7/1 Blue sea moon
The world was still in darkness when Byleth left his room. He headed to the entrance of the monastery and waited the arrival of his father. It had been a long time since the last time he saw him and he didn´t want to risk losing him again under a mountain of paperwork.
With the first light of the dawn a group of knights appeared near the river that marked the limits of the monastery. He could immediately recognize his father between them, his armor and horse inseparable from him. He couldn´t avoid a smile at the sight of him. He was getting used to his new expressions, although they were still very limited in quantity and quality.
"Hello Father"
"Oh Byleth! Long time no see you!" Jeralt smiled at the sight of his son. He was wearing a bunch of flowers in his left hand. "You are wondering why I brought these flowers right?" he said "They are for your mother, but I would like to keep this talk private from the others" he told him, his voice a mere whisper.
Surprised by the revelation, Byleth accompanied his father to the graveyard of the monastery. He followed him until he stopped in front of a modest gravestone.
"Here rests your mother"
"Why is she here? I thought she died giving me birth after you left this place."
Jeralt´s face darkened
"She spent all his life working for the Church and she didn´t have any known relatives. This was her real home. That´s why she is here. I returned the body to the place where it belonged and left this place for good, at least until now."
Byleth sensed that his father wasn´t telling all the truth, but he considered inappropriate to continue pressing on that matter.
"How was she?"
"She was fragile, yet beautiful and she loved flowers. Her physical state didn´t allow her to go on trips around the continent, but I made sure that she had a taste of the world around her every time I returned to the monastery after a trip. She wasn´t very expressive, but the day she knew you were inside her she was more radiant than the sun itself. It´s a pity you couldn´t share more time with her, but I can assure you that she loved you and she didn´t regret giving birth to you" His father was smiling to him as he said that, although there was a melancholic aura around him.
"This is the ring I gave to her, when I proposed" he said, showing him a silver ring with a beautiful purple stone on it. When the time comes I would like you to use it for the person you love"
"Love" he thought Byleth. He loved his father, but he knew it wasn´t that kind of love what he was referring to. Manuela and Dorothea were constantly talking about it, but he wasn´t sure if they were right about it.
"I don´t know how to love"
His father sighed
"Love is not something that you can really learn. When it happens you will know. Don´t torture yourself too much about it" he said while he rubbed his hair. "It´s been a long time since the last time we met. You surely want to know about my whereabouts and I want to hear about yours. Let´s talk in my room"
He gently placed the flowers in front of the gravestone and headed to the main building.
Byleth lingered for a bit longer, he didn´t know how to feel about the revelation he had just heard. On the one hand, he was relieved to know the final resting place of her mother. On the other hand, he didn´t feel too much sorrow standing in front of her grave. "I don't really remember her even though she died for me"
"You shouldn´t blame yourself for her death. You have already heard your father. You barely knew about her, but now you can know a bit more about your origins."
"You are right." He examined closely the grave. "Sitri Eisner" he read. "She died young" he thought "In 1159"
"Wait a second! If you were born in the year 1159 of the imperial age and we are in the year 1180 of the imperial age and your birthday is in the Red Wolf Moon means that you are right now 20 years old"
"You are right Sothis"
"But how old I am? Do I have your same age? I don´t have any reference"
"You look younger than me"
"Are you calling me a child? Even though I helped you decipher your age. How disrespectful!"
"I didn´t want to offend you"
"Anyway you shouldn´t leave your father waiting for you, it´s been a while after all"
Byleth followed his father´s steps and headed to his office.
….
"Tell me first about what has happened to you since I left the monastery and I will do the same"
Byleth explained everything that has happened until now.
Jeralt´s expression was serious. After a few seconds he made his first question "Are you training with Lady Rhea?"
"Yes, I wanted to assist my students as a healer in a case of emergency and she was the most appropriate option"
"I understand your reasoning, but I can´t avoid feeling uneasy about it. Giving you an important position of responsibility within the monastery the moment she saw you and helping you in such a generous way. There is something that doesn´t make sense about it"
"Why do you distrust her?"
