Testament of Dawn

by Naryfiel Lilith

It should have been a simple year, a year like any other, but a chance encounter leads Byleth and her twin, Azrael, on a path neither ever expected to be on. A path that led to bonds stronger than fate itself. A path that would lead to a war of ideals. Fodlan's night of chaos and war ends with the dawning light, but will fate or bonds decide who bears witness? (3H Novelization)

10. Chapter 9) Simple

Chapter 9) Simple

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It's almost eerie how quiet things become once the mess with Aelfric is shoved under the rug. I keep expecting something, anything, to bubble over, but there's nothing. Classes resume like nothing ever happened. The only indication otherwise is the extensive repairs to the nearby villages and, even then, it's done quietly. Aelfric's allies are investigated discreetly. It's like everyone is determined to pretend Aelfric's assault never occurred. That nothing deviated from the 'norm'.

It's an illusion of peace. A performance where we're all the actors… or maybe I'm just thinking too much on this. All of the deaths weigh heavily on me, and my nightmares seem to just grow worse by the night. I have to get it together… I can't let my students see...

---

Because of Azrael's general apathy to anything not associated with family or Remire, it was rare I sensed panic from him during a typical, simple day. So, it was definitely a surprise when I sensed just that from him, since there was nothing I knew of that could have sparked that. Now, granted, I had spent my morning getting advice from Hanneman about how best to move forward with my more magically-inclined students, but I still would've thought I'd heard something, especially when I left to work on my lesson plans. When the panic grew 'stronger', I tentatively 'prodded' him, wondering what was wrong. The answer was wordless, as always, but I knew what it was anyway: 'Get Dad!'

"Hey, Dad?" I called, poking my head into the captain's office. Dad was sitting at the desk, working on his typical paperwork, but he glanced up when he heard me. "I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but Azrael needs help." More of Azrael's panic flooded me, with confusion trickling through the mess. "Big help."

"Big help?" Dad repeated, standing slowly. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. I wasn't surprised he was sore; he'd been at work since breakfast. "Did someone finally stab him?"

"No, not yet." At least, I hadn't sensed pain yet. "But he's definitely confused." Speaking of confused, though… "Wait, what were you reading?" Because now that I was looking, it didn't look like any sort of paperwork I'd seen before. In fact, based on the fancy lettering and paper, I'd say they were letters from nobles.

"Proposals for you." What?

"As in mercenary jobs?"

"As in marriage." What. "Like hell I'm agreeing to any, of course. Like I told you, if you decide to marry, it'll be to someone who loves you for you." He had to be joking. He had to be. "But I can't just burn them because it'll cause more trouble than its worth. Though, maybe I should go with Catherine's suggestion." Except he looked particularly serious, and exasperated. "So, where's Azrael?" ...Right! My twin! Who thankfully was still only confused, though now a little worried about me because he'd sensed my own shock.

"This way."

As usual for me, it didn't take long at all for me to track Azrael down. He was in the entrance hall, having just returned from his morning patrols, and dealing with… some sort of stranger blustering and posturing at him. It was a little hard to actually understand the noble because of how quickly they ranted and rambled, so all I really got was that their face had turned an interesting maroon. The patterns embroidered on their clothes, as well as the colors themselves, hinted they were rich. And that was it.

"Dad...!" Azrael breathed as soon as we entered the area. He bolted for us and ducked behind Dad to hide from the stranger throwing a tantrum. Uneasy at the stranger's anger, I hid with him. "Normally, I know how a conversation goes from words to someone threatening to stab me for my insolence, but I thought I was being polite this time!"

"Since when are you polite?" Dad asked with a long suffering sigh. He casually waved at the stranger, who glared in return. "You're never polite."

"I was as polite as you taught me!"

"...Yeah, I walked into that." Dad sighed again, and gave the stranger a droll look. "So, Lord So-and-So…" Anyone who ever wondered how Azrael and I ended up the way we did just needed to spend two seconds with Dad for the answer. "What did you want with my son?"

"Duke Aegir, the Prime Minister, cordially extends an invitation to Sir Azrael for a gala at the Imperial Palace," the stranger recited, quickly calming down. I tried to think of why any of how they were acting was 'cordial'. I then wondered if this person was okay, given that sort of anger that quickly disappeared. "It is only proper for him to be introduced to the court, given that he bears the Major Crest of Seiros."

"And I'm sure the next part of the message is likely for my daughter, given the number of proposals I've gotten for her."

"He would be delighted if she could also attend, as the bearer of a lost Major Crest and, of course, as the professor of Lord Ferdinand." ...Ah. Now I got it. This was all because of the crests Azrael and I bore. "Therefore-"

"The answer is no. Azrael has his duties as a knight, and Byleth has her duties as a professor, and neither of them have the time to play along with your political shenanigans." Dad remained impassive as the stranger's face began purpling again. "I'm dealing with the nobles of all three countries scrambling to hook their claws into the unexpected new pieces dropped in the middle of their games, and I'm reminded why I've never had the patience for this sort of bullshit." Dad subtly nudged Azrael and me towards the door; we got what he wanted immediately. "The Prime Minister will have to think of another way to ensnare Azrael, assuming he's able to think past his own vainglory long enough to do it."

"How dare…!"

No clue how Dad replied to that. After all, Azrael and I seized our moment to escape, darting up the stairs and out the back door into the courtyard between the Dining Hall and Entrance Hall. There, we both sighed and sat down in one of the pavilions, the only one without benches. Just a pretty tiled 'floor' of some green stone. No idea why it was different from the rest, but whatever. It was surprisingly comfortable to lay on, when both Azrael and I flopped on our backs to sprawl out.

["I have said it before and I will say it again and no doubt will say it at least once more in the future."] Sothis appeared next to me, floating and 'sitting' in the air. ["Is there something about crests that make people lose all sense of politeness and decency?"]

"Don't know," Azrael mumbled. He blinked a few times at her before closing his eyes. "But wow, invited to a fancy-smancy gala. I sure am moving up in the world, huh? And you're getting marriage proposals, Byleth?"

"That's what Dad claims," I mumbled, finding it all just so ridiculous. Sothis made a soothing noise to try and reassure us. "I wonder why its such a big deal that yours is of Seiros…" Linhardt had mentioned that too, actually. It felt like it was more than just 'rare crest'.

"It's probably some political bullshit neither of us know or care about. Or would even think about." Quite true. It was already a headache. "Sothis, you got any ideas?"

["Of course not. I know even less about this political machinations than you two do."] Sothis almost sounded annoyed at being asked, but I sensed she also felt a little pleased. Like she liked being asked. ["Best thing for you two do at this point is to grab some sort of snack and then go about your day. I'm sure someone will explain eventually."] She had a point there, and I was pretty hungry…

Azrael and I mentally debated for a few seconds longer, mostly trying to decide if we were hungry enough to move. The answer was, as typical, 'yes', so we pushed ourselves up and heading into the Dining Hall. It wasn't a normal 'meal' hour, but I did know from experience that if we slipped into the back kitchens, we could request a meal from the staff directly. Even better, when you got food like that, you could easily sneak it away to eat somewhere else. Like the roof, which Azrael and I tentatively planned. Plans that were quickly dashed as soon as we stepped inside, because life was just like that.

"Hold a moment, dog." Always such great words to walk in on. Even better, Felix spat them at Dedue, like he didn't think there was anything particularly wrong with calling someone that. Particularly someone whose people were slaughtered like beasts.

"Are you speaking to me?" Dedue asked rhetorically, expression even and tone calm. Like he didn't care. But, if anything, that just made me feel colder with anger. Azrael's own angry spiked and roiled through the ice, and for once, it wasn't just because someone was insulting a student of mine or making me upset.

"I don't see anyone else here," Felix scoffed, rolling his eyes. So intent on sneering that he didn't notice Azrael and me standing in the doorway, listening to all of this. "You're the boar's lapdog."

"Do not mock His Highness." Dedue's eyes narrowed in a glare, but that was the only change in his demeanor. Still, I almost jumped in anyway, except… Except Dedue's eyes flicked over towards where Azrael and me were. After a second, probably from surprise, Dedue subtly shook his head, a quiet request to let him handle it. So, I forced myself to stay put, though I really should've just left. But I…

"Ha! Spoken like a good pet." Still, Felix's blatant mockery was enough to make me twitch. Only the fact that Dedue remained perfectly calm led me to keep my resolve to not interfere and to see how Dedue handled it. "Why do you follow him with such devotion?" I had to grab Azrael to stop him from blasting Felix into a wall, though. His anger echoed in my head, a storm to my ice, and he was nowhere near as inclined to try and listen to Dedue. "Do you really think a man like him is worth it?"

"Faerghus destroyed my home." Dedue still spoke evenly and calmly. Relaying simple fact. "Burned it all to the ground. Slaughtered my people."

"The punishment of Duscur."

"Yes, for the crime of regicide. My father, my mother, my sister… all were killed. We received no aid. No respite." Dedue kept talking like he didn't hear Felix. Maybe he didn't, lost in the memories. "Faerghus murdered our dignity and torched our pride." He looked right at Felix, deliberately holding his gaze. Even when Felix looked away. "His Highness is the only one who sees my people as humans. The only one to try and protect us. He risked his life to save mine, and it is thanks to him that I no longer wish for death."

"That's what we call 'blind obedience'." Felix, where in creation did you see that? If anything, I saw a crutch! "Would you give your life for him?"

"Yes."

"And what if he commanded you to join him in a senseless massacre?" Felix, what were you going on about? Also, why in creation did you think this was a good thing to ask the survivor of a genocide? This was beyond a lack of tact! Not even Azrael did something this stupid!

"I would do it." Something about how he said that… I felt like Dedue was just needling Felix at this point. Though perhaps it was my own bias coloring things.

"Even a massacre of children? The elderly? Your own comrades?"

"Without hesitation." Dedue continued speaking calmly, with an even tone and stoic expression. I let go of Azrael finally and directed him to block Felix's escape, unable to completely keep myself from interfering. He stepped into the shadows, preparing for whatever I had planned. Since I wanted to let Dedue have his way, it would probably be after Felix left, but… "You have misunderstood me. I am the sword and shield of His Highness. Weapons do not have a will of their own." Okay, now that right there was concerning. However…

"Blind obedience." Felix ground his teeth and glared. "You're right. I did misunderstand. You're no lapdog. You're a rabid cur." My temper spiked, feeling like icicles stabbing through my veins. "You and the boar prince make quite the team. A couple of crazed animals." And there went the last of my fraying temper. "Whatever. I've said my piece."

"You certainly have," I 'agreed' coldly, unable to keep silent any longer. Felix whirled to face me, startled, while Dedue blinked a couple of times, like he was surprised to hear me speak up. I simply regarded them as stoically as I could. "What an interesting conversation you two seem to be having." Felix scoffed, and made to walk away. Azrael, however, slipped into the doorway to block him, knowing what I wanted even before I finished thinking it. "Whatever you may have hoped to convey with those thorns, Felix, there are limits to how much intent can excuse one's actions." I thought of the first time the two of us had a private talk, and of when I watched him train. I shouldn't say this. I knew I shouldn't. Sothis, however, goaded me into saying it anyway and my temper froze what tact I had. "Particularly when you use swordsmanship and a facsimile of strength to run away from your own problems." That made him stiffen. "We'll talk more later. Azrael?" Azrael smiled grimly at me, and latched onto Felix's arm to drag him away. Felix tried to fight, but Azrael was stronger, and soon, they were out of sight. So, I forced myself to relax and face Dedue. "I'm sorry, Dedue. I fear I lost my temper and I..." He had even requested I not interfere, yet I forcibly involved myself anyway. How selfish...

"It is fine, Professor," Dedue reassured. He was back to his calm, but he did seem a little surprised still. I read it more in how he stood, not as firm of a stance and not perfectly balanced, than I did in his face. "You should be careful, however. If others saw you defending me, rumors will spread and your reputation will fall."

"Let it." I didn't give a damn about having a good reputation, especially now that I wasn't a mercenary. "I doubt Rhea is going to throw me out." She'd lose her 'leash' on Dad if she did.

"Perhaps." Dedue slowly relaxed, drawing himself up slightly to maintain perfect posture and balance. "But still, there is no reason to intervene next time." I didn't want there to be a 'next time'. "I have heard worse from those in Fhirdiad. Sometimes accompanied by rocks." Nausea filled me at the easy way he said that, and memories of my own experience with thrown rocks flickered through my head. "I am more irritated by the insults to His Highness."

"I think Dimitri would be more upset at the insults towards you." Of course, Dimitri seemed to take what Felix said in stride, surprisingly. Had he always been like this? "It is a little hard to imagine him ordering any sort of massacre, though."

"...Perhaps if it was those responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur..." He said the words almost absently, and I frowned a little. "Certainly not civilians. Not innocents. Not like my family or friends. The words are easy to agree to, because I know His Highness could never order such a thing." Soldiers, in theory, at least somewhat knew what they were getting into. Even if they were drafted and forced to 'agree' with the terms. Still, I wasn't sure how I liked this subject...

"Was it not the Kingdom responsible for the Tragedy of Duscar?" Yet, of course, my treacherous mouth kept on talking.

"His Highness believes there must be Kingdom nobles involved, yes, but…" All at once, Dedue trailed off to study me. "Professor, you are aware that the Tragedy of Duscur refers to the massacre of the Kingdom's royals, nobles, and knights during a diplomatic mission to Duscur, yes? Not what happened to my people?"

"...Ah, right…" I… I did forget. Even though I knew Dimitri was dubbed the 'sole survivor of the Tragedy of Duscur'... "I'm sorry." Selfish and stupid… what a wonderful professor I was.

"There is nothing to forgive." Still, to have the genocide of your people not even refered to as a tragedy, but as 'justice'... maybe Dedue thought himself a tool to try and keep from thinking about it. The weight of the thought alone made my heart heavy. "I do believe I will retire for the afternoon, however. Felix's words brought back… memories I wish to sleep away."

"Of course." I hesitated, but decided I should at least offer. "You mentioned before that you did not care for Fodlan's teas, but I do have a mix I drink to help me sleep. Would you like me to make you some?"

"Not this time." Surprisingly, though, his expression softened. Not a smile or anything, just softer. "I thank you, though." He hesitated briefly before continuing. "Though, Professor, there is a question I've been meaning to ask."

"Oh?" Was it something from the classes? Dedue was one of those who didn't normally stop for clarification or additional questions, but perhaps it was like Bernadetta where there was discomfort? I knew how I came across. "What is it?"

"How did you know 'lunar ostrella'?" Huh? Oh, right, from that one time I helped in the greenhouse, before the mock battle. "After we talked, I asked Ashe what Fodlan's name for it was, and he said it was an 'asrium'. He didn't know the name 'lunar ostrella'."

"Dad taught me." Wasn't the first time the name he knew a plant by was different from the 'common name'. It happened all the time, actually. "He said they were good for pain, particularly headaches, and there used to be a belief that it could ease the pain of wounded spirits, so they were the herb of choice when tending to trauma victims." Though, now that I was remembering, I believed doctors moved away from using it due to how difficult it was to grow in Fodlan…? I'd have to check with Dad to be sure.

"...Yes, the petals and leaves are used in a tea for that reason. The stems are very nutritious and easy on the stomach, so they are added to soups and broths for those suffering stomach troubles." Really? I hadn't known that part; I couldn't wait to tell Dad. "So my mother taught me, at least. She served as an herbalist and doctor for my home, before she died." ...Ah. That was… um… "I wonder how he learned. Ashe didn't know of its medicinal properties."

"You're more than welcome to ask him." Remembering just what Azrael and I ran from, though, I quickly added, "Later. I doubt he's in a talking mood right now."

"Does this have something to do with the shouting from the Entrance Hall I heard earlier?" Oh, hell, had that stranger been that loud? "I was going to investigate when Felix caught up with me."

"Maybe." And that was all I would say on the matter because I'd like to forget that people were attempting to drag me into political messes. "Here, I'll walk with you to the dorms." A quick 'sense' provided an easy excuse. "Azrael threw Felix into his room." And was currently guarding it.

"Very well, then."

Dedue and I walked together in silence. I didn't wish to prod him into any further conversation, especially since the more I studied him, the more worn he looked. Remembering that awful day… I really did wonder how he ended up in Dimitri's service. He mentioned that Dimitri saved his life, but how did that… ah, it wasn't my business, and it would be rude to make it mine. I would remind him, at a different time, that if he wanted someone to listen, I was willing. But his past was his own, as was his decision to share it or not. Instead, the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on him, just as I did everyone else.

I walked him to his room, just to make sure no one bothered him, and only when he shut the door did I head up to the second floor. Via taking the stairs like a proper person instead of climbing like I usually did. It gave me time to make sure my temper was under control, since no matter what I did or said, I knew I had to be calm. Of course, when I actually made it up the stairs and down the hall to where Felix's room was, I discovered Azrael wasn't the only one there. For some reason, Edelgard was too.

"I am terribly sorry you had to deal with that, Azrael," she mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard. It was rare to see her look so contrite, yet irritated. "While I had guessed the court would make a move, I hadn't expected it to be so quick." ...Did word already spread? Just how loud had that noble been?

"Huh? You thought they'd be after me?" Azrael asked, tilting his head curiously. Didn't blame him, since… well… this was unfamiliar territory for both of us. Mercenaries stayed out of political nonsense. "I know nobles put far too much importance on crests and all, but don't they enough lives to ruin?"

"...Azrael." Edelgard frowned up at him. Azrael just became more confused. "You… you truly have no idea the significance of having a crest of Seiros?"

"Uh… no?" Both of us were just confused now. "Since you seem to be implying that it's different than the normal problems with crests."

"Well, for one thing, you hold a Major Crest. According to the current theory, this means you've inherited a larger portion of the Crest's power." Which, of course, was all the nobility cared about. "But you do not simply have a Major Crest. You have the Major Crest of Saint Seiros. A crest that, historically, only appears in the Hresvelg family." Didn't Seteth say that Rhea had it too? Flayn said the same thing, if I remembered correctly. "So, following that logic…"

"Pretty sure Dad is from the Kingdom and Mom was born and raised around here in the monastery. At the least, she was an orphan raised here." Azrael shook his head, amused by the situation now. I wasn't, though. Not when Edelgard looked so serious. "So, I think you're a little-"

"Truth doesn't matter in politics. Only what you can make people believe." Edelgard sounded almost bitter about that. "It should matter, of course, but it doesn't. Not yet."

"...Edelgard, are you seriously suggesting I'm a threat to your throne?"

"Yes." That… huh? What? "At the least, it's enough of a threat that the court will want to get you under their control. A puppet they can put in power and manipulate."

"Fairly certain I'd just stab them and then go about my merry way." Azrael defaulted to dryness to keep from reeling at how utterly bizarre this conversation just went. "Actually, would you like me to stab them anyway? No charge."

"Ha… tempting. But not for now, at least." Slowly, Edelgard relaxed enough to smile. It was a bitter smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You truly had no idea, huh? They're probably already calling you 'Azrael von Hresvelg' in the courts, just to put the thought in people's heads."

"Good. Then I can point out that isn't my name." Azrael lifted his head almost in challenge, the light in his eyes hard with quiet anger. "My name is Azrael Kimaris Eisner. Mom gifted that name to me, along with my life. It's all she was able to give me, which makes them all the more precious. Nothing and no one will take that name from me." He then grinned, relaxing. "Just as nothing and no one will force me anywhere near a throne. I can't speak for those idiots, but I can mostly guarantee I am no threat to you, Edelgard."

"Mostly?" Edelgard actually started laughing, though she was quick to muffle it. "That's not what most say in such a situation, you know."

"If you strike first, I'll retaliate and if you hurt my family or those in Remire, I'll show you the difference between being my enemy and me regarding you as such." Azrael shrugged and leaned a little more on Felix's door. "Simple, really."

"I suppose." She became thoughtful again, but her continued smile hinted to her lingering amusement. "It's odd, though. You and Byleth having middle names. Normally, that's for Kingdom and some Alliance nobility."

"Well, as I said, Mom was the one who named us. And our parents had them too." Fiona Sitri Eisner and Jeralt Reus Eisner. Dad's had always been 'normal' to us, and for some reason, learning that Mom had a middle name hadn't felt unusual. Then again, given the circumstances… "If you've problems with it, you'll have to take it to them. Somehow, in Mom's case." He stretched his arms above his head and then glanced back at the door. "Wonder if the hissy kitty boy in here eavesdropped on all that or if he was too busy brooding and being a cynical asshole to care."

"Oh, right, this is Felix's room." Edelgard looked at the closed door curiously. "Er… why are you blocking it?"

"Started as me waiting for Byleth, but then I thought it amusing to see people's reactions when I told them that Felix pissed my sister off." Azrael! "Hmm? Ah, Byleth!" Azrael looked over Edelgard's head and smiled at me. He probably hadn't noticed my arrival due to being distracted by the conversation with Edelgard. "What's the plan for loner cub here?"

"How many names are you going to cycle through?" I asked rhetorically, knowing that the answer would be 'whatever he thought first'. I'd let him know later that I'd overheard that whole conversation. "For now, let's head back to the Dining Hall." I wasn't sure I could have a proper talk with Felix now anyway. "We never did eat. Would you like to join us, Edelgard?"

I missed my life being simple.

---

"Byleth, shift your seat farther back. You'll have less control of the horse's speed sitting like that." I did as Dad instructed, and then practiced swinging my axe. Not at any real target, since we were away from the monastery proper, but it was still good for practicing my balance and the like. "Better. Make sure your heels stay down in the stirrups, and keep your grip on the weapon firm." Right, because the added force of the mount's speed could lead to the weapon jarring out of your hand. "There you go. That's the… ha, nice try, Azrael!" Nearby, I sensed Azrael trying to land a shot on Dad with his practice bow, but Dad, of course, dodged. "You're aiming too low, Azrael. Remember, archery is as mathematical as reason magic. You have to take gravity into account if you want your arrows to arc properly."

With Dad leaving in the next couple of days to escort Yuri's mom home, he'd decided to call in on that favor Rhea owed and arrange a full day off for the three of us. I was surprised she'd agreed, truthfully, but I certainly wasn't going to question it. Not when it meant that we had Dad to ourselves for the day. Plus, it let me get extra training in, which I sorely needed. My students were talented enough that my messy lesson plans were actually working well, and I needed to be better so that I could actually teach them. Theoretical knowledge might be enough, but I needed to be better for them.

Besides, the lake where we were resting was gorgeous. I'd have to take my students up here at some point. Not for lessons, like the swimming hole the knights used. Just for a nice picnic or whatever. Like what Dad, Azrael, and I had once we were done with our lessons for the morning. Or planned to have. We had just gotten everything set up when we had some… surprise guests.

"...Oh." There was a strong blast of wind that kicked up some sand, and it took a moment to realize it was because of the wyvern who landed at the edge of the water. A wyvern with Seteth and Flayn on it. "I must apologize," Seteth mumbled, not quite looking at us. Flayn, meanwhile, slid off of the saddle and skipped over to the blanket to give me a hug and to sit between Azrael and me. "I didn't think you would be by the lake here. I thought you would've gone to Remire, actually."

"I thought about it, but the twins wanted to get some lessons in and we'd never be able to do that in Remire," Dad explained, smiling slightly. He waved Seteth to come over and join us on the blanket. Wasn't sure if we had enough food for the extra two additions, but it would be way more awkward just having them stand around. "Wouldn't have thought you were a wyvern rider, though."

"When I was younger, I wasn't, but..." Seteth hesitated a fraction of a second before actually dismounting. His wyvern laid down in the sand, briefly curling around him in what looked like a hug, before settling down for a nap. "After… many things happened, and I realized I might have to fight again, I decided to emulate one of the strongest people I've ever known."

"It also helps both of us remember Mira," Flayn added with a giggle. Despite that cheer, though, I saw deep sadness in her eyes. "So, it's nice for that reason as well." And this 'Mira' must've died. Wasn't that a friend of Rhea's as well? "We are sorry for intruding, though. Rhea chased Seteth out of the monastery for a break, and we always come here for that."

"Relax, we don't mind, miss adorable," Azrael reassured, bumping his shoulder against hers. Flayn laughed, blushing a little at the nickname. I noticed Seteth frown suspiciously, and remembered that awkward conversation from before he gave me tips on leading. "Have some of this tart. One of Byleth's students made it."

"Truly?"

"Mercedes is very talented at baking," I explained, smiling as I remembered. I'd informed my students that I was taking the day off, intending to apologize, and nearly got barraged by my students' insisting on making (or buying) us stuff. It had been bizarre, frankly, and I worried I'd return to some sort of prank. But for now, I might as well be proud and thankful. "Dedue made this fish-dango, but be careful, it's-" Too late, because Flayn immediately grabbed three and popped them into her mouth. And promptly turned very, very red in the face. "Super spicy." Uh oh...

Azrael fell over laughing while Flayn whimpered and yelped because her mouth was on fire. I desperately tried to help however I could, first with some tea and then with some jelly dish that Bernadetta made. Surprisingly, given how he usually was, Seteth didn't get involved. Instead, he hung back, watching us with a strange look on his face. It felt like he was trying to dissect us, except… not. He didn't wish harm; I had been around enough strangers to know what that felt like. But he didn't know what to make of us either. Which wasn't unusual, since I was a monster and Azrael was abnormal, but most didn't stare so long. Most didn't try to figure it out.

"You keep boring holes in my twins, and I might have to duel you, Seteth," Dad joked, sliding back to sit next to him. Seteth blinked a couple of times before turning to face him. "Sit down, already. Flayn has clearly made herself comfortable."

"I do hate intruding," Seteth mumbled, though he did finally listen to Dad and sit down. And promptly got a plateful of food shoved at him, courtesy of Dad. I knew because I kept one eye on them while trying to help Flayn. "I know how precious time with family is."

"I get to watch them spend time with a good friend. There's been little of that, over the years." Not until we visited Remire that first time. "It's not often I get to see them be silly either." Azrael was certainly laughing himself silly, but what was so silly about trying to stop Flayn's mouth from being on fire? "So, really, there's no intrusion. Unless you mean us messing up your own plans with Flayn."

"I was simply going to fish, truthfully. Something to clear my mind. Flayn insisted on coming along." Probably to make sure Seteth did actually relax. I hadn't known he even took breaks. "Maybe work a little on a story I've been writing, but no, there were no real plans."

"It's the same here. Just a nice, peaceful day. You have to grab what you can."

"It's sad how true that is." Seteth picked at the food, watching the three of us. Flayn's mouth was finally starting to cool down. "How are you doing?"

"Huh?"

"With everything that happened. With Aelfric and your wife. With the mess your twins were dragged into because we were blind to Aelfric's madness." Seteth looked at Dad, strangely sincere. I thought… I thought he blamed himself for the whole thing. "How are you doing?"

