Chapter 6: Downtime

"Are you absolutely sure this bandit mentioned Those Who Slither in the Dark?"

Byleth nodded his head, "I'm sure of it. It's not really a name you can mistake as something else, you know?"

Both Rhea and Seteth shared a look between each other, the priestess frowned before turning her attention back to him. "And we really have nothing else to work off of, other than this so called Flame Emperor? This Kostas didn't mention why his master ordered him to attack our students?"

He sighed before tiredly rubbing the back of his neck, "I've already told you everything I know in the report Rhea. I wasn't exactly in the position to conduct an interrogation."

Seteth folded his arms, the scowl on his face deepening, "perhaps it would be best to interrogate Lady Edelgard, Ferdinand, and Dorothea. See if their versions of the story matches up with yours, professor."

Byleth glared at the older man and balled up his fists, "are you trying to insinuate something?"

Seteth opened his mouth to retort but a glare from Rhea stopped him, "thank you Seteth. But that won't be necessary. I'm sure you mean well but your paranoia is not needed at the moment."

Rhea's attendant bowed his head, "forgive me my lady, I will try to keep my silence for now."

The archbishop nodded and Byleth asked, "should I know who these people are?"

Rhea turned back to him before shaking her head, "I doubt you would have heard of them before. Our organization has encountered members of this so called order in the past. I'm ashamed to admit it, but we do not know as much about them as we should."

Byleth nodded, "alright. So who are they?"

Rhea frowned, "a group bearing this name has surfaced several times throughout history, and their appearance almost always precipitates a terrible tragedy. Then afterwards, they vanish without a trace and every attempt to track them down ends in failure. It can be no coincidence that you encountered someone tied to their organization on the eve of Lonato's rebellion."

Byleth shrugged, "probably. Is there nothing else we know about them?"

Seteth interjected, "there are some who believe they have connections to the ancient Agarthans. Although there is very little evidence that supports such a theory other than their strange magic and technology that they have been seen using."

Byleth turned to look a Rhea with a curious look, "Agarthans? I've never heard of them."

The priestess nodded, "that's no surprise. Only a handful of records that documented their existence have survived to the present day. As far as the church has managed to decipher, they were an ancient tribe who helped found Zanado in the earliest days of the Goddess' rule over mankind. They were similar in many ways to you and me, yet they were also different is subtle ways. Their people had a deep love of the sciences and technology, and were able to craft wonders that have not been recreated to this very day. Yet they chafed under the rule of the Goddess and her children, they chose to abandon Zanado in order to build a home where they were free to rule themselves and pursue knowledge without restriction."

Rhea continued on, "they built a kingdom of their own and became so advanced that they believed they could challenge the Goddess' dominion over this world. They built ships that could sail the skies as easily as one could sail the seas, mighty warbeasts made of steel that were stronger than any man, and weapons and armor that could condense and control fire in a way that magic never could. They assaulted great Zanado and the Goddess sent her three eldest children to stop them. Mighty dragons who bore the strongest of her blood; the Wind Caller summoned terrible storms that devastated their fields and farms so they had no food to eat, the Immovable created great fissures in the earth that swallowed their armies whole, and the Goddess' eldest child, the great and terrible Immaculate One descended upon Agartha and reduced the city and it's people to ash."

Seteth cut in, "the Agarthans were destroyed completely and utterly by the Goddess' children, yet some believe that a handful of Agarthans were able to escape the cataclysm and retreated to the dark recesses of the world, planning to exact their revenge on the ones who destroyed their kingdom. We haven't managed to prove that this legend is true, but we haven't been able to disprove it either."

Byleth nodded, "interesting. If that's all, I have matters I need to attend to."

Rhea looked to Seteth who frowned before pulling a coin purse off his belt and tossed it to Byleth, the priestess replied, "a small gift for your aid in this matter. I hope your students will get well soon, Byleth."

Byleth grabbed the bag out of the air and nodded to both of them, walking out of the audience chamber and shutting the doors behind him.

He couldn't help the smirk that sprouted on his face as soon as the doors closed, with just the slightest push, Rhea gave him more than enough information to start the next phase of his investigation. He looked down at the purse in his hands, feeling it's weight.

