Just going to upload the backlog what I've already written while slogging away on the next chapter.
Chapter 5: Downstream
Downstream: adv, adj. situated or moving in the direction in which a stream or river flows.
Thankfully, Zanado wasn't too far away from the monastery, with both being located within the Oghma Mountain range. Given the ease of the task, having to waste more time travelling wasn't something that Byleth wanted to put up with.
"You're looking deep in thought," Alois commented by his side. "Smile! A knight brings joy wherever he goes!"
He proceeded to grin widely, emphasising his point. Byleth sighed. Alois had taken to his new position very seriously, giving unsolicited advice on the conduct and behaviour of knights that were of dubious authenticity.
How was it even possible that this man had been his father's squire in the past?
"You're exactly like Jeralt. Grouchy, moody and no appreciation for my jokes. He used to have some amazing ones of his own, but now he just acts all broody!" Alois huffed, giving up on his efforts at education. "At least talk to some of the students. Goddess knows how little interaction you've had with people your age, growing up with mercenaries and all."
He had plenty, but if it meant getting away from yet another repeat of Alois terrible puns – that didn't vary at all in all his lives, he would add – he would gladly do so.
"You sure about that?"
"Go, go," he waved him off with the back of his hand. "The captain wanted me to have you interact with the kids, anyway."
"He did?" Byleth asked in genuine interest. Jeralt usually didn't interfere in his greater social wellbeing in his many past lives.
"He did," he confirmed. "He also says that you've been spending some time with the other students. It's a good quality to have; a knight must learn to fight with his comrades!"
He gave another round of booming laughter. "Go on, go on. We'll be travelling for another hour, and I know when someone gets bored of my jokes."
Alois flashed a knowing look at Byleth. He nodded. The pair made their way over to the larger group just slightly behind them, with Alois chatting idly with Manuela while Byleth slipped away toward the Black Eagle students.
"Hey, Byleth!" Caspar greeted as he neared, pausing from his conversation with Ferdinand.
"Caspar," he returned. "Ferdinand."
They had briefly exchanged introductions back during the mock battle a few weeks ago, but otherwise had no contact. Beyond Caspar and Petra at their unplanned training session, he was still essentially a stranger to them.
"You're Byleth, right? The Blade Breaker's son?" he said confidently. "Caspar speaks highly of your skills. You've certainly proven yourself when our Houses last fought."
"You did well back during the mock battle, yourself," Byleth said. Ferdinand always did have a sense of pride about himself. "It wasn't a good matchup for your team. In a fair fight, you might have won."
"Hmm," he made a non-committal sound. "Be that as it may, I would much like to compare my abilities with yours. A noble such as I cannot rest on his laurels."
"We can arrange something back in the monastery. In the meantime, how do you two feel about this mission?"
"Bandits?" Caspar asked as they trudged along the uneven surfaces of the mountain range. "Edelgard told us that you've fought them off before. This should be a piece of cake, right?"
"It shouldn't be too difficult," he agreed. "But will you be prepared to do what needs to be done?"
He didn't remember exactly how Caspar had reacted to his first kills, having been some time since he last paid specific attention to the boy in their first mission, but Byleth took his own lack of a distinct impression as a sign that Caspar wouldn't be too squeamish.
"You mean killing them?" Caspar asked a little hesitantly. "Well… I'm a little nervous, I guess, but it's got to be done, right? It's what we're training for?"
"Indeed," Ferdinand offered. "It is our duty as nobles and knights. These bandits have plagued the people of Fódlan for long enough."
Duty and nobility. That could have summed up the basis of Ferdinand's actions in his past lives, and Lorenz as well to some extent. For all that Ferdinand didn't personally agree with the methods employed by the leaders of the faction he was aligned with, he always continued to fight out of a sense of duty to protect those under his charge.
"I hope you're ready," Byleth warned. "Taking a life is harder than it seems."
"It is good to hear that you will be joining us, Byleth," Edelgard's voice cut in as she and Hubert joined in. "Your performance in the battle was exemplary. I look forward to working with you."
Conversation with Edelgard was always a tricky matter. Reveal things he shouldn't or react differently from how he should, and she and Hubert would grow suspicious of him. Reject all interaction whatsoever, and he wouldn't have the chance to temper her mindset and soothe out the issues that would come to sustain the war. Striking a balance was always difficult, especially since too many things changed between his lives.
"I hope to learn from you as well. From what I've seen, though, this mission shouldn't be a challenge for your House."