"...Well, it certainly hurts. Definitely brought back some painful memories. The guilt is there too, since I could've brought him with me. But, well..." Dad sighed, shrugged, and smiled sadly. "He made his choices, and I made mine. So, we have to keep living. The past doesn't come back. We just have to cherish the memories and take strength from them."

"...Some days are easier than others." Seteth looked back to the three of us, and I was glad Flayn was actually laughing now at the whole thing. Azrael's lungs were about to collapse because of how much he was still laughing, though. My chest hurt from it. "Still, you are right. We must move forward. If only for the sake of those who depend on us."

"Huh. You and I have more in common than I thought." Dad became thoughtful. "Maybe we ought to share a drink some time." Oh, for crying out…

"Father," I scolded, twisting to frown slightly at him. Dad immediately groaned; Seteth looked confused. Flayn started giggling. "Honestly, we can't take our eyes off you for one second."

"There's nothing wrong with one drink," Dad complained. I simply frowned a little more. "Fine, fine! Nice cup of tea, then!"

"That should be fine, Dad. Would you like to borrow Mom's tea set?"

"...Did Alois seriously keep that?" Dad chuckled and shook his head. "I'm almost worried by how much he saved." Yes, well, nothing I could say to that. That was honestly between him and Alois.

"Seteth likes Four-Spice blend, Ginger, and Angelica teas the best," Flayn helpfully added, leaning forward excitedly. So excitedly that she almost fell face first into one of the pies. "Whoops!"

"Careful, now. It's much tastier when you eat it." I reached around her to poke Azrael, who had laughed himself to tears and wheezes. "Please breathe. Breathing is good."

"Yes, because breathing lets you enjoy all these delectable smells!" Flayn giggled and happily dug into the pie she almost fell into. "Oh, so good…"

"So, it tastes okay?" I smiled a little in relief when she nodded enthusiastically. "Good. I made that one."

"Truly?!"

"Yes, it's one of Annabelle's recipes. It's nowhere near as good, but I'm glad its tasty enough." A sudden thought occurred to me, a conversation she and I had a month ago. Maybe… "Hey, Seteth?" I turned towards them, noting that Seteth was finally eating the food. I suppose worry had tied up his stomach. "Rhea gave me permission to take my class to Remire again. Azrael is coming along." Azrael slowly pushed himself up and nodded to confirm. While wiping away the tears his laughing fit induced. "Can Flayn come too?"

"Well…" Seteth began slowly, drawing the word out. I could tell he wanted to refuse. It was his first instinct. But Flayn turned to look at him with sparkling, pleading eyes and it didn't take him long at all to relent. "It's not that far, so I don't see the problem. You'll be coming back the same night?"

"Barring anything unexpected, yes," I confirmed. Two seconds before Flayn squealed and tackled me with a hug. "Flayn, easy, please! I like breathing too!"

"We can show her how Remire harvests oranges," Azrael wheezed, still recovering. But that was a good reminder. Remire's orange groves were always harvested during the Garland Moon. We'd probably be there in time for the last of it. "It'll be fun." Yes, but I still wanted to breathe!

It took a long moment to convince Flayn to actually let go of me, so that I could eat. I made sure Flayn stayed far away from all the spicy foods, and Dad made sure that Seteth and Flayn actually got to eat something since Azrael and I were too busy stuffing our own stomachs. Manners only went so far when you were hungry, and both of us were starving. Still, even our stomachs were eventually satisfied, and Azrael immediately went right back to training, this time to practice some on-foot lance work. I had originally planned on doing the same thing, but another idea wormed and wriggled its way into my head, because of Seteth's wyvern. It had been a bit since Dad had taught me how to fight while flying. Flying mounts weren't something a lot of mercenaries had. In truth, I only really was able to learn because we had a long job with some of the few mercenaries who did. Almyran born, but left for Fodlan for whatever reason. They never said and, of course, we had never asked. They'd been happy to let me learn, though. 'Everyone should know the freedom of the skies at least once!', one of them had said. I wondered what happened to them…

"Is something wrong?" Seteth's voice was surprisingly gentle, even if he was scrutinizing me again when I looked. "You're staring at my wyvern," he explained. Of course, I had already known that. Staring while thinking wasn't that uncommon of a thing. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just thinking of how long it's been since I've flown," I answered. Of course, given that I knew Ingrid wanted to be a flier and there were a couple of others I was considering pushing into that sort of role for the cohort, I… "Do you mind if I see how rusty I am?"

"You want to fly?" Seteth blinked a couple of times, before he… well, he actually smiled. "Very well. In thanks for the meal, let me assist."

"Thank you." I pushed myself up from the blanket, and noticed Flayn had picked up a training lance too, with Dad showing her a few basic stances. Well, at least she wouldn't be bored. "Here's hoping I don't fall."

Muscle memory and that knack for war I had meant I wasn't as rusty as I feared. Still, there was quite a bit Seteth had to remind me about, and I couldn't practice weaponry with confidence. I was glad I'd decided to check, because now I knew I had to work in extra lessons. I refused to give my students anything less than my best, after all..

---

"Auntie Manu! Auntie Manu!"

"Well, hello, dears!" Manuela laughed, kneeling down to hug as many of the children swarming her as possible. It didn't matter to her that many were sick or dirty or anything. She hugged them tightly and smiled at them. "I'm glad to see you've got some energy to you! But let's settle down so that I can give you all a check-up, okay?"

It was impossible to not smile a little at seeing how warmly and gently Manuela tended and treated each of the children, and the Abyssians were certainly no exception. Between the kindness and the songs she'd sing, even the air itself seemed to smile when Manuela came down. It had been way ever since she started these daily trips a few days ago, after I'd informed her of the sick children and the lack of medicinal supplies the Abyssians suffered. Or, rather, after I told her there were 'sick children' and she dragged me out of her infirmary demanding to know where they were so that she could help them. It was a travesty that Manuela had been here six years and absolutely no one thought to ask her about this. Actually, I found it highly suspicious that the church had access to a great number of healers and never sent them down to tend to the people here. Now, granted, for all I knew, Aelfric had purposely hindered efforts to make himself look better to the Abyssians (and give him more 'protection' for his plan), but that didn't explain why Rhea never overruled him as the Archbishop or came down herself…

"Oh, Byleth, come over here and help me, will you?" But that sort of speculation was for another time. Manuela was here now, ready and eager to not only help everyone she could, but to teach me what she knew. I swore my knowledge on medicines and illnesses had tripled the past couple of days alone. "See this swelling on their arm? I need to study it, but it might be painful," she explained, already calling on her magic to do her examination. Still, I nodded and sat down to pull the child into my lap to give them a hug and keep them from squirming. After a second, I recognized the child as the one who had asked me to try and bring Aelfric back and felt guilty. I didn't know what they had told the Abyssians about Aelfric, but since the child didn't shy away from me… well, at the least, I hoped the child didn't hate me for it. It would be their right, since it was my fault, but… "Yes, I was right. You've an abscess, dear." Manuela sat back on her heels, but was careful to keep eye contact with the child. "It's easy to treat, but I have to cut and drain it to do so."

"You can't just heal it with magic?" the child asked curiously. They leaned back into me, and I hugged them a little tighter. "I thought magic fixed everything?"

"No, magic can fix a lot of things, but other times, medicine is better. It all depends on the situation." Manuela smiled and gently tapped their nose. They immediately scrunched up their face, but smiled. "In this case, draining the abscess is best. Once I've confirmed it's all clean, then I'll heal you up without even a scar."

"Will it hurt?"

"I'm going to numb the area with some medicines, so it shouldn't. You'll feel some pressure, but that's it." Manuela reached back to grab her medicinal kit and pull out what she needed. "If it does hurt, tell me immediately, okay?"

"Okay." The child flinched when they saw the scalpel. "Um… do I have to watch?"

"Nope. You can close your eyes and cuddle with Byleth there."

"Okay." Amusingly, they did just that, all but burrowing into me and closing their eyes. "I'm ready."

"All right." Though the child couldn't see, Manuela smiled at them. "I'll get started then. Byleth, do you mind using some fire to disinfect the scalpel?"

I did as she asked and watched as she carefully yet efficiently took care of the abscess and healed it up. From there, she had me help with a couple of other particularly squirmy children, before she sent me to check on those recovering from illnesses. Which, of course, tended to lead to me scolding them because most were very intent on pushing the boundaries of healers' orders.

"Melissa, what are you doing?" I chided when I came over to the nest of blankets she used as her bed. Melissa immediately tried to hide the papers and ink under some of those blankets, but it was a poor attempt at best. For one thing, there were ink stains. "You're supposed to be resting."

"But I wanted to finish the homework Mister Hanneman assigned," she mumbled, refusing to look up. Her voice was still worn from her coughing fits, and her slight wince told me her throat was still sore. But thanks to Manuela's medicine (and insistence on getting clean blankets and clothes down here for the sick), she was no longer incoherent from her fever. "I'm doing very well! Mister Hanneman said so!"

"I'm not surprised." Still, I sat beside her and gently took the ink, quill, and papers away. Basic arithmetic, from what I saw, and it looked like all her answers were correct so far. "However, you have another day or so to finish, yes?" Hanneman came down three times a week during the evening to teach the children (and any who wanted to learn, truly), something he'd decided on his own after talking with Constance. Not sure what they were talking about (except perhaps Constance's crest and how her family hid it for so long), but he'd offered and the Abyssians tentatively agreed. Personally, I was surprised he'd step away from his research long enough, but… well, clearly crests weren't the only thing on his mind. I'd watched the first couple of lessons, worried, but Hanneman had been positively jubilant and managed to 'infect' the children with that same cheer. "You're still under orders to rest. You're not quite better, yet."

"But I want to finish before Mister Seteth comes down!" That was another change. Seteth came down weekly to read to the children. Or just tell stories in general. First time I'd seen him, it had been a shock, and I wondered why he came down now. I was sure the Abyssians wondered the same, but they didn't protest. After all, the children took to him like a duck to water. Or maybe more like burrs to fur, since they were prone to clinging. "That way I can just focus on the story. He's been reading us one with many chapters, about a fiend that sucks the souls out of people and puts them into dolls." ...I knew that one, actually. It was an Adrestian folktale.

"If your fever comes back, you won't be able to hear it with the others." I eased her down and pulled the covers up to her chin. It did nothing to hide her sulk, of course. "Then you'll have to wait even longer to hear the ending."

"I guess that makes sense…" Despite the sulk and grumbling, though, she was already nodding off. "Nainai…" And was sound asleep in seconds. Subtly, I touched her cheek and sent a pulse of healing magic through her to check how she was doing. Still weakened and still dealing with lingering soreness and aches, but over all, she was definitely better. That soothed me, especially since one of the other children who'd been as sick as her had died yesterday…

Shaking my head, I tucked her in a little better and then went around to check on the other children. Just as before, they were grouped together under the same crumbling roof, but at Manuela's insistence, they had a little more distance between them and each one had their own set of blankets. I recognized quite a few as some of her own blankets, brought down when Hapi had caustically informed her of just how little they had down here, and I had to smile slightly when I noticed most if not all of the ones I checked were well on their way to recovery.

"Good, good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!" Manuela cheered when I returned to her to give my report. She was carefully measuring out medicines, making them fresh down here so that anyone who was nervous could watch. "Hopefully, they'll be able to walk about within the next few days."

"I hope so," I whispered, noticing how she almost looked out of place, sitting in the dust of Abyss with her jewelry and fine clothing. Yet her smile showed she felt perfectly comfortable. "Still, if they get hit by another illness…"

"What this place needs is a good scrubbing. If we can do that, the number of illnesses should fall." She finished mixing one set of medicines and moved to make another set. "Between that and regular check-ups, things should stay under control. Honestly, what were people thinking? It's the blessing of the Goddess that we didn't have an epidemic both above and below." I supposed that just showed how isolated the people here were. "Well, regardless, we'll do what we can, and it'll be a good way to get the more healing-inclined students hands-on training, wo long as we have proper supervision."

"Yes, that'll be good for them." I watched her make a few more sets of medicine, reminding of something. "Speaking of students, how is Linhardt doing?" It had taken me a few days, but after the battle with Aelfric, I'd convinced Linhardt to talk to Manuela about… whatever was bothering him. I forgot how I'd phrased it. Something about 'speaking to a healer', but we'd both known it was because of the aversion to offensive magic he'd developed. "He seems fine in class, but…"

"He hasn't quite opened up to me, but he's said enough that I can help him to some degree." That was good news to me. "He'll probably always hesitate with offensive spells, though. I believe it is tied to a deep dislike of blood." Now that she mentioned it, Caspar had said something similar. 'Always bad around blood'. "I think he'll be fine. We'll see how the next battle goes for him." Unfortunately, she was correct. I did have to admit that he'd done marvelously well during the battle with Aelfric, but I couldn't help but worry anyway. "But for now, I would say everything is as expected."

"If you say so." Urgh… now what was I supposed to say? "I-"

"Hello, everyone!" Mercedes's cheerful greeting was as bright as her smile as she stepped into the 'main area', providing a convenient distraction. Almost immediately, Constance flew out from wherever she'd been to give her a hug. "Aw, thank you~!" she laughed, hugging Constance back with one arm. The other held a large basket filled with something covered by cloths. The smell hinted it was sweets. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, it is, all the more because I am able to see you today," Constance replied, smiling warmly. The way she clung to Mercedes's arm reminded me a little of Azrael when he wanted to be particularly affectionate. "Though, I am most curious about what is in the basket."

"Well, I baked some sweets using one of my mother's recipes and I thought-"

"Wait, are these truly some of your mother's sweets?" Constance's eyes sparkled in sheer joy, and I thought she might've even squealed in delight when Mercedes nodded. "Oh, this is a happy day! I have not had such wonderful treats since you and your mother left House Bartels!" Bartels? I vaguely knew that noble house, mostly in that almost every single person of the house had been slaughtered in a single night. Most suspected the lone missing person, Emile von Bartels, but there were those who whispered it was something more supernatural. "Nothing at all could compare!"

"Well, the recipe is one of Mother's secrets." Mercedes smiled gently and held up the basket. "So, is there a good way to share these?"

"Here, let's head over to the tavern."

"Byleth?" A voice draw my attention away from where Constance led Mercedes away by the hand, and I turn to see Ely hesitantly standing nearby. "I'm sorry to bother, but…" she began slowly, gesturing for me to follow her. After quietly letting Manuela know, I did just that. "When I was gathering water for laundry, I heard a strange noise. I wouldn't think much of it, but apparently some of the others have heard it too. Some are spreading rumors it's a ghost, but I'm more worried it's an animal that got lost." An animal that could eat what small bits of food they had or carry diseases, ticks, and fleas into here to cause even more of a mess...

"I can look into it," I reassured her, glad that I could help. Her instant smile was absolutely relieved. "Where was it again?"

Ely gave me detailed instructions of just where to go, and I followed them as closely as possible. I wanted to maximize the chances of me hearing the sound, because I could only investigate if I knew where it was coming from. Surprisingly, though, I'd managed to hear it on the first try, though it did take me a bit to figure out how to reach the source. It involved a hidden door that was only open on the lower half of the wall, and I had a serious debate over crawling or not. But my desire to make sure everything was safe won out, so I crawled through and brushed the dust and dirt off my shirt.

"Bah!" Oh, and I discovered the source of the sound wasn't an animal, but a person. "Who are…? No…! Y-You…!" A person who scrambled back from me so quickly that they fell on their ass. "Please, mercy!" they begged, already sobbing tears of fear. I wondered what I had done to get such a reaction so quickly. "Kostas never meant to attack the church! He was tricked! We were all tricked!"

"Kostas?" I repeated, not knowing the name. I looked them over, noticing again the worn armor and chipped daggers. The ragged clothes stained beyond repair. "Who is that? Who are you?" I stepped forward, but when they flinched, I made sure to not take another. "Tell me."

"I… he…" If this person trembled any more, I might have to check them for a seizure or something. "We were… I was…" I also worried they'd bite their tongue off, especially since they stumbled over their words so much. "Bandits." ...Huh? "I was… a bandit. You and the other noble brats… Zanado…" I… what?

"You were one of the bandits we dealt with in Zanado?" Then, would Kostas have been the leader of those bandits? "How did you get here?" I honestly thought we'd killed all of them.

"I ran. Like a coward. Always a coward." They flinched, clawing at their arms. I frowned slightly when I noticed the deep scratch marks; they were close to bleeding. "But please… please, don't tell! Don't tell them I'm here! They'll kill me!" He sobbed, covering his face now. "They'll never understand! Never listen! The church never listens!"

"...Well, it's a good thing I'm not of the church." This was… what were the chances that I…? "So, I'll listen. Talk to me."

"I…" For a long moment, all they did was sob. Sob in fear and tremble from stress. But I waited patiently and, eventually, they recovered enough to actually speak. "Two years ago, the church executed my brother. For theft, they claimed. And it could be true. But there was never a trial or anything. No evidence. Just… dead. He went to the fields to work, and never came home." The words Shamir had once told me echoed through my head: 'Rhea doesn't do mercy.' "His wife died years ago, so I had to take care of his sons along with my own family. But it's too many mouths. Couldn't make ends meet. Tried, of course, but..." They shrugged, sounding just… exhausted now. "Couldn't."

"So, you turned to banditry." I wondered… would the Church have helped if they'd asked? I'd like to believe so, if only because I was here at the monastery, but could they even trust the Church enough to ask? "Fell in with this Kostas."

"Not proud of it, but yeah. What good are morals when your children and nephews are starving? Morals are for people who don't have to struggle to survive." That.. I didn't quite agree with that, but I could understand. Mercenary work had involved so much I regretted… all those people dead because I… "Eventually, some rich bastard in stupidly complex armor showed up to hire us to kill some noble brats. Not the first time, of course. Nobles love arranging little 'accidents' like that." That was true. However…

"Complex armor?"

"Figured it was someone who thought they looked menacing, but just looked stupid. Black armor with feathers on the pauldron, a helmet with a metal flag fixed on it like a flagpole, and a white mask." That sounded… unique? "Did something weird with their voice. Made it…" They struggled to describe it. "Echoed, like they were talking from the bottom of a well. Distorted it." That was also unique. "Told us where and when to attack. Never mentioned knights. Never mentioned anything. But we were killed for it. Everyone died. Except me, who ran like a coward." They looked up at me, worn and drained. The remnants of the tears stuck stubbornly to their cheeks, but otherwise, they seemed lifeless now. "So, what are you gonna do? I know I can't fight you. I don't wanna die." What was I going to do? This was a person who had threatened my students. A person who had killed and stolen from others in need. They admitted to it, admitted they'd done things like this before. By all rights, I should turn them over tot he authorities… and yet...

"...Go home." I knelt in front of him and waited for him to look at me. "Go home, to your family. I do not want to see you on a battlefield again."

"...Thank you…"

It took them a couple of tries to get their feet under them. Took them a couple more to coordinate their limbs enough to scramble away before I changed my mind. I watched them leave, standing only when they were barely in my sight anymore. Once they were gone, Sothis appeared next to me, staring down the path the bandit had run with a little frown on her face.

"Do you think I did the wrong thing, Sothis?" I asked softly. I glanced at her briefly, before returning my attention to the path. Like they would suddenly appear again or something. "Did I?"

["If you are asking if I would have chosen the same, then the answer is 'no'. I wouldn't have."] Sothis's voice was gentle yet firm. I wilted anyway. ["They have every reason to lie, nearly killed your own… no, that is not correct. They did kill your students. We simply erased the deaths."] Yes, they had, but I had also killed the people they'd been living with, fighting alongside with, and I had not erased those deaths. I had traded their lives for my students'. There was no such thing as 'good' or 'evil' on the battlefield. Just death. ["Yet now, they get to walk away from all of that, and whatever other crimes they'd done."] She was right about that. I knew it. Yet... ["But was it wrong to do so? I cannot answer that, no more than I can say that punishing them would be correct."] Her tone softened, and though she sighed, she also smiled fondly at me. ["They may have had every reason to lie, but there is nothing to say they were not telling the truth either.]

"So…."

["You made a choice. You will have to live with whatever consequences come from it."] She was right about that. ["Perhaps one day you will regret this kindness. Perhaps not. After all, kindness is not a weakness and your empathy is a strong part of you."] She stroked my hair, and I closed my eyes to savor the warmth. ["I do not want you to walk my path, Byleth. I want you to walk your own. It is up to me to guide you, not to drag you a certain way."]

"I see…" I kept my eyes closed and thought about what just happened. What I had just learned. What I had just done. "I don't know if it was a stupid decision. It probably was. But, I think I would regret turning him in more." Especially since I now knew how quickly the church liked to pretend things had never happened. I knew what other employers had done, or tried to do, to keep such things silent.

["True, and if he is telling the truth, they'll be even quicker to hide it than they were with Aelfric. Self-importance and stagnation hidden behind the bloated form of false justice."] Sothis continued stroking my hair. ["Whatever happens, I am here with you. I may scold you when I think you are being especially foolish, but this is not such an incident. Mercy or justice is always a difficult choice."]

"Okay." Finally, I smiled a little, though I still kept my eyes closed. It made it easier to feel the warmth radiating from her. "Let's return to the others. I should reassure Ely that everything is fine."

What would happen, would happen, I supposed. I just had to hope no one besides me would pay the price.

---

I'd come to expect strange visitors at any hour of the day. Sometimes, it would be Manuela trying to drag me off to a tavern again or Cyril delivering a message. Other times, it would be one of my students wanting clarification on a lesson. Still other times, it would be one of my students simply wanting a place to rest, and for some reason, deciding my room was a good place to relax. But, I had to say that having a morose Ferdinand be one of those students was… unexpected. Particularly since he didn't really do much besides rest his head on my table. He didn't so much as twitch, not even when I started making tea for us. It wasn't until I was done making it that he said anything at all.

"Professor," he began dully. It was almost hard to hear him. "How am I like a bee?"

"...Pardon?" I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but it certainly wasn't that. "Bees?" I repeated, just to make sure I heard correctly. When he didn't correct me, I busied myself with pouring the tea to hide how surprised I was. "Well, bees have had numerous associations over the years, from death to abundance." Scrambling for stories now… "For instance, In the Eastern Alliance, there is the 'telling of the bees', where the bees are informed of important life events and are believed to be a bridge between the living and the dead. In Adrestia, they're known for their discipline and dutiful nature, and often appear in fables for that reason." However, considering his demeanor... "I'm not sure if either of those fit why you're asking, though." I supposed it could be the simple word-play of wanting something to 'buzz off', but...

"It's Dorothea." He pushed himself up to accept the mug of tea I passed him, but he didn't drink. He simply cradled it, seeking the warmth. "She hates me for something, and I do not know what. Her only clue is that I am 'like a bee'." That was… weird. It didn't seem like her to be so vague. "I am at a loss for what I could have done to earn her hatred, and that will not due."

"Why?"

"If I hurt someone, then I must apologize. But a blanket apology is worthless." Ferdinand sighed and noticeably drooped. I felt like I was looking at a sad puppy. "Especially in this circumstance, since it might be a behavior I do not think twice about. I want to fix it."

"I see." I had to smile a little at him as I sat down at the table to sip my own tea. At his heart, he was a sweet boy and nothing at all like what I had heard of his father. I wondered how he ended up so nice; there were no rumors at all about his mother. "I have not noticed it interfering with class activities yet, but would you like me to intervene?"

"Thank you, Professor, but for now, I really would like to try and mend this on my own. I do wish she would actually tell me, though." I couldn't blame him for that one. "I know what I've done wrong with Constance and Bernadetta, and I suspect how I have wronged Marianne. Worse, I fear it is all the same thing."

"All three?" That was almost impressive.

"I… have had difficulty communicating properly with others in the cohort. I warned you about it." Right, he had. While I explained why I'd chosen him as the leader of the eaglets in Edelgard's absence. "I have been terribly careless with my words and intentions. You warned me of this, and I fear it has led to wounds that I cannot mend."

"Perhaps it has, but that doesn't mean you cannot try anyway. They do not owe you forgiveness, of course, but apologizing is a good start to earning it." So long as it was a true apology, that is. "What happened?"

"With Constance, I put too much emphasis in what she had lost and I have no doubts that my father's part in her family's demise does not help." Ferdinand finally sipped his tea, but wouldn't look me in the eye at all. That alone told me how shamed he felt. "I have no idea how to make amends, though I do wish to. But she is right; I may know the pain of losing family, but certainly nothing on the scale she has."

"Pain and trauma are not things to be measured. What one can endure will break another." A broken bone hurt whether it was in one place or three. "Not to mention how having support can make all the difference in the world with one's ability to tolerate things." So many things went into trauma, healing, and learning to live with the scars left behind. It was irresponsible and selfish to simply assume one's trauma trumped another's. "However, I'm not sure Constance wants apologies, Ferdinand. Not really. She wants support as she rebuilds her house. I think the best way to 'apologize' in her case is to do just that."

"But how can I…?" All at once, Ferdinand's eyes lit up. "Of course! I am the son of House Aegir. I have connections I can call on, and I'm often invited to galas. I can secure meetings for her, accompany her as a shield..."

"See? You just needed a little nudge." I was glad he was chipper again. A morose Ferdinand just seemed wrong. "Ah, but make sure you make the offer while she's not in sunlight, okay?"

"Okay?" He frowned a little, clearly confused, but I wouldn't say anything else. That was Constance's story, not mine. "I shall be certain to do so." All at once, though, the cheer faded again. Damn it. "I can only hope I can make amends with Bernadetta and Marianne. I scared the former, and I believe I hurt the latter."

"With Bernadetta, talk to her through her door. That will make it easier for her." I would also need to make more of an effort to help her, though. One step at a time. "Be sure to apologize to them both and then ask if you can explain yourself. They might not want to hear the explanation immediately."

"I… of course." After a moment, he smiled sadly. "You are very good with people, Professor." I was? Since when? "It reminds me of my eldest sister."

"Sister?"

"Yes, I once had two older sisters and a little brother. Though, if I may be frank, my sisters and I had different mothers." 'Once had'? Combined with what he said earlier… "Odilia was the older of the two." Ferdinand slowly sipped his tea, smiling faintly at the memory. "She was always kind, always gentle." So, nothing like me. "Quiet, though. Not like Elsa."

"Elsa?"

"It was short for Elisabeth. She was the younger of my sisters and…" He hesitated, not sure how to continue. I drank my tea and waited. "I adored her. Her energy, her brightness… I found them dazzling. But she was a… disappointment to my father. She didn't bear a crest." What a tragedy. "Father promptly divorced his first wife and remarried my mother." For… wait, for bearing a child without a crest? Seriously? "Odilia and Elsa never held it against me, though. They loved me as if we shared a mother." Well, of course, because family was… well, good family was… "Karl was my younger brother. He was mischievous and crafty, always with a trick or prank up his sleeve. But, like Elsa, he wasn't born with a crest." So, had Ferdinand's own mother been… "Mother died during the birthing. The doctors prioritized testing Karl for a crest over checking her health." ...That was… even if that was what she would've chosen, that was… "I heard it was different for your own mother, Professor?"

