"I am surprised that you remembered my favorite tea, professor!"

Mercedes giggled aloud as the man in question's eyes darted up from the parchment in his hands, leaning back and setting it down on the already cluttered table after a few moments. A few hours earlier, Byleth had asked her if she would accompany him to tea, and she had agreed with the condition that he would provide help with a certain spell she was trying to learn.

The road to being a Priest was a hard one for certain!

"I have a good memory." He responded, taking his cup of tea and raising it to his lips. Mercedes couldn't help but find the scene just a little odd – such an ornate tea cup didn't look like it belonged in the professor's hands, yet he sipped from it with noble precision. It puzzled her how he could know certain mannerisms and enact them perfectly, yet often seemed to be in the dark when it came to social interactions. It was at least something interesting to watch, especially when he happened to confuse some of her peers! Another giggle escaped her.

"I cannot disagree with that, considering how you seem to know just what all of us like! Even though I am not in your house, you still know exactly what makes me happy and how to cheer me up!" Mercedes's smile and voice could only be described as radiant, taking a sip from her own cup. The blend of Southern fruits was an acquired taste to some, ironically because of the fruitiness of the mix itself, but she had developed a liking to it ever since she had first tasted it. "It's incredibly impressive!"

Byleth nodded to himself as a comfortable silence fell between them, occasionally broken by Byleth pointing out different areas to focus on when casting, and Mercedes hastily scribbling down his findings as neatly as she could. She was grateful for the fact that he enunciated each word, making him infinitely easier to understand compared to professor Hanneman, who often would ramble through his lectures. This often caused some, namely herself and Annette, to occasionally have half finished notes. It made the study of magic quite easier!

Everything was going exceedingly well, and then her professor opened his mouth and broke the silence.

"I believe it's because I love you." He said the words unflinchingly, as if reciting the weather. No color came to his cheeks, he appeared to be as calm as he always was, and he didn't even look up at her as he said it.

…

"H-Huh?" Mercedes found herself stuttering, a rare occasion in itself, as she forced herself not to drop her teacup. She was staring at Byleth with wide eyes, and if anyone were to have seen them, they most likely would have compared it to a fish. She coughed suddenly, trying to gather up some semblance of composure – just who exactly dropped those words without any form of build up!?

"E-Erm, forgive me professor, but…did I hear you right?" Her face had begun to flush as she observed her professor, her mind slipping away from the spell she was attempting to practice. It wasn't like she minded hearing the confession, but…wasn't it just too early for that sort of thing? M-Maybe after she knew him for longer, perhaps? She was a year older than him, if memory served her correct…gosh, this was just so unexpected! She found herself hiding her face behind her hands.

"I believe so." Mercedes wondered if his voice could even stray from that dull tone, but that in itself was a clue as to what she thought was really going on. She figured that even someone like the professor would bear some hint of emotion when saying those words, considering the impact that they had! She coughed into her hand again, straightening her posture and trying to force away some of the heat in her face by pure will.

"I-If that's the case, what do you love about me?" Her suspicions were confirmed further when he set down his cup and looked at her, no change to his blank expression. He opened his mouth to respond.

"I wish to protect you. I wish to help you grow. I wish to keep you safe from harm. Is that not what love is?" Mercedes felt herself sag in relief, forcing herself to giggle in an attempt to dispel the strange tension that had fallen over the air.

"Perhaps in a manner, yes. How do you feel about Edelgard, in that case?"

"I love her as well."

This time her laugh was genuine – the professor had a silly side to him, it seemed! It wasn't as if it was an invalid view on what love is, but it still gave her a sudden fright! Either way, that isn't something he should be saying to or about students, especially considering Edelgard was four years younger than him (if rumors were to be believed)! It wasn't as though age gaps weren't uncommon in the world, but still…she figured it would at least save him some embarrassment later on.

"Professor…you shouldn't say such things so casually." Mercedes took a sip of her tea and was rewarded by a miniscule tilting of her professor's head. She supposed he wanted her to explain further. "Whilst those are admirable views that you have, you might just confuse someone who doesn't know better!"

"How so?"

Oh, this innocent man.

"Well, when most people hear that phrase, they would assume that you held romantic feelings towards them, rather than protective feelings. You…do know what I mean, correct?" Mercedes never thought she would have to clarify that fact with someone, but this was a situation that was definitely out of the ordinary!

Byleth took a few moments to mull over these words, raising a hand to his chin as the gears turned in his head. A second later, Mercedes could have gasped for an entirely different reason – her teacher's eyes widened a fraction! It was no exaggeration to say that she had never seen his face show emotion before, and as soon as she blinked, it had resumed it's fully neutral state. She'd have to tell Annette!

"I see. I…apologize if I caused a misunderstanding between us, Mercedes. You're a beautiful woman, but…romance is not at the forefront of my mind currently. Please forgive me."

"Oh, don't be silly, professor! While you did surprise me, I had suspicions that there was a misunderstanding. Please don't worry yourself about it!" She leaned forward to refill her tea cup, being careful to not spill any on the incredibly complex paperwork. They had been at it for quite a while, and it would be a pain to have to backtrack through everything! As well as that, she felt a little happy at her professor's words – even she liked hearing compliments of that nature! "Just…please be careful about saying that, okay? I wouldn't want you to get in any trouble, especially if you happened to say it to the wrong person!"

She could think of a few people who he shouldn't say that to at the monastery. Flayn was at the top of that list – the thought of Seteth's fury was truly chilling.

"I understand. Thank you for correcting my behavior, Mercedes. Shall we move back to your studies?"

"I believe I would like that, professor."

The afternoon from there on passed in peace – with the gentle warmth of the sun over them and the coolness of the gentle summer's breeze, they found the rest of their studying to be a productive venture.

Mercedes is the best girl in general, and them's also the facts. She's just so nice, who wouldn't like someone like that?

Thank you for all of the kind reviews! I'll say once again, and for the final time, that I hope I'm able to differentiate this story from Waywatcher's. I'm not looking to infringe on anything that they have going on, I'm just writing stuff I come up with at three in the morning because I have nothing else to do!

Putting that aside, I hope that you enjoyed reading this, and I hope that it was somewhat in character! I find it pretty easy to bust out these short, mostly unconnected drabbles every day, so I hope I can maintain a decent update schedule. I might not be updating tomorrow, though, as it's my birthday!

Thank you very much for reading, and leave a review if it strikes your fancy. Have a wonderful day!