9/12 Horsebow moon
"What is he planning to do with her?"
They had already entered the dominion of the monastery, but she could feel that everyone was tense. Her Teacher and Jeralt were riding next to each other with a serious expression on their faces.
She had known that his uncle was up to something in the monastery this month, but he hadn´t trusted her the objectives of his plan. "It must be related to the children of the Goddess and Flayn was the easiest target, but why?" She hated to lose control of the events happening around her and she feared it wasn´t the only thing she was losing control about. Every time she looked at her Teacher she could feel comfortable warmth inside her. To add salt to the wound the events of the last few days kept coming to her mind.
"I´m the heir of an empire, I can´t dwell on dreams, no matter how tempting they are." She keep saying to herself, but as time passed the strength of those words were diluting. At first, she admired her Teacher for his strength and skills in combat, but that had started to change as time passed. It was the second time she had a feeling like this. The first time was with a young noble from the kingdom which she couldn´t recall his face, but that had happened a lifetime ago, when her hair was still its usual self and it was an innocent childhood love. Now it was more intense and different "What is happening to me?" she lamented. She knew that she didn´t have time for something like this. "In a few months everything will change, yet I can´t avoid feeling like this. I must remain focused" she sighed.
"Is something bothering you Edelgard?"
"My Teacher is nothing"
He looked at her directly to her eyes, before he nodded.
"If you are wondering about something feel free to tell me about it if you want to" he then approached his father again.
"He is too nice for his own good" she thought, before trying to focus her mind on the mysteries surrounding his uncle´s real objectives.
….
"I will be going to Rhea´s place" said Byleth to his students "I will tell you later if we know anything new about Flayn´s situation. You are free to go now, but stay safe"
After dispatching his students he headed to the audience room accompanied by his father.
"Who would want to kidnap Flayn?"
"Do you think is it related to the events of the last months?" asked Byleth
"I highly doubt so. Flayn holds no real position within the Church. She is just Seteth´s sister. If they were asking for a rescue I could understand, but the letter we received said nothing about that. Anyway, we should just ask Rhea for new information on this matter"
When they entered the audience room they could see Rhea talking with Seteth. Rhea was trying to comfort Seteth, which had an anguished expression on his face.
"Professor Byleth, Jeralt welcome again to the monastery. As you know Flayn has disappeared" said Rhea. "It is regretful that we have to meet again in such dire circumstances"
"When did it happen?" asked Byleth
"A few days ago" said Seteth. I went to the town to buy Flayn´s favorite sweets, but when I returned she was nowhere to be seen. At first I didn´t worry too much about it, but when it was the time for dinner and she hadn´t appeared yet I started to worry"
"We have sent the knights all around the monastery, but they haven´t found any proof that she had left the monastery. I have the suspicion that she might still be here"
"Do you have any theories about this?"
"They might be trying to catch my attention, since is public knowledge that I´m very fond of my sister, but the fact that we haven´t received any contact from them makes me wonder about their real objectives"
"There are also rumors of someone prowling the streets and attacking innocents, night after night." added Rhea. I find these rumors unfounded, but it would be wise to investigate a bit more on that matter too. Professor Manuela has recently been to the town and she can explain to you more on that matter. I beg both of you and the students for help."
"It will be done Lady Rhea"
"Start as soon as possible, I hope for the best"
Byleth and his father left the room in complete silence. When he made sure that no one was around them his father sighed.
"I´ve never seen Seteth like that. I´m sure he is suffering a lot"
"He is really protective of her sister" Byleth felt pity for him; he preferred his usual serious tone and appearance that the one he had just seen.
"We must resolve this mystery as soon as possible. I guess that we will start patrolling the monastery again as we did two months ago"
"We should ask Manuela about those rumors, we don´t know if they are related to our current task or not"
"I will accompany you then"
They headed to the infirmary, where they supposed Manuela was working. When they entered the room they found the Professor attending an ill student.
"Oh Byleth, Jeralt. I didn´t expect to see two handsome men come at the same time for me. I feel honored"
"I´m glad to see you as always Manuela" grinned Jeralt.
"We have just been informed about rumors regarding a series of attacks happening in the proximities of the monastery. Do you know anything about it?"
"I´ve heard from them. A grim reaper has been appearing in the depths of night wielding a giant scythe and killing those unlucky enough to find it"
"A grim reaper near the monastery?"
