Dimitri was announced to be at the monastery, if only so the Kingdom would listen when he told them to stop fighting. There wasn't much the Kingdom could do—they didn't have enough soldiers to oppose the Empire, nor a true reason with the leader of the Central Church killed—so Edelgard didn't see much reason to keep them hidden.
Officially, all sides agreed to stop fighting. Things were slowed so Claude could argue with the other Alliance lords on what they would ask for in return for their help in the war; Edelgard spent some portion of that expecting something to prevent it. She would gladly accept the end of the war, yes, but she struggled to find the point of those who slither in the dark only appearing for one short battle.
All three of them were able to meet roughly halfway through the Great Tree Moon. At this point, there wasn't any neutral ground—the best she could offer was Garreg Mach, considering Edelgard and Dimitri were already there. It was the only time, she realized, any planning was done outside of the classrooms; she decided it would be more fitting to discuss everything in the cardinal's room, where there was enough space for all of them to see the rest.
The only people in the room was the world leaders and their respective retainers.
"I would prefer to settle this sooner, rather than later," Edelgard said. "Adrestia and Leicester are the victors in this case—despite that, my grievances end with the Central Church and their forced practices. I have no interest in punishing the Kingdom."
"I assume you have some request to make of us, then?" Dimitri asked. "Your generosity so far has mainly been to further your own ends—something to make the receivers think before they decline any offers."
"The mages, like those you fought in Abyss during the battle, still need to be taken care of," Edelgard reasoned. "While the Empire can do that alone, it will be quicker if Hubert and I aren't the only ones managing the fighting. You've both heard my case against them—you've both heard of or seen what they're capable of, why they're a threat; in addition to that, their leader Thales seems to be in possession of Areadbhar, which can and will be used against those opposing them. It's unwise to ignore them with that power."
"Without their base," Hubert continued, briefly giving both Dimitri and Claude a frown, "The mages are scattered. Some will be in the open; others, hiding. If nothing else, your cooperation would ensure that the selected soldiers—on the chance they're found—only receive opposition from the mages."
"Why does that lead me to believe that they would be attacked normally?" Claude asked warily, not quite joking but close.
"A majority of them are in House Vestra's service," Edelgard explained, glancing at him. "You're free to make of that as you will."
Claude frowned a bit, but when he spoke it wasn't a comment on it.
"I've gotten approval from the other lords to say that we'll help, since I knew you would ask," Claude said. "But let's officially end the current war before negotiating for the next, shall we?"
Both of the other two nodded, and the true negotiation began. Each stated what they wanted; not much was asked of the Kingdom for fighting, if only because Edelgard preferred to keep Dimitri as much of an ally as possible, and Claude admitted to having no reason to collect payment from a nation so shaken.
They all agreed on her reforms, to some extent, and all Edelgard requested was that both Dimitri and Claude did something similar in their own nations. It wasn't much of a punishment, but otherwise no one had an interest in demanding things of the others. The largest change was one Edelgard agreed to without great prompting: Garreg Mach would remain in the control of the Empire, but activities done within it before the war—mainly, the Officers Academy—would resume. Whether the Empire itself would manage it or people appointed by each church could be decided later.
Discussion on what would be put into the peace treaty didn't take as long as she expected, giving them time to finalize things with efforts against those who slither in the dark.
"The Kingdom and Alliance don't need to fight directly," Edelgard said. "Even if it would be appreciated, at the bare minimum all I ask is for you to tell me if you notice anything strange. From there, I can send someone to take care of it."
"I'm willing to provide soldiers, if you'll let me," Dimitri offered. "They would just need to recover from this fighting, first. Readjustment from my absence alone will take some time."
"Hence my earlier decision," Edelgard maintained. "Stability needs to return before anything major can be done—otherwise, they'll take advantage of the vulnerability. The Empire is further along in reform and the restructuring required for it; we can handle a majority of the fighting, I just need more eyes and ears in places where they can see and hear anything useful."
They murmured understanding, briefly returning to the peace treaty to ensure each group found it desirable. When they knew it was, the paper itself was signed. Shortly after, they left to declare it.
Three years; she had initially planned for five. Whether Edelgard dreaded or looked forward to the coming days, weeks, and months depended on her thought in the moment—if she was focused on plotting murder, or musing about the chances she could have to enjoy her time.
Sacrifices were made to create a better future—and while there were likely more sacrifices to come, a greater depth on which peace could be achieved, she did not regret any steps on that path. It was bloody, but for now the outward fighting was over; precious few would know of the second, silent war. Once that was done, Fódlan could truly see peace.
(A/N: I'm pulling a Crimson Flower on ya'll, so forgive me for that! But this is the last chapter of the story! Not gonna lie, to me the academy and war halves feel like two distinct stories, and I'm not sure if it makes sense as a whole. But I had fun writing it—especially the fluffier bits!—and I hope you guys enjoyed reading.
If I wrote out the war against those who slither in the dark in an actual story format, I doubt I would post it. I've always imagined it taking a while—it's an attempt to purge a group that's been in Fódlan for centuries, likely even longer—and as such, it would be slightly more fluff-based than story-based. Character bonding and such would be more important than the war, because the war itself would be moving at a slower pace. That's the main reason on why I chose to end Her Revolution here; even with the fluffier bits, the war has come first so far, so it would be a shift in format.)