The professor and his student had made their way to the gatekeeper who was cheerful as ever, "Where are you two off to?" he asked with a smile.

"Em...we're going to practice hunting," Bernadetta said with a wavering voice, taking lead in the conversation. Byleth grinned, having told her he would struggle to maintain their hunting ruse, the professor asked his student to speak for him in case he made a mistake, strangely, it seemed that putting responsibility on Bernadetta allowed her to shake at least a portion of her fears.

"Learning the bow professor?" the gatekeeper queried innocently to keep the conversation going as he started to open the gate. Byleth quickly put on a nervous expression, and made himself look as uncomfortable as possible, hoping that this would help nudge Bernadetta into speaking more.

"The professor wanted some help, and I was free," she said calmly, noticing her mentor's discomfort and trying to assist him as best she could.

"Good job," Byleth thought as the gate opened, he nodded and shot the gatekeeper a pleasant smile as he and Bernadetta made their way out of the Academy premises. The pair continued walking for almost one hour, in the general direction of a quaint town to the south, one that Byleth had heard Claude speak of when referencing 'exotic' artifacts. The professor kept his act of embarrassment consistent during this time, strictly enforcing silence and only breaking from this pledge to tell Bernadetta he didn't want to talk about the situation, it was too mortifying. His intention was to inadvertently make the archer more upfront and forceful when it came to conversation, something that surprisingly came into effect as they neared the end of their journey.

"Um...professor?" Bernadetta said quietly, "I can tell you don't want to talk about what we are doing today, but may I ask you a question?" Byleth's brow was starting to ache from the constant furrowing so the lancer took a break from his performance of self-pity and adapted it to one of more seriousness, "Is this something to do with your studies?" he asked.

"Well...not exactly," the archer replied, "I was wondering if your charismatic style is an act and this is who you are normally."

"I don't quite follow…" Byleth questioned with his now raised eyebrows.

Bernadetta smiled gently, "I always see you in our class and thought how amazing it was that you could captivate the entire classroom so easily."

"Ah, I see," the professor answered, giving his student a warm smile, "Well I enjoy teaching, it's a rewarding way to spend one's time, helping others."

Bernadetta's head started to fall slightly, "And then I see you finish the class, and almost immediately you are swarmed by boys and girls that want a chance to speak to you, and your eyes just light up, like you're under a spell."

Byleth couldn't deny he loved being the centre of attention, it was a personal flaw he consistently tried to diminish, but everytime he found himself under the gaze of others it felt like he could do anything, "I hope you're not suggesting I become an actor or dancer Bernadetta, I don't think the dress would suit me," he said with a playful grin which made his student laugh.

"No no I didn't mean that," Bernadetta said with a bright smile, Byleth had never seen her look this emotive before, "It's just I used to get swarmed by many people, but when they came to me I just clammed up, I really don't like talking to people, so I hide, sorry."

"You don't need to apologise, I'm your teacher," Byleth said as he laid a reassuring hand on the archer's shoulder, "It's my job to learn what each of my student's personalities is like, and everyone is different, we each take a different approach to dealing with life."

"I'm glad you never force me to do things professor," Bernadetta said with a relaxed expression on her face, "I had many other teachers who just thought grabbing me by the arm and shoving me into stressful situations would make me overcome my nervousness, but that's such a stupid idea, don't you think?"

Byleth laughed as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Ah-yes-absolutely ridiculous."

"They even had the nerve to think I wouldn't notice what they were doing," Byleth's student said as she rolled her eyes, "How they became teachers is a question I frequently ask myself."

"Let's not forget I didn't exactly go through all of the necessary hoops before being assigned this position either," Byleth said honestly, "If it were not for Lady Rhea I doubt we would even be having this conversation."

At the mention of the Archbishop's name Bernadetta's expression changed in a slightly negative way, "What do you think of Lady Rhea?" she asked nervously while turning her gaze away, the manner of her question catching Byleth completely off-guard.

"Oh..." Byleth began, "Well she is a very kind and calm individual, I feel she performs her role as the Archbishop very well."

