In preparation for my visit to the monastery, I left Byleth's notebook with Rose, after having her confirm that she couldn't see any writing on the pages. I was expecting to be back within a week. Dimitri insisted that I bring some soldiers with me, but after showing him Edelgard's letter and reassuring him that I could handle myself, he relented. Then, the next day, I mounted a horse and headed off for Garreg Mach.

I stayed a night at a small town inn, near Galatea lands. I wondered how Ingrid was doing. All of my classmates had gone home, even Mercedes. Felix sometimes showed up with his father, but most weeks, Lord Rodrigue came by himself.

I was going to see Yuri again. It'd been three months. We were now in the middle of summer. Even the northern parts of Faerghus were warm and bathed in sunlight. It was a nice change compared to the chilly spring weather.

The next morning, I hopped on my horse and continued onwards. The closer I approached the monastery, the fewer people there were on the major roads. The few I saw looked like merchants. When the tall mountains where Garreg Mach resided came into view, I couldn't help but admire the dark mountains and monastery towers piercing through the bright blue sky.

There were several soldiers up ahead standing guard. Edelgard had pulled her forces back, so there was temporary peace at the borders. But if these discussions didn't go well… if I couldn't convince her that was another way… the war would continue. And, based on Byleth's notebook, it'd continue for five more years.

I didn't want that. That'd mean I wouldn't be able to see Yuri as often as I'd liked, and countless lives would get lost in the war. If the situation turned dire, and I was on the battlefield, would I even survive? It sounded like the class that Byleth chose to teach was the class that will win the war. Which meant my class was going to lose. We were going to die.

I had to do my best in persuading Edelgard. My life was on the line.

It was late afternoon when I trotted into the monastery. The Empire guards stepped aside and watched as I passed them. I had my sword on me, and my usual daggers, but I wasn't planning on using them.

At the entrance, I dismounted and an Empire servant stepped forward to take the reins from me. "My lady," he said with a bow.

My lady… How strange. I smiled at him. "Could you give my horse some food and water?"

"Of course," he said. There were footsteps coming from the entrance. Several footsteps. I looked up to see Dorothea and Bernadetta running towards me.

"Byleth!" Dorothea said. Bernie was out of breath. Dorothea waved at me, grinning. "It's so good to see you. Even though these probably aren't the best circumstances."

I smiled back. "It's good to see you too. Hi, Bernadetta."

Bernadetta was still gasping for air, but she nodded at me.

"Come on, we'll take you to Edie," Dorothea said. I followed her. "Not that you need a guide, since it's, you know, the monastery. But still, probably better than having random soldiers following you around."

"Thanks," I said. Bernie fell into step beside us. A part of me wondered if they were going to attack me. I knew, going into this, that there was a risk that it was all a trap. That Edelgard could capture me and use me as a hostage. But I wanted to trust Edelgard and trust that she wouldn't do such a thing.

Then again, there was a risk for them as well. I could be here on the pretense of peaceful talks only to attempt to assassinate Edelgard. But Edelgard couldn't be that easy to assassinate.

We took the stairs up to the second floor then into what used to be Lady Rhea's audience room. Edelgard was standing where Lady Rhea used to stand. Hubert was beside her, holding a sheet of paper.

"You're here," Edelgard said, eyes widening slightly. Hubert just stared at me.

I bowed. "Good to see you, Edelgard. Or, should I call you Emperor? Your Majesty?"

Edelgard shook her head. "Edelgard is fine."

"You should at least address her as Lady Edelgard," Hubert said.

Dorothea sighed. "Oh Hubie, we're all classmates. There's no need for that formality." Hubert scowled at her.

"Leave us," Edelgard said to Hubert. Hubert nodded and ushered Dorothea and Bernie out with him. The doors closed with a solid thud. They hadn't asked to take my sword. Did they really trust me? Then again, Edelgard had a large axe leaning against a table to her right.

"Is that… a Hero's Relic?" I pointed at the axe.

