"Don't teachers usually hand out a syllabus, not a schedule?" Sylvain asked, looking at the paper Byleth had just handed to them.

"It is a syllabus."

"It has dates."

"Yes. The dates for each subject."

"This is your first teaching job isn't it. Allow me to explain-"

"Sylvain, I know how to do my job. There is no specific way to teach. Every teacher has their own method. If you do not like mine, then feel free to complain to Lady Rhea. I'm sure she'll allow you to transfer if you have concentration issues, though in that case a tutor might be better."

"Professor you're kind of savage," Sylvain complained as the class laughed at his expense.

"Savage?"

"Ruthless, cruel," he provided.

"…I'm merely speaking the truth."

"Don't worry teach, I think you're great," Claude told her.

"If anything, it is his own fault for questioning you," El provided.

Byleth honestly did not understand what they meant. She was confused, but instead of asking them, she chose to return to teaching. She did not want them to think she lacked knowledge of any kind. She needed to learn more about socializing as she seemed to be lacking greatly in that department.

"Pull out whatever you use to take notes," she told them. She had heard some teachers would spend a day going over the syllabus or having the class get to know each other, but she preferred to spend the time teaching them. They were all adults, not little children, so to sit and slowly go over a piece of a paper with them was an insult to their intelligence. As for getting to know each other, that would happen naturally. She had activities planned, but more important was learning their levels of knowledge, and allowing them to likewise learn about their classmates in the classroom setting.

Once the students were all ready, she began the lecture. She explained it carefully, writing important notes on the board, and drawing diagrams if need be. She answered any questions posed to her, even if they were irrelevant to the subject at hand. She paid close attention to who seemed to want to learn, who played the good student, and who seemed easily distracted. Once she dismissed the class, she took a moment to write down her notes on the students before leaving to head to her office. She still had some time before her next class.

"Professor, may I have a moment." Hearing Seteth's voice she turned around, giving him what she thought was an expectant look, in reality it was probably blank. "I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was much too rude to you, especially as we had only just met. I especially had no right to comment on your clothing choice, even more so when another professor dresses…interestingly."

"I see. Thank you… Lady Rhea mentioned that I have your sister in my class. Flayn right?"

"Yes. Since we're on the subject allow me to be honest about something. I do not wish for you to be her teacher. I am quite concerned about you teaching such a complicated subject matter, especially when the previous teacher in your position had spent over a decade studying the subject matter. Lady Rhea has a reason for placing Flayn under your care, and I shall respect that reason, but honestly I do not expect much from the decision."

She was honestly unsurprised. She was used to being judged for her age. "I understand. I'll be blunt as well. I will prove you wrong. I may be young, but I know what I am doing."

"Honestly for the sake of my sister's education, I hope so."

Byleth gave a small nod. "If you have nothing else important to say, then excuse me, I have lesson plans to prepare," she walked away without waiting for a response. She really did not feel like talking to someone who viewed her only as a child.

Seteth watched the professor walk away, her heels clicking on the stone floor. He had intended to become on better terms, but it did not work out that way. No matter what he could not accept the decision of hiring her. Maybe if Flayn was not now attending the school, he would be able to accept it a little better, but with his family's education on the line, he could not accept it. He wanted to make sure she had opportunities, opportunities that required great knowledge. After all those in higher positions were the safest, and her safety was his first priority.

Now however it felt like those opportunities would be destroyed. He wished desperately for the past when life was simpler, but he knew that would never happen. That life had been destroyed by those that were jealous of simple prosperity.

"Honestly, it is only the third day," he sighed as he saw a few students outside of his door. While it was usually the job of the students' advisory professor to handle complaints, they could come to him or Rhea when they didn't feel comfortable with their professor, or if the teacher had failed to handle the problem previously. Most common was when they had a problem with someone in a different class. They would come to him since they felt like that student's advisory professor would be biased, while the student they complained about worried about the same on the opposite side.

In irony he found the only professors whose students did not come to him were Hanneman and Manuela, despite their faults, especially shocking considering that the two could not get along. Yet they somehow managed to resolve all issues between their students. He only wished the rest could manage it.

"What is the problem today?" He asked as he let them in. Patiently he listened to the complaints. Today's complaints needed no intervention from him, so he simply gave some advice, and told them to let him know if the problem persisted. Once he had the situation handled, he started on his own work.

Work that included looking over student profiles. Garreg Mach was considered one of the safest schools. Part of this was making sure no students had a dangerous background. Students that had questionable backgrounds would often be watched carefully. This year he shockingly had several. There was of course Flayn's own background, but hers was done for her own safety, and in her case, he knew what the hidden details were. The others not so much.

Both Lysithea von Ordelia and Edelgard von Hresvelg had blank spots in their backgrounds, and both were from the families that had recommended the new professor. Outside of them was a student name Jeritza von Hyrm. Ironically all three were in Professor Byleth's class.

