Just maybe...

Catherine approached and interjected, "Honestly? It's probably due to the fact the Church executed Christophe."

Ashe looked stricken by Catherine's words, and looked away. "... that's... Probably true... But even so, I don't understand why Lonato would throw everything away in a pointless bid for ****..."

"Christophe?" Byleth asked, looking between Ashe and Catherine.

"...my brother, in a sense. Lord Lonato's son," Ashe replied.

"Why was he executed?" Byleth questioned, looking at Catherine, who hesitated.

"He was... Involved in the Tragedy of Duscur. You have heard of that, I trust?" Catherine inquired.

Byleth took a moment to think about it. Living life on the move as a mercenary had caused him to hear a lot of scattered information of the goings on in Fodlan, but only through word of mouth and whatnot. "... wasn't the King of Faerghus killed in Duscur?" he questioned Catherine, remembering that bit of info. It then suddenly occured to him that this meant Dimitri had lost his father in Duscur. That could explain the darkness he had sensed in the young man upon meeting him.

"Yes, and the people of Duscur were blamed for it. We're still looking for many of the true culprits, as many suspect a conspiracy had taken place, and... Christophe was found to have been involved," Catherine replied, but wasn't meeting either Byleth's or Ashe's eyes as she said this.

"...why did the Church execute him, and not the Kingdom then, if it was the Kingdom wronged?" Byleth inquired.

Catherine shook her head. "The Kingdom was in a state of chaos after the uprising. The Church had stepped in to help stabilize things until they were back under control," she explained. Sothis actually paused her groping of Catherine, currently having been feeling up her ass as she heard this.

"... she's lying, I'm pretty sure of it," she noted, floating over to Byleth. "Her demeanor practically screams that she's hiding something. The question is, why, and what actually happened in regards to Christophe... If we know more, perhaps we can talk things out instead of going straight to bloodshed... Hmmm.... I doubt she'll tell us without good reason... But I bet Rhea knows more..."

"...do you actually think Rhea would tell me if I asked?" Byleth inquired mentally, taking a moment to think things over. "If something is being covered up, then it's definitely something she doesn't want just anyone knowing..."

"She actually might, if you play your cards right," Sothis mused, wrapping her arms around Byleth's neck from behind and hanging there. "You know she favors you... And have been thinking about it... I think I might have a good idea why."

Byleth paused. "...what are you getting at?" he asked.

Sothis was about to answer, when Bernadetta spoke up. "Um... Professor? Are you alright? You seem to be spacing out a bit..."

Byleth shook his head, mentally telling Sothis to share her thoughts after class. "I was just thinking I should talk to Lady Rhea about this. As far as I'm aware, Lonato has only raised a militia so far, and hasn't actually used it to attack the Church yet, aside from verbal agitating. It... May not be too late to at least attempt to talk him down."

"You're wasting your time," Catherine told him. "Regardless of his reasons, he has chosen to raise his blade against the Church. Against Lady Rhea. That can't be forgiven."

"Forgiven or not, is killing him without exploring any alternatives first the correct thing to do?" Byleth asked her. "Because it sounds to me that the last thing the Kingdom needs right now is to lose a popular figure in power. If he's been a fair and just Lord, then the Kingdom needs someone like him to remain in place while they're recovering from the chaos the Tragedy caused. Even if it ultimately turns out to be pointless, Fodlan should see that the Church is at least willing to attempt diplomacy first."

"...alright, you have a point. I doubt any talks would go anywhere though. Lonato seems pretty set on his course of action," Catherine replied, before looking to Ashe, who looked like he was having a spark of hope in his eyes. "Try not to get your hopes up, Ashe. This situation does need to be resolved, one way or the other. The odds of Lonato listening to reason at this point are slim, if not nonexistent."

Ashe looked down. "I... Understand."

"Sheesh, don't sugarcoat or anything," Sothis told Catherine sarcastically, not that Catherine heard her. With that, Byleth resumed the class.