Chapter Text
“I’m going to kill the Archbishop and end the church’s reign of terror upon Fodlan and usher a new age of liberation, where people’s destinies are not tied by their birthright but are decided by their skill and ambition. I value your friendships and I want you to join me in my quest. Are you guys in?”
Edelgard offered her hand out to Dimitri and Claude, who looked at her with concern.
“What madness is this Edelgard? You wish to kill the archbishop? This is heresy!” Dimitri struck his hand onto the table, breaking its legs in one stride. Edelgard’s face remained calm. She was expecting this reaction from him.
“I have nothing against the faith of the Goddess Sothis, but Rhea has used her power to suffocate the people of Fodlan. The nobility and the crest system flourish under her influence and if we want a just society, we must eliminate the church. Dimitri, you have seen first-hand the misery that crests bring, did you not? Don’t you remember Miklan, Sylvain’s older brother?”
Dimitri staggered back a bit. “Yes, of course.”
“How did Miklan raise such an army against him? With great leadership skills. If he was a knight instead of a thief, I’m sure that he would have served the Kingdom well. But instead of rising to that position, Miklan was cast away from his family and forced into poverty. His bitterness pushed him away from Sylvain and the life he could have had, all because of the crest system.”
“I am not looking to destroy your kingdom, Dimitri. I want our countries – the Liester Alliance and the Holy Kingdom – to flourish. But we are all trodden down by the might of the church. I know it’s a lot to process, so I won’t ask for your answer now. But please think of it, both of you.”
Dimitri dropped into a nearby chair and buried his face into his hands, while Claude’s face remained skeptical.
“Listen, Edelgard. I’m no believer of the church and these people you call “those who slither in the dark” definitely make me think that something is threatening to destroy Fodlan, but is destroying the church really the answer? Don’t you think it’s a bit… radical?”
“I don’t want to do this either. A war will mean casualties, many of them being civilians. But for the sake of our people, not just mine, but yours and Dimitri’s as well, it is the swiftest way to liberation.”
“Can we look into this first? Together. I’m not denying what your forefathers have told you, but I think it’s important to look at all sides of situation. At the very least, it’ll give us more information on Rhea and how we can take her down. I’m not saying no -- honestly, I had ambitions like yours – but I don’t think it’s wise to strike head on. Sometimes craftiness,” Claude pulled another one of his smiles, “can be the difference between a thousand casualties and a hundred thousand.”
Edelgard perked up a bit. Claude wasn’t saying no then.
“If it means working together, then yes, we can research into it. I agree with you; while I don’t think that the church will hold much more than propaganda for the Immaculate One, maybe we could find other sources of information that will help us. From Almyra, maybe?” Edelgard looked straight at Claude and watched Claude’s face drop. Hmm. So her suspicions were correct.
“I’ll ask Hilda about it, since her territory is by Fodlan’s Throat.”
“Excellent.” Edelgard turned to Dimitri, who was frozen in his chair. “Dimitri, are you alright? You don’t have to answer me right now, but sooner is always better than later.”
“Rhea… the Immaculate One… the Holy Kingdom of Faegheus has always been allies to the Church. How can I convince my people to turn their backs on the church and wage war against them?”
“I understand how important the Goddess is to your people,” Edelgard put a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder, “I cannot stress enough how much I value your people’s faith. But the Adrestrian Empire also values the Duscur faith, the Sreng faith, the Brigid faith, the Almyran faith. We are one country, yes, but our continent holds people from all over, who do not wish to be governed by a religion that they don’t believe in, let alone a corrupt dictatorship.”
“I want to trust you El. You are my sister. I just need time.” Edelgard had expected as much. Dimitri waging war against the church could cause a split in his country between believers of the church and supporters of Dimitri and the Kingdom. The Church’s roots dug into Fargheus soil while they barely touched the Alliance and Empire. But… Byleth told her to trust others. And she trusted her friends.
“Take all the time you need.”
Edelgard turned back to Claude. “Let me know how the research in Fodlan’s Throat goes. We’ll touch base in a few days time.” Edelgard doubted that anything that her family told her would come up, but Claude was right. The Empire wouldn’t know all of the Church’s secrets, and the more information they had, the better.
“You got it Princess. And this stays between us, yes?”
“Of course.”
*
“Are you sure that this is wise, Edelgard?” Hubert always seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“If we want our ambitions to be realized, then we need more than just the Empire. We are mighty, yes, but I fear that opposition from the Kingdom and Alliance would create a monstrous war. The liberation I seek means the least number of casualties and that includes people from the Alliance and Kingdom.”
“By your lead, my Emperor.”
Edelgard turned to walk away from Hubert, but she could still feel his eyes burning into her.