Edelgard nodded. "Yes, this is Aymr. My family's relic. Anyway, let's talk." Edelgard picked up a piece of paper off the table. I recognized my own handwriting on the paper. It was my letter. "Your ideas… Tell me more."

It was evening by the time I left the room. Edelgard told me that I was welcome to food in the cafeteria and welcome to stay the night. I was hungry and needed to go to the bathroom. Hubert had returned in the middle of our talks with tea for both of us. Edelgard and I had started scribbling my ideas and Edelgard's suggestions down on a piece of paper.

There were soldiers at the Abyss tunnel that I usually took, but they looked at me and stepped to the side. I nodded at them and headed down the usual, winding path. It was a short fifteen minute walk before I arrived at the entrance.

The usual gatekeeper was there, and he waved at me. "Nice to see you again," he said.

I waved back and took the stairs. Yuri was either at the old classroom or Rose's home or… maybe the library. Since Rose's house was the closest, I went there first. I'd brought my spare key with me, but I knocked first before entering.

It was warm inside. There was the crackling sound of the fire and a bubbling sound of boiling water. Yuri was at the stove, when he looked at me. Yuri dropped the ladle in his hand, walking towards me. I was nowhere as disciplined. I ran at him and threw my arms around him.

"Byleth," Yuri said, hugging me tightly.

I wanted to call him by his real name. It'd been so long since he'd used it. But I could see light coming from the room I used to stay in, which meant Constance and Hapi were probably here.

"Hey," I said.

Yuri chuckled. "It's been a while, huh?" He pulled away, and I let him, so I could stare at his face. He smirked. "Missed me?"

"Of course." I punched his shoulder lightly. Yuri turned back to the pot on the fire.

"You came at just the right time," Yuri said. Then, raising his voice, he called out towards the bedrooms, "Dinner's ready."

"Yes, I'm starving." Hapi appeared first, stretching her arms above her head. Then she looked at me. "Oh, Byleth, you're here."

"Byleth's here?" Constance almost bumped into Hapi while rushing out of the room. "Oh, Byleth! So glad you made it."

The door opened, and Balthus entered with a chair. "Hey pal, I got the chair like you said."

"Good timing," Yuri said. Constance and Hapi were pulling bowls and spoons out for everyone, while Yuri moved the pot off the fire and onto the table. Balthus set the extra chair on one end and sat down. Yuri glanced at me from the corner of his eye as he took a seat too. I sat beside him, while Constance and Hapi smiled at me from across the table.

"So, how did your talks with Lady Edelgard go?" Constance asked.

"Good, I think," I said. "We were brainstorming ideas. I think I can talk to her some more tomorrow before I leave."

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Hapi raised an eyebrow.

I nodded. "Yeah. The main point of this meeting is to see if Edelgard is open to more peaceful alternatives. If she is, I'd like for all three leaders to meet. I'm not exactly in a position to make decisions."

"Aw man, I thought you were staying longer," Balthus said. He and Hapi both looked at Yuri, who shrugged.

"What?" Yuri said.

"Nothing," Hapi said. "Thanks for the food, Yuri bird."

There was a loaf of bread that we split. It was delicious dipped into the fish stew. It tasted a lot like Rose's cooking but slightly saltier. And Yuri had thrown in a lot of extra ingredients, from leafy greens, potatoes and carrots, to cheese. Somehow, the cheese was a nice addition.

"This is good," I said.

"Really? Compared to what you've been eating?" Yuri asked.

I nodded.

"What's the food like at the palace? Do you get to eat tiny cakes every day?" Hapi asked.

I laughed at that and shook my head. "Tiny cakes? No, maybe once, and that was during an afternoon meeting with His Majesty. The food's good. But, most of the time, I've been eating while reading something or talking about something with someone, so I haven't had the chance to really enjoy the food."

"That's a shame," Hapi said.

"Sounds like you're doing a lot of work," Constance said.

"What are you doing?" Balthus asked.

"Reading a lot of reports that come in from the battle field," I said. "Discussing where to move troops, whether or not we should recruit more soldiers and from where, what salary to pay them, where to get food supplies for the soldiers, who to promote, stuff like that. We were busy the first few weeks planning the coronation, though."

