What if Jeralt couldn't escape the eyes of the Church after the blaze that took Garreg Mach? What if the child was raised by the very thing Jeralt was trying to protect them from? Byleth, a student of the Archbishop and deaconess of the church had met and exceeded all what was expected of her by her teacher, The Archbishop. Despite being as accomplished as she was, the Deaconess lacked emotion and any understanding of it. Continuing her studies at Garreg Mach, Byleth meets three individuals who caught her interest. Could one of these fated individuals help the deaconess in her understanding or betray?


Jeralt studied the infant, surprised that the child remained sleeping as if nothing had happened the night prior. If the child wasn't breathing, he would have mistaken her for a doll. Nothing but silence since her birth. No crying. No laughter. Nothing.

The grizzled old man let out a small chuckle. "You're a quiet thing, aren't you? If Sitri was here, I'd bet she'd have you laughing up the room by now. She'd know what to do."

On one hand, Jeralt was thankful that he managed to throw off their scent to the Knights of Seiros and managed to get away. The pair managed to take a short respite in one of the small towns called Remire Village in one of the inns. On the other hand, the mercenary who spent decades on this earth was fearful.

Jeralt stood by his decision to leave with his daughter. He was doing his due diligence as a father to protect his child. There was something wrong, something wrong with the whole situation at Garreg Mach. From the night of his daughter's birth, to how Rhea treated her.

'Was the church responsible for my daughter's state? What could the church have done to have silenced her in this way? What could Rhea have done?' Jeralt grew anxious at the thought. For now, it was all speculation. His only worry, first and foremost, was his daughter.

He looked over his daughter's basket again. Seeing the child's slumbering face put him a little more at ease. He brushed his hand against her tiny head and smiled softly. 'She's so small.'

The infant's eyes opened suddenly, her dark blue eyes looking directly at Jeralt. Her tiny hand then proceeded to grab the nearby hand.

"Hah, sorry to wake you. You have quite the grip, don't ya, little one?"

She proceeded to gnaw at the man's hand. Jeralt pulled his hand away from the teething infant. "You're probably hungry, aren't ya?" Jeralt picked his daughter up and proceeded to walk to the small inn's kitchen.

He set the infant down on the kitchen cabinet and began looking around for possible foods she could eat.

"What do such young things eat anyways? You wouldn't happen to know, would you?" The young infant just gazed at Jeralt, and he let out a sigh. "I suppose it's something we have to figure out together, huh." Jeralt lifted the infant into his arms and walked towards the inn's exit. As his hand reached the door's handle, he heard the subtle shuffling of chainmail armor and metallic blades clanking against it. 'Shit.'

Jeralt set the child down on the ground as he closely listened to the sound behind the door, trying to pinpoint what it was. His search was over momentarily as he peered through the gap between the bottom of the door and floor and saw multiple shadows and the outlines of various armored shoes.

'Shit, shit, shit. They found us.'

Jeralt scouted the inn to see if there were any possible exits he and his daughter could escape through but to no avail. The room they were residing in was located on the second floor. It would be incredibly risky for them to escape through the window. Taking a quick glance outside the window, he also noticed that there were several knights waiting for them.

Jeralt thought of other possible ways he and the child could escape this. The idea of somehow getting past the knights at door, and using the trash chute to quickly take the child outside of the inn inconspicuously. The Mercenary however quickly dismissed the idea since the inn was surrounded. It would be near impossible to slide past the knights without a thorough search. Not to mention the knights were here for the child.

'Can't avoid the Knights of Seiros. Not in the slightest.' However, if Jeralt were to lead the knights there was no child, maybe they would have a slim chance of escaping.

Jeralt quickly scouted areas that could quickly conceal the child. The mercenary eyed an air vent low in the ground.

"Forgive me for this, young one..." Jeralt quickly unlatched the grate that was sealing the vent. He then tightly swaddled the infant so she wouldn't move too far in the vent, slid her in, and resealed the vent.

His daughter glared daggers through the grate at Jeralt. "Look, I said I was sorry. This will only be for a short while. I promise, kid." Jeralt quickly pushed an armchair over the air vent, successfully covering it.