"Yes, the gods of death from the ancient times, but luckily no one has been found dead so it must be just rumors"
"I wouldn´t normally pay attention to such a ludicrous story. However, we should check the surroundings of the monastery just in case to avoid further complications. Don´t you agree son?"
"You are right. We have to cover a wider area if we want to find her fast. Thank you for your time Manuela, stay safe"
"Thank you for your nice words Byleth" she said winking an eye to him. "Be careful out there too"
"I will be heading to my room Byleth. You should inform your students about what we had just learnt"
"Understood father, see you later"
He walked through the corridors. He didn´t know where his students could be, so he decided to start with the student´s dormitories.
He knocked at Edelgard´s door. A few seconds later, a face he had grown used to see appeared in front of him.
"Hello Professor"
"I´ve had just talked with the archbishop and Seteth about our current problem. They suspect that Flayn is still here so they want us to join them in their investigation. We will be joining their efforts until we find her. I want you to summon the rest of the students at our classroom."
"It will be done my Teacher. If she is still here we have to be more cautious, since we don´t know the identity of the kidnappers yet."
"That´s not the only problem. Rumors about a grim reaper wielding a giant scythe that has been attacking innocents at night had spread around the town."
"We should be careful about that too. We don´t know if there is any truth to those rumors, but just in case"
He was preparing to leave when he recalled something.
"Edelgard?"
"Yes, my Teacher?"
"When do you want to start your swimming lessons?"
"I didn´t expect you to remember something like that right now" said Edelgard, evidently blushed.
"I told you I won´t let you be in such a risk anymore. The monastery has pools that aren´t too deep and they can be used to train. Do you have any preferences?"
"It would be better for me if we could practice when no one is around there" she said, avoiding his eyes. "It would be an embarrassing experience to admit such liability in public"
"Do you want to start from tonight?"
"I guess, it would be worse if we postpone it. I will do my best, but please don´t tell anyone about this, specially Hubert and Dorothea"
"I promise I won´t tell anyone about this. I will wait for you at the courtyard after dinner" He nodded to her. "Search for the others, we must prepare a strategy"
…
Thirty minutes later his students were at his class, waiting for his instructions.
"As you have already heard, Flayn has been kidnapped. We don´t know the identity of the perpetrators, but there is suspicion that Flayn is still here, so we have to be more careful than usual. As we did when the assassination plot happened, we must search around the monastery. Report to me any finding you make and don´t hesitate to tell me if you have suspicions about someone in particular. We will keep the classes as usual if possible, but right now our priority is to find Flayn. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor"
"There are some rumors circulating about a grim reaper patrolling the town at night. There may be just rumors, but to avoid any risks be accompanied if you have to leave your rooms at night"
"It would be safer to just stay in our rooms then" said Bernadetta.
"I agree with her, looking for a missing person is troublesome enough, but avoiding someone like that is too much" said Linhardt
"It´s just a rumor. I´m just telling you to avoid unnecessary risks. We will start class now. Don´t worry Linhardt, we will be doing theory today"
"I thank you for that" he smiled to him.
"Theory, my weakness" complained Caspar
…..
After the class had ended Byleth headed to the stables. He wanted to check the state of his student´s horses to make sure they were ready in case they had to use them. He was turning a corner when he impacted with someone.
"AH!"
"I´m sorry. I didn´t expect someone. Are you ok Annette?" Byleth said offering her his hand.
"Don´t worry Professor. The fault is all mine, since I wasn´t paying attention. I guess that you already know about Flayn´s disappearance"
"Yes, we will be joining the efforts to find her."
"That´s nice. We have been searching for her, but we haven´t found her yet. Do you have any idea where she could be?"
Byleth was about to answer when a man came from the stables. It was Gilbert.
"Hello Gilbert"
"Hello Professor" Gilbert´s usual serious expression grew stiffer when he saw Annette. "I have heard from the archbishop that you completed with success your expedition to the Leicester Alliance. I congratulate you. If you forgive me I will be heading to the cathedral" He left them without giving him a chance to answer.
"He hasn´t changed a bit" Annette sighed.
"Do you know him?"
"Of course I do, he is my father after all"
Byleth was suspicious about that due to their physical traits, but he was nevertheless surprised.
"Your personalities are so different"
"He used to be warmer when I was younger. In my country loyalty is a quality extremely important and my father has always put his loyalty to the Holy Kingdom and the Church first. If I can be sincere with you I came to this place just to search for him"
"I hope that you can get along again" even though Gilbert had a taciturn personality he hoped that Annette was able to achieve her objective.
