This is where the real power struggle starts.
Chapter 103 – An Overdue Betrayal (Harpstring Moon)
The sight of Edelgard on the floor, surrounded by the dead bodies of Those Who Slither In The Dark, was bad enough for Hubert. But it was Cornelia, who stood and assumed a casting stance, that utterly incensed the majordomo.
Despite still being wounded from his run-in with Byleth, Hubert readied a dark spell as he said angrily, "I will have your head for this, witch!"
The Imperials who accompanied him drew their blades and readied their magic, yet Cornelia did not show fear. The Duchess, despite being badly outnumbered and facing a prepared enemy, smiled in a way that gave the impression that everything was under control.
Just as Hubert was about to attack, Edelgard said hoarsely, "Stand down, Hubert!"
Edelgard coughed as Hubert said, "Your Majesty–"
"I said stand down! NOW!"
Seeing the Emperor rise to her feet and give such an order prompted the Imperials to lower their weapons and cancel their spells. Hubert, however, kept his own magic ready, not willing to let Cornelia get off so easily. Edelgard still looked to be in terrible shape, even after being given the antidote.
As she caught her breath, Edelgard looked Hubert in the eye and said, "Cornelia… just saved my life… from him."
Edelgard pointed to Dolofonos's corpse. Hubert noticed the blood on his wrist blades, lending some credence to the Emperor's claim, yet Hubert remained suspicious.
"Thales sent that assassin to kill both me and Cornelia. Had she not intervened, I would be dead by now."
Despite this claim, Hubert still did not lower his stance. Even if what Edelgard said was true, he remained in no doubt that Cornelia only saved the Emperor for her own benefit.
Before Edelgard could give Hubert another order, a small beeping sound was heard coming from Dolofonos's body. After three seconds, Cornelia strode over to the Nightblade's corpse, knelt over and took a small device from his belt.
A familiar voice came from the communicator.
…
Thales, disguised as Arundel, had moved to a chamber in the Imperial Palace where his supplicants stood guard as he attempted to contact Dolofonos. He should have finished his mission by now, but he was not responding.
"Dolofonos, report," said Thales.
There was no answer.
After waiting a few seconds, Thales said again, "Dolofonos, report!"
Two seconds later, Thales's communicator began to project a holographic image. But it was not the Nightblade who answered the call.
The curvaceous figure of Cornelia appeared before him.
"Agastya," Cornelia said snidely.
"Bias…" growled Thales.
"You're going to need a new pet Nightblade, Thales." The hologram shifted to show the corpse of Thales's personal assassin as Cornelia said, "As you can see, Dolofonos has failed you."
Thales was about to deliver a furious reply when the hologram shifted again, this time showing Edelgard standing next to Cornelia.
"Thales!" Edelgard said angrily.
"So, Bias saw fit to save your miserable little life?" Thales growled. He then turned to Cornelia and said, "How fitting, you treacherous bitch. You always had too little contempt for these beasts." He then turned back to Edelgard and said, "Enjoy your brief respite, Edelgard. It will not last. Soon, your entire Empire will be in ruins, along with the rest of Fódlan."
"Bold words for someone who can't back up such a threat," said Edelgard. "I know you don't have the means to wipe us out all on your own. But I will no longer abide you, Thales! Even if you scurry into the deepest pit in Fódlan, it won't be enough to escape my wrath."
"You think you can pose any threat to me, you useless beast?! When I'm through with you–"
…
Just as Thales was launching into another furious tirade, Cornelia shut down the communicator. She then dropped it to the floor and crushed it, taking a moment to grind the device under her foot.
Cornelia then let out a satisfied chuckle and said, "Everything I could have hoped for." She then turned to Hubert, who was still about to cast a spell, and said, "Does that not satisfy you, Hubert?"
Having seen indisputable proof of Thales's hand in the assassination attempt, and seeing that Cornelia had now formally betrayed Thales, Hubert canceled his spell.
"There's a good boy," Cornelia cooed.
"Know this, 'Bias'," Hubert said, putting emphasis on Cornelia's Agarthan name. "Though you may have turned on your master, you will never gain my trust."
