Dorothea and Petra left early in the morning with plenty of hugs to go around. Ignatz and Marianne took off, looking closer than ever; they muttered something about going to see some sort of view where Marianne can sit by his side while he paints. Leonie and Lorenz left only after apologizing profusely to the emperor and empress (each apology was easily accepted). Raphael's sticking around for a while longer since he and Caspar claim they have to at least train together one more time for the road. Ferdinand and Bernadetta get back to their duties around the palace with little complaint (apparently Bernadetta's been commissioned to make a boatload of new uniforms for the staff). Claude and Lysithea are staying at the palace for a while longer since Lysithea's still slightly unwell and shouldn't be traveling in this flu-inducing weather anyhow. Lindhart, Hanneman, Manuela, and Hubert are heading back to Garreg Mach, and this is when Byleth breaks the news to Edelgard that she's going with them.

"I have to reunite Rhea and Sothis," she tells Edelgard who's sitting out in the garden under the marble gazebo just like last night. "I'll be back soon. Tomorrow evening I hope."

"Are you going to look into other things...?" Byleth tilts her head, trying to remember what she-Oh she's got it.

"I will," Byleth tells her.

What other things? Sothis asks.

We want to have a kid.

What?! You?! I don't know about that, Sothis laughs off. Byleth frowns and puts a hand on her hip. Hey don't get all upset. I'm just saying… you're not the brightest cookie in the world when it comes to other people. I just uh... worry, I suppose.

"You look peeved," Edelgard points out, leaning forward in her seat as she looks up at the empress.

"Sothis is just being annoying."

That's rude.

"You're the one being rude," Byleth retorts aloud, sighing aggravatedly. Edelgard gestures for her to say more. "Nothing El. I'm gonna head out now. Claude and Lysithea are going to be around if you need them at night. And don't you dare try to work on any paperwork! Ferdinand will scold you." Edelgard sighs and rubs her temples. I just want to be useful again, she thinks tiredly. I will have so much work to catch up on. Byleth turns on her heels, burning her soles on the cement, before Edelgard goes,

"Halt. Were you going to leave without even kissing me?" Byleth sheepishly walks back to her wife and then throws herself into Edelgard's lap like an oversized dog. Her and Sothis can't stop laughing at the horrible squeak of surprise that startles the woman watering bushes a few feet away. "You've ruined this I hope you know." She kisses Byleth anyway. When the emperor finally seems like she's going to pull away from the empress's mouth, she doesn't; instead, she grabs Byleth by the collar of her crimson cloak and presses her lips against Byleth's ear. "Even if it's four in the morning, I expect you to be ready to make up for lost time with me when you return." Byleth actually shivers. Sothis gags.

Garreg Mach:

"Lovely chatting with you again, my sweet friend." Manuela gives her a very strangling hug, with Byleth just about drowning in cleavage before the professor takes off, shouting something at Hanneman as he scurries away. A group of students to Byleth's right are loudly gossiping around one of the many dining hall tables. The empress ducks her head, just trying to eat her steak as more and more people start gawking at her. She's used to it though.

"...Isn't that the Professor Byleth?"

"She ain't a professor anymore man. That's an Imperial lapdog now. Empress Byleth."

"Bud shut up! Her wife is-"

"-Insane," comes another brash girl's voice. Byleth huffs at that, cutting her meat more aggressively. Kkkk. Shtt. "I heard the emperor even wanted to lock the old archbishop up. That sounds like torture to me."

"Yeah but who cares? The church doesn't mean squat now. And I mean… we're all at this school to become great fighters. The Empire is why we fight." Byleth tips her head to the side, eyes on her plate.

"Speak for yourself," the brash girl says, shoving something on her plate with a loud screech. "The emperor took everything from my family. You should see my brother now… I can't even afford to buy him a stuffed bear on his Birthday next Sunday. Some Empire, taking everything away from us nobles."