Not to mention he earned a hefty sum as well.

Byleth attached the pouch to his belt and began to walk down the hall, he had some matters to take care of, to start with, he and Hanneman needed to have a talk.

The Black Eagles and their escort had arrived back at Garreg Mach only a few hours ago, it was almost midnight and Byleth was exhausted, but he still had things to do before he could retire to his quarters, and he knew there would be even more he had to do tomorrow.

Byleth knocked on the door to Hanneman's office, he heard shuffling behind the door before it opened. The old professor's face lit up as he saw who it was, "ah! Byleth! Did you need something?"

He nodded and replied, "can we talk in private?"

The old man nodded before stepping to the side so Byleth could enter the room, Hanneman closed the door behind him "I'm actually quite surprised you sought me out, usually you have no interest in talking unless I request your help with one of my experiments."

Byleth shrugged as the old man walked back to his desk, "I've already got plenty on my plate as it is. No offense, but I have better uses for my time."

The professor chuckled as he slid back into his chair and pushed some papers off to the side, "none taken, my friend. What do you need?"

Byleth pulled the page with the diagram he tore out of the book from his pocket and handed it over to Hanneman, "we need to talk. This is big."

Confused, Professor Hanneman took the paper and unfolded it, looking at the diagram inscribed on it before suddenly turning pale, he looked up to Byleth with a look of shock on his face, "Oh. Oh my, I- I see why you wished to speak with me."

Byleth nodded and began to pace around the room with his arms folded as Hanneman shakily placed the piece of paper on his desk, "how… How long have you known about this?"

Byleth responded, "I found out shortly before my class was sent to Zanado Canyon. I've been waiting for a good opportunity to tell you."

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Hanneman's face as he glanced at his fellow professor, "I see. I see… Are- Are you going to kill me?"

Byleth had to suppress a snicker as he shook his head, "no professor. For one thing that would only bring attention to me and risk exposing this information to the rest of the staff. And I still need you to figure out how I acquired this crest and the effect it's having on me."

Hanneman noticeably relaxed at his words, "oh, thank goodness." The old man looked at the diagram once again before holding his head in his hands, "the Crest of Flames… After all this time, reappears in the hands of a mercenary!"

Byleth walked back over to the desk, "tell me the truth Hanneman, is it possible that I'm… You know, a descendant of Nemesis?"

His coworker sighed before scratching his head, "it… Is a possibility that we cannot rule out; after all, in all of recorded history, no one except Nemesis has inherited that crest. But that raises even more questions, how did you awaken such a thing? Why did it reappear after all this time? What is the extent of it's abilities? There is so much we need to do, do you have anything else that might be of use for my research?"

Byleth nodded, "possibly. I want you to look up as much information as you can about an organization known as Those Who Slither in the Dark. And dig up as much as you can about the Agarthans, it also wouldn't hurt to get into contact with any colleagues of yours who specialize in researching Zanado and the Goddess."

Hanneman nodded as he rested his head on his clasped hands on the desk, "you are absolutely right. And I assure you that my lips are sealed, more so than ever before. If this got out, then my life would be in just as much danger as-"

Both Byleth and Hanneman froze as a faint creak from beyond the office door alerted them both, in less than a blink of an eye, Byleth dashed to the door and pulled it open. He roughly grabbed the spy by the collar of their shirt before roughly throwing them inside the office and slamming the door shut.

He couldn't quite tell who it was in the dim torchlight, but by the sound of their voice, whoever it was, was a girl.

Whoever it was, they were still on their knees as he pulled his spare dagger out of it's sheathe on his hip and grabbed the spy by their long hair and yanked it hard so their head was pulled back, looking straight up at the ceiling as he pressed the knife against their throat from behind. Ready to kill them if necessary.

"Byleth! Stop! For Goddess' sake! Look who it is!"

As the rush of adrenaline began to wear off, he looked and was shocked to find it was Lysithea.

The girl was holding her head up almost vertically to try and avoid cutting her throat open, he could see the tears in her eyes as the steel pressed into her soft flesh.