"Distrust is a harsh term to say. We used to be very close when I was young, but I´ve always felt that she kept too many things hidden from the rest. Trusting is a two way road, and I don´t think that she is fond of you, just for being my son, but right now I can only make conjectures about it. Is it true that there is an assassination plan against Rhea?"
"It is, the paper was found in Lord Lonato´s belongings, but we don´t know yet the identity of the conspirators."
"I don´t like this situation. Someone is moving in the shadows and we don´t even know where they are coming from"
"What about you?"
"There have been attacks from monsters in the territories of the Leicester Alliance. The trade was in danger and the merchants begged the Church for its help. We killed and disbanded most of them, but I´m afraid that it's a matter of time it happens again. The Alliance has never been a stable country and I suspect that these incidents are related to the rivalry between the different houses. I´m tired of these endless fights for power, but I guess that´s the reason why we had plenty of job in the first place" he laughed "And now you are not only a teacher, but you have to patrol the monastery. They should pay you the double"
Byleth nodded at him and looked to the clock of the wall.
"It´s about time I leave for my class"
"I know" he sighed "I would have liked to talk a bit more but I also have a ton of paperwork. If I didn´t know better I would think that Seteth hates me. Will you have a meal with your father?"
"Of course" he smiled
"You are smiling! You smile the same way she did" he said while he rubbed his hair. "Good luck son and see you later"
"See you dad"
After leaving his father´s office he headed to his class. On his way to it he came across with Edelgard, who was carrying a bunch of books.
"Good morning Professor. I was about to go to your class."
"Good morning Edelgard. Were you at the library?"
"Yes, I was borrowing some books to study later and you my teacher?"
"I was talking with my father"
"I heard he was on a mission in the Leicester Alliance. I´m sure he will be a great asset for our month´s task"
"That´s true. By the way Edelgard, I told you before that I would tell you about my age if I find out about it. I´m 20 years old and I will turn 21 the next Red Wolf Moon"
"You are really young" Edelgard was surprised by his revelation. "Although, you must admit it was strange not knowing your age. How did you find out?"
"When my mother gave birth to me she died so I took that year as reference."
"I´m sorry to have made such a tactless question. I beg your pardon."
"You don´t have to worry about that. It´s all in the past"
"If you say so" she gentle smiled to him "Shall we continue to the classroom?"
"Of course"
…
"Patrolling? Sounds very tiresome to me" Linhardt yawned
"I think that´s not the important part Linhardt. Why someone would want to kill the archbishop?" asked Dorothea
"The Church, as a mediator between the different noble houses, is in a position of power that can create resentment among those who are not favored by it. An assassination plan is an option to avoid further complications" Hubert chuckled
"I don´t find it funny Hubie, but I understand it better now" she sighed "Why everyone can´t just get along?"
"If we disturb them we are going to get ourselves killed!" screamed Bernadetta
"Calm down Bernadetta. The monastery is one of the safest places on Fódlan" reassured her Ferdinand.
"You will patrol the surroundings of the monastery in search of people or elements that could be related to this assassination plot. I will personally join the patrols. I will make a general patrol with Hubert and Edelgard. Linhardt and Caspar take care of the west side of the monastery. Dorothea and Petra will assist the knights in the patrols of the town next to the monastery. Ferdinand and Bernadetta, the main hall and east side of the monastery are yours"
"Understood Professor"
"Even if we are patrolling that doesn´t mean that I will allow you get distracted from your studies. We are just an auxiliary force. We will train as usual"
"That´s too much Professor" complained Linhardt. "How am I going to continue my investigations if I´m busy taking care of Caspar"
"I don´t need you to take care of me. A bit of walking won´t kill you Linhardt!"
"If there aren´t more questions we will start the class"
…
After the class has ended, everyone headed to their respective duties. The students of his house weren´t the only ones cooperating. The Golden Deer and Blue Lion´s students were also taking part.
"Before we start searching, it would be wise to discard those places that can´t be considered objectives of the plotters" Edelgard said
"If we consider the letter a mere distraction we can discard the place where the ceremony is going to take place. It would be unintelligent otherwise" Hubert said
"The Church has important amounts of gold and weapons of great value, acquired after centuries of acting as the mediator of Fódlan" added Byleth, recalling the information he had read at the library.