"Hmm," is all Byleth says out loud. Though you'd think she just stood up, pointed a stern finger at their group, and cursed them out, because all of the kids over there became as pale and quiet as ghosts. Only then does Byleth glance upward out of the corner of her eyes. Their wide eyes are ruining her meal. She drops her fork and knife and rests her head on her fist, looking at them again. "You're allowed to have your opinions. Though, you better have the skill or knowledge to back up your dispositions. Being critical needs to be counterbalanced by being tactically brilliant, or some other equally valuable skill."

I see you're going into professor mode, Sothis comments, probably grinning.

"..."

"Would any of you like to sparr?"

"Tch! With you?!" asks the brash girl, looking confident again. Her pink eyes and black hair seem familiar somehow. It's odd.

"Um, she's the hero of Fodlan…" her friend whispers, pushing his glasses up his nose as he awkwardly sniffs nothing.

"Even more reason to fight her," the girl goes. Byleth chuckles, standing up with her plate. The kids look at her oddly, as if an empress shouldn't be bothering with something as trivial as bringing a plate to the sink.

"Then I'll meet you at the training grounds in twenty minutes." Byleth walks off, and everyone's eyes in the entire dining hall are on her again. She doesn't pay it any attention, and she takes off towards the merchant, greeting the gatekeeper as she goes.

That girl was vile, Sothis scoffs. You're not going to actually fight her, are you?

I am, Byleth replies, nodding at the merchant who's flattering her with praise for her work during the war all over again. Though I expect she'll only last one hit. The fight isn't what this is about.

"I just want one teddy bear. Thank you."

"My pleasure, Your Majesty!"

Ahhh. I seeee. You're proving a point.

If things go right, yes, Byleth replies. As she rounds the corner, teddy under her arm, with only ten steps to go before she reaches the training gate, something wet goes flying through the air, right in front of her face. She stops dead in her tracks, and when the thing goes SPLTT on the cobblestone, she realizes it was spit. Sothis audibly gasps at that. Byleth says nothing, turning to the smug looking boy who's leaning against the wall on the opposite side of Byleth's old dorm room.

"Empress freakin' Byleth," he snarls, balling his hands up into shaking fists. "I came here from Faerghus. Can't believe you married the woman who killed what should have been our king." He stalks his way towards her, his brown eyes darken with bags that emphasize his miserable gaze. Byleth stands her ground, completely stone faced. "Trust me when I say that Faerghus, the Alliance, all of the places the emperor has taken will one day rise up and claim what we deserve." He chuckles, and it's then that Byleth realizes how close to Hubert this foul-mouthed boy is. He even has the black hair that covers half of his face. Byleth hums, putting a hand on her hip. Of course he looks put off by her basic reaction. "What? You aren't going to even retort?"

"No. I'm not." He blinks at her. She blinks back.

"...You're not going to lecture me about how I should pledge my allegiance to the Empire, and drop on my knees and ask for the emperor's forgiveness?" She just shakes her head no, and he raises his voice as he asks, "You won't even tell me that I'm wrong? Wha-What kind of lapdog are you?!"

That 'lapdog' thing again, Sothis starts, sighing. Why do they think that?

"Why do you consider me to be a 'lapdog?'" He glares at her, shoving his hands in his pockets as he hunches like the immature pouting teenager he is.

"Cuz you're under the Empire."

"That's it?" Byleth asks seriously. He raises a brow.

"Yeah. I… what do you mean? I... " For once, he seems to be pondering what to say next, and he scratches his head frustratedly when nothing comes up. "I don't get you! You don't even seem like an empress! Aren't you supposed to be all haughty and authoritative?"

"Edelgard sought to make Fodlan a place where status means nothing. That's part of the reason I joined her; I came from nothing, and worked my way up through my battle strategies and usefulness. I'm not an empress. I'm just Byleth von Hresvelg, formally named Eisner. I'm just the person who married her for love, not because of anything else." The boy's face, once etched of venomous anger, transitions to one of confused interest. "She and I are equals, and I'm not a lapdog, just as Edelgard isn't a dictating heartless husk the public sees her as outside of Enbarr. She's a person. She's my person. And if you or any of the residents of Faerghus have issues, come talk to her sometime. Maybe you'll work something out." With that, she leaves him with a nod and heads into the training area. He stares at her back as she disappears behind the doors, his jaw slightly hung.