"P-professor… Please…"

Suddenly realizing who it was that he nearly murdered in cold blood, Byleth immediately let the girl go and pulled the dagger away. The girl fell back to her knees and was sobbing as he got to his feet and backed up.

He looked at the knife in his hand before grimacing and slipping it back into it's sheathe and muttering a hasty "sorry", under his breath.

The young teenager curled up into a ball as she tried to muffle her crying, Hanneman slowly walked around the room and knelt down to the girl, trying to comfort his student as Byleth leaned against the back wall.

The girl cried for a few minutes before she was able to compose herself, as soon as she cried herself out, Hanneman pulled his chair out from behind his desk so she could sit down before he lit up his fireplace and started to boil a kettle full of water.

No one talked to each other as this was happening, he didn't meet either Hanneman's or Lysithea's eyes and he was sure at least the girl was doing the same. It wasn't long before the tea was done and Hanneman pulled out three cups for each of them.

Seeing that Byleth wasn't ready to talk, Hanneman poured the tea, handed a cup to each of them before focusing his attention on his young student. As soon as the girl calmed down and took a few sips of the drink, he started.

"Lysithea, my dear. You cannot understand how sorry I am for what just happened. I know this may be a bit cold of me, but I need to ask exactly what you heard us talk about and why you were eavesdropping."

The white haired girl nodded, she took in a shaky breath before saying, "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I was just coming to ask some questions about the assignment you had given us the day before when I heard you talking. I didn't want to interrupt you so late in the night like this but… I was curious and I started listening."

Lysithea grew quiet, "I… Heard everything after the point where Professor Byleth asked you if you thought that he was a descendant of Nemesis."

The old man nodded, a grandfatherly look in his eye, "I see. It's quite alright my dear, you couldn't have known that this conversation was so important. I hope you understand that you cannot under any circumstances repeat what you heard, it would not only put both mine and Byleth's lives in danger, it would endanger you as well."

Lysithea nodded again and what she said next shocked the both of them, "I've heard of that group you mentioned, Those Who Slither in the Dark…"

Byleth finally looked up and met both Hanneman's and Lysithea's gaze, although the girl did look away quickly. He knelt down on the other side of the chair, "Lysithea… I- Look, please tell us what you mean by that. This is extremely important."

The girl nodded looking down at the cup in her lap, "it- it's kind of a long story… Do you know about the incident between House Ordella and House Hrym?"

Byleth had no idea what the girl was talking about but Hanneman's eyes lit up in recognition before he grimaced, "yes… I do remember that, House Hrym attempted to rebel against the Adrestian royal family due to a shift in the political power structure. That was… About eight or nine years ago now? Is that correct?"

Lysithea nodded, "y-yeah. Well, my family, the Ordella's had a hand in that, we were Hrym's contact in the Leicester Alliance. House Hrym wished for political asylum in exchange for their relics and all the information they had on the different houses that ruled the empire. But… The emperor discovered the plot before it could be executed, House Hrym was basically annihilated."

Lysithea swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing, "House Ordella was in a really bad place back then. The Duke risked starting a war with Adrestia if he refused to give in to their demands, they wanted control over my family's territory, and he gave us up without a fight. That minister, Aegir, he took control of our territory…"

Tears threatened to fall from the girl once again but she grit her teeth and wiped at them furiously, "THAT BASTARD! HE!…HE!… He brought in mages, not the Empire's, his own, to conduct tests on us. Me and my siblings, he tried to justify it to my parents, said the procedure would make us stronger, give us powerful new crests so that our family could reclaim our honor in the future. He turned us into his guinea pigs, my brother and two sisters… He killed them in cold blood, all to further his damn research! Only I lived through it…"

Hanneman had a horrified look on his face and even Byleth had to admit the story was a bit disturbing, suddenly something clicked. "Aegir… Fuck!"

Ferdinand, Ferdinand Von Aegir. The man Lysithea was talking about was Ferdinand's father.

Both of the members of the Golden Deer looked at him, he waved them off, "ignore me. It's something I'll have to deal with in the future. Please go on, Lys."

The girl nodded slowly before bitterly saying, "well… Those bastards got what they wanted… Their experiments worked, someone who was born without crests successfully got imprinted with two of the stupid things. And all it cost were the lives of a few kids!"

