"Um, Professor…" Bernadetta nervously asked, her eyes rapidly darting back and forth from the parchment in her hands with abject worry. "There has to be some mistake here…!"
"I know what I'm doing, Bernadetta." Byleth calmly stated, totally unfazed by the girl's objections as he continued to hand out updated training regimens to the remaining members of the class. "A few weeks' worth of dedicated sword training will do wonders to make up for your deficiencies at close range."
"D- don't you think I should just keep focusing on what I'm good at instead? You know how bad I am at swordplay!" Bernadetta loudly protested. "Besides, I already have ways of avoiding close combat altogether! That's what archers are for in the first place!"
"Take it from me, Bernie; your arrows won't exactly last forever on the battlefield." Claude readily chimed in. "You'll be as good as dead if you can't protect yourself from a foe that can actually see your shots coming."
"I don't see the point of any of this, Professor." Lysithea hastily argued, taking a moment to grimace at her own list of goals before continuing. "What good will it do for me to run laps around the monastery when I can spend that time strengthening my magic instead?"
"I'd like to second that notion!" Hilda was especially eager to agree with the young mage's protests. "Although if you want to train anyone in magic, I wouldn't say no to a chance to stay behind the frontlines…"
"I assure you, I have my reasons for all of this." Byleth coolly affirmed as he made his way back to the front of the classroom. "Bernadetta, are you still carrying your crossbow with you?"
"Oh, er… yes? How did you even know…?" Bernadetta meekly asked, clearly taken aback by the professor's sudden inquiry.
"I'd like to assume that bulge sticking out of your bag isn't something else." Byleth nonchalantly observed, much to his student's visible embarrassment. "In which case, I'd like you to attempt to stab me with it."
"Wh- what?! In the middle of the class?! Why would even ask something like that?! Bernadetta nearly fumbled out of her seat as she immediately objected to the professor's request. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"I trust you. I can only ask you can do the same for me." the professor nonchalantly replied, returning his student's panicked gaze with a peaceful look that seemed to ease her worries away in a matter of seconds. "Simply come at me as if you intend to kill, and I'll handle the rest."
"O- okay, then… if you insist…" Bernadetta nervously relented as she reached into her bag to retrieve her personal weapon. Under the watchful eyes of her surrounding classmates, the young archer struggled to repress an instinctive shudder while she activated the blade of her weapon. With a single nod of encouragement from her professor, Bernadetta forced her eyes shut and leaped from her seat with as much speed as she could muster.
The next thing she knew, a loud clang reverberated throughout the room as her crossbow violently flew out of her hand and uselessly clattered to the floor below. When she opened her eyes once more, Bernadetta was surprised to find Byleth brandishing a simple training sword in his outstretched hand.
"If this were a real battle, you would probably be dead right now."
"I wasn't expecting you to keep a spare sword on you…" Bernadetta meekly admitted as she scurried off to retrieve her discarded weapon from the floor.
"That's why you should always prepare yourself for the unexpected." Byleth lightly reprimanded. "I can applaud you for having the foresight to carry a concealed weapon with you at all times. However, while that short blade of yours makes for a fine option to fall back on when your arrows fail you, its effectiveness is rather limited when faced with an opponent of equal or greater skill."
All Bernadetta could do was let out a light chuckle in response, fully realizing she had no grounds to deny the professor's claims.
"That's not to mention your overreliance on your... unique abilities." Byleth added, peering into the violet haired girl's eyes with a knowing look.
"Do I really rely on it that much…?" Bernadetta quietly asked, twiddling her fingers together as she attempted to turn away from her teacher's accusatory stare. She could hardly deny how much she had grown to bank on Sothis's abilities, yet at the same time, these abilities had allowed her to escape the jaws of death unharmed on many occasions at this point.
"Would you like me to recount all the instances that took place just yesterday?" the professor subtly teased, further flustering the timid archer before turning to face the rest of the class once again. "Our most recent battle has given me the chance to reevaluate the weaknesses of everybody present; myself included. By all means, we were fortunate to outnumber those soldiers as much as we did with our combined ranks."
"What was the deal with those enemies anyway?" Leonie asked in exasperation. "Those weren't your everyday run of the mill ruffians. They were too well organized… and seriously skilled with those unique weapons of theirs…"
"My father certainly seemed to know a lot about them; he recognized their strange armor the moment he laid eyes on their corpses. He claims they all belonged to an infamous mercenary corps from a faraway land, though we wouldn't tell me much more than that."