"...What is she doing?" he wonders to himself, mindlessly chasing after her.

Inside the training grounds, specs of dust float around the air and cause Byleth to choke up for a second. She's missed this place regardless. The girl and her friends are already there, distractedly swinging their swords around as practice. Byleth hides the bear behind a pillar and smiles when she sees the brown-eyed boy walk in behind her before he slips into a shadowy corner of the audience stands where a few other students are. The whole place goes quiet as the empress walks out into the light and grabs a splintered wooden sword off of the rack. The black haired girl smirks and swings her axe around one-handedly. The girl's already off to a bad start, using an axe against a sword.

"Are you practiced with lances?" Byleth asks her. The girl chuckles as she answers,

"Yeah of course. I can do it all."

"Mm. Pick one up then."

"Alrighty," she goes, shrugging and grabbing a lance off the rack. She gets into a sloppy looking position with her hands far too close together at the middle of the lance. Byleth shakes her head and clicks her tongue.

"Distance your hands. And your feet. You may lose balance that way."

"I know what I'm doing," she mumbles embarrassedly with a pink tint to her ears. Byleth raises her sword into position and watches the girl's face as she becomes less and less confident. A few cheers for the empress from off on the sidelines agitates the girl, and her eye twitches. "Can we do this now?"

"Mm." Byleth nods to a boy standing behind her. "Please count down from ten in three, two, one." Byleth lunges forwards and the girl jumps slightly in the air out of surprise before carelessly thrusting her lance, missing Byleth by a large margin. By the time the boy counts down to six, Byleth's blade is hovering over the girl's pulse point. A few kids laugh from the stands while others go, THE HERO HERSELF! DID YOU SEE THAT?! Byleth doesn't say anything, lowering her sword. The girl in front of her tightens her lips and whips her lance at the group of kids who were laughing. They all squeal before jumping out of the way. DFF-TTTK! Byleth notices the boy from earlier frowning with his arms crossed over his chest, just a foot away from the now damaged bleacher.

"LIZA!" he roars. Her eyes widen before she tenses up, shoulders nearly touching her earlobes. She refuses to look his way. "Is this all you've learned?! I've never seen such a careless noble." Her friends who were standing behind her look between each other, mumbling about just taking off already and leaving this mess to Liza.

Some friends, Sothis huffs.

He starts making his way towards Liza and Byleth with heavy footsteps that bounce off the walls. Liza's lip trembles, but she stays quiet. When he comes into the light with eyes flickering mad, her friends skirt out of the way and head out in a flash.

"Brother… you've scared everyone off again."

"Good. They should fear our family name." Liza sighs, and he cocks his jaw in distaste. "Speak your mind," he orders. Byleth clenches her teeth. She doesn't like his tone.

"It's nothing," Liza answers, running her fingers through her hair. He puts a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her to look at him.

"If we aren't winning. Then we're nothing. If we ain't nobles, we're nothing. You know this!" Byleth clears her throat and leans her sword over her shoulder nonchalantly.

"All of us start as nothing. The whole point of living is to make yourself something. Someone. Do you agree, Liza?" The girl's lips part in surprise at hearing the empress utter her name aloud.

Seems to me that as much as she hates you for your title… she actually looks up to you for what you've done. Call it a hunch.

"Y-yes."

"Who teaches you your battle technique?" Byleth asks.

"P-Professor Manuela."

"Mmm. I will ask Shamir to teach you everyday this week, one on one, for an hour. You will learn a lot from him."

"Really?!" she excitedly asks. Her brother huffs, repulsed by the way Liza's bouncing on her heels. "I-That would be a dream to learn from someone who fought during the war near the front lines!"