"You're a military advisor," Constance said with a big smile.

"Something like that. What have you all been up to?"

"I've been talking to Lady Edelgard about what we can do for House Nuvelle," Constance said.

Hapi frowned. "Not much. Just the usual. Eat, sleep, read."

"I paid off a chunk of my debt working for Holst," Balthus said. "Now I only need to pay off the rest. Yuri's paying me to run odd jobs and beat up some people."

I looked at Yuri. "Who do you need to beat up?"

Yuri smirked. "Some troublemakers."

After dinner, Balthus went to return the chair, while Constance and Hapi did the dishes. Yuri tilted his head towards the door. "Care for a walk?"

I gestured at Constance and Hapi. "I want to help though."

"Oh go on," Constance said with a smile. "You're our guest, Byleth!"

Yuri held his hand out, and I took it, following him out the door. We didn't say anything for a minute as we walked.

"It's nice that they're staying with you," I said, as we were crossing the large, stone bridge. I'd never been on the other side. This was probably a good time to give Yuri the surprise present I'd prepared.

"Yeah," Yuri said and smiled at me. "I missed you."

I stared at my feet. "I missed you too." On the other side of the bridge was a dirt tunnel branching in two directions. Yuri headed left. "Where are we going?"

"I want to show you something," Yuri said. "I think you'll like it." The tunnels here weren't lined with torches. Yuri lit a small flame in his other hand.

"Working on your dark magic?" I asked.

"Yeah. Did you still want to spar?"

I chuckled. "I'm too full for that now." And tired. "Maybe next time."

Yuri kept glancing at me, a smile on his face. I looked at him back, waiting for him to say something. But his eyes would dart to me and then back to the path. We took a few more turns, heading deeper into the mountain, until we could hear the sound of trickling water.

"What is it? A waterfall?" I asked Yuri.

He smirked. "You'll see."

We turned one more corner. The sound was getting louder. Yuri lit a lantern on the ground when we entered the room. There was a small waterfall, water spilling into a pond in the middle, which turned into a narrow stream tumbling over rocks.

"Look," Yuri said, holding the lantern high. We stepped closer to the pond. There were several fish swimming in, white and orange and red fish.

"Oh, they're so cute." I grinned. "What do they eat though?"

"Mostly bugs," Yuri said, setting the lantern down on the ground. There were light blue crystals studding the walls to our left that glowed faintly in the darkness. "I found this a few weeks ago."

"It's a neat little place." I smiled at him. This was it. This was excellent timing. I reached into my pocket. "I have something for you."

"Oh?" Yuri raised his eyebrows.

I pulled out a small black box. "Um." And suddenly, my heart was pounding in my chest and my throat felt dry. "Well." I couldn't look at Yuri. "It's just… I'm getting paid. I thought you'd like this." I opened the box to reveal the two rings inside. They were matching silver bands with a small gem studded in the center, but one had a blue gem and the other had a purple one.

"Byleth," Yuri said, inhaling sharply. I glimpsed at him. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at the rings.

"Uh, I don't know if it even fits your finger." I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "Rose tried to help me with the estimate."

Yuri looked at me. "Are you proposing?" He smirked.

I laughed. "Didn't you already do that? It's- You know, I thought you'd want… engagement rings."

"Do you?" Yuri asked.

"I-" I looked at the pond to my right, then shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Can I try it on?" Yuri smiled. I nodded. I wondered if he knew which was his. Yuri picked the blue gemstone ring up and slid it on his left hand. My cheeks were burning. It was cheesy. I thought it was cheesy, even though it was my idea. I grabbed the purple ring and snapped the box shut, tucking it back in my pocket.

"Does it fit?"

Yuri twirled the ring on his finger. "A little snug but yes."

I slid the ring on my finger, too. I wasn't used to the weight. I'd tried wearing it before, but it was strange. I pulled metal chains out of my pocket and handed one out for Yuri. "In case you want to wear it as a necklace," I said.