"Oh?" she sounded intrigued. "In that case, forgive my rudeness, but why would Lady Rhea send you and Alois along with us?"
He shrugged. "I need experience as a squire. This was deemed a suitable first mission."
"I see," she said.
The group walked in silence for awhile. Normally, he'd be talking to his students about classes, life in the monastery and offering training tips, but conversation was hard when he wasn't here in his capacity as a professor.
"Hey, Byleth?" Caspar finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "You know what you said the other day about how I'm not fighting properly? What did you mean by that?"
He could have thanked his former student for bringing up the topic. "It's not so much about you not fighting properly as it is not using your body to its maximum potential. With your frame, brawling the same way that Raphael does wouldn't work well. Instead, you need to be more agile and wear down your opponent, and strike at vital locations."
"Wear them down, huh?" he repeated, considering his words. "I guess that's why Raphael won during our match at the training grounds?"
"Part of the reason, but yes."
"What's this?" Ferdinand asked. "Since when have the two of you trained together?"
"It was an impromptu thing," Byleth denied. "It was supposed to be just a small session with Claude."
"It was really useful!" Caspar told Ferdinand excitedly. "Petra and I learned a lot! Hey – Petra, isn't that right?"
She paused in the middle of her conversation with Dorothea, Linhardt and Bernadetta, turning to look at them. They had a brief exchange of words, before her group joined theirs, Bernadetta squirming all the while, hiding off to one side.
"What is it, Caspar?" Petra asked.
"The training session with Byleth! It was really good, wasn't it?"
She nodded. "I am having more understanding after participating. You are a fine warrior, Byleth."
"It was nothing. You students did most of the work, anyway. I just provided some observations."
"I do not have understanding. How can something be nothing if it is already being happened?" She asked in confusion.
"It's a figure of speech," Caspar explained helpfully.
"How can speech have a figure?" She shook her head. "Regardless, it was full of use in honing my skill with a sword. I had no idea that you were versed with Brigid swordplay."
"I only know a little of it," he said truthfully. He had picked up tips and general ideas from Petra a long time ago, but he had no idea that his rehashed and repackaged advice based on observations of her future self had an origin of its own. "In truth, I pick up a little of everything. I'm certainly no master."
"Hey, Byleth! Would you mind helping me again some time soon? I really want to challenge Raphael to a rematch," Caspar requested.
"I would be liking to have more advice as well," Petra nodded.
"If you do, count me in," Ferdinand spoke. "I would not pass up a chance to improve my abilities."
"Why don't we all train together?" Caspar suggested excitedly, looking around at the group. Typical Caspar. He was far too enthusiastic in this matter that he hadn't asked Byleth whether he was willing to do it at all.
Not that he would refuse, of course. This would be a great way to begin working on his plan of intermingling with the Houses.
"NOPE!" Bernadetta squeaked, slowly cowering away as heads turned toward her. "Uh… not that you're scary or anything Byleth, but… ah…"
Her voice trailed off as she backed further and further away. Byleth sighed internally. How did he ever think it was a good idea to try and deal with the issues of not one, but three Houses?!
"Come on, Bernadetta! It'll be fun!" Caspar urged. "You should have seen the advice he gave Caude, Ignatz and Ashe for working with bows!"
"Bows? You're an archer as well? A Sniper? A Bow Knight?" she asked curiously, then gasped. "Or… an Assassin? Are you here to kill me?! Bernie's on to you!"
She fixed him with a glare made of equal parts terror and intimidation, and Byleth could honestly say that he had no idea how to respond.
"Just think about it, Bernadetta," Caspar groaned. He turned toward the rest. "Hey! What about you guys?"
"Truly?" Edelgard spoke. "I must admit, that does sound interesting."
"If Lady Edelgard deems it suitable, I shall be willing to attend," Hubert said, his stare never straying from Byleth all the while. Evaluating a potential threat, as always.
"Hmm…" Dorothea hummed in consideration, looking at Byleth. He got the feeling that she was assessing him for more than just his skill in combat. Given that he wasn't a noble or anyone of importance, really, it was unlikely that he would become the subject for one of her future plans. He hoped so, at least; he certainly didn't have the time for that. Not to mention that he was probably more than ten times her age. "I think it's a good idea, Caspar. We've all got certification exams coming up, anyway."
"Great!" Caspar cheered. "What about you, Linhardt?"
"Huh?" he blinked, looking around toward Caspar's eager face from the book he had been reading while walking. He yawned. "Sounds tiring. I'd much rather be taking a nap."
"Hey!" Caspar scolded. "Come on! It's going to be really good!"
