Lysithea did not know Sylvain particularly well, just that he was an enemy for all women and seemed to share some of her hatred for Crests. He also basically went after everything with a pulse, if Flayn was to be believed. This included but was not limited to men, old people, children, and even animals. Lysithea didn't believe such things but honestly it might be a good if such rumors were to start spreading. It might get him to actually behave for once…
Anyways.
When her class had received their mission to eliminate thieves in Kingdom territory led by Miklan, a disowned son of House Gautier, even she and a few others had to worry about him. She didn't know much about his house, but it didn't take her long to confirm that the thief was indeed Sylvain's own brother.
Lysithea went to the barracks where the Blue Lions tended to gather and found Sylvain there with Ingrid. There was a notable tension in the air and even Ingrid seemed to have become more hesitant to act in front of him.
"Lysithea," Sylvain called out to her when he noticed her presence. "You here to accept my invitation for tea?" He put on a smile and his usual casual voice but even she could tell that it was just an act.
"No," Lysithea responded promptly. There were several she was willing to do for him out of comfort and pity, but a date was not one of those things. "My class has been given a mission in the Kingdom this month." There would be no joint mission with the Blue Lions this time, it would just be the Golden Deer sent to eliminate Sylvain's own brother.
"I heard. I've already requested the Professor bring me along as Mission Assistance," Sylvain replied.
"Why are you coming then?" Lysithea asked. "Are you joining us to help eliminate your own brother as ordered or are you going to try to convince him to stop?" She had lost all of her siblings to enemy that she sought to eliminate to this day, but she could never imagine the pain or betrayal of having one of them betray their family.
"My brother once threw me into a well in the middle of winter and left me to die," Sylvain replied plainly. "I can assure you that there is no love lost between us."
Now it was Lysithea's turn to hesitate. She had not expected Sylvain to have nearly been a victim to Fratricide of all things. "Why did he do that?"
"He was tossed aside, and I was chosen as heir because I was born with a Crest."
Sylvain had once commented to her that he hated his Crest. Now she knew why. "You never chose it. To be picked as heir and to have a brother that detests you because of it," she commented.
He gave her a weary smile. "Whatever happens to him is his own fault. He made these choices, but sometimes I wonder what my life would be like without a Crest."
"If it makes you feel any better Sylvain, I've been thinking the same myself."
"Hardly much of a blessing are they? Much less from a Goddess."
"Perhaps, the two of you should have this conversation somewhere else?" Ingrid cautioned the two of them. That was a reasonable request considering that Lysithea and Sylvain were close to speaking blasphemy against the Church.
"No that won't be necessary. I believe that's enough for today," Lysithea replied. "And Sylvain… the Professor wanted me to tell you that his door is open for you at any time."
"And yours?" Sylvain apparently decided to try his luck one more time.
"I still have no interest in spending time with you." Lysithea turned to walk away.
"And here I thought we were becoming friends," Sylvain called out as she made her way out of the Barracks.
"If that is truly your intent then you shouldn't say things that you don't mean," Lysithea called out before leaving the room.
She had only taken a few steps out of the Barracks when she suddenly ran into something and fell onto the ground.
"Woah. Sorry Lysithea. You ok there?" Catherine asked as she offered her a hand.
"I'm fine," Lysithea replied as she let herself be picked up.
"I've always been warning you to be more aware of your surroundings," another voice called out. Lysithea turned and found that it had belonged to Shamir.
"Well usually I can leave that stuff to you," Catherine replied.
"Hmph."
Lysithea had heard those two were particularly close though this was the first time she had seen them together. "What are you two doing?" she decided to ask.
"We're actually going to get some lunch in the Mess Hall. Do you want to join us?" Catherine asked.
Lysithea glanced at Shamir. Her face was stern, but then again that was what it was always like so she probably wouldn't be intruding on anything. "I would." Might as well eat with some company anyway, it might make eating the food that Seteth had made for her more bearable.
Rather than food though, the cooks in the Mess Hall had given Lysithea a tall glass and nothing else once she had gotten in line. Inside the glass was some sort of green thick substance that resembling slime or algae. The stench of it was especially strong and filled her nostrils as carried it as far away from her face as she could. She brought it back to her table where Shamir and Catherine had dishes that had at least resembled food.
"Oh no," Catherine commented as soon as she the saw the drink. Lysithea's blood ran cold, this was the first time she had ever seen fear on the Knight's face. "Shamir is that?"
"It is," Shamir grimaced. "The Seteth special."
"The Seteth what now?" Lysithea's voice with a voice full of despair and apprehension.
"The Seteth special. An unholy amalgamation of kale, spinach, celery, beet greens, lima beans, Dagdar watercress, and Brigid brown beans all roasted and blended together into the vilest concoction that you'll ever see."
That sounded absolutely horrifying.
Lysithea pushed the glass away from her which actually caused Shamir and Catherine to lean away as it got closer to them.
"I can smell it from here," Catherine replied as she looked away from it with her eyes closed.
"Indeed. It's still as horrifying as I remember it."