"I'm glad you think so," Byleth hums. "And you. What's your name?" The boy glares at her as he mumbles,

"Hector."

"Heh."

Too fitting, Sothis goes. Byleth agrees. The boy's frowning deeper, upset she dared to chuckle at him.

"Do you do dark magic?"

"That's my specialty," he remarks proudly, adjusting his tight gold collar on his neck.

"I will ask Hubert von Vestra to teach you something of his own." Hector goes pale.

"...The headmaster… speaking to me personally?" He contains himself within seconds, clearing his throat and folding his hands behind his back. "...I see." Byleth nods and walks over toward where she hid the bear.

"Heads up," she warns, tossing the bear at Liza who catches it easily. The siblings stare at the bear with a question in their eyes. "Happy Birthday," Byleth says, smiling gently before exiting.

….

Dfff.

….

"Maybe the Empire isn't so bad if people like her are a part of it," Liza tries, handing her brother the bear. He looks around, ensuring that they're completely alone before pressing the soft white body against his face.

"Yeah sure," he says, sounding muffled with his face buried in bear fur. Liza grins, staring off into the place Byleth left from. I think I'm right. She really wasn't too bad, huh?

Later On:

Byleth's been wandering around the cathedral, listening to Sothis and responding out loud every now and then. There's not a single person here in this side of the monastery. It's so bizarre, though it makes sense. Edelgard's reign has heaved Fodlan out of the religious crib the country got so used to. Out is the repression of an exaggerated Goddess, and in is the time of idealism and enlightenment. Honestly, having been a victim of the church's influence without even asking for it, Byleth can support this shift to knowledge. With Ferdinand and Hubert's push for education, Garreg Mach is the first among many places that has gone from church, to school, open for the public at a minimal cost that changes depending on income level. It's… complicated, but Byleth can at least understand that much.

Hey…. Sothis timidly calls. Where's Rhea? Byleth assumes if she's not in the cathedral, she'll be by the Goddess Tower, or maybe she'll have to head back to the old archbishop room.

The closer they get to the Goddess Tower, the more quiet Sothis becomes.

"Are you alright?" Byleth worries aloud, touching the long handles of the Tower doors, tugging them open. Sothis doesn't answer, but Byleth can feel her presence and her worrying, because it's causing Byleth's skin to feel hot for no reason that's her own. The empress pushes herself up the stairs, feeling her breath quicken the closer to the top she goes. She can hear humming. Byleth moves faster, taking two steps at a time as if she's being summoned. In reality, she's pretty sure it's Sothis who is, because her heart feels like it's slowly being yanked out of her chest towards the sky.

Bfbfbfbfbfbf!

She gets to the landing with a huff, stomping hard. When she lifts her chin, she sees Rhea, standing under the stainless window that takes the place of a ceiling, with the light pouring down on her majestically. She seems… more transparent than last time. Still, Rhea's whole aura brightens when she looks at Byleth.

"Ah. I'm so glad you've come to see me once more." The soft padding of her feet almost hypnotizes Byleth before she's being touched on the arm. It sends ripples of electricity through her whole body, and both her and Rhea react to it with a breathy sigh that catches between them. Rhea looks at her curiously, wondering why such a small touch even had such a strong effect after all this time. And here comes that desperate feeling inside Byleth again, the one she always has when Rhea is near, where she has an itch to just hold her or grasp her hand or anything. She doesn't do it though.

"Sothis is inside me again," Byleth says bluntly. Rhea's jaw literally drops. "She wants to talk to you."

"O-of course! I-I-." Rhea brushes her hair back, trying to collect herself as she nervously paces for a second or two. "I can expel her from you if she wishes so."

You want this, right?

….

I do, the Goddess answers curtly. She doesn't sound so confident however, and Byleth wrinkles her lip. I'm just… nervous again.

"She wants you to," Byleth says to Rhea, who's positively beaming now with a hand over her heart.

