Students at Garreg Mach Monastery scamper to their classes with haste. Not a second must be delayed, not unless they wish to be scolded by the house leaders or professors. The Black Eagles have their own sets of quirks and features, yet they, too, value their education.

Caspar arrives amid the traffic of other students, catching sight of his classmate, Linhardt, face down on his desk upon entering. In the front of the classroom, Professor Byleth is making preparations with Edelgard, but takes a moment to smile and wave at Caspar. He grins wide at them, then taking his attention to Linhardt.

"Lin," he says as he drops his textbooks on the desk, startling Linhardt awake, "did you sleep in here all night?"

"Hnn — wha…?"

"Please do not sully the study material," comes Edelgard's threatening tone. "We pay dearly for those for our education, and having cretins insult it counts for punishment." Her mauve orbs stare directly into Caspar's. Byleth simply looks over as if she had been caught in the middle of a brawl.

"What? It's mine. I can do whatever I want with it." He glares daggers toward the woman. Ferdinand and Petra had arrived during the heated exchanges, just in time to watch Caspar take his textbook and threaten to hurl it at the floor.

"Caspar," Edelgard's voice rises, ominous. "Starting fights is what delinquents do."

Edelgard and Caspar share a vile stare, the latter getting his textbook yanked out from over his head by none other than Hubert, whose face could not be deadlier. Dorothea had somehow hidden herself in the corner of the room. She gave herself away by barking a laugh at the short boy's outburst. Linhardt, despite being in the center of the chaos, slept through the entire ordeal.

It was a wonder how Byleth put up with this.

The next few minutes were spent waiting for the rest of the class. Once the bell reverberated throughout the Monastery, Byleth conducted the usual routine and called roll.

"Petra."

"Attending."

"Edelgard."

"Present."

"Linhardt."

"Nnn...m'here...m'awake."

"Dorothea."

"Must I be called for clarification?"

"Bernadetta."

…

…

The pattern of eyes scanning Bernadetta's seat follow in unison. From the front, a heavy sigh reaches the ears of everyone in the Black Eagles house. Byleth has her hand against her head, eyes screwed shut and brows pinched down in clear annoyance. Her cheerful facade had been shattered, and something pricked Caspar's heart at her expression.

"Caspar…"

"Here—"

"Go fetch Bernadetta."

…

What?

Caspar's incredulous look did not help with Byleth's displeasure. It was not a mystery to those in the room, however, since Bernadetta has been frequently skipping classes over the past few months. Once in a while, she would show up, body small and gaining courage to respond to questions, only to be absent for the remainder of the week.

Each day that passed with Bernadetta absconding, it clearly took a toll on Byleth.

"Me?!" Caspar exclaims. "Why me?"

Edelgard was the one to answer, "Think of it as repercussions to your actions, Caspar."

"Oh, yeah, and Sir Sleeps-A-Lot over here gets off scott free?! Why don't you make Lin do it?"

"That work would be much too arduous…" Linhardt yawns, waking up.

The argument at hand ended with Byleth's command. She puts on her sternest face and points Caspar to the exit, mentioning that he must, no matter what, return with Bernadetta at his side.

"She never leaves her room, how do you expect me to get her out!?"

"How you do matters not, just, please, bring Bernadetta to the classroom."

With a roll of his eyes, a throw of his arms, Caspar mutters obscenities as he storms out to fetch Bernadetta. Really, even a task as simple as this could be harder than his training. Bernadetta is notorious for being secluded in her room, and yet he has been given the challenge of getting her out.

The dormitories are luckily not too far a walk. He stomps past the doors before he finds the one engraved with a sign that reads von Varely. With a deep breath, Caspar raises his fist and pounds the door.

"Hey, Bernadetta! You in there?"

"EEEEEKK!"

The screech sounded as if it was against the door, like someone had been sitting right there behind it. Caspar subsides this and continues pounding his fist against the structure.

"Come on out, it's time for class!"

"W-who's there?! A monster?! It's a monster! My time has come! No! Wait, please! I'm too young to die! There's so much I still want to do, please spare me! Aaaaahh!"

It was no mystery to who this was. Caspar suddenly tries to turn the knob only to find it locked. More frightful shrieks follow after his action, more pleading to be left alive and the unusual sounds of horror. It sounds more distant than before, accompanied with the noises of trampling.

Caspar can only stutter out a breathy laugh, "Relax, Bernadetta, it's just me!"

"Please, please don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just came to get you for class."

"Who came to get me for class?!"

At least she got the message, he supposes.

"Me, Caspar!"

…

There is a pause, a long one. Bernadetta silenced the second the name reached her ears, and Caspar's starting to wonder if she had fainted. He knocks two more times and calls out to her. He gets one Are you alright? out before he got his answer.

"C...Caspar…?!"

"Yep, that's me!"

"C-Caspar, you're here?!"

"Yeah. Professor wanted me to get you."

"...Aaaahh, no, no! Go back to class! I'll go on my own!"

She sounds outright horrified. Bernadetta never stifles her pleas, prey begging the predator to leave.

Dumbfounded by this reaction, Caspar says, "I — I can't, Bernadetta, I'm not allowed to come back without you. What've you been doing here this whole time, anyway? You've been skipping class a lot."

"It…! It doesn't matter, just go! Tell Professor I'll start coming tomorrow, just, just — just please! Please don't do this to me…!"

"Huh? Don't do what?"