"Even if he doesn´t want to return at least I have to try!" she smiled to him. "By the way Professor I would like to train with you if you have some free time. I need to do my best"
Watching her cheerful usual self, Byleth couldn´t avoid smiling to her.
"Of course Annette. I will make sure to find some time to practice"
"Thank you Professor! You sure are the best. I will be leaving now. Bye!"
"She is very hard working" he said to himself, looking at her energetic walking.
…..
The night had already fallen when she left her room. She made sure that no one was still hanging around and headed to the courtyard. Edelgard was wearing her leather armor. She found him leaning on a column, watching the stars of the sky.
"Good evening Professor" she said to her Teacher, fighting to hide her embarrassing feelings.
"Good evening Edelgard. Let´s head to the pools, I´m sure that no one will be there now as you asked me for before"
"I thank you for that"
She followed him to the pool. It was near the area of the sauna. Its waters came from an underground stream; although she wasn't sure where it was exactly located they looked clean.
"The water keeps flowing through the holes to the sides to avoid it getting stagnant. You don´t have to worry, is cleaner than the fishing pool"
"And less exposed" she thought.
"I will go first" he said, entering the pool and stopping in the middle of it. "Walk into the pool until you feel that you are losing contact with the floor under you"
Edelgard did as he told her. The water was a bit cold, but she was focused on her steps. It didn´t take too long until the water reached her neck. She then stopped and looked at him.
"This is my limit my Teacher" she said, embarrassed as she was admitting her short height.
"There is no need to feel sorry about it" he said swimming to her. "The first step we have to achieve is making you float on the water. A normal person would drown in the case they were wearing a heavy armor, but I´ve felt your strength and I know that if you can control your fears you can reach for the shore or the bank of a river before exhausting yourself. In this case you are wearing leather armor so you will be facing less resistance. The key to keep afloat is to distribute your weight in the maximum possible area. Try lying horizontally, extending your arms and legs. I will be helping you this time with my hand"
She did as she was told, feeling her Teachers hand on her back. She closed her eyes, trying to create a mask that hided her embarrassment.
"Now extend your hands and limbs"
She remained like that for a while, her heartbeats and her Teacher´s hand the only things she could feel.
"Good job, now try doing the same without my hand" he said as he released his hand from her.
She felt a bit of fear the moment she stopped feeling his hand, but she remained with her eyes closed, trying her best to remain calm. After a minute had passed that felt like an eternity to her she could sense his hand on her back again.
"You are doing well. Now I will move you to a deeper area. You don´t have to worry. I won´t be leaving you alone yet"
"If you say it like that you will make me worry about the same step" although she couldn´t avoid smiling. When she felt she was advancing to the center of the pool she opened her eyes. Byleth was carefully moving her to the center of the pool. She could see the determination in his eyes.
"Stay still and familiarize with your surroundings"
After a few minutes had passed she felt her Professor´s hand leaving here, but she remained calm since he was next to her.
"You are doing a great job Edelgard" he said, placing his hand on her back again. "If it is ok for you we can try to move around the pool now"
"I´m afraid that I don´t have enough confidence to swim by my own yet"
"You don´t have to worry. I will be holding your hands; you just need to move your legs for now"
She felt extremely flustered when his hands touched hers, a dizzying feeling starting to take control over her body, but she did as she was told. She lost count of time as they moved around the pool. She tried to think about anything else but the warmth of his hands was too intense.
"I think that this is enough for today. You don´t have to worry, you can walk in this area" he said as he helped her to stand up.
"Thank you for your patience my teacher" she said avoiding his eyes.
"No need to thank me Edelgard, if this can end up saving your life then that is enough for me". After leaving the pool he applied magic on her, drying her clothes.
"The first step is always the most difficult one. I´m proud of you Edelgard, if you are able to overcome your fear you will end up being stronger than before"
"I thank you for your help on that matter my Teacher" she said with her eyes focused on her feet.
"When do you want to have the next lesson?"
"I guess that once per week would be enough for you?" "I couldn´t handle something like this more than once per week" she thought to herself.
"Very well, same hour same place next week then. Let me accompany you to the dormitories"
They walked in complete silence to the dormitories, her Professor had a neutral expression on his face, completely oblivious to the internal struggle she was facing between her duty and the feelings she feared to admit.
