In terms of class reunions, this one was pretty high up there on the 'worst' list.
They weren't trying to kill one another, however, and Claude counts that among the plusses they've had so far. The first, and most important, is that Byleth is alive and hopefully intends to stay that way for the foreseeable future. He could really use her help about now, especially in regards to the other two in the room and the chaos both of them have managed to wreck on the entire country. Well, Edelgard more so than Dimitri, but damn if Dimitri hadn't been throwing everything he had into the proverbial ring in the meantime.
Coaxing what motivated Edelgard to do what she had was as taxing as it was rewarding. Several of his questions had been answered, some of his theories confirmed, and several things he hadn't expected were revealed the longer they kept her talking. Even Dimitri had started asking questions, a bonus in Claude's eyes, as a lot of what Dimitri used as motivation against Edelgard was pretty much on par with what she was using in turn for her own machinations.
Two little peas in a pod, Edelgard and Dimitri. Traumatized by the untimely, cruel deaths of their families, tortured or otherwise exposed to such things at a young age… the more he hears, the more Claude finds himself quietly grateful for the upbringing he's had.
Sure, the assassination attempts weren't great and he's still kicking himself for not seeing that bandit attack Edelgard had orchestrated as just that, and the bullying, isolation, and fights he'd gotten into weren't anything to brag about either. But his family, minus the one cousin on his father's side that was his first victim of poison experimentation, at least solved things in a more civilized and fair way than this. In a lot of ways, and Judith would agree with him, Almyra was simpler and easier when it came to resolving conflicts, feuds, and grudges.
Too bad it's too late to foster them out to Judith. I have a feeling she'd have a great time whipping them into shape.
He watches Byleth more than the other two while they ask and answer questions back and forth. Bet you wish Jeralt was here too, don't you?
"So the same experiments that resulted in your hair and scars were done to your siblings too?" He has to be sure, has to confirm it so Dimitri can't pretend he doesn't know the full extent of what she's been through.
"That's correct." She's trying pretty hard to sound like she's unaffected by it. He knows better, so does Byleth and Dimitri at this point.
"So what does the Church have to do with it? You mentioned the Church of Seiros being responsible, you meant the branch down in the Empire or the whole of it?" He asks her. "You think the Archbishop and Seteth would seriously tolerate what was being done?"
"Why wouldn't they if it gave them more control over Fodlan?" The look Edelgard gives him is filled with gratitude he doesn't deserve for changing the subject. "They love the Crest hierarchy, why wouldn't they approve of the experiments if it continues to suit their needs and promote the caste system between commoners and nobility based on whether or not they're born with something so highly regarded?"
"He isn't," Byleth responds, having been fairly quiet while Edelgard speaks.
"What?" Three sets of eyes turn on her.
She looks back at them. "Seteth isn't fond of Crests and the emphasis on them in Fodlan."
"How do you know this?" Edelgard sounds skeptical.
Dimitri looks surprised but interested in this news.
Claude himself is both interested and skeptical, but something about it does feel right. Seteth likes to nag and lecture like nobody's business, and he's been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of those lectures, but Seteth lectured regardless of whether or not someone's birth was noble or common born. According to Hanneman, Seteth was rumored to have been born a commoner with a Crest himself.
"I overheard him advising one of the students five years ago on what comprises one's worth. He spoke of his dislike of Crests being used to determine one's worth in comparison to their morals and actions." Byleth explains a little further. "I would ask him for further discussion on the topic."
"He really thinks people show their worth through deeds rather than luck of the draw, huh?" Claude muses aloud. "That's not very Church of Seiros-y of him, you know. What's the Archbishop say about that?"
Byleth offered a shrug. "I'd have to ask her opinion. Or Hanneman, I'm sure he's gone at length into the topic with everyone there at the monastery at least once."
He laughs. Even Edelgard and Dimitri manage to crack a smile at the comment toward the… enthusiastic Crest scholar back in Garreg Mach. "Hanneman'll be easier to ask without repercussions."
Byleth shrugs again but nods. A glint in her bright green eyes suggests she'd said what she did with the intention of lightening the mood a little.
"That doesn't explain why the Church allowed and approved of the experiments." Edelgard returns to the topic at hand. "I understand that, in some ways, they were terrified of the Hresvelg lineage weakening… but to go to the lengths they did is unforgivable."