"Yes! I will-Let us take to the Holy Tomb. I finally know what needs to be done."

"Uhhh," Byleth unenthusiastically follows behind Rhea who's leading ten steps ahead. "The Holy Tomb…. This won't be a repeat of last time, will it?"

"No harm will come to you. I only want to expel her spirit, much like my own has left my physical being."

How'd that happen? Sothis asks.

She turned into a dragon and we killed her. Sothis bitterly laughs.

Geez you killed my daughter.

She literally tried sacrificing me to resurrect you in my body, Byleth comments boredly.

…That's a bit much, Sothis murmurs. Byleth just nods with closed eyes. Stepping into the Holy Tomb again feels wrong. It's one of the only places the Empire didn't fix during the war when the Strikeforce stayed at Garreg Mach. There were a lot of bitter memories for everyone here in the Tomb, so Edelgard dismissed it unless Lindhart begged her to go in and check things out. The smell of blood from long past, from Edelgard's forces pushing some of Rhea's knights back for their escape still smells strong. Byleth just wants to get this over with quickly, and she picks up the pace. Rhea has her sit on the throne again, but instead of just watching, this time Rhea gets on her knees before her and starts praying.

"Byleth this means… so much to me," she whispers, voice full of emotion. Byleth rests a hand on the top of Rhea's head, and the ex-archbishop looks up at her with overwhelmingly teary eyes that Byleth wants to dry off herself, though she doesn't.

B-Byleth! Sothis panics. I feel awful. Hot and… why do I feel hot? Byleth's brow furrows.

"Sothis says she's feeling hot." Rhea's eyes clear up and widen.

"It's working then. I hope this doesn't hurt you much more, Mother! I will do this swiftly. Take my hand, Byleth." The empress does, and their touch feels just as electric as before. The two groan and shake their heads before Rhea starts mumbling something again.

You ok, Sothis?

No answer. Byleth feels anxiety biting at the back of her neck. A sharp spike of pain like a jagged arrow piercing the back of her skull has Byleth gritting her teeth, refusing to let out the shallow cry festering at the back of her throat unleash. Her eyes shut tight , and she vaguely recognizes Rhea's hands holding hers before everything goes numb.

….

And then the weight of a boulder comes crashing down on her.

"KKT-Nrrgh!" She's sinking in the chair, feeling the pop of every bone starting from her feet and slowly, painfully, extending up to her ribs. They audibly cracked in her ears and vibrated her throat that's beginning to close in around a gutteral shout. Her hand is being squeezed one more time, too tightly, before she feels lips against her forehead, and her eyes pop open to the sight of green hair and pale skin.

"You're alright," Rhea whispers, breath ghosting across her temple. It finally occurs to Byleth that she's gripping the side of Rhea's shoulder for dear life, and she lets go as though the touch is molting hot. Rhea pulls back, looking slightly offended before-

"Now this is something." Both Byleth and Rhea look at each other with wide-eyed wonder before Rhea spins on her heels and has her jaw drop. There's Sothis, standing on two feet in all of her short glory. Rhea stumbles down the steps of the Goddess's throne and Sothis grin grows bigger by the second before Rhea falls to her knees before her mother that she has longed to see since-since forever it seems. "I'm sorry I left you," Sothis softly tells her daughter, reaching out and putting her hand on Rhea's head. That simple touch is all it takes for the dam in Rhea to burst.

"Mother! I-" her whole body rocks with its sobbing, and she holds herself within her twiggy arms before Sothis bends at the knee and embraces her child. They sit like that for a long while as Byleth slowly comes back to herself, steadily trying to stand up on her own two feet. "I'm sorry for being so weak," Rhea rasps, clutching at her mother's arms. "I'm sorry I allowed myself to be led astray for so long. I-I wanted to be with you again. I need you still."