"But Caspar –" his glare only intensified, and Linhardt gave up, probably after careful consideration of the trade-off between nap-time and continued bugging from Caspar. "Alright, fine, I suppose."
"Great! That's all of us!" he gave an excited whoop, ignoring Bernadetta's 'HEY!' from the back. Then, he froze as he looked at Byleth. "If that's alright with you, Byleth?"
Byleth gave an amused snort. "Now you ask? Sure."
"Great! We –"
"I'll have some rules of my own, though," he interrupted. The students looked toward him curiously. "I want to mix you up with students of other Houses. We'll make a list of interested students, and come up with a schedule for when everyone is available."
"Why?" Edelgard asked. "I mean no offense, but would that not be more difficult to arrange?"
"It's more useful. You'll be working with each other for missions during your time in the monastery, but you'll need to work with others from outside your House after graduation. It's a good chance to learn from each other." Not to mention that you'd be more willing to discuss things diplomatically once the war comes.
"I see." She frowned. If she had any disagreements, she didn't voice them.
"It will be fine, Professor – err, Byleth!" Caspar looked at him apologetically at the mix-up. Byleth had honestly only noticed it after his correction; he was far too used to his former title to care. "I'll find Raphael and Felix at the training grounds and get them to help out with their Houses!"
"Okay. Let me know what the consensus is, and I'll have to check my own schedule with Alois. I might have more missions coming up."
"Sure thing, Byleth!"
He shook his head. He'd taken the effort to change how he was going to be doing things, but ended up in a position so eerily similar to where he'd been before.
For the first time in a while, he was feeling hopeful about this plan. In his previous lives as a Professor, getting the Houses to work together was done mostly through face-to-face conversations over dinners and teas, but getting the students themselves to mingle together this early into the year hadn't been done before. He would need to see this experiment through, and see if it was something worth replicating in future lives.
He was concerned, though. If he went through with this, trying to bring the Houses together in this way as a neutral party, he wouldn't have the time to move around across Fódlan on his own to deal with the bigger issues. Some he could easily prevent – he would need to write to House Gautier at some point to inform them anonymously of Miklan's upcoming theft, for example – but assassinations of more important individuals like Cornelia and Arundel might prove to be difficult.
He would cross that bridge when the time came. He had another ten months before the assault on the monastery, plenty of time in which he could work. For now, he had other priorities.
-o-o-o-
Finishing off Kostas and the remnants of his bandit group went with the same ease as it had in the past. The students were confronted with the reality behind taking the lives of their enemies, but Manuela and Alois had taken the time to talk to them and allow them to process their actions. He was relieved; he wouldn't need to personally intervene there.
The days passed quickly, as he went back to working on Lysithea's problem. Using the excuse of discussing Crests, he had developed a new (old?) friendship with Linhardt, discussing in vague terms about how Crest and Reason theory could be reconciled. They didn't manage to make any breakthroughs, however. This wasn't something that could be easily tackled by academy students.
The rest of his time was spent on training and working on the newest development in his plan to force the Houses to work together. As it turned out, scheduling was proving to be harder than he thought.
In his previous lives, he was concerned mostly in the dealings of his chosen House, and neglected to keep up with the dealings of other Houses. Now, though, he appreciated just how diverse their missions were. He'd always been on the same standard missions – fighting off the bandits, putting down the mutiny, protecting the Holy Mausoleum during the Rite of Rebirth; they never varied.
Now, he was finding out just how difficult it was trying to find a time when all the students would be back in the monastery once again. Even if he worked with two Houses at a time, the first available common window would be following their second mission.
It was this second mission that Alois was probably now going to be briefing him about, having asked for his presence in the captain's quarters. He was genuinely curious – would he once again be putting down the revolt by Lord Lonato, or would there he something else in store for him?
"Ah! Good to see you, Byleth!" Alois greeted as Byleth entered. Hanneman was also present in the room, giving him a wide smile.
He'd be working with the Blue Lions, then. With the completion of this mission, he would have worked with all three Houses already. This life was full of surprises.
"Alois. Professor Hanneman," he returned their greetings. "Will this be about the upcoming mission?"
"Indeed. Seteth has just informed us about what lies in store for us," Hanneman said. "It appears that a minor Lord in the Gaspard Region of the Kingdom, Lord Lonato, has instigated a rebellion against the Church within his territory, claiming falsehoods about Lady Rhea. We've been ordered to suppress it."
So, the same as always, then. But that would also mean…
Ashe.