Squeals and shrills of terror is his only answer. He can not even fathom what could have possibly triggered this reaction. Was it something he said? Nowadays, when he spots her in the dining hall or elsewhere, if they were to meet eyes, Bernadetta would suddenly appear spooked and high tail it out of there.

Does he make her uncomfortable…?

"Professor's pretty upset that you've been absent," he mentions. Remembering previous events makes him scowl. "You can't stay in there forever, Bernadetta."

"Y-yes I can! I'll...I'll study in here!"

"What about when you need to eat?"

"...I'll — I'll eat at night…!"

"What about your training?"

"I'll practice here! I'll use the textbooks I got!"

"Oh, come on! As much as I like your idea, that won't work! You sometimes have to train with others in order to get better!"

Behind the door, there is a whimper. Caspar, crossing his arms and lifting a brow, taps his foot impatiently. Professor will no doubt be frustrated if the both of them do not return soon.

After a long moment of silence, a faint, yet shaky voice muffles beyond the door.

"...me."

"Huh?" Caspar leans forward.

"T-then...you… ...me…"

"Sorry, what? Couldn't hear ya."

Her voice cracks terribly, each syllable shaking with a sort of fear Caspar was unfamiliar with. "T-then you do it…! Train...w-with...with...m-me…!"

…

Caspar blinks as a slight heat rises to his cheeks. What was that…? She sounds so...pained…

To clarify, he asks, "You want me to train with you?"

"...Mm-hmm...i-if you do, I'll — I'll s-start coming to c-class everyday…"

All thoughts that had transferred through Caspar's brain dropped instantly at her proposal. A wide smile on his face, Caspar barks out, "All right! You've got yourself a deal, no way I could turn that down! But, you better promise to start coming to class!"

A thump from the other side, "Y-y-yes! I promise, okay?! So just...leave, for now! I'll come tomorrow!"

Caspar bares his teeth and inhales when he is forced to tell her the bad news. "No can do. Professor needs you in today. C'mon, I'll walk you there!"

"W-walk?! Um…!"

The giddy individual presses her further to come along, and all she can do is stutter out a variety of incomprehensible sounds. Eventually, finally, Caspar can see the knob of Bernadetta's door twist slightly to the right. The door, rare to ever allow a ray of sunshine through, slowly pushes open, the hinges creaking like they had not been used in years.

"Almost there," jokes Caspar.

A plum colored eye peeks through the opening. It squints at him, a foot at the bottom following. Gradually, Bernadetta works through the movements and reveals herself to the outside world. With each encouraging phrase from Caspar, she tucks in on herself, like a turtle trying to hide away in its shell. When she is finally out of the room, the boy in front of her sighs in relief.

"There we go! It wasn't that hard, now was it? C'mon, Professor's waiting!"

"Um…" her fingers intertwine, "okay…"

She had intended to walk to class, but she had not even gotten two steps before Caspar suddenly grabbed her and slung her over his shoulders. She screams, asking what he thinks he is doing, demanding to be put down this instant. What does he think he is doing?!

"I'm going to carry you there!"

"W-why?! Stop! P-put me down…!"

"It'll be quicker this way!"

"N-no, wait! Put me down! Someone, anyone, help me!"

He seems to think this is funny, because he laughs, "Relax, Bernie! Professor's waiting for us!"

"B-Bernie…?!"

Her legs flail wildly in his hold, and her constant yelling caught the attention of a knight making rounds. She had even called to him for help, but Caspar had a quick rebuttal of Class time, sir! and was somehow able to convince him everything was okay. Eventually, though, Caspar had to put her down after she started saying her last prayers.

"Oh, sweet death has come to claim me… ...Wh...huh? What was I doing…?" Her head observes her surroundings aimlessly, orienting herself with this unfamiliar scenery…

"Thank you, Caspar…"

Professor Byleth's voice barges through Bernadetta's thoughts and make her face go white. Oh, right...Caspar had carried her to the classroom after coming to get her from her room…! There she stands before Professor Byleth, face pale and body frozen. She can literally feel the gaze of everyone's eyes on her.

"P-Professor…! I'm so sorry! Forgive me! I'll never do it again, I swear! Just, please, forgive me!"

Byleth sighs and, albeit stressed, smiles, "You're alright, Bernadetta. Take your seat for now, but I would like to speak with you after class."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Bernadetta scurries to her seat. That...was the worst thing she had ever experienced. Even death could not compare to that. Being lectured in front of the entire class, in all her shame, after months of secluding herself...she really screwed up this time. Even worse, she had to be carried here like some deadweight luggage.

…

...

...Now that she thinks about it, Caspar is surprisingly strong, for his stature…

…!

Stop! Focus! Focus, Bernie!

For the weirdest of reasons, class for Bernadetta had never been more uncomfortable. Her heart pounds relentlessly, as usual, but her breathing feels more labored…

…

Oh, yeah, she just remembered. She has to train with Caspar in exchange for coming to class everyday.

…

…

Oh…

The smallest of smiles drip on the corners of her lips. For the first time in what feels like forever, she actually feels excited again. Training with Caspar will certainly help her catch up with everyone in class. Perhaps the Professor will even praise her…!

She fixes her posture, focuses, and opens her ears to Professor's voice. All right! Today is the first step toward her redemption!

And yet, despite her endeavors, Bernadetta was shaken with the scene of Caspar gallantly lifting her with ease, carrying her all on his own replaying over and over.

Yet, in her mind, he is holding her bridal style.

He called her Bernie...