Chapter 36: It Always Comes Back to Them

Have you heard about the alleged rumors of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn being remade and put on the Nintendo Switch? Granted, I don't put much faith into internet rumors, but it would be nice if that was the case. Those games could really use a glow-up from their old GameCube look. Besides, at least it would also be a nice opportunity for more people to see how hard Ike fights for his friends.

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Normally, the student body of the Officer's Academy would be concerning themselves with the fact that they were all going to be leaving to participate in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion in two days, and everything following that which was as equally concerning. It had become a common sight over the past week of students carrying around either practice weapons or their own personal weapons in their sheathes, to or from spaces where they could freely train their skills. However, Edelgard von Hresvelg had something else entirely on her mind, something that would both benefit herself and maybe provide a slight edge during the upcoming exhibition battle, if only as a side benefit. A small smirk crept along the creases of her lips as she knocked on the dormitory room door. If all went well, then the special chat she was just about to have with Sylvain Gautier was going to play right into her hand.

Indeed, Edelgard hadn't forgotten about her bargain with Dorothea, that she would go ahead and talk to Sylvain, in an official capacity as a House Leader, about the relationship he was having with Bernadetta. After all, befitting her position as the leader of the Black Eagles, she just had to do it for the good of her classmates. Or, she'd rather like to say that. Playing the role of the dutiful House Leader was much more enjoyable than the mask she wore at practically all times.

Knock knock knock.

The light white gloves on Edelgard's hands made quite the stark contrast against the dark wood of the door as she rapped her knuckles against it. In the dim light of the greying twilight, they practically shone like the moon against the night sky.

The sight of those gloves never ceased to instill Edelgard with a sense of melancholy and anger. Underneath them was a spider's web of scar tissue, the grim reminder of a childhood of torture and inhumane experimentation. In a way, it exemplified Edelgard more than the eagle crest of Adrestia, or the flames that she bore on her mask as the Flame Emperor.

Edelgard winced to herself as she let the thought drift away from her mind space and into nothingness. It seemed like every little thing reminded her of her trauma. Any rational person could tell her that it was hardly a good or healthy life to live. But at the same time, how dare they say that to her? They never lived her life. They never had to make the decisions she had to. Edelgard was just making the best out of a bad hand dealt to her by fate, the Goddess, or whatever insane force was in control of the world. Nothing more. Lingering on it was just plain detrimental.

Knock knock knock.

Edelgard had been so lost in her thoughts that she hardly registered that she had knocked again. It was as if her hand moved on instinct again. That wasn't good. Her reflections on the past blinded her to what she was doing in reality. It honestly annoyed her how much time she had been spending in her own head as of late. It was unbecoming of her. Besides, she needed to focus on having a talk with Sylvain anyway.

Right at the moment that Edelgard mentally recentered herself, one of the dorm room doors opened, and a bleary-eyes Slyvain stuck half of his body out of the crack between doors. "Who is it—Lady Edelgard?"

The tiredness was rapidly blinked out of Sylvain's eyes at the sight of the Adrestian heiress standing in front of his own personal quarters. "Wasn't expecting to see you here," Sylvain then admitted.

"I'm sorry for the sudden appearance, but I'll only take a moment of your time," Edelgard politely began. "There's just something I want to talk about with you, hopefully inside of your room."

Sylvain's face arched an eyebrow. "Uhhh, sure? Can't imagine what for though."

"Bernadetta," was Edelgard's blunt reply.

A small choking noise of shock crept out of Sylvain's throat as he swiftly stepped aside to let Edelgard inside. Things were looking good so far for Edelgard. Sylvain's reaction was satisfactory. He was on the back foot, defensive. She could definitely use that to her advantage. It just went to show how important it was to establish dominance in a conversation right from the very start.

On Sylvain's part, he busied himself in straightening out his rather messy bed. It was a rather quick and sloppy bed-making job, but at least it made his room look a little more presentable. After all, it would just reflect bad on him if his dormitory room was messy when the future leader of a great nation was visiting. "Sorry, was just trying to get some sleep in before tomorrow," he explained as he put his pillows back at the head of his bed.

"It's quite alright," Edelgard lightly replied. She then crossed her arms and waited patiently for Sylvain to make a move. Now that she had established the first play, all she had to do now was see how Sylvain would respond to it.

Sylvain merely say down on his bed, head down and his hands running through his bright red hair. After a moment of silence had passed, he looked up directly at Edelgard and asked, "Who told you, huh? Did Dorothea put you up to this?"

