"I will not come up there, and there is nothing you can do to make me."

Lorenz stared Byleth down from across the classroom, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl scrunching his features. All the other students looked on with nervous anticipation. Most of them had not yet been the recipient of Professor Byleth's discipline, but they had learned to respect his authority over the last few weeks. All of them could tell the expression on the professor's face did not bode well for Lorenz.

Byleth stood behind his desk with his fingers resting on its surface, glaring back at Lorenz. After arguing with the boy nearly non-stop through the entire first half of the class, Byleth had finally reached his limit and called him forward. Lorenz had adamantly and repeatedly refused to come, resulting in the stare-down that momentarily held the class in silence. The tension in the room was palpable.

Finally, Byleth nodded slightly. "Very well. Everyone take out a sheet of paper."

Confused glances made their way around the classroom: was the professor backing down? Hushed murmurs mingled with rustling paper as the students followed their professor's directions. Even while they waited to see what would happen, none of them cared to become the object of the fire behind Byleth's eyes by ignoring his instructions.

Byleth waited until everyone had their papers before continuing his directions.

"I want all of you to write a short essay comparing two weapons from the melee class on any three key points you choose," he explained, "I will be grading them for completion, not accuracy, so as long as I can see you put in a good effort, you will receive full points for today. When you are finished, please leave them on my desk, and you are free to go until the next class session."

He circled around his desk and swept his gaze briefly over his class, "Does anyone have any questions or need clarification regarding the assignment?"

Meeting only silence in response, Byleth could only assume all was clear, "Very well, I will see you all in the next class."

Lorenz had been watching uncertainly from his seat, trying to figure out if he had managed to evade an unpleasant consequence. When he found himself staring up into the dark glare of his professor, his answer was made painfully clear.

Byleth took hold of Lorenz by the ear and pulled him to his feet, speaking in a clear, unwavering tone, "As for you, we will spend the rest of this class period in my office. Come along."

""Ow! L-let go of me!" Lorenz protested as Byleth hauled him out of the room, "You cannot treat me like this! I-I deserve more-"

His complaints were cut off when the door slammed behind them. A beat of shocked silence passed in the classroom in the wake of their departure.

"Idiot." Claude muttered with a little snort as he picked up his pen and turned his attention to the paper in front of him.

"What... what do you think the professor is going to do?" a worried frown scrunched Ignatz's forehead and he glanced back toward the closed door.

"I dunno," Raphael shook his head, "But I sure wouldn't want to be Lorenz right now."

Marianne shuddered, "Professor sure can be... scary..."

"Oh, I say it serves him right," Lysithia huffed, "I couldn't learn anything with him interrupting and arguing all the time."

"But now we have more work to do," Hilda groaned, flopping her head on her desk.

Leonie rolled her eyes and elbowed Hilda. "The sooner we get started the sooner we're free to go," she said with a smirk, "I say stop worrying and leave Lorenz to his fate."

"I'm with her," Claude chimed in, his grin fading into a more contemplative expression, "Teach'll take care of him; believe me."

The classroom was quiet again as all eyes turned to their work. No one had forgotten that Claude had firsthand experience with the professor's discipline, and while the scene today was certainly unsettling, they all knew Lorenz would be fine.

Lorenz whined and protested his way all the way to Byleth's office, his ear still captured firmly between the professor's fingers. He was mortified at the undignified escort, and grateful that the monastery grounds where mostly empty while the students were in class. It was difficult to keep up a noble image while being dragged by the ear to his professor's office, so the fewer people seeing him in this state the better.

Once inside Byleth's office, his ear was released and he immediately whirled to face his captor.

"How dare you!" He snapped, "I am a noble of the house of Gloucester; it-it is not fitting for you to... to treat me like this..."

Some of his indignation morphed into anxiety at the dark glare Byleth drilled into him, but he kept his chin up and managed to hold the professor's gaze.

"Right now, you are a student in this academy," Byleth warned in a low voice, "And what 'isn't fitting' is for you to be continually arguing with your professor."

"I was merely pointing out the obvious flaws in your lecture," Lorenz objected, "If you want to be a great professor, you should always be growing, and be willing to take criticism in order to improve."

"Lorenz, I am not telling you not to point it out to me if I make a mistake," Byleth countered, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, "As I recall, it was you who were unwilling to admit your mistake today."