"Honestly, what was Rhea thinking." Picking up the profiles he left his office for Rhea's. There were plenty of others too. He wasn't sure how much Rhea knew of them, but he would double check.

"Enter," her voice called through the door.

"Lady Rhea. I have a private matter to speak to you about."

Rhea nodded, helping him to make sure the room was cleared and secure, with no possibility of their conversation being overheard or seen. Once they felt it was safe enough, they both dropped their voices, speaking in their native tongue.

"How many nabateans outside of Flayn are attending this year?" he showed her the stack of papers.

"These ones I was told. I apologize for not telling you sooner." This left just Edelgard, Lysithea, and Jeritza in the stack. "These three are questionable I take it. Ordelia and Hresvelg?"

"Yes. I was shocked by them myself. The name Hyrm is unfamiliar."

"To me as well. I'll talk to the knights about getting more information on these three."

"Thank you. I feel as though we're about to have a complicated year."

"I worry too. Maybe you can look into the students a little yourself?"

"If the opportunity arises I will."

With their conversation finished, and his questions clarified, he left her office, heading back to his own to place the files in a secure area in the office. From there he had to speak to the kitchen staff about meals and funding. Arriving at the dining hall he noticed Flayn in line to get food, and from afar a blond boy staring in her direction. He wasn't sure if it was her he was actually staring at, but regardless he would not allow it. "Did you need assistance with something?" he asked the student.

"No sir," the blonde responded, looking straight at Seteth.

Seeing him up close, Seteth could not help but feel as though he had seen the boy somewhere before. No matter how much he searched his memories he could not pin where. Maybe he merely saw someone resembling him once and was confusing the two. "You were staring at the lunch line, so I was concerned that you were confused by the system. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Jeritza von Hyrm. I'm waiting for someone before I get my food."

"I see. I apologize for the trouble. I'm Seteth, the archbishop's advisor. If you need assistance with anything, do not hesitate to ask. I am here for the students as much as the archbishop."

"…Thank you…"

Seteth gave him a small nod and bow before walking away. So that was Jeritza von Hyrm. He was positive now that feeling of familiarity was not a coincidence. More than likely the boy had something to do with war, and that was a worrisome thing indeed.

Flayn walked with her food, looking for somewhere to sit, finally finding a decent space at a table way in a back corner. She hated the lunch period. It was so awkward eating alone, but she had yet to make any friends. She always felt like she was being watched, even if she wasn't. She wished she could at least sit with the other nabateans, as they grouped together, but even among them she was the black sheep. To try to fit in she would have to dye her hair, wear contacts, and cut ties with her father. All of which she had no plans for. She would admit that the dye and contacts part was tempting, but her father had a reason for not dying his hair, a reason she supported and followed. The only downside was her loneliness.

"Excuse me is this seat open?"

Flayn looked up to see a white-haired girl pointing to the seat across from her. "Yes, it is!" she said a little too loudly.

The girl didn't seem to care, giving a smile as she sat down with her own food. She recognized the girl from her homeroom class. After all, white hair wasn't common in Fódlan. Flayn wanted to try to start a conversation, but she had no idea how. Curse her father for keeping her so sheltered.

"You're in Professor Byleth's homeroom, right?"

"I am. You are too, are you not?"

"Yes. I'm Lysithea. I noticed you the first day."

"Flayn. You noticed me the first day?"

"No one else really looks super young around here except for me and you. You're about nineteen I'm guessing, maybe younger.

"… Actually, I'm twenty-one…"

"I'm so sorry. You just look so much younger and are shorter. I just assumed."

"It's fine. Most think I'm younger than even that, so I am quite grateful that you actually thought I was even nineteen."

"I'm only nineteen, which from what I hear is actually quite young for attending Garreg Mach. I was always advanced in school compared to my peers, so I was excited about finding someone like me."

Someone like her? "Did you not have any friends growing up?" The visible flinch on Lysithea's face told Flayn all she needed to know. Lysithea was the black sheep among her peers, the one that did not fit in. "Growing up, when I was younger, I was a bit more advanced than some of my peers as well. I was treated much more like an adult while they were treated like children. It was quite lonely, and until this day I suffer the effects of it."

"I guess we are alike," Lysithea smiled at her.

Flayn returned the smile, feeling relieved at finally having made a friend. She had not expected to be able to relate to anyone due to the reality of her childhood, and there was no doubt that Lysithea's experiences were much tamer, but they were still similar enough that they could understand each other. And of course, just having someone to talk to was always nice.

And talk they did, getting on nicely. While their main interests differed, they shared enough to keep a conversation going, and turn a lonely lunch into an enjoyable one. As Flayn rose from finishing the meal, her eyes happened to catch the blonde male from her class. She froze in place immediately. Once again his stare was intense, as though he knew all her secrets. Her grip on her tray tightened until her knuckles were white, the iciness of fear taking over her body.

"Flayn are you okay?" she jumped a little at the hand on her shoulder, turning her light green eyes up at taffy pink eyes.

