i don't want to live in a world without you

Chapter 10

With the monastery secured and the Kingdom on their horizon, it seems as if the end of the war is finally within their grasp. Arionrhod will be a difficult battle, for sure, but once they have pierced those defenses, then it will only be a matter of time. Of course, an important part of this mission involves it's secrecy, as Edelgard is only involving her closest allies, and not telling anyone of the impending attack.

They have spies within the Kingdom, but those spies are on the side of the ones pulling the strings behind her, the ones that she hopes to do away with, once the war is won. This attack will be carried out without approval from her uncle, and may be met with repercussions, even if Edelgard and Hubert can play dumb enough to make it seem as though they only thought of this as an attack against the Kingdom, no one else.

"Hubert has talked to me a lot about them," Byleth says, while explaining the details of the mission to Jeralt. "It's been difficult, taking their side while we continue to pretend there are no plans to turn on them, but after the war is over, we can get serious about that."

"I'm surprised that you weren't blinded with vengeance again," Jeralt says. "I can still remember when you went off to fight them even though I told you that that wouldn't be necessary."

"Things have changed since then. At least, I understand now the sort of scale I'm dealing with, and just how tied in with the war it all is. If we're going to defeat the church, then we have to take advantage of everything that we can. Edelgard has been their puppet for so long, but once she has her other enemies out of the way, then it might finally be possible to set her sights on the rest of them. Though I believe Hubert will be heading that war, and doing so in secret."

"You'll be seeking your revenge then, won't you?" her father asks. "If you and Hubert have already discussed it, then I take it that means you've probably already signed yourself up for the cause."

"I think that I could be a big help, even if it weren't already personal," she explains. "But, since it is...well, I think that's why he decided to ask me in the first place. He knows that he can trust me with something like this, and he probably thought it might make it easier for me to stomach things as they are, at least for the time being."

"And you never thought to ask if I wanted to come along?"

"It's still a long way away. We have to focus on winning this war first, you know that. And..." She trails off, sighing. "I would prefer it if you stayed out of it. I'm doing this for you, because I couldn't protect you before, so I..."

"That was just as much on me as it was anyone else, maybe more so. And if anyone should want to fight them, it would be me. You're not going to be able to keep me out of this one, kid," he says. She had a feeling that he might put his foot down about it, but she had hoped that she would have been able to convince him to stay out of it. Now, she realizes just how futile that hope is. The two of them do everything together now that they are reunited; after the scare she gave him, after the years he suffered without her, there is no way in hell he is going to let her slip away again, not for any reason.

"I just want to be able to protect you."

"But I'm always going to want to protect my daughter," he replies. "Haven't we had this argument before? Or something similar?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. We're too much alike," she says. Two sides of the same coin, her father serving as her other half.

"Of course we are. You are my daughter, remember?" He puts his arm around her, pulling her close. "Whatever happens where those bastards are concerned, I know I can trust you to have my back, just the same as you can always rest assured that I'll have yours. Like you said, we just need to focus on winning this war first. Then we can kick some ass in the next one, right?"