Heat colored Lorenz's cheeks and he finally broke eye contact, glancing nervously to the side. "I-I was not wrong."

What was all that about taking criticism and growing? Byleth thought to himself, exasperated. Lorenz's nervousness was a clear sign he already knew he was in the wrong: the haughty certainty that accompanied his convictions was lacking as he fidgeted under his professor's glare. Getting him to admit it, however, could prove to be difficult.

"Even now, you cannot admit that you were wrong?" Byleth asked, his brow furrowed, "Think back on this morning's class and see if you truly believe yourself to be justified."

From Lorenz's view, things had gone from bad to worse. He had managed to maintain his righteous indignation in the beginning by convincing himself he was being treated unfairly, but Byleth's question brought the root of the matter flashing back across his mind. Yes, his original comment had been a genuine effort to correct what he perceived to be an error in the professor's lecture, but when Byleth had turned it around and corrected him instead, he had been unable to accept that he was wrong. He felt humiliated, and had lashed out at nearly everything Byleth said for the rest of the lecture in an effort to salvage his pride. Now, as Lorenz considered Byleth's explanation in hindsight, he began to realize with a sinking feeling that he may actually have been wrong in the first place.

"I suppose... I may have been mistaken..."

It was a start.

"Good," Byleth praised, trying to encourage the small step towards humility, "listen to me, Lorenz; I don't mind your calling my attention to any mistakes I make. In fact, I am glad to know that you are engaged enough to keep me accountable, and promise to accept your honest critique of my work."

Lorenz was caught a bit off guard by this course of conversation. He tilted his head with a contemplative frown as he waited for Byleth to proceed.

"However, I will expect that openness to work both ways," Byleth continued, "Meaning you should also be willing to admit your errors and learn from them. Didn't you just say that is the only way to grow?"

Lorenz stared a moment with his eyes wide and lips parted, then hung his head, "I... you... you are right. I am... sorry."

Byleth nodded, "You see, you have already begun to accept correction."

Lorenz breathed out a small chuckle, then hesitated as he remembered the reason he had been brought to the professor's office.

"What... what about my..."

"Your punishment?" Byleth finished, seeing the color creeping into Lorenz's cheeks, "We will attend to that now."

"Is it really necessary?" Lorenz huffed, with something very close to a pout touching his features, "I already understand my error."

"I am glad of that, but the fact still remains that you caused continual disruption in class, and then refused to listen when I called you to my desk," Byleth responded with a raised brow, "So as your professor, yes, I believe it is necessary to discipline you for those actions."

Lorenz's shoulders slumped as he sighed, "Very well, I suppose it is your place to do so."

Byleth was impressed by Lorenz's acceptance. The boy really did try to adhere to a very high set of standards, and he had been convinced that this was the right thing.

Lorenz shuffled awkwardly and brought his hands to his chest, fingers curled, "Should I..."

Byleth understood the unasked question, and shook his head, "I had intended to give you the scholar's punishment across your hands for disrupting class, but I'm afraid disobeying me merits more thorough discipline."

"More thorough?" Lorenz questioned with a concerned look. He recalled Claude struggling to sit comfortably for nearly a week after the disruption with the House Battle, and felt a nervous flutter in his stomach.

In response, Byleth grabbed the chair from his desk and set it in the middle of the room, indicating it with his hand as he spoke, "Drop your trousers and bend over. You will receive ten strokes for acting the brat today."

"Ah, n-no..." Lorenz took a step back, his posture rigid and defensive, "Y-you cannot- I mean... surely a different method..."

"Are we really going to go through this again?"

Lorenz winced. It had been refusing his punishment that had landed him here in the first place, and he did agree that it was the professor's right to discipline him...

Straightening his shoulders, Lorenz approached the chair with an air of distaste. He stood before it for a moment, contemplating. Byleth simply waited in silence, allowing Lorenz to fight his inner struggle uninterrupted.

At last, Lorenz brought his hands to his waistband and pushed his trousers down as he slowly bent over the back of the chair. Byleth's hand on the back of his head guided him down until his nose touched the seat, and he shuddered. He always hated feeling vulnerable, and this was pretty much the most vulnerable position he had ever found himself in. But, he was committed now, so he would see it through to the end. Besides, he told himself, if Claude could take it, surely he could as well.