He'd forgotten. He was so used to his new position, so involved with managing his own training and working on new issues from this life, that he'd forgotten. In the few lives where he was willing to take on the role of professorship in charge of the Blue Lions, he tried his best to keep Ashe away from this particular mission. There was no need for him to see his own adoptive father fall in battle, or worse, to have to kill him with his own hands.
"A rebellion?" he feigned surprise. "Is this something that students should be taking on?"
"Not to worry, Byleth!" Alois said jovially with his usual booming voice. "In truth, local knights will be handling the majority of the matter. We will simply be cleaning up the aftermath. Besides, we shall be joining Professor Hanneman's students, along with some of my best knights. We will be more than prepared for anything that Castle Gaspard can throw at us."
Damn. How could he try and keep Ashe away from this?
"You mentioned Lord Lonato and Castle Gaspard, isn't he…" he allowed his voice to trail off.
"Young Ashe's adoptive father, yes," Hanneman said regretfully, shaking his head. "But I'm afraid it has to be done. We simply cannot allow this rebellion against the Church to gain traction."
"Can't another House take charge of this mission?"
"They've already been assigned missions, Byleth," Alois said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm afraid we have no choice. We will try our best to persuade Lord Lonato to surrender, but he may not be so willing."
"Because of Christophe," Byleth stated.
"Because of Christophe Gaspard, yes. You are well-informed, Byleth."
"We'll at least keep Ashe from watching Lonato die?" He knew just precisely how painful it was watching a loved one die, even if their deaths were a necessity. He had been forced to do so countless times before. Ferdie, Edelgard, Dorothea, Caspar, Felix…
Their blood was on his hands. He wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone else, and certainly not to someone as pure and innocent as Ashe.
"We will try our best."
"Okay," Byleth said, closing his eyes in acceptance briefly. "Okay. Fine."
"I'm sorry it's not ideal, Byleth," Alois said in genuine sadness. "Unfortunately, such is the life of a Knight of Seiros. You will need such experience in the future as well, if you continue down this path."
Did he think that he was having second thoughts about the mission? Funny, he'd been the one to personally kill Lord Lonato hundreds of times when the man just wouldn't surrender. He understood Lonato's resolve, seeing as Catherine herself led the group to put down the revolt. If ever faced with his hypothetical son's executioner, Byleth would likely have done the same.
Wait.
Catherine?
"What about Thunder Catherine?" he asked suddenly as the thought struck him.
"What about Catherine?" Alois looked confused. "I'm not surprised you know of her, but why the sudden question?"
Alois shook his head, continuing regardless. "The last I heard, she was recently deployed on a mission somewhere in the Empire. Were you intending to ask her for pointers on becoming a knight?" He laughed heartily. "I can assure you, though I may certainly not compare to her prowess, I am no slouch myself! Take the advice I've given you and you'll become a knight in no time!"
Meanwhile, Byleth was stunned.
No Catherine?
No Catherine?
That seemed almost impossible. Hundreds of lives he'd lived, and she would always show up for this mission. Even when he didn't become a professor, hiding away in a remote village somewhere else, or in his previous life where he'd become an assassin, she always went on that mission. He'd accepted it as an inviolable fact like so many others, whether they be due to time, fate, the will of the Goddess or some other cosmic force.
What changed?
There was only one obvious answer. It was him. Labile though the whims of fate and time may be, their intermingling streams flowed around him through the power that Sothis had granted him.
What did he do? He looked back at his actions in this life, thinking furiously. He became a squire, giving up his previous role as professor. Alois took up his new responsibility eagerly, accommodating his mission schedule for his new squire, which meant…
Had Alois taken on what was supposed to be Catherine's mission, so that Byleth could take on this mission together with the students? Would Catherine he given one of Alois' future missions in return?
"Byleth?" Hanneman's voice cut into his thoughts. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, then spoke with more clarity, making up an easy excuse for his distraction. "Yeah. Sorry. It's just with how Catherine killed Christophe Gaspard, I just thought…"
"You thought that she would take responsibility for this?" Alois asked in understanding. "I suppose that might make sense, although she's well-known for putting down revolts without mercy." He shook his head. "Regardless, what's done is done, and we have to take on this mission."
Plans had to change. Already, gears were turning in his head.
"When do we leave?" he asked.
"It is best to stop this before he gains any more support. Seteth would like for us to leave in two days. I trust that you will be ready?" Hanneman asked, raising an eyebrow.