"I don't know the details, but there were complications for both Mom and us." Though, there was what Rhea had said… what Rhea was hiding… "So, Mom ordered Rhea to tend to Azrael and me instead of her." I thought of what Rhea had told Dad. Dad seemed to believe her, and I did trust Dad. But what she might've been hiding… I had to admit that it bothered me. "I doubt it had anything to do with our crests." Based on the surprise I'd seen even from Alois about our crests, I honestly wasn't certain we'd been tested at all until we returned here.

"Yes, Sir Jeralt seems to be an anomaly. Most would immediately try to leverage those crests for some sort of gain, for either personal reasons or for duty's sake." Well, Dad didn't like crests, so… "My father certainly did." Somehow, I was unsurprised. However, I didn't want to talk about that.

"Did Odilia raise you?"

"Yes, she was my primary caretaker, alongside my nanny and my wetnurse." That had to explain how Ferdinand ended up so differently. "Until she killed herself, that is." He said the words so causally that I almost thought I misheard. The dark anguish in his eyes, though, showed I'd heard all too clearly. "It has been… five or six years now. She had withdrawn more and more, hiding in her room all the time. I didn't think much about it, because she was always quiet. But then, one day, I went to give her some flowers and I found her swinging from…" His eyes misted over, and he closed his eyes quickly to stem the tears. "I'm sorry, I…"

"No, don't be…" I wanted to hug him or something, but I had no idea how it would be taken. So, instead, I just… poured him a little more tea. "It had to have been difficult."

"It was. Especially since that was the same year Karl died." It was? "Father sent him to Lord Arundel's home for fostering. No one thought much about it; they were eventually partners in the Insurrection of the Seven." Ah, that was right. Lord Arundel was the 'Lord Regent' of the Empire, sharing power with the Prime Minister. Five years ago, they plotted to seize power from the Emperor, and crippled the Hresvelg family's power. "But something happened while he was there. I do not know what. He…" Ferdinand flinched at the memory. "I saw him only once, while the healers were trying to save him. Though I use the word 'saw' loosely. There was so much chaos that I only truly heard him. He babbled nonsense, as if he had suddenly become incapable of proper speech. Only a few words were coherent: 'needles', 'blood', and 'stop'."

"...What was the official story?"

"I heard he had been captured and tortured by bandits." That seemed… bandits were rarely stupid. Torturing the son of a noble when you could ransom instead? That didn't sound like bandits at all. "Odilia killed herself soon after. Sometimes, I wonder if she had learned more about what had happened. Other times, I wonder if his death had simply sent her over the edge. I shall never know, though. I stupidly left her alone when her heart was bleeding."

"If someone is used to hiding pain, it can be very difficult to see through their mask." What else could I say to that? "What happened to Elsa?"

"She was married off to a noble to secure more power for my father." The words were terribly bitter. "She died in childbirth much like my mother, though in this case, it was because she gave birth to a stillborn and the doctors were ordered to prioritize the baby over Elsa. After all, she had no crest, while the baby could have had one." That was… I felt ill. Perhaps I should have made a ginger-based tea instead. "So, by the end of the day, they were both dead." Ferdinand sipped his tea and then stilled. "I… goodness, what am I doing, babbling all this to you?" He set the teacup down and bowed his head apologetically. "Please, accept my apologies for…"

"There's nothing to apologize for." I only wished I knew some way to ease his pain. It did remind me, though, that there were many victims of the Insurrection of the Seven. Some back then, and some even now. Everyone save the instigators were completely without any sort of power, and were treated as tools to use and discard. It would be a miracle if Edelgard could inherit, and that was assuming she wouldn't simply be another puppet like her father. "All I can do is listen, of course, but that is something I do freely and gladly." I hesitated a moment before standing and walking over so that I could stroke his hair. "So, do not apologize for wanting to speak." I could, however, understand the awkwardness of rambling to a stranger, especially one like me. "I do, recommend you finish your tea, though."

"I… yes, of course." Tentatively, Ferdinand lifted his head and he relaxed when I smiled faintly at him. "Thank you, Professor…" He picked up his cup again and sipped. "This is delicious. What sort of blend is this?"

"It's a collection of herbs that are said to ease the mind." I sat back down to finish my own tea. "We'll talk about them more in class, but if you would like a brief summary now…?"

"Yes, please."

We chatted about herbs for a while longer, and I directed him to Manuela to learn even more if he was interested. Once I saw him off, though, I immediately went to find Dorothea. Even if Ferdinand said I didn't need to intervene, I couldn't help but worry. It was probably better for me to at least get an idea of what was going on sooner rather than later, though that could also just be me justifying my nosiness. Regardless, I went looking for her, and soon found her in the entrance hall chatting with a visibly smitten knight. And I probably should've left to bother her later, but something just didn't sit right with me. While on the surface, she looked like she was having fun with the conversation, flirting and joking in equal measure, there was something hard and lonely to her smile. It wasn't anywhere near as carefree and bright as the one she'd worn while playing with my hair before Mom's burial, nor was it the gentle and slightly melancholic smile she had when talking to others in the cohort. She also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief once the knight left, relaxing slowly. Until she turned to see me standing there, that is. Then she stiffened back up, though she did her best to hide it.

"Professor!" Dorothea greeted me with a warmer smile than the one she'd given the knight, but there was still something hard to it. Not hard like stone, more like a shield. "Were you watching that?" she asked. I just nodded, not sure how to answer. "Look, I know what I'm doing. My acclaim as a diva won't last forever. I must look to the future." Why did she say that? "You might want to think of it yourself, actually. Even your good looks won't last forever, and you're damn gorgeous."

"I can't think of anyone desperate enough to date a demon," I replied without thinking. I was far more worried about her. She seemed uncomfortable, and sadder than usual. "Though, I have to say that I never thought much about the future. As a mercenary, every day could be my last."

"So, you should take advantage of the opportunity! I can think of quite a few who would want to date you. After all, you're quite the catch." She stepped over and casually fluffed my hair. I frowned a little, deciding her smile looked even more like a shield up-close. "You've a crest, so the nobles will want to gobble you up just for that. But even without it… well, you may not have noble blood, sure, but you're the daughter of a hero and the Archbishop herself openly favors you, so it evens out."

"Again, I cannot think of anyone desperate enough to date a demon, but I will admit there have apparently been offers based on my crest alone.." I almost reached up to touch her cheek, to see if I could somehow 'remove' that shield-smile. But I knew I couldn't. "Still, that is the only reason they would even entertain the idea."

"Why do you always brush off compliments?" Dorothea frowned, almost sulking, before shrugging. "Well, you do what you'd like, just like I'll keep doing what I want. I'm not playing games, after all. I'm looking for someone who will take care of me in the future."

"Take care of you?"

"Yes, and I won't stand you interfering. Unless you're willing to take responsibility?" Dorothea winked, but her smile was even harder. It was like armor now, not simply a 'shield'. "How about it? Will you take care of me?"

"Okay." I didn't really know what to say, yet again, but it was worth seeing her drop the armor for genuine surprise. "Would it be any different than taking care of Azrael or Dad?"

"I was talking more romance, so yes?" Still, when Dorothea smiled this time, it was the warm, soft, slightly sad smile I much preferred seeing. No armor or shield in sight. "I will admit that made my heart skip a beat, though. Even without the romance, the idea that you would consider taking care of me as family is nice to think about." She stepped away from me then, and clasped her hands behind her back. "Ah, but I have to get going. I wanted to get Caspar's help with something before heading out on another date."

She left before I could stop her, and so, I was just left standing there, feeling more than a little helpless. I was certain she was hurting, though. Nursing old wounds that had barely scabbed over. I wanted to help, but I couldn't force her…

That 'bee' comment was definitely more complicated than both Ferdinand and I assumed, though. The only question was how complicated was it truly...

---

"Let's see… everyone is doing well with the basics thus far, so perhaps we should try some more advanced techniques?" I murmured, frowning slightly over my notes. Next to me, Sothis hovered so that she could read over my shoulder. "I should talk to Taylor soon and see about getting my students new armor." I had no doubts that the battles would only continue, no matter how much I wished otherwise. If my students were able to adapt, then the stronger armor and weapons would only be a boon to them…

["Besides, just look at how much trouble they got into without being 'assigned' a mission."] Sothis's calm observation nearly made me groan. I did briefly contemplate letting my head fall to my desk, and only decided against it because I didn't want ink in my hair or on my face. ["I still wonder how Aelfric was able to hire so many mercenaries without anyone knowing. That had to be expensive. Where did the funds come from?"]

"I don't know." And I'd asked. I'd asked repeatedly. But each time, I was told that it was 'being investigated' and that I didn't need to worry about it. Which I thought was a damn lie because the whole thing was because Azrael and I killed Mom and Rhea apparently didn't bury her like everyone thought. So, it felt more like Rhea just trying to hide her mistakes, though I knew the thought was uncharitable. It was my own annoyance coloring things. "Perhaps Aelfric made and sold warp talismans?" They were complicated to make and, therefore, expensive. But there were also many who thought them worth the price, in order to escape potentially dangerous situations. "He could've also diverted funds from Abyss, or sold treasures found there. Not to mention that it could just be steady savings, since he had been plannings something like this for ten years…" Though, had he? He'd apparently found Mom's body ten years ago, but when had he started planning the Rite of Rising? Not to mention…

["So many things we'll never have answered."] Assuming they could even be found anymore, I somehow doubted I'd be informed. ["I suppose we'll simply have to keep marching forward and hope nothing burrows into the rotting corpse they're intent on burying and ignoring."] What a wonderful mental image. Just what I need when I…

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts and, after a moment, I pushed myself up to go open it. There was a slight delay since my back, neck, and legs all protested the sudden movement, but I made it to the door as quickly as I could. After all, given the hour and the typical pattern, it was likely one of my students wanting to talk. So, of course, it wasn't that at all. Instead, when I opened it, I found Jeritza, of all people, standing there.

"Yes?" I asked, doing my best to keep neutral. I hadn't seen him at all since that spar and I had planned on never interacting with him again. "What is it?"

"Follow me," he ordered. Then, without any other explanation, he left. Noticeably, he didn't head to the training yards, showing this was not a strange request for another spar, but still, given the circumstances and our previous interaction, listening would be foolish. However...

"Sothis, if we have to reverse time, please don't lecture me." Because like the idiot I was, I did actually follow.

I kept a certain distance, of course, ready to fight if needed. I didn't know how well he fought without a weapon, but I did have the advantage of my flames if this turned into some sort of disaster. I certainly expected it. So did Sothis, and she muttered many things about how foolish I was. Jeritza, for his part, just… kept silent. Slowly leading me from the first level of the dorms to the second, and then to the third. Then into the greenhouse of all places, which confused me.

"I wouldn't have thought you the type to enjoy flowers," I blurted, unable to bite my tongue. Dreadfully rude, of course, but I didn't have the patience to be tactful right now. Last time we'd interacted, he'd broken my arm and came at me with killing intent. He'd sworn next time we fought, neither of us would 'hold back'. And if he planned on having us spar here in the greenhouse, then I was…!

"I like roses," Jeritza surprisingly replied. The words were almost absent, his focus clearly elsewhere. "I would tend to the roses in the garden with my mother and sister. They were always happy there."

"What kind?"

"Nivlorn." That was a type of red rose, often used in vulneraries due to being particularly effective as an anticoagulant and an antiseptic. Their petals were often candied via honey and served as pastry toppers due to being very rich in nutrients. "Why?"

"Just curious." Particularly since he was leading me deeper into the greenhouse. "My mother loved flowers, or so I always heard."

"Heard?"

"She died when I was born." How did he not know that? Thanks to the situation with Aelfric, everyone and their dead knew by now.

"That is… a shame." This conversation was very weird for many reasons. "Over here." So, I was thankful when he stopped finally and pointed to whatever he'd brought me here to see or do. To my surprise, though, the 'whatever' in question was Cyril, sleeping amongst some rags, soap, and a bucket of water. He must've been cleaning the floor of the greenhouse and fallen asleep. "I saw him while returning from my nightly walk through town." Okay, so why did he get me? If he was concerned about Cyril getting to his room, why not just wake him up or carry him?

I didn't get a chance to ask. Jeritza left without another word, apparently content with informing someone that Cyril was sleeping on the ground and not in his bed. So, while grumbling with Sothis, I knelt by Cyril and tried to wake him. Though he mumbled and squirmed, he didn't actually wake. So, I just… carried him. I maneuvered him onto my back and carried him into the main building of the monastery and up the flights of steps to the third floor. I remembered Flayn telling me that she and he were neighbors, so once I was there, I simply took a guess at which one was his. The dust in the first one hinted it wasn't used, though the second one… it was bare. It was even more bare than my room before I'd gotten all my books and flowers. No books or anything, really. The most personalization I saw was the well-used hatchet in the corner, and the small portrait of Rhea tucked on one of the shelves. I almost balked, but it… well, it wasn't my place to judge. So, instead, I tucked Cyril in, smiling a little when he burrowed under the blankets. Then I left, not wanting to linger. I probably should leave a note or something, but there was no spare paper in the room and I didn't want to go hunting just for that.

Instead, I returned to my room to get back to work. At least, that was the plan. When I got there, though, I saw Jeritza heading into the training yards and… well, I was still wary and I still didn't know why he didn't wake or carry Cyril himself. But he had seen Cyril asleep on the ground and gotten me so that Cyril could be moved to his room. At the least, he seemed worried. So, after a little bit of debating, I ducked inside my room briefly and gathered a few of the sweets I had stashed into a small basket. Then, I headed into the training yard, catching Jeritza just before he actually started practicing.

"Here," I 'greeted', shoving the basket into his hands. He stared at it, like he had no idea what to make of them. "Flayn said you like sweets."

"I… do, yes," he confirmed slowly. After a moment, he plucked one out and nibbled on it. And froze, surprisingly. "These taste like Mother's…" Wasn't sure he even knew he'd spoken the words aloud. "Why…?" It wasn't like I had an answer to that? Save that maybe it was a similar recipe? Maybe? All I knew was that Mercedes had made these.

"Take them as thanks, for watching out for Cyril." With that said, I decided that was enough socializing for me and left. I knew he watched me leave, but I pretended to not notice. It was much easier said than done, but I believed I managed well enough…

"Professor!" At the least, I was quickly distracted by the panicking Bernadetta babbling and throwing herself at me. "I'msorryI'llneverdoitagainpleasedon'tletAzraelhurtme!" The only thing I caught from the mess was 'Azrael' and I cast my senses out, wondering what in creation had happened. After a flood of panic, followed by a flood of reassurance, I… slowly pieced together what had happened. Slowly.

Essentially, Bernadetta had been sewing outside. Azrael, worried about what he was sensing from me, came walking up. He saw the needle, froze for a second, and then fled because needles. Which Bernadetta had taken as disapproval and fell into a panic over, when really, it was my twin's fear overwhelming him. But explaining that to Bernadetta, who was now utterly convinced Azrael would return to hurt her for 'disobeying' took a while. A long while, truthfully. It might've taken longer if I hadn't managed to usher her into my room for some tea, and managed to distract her.

"Are you feeling a little better?" I asked, once we'd drank the entire pot. I decided to go ahead and make some more. "It's fine if not, but I don't want to assume."

"No, I'm better… I think," Bernadetta mumbled. She refused to look up at me, a blush staining her cheeks. "I'm sorry…"

"There's nothing to apologize about." It wasn't as if she'd known of Azrael's problem with needles. From what I sensed, Azrael was actually sheepish about startling her. "What were you sewing?"

"Oh, n-nothing important!" She curled into herself, like she was expecting to be hit. "Just a silly thing. Nothing, really…"

"So, something to relax you? That's always good." I'd just… try to go with it. It was awkward, but I kept myself busy by making the tea, and pouring us some more. "Any troubles with the rest of the cohort?"

"Mmm… no, not really." She thankfully looked up a little to accept the tea, though she wouldn't look at me. "Well, Ferdinand is my archrival, but…"

"Is he? I think he's planning a truce." Yep, just rolling with it. "How have you been with the pups?" I sat down and wondered if I should actually just be quiet and drink the tea. What would be best for her…? "Any trouble? I know they're new additions."

"No, not really. I mostly avoid them." Well, yes, but… "Especially Yuri." I would think that qualified as a problem. "He reminds me of my friend and…" And Bernadetta went completely silent, her eyes going wide and her complexion instantly turning ghost-white. "Nothing. Nothing at all." That didn't sound like 'nothing'. But it also sounded like something she didn't want to discuss.

"If you're certain." I couldn't push. Pushing right not would be as helpful as shoving her off a cliff. I was certain of it. But now, I really had no idea what to say or do. How could I help her relax? How could I help her? Yes, a good majority of this would involve her own strength, but surely there was something even I could...

"You know; most strangers are really scary. But you aren't." I… I wasn't? What? "I mean… I was scared at first. I'm scared of everything. That's why I tried hiding in the corner." She nursed her tea, seeming almost thoughtful. "But once I started talking to you, the fear went away." It did? "I didn't think I'd be able to even go to class. But I can actually make it through them, because you're there."

"I think that's more of your own courage, Bernadetta." What was I supposed to say? I was quickly coming to the conclusion that everyone in this monastery was weird as hell. Still, she had prompted conversation, so I had to try and keep it up. "But perhaps we should thank the song you were singing, since that first prompted me to come talk to you."

"Right, we met because I was…" All at once, she froze. Her teacup slipped from nerveless fingers and clattered to the table. Some tea splashed out and got on her skirt, but she didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were wide and her complexion paled until it resembled snow. "I mean… I wasn't singing! I couldn't have been! Why would I have been singing?!" She spoke quickly, her voice becoming squeaky and breathy as the words came tumbling out. "I wasn't…! Argh!" She flailed out of the chair and hit the ground. Immediately, I got to my feet to try and help her, but she scrambled up and bolted. Right into my closed door. "Ow…!" She fell back to the floor, rubbing her forehead. The manic energy disappeared, replaced by a shivering I knew couldn't be from cold. "Ow… of course I did that. Useless… worthless… unmarriageable…" Un…? You know what? Not even going to ask.

"Bernadetta?" Instead, I spoke as calmly and gently as I could, and knelt in front of her. "Hey, would you like a hug?" She didn't respond for a long moment, but I simply waited and eventually, she nodded. "Okay." I carefully hugged her, keeping my grip loose at first to give her the means to escape if she wanted. When she leaned into me, though, I tightened the hug and freed up a hand to stroke her hair. I tried to think of what to say, but I wasn't sure. So, I kept silent until her trembling ceased. "How is your head?"

"It still stings a bit, but its otherwise fine…" Her voice was muffled, and it wasn't just because she was pressed against me. I heard her sniffling, like she was fighting back tears. "I'm so, so sorry…"

"No, I'm the one who should apologize." Even if I didn't know she would react that way, I still scared her. I still pressed on a wound trying desperately to scar. I still reignited memories of whatever traumatized her. "You didn't do anything wrong, Bernadetta."

"But… I always… I'm always so…" Her voice cracked and she started crying. "I…"

"I'm right here. You're safe. I will do everything I can to protect you." Ah, I wished Dad was here. He'd be much better at this than me. All I could do was think of what he'd say and do. It was the only way I knew how to comfort someone so traumatized. "So, go ahead and cry. It's going to be okay."

She did cry. She cried a lot. I held her the whole time, and even a little after. Until she pulled away, I'd be right there for her. I couldn't leave someone hurting so badly. Not when they wanted, even needed, the comfort. I was poor at it, and surely anyone else would've been better. But I was here, so I'd give what I could.

---

"Hey, Teach, I have a question!" Claude's little exclamation right at the beginning of class, before I even had time to split everyone into their groups for the day, told me that I was potentially in for a very long morning. "Can you teach us about blood magic?" he asked with a cat-like grin. And ignoring the confused looks from most of his cohort. And very pointedly ignoring the frowns and dark looks from the pups, and those of the cohort who had suffered through the incident with Aelfric. "I heard it was why your mother's corpse looked remarkably intact for-ack!" At that point, Hilda 'accidentally' hit him with her pigtail. The two always sat next to each other during the morning classes, something I was sure Claude regretted now.

"I suppose I should have been expecting the question," I murmured, trying to think of what exactly to do. It had been over a week since everything, and I had to admit that Claude actually hadn't asked about anything relating to Aelfric since Aelfric's death, despite his insatiable curiosity. "Is anyone else curious?" Linhardt immediately raised his hand, followed by Edelgard, Lysithea, and Hubert. Tentatively, Annette's raised her own hand, looking almost ashamed by her interest. In the back, Constance, Yuri, Hapi, and Balthus all had their hands raised, like they were actually students and not my helpers. "Very well. I suppose we can have a lesson on blood magic, then. Everyone, find a seat." Which... would be difficult because the only time I had everyone actually sitting was during the Friday free-for-all lessons.

Still, everyone managed, mostly. Raphael and Leonie left briefly to fetch more chairs from somewhere, and the rest did their best to get everyone organized. Some remained in pairs at their desks, while others clustered together in groups. I found it surprising that Hubert ended up sharing a table with Lysithea and Annette, particularly when there was room at the table Edelgard shared with Dorothea (until Constance stole a spot, that is). But I wouldn't call attention to it. There didn't seem much of a point to it.

"Everyone settled?" I asked, leaning back against my desk. I looked over everyone, gauging reactions to see if anyone was uncomfortable. The most I saw, however, was slight confusion from those who hadn't raised their hands. "All right, where to begin…"

"How does blood magic differ from Reason and Faith magic?" Linhardt asked, looking the most attentive I'd ever seen. He was so focused, actually, that Caspar actually tried to feel his forehead for a fever. Linhardt leaned away from him, though, so instead, Caspar almost fell out of his chair. Petra caught him, though, since she sat at the same table as the two. "Reason is formulas and Faith is belief. Where does blood magic fall into this?"

"Magic is magic, and thus, some of the spells remain constant. Fire, Wind, Heal… those spells never changed." Thank you, Linhardt, for the prompt. "What we call 'blood magic' now was dubbed something different in ancient times: Black Magic and White Magic. They're roughly equivalent to Reason and Faith, but there was a wider range of spells."

"Why?"

"From my understanding, the current system of Reason and Faith was crafted by Saint Macuil." Or, at least, it was attributed to him. Who knew who actually 'invented' it? "Before then, the formulas for spells were actually much simpler. There was no need for the extra focusing of the magical energy, as the spells would derive power from blood. In short, the current system is safer for magic users to use as there's less chance of them accidentally killing themselves."

"But you mentioned there was a wider variety?" Yuri reminded, leaning forward slightly. He sat between Ashe and Ingrid, though he didn't take notes as those two did. "Is that because the more complex formulas limited what could be cast?"

"That's a pretty good explanation," I replied, thankful. Ugh… I was already flailing. I wished Claude hadn't asked this in front of everyone. Yes, I was sure they knew how poor of an instructor I was, but even I didn't very much like making a fool of myself. "In theory, you could replicate some of the older spells, but to my knowledge, no one has yet discovered the correct sequence of formulas to allow it without the burning of blood."

"So, what are some examples? We know about corpses not rotting for… whatever reason."

"Historically, the spell was used to allow the dead to be transported long distances. However, the last time that spell was known to be used would have been during the War of the Eagle and Lion." I'd actually asked Dad about that, far too curious after seeing Aelfric's blank look. "The Kingdom itself mostly stopped using blood magic around then as well, likely because the Church preaches against it."

"Is there a particular reason for that?" Edelgard asked, dutifully taking notes. She and Dorothea briefly compared theirs, likely checking to make sure both had heard the same thing, and then she focused on me again. Constance, meanwhile, was jotting down all sorts of scribbles, with a light of excitement in her eyes. "I can think of a few reasons why some might like the corpse-preserving one. If someone died far from home, for instance, then their body could actually be brought back and not, say, just some weapon of theirs." I thought I saw Felix flinch a little at that, but he ducked his head too quickly for me to see. However, the fact that Sylvain was quick to help Felix hide, and that he'd immediately slung an arm around a carefully-stoic Dimitri hinted I'd been right. Sothis thought the same.

"I believe the reason is due to the fact that the blood doesn't have to be willingly donated," I answered. I bit my tongue to keep from mentioning the Rite of Rising, but Edelgard's quick little glance to Constance hinted she'd caught the hidden meaning. "Unlike the Reason and Faith magics of today, the caster could force another to pay the blood price for the spells. In fact, for some of the more powerful spells, the blood of multiple people was required. This could, of course, be easily abused. In fact, if one looks to folk stories in Fodlan, you can see many tales detailing that exact scenario."

"...Yes, I suppose that makes sense." She sounded calm enough, but there was still something odd in her tone. I couldn't quite place what it was, but I knew there was something off and, perhaps more importantly, I noticed Hubert glance at her worriedly. Sothis, meanwhile, noticed that her grip on her quill had tightened… and that one other student had an interesting reaction to this. Lysithea had stiffened, and almost dropped her quill. "What manner of spells were they?"

"Dad's stories mentioned everything from the spells we know today, such as fire and heal, to the more incredible, such as weather manipulation and necromancy." Though, he did mention that some of the more fantastical spells required 'focuses', objects specifically used to tie the spell or… something. I'd have to double-check with Dad.

"...Necromancy?" Dimitri repeated, frowning a little. However, it wasn't a 'bad' frown, simply thoughtful. I noticed Sylvain still had his arm around his shoulders, and that Dimitri made no move to dislodge him. "That appears in some of the Kingdom's oldest stories, but I have never heard just what it is. Only that it has something to do with the dead."

"The dead? Really?" Ignatz repeated, a little shakily. I smiled slightly when I noticed he had little drawings beside his notes. "That seems a little… wait, hold on." All at once, Ignatz focused on me again. "Professor, whatever necromancy is, how do you know about it?"

"As I mentioned, Dad," I answered, pretending to be unbothered. Still, I did have to admit it was odd. I would've thought at least Dimitri would've known, since he was a royal? But, then again, it was possible that only the more rural areas knew of the stories nowadays. Though the Church's power had waned, the Kingdom did still hold a strong obligation towards the Church and that would influence what the nobility were taught. "So, I suppose I should have prefaced all of this with 'this is what I was taught'." And it was apparently more than most were?

"Makes sense that Captain Jeralt knows so much," Leonie commented, looking almost thoughtful. I noticed with a little amusement that she had taken no notes at all. "But does this necromancy stuff really involve the dead?"