"Captain Jeralt knew who they were?!" Leonie's eyes lit up in realization. "Do you think that means he must have encountered them before?"
"I can certainly imagine as much; I still recall him muttering how lucky we all were to have faced a batch of fresh recruits…" Byleth sported a troubled expression as he raised a hand to his chin in contemplation. He made a motion to reach for an overturned book on his front desk, only for the familiar chime of the school bell to put a damper on his plans instead.
"I suppose that's all the time we have for today… but I must implore you all to work hard on the new goals you've been given. With enough time and effort, what you once thought of as a weakness may one day transform into one of your greatest strengths."
With a final nod of dismissal, the Golden Deer students proceeded to eagerly storm out of the classroom, though not without a few pained groans from a select handful of students dreading their newfound goals. In short time, Bernadetta found herself as the only remaining student in the room, having instinctively frozen in place for the remainder of her professor's lecture.
"So, uh… how's your new sleeve treating you?" the lilac haired girl quietly asked in a meek effort to break the shroud of silence that had ensued.
"It seems to be as good as new. It even flows a lot more smoothly than before" Byleth ran his hand along the length of the sleeve in question with a satisfied expression. "Your skills are just as impressive as I'd imagined."
"I don't really think I did anything special…" Bernadetta could feel her cheeks flaring up as she nervously attempted to deflect her professor's praise.
"There's no shame in taking pride in your talents, you know. If you hadn't offered to help me last night, I likely would have spent the entire lecture with my sleeve uselessly flopping about."
"I guess that is the only coat you have, huh?" Bernadetta lightly giggled at the mental image her professor casually leading his lecture with a torn sleeve. "It was a gift from your father if I remember correctly."
"Why… yes, actually. I'm impressed you actually knew that." Byleth's eyes widened in surprise at the accuracy of his student's assessment; the memory of this cherished present was still as fresh in his mind as ever.
"There are a lot of things I know about you, Professor…"
"Is that so?" a small smirk of amusement began to form across Byleth's lips as he continued to observe his student's skittish antics. "Would you care to join me for a meal in the dining hall? It would be my treat."
"Wha- really…?" Bernadetta found herself briefly taken aback by the professor's offer. "A- are you sure you don't have anything more important to do? Especially now… I've already wasted enough of your time last night-"
"Any time spent with my students is hardly a waste to me." Byleth interrupted the girl's frantic musings as he extended his hand to repeat his offer.
"I mean… if it's really okay with you… we could even do this sort of thing more often."
"That sounds like a fine idea to me. Now come, today's mystery special isn't going to reveal itself on its own."
"So, how much would you be willing to tell me about the future?"
"Do you really believe me about that?"
"You have no reason to lie to me. Could there be any other reason for two copies of you know who to appear at once?"
"So you saw that too, huh? Honestly, I have no idea what even caused that…" Bernadetta's face scrunched up in frustration as she paused to take a quick bite of her meal. "Normally, no one else can even notice her presence, but for that short moment…"
"Yes, it was as if my father could clearly see the two of them with his own eyes. Regardless, this is something we had best keep under wraps for now." Byleth calmly concluded before turning to his own plate with a thinly veiled expression of apprehension. Resisting the urge to gag, he proceeded to take a firm grasp of his fork and poke away at the dish as if it were some sort of otherworldly creature.
"There are honestly times where I forget your professor is supposed to be a grown man."Sothis sighed in disapproval at the sight of Byleth meticulously picking chunks of tomatoes out of his meal.
"Well, I think it's charming." Bernadetta mentally scoffed at the Goddess's comments as the teal haired professor reached over to scoop his discarded fruits onto her plate. "It's not like they're going to waste or anything."
"I have only known my other self for but a few fleeting moments, yet I'm already disappointed that she would allow this sort of childish conduct from her companion…"
"Yeah, well that other self used to be you five years ago, remember?" Bernadetta chided the Goddess in her mind while she offhandedly mixed her professor's scraps into her own meal. "I really missed seeing this side of him... it lets me know I'm not as abnormal as I think I am." the purple haired time traveler smiled to herself as she continued to steal glances at the disgruntled Byleth.
"Guueeeesss whoooo?" a familiar, cheery voice sang out as a pair of hands suddenly obscured Bernadetta's vision, startling the girl enough for her to accidentally launch a glob of sauce into her own hair.
With a stifled look of amusement, Byleth promptly turned back the clock by a few short seconds to undo his student's unfortunate mishap.
"Guueeeesss wh-"
"Hello, Monica." Bernadetta flatly interrupted before the redhead could finish her greeting.