"We have arrived" Byleth announced
"Thank you for accompanying me. Good night Byleth"
Hearing her words her teacher´s expression changed a bit.
"Did I say something strange?"
"Not at all, it´s just that I liked you saying my name" he gently smiled to her.
"A-Anyway good night" she said, feeling her cheeks get hot.
"See you tomorrow! Tell the rest to gather at our class to commence our investigation" he said, leaving her alone without looking back again.
She closed the door behind her and burrowed her face into the armored bear stuffy that the professor had given to her what it appeared to be ages ago.
"I´m a fool" she said to herself. She knew that Hubert would be horrified about the time she had been spending with her Teacher and she hardly couldn´t blame him. "I must realize that whatever happens, it is doomed to fail." Even if her Professor had shown to hold different opinions against the archbishop she was unsure if he would choose to believe in her when the time comes. "Growing fond of someone is risky already, but in this case I would be betting my own life." She had too many fronts opened at the same time. The emperor inside her had always put her duty before her won happiness, yet she could feel opposition inside her. "Is it selfish to feel like this?"
She tried to sleep, but no matter how many times she tried she couldn't. Sighing, she left her room and took a walk through the aisles, her only companion the moonlight. She had just arrived to the courtyard when she felt someone´s presence.
"Show yourself" she commanded.
A few moments later, a shadow wielding a giant scythe appeared in front of him.
"I think I told you to be more discreet with your activities"
"Don´t ask me. Orders from your uncle" said Jeritza with a distorted voice. "He is using me as a distraction. He wants to split the church´s attention"
"He could have used one of his men if he wanted to do so". She had been lucky that no one had discovered yet Jeritza´s true identity after the events of two months ago, but she wasn´t sure if the result would be the same this month.
"You told me to obey his orders"
"I did so, although regrettably. What have you done to Flayn?"
"She is fine. I was just told to take her hostage; I have no instructions apart from that"
"Where is she?" she felt angered to ask such basic questions to him. It was evident that her uncle considered her just a tool for his own purposes.
"Beneath the monastery. A tunnel connects my room to the place where she is hold hostage. Solon comes to visit her every day. He is investigating something about her body"
"That monster" she thought to herself. She didn´t know what they were planning but she knew that nothing good could come from the machinations of that filthy creature.
"Are there any other accesses to that place?"
"It is like a labyrinth. I´ve kept investigating about it, but I only know a fraction of the tunnels under us"
"Don´t kill anyone on your night rounds unless it is necessary"
"I won´t unless he is that Professor"
"Especially if it is him, control your inner demon Jeritza"
Since he was wearing that helmet he couldn´t see his expression, but he could sense anger in his voice.
"I will do as you command, but you know that I cannot completely control him"
"Try to remain as Jeritza as soon as possible" She knew that his split personality came from the traumas of his past, but she could do nothing about it.
"Return to your room and avoid entering the monastery like this, you are only going to reveal your identity"
"I will be careful" he said, leaving her alone.
She was relieved to know Flayn´s location, but she was conflicted about how was the best way to tell her Professor. Telling outright about her location would make him wonder how she knew about it and if he saw Jeritza as the death knight; he would start to distrust her. She didn´t want to give them time for their experimentation, but she couldn´t oppose them directly or they would act in retaliation. "I need to be subtle about this"
She spent the rest of the night thinking about a plan
…..
9/13
"Lady Edelgard you seem tired" observed Hubert
"I was informed by Jeritza about Flayn´s current location". After explaining to him her conversation with Jeritza, Hubert looked at her with a serious look.
"They are definitely experimenting something on her. We shouldn´t allow them too much time for our own sake."
"We must make the Professor find the place where she is hold hostage"
"I hope that you aren´t implying that we must tell him everything"
"Of course not. That would be a foolish act. However, we could do something indirectly"
"Please, explain to me what your plan is"
"We must take advantage of our partial knowledge of the tunnels under the monastery. We must lead our Professor to find an access to that area."
"Our investigations could be useful on that matter. If there is some kind of magic device used to keep Flayn imprisoned I could identify where she is"
"Since they already suspect that Flayn might not have left the monastery we won´t waste our time searching out there." Edelgard knew it was a race against time, but it was the only option she could think of, that avoided risking her own position. "Help me search for the rest of our classmates. We mustn´t make the Professor wait"
"It will be done Lady Edelgard"
….
