All of the preparations for the attack on Garreg Mach went smoothly. The letters proved to be helpful—if nothing else, it convinced certain nobles in the Kingdom and Alliance to stay out of the Empire's path while they marched. And while she wanted only Imperial troops to take the monastery—with the exception of Thales's mages—there were even some nobles who offered troops; among those of note including Lonato in the Kingdom.

Edelgard didn't quite expect others to understand her reasoning so quickly. Perhaps focusing on the Central Church played a part—anyone who had problems with Rhea but wanted to remain loyal to the church itself could do so. It brought her some satisfaction that her plans paid off.

They left for the monastery near the middle of the month. The sooner they could get this over with, the better. Combined with Thales's mages, she knew they had sufficient strength to overtake the monastery.

What happened after that would be up to Dimitri, Claude, and Rhea. The campaign shouldn't last any longer than five years—if they were lucky, it could be done before then.

News came regularly from some of Hubert's spies about the state of the monastery. Anyone that could fight, including the Officers Academy students, were kept from leaving; no 'official' reason was given, but Edelgard could guess easily enough. Knights were scattered all over the continent, researching what happened in Remire and investigating the people who stole the Sword of the Creator; Rhea had to keep the students there, just to have a sizable force.

The Imperial army made it to the monastery right around the promised date. All the towns leading up to it were deserted; the only ones allowed to flee, then, were ultimately the ones without any other home.

No one came out to greet them. Edelgard looked to Hubert.

"Send someone in to talk with the students," she said. "If they don't want to fight, they need to stay out of the way so they aren't killed—we can sort out allies from cowards after the battle."

Hubert nodded, then left to carry out the order. She turned her attention to the rest of the army.

"We're going to give them about half an hour before we attack," Edelgard announced. "It's unlikely that they'll surrender outright, but the time should be given to anyone inside that hasn't been able to leave. If the knights come out to fight before then, however, don't hesitate to respond in kind."

She might have promised that the battle would change Fódlan's future for the better, but she didn't dare after Rhea spoke so highly of the Holy Tomb only to be proven wrong. Still, the soldiers didn't need the encouragement—they already knew it, and cheered despite the lack of assurance. Perhaps her presence provided that instead.

While they waited, Thales's mages came and filtered in among the Imperial troops. It wasn't very long afterwards that Hubert returned, announcing anyone who didn't want to fight hid, or otherwise promised to fight the knights. Satisfied, she only wait another few minutes before giving the order to head out.

Edelgard watched the battle, giving out commands when a change in tactics was needed. Even with the extra time to prepare, the knights seemed scattered—although students still fought, she didn't see either one of the professors, and only half of the Black Eagles still seemed to side with the church. Fortunately, none of the imperial ministers' children were among those still fighting.

Unsurprisingly, it looked like a majority of the Blue Lions and Golden Deer houses still fought, including Dimitri and Claude. Reports relayed back said that Rhea remained in the monastery, although everyone else was fighting in the closest town.

The knights and students were outnumbered and outmatched. Edelgard knew that they had noticed; some of the students that fought surrendered easily, while the knights were more obligated to protect the place but still retreated before their lives were lost. If they could make it to the gates—some troops weren't that far, now—then they could very well force Rhea out of hiding.

Word came of a single person coming towards her, killing or greatly injuring any soldiers they came across. At first, she thought it might be Rhea—she only considered otherwise because the monastery itself hadn't been infiltrated yet, and they still remained in the town. Edelgard prepared, and the soldiers closest to her—two guards and Monica—did the same.

She didn't expect the person to be Dimitri, although the blood and his dark countenance almost kept her from recognizing him.

"I always wondered if there was more to you," Edelgard said once he was close enough to hear.

"Silence, witch. I only have why question for you before I rip that head off your shoulders."

The three soldiers around her bristled, but she gestured for them to stay back. However jarring it was to hear that hatred compared to the concern he always gave her, she wanted to hear what he had to say.

Dimitri's expression faltered, from anger to genuine confusion back to anger again. His tone held so many things at once, she couldn't even attempt to name them. "Why? Why did you do it—why did you help them?"

"I don't—" she tried, attempting to ask for clarification.

"The Tragedy of Duscur. You can't claim to be ignorant." He slowly lifted his lance, and her guards responded in kind. Still, he continued. "There were papers in your room about the Tragedy, Anselma, even smaller, more obscure issues. You helped them—I know you did!"

When she left, she had prioritized clearing out anything that would give them hints about the attack and the planned strategies. Hiding her research into Thales's people had been an afterthought, considering she would be implicated with them if she had to leave. Still, it took a leap of logic to go from merely implicated with the group to outright helping them.

Edelgard attempted reason. "I was as old as you," she pointed out. "Yes, I'm using their power, yet I will repeat this however many times is necessary: as soon as Rhea is taken care of, those people who committed the tragedies of Duscur and Remire will pay for their crimes. Just give me time and—"

She took a step forward; Dimitri frowned and gripped his lance tighter. Edelgard realized in the silence that the monastery could very well be taken before she got through to him. As much as she would have preferred to have one or both of the other house leaders on her side, Dimitri already made his choice.

Edelgard sighed, and gestured to give her guards permission to attack Dimitri. Yet it seemed she was right—a knight arrived at the same moment, holding back Dimitri from engaging with the Imperial soldiers.

"The monastery's walls have been breached," the knight said. "We need to defend Lady Rhea. Hurry up."

Dimitri glared at Edelgard, and she wouldn't be surprised if he only left because the knight practically forced him. Protecting the archbishop seemed more important than trying to kill the emperor—to the knights, at least.

Monica started to follow them, but Edelgard shook her head.

"Let them go," she said, watching them go back into the monastery. "I might regret this, but I still want to see if Dimitri can't be convinced." She wanted to understand what caused the change. Everything this past month—the Holy Tomb, the relief of Byleth joining her despite the small fear she might betray her—made her sentimental; if she didn't know their relation, she likely would have allowed them to pursue Dimitri. She opted to think of it as a favor to the stepbrother who truly knew what her mother was like.

No one else came close to them for the rest of the battle, focusing on protecting Rhea. After a while, word reached her that Rhea, the knights, and any students still fighting with them had retreated through some passage or another; for good measure, they were followed until they went underground and the entrance was blocked. The Rhea and the knights, however, vanished.

Edelgard and Monica observed the monastery once the battle ended, meeting up with Hubert again in the process.

"Send another letter out and tell the mercenaries in Enbarr," Edelgard said. "The Imperial army has successfully taken Garreg Mach Monastery. We'll wait for the nobles of the Kingdom and Alliance to make their allegiances clear before continuing our offensive. I can talk to any students that were hiding."

Hubert bowed, and left to take care of. Monica went with her to find the other students.