"It seems that you have been learning about the history of the Church" chuckled Hubert "You are right about the wealth of the Church and the weapons they have stored. I propose to search around the monastery to collect as much information as possible"
"I agree with Hubert. What place should we search first Professor?"
Byleth meditated for a second before answering.
"The Cathedral and its surrounding"
"A good choice." Edelgard nodded. "The cathedral is immense and I´m sure there must be something of value beneath its walls"
The cathedral was the biggest building of the monastery. It was built apart from the rest of facilities, a bridge binding it to the rest of the world.
The doors were wide open and the interior was crowded with commoners and nobles that were coming due to the celebrations of the coming of the goddess. Byleth headed to the right and found Seteth, examining an immense statue that was holding an axe.
Noticing him, Seteth saluted him with his usual serious voice.
"Good morning Professor. I see that you are already taking part in the patrolling. Is there something you need from me?"
"What are these statues?"
"The fact you don´t know about them worries me. They are the four saints of the Church. Their names were Cethleann, Cichol, Indech and Macuil."
The first two names made him remember the events of the valley of Zanado. A city in flames and corpses everywhere.
"They were the ones who thought in the War of Heroes"
"Exactly. You recall that at least" Seteth nodded. "As a member of the Church you should study more about its origins. I will take my leave for the time being and good luck with the patrolling"
As Seteth left Edelgard and Hubert were examining the statues.
"The statues are of considerable size but I don´t think they have any other particularity" observed Edelgard
"The Cathedral was built hundreds of years ago; there could be secret passages just in front of us. Besides, I sense a faint magic aura. If you don´t mind Lady Edelgard I wish to stay a bit longer"
"Do as you wish, I will go with the Professor to the other side of cathedral. Let´s meet outside the building after investigating the area"
Leaving Hubert with his thoughts they went to the left side of the Cathedral.
"Good morning Professor! I didn´t expect seeing you here" giggled Flayn, the little sister of Seteth.
"We are taking part in the investigation regarding the assassination plot of the archbishop. Do you know something of interest here?"
"Under us there are the tombs of those persons who are of special importance for the Church of Seiros. Seiros´s remaining itself are in a crypt under the cathedral, but I am afraid that the access is restricted for most of the year and even during this month the access is only allowed to the more superficial levels."
"Byleth, the access is guarded by me, so there is no need to worry!" shouted Alois, who was approaching them.
"With someone like you I´m sure we have nothing to fear" Flayn smiled
Leaving Flayn and Alois with their chattering they left the building. The day was getting cloudy, menacing rain.
"It seems that is going to rain. We should find a place to cover us from the rain"
"The main hall?"
"I think there is nothing worth of investigating there, but it´s better than to catch a cold. Don´t worry about Hubert, he will find us later. I wouldn´t like to disturb him now"
They entered the main hall and took a seat. The place was quiet except for the chattering and laughing of Silvain with a female student. Byleth observed that it was a different girl to the one he had seen the last month.
"I can´t stand someone like him." Edelgard sighed when she saw what he was looking "Instead of focusing on his duties he is just having fun and playing with the feelings of others"
"Is that love?" wondered Byleth
"I´m surprised to hear that word coming from your mouth my Teacher, but I highly doubt it is. I think he is just using her as a distraction. I barely know about him, but he will probably marry another noble as a duty to his house"
"Do the nobles usually marry for political reasons?"
"Most of them yes, although from time to time there are exceptions to that rule. Through marriages different houses can set aside their differences and even join forces."
"Is that your fate too?"
Edelgard looked directly at him.
"It may be. As the heir of the empire I have no time to seek for my own happiness. If my marriage can bring benefits so be it."
It was the answer he expected from her, though he felt a bit of pity for her.
"I didn´t expect to have such a talk with you my Teacher. May I ask why you are curious about it?"
"I was just curious about it. It seems that nobles and commoners treat the matter differently"
"You are right about that. You could consider that the institution itself is corrupted, since is used to preserve the status quo. Even in matters like this the nobility has casted its differences with the rest of the world." She said lost in though
The face of Lorenz came to his mind. He was the vivid example of what Edelgard was talking about. The Professors had already received complaints from female students regarding that matter.