It was a little earlier than he was used to, probably because Alois was now available to lead the mission rather than Catherine. It certainly fit with his previous hypothesis, since he remembered distinctly that Catherine had only returned at the end of the month to lead the mission against Lonato.
Regardless, he would be ready all the same. He'd performed this mission hundreds of times before.
"Understood. May I take my leave?"
Alois nodded. "I'll be stationed here until we head off for our mission, so come along if you have any questions. If I'm not around, perhaps try the fishing pond!" Once again, he laughed. "I've heard that there's some big fish around now! Jeralt and I used to spend all our free time there…"
His voice trailed off wistfully. "Anyway, find me if you need anything."
Byleth took that as his cue to leave. With a final respectful nod to the pair, he made his way back to his room.
Byleth didn't know whether Lonato was being manipulated to raise his rebellion or had conspired together with the Agarthans, given the presence of the decoy plan to assassinate Lady Rhea on his person. Most claimed that the revolt was spurred on by the Western Church, given that the rebellion was based on the denouncement of Rhea as an apostate, but Byleth believed in Agarthan involvement. It was simply too much of a coincidence for them to attempt stealing from the Holy Mausoleum under the distraction provided by the planted letter.
Edelgard had seemed genuinely suspicious of the missive in earlier lives, and had previously contributed to their final decision to guard the Holy Mausoleum. She was either knowingly sabotaging the Agarthan faction, had no knowledge of their hand in this, or was somehow brilliantly feigning ignorance in a master plan with goals that Byleth couldn't fathom.
The most likely scenario was simple ignorance; the Agarthans and their allies would be so much more powerful if they had the Sword of the Creator on their side, after all, especially since they turned out to be capable of reviving Nemesis. Either that, or she knew of their involvement but chose to sabotage them anyway, thinking that her own methods would be sufficient to achieve her goals. For all that she desired to break the Church, she wasn't too keen on the methods used by the Agarthans.
Lonato never lived long enough for Byleth to find out the truth of just why he raised the rebellion. But this time…
No Thunderstrike Cassandra meant that Lonato would be less enraged to the point where he would fight to the death. Ashe would be present, as would be two other survivors of the Tragedy of Duscur. He didn't know exactly how Lonato viewed his adopted son, but Ashe's admiration and gratitude toward the man suggested he was at the very least the slightest bit fond of Ashe.
Perhaps, just perhaps, he might be willing to consider a surrender without Catherine's provocation present in this life. Some explanation and half-truths behind the Church, Rhea, Duscur and any manipulation that he might be under from the Agarthans could help to defuse the tension as well.
If there was even a shot at making Lonato stand down, Byleth would give everything for it. With Lonato's testimony about a secondary cause for the rebellion, Rhea may just be more willing to believe his words behind Fódlan's true threats when the time came that he earned some of her trust.
More importantly, there was also a chance of Lonato living, strange as it sounded, after having watched him die in life after life. Ashe deserved that happy ending. Byleth would try his best to fight for it. He owed him that, after having failed his student in all his lives.
He stood there, on the staircase landing, fighting against the deluge of memories he fought so hard to learn to control.
His first life. Ashe struggling feebly atop the blistering stones of Ailell, still clutching his bow in his hand, an arrow slipping out of his shaking grip. He spoke, his words heard with precise clarity despite the battle raging all around. "Lord Lonato… I am sorry…"
His third. Ashe, falling from atop the battlements of Garreg Mach Monastery, crashing to the ground with an audible crunch as the winged demonic beast flew back toward the skies. Byleth rushed over, a Heal already prepared on his fingertips, but Ashe…
He was already dead.
The next life, Byleth learned the Physic. He wasn't ever really any good at it.
Ninth. Ashe, his body pierced by arrows, still returning fire against Empire archers on the Gronder Fields from where Byleth watched on the side of the Alliance army, battling against his own section of Empire soldiers. He longed to run over, to cut a bloody swathe through everyone in his way – twelve foot-soldiers, three mounted cavaliers, two mages – but that would take far too much time. Ashe was technically an enemy, but he had been his friend…
When the battle was finally over, Ashe was just barely clinging to his last breaths. The Empire had retreated, the Kingdom forces had been all but wiped out. It was a massacre, just as it had been before. He reached his dying student.
"Professor…" he coughed weakly. "This… all of… why?"
"I'm sorry," he said, kneeling before the pale boy. His eyes stung. "I'm so sorry, Ashe."
