0. If I seek the truth, I'll have to retrieve it from the [cdb]emperor herself. Cornelia said as much before her [cdb]spirit left this realm.
1. Only a fool would take that temptress at her word, [cdb]but I do believe there is truth to her claim. Edelgard knows something.
2. The Empire was surely involved in my father's death, [cdb]and perhaps she was as well.
3. Hold on, boar. You owe us all an explanation here. The emperor is your stepsister?
4. Hm? Ah, my apologies. I suppose I never [cdb]mentioned it.
5. Uhh, so if I've got this straight, after you were born, [cdb]your dad got remarried...to her mom?
6. Uhh, so if I've got this straight, after you were born, [cdb]your dad got remarried...to her mom?
7. Correct. Though the truth of my stepmother's [cdb]background was never revealed to the public, [cdb]as you can imagine.
8. Of course, all that is in the past now. There is no [cdb]reason to keep hiding it from my closest allies.
9. Your Majesty, if I may. I can handle the explanation.
10. That will no doubt prove faster. You knew my father [cdb]many years longer than I did.
11. It all started twenty years ago, when a dreadful plague [cdb]ravaged Fhirdiad. King Lambert's wife was among [cdb]those claimed by its spread.
12. In hopes of bringing an end to the epidemic, the king [cdb]sought experts from across the land—scholars, [cdb]doctors, mages.
13. Among those, it was an Imperial scholar by the [cdb]name of Cornelia who finally turned the page on [cdb]our suffering, and put an end to the pestilence.
14. Oh yes, I've heard about that. She helped develop [cdb]many of the districts in the capital as well, didn't she?
15. It's a little weird to think she's the one who planned [cdb]out the places we all lived.
16. They even used to call her a saint. What could've [cdb]happened to her to make her so...different?
17. Interestingly enough, she never asked for any kind of [cdb]reward for her feat. Well, at first.
18. In lieu of any compensation, monetary or otherwise, [cdb]she requested that we rescue one of her old friends [cdb]from the Empire.
19. Which is the story of how the late king came to meet [cdb]his future wife, Lady Patricia—or should I say Lady Anselma.
20. I don't get it. Why would she need saving?
21. I'm not sure of all the details myself, but I know she [cdb]was banished from the court after becoming involved [cdb]in some sort of political dispute.
22. Lambert always did have a soft spot for those in need.
23. And of course in the thick of all that, the two [cdb]developed feelings for each other.
24. It's difficult to say for sure if it was love, but it was [cdb]something. Anyway, that's all I have.
25. Looking back on the events now, it's hard to know [cdb]just how much of it was part of Cornelia's plot.
26. In any case, I must learn more about my stepmother's [cdb]death. I have no doubt it connects in some manner to [cdb]the truth about the Tragedy.
27. Who was Cornelia working for? And what was Edelgard's role in all of it?
28. If I truly want to know... Well, there's only one person I can turn to.
29. You want to get answers from the emperor of the very [cdb]region we're at war with? Is that even possible?
30. I mean, Edelgard is our enemy. She and her like have [cdb]stamped the life out of so many of our allies.
31. And we've done the same to hers. I don't see how the [cdb]two sides could just sit down for a chat after all that.
32. Perhaps not.
33. We're on opposite sides in an all-out war spanning [cdb]the entire continent. Do you really have time for a [cdb]little chat?
34. Make no mistake, she is still our bitter enemy.
35. But I've no other choice. We've extracted all the [cdb]information we could from the western lords.
36. And as Cornelia has departed this world, the emperor [cdb]is the only one left we can turn to.
37. Gustave. I'll be leaving reconstruction of the west [cdb]to you and the baron.
38. Understood, Your Majesty. Do you mean to make for Arianrhod?
39. Indeed I do. Even the most impregnable fortress in all Fódlan cannot hold off an onslaught forever.
40. I know not how or when Edelgard will make her [cdb]presence known, but we must hold the Silver Maiden. By any means necessary.