[And. Here it is. Edelgard folds her arms and shakes her head.

No hiding this.]

I started the war, Dimitri. And before you speak, listen. Hear me out.

[She continues on, prepared to run right over his objections if need be. There's a desire in her to explain, but on her terms.]

Rhea was not...going to yield power peacefully. You cannot have missed what she was like, how bloodthirsty she was when it came to anyone who dared oppose her. I know you, of all people, must be aware of what she did to Ashe's surrogate father, so you must understand that conflict with her was inevitable. I managed to glean some insight into her machinations, and the lies she had been spinning for the last thousand years. So, I struck out against her with everything that I could.

[Her voice hardens, growing cold and distant. She has no love for Rhea, but her dislike of that monster pales in comparison to her feelings for Fodlan's true foe.]

She's not even the greatest threat facing Fodlan. She was just the one out in the open, but to get to the other, her powerbase needed to be broken.