The rest of the afternoon went by relatively quietly for Lucina. She grabbed a ham sandwich from the kitchen. There was not a set time for lunch, as most of the Shepherds have their own plans, so there was nobody inside the dining hall. She went back to her room to eat. Truth be told, she was not even hungry, despite practicing her sword technique for around an hour in the castle courtyard. All she could think about was Tiki's words assuring her Robin will return within the week and her unacceptable behavior of losing her temper not only once, but twice. It must have taken her about half an hour to eat half her sandwich from the kitchen, and even then, she set aside the other half on her table for later because she lacked an appetite.

After putting the sandwich aside, Lucina sat down on her bed to reflect on herself. For her, it was getting harder and harder to hide the bond between her and Robin. The evidence was obvious: she had overreacted from simple banter between the children. Severa was mad at her because the red haired fighter believed Lucina abandoned all the children just to seduce Robin. It was the first huge companionship drama since the end of the war. Sumia and Tiki knew about her illegitimate child. All the other Shepherds saw her argument with Severa at breakfast. Lucina knew that is exactly how ill rumors are made.

"Ugh. Is… Is it even worth hiding this anymore? It seems like all my attempts to be subtle has failed completely. If Severa was smart enough to figure out I was sneaking out to Robin's tent during the war, who knows what the other Shepherds on night patrol have seen? Heck, most of the children were not too shocked about it. I think most of the adults would probably know about this anyways. Is it better to just come clean to everybody?"

Lucina was frustrated out of her mind. It felt like a big burden is rotting in her heart, and it will soon spread across her veins and arteries. She almost wanted to lie down on her bed and cry, but couldn't find the tears to flow. It was probably because she knew Robin was going to be back at the end of the week that she couldn't force herself to be somber. But she did not know what to do. All she could do was lie down in bed with a mixture of regret and happiness.

"Robin. What have we done? More importantly, what have I done?" For the one hundredth time since she returned to the castle, Lucina was having second thoughts. Truth be told, the princess simply believed her actions did not matter in the end. The way Lucina saw it, there were two options. Either all the Shepherds including herself died fighting Grima or all the children returned to the future timeline after Grima is slain. Either choice meant that any relationship the two ever had after her mission was complete was moot. Tiki told her too late that time traveling back is impossible both due to a lack of power from Naga and that all future timelines become nonexistent. Looking back, she could not believe she could be so pessimistic and naïve to believe she could just return. She did not even think about how her actions could have affected future timelines.

Thinking hard, Lucina literally saw no reason to be secretive anymore. It has caused her too much emotional and mental trauma. Perhaps it is the best. Besides, Lucina has never formally apologized to the Shepherds for her two outbreaks. Only the children heard her first apology, and even then, Severa refused to accept it. It would be bad manners not to at least say something about both incidents to everybody. Lucina decided she should probably make a public announcement at dinner to both apologize and confess her "crush". It would get something off her chest. She could probably breathe easier without such a burden on her.

Lucina was waiting for Chrom to walk out of his office that afternoon. He knew her father usually liked to make a speech at the end of each dinner. Chrom used it at times as a rallying cry if there was a battle soon. He also used it to announce news like having more recruits join the army or announce a toast to their victories. Lucina was hoping to say something afterwards to all the Shepherds and children. It was probably the best time to do so. There was no doubt there were many rumors about Lucina and Robin being secret lovers circulating around the castle. She had to eliminate such accusations.

Sitting outside on a bench just outside her father's office, Lucina waited for around ten minutes before the door opened and the Exalt exited his office. He looked exhausted, with sweats of bead on his head flowing down like rain. From the looks of it, it was a tiring day doing all the paperwork and ruling a country that just went through three devastating wars in the last three years. Lucina did not blame him for his anxiety.

Chrom's first words were less than amicable due to all the pressure. "Lucina? What are you doing outside my office? I thought I told you not to disturb me. You should be at dinner with everybody else."

Hearing his tone, Lucina began to doubt herself for a moment about her plan. Her father did not seem too elated to see her waiting outside his office. However, running away was not an option, so she said to the Exalt, "I know father, so that's why I was waiting outside your office. I didn't want to interrupt. I just have one simple request. I was wondering if I could address everybody after you finish your daily updates? I know I wasn't there to hear it yesterday, but I have to apologize to everybody for my behavior."

Chrom's face immediately turned from slight annoyance to relief. He agreed, and the two started walking towards the kitchen together.

When Chrom and Lucina entered the room, everybody stood up to greet the Exalt. Chrom smiled at everybody and told them to enjoy their dinner. Everybody sat down and resumed talking. Lucina had no illusions that everybody was probably talking about her and managed to pick up a few phrases here and there.

