Wow, the Cindered Shadows arc has been long, but I guess it's finally over.

Chapter 70 – Uncomfortable Truths (Red Wolf Moon)

Dorothea shivered as she sat alone in her room. It had been a few days since the battle in the Holy Mausoleum, and the first signs of frost were beginning to show at Garreg Mach, but the temperature had little to do with her shaking.

The singer had curled herself up on her bed and now had her face pressing against her knees. Having narrowly escaped death for a fifth time in less than three months was not doing anything good for her self-esteem.

"Dorothea? Are you there?" asked a familiar voice.

"Come in," Dorothea said in a subdued tone.

Byleth took this invitation to enter her room.

The sight of the singer in such a depressed state left Byleth with an expression of worry. Following the battle against Aelfric, the students had been given a week off from studying and training in order to recover from their ordeal, but Byleth knew Dorothea was going to need some additional help.

"How are you feeling?" Byleth asked, knowing she had to get to the heart of the matter.

"Miserable," said Dorothea. "I mean, how would you feel knowing you almost got sucked into a giant monster?"

Not answering Dorothea's rhetorical question, Byleth said, "Look, if you need anything, just ask, okay? And not just me, but the others too. They're worried about you."

This made Dorothea perk up a little as she asked, "Th-They are?"

Byleth nodded in reply.

Dorothea let out a little sniffle as she said, "Thank you, Professor Byleth. It really means a lot to me hearing that." The singer then let out a sigh before she added, "You know, when I first came to the Officers' Academy, I didn't think I'd be having so many near-death encounters. But… but in the past three months, I've been in no less than five instances where I saw my life flash before my eyes." She let out a sob as she said, "Why does this have to happen to me, of all people?"

Byleth took a moment to let Dorothea cry a bit more before she said, "I'm sorry."

"W-What for?"

"I'm sorry I keep putting you through all this. I–"

"Professor, it's not your fault."

"I know that. But I'm still responsible, as your teacher, for keeping you safe. I feel like… like I've let you down."

Dorothea looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. To her surprise, Byleth looked as though she were devastated by her own words. But unlike Dorothea, she wasn't crying.

The brunette then inched over toward Byleth on her bed and cupped Byleth's hands in her own, prompting the teacher to look her in the eye.

"You haven't let me down at all, Professor," Dorothea said with a smile. "Really, I'm so grateful to you for everything you've done for me."

"D-Dorothea…"

Then, as if the mood in the room had completely changed, Dorothea said, "Besides, I can't think of anybody else who could save my life with a kiss."

Dorothea winked at Byleth as the bluette's cheeks went pink.

"Th-Th-That wasn't a kiss!" Byleth stammered. "That was mouth-to-mouth–"

"I know, I just wanted to see you get all flustered."

"Dorothea…!"

Byleth continued to blush as Dorothea laughed, but soon she couldn't help smiling at the diva. It made Byleth happy to see the girl back to her usual spirits.

As she finished laughing, Dorothea said, "Ahh, I needed that. But, really, it was sweet of you to do that for me."

A moment of silence then passed between the two as Byleth kept blushing.

Then, remembering the events following the battle, Dorothea asked, "Hey, Professor? What happened with your mother?"

This immediately filled Byleth's expression with muted sorrow, and immediately Dorothea regretted asking the question.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's okay," Byleth replied. "Father took her back to the cemetery and buried her by himself. Then he and I went to talk with Rhea. Father was… pretty angry with what she told us."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me about how my mother died…"

Byleth hesitated for a moment. Dorothea decided not to ask about the circumstances behind Sitri's death, not wanting to sound insensitive.

But then Byleth continued, "When I was born, my mother couldn't take the strain, and I… I was stillborn. So, knowing she was dying, mother told Rhea… she said, 'My heart… Give it to my child.' So, Rhea did."

"She… gave you your mother's heart?" Dorothea was stunned to hear this.

"Yes, she did. But I…" Again, Byleth hesitated before taking a deep breath. "Dorothea, can I tell you something? Something that no one else but my father knows?"

"Y-Yes, of course."

"I… I don't have a heartbeat."

"You what?!"

Byleth said nothing as she lifted a hand to Dorothea's left wrist. Dorothea allowed her to take her by the arm and move the back of the singer's hand between her bountiful breasts, pressing against where her heart would be.

Several seconds passed before Dorothea realized Byleth was telling the truth. She couldn't feel a heartbeat.

"How… How is this… How are you even alive?"

"I don't know," Byleth said somberly. "I have a pulse, but my heart… it's been still ever since I was an infant. I never knew why. I… I still don't know why. Why do I have a heart that won't beat? What does that make me?"

