Edelgard spoke to every soldier Cornelia kept at Fhirdiad. None of them were in particularly good condition; they were starved or dying. She didn't see any reason to make them suffer through that.

Each Kingdom soldier in the dungeon received an actual meal, and was given the option to step outside with Imperial soldiers watching them. Two-thirds accepted the food—less than half wanted to walk around. She gave them a few days to consider the change before asking if they were willing to surrender.

Death wasn't stated as a consequence for resistance, but she knew they understood. Each one was brought to a different room and asked the same question; no matter the response, they did not return to the dungeon nor were they put back in chains. Any corpses were brought away before the next soldier was called. The process alone took a few days.

A majority of them preferred execution—some lamented they hadn't fallen on the battlefield instead. Of the soldiers that refused to join the Empire, Edelgard only kept a few alive as prisoners; anyone she knewDimitri would fight for and anyone who happened to have ties with her other allies. Dedue and Ashe were kept alive for those reasons, but many other students weren't as fortunate.

It reminded her of what needed to be done, and she was thankful some lives were able to be spared. Any Kingdom soldiers that swore fealty to the Empire were cautiously mixed among the Imperial and Alliance armies, watched by one or more people within them.

Edelgard honestly would have preferred to move back to Garreg Mach or Enbarr until further strategies could be decided, but it was safest to stay in the Kingdom's capital until they knew their strategy. She called Claude, Jeralt, and Byleth to discuss their next course of action.

"I don't want to linger very long here," Edelgard said firmly. "It's time to make a bit more progress."

"You already have some ideas?" Claude guessed.

She nodded. "I would like to clear at least one more direct path to Leicester or Garreg Mach. We currently cleared the area from here to the monastery, but it still leaves some points open for attack. I wanted to ask each of your opinions and preferences before we proceed."

Claude considered it for a moment. "First things that comes to mind is fighting towards a port; from there, we could sail to Derdriu. We'd be putting ourselves in a corner if the Kingdom retook Fhirdiad, and it wouldn't take much for them to sabotage or sink any ships before we even get there."

"Ailell could be another option," Jeralt added. "It wouldn't be a pleasant march, but from there we could either go into the Alliance through Daphnel territory or head down to Garreg Mach directly."

"I would rather keep extremes to a minimum," Edelgard said. "But securing a path through Ailell might be one of the better options. Once we have something connecting us to the Alliance or the monastery, we can march into and attack the rest of the Kingdom while continuing our search for Rhea and Dimitri."

No one protested or offered input, for a second—then Claude sighed. "You know, it's houses Gautier and Fraldarius in the north, on our way to a port—houses Charon and Galatea near this entrance into Ailell. I'm not surprised, mind you, but some of the people in those houses were in the Golden Deer mixed class after Jeritza left. Makes it feel like we're fighting those who should be allies instead."

"That is a drawback of attending the academy," Edelgard agreed, although she remained relatively even and plain in her response. "Being on a different side than a friend is a possibility in normal warfare; for those who went to the Officers Academy that year, it's simply inevitable. Fortunately, they won't all need to be killed—the students, at least, like Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, will be captured."

"I know a few would rather die fighting than be used as bargaining chips," Claude warned.

"If they would still prefer the end of their life when everything's settled, then I won't stop them. For now, I would rather have unwilling prisoners than corpses."

Claude nodded, but whether or not he truly understood she couldn't tell. Silence followed for a few moments, and Byleth spoke up when Edelgard was ready to continue discussing specific strategies.

"I'm…curious on something," Byleth said to start. Jeralt cast her something of a surprised look—Claude didn't seem to expect her to comment, either. Similar war councils had Byleth stand in so she wouldn't have to be informed separately; she didn't often voice opinions unless she was adding on to something Jeralt suggested. Byleth specifically looked at Edelgard. "You asked the living Kingdom soldiers and prisoners about Dimitri, didn't you?"

"I did," Edelgard confirmed. "None of them knew where he went after Cornelia took Fhirdiad."

"I, at least, assumed he was with one of the loyal nobles," Claude noted. "Either that, or wherever Rhea's hiding, depending on how closely they're working together. Do you have a different idea, Byleth?"

"…Just a thought." It was subtle, but she did hesitate. "Dimitri's retainer was one of the prisoners—even he didn't know where the king is. I didn't see the students as much as you two did, but I knew they were close; I only saw Dimitri without his retainer once or twice, and Dimitri doesn't seem like one to disappear without a word. Does anyone else find that a bit…strange?"

"I doubt Cornelia would have killed him, at any rate," Edelgard reasoned. "Or at least without making sure I was aware. We can hold on to the idea that he might not be with the other lords or even with Rhea, but we still need to prioritize on making the rest of the Kingdom surrender. If we're lucky, either way we'll find them while we're clearing out the surrounding area."

Byleth nodded and fell silent again. Edelgard waited another moment before going into further details with each strategy, and which one they would focus on.