"Ooh, I'm impressed! How'd you know it was me?" Monica giggled to herself as she removed her hands from Bernadetta's sight, though not without taking a moment to ruffle her hand through her unwitting friend's hair in congratulations.
"Let's just say you have a very… unique presence about you." Bernadetta hesitated to answer, her eye slightly twitching as the Black Eagle student casually took up a seat right next to her.
"So, what brings you two to this little deserted corner? Are you on some sort of secret date?" Monica lightly asked, peering into the pair's eyes with all the curiosity of a newborn kitten.
"It's quieter here… I like quiet…"
"And, er, Professor…?" Monica's attention was quickly drawn to Byleth's plate, blissfully unaware of the thinly veiled frustration in Bernadetta's voice.
"I can't stand tomatoes." was the professor's simple response.
"But you're eating spaghetti right now…" Monica tilted her head in curiosity as the redhead adopted an expression of abject confusion.
"I know. I have no problems with the sauce, but whoever decided to fill it with chunks of live tomato is a bona fide war criminal in my eyes." Byleth nonchalantly explained, still continuing to pick away at his plate as Monica's confused expression remained completely unchanged.
"You're weird… a good kind of weird, but still weird."
"And how about you, Monica? What sort of occasion brings you here today?" Bernadetta curiously asked, her gaze half focused on the intrusive student as she offhandedly took another bite of her meal.
"Occasion? Do I need a reason to hang out with my best… okay, I wouldn't call you my best friend (that spot's reserved), but you're totally up there, Bernie!"
"So we're semi best friends, huh?" Bernadetta mentally rolled her eyes. "I guess that sounds about right…"
"You bet we are! So why didn't you two invite me down to your big skirmish in the Holy Mausoleum yesterday?!" Monica abruptly cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at the pair with a mildly offended expression on her face.
"How did you…" Bernadetta stopped herself mid-sentence before she could ask something she'd regret.
"I wasn't exactly planning on fighting anything down there. A small legion of soldiers just happened to be lingering in the area when I arrived." Byleth chimed in to explain the situation in his student's place. "All things considered, I was rather lucky to have Bernadetta bring the rest of the class into the tomb when she did." he added, making sure to shoot an urgent look at the girl in question once he was finished.
"Er, yeah… Yeah, that's exactly what happened." Bernadetta readily went along with her Professor's impromptu cover story with a vigorous nod of affirmation. "I didn't have much time to round everyone up, you know?"
"I see. I guess that explains why I couldn't find you anywhere yesterday." Monica freely bought into the pair's falsified information as she began to rummage through her pockets. "Anyway, you'll never believe what I found crumpled up outside the dorms yesterday! Check this out, Bernie!"
"Oh no…" Bernadetta clutched her head in horror as Monica brandished a dirtied, but very much intact envelope bearing the signature violet wings of house Varley on its seal. "I knew I should have just thrown that stupid thing in the river…"
"That sigil… Bernadetta, is that a letter from your par-"
"It's nothing! I swear it's nothing!" Bernadetta hastily interjected, cutting off her professor's inquiry with a desperate shake of her head. "I bet that letter's not even for me! The Varley household is a super influential name in the Empire, you know?"
"Do you know any other Bernadettas attending this academy?" Monica flatly asked as she directed the young Varley's attention to the faintly legible name written on the back of the envelope.
"Ugh, please tell me you didn't read any of it…!" Bernadetta relented with a sigh a loud sigh of defeat.
"Wha- I would never!" Monica dramatically declared, sporting another look of mock offense. "I swear I didn't take a single peek inside; that honor should go its intended recipient, don't you agree?"
"You know what? If you're so interested in this letter, you can keep it for yourself." Bernadetta angrily retorted, her arms firmly crossed as Monica and Byleth watched her sudden shift in demeanor with alarm. "Do whatever you want with it. You can eat the damn thing on the spot for all I care."
"Well, I want to give it to you, Bernie." Monica graciously extended her hand to present the letter to the girl in question with the cheeriest smile she could muster.
"And I don't give a damn about what my fa… about what Count Varley wants from me!" Bernadetta fiercely snapped as she suddenly slapped the envelope out of Monica's hand, where it subsequently landed face down in her professor's plate of spaghetti.
"Professor, I, er…" Bernadetta quietly deflated upon noticing what she'd just done.
"If it's not any trouble, would you prefer if I read the letter aloud in your stead?" Byleth calmly offered, seemingly unbothered by the crimson-stained stationery lying in his meal.
