The mission for the Garland Moon was merely tracking down some thieves and returning whatever they stole to some villagers in the Alliance. They left at the start of the last full week and returned before the end of the month. The students were given a day to rest and recoup before classes resumed as per usual.
Edelgard had met with Thales on the free day, once again using the armor he gave her. That night, she talked it over with Hubert—he had been there, albeit hidden, but there were things that needed to be decided and vague conversations at the monastery were the only place to decide on them.
They were near the pond, partially using the still-constant noise from the dining hall to mask their conversation. Even with the doors closed, you could hear the banter of all the students still in there; those who remained seemed to be louder to make up for the otherwise lower number, since some students had chosen to sneak away or go to their rooms.
"He wants me there," Edelgard said, frowning. "If we travel for the mission, you'll have to cover for me."
"Last month's mission was taxing for some," Hubert mused. "Especially considering many of them spent more time trying to give you gifts instead of actually working. It wouldn't be out of place for you to ask Professor Manuela if the class could have a mission closer to the monastery."
She considered it for a moment. "I could have him send in some kind of distraction—those mages are nothing if not excellent fodder. I don't think he even believes otherwise. But there's also no guarantee that ourclass will be the ones to handle it."
"Perhaps something in the vein of security?" Hubert suggested. "Some knights are still away, trying to investigate the first two months' incidents. The Rite of Rebirth is bound to bring dozens of people to the monastery, all hoping and praying to see their goddess revived—except for any who may wish to cause trouble instead."
"A little counterproductive depending on the execution, but he's persistent enough that it shouldn't effect things too much. I can try tomorrow before class."
"In the meantime, I shall whisper a word or two so the appeal seems a bit more…natural. The worst thing that can happen is that they face more opposition than intended and you won't be there to assist them."
Edelgard nodded, and after a moment Hubert bowed.
"I'll be going, then," he said.
She murmured some kind of farewell, and Hubert left without another word. Edelgard lingered there for a moment, noticing a group of students leaving the dining hall and opting to wait for them, then went to her room.
The rose garlands were still there on the desk, accompanied now by some papers; she had been given some letters on her birthday including one from her father, but didn't have the time to go through all of them. She would have looked through them now, if it wasn't already a bit late—she could hear some of the other students come in, bid each other goodnight, and head into their rooms.
Like everything else, they would have to wait a little longer.
…
The rumors worked excellently. It said something about the recent events—how the people around the monastery thought of the recent events—that the idea that there could be another fight without anyone realizing it stuck so easily. A few words at night sowed uneasiness in the morning.
Edelgard made the request when Manuela came in, with a portion of the Black Eagles immediately agreeing; their professor promised to take it into consideration and, after a few days when word of an official threat came, all classes were given their mission. Anyone who wanted to help pray for the goddess's return was allowed to stay, but were asked to fight if necessary—anyone who didn't want to pray were invited to do some investigation into the matter, outside of the monastery.
Naturally, almost all of the students remained at the monastery, and some knights were sent out in their place. Precious few were willing to openly say they had no interest in the goddess's return; even those from outside of Fódlan were 'encouraged' to stay, limiting their leave as well. It aggravated her a bit, but she knew better than to question it outright.
Claude opted to invite Edelgard and Dimitri to eat with him again a week before the Rite of Rebirth. His chosen topic of conversation barely came as a surprise.
"All the knights are worried about some kind of attack on the monastery," he noted. "Simply put—what's your two's take on it? Think something'll happen?"
"We should prepare for the worst," Dimitri suggested. "Any kind of threat should not be ignored, for the safety of those here."
She considered making her own comment, but simply nodded to show some agreement with Dimitri. They didn't need to—or likely shouldn't—hear her thoughts. It only made her wonder if they even ensured the safety to anyone there when there wasn't a threat. The knights themselves only seemed to be focused on Rhea's safety alone, with the students protected as a side effect of sorts; it was up to the students to protect themselves if things played out poorly on any given day, unless the knights had a specific reason to help.
Edelgard didn't participate much in the conversation, between her own thoughts and an unwillingness to lie when certain topics were brought up about the church. Fortunately, some others joined them to make her lack of speaking less obvious—and made the conversation as a whole a bit more lively. The starting topic seemed like an afterthought by the time some of the other students came.