"Mmm." Sothis glances up at Byleth who's trying her best to walk down each step without tipping backward. "While I resided in that child's mind, I forgot myself; I… forgot you." Rhea's lip trembles at that, so Sothis runs her thumb over it before reaching under Rhea's chin and tipping her head upward, brushing away tears with her other hand. "But coming back to a part of myself like this now, I remember everything." Rhea looks up at her with a bright, hopeful gleam in her eyes. "And I'm still upset at you for breaking my fishing pole." Rhea hisses at the memory, but chuckles nonetheless.

"You like fishing?" Byleth asks, suddenly appearing at Sothis's side. Sothis looks up at her, frowning slightly.

"Well yeah! And I hate that you are so much taller than me now!" Rhea hums, smiling as she wipes at her eyes, standing at her full height and towering over her mother, who's suddenly sulking with her arms crossed over her chest. "How cruel."

"Mother, you made me this way to fight for you when it was necessary. If you'd prefer, I'll kneel or sit when in your presence."

"That's a bit much," Sothis coughs, shaking her head. "I hope you don't turn out to be as obedient as this one." She flicks Byleth's ear and the empress blankly stares at her. "At least react! I know you're capable, you big fool!"

"..."

"Urghhh," Sothis sighs, rubbing her temples. Rhea chuckles, a light and airy thing that she hasn't done in so long. For a moment, Rhea just looks at Sothis, taking in all she has to offer as memories come flooding in, renewed as though they'd just happened. It's nostalgic without feeling like it's gone or lost; familiar without being sad in any way. She wonders if she's ever felt this happy as her heart beats a mile a minute beneath her breast.

"We should all go fishing," Byleth says, pulling Rhea back into reality. Sothis looks at her with narrow unimpressed eyes.

"Now you're just mocking me," Sothis claims. "Neither my daughter nor I are physical beings you realize? How are we supposed to hold a pole?"

"But you touched me and her," Byleth offers, shrugging. The two beside Byleth look at each other.

"I've found that I can manifest touch for short bursts of time. But only if I feed off the energy around me," Rhea says, tipping her head to the side. "If you would like to fish, Mother, we can try. Though we should go somewhere private. It would look bizarre for two poles to be standing in the air, yes?" She chuckles quietly imagining it.

"Off we go then," Byleth decides. Sothis grabs her by her crimson cape and stops her in her tracks.

"That takes time and you have a wife to return to." The fixing glare she sets on Byleth makes the empress duck her head. A true doting mother this Goddess can be with her finger held up in the air and wagging. "I would hate to continuously be the bane of Her Majesty's existence any longer. So go. Now! Don't keep her waiting." Byleth shoots her a weary almost misty-eyed look that reluctantly pulls on the Goddess's heartstrings. "Give me no such look, you pest. I… already miss you. Please just make this easier by going away now instead of later." Rhea watches on in awe, covering her mouth with the back of her thumb. They're so close, Rhea thinks to herself somewhat bitterly. Such relaxed posture Mother has in Byleth's presence says so much that I'm sure Byleth cannot recognize. A shame.

"Ok. Bye So-"

"Ah ah ah. Don't say that b- word! It's… too final. Just leave! Hurry up, already!" Byleth grins at her feet, waving to Rhea and Sothis before swiftly walking toward the faraway exit. She can feel Sohtis's warm gaze on her the entire way, and she pushes past the massive ancient doors with a heavy heart.

I'll see you again, Sothis.

You better, Sothis responds. Byleth knows the Goddess is holding back tears, though she doesn't look back. Once the heavy doors shut with a massive echo, the Goddess's shoulders slump.

"You love her, Mother?"

"...How can I not?" Sothis answers, putting a hand on her hip as she inspects her other hand. "She's like my own child. She's a part of me." Rhea nods, eyes downcast, only to be yanked up when Sothis snaps her fingers. "No use being jealous," Sothis jests, pinching Rhea's cheek now.

"Mother, please," Rhea huffs.

"There's no reason to be jealous when we are both here and have all the time in the world to catch up now."