"Yes. I'm fine."

It was clear she didn't believe her, but thankfully did not push it. "Okay. Let's go. Do you have any other classes today? We should compare our schedules."

As she half heartedly listened to Lysithea, Flayn looked over, watching as the boy watched her. She was positive now. He was watching her. She would have to tell her father when she got home tonight. She was afraid though. What if he decided to hide them? Then she would be back to being sheltered, with no interaction. She had worked so hard to be allowed to attend the school, to be with peers her age.

"Hello professor."

Flayn looked up to see Professor Byleth standing by them, staring mainly at her. Why did everyone stare at her?

"Flayn are you okay?" she asked. While the question may have been one you would ask when concerned, coming from the professor it sounded like she did so out of obligation. There was no emotion in her voice or on her face.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. If you do need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you professor."

She nodded, leaving the two.

"I've heard children's toys with more emotion," Lysithea commented once the professor was out of earshot.

Flayn could not help the laugh that bubbled up out of her. "Heard? I've seen dolls with more emotion. Not the smiling ones."

"Sylvain thinks that she is being 'savage' but I'm pretty sure she just runs off of automated responses."

"Sylvain," Flayn sighed. "I hate classes with him and a female teacher."

"Agreed. He's such a flirt, and the teacher does not matter. He's not much better in classes with males either."

"You know the blonde girl and black haired boy always sitting together?"

"Yeah. I can't remember their names. They always sit near that blonde who sits next to Sylvain."

"First day I overheard them move just so they would not be associated with him."

"I don't blame them, but wouldn't it be better to just not hang out with him."

"You have to admire their dedication to him."

"I suppose so. I just wouldn't have the patience to deal with him."

With the change in conversation and location, the fear from the blonde boys staring faded. Flayn simply molded back into a girl enjoying spending time with her friend.

Rhea stared at the profiles in front of her. Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, and Claude von Riegan. Dimitri's history was well documented. She could tell by just looking over his transcripts that he was a good student, as well as involved. Everything about him was the type of students who succeeded the most and were the most enjoyable to have. She just wished the other two were the same.

Edelgard had holes in her transcript and profile. Gaps in education. And while she was a solid student like Dimitri, in the academic sense, she was not as involved. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, any nabatean student often presented the same signs. She was not nabatean though. She was the heiress to the Adrestian Empire. Rhea worried that she could be a child soldier. She had heard that the knights had attempted to recondition them, but the success was varied. Though considering her stature, it was unlikely the Agarthans had ever touched the girl. She was probably just being paranoid.

Lastly was Claude. The boy was heir to House Riegan and had literally come out of nowhere. No one in the Leicester alliance knew where his grandfather had found him. This meant that there was a large chunk of mystery to him. Seteth had looked a little further in, and from his description, Claude did not seem like he was a child soldier, or as though he had had anything to do with the war. Seteth said she was being overly paranoid about him, but she could not help but worry about where the boy was before he came to Fódlan.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her concentrative state. Cleaning up the files quickly she called for the person to enter. The one to enter was a dark haired boy, no older than eighteen. Cyril. He had been an orphan from Almyra until she took him in. Now he was her adopted son. She had never married and thus had never had children. She had merely taken him in on a whim, but she was grateful for the decision every day. The boy brought much joy to her life, and she could understand the way Seteth got when talking about Flayn sometimes. Children truly were a gift.

"Are you ready for dinner Lady Rhea?"

"I do not think I could take another minute of work," she smiled lovingly at him.

He walked over helping her to clean up real quick so that they may be on their way faster. "What would you like for dinner tonight?" she asked him.

"Anything you want is fine with me."

"Cyril," she put a little warning in her voice. She had told him several times that she did not want him to be passive with her.

"Okay…um how about vegetable stir fry?"

"Sounds perfect. How did your day go?"

Instantly he perked up, telling her all about the tasks he accomplished around the monastery, complaining about things students had done, and showing excitement about something new he had discovered. The one thing he did not talk about was how his learning was going. She knew how it was going, and despite what she had told Seteth, it was not going as well as she would like him to believe. Cyril just wasn't motivated and no matter how hard she tried; she could not motivate him. She had stopped having Seteth teach him so that he would not truly know Cyril's progress. It wasn't that she was embarrassed, no it was that she was jealous. Flayn was so good, and she hated when others compared Cyril to her, and Seteth was downright merciless.

As she listened to him talk one their way to their destination (she unfortunately had no talent for cooking), she tried to think of a way to convince him to improve his academics. As they sat at the table waiting for their food, he drew on a children's menu, looking so young and innocent, despite being eighteen. And when he handed her the picture, he drew of them eating together, she could not help the smile that came to her lips. He may not be able to read very well, but he drew the most adorable pictures, and for her that was enough.

"Thank you my dear child. I love it."

His adorable pictures and his beaming smiles at the smallest compliments were definitely enough. Seteth may have the child that knew more academically, but she got the most adorable one she decided.