"Well, yes, though the exact definition differs depending on who you talk to." I crossed my arms, doing my best to remember Dad's tales. "Some stories say that the spells allowed one to communicate with the recently dead, before the person's spirit has crossed the rivers of death. Others weave images of the dead rising to do battle once more." I thought of how that might be taken, especially given recent events. "That isn't to say that the dead came back to life, mind. Think of it more as puppeteering." Definitely caught some squirming among the others, as well as some glares. "I think that's more or less the extent of my knowledge, and we are most certainly not going to use class time to debate the moral and philosophical points of what might be possible." Otherwise, we'd be stuck here for the next month… "If any of you wishes to experiment with blood magic, use your own blood." That… was probably something I shouldn't have said, but it was too late now. "So, back to the original plan before Claude distracted all of us…"

Thankfully, there were no other unexpected questions that threw me off. I could just go with my original plan of having class discussions that remained perfectly lively until it was time to break for lunch. A good thing as well, since I was definitely floundering for topics. Barely a month in, and I really had next to no idea just what to teach. I definitely needed to have a long talk with Hanneman and Manuela about how the rest of the year would go. Was I supposed to teach them history or something too? How? And, perhaps more importantly… all these recent interactions just made it clear that what Dad taught Azrael and me was very different to what most learned. So, how was I supposed to balance that?

Sad that the afternoon was easier to plan. Knowing I would teach them some form of weaponry was much easier to plan around.

"Professor?" Constance called once I had dismissed class for lunch, quickly pushing her way to the front where my desk was. Hapi trailed behind her, yawning, while everyone else left. "I had a question." Of course she did. It probably had to do with- "Might I learn some unarmed combat?" ...Okay, not what I'd expected. I'd expected more questions on the blood magic. "I wish to learn it alongside the swordsmanship you have already assigned me."

"I don't see why not," I replied, thinking quickly. That would shift her lesson plans around some, but not so much that I would have to completely redo it. I think. "I must admit it's unusual for a mage to request that."

"...I had an elder brother once. He was skilled with both magic and blade." Constance relayed the information cooly, the words slightly clipped as if she were annoyed. But I could see the pain in her eyes. "Neither did him much good when the Dagdans got too close for spells, and relieved him of his sword." The implication was clear: 'I never want to be helpless'. Me? I felt uncomfortable; I hadn't meant to imply a question as to why. I'd just blurted out how unusual it was.

"We might need to arrange it so that you take extra lessons outside of class hours, since I want you to also have some skill with a bladed weapon." I highly doubted she'd ever be strong enough for her fists to 'out-damage' a sword, after all. "But as I said, I don't see why you couldn't." Truthfully, it would probably be a good idea to make sure all of my students had some degree of unarmed combat, but… well, one thing at a time. "Was that all you wanted to ask me about?"

"It was." Constance smiled, noticeably relieved, before turning to Hapi. "Though, why did you follow me?"

"I just wanted to ask Firebird if I could switch to axes," Hapi explained, yawning again. I was still confused at how yawning didn't spark the 'monster summoning', but sighing did. "That's all."

"Hapi, you need to show more respect to our professor," Constance immediately scolded, frowning. Hapi just shrugged it off, though my confusion only deepened. The pups had all declared me their 'professor', even though they technically weren't students. Why? I had no idea. Unlike the cohort, they actually had a choice. "Your manners are simply deplorable."

"Coco, are you really harping on this now?"

"Yes!" She scowled, and Hapi rolled her eyes. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do. They were kind of arguing right in front of me. "While I am at it, your table manners could use some work and the staring!" Staring? At who? "Honestly, we are lucky Prince Dimitri is such an easy-going and kind young man, given how intensely you stare at him. I understand, of course, that he is rather handsome, but-"

"He's handsome, sure, but that's not why I stare." Hapi shrugged, rubbing at her eyes. Did she not get enough sleep last night? She normally did, from sunset to sunrise. "He just reminds me of someone, that's all."

"Like who?" Constance continued frowning, but now for a different reason. "I can't imagine you would have ever met one of the royal family of Faerghus before? Though I suppose you could have seen them in the distance?"

"With my captor? Yeah, no. I was locked inside and saw next to no one. Which is why it bothers me." Hapi frowned as well, though hers from from clear frustration. "But it's not in looks or anything. It's the mannerisms. The way he greets people, how he holds his books… that sort of thing." Those were strangely specific. "I'm trying to piece it together."

"...Well, it is still rather rude, Hapi. Why not simply talk to him?"

"Maybe, but hey, we wouldn't have had this conversation where we're both being rude to Firebird." Hapi suddenly grinned and Constance's expression blanked. "Gotcha."

"Hapi!"

Honestly wasn't sure how I managed to convince them to leave instead of continuing to bicker right in front of me. But, somehow, it happened and I headed for the training grounds to check that everything was okay. And got my next surprise of the day because Ingrid was there and there was no way I could expect that. She was always quick on her feet when it came to meals. But it wasn't as if she'd snuck off to the training grounds for some quiet while she ate. Instead, she stood in the middle of the yard, rigid enough that a strong wind would snap her in half. That hinted to me something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what it could be since she faced away from me. All I could tell was that she was methodically ripping some piece of paper into tiny shreds. And perhaps that was innocuous on its own, but with everything else, I couldn't help but wonder. The way she gasped and quickly hid the pieces behind her back when she turned and saw me there all but confirmed it.

"Professor! Hello!" Ingrid greeted, her demeanor noticeably panicked. Her voice was a little squeaky as well. If I weren't already certain something was wrong, that would've done it. "Did you need something? It's lunchtime, after all."

"I always come by the practice yard to make sure everything is stocked before heading to the dining hall," I explained. I should probably let it go, but my curiosity got the better of me. "Were you just hiding something?"

"Huh? Oh! That! Uh…" Ingrid's eyes widened and darted around the area, looking for some sort of escape. "I was just tossing out something I had no need of! It's important to keep your area clean!" Ow… that was such a painful lie. Sothis actually groaned at it. "You would do well to remember that! A clean space means a clean mind!"

"If that is the case, then Azrael no doubt has the cleanest mind in the monastery." Okay, for now I should just go along with this. "Perhaps you might help me with my own room."

"Certainly! I'd love to!" No idea how truthful the statement was, but she certainly seemed glad I appeared to 'buy' her lie. "I'm a bit of the thrifty type, myself. Despite my family's nobility, we're not particularly wealthy. So, my father raised me to keep things to the barest necessities."

"I have heard Galatea has suffered some poor harvests in recent years."

"Yes, we have. Still, my father has always made sure my brothers and I lived in comfort." Of course he did. He was her father, after all. That was kind of what a proper parent was supposed to do. "Ah, but that's neither here nor there. Would you like help checking inventory, Professor?"

"I wouldn't mind, no." I smiled slightly at her, deciding to be a little teasing. "What was it you threw out?"

"Huh? Oh!" She squirmed, desperately trying to think of what to say. "Just some old paper! It was already written on, so I couldn't use it for my note-taking or clean my lance, so I tossed it!" She talked very quickly, and didn't look at me. Instead, she kept looking for some way to escape. "No need to hang onto inconsequential things!"

"Of course." Ah, she was a silly cub sometimes. "Hey, Ingrid?"

"Yes?"

"Next time, you can simply say that you'd rather not talk about it." I smile just a little more when she yelped and blushed a deep mottled red. "You're a terrible liar."

"I…" Immediately, she wilted. "I'm sorry…"

"For what? I am here if you need me, but I will never force you to tell me anything." After all, I had no doubts that the only thing I could do was listen. "I would still appreciate your help, though."

"Gladly." After a moment, she finally relaxed. "And… thank you, Professor."

"Did I do something to be thanked for?" All I did was tease her and then belatedly respected her privacy. "Let's finish this quickly so that we can eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Oh, and today is supposed to be a fish dish… ack!" Ingrid quickly covered her mouth; the shreds of paper fluttered to the ground. "I… ugh, embarrassing, but I think I started drooling there."

"At least you didn't bite me while in a hunger-induced haze. Azrael did that once."

"He did? Seriously?" She laughed, and I smiled slightly. I was glad she was feeling better. "Okay, I can safely say I've never done that! How did that even happen?"

"Well, it was in the middle of a job, actually."

While we worked, I told Ingrid the story about that particular job, where we had to wait for a signal that should've come within an hour or so of the battle's start, but it never did because the enemy was routed far more easily than anticipated and our employer forgot about us until nine hours later. I did my best to keep the story light, since I wanted to keep her cheerful. Besides, it wasn't as if that was the first or last time mercenaries were forgotten. At least this employer had been sheepish about it.

---

My plan for Sunday was simple. Work until I couldn't ignore Sothis's nagging any longer, then read a little before going back to work. Somewhere in between, I'd eat something to keep from passing out. Very simple. So, of course, there was a hiccup within the first couple of ours. Namely, there was a sudden, delighted yell followed by a yelp I swore belonged to Hilda. Confused and worried, I poked my head out my door to investigate and discovered I'd been right about it being Hilda. Specifically, a man held onto her tightly, ignoring her squirming to escape...

"Pardon me," I began slowly, frowning slightly. The man continued holding onto Hilda as if he hadn't heard me, but I thought Hilda might've glanced at me. "Sir." Nothing again, so this time, I flicked a little fire by his face, burning the ends of his bangs. That got him to yelp and reel back, letting go of Hilda at last. "What are you doing with my…?" When the man turned to face me, I realized I actually knew him. "Oh, General Holst." Well, this was awkward. I should've guessed since he had the same color hair and eyes as Hilda, and because of the earrings he wore. Not a lot of men in Fodlan wore earrings in both ears.

"Huh? The Ashen Demon?" Holst replied, blinking a couple of times. He went back to hugging HIlda, who looked terribly resigned to it now. "Oh, that's right. Hilda wrote that you were a professor here. Did you send the fire?"

"Yes, because it looked as if you were hurting Hilda." That was probably a little blunt, especially since his eyes widened, but I couldn't exactly take back the words. ...Well, I could, by turning back time, but I didn't want to. Besides, if I turned back time every time I made some sort of mistake, I'd probably die from overexertion within a couple of minutes. "I take it you're here for a visit? I'm surprised you're away from the border for so long."

"Ever since the Locket was fortified, the number of skirmishes with the Almyrans have decreased significantly." Holst casually rested his chin on Hilda's head. "So, I requested leave from Duke Riegan to visit my darling little sister." He grinned; Hilda rolled her eyes. "And to punch Balthus a couple of times." What was with these people and showing concern with violence?

"I see." I might have left it at that, but Hilda caught my eye and mouthed 'help me'. How could I not…? "I'm afraid Hilda is helping me today, but I'm sure one of the others would be delighted to show you to Abyss where Balthus is staying."

"Aw, but…" Almost immediately, he began sulking. Hard to believe he was the most feared general of the Alliance when he acted like this. "It's been too long since I've seen her. I need to give her the gifts I brought and make sure she's being taken care of and-"

"General Holst." I fixed him with the most stoic, no-nonsense look I could manage. "I do not give my students preferential treatment. Doing so will only lead them to dying on the battlefield. You and I both know this well." In fact, I knew better than him. He might be the Alliance's strongest, one of the strongest people in Fodlan, but I had just as many years of experience battling (if not more) and far more variety in my battles. "So, I refuse your implied request. I specifically asked Hilda for the help, and she graciously agreed."

"...You're almost as good as your father at making me feel small." Holst made a face, but did finally let go of Hilda. She immediately, yet 'subtly', bolted for my side. "And it is good seeing her not be so lazy." He smiled brightly at Hilda before heading down towards the greenhouse for some reason. "I'm going to check on Claude before seeing Balthus, but let's meet for lunch, Hilda!"

"Okay, Holst," Hilda replied, fixing a smile to her face. She let it drop as soon as he was out of sight. "Ugh… I came here to get away…"

"At least he's not dancing about the courtyard?" I replied, trying to find some silver lining. Hilda's groan hinted I'd failed. "Well, truthfully Hilda, my only plans for the day had been to rework everyone's lesson plans." Including all four pups. They'd insisted. "You can hide in my room, if you'd like."

"Professor, you work way too much." She sighed and shook her head. "It's Sunday! A day for relaxing! The only relaxing thing I've seen you do ever is read a book."

"There's a lot of work to be done." I had to give them my best. They deserved far better than me, but I was the one they were stuck with. "That's all."

"Mmm…" She frowned at me. "Well, you're stubborn, so I doubt I can change your mind. I'll take you up on hiding in your room, though. Last thing I need today is my brother returning to smother me."

Hilda briefly snuck back to her room to gather her accessory-making supplies and then returned to my room to hide while I worked. Sothis grumbled about it, but I wasn't sure what else she'd expected. She knew just as well as I did how much I had to work, after all. And there were lots of things to adapt to, because some students were making unexpected strides in areas. Reason had the most, with Edelgard, Felix, Ignatz, and Sylvain all showing a great deal of otherwise hidden talent in the subject. Felix had been especially surprising, since he'd been so resistant to the idea initially, and he still was to some degree. He was only interested in a grand total of two spells, but that would still give him a wider range of attack, so I wouldn't push him to learn more.

Though, Felix's newfound liking for Reason wasn't the only surprise. After weeks of struggling, Dorothea was suddenly doing much better with Faith magic. I would never say she was as skilled as the dedicated healers, but the spells came to her more easily than before and I wanted to shift her lessons to take advantage of that newfound motivation. I supposed she figured out something to believe in enough for her to hold her focus. Little curious as to what, but that wasn't my business.

"Hey, Professor?" Hilda suddenly called. I made a noise to let her know I was listening. "Can I stop those Heavy Armor lessons you've had me doing? I'm just a delicate little flower, you know. It's way too much for me."

"I was planning on switching you away anyway, so yes," I reassured, more focused on my writing. Though, the reasons weren't because she was a 'delicate flower' and that it was 'too much'. If anything, she showed quite a bit of talent for it. But I thought she was better suited to other types of battling. "That was mostly to help you with your defensive maneuvers, Hilda." She wasn't the only one I was switching away from Heavy Armor. I'd had both Edelgard and Ferdinand learning together, and even had them weeding the gardens on Saturdays as a means of building up their strength. I'd hoped it would help them get along better, but… that didn't seem to be working. So, instead… "You'll be doing a Sky Watch patrol with Ferdinand on Saturdays for the next few weeks." Ferdinand's natural speed was good enough and his ability to predict and avoid attacks was something to encourage. Flyers were much more suited to that sort of fighting.

"Seriously?" Hilda sounded a little whiny, and she definitely was pouting when I looked over my shoulder. "That sounds like so much work!"

"I will remind you that you requested flying lessons after the bandit fight." Perhaps it was a bit of a low blow, especially since Hilda stiffened at the reminder. But unfortunately, I did have my job and that meant doing my best to keep them trained and alive. Somehow. "Do you not get along with Ferdinand?"

"Huh? Oh, no, that's not it. How can anyone not get along with him? He's a sweetheart, if a little… well, dense." She giggled, amused about something. "I kind of tricked him into making me tea not long ago. He's so enthusiastic about it." Hilda, seriously, we needed to have a talk about this sort of trickery. "But when you drink the tea, it's more than just quenching a thirst. The care he puts in, the thoughtfulness… you can taste and sense that as well. The tea was a way of easing and relaxing his guest, and a means of giving them a little bit of happiness." With that said, she was very astute. "Though, I suppose the denseness might cause some troubles?"

"When he doesn't explain himself, but he seems to know he must work on that." I set my quill down briefly to massage my hand. I had a little bit of a cramp. "But yes, I think so as well. He's a very kind young man." I was sure he could help Edelgard a lot with fixing the Empire, if I could just find some way to help them bridge that gap… it was nosy, of course, but… "So, please, don't force all your work on him? At least for the Sky Watch?"

"Oh, all right. Just for you, Professor." Hilda smiled sweetly and went back to making… whatever it was that she was making. I wasn't sure. "Marianne has really liked the riding lessons. Are you going to keep her on stable duty?"

"I am." Though, I was going to have her partner with Dimitri for the next few weeks. While Dimitri himself had never said anything, the stablehands had informed me that he was very good with them. I thought… I hoped… the animals might help him a little with the shadows that clung to him. I also hoped his kindness would help Marianne feel more settled. "Might switch her to lances instead of swords, though, since she's expressed some interest in fighting on horseback."

"She has?" Hilda looked up at me, startled, and I didn't blame her. I'd been surprised myself, when she'd shyly told me that after class a couple days ago. "Well, I suppose having an animal around would make her feel more settled during battle. According to Raphael, she was a bundle of nerves while helping the villages while we were dealing with Aelfric." Yes, that was what I thought as well. I hoped I could emphasize to her the dangers, though. I'd hate to see how heartbroken she would be, losing an animal on the battlefield. "Is anyone else thinking about horseback fighting?"

"Ashe might." If only for the 'knightly image'. "I should ask Hubert if he wants to." He'd been doing surprisingly well with his lance lessons, after all, to the point that he'd actually figured out a way to channel his magic through the lance to make up for his lower strength. Since most lances weren't made with that in mind, it certainly weakened the weapon and made it less durable, but it was still something to be proud of. The other magic users had been interested, particularly Lysithea, who took to her sword lesson with renewed enthusiasm. "We'll see about others." Given her fixation on Dad, I was almost certain Leonie would insist on it, for instance. Sylvain probably would as well, but since I wanted him to continue his Reason lessons, that meant adding in Lance lessons at a different time… I should see if he'd mind extra lessons outside of class. I was already doing that for Claude, since he'd expressed an interest in axes, but wanted to keep up his archery. Though, I could just split the days for those with multiple interests… Edelgard, I knew, wanted to advance her axe skills… ah, wait, perhaps I could combine it with Claude's lessons. That would give both of them an excuse to spend time together, and hopefully bond. Yes, that would be good, but what was a good way to sneak Dimitri into such-

"Professor, you're not listening to a word I'm saying." Hilda sounded sulky, but when I glanced back, she only looked concerned. "What all are you even working on?" She got up and looked over my shoulder at the mess of notes and scribbles. "You know; for some reason, I expected you to have neater handwriting."

"Azrael stole all the good penmanship in the womb." I did wonder if Mom's writing had been messy or not. I knew Dad's wasn't. His was always beautifully neat. "But I'm working on lessons."

"That's not a lesson thing, though?" She pointed to my brief note about potentially getting Edelgard and Claude to bond. And then to my note about Marianne and Dimitri working together in the stables. "What's this?"

"Oh, that's simply me being a busybody." I wished I could hide it, but it was a little late for that. I'd have to turn back time to fix this, and I wouldn't waste it on something so… stupid. "But I do want you all to bond with each other." I smiled faintly at her, feeling terribly awkward. "Of course, I do not expect everyone to be friends, nor do I expect everyone to like each other."

"All you expect from us is respect, right? Lorenz mentioned that." When did I say that to Lorenz? I couldn't remember. "But, you're trying to make opportunities for us to make as many friends as possible, huh? Not just within our houses, but in the cohort. And not just the politically advantageous ones, like Edelgard and Claude. Otherwise, you wouldn't have Dimitri and Marianne." Well, I did want to give the heirs as many opportunities as I could to bond and learn how to communicate with each other. "Can I join in on those axe lessons?"

"Huh?"

"With Edelgard and Claude." Hilda was requesting additional lessons? Hilda? "There's always something sad about Edelgard and also something… not quite right, I suppose you could say?" She frowned, trying to think of the words she wants. "She and I are neighbors, so I hear her mumbling in her nightmares a lot. But she walls herself up, to the point that its almost unnerving. Not to mention how passive-aggressive she is and her trust issues." Hilda tapped her cheek, still deep in thought. "Claude, meanwhile, is a nosy person who keeps his cards very close to his chest. If anyone in the monastery has more trust issues that Edelgard, it's him. His smiles are always fake, and he prefers to indirectly mess with people, just to see their reactions and judge their character."

"Yes, I've noticed both as well." It finally dawned on me just what she was suggesting. "Are you volunteering to be a mediator?"

"Only for your sake, but… well, yes." She shrugged, looking away almost sheepishly. "I like Claude a great deal, for all that he aggravates me, and I think he and Edelgard can become good friends. And I think… I think Claude needs good friends. Same with Edelgard. But because they're so similar yet so different, they're going to need a buffer for a little bit. And Dimitri can't play that role all the time. For one thing, he's got his own issues that everyone including himself ignores and for another, he's almost too kind. He'd probably just pile their burdens on top of his own and snap in two. And I'm not sure anyone can put him back together if he does snap."

"Everything can heal and be fixed." It was a lesson I knew well. "It might heal poorly and you'll have to seek additional treatment, but it can be done."

"So long as you're willing to reach out your hand." A very good point. "So, may I?"

"Of course." How could I refuse with that sort of reasoning? "You know… I feel like you're the closest person Claude has as a 'second'."

"Like Dedue and Hubert?" Hilda continued to frown, but now it was for different reasons. "Meh, I'm not so sure about that. Why bring it up?"

"I'm mostly thinking aloud." I quickly jotted down the idea of Dimitri helping Hubert with Lances. Maybe that could suffice until I figured out a good way to pair him up with the other two heirs. Dedue would be much harder to pair up within the heirs and their seconds, though. I wanted him focused on brawling and hand to hand combat, and that wasn't something I had the others focusing on. Sure, I could change things around, but I had to keep their own goals in mind. For now, at least, I could do this. "I'm sorry to trouble."

"Professor, I'm the one who asked, and volunteered." She made a face. "Ugh… I volunteered for more work. I'm so glad you don't assign essays and after-class assignments for us." Ignoring how I had no idea what topic I would assign, when would I have time to grade them? I was already flailing about. "But it gives me more opportunities to tease Claude, so I guess it's okay. And maybe I can poke through Edelgard's wall. I'd love to fuss with her hair like I do Lysithea's."

"See? You're benefiting too." What else could I say? "I should reorganize and rewrite these to be more cohesive and coherent." How to best-

"Byleth~!" My door crashed open and I leapt to my feet so quickly that I knocked my chair over and into Hilda. Before I could apologize, though, I was enveloped in a giant, warm hug with familiar laughter in my ear. "Hiiiii~!" Madeline cooed, giggling and laughing all the while. And putting a great deal of weight on me, so I was glad I was strong enough to keep upright. "I knew you'd be here up to your eyeballs in work!"

"Madeline, what in creation are you doing here?" I asked, startled. Sothis, meanwhile, was just laughing, so I had a sneaking suspicion she'd heard her approach and purposely didn't warn me to see my reaction. "Is everything okay in Remire?"

"Why does there have to be an emergency? I'm here to visit you, obviously!" Madeline hugged me even tighter, preventing me from moving. Poor Hilda had to set my chair back up for me, even as she gawked at the sudden appearance of my best friend. And the basket that Madeline almost dropped on her foot. "And to make sure you actually relaxed for once."

"I have a lot of work."

"Sure, sure, but I have a secret weapon!" ...This wasn't going to be good, was it? "Crystal, I was right! She's in here!"

"Oh!" Crystal came racing in then, and I almost groaned because damn it, Madeline knew me far too well. "Hee… it's a bit strange to come visit instead of greeting you when you come home," she mumbled, smiling sweetly at me. For some reason, though, she held a garland of flowers, though she tried to hide it behind her back. "Are we interrupting?"

"...No, you're not," I reassured, lying through my teeth. Madeline giggled, because her plan had worked perfectly. Just as she'd known it would. "What's that you're hiding, though?"

"Um… well…" Crystal's smile became a little shy, but she presented the garland proudly. I was pleased to see how well it was woven. "Mom liked her crown, so I wanted to make one for you to thank you." I couldn't help but smile back slightly, and nudged Madeline to let me go so that I could crouch down for her. "Aaaand… here!" She placed it on my head and then jumped a couple of times in delight. "Yay! It fits!" She lunged forward to hug me, and I hugged her back. What else could I do? I'd never gotten a flower crown before, and I was strangely touched that she'd made one for me.
"Ah, and here they are, just as you predicted, Azrael!" Alois's booming voice heralded his approach long before he and Azrael actually appeared at the door. "I'm glad you two were able to find her room," he continued, smiling warmly at Madeline and Crystal. "Took me a minute to find where Azrael was hiding with his book!"

"He was probably in a little corner up high," Crystal teased with a giggle, letting go of me to grin at my twin. Azrael just shrugged, refusing to admit she was correct. "Thank you again for escorting Madeline and me here, Sir Alois."

"Oh, just Alois! You're family of family, after all!"

"But now that the broodiest and meanest of the twins is here…" Madeline began dramatically, picking up the basket. I was already worried. "Ta-da~!" Surprisingly, she whipped out a flower crown from the basket and set it neatly on Azrael's head. "A crown for you!"

"For me?" Azrael repeated, mostly because of how bizarre this was. He'd never gotten a crown from anyone but me before. "Why?"

"I didn't want you to feel left out!" Madeline laughed like that explained everything. Azrael tilted his head slightly to show his confusion, but smiled to simply go along with it. "A perfect fit!"
"Bit surprising, but you have watched Byleth make me one for the past few years."

"Yep, I'm amazing like that!"

"Yes, congrats. You're like a mockingbird."

"Okay, I know you well enough to know that wasn't a compliment, mister!"

Azrael and Madeline fell into good-natured bickering while she carefully unpacked whatever had been stuffed into her basket. Crystal, meanwhile, sat next to Hilda, absolutely enthralled with whatever jewelry Hilda was making. I thought about joining in on the teasing, or going back to work, but I noticed Alois still lingering. When I caught his eye, he subtly nodded to the door and left. Confused and concerned, I followed him into the alley between the dorms and the stairs up to the broken sauna.

"I hate to bring up such dark news during what should be a relaxing day," Alois began softly, with no hint of a smile on his face. I tensed, worried about what he'd say. I mean… whatever it was, it was enough to force him to actually be quiet. "But it's about the professor who was supposed to teach your cohort. The one that disappeared during the dust up with the bandits." Huh? What about- "He's dead. We found his corpse about while on patrol near Remire." The way he said the sentence hinted that wasn't the worst of the news. "It was… not a quick death. He fought for his life, but whoever he fought was far superior."

"It's been a couple of months," I pointed out. Perhaps 'a month' would be a little more… no, two months was more or less correct. It was the middle of the Garland Moon, after all. "Most of the evidence has to be gone by now." Especially if it had been left in the wild.

"True, so we can only make speculations. Still, based on the damage to the bones themselves and the broken bits of armor and blade found with them, that is our best guess." Alois paused, as if steeling himself. Meaning that there was even worse to come. "The armor was scattered, so this is again just a guess, but based on what we found and could piece together, we don't think he was felled by an axe, sword, arrow or magic." ...Wait, but when we fought the bandits in Zanado, that was all the weapons they used. "We think it was with some sort of polearm, though not the typical spear." That was a weapon… that was a weapon type we hadn't seen during the bandit fight in Zanado. Based on Alois's grim expression, I didn't think any of the bandits had been seen with that sort of weapon.

"...I see." All at once, I remembered what that bandit had told me about someone hiring them. Had they been the one to kill that professor? Why? Why handle that one themselves and leave the rest to the bandits? "So, am I supposed to inform my students or is Rhea…" I trailed off when Alois shook his head. "Huh?"