"…for sure in love with Robin…."

"…so cute together…"

"…probably heartbroken…"

"…never seen her so mad…"

"…so immature…"

"…louder than Grima's death roar…"

Lucina kept her poker face, ignoring all the conversations around her. She walked to grab a plate, filled it with food, and strolled towards where all the children were. Thankfully, they were not making rumors about her like the other adult Shepherds. All the children's faces turned towards her as she sat down, but nobody said a word. Only Severa did not pay her any attention and immediately went back to being a messy eater.

Lucina did not know how to start the conversation, so she thought about the most cliché thing to say. "Hello, everybody. I hope everybody had a wonderful day. I know you probably hate me right now, but let me just say I apologize for…"

"Why would we hate you Lucina? And why are you apologizing?" a voice belonging to Inigo permeated in the air, interrupting her sentence.

Lucina was caught off guard by the question. "You… you don't hate me right now?"

This time it was Cynthia who spoke up, "Big sis, I don't think anybody here could hate you for anything. After all, you were our leader in the future. No matter how bad the situation was, you helped all of us get through it. You have nothing to apologize for. Besides, why would we hate you for?"

"Nooo… not that. It's just… I have never gotten mad at any of you before. I somehow managed to lose my temper twice in such a short time span. I should probably apologize for such bad behavior. It is not normal for me, I promise. I'm just afraid you think I am weird or angry at you… when in reality…"

"Lucina, I already told you. Just forget about all of that. Nobody thinks you are weird or hate you for any reason. Things happen. We don't mind." Cynthia continued.

"You… you really don't?"

"Yeah, I am sure nobody here minds. You don't have to apologize, sis."

Voices of agreement began to spread throughout the table, as all the children repeated Cynthia's sentiments. Well, everybody but Severa. She ignored all of the conversation and continued poking at her food.

Lucina smiled and addressed everybody. "Thank you all for those kind words. I believed you all would hate me for what I have done. And if I have made anybody angry, I do apologize. I promise I will try to stay calm and not cause a tantrum next time. And Severa…" Lucina moved her eyes towards Severa at the end of the table. Severa looked up to Lucina with eyes of fire.

"I just want to say I am sorry for yelling at you today morning. It was bad judgment on my part, and I promise it will not happen again. Can you forgive me?"

Severa did not respond to Lucina's apology. She made no indication she heard what Lucina said. Instead, she got out of the table with her plate. All the children, including Lucina, watched as she moved out of her seat and walked towards an empty chair near the adult's table. She sat down and began eating again.

"Are you two still fighting? Didn't father solve this problem between you two already this morning?" Cynthia asked her sister.

Lucina said despondently, "Yes. It's a long story. Let's just say my father isn't the type of person to settle family disputes. He made it worse."

"What? What did father do?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say Father sided with me unconditionally even when some of Severa's claims have legitimacy."

"What? Sis, I know you wouldn't seduce Robin. What did she say that was correct?"

"Well… let's just say some of Severa's beliefs are definitely possible conclusions to arrive at. Like she believes I abandoned all of you for my secret lover Robin. I'm just saying from her point of view, she does have legitimate excuses to be mad at me. All you need to know is that our Father did not really do a good job as arbiter. Severa did not get her way, so she is still upset with me."

"But sis, how could anybody believe you abandoned us? All of us were actually relieved because you always seemed to overexert yourself. Robin gave you some breathing space, and we all noticed you became more calm and relaxed. If anything, you became a happier person. I will definitely talk to Severa to get her to snap out of her confusion."

"No, Cynthia. Just let it go. I am sure she can forgive me eventually. It will just take time. Can we talk about this later, Cynthia? I am actually pretty hungry right now and I want to eat. I don't want to miss out on leftovers."

Cynthia did not really accept this as an answer and was curious to know more about the breakup between the two. The pegasus knight glanced over to her sister, who was already voraciously eating. She wanted to continue the conversation, but decided against it seeing how fast Lucina was gobbling down her food. Her older sister seems to have gotten a bigger appetite recently. To Cynthia, that was not like her older sister. She always just ate the bare minimum needed to get through the day. Is my big sister okay? Does she just not care anymore about her health now that the war is over? Thinking back, Lucina seemed very secretive and detached ever since the war ended. Cynthia suspected it was because of Robin's death, but Cynthia had a feeling there was more to the story than mutual love between the two. There was probably even more to the story than Severa believing Lucina enticed Robin as a temptress. The two never argued in the future, and now that the war is over, they were the first piece of drama in the castle. Something bigger is definitely at play. Lucina has been acting very strangely for the past week and she was determined to find out what. She began hatching her plan again to corner her and force her to spill the beans, just like she planned this morning.

