she followed the sound of the scream. That's where she came across Hanneman and Petra…but they were fine. They were just gazing upon the trail of dead militia. The trail that led to…Byleth.
"…." Byleth's back was turned. She glanced over to see Shez, Petra and Hanneman, acknowledging their presence, and took off in the direction of more enemies.
"…The Ashen Demon…" Shez mumbled.
"My word. I heard of her reputation as a mercenary, but seeing it for myself like this invokes an entirely different feeling." Hanneman admitted.
"The Professor was acting like a fierce hunter." Petra said, carefully observing Byleth's movements. "She was attacking before the enemy had a chance to be looking."
The sight that Shez saw in that split second reminded her of that night several months ago. Byleth, just standing there after all the death she caused. "…They say the Ashen Demon kills people with no emotion on her face. I've seen it myself before."
"That would appear to be the case." Hanneman stroked his chin. As he thought, he could tell someone was approaching from behind to attack him. So he held his hand back, casting Thoron to snipe them from afar and take them out. "Although, something seemed oddly different about my fellow Professor when she walked away just now. Did you notice it?"
"Different?" Shez blinked. When Hanneman brought it up. "…I guess. Something did feel…off."
"Whatever is the matter? I can tell that your heart is not into this battle as it was in the last ones. You are hardly trying." Sothis asked Byleth, mildly concerned since she could feel something weighing her partner down.
"I guess I don't understand the point of this fight." Byleth told Sothis, cutting down someone else who tried to attack her from the front. Her battlefield and combat awareness was just too high, barely hindered by the fog. "Lady Rhea says this is for the good of the Church, but…"
"I understand. You do not enjoy senseless killing, and you feel as if this could be avoided, do you not?" Sothis asked. If there was anyone that could actually understand Byleth and how she felt, it would be her.
"Mhm." Byleth said. "But my students are now giving it their all, and I can't disrespect their efforts. So the least I can do is end this swiftly."
.
.
"This fog is only getting thicker." Ingrid grimaced. The further they advanced, the thicker the fog became. Even their torches weren't going to be enough at this rate. "How are we going to proceed if we cannot see?"
"It sounds like they don't want us getting any closer, so we must be on the right track." Felix could barely make out someone foolish enough to challenge him. So he clashed with their blade for a moment before parrying their strike to the side, finishing them off with a diagonal slice across their chest.
"There's someone responsible for the fog. If we can take them out, we should be able to clear this mess." Sylvain said.
"Nice thinking, Sylvain!" Annette beamed.
"I forgot you can be smart sometimes." Felix scoffed.
"But how do we begin finding them…?" Mercedes asked a good question. They were rapidly losing vision!
"OHOHOHO!" Constance's loud, annoying laugh echoed through the fog. "This is the chance where I get shine! Stand back, everyone! For it is time that I cast a spell that will instantly remove this fog!"
"Seriously? Constance, if this works, no, WHEN this works, it'll confirm that you are the smartest and most beautiful mage I've ever seen." Sylvain winked at Constance, but she couldn't see it.
"Coco, are you sure about this?" Hapi asked.
"Shady Lady, this might not…" Yuri was also in opposition to the idea, but it was Constance. So she was going to go through with this regardless.
"Behold!" Constance said as she opened her tome and began to cast a spell. It…made the fog even thicker, with completely blurred visibility on all sides.
"She made it worse." Felix's deadpanned expression could be heard in his voice. Why did they let his woman try?
"…Constance…can you cancel the spell?" Mercedes asked with a sweat drop. There was not a person on the battlefield that could advance with absolutely nothing was visible.
"No, it is working…!" Constance insisted, despite nobody being able to tell. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed down somewhere and someone let out a cry of pain. Be it luck, fate, or perhaps Constance's own power, but the bolt of lightning struck the mage that was responsible for the fog! The fog vanished and the sun came out!
