Upon a bright, sunny morning, Lucas awoke with the help of the divine Sothis - yet again. Today was to be unlike any day he had before.. Later that morning, the Black Eagles' first official lesson would begin. Lucas had spent the previous two days figuring out how exactly he should go about it. He needed to think of what topic to cover, how he should present the information and also was required to read books based on the chosen topic so he wouldn't appear clueless to his students.
Lucas drew on his own experiences as a student to form a teaching style, mainly from his time at university seeing as it was the most approximate equivalent to the Officer's Academy purposewise and close enough for the age range of the students. A teaching style based on the education of more mature students seemed to be a good bet. Anything that he couldn't figure out on his own, Manuela and Hanneman were more than happy to help with.
"Ugh, Manuela…"
Thinking of the mature woman reminded him of the bar trip the two of them went on the night after the mock battle. Manuela had been quite pleased after seeing Hanneman's defeat at the hands of Lucas and Dorothea, something she repeated over and over again that night as if she feared he would forget. He couldn't blame her. Alcohol was never Lucas' strong suit. He fell into a drunken state after only a few glasses of low-strength drinks. That made remembering things a lot more difficult. From that point on, the night became a blur. He could barely remember a damn thing.
Lucas was unsure if he should've been thankful for that or not.
He shook his head in an attempt to stop thinking about what may or may not have happened. The young professor departed from his lodgings and quickly washed himself in the bath house attached to the sauna. Then he marched on over to the dining hall.
All of his previous dining hall visits were uneventful. He would always grab some food from the workers at the counter and sit down at one of the many long benches available - on his own. The space around him would be filled up by random students or members of faculty, neither of which he'd bother speaking to for much longer than a simple greeting.
However, today was different. Lucas waited his way through the queue and obtained his fish-based breakfast (not choosing to venture out in terms of his meal choices). As he scanned the massive hall for a good place to sit, a friendly face called out to him.
"Hey, Lucas! Over here!"
Alois was the source of the noise. Sitting beside the man was clearly Catherine, who was munching on her food like a ravenous animal. Beside her was Shamir. She was eating her food in a much more dignified manner compared to her 'partner for life'. Lucas smiled and shrugged. He chose to heed Alois' request, taking a seat in front of the man.
"Hey there, Alois. Nice to see you again," Lucas greeted him.
"Nice to see you too! You know, I was watching the mock battle the other day. I must say, you and your house performed very well! Good thinking on using the forest as cover while you approached the Golden Deer," Alois complimented. "The looks on their faces must've been quite the sight."
"Heh, yeah. Claude and Hilda definitely weren't expecting someone to come around and get them while they were hiding behind that barricade. They must've been resting on their laurels," Lucas recounted. "I've gotta hand it to Dorothea. Without her, it would've been much more difficult to take them out."
"I see. Well, either way, you did a great job!" Alois continued, his smile practically glued to his face. "That final battle between you two and Dimitri was brilliant! What was that move you used, by the way?"
"Move?" Lucas tilted his head in confusion.
"The one where you threw your sword at Dimitri. Is that some technique you invented yourself?" Alois clarified.
"N-no. That was literally just me throwing my weapon because I needed a projectile to keep Dimitri busy for a second. I didn't want Dorothea to use one of her two remaining Thunder spells, so chucking the sword was my only option," Lucas explained, shaking his head.
"Oh," Alois replied, disappointment clear in his tone.
A small thud was heard on the table as Catherine carelessly dropped the piece of meat she was wildly consuming. The four diners turned to her as soon as this occurred.
"Whoops. Sorry," the sword wielder sheepishly apologised. "Guess I wasn't holding onto that as well as I thought I was."
"Of course you weren't," Shamir sighed.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I do that often?" Catherine asked, slightly irritated.
"You do," Shamir simply answered. "Almost every time we eat together, you drop something."
"That's ridiculous. Who'd be stupid enough to keep dropping their food?" Catherine chuckled.
Shamir said nothing and returned to her meal. As she lifted her sandwich to her face, Lucas could've sworn he saw her mouth something, but he ignored it. He secretly wanted an excuse to speak to them yet he couldn't figure out what precisely to say. Almost as if she sensed his internal conflict, Shamir spoke up.