Yuri smiled and took one of the necklace chains. "Thanks, Byleth." He leaned towards me and kissed my forehead. "It means a lot to me."

My face still felt like it was on fire, and Yuri wasn't helping. I smiled at him. Yuri pulled out a bag of bread crumbs, and we sat near the pond, feeding the fish. "So what else have you been doing?" Yuri asked.

"Reading. So much reading. Literally, the second day, Lord Rufus came to my room and started pulling books off the shelf and saying I had to read them all if I wanted to be an advisor."

"What kind of books?"

"The entire history of Fhaergus, all the laws ever passed in Fhaergus past and present, the history and family tree of the Fhaergus nobles, on and on. There were military strategy books, books on the landscape of Fhaergus and historic battle sites, agriculture books." The back of my head hurt for a second, and I massaged my scalp. "It was a lot."

"You read it all? How long did that take you?"

"Weeks. Maybe I'm a faster reader now? But that's not the end, Lord Rufus keeps assigning me reading homework. We're going into the cultural histories of Fhaergus now, like famous authors, artists, historical landmarks. And it's not even good enough to just read about the history. I have to look at the paintings themselves and read some of the literature."

"That sounds more interesting than all the history and law you were talking about before," Yuri said.

"That's true." I folded my arms. There was a chilly draft through the tunnels. The sun must have set by now. "But it also doesn't feel as relevant. And what about you?"

"I've been doing lots of reading too. I've been trying to gather more intel for you," Yuri said, "but there's not much we can get. Edelgard's too cautious. We can never get close enough to hear of her plans."

"Maybe that's for the better. Abyss is supposed to stay neutral."

"Yeah." Yuri shrugged. "Abyss is neutral. That doesn't mean I'm not."

I chewed on my bottom lip. The fish were circling around near us, nibbling up the crumbs. "But, it'd be dangerous if Edelgard found out you were providing information to us. She could have you imprisoned or executed or she could take over Abyss-"

"Have some faith in me, Byleth," Yuri said with a small smile. "I'm not that easy to catch."

Yeah, he was right. But still… I couldn't help but worry. We finished throwing the breadcrumbs in, before walking back together.

Yuri told me that he and Balthus had been sharing what used to be Rose's room. But for tonight, Balthus was staying at the dorm's again, and I could take his spot. When we entered the room, I took one look at the bed and said, "You and Balthus are sharing a bed?"

"Something wrong with that?" Yuri asked.

I shook my head. "No, just- Nothing."

Yuri nudged me with his elbow, smirking. "Are you jealous?"

Jealous was not the first emotion that had popped up. Surprised. Yes, that was it. I flopped onto the bed with a sigh, closing my eyes. I was exhausted. My butt was sore from the horseback riding. I still wasn't used to that.

Yuri was rustling around in the dark. I rolled onto my side, relaxing into the mattress. It was a lot stiffer than the one in Fhirdiad. The room was rather dusty too. Was I getting used to the luxuries of the capital? No, I shouldn't. Who knew when I'd be back on the streets? With nothing but my own hands to defend myself.

"At least get under the blankets," Yuri said with a chuckle. I groaned and squirmed under the light, summer blanket.

"I'm tired," I said.

"I know." The room darkened as Yuri blew the light out. I felt him lie down next to me and scooted closer. It reminded me of when we were kids, huddled up next to each other at night, while Rose was out working. Yuri wrapped an arm around me.

"You remember how I said you could ask me for anything?" I said.

"Yeah."

"Did you think of anything?"

Yuri was quiet for a second. I wondered if he'd ask me to stay longer. It seemed possible. If he did, I could probably find some excuse to stay one more day. But maybe he didn't actually miss me that much, which was fine, because it wasn't like he could control his feelings and make himself miss me. I didn't exactly miss him every waking second either. Sometimes, mostly when I was feeling tired, I'd wish he was around so I could complain to him and hug him.

"Not really," Yuri said.

"Oh." I pressed my forehead against his chest and listened to his quiet breathing. "Let me know if you do though."

"Yeah, I will." Yuri kissed the top of my head. "Good night, Byleth."

"Good night."