Everyone was already waiting for her Professor when he appeared through the door. She noticed that Petra and Dorothea were carrying Bernadetta in their arms.
"Good morning everyone" Byleth greeted them when he arrived. "We will be making rounds at the monastery. Since we don´t know where our enemy is, I only plan to divide ourselves in two groups.
"I offer to accompany you my Teacher"
"In that case I must accompany you too" added Hubert
"Very well, anyone else?"
"I don´t want to join any group! Please have mercy!" cried Bernadetta.
"Professor, I would have liked to accompany you, but I think that Bernie needs more help than you"
"I think the same" said Petra. "I will protect you Bernadetta"
"T-Thank you" said Bernadetta, relaxing a bit.
"I will help them too Professor" said Ferdinand
"Is that something noble related Ferdie?"
"Not at all, I just think that Bernadetta needs us more"
"Oh! I didn´t expect that coming from you"
"In that case I will patrol with Bernadetta´s group!" shouted Caspar
"Since when is my group?" asked Bernadetta, making a shy smile.
"I will be going with them too Professor" said Linhardt "I know that look in your eyes and it just exhausts me"
"I have no problem with that. Edelgard and Hubert will accompany me then. The rest stay together and come to this place at the end of the day if you have found something relevant. The investigation begins now"
"Where should we start investigating?" she asked.
"The east side will be our area of investigation. The rest take care of the west area"
"Understood"
They left the class and separated in two groups. She couldn´t believe the luck they had with the creation of the groups, although a part of her was worried for Bernadetta´s wellbeing. Hubert had reported to her that he had to carry her one day to her room when she passed out in front of him, after confronting her about her nocturnal habits. "I hope she doesn´t pass out again for the time being"
They weren´t the only ones helping. The students from the other classes were contributing to the efforts and even knights like Catherine were searching for Flayn.
"It is evident that Seteth is deeply worried about her sister" commented Hubert to her side.
"They are family after all, wouldn´t you do the same for yours?" asked him Byleth.
"For my family? I may lend a hand when the time comes, but I´m not sure that my father will welcome it" he chuckled
"Byleth I see that you are already joining the investigation" said Jeralt approaching them. He was accompanied by Leonie, one of the golden deer students.
"I was talking with captain Jeralt about possible suspicious people. That old man, Tomas, gives me bad vibes. I´ve heard that the days prior to her disappearance he had been asking about Flayn"
Edelgard was surprised by such accurate assumption. "Even if it is a conjecture, her senses are sharp" she had to admit.
"He has been here for decades as far as I know. I don´t see any point in interrogating him"
"We have to make sure, even if we are confident he is not responsible of such vicious act" said Edelgard to him.
"I will leave it to you and your students them" Jeralt said, rubbing her Teacher´s hair. "See you later son"
"Bye father"
Jeralt and Leonie left, although Leonie looked at her Professor as if she was offended by what had just happened.
"We should be searching for Tomas, Professor"
"You are right Hubert, let´s find him"
They didn´t need to search much further since they found him in the gardens of the monastery.
"Good morning Professor. How can I help you?" Tomas said with a gentle smile. "His acting is good, I must admit" thought Edelgard. She could only feel pity of the man that was killed to obtain that appearance.
"You are a suspect of kidnapping Flayn. Do you have anything to say about that?"
Tomas´s eyes grew wide with Byleth´s question. He quickly looked at her, but her face remained stoic.
"I am surprised to hear such statement, but I have no relation with this disturbing event"
"You have been recently asking about Flayn, can I ask why?"
"I was just interested in her Crest. As an intellectual I share the same interest on that matter with experts like Hanneman. I am guilty of my curiosity, nothing more."
Byleth silently looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.
"Understood, stay safe"
"Don´t worry, Professor, an old man like me won´t be of much interest"
After leaving Tomas at the gardens they entered the main hall, where Hanneman and Manuela were talking.
"Morning Byleth" Manuela greeted her with a wink.
"Good morning Manuela, Hanneman. I was talking with Tomas about Flayn´s disappearance. He told me that you were also interested in her crest"
"It is true. Flayn holds a major crest of Cethleann, but it is not a unique crest. I promise you that I have nothing to do with her disappearance. Besides, having you, I don´t need nothing more to investigate"
"That sounds quite strange, Hanneman. If Byleth was a girl you would have sounded like a pervert"
"Better being considered a pervert that a lady that scares away every suitor she has"
"That was rude!"