"Wow, Constance! You really are amazing!" Annette clasped her hands together.
"I guess we underestimated you. We're sorry." Ingrid apologized, but everyone stopped.
"…Your kind words are utterly wasted on someone such as myself. I do not deserve them." That was Constance. Like a flipped switch, the instant the sun was out, her personality shifted. There was a dark shadow over her eyes, and her own expression lost that arrogance, instead replaced with a far more depressed expression. "If anything, I should crawl into the nearest hole and leave myself there for making the battlefield worse for a moment…"
"W-What happened to her…?" Ingrid asked.
"That's a long story." Hapi said, already attempting to find some shade to move Constance into.
"Don't worry about it…she'll be alright. She can still fight." Yuri waved everyone's concerns aside. More importantly…"
.
.
With the fog beginning to clear, Edelgard, Claude, and Hubert could see the results of the battle thus far. Multiple Kingdom militia just sprawled on the ground, all dead. "…So this is a Kingdom conflict." Claude said, hands behind his head.
"To think, he managed to get this many people to fight the Church. I wonder what he was trying to accomplish with a force like this? Even if we hadn't arrived, I doubt we would've made as much progress as he would've thought." Edelgard stated. Her axe was dripping with blood, having taken care of her fair share of militia.
"Perhaps he sought to gain nothing at all, but make his vitriol known to the world." Hubert suggested. "Or maybe he was mad enough to believe he would emerge from this conflict victorious."
"Something like this would never happen in the Alliance." Claude stated. While it looked like he was being casual about it…he was anything but. "But to see this kind of conflict up close…and because of hatred aimed at the Church."
"Perhaps it runs deeper than the Church." Edelgard said casually. She started to walk forward, not wanting to be left behind in the battle. Hubert followed wordlessly behind her. "Perhaps Lady Rhea wishes for us to silence Lonato before he utters something she doesn't like." That was merely speculation on her part, but she knew that Rhea wasn't the woman she pretended to be. Snuffing out Lonato's rebellion for acting out against the Church? She could sense the true intentions behind this.
"Deeper than the Church, huh?" Claude thought aloud. "I was thinking the same thing. If I were going to attack the Church, there's only one thing I'd want out of it." And it seemed like Claude could as well. Only he didn't have any problems being so vocal about it.
"You and I both…" Edelgard thought to herself. She and Claude were on the same page, but this wasn't something she would admit aloud to him…yet.
.
.
The Fog was cleared and Lonato had nowhere to hide. Catherine struck down an armored knight with Thunderbrand, slowly approaching Lonato and those who were around him. "It's you…Thunderstrike Cassandra! It was your zealotry that killed my son! I will be the one to kill you" Lonato pointed to Catherine accusingly, getting his lance ready.
Catherine laughed dismissively to that name. "The only name I answer to now is Catherine. Prepare to taste the blade of one who serves the Goddess! Now you face a Knight of Serios!" She swung her sword at Lonato, and he countered with his lance. The two clashed and Catherine's Hero Relic had the clear advantage in power.
Lonato was pushed back, sliding against the ground before coming to a halt. One eye was clenched shut, feeling his arm throb just from the rebound of force coming from Thunderbrand. Despite the disadvantage he may have possessed, he did not intend to yield. "The fog has cleared. There's nothing left to hide you or the filthy Central Church from the judgement of the goddess!" Just as he was about to attack again, Shamir fired an arrow from behind Catherine. Lonato didn't notice this until it struck his leg, causing him to grunt in pain. "Gah…!"
Catherine swiftly followed up with another strike, attempting to end Lonato right then and there. She brought her sword down, but Lonato was a quick thinker and more spry than his old age suggested. Catherine was coming in with a leaping slash, so he extended his lance out to threaten her. This forced her to strike somewhere else to avoid being run through. "This would be easier on everyone if you just stopped right now. You have lost all sense of justice. So I will do you a favor and send to you to meet your goddess."