"Hah… You're… crying… Professor. Don't… hah…" he wheezed, eyes twitching all the while. "Lord… Lonato… I'll be see – see…"
No more words made it through. Byleth took hold of his body gently. He and other students that lost their lives here deserved a proper funeral and grave, not the mass pyre that awaited all the rest that fell in the battle.
Then came his twelfth… his nineteenth…
A number he had long-since lost count of, but the images still vivid all the same…
-o-o-o-
Their party was nearing Magdred Way, where Byleth knew Lonato's forces would be preparing an ambush. The students were silent during the trek toward Castle Gaspard, each of them distracted within their own thoughts. Hanneman and Alois led the group, with even the normally jovial knight's spirits dampened by the dour mood of the students under his charge.
Byleth took a glance at the Blue Lion students, gauging their readiness for this battle. It was rare, but some of his students had very occasionally lost their lives in this battle when Byleth had still been inexperienced with the time loop. Such a repeat could not afford to happen here.
Dimitri was conflicted, as always, a clear sign of his thoughts warring between the necessity of putting down the rebellion and having to kill commonfolk that rallied under Lonato's banner. Dedue showed no signs of such hesitation, ready to do purely as his prince commanded.
Felix appeared nonchalant, but Byleth knew better. His student may have put on a façade of detachment following the death of his brother, but he above all the others valued the sanctity of human life the most. His conviction mirrored Byleth's own, being willing to do what was necessary with a heavy heart.
Likewise, Sylvain didn't seem troubled beyond the slightest frown tugging at his lips. In past lives, Byleth had never noticed any particular issues with Sylvain in this battle, and hoped that this life would be similar.
Mercedes and Annette were a different matter altogether. He hadn't been particularly close to the pair, both due to his lesser interaction with the Blue Lions and their tendency to stick together. They also didn't have major issues that needed his attention and could change the course of the war, and so he'd opted to focus on working with others in past lives.
For all that Mercedes was sweet and honest, getting a clear read on her at times like this was difficult. He had no idea if her continued gentle and calm smile was due to a lack of apprehension on her part, or if she was merely hiding it away. Annette was bouncing around jitterily, looking around nervously as the group made their way toward Castle Gaspard, but Mercedes had a calming influence on her. He didn't think he had cause to be worried.
Unlike the rest, Ingrid didn't show signs of such worry or fear. She held herself up to the values of a stereotypical knight, working diligently for the good of the kingdom. Besides, Christophe had been executed for his alleged role in inciting the Tragedy of Duscur, and Byleth knew that Ingrid held no pity for any who would associate with those responsible for the massacre. Glenn Fraldarius' death had hit her in a vastly different way than it had Felix.
Then, of course, there was Ashe, the one that Byleth had been most worried about. He was moving distractedly, stumbling every few steps, his posture and gait clumsy. It was something that Byleth was immensely familiar with.
He'd seen so many of his former students and the men under his command in such a state during the war. Loss and confusion hit people in different ways, and Ashe was always the type to dwell and become lost in a spiral of worry and uncertainty.
"Hey," he said quietly, not wanting to spook Ashe as he made his way to his side. "Ashe."
He didn't respond initially, only turning his head to look at Byleth after he'd nearly stumbled once more. "Byleth? Sorry, I'm…"
Ashe didn't elaborate further. His eyes were downcast, attire unkempt. They'd only had a few days to react to the mission, not quite the time frame of an entire month that he'd been used to. Ashe had always taken some time to process just what it entailed, but in his current state Byleth didn't know whether he could see it through.
"You don't have to do this if you're not ready, you know," he told the younger boy. "The rest of us will be able to handle this."
"No," Ashe said, shaking his head. He turned toward Byleth, and some of that sense of loss had dissipated, being replaced with a conviction that Byleth knew well. "No," he repeated.
"Lord Lonato… he was always so kind, but to go against the Church and Rhea like this… I…" he closed his eyes, steeling himself for a moment. When they opened once more, he saw the unyielding courage and determination that had burned within his former student in past lives. "I'm Lord Lonato's adopted son. I have to see for myself why he would choose to do such a terrible thing. And if he doesn't give up, I…"
His voice quieted, but each word was enunciated steely all the same. "It will be my responsibility as his son to make things right."
His student always took up far too much of a burden for himself, even in the future where he would come to fight for Lord Lonato's memory. He was proud of the boy, but he hoped that events wouldn't proceed as they had in past lives. "Remember, you don't have to do this alone."
Ashe seemed startled for a moment, but nodded shortly thereafter. Byleth gave a final firm pat on his shoulders, then moved to join Alois and Hanneman. In silence, the group entered Magdred Way proper.