"A very bland answer professor," Bernadetta instantly replied, sounding almost disappointed, "I feel like that's the same answer that everyone at the academy would give me."

"Well, is that such a bad thing?" Byleth said, allowing some of his natural charisma to surface, "I would argue that a multitude of similar positive responses warrants great legitimate praise for Lady Rhea."

Bernadetta rolled her eyes, it was clear that something relating to this topic was bothering her, but Byleth wasn't sure whether to press the matter or not, the archer however made his decision for him.

"I've seen you with her, a lot," she said flatly, "You always seem the most happy when you are with her."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed," the professor replied, "Is that a bad thing?"

His student didn't offer any response, she simply remained silent.

"Okay...what's on your mind Bernadetta?" Byleth said firmly, "If you aren't happy then you can always tell me what's going on in your head."

Once again, no response came from the professor's student, so he tried an honest approach of topic continuation, "I like Lady Rhea a lot, she has a very calming presence, often when I've had a nightmare or been through a stressful situation, nobody makes the stress or sadness go away like she does."

"Mmhm," Bernadetta murmured, her teacher unsure whether this was something she wanted to hear or not, but regardless he kept going.

"I've done some bad things, made many mistakes," he said with an honest look of shame coming across his face that he could not hide from his student, "No matter what people tell me, I never believe them when they say everything will be okay, I don't trust them..." Bernadetta maintained her gaze on the professor, "But if there was someone other than Jeralt that I could start to trust, it would be Lady Rhea."

The next five minutes of the journey were filled with a deafening silence, alongside the occasional breeze of wind and birds chirping, Byleth was beginning to worry that he had said something he really shouldn't have.

"Er...Berna-" he went to say, before being immediately cut off.

"So is Rhea your favourite?" she said quickly, hiding her face away after asking.

"Wha..." the professor was stunned, "My favourite? I don't have a favourite person Bernadetta, people aren't like tea."

"Well-maybe-they aren't," she replied awkwardly, "but there must be someone you like spending time with the most!"

Byleth hadn't expected Bernadetta to go down this line of curiosity, but he would play along and at least provide some entertainment for himself.

"Well if you must no..." he said with once again feigned embarrassment, "There is one female in particular that I find incredibly enjoyable to spend time with."

Bernadetta didn't respond, but her red face and impatient expression told Byleth he should continue.

"She's intelligent, quiet and very easy-going," the professor continued with a warm smile of remembrance, "Not to mention a great listener, never once seeing it appropriate to interrupt me."

"I knew it..." Bernadetta said with dejection, "You've only been here for a short time and you've already found your future wife."

Byleth laughed heartily, "No-no," he said reassuringly, "Despite the great deal of affection I have for her, I don't think Lady Rhea would enjoy officiating a marriage ceremony between me and a cat."

"Wh-What do you mean!?" the archer asked in confusion.

"It's a cat Bernadetta!" the professor said as he started to laugh, "I was joking with you, just think of all the qualities I listed, pretty common when referring to animals such as dogs and cats."

Bernadetta eventually realised that her teacher had been toying with her and puffed out her cheeks in disapproval, "So you like playing with the cats in the courtyard, I never knew you liked animals that much."

"I like cuddly things, always have for as long as I can remember," Byleth said with a big grin, "But keep that between you and me, the last thing I need is Manuela gifting me a life size version of a teddy bear with her face on it."

"Would she really do that!?" the archer responded in horror, "That would be so embarassing!"

"Alcohol is a terribly powerful thing," Byleth explained, returning to his typical teaching demeanour, "So never doubt its ability."

After a few more minutes joking at Manuela's expense the city Claude had mentioned started to become visible, it looked rustic and actually had several features such as a cathedral that interested Byleth, "Perhaps Bernie isn't the only one that will get something out of this trip," he thought to himself. He patted the young girl on the back and commanded, "Okay Bernie, time to go shopping!" before sprinting off towards the main entrance to the city, dragging his juvenile archer alongside him, who he couldn't help but notice, had a bright smile on her face.