"You're new here, aren't you? Name's Shamir. Watch out for Catherine," Shamir introduced herself, pointing to her boisterous friend. "She can be rather obnoxious."
"Obnoxious?! Ugh, never mind," Catherine repeated in irritation. She turned to Lucas. "Sorry for my rude 'friend' here. I'm Catherine, one of the church's best knights and wielder of Thunderbrand, a Heroes Relic. You're the new professor, right?"
"Yep. That's me. I'm Lucas," the man in question introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, Lucas. I hear you use swords. Maybe we can have a duel sometime. What do you say?" Catherine offered.
Lucas' heart skipped a beat. " Catherine's supposed to be one of the best sword users in all of Fodlan. In the game, her sword skill started out at A. In comparison, mine's probably an E. Maybe an E+. I suck. I'm nothing compared to her. No way am I gonna let myself be humiliated in a duel."
"You still in there, Lucas? I gave you an offer," Catherine reminded him, trying to get his attention.
"Oh, right. Umm, I must decline. I'm not a very good swordsman or fighter in general. I've only started learning recently. In all honesty, you would destroy me," Lucas disclosed. "So there's no point in us duelling."
"No point? Even if you aren't good, that just means I'll be able to teach you something. No need to shy away from something that'll only benefit you," Catherine disagreed.
Lucas sighed. "Fine, we can duel sometime. Not today, though. I have things to do. Speaking of which, I've gotta go teach my morning class. See you all later."
The professor chomped down on the last piece of fish he was eating, then stood up to leave. Catherine and Alois waved as he did so while Shamir merely nodded. As he began to make his way out of the dining hall, Lucas was both smiling as a result of the nice breakfast experience he just had as well as dreading the possibility of fighting Thunderstrike Cassandra.
He tried to put that to the side, for he needed to have a clear mind when teaching his class. As clear of a mind he could possibly have in this situation. His fear about Catherine never dissipated.
Following his departure from the dining hall, Lucas made a beeline for the Black Eagles classroom, ensuring he'd get there first before any of the students. He wanted to keep up a positive reputation. Well, as positive as he could make it at that point. While Dorothea's words from the climax of the mock battle rang true in his mind, he still felt as if he needed to keep up appearances. Especially considering the judgemental eye of Seteth.
Which is why he determined it necessary to get to the classroom first. Luckily, he was indeed the only person there at that moment. With around half an hour to go before the class began, there was more than enough time to set things up. To do so, Lucas jogged over to his bedroom, grabbed some notes and a book based on the lesson topic, then dashed back to class. He placed all of his recently acquired materials onto the podium at the far end of the room and sat down behind said podium.
"Now to twiddle my thumbs until people start showing up."
Unsure if there was something he should've actually been doing in preparation, Lucas checked over his notes and internally repeated various things he planned to say during the lesson. This was done mainly to reassure himself, to make himself feel more confident in the things he wished to say. It also helped to ingrain those things in his mind, thus making it less likely he'd forget them - as Byleth stated.
Soon enough, students started appearing. First were Edelgard and Hubert, arriving at around fifteen minutes before the lesson's start. Next was Ferdinand, entering only five minutes after the previous pair. Petra followed around three minutes later. About two minutes before the beginning of the lesson, Dorothea arrived with Bernadetta in tow. It seemed like Caspar and Linhardt weren't to make it, yet they both showed up five minutes after the lesson was supposed to begin, much to almost everyone's chagrin.
"Right. Well, now that you're all here, we can finally get on with it," Lucas began. "Welcome to our first formal lesson of the year! You should know who I am and who your classmates are, so no need for introductions. All of our lessons will be at this time every single weekday from this point onwards. Each week, we professors have to pick two students from our houses to undertake particular chores around the monastery. This consists of picking weeds, performing duties at the stables and watching the surroundings from the sky upon a pegasus or wyvern. These tasks will be carried out on Fridays. Again, that's each week, so keep that in mind."
Caspar raised his hand. Lucas allowed him to speak.
"What happens if we don't do our tasks?" The boy questioned.
"If you choose to shirk your duties, then a knight will find you and force you to do them. There's no ifs or buts about it. You will be made to do your tasks one way or the other," Lucas answered. "Any other questions about this before we carry on?"