Lysithea held her hand out and two crests appeared in the air, a minor crest of Charon and a major Gloucester appeared before suddenly fading away.

The girl grit her teeth as she continued, "I barely survived the procedure but they were so happy with the results… I was on death's door for nearly a year after they left, that bastard Aegir gave my parents back their titles and land willingly, I guess he didn't need us anymore. I was delirious for most of that year, but one thing has stuck with me since the night I was returned to my parents, something my mother told my father when she thought I was unconscious; how could they do this to us? How could Those Who Slither in the Dark steal our children from us? After everything we did for them!"

Lysithea was shaking with rage as she finished her story, Hanneman hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder but recoiled at the last moment. "Lysithea… My dear, thank you. I'm terribly sorry for making you repeat that story, but I swear I will do everything in my power to bring those people to justice. I swear it."

The girl nodded with a blank expression on her face, both Hanneman and Byleth stood back up, "Byleth… Would you mind escorting her back to her quarters? I should get started on this immediately."

He shifted uncomfortably, "Hanneman. Are you sure that's a good idea after… You know?"

The older man sighed before walking closer and whispered to him, "She'll be okay if given a little time, it will only be worse if you try to distance yourself after this."

Byleth nodded slowly before helping Lysithea up, "I'll uh- Come and talk if I find something in my investigation."

The old man nodded, "of course. Have a good night professor, same to you Lysithea."

The girl nodded and the duo left the room, the two of them didn't speak during the walk to the dormitories. Byleth stole a handful of glances at Lysithea during the trek, he expected to see someone level of anger or maybe even fear in her but all he saw was exhaustion.

The next day passed by somewhat uneventfully, although Byleth found that he felt off in a way he couldn't explain after what happened last night. Caspar and Bernadetta were still in the infirmary after the mission they went on and would probably stay there for a few days. Otherwise, he carried on with todays' lessons and conducted his daily routine up until after classes ended for the day.

After he finished his lessons for the day, Byleth was overcome with the urge to check in on Lysithea. If only to make sure she kept her silence. After finishing up some paperwork after his students left, Byleth got up and left his classroom, heading over to the Golden Eagle's room. The door was open and just as expected most of the students were already gone, Lysithea was nowhere in sight, nor Hanneman. But he noticed that Claude and a short girl with pink hair were sitting on top of one of the tables and talking to each other near the front of the classroom.

He walked up to them and Claude was first to notice them, the Duke's grandson flashed him his trademark smile, "hey teach. Been a while, do you need something?"

Byleth came to a stop in front of the two students and crossed his arms, "I need to talk with Lysithea about something. Have you seen her?"

A thoughtful look appeared on Claude's face before he shrugged and turned to his companion, "don't think so. What about you Hilda? You seen Lys today?"

Hilda nodded before turning to look at him, "yeah. I checked on her this morning before class, she said she wasn't feeling well. She's probably still in bed if she caught a cold."

Byleth frowned before nodding, "is that so? Thanks anyway."

He left the duo behind and made his way towards the dormitories, passing by students and servants alike until he reached the section that was reserved for the Golden Deer class. He found his way to the girl's room for the second time and knocked on her door, "Lysithea? Are you there? I need to talk to you."

He got no response and knocked again, waiting for any form of communication. Byleth knocked one more time before he gave up. Either the girl wasn't in there, was sleeping off whatever she came down with, or simply didn't want to talk to him. Other than forcing his way inside, he would simply have to try again tomorrow.

Another day passed and he tried again to get in touch with Lysithea, but again she didn't answer him, nor did he catch her out of her room any time during the day. Byleth frowned as he sat at his desk after class the day after his last failed attempt, grading some assignments he had been neglecting to finish marking. He chewed on the end of his pen before setting it down and stretching in his seat, the class had already left for the day. Other than the normal day to day noise of Garreg Mach coming from outside his classroom, he was left alone with his thoughts.

Byleth sighed before pushing himself out of his chair and standing up, unable to force himself to complete the paperwork. He decided to put it off once again and was about to head out for the day when a knock came at his room's closed door, he looked at the entryway with a curious look before walking over and pulling open the heavy wood, finding Hanneman on the other side, holding a flask of something he couldn't identify with a troubled look on his face.