They left the two Professors with their dispute. Edelgard couldn´t avoid to sigh when their voices could be heard meters away from them.
They continued their investigation, but they achieved nothing with their questioning.
"Professor, I fear that interrogating everyone won´t drive us closer to the truth. I propose a more practical approach on this matter"
"You are right Edelgard, she is nowhere to be seen. If she is still around there is only one place where she could be"
"The depths of the monastery"
"A path to the shadows" laughed Hubert. "When we were investigating two months ago I found an interesting passage. It may be useful for our search"
"Guide us to it Hubert" ordered Edelgard
They followed him to the lower levels of the monastery. They were in the middle of an aisle when he stopped between two statues. He pressed his hand into the wall and it suddenly disappeared.
"An illusory wall. A person without magic capabilities could pass by without noticing anything in particular, but magic always leaves traces, no matter how small they can be. Since I´m the one who discovered it I will be entering first. Please follow me". Byleth was the second to enter the tunnel, shortly followed by her. Soon after, light started to grow scarce so her Professor and Hubert casted fire spells to cast the shadows away. A sepulchral silent fell between them, the slightest of noises sounded bigger than usual. Feeling the tension in the air they walked into the depths of the monastery.
She had lost count of time when her Professor stopped in front of her. She was about to ask, when he covered her mouth and signaled to a level lower than theirs.
A young man with purple hair was walking alongside what appeared to be two soldiers. The young man was wearing something that resembled their school uniform. They were talking about something, but the noise of an underground river prevented them from hearing the content of their conversation. After a while, the purple haired man casted a spell that made him and the two soldiers disappear. They remained silent for a while, silent witnesses of what they have just seen.
"The young man with the purple hair appeared to be wearing a school uniform"
"You are right Edelgard. Does it mean that there are students related to this incident?"
"I highly doubt so. However, we shouldn´t take this new founding lightly."
"Lady Edelgard is right. We should keep this new finding to ourselves for the time being. They could be bandits, but the fact that one of them appears to be a student doesn´t completely match with that hypothesis."
"The only thing we know now is that this monastery is full of unknown mysteries. We should return to the surface, before everyone starts to worry about our wellbeing my Teacher"
"You are right Edelgard"
"I highly doubt that someone would worry about me" laughed Hubert.
They started their slow return to the surface. She was following close behind her Professor, lost in thought. "They didn´t appear to be part of their group. Are they just a group of bandits lurking for the treasures hidden in the depths of the monastery or is there something more to it?" She felt frustrated with the amount of problems surrounding her. "So many things that are out of my control…" Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt something crawling next to her. When she looked for the origin of the sound she saw a rat of a monstrous size. The moment she saw it memories from her confinement came to her mind, it didn´t help that they were surrounded by darkness. She instinctively walked away from it, colliding with her Teacher´s back.
Her Professor suddenly stopped and looked at her. Feeling embarrassed by her attitude she tried to apologize.
"I´m sorry about that I was just…"
He took her hand and held it gently.
"There is nothing to fear Edelgard; I will make sure that you suffer no harm. We should continue. I wouldn´t want to make Hubert wait" he said to her with a faint smile.
"Yes, we should hurry up" her voice a mere whisper.
He held her hand for the rest of the way. She didn´t make any attempt to release her hand and he didn´t mind either.
…
"We have finally returned" Hubert´s voice announced.
"The sun is already setting so it appears that we have spent most of the day in the depths of the monastery"
"You are right Professor. Lady Edelgard, are you alright? Your ears and cheeks are red" said Hubert hurriedly rushing to her side.
"I´m ok, the air was just cool there is nothing to worry about" she said trying to cover up.
"I will accompany you to Manuela´s place" offered her Teacher.
"I don´t think that…"
"I must agree with our Professor on this matter. Your health is of capital importance to me. You shouldn´t neglect your own health Lady Edelgard"
"I thought I was the one that gave orders"
"Sorry if I have overstepped"
"No need to apologize Hubert. I know that you worry about my wellbeing. I will accompany our Professor then"
They left Hubert behind and headed to Manuela´s infirmary. They were in complete silent, Edelgard too embarrassed to admit the true reason that was driving them to the infirmary.
"I didn´t know that you are afraid of rats" her Professor finally said, breaking the silence between them.