"I would love that," Rhea breathes, putting a hand over her Sothis's. They sit at the bottom step of the long staircase that leads to the Goddess's very throne, and they glance up at it, fixating on the warm glow it casts over their skins. As time ticks by, Rhea shifts in her spot, feeling uneasy by the weight of all of her past choices. Everything she did, she did for her mother; yet those decisions over time became so tainted by anger and disdain. She knows her mother would never have approved were she to know the truth of it all. Though just as Rhea remembered her to be, Sothis knows everything she's thinking now.

"Rhea. Be at ease. Allow yourself this at last," Sothis says softly, putting her hand high on Rhea's back. "You have worked so hard for my sake, and not your own."

"I did such horrible things," Rhea breathes raggedly, wrinkling her dress with her fingers digging in mercilessly. I became a monster, using all of them, all of Fodlan. I felt so inhuman, so inhuman until I saw her. Her and her green eyes and hair like mine. Then I used her, too. I… I'm sorry for it," Rhea bleats, dropping her head low.

"Those are all mistakes you will not make again," Sothis tells Rhea, patting her on the back to lift her head, to which Rhea does limply. "Now you will go through the hardest trial." Rhea stiffens up, but she's ready to accept whatever judgment or torture or- "You must learn to forgive yourself and forgive Fodlan." Rhea's eyes pop open, and she stares at Sothis who's smiling at her with a relaxed gaze and a cock in her hip as she stands up. For whatever reason, such a simple thing sounds scarier to Rhea than facing a horde of soldiers in battle alone. She knows she'll have to reach inside herself and pull out all of her deepest regrets to do such a thing… and that's… so much. She trembles.

"I don't know if-"

"-Nonsense! You can and you will." Rhea bites her lip, holding back her rebuttal. "Come now, Rhea. Show me all of the things you've done for this land."

"But th-"

"-No buts!" Sothis huffs, putting both hands on her hips. "We have time, do we not? I expect to be entertained at least." Despite it all, Rhea chuckles to herself and fixes her hair behind her ear. After years, to be chided by her mother again, it's nearly an elaborate joke.

"We will see it all as you wish, Mother."

Hubert's Room:

The head of the school roughly pushes a letter into Byleth's hands. She blinks at him and he rolls his eyes.

"There's your spell. I'm sure you'll have fun using it," he jokes gruffly, smiling at the ceiling. "Knowing Her Majesty, you will have little time to spare once you step foot in Enbarr. She takes what she wants, yes?"

"It's disturbing how willing you are to joke about our sex life," Byleth mumbles. "Out of all the things to make you laugh, why is that always it?"

"...So I won't be bitter about losing her to you," Hubert admits. They both look at each other with subtle surprise that he so easily spoke his mind. He hums in thought, offering her a chair in front of his well-used chess board where all the pieces are moved in a way that makes Byleth wonder if he often plays alone. "It's interesting how my mouth seems to flap mindlessly in your presence. It's… somewhat concerning I must say."

"Why?" She fixates on the chess pieces, looking for any openings. Hubert seems to notice, and he steels up his expression, leaning back in his chair until it balances on just two legs. "I think it's a good thing to open up to someone. You never do so with Edelgard."

"Of course I don't." He's watching Byleth's eyes, flickering around the board as her head tips to the side. Internally he admits that she looks rather cute but he would NEVER say so aloud. "The emperor is my superior, and that comes before friendship."

"What about you and I?" Byleth asks, reaching out to a piece, and Hubert cringes until she pulls her hand away, bringing her fist up to her chin. "You don't treat me as a superior even though I'm her empress."

"Are you suggesting I treat you more like a friend?" He grins at the thought, picking at the tip of his gloved thumb. Byleth touches her knight, and Hubert shakes his head in displeasure. "What are you going to do with that? I set this board up so no opponent could ever-" Byleth moves the knight, taking out the pawn protecting the king. Hubert grits his teeth as she smirks at him. He stiffens up before moving one of his pieces and taking out her knight. "Foolish."