"The Knights are investigating and per order of the Archbishop, no one else is supposed to know." Alois kept quiet, but his tone grew grimmer. "Not even all the Knights are to know. Just a handful." That… of course. Hiding more things to pretend everything was okay… I was quickly learning that was typical.

"In that case, I'm surprised Rhea gave permission to tell me."

"She didn't." Alois shrugged off my stare. "But I think you, at least, should know. They targeted your students, after all." So, he defied the order of the Archbishop herself? "I'm going to make sure Captain Jeralt knows when he returns as well."

"...Thank you." This had to be dangerous. More than dangerous. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble." We both knew that was a lie. "Regardless, you should go enjoy yourself!" He went right on back to being the cheerful, boisterous fellow he normally was. "Your friend has come to visit, after all!"

"Knowing Madeline, she'll kidnap me if I try to work." But I couldn't be mad. That was just how she was. Bright and cheerful, and always adoring. I loved her for it. "Hey, can you help my students with axes this next week, by the way?" Might as well take advantage of having him while I did, and help with plausible deniability if anyone asked what we'd been talking about.

"Of course! I'd be more than happy to!" He grinned and I smiled slightly. "Go on, go on!"

I did as he bade and returned to my room, but I didn't go in. Instead, I lingered in the doorway, pretending to be watching whatever was going on within, but as soon as Alois left, I returned to the alley to think.

["While I can understand, to a degree, not wanting to officially announce that one of their teachers was butchered, I feel not informing you is a very poor choice."] Sothis appeared in front of me, hovering in the air as she usually did. ["I can only hope this professor conveniently doesn't have family who is wondering what happened to them. What would they tell them?"]

"Probably a lie to mask what really happened for the sake of 'peace'," I grumbled, irritated. Rhea was going to hide this from me. Information that I might need to make sure my students were safe… "At what point does secrecy become nothing but a means of stagnation and delusion?"

["I cannot answer that."] No, she couldn't. Even I knew that was more or less a personal choice and preference. ["Still, I do think this edges what I would deem 'acceptable', especially in light of what happened with Aelfric, and your mother."] Covering up what Aelfric did and pretending it never happened… hiding whatever 'extra piece' was there about Mom's death… hell, even hiding that she never buried Mom at all… not even going into why Dad left in the first place... All I felt like I had learned pointed to one thing: 'do not trust Rhea with anything I valued'. ["What other dangers are hiding in the shadows? What are they after? So many things we do not know. We do not even know if the church is investigating the bandits further or not."] That was true, and in light of what we learned from that bandit… ["Yes, indeed. There is someone who wants your students dead. Though perhaps they simply wanted one student in particular dead, and did not care who else was sacrificed for that goal."]

"Someone else who sacrifices the few for the many because ideals are apparently worth so much more than people's lives…" It made me nauseous to think about. "But who do I tell? Who do I share this information with?" I hadn't yet, avoiding the topic. But there was no avoiding it now, particularly since I was so irritated at Rhea keeping secrets.

["Honestly, I would not tell anyone of the church. But other than that, I cannot say. Discuss it with your father when he returns from Faerghus."] Yes, that seemed like a good idea. It wasn't like Azrael would know any more than me on what to do and Dad knew the people here far better. ["Remember, you are not alone. I am here with you, and I will help you keep this crazy menagerie safe."] Yes, that was quite true, thankfully...

"Byleth?" Madeline poked her head out my door and hopped down the stairs to find me in the alley. "Is everything okay?" she asked, peering at me worriedly. She even reached up to poke my cheek. "I saw you slip out with Alois."

"I'm overthinking about things," I replied, since it wasn't quite a lie. She frowned at me anyway, though. "There's a lot going on."

"That's all the more reason you need to relax, you know?" Madeline pulled me into a hug, one that was gentle and warm. "Otherwise, you'll be too tired to do what needs to be done." Perhaps, and yet… "So, come on. At least while I'm here, I'm going to make sure you have fun."

"You're ridiculous." But I had to smile slightly, because… "I have fun just by having you near."

"Then I need to make sure you're having extra-fun." She stepped back to wink at me and I smiled a little more. "Come on. I need to show you what I brought anyway. You sent a letter mentioning that you would come visit soon, so there's not too much, but…"

Madeline hooked her arm around mine and led me back to my room to grandly present the large pile of things that I swore couldn't have fit in a single basket. Nearby, Hilda continued making whatever she was making, while talking to Azrael about crafting. Crystal tried to listen, but the travel must've made her tired as she was dozing in Azrael's lap, curled up against his chest.

Scenes like this… I wanted each of my students to experience warmth like this. To experience them again and again. That meant, of course, keeping them safe and between everything I had heard… I wasn't sure the Church could do that. So, I would simply have to try harder. I was a monster, terrible at everything but killing, but if I was what they had, then I would give my all. That's all there was to it.

---

After my usual midnight tea with Flayn and my usual nightmare, Sothis insisted I take a little walk to ground myself back in the present. I didn't have the energy to argue. I'd dreamt of children huddled under fallen trees as a giant creature roared above them, and thousands died around them. The dream never revealed the creature's full appearance, only its shadow, but I could still see the children's fear when I closed my eyes. Their trembling as they clung to each other, and blood seeped under the trees. Their mouthed prayers as the blood grew higher, until it had engulfed them. Their struggle as they desperately tried to stay alive, and all the while the screams of the dying echoed on and on and on… until there was nothing but silence. Silence from the creature, whose shadow loomed over the wreckage. Silence from the thousands, all lost to death. Silence from the children, drowned in the blood.

"What sort of creature could even do that?" I mumbled to myself, hugging myself to try and bring some warmth to me. I swore I tasted iron in my mouth, felt it fill my nose and lungs. "Other than a mindless monster…" After all, what else would find any sort of justification or reasoning in the deaths of so many? What else would even try? "Worse is that if these are dreams of the past like you say, Sothis…"

["...Yes, it means it occurred at some point. Though, I do have to wonder 'when'."] Sothis didn't appear this time, simply speaking through my heart. But I felt her hug and reassurance anyway and was grateful for it. ["The clothing was so different than anything I have seen."]

"No doubt because they were basically erased." Unbidden, I thought of Dedue and all he had lost. Duscar was all but erased too, save for the survivors. I hoped… I hoped there was some way of passing their culture on. "Well, I suppose I'm wrong on the idea of a mindless monster being the only thing that can cause such a thing." Self-righteous people fully convinced that they are correct…

["It could also be someone who is thoroughly convinced that they alone can solve whatever issue has appeared."] I wasn't sure that was truly different from self-righteousness. ["Perhaps. However, the intention of the walk is to help you calm down."] Yes, but I still heard… still saw… still felt…

"Ashen Demon?" Of course I ran into someone. Why wouldn't I run into someone? "Ah, wait, no, I should call you 'Byleth'." And the someone in question was Holst, surprisingly enough. It took me a couple of blinks to realize I had wandered onto one of the streets into the town, with shoulder-high walls lining the path, but there was no indication of why Holst would be there. Unless he was returning from a night on the town, but I didn't remember him being much of a drinker at the Locket. "Balthus became rather cross with me when I called you by your epithet," he continued, unaware of my meandering thoughts. "In retrospect, it was highly rude of me to only call you by that at the Locket. I offer my most sincere apologies."

"It's not the worst anyone has called me," I dismissed, not sure why I should even be bothered. Strangers never called me by my name. Even here, most simply called me 'professor'. "What has you up and about at the hour, though?"

"Well, I fear I am far too used to night raids from the Almyrans to fully rest, even when away from the Locket." Holst shrugged, and smiled a little sheepishly. "I thought a walk might help me relax enough to steal a bit of sleep. What has you awake?"

"I'm always awake at this hour." It wasn't that much of a lie. After all, the nightmares woke me at all sorts of strange hours. "So, I thought I'd see why Flayn likes taking midnight walks." Now that was a lie, but I doubted Holst would be able to tell.

"You know; it's quite strange." Holst crossed his arms, becoming rather thoughtful. "When I attended the Academy with Balthus, I had no idea Seteth had a little sister." Was he supposed to announce it to the world or something? Some people liked keeping their personal lives private. What was so strange about that? "Of course, there were many things I was unaware of while I was here, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised." Again, some people liked to keep their lives private. "I do need to thank you, though."

"For what?" I frowned slightly, not sure why he would need to do that at all. I might have even said so, but I caught a trace of movement out of the corner of my eye and focused on it instead. And nearly groaned because Hubert was hiding in the shadows of a nearby building, watching me. What was he doing awake, anyway?

"Balthus told me what happened. In Abyss and with Aelfric." Wonder if he told Holst about threatening Hilda when we first met. Probably not. "So, I need to thank you, for saving my best friend."

"It was nothing, truly." After all, it was my fault it happened in the first place. If Azrael and I hadn't killed Mom, then… "I simply did what had to be done."

"Yet I benefited greatly, so I should thank you regardless." He was being strangely stubborn about this. I should probably just let it go. "I should also thank you for keeping an eye on my little sister, and on Claude."

"They're my students. It's my job."

"Again, I benefit, so I need to thank you." How in creation did he benefit from this? "It eases my worries. I'd been fretting over how they were doing here."

"I see." What was I supposed to say? I was so bad when it came to conversations. Particularly conversations that were more or less in the middle of the street. There might not be people around, but it was still awkward. "I must admit, given how much you dote, I'm surprised you put Claude on the same level as Hilda."

"Hilda's my precious baby sister. Of course I'm going to dote!" He frowned, almost like he was surprised by the implication that he wouldn't, or even shouldn't. "But Claude has only been in the public eye for a year, and I know there are many who whisper." I hadn't heard anything personally, but they might not be as loud as the whispers about Petra and Dedue. "He likes to pretend otherwise, but he's more sensitive and timid than he lets on. And I'm sure there's a lot of nobles just waiting for any sort of weakness so that they can pounce." Yes, I suppose so.

"You seem to like him, though."

"I do. He's clever, he's observant, and he prioritizes people over power. All of which the Alliance desperately needs right now." He leaned against the wall, smiling slightly. "I won't say he doesn't have flaws. He's entirely too convinced sometimes that he's the smartest in the room, and I'm a little worried about how reluctant he is to get involved in… well, anything. Neutrality is a pretty sentiment, but sometimes, all it does is result in being indirectly complicit with terrible wrongs, or leads to the destruction of the very things you want to protect."

"I suppose so." I'd prefer not fighting, but I understood what he was saying. No matter how much I wished otherwise, when others brought violence… when the whole world went mad... well, might as well let the monster be the one killing. "I imagine the neutrality stems from his difficulty in getting close to people."

"Not to mention his very different values. Not sure if you've noticed yet, but he prioritizes 'survival' above all else, including honor and reputation. Not like a typical Fodlan noble at all." I hadn't quite noticed it yet, but it did make sense. We only met because Claude had run from the bandits. "Kind of curious where he grew up."

"Does that matter? He's here now. Any different values might be explained by his past, but do you need an explanation to respect them?"

"Depends on the values, but I understand where you're coming from." Holst nodded, smiling slightly. "It is true that no matter where he's from, Claude is Claude. Just have to remind him that even as we adapt to him, he has to adapt to those around him too."

"Cooperation is something I try to instill in my students." Urgh… this conversation was taking its toll on me. I was tired. "I must say, however, that I believe this is the longest I've heard you not mention your sister."

"Let it be a testament of my worry!" At least Holst took the attempt at teasing with good humor, and was mildly self-aware of how he came across. "I wasn't really sure about Hilda coming here, truthfully. She'd never been one for battle or anything that required effort. The most she ever put into anything was making accessories." He tapped one of the earrings he wore for emphasis. "But she seems… how to describe it." He groped about for his words; I tried to figure out why he was saying them to me. "She seems stronger, but not just in a physical way. I feel like her spirit, her heart, is stronger as well." Still confused why he was saying this to me. "So, I'm glad she came, though I miss her terribly." He didn't think I had anything to do with the change, did he? Because I seriously doubted it. "Ah, but here I am talking your ear off. Should I escort you back to your room?"

"That's kind of you, but I think I will enjoy the night air a while longer." Particularly since a quick glance showed Hubert was still exactly where I saw him before, still watching me. "Pleasant dreams."

"To you as well." Holst bowed formally to me, and walked off, humming a song popular in the Alliance at the moment.

I waited until he was out of sight, just to see what Hubert would do. But when I saw him still there, still watching… "Hubert, was there something you needed?" I asked, turning to face him. He frowned, like he didn't expect to be discovered. To be fair, he was better than most of the cohort at sneaking. "You have been standing there for quite some time."

"Unusually watchful," he observed, continuing to frown. Though he did, at least, step out of the shadows. "Cloak and dagger assassination might be difficult. Perhaps a tasteless, odorless poison?"

"Hubert, I can hear you." Then again, perhaps that was the point. Perhaps he was trying to intimidate me. "Please don't waste your money on poisons. It's been tried many times in the past, and the worst I've gotten is a stomachache." Azrael was much the same, truth be told, and while Dad had more of a reaction, he was able to shrug off poisons more easily than others.

"...Is that so?" Hubert frowned even more, trying to scrutinize me. I wonder what he thought he saw. "Lady Edelgard certainly took interest in a difficult one, this time."

"Again, I can hear you." What was I supposed to do? "Why take such measures?"

"I suppose that question does warrant a response." He sounded almost reluctant, but he held himself with enough poise that I wondered if he'd been wanting to get this off his chest. Sothis thought much of the same. "Are you familiar with Volkhard von Arundel? He is the Empire's Regent, and the maternal uncle of Lady Edelgard."

"I know the name, yes." Now that I thought about it, he was the one who recommended Jeritza here, wasn't he? No wonder the Church took him on as a teacher. "What about him?"

"Many years ago, he took Her Majesty and fled to the Kingdom of Faerghus. Then, after a time, he returned and joined forces with-"

"Hubert, I know the Insurrection of the Seven, and if you are telling me about Edelgard's thoughts and feelings on that matter, I would ask you to stop as I do not believe it is your right to tell, nor is it my right to hear it from you." It should be something Edelgard herself told me, if she chose. "Now, if you wish to discuss your own thoughts and feelings, that is another matter entirely. I will gladly listen if you wish it." I imagine, given his blatant loyalty to Edelgard, having his own father involved with the Insurrection was… trying. "However, I do not want you to force yourself."

"You remind me of Lord Arundel." That definitely wasn't a compliment. "It's like there's a second self hiding just under your skin, or that you are in constant dialogue with something that resides in your heart. Perhaps a something with thoughts and desires different from your own." Uh… okay, how was I supposed to react to that? Because he technically wasn't wrong, since I had Sothis. "It only highlights what I have observed elsewhere. You are completely unpredictable." Really? I thought I was very predictable, personally.

"Ah, so this stems from your own inability to trust, much like Edelgard and Claude's own trust issues." Still, it was best to focus on the heart of the matter. Besides, given what his father did, and how my conversations with Edelgard all but proved to me that her siblings did not die from simple illnesses and accidents, it only made sense he had difficulties trusting. "Very well, then."

"...That is it?" He frowned, visibly irritated. "No defense? No grandstanding?"

"Why would I do that?" I frowned slightly in return, confused. "I cannot force you to trust me. Trust requires great courage, and it must be earned. Not only am I an enigma to you, but I remind you of someone you hate. In those circumstances, I would be more surprised if you did trust me." So, what else could I do but accept it and simply do my best by him?

"Again, you defy all logic." Swore he ground his teeth in frustration. Ah, how was I supposed to fix this?

"Would you like it if I answered some questions?" Looking around, I decided to push myself up onto the wall to sit. "Of course, you would have to trust that I am not lying, but what I can answer, I will." Sothis thought this was foolish, but if I was to have any chance of at least ensuring Hubert respected me, then I had to adapt to him. Besides, it wasn't as if I had much to hide. Truthfully, only my nightmares and her. "Will that make you feel a little more settled?"

"If anything, the openness is unsettling." Still, something about his demeanor both softened and sharpened before I had the time to curse silently. "But far be it for me to not seize such an opportunity."

"I will state that asking me about specific battles or tactics used is to be saved for the classroom." I didn't want to force myself to remember any right now. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep myself from throwing up. "But otherwise, ask away. I will tell you if I am not comfortable answering something."

"Very well." He crossed his arms and… well, if he had a pen and quill, I suspected he might've pulled it out to jot down notes. "Firstly, there is the knowledge you have that differs from what we are taught is normal. Faith being belief in anything, not just the Goddess. Blood magic."

"I believe I've stated this repeatedly, but everything I know, I was taught by Dad." And it was becoming more and more apparently that Dad was just plain weird. Probably why he was such the perfect dad for Azrael and me.

"I see." He didn't sound very satisfied by that, but what else could I say? Lie and state it was the Goddess herself who spoke to me? "There is also your background."

"I am a mercenary who was dubbed the Ashen Demon." What else could he want to know? It wasn't all that interesting. "I was apparently born here, and then raised on the road after a fire broke out and Dad decided to leave." For whatever reason. "Dad was apparently a soldier of the Kingdom prior to being recruited by Rhea, and Mom was an orphan who lived here her entire life. She served as Seteth's predecessor." And that was about all I could think of that he might want to know.

"...Do you delight in being frustrating?" No clue how to answer that. "Fine, fine. I'll simply move on to the next." Yippee? "There is the topic of gossip on everyone's lips: the crests that you and Azrael hold." Somehow, it didn't surprise me this came up. I had the feeling that this was the primary question he'd had. "It already unusual for siblings to bear the Major Crests of two different sources. That one is the Major Crest of Seiros only adds to the strangeness of the scenario, not to mention how you bear a crest of… unknown origins." Was it just me, or did he swallow some words there? "For twins to bear such is practically unheard of." Didn't Hanneman mention that as well? I couldn't really remember. "Lady Edelgard mentioned Aelfric theorized-"

"Ah, this topic." I supposed it made sense. If Edelgard had been so bothered by it, then of course Hubert would be concerned, if only for her sake. I wasn't sure I should have this conversation with him before having it with Edelgard, but… "So, what is your question? Is it the same one Edelgard asked? About whether or not it bothers me?"

"...Yes." His eyes narrowed. "She said you were not."

"I'm still not." I shrugged and ignored his blatant skepticism. "We only have a madman's accusations and circumstantial evidence as supposed proof. As with all information, even if you have it, there is no guarantee you have interpreted it correctly." Given what Dad had said in the past, perhaps many oddities were really inherited from Mom. I had always thought the odd magic being from her was a white lie, but Aelfric confirmed otherwise. "Even if we go with the assumption that Rhea did some form of experimentation on the living, who is to say it was on Azrael or me? Perhaps it was on Mom, and then we inherited it?"

"Yet the possibility truly does not bother you?"

"What am I supposed to do? Run up to Rhea and ask if she experimented on me?" The idea was ridiculous. She'd probably lie to my face, or avoid answering. Though, I supposed either would be answers in their own right. "Again, going with the assumption that Rhea did experiment on me, what she wanted me to be doesn't matter. My life is my own." Dad had always emphasized that to me, especially after battles. No matter how ill I was, no matter how much regret filled me… my life didn't belong to the dead. And no matter who bought my blade, no matter who I gambled my survival with, my life didn't belong to anyone else alive. It was my own. It always confused me, and it still confused me now truthfully. However, there was one thing I could hold onto, even through the confusion. "It is a precious gift Mom gave me, along with my name. So, no one can take it from me. Not even the Archbishop." I paused, thinking of how that could be taken. "That isn't to say I can't be killed, of course." Though, given my healing rate and what I've survived in the past… "But I am me, and what purpose I strive for is of my own choosing. No one, not even the Goddess, can change that." ...Should I have said that? Probably not.

"Huh." Still, Hubert didn't seem bothered. In fact, I thought he appeared amused. "That's quite the philosophical discussion, but perhaps, another time." Amused and perhaps intrigued? Hard to tell. He didn't seem as suspicious, though? Maybe? "So, if you choose to go against Lady Edelgard, it will be your own choice, not at the behest of another."

"If you must focus on that, then yes, you are correct." Why did it always go back to me being a threat? Ah, well… trust issues were difficult to work through even with good friends and family to help you.

"I see." ...Strangely, that seemed to please him. I was so confused now. "I think that is all I wish to ask about for now, Professor. Anything else, I believe I shall observe on my own."

"If you're certain." Did that mean he was going to try poorly stalking me again? "It's late, though. You should try to return to bed. Would you like something to help you sleep?"

"No." Kind of expected that answer. "Good night, Professor."

"Pleasant dreams." I watched him walk away and, when he was out of sight, I sighed and looked up at the stars, trying to actually relax like Sothis had wanted me to.

How in creation was I going to get through a year of this? I truly did miss my former simple life.

---

"Yay! I finally get it!" Annette cheered, literally jumping for joy. It was long after classes had ended, but Annette had wanted to ask about a tactic she'd found in a book she'd been reading. So, here we were, leaning over my desk as I helped her understand just why the knights in the book used a specific formation as part of their tactics. "Yippee! I knew asking you was the right idea!"

"You're the one who did the work," I pointed out, amused. I did hope she didn't accidentally crash into one of the tables or desks, though. We were in the classroom, after all. "I just nudged you in the right direction."

"No way! I never would've figured this out on my own!" I highly doubted that. "You're a really great teacher!" More that I was lucky enough to have talented students who could manage great things even with my abysmal teaching ability. "Ah, I'm so glad I came to the Academy! I just love learning new things, and I'm learning so much every single day!"

"That so?"

"Yeah! I'm learning more now than I have my entire life!" She finally stopped bouncing, but she continued beaming at me. "Speaking of, I'd better head to the library and ask Tomas for some help with my research before magic training. Ah, and I'd better do that quick since I have my axe training with Hilda soon. Would've had it earlier, but she was saying goodbye to her brother." Holst had stayed a couple of days, which was probably longer than he should've. I didn't see him after that moonlit conversation, though; I think he remembered that you were supposed to avoid demons.

"Surprised you convinced her." I'd focus on that. Thoughts on Holst aside, the mention of Tomas was… after that weird conversation with him, I'd gone out of my way to avoid Tomas, almost as much as I avoided Jeritza. Though, the semi-normal interaction I'd had with Jeritza made me consider reconsidering. Possibly. "I suppose your adorableness was too much to resist?"

"Professor, you're embarrassing me!" She pouted, puffing out her cheeks, and I had to smile slightly at her. "Oh well, at least you're not making fun of me like Felix and Claude did with my songs."

"Songs?"

"Oh, just some silly songs I make up while I do my chores. Helps make it fun and-!" All at once, she froze. "Oh wait. Oh no! I'm supposed to be on cooking duty today! Urgh, I completely forgot!" She rushed for the door, completely forgetting her book on the desk. Briefly. Before running back to get it. "Sorry, Professor, I have to run!"

"Try not to overdo it?"

"That's impossible! I find it more tiring just to sit and do nothing!" Without another word, she bolted out the door. And promptly tripped over something. "Ow…! Who put this stupid barrel here?!"

"Annette?" I headed for the door myself, worried she'd hurt herself. But by the time I actually got there, she was halfway to the dining hall. "Fast when she wants to be." I only hoped she wouldn't hurt herself.

Shaking my head, I returned to the classroom, intending on cleaning things up. I had everyone working on tactical maps today, so there was a lot of pieces everywhere. Particularly where some got a little enthusiastic with explaining their proposed strategy. However, as was quickly becoming normal for me, my plans were delayed significantly. Because someone wanted to talk.

"Huh, you're still here?" Namely, Balthus walked back into the classroom, for whatever reason. "Given the workout you gave everyone, I thought you'd be stewing in a bath or something," he commented. Not sure how I was supposed to respond to that. I did wish I could be in a bath right now, but Annette took priority, and while I was here, I might as well go ahead and clean up.

"Is that your way of saying I smell?" I asked, turning to face him. I figured that was already the case, because sweat and dirt, but...

"Hmm? No, not really. Just making conversation." That was highly doubtful. "You teach a lot differently than Professor Hanneman." He strolled in and eyed the tactical maps still set up. "Less essays, for one thing. And the tactical scenarios you give sound like real battles." That was because I used my own battles as the examples. The lack of essays was definitely just me trying to avoid drowning in work. I had enough to deal with.

"Was Professor Hanneman in charge of your cohort when you were here?" Best to just focus on that.

"Yep, so you can imagine the tangents he went on."

"I suppose so." I didn't really hear much from him besides complaining about Manuela or crests, though. Well, when I wasn't asking for help with teaching. "Did you need something, Balthus?"

"Nah, I just figured I'd check up on you, since I'm the older one." He grinned, and I tilted my head slightly, confused. Why would him being older mean anything? "And I am assigned to help you."

"To pay off the part of your debt that the Church paid, but decided was too much to simply let go."

"Yeah, well, it's less than what I had before." He shrugged it off, and I tried to think of just how much money we were dealing with. "The only way to truly escape my financial trouble is to get the hell out of Fodlan entirely."

"I think Hilda would hurt you for that."

"Not to mention Holst. As he reminded me before he left." He leaned against one of the tables and laughed softly. "Ah, well. We all have to decide where we belong and fight for it. Can't let your wallet control your fate."

"You're saying that to a mercenary."

"Even money wasn't everything for you, though." He had a point, I supposed. Survival had been the main reason to fight for coin. "Just like me, really. If money was all I cared about, then I wouldn't have walked away from inheriting a barony."

"You mentioned that before, I think." At the least, I remembered him mentioning he was a 'former noble'. "Did the debt collectors chase you out?"

"Nah, nothing like that." His smile softened. "I like to say I stepped aside for the good of the house, but that's just a fancy way of saying that I wasn't cut out for the gig. My younger brother is way better suited for it." Younger brother? Ah, I wonder if that was why Claude had found Balthus familiar? If the brothers had a resemblance, then… "And, of course, I would've been miserable in that sort of life. A title is just a lot of fuss. This way of life suits me far better." All of a sudden, his gaze sharpened. "What about you?"

"Pardon?" At this point, I was just trying to clean up here so that I could return to my room and jump into a bath before working.

"Your arrival here at the monastery was a coincidence wrapped in happenstance. Given how you don't seem to like fighting, I'd guess you being a mercenary was just following in your dad's footsteps." That… hadn't been the case. At all. Dad would've been very happy if Azrael and I had never stepped foot on the battlefield. I was still surprised he'd figured out I hated fighting, though. I really was. "But don't you ever feel like your life was decided for you?"

"...Why are you asking?"

"Look, I'll be the first to say that Aelfric had gone mad. I will. But even if you two aren't being used as hostages, I can't help but wonder if you had a choice in anything that happened." He remained serious for all of a second before smiling. "Well, that's just my take on it. I could be wrong. I often am, after all. Still, why keep breathing if your life isn't your own?" He pushed off the table and rolled his shoulders. "Ah, I bothered you enough, though. I need to ask Claude something anyway. Well, confirm, truthfully. Got a feeling I know just where he's been all this-"

"Do not force him to say things he doesn't wish to." I fixed Balthus with a stare, and he looked away first. "I will not tolerate that."