Byleth took in the tense, shaking form of his student with a heaviness settling over him. He wondered if he would ever get used to having to discipline his students. It would certainly make things easier, but part of him hoped that he never stopped hating it, or feeling the weight of every stroke on his conscience. That was not the kind of professor he wanted to be.

With the crop held thoughtfully in both hands, he addressed his trembling student.

"As I said, you will receive ten strokes, and I will expect you to remain in your position for all of them," Byleth instructed, "Any stroke for which you do not maintain the position will not count towards your total; is that clear?"

Lorenz nodded slowly.

"I will also expect verbal answers to my questions, please."

"Yes...sir..." Lorenz muttered, his face flaming.

"Good. Let us begin."

Byleth brought the first stroke down with a flick, smacking it sharply across the middle of Lorenz's raised backside. Lorenz jumped and gasped, but managed to keep himself in place by gripping the front of the chair tightly with both hands. The stinging line burning into his skin was worse than he had expected. With a nervous shudder, he considered the nine more he still had coming and wondered how well he would do at keeping still.

The next stripe snapped across his upper thighs and he yelped. His knuckles were white from their death grip on the edge of the chair. His body responded with little jerks and noises every time the crop connected with his exposed skin, but he gritted his teeth and held himself in his assigned position. When the seventh and eighth strokes landed just below the curve of his ass, that determination almost broke. He jerked his body up with a little cry, his arms straight but hands still gripping the seat of the chair.

"Ah!"

Byleth placed his hand between the boy's shoulders and guided him back down.

"Two more, Lorenz," he chided, "You're almost there."

The noise that escaped Lorenz's mouth was somewhere between a groan and a whimper as his nose touched the chair again. Two more... was the professor not counting that as coming out of position? Lorenz was not about to question it.

Byleth had briefly considered skipping the count for those strokes, but decided to let it go since the motion had clearly not been intentional, and this was Lorenz's first time feeling the sting of the crop. He smacked the crop down twice more across the backs of Lorenz's legs and tossed it aside with a feeling of relief. He was always glad when these disciplinary sessions were over.

Lorenz yelped at the last two swats and squeezed his eyes shut. He would not allow himself to cry, no matter how badly his eyes were stinging. He felt a hand on the back of his head and took a shaky breath in, allowing himself to find a small bit of comfort in the touch.

"You did well, Lorenz," Byleth stated gently, bending to rest his hand on the boy's head, "And I expect you to do a much better job of listening to me in the future, yes?"

"Y-yes sir." Lorenz nodded as he responded, his voice shaking in spite of the effort he made to steady it.

"Good; you may stand."

Once he had righted himself and gingerly returned his trousers to their proper place, Lorenz glanced uncertainly at his professor, wondering what was expected of him at this point. The humiliation of his punishment still clung to him, and he quickly flicked his eyes back down to the floor, unable to meet the professor's gaze.

Byleth sighed. Of course Lorenz's pride was smarting along with his ass. He decided it would be best to give the boy some space to reflect and ponder rather than trying to comfort him directly. He did, however, place his hand on Lorenz's shoulder and squeeze gently as he spoke, just to ensure his student knew he was not being dismissed or discarded after his punishment.

"Our next class will begin soon; you should gather your materials," he instructed.

Lorenz looked up, a tentative smile pulling at his features as he finally made eye contact.

"Yes sir. I..." he hesitated, glancing away again, "I am... sorry... for the way I behaved today."

Byleth nodded, relieved that Lorenz seemed to be recovering. "I know. You are forgiven."

Lorenz seemed to relax a little, and started to turn to the door, but stopped and turned back slightly.

"Professor..."

"Yes?"

"The way I was acting... it was not appropriate or noble at all," he looked at Byleth with a sheepish smile, "So... thank you, for correcting me. I will endeavor to grow from your guidance."

A burst of pride bubbled in Byleth's chest as he regarded his student. "I have every confidence you will do so. Now, you had better hurry and gather your materials for class."

During the next class session, no one failed to notice that Lorenz was having a difficult time sitting still. His mood seemed completely reversed, however, as he engaged in the class, asking questions and making comments that actually contributed to the course material. Claude smirked knowingly, while the rest of the students looked on in wonder. It seemed every day with their new professor would be a new experience.