Edelgard's face did not betray her deception. "The rumor has been floating around. It's only natural that Bernadetta's House Leader would hear about it eventually."

Once again, Sylvain placed his hands to his head and groaned. "Damn it, how hard is it to actually keep a secret around here?" he rhetorically muttered to himself.

"You seem to be the source of many rumors, Sylvain," explained the girl of Hresvelg. "Now, normally I wouldn't involve myself in affairs such as this, but Bernadetta… well, she's a special case among the Black Eagles."

The look on Sylvain's face darkened. "I hope you don't mean 'special case' in a bad way, Lady Edelgard."

Some level of push-back was expected by Edelgard. "Nothing of the sort. But her nature does mean that she does need to be looked after more compared to some of the Black Eagles' other students."

"Well, I suppose I can't fault your thinking there…" Sylvain sheepishly admitted. "But still, I have to ask: is this going to be some whole big thing, or will you just accept it when I say that I truly care about Bernie's well-being?"

Edelgard uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips, a deliberate gesture of holding power over the conversation. "That depends on how much I believe the explanation you're about to tell me."

A tired chuckle left Sylvain's throat. "I suppose you just wouldn't let me off easily, would you?"

"At least I'm willing to hear your side of the story before making any conclusions," added Edelgard.

"I suppose there's that, at least," shrugged Sylvain. "Anyway, let me just start by saying that I'm absolutely not abusing or taking advantage of Bernadetta in any way. You know, despite what certain rumors about me would tell you."

"Go on," the future Adrestian Empress prodded.

Sylvain ran his hands through his hair before he began in earnest. "Well, it's kind of a funny story, but Bernie and I actually bonded over books. We just sort of bumped into one another and found out that we both enjoyed reading, and then one thing led to another… soon enough, we became friends because of that. And because of that, we got closer, and well… Bernie fell for me. I know, it sounds a bit unbelievable for a guy like me, but it's the truth."

Edelgard nodded. "You're right, it does feel like a bit much to believe off the cuff."

"Figures," Sylvain then uttered. "But I swear, we haven't really done anything like you'd expect. Heck, it was Bernadetta who kissed me first."

At the sound of that, Edelgard couldn't help but stifle a small giggle. "Wow, I never would've expected that out of her."

Sylvain nodded in agreement. "I know, right? But it honestly does work for me. I'm trying to take things slower with Bernie. Just easing her into something comfortable, basically."

"And why this… change of heart compared to the norm?" Edelgard pressed further.

Sylvain took a moment to pause, his eyes moving around the room as if searching for a clear answer. It was painfully clear that he already knew the answer, it was just a matter of finding a way to say it out loud without sounding too saccharine, too in-over his heels about Bernadetta and how special she was to him. There had to be some way to explain what made Bernie so special without gashing about her, as if a deluge of words were to pour out of his mouth incessantly. Certainly not a way that would betray how he felt that Bernie accepted him for who he really was, not just as a glorified Crest-bearing breeding stud.

After that moment of self-introspection, he settled on: "If I were to sum it up, it's that Bernie… well, she's a lot different from the other women I've been with. In a good way, of course. She's like a breath of fresh air."

"I'm going to need a bit more persuasion from you before I believe all that about Bernadetta," resolutely stated Edelgard. She then crossed her arms again, presenting an imposing, adamant figure looming above the seated Sylvain.

"What is it that you want to hear?" Sylvain then seethed, frustrated that his previous explanation didn't suffice. "That Bernie is my sun and moon? That I'd die for her? You know, Dorothea needed some convincing too, but at least she could tell that my love for Bernie was genuine. It doesn't even sound like you're trying to believe me here!"

Inwardly, Edelgard frowned. While resistance was expected, the conversation was potentially heading down a dangerous path. If Sylvain got fully annoyed with her, then any chance of continuing the conversation would go up in smoke. It was time to ease up on him a little, lest his frustration mount his better senses, and thus lock her out of using his feelings for Bernadetta any further.

"Look, I can see where you're coming from," Edelgard acted. "But surely you can also see where I'm coming from as House Leader as well. I ultimately have to look out for Bernadetta's academic and overall well-being. We're not so different in that way. But I simply need to understand why this relationship is functional, if that makes sense to you. I'm not you, so I can only rely on information given to me."