"Hanneman? Do you need something?"

The older professor nodded his head, "it's nothing major professor. I just came to ask a favor of you, you are aware that Lysithea has been… Unwell for the past few days, correct?"

Byleth nodded, "yeah. What about it?"

The old man held up the bottle, "I'm concerned about her, the girl isn't exactly in the best physical condition on a good day and she has to be meticulous about her health or else she risks becoming violently ill. If she's been hold up in her room for multiple days on end, then she can't be doing too well. I had the healers at the infirmary concoct a health poultice that should help bolster her immune system and I need someone to make sure she drinks it. She isn't exactly fond of medicine or doctors in general, and Lysithea wouldn't probably listen to me if I asked her to do it. So I wished to know if you would give it to her?"

Byleth looked up at his coworker, "isn't there someone else in your class who can do it? Why would you ask me?"

Hanneman leaned in and offered the bottle to him, which he hesitantly took, the professor whispered to him, "I need to make sure she hasn't mentioned what happened a few nights ago to anyone else. There is the possibility that she may be delirious and could mention something that would put the three of us in danger."

Byleth nodded slowly, understanding why he had come to him specifically, "alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt."

The old man gave him a thankful smile, "thank you Byleth. Look at it this way, this could also be an opportunity for the two of you to clear the air after what happened."

He frowned and didn't say anything to his partner, Hanneman patted him on the shoulder before turning around to leave, the old man looked over his shoulder and said, "I almost forgot to tell you, I've contacted a few old friends of mine about our little project. I have a few promising leads about you know what."

Byleth nodded again and the old man walked off, he looked at the bottle of thick green liquid with an unhappy look before shrugging. He walked out of the room and shut the doors behind him before making his way towards the dormitories.

It didn't take him long to reach Lysithea's door, he knocked hard, trying to get the girl to respond, "Lysithea! I know you're in there. I need to talk with you, it's important."

Again he was greeted by silence, he growled in frustration before he finally pulled on the door, surprised to see it was unlocked. "How long has she left the door like this?"

Byleth wondered as he stepped inside the dark room, the curtains were drawn shut and no candles were lit, leaving the room in almost pitch black as he shut the door behind him. He could see Lysithea's small form curled up on her bed, other than the sound of her labored breathing, the room was deathly silent. He navigated over to the window sill and pulled one of the curtains back, letting in enough light so that he could at least get a good look at the girl.

He walked over to the bed and frowned, the teen wasn't in a good state. She was pale and her clothes were damp with sweat, but Lysithea still shivered occasionally as if she was cold. He pulled off one of his gauntlets and felt her forehead with the back of his hand, she was burning up.

He slipped the gauntlet back on before leaning over and shaking her awake, "Lysithea. You need to get up."

It took a few attempts, but he managed to rouse the girl from her slumber, Lysithea's eyes cracked open as she sat up groggily. The girl looked around in a disoriented manner before she noticed he was there, her eyes widened as she pulled her sheets around her, "p-professor!? How did you get in here?"

Her weak voice didn't surprise him, nor did the following coughing fit. The girl motioned to a pitcher of water sitting on the edge of her desk. Getting the hint, he picked up the half full jug and handed to her, Lysithea took several deep gulps of water before handing the container back to him. "Thank you."

She sounded marginally better as he set the pitcher on the ground by her bed and pulled the chair by her desk around so he could sit down next to her bed. "How are you doing?"

Lysithea shook her head as she sat up, "bad."

Byleth nodded, that wasn't too much of a surprise. She looked at him and asked again, "um. How did you get in?"

He pointed towards the door, "you forgot to lock the door. You're lucky no one else snuck in while you were out of it."

Lysithea looked down in embarrassment and nodded quietly, something that was very out of character for her, "why did you come here?"

Byleth held up the health poultice Hanneman had given him, "the old man was worried about you. He asked me to give this to you and make sure you drank it, he said it'll make your immune system stronger."

Lysithea had a disgusted look on her face as she looked at the bottle, she turned away from him, "I don't want it."