Nobody else raised their hand. Some took notes, others nodded along, seemingly committing the information to memory. Lucas took a breath to calm his nerves.
"Alright. Now let's discuss your personal growths. Through observing the way each of you battle during our training sessions, I have discerned your primary talents and outlined what everyone should be focusing on in regards to your own development. At the moment, it's quite obvious which weapons each of you should be focusing on. Be aware this may change later on depending on how I feel, or if you choose to learn a different weapon. Don't hesitate to talk to me about changing your speciality or broadening your horizons. I'll have to update my listings accordingly."
Lucas pulled out the sheet of paper which contained all his students' growths, mirroring the same menu from the game that allows the player to see what goals each unit is going towards. He double checked it before addressing his class once again.
"For the most part, I want you all to keep going on the paths you're on. I do have some ideas for extra skills you can pick up, but let's keep it simple for now. Come next week or the week after and I may make some changes depending on how far each of you progresses in your current weapons of choice. Is everyone clear with that?"
Petra raised her hand. Again, Lucas allowed her to speak.
"You are meaning to say we should be using the weapons we are using now?" she asked.
"Yes," Lucas nodded. "Exactly that. Keep at it for now and if you see some good gains, then we can talk about you potentially learning another discipline."
The Brigid princess seemed satisfied. No other questions were raised.
"One more thing before we begin the lesson proper. At the start of every month, each house will be given a different mission to complete by the end of the moon. Our mission for this month is to take care of some bandits that are hiding out nearby," Lucas continued.
Dorothea raised her hand.
"By 'take care', you mean...kill?" She wondered.
Lucas nodded. "Yes. The knights will be supporting us if necessary, so don't feel too afraid. But we will have to kill the bandits. Do your best to steel yourselves as much as you can before then. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here. If you don't want to speak to me, you can talk to each other. Or you can chat with any other professor. You all have options."
Hubert raised a hand.
"Professor, have you ever killed before?"
"Well, I've killed bugs and insects, does that count? No wait, the bandit! From outside Remire!" Lucas paused to think. Sweat began to roll down his face. "I-I suppose I have."
"How have you managed to deal with it? The pressure of ending another person's life, I mean," Hubert pressed with a vaguely smug smile.
"I...I don't know. I suppose I just haven't thought about it much. The first time I took a life was during such a hectic moment. I also wasn't in a regular headspace then, so I don't really remember much. Sorry, everyone. I wish I had more to say on this, but everyone deals with it differently. Again, if you have any problems, don't hesitate to reach out," Lucas answered, rambling slightly as his nerves increased in intensity.
Hubert chose not to torment Lucas any further. Nobody else had any questions on the matter, so Lucas breathed a small, calming sigh.
"Okay, that's everything for now. Let's get to the actual lesson. Today, we'll be covering the different types of weapons…"
The lesson continued. While at various points, Lucas stumbled over some of his words and explanations, it seemed as if everyone was following along nicely. Questions were raised here and there about the topic. For some, Lucas had to consult his notes to inspire his answers. Not all of his answers were satisfying for his students. Some needed further explanation. Ultimately, it felt to Lucas as he was messing up constantly, yet nobody was making that apparent to him. He frequently wondered if he was truly doing a good job or not. For his first time teaching, it didn't feel like it was going so well. Byleth claimed he was doing fine but that did not align with Lucas' own opinion on the matter.
After approximately an hour passed, the familiar bell from the game rang, indicating the end of the lesson. Lucas dismissed his students and departed soon after them. He headed back to his bedroom with all his notes and his book, putting the sheets of paper in a drawer while making sure to place the book on the desk to decrease the likelihood of forgetting to return it to the library.
Thinking of the library reminded him of the 'person' that guarded it. Tomas, or rather, Solon of the Agarthans. Lucas hated having to retain his friendly facade around that rat. His violent thoughts regarding the Agarthan were interjected by Sothis.
"Do you plan to kill him?" she wondered.
"Yes. At some point, yes. I want nothing more than to kill him before he can bring any harm to Flayn. Doing that would only get me into trouble with the monastery, though. I can't just kill him outright," Lucas confirmed. "The only way I'd be able to do it scot-free would be if I told Rhea and Seteth about him beforehand. That in turn would create more questions. Surely they'd ask how I'd even know such a thing. Ergo, they'd be suspicious of me."
