The Cathedral at Garreg Mach:
Ashe was sitting on one of the pews with his head down contemplating about the recent events surrounding the Western Church rebellion, the attempted assasination on Lady Rhea and the attack on the Holy Masoleum. The events were thankfully thwarted thanks to his classmates and Professor Byleth. However, he couldn't shake the feeling of discomfort when he heard that the Western Church members who partook in the incidents were put to death by Lady Rhea. While he agreed that what they did was bad, he pondered whether it was bad enough for them to be executed. Not to mention, most of his classmates seem to agree with Rhea's decision minus Ingrid who showed some discomfort as well.
Ashe let out a deep sigh as he continued to mull over his thoughts.
"Oh Ashe!" said a familiar airy voice.
Ashe looked up to see one of his classmates: the kind and benevolent Mercedes von Martritz. She was always seen as the big sister and surrogate mom in the class and Ashe really admired her kindness and optimism, not to mention her willingness to give everything her best effort like when she tried to add spices to her cooking despite not being fond of it. However upon seeing the older golden haired girl, Ashe couldn't help but think back to a couple days ago when the class had their discussion about the recent events surrounding the Western Church. Though he never showed it, Ashe was shocked when Mercedes of all people fully supported Lady Rhea's decision to execute the Western Church members.
-x-
"So...those people from the Western Church were.." Ashe stammered as he looked down. "Um, Lady Rhea had them killed, didn't she?"
"Well, of course she did." Mercedes exclaimed with a frown. "Going against the teachings of Seiros like that. Quite unforgivable!"
-x-
"Is something the matter Ashe?" Mercedes asked, snapping him back to reality.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Ashe responded quickly. "It's just..." He just put his head down, not knowing what to say.
"If something is bothering you, you can tell me." Mercedes said with a smile as she sat next to him.
Ashe sighed wondering if it's really okay to tell Mercedes what was troubling him. Considering a lot of his thoughts are currently centering around the Western Church members' execution and how Mercedes was supportive of it, he was worried that he might alienate her with his thoughts.
"Mercedes.." Ashe began looking down. "Do you think Lady Rhea did the right thing by executing those Western Church people?"
"Why yes." Mercedes said. "They went against the teachings of Seiros in such a way that I don't think they could ever be forgiven."
"I agree what they did was unforgivable." Ashe responded "And they should be punished, but I'm not sure if putting them to death was the appropriate punishment."
Mercedes frowned a bit which worried Ashe. "Could he have already alienated her with his opinion on the matter?" he thought.
"It's just..could there have been another way other than killing them?" Ashe asked.
"I don't think there could be." Mercedes said. "Ashe, they have commited such terrible crimes. They tried to assasinate Lady Rhea, unlawfully entered the Monastery and then attacked us in Holy Masoleum while trying to steal something from the Goddess. All of this during the Goddess Rite of Rebirth when the Church of Seiros and its believers unite to pray for the return of the goddess."
"Yeah, I guess..and they were indirectly responsible for killing Lonato by inciting him to rebel." Ashe said looking down as he remembered that fateful day when Lonato was killed by his arrow.
Mercedes sadly nodded. "And even with all that, from what Dimitri and the Professor said, they didn't feel any guilt or remorse for what they did. Instead, they tried to save their own skin by saying they were decieved and weren't part of the Western Church. It would be one thing if they felt guilty for what they did, but the fact that they didn't and tried to lie to save themselves makes them unforgivable in my eyes."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Ashe said awkwardly.
"It's okay to feel uncomfortable and not agree Ashe." Mercedes said enveloping him in a warm embrace. "You shouldn't feel bad about thinking things differently. Maybe there could have been another way other than killing them, but considering they showed no remorse, if Lady Rhea didn't kill them, then they probably would have committed the crime again and maybe even succeeded. Lady Rhea may be harsh with her punishments, but her heart is in the right place. She's thinking for all of us and trying to maintain peace and order."
Ashe nodded. "And even then, it's not like there's anything we can do about it isn't it? They're gone. They're not coming back."
Mercedes agreed. "The only thing we can do is move forward and pray to the Goddess and hope that their souls are able to seek atonement for what they did."
"Yeah, thanks Mercedes. I think I finally got some clarity now." Ashe said smiling.
Mercedes giggled. "I'm glad you're feeling better. What do you say we go and pray for the souls of those who lost their lives and hope that they will able seek atonement and comfort from the Goddess?"
Ashe nodded. "Yeah, I think that will be a great idea."
As Mercedes and Ashe head to the center of the Cathedral to pray, Ashe looked forward to the eventual investigation of the Western Church so that he can find out why they dragged a good man like his adoptive father to this mess and make them pay. But for now, clasping his hands alongside Mercedes, Ashe prayed to the Goddess and hoped that the people who got executed were able to seek atonement.
