Chapter 19: Donut Twists
Dough: 1 1/4 cup warm milk, active yeast, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, 6 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 egg, 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt
Chocolate Glaze: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 4 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 3 tbsp whole milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, salt
Combine milk, sugar, yeast in a bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy. Add butter, egg, 3 cups flour, and salt and mix well until soft and somewhat sticky. Transfer to oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for ~1 hr.
Knead the dough and transfer to a floured work surface and divide into pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, then twist and seal the ends. Place sealed twists on a baking pan with parchment paper. Cover with damp towel and let rest until doubled in size (~30 mins).
Fill a heavy dutch oven/pot with oil and heat to 360F and fry doughnuts inside. Drain and transfer to a rack with paper towel underneath.
Glaze: Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, butter, milk, vanilla until smooth. Dip doughnuts into glaze and return to rack and allow to set before eating.
Edelgard ran a pensive hand through her hair, eyes staring blankly ahead.
It had to be done, she thought. Leonie knew Monica's connection…if she knows, how much of the rest of the Alliance does as well? Does the Kingdom? If the knowledge of who I have allied with becomes public…even in victory, it will be difficult to bring the conquered together. Not to mention, if Lysithea finds out we're working with the ones who-
"Pardon me, Your Majesty." Hubert nodded as he entered. "A good victory today. We must advance forward and crush the Alliance. Claude awaits us in Derdriu."
Edelgard nodded.
"It will not be easy; he is no easy opponent. We must give our troops time to recover before our advance."
"But if we were to use them-"
"No." Edelgard's rejection was flat and unyielding. "We will not utilize them unless it is absolutely necessary."
Hubert bent to a knee and bowed his head, oily hair dropping to cover his face.
"As you wish. I will keep them on standby in the unlikely event that we are overpowered."
"Thank you, Hubert." Edelgard held out a hand to help him back to his feet.
"Excuse my impudence, Your Majesty, but…you seem to be in thought."
Edelgard smiled weakly.
"That obvious, huh? Just…fighting Leonie, and Ignatz today. I can still remember the days we spent at the Monastery together, studying in the library, celebrating weekends and romping around the fields. Even the mock battle; it's hard to believe how things have changed so much in just a few short years…"
Hubert dropped his gaze to meet hers.
"Your Majesty. We knew this was a potential consequence of our actions. We knew the path would be bloody; we must keep our sight ahead to maintain the strength to do what must be done."
"But...if we must destroy everything and everyone, who will be left to share the triumph with? Can it even be called-"
She was interrupted by the tent flap opening once again, allowing Lysithea and Byleth to stride in.
"Oh. Good evening, both of you. What brings you here?"
"Edelgard…what were you thinking? How could you do that?" Lysithea blurted out, stamping the floor indignantly. Edelgard could only hang her head. She knew what Lysithea was asking about.
Hubert stepped in between them.
"She was doing what was necessary."
"Necessary? Is it ever necessary to kill a helpless soldier? Ignatz was disarmed; he couldn't hurt us. We could have taken him prisoner, or gotten some information. Why was killing necessary?" Lysithea's voice raised progressively as tears began to form. "They were on the other side…but they're still our friends, Edelgard! If I hadn't joined this house, would you have slaughtered me without a second thought? Just-" Her voice cracked as the scenes flashed in her mind. "Just like them?"
"I-" Edelgard swallowed harshly. "Lysithea..long ago, I asked if you would stick with me. Through thick or thin."
"Do you remember what else you said to me that night? At the camp, after we had lost the Professor? You said you saw me as a sister, and that war wouldn't change that. Were you lying to me then?"
Edelgard had no answer.
"If it had been me in Leonie's place, would you have done any differently? Or would have allowed me to be cut down as well?"
"...I cannot defend myself." Edelgard's eyes were still fixed firmly on the floor. "I am sorry. The rage of war took over when I was fighting Leonie. I promise you I will do better."
"And what about Ignatz? Hubert killed him in cold blood. He was disarmed and defenseless, on the floor."
Hubert snorted.
"War is not won with mercy."
Edelgard held up a hand to stop Hubert.
"No, but the people can be. Lysithea is right. Though we are moving to conquer our enemies, the goal has always been to unify the people of Fodlan. All of Fodlan."