"Yikes, I'd better watch it. I've seen you lose your temper." Er… right, I'd lost my temper at Aelfric and kind of destroyed the chalice. "Oh, but before I forget, you mind adding me to the Reason lessons?"

"I don't mind, but are you certain?" Given that Balthus had already graduated from the Academy, and given his own proficiency in Faith magic, I'd assumed he had already enough basics in spell theory. Probably more than Raphael and Caspar, actually. Neither took well to the subject, along with Ashe. And Petra, though that was more of her just really hating math.

"Yeah, Holst reminded me of how we tried to combine the spells with punching." He grinned and I tried to think of how that would work. "I want a refresher before I try experimenting again."

"Please experiment safely? I'd rather you didn't blow your arm off."

The fact that Balthus just laughed did nothing to reassure me, but he was gone before I could try to emphasize the importance of safety. So, despite how unsettled I felt, I had to unfortunately let it go for now to clean up the classroom, and then to rush back to my own room to clean myself up. Once I was done with my quick wash, I decided I wanted to grab some food to munch on, so that I wouldn't have to pause in my work to go to dinner. This, of course, meant taking the long way to the dining hall so that no one guessed what I was doing. And it meant that I skirted close to the entrance hall, where I saw Yuri heading out the door. Which wouldn't be strange, except he rarely liked leaving Abyss and he seemed to be very careful to avoid being seen.

"Yuri?" I called softly, too curious to stop myself. Immediately, he stiffened, hinting I was right about him not wanting to be seen.. "Where are you going?"

"Ah, milady, it's you," Yuri sighed. He then turned to face me, his expression unreadable. "I would think you would be resting in your room, not wondering about my business."

"I was helping Annette with something, so that delayed me." I walked over to him, noticing how tensely he held himself. How his hands absently went to his wrists to check for something, before disguising the action by 'fixing' his cuffs. "...I'm sure that leisurely strolls during the night are nothing new for you, Yuri, but this isn't that, is it?"

"Perhaps, but there's no slowing me down. I've got important things to attend to tonight." He made to leave, but I 'subtly' blocked him. "Something tells me you'll bother me until you learn exactly what's going on."

"You're checking your sleeves for your knives. You're expecting danger." I frowned slightly at him. "So, I'm worried." Particularly since he just went through hell because I killed Mom.

"Fine, fine, you'll get your way. This time." He sighed gustily and ran a hand through his hair before crossing his arms. "There's a dispute, or rather, a treachery. So, a purge is required."

"A…" Immediately, I thought of the other times I'd heard that word used. People screaming, blood glutting the ground, tears and wails and bodies piling up… and that was just my family walking through the aftermath. I'd heard of worse. "There's-"

"Did you just go pale?" Yuri leaned forward a little to study me. "You did. What are you thinking? I can't read you at all, stoic as you are. I'm amazed I even noticed you paling."

"...It's nothing." Just some bad memories. Just some bad thoughts. Given who Yuri was, I doubted… I doubted it would be anything like that. "So, you're dealing with one of your people who decided to sell you out?"

"Little worse than that. He also decided to abscond with his boss's small fortune. My small fortune." He glared, and I had a feeling that this 'fortune' wasn't something that held a lot of monetary value. But the sentimental value was priceless. "Then he cozied up with another gang. Not one you normally want to mess with, but I refuse to just roll over and play dead." He slowly made himself relax, though he was still tense. "So, I figured I'd just go and pay them a little visit. Have a spot of tea with their boss. Makes sense, you know?"

"Yes…" As a mercenary, I was aware of things like this. We'd been hired as guards just for these sorts of meetings. I hated those jobs, but this one was worse. I actually knew one of the people involved. So, I… "Let me come with you."

"What?" He blinked a couple of times in surprise before sighing. "Yeah, no. I'm not about to get the entire monastery on my fine ass because I got you involved in something like this."

"Why would the monastery… never mind." That wasn't the point. What was the point was that Yuri was about to go into something very dangerous. One wrong word, one wrong twitch, and the walls would be weeping blood. Given everything that had happened recently, I wanted to help him. And I had a good way to make him surrender quickly. "Let me come along, or I shall write your mom about my worry."

"You wouldn't." Yuri frowned, and I held his gaze, letting him draw his own conclusions. "You would. Worse, since Sir Jeralt is the one escorting her home, you'll know exactly where to send a letter." He groaned, and I smiled slightly. "Fine, fine! I yield! Of all the low blows…"

"Mercenary."

"Bah." He sighed heavily, and I smiled a little more. "I suppose it would be good to have backup, just in case."

"Of course." Part of me thought I should go fetch a sword, but I decided against it. I wasn't bad at brawling, and I had my magic. "So, to be nosier, did you inform the other pups about this?" Yuri remained stubbornly silent. "I think they're going to be mad."

"Look, they don't have to know everything I do. They might be in Abyss, but they're not as stained as I am." His eyes darkened. "I want to keep them that way. So, I'd appreciate silence on this."

"I wasn't planning on telling them." Why would I? It wasn't my business. "But having someone along helps with cover stories, yes? Particularly if that someone knows how to heal?"

"...Ugh, sure, be logical right after blackmailing me." Still, he smiled. "Well, shall we be off, milady? It's not quite the date I had in mind, but it should be entertaining nonetheless."

"I told you that I don't expect anything. I already knew you were conveying a secret." Absently, I 'nudged' Azrael to let him know what was going on. He worriedly 'asked' if he should tag along too, but I refused. I simply wanted him to stay awake, just in case. "But yes, let's go before one of the pups comes looking for you."

"I think if anyone is going to come looking, it's going to be for you." He chuckled, like there was something amusing about all of this. I was already nauseous. "This way, then."

---

A couple days later, I was out in the market, hunting down two wayward students: Petra and Raphael. Annette had somehow caused a pan to explode while she attempted to cook and, while Dedue had been able to help her salvage the meal, the kitchens were lower on supplies than they'd anticipated. As such, the staff tasked my cohort to do the grocery shopping for them and Raphael had volunteered. Except now he was at least two hours later than expected, which was more than enough cause to worry, especially since we didn't know if there were any of Aelfric's group lingering for revenge. Petra was also taking much longer than anticipated for a shopping trip (vulneraries for Manuela), and she had the additional worries of 'did the language barrier lead to trouble?', 'did someone hurt her for being foreign?', and 'did someone hurt or capture her for being the princess of Brigid?'.

Thankfully, I didn't have to hunt long for Raphael. He wasn't far from the monastery's gates and he chatted with Claude over something, while… while carrying a lot of things that didn't look like groceries. Training weapons, a crate of books, a worn but serviceable desk… it was confusing and part of me wanted to head over and ask what had happened. The rest of me decided that since Raphael was clearly okay, then I should find Petra. So, I dove into the market, weaving through the crowd and trying to not be sick. Too many people, and even if they weren't paying attention, the noise and crowding were...

["Left."] Thankfully, I had Sothis to keep watch while I struggled to not panic and as soon as I went the direction she indicated, I found Petra, safe and sound at Anna's stall and watching Ashe and Anna haggle it out with rapt fascination. Which confused me for a number of reasons, up to and including that Ashe was supposed to be doing chores with Dimitri in the practice yard.

"Come on, isn't that price a little high?" Ashe cajoled, focused solely on Anna. His gaze had a shrewdness I wasn't used to seeing, coupled with a calculation that I had seen only when he was aiming a shot. "Surely you can afford to go lower?"

"Are you kidding?" Anna bluntly retorted, frowning. She had a finger on her cheek and a scowl on her face. I wondered if she usually had to deal with hagglers or not. ...I also wondered if I had remembered to pay her for the information on the mercenaries. Not the time, of course, but still, it popped into my head. "This is even lower than my usual bargain rate!"

"Oh, really?" Ashe raised a brow, conveying perfect skepticism. Considering her continued fascination, I had a feeling Petra would've been taking notes if she'd brought paper and ink with her. "Because the shop over by the gates is selling vulneraries for a little more than half that." Ashe pointedly took Petra's arm to lead her away. "I guess we'll head back there after all."

"Hey! Wait a second!" Anna's eyes went wide, no doubt seeing the potential sale escaping. "How about I give you another ten percent off?"

"Make it twenty and you've got a deal."

"Ugh… fine…" She sighed, and Ashe grinned triumphantly. "You'd better be grateful!"

"Thank you!" Ashe nudged Petra, and helped her count out the coins. "Here you go!"

"You would be cheerful." Anna sighed and ducked behind her stall. "Drat. One second. I need to grab a basket for you." With that, she headed into a nearby building, probably where she stored her items.

"Ashe, I have amazement!" Petra gushed as soon as Anna disappeared. "Bargaining for prices is… most complicated, but because of you, the shopping is a success!" She bowed suddenly, her braid falling over her shoulder. "You have my gratitude!"

"Oh, it was nothing special, really," Ashe mumbled, looking away in embarrassment. "I'm just used to this sort of thing is all."

"A mighty lion's roar may be mundane to it, but to others, it is a prideful and fierce thing." Petra beamed at Ashe, and he blushed. "I also have gratitude for the learnings of Fodlan's customs."

"Huh? Ah, I wouldn't call that a custom, per se. Just a trick commoners use to save money. Uh… so… huh? Professor?" Desperate to try and find some subject change, Ashe looked around for anything convenient and happened to spot me. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," I reassured, joining them. I made sure to force a little smile; I didn't like being in a crowd. "Petra was just taking longer than expected, so Manuela was worried."

"Oh no, I give apologies, Professor," Petra mumbled, ducking her head. She fiddled with her hands, refusing to look at me. "I had been searching for vulneraries, but did not understand they used pictures instead of words to convey their inventory." That was because not everyone could read and write in Fodlan. Sure, it was the law in all three countries, but there weren't ways to enforce it with everything else falling apart. "Then I met this proprietor and there was no understan… er…" She paused, trying to think of the words she wanted. "Metaphors bring confusion to me. Because of this fallacy, I had been thinking she had been declaring a duel." A duel? With… with weapons? Not the strangest reason I've heard blades being drawn in a marketplace before, but... "Ashe had been coming to my rescue." She finally lifted her head to smile at him. Ashe looked away in embarrassment again, his blush becoming even darker. "You once again have my thanks!"

"It's really not much of anything," Ashe mumbled. He was redder than a cherry by this point. "Money was just tight until Lonato adopted me, so I had to learn."

"It is sounding similar to hunting for me in Brigid. It is a necessary skill for survival, with much wisdom." Petra's eyes were sparkling. Ashe's blush somehow became even darker. "However, I am now pondering something. Were you not tending to chores in the practice yard with Dimitri?"

"Ah! Right, I'd been looking for his highness!" Okay, but why would Dimitri be in the market? "The reason is a bit complicated, and nothing to worry about, but…" Ashe trailed off when Anna returned with the basket, as well as a couple of items she put out on the stall to try and entice buyers. "Oh, that book…" He picked up one of the books Anna set down, and I smiled slightly when I saw it was 'Loog and the Maiden of Wind'. "I love this book. It's what got me reading in the first place."

"What are its contents?" Petra peered curiously at the book. "Linhardt and Ferdinand had recommended reading books to further my understanding of Fodlan and its legends."

"Well, this is one of the many stories of Loog, the King of Lions, and…"

"I'm guessing the two adorables are your students?" Anna asked me, carefully packing all the bought vulneraries into a basket while Ashe excitedly told Petra about the book. I had to smile slightly and nod. "Can't say I like dealing with a skilled haggler much, but I'm glad they seem to be having fun with school life, so I'll let it slide."

"Thank you," I whispered, not really sure how to reply. Besides, something about how she said the words… "I take it not everyone enjoys being at the academy?"

"Sadly, no." Anna finished packing the basket, but surprisingly, she began fussing with it to avoid looking at me. "In last year's class, there was one such student: Monica von Ochs. She didn't want to be here at all, and constantly tried to escape."

"Escape?"

"She'd been sent here due to troubles back home. Ochs had been having a difficult time since suffering heavy losses during the Dagda-Brigid War five years ago. They were just south of Nuvelle, you see." That so? "But she wanted to go home, to be with everyone there. So, she ran away a few times. Always was found quickly, thankfully. Except…"

"Except?"

"A couple months ago, shortly before her class would graduate, she disappeared." Anna finally glanced at me. "The monastery looked everywhere for her, but there's been no sign of her since." That wasn't… wait, hold on, a member of last year's class disappeared and they were all acting like nothing had happened? Really? "It's assumed she ran away and met with trouble. Things have been dangerous lately. Thieves being everywhere, not to mention-" Not to mention what had to be life deciding it was funny, because right then, a thief rushed by us, crashing hard into Ashe to steal the book and dash into the crowd. "What the…?! Someone, catch that thief!" Anna scowled and almost jumped over her own counter to chase them down herself. Ashe, however, stopped her. "Listen, kid, I'm already nursing wounded pride because of you, so I am not letting that guy get away with valuable merch!"

"But if you rush off like that, he'll probably lead you on a merry chase and then come back to steal more," Ashe countered gently. Had to admit that was some keen insight, but how would Ashe have known that? Of course, I just wondered if it was a distraction for another sort of reason. "Here, please, let me compensate you."

"You… huh?" Anna gaped at him for a second, all the fire extinguished. "Uh… you sure about that?" she asked. "I mean… I won't exactly object, but…"

"Oh, I'll get the money back from that thief, once I catch him!" Ashe easily handed over the money. "I'll see you back at the monastery, Professor and Petra!" Then he was gone, just like that.

"...Petra, go ahead and head back to the monastery," I ordered. Petra frowned at me. "Manuela needs those vulneraries and I feel like we'll just get in the way, especially at this point."

"Professor, I have far more speed," Petra protested. She still took the basket from Anna automatically. "Surely, I can be providing assistance!"

"There are injured who need those vulneraries now, and there are many who are worried for you." I held her gaze; she looked away first. "Let's trust Ashe for now."

"...If you be insisting, Professor…"

I did have to walk part of the way back with Petra before I was certain she was, in fact, going to return instead of chase after Ashe. I didn't follow her fully, though. Instead, once I had that confirmed, I dove back into the market again, this time to look for Dimitri. The fact that he wasn't scheduled to be out in town, but I still wanted to confirm it with my own eyes. And, thankfully, I didn't have to hunt long. He'd been returning, so I almost ran right into him, and only really didn't because the crowd surged to separate us just in time.

"Professor?" Dimitri looked very confused when he saw me. For my part, I was mildly confused as to why he was carrying a basket full of items. And sugar candies. He had a couple of large bags of them too. "What are you doing here?" he asked, weaving around people to reach me. "Is everything all right?"

"That's what I was checking," I explained, relieved that he was okay. Still confused, but relieved. "I never heard Ashe's explanation for why you were in the market."

"Ashe? Please tell me he's not looking for me." Well, he wasn't at the moment? "I suppose I did trick him a little, but that's only because he kept insisting on doing everything."

"Weren't you both supposed to be in the practice yards?"

"Yes, but we reached a point in the inventory where we had to fix the tents and… well…" He grimaced. "I am… not good with delicate tasks like sewing. I have been learning from Mercedes, in exchange for helping her with her swordsmanship. It's… a work in progress?" He sounded like he was swallowing some words, all of them negative. "Since Ashe would have to take care of that part on his own, I thought I would get him something sweet while doing the shopping."

"Dimitri, from my understanding, you and Ashe weren't assigned any sort of shopping."

"Oh, no, we took over for Hilda." He smiled kindly, and I barely resisted the urge to sigh. Sothis grumbled in the back of my head. "She wasn't feeling well, or so she claimed." His smile turned a little mischievous. "She needs more lessons in lying, but I saw no reason to refuse. If nothing else, she did look tired."

"Hilda can't get out of work all the time." Still, if Dimitri didn't mind, then I wouldn't raise a fuss. This time. "So, the sugar candies are for Ashe?"

"Well, I figured he'd be more upset if I bought them just for him, so I made sure there was enough to share." A little more mischief appeared in his smile, quiet laughter dancing in his eyes. "Well, one bag is for you. I thought you might like it."

"Please do not tempt me." Mostly because I knew from experience that the bag would only be enough to tide me over. Dad had bought me some before he'd left to escort Yuri's mom home. "Regardless, I didn't know you were helping Mercedes. I had noticed her improvement, though." That said, I was still tempted to switch her to a different weapon. Bows, perhaps? Or maybe just daggers? "Do you teach any of the others?"

"No, certainly not. I'm really not that great of a teacher or anything." His expression turned shy. "Mostly, I train with the others and we point things out to each other. Ingrid seems determined to best me, and Felix…" All at once, his cheer faded. "Well, he sometimes will spar with me." I had a feeling he was swallowing more words there.

"I'm guessing the other times, he appears to be taking tact lessons from Azrael?"

"That's…" A conflicted look crossed his face, but he tried to hide it by helping me get out of the way while the crowd surged around us. "It's nothing to be concerned about."

"If you say so." However, I was going to have some sort of talk with Felix soon. Because I knew from our earlier discussion that while his feelings were complicated, he was terribly worried about Dimitri. But the way he was going about expressing it was… I feared all Dimitri saw was the pain and anger Felix harbored. Plus, there was how Felix had treated Dedue... "Are you done with your shopping?"

"Ah, yes, I just finished." He offered me his hand, and I took it after a moment. "Shall we return to the monastery?"

"It's probably a good idea." I felt nauseous when we stepped into the crowd and unintentionally moved closer to Dimitri to 'escape'. It didn't work, of course. So, I instinctively hunted for some other kind of escape, but there wasn't any. I was trapped, swallowed up by strangers. I…

"I almost forgot. I've been meaning to ask a favor from you." I had no idea if Dimitri sensed something was wrong, or if it was just lucky timing, but I was grateful either way. "It's… well, while I haven't been teaching others in our cohort, I have been teaching swordsmanship to some of the orphans here at the monastery."

"You have?" First I'd heard of that. Then again, I hadn't been here all that long, really.

"I know it's unexpected. I'm really not that good with children." He chuckled, though, recalling the memory fondly. "They saw me training with a couple of the knights and pestered me. They were just so earnest that I couldn't help but oblige."

"Ah, the earnestness of children is the bane of almost anyone." I had to smile a little, remembering Malcom's own earnestness when he asked to learn from me. "So, what is the favor? Do you want assistance?"

"If you do not mind? I hate to ask more of you, considering how much you work, but…"

"I don't mind."

"Thank you!" He smiled brilliantly at me; I had to duck my head to keep from being blinded. "I will repay you. I promise." He helped me around a hole in the path, and edged us a little out of the crowd to keep from being crushed. "This may sound arrogant, but I… I do feel a responsibility to help them. They lost their families and homes to war and illness, and I know what it is like to suddenly lose everything." Because of Duscur… "I still lived in the castle, of course, but almost everyone I knew was gone, slaughtered. My parents, my friends, the knights… all of them."

"I heard you have an uncle?"

"Yes, but we… do not get along. In truth, I only had Dedue for company." Still wondering how that worked out. I also wasn't sure that was good support for either of them. The survivor of a massacre and the survivor of a genocide… not to mention what Dedue had said during his 'talk' with Felix...

"What about Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain?"

"They stayed with me for a time afterwards, but they had to return to their own homes. It's their duty, after all." Well, that made some sense, but… "Rodrigue honestly stayed much longer than he should've, but I'm grateful to him."

"Rodrigue?" I knew the name… sort of. Dad had mentioned it before. Something about him and bar brawls and...

"My father's best friend, and Felix's father." He smiled warmly. "On the occasions where he visited the capital, he would take me out hunting or on long horseback rides. He tried to teach Dedue, but the horses just didn't want to cooperate." He chuckled at the memory, and I had to smile slightly. "While Dedue is like a brother to me, Rodrigue is almost like a second father. He's the sort of man I strive to be. Someone who helps others, who can reach out and help a lost soul…"

"Well, I think you're well on your way." The shadows that haunted him did worry me, but anyone who was this nice to a monster…

"Professor, you're teasing me." He made a face, and I simply shook my head. After all, I meant every word. "I'm sorry for boring you with my life's story."

"You're never boring, but if you feel you must apologize, then we can consider it an even trade for when I bored you about my own life's story."

"But you gave me this necklace already?" He slipped his basket to the crook of his elbow so that he could reach up and tug the chain of the necklace. "See? It's right here."

"That wasn't for that, though. So, it still counts." I felt a little smug, and wondered why. But then I was thoroughly distracted. "Oh, that's Miriam's shop." The books stacked neatly in the window… they beckoned to me. But I...

"Oh, do you recommend this bookstore? Dedue mentioned wanting a cookbook that was more specialized than what's in the library." He smiled innocently at me, like he hadn't noticed my distraction. "If you don't mind-" Unprofessional as it was, I was already yanking him into the store. "Whoa!"

"Hmm? Oh, Byleth!" Miriam laughed as soon as she saw me come in. I waved at her in greeting and let go of Dimitri to go book-hunting. "She's going to be a bit. Who are you, young man?"

"I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd," Dimitri introduced. He probably bowed, since he was formal like that. I wasn't really paying attention. "I am a student of Professor Byleth's, and she recommended this store when I mentioned wanting to find a cookbook for a friend."

"Well, I hope you have a couple of hours to burn!" I wouldn't be that long… maybe. "So, what sort of cookbook are you looking to get?"

I had no idea how long we were there, but I didn't feel too bad. Dimitri ended up just as enthralled with the shop as I was, and we both needed baskets to carry our purchases when we finally left. Though, his were gifts for some people in the cohort, particularly the cubs. Mine were selfish purchases because books. I could never have enough books. Never.

---

"Edelgard, are you awake?" The morning of the twenty-second day of the Garland Moon, I was at Edelgard's room, knocking softly. If she was still asleep, then I didn't want to wake her, but I wanted to also give her the flowers before it got lost in the distractions of the day. The sounds of movement from within, though, hinted she was getting ready. "Should I come ba-?"

"Good morning, Professor!" Edelgard swung open the door, looking almost flustered. I noticed she hadn't yet tied the ribbons in her hair as she usually did. "Did you need something?" she asked, calming quickly. She did fidget with her hands, though. "It's quite early."

"Perhaps, but here." I plucked her bouquet from my basket and handed them to her. Her face instantly lit up with a bright smile. "Happy birthday, Edelgard."

"Thank you, my teacher…" She looked softly at the flowers, eyes warm. Sothis thought there might've been a little bit of surprise, but I wasn't sure why she'd be surprised. I'd given everyone flowers for their birthday so far. "White roses for the Garland Moon… are these also carnations?"

"I noticed you seemed to like them when you passed through the gardens." So, I had some light red carnations with them, tied off with red and gold ribbons. "Was I wrong?"

"No, you're right. I adore carnations." She hid a little behind the flowers, trying to mask her shy yet silly smile. I wish she didn't hide it; it was adorable. "I'm surprised you noticed."

"Well, I do try to pay attention to what everyone likes." Not to mention if there were any flowers anyone avoided for whatever reason. "I'm glad I was right, though. Today is your special day."

"Special, huh?" Though she kept the smile, she seemed… sadder suddenly. More bitter. That wouldn't do.

"I think so. After all, if you hadn't been born, then we wouldn't have met." I smiled slightly at her, hoping I could reassure her. Life was precious, after all. "I am very glad we met, Edelgard."

"Professor…" This time, she definitely blushed. It was a rather dark blush too. "Thank you…" She glanced about, possibly for a subject change, and noticed the other bouquet I had in my basket. "Hmm? Who are those for? Does someone share the same birthday?"

"No, surprisingly enough, no one in the cohort shares a birthday." I glanced at the flowers, feeling a little silly. "However, when I was shopping for you, I realized that due to when I arrived, I didn't have the opportunity to give Hubert flowers for his own birthday." After all, it had been shortly before the three heirs showed up in Remire. "I didn't want him to be left out and, since the two of you have a close bond, I wanted you to share at least one type of flower." It ended up being white roses, though. I wasn't sure what Hubert liked. In fact, I wasn't sure if he liked anything at all.

"Professor, that's very kind of you."

"Well, we'll see what he thinks. He doesn't like me much." At least, I didn't think so, for all that my answer to his last question amused him. But so long as he respected the others and me, I wouldn't complain. At least he wasn't throwing rocks. "However, today is your day, so-"

"So, you wanted to make sure I didn't feel slighted?"

"More like overshadowed or, worse, underappreciated." Birthdays were happy days. Even Dad celebrated when Azrael and I were born, despite it being also the day Mom died.

"No, please, I want to see his expression!" She grinned, eyes glittering with bright mischief. Was this a bad idea? Then again, if it amused her this much already... "Please?"

"Very well." And, with perfect timing, Hubert stepped out of his room next to Edelgard's. "Good morning, Hubert." Hubert barely nodded at me in greeting, focused more on Edelgard. No surprise there, but… "Here, this is for you." I handed him the flowers, and was 'rewarded' with a slight frown. "Your birthday was a couple months ago, but I didn't want you to be the only one to not get flowers." This time, I truly was rewarded. His expression immediately became dumbfounded, like he could neither believe nor comprehend that I'd done this. The expression gained traces of 'flabbergasted' when Edelgard burst into laughter. "As good as you hoped, Edelgard?"

"Very much so!" Edelgard continued laughing, and Hubert continued standing there stiffly, like someone had just clonked him over the head. "Ah, but Professor?" Slowly she calmed down and tapped my arm to make sure she had my attention. "I was wondering…" Strangely, she had a light blush on her face, like she was embarrassed, and she wouldn't quite look me in the eye. "If you… I mean…" She also stumbled over her words. Was she ill? Did she want to bring up Aelfric's accusations again? "I would like it, if…"

"Aw, Edelgard, you're so cute~!" Hilda suddenly gushed, revealing that she'd stepped out of her room at some point. I was surprised she was up so early. Did we wake her? "Getting all shy like that!" She grinned and Edelgard scowled at her. "What Edelgard is trying to say, Professor, is that Dorothea mentioned doing a little girl's day out in the market with Edelgard's birthday as the excuse, and that she'd like it if you came too!" She winked at Edelgard, and though Edelgard made a face, she did smile. "So, how about it?"

"Well, I suppose I can?" I agreed, a little confused. Why would they invite me? What was so special about a 'girl's day' in the market? I had no answers, but… well, Hilda and Edelgard did both look eager. Even though I'd planned on working and I hated crowds, I couldn't really refuse them.

"Really? Yay!" Hilda punched the air in delight, and Edelgard's smile blossomed into a warm and thankful one. "Okay, let's get ready and gather the others!"

It felt like seconds before a group was gathered and we were all outside in the market. Of course, it had taken much longer, but I swore I had never seen anyone move so fast. Perhaps their enthusiasm bent the flow of time? I'd definitely heard and seen stranger.