"And I'm giving you that information," Sylvain shot back. "And I can't claim to be an expert on relationships, despite what you may think. Maybe even I can't tell you the exact parts that make it all work for the both of us."

"Then give me at least an idea," bargained Edelgard. "Make me understand."

For a moment, Sylvain pinched the bride of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, thinking. Then, just let the truth of the matter spill out. "Bernie can see past my Crest."

"Your Crest?" Edelgard parroted, raising an eyebrow. She honestly hadn't accounted for that being the reason. However, the reasoning spoke to her on a deeper level than what she was planning to accept. It always came back to those damned Crests.

"If I'm being honest, a lot of girls only see my Crest when dating me," Sylvain explained. "Bernie is different, since we bonded over something else. She likes me for who I am, not what's in my blood. There, is that good enough of an explanation for you?"

Edelgard could practically hear her heartbeat in her ears. Sylvain's explanation was hitting too close to home for her. To think that he was glad that someone didn't place a value on Crests… it was a heady feeling of validation and surprise that someone else actually felt similarly to her about the nature of Crests. It was as if all the pretensions and plans in Edelgard's mind had been whisked away, and for the first time there was a genuine sense of admiration and understanding towards Sylvain there instead.

"Wow. I honestly can't say that I expected that coming from you," she then freely admitted. "But… it really does sound like you mean it."

"Trust me, I do. I wouldn't say it otherwise. Hell, even my friends don't know about that. So trust me, you're getting some real unfiltered Sylvain here," Bernadetta's lover then said. He then fixated a rather serious pair of eyes on Edelgard. It was as if they were looking directly into her, seeing the part of her mind that respected what he had to say. "And I'm trusting you, in your capacity as a House Leader, to not tell anyone about this."

Under that gaze, Edelgard couldn't help but swallow somewhat anxiously. As much as she tried, control really did get away from her because of that one initial sentence about Crests. Even if Sylvain wasn't aware of it, he now controlled the flow of the conversation. Because of that, the back of her mind fumed at her again for spending too much time in her own head recently. It made her vulnerable to such a form of naked honesty. All she could do now was to work with the flow, and not control it. It wasn't ideal.

"O-of course. You have my word on that," acquiesced Edelgard. "I'm just glad you were upfront with me about it."

"So what, is that it? Does that satisfy your questioning of me?" Sylvain then asked.

Edelgard let her arms hang loose at her sides. "I believe it does. And if you're being completely truthful with me, then I see no reason to intervene in yours and Bernadetta's relationship. That is, unless you try something truly foolish."

Sylvain gave a small disarming shrug. "I'm trying my best not to."

"Then keep on trying. I'm expecting good results," ordered Edelgard, inwardly recomposing herself.

Sylvain nodded. "Deal. Anything else?"

"No, that's all I wanted to know from you," Edelgard said as she shook her head. At that, she made her way back over to the dorm room doors, with Sylvain getting up from his own bed to see her out.

As Edelgard put her had on one of the handles, she made sure to add, "I'm looking forward to good things coming from this relationship."

At that, Sylvain gave a small, curt bow of the head. "Same here, Lady Edelgard. Same here."

That was the image that Edelgard left on as she departed Sylvain's room. Although she had made a strong enough of an exit, Edelgard still felt a little shaken as she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. Reaching up to tuck back some stray hairs on her head, she felt that a thin sheen of sweat had formed on her brow as well.

Sylvain's admittance of his Crest troubling him was something intensely personal, something that Edelgard had felt so powerfully herself. To her, it was almost like seeing a revelation happen, as if it was a miracle that there were truly others like her who disliked the Crests. The Crests were to blame for everything, and Sylvain was one such person who wasn't blinded by the power they afforded to their wielders. They were a blood curse, something that ruined the lands of Fódlan and only served to make the lives of people worse through their influence.

It was a fact that Edelgard mulled over in her head as she walked down the dormitory walkway towards her own room, the skies illuminated by the dim moon coming over the horizon. Maybe there was more that she could get out of Sylvain and Bernadetta's relationship than just Bernadetta von Varley's future support…

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I've been really mulling over how to write this confrontation, so it took me a bit longer than expected to craft the conversation that was happening between Sylvain and Edelgard. As much fun as I have writing dialogue, I really wanted to nail things enough where it felt like a big moment for both Edelgard and Sylvain. In any case, I hope you all enjoyed it!

This is The Draigg, and I'm signing off on this chapter for now!