"Sure… I guess I would be a little more comfortable with that…" Bernadetta reluctantly accepted, though not without shivering in apprehension of what the message could potentially have in store for her.
Wordlessly, Byleth proceeded to clean away the tomato sauce coating the envelope as Monica neatly rested her chin on her tented fingers, clearly intent on the mysterious contents of the letter at hand. With bated breath, all Bernadetta could do was freeze in place as the details of the message were laid bare for all to hear.
To Bernadetta von Varley,
Five long moons… it has been nearly half a year since you've abandoned our manor on that dark, stormy night. I can only hope your time at this prestigious Officer's Academy has drilled some semblance of worth into that head of yours, but I shan't hold my breath.
Bernadetta instinctively cringed upon hearing the familiar insults of her father coming from her Professor's soothing voice. The effect was nothing short of uncanny, to say the least.
Loathe as I am to even consider speaking with you again, I am writing to inform you that your mother has finally returned from the Imperial capital after her most recent tenure, and she has fallen ill to a mysterious ailment. Almost deathly ill, if I might add. It all began on a sunny day when a group of her compatriots urgently transported her back to the manor. Theresa had apparently collapsed on the streets of Enbarr the previous night. I can hardly begin to imagine the root cause of her ailment, but it has clearly taken a severe toll on her body. She has been confined to her bed ever since she arrived here, and her condition is only growing worse with each passing day.
A pit formed in Bernadetta's throat as her mind instinctively imagined the sheer agony her mother must be enduring at this very moment. Though her good memories of the woman were few and far between, the young Varley heir still empathized with her situation nonetheless.
Thus… I come to you with an immediate request. Though it goes against my better judgment, I need you to return to the manor at the earliest possible opportunity. Your mother wishes to speak with you personally; she refuses to inform me of what she plans to discuss, but alas, I had little choice but to relent. This is undoubtedly a serious matter to her, and I wish to see it fulfilled as soon as possible.
…To think, that after all you have stolen from me, you would even go so far as to rob me of my wife as well. The thought of even being near you sickens me to my core… but you will come to meet with your mother, whether either of us likes it or not. I urge you not to be late, or there will be dire consequences.
Sincerely, Count Allocer von Varley
An eerie silence fell over the dining table as Bernadetta tightly clutched her heart, her mind reeling in pure disarray as her expression rapidly shifted from anger, to worry, to dread, all within the span of a few short moments. With the letter's contents finally revealed, Byleth's face contorted in disgust at the sheer callousness of Count Varley's message. Even Monica was starting to look more uncomfortable than usual in the aftermath of this revelation.
"This is… pretty serious, huh?" Monica quietly commented in a weak effort to break the silence. "You are going to see your mom, right Bernie?"
"I don't know…" Bernadetta slowly shook her head, her body slightly shivering as her mind began to fill memories she wished she could leave behind.
"I mean… I'd heard all sorts of stories about your old man floating around ever since you were dropped off at the academy in a sack, but-"
"You knew about that?"
"Well yeah, that kinda thing doesn't exactly go unmentioned, you know?" Monica shrugged awkwardly. "I'll admit I don't have anything resembling a full story on this, but that doesn't exactly stop people from speculating either."
"Yeah… I figured that would be a permanent stain on my reputation…" Bernadetta lowered her head in shame.
"Don't you want to find out why your folks treated you the way they did?" Monica asked, her eyes peering into the violet haired girl's with an almost uncharacteristic sense of urgency. "The answer might surprise you."
"What do you even mean by that?"
"Whether Bernadetta goes or not is entirely up to her. Regardless of whatever threats her father may levy over her head." Byleth firmly declared, shaking his head in disapproval at the redhead's continued insistence.
"By, I…. I need some fresh air. I just lost my appetite…" Bernadetta muttered to herself as she slowly rose up from her seat and walked away from the table. Monica immediately stood up to follow after the girl, only for Byleth to stop her in her tracks with a silent, but commanding show of his hand.
"Please, allow me to handle this…" Byleth calmly requested, leaving Monica to stay behind in stunned silence as he set off to find his departed student.
It didn't take long to find the girl in question, as Bernadetta could be seen watching over the river just outside the dining hall, almost as if she were expecting the teal haired professor to follow in her footsteps.
"Why don't we take this conversation somewhere more private?" the young Ms. Varley requested, motioning over to the greenhouse down below. With a simple nod, Byleth agreed to follow the girl down the stairs, where he remained in contemplative silence until the pair shortly arrived at their destination.