"Why not clear the misunderstanding before it can occur?" Sothis suggested.
Lucas raised a mental eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh myself, you ask that every time I suggest something. I mean that you can always inform Rhea and Seteth about your future sight. If you're able to prove it with hard evidence before coming to them with information about the Agarthan, they would be more likely to believe you," Sothis explained with a sigh.
"Hmm. I could do that, couldn't I?" Lucas began to plan. "While I'm at it, do you think I should tell Edelgard and Dimitri about my foreknowledge as well? Getting them to believe my 'power' should make things easier down the road, considering how vital those two are to the future of the continent."
"Do you plan on convincing the girl to not start her war?" Sothis queried.
"I mean, I could try. If I do what you suggested in regards to Rhea and Seteth with Edelgard instead, she might be more inclined to believe me. Especially if she knows my future sight is legit," Lucas theorised.
"Hmph. Even if you succeed in that, which is very unlikely I may add, the tides of Fate will only push back harder. It may even become vicious, since in all known Fodlan timelines, the girl is always the one to start the war. This is also why I believe it to be impossible. But of course, you won't care about that," Sothis frowned at Lucas.
"Hey now. Sometimes you've gotta kick fate to the curb and do the impossible," he retorted.
"Where does that confidence of yours come from? Usually you're rather doubtful of yourself. How is it you're able to be as confident as you are now when in other situations, your nerves affect your actions?" Sothis wondered.
Lucas paused. Something about Sothis' words struck a chord with him, preventing him from saying anything for a short while. He was soon able to pluck up enough courage to speak.
"I-I don't know. I've always been like this. Ever since I was little, I would cry at the slightest bit of negativity. Growing up, my nerves only got worse as my brain developed. I'm fine whenever I don't think about stuff that stresses me. Stuff like this conversation," Lucas cleared up for the goddess.
"So you are fragile. Just as I suspected," Sothis noted.
"No, Sothis. This is a man's mental health we are referring to. You should treat it in a more gentle manner," Byleth spoke up.
"Fine. I apologise, Lucas. I will not bring it up again unless it becomes relevant to whatever matter is at hand. Speaking of matters, let us return to our initial conversation. I'm sure you'd rather think of something else," Sothis apologised.
"Thanks, Sothis. And yeah, back to the future proofing stuff," Lucas smiled. "So, convincing Edelgard to not go ahead with the war sounds simple on paper, but it's likely going to be an incredibly complex, long-winded thing that will most certainly require a lot of thinking on her end. I just need to provide her with evidence. Now how will I do that?"
"You have foreknowledge," Byleth reminded. "Simply tell Edelgard about something that will happen. Then, when it does happen, she will understand that you can see the future somehow."
"I dunno. I think it might be a bit of a stretch for her to jump to foresight right away. She might think I'd be working with whoever caused the incident to happen," Lucas guessed.
"Simply keep supplying her with evidence. If you also reveal certain pieces of information about multiple groups, she may not choose to believe you are working with many people or anything of the sort," Byleth explained further. "If she keeps doubting you, then keep proving to her that you are legitimate and well-intentioned. She should come around."
"What about the prince?" Sothis brought up.
"Dimitri…" Lucas thought. "He shouldn't be too hard to convince. If I tell him about the Agarthans and how they were the ones who caused the Tragedy of Duscur, his focus can be put on them rather than the Flame Emperor. And if I'm able to successfully convince Edelgard to stop her war, break her ties with the Agarthans and therefore stop being the Flame Emperor, any animosity between Edelgard and Dimitri should be cleared."
"What about his mental health?" Byleth mentioned.
"I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna get around that. As I've said, I've got my own problems that I don't even know exactly how to deal with. Yes, I've seen a therapist, but I'm still struggling. How am I gonna help someone else that's struggling in a similar yet different way?" Lucas wondered.
"You don't have to do everything. It's possible to rely on others for areas you're not confident in," Sothis stated.
Lucas nodded. "Huh, you're right. So I guess I don't have to fix him up myself. I can let someone like Dedue, Ingrid or even Felix's dad take care of his mental health. All I'll need to do is to give him a nudge in the right direction. That solves that."