"Professor?"

"You once asked me why I was called the 'Ashen Demon'. It was a name given to me by other mercenaries for how I would enter battle, emotionless as a statue, yet as destructive as a beast. I hate that name. It makes me feel like… like I really am a monster. I can't cry. I never used to laugh. I could barely even smile. How is that… how is that natural?"

Byleth now buried her face in her hands. She wanted to cry like Dorothea had, but nothing would come from her eyes. She could not let out a sob. All she could do was sigh in self-loathing.

"You're no monster," said Dorothea. "You're our Professor, someone whose taught us so much these past months. And I… I like to think maybe we've taught you a thing or two as well."

"What?"

"You said it yourself: you didn't used to laugh or smile, but now you do it just as much as any of us. And you clearly feel sadness, right? You don't need to cry to be sad. Besides, I think Bern cries enough for the both of us."

Dorothea let out a giggle at this, something Byleth could not help but join in on.

"There, you see, Professor? No monster would laugh like that."

"Th-Thank you, Dorothea," Byleth said with a smile.

It was at this moment that someone knocked on Dorothea's door.

"Is anyone at home?" came a gloomy voice, one the two immediately recognized.

Dorothea's expression turned to disappointment as she stood up and opened the door, revealing Constance on the other side, her face filled with melancholy from being out in the sun. The sight of the blonde reminded Dorothea that, following the incident with Aelfric, Rhea had disbanded the Ashen Wolves to free them from being constrained to Abyss. The Archbishop had also decided to offer them a place in the Officers' Academy. Constance, Hapi and Balthus had joined the Black Eagles, Blue Lions and Golden Deer, respectively, as new additions to the first-year students. Yuri, however, had refused such an offer, citing he had already been expelled from the Officers' Academy before and that he had a large mess to clean up in Abyss. Though Aelfric's Abyssian hostages had been freed by Catherine and Shamir, Yuri had a lot to make up for due to his role in the disaster. Dorothea had been quite dismayed upon learning that Constance had become one of the Black Eagles, but upon seeing the blonde in such a gloomy state, she felt she could tolerate it.

"Constance, what is it?" asked Byleth.

"Oh, Professor Eisner. I apologize for my intrusion. Surely whatever I have to say pales in comparison to whatever you were discussing with Dorothea."

Though she wanted Constance to continue her self-pity, Dorothea decided against it and said, "Constance, please, tell us what you have to say."

"You are too kind, Dorothea. I wish to inform you that Lady Rhea has called for a meeting in her audience chamber. We are all to attend, despite that I am clearly not worthy to be in her presence."

"Oh, well, okay."

"Thank you for telling me, Constance," said Byleth.

"I need no thanks. I am at your disposal for whatever you may require."

A moment of silence passed before Dorothea said, "I'm never going to get used to this."

…

"Thank you all for coming," said Rhea as she and Seteth stood before Byleth and the rest of the first-year students. "Once again, I must thank you all for your role in stopping Aelfric's plot. I know I am intruding upon the free time I have given you all, but I wished to speak with you on next month's mission."

"A new mission? So soon?" asked Edelgard.

"But you said we could take some time off!" Hilda whined.

"The mission is to take place during the Ethereal Moon, so you need not worry about it for now," said Seteth. "However, the one who made the request wishes to speak with you all regarding the details of the mission."

"Who has made this request?" asked Dedue.

"That'd be me, kiddos," said Anna as she emerged from behind a pillar.

"Anna?" Dorothea said in surprise.

"Miss Anna, you have something you require our assistance with?" asked Dimitri.

"Yep, afraid so," said Anna. "You know how all those bandits attacked the town when Aelfric was doing his… yeah, you all know that part. Well, long-story-short, my store got robbed."

The students let out a dismayed chatter at such news.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Miss Anna," said Ignatz.

"Ohh, I hate thieves like that!" said Annette. "What kind of jerk would go stealing someone else's stuff when people's lives are in danger?"

"Do you know who the perpetrators were?" asked Lorenz. "Perhaps you are familiar with their leader?"

"Yeah, I know who was leading them," said Anna. "His name's Pallardó. He's a swindler and a thief posing as a merchant. Guys like him give honest merchants like me a bad name." Then, seeing the students were giving her strange looks, Anna said, "Hey, my stuff might be esoteric, but I don't steal stuff and then sell it like he does!"

"How do you know it was him?" asked Ingrid.

"Several eyewitnesses saw him ransacking the shop during the bandit attack," said Seteth. "One was able to identify him by name."

"If you knew who it was, why didn't you try to stop him?" asked Raphael.