Back on familiar territory, Claude doesn't hesitate to chime in. "See, that's another thing that doesn't make sense to me. We saw what happened when the Western Church started trying to do things their way, with your help by the sounds of it, no offense."
Edelgard shook her head to indicate none was taken.
"But then there was the whole thing with Miklan not being born with a Crest and trying to use something that he 'wasn't worthy' of. The way Archbishop was talking, you'd think just having one is good enough for her as being worthy of whatever Relic you're supposed to inherit." He continues. One hand reaches up and idly scratches his scalp out of habit. "I don't get it; if the Archbishop is about you being born worthy, why would she care about you having a Minor or Major Crest to ascend the throne? It seems to me like she'd be more worried about you continuing the Hresvelg line than anything else."
"That is hardly appropriate, Claude." Dimitri scolds him. There's a faint redness to his cheeks as he does so.
Claude waits exactly half a beat before he decides to take his chances with Dimitri's unpredictable temper and gets him too. "Sorry, Your Highness, but you're in the same position as Edelgard too if you think about it."
And I'm in twiceas much trouble as both of you, but you don't need to know that. He thinks and grins. Let them misinterpret his amusement as being at their expense, it's more fun that way and liable to get them to slip up and give them more of their secrets.
Edelgard's face flushes as well, but Dimitri's darkens to a full-on blush and he gives Claude a look that probably could have killed a lesser man.
"But back to the topic at hand; the Archbishop is missing and has been for about the same time you have been, Teach, so we can't exactly ask her why she did or didn't approve of these experiments. I'd like to know for Lysithea's sake too." Claude finishes his thought on the matter for them to analyze and respond to. He genuinely wants to help the snarky young woman from his territory. Not just because he feels responsible as the leader of the Alliance, but because she's a friend and he'd like her to be able to breathe for ten minutes without believing she's wasting time.
There's a look on Edelgard's face that says she has information but doesn't want to share it on the subject. "...hey, Edelgard, did you happen to have asked Rhea about this?"
"No." She says after a moment. "I asked if she was happy with the results of her experiments and the lives of my family it stole."
"What did she say?" Byleth asked softly.
"...she looked at me as though I had lost my wits and told me she didn't know what I was talking about." She looks to Byleth and Claude. "She called me a traitor to my lineage and made some comments about how a sinner like me has tainted the honor of past Emperors with my actions."
Her brow furrowed and she brought her hand up to her chin in thought. Claude could tell she was thinking hard about his questions, of the answers she'd given, and watched as little things began to pile up in contrary to what she'd believed to be true.
The moment, should it come, where Edelgard realizes she's been on the wrong path for the wrong reasons is going to be devastating. Claude thinks with a sad look toward the Emperor herself. The same goes for Dimitri, and he's already worried about how the blond warrior is going to take the news he's found out as is. Both of them lived solely for revenge and reformation of something that needed to be changed, drastically, but not in either manner the two of them believed was the 'only' way.
Bloodshed and revenge was an easy route to take on paper, but the toll it takes on the mind and the body is greater than any of them could have fathomed. While Edelgard's an overthinker and overachiever, even she wasn't prepared to pay the price she's had to in order to get this far.
Neither of you thought this through and look at the mess you've made. Such a waste of your potential. It saddens him on multiple levels to see them reduced to… this. Sure, he liked a good revenge plot as much as the next guy, especially if the bastard deserved it and had it coming to 'em.
But revenge? True revenge is an affair that couldn't be hastened. It had to be carefully planned and said plan executed without the slightest error or the whole reason behind it would turn it to yet another senseless act of violence.
"Hey, Teach, you've been really quiet throughout all of this. What're your thoughts?" When in doubt, drag Byleth out and into the thick of it. See what sense she could make out of all of this and if she's thinking the same thing he is right now. "I mean, given that you met with the Archbishop and Seteth on a number of occasions and seemed pretty chummy with them, and also know the three of us better than we probably like, you might have some insight the rest of us don't."
She looks at all three of them, really looks at them, and takes her time in choosing her words with care. Claude watches the way her gaze lingers on Edelgard in particular, and then to Dimitri, worry darkens the color of her eyes by a few shades, and then she turns her eyes to him. He can feel the weight of that gaze and holds his breath in preparation for whatever verbal blow she's about to deliver. He can feel a change beginning to stir and take shape around them: the beginning of the end is here, at long last, and he has no fucking clue how this is going to go.