"I will do no such thing." Lonato slowly stood up, grimacing from the arrow in his leg. He pulled it out fearlessly. This is when Dimitri and Ashe ran ahead. They had to talk to Lonato before this continued. "I apologize, Your Highness. It is regrettable that we should cross swords like this."
"Lonato, I sympathize with your position, I really do." Dimitri shook his head. "I don't want to kill you, but you're leaving me with no choice."
"Your Highness, I cannot stop here." Lonato said with a strange conviction. "For my child, and for the people of Fodlan. If you will not stand aside, then I have no choice but to cut you down."
"Lonato, you don't have to do this!" Ashe exclaimed.
"Stand down, Ashe." Lonato demanded. "I must destroy these evildoers."
"Please, surrender, Lonato!" Ashe pleaded. "Whatever yor reasons for doing this, we can still talk it out!"
"Rhea is an infidel who has deceived people and desecrated the Goddess!" Lonato shouted. "We have virtue and the goddess on our side!"
"But that's no reason to drag the townspeople into it! Even if that's all true…!"Ashe said.
"Enough." Lonato said while raising his lance towards his own son. "If that is how you feel, I will put an end to this! If I must avenge one son by slaying another, then allow my soul to be forever forfeit!" And he even moved in to attack Ashe, much to the boy's surprise. But he was intercepted by Catherine, who's Thunderbrand cleaved up across his chest.
"How dare you shout such blasphemous lies about Lady Rhea!?" That was the trigger for Catherine. Lonato gasped as Catherine's blow was fatal, slashing through his armor and cutting deep into his chest. Blood spurted from his wound and he hit the ground, gasping for air.
Ashe was stuck in shock. The others properly gathered around the scene to see Catherine's finishing blow. "…Lonato…why? Why did you do this…!?" Ashe fell to his knees near Lonato. It was clear that Lonato wasn't going to be breathing for much longer. "Why would you…!?"
"To….avenge…Christophe…" Lonato coughed some blood up while looking at Ashe. "You…you weren't supposed to be involved in this, Ashe…but…the truth…"
"What truth!?" Ashe asked. "What could possibly make you want to-!?"
With the last of his strength, Lonato pointed at Catherine. "The Church lied…She…Cassandra…she is the one…she is the one that killed Christophe…!" With the last of his strength, Lonato would indict Catherine of the murder of his son. He dropped this bombshell with the sole intention of letting Ashe know that one truth. And with that…Lonato breathed his last.
"Catherine is Cassandra…!? But that means…!" For whatever reason, Luke was unfortunately aware of the history of this, but... "Wait, no, Lonato you fool…!"
"Catherine…?" Ashe slowly turned to Catherine with wide eyes. He was looking towards Catherine, his respect for her as a knight shining through his eyes with hope. Hope that this wasn't true. "Is…Is this true…?"
Catherine closed her eyes while putting Thunderbrand away. "Ashe…it is true. But…"
"Don't but me…!" Ashe suddenly rose his voice. "Is this why you couldn't look me in the eye earlier!? Are you telling me this whole thing could've been avoided? I killed the townspeople that were so nice to me for nothing!?"
"Not for nothing." Catherine interjected. "Ashe, if you let me expl…"
"I don't want to hear your explanation." Ashe was rightfully angry. Even if he didn't know all the details, it didn't matter to him. He was just forced into a battle against people he knew; he just had to kill people he knew; he watched the man who saved his life die, and with his last breath, reveal a truth that Catherine wasn't denying. "I'm going to the village to check on my brother and sister…I don't want you near them."
There was a thick tension in the air. Lonato truly spited Catherine with his final breath. Catherine always knew this was a possibility; it wasn't something she could run away from. But…she was hoping to hide it for a little longer, or at the very least, confront this on her own terms. Thanks to Lonato, that was not a possibility. "….I'm going to gather our troops."