"Why did Seteth create such an… abomination?" Lysithea asked.
"Because despite it making you wish for death-"
"It's also one of the best things you can ever put inside your body," Catherine interrupted. "A few of those and you'll be getting twice as much done in training."
Shamir nodded. "Whether or not that is worth it though is still up for debate among the faculty."
"And you two had to drink this?"
"It is considered a… rite of passage among the faculty. To receive one of these from Seteth means that he considers you important enough to consider you're dietary needs. This is the first time I've ever seen it given to a student though."
"Any advice?" Lysithea asked as she reluctantly grabbed the glass with both her arms. For some reason it felt hotter than it was before as if the temperature of the thing was rising even though it had just been sitting there. She really didn't want to drink it but with Flayn and the dining staff reporting on her eating habits she had no choice but to.
"Pray to the Goddess," Catherine replied before grabbing her hands and bowing her head in prayer.
Lysithea gulped before putting the glass to her lips.
"I'm impressed," Catherine commented as she watched Lysithea run off to the nearest bathroom. "She drank more of it than I thought she would." At least half of the glass had been emptied before the white-haired student slammed the glass on the table and started running.
"More than you did during your first time. Didn't even throw up all over the Mess Hall."
"Never going to let me forget about that are you Shamir?"
"I rarely forget. Especially when it took me a week to wash off the smell."
"That's what you get for not warning me about it beforehand."
"You said that you would accept any challenges given to you. That was a challenge."
Catherine still wasn't entirely sure on whether or not Seteth had created that drink as a form a torture. It definitely said a lot of how the majority of the Knights of Seiros had been conditioned to flee at the very sight of the thing. "Seteth must like her if he's willing to manage her diet like this though."
"Or she's just useful to him."
"Always the pragmatist Shamir."
"I have to go where the money is."
"So, what do you think about Lysithea?" It would good to hear Shamir's opinion on the young girl.
"Her hands are calloused around the knuckles which suggests she writes a lot. There have also been multiple reports of a white-haired individual staying up in the library past curfew. Clearly a hard worker in a rush to get things done, though not one suited for physical exertion."
"She is a bit scrawny," Catherine admitted.
"How old is she?"
"Fifteen I think."
"She's small for her age."
"She still has time to grow."
"Maybe. Though there's also a chance that she won't grow much at all. It'll be difficult for her to wield a blade if she maintains her current physique."
"Well physical deficiencies aside she's hard worker and she wants to get strong quick. I can work with that."
"What are your plans for her? You're clearly spending more time with her than is necessary."
"Well I feel a certain kinship with her. We both have Crests of Charon and we both secrets we can't share with anyone." Catherine had her suspicions of Lysithea's dual crests before the girl had even used Thunderbrand. It shouldn't have been possible, yet Catherine always had a knack for detecting a person's Crest just by looking at them. In Lysithea's case it felt as if two opposing powers were always constantly fighting within her for dominance.
"She is a lot like you, just a lot smarter."
"Can't deny that. I can hardly wrap my head around magic most of the time." Catherine began to pick at her food. "I do wish she'd let her guard down around other people and learn to relax once in a while. She must have some major secrets though, having two Crests and all."
"Perhaps she'll tell you one day."
"Maybe. Maybe not, but I think I'll keep inviting her to lunch with us if that's fine with you. I always find that gabbing about pointless things with friends is a good way to help the stress fade away."
"You consider her a friend?"
"Well… I like to think of her as my younger sister."
"A little sister that you willingly beat down with a sword."
"Eh. Nothing like a bit of sibling rivalry to get things going."
"Hello, you two," Sylvain suddenly walked up to the two of them with a clearly impatient Ingrid behind him. "Might I join you two ladies for this meal."
Before Catherine could refuse, Shamir put a hand on her arm.
"Sure," Shamir replied quickly much to Sylvain's surprise.
"Really? It's never that eas- I mean I happily accept."
"One condition though. You have to help to finish that. We don't want it to go to waste."
"Sounds easy enough," Sylvain smiled as he grabbed the glass. "What's in this anyway?" He took a sniff of it.
Another strange thing about the Seteth special was that when it was left sitting for too long it lost most of its scent. He likely wouldn't notice anything suspicious about it.
"A protein shake"
"Well a bit more muscle wouldn't hurt." Sylvain tilted the glass into his mouth and drank what remained of it in seconds.
"Alright Sylvain I've watched enough, stop bothering them already," Ingrid sighed as she walked up to drag Sylvan away. She grabbed his shoulder only to receive no response. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face. "Sylvain...?"
Sylvain fell face first onto the floor with the glass still in his hand. His body laid still on the ground,
"You're evil Shamir," Catherine commented. Another thing with leaving the Seteth special sitting out for too long. It tasted twice as worse.
"I know."
"Uh… should we be worried?" Ingrid asked.
"No, you can leave him there," Shamir replied. "You want to join us for lunch?"
"… That sounds good." Ingrid stepped over Sylvain's prone body and joined them at their table.