On the day of the rite, Edelgard found a reasonable excuse to remain out of everyone's sight. Knowing that Hubert would cover for her if anyone did happen to notice, she gave him some warning and left to join with Thales's mages. The mages somewhat recognized her as an ally of sorts, and tentatively explained their plan. She took the lead from there.

The Holy Mausoleum was open for the public during the Rite of Rebirth. They didn't enter through the door—the mages opted to use their magic to take them there instead—but she still expected to find knights or students there. Security must be focused on Rhea as she performed the rite.

Edelgard stayed about halfway through the room, watching the mages get into position on the chance anyone came. One mage in particular, tasked with retrieving the bones themselves, called to her:

"There's a seal on the casket!"

Her sigh was quiet enough that no one could hear it outside her mask. Only slightly turning towards him, her reply was simple. The mask didn't retain the mild annoyance very well.

"Then break the seal. There's no reason to believe they would leave the bones of a saint open for someone to take—especially when the place they're in is open to the public. Just don't waste any time."

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing that the mage started his work, Edelgard turned back towards the entrance. It took about half an hour before there were any noises outside.

"Would you look at that. Hey, Dimitri, someone's in there!"

"We'd best hurry in, then. Someone, get the knights."

There were a few murmurs of agreement, and then about a dozen students entered the Holy Mausoleum. They didn't look prepared in the slightest.

"It seems we have guests," Edelgard noted. She spared a glance around the room. "If the knights arrive, focus on them first and then deal with the students."

The mages prepared themselves almost immediately. Dimitri and Claude, she saw, led the students—the rest were a mix of the two classes.

"I don't like the look of that guy," she could hear Claude say. He raised his voice a little when looking around at the other students. "Hey, everyone, stay away from the person in black armor! Looks like he's their leader."

"Keeping our distance seems wise," Dimitri agreed.

The mages were the first to move. Edelgard stayed in her spot for most of the ensuing battle; even when the students gained the help of a few knights, no one seemed interested in fighting her. It gave her a chance to observe the fight without needing to worry about facing personal opposition.

Reinforcements from the knights came in regularly, causing most of the mages to retreat using the same magic that brought them there. Edelgard made her way to the mage at the casket—she didn't quite care if Thales got the bones, but she wasn't in the mood to hear that she could have 'done more' to prevent the church from keeping them—while still having very little interference. In fact, the mage at the casket faced lessopposition when she came closer.

When the seal on the casket was broken, the battle seemed to pause just so everyone could watch. The mage opened the casket, only to pull out a sword instead. He looked ready to voice his confusion when more knights—Catherine and some others—arrived.

Edelgard wasn't going to stay here any longer. To the mages, she said, "Take the sword. We have what we came for."

As the mages left in dark flashes, she turned towards the students and knights. Many of them looked baffled, if not trying to search for where the disappearing mages might have went.

"We will meet again," Edelgard announced. She made sure all of them could hear her. "I am the Flame Emperor. It is I who will reforge this world."

Before anyone could question her, she left as well—gone with a flash like the others, meeting with them at a rendezvous point far enough away from the monastery that they wouldn't be found. Thales was there as well, only briefly glancing over them.

"Did you get the bones?" Thales asked, directing the question more towards Edelgard than anyone else.

"Seiros's remains weren't there," Edelgard reported. She looked around to locate the mage who had broken the seal, and gestured for him to come forward. "There was a sword, however; it looks like a Hero's Relic."

The mage came up and presented the sword to Thales. The man looked it over and smiled.

"It's missing the Crest Stone," he said coldly, "But this could prove quite useful to us." He looked at Edelgard. "Take it. I want to see if it will respond to your power."

Edelgard frowned, although she knew he couldn't see it. Still, without any hesitation she took a few steps forward and she retrieved the sword from the mage. It didn't feel much different from anything else she's held—maybe a bit lighter, but nothing aside from its shape seemed particularly strange.

"This is the weapon used by that thief, Nemesis," Thales explained. "While it's unfortunate that the Crest Stone was not with it, that's a problem we can overcome in time. Given a few months, you should be able to wield that sword—but for now, I will take it. I have…quite a few uses for such a thing."

Considering the way he said it, she wished she could hide the sword herself. Unfortunately, regardless of whatever Thales had in mind concerning the Relic, she would rather him have it and know she could access it again than watch it be locked away again by Rhea. She understood that, if the stories of the King of Liberation were to be believed, the sword held immense power.

Edelgard gave him the sword, and he accepted it. Almost immediately, Thales waved her off.

"You can go, now," he said dismissively. "Thank you for your assistance, I suppose. I will contact you when I need the assistance of you or that Death Knight of yours."

She murmured some kind of agreement and left, returning to the monastery.

(A/N: I will be the first to admit that I borrowed a lot of dialogue from the game for this one. It sums it up pretty nicely to be honest /shrugs/.)