"It´s not as simple as that. The rats bring me memories of a past that comes to visit me into my dreams."
"The tortures that you have been enduring"
"Exactly. They are a silent reminder of what has happened to me"
"I will make sure that you won´t have to suffer something like this anymore Edelgard. I feel sorry for your loss"
"No need to apologize my Teacher. And thank you. Thank you for offering to help me even if you don´t know everything about me and my past"
They finally arrived to the infirmary, but when Byleth opened the door Manuela was nowhere to be seen.
"How strange" Byleth commented. "She should still be around here." He then opened the armchair of the infirmary, apparently searching for some medicine.
"I´m not a medic, but this should be enough"
"Thank you"
"We will continue our investigation tomorrow. We must perseverate in our search"
Looking at the determination of his eyes she felt guilty for hiding information from him.
"We will save her. I promise"
"Good night Edelgard. I will be seeing you tomorrow. Please close the door behind you"
"Good night"
After she lost sight of him she sighed.
"If my life was simpler I could just tell the truth". But she knew it was just wishful thinking. Walking on thin life since she had use of reason she couldn´t avoid being guarded. She left the room, her heart stained by a feeling of guiltiness.
…..
9/14
Byleth was waiting his students at the classroom. After a few minutes, when everyone had already arrived he cleared his throat.
"Has anyone discovered something of interest?"
He looked at each one of his student´s face, but he could only find disappointment on them.
"We really did our best Professor, but nothing yet" said Dorothea.
"I am not blaming anyone. We didn´t have much success either."
"Does it mean Flayn is going to die?" said Bernadetta in a depressed state.
"Keep calm Bernie, we have to hope for the best" Dorothea comforted her, although she looked worried.
"The only option we have is to keep searching. We will be…."
"Byleth! I was searching for you" said Hanneman running to him.
"Good morning Hanneman. What has happened?"
"I was searching for Manuela since I wanted to apologize about our dispute, but she is nowhere to be seen."
"When and where was the last time you saw her?"
"I spent some time with Manuela yesterday´s evening" commented Dorothea. "We were at the gardens taking a cup of tea"
"I looked for her at the infirmary, but she wasn´t there last night"
"That´s strange. She wouldn´t skip her duty like that. I haven´t seen Instructor Jeritza since yesterday too. He may know something about this. Can you accompany me?"
"Of course" he then looked at his students. "All of you, come with us, and bring your weapons. We don´t know if something has happened to them too. Hanneman if you excuse me I will be taking my equipment too"
"It is wise to take precautions in such a dire situation. I will be waiting for you at the gardens"
Byleth rushed to his room and changed to his battle equipment. He also took the Sword of the Creator, which had been under the protection of the seal for days.
A few minutes later he arrived to the gardens. After everyone else arrived they followed Hanneman to Jeritza´s room.
Hanneman was trying to open the door, but it was firmly closed.
"We will have to resort to brute force if we want to access"
"In that case I can lend a hand" offered Caspar. He threw a potent punch with his gauntlet that opened the door.
Byleth entered the room after Hanneman and collided with him. He appeared to be petrified; when he looked what he was looking at he was shocked.
Manuela was lying on the floor, her face was pale and an area of her dress was stained in red.
"Manuela!" Hanneman rushed to her.
"Is she dead?"
"Luckily not" Hanneman said after checking her pulse. "Her right hand seems to be signaling something"
Byleth followed with his eyes Professor Manuela´s hand and found a bookshelf that looked oddly out of place.
"Caspar, Hubert. Help me"
The three of them moved the bookshelf and they discovered a secret tunnel.
"An interesting turn of events" Hubert observed.
"We need to bring her to the infirmary. I need help to carry her" said Hanneman, that was focused on Manuela.
Byleth was about to offer when he heard Edelgard´s voice.
"I will help you Professor Hanneman"
"Thank you Edelgard"
They quickly left, bringing an unconscious Manuela with them.
"If Professor Manuela is here does it mean that Instructor Jeritza is the responsible of the kidnap?" asked Caspar.
"It may be, we have to be careful now. Professor, what should we do now?"
"Caspar, search for reinforcements. Tell them what had just happened. The rest of me accompany me"
"I will return as soon as possible. Leave it to me!"
"Be careful, we don´t know what is lurking down there. Stay close and keep your weapons closer"
Byleth leaded his students into the tunnel, the Sword of the Creator illuminating their way to the abyss.