"How about this?" She takes out the piece that took out her knight. Hubert grows irritated, feeling a heat at the tips of his ears that urges him to take her down immediately. He refuses to lose. They start going back and forth, battling, taking out piece after piece until the two are neck and neck, and he grows more and more pleased, realizing this will be a battle of wits now. Surely he can't lose. Until he does. "Checkmate."

"Ridiculous," he growls, slamming his fist into his thigh. Byleth chuckles, putting her hands behind her head as she leans back in her chair without a hint of smugness.

"Good game, friend." Friend? Hubert cocks his brow. There she goes with that word again. "Why are you scowling, now?"

"I'm admiring how silly you are," he replies, smirking out at the view from the window beside them. It's getting dark already. Hubert likes the fall quite a bit for that reason alone. He feels so comfortable without the sun beading down, suffocating him with its warmth.

"I don't think it's silly to consider you my friend," she goes.

"Of course you don't, you were bred from idiocy." Byleth chokes out a laugh, admiring the art of rudeness Hubert so often indulges in. He looks back at her, smiling just faintly. "In all seriousness, my skepticism of you has faded entirely. I've come to rely on you, just as Her Majesty has. Obviously."

"What changed your mind?" Hubert bites his tongue, finding the words.

"Your devotion to her. You almost blindingly followed her every step until you came into your own. It… reminded me of myself," he tells her, failing to meet her eyes. "I still love her."

"I know," Byleth says.

"...I'm sorry," Hubert chokes, hating the words falling from his mouth.

"It's alright," Byleth shrugs, tapping the table so as to get his attention. He sort of reminds her of a nervous puppy, wondering if their owner still accepts them. She finds it rather endearing. "How could you not love her once she lets you in."

"You think she has let me in?" he asks, waving a hand.

"Of course she has. Only you and me. It says a lot about how she feels about you, Hubert. I have no doubt that she loves you back. Just in a different way than me." Although the words bring comfort to his chest, they also welcome back a familiar ache; the kind he often felt when in the presence of Edelgard alone, when she would wistfully speak of the professor she was already enamoured with. He remembers the way her face would soften, the way she'd hold a hand over her heart without thinking. He remembers being so jealous that he had to abruptly leave nearly every time Edelgard so much as spoke Byleth's name. So desperately, even up to the final hours before she and Byleth married, he wanted Edelgard to run into his arms and say his name with the same foolish grin on her lips. Yet it never happened; and he's thankful for it deep down, because,

"She is happy now," he says aloud, smiling gently at his foot that's swaying over her crossed knees. "More than anything, I have wished for her happiness. And if you make her happy, so be it." Byleth smiles at him, he smiles back.

"Besides Claude, I think you're my best friend." Hubert groans at that and shakes his head tiredly.

"...Fine." Byleth's gesturing for him to say more, and he groans again, more bitterly this time. "Fine you're… my best friend aside from Her Majesty."

"Was that so hard?" Byleth asks cheerily.

"Yes. It was."

After the two eat dinner, having a quiet feast out in the gardens, he helps her pack up her belongings and hooks it all onto the wyvern (Claude's actually). He offers her a hand and boosts her up, and once she's comfortably sat upon the saddle, Hubert bows his head.

"This was somewhat pleasant," he says, folding his hands behind his back. "You make sure you read that spell carefully now. And I better be the first to know when she is indeed carrying."

"Don't worry Uncle Hubert." He pales at the name. "I'm sure Edelgard will tell you right away."

"Go on now. I will hear from you soon, I'm sure." With a nod and a smile, she pulls at the wyvern's lead, and it sets off lightning fast with a cry of excitement. As she soars through the sky with wind flapping her hair about, she wonders how Sothis and Rhea are. I'm sure they'll be spending lots of time catching up. Hundreds of years is a long time after all. Then she thinks of Edelgard. I hope her heart's ok. As eager as she is for my return, she has to be well or I won't be giving her anything she wants.

It's a good thing that once she does arrive in Enbarr, half past one in the morning, Edelgard is wide awake.