"Professor Byleth"
Their conversation was interrupted by a small boy with a serious look on his face.
"Lady Rhea wants to talk with you. She will be waiting at the Audience Room"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Cyril and I am the personal assistant of Lady Rhea. Don´t make her wait Professor" and as he arrived he left.
"I will see you later Edelgard, take care"
"Take care you too Professor" she smiled to him, although her eyes were serious.
…
The archbishop was standing in the middle of the room when Byleth arrived. She was guarded by a group of fortress knights and Catherine.
"Thank you for coming Professor, you seem to be taking your role quite seriously"
"My students are focused on the task ahead too"
"And I thank you for that" she smiled "I´m afraid that due to the preparations of the ceremony I won´t be able to assist you any longer"
"You don´t have to worry, I thank you for your guiding"
"I summoned you to inform you about the night patrols. You will patrol the surrounding of the monastery once per week during this month. You don´t have to worry about your students. I wouldn´t want them to lose focus on their studies. Would it be ok to you?"
"No problem" although he could hear Sothis protesting against such measures.
"You will be accompanied during those patrols, it is safer that way"
"Who will be my companion?"
"I"
Jeritza came from behind him, wearing his usual mask.
"You will start from tomorrow night. I hope this doesn´t give you too much trouble"
"You don´t have to worry, I will do it"
After receiving the archbishop´s orders he headed to Manuela´s room. If he wanted to continue his formation she was the most appropriate option after the archbishop, despite her own problems.
He knocked the door of her room. He could hear a moaning. Manuela slightly opened the door only to close it violently when she realized who her visitor was.
"Professor Byleth, you should have told me in advance! Wait a second!"
He could hear a lot of noises coming from the room
"Oh, this is a disaster! Where is my clean dress?"
"Are you ok?"
"Don´t listen. You must be a gentleman Professor!"
Even if he wanted to, he couldn´t avoid hearing the disaster that was unfolding inside the room.
After a few minutes Manuela finally opened the door of the room, still catching her breath.
"Good morning Professor, please enter!"
It was evident that the room was still messy, but Byleth didn´t comment about it. Manuela showed him a seat, before taking one in front of him.
"Why have you come here Professor? I enjoy talking with you but I didn´t expect you coming here"
"I would like you to teach me magic"
"You don´t waste your words. Here I was thinking you came to hear me singing" she teased at him. "Can I ask why you are interest in the mysteries of magic? Hanneman is also versed in magic"
"I want to help my students. I´ve been receiving training from the archbishop, but she won´t be able to help me now."
"If you say it like that it makes me feel like a second choice" complained Manuela.
"I didn´t want to disturb you"
"You mean you didn´t want to endure me complaining about my romantic failures" she sighed "I can´t blame you, but is it wrong trying to find my significant other?"
"Is love really that important?"
"Byleth, I didn´t expect to hear those words from you, but it is. If your parents didn´t fall in love we wouldn´t been having this conversation"
"Many people decide to marry for duty" pointed out Byleth, recalling the conversation he had with Edelgard.
"You are getting used to the nobles here, but you are right. However, as a commoner you have more freedom than most of your students."
"Manuela, I was searching for you. Oh, Professor!"
Dorothea entered the room, visibly surprised with the presence of Byleth in the room.
"Don´t worry Dorothea, I was just talking with the Professor about love"
"Love? Really? If you can love there is nothing impossible" she smiled
"Don´t hold your breath. The Professor doesn´t look interested in that matter"
"Is that so?" Dorothea looked a bit disappointed. "We can´t lose our hope yet, Manuela"
"You say so, but you are the one who is living at its fullest Dorothea" Manuela smiled "I saw you with that handsome knight the other day"
"Don´t say it too aloud." She giggled "The Professor is still here"
"I don´t mind it" Byleth answered.
"Did you have to tell me something Dorothea?"
"I just wanted to have a meal with you, to remember the old times, but I can wait"
"We can have dinner together. It would be rude if I ignore this handsome Professor´s request"
"See you later then, bye Professor!"
As Dorothea left Manuela looked at him.
