More Support conversations. Enjoy!
Chapter 13 – The Bee, The Mouse, and The Rose (Blue Sea Moon)
Dorothea smiled as she finished the last bite of her Vegetable Pasta Salad. It had been a long day of studying, but she had also spent a good amount of the day asking around about places at the monastery that could be raided on the day of the Goddess' Rite of Rebirth. Byleth had been quick to catch on that the letter found on Lord Lonato was probably a distraction, and that Rhea was not the actual target. As such, she had assigned the Black Eagles to ask around the monastery and look for clues, though Dorothea didn't really know what to look for.
She got to her feet and began to stretch her arms over her head, puffing out her bountiful chest, when a familiar voice soured her mood.
"Ah, Dorothea!" said Ferdinand. "The dining hall seems so much brighter with you here."
Dorothea had half a mind to tell the orange-haired noble to buzz off. She had never liked Ferdinand for always being obsessed with his noble standing, and assumed his niceties were a farce. She'd had plenty of other nobles in her past doing the same as him, acting generous and kind on the surface but looking down on her when they thought she was out of earshot.
But numerous other students were around, and she had a public image to preserve.
"Ferdie," said Dorothea, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I must say, you are quite adept with flattery. Please, give me some more."
Ferdinand was confused for a moment as he said, "Flattery? No, I was not…" Realizing Dorothea's sarcasm, Ferdinand sighed and asked, "There you go again with that attitude. Why do you reserve such cold treatment for me, and me alone? Do you hate me, Dorothea? Or have you some other reason to avoid my company?"
Ahh, he was catching on, Dorothea thought. He wasn't as dumb as she thought.
"I underestimated you," said Dorothea, again with her teasing tone. "I assumed your noble upbringing had dulled your perception." Then, in a tone that was far more serious, she added, "But you got it right on your first try. I hate you."
'Hate' might have been putting it strongly, but Dorothea always tended to be blunt with things like this, and she wanted to make it clear that she did not like him.
"Huh. I was right. Might I ask why you find me so despicable? I can scarcely guess."
"Don't waste another minute thinking about it."
"That will not do. I do not think you would hate a person for no reason."
Oh, she had a good reason, Dorothea thought. But she wasn't about to share her reason with him.
"Hm, perhaps…" Then, deciding to mess with him, Dorothea said, "How's this? If you can guess why, I'll let you know if you're right." Sarcastically, she added, "The brains of us commonfolk are so simple, it should be pretty easy for a big-shot noble to sort out."
She knew this would work. Ferdinand was nothing if not predictable when challenged.
Sighing, Ferdinand said, "Very well. I cannot walk away from a challenge. I have no choice but to chance a guess." Giving his head a brief scratch, he said, "You are always making fun, calling me a 'big shot' and so forth. Perhaps you think all nobles are… No, it could not be that simple."
"Oh? What can't be that simple?"
The look on Ferdinand's face said it all to Dorothea. He was completely stumped. Good, she wanted that.
"Um, please. Will you not give me a clue?" asked Ferdinand.
Dorothea almost snickered at this. He was making it too easy.
Playfully, Dorothea said, "Well, let me see. A good clue…"
Dorothea took a moment to think on it. It had to be something he'd never be able to work with, but it couldn't be a lie. Where would the fun in that be? It took mere seconds for her to come up with something.
"I know! It's because you're like a bee."
Ferdinand's expression delighted Dorothea, as she thought he couldn't have looked any more confused. She knew he would be agonizing over it for weeks.
"That oughta be enough of a clue." Spinning on her high-heeled boots, Dorothea sauntered away as she said, "So long, Ferdie~"
"A bee?" Ferdinand said to himself in confusion. "I haven't the slightest… Perhaps because I am such a diligent worker? Or maybe it's…"
Dorothea did not bother listening to him any longer as she walked out of the dining hall and out to the fishing pond. She looked down to see Leonie was in the middle of snagging a large Bullhead while Flayn watched excitedly. The green-haired girl didn't have the upper body strength to catch such large fish on her own, so Leonie often found herself catching things for her in exchange for small rewards, though Dorothea suspected it was more to avoid earning Seteth's ire. The archbishop's advisor was fiercely protective of his little sister.
Fishing didn't interest Dorothea, so instead she made her way down toward the greenhouse. It was just the place to get away from Ferdinand. Dorothea smiled as she thought back to a few days prior when Annette had run out of the greenhouse after calling Felix evil. It was an apt description.
…
"Ah, it's peaceful in here," Bernadetta said to herself as she stared at the flowers in the greenhouse. "Flowers are so calming. Just looking at these, it's like all the terrible parts of the day just disappear. If only people could be more like flowers…"
It was at this moment that Dorothea made her way into the greenhouse. The sight of the meek purple-haired girl was a surprise to her.
"What's Bern doing?" Dorothea whispered to herself, not wanting to spook her. Looking more closely, Dorothea could see Bernadetta's expression was one of discomfort as she mumbled something to herself that the singer couldn't make out.
Then, a little more audibly, Bernadetta moaned to herself, "There's no way someone like me could ever be close with someone like that."
This made Dorothea's eyes widen and a smile come across her face. Was Bernadetta crushing on someone?
Deciding she had to ask, Dorothea said, "Bern, are you okay?"
The sound of her voice made Bernadetta let out a loud squeak.
"Ah! Dorothea! Did you hear all that?" Bernadetta asked in her usual panic.
"Just the part about you wishing you could get along with someone." Excitedly, Dorothea asked, "So, Bern, who've you got a crush on? Seriously now, you have to tell me. Who are they? Do I know them? Oh, I'm so excited for you, Bern!"
Reeling from Dorothea's enthusiasm, Bernadetta said, "Um, n-no. I was… actually thinking about… being friends with you."
This almost made Dorothea's enthusiastic smile vanish in confusion. This wasn't at all what she had expected.
"Me?" she asked. "I thought we already were friends."
"That's n-not what I mean," said Bernadetta. Then, her eyes shutting in fear, she said, "Oh, I'm such a coward!" Managing to keep herself from having a panic attack, Bernadetta added, "I thought it would be great if we could be closer. But old memories just get in the way for me."
Oh, that's what this was about. Dorothea didn't know much, if anything, about Bernadetta's history, simply because the girl refused to talk about it. It must not have been pleasant, Dorothea thought.
With a warm smile, Dorothea said, "Bern, whatever happened in the past, you know you have my full support. I'm here for you. I thought we'd already been friends for a long time now." Dorothea then extended her hand toward Bernadetta and said, "Please… tell me about it."
Bernadetta jolted back at this, and Dorothea quickly realized her error.
"Just forget it!" Bernadetta yelped. "We'll never be close friends!"
Then, Bernadetta's eyes widened and her expression turned to one of pure horror. It wasn't like her usual panicky moments; this was something else. Something that left Dorothea afraid for the girl's well-being.
"Father would just… He would just…!"
Before she even finished, Bernadetta ran.
"AAAAAAAAHH! NOOOOOO!"
Dorothea gasped loudly as Bernadetta darted past her, almost a blur of black and purple. The diva was amazed that Bernadetta could move so quickly.
"W-Wait! I…"
By the time Dorothea had spun around, Bernadetta was already gone, likely back to her room.
To no one in particular, Dorothea asked, "Father? What did she mean by that?"
You just wanna hug that Bernie-Bear, don't you?