"Of course not. Yet even you must admit that we now share a common enemy, and, like it or not, you're going to need my help to defeat him."
Hubert was about to retort when Edelgard said, "Cornelia's right, Hubert. She knows Thales better than any of us. Facing him without her help will be perilous."
"And yet I suspect she is still not ready to face him," said Hubert. "Am I wrong?"
"There will be time to discuss that later," said Cornelia.
The Duchess knelt next to Dolofonos again and took what appeared to be a choker from his neck. Hubert saw it had to be a Magitek device, but he did not know what it was for.
Cornelia then said, "Right now, Edelgard needs to rest. The antidote may have saved her life, but she will still need time to recover."
Hubert paused for a moment before he turned to his subordinates and said, "Escort Her Majesty back to her chamber and ensure there are no less than six guards with her at all times."
"Yes, milord," said one of the guards.
"And see that this assassin's body is kept safe for study."
Despite her irritation at Hubert's command, Edelgard did nothing to object to it as she and Cornelia went back to the Emperor's chamber, while several of Hubert's henchmen dragged Dolofonos's corpse away.
…
To say Thales was furious would be a severe understatement. Thales was shaking with rage, knowing his plans for Enbarr were now in fragments.
The idea had been for Edelgard to die and for Cornelia Arnim to be framed for murdering the Emperor. Thales, posing as Arundel, would then take control of the Adrestian Empire and declare war on the Faerghus Dukedom. The two sides would then destroy each other, leaving Fódlan's armies in ruins and making it easy for the Agarthans to finish the job.
With Edelgard still alive, however, any attempt to seize control of Enbarr was going to face significant resistance, and he'd have little chance of turning the Empire against the Dukedom.
The disguised Agastya smashed his fist against a table, infuriated at Cornelia picking that very moment to betray him.
"M-My lord?" one of Thales's supplicants asked fearfully.
Thales spun around and, in his rage, unleashed a blast of dark magic into the supplicant, killing him instantly. The others backed away fearfully from their enraged master as the dead supplicant fell to the ground, worried that they would be next.
After several seconds of heavy, furious breaths, Thales finally subdued his anger.
He then said to his minions, "Let it be known that a Mark of Death is placed on the Magistra Bias and all her supplicants. Anyone who is found aiding her in any manner is to be slain on sight without exception."
"As you command, Agastya," said one of the supplicants.
"Our plan to seize control of Enbarr continues, regardless of the Flame Emperor's survival."
"A-Are you sure, Agastya?" asked another supplicant, who then recoiled back as Thales whirled around toward him.
"We will take the city from her and force her to come to us! Ensure that all sects in the city are prepared to make examples of the beasts, whether they resist or not."
"Y-Yes, master."
With that, Thales, still disguised as Volkhard von Arundel, stormed his way through the palace.
One way or another, he would see the Adrestian Empire, and the rest of Fódlan, burned to the ground.
…
Edelgard sat at the edge of her bed as a healer checked the Emperor's condition. The poison had left Edelgard weakened, and she was going to need several days to fully recover. Edelgard didn't like the idea of being cooped up in her chamber with so many guards nearby, but Hubert was taking no chances. Throughout Fort Merceus, the guards were on high alert, looking out for any sign of Thales's minions.
"It's a miracle you still breathe, Your Majesty," said the healer. "I've never seen a toxin this potent before."
"Will there be any lasting damage?" asked Edelgard.
"I don't think so. The antidote seems to be countering it. Still, you will need plenty of rest."
The mention of the antidote almost made Edelgard blush as she remembered how Cornelia had administered it to her.
Before the healer could say any more, Cornelia said, "Now that you've given El a checkup, would you please excuse yourself? She and I have much to discuss."
"With all due respect, Duchess, Her Majesty requires time to recover. Please, do not–"
The healer stopped as suddenly her brown eyes glowed a faint violet.
"Give us some privacy, if you please," said Cornelia.
Without a word, the healer rose and exited the room. The glow in the woman's eyes faded as she left the chamber, yet Cornelia had given her enough instructions that she wouldn't turn around and ask her to leave, or wonder how she had gotten outside of the room once her mind was hers again. And since no one else had been in the room at the time, none of the guards suspected anything was amiss.