Byleth glared at her disapprovingly, "From what Hanneman told me, you probably aren't going to get better without it. Just drink the damn thing."

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes, "I'll be just fine on my own! I don't need you or the professor babying me…"

He sighed before setting the bottle down, "he told me you would probably be like this. Lys, it'll be over in a few seconds, just drink it."

The girl silently laid down and turned away from him, towards the wall. Byleth scowled and contemplated just getting up and leaving, Lysithea spoke, "you remember how I told you I was sick all the time when I was younger?"

Byleth replied, "yeah."

The girl continued, "because of what they did to me, I've been like this ever since. I can't exert myself too hard or else I'll get sick again. I can't even get too angry or else I'll get worse! It's not fair!"

Byleth replied, "life isn't fair. Get over it."

Lysithea sat up again and glared at him, "that's easy for you to say! You're not the one who has to spend their entire life walking on eggshells."

He shrugged, "doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything. Sure it sucks for you, but you have to get over it. Moping in a dark room isn't going to make it any better."

Lysithea glared at him before grabbing the health poultice off the floor and pulling out the stopper before forcing it down. After a few moments, the liquid was gone and Lysithea gagged before quickly grabbing the pitcher of water and downing the rest of it.

Byleth nodded, "good job."

The girl didn't reply as she slipped back beneath her covers and didn't look at him, realizing his job was done and that the girl was probably sick of his nagging, he got up and turned towards the door. He looked over his shoulder as he reached the entryway and said, "when you shake off this cold, I need to talk with you. So get better quick."

Lysithea didn't respond as he exited her room and shut the door behind him. Guess Hanneman was right after all.

Another two days passed by uneventfully, he heard nothing about Lysithea's condition from any of the students or Hanneman, so he went about his usual schedule as if nothing had occurred. He was finishing up a few papers at his desk once again and decided that he had had enough for one day.

Byleth stood from his seat and stretched before heading out the door of his classroom, he had just shut the door behind him when he felt some poke him in the side. He glanced to his left, and sure enough, Lysithea was there with her arms behind her back and a smile on her face.

She looked much better than the last time he had seen her, "feeling better?"

The girl nodded her head, "y-yeah. Thank you Byleth, the potion you got from Professor Hanneman really helped!"

Byleth nodded as he crossed his arms, "are you up for taking a walk? I still have some questions for you."

Lysithea nodded with a curious look in her eye, "sure."

The girl fell into step by his side and the duo started to aimlessly walk throughout the monastery in the afternoon sun. They walked for a few minutes in silence, he wasn't exactly sure what to say first and Lysithea didn't seem to be in any rush. They cut through a side path and found themselves in one of the small side courtyards with some tables and a gazebo. He nodded towards it and his companion quietly walked over to the empty area and sat down at one of the tables.

He took the seat across from her and finally spoke up, "how are you doing Lysithea?"

The girl shrugged, "I'm doing okay. I didn't feel like I was on the verge of death today, so that's a good sign!"

Byleth nodded, not really responding to her joke, "I see… Did Hanneman say anything to you?"

Lysithea shook her head, "no. Not really… He just kind of welcomed me back and moved on like nothing was amiss. Honestly, I didn't want him to fuss over me any more than he already has, so it was kind of a relief when he didn't bring up my sickness."

Byleth looked over his shoulder at his surroundings, making sure no one was listening in, "that wasn't what I was talking about. Look, has anyone tried to… Question you? Since what happened last week?"

A look of realization dawned on Lysithea's face as she vehemently shook her head, "oh no! I haven't said a word about what I told the two of you to anyone else! I've done my best to stay quiet."

He nodded again, "good. Good. You haven't noticed anything strange since then? No one spying on you? Nothing out of the ordinary?"

Lysithea replied, "I really haven't noticed anything weird, professor. I swear I would notice if something was off."

Byleth leaned forward in his seat, "okay… I'll trust you on this. Is there… Anything you want to ask me?"

Lysithea opened her mouth to reply before pausing, but a look of apprehension crossed her face before she continued, "Byleth are you- do you really think you are descended from Nemesis?"

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don't know, but I don't have any other explanation as to how I got this thing."