"Oh, this shall be marvelous~!" Dorothea gushed, happily skipping down the road. She was arm in arm with Ingrid, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. "Ingrid, we'll start the magic here. I promised you'd be the most beautiful woman in the theater, and the first step is finding an elegant dress."

"We should make sure it fits the make-up kit I gave her!" Annette added with a giggle. She and Mercedes walked next to Dorothea and Ingrid, hand in hand instead of linked arms. "I can still picture it… the most fabulous of knights…!"

"Ooo, intriguing~! Tell me more!"

"We should see if there's any perfume around," Hilda commented from up ahead. She had dragged Lysithea to a stall to look at some ribbons, but both waited for us with… well, Hilda was grinning. Lysithea looked like she was trying to figure out how she got dragged into this, which I couldn't blame her for in the slightest. "Though, maybe we can all just borrow our some of our professor's? She's got so many, and they smell so nice…" Which Hilda would know. It seemed like every other day she popped in to borrow some. "That reminds me. Lysithea, there's this one scent she's got that I think would suit you!" ...I was glad Dad bought me so many. I loved that they were having fun, but I needed...

"Ha… I almost feel out of place with how cheerful they are," Edelgard murmured, brushing her hair out of her face. Today, she chose against wearing her ribbons. Instead, she wore one of the carnations I just gave her, as well as a dressier outfit than usual. Then again, everyone was in casual clothes today, glad for the excuse to avoid the uniforms for the day. "What about you, Professor?"

"I'm glad to see them having so much fun," I answered, turning a little so that I could give her a faint smile. She and I walked side-by-side, behind everyone else. "Though, unless it is for books or flowers, I do not quite understand why it is so fun." Especially with all the people. I felt like I was going to suffocate.

"Ah, is that why your room is so filled with books and flowers?" Didn't think it was a secret, actually. "I've noticed a wide range of topics on your shelves." She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled at me. "Magical theory, anatomy, tactics, history, various fictional genres… it's almost as if you have the library in your room, which explains why I rarely see you there."

"I don't like to give away my books." Besides, Tomas was in the library. For now, I still did want to avoid him. "Miriam tells me stories about Mom and Dad when I visit as well."

"Miriam?"

"She owns the bookstore." At least, the one I go to. Were there multiple? "She's an old friend of Dad's, like Liam and Noel." I smiled slightly at her confused look. "Liam used to own the armory where we bought everyone's armor, and now his son, Taylor, runs it. That's the man who measured you." We really should get everyone refitted for armor, now that they had a better idea of how they wanted to fight. "Noel used to be the blacksmith, but his daughter, Grace, handles it now. Or will once she recovers a little more from giving birth." I hadn't formally met her yet, though. "Grace and Taylor are actually married, and their son is named Mateo. But it seems like his family calls him 'Matty'."

"That so?" She looked intrigued, but Sothis thought she sensed some unease as well. I wasn't as certain. "Is he more or less cute than Louisa and Elijah?"

"Just as, of course." After all, all babies were adorable. Messy and a lot of work, but adorable. "I wonder…" We were walking past the armory, and I'd seize any excuse to get out of the crowd. "Would you mind if I dropped in for a second?"

"Not at all! I'll accompany you." She nodded to the others. "We can see just how long it takes them to notice our absence." That did sound amusing.

So, we split off from the others and ducked ito the armory. The inside was the same the last couple of times I had visited, and blessedly devoid of people. Most people, at least. Amusingly, there was one other person crawling about the floor curiously: Mateo. He looked around with wide eyes, drooling a little as he crawled around the counter, and then looked at his hands, like he was amazed that they moved when he told them too. Back and forth, back and forth… just observing the world and everything in it. At least, until he accidentally bonked his head on the counter. Then he plopped down on his butt and blinked a couple of times before his face scrunched up and he began wailing.

"Aw, that must have hurt…" I murmured, instinctively rushing over to pick him up. In retrospect, being touched by a monster, a stranger monster at that, probably would've made things worse. But what else was I supposed to do when someone was crying? "Poor thing… it's going to be okay." I tucked Mateo against my shoulder and used my magic to ease the stinging. Luckily, there was no 'real' damage. Just a little bump. Of course, it was probably one of the first 'bumps' he'd ever had, so… "There, there…" Thankfully, Mateo slowly stopped crying, probably confused by how the pain went away. His face was a mess, of course, but that was fine. I could use my sleeve to clean up the worst of it.

"Here, Professor." Or Edelgard could give me a handkerchief to do it. That worked too. "You're good at that," she whispered, crouching slightly to look at Matteo. Matteo, for his part, just blinked slowly, no doubt confused still by everything. "I've never seen a baby calm down so quickly before."

"It's really nothing special." Once I was done cleaning his face, I bounced Matteo a little, and was rewarded with a little happy gurgle. "There's a smile…"

"Fastest I've seen a baby smile too." She hesitantly reached out to poke his cheek, like to see if it was as chubby as it looked. Thankfully, Mateo just smiled more instead of crying. "What's a child doing crawling about the armory, though?"

"I told you that the owner has a son, right? This is him, and I imagine he's around because his parents are working and-"

"Matty!?" Of course, the fact that Matteo had been wailing and then suddenly stopped no doubt sent his parents into a panic. "Matty, where…?!" Taylor burst through the curtain that marked off the back, and stumbled to a stop when he saw us. "Oh…" he breathed, before sighing in relief when he saw I had Mateo. "Uh… hello, there?"

"Good morning," I greeted, shifting Mateo so that he could see his papa was here. Adorably, Mateo immediately reached out for him, making little noises as he tried to wriggle out of my arms and to Taylor's. "Yep, Papa's here." I handed him over to Taylor, and Mateo immediately curled up against Taylor's chest. Taylor hugged him back tightly, visibly relieved. "He was crawling around when we came in, and then he accidentally ran into the counter."

"I see." Taylor kissed Mateo's head, right where the red mark still was, and then smiled at me. "Little rascal learned that if he pushes on something hard enough, it falls over. Particularly the blocks we use to wall off his play area in the back." Then he went exploring, because what baby didn't explore? "Ah, but you don't need to hear me rambling. Did you need-"

"Taylor, did you find him?!" And out the back curtain came a lovely lady. There were probably many things to notice about her, but the first thing I thought of was that she had muscles Raphael would envy. "Oh, good, you did…" she continued, smiling in relief. She had a beautiful smile. "I blame you for him being trouble."

"Me? He clearly inherited your smarts," Taylor teased right back. That right there told me this was Grace. Funny how I'd just been thinking I hadn't met her yet. "According to Byleth, he bumped into the counter."

"Did he? Oh, my poor baby…" She took Matteo from Taylor and cuddled with him. Mateo gurgled happily in return and mouthed her cheek. "And Byleth, you said?" She looked over at me, and I waved. Edelgard bowed, likely out of awkwardness. "Well met. What brings you to our humble shop?"

"You could be a little more polite before jumping into business."

"You have to strike while the iron is hot."

"Enough with the smithing jokes. They're not funny." So he said, but he was smiling and Grace grinned in return. "But yes, what brought you here?"

"I wanted to schedule another fitting for my students," I explained, gesturing to Edelgard for emphasis. She smiled, visibly awkward now. "They're starting to figure out what styles of fighting they like, so I want them to look into different armor and weapons."

"Ah, I see," Taylor replied, moving to the counter. He pulled paper, ink, and quill out from somewhere and jotted that down. "Should be fine. Different tier or same?"

"That'll be their choice, but I'm sure many will move to the next one." I joined him at the counter, and Edelgard followed me closely. Grace disappeared back into the back with Mateo. "So, would you mind having both options available?"

"Of course not." He smiled. "What day will work best?"

Taylor and I discussed schedules, and quickly came to a consensus. With that determined, I left with Edelgard, curious about how long it would take us to find the others. But as we walked, I noticed something. Edelgard was… something was bothering her. I wasn't sure what, but I was certain that was the case. Though I knew it was nosy, I...

"Edelgard, are you okay?" I asked softly, frowning a little at her. Worried about the crowd, I led her down a side street so that we could talk with a little more privacy. "I'm sorry that ended up taking longer than expected." I imagine it wasn't what she'd expected to do on her birthday.

"No, no, Professor, it's fine," she answered, making sure to keep pace with me. She even smiled reassuringly, but there was definitely something 'off' about it. Sothis thought so too. "I was just thinking." About what? I wanted to ask, though I knew it wasn't my business. "After… everything happened, I rather thought I was destined to never have a happy birthday again." Why think that? A 'price' for surviving? "In truth, I would normally forget my birthday if not for the feasts the court insists on. There are things I must accomplish, and a path I must walk. No matter where it leads."

"Is that so?" I felt like we were having two different conversations. But the only way to fix that would be to try and keep talking, so… "Destined to walk a path no matter where it leads?" I should just try to focus on what I heard and hopefully, we'd meet in the middle. "You've mentioned something similar before, didn't you?" When she came to have tea after the nightmares of her siblings' deaths… "With such a strong belief in it, I'm surprised you're having so much trouble with Faith magic." I had meant it as a little bit of teasing, but she stopped dead in her tracks, like I'd punched her in the throat or something. "Edelgard?"

"I… was just surprised." You looked more than just 'surprised', Edelgard. "The way you worded that, though… do you not believe in fate? That you were born for a purpose?"

"I do not believe anyone was born for a purpose, no. We are not tools forged for a specific task. Whatever purpose we have is what we have chosen ourselves." Did not expect philosophical discussions today. "I wouldn't say I believe in fate either." I leaned against the outer wall of a building, and crossed my arms to think about how to explain. "To me, it feels like… an excuse. It feels like it demeans and devalues people's choices." If everything was 'fated', then Mom didn't really choose Azrael and me over herself. She had been 'fated'. But I didn't like thinking that. Even though I felt guilty over killing her, I liked the idea of her choosing. "It is a way to try and run away from the weight of your decisions and their consequences." All the people I killed… that had been my choice. I fought, and I hadn't wanted to die, so I killed. Again and again, because what else would selfish monsters do? "It becomes an excuse for atrocities and it blinds people until they see nothing but the singular path in front of them. It makes them simply accept what is ahead of them, and not make an effort to find other paths. It..." I was tripping over my own words. How brilliant was that?

"So, what do you believe?"

"I believe life is filled with so much chaos and wonder that to restrict it to something like fate makes everything duller." Didn't I have a similar conversation with Dimitri once? "Does fate exist? I wouldn't know, and I don't think much about it one way or the other. Much like the Goddess, actually." I shrugged, not really sure how else to explain. Life was just… life. It was beautiful and cruel at the same time, filled with pain and triumph. Personally, I didn't need a 'neater' explanation. "However, just because that is what I believe doesn't mean that is what you should believe, Edelgard. There are people who find comfort in the idea of fate and destiny. It's no different than those who find comfort in the Goddess." Honestly, you could argue that they were the same, especially if you thought of the Goddess as being the one who 'assigned' fates.

"I… I see." Edelgard tried to remain calm, but I could tell that I'd shaken her. I wished I knew just what was wrong… "So, what if…"

"Edelgard, as I said, if you believe in destiny, that's fine. I'm certainly not going to tell you that you're wrong. That would be as ridiculous as me declaring that I am right." I smiled slightly at her. "It's simply what I believe, based on my own experiences." Or, rather, what I decided I believed after making myself focus on the world around me, so that I could see past the blood and death. So that I felt a little less guilty about surviving and wanting to live. "I was simply trying to make a little joke, and failed miserably. Faith magic is all about belief, after all, and not necessarily one's belief in the Goddess."

"Right, that's what you've taught us." Edelgard hesitated, biting her lip. "Professor, I…"

"Professor! Edelgard!" Whatever Edelgard wanted to say was swallowed up by Annette and HIlda's arrival. "There you are!" Annette cheered, catching both Edelgard and me in a hug. Used to her antics, I just pat her head, but Edelgard had to blink a couple of times to process things. "We got worried when we didn't see you!"

"I decided to stop by the armory for business and Edelgard chose to keep me company," I explained, still patting her head. Annette made a face. "Hmm? Is something wrong?"

"Professor, the point of relaxing is not working."

"Considering everything you do in a day, Annette, I'm not sure you should talk," Hilda pointed out dryly, sliding to Edelgard's side. She studied her for a moment before smiling and focusing on me. "But she's right. Seriously, Professor, at this rate, I feel like we need to give you lessons on relaxing."

"It was just scheduling something," I protested, not sure why it was such a big deal. But Annette was pouting, and Hilda was frowning, so I supposed it was. "What made you realize we weren't there?"

"Dorothea turned back to ask about your skincare routine."

"...Skincare routine?" I tilted my head, not sure what she meant. "Does this have something to do with those lotions Manuela insists I use?" Which I tended to forget about given how much work I had. Thankfully, Manuela hadn't asked about it again, but I probably did need to build that habit. Just in case.

"Probably? But you don't have a routine? Seriously?" Hilda gaped for a second before sighing. I was so confused. "Professor, how do you know perfumes but not any of that?" Were they supposed to go together or something? The perfume was to keep from vomiting myself to death due to the blood that shrouded me. "Intervention time. Now." Intervention for what?

"Definitely," Annette agreed, her eyes sparkling. I had a suspicious feeling I was about to be a doll again. "Oh! I just had a great idea!" There was definitely mischief amidst the sparkles. I was definitely going to be a doll. "Let's get some matching accessories while we're at it! It'll be cute!" What did accessories have to do with skin?

"It definitely would!" Hilda giggled, amused by… something. She then grinned slyly at Edelgard, for whatever reason. Edelgard blushed and glowered at her. "Let's start with the birthday girl and the Professor! Come on! To the others! We have a lot of shopping to do! Ooo, this is going to be so much fun!"

Wasn't sure just why that would be fun, but my students were smiling the whole time. And though she seemed embarrassed by the whole thing, Edelgard did seem pleased by the matching pendants she and I eventually bought: little black eagles with wings spread out in flight. I was content with that. ...Even if I was confused by the lotions and soaps Dorothea and Mercedes insisted on buying me. But I would just treat it as something they wanted to share with me, for whatever reason.

---

A couple days after Edelgard's birthday, I was finally able to organize everything bought on that shopping trip. It took me a while, particularly since Mercedes had taken to dropping by and making sure I was using everything correctly. Still confused me, but since she took to it with such cheer, I just went with it. Even if it was a little strange for her to act as a 'big sister' when I was her professor. Then again, I was a terrible professor and it was just a means to an end. And I was younger than her.

["Will you stop with the introspection? Your thoughts are making it harder for me to read!"] Sothis's complaint made me smile slightly, and I focused back on the book we were reading. Normally, I just read alone, but apparently, this particular horror story had intrigued Sothis and she really wanted to know how it ended. So, since we were waiting for Flayn and our midnight tea, she insisted we read it. ["Come now! Surely you are also curious if the specter is real or a delusion of the housekeeper!"] Actually, I was more worried about the narrator, who was so isolated by the housekeeper's reverence of the former mistress of the household. ["Well, either way, we must continue in order to find some satisfying answers, so-"] So, someone knocked on the door. ["...Must we answer?"]

"Flayn could be a little early," I pointed out, taking the Zanado-flower bookmark and marking my place before closing the book. Sothis simply sighed gustily. "I'll be woken up by a nightmare like usual, so we can read a little more afterwards."

["I do not know what to feel about planning around those nightmares."] Well, they were constant and always had been. We might need to delay depending on whether or not it was a particularly bad one or not. ["Oh, just open the door before I scold you."]

"For what?" There was, of course, no answer. So, instead, I just did as she asked and opened the door, expecting to see Flayn patiently and politely waiting since she never barged in no matter how many times I told her that she could just come on in. Instead, however, I found Felix scowling, tapping his foot impatiently, and… holding a small cloth with a slice of cake on it. "Felix, you hate sweets." Not the best of greetings, but this was the first time we'd talked outside of class since his talk with Dedue.

"Incredibly," he confirmed drolly. He pushed the cake into my hands and walked inside without asking. "Lysithea forced me to take it. Something about buying my silence." ...For what? "I neither know nor understand, but I can't stand food going to waste, even if its sickeningly sweet."

"So, you thought I could take it off your hands," I 'finished', taking a guess. That didn't explain why he'd come into my room itself, but I'd wait for that explanation. Instead, I set the cake on my table and went to make some tea. "Hmm… for something like this, I'll need a slightly bitter tea. That'll balance it out." Of course, I could just have sweets, sweets, and more sweets, but I was going on the assumption that Felix would have some tea as well. "Ah, this one will do."

Slowly but surely, I fussed over the tea, giving Felix plenty of time to start a conversation. He didn't. He took a seat at the table, but he didn't say a word. Just kept silent, even after I poured some tea for both him and me. Perfectly quiet, even as I finished eating the slice of cake he'd brought me. I almost thought he wasn't going to say anything at all. But when I finished my second cup of tea and started on my third, he did.

"What you said before…" he whispered. Never had I heard Felix talked so slowly. It was like he was actually taking the time to pick his words. "About 'facsimile of strength'..." Ah.

"I did say something like that, didn't I?" I mumbled, ashamed. Something like that was... "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Strength means different things to different people. It isn't right for me to push my own view on you, or declare that yours is 'wrong' and mine is 'right'." Such arguing was pointless. Better to accept the differences and learn to meet halfway. Besides, he was healing from trauma just as much as the other pups. Even if I thought his method of coping was a crutch, the way to help wasn't to try and kick the crutch out from under him. You had to build up the strength to stand on their own. "Losing my temper is no excuse for such poor behavior."

"So you did lose your temper. Azrael said as much to the others, and I got an earful from Ingrid about it." Urgh… how many had Azrael told? Losing my temper like that was already bad, without an audience. "Your expression didn't change one bit, though. Then again, it rarely does." Yes, I was well aware of that, thank you.

"I take it that since you came here with a convenient peace offering and brought up what I said, you wish to have that 'later' talk I had promised?" Best to simply keep things on track.

"Well, you didn't corner me like I expected." He frowned at me. And scowled. Because he wouldn't be Felix if he didn't scowl. "Normally when someone promises a 'later' talk, it's the same damn day."

"Would that have given you the time to think?" Might as well pretend that I had everything planned and wasn't completely irresponsible. "Confronting you at that time would have simply led you to be defensive." I sipped my tea, wishing I had a little more cake now. I should ask Lysithea where she'd gotten it. "Thorns can only convey so much, even to people who know the softness underneath."

"You can't tell me that it didn't bother you that Dedue agreed to all I said."

"I would first argue that I do not believe you have a right to ask the survivor of a genocide any question such as that. Particularly when you opened the conversation by comparing him to a beast, just like every other person in the Kingdom." I fixed him with a look, and he glanced away. Not sheepish, but perhaps he saw my point. "Secondly… well, it could be my own bias showing, but given the comments he made afterwards, I can't help but wonder if he gave answers that he purposely knew would rile you. Since you seemed so intent on digging into his own scars."

"...Huh." His dumbfounded look hinted he hadn't even considered that possibility. "That's…"

"I will agree, however, that his comments worried me. I do not like how he views himself as a tool. People are not made for such mentality." Tools didn't feel. Tools didn't think. Tools were forged for a single purpose, and were discarded. "Still, shoving someone off a cliff isn't always conductive to helping them."

"I don't care about helping. I-"

"Yes, that's why you confronted Dedue when you thought no one was around, when you barely make the effort to say even 'hello' to your childhood friends." I finished my tea and poured myself another cup. Felix grimaced and pointedly didn't look at me. "If it wasn't to help, but to simply insult Dedue and Dimitri both, then I will have to correct your behavior. Immediately."

"What? Are you going to spank me like I'm a child?"

"Well, I was thinking I could have Lorenz teach you etiquette for a full day, followed by helping Mercedes with her baking, especially taste-testing." Best to go with the absurd since… er… I didn't actually know how I'd do something like that. "From there, you would have to accompany Manuela as her guard while she goes drinking in the tavern and then, after a little bit of rest, I'd have you write essays for Seteth." I smiled slightly, amused at how his expression completely blanked. "That would be the first and second days, mind. Shall I continue for the third, fourth, and fifth? I was thinking accompanying Sylvain on his flirtations should be one of them."

"Please no." He looked about my room, probably desperate for some convenient change in subject. "...The books there…" Felix looked right at my collection of Faerghus stories. "You read that drivel?"

"Of course. I wouldn't own them if I didn't read them." Though, given my work, I hadn't been able to pick up a couple in a while. But I liked at least flipping through to find my favorite passages as a means of easing my nerves. "They're some of my favorites."

"Bah, only fools live their lives by such nonsense." He glared at the books as if they had just murdered his pet right in front of him. "Friendship, loyalty, justice… all it does it lead those fools to die for nothing, and then their deaths glorified and worshiped because that's all chivalry is good for. That and seeing the sorrow in people and turning away." Had I ever heard him speak so many words in one sitting? I was pretty sure I'd had, but it was difficult to remember at the moment. "It's naive to believe otherwise."

"Is there a problem with being naive?" I asked the question without thinking about it, but Felix's expression blanked like I'd surprised him. "Is there a problem with wanting the world to be better? To look upon the world with the wonder of a child and find the joy hiding behind the shadows?"

"That…" He frowned. "You're a mercenary."

"Yes, I am a mercenary. Just like knights, I have been paid to kill people." I shrugged and nursed my tea. "But should that mean I must dislike tales where things are simple? Where kindness is not suffocated? Where people try to do the right thing and hold onto their morals when everything goes mad around them?" Was there something wrong with reading about an idealized world I wished existed? A world where people remembered to value life, and did not spend it as a socialite spent coin in a market to 'buy' their ideals without cooperation? A world where people talked and communicated, met each other in the middle and build a world far better than anyone could make alone? "No, the world is not like that now. It might never be. But is there something wrong with wanting to read happy endings?"

"But there's nothing happy about any of it. Just, as I said, the glorification and worship of death." He was fixated on that. I wondered if… well, even if I was right, I knew I couldn't truly help. Better someone older and wiser to assist him there. But there was still one thing I could do, and say.

"You need to remember, Felix, that different people process grief differently." Because ultimately, I was certain this was the heart of the matter. "You may deal with the pain and trauma of losing your brother by rejecting chivalry and knighthood and running away from the memories, but others will not and cannot." I thought about looking him in the eye, but since he was doing his best to avoid looking at me at all, I figured it was better to simply drink my tea and ramble. "They may cling to the concepts in an attempt to try and make some sort of sense of the death. Others might pretend to still like it, but completely internalize their own pain."

"...Cling, huh?"

"Yes. Much like how you will see some people lose their faith in the aftermath of tragedy, while others embrace it." I finished my tea and decided to go ahead and pour myself yet another cup. There was still plenty; Felix had barely touched his first cup, after all. "That's part of why grief is a messy process. Why healing is a messy and intricate process. Or so I have seen and heard." It wasn't as if I had a lot of personal experience with this. The only person I had ever really lost was Charles. I supposed that was the 'benefit' of being a demon that no one wanted unless they wanted someone dead. Most of what I knew about grief came from Dad. "That isn't to say, of course, that they should have free reign to do whatever they wish. If someone hurt you in their grief, then they need to apologize. Just as you must apologize when your good intentions claw into old wounds."

"...How the hell are you able to say things like this?" His tone implied the words were an insult, but his eyes held genuine confusion. "You're…" Yes, I supposed they were strange words for a monster.

But there wasn't really a chance to try and explain further. Right then, someone opened the door as quietly as possible. Which was already strange, but even stranger was the person in question was someone I neither knew nor recognized. Of course, Felix and I sat there for a good few seconds just staring at the person before it dawned on me just why they might be here. To be fair, however, the 'would-be-assassin' also stared, dumbfounded that anyone would be awake at this hour.

But I recovered first, and I set my teacup down before throwing fire at the enemy. They reeled back in surprise, and I took advantage of their dropped guard to snag my dagger from the desk and drive it deep into their neck. Death in a matter of seconds, though the blood splattered everywhere. The smell was nauseating, but… but there was no time to be sick. I had Felix behind me, and… and a quick look down the way showed another assassin sneaking into Dedue's room…!

Felix flew past me before I could say a word, and swung into Dedue's room. I was only a step behind, so I was able to grapple the assassin away from the bed as Felix shook Dedue awake. The assassin tried to twist and stab me, but I was stronger, so I reached up at clawed at their face and sparked some fire to set them aflame. Their scream didn't last long; I had the fire fill their throat. Then I twisted them to the ground and stabbed them with my dagger to finish them off. I glanced at Dedue and Felix briefly to check that they were okay, and then I stepped out again to get a hold of the situation. And saw another assassin on the second tier, heading towards Petra's room...

"Felix, get everyone in the cohort on the first floor," I ordered softly. I clenched the bloody dagger in my hand. "Now." I had to keep calm. It was just an ambush. I've been through these things before. Not with… a bunch of students under my care… but I… "Dedue, go with him." I glanced at them just in time to see Felix about to protest. But at my look, he simply glared, but complied, pushing past me. Dedue… didn't. Not at first. Instead, he muttered something under his breath that I couldn't understand. "Is there an issue?"

"...I worry for His Highness, but I will not question your orders for now," Dedue answered. I nodded, figuring that was the end of the matter. So, I was surprised when he continued. "I was… simply praying." In a muttered tone? Then again, I could've easily misheard. "I kept quiet since it was to a Duscurian God."

"Is it normal to quietly pray when…" I began to ask. Then I mentally kicked myself at getting distracted. "No, never mind. Go help Felix. I'll handle the second floor."

Trusting that Dedue would listen, I ran out and quickly scrambled up to the second floor. I was glad I climbed up when I did. Already, I could see one slipping through the shadows, trying to find their target. But they jumped when I banged on the Sylvain's door to make sure he was awake. When I heard him yelp, I did the same for Dimitri's and then ran down the hall, knocking on doors while trying to reach the assassins before they reached their targets. It meant mass confusion behind me, but my priorities were elsewhere. I did think about throwing fire, but considering we were inside a mostly wooden building, that seemed… ill-advised. I still cursed myself when the assassin managed to slip inside Claude's room ahead of me, and I wondered if I would have to turn back time and take the risk. Then I actually swung into Claude's room and stilled. After all, the assassin was already dead. Claude had killed them, the bloody dagger clutched in his hand showing just how, and now Claude just stood there in the middle of the room, head down as if to look at the body slowly cooling at his feet. Based on the covers on the floor by the bed and how his pillow was a short distance away near his desk, I guessed Claude had been asleep before rolling to his feet to strike and that he'd kept that dagger under his pillow while sleeping.

Carefully, I took a step towards Claude, nudging one of the many books on the floor away from the blood. When Claude didn't react, I took another step, and then another. Then one more, which put me within range. Claude's response was immediate; he whirled, kicking the corpse to the side and spinning to try and stab me. But I had more practice dodging sharp objects than Claude had at stabbing, so I deflected the attempted strike and twisted so that I had a firm grip on Claude's arm and his dagger was far away from me. And mine far from him, of course.