"What about Claude?" Byleth added.
"Eh, he'll be fine. There's no big problem to solve for him. He's already got everything he needs figured out for the most part. I'll just help him to end racism, I guess," Lucas replied. "Wait, I just thought of something. What am I gonna do with the Nabateans and the church? There's no way Edelgard will wanna play nice with them."
"I do not know. In almost all of the futures I have experienced, the church remains active after the war. Edelgard wished for it to be dismantled in the future where I chose to side with her. Achieving coexistence between the two may very well be impossible," Byleth remembered.
"Hmm...that's probably a bridge we can cross later on. I don't think we have to figure that out now since we're not even in the war timeframe yet," Lucas temporarily discarded the idea. "I think we're done figuring out our big, grand plans. Now when should we start to put them into action?"
"Now, I'd say. The earlier you start, the more opportunities you have to provide evidence of your foreknowledge. Perhaps begin with Edelgard, since she is the leader of the house you are teaching," Byleth offered his opinion.
"Now?! Jeez, I guess your reasoning makes sense…" Lucas' nerves rose a little. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully I don't catch her while she's busy."
Sothis remained on her throne, sitting with a minor smug expression on her face. She knew that her knowledge of timelines and her station as goddess provided her with clarity on the world's deeper functions.
Yet she observed. She allowed Lucas and Byleth to theorise and plan whatever they wanted. She was curious to see how it'd work out, if at all. Now it was time for it all to begin. Sothis sat back and observed.
Finding Edelgard wasn't too challenging of a task. There were only so many places in the monastery students were permitted to enter and even less places Edelgard was likely to visit. Cathedral, the greenhouse and the stables were all ruled out right away. Upon leaving the bedroom, a quick scan to the right revealed she was nowhere near any accommodations. Quickly checking the training ground allowed Lucas to discover that she wasn't there either. Next was the small field in front of the classrooms - nada. However, Lucas soon learned that Edelgard was in the Black Eagles classroom alongside her loyal retainer Hubert.
He gulped.
"There's no way Hubert isn't gonna want in on this conversation. He's gonna kill me, isn't he?" Lucas fretted about the dark student.
"If he tries to, then you can use a Divine Pulse to get away. I'm sure Sothis won't mind since it would be used to save your life in that situation," Byleth reminded. The goddess nodded to confirm this. "You see? There is nothing to worry about. Don't forget to remain calm."
"Right. Remain calm…" Lucas repeated internally.
He entered the room, closed the door behind him and approached the two Adrestians, who were both right by the podium and chalkboard. Before speaking, he made sure to breathe in order to calm his nerves.
"Edelgard, may I speak with you?" Lucas requested.
"Professor? What do you need?" Edelgard wondered, curious.
"I need to speak with you in private. It's concerning some...special matters I'm sure you'd like to keep under wraps," Lucas replied.
"Special matters? What are you referring to?" She kept questioning.
It took Lucas a moment to figure out what the best thing to say next would be. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Does the name 'Flame Emperor' mean anything to you?"
Edelgard and Hubert's eyes widened, only for a moment. They kept their composure after an initial wave of shock passed through them.
"No, that means nothing to me," Edelgard lied. "It sounds like the name of a villain from an adventure novel. Why are you bringing this up to me, Professor?"
Lucas sighed, his sweat levels rising. "Because I, uh, know about what you plan on doing, Edelgard. How you wish to u-unify Fodlan so you can rid the continent of the church and Crests."
"You-!" Hubert exclaimed.
"B-but that's not all I know! I know a lot about things I sh-shouldn't. I k-know what Rhea really wants, I know about what truly happened long ago with N-Nemesis, the King of, uh, Liberation and I know all about C-Claude's secrets. Also, I'm aware of things that have yet to, erm, happen. Future events that haven't transpired as of now," Lucas claimed, his nerves skyrocketing.
"I find it hard to believe you," Edelgard doubted. "Do you have any proof of your words? Any evidence that you do know of future events?"
"N-nothing concrete. Not yet, sorry," Lucas apologised, stammering. "W-what I can tell you though is that next moon, expect Lord Lonato to start acting out against the church. Our mission that month will be to help q-quell his rebellion. Wait until the Garland Moon and th-then you'll, uh, you'll see."
