Dimitri was, allegedly, 'better' than when the academy ended. He wasn't exactly sure if the others were right—whether his thoughts were clear or clouded, if his feelings towards Edelgard was unreasonable or justified. The people he knew now and the people that died—the people she killed—held different opinions, and he honestly didn't know which side was correct.
He still wanted to make peace. He still wanted to speak with Edelgard, learn why she did this. Yet, every time he thought that, he remembered why he shouldn't—the reason he's held on to life for this long.
In time, Dimitri came to a conclusion: if she wasn't responsible, he'll make her tell him who is. She might die—she might not. He didn't think he could easily forgive her, but he could let her live if she truly had nothing to do with it. That decision satisfied both his friends and them.
He didn't think it would take long for the Empire to turn towards Faerghus. He wanted to keep Arianrhod protected, expecting Count Bergliez or Edelgard herself to lead the assault. Cornelia was sent to the Silver Maiden along with Rodrigue, so she wasn't in Fhirdiad. He wanted her away while he looked into the Tragedy of Duscur in his spare time.
Dimitri was glad he rightfully guessed that Count Rowe might side with the Empire; the territory was close to the Western Church, and some of his knights held Rhea in contempt. He didn't necessarily think Count Rowe would attack Arianrhod with only his forces, although reports said that Rowe himself was absent from the attacks.
For now Edelgard hadn't supported them, but he assumed she would when she heard of it—unless, of course, she chose to abandon them, although with the Rowe knights' somewhat lackluster performance nothing would be achieved if she did. Two different parts of him wished for two options; for Edelgard to help Rowe and show loyalty or protection for those who serve her, or for Edelgard to abandon them and reveal that she didn't care at all.
Most of his time was spent doing the work of a leader—Rodrigue took charge of most strategy planning, even if Dimitri ultimately had to approve of them. Rhea maintained fairly regular contact with him, and while he couldn't provide anything for them she still offered to send knights to important locations.
Fortunately, they didn't bother him as much when he wasn't actively fighting. If he didn't think about Edelgard, they didn't mention her—they barely did anything. That allowed him to work with minimal…distractions. It was boring, to be sure, but it got done.
Dedue stood outside and offered the most company; a few Blue Lions were still afraid of him, due to his actions in the Holy Tomb and before the siege of Garreg Mach, but the rest were scattered across the Kingdom as they were needed. Felix was with his father, Annette was with hers after fierce negotiating; Ingrid and Sylvain stayed and provided him with some input when they could. Ashe was in Fhirdiad as well, encouraged by Lonato to pick his own side and choosing his classmates; Mercedes had gone with Annette to help the church settle into their new base of operations.
He kept the door open, so he was able to notice when Ashe came in.
"Do you need anything?" Dimitri asked, trying to be…gentler, than he has been. Trying to rectify his previous actions took a bit of effort.
"Felix sent word from Arianrhod," Ashe reported.
"Edelgard left Garreg Mach?" Dimitri guessed.
"It sounds like it." He paused for a moment, then firmly added, "Do you want me to go there? I might be able to talk to Lonato."
"I'd rather keep you here for now," Dimitri replied. "I don't know if you can talk him out of fighting; he's been threatening to confront the Central Church for his son's death for quite a while."
Honestly, they were lucky that he hadn't made any moves against the church during the academy—that would have made everything that much more chaotic. One month, before the Rite of Rebirth, some people were worried about it; ultimately, someone must have convinced Lonato not to do anything.
Ashe understood, fortunately, and left after another moment. Dimitri went back to work for the time being. Just a little more, then he'll be done for the day; then he can return to determining what happened during the Tragedy. If nothing else, he wanted enough evidence to openly accuse Cornelia of something.
—
The Imperial army moved a bit quicker than they expected. Cornelia couldn't decide if it was amusing or annoying to see the Kingdom soldiers scurry around, shouting orders and heading out to meet them. Their leadership was excellent, they just seemed too inexperienced. That's what happens when half your defending force is students, and your strongest are kept in the capital. Every main army was like that now, she imagined.
She wasn't allowed to do much—she was inclined to blame that girl, considering her name was what Dimitri muttered when he decided Cornelia should be 'relocated.' Edelgard. Cornelia couldn't count the amount of times she had to hear that name.
She stood outside to watch the Imperial troops come. Somehow, Rowe's forces attacked and pulled back almost every day—they were persistent enough to keep coming back, over and over, even if they made no ground. Without any guarantee of the emperor coming for them, she was almost impressed they still bothered.
Someone came up behind her. Cornelia wasn't surprised in the slightest by who.
"Make yourself useful in this fight, or else His Majesty might not let you back into Fhirdiad."
She turned to give Rodrigue a cold smile. He wasn't armed, despite being her babysitter-of-sorts. She wondered if he trusted her, if he was just that foolish. The man was likely to end up with a knife in his back one day.
"Oh, don't worry," Cornelia said evenly. "I'll fight—and I'll live. Fhirdiad is my home, after all; it would be a shame not to return."
He did have enough sense to look skeptical, at least, and when his son passed by he cast a glare at her. Rodrigue left without any further warning.
Cornelia looked back towards the Imperial soldiers. Now, what would make this the most interesting..?