"...Wait, Teach?" Claude asked, blinking slowly as he tried to process what happened. It took him a couple more blinks to put the pieces together. "Wait, I… Teach, I'm… I'm so sorry…" Shaken, he took a step back. I let go of him so that he could. "I… I'm used to multiple assassins and… wait, Teach, what are you even doing here?"

"I saw them come into your room, and came in to assist," I explained, wondering why I had to explain at all. Shouldn't the assassins have made that obvious? "Are you injured?" Moving slowly, I touched his hand and sent a pulse of power through to check. "I don't sense anything…"

"Nah, I'm fine, Teach."

"I'm glad." Still, guilt pressed heavily into my heart. "I'm sorry."

"For…?"

"That I did not catch up in time." I looked at him to give a little more weight to the apology, and saw how he was completely and utterly shocked and confused. Like he couldn't believe I was really here to help, and that I was apologizing for not getting here sooner. "Come. We need to make sure everyone else is out of their rooms, and then meet with the rest of the cohort outside." The noise hinted everyone was waking up.

"Felix? Felix!" In the back of the hall, I could hear Sylvain yelling. I turned and saw him dragging Dimitri towards the rest of us, even as he looked back. "There's nowhere to hide, so where the hell is he?" he growled. "Felix!"

"Felix should be downstairs getting the first floor," I called as I stepped out, waving to help Sylvain identify just who was talking. Almost immediately, his face softened with relief. "We'll do a count once we're in a less confined place. Hurry up, everyone."

It took a second to get the last of the second floor awake, mostly because even with the loud noises, they weren't coherent enough to make sense of them. But everyone listened when I ordered them to move, so it wasn't long before we made it outside to join the others. Of course, as soon as we did, arrows rained down. Thankfully, not so many that I couldn't burn most of them, but it still made a few things clear. One, there were more assassins. Two, they had some on the roof. I had no doubts there were more on the ground, and I had to assume the assassins were all cooperating. Meaning my students were in a lot of danger. Well, all of the students were, but I… I had my hands full with just my own.

I looked over everyone, making sure we had everyone. Bernadetta was thankfully out of her room, though she trembled so badly that she could barely stand on her own. Dorothea held her, though, stroking her hair and humming a little song to try and soothe her. Next to her, Ferdinand supported Petra while Linhardt tended to an injury on her leg. Nearby, Caspar was tense enough to shake, and I thought that if Edelgard didn't have her hands on his shoulders, he might've tried to take on the assassin himself. To my surprise, Hubert actually wasn't near Edelgard. Instead, he lurked on the edges of the group, keeping one eye to the roofs and a spell half-prepped at his fingertips. Next to him, Dedue watched the ground, standing in a deceptively 'relaxed' stance, one that would allow him to react quickly if need be. Of course, as could be expected, he also kept an eye on Dimitri, but it was easy to see why he wasn't at Dimitri's side. Ingrid and Sylvain had him and Felix pinned between them in a hug, one that Dimitri seemed amusedly resigned to, while Felix looked grumpy about it. And he became even grumpier when Annette wriggled her way into the hug to grab Dimitri. Nearby, Mercedes was a beacon of serenity, easily keeping both Ashe and Ignatz calm in the chaos. Raphael lingered nearby, chatting to Ignatz, but it didn't escape me that he kept close to Lysithea, keeping her tucked in front of him like he was prepared to use himself as a shield if need be. Lysithea looked annoyed at the prospect, but she remained silent and held Marianne's hand. Marianne, for her part, had her eyes closed in prayer, which would be worrisome if Leonie and Lorenz were not actively watching the area just as Hubert and Dedue were. Strangely, Claude seemed intent on keeping his distance from everyone, but Hilda wasn't having it. In fact, she'd dragged him into the middle of the group and promptly started scrubbing his face with a handkerchief.

Everyone who slept in the dorms was here. But there was still danger. I only needed to sense for Azrael to know that the dorms were not the only place hit. We had no numbers, no information. So, the best thing to do was…

"Follow me," I ordered, striding past everyone like I actually knew what I was doing. Surprisingly, all of them did, in fact, follow me. They followed me up the stairs to the first tier of the first floor of the dorms. They followed me into the alcove next to my room. And when I opened the hidden door Yuri had showed me to Abyss, there was only a fraction of hesitation before they headed down. Even though I knew everyone was here, I did another count as each one passed me, just to reassure myself. When the last one (Hubert) headed down, I stepped inside the passage, ready to close the door behind me.

"Byleth!" But in all the chaos, I'd completely forgotten that it wasn't even quite midnight yet and that Flayn had been on her way over. "Byleth, are you all right?" Flayn asked, rushing over to me. "Are the students?"

"Mine, at least, are fine for now," I answered. Guiltily, I thought of the other students, but I… I had my job and besides, what could I do? I was only good at killing, and assassins were annoying to find. Besides, there was another problem. "Did you run here?"

"I was already on my way, and then I heard the knights shouting about assassins." She pressed a hand to her chest and sighed in relief. "I am so very happy that you're well."

"Likewise." After all, this meant that Flayn had been running through the grounds when there were assassins everywhere. "Come down below with us. It's too dangerous."

"Below? To Abyss?" She blinked a couple of times before smiling. "Very well, then. I hope Seteth does not fret too much."

"Does he stop fretting?" I ushered her inside, and shut the door behind us. It was pitch-black and immediately, I felt nauseous. But I forced myself through the fear to 'inform' Azrael that Flayn was with us. The reassurance I got from him was enough to ground me; the steady calm from Sothis helped me get moving. "It's a straight path to the main area of Abyss. Just walk forward."

Despite the dark, Flayn listened without the slightest bit of hesitation, and so we both ran down the tunnel. I couldn't hear my students; I hoped it meant they were okay up ahead. I hoped the Abyssians wouldn't mind the late guests. I hoped… a lot of things, actually. I settled for making sure I didn't step on Flayn by accident. She moved slower than me, after all, but I wanted her in front. If an assassin saw us, then I wanted to be the one they'd hit first. I had my dagger, after all, and my fire.

"Milady, there you are!" Yuri appeared next to me as soon as Flayn and I stepped into the open area of Abyss. "Some Abyssians informed me of the chaos on the surface," he whispered. Noticing my students clustered by the staircase to the main street of Abyss, I nudged Flayn to join them and turned my focus completely on Yuri. "Claude said assassins?"

"Yes, and given that they were coordinating between roofs and ground, I figured 'below' was safer," I explained, already feeling guilty. If the assassins followed… "Sorry for the trouble, but-"

"If you hadn't shown up, I would've had Balthus charging up, probably with Constance right behind. Hapi actually had to sit on Constance to get her to not rush up blindly." That… was a strangely amusing image. "Since you plan on having this be a lengthy stay, we can move them to the tavern. Large place with only one entrance."

"That will work." I smiled a little, but it was mostly out of a feeling of needing to react. My thoughts were bouncing too much. "Can we get the civilians evacuated, just in case?"

"Already on it, and got watches on the closest entrances."

"Thank you."

What a mess...

---

The owner and patrons of the tavern grumbled, but Yuri charmed them into taking the night off so that my students could camp there until we knew everything was clear above. Well, charm and logically reminded them that 'evacuations' meant they had to leave anyway. So, as the minutes crawled by, we all simply crowded together for warmth and reassurance. No one slept. Some tried, but no one had managed it for long, not even Linhardt. Instead, there was just some bits of quiet talking, and frequent glances to the lone entrance. That's where I'd sat myself, right in the doorway, keeping watch. I could go without sleep for a night or two; I knew from experience. Besides, being awake meant I got constant updates from Azrael about what was going on above, and from Yuri, who had his own people hunting for things the knights might miss.

"There, that should be the last of it," Flayn murmured, checking over Petra's leg one more time. In the heat of the moment, Linhardt had forgotten to check for poisons and, true to form, the assassins had, in fact, put poisons on their blades. Because what assassin didn't use poisons. "How does it feel?"

"There is no pain, though the skin is giving a feeling of tightness," Petra answered slowly, prodding the area. The only sign of the former injury now was the faint pink mark. "Is that being normal?"

"In this case, it is. Due to how this particular poison travels the body, I had to remove and cleanse some of the water in your body. This unfortunately leads to the side-effect of dried out skin, which feels tight." Flayn smiled gently, though. "A good night's rest and some water should fix that. If it does not, then the area should be checked again."

"I have understanding." Petra rested her hand on her shoulder and bowed slightly. "You have my thanks, Mistress Flayn."

"Oh, just Flayn is fine. I am simply pleased I could assist." Flayn giggled. "Though I must admit this is not how I imagined meeting Byleth's students, I am glad I have finally had the opportunity." She looked over at everyone else, her smile warm and gentle. "Does anyone else want a check-up?"

Dedue volunteered, mostly because Dimitri pointedly prodded his side, and Flayn went to work making sure all was well. I smiled slightly when I saw Mercedes watching closely, asking quiet questions that Flayn was pleased to answer, and then I checked over everyone else to make sure no one was particularly panicky. No one stood out save for Bernadetta, but she was curled up in Dorothea's lap and that seemed enough for her, for now. I did note that everyone was more or less mingling between houses, and wondered if I should somehow turn this into a makeshift 'Friday class'. Of course, I doubted any of them wanted to do any sort of work, but perhaps the distraction would be worth it?

"Milady?" Of course, Yuri swung by then to check up on us right then, so my thoughts scattered so that I could focus on him. "This is the latest I've gotten," he informed me quietly, passing me a piece of paper. "Seems like things are calming, but I wouldn't trust heading back up quite yet."

"Yes, assassins are trained to hide and wait for the perfect moment," I agreed, looking over the words. Paired with what Azrael relayed to me… "How are the rest of the pups?"

"Hapi is complaining about how she just wants to go back to sleep, but she's almost done disguising the paths to the living areas. Don't be surprised if she comes up here to crash with everyone." Honestly, maybe seeing someone sleeping peacefully would help the others. I knew no few of them were sleepy, but were too scared. "Constance was researching spells, but she might've passed out by now. If not, it'll be soon. Balthus decided to wait so that he could carry her over, and then he'd take over one of the watches."

"I see." I smiled slightly at him. "So, when do you and Balthus plan to rest, exactly?"

"I'll get some shut-eye when I've confirmed the calm. Balthus will probably do the same." Yuri raised a brow, smiling sardonically. "Will that be when you sleep as well?"

"We'll see." The answer was probably a big 'no'. But I might move to actually sit among my students then. "Thank you, Yuri."

"Remember, milady, I'm tasked with assisting you. Not to mention that it's only thanks to your intervention that the four of us survived Aelfric's scheme." Yeah, except it was only because of Azrael and me it even happened in the first place… "I'm going to head back to checking in on my people. Be back in a little while."

"See you then." I waved him goodbye, and spared a moment to check my dagger. I'd borrowed a couple of cloths to clean it, and now, it rested in my lap, just in case. I did wish I had remembered to grab the sheathe, but there was nothing to do about it for now. So...

"Teach." Claude sat down next to me then, looking strangely grave. "I wanted to apologize again," he mumbled, not quite looking at me. "For earlier."

"For earlier?" I repeated, not sure what he meant. Sothis had to prompt me. "Oh, in your room. It's nothing to worry about. I've been attacked many times before." Besides, it had been more than a little stupid to just walk up silently to a person who had been attacked by an assassin.

"While trying to help?"

"Well, yes?" Was it strange? I didn't think so, personally. When you were in a dangerous situation, if you didn't know who was an ally and who was an enemy, then wouldn't you lash out to try and protect yourself? Not to mention those who went unconscious during the fight and took a few seconds of acclimating to being 'out of the fight' when they woke up again. "If anything, I should apologize for not getting there sooner, as I said then."

"...Teach, you are the strangest person I've ever met, and that is saying something." He frowned at me, like he had no idea how to react. I just resigned myself to 'being strange'. It was, after all, what most strangers thought of me. A strange monster, one that could never be human. "Anyway, I saw Yuri pop in a few times. Is everything okay?"

"Things seem to be quieting above, but we'll wait until we're certain." I looked again at the note Yuri gave me. "Other than that, he's been gathering information." I glanced to the side and saw Hubert coming over. "Hubert, is everything all right?"

"Lady Edelgard was fretting that you have not relaxed since we came down here, Professor," Hubert answered, sitting down between Claude and me. I wondered what about the situation implied I should relax at all. "However, I find myself intrigued by this 'information' you mentioned. What sort is it?"

"Well…" I began, thinking carefully. Knowing Edelgard and Hubert, he'd probably be investigating anyway once we were back on the surface. Claude's curiosity would no doubt lead to the same thing, especially since he'd been targeted. So… "It's mostly information on where the assassins were seen, and speculations on the targets." And also what direction the survivors were escaping, but I wouldn't mention that yet. Yuri wanted to confirm, first off, and secondly… you could find out a lot just from that and given what Azrael hinted about the one's caught above… I wanted that information, and Rhea wouldn't bother.

"Oh? Now, that is intriguing." Hubert's eyes narrowed, but not quite in a glare or anything. It was just a hint to how interested he was. "We have, of course, shared information amongst ourselves. So, we know that there were at least four targets among our cohort. Yourself, Dedue, Claude, and Petra."

"If it was just Dedue and Petra, then we could make an argument for it being an attack against foreigners," Claude murmured, thinking carefully. I had the sense he was holding back something, but that was probably more out of the knowledge that Claude never told anyone the full story. "I'm from a branch family, but given my sudden appearance and my atypical looks for someone from Fodlan, they could've mistaken me as a foreigner."

"None of that, however, would explain why our beautiful professor was targeted." And all of a sudden Sylvain joined us. "You looked like you were having an interesting conversation, and I'm being nosy," he 'explained'. Hubert frowned at him, but Sylvain shrugged it off. "Also, it was wiggle out when I did or end up pinned with Ingrid's elbows in my gut. Much as I love having pretty girls cling to me, I do also like having my insides where they're supposed to be." A quick glance back to the group showed Ingrid clinging tightly to Felix, and an absolute refusal to let Dimitri move from his spot next to her. "But still, our professor isn't foreign at all."

"That's true. The next commonality to analyze would be crest-bearers who suddenly appeared to upset the delicate political balance of Fodlan, but neither Dedue nor Petra have crests. I think." Claude frowned a little. "They don't, right?"

"It's pretty rare for crests to appear outside of Fodlan, particularly since Fodlan tends to be isolationist. Which, of course, provides even more of an argument for it being the Goddess's blessings." Sylvain rattled the information off easily, but I noticed something hard in his gaze. It was gone in a blink, though. "But is there anything the four of you share? It also can't be just 'recently appeared among the political powerful', because Dedue has been with Dimitri for four years."

"Similarly, Petra has been the Empire's guest for five years now," Hubert revealed. I almost thought he seemed uncomfortable about it, which… honestly, surprised me. "It has only been recently she's been allowed to leave the stronghold she was staying at." ...Wait, she'd been locked away? Was this why Petra was good with reading Fodlan's language, but not with speaking? "However, she was well-known before then." He rested his fingers against his temple before turning to me. "Who else was targeted, Professor?"

"Azrael was," I answered, closing my eyes. I hadn't sensed it at the time due to everything going on, but to be fair, he'd also been too distracted to sense what was going on where I was until I led everyone down here. "Shamir was also."

"Shamir?"

"A Knight of Seiros who was born in Dagda." Meaning she fit the 'foreigner' part. "Cyril appears to have been another target." The blank looks hinted neither of the three knew him at all, which didn't surprise me. "He's one of the helpers here at the monastery, and he's mentioned to me that he's from Almyra." I thought Claude stiffened a little at that, but I wasn't sure. Sothis was too busy trying to help me piece things together to notice. "I say 'appears' because the assassin didn't get close enough to attack him. Rhea apparently annihilated them before they could." According to Azrael, she kept Cyril firmly with her the entire time afterwards, only letting him go when Seteth arrived to take over guarding him. "Rhea herself doesn't seem to have been a target, but that could be because she was resting in her room instead of working, for once."

"So, more foreign-born…" Honestly, you could make a clear case for that, if not for the fact that Azrael and me were targeted. And no matter how unimportant I was, I had definitely been targeted. If Azrael hadn't been, I might've dismissed it as the assassin confusing my room for Dedue's, but Azrael's room was nowhere near the other targets. "Anyone else?"

"Catherine."

"Thunder Catherine, huh?" Hubert frowned. "She has a mysterious background. Little about her past is known. Still, she appeared four years ago and has made quite the name for herself since then."

"So, the only commonalities are foreigners and mysterious pasts and even then, it only connects a handful of the known targets," Claude summed up, looking a little irritated. I couldn't blame him in the slightest. "I'd say it was a cover for an Alliance noble trying to get me killed, but not with the rest of this."

"This is rather irksome," Hubert muttered. He drummed his fingers on his knee, frowning even more now. "If Petra, Dedue, and Claude weren't targeted, we could make an argument of someone trying to hurt the Archbishop."

"Oh, yay, another thread that doesn't sew it all up neatly."

"Well, in that case, is it possible that there were multiple objectives?" Sylvain suggested, crossing his arms. He appeared mostly thoughtful, and not frustrated at all. "I don't have a lot of experience with assassins personally. Most of the time, when someone wants me dead, they just come at me directly. But would that be unusual?"

"Multiple objectives would typically imply multiple employers," I whispered, thinking of what I did know. I wouldn't say it was impossible, of course. But assassins were a specific type of mercenary, and a lot of the same things applied to them. Just even more secret. "It is possible that it was an organization with conflicting loyalties." I thought about closing my eyes to rest them a little, but Sothis thought Hubert might've reacted to that. Weird… "If that is the case, then we might be dealing with an organization that dislikes foreigners and dislikes the Archbishop."

"That first one doesn't really narrow it down much." Sylvain's tone definitely became dry. "The Alliance hates Almyra, the Empire hates Dagda, and everyone knows what the Kingdom did to Duscur." That was far too true. Additionally, Rhea having enemies wouldn't be unusual. The question would be who would be able to hire so many assassins, and who would feel arrogant enough to get away with it. So, at this point…

"We'll be arguing in circles at this rate." I smiled faintly at the three of them and made a shooing motion. "Go rest. We'll see what information comes to light in the next few days. There could be more victims that'll make the pattern more obvious." Of course, I had to wonder if this would be hidden from me like everything else. But Azrael was currently involved in the investigation and… well, I could probably ask Alois.

"Yeah, your right, and given the frowns being sent our way, I think we're about to be pounced and scolded." Sylvain grinned and hauled both Claude and Hubert off. "Professor, do remember to take a break too? If only for your students who are fretting."

"As soon as I have it confirmed that things are clear." By this point, we were definitely spending the rest of the night here. "Why not share some stories with each other?"

As soon as Sylvain, Hubert, and Claude returned to the others and were dragged down to sit, I looked back to the note, thinking about the targets. Then I tried to think about who wasn't targeted. It was no exaggeration that my students were among the highest priority targets; most of them were the heirs of the most powerful houses in Fodlan. Yet out of the ones you'd expect, only Claude had been targeted. Was it a case of 'multiple targets' to confuse and distract the investigations and he had been the true target? That didn't sit right with me, not with Azrael and me being targeted. Though, given our upbringing, I suppose one could argue Azrael and I were 'culturally foreign' or… ugh, that didn't even make sense in my own head. I needed to take my own advice to stop thinking and wait for more information, because it was just becoming a tangled knot in my head. But it was almost impossible to stop poking the thoughts, like wiggling a tooth or fussing with a hangnail…

"PROFESSOR!" The sudden yells nearly made me leap to my feet, but I was pinned by a terrified Lysithea and Ashe before I could. And then I had to focus on calming them down before figuring out what in creation had happened while I'd been thinking. It took a long while before Mercedes cheerfully admitted she had told a ghost story to the others, one apparently terrifying enough that even those usually not afraid of such stories were clinging to others for comfort. And nearly made poor Ashe and Lysithea jump out of their own skins in fright and, for some reason, they decided I was the safest place to be to escape the terror of Mercedes's story.

I missed when things were simple. If I wasn't worrying or working, I was completely and utterly confused. But, I supposed I just had to deal. I was a little stuck, after all.

---

Dorothea Arnault

Crest: None

The successor to the Divine Songstress, she is a proud and popular diva of the opera, with a powerful singing voice that makes even the hardest hearts weep, or so the Mittelfrank company likes to proclaim. With that said, her songs are indeed beautiful, and she has a bit of latent magic that actually allows her to heal minor injuries with the gift.

Due to her dislike of battle (and her ulterior motives for enrolling in the Academy), it comes to little surprise that she is not the most battle-worthy mage. With that said, her adaptability seems to hold no limit, and this versatility combined with her ability to heal through her songs means she is an excellent supporter on the battlefield.

Her glamorous appearance hides her deep insecurities, such her disgust with herself for what she's had to do in order to survive both on the street and in the opera. Because she's well aware of how superficial many people, especially nobles, are, she tends to hold a bias against them and thinks worse of them than they actually are. Surprisingly, she's actually aware of this tendency, but she's too afraid of being hurt grievously again to force herself to change.

Annette Fantine Dominic

Crest: Dominic (Minor)

The scatterbrained, hardworking heir to the Dominic barony, she is the daughter of one of the longest serving knights in the Kingdom and has thus been raised strictly as the heir to the barony and 'heir' to her father's service. She takes it in stride, more or less, and has long thought of Prince Dimitri as an older brother due to her father's closeness to the prince.

Inheriting strong magic from the Dominic line, her preference for wind magic means that she's likely to attack quick and fast. With that said, she enjoys the theoretical aspect of magic more than actual spells, meaning the spells she's interested in mastering are fairly low. With that said, her love of tactics and her knack of rallying allies to greater heights means she's more than capable of supporting her allies.

Peppy and positive, she's determined to keep a smile on her face at all times, and to spark smiles in others. This hides her own insecurities, from her flaws to her father's abrupt abandonment. More than anything, she longs to find answers and closure with her father, wherever he may be, and this has been her goal for so long that she honestly has some difficulties imagining what happens next.

Lysithea von Ordelia

Crest: Charon (minor), Gloucester (Major)

The only survivor of Count Ordelia's children after a 'vicious plague' ripped through the province, she is the youngest student in the academy and a magical prodigy whose abilities seem unmatched. However, she's very sensitive to both her age and ability, meaning she's liable to snap at anyone who she perceives is looking down on her for her youth or anyone she believes is implying that her power is the result of talent alone.

She is, in short, the most powerful mage of the cohort, bar none. Her magic is immense, her speed in casting is quick, and her control is near perfect. Perhaps as compensation, however, her physical abilities are next to abysmal. Even wearing something like light armor is enough to strain her, which can be made worse by her insistence on learning Dark Magic spells, which are noticeably stressful on the body.

She can be incredibly impatient, and pushes herself too much, worsening her already frail health. Even when resting from illnesses, she can be seen reading and studying, and is prone to grumbling and growling under her breath whenever she hits a wall. However, her desire to be independent means she also has difficulties asking for help, which just exacerbates the issues.

---

Author's Note: Supports! Supports everywhere! Felt like a good time for them, since the chars needed a sort-of-break. Supports either direct shown or mentioned include: Felix-Deude; Ferdinand's with Dorothea, Constance, Bernadetta, and Marianne; Byleth's with Dorothea, Bernadetta, Ingrid, Hubert, Annette, Balthus, Yuri, and Dimitri; Dorothea-Caspar; Annette's with Claude, Felix, and Dedue; Raphael-Claude; Ashe's with Petra and Dimitri (and a slight bit with his Byleth one); Dimitri's with Mercedes, Felix, and Ingrid; Ingrid's with Dorothea and Annette; and Lysithea's with Hilda and Felix. (Is that all? Not sure, truthfully.)

Something that never really comes up in-game is the political consequences for having unexpected crest-bearers showing up, despite the great importance placed on crests in Fodlan. So, I figured I'd have a little bit of fun with it. (What's Catherine's suggestion? It'll probably show up next chapter.) I also just wanted to show the Eisner family relaxing a little considering everything that happened, hence the picnic by the lake (and showing Azrael and Byleth actively learning to maintain their wide range of skills). Seteth and Flayn show up for the excuse of Seteth-Jeralt interactions because the two are surprisingly similar. The mention of oranges in Remire is because the datamine revealed an unused quest where Jeralt finds himself nostalgic for Remire's oranges, so I figured I'd throw it in.

Scenes in the Abyss for a variety of reasons, including Byleth making good on her little 'promise' to the old man about Abyss continuing to improve. Also, given what we know about Manuela, you can't tell me she wouldn't be the first one down there if she knew there were sick people in need of help. I had the mention of Hanneman because it just seemed to suit him, and we already know Seteth reads stories to children, so that seemed like it fit as well. As for the bandit… that's actually from the game. If you choose to turn him over in dialogue, Sothis actually approves, which is what leads to the talk she and Byleth have after letting the bandit go. (I made up the bandit's backstory, of course.)

There's very little, if anything, in-game that suggests Ferdinand has siblings, save for a single line. He calls himself the 'eldest son of House Aegir'. My brain kind of ran away with the idea (though, I do vaguely recall seeing a fanart with a similar concept, but damn if I can remember what it was, much less who drew it).

Jeritza mentions in his supports with Constance about how he likes roses, and how his mother and sister used to tend to them, so I drew that in for a not-violent interaction. Figured it would be nice to show.

Everything mentioned about blood magic here is based a little on Valentia, and is a little bit of my own design, mostly to help flesh out the world a little more. And to provide some foreshadowing for things, but we're not talking about that right now. But yes, I know, Hapi's nickname for Byleth in game is 'Chatterbox'. That didn't seem to suit, given how I have Byleth talk quite a bit, so I changed it to 'Firebird'. Constance requesting brawling is a nod to her hidden talent, though her reasonings behind it are something I came up with. Similarly, Hapi requests axes because of her own hidden talent.

Actually, there's a whole bunch of nods to hidden talents in this chapter, partly because this is around the time I typically manage to start unlocking them. Also a bit of an explanation behind the magic-damage-dealing combat arts.

In-game, despite being mentioned quite often, Holst never makes an actual appearance. Since this is a novelization, however, I decided to have a bit of fun and have him show up. And give him a little more characterization besides 'strong warrior who hates disappointing people and dotes on his little sister'. And give an excuse for why Balthus would request Reason magic (his own hidden talent).

In-game, nothing at all is ever mentioned about the 'other professor' that Byleth takes the place of aside from them 'disappearing during the dust up with the bandits'. Thought I'd expand on that, and hint to why its never actually brought up. And also to showcase a key characteristic of Alois across all routes: his loyalty to Jeralt and Jeralt's family.

One of Edelgard's favored gifts is carnations, hence why Byleth gives some as part of her birthday bouquet.

Why assassins? Well, why not assassins? Figured it would be interesting for a variety of reasons, so… uh… here? Aha?