"…" Shamir didn't say anything. She just followed Catherine.
Yuri didn't say anything as Ashe stormed off. He knew that Ashe had to confront Lonato, but this outcome was not the one he was expecting. It was…messy, to say the least. "So that's how this ends, huh? Pretty ugly."
"…I hope Ashe will be okay from this…" Mercedes said quietly.
"Damn it, Lonato…" Luke cursed. Lonato's spite was exactly what was wrong with the Kingdom. "Letting the dead control the living…you're just continuing that damn cycle…"
"Come now, everyone." Hanneman ushered the students to regroup with the Knights. "We will regroup and make our leave soon. Tend to your wounds and watch your step."
.
.
"We won pretty easily, but…." Shez was with Byleth, Edelgard, Claude, and Dimitri. "I…I don't really feel like we won." The atmosphere was extremely heavy: killing townsfolk, Lonato's final act of spite, all topped with Ashe's reaction to it all as well.
"Yeah," Claude agreed with that sentiment. "That battle left a bad taste in my mouth." While Dimitri was with the group, his back was turned, facing away from them. "I bet it was hard on more than just us, too…"
"The commoners themselves allied with Lonato, fighting for a cause they believed in. It would be disrespectful to consider them victims, when they fought for what they believed in. Still, we have no choice but to eliminate those who cling to unreasonable ideas of justice."
"Mm…" Byleth didn't really respond.
"They are victims." Dimitri refuted Edelgard's words. "Their blood is on my hands. That was my first time killing civilians like that, my people. Is it truly okay to take any life you please, all in the service of some implacable 'just cause'? Lord Lonato didn't take up arms for the sake of power. He simply believed his cause to be just. Who's to say it wasn't? Who are we to claim that he was wrong? Maybe we didn't have to cut him down like that. Maybe we could have reached a mutual understanding…found a path of peace. Perhaps it sounds naïve, and I know this, but…"
"…I wonder if it was possible." Byleth said, taking one last look at the battlefield. A lot of lives would've been spared if this fight didn't happen. It was a needless fight as far as she was concerned.
"..." Edelgard said nothing. At least Dimitri was self-aware about how this sounded. "We cannot create change without sacrifice of some kind. I'm no different from Lonato in that regard." She isn't afraid to admit that either. She had her own ideals, but her way of going about them was not as reckless as Lonato and his ultimately meager force.
"Be that as it may, I can tell that none of us want something like this to happen a second time." Claude could see that written on everyone's faces. It left such a bad mood all around. "So that means we're all gonna have to be a little bit better, right?" As he's stated before, something like this would never happen in the Alliance. Perhaps not even the Empire as far as he knew…but the Kingdom had its fair share of problems just like everywhere else. They were just louder.
"Indeed." Edelgard agreed with Claude. Something she found a bit odd, but he had a point. "Something so reckless as this should not be allowed to happen again." Her wording was very important.
"I will…try to do better." Dimitri didn't even know where to begin, but he knew he had to do something. Something that would stop something as horrible as this from happening a second time…
"…" Shez said nothing. There was nothing for her to say. She had no input. This was one of those moments where she realized her place. She was…a nobody. These were future leaders of Fodlan. It felt like she had no place here…
"I'll do what I can too." Byleth said suddenly, surprising everyone. "I don't know what that is…but I'll help as best I can. It's the least I can do."
Edelgard did manage a small smile from Byleth's words. Her tone was a little flat, but despite that, she could sense that her Teacher truly meant what she said. "Thank you, Professor."
Catherine made her way over to the small group in a hurry, holding scroll in hand. "Professor, I'm sorry to intrude, but this incident may be more serious than anticipated. I found this on Lonato."
"What is it..?" Byleth questioned.
"It is a note with plans to assassinate Lady Rhea." Catherine said. This grim news made the eyes of everyone present widen. They thought Lonato's death would be the end of this, but in fact…..
It was only just beginning.