"I imagine it was because the knights were prioritizing saving the lives of the townsfolk," said Linhardt.

"That is correct," said Seteth. "The knights are still the process of tracking down Pallardó and his gang of thieves. Once they have located them, it will be up to you all to assist Anna in retrieving what was stolen."

"Sounds easy enough," said Claude. "Compared to fighting a huge monster, taking down some thieves should be simple."

"Maybe so, but don't go letting your guard down," said Edelgard.

"We won't let you down, Anna," said Byleth.

"We will inform you when the knights return from their search," said Seteth. "For now, you are all dismissed."

…

Dorothea smiled as she left the company of the other first-year students. Many of them had asked how she was doing since the battle in the Holy Mausoleum. It warmed the singer's heart to know the others cared for her.

She was making her way down toward the market, hoping to get herself some sweets, when suddenly she heard a familiar voice say, "Songbird? Can I have a word?"

Immediately her mood turned sour as Dorothea spun around to look at Yuri. While the others had forgiven him for the things he had done for Aelfric, Dorothea was not so sympathetic.

"Yuri," Dorothea said crossly. "What do you want?"

"Look, I know you're mad at me," said Yuri. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened with–"

"Sorry?! Sorry that you caused an untold number of innocent deaths? Sorry that you tried to desecrate Sitri's remains? Sorry that you and Aelfric hired my half-brother, who once tried to rape me, to do your dirty work? Sorry that I… that I almost got killed TWICE in a single night?!"

Yuri had to back up as, with each accusation Dorothea made, she took a furious step closer to him.

"Yeah, this is going about as well as I expected," Yuri murmured to himself.

"You caused so much harm and death and you think saying 'Sorry' will make up for it?!"

"No, I don't. I'm not asking you to forgive me for what I did. I–"

"Stop talking! I can barely stand the sound of your voice anymore."

"Not even gonna hear me out, are you?"

"No. So do us both a favor and go away."

"Afraid I can't do that yet. Not exactly finished with this talk."

Dorothea did not reply to this as she continued to scowl at Yuri.

"You can keep being angry at me for almost getting you killed. You have every right."

"Do you want to know something, Yuri? That isn't even the real reason I'm mad at you. I'm mad at you because you… you used me as a pawn in your twisted game with Aelfric. I am not just someone for you to play your mind games with!"

Yuri then let out a chuckle as he asked, "But you're okay with being Lord Arundel's pawn?"

Dorothea let out a shocked gasp at this, terrified that someone might have heard them. A quick glance around, however, showed no one was with them.

"You don't make for a very good spy if you've got a tell like that."

Dorothea raised her hand to strike Yuri, but he caught her by the wrist with a firm grip.

"Take it from me, Songbird, you don't wanna be helping him in whatever he's doing. Don't make the same mistake I made with Aelfric."

"It's none of your business!" Dorothea snapped as she wrested her arm from Yuri's grip.

"Actually, it is. Since I still work for Lady Rhea, part of my job is catching spies like you. But I can tell you're not doing anything for him because you want to. It's because you have to, isn't it?"

Dorothea was speechless for a second, not expecting Yuri to understand so much.

"Someone like you could never have afforded to get into the Officers' Academy without some help," Yuri continued. "So, you chose to make yourself useful to him, right? Songbird, you don't wanna dig yourself any deeper into that pit."

"I… don't have a choice," Dorothea said bitterly.

"Yes, you do. You just don't see any alternatives. Listen, I'm not gonna go telling Rhea about this because so far you haven't done anything too dangerous, but if you keep doing his dirty work… well, you get where I'm going. If you want any help in cutting your ties with him, I'm more than willing to give you a hand."

"Yuri…"

"Just think on it for now, Songbird. I'll catch you later."

With that, Yuri slipped into the shadows and vanished from Dorothea's sight.

I suspect I'm being heavy-handed again, especially with the Byleth/Dorothea part. Is this too early for Dorothea to be learning about Byleth's heartbeat?

I'm going to try to do a couple of chapters before we get to Remire, just to insert some more character development before one of the darker scenes of the story. I know this is dragging out the Red Wolf Moon for a long while, but just bear with it a little longer.

And yes, Yuri knowing about Dorothea working for Arundel makes sense. And he doesn't wanna see her with her head in Arundel's figurative noose. I'm actually still working out how Dorothea can cut her ties with Arundel without him trying to kill her. But I should specify that Dorothea doesn't know Arundel is an Agarthan; she doesn't even know the Agarthans exist.

But the thing is, Dorothea being Arundel's spy has a twist to it. That is the big mystery.