The Mercenary then reached for his spear and his right hand reached for the door's handle. "If you think I haven't noticed you Knight's presence outside my door, you'd be severely mistaken. Whatever it is you are looking for, I do not have it."

"Jeralt, please. Do not be alarmed. We are simply here to discuss matters."

Jeralt's eyes widened as he heard the Archbishop's voice. He could recognize that calm and cold tone from anywhere.

"Forgive me, Lady Rhea. When you see several knights outside your window and door, it's a bit of a cause for alarm."

"We are simply here to discuss matters. That is all."

Knowing that Rhea has no intentions of leaving until he opened the door, Jeralt reluctantly complied. His hand hesitantly reached for the handle.

The Archbishop sauntered her way through the door, a few of her knights following closely behind.

"What brings the Archbishop all the way out here? Couldn't be for me, now would it?"

Rhea gently smiled. "Why couldn't it be, Jeralt? Can't I simply check in on an old friend, see how he is fairing?"

"I..suppose so. Then again, one has concern when being surrounded by the Knights of Seiros "

"You understand my position here, Jeralt. It comes with my work as the Archbishop. Many enemies of the Church want me dead."

"That is…reasonable, I guess."

"Are you sure about your resignation, Jeralt? Your skills were quite vital to the Knights of Seiros..." The woman elegantly sat herself down at one of the plain wooden chairs at the dining table.

Jeralt tightly held onto his spear while nervously letting out a small smile "With everything that had happened over the past few months with..my wife…and the fire, you understand why it would be difficult for me to return to the Church."

Rhea stood from her seat and walked towards the exit, her hand on the handle. "Ah, that is a shame. I suppose I shall take my leave…but before I do." She turned over and glared at Jeralt. "Tell me, Jeralt. Where are you hiding the child?"

Before Jeralt could react, two of the knights grabbed Jeralt and slammed him against the floor. "Rhea…I..have no idea what you are talking about. There is no child here. The child is dead."

"That's quite strange. Since the investigations I have done indicate otherwise." Rhea's cool and collected voice quickly turned into that of stern wrath. "Search every inch of this room. Leave no corner untouched until the child is found." Rhea then knelt next to Jeralt, grabbing his hair and pulling his head to meet her face. Her eyes turned into that of a demon, and glaring at him demanded, "Tell me where the child is, Jeralt. And perhaps the punishment I have planned for you will be light."

Before Jeralt could even speak, a knight shouted in the distance "LADY RHEA, WE HAVE FOUND THE CHILD!"

"Ah. I suppose there is no need for that now." Rhea quickly dropped his hair, Jeralt's face slamming against the wooden floor. "I applaud you Jeralt. Really. I do. Faking the child's death. Hiding you and the child's tracks. I almost believed it, and you almost got away from us. Almost…"

A knight handed the infant over to Rhea. Jeralt saw red. Jeralt almost broke free of the knights that held him down. "YOU LAY A HAND ON HER OR SO HELP ME-"

Rhea looked at the infant and gave a relieved smile. "Rest assured, Jeralt, no harm will come towards your child. The child has the full protection of the church." Rhea then turned her gaze to Jeralt "Your actions, however good-natured in wanting to protect your child, cannot go unpunished."

Rhea walked towards the inn's exit, with Jeralt's daughter in hand. The woman then gestured to the knights holding him, "Take him to the prisons at Garreg Mach. I will decide what punishment is suitable for this sinner."

Jeralt resisted as much as he could, but he couldn't overpower the force of several knights. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO TO ME, YOU LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE! YOU HEAR ME, RHEA? YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The young infant climbed over Rhea's shoulder and peered at the man being dragged off. Rhea grinned as she promptly grabbed the child back into her arms "You don't need to see such obscene scenes like that, my child. My child?" Rhea's grin dissipated. When Rhea's eyes met the young infant's, the Archbishop noticed that tears were welling up in the child's eyes.


Hi Everyone! Here is my first fanfic in a long loooong time I have written! Critique and feedback is appreciated!