Edelgard and Hubert wait down the street when the strange men come to clean up her house, and Byleth watches them work, so numb that she feels like she's watching through the window, or watching it all on TV. She only feels like this is really happening to her when one of them will ask her a question, and she has no difficulty lying, making up a story that entirely leaves out the two who are waiting for her to say it's okay to come back.
It isn't long before they have her house looking like nothing has happened, and they explain to her that she has to keep completely quiet about all of this. "I understand how hard it must be for you. Your father was a great man," one of them says. "But he wouldn't want our work to be endangered by word getting out. You understand that, right?"
As if she would tell anyone about any of this. As if she would want to relive this night over and over again while trying to convince the world that she watched her father be killed by a vampire, and then watched his fellow vampire hunters get rid of any evidence that he ever even came home that night. And on Christmas, no less.
She agrees to everything that they say, including their explanation that there can be no real funeral. Apparently her father hasn't truly existed since he started this work, and every place they've lived, every school she's gone to, he's just been using his connections to mask his lack of a true identity. Or something like that; it's hard for her to wrap her head around it, and she doesn't ask what she's supposed to do now, or if she's ever existed herself.
"You won't have to move or anything like that," they explain. "You can continue going to school here, and your bills and expenses will be covered. The only condition is that you can't mention anything about your home life or family. You have to act like nothing has changed."
Over and over again, they drill that point into her, saying it in this way , like they already know there's no way she would have anyone to talk about her family to anyway. Her father must have mentioned how much of a loner she is, without mentioning her two new friends. It's better that way on both counts, so that none of this is complicated any further.
Whoever funds this vampire hunting business, however the hell that works, must be plenty loaded, considering she will continue receiving her father's pay, which should be enough to keep her on her feet until she's supposed to be able to get a job. Still, nothing is mentioned about her own place in the world, but she doesn't care to ask right now.
Right now, it's hard to care about anything, except hoping desperately for these men to finally leave, to finally finish making her house look pristine. She wonders if they will take all of her father's possessions, to really make it seem as if he were never there, but they don't touch anything other than his body and the mess left behind by the fight. Before they leave, they make her promise once again to not speak of this, before promising her in return that she can contact their organization if she needs anything.
"If you feel unsafe by yourself tonight, we can have someone guard your house," one of them tells her, but she says she doesn't think that will be necessary, as the vampire was alone during the attack, and seemed to not know where they lived before following him today by chance.
A part of her worries that they might still watch her house, so rather than telling the others that they can come back, she starts packing her things and texts Edelgard, asking her if she would be able to tell if a human were following them. Edelgard replies that if she were focused enough, she definitely could; Kronya could sneak up on them because she wasn't human and had more experience at masking her presence, and Ferdinand managed it because Edelgard was so hungry that her senses were dulled, and she was distracted.
So Byleth packs up as much as she can manage, knowing that she won't be able to come back home for quite some time. She slips out the backdoor and hurries down the street to find Hubert's car, and go to Edelgard's house, with Edelgard making sure that nobody is tailing them. But the other hunters really did leave and trust Byleth on her own, which makes her wonder just how highly her father spoke of her.
~X~
She spends the rest of her winter break in that same state of numbness. In the immediate aftermath of her father's death, she was filled with a determination to follow in his footsteps, so that she could protect and avenge Edelgard, so that she could protect and avenge people like her , but when everything is cleaned away, when she's not at her house because she can't bear to be in the same place that he died right now, she doesn't feel that same determination.
Ferdinand will come over from time to time after Christmas, and the two of them must have filled him in beforehand, because he already knows by the time he comes to visit Byleth, who spends most of her time laying around, not really up for much of anything. He isn't good at comforting her, but he tries, reminding her again and again that he's here for her if she needs anything, that he will do anything in his power if she asks, and things like that.
She appreciates the effort because she knows that that's just how Ferdinand is, just like how she understands that Hubert isn't good at this at all, and will hang in the doorway, silent as he tries to think of something to say before eventually giving up. Edelgard does not try at all, but Byleth understands that as well. For her, it must seem like the best idea to give Byleth her time to grieve, rather than trying to force her to snap out of it before she's ready.
Until a week after the incident, when Byleth is up to eat a meal with the two of them- she's almost surprised that Ferdinand isn't there, at this point- and Edelgard says, "Maybe you shouldn't go back to bed right when we finish. I think we need to talk about some things."
Byleth nods, despite not feeling much like talking. Edelgard gives her a moment before realizing that she isn't going to say anything, and continues with, "What are you planning to do now? Are you going to go back to school?"
"I am."
"That's good. When the break is over, it's going to be hard to continue like nothing has changed, but I'm glad you're going to give it a shot. However...something has changed. We were all there, and we know things are a lot different than they were before," she says. "The group that turned me is even more dangerous than we gave them credit for, and I think we need to address how we're going to approach things from here on out."
Hubert doesn't speak, and Edelgard looks to her, both of them waiting for her opinion on the matter. And Byleth takes a deep breath, trying to summon that determination she first felt, trying to push her numbness and her grief to the side. Finally, she says, "I want to learn what I can about my father did. I don't want any of us to get caught off-guard like that again, and I want to make sure the rest of them pay for everything they've done."
Edelgard gives her a smile and says, "That's what I hoped you would say."