"Your Majesty…," Hubert stopped himself. "You are emotional now. We will speak of this later." Without another word, he left the room. Edelgard dropped her head into her hands, a weak stream of tears forming between her fingers. Lysithea's eyes narrowed at the flap that Hubert had just passed through.
Something's fishy there, she thought. Though it could also just be Hubert being Hubert.
"El...I'm sorry. I know you have so much to worry about, and I'm just adding on. But...that person on the Bridge today wasn't the El that I know. And I'm scared of what you're becoming as we push further in this war."
"...If only you knew," Edelgard said sadly.
"If only I knew? What does that mean," Lysithea asked. "Do..do I even want to know?"
"The Professor already knows. As of yesterday, that is. Hubert told me that he told you; you must hate me now, Professor." Edelgard's voice was halting and tremulous.
"What's going on here," Lysithea said nervously. Edelgard took a deep breath.
She's going to find out sooner or later.
"I've been working with a group of people who have long been underground in the Empire. Those who know them refer to them as 'Those Who Slither in the Dark.'"
"Um, I'm lost. Who?"
"...The ones who put your second Crest in you."
"My second Crest?!" Lysithea's head swam with all the implications of what she just learned. "But…they're the ones that killed Professor Jeralt, aren't they? How could you be working with them?" She was in shock at this revelation.
Edelgard shook her head and shushed Lysithea.
"Quiet! There are too many ears in camp," she whispered. "We need to scout out somewhere outside of camp...and preferably alone. I'll let you both know when I've thought of something. Until then, please, believe in me. When next we speak, I will tell you everything."
Lysithea, still reeling, could only nod in response. Edelgard thanked her quietly before leaving the tent. Byleth's hand caressed his chin once again, deep in thought.
"What do you think, Byleth?"
"I'm not sure. Hubert did tell me of this right before the battle just now. But...I decided to think about it afterwards. Did you notice that it seemed Hubert was more than willing to answer for Edelgard?"
Lysithea nodded.
"My guess is that Hubert has been their man from the beginning, keeping an eye on and controlling Edelgard's movements. We must proceed carefully around him from now on."
"And what of Edelgard?" Lysithea crossed her arms.
"Nothing for now. I believe her when she says she has no choice. She is doing what she thinks is the best way to achieve her goal; I know her well enough to be sure of that. So I say we let her explain and make our own decision."
"You make it sound so easy. I thought the world of Edelgard, but now..this…" Lysithea trailed off. "I'm not sure what to think anymore. Maybe I'm just a bad judge of character," she laughed weakly.
"I would rather hope not; what would that say about you choosing to be with me?"
"Oh, well, you're an exception. Anyways, let's retire for the night. We have much to consider."
Short chapter here; I know it's been a while since an update. Life has been crazy with interviewing for residency and all that, but I'm proud to say that I matched into my region of choice within my specialty of choice! So as school begins winding down now (I'm on my last emergency room rotation), hopefully I'll be able to wrap this up before starting my intern year.
Title here kind of gives it away that theres going to be a bit of a plot twist; I've tried to drop some hints in past chapters but I also kind of changed my mind on the way here as well, so it's not exactly what I had originally intended. But we will find out next chapter. As I've already mentioned, I really wasn't a big fan of the Black Eagles' storyline, especially how it was both the shortest and glossed over a major plot point (the slitherers). I also think Edelgard deserves a deeper dive; she has a fascinating personality that I feel like teeters on a very delicate balance between ruthless and ambitious; however, though I touch on it, I think it would need a lot more focus to really hash out.
arata7kasuga: if you're not a fan of it, you can always scroll down past the recipe! i put it in a separate section so that you don't have to read it if you don't want to. I never said they were exclusive, however, a lot of people kind of come to that assumption; that's why Lysithea was initially ticked off, since a lot of people assumed she was just good because of talent. It's a common problem that I see a lot even in my own life.
MathAtMidnight: Constructive criticism is always appreciatd! I agree they probably deserved a better end (sorry to all Leonie and Ignatz fans), but I think I just didn't have the bandwidth to spend more words on it there if I'm being honest. At least their deaths serve a purpose as seen in this chapter.
As always, please R&R, and enjoy!
-elementary princess