"Lady Edelgard, I-" The Vestra was trying to warn his liege before being interrupted by her.
"Calm yourself, Hubert. Professor, do you intend on getting in my way?" Edelgard questioned.
"N-no. I intend on helping you. I just...for now, I want you two to wait until my future sight has been proven. If that's okay," Lucas answered. "Only then can I really start helping you out, b-because if I told you something more important now, um, you probably wouldn't believe me."
"I see. Your logic is sound. If Lonato does indeed begin his rebellion next month, then we can discuss this further. If that doesn't happen, I suppose there won't be any reason to believe you. I will say one thing, though. I am interested in this information of yours. Let's hope your prediction comes to fruition," Edelgard acknowledged. "Is that everything?"
"Yes," Lucas nodded, calming down. "I'll see you later."
Wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, Lucas saw this as a good opportunity to do so. He fled from the piercing gazes of the Adrestian nobles, leaving the classroom and leaning against a wall while breathing heavily. This in turn served to calm him down some more.
"Alright, one down, two to go. Hopefully speaking with Dimitri won't be as terrifying as metaphorically being able to taste Hubert's murderous intent," Lucas commented, scanning the environment for any sign of the blue guy.
Dimitri wasn't much of a harder find. As Lucas was coming round the corner to return to the general location of the monastery's lodgings, he found both Dimitri and Dedue walking towards him. Lucas approached.
"Hi, Dimitri, Dedue. Can I speak with you two in private?" Lucas asked.
"Certainly. We can talk over there," Dimitri accepted, motioning over to the benches that were present next to the edge of the monastery grounds. "If anyone passes by, we can easily whisper. And it won't look as suspicious as if we were to enter some obscure room together."
"Works for me."
Like so, the three of them sat down at one of the benches. Lucas felt as if it was a good thing that nobody else was present in the immediate area, though he suspected it to be because of a Duscurian's presence. Ignoring those thoughts for now, Lucas began to speak.
"I'm not sure how to start with this, so I'll just go out and say it. I have knowledge of things I otherwise shouldn't know about. Things such as what's going to happen next month, what happened long ago in the past - those kinds of things," he whispered.
Dimitri and Dedue seemed interested yet confused. The former spoke up. "What does that mean, exactly? Why tell us this?"
"Because I want to use my knowledge to help you two out. I understand you've been involved in some...terrible circumstances, so I want to provide assistance where I can," Lucas explained.
"How can we believe you?" Dedue questioned, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Next month, Lonato from Faerghus will begin his rebellion against the Church of Seiros. My class will be tasked with calming it down," Lucas answered. "There's your evidence. Once you two find out it's happening, you'll know my future sight 'power' is legitimate."
"What? Lord Lonato, Ashe's caretaker? That's quite the claim, Professor. You are certain this will occur?" Dimitri inquired.
"Positive. I don't know if you can, but please don't do anything about it. It will all be taken care of in the end by my class and some of the church's knights. Just let it run its course, then you'll know I'm telling the truth," Lucas responded with a nod.
"Are there any limitations to your knowledge?" Dedue brought up.
"Yes. I don't know everything. But I do know quite a bit, particularly about things that you two especially will find useful," admitted Lucas.
"Do you know the truth behind the Tragedy of Duscur?" Dedue continued asking, surprising his liege with such a question.
"Yes," Lucas confirmed. "I know who caused it."
Dimitri leaned forward, a determined expression now on his face. "Tell me. I must know."
"You must relax, my prince. We do not know for certain if the professor is telling the truth. Let us wait until his claim regarding Lord Lonato comes to pass. Then we may find out what he knows," Dedue coached, holding the blonde boy back. "I want to know as much as you do. But we cannot act on blind faith."
Dimitri relented. "My apologies, Professor. That incident...I'd rather not speak of it. At least, not until after your claim comes true. If it does at all."
"Understood," Lucas nodded. He then realised something. "I'm aware that several of your classmates have personal ties to the incident. Please do not tell them. If word gets out that I can see the future, then I may attract unwanted attention. I hope you know what I mean."