"I will help you, but with one condition"
"Which one?"
"You have to listen to the stories of my not so successful romantic life. Would you help easing the stress of this poor lady?"
"I will"
"Then let´s get started" she smiled
Byleth trained with her as she told him all kind of stories related to the past. By the end of the session he couldn´t avoid feeling a bit of sympathy for her.
"Thank you for listening to me. I hope that I was able to help you a bit"
"You did" he remembered Dorothea´s promise with Manuela. "You should go to the canteen"
"Don´t worry Professor" Manuela smiled "I won´t forget the promise I made to my disciple so lightly"
"Disciple?"
"Dorothea worked at the same company I did. I picked her myself and she gained quite a reputation. I´m very fond of her and I´m happy to see her around. She used to be a sad, insecure girl back then" she said, a nostalgic tone in her voice. "But we are not here to dwell into the past. I have a future to fight for. I will keep searching for my true love"
"Good luck"
"We will talk about our next session. I will tell you in a few days"
"Understood"
Closing the door behind her he left him humming a song. He still had a few hours of sunlight left and he decided to go to the fishing pond. He wasn´t surprised to see his father there. He was an expert fisher, after all. He was accompanied by one of the Golden Deer´s students.
"Hello Byleth. Are you feeling like fishing today?"
"So you really are Jeralt´s son. I don´t remember you were around when you came to our village. My name is Leonie"
"He had a pretty bad cold and stayed in the tent most of the time, that´s why you haven´t seen him until now"
"You are completely different to him" she observed. She looked at him with a challenging look in his eyes. "Even if you are his son be sure I won´t be easy on you. I was an apprentice of your father"
"Only for a short while Leonie, but I see that you are handling your own"
"Alois was also your apprentice, how many apprentices did you have father?"
"That´s a good question" he laughed. I have lost the count.
"How old are you Jeralt?" asked Leonie.
"I have lost the count of that too" Jeralt admitted
"Really? Isn´t that strange?"
"The age is just a number. I´m still strong and healthy, I can´t ask for more. You should pay attention to your fishing rod, you are about to miss a good catch"
"You are right!" Leonie ended the conversation and used her strength to catch a fish of considerable size.
"Do you want to compete son?"
"I will"
They stayed there for two hours, each one filling its bucket.
"We can call if a draw for today. Help me with the buckets Byleth"
He went with his father to the kitchen and handed the buckets full of fish to the staff. As compensation they rewarded them with a fried steak.
"It´s been a while since we had a meal together" Jeralt commented
"You are right" he admitted.
"I hope that the fancy folks you are teaching aren´t causing you any problem"
"They are working better as a team, but there is still much to improve."
"You look a bit different. You are getting more expressive. I guess that having these young people around you is helping you to get more expressive"
"It may be"
The rest of their chattering felt like the days when they were just him and the rest of the company. With these warmth feelings he left the canteen when the sun was already setting. He was heading to his room when he felt the presence of someone above him. When he looked up he found Edelgard riding a Pegasus by herself.
"Hello my Teacher" she smiled to him
"You have progressed a lot. I´m proud of you"
"After you left, the knights were asking for additional help in the sky. I wasn´t too confident at first but I don´t regret having made the decision to help"
"It seems you don´t need my help on that matter anymore"
"You are wrong" she said, her eyes maintaining his gaze. "I have a lot to learn from you yet. I wouldn´t mind training an aerial battle with you… and I would like you to show me the field of flowers I saw with you my birthday's night"
"With Pleasure" he gave her a light smile
"See you tomorrow then"
As she flew around the monastery, he couldn´t avoid feeling proud of her.
"I´m sure that´s the same way your father feels about you" pointed out Sothis.
"I guess you are right" he stayed a bit longer until he lost sight of her in the heights.
I think that Jeralt really wanted to tell Byleth about his mother, but he didn´t want to explain the events related to his birth. The explanation that he made makes it look like that he was born outside of the monastery (maybe a village near it) and then he returned the body to the monastery and abandoned his position. You could consider it as a half lie made up by him to protect Byleth as he doesn´t know Rhea´s motives to employ Byleth at the monastery. The game version also has some incoherencies that are not really explored.