"Good… now lock the doors behind us for me…" Bernadetta gave out another request, to which her professor wordlessly obliged. "So… I bet you'll probably want to know why I'm so worked up about this, huh?"
"You don't have to tell me anything if you're not comfortable with it."
"No… no, you deserve to know this much, By." Bernadetta resolutely declined.
"As you wish. Truth be told, I've heard all sorts of ugly rumors regarding you and your family ever since I arrived at this academy. Many of which have since turned out to be false…"
"Believe me, I've heard all about those rumors, and then some…" Bernadetta sheepishly admitted with a tired sigh. "I've lived my entire life in fear of my fa… of Count Varley. That fear is exactly what shaped me into the nervous wreck I was when I first came to the academy. The way he treated me led me to always expect the worst from everyone I met… to dread ever stepping foot into the outside world… to blame myself for never living up to his lofty expectations… it's like he never even saw me as a human being."
"…Do you have any idea what caused him to treat you so harshly?"
"I don't have the slightest clue…" Bernadetta shook her head in frustration. "Every time I asked him why he was always so mean to me, he'd always beat me in response. I think the only thing he ever cared about was pawning me off as a trophy wife for whatever rich noble was willing to take me, and I couldn't even do that. I tried as hard as I could to please him… to make him at least acknowledge me as a human being… yet the more that I tried, the angrier he seemed to become. He could never go two words without telling me how useless I was, or that I should never have been born. At his worst, he'd even throw me out of the manor in the dead of night and leave me to wander the chilling grounds until one of our servants eventually found me passed out in some secluded corner."
"That's…" Byleth's expression turned to one of pained sympathy as he found himself at a brief loss for words. "So the tale of you arriving at the academy in a sack…"
"That was my mother's doing, actually." Bernadetta meekly corrected. "She never had much of a noticeable presence in my life. She never did anything to hurt me, mind you, but she never stepped in to save me from her husband's abuse either… not even once."
"Do you… resent your mother for that?"
"Honestly… I don't know if I even understand her well enough to make a call on the matter. I'm still worried about her condition and all, but I just feel so disconnected from her that I…" Bernadetta paused to breathe another deep sigh.
"And how long has it been since you've last seen your parents?"
"As you've read in the letter, I haven't seen them since I joined the academy, though as far as the future is concerned… I'd honestly planned on going the rest of my life without seeing either of them again, but I guess fate has other plans for me…" Bernadetta briefly shook her head in recollection before turning to her professor with a poignant question in mind. "What would you do if you were in my place, By? I realize you never knew your own mother, but let's just pretend she was married to Count Varley for a moment. Would… you still care about her?"
"That's quite a difficult question to answer…" Byleth raised a hand to his chin in deep thought. "From what little I knew of my mother, it was clear that Jeralt loved her with all his heart… and judging from the contents of Count Varley's letter, I can at least surmise that he truly loves your mother as well."
"Well… I'm pretty certain he never did anything to mistreat her, at least."
"If I was in your place… I would probably want to hear the truth from your mother. I would ask her why she never looked out for you, and why Count Varley treated you like filth for so many years. I'd want to seek closure on the situation above all else."
"I see…"
"Regardless, I'm not going to force you to act on anything. This decision is yours, and yours alone." Byleth soothingly stated as he stepped forth to place a hand on his student's trembling shoulder. "If you wish to reunite with your parents, I'll make sure you don't go alone. If not, we can simply burn this letter and never speak of it again."
"I appreciate the thought, though even if we burn the letter, we can't exactly burn its contents from my memory." Bernadetta forced out a light giggle as her mind began to wander elsewhere. "Not unless we-"
"I'm not throwing you into a fire, Bernie."
"I know, I know. You'd never do something like that to me. I can always trust… d- did you just call me Bernie?" Bernadetta's eyes began to widen in surprise, her mind still struggling to process what she'd just heard.
"That is your nickname, isn't it? You were calling me by own just a few moments ago."
"Oh… oh crap, I didn't notice! I promise I won't do it again-"
"No, I… quite like it. It feels oddly soothing to hear you call me By." Byleth interrupted the girl's panicked musings before they could erupt any further.
"Okay… that's great. That's really great, By." Bernadetta thankfully muttered as she slowly leaned in to wrap her professor's body in a loving embrace. "I think I just need some time to mull everything over… can you promise to come with me if I do decide to meet my mother again?"
"Of course I will. Just be sure to take all the time you need to choose. I can assure you that Count Varley won't lay a single hand on you as long as I'm around." the former mercenary strongly declared, instinctively returning the girl's display of affection with a protective stroke of her hair.