As soon as the door was shut, Edelgard said in a low voice, "I'd appreciate if you didn't do that with my servants."
Cornelia smiled at Edelgard, who gave an exasperated sigh.
The Duchess walked past the Emperor as Edelgard said, "Cornelia. Thales will seek your head now."
"I know," said Cornelia. "I honestly expected him to order his hound to kill me decades ago. Time and again, I've played him like a fiddle."
"Until now, that is. He'll be after both of us now. Are you prepared to face him?"
"I will be, soon."
"Soon? How soon?"
"Edelgard, please, did your healer not just tell you to rest?"
"I can hardly rest if I know you can't face him yet."
Cornelia paused for a moment and then said, "It's not that I can't face him. It's that doing so now would be far too risky for my tastes. I may match him at magic, but he is skilled in far more than sorcery. In addition, even if I were to claim a victory against him now, he would never allow us to celebrate it. He'd call the Pillars of Light right down on him with his dying breath, and even I wouldn't be able to stop them then. We will need to neutralize them first before we make any direct move on him."
"Where are they?"
"An island off the south coast. But he will notice if you lead your army toward it. For that, I'm going to need your Black Eagles."
"Ladislava is still unconscious, and the Black Eagles have taken severe losses. They're in no shape to fight."
"I don't need them this moment, dearie. We can give them time to replenish their strength, just like you need time to recover yours."
Edelgard remained silent for a moment as she sat on her bed. Hearing Cornelia wasn't quite ready to deal with Thales was discouraging. Yet she knew they would only get one chance to defeat him. If they failed, Fódlan would surely be doomed.
For the sake of all those who had fallen to the war, she could not let Thales win.
"We'll have time to discuss the details later," said Cornelia. "Get some sleep, El."
As Cornelia was about to leave, Edelgard turned to her and said, "Cornelia. Can you tell me something?"
Stopping as her hand touched the door, Cornelia turned and asked, "What is it?"
"Was that man, Dolofonos, the man who killed my mother?"
Cornelia gave a brief pause, then nodded and said, "Yes. He slew Patricia during the incident in Duscur… despite my efforts to see her to safety."
"You tried to save her?"
"Yes. I may have set up King Lambert at Duscur, but I tried to have Patricia evacuated in the chaos. Unfortunately, by the time I reached her, it was already too late. Dolofonos, that bloodhound, had already carved out her heart. It's strange, though. Thales ordered Dolofonos to kill Patricia instead of hunting down and eliminating Dimitri. But it hardly matters at this point. Your mother, Patricia… no, Anselma von Arundel, died at Duscur after being torn away from you and forced into King Lambert's court against her will. It was… a pitiable end for her."
Edelgard was silent. Hearing the truth of her mother's death gave her some closure, especially knowing Anselma's killer now lay dead. The Emperor found herself nearly brought to tears, but she turned her head away from Cornelia, stemming them before they could roll down her face.
"Cornelia… Thank you for telling me."
"Of course, my dear. Now, please, get some rest."
Cornelia left the chamber as Edelgard returned to her bed.
As the Duchess descended the stairs to the citadel, she made a small smirk, pleased that Edelgard had believed her every word.
Cornelia hadn't truly lied to her, yet there was a great deal Cornelia had omitted from her story, including her reason for trying to smuggle Patricia out of Duscur. It hadn't been due to any friendship with Patricia. To Cornelia, Anselma von Arundel had been a valuable asset, one that Thales had denied her.
But where Anselma had perished, Edelgard would now take her place as a piece in Cornelia's grand schemes.
Clever bitch, isn't she?
Cornelia's "That was for Patricia" line was just one more way for her to butter up Edelgard. Now Edelgard thinks that Cornelia avenged Patricia due to some friendship they may have had, and doesn't realize that Cornelia mostly saw Patricia as a valuable pawn. Hubert's absolutely right to be paranoid of her, but you'll have to wait and see how things go from here.
With Thales and Cornelia now at each other's throats, things are going to deviate a lot more from the canon of the games. For now, though, we'll be going back to our heroes retreating back across the Airmid River.
I'll see you all in the next chapter.