After dinning was finished, Chrom began his usual update on current events. He began with Tiki's news that Robin should be returning at the end of the week. Nobody seemed surprised, as Tiki had already told everybody in the castle long before dinner. After that news, Chrom began talking about his plans to rebuild and reform Ylisse's military as well as rebuilding Ylisse from the ruins of three devastating wars. Chrom mentioned his plans to allocate some of Ylisse's imperial treasury to rebuilding small towns that were destroyed as a result of collateral damage from the wars. He also mentioned his plans to build a power navy and warships for the country, as Ylisse had been caught off guard by Valm's naval power and had no way to contest them without the help of Plegia. He also mentioned plans to introduce a new section of the military dedicated to magic and dark magic. Truth be told, nobody really paid Chrom any attention. It was more like a ceremonial event rather than a necessary event in the post-war era.

Chrom finished his update with a surprise statement that nobody had anticipated. "However, my daughter told me she has something she was to tell everybody. I think I will let her up here to say it."

Lucina left her seat to walk up to where her father was. As expected, she made a statement issuing her apology about losing her temper twice on such miniscule detail and promises not to happen again. Lucina wasn't sure whether or not to say it, but she in the end decided to confess she did have a crush on the white-haired tactician and telling the Shepherds to stop spreading rumors about it. Looking at the crowd, nobody seemed too surprised. If Lucina had to guess from facial expressions, most of the Shepherds seemed to accept the apology and her confession. Lucina went back to her chair and sat down, embarrassing about what she just confessed but at the same time relieved the she no longer had to keep a secret.

Chrom took over after Lucina walked back towards her seat. "Thank you, Lucina. I am sure everybody here can forgive you. It is not a big deal. Also, you all heard my daughter. No rumors about her anymore, please. All of you are dismissed. Breakfast is at sunrise, don't be late or you won't have your share!"

All the Shepherds began walking out of the room. Lucina followed everybody out of the room. All of them went their separate ways. Lucina went straight for her room, oblivious that Cynthia was already waiting for her at the door. She was determined to find out the truth. The pegasus knight was one of the first ones to leave the dining hall after Chrom dismissed them.

Lucina arrived at her door, and for the second time, she found Cynthia blocking her way.

"Cynthia, what is the matter? Why are blocking me from entering my personal bedroom?"

Cynthia was not sure how to bring up the topic to her sister. She simply asked, "Lucina. What is going on? What are you hiding?"

"What are you talking about, Cynthia?"

"Lucina, I know for a fact you are hiding something from me. What is it?"

"Cynthia, I am not hiding anything from you. I just confessed my love to Robin. What else could be more embarrassing than that?"

"Lucina, I know you are not telling me the full truth. You have been extremely secretive and emotional ever since the war ended. The explanation that your crush died might have satisfied all the other children's answers, but I know you better than that. You have that look on your face that says there are details you left out. Also, you pretty much told me that Severa was correct about some parts of her accusations. She must have found something out that we don't know. I think there is something deeper between you and Robin that you have not told anybody. So what exactly is it?"

Lucina wasn't quite sure what to say. "Um… well….Cynthia, there is nothing I have not told you. You are overthinking it."

Cynthia did not believe such an answer. It would have been more believable to her if Lucina just said Walhart came back from the dead and was once again planning to invade Ylisse.

"You've slept with him, haven't you? And you're bearing his child."

Lucina did a quick glance around her shoulders. Thankfully, both of the hallways were empty. That is, unless Kellam was using his invisible powers snooping around. However, that was all the evidence Cynthia needed to confirm her suspicious.

Cynthia began to speak again. "It is that… isn't it?"

"No, Cynthia. Do you know how much trouble I could get for doing that? I would never hear the end of this from anybody."

"It's okay, sis. I promise not to tell anybody."

"Cynthia, I already told you, nothing like that happened."

"Lucina, your nervousness already determined that is a lie. You did a quick glance around the hallway as soon as I said that. I know my sister would not even do that if it wasn't the truth. Also, the signs were pretty obvious, sis. When I hugged you this morning, I somehow felt it wasn't right. It was weird, because I felt like I couldn't wrap your arm around you comfortably like I used to. You confessed your love for Robin, and you got mad at Severa for accusing you of seducing him. I know my sister would not do that, but I think there has to be more to the story if you managed to react out of proportions. You eating patterns also changed. Did you forget we grew up together as siblings? I know you well enough to know when you are lying."

Lucina was at a loss of words. Even thought it could not have been a minute since she last did it, she checked the hallway again to make sure it was empty. She turned back towards her younger sister. Lying to Cynthia was pointless now.

"Cynthia, perhaps we should speak about this privately in your room or mine?"