"It will be difficult to keep it to myself, but I shall endeavor to at least try. Thank you, Professor. I hope our next conversation about this is more enlightening," Dimitri thanked, the three of them standing up from the bench.
"You're welcome. I'll be sure to talk to you later, you two," Lucas finished, nodding for a final time before leaving.
He wandered towards the main building and looked up, knowing what was about to come next. While he appreciated the relative peace of his talk with Dimitri and feared the discussion with Edelgard, he wasn't sure what to think about the upcoming one with Rhea.
"Does Rhea still think I'm Byleth?" Lucas thought as he entered the main building.
Luckily, or rather conveniently, Lady Rhea herself was standing around in her chamber as usual. Seteth wasn't here, much to Lucas' relief. He wouldn't have been able to handle his silent scrutiny not long after being tortured by Hubert's. Breathing to steel his nerves once more, Lucas entered the chamber.
"Ah, Lucas. It is a pleasure to speak with you again," Rhea greeted him. "What may I do for you?"
"I need to tell you something. In absolute secrecy. This is the kind of thing that should never leave this chamber," Lucas told her.
Rhea's mouth opened in surprise for a brief moment. "I understand. Allow me to lock the door so that we may not be intruded upon."
She proceeded to do exactly as she said, handling the seemingly complicated door lock system like the back of her hand. Which made sense to Lucas, considering how long she would've been residing at the monastery by now. Rhea was soon done with the door.
"Follow me to this chamber's side room. It is more secluded than here," she instructed.
Lucas complied, following the archbishop to the specified room. Due to the measures Rhea was putting in place to ensure secrecy, the professor's nerves twitched and were at the ready. He did his best to put them down as the conversation began.
"Now you may speak. Tell me, Lucas, what is it you would like to inform me about?"
"It's regarding myself, Lady Rhea. You see, I possess a special 'ability' of sorts. I know things about the world that I shouldn't. Things that have been kept secret from the populace for centuries. Not only that - I can see the future."
"Truly? You are not lying?"
Lucas nodded. "I am dead serious, Lady Rhea. I would like to use this power to help you and Fodlan. But I can imagine you won't let me do anything of the sort until you believe my power is real."
"You would be correct. If what you are saying is true, then your power may truly be able to assist all of Fodlan. That is, if your power exists in the first place. Do you have any evidence to support your claims?"
"Well, I don't have anything I can show you, but I can give you a hint of sorts. Next month, during the Garland Moon, Lord Lonato of the Kingdom of Faerghus will be inciting a rebellion towards your church."
"What?! The impudence-!" The archbishop almost stormed off upon hearing Lucas' prediction.
"Wait, Lady Rhea! Don't do anything about it now. Simply wait and let it happen," Lucas tried to calm Rhea down, pausing once her expression became stern and sharp upon hearing his request. "Let me explain. When it does come to pass, you can simply send in your knights to clear it up. You can even send one of the houses as their mission for the month. I recommend mine, of course. Either way, it'll all get cleared up no matter if you do anything now or not. Let it run its course, Lady Rhea. I can assure you there will be no problem with doing so."
"I can prevent the rebellion before it begins. Why should I not do that?"
"For starters, you don't even know if it will happen or not. You have no way of knowing aside from my claims. I think it would be best for you to not act so you can then confirm whether my power is a lie or not. How about that?"
Rhea paused, considering the new professor's words. "So be it. I will believe in you for now. If what you are saying is false, then I will have no choice but to punish you for your heathenish crime of lying to me. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Lady Rhea," Lucas nodded as he gave a small bow of respect. "I understand perfectly."
"Then you may go."
Lady Rhea went over and unlocked the chamber's door so Lucas could depart. He was more than happy to do so, what with how intense the discussion was getting. Now that his three planned discussions were over, he wasn't sure what else to do today. Eventually, he decided upon training. He could never go wrong with that.
Especially considering how necessary it would be for him in the future to come.
Author's Notes: Another fun fact! This chapter was originally split up into two, with the Rhea talk being in this one while the Edelgard and Dimitri discussions would be in the next chapter. I decided to merge them because it just made sense to have all three in one, y'know?
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EDIT: (25/11/2021): A fair few smaller adjustments were made here, mostly just SPAG stuff.