Byleth held out his hand and the Crest of Flames appeared in his palm, "this couldn't have just come from nowhere."

Lysithea nodded as the crest dissipated, "Byleth… Please tell me honestly, are you okay?"

Taken aback by the question he hesitated, contemplating what he should say, "I don't know. I honestly don't know how to feel. I can't help but ask why I of all people have this crest, I'm no one. I'm just a common mercenary, I don't have any titles, I don't own any lands, I thought I was just one out of a million others just like me."

She replied, "are you scared?"

Byleth shrugged and she didn't press further on that topic, Lysithea asked, "Byleth… Do you really intend to track down… You know who?"

Knowing exactly what she was talking about he cocked his head slightly, "I have no other option. They've already targeted me, my only option is to figure out why they want me out of the way."

A concerned look appeared on the teen's face as she replied, "that doesn't mean you have to do this on your own! Surely Rhea or your father would help you if you asked?"

Byleth vehemently shook his head, "no. The more people who know about this, the more danger I'll be in. I can't fight an enemy I can't see, I need to expose them if I want to have a shot of taking them down. And the more people who know, the bigger the chance will be that they will catch wind of my plans and disappear beyond my reach."

Lysithea retorted, "you could end up getting killed by doing this!"

He shrugged, "they want me dead regardless. This way is my best chance of avoiding that. If my trail goes cold, I'll be completely helpless, they aren't going to stop until I'm dead or captured."

The girl chewed the bottom of her lip as she looked around, "Byleth… You don't know what they are capable of… What lengths they'll go to to get what they want. They've poisoned most of the nobles in Leicester already in some way or another, it's probably true for Faerghus and Adrestia. This isn't something a single person can fight on their own!"

Lysithea clenched her fists and looked down on the table, "they destroyed my family all for their damn research. They have no qualms about going to any lengths to get what they want, if they have the ear of not only the Duke, but the Prime Minister of the Empire in their pocket as well…"

Byleth scratched the back of his head and sighed, "Lys… You can't talk me out of this. My mind is made up, I need you to promise me that you'll keep silent about this. If I believe that someone can help me with this investigation, I will tell them, but I don't want you to get involved with this."

The girl shook her head, "I can't just do nothing! They stole everything from me! They need to pay for what they've done!"

He responded, "they will, I'm going to make sure of it and I can't have you ruining my plans. I need you to trust me on this."

Lysithea grit her teeth as she stared down at the table, "Byleth… After what they did to me, I'll be lucky if I make it to thirty. They robbed me of my future, the lives of my family, the honor of my house!"

She suddenly looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "you have to promise me! When the time comes, you won't hesitate to destroy them! I can't- If I can't stop them myself, I'm begging you! Please…"

Byleth nodded grimly, he momentarily hesitated, seeing the girl quivering in her seat as she looked down at the table. He reached out and touched her arm, "Lysithea. I swear I'm going to do whatever it takes to put them in their place. All I ask is that you trust me to do what needs to be done. I understand your anger, believe me, I do. But our best chance of taking them down is if you let me do this."

His words and touch seemed to help her relax, Lysithea slowly unclenched her fists as he let her arm go. She was silent for a moment before she suddenly got up and walked around the table, confused, he got up as well as she stood before him with her hanging low.

He was surprised when the small girl suddenly wrapped her arms around his abdomen and buried her face in his chest, caught off guard by her sudden intimacy, he froze up. "You better come through this alive. Or else I'll never forgive you."

Almost as soon as it began, the embrace was over and Lysithea ran off without looking back. He stood there a little dumbfounded for a few moments before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck.

A familiar voice from behind him snapped him out of the stupor, "aww. How cute, are you starting to soften up, Byleth?"

He looked over his shoulder to see Sothis sitting on the table they had been sitting at with a mischievous grin, kicking her short legs as she sat on the edge.

Byleth glared at her, "fuck you."

Sothis' grin widened, "careful now. First Edelgard, then Leonie, now Lyssie? Before you know it, you'll end up with a harem of cute students pining for your affection if you keep going down this road."

He didn't respond to her teasing, Byleth simply rolled his eyes and walked off, as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't able to get Sothis' words out of his head for the rest of the day.