Edelgard still woke up in the morning as she would have otherwise. She decided to get prepared beforethe late night caught up to her—if no one else needed her, perhaps she could rest in the afternoon.
Ultimately, the schedule was about the same as it had been in the Officers Academy; anyone who had been in Garreg Mach during that time moved purely on muscle memory, and the others followed their lead. The bells no longer rang, but going about the monastery was second nature.
Breakfast still came first, albeit more uniform than it ever had in the academy. Some Black Eagles sat next to her and talked with her, but only after Edelgard left did the dining hall truly sound like it did back then. Not even half a year passed, and she acknowledged a kind of nostalgia for it—her role never changed, but it felt like a distant memory.
They opted to use the classrooms for planning, if only because Edelgard was used to going there after eating. Hubert naturally followed her from the dining hall—Monica had been tasked with holding silent negotiations with some western Kingdom nobles, but when she came to the monastery Edelgard had no doubt she would do the same—and stood by the door without a word as she settled into work.
The Black Eagles' old classroom had been cleaned and any stray papers removed sometime after the siege. It made it a little lifeless compared to the rest of the monastery, but at least she could still see and hear the others outside—she was encouraged to work when presented with a promise of free time afterwards.
Edelgard worked while she waited for the others to come. The group was small—it only consisted of Jeralt, Byleth, and a few Black Eagles—but it still took some time before anyone arrived.
Byleth came first; Edelgard gave her a small nod of greeting.
"Jeralt will be here soon," the mercenary said. She partially glanced around the room. "Am I early?"
"The others might have lost track of time," Edelgard mused. "Any former students walk around based on memories of the Officers Academy; they're likely waiting for bells that will never ring. One of them will notice eventually."
Byleth nodded, and after a moment the two entertained conversation—partially in Edelgard's case, until she decided talking was more interesting than work. They didn't mention the night before; instead, it was relatively useless chatter, albeit one that Edelgard didn't mind.
Others joined when they entered, and the topics and attention shifted until Edelgard noticed everyone had came. The invited Black Eagles were all scattered to the seats they took for the first half of the academy, with the exception of Hubert—Byleth had moved to the edge of one table while Jeralt stood near the bookshelves, neither one talking much since the students came.
Edelgard stood and went behind Manuela's old desk, and the others respectfully fell silent and gave her their full attention.
"The Alliance has agreed not to interfere," Edelgard said, "Nor will they provide soldiers to either side. That could change in the future, but for now we shouldn't waste any time taking advantage of recent events."
Hubert remained by the door, but still offered input. "Looking towards Arianrhod will be the best option. Currently, those who are known to be loyal to the crown are guarding it; any family that seems likely to switch sides has been kept away from all key points."
Edelgard nodded. "Count Rowe has agreed to help us, and the Western Church is willing to provide assistance as well. Once we receive word from Monica and any others in the area to confirm it, we'll attack Arianrhod on three sides—Rowe and the Western Church from one side, Count Bergliez from the south, and the main army from the east. Ideally, that will ensure the Silver Maiden is taken."
"Who would be watching Myrddin?" Ferdinand asked. It both did and did not seem to be accusatory.
"I've asked General Randolph to take care of it for now," Edelgard replied evenly. "General Ladislava can reinforce him if they choose to cause any more trouble."
He seemed satisfied with the answer, nodding to himself and falling silent. She looked around at the rest of them.
"Anyone else?" No one spoke—a few shook their heads or murmured 'no'—so she continued. "I'll send out a letter to Count Bergliez shortly to confirm when we can move out, but one thing before you all leave: fighting in Faerghus won't be the same as Leicester. Certain knights and all previous students will be captured—you all should remember Alois, and anyone Rhea or Dimitri is likely to consider irreplaceable should be taken prisoner—but the rest will need to killed unless they retreat beforehand."
A few gave silent or open agreement. Alois's capture had been written into the contract with Jeralt's Mercenaries—Jeralt himself, as well as Byleth, wanted to speak with him if they had the chance. Everything else was Edelgard's wish alone; they wouldn't be able to save lives as a negotiation standpoint for the Kingdom, if only because the Kingdom would not hold back in kind.
After another moment, she nodded again. "Monica expects to return within the next week or two," Edelgard said. "When she does, we'll make final preparations and head out. We'll leave no later than the end of the Verdant Rain Moon; that gives a full month and some days. I want to make as much progress as possible before winter, then we can wait out the colder months and rest."
Still no protests. "Thank you all for coming, then. Let me know if you have anything else to note as we prepare."
They filtered out—slowly, maybe, but they did—and after a few minutes she was back to working with Hubert standing near the door. A couple people visited, initially wanting Edelgard's attention but hearing from Hubert instead. Those conversations, brief and simple but concerning things he preferred to handle in her stead, served as background noise as she continued working on the grander things.
(A/N: I understand it's likely that the mountains west of Garreg Mach aren't army-friendly. I'm not entirely sure either way, admittedly, but for the purposes of this story they can be traveled efficiently by a large force. …It wouldn't be the first time I changed the geography of a place because I forgot about it while writing.)
