A deafening silence filled the Blue Lions' classroom. It was their first class after their mission in the Holy Mausoleum just two days prior, and it was the first time anyone was acknowledging what had happened there.
Eve had asked to make an announcement before class which Byleth had allowed. Now, she stood in front of the professor's desk with her head bent and her hands clasped together. Dimitri stood at her side, a comforting hand resting on the small of her back.
She tried and stopped several times to begin to speak. Everyone else was quiet, waiting anxiously to hear what she had to say. Would she explain herself? Were she and Dimitri even really in love? Who was Eve? Meanwhile, Felix was intrigued by how believable a performance Eve was putting on, and he found himself wondering just how much of the truth she would share.
"I've deceived all of you." She said finally, eyes still downcast at the floor. "And worst of all I've sullied the Blaiddyd name by making you all believe Dimitri is a liar too."
She paused and finally looked up, scanning across the room with what anyone would have thought was remorse in her eyes.
"So, I want to take this time to come clean." Eve said firmly. "I will tell you the truth about who I am, and I will answer any questions you may have. I know none of you have any cause to believe me now, but I just want to make things right."
Eve paused once more and turned to look at Dimitri this time. Felix could see the adoration in the prince's eyes as he looked at Eve. And though it made his blood boil, Felix couldn't help but admit that perhaps the boar's foolish love for Eve was what would save her here. There were no holes to poke in his loving act because it wasn't an act. And by proxy this gave Eve's own story a sense of credibility. Whether or not she returned his feelings, Dimitri loved and trusted Eve which meant she was trustworthy at least to some degree.
"Dimitri and I did not meet on accident, but we are engaged by order of the church." Eve started slowly. "You all saw the power of the crest I bear. Were it to fall into the wrong hands, chaos would ensue. Archbishop Rhea has therefore kept me under her protection to shield me from those who would seek to harm me.
"Yeah, what exactly is the power of your crest?" Sylvain interrupted. "I don't think any of us really know what we saw back there."
"Sylvain, let her finish!" Dimitri tried to protest before Eve put up her hand to stop him.
"It's okay, Dimitri, he's right." She smiled softly before continuing. "My crest can transfer bodily harm. You saw the greatest extent of my crest's power: exchanging one life for another to resurrect the recently deceased."
"Recently?" Sylvain snorted. "How recent is 'recently' when it comes to dying?"
"Sylvain." Ingrid warned with a sharp glare.
"Alright, alright." He put his hands up in surrender. "I'll stop interrupting."
"But my crest also works for things like small cuts and bruises or injuries earned in battle." Eve continued, ignoring Sylvain. "I'm sure you can all imagine the kind of target this would put on me, especially after recent events. So that's why I've been living under the protection of the Church of Seiros and Lady Rhea."
"S-sorry to interrupt," Ashe raised his hand tentatively as he spoke, "but how does that become you and His Highness getting married?"
"After the Tragedy of Duscur, the church has been considering the idea of a union between me and His Highness." Eve spoke carefully, making sure she got the details of their new lie just right. "So that if anything ever happened to Dimitri, I could use my crest to save him. Dimitri is the only heir to the throne, if he were to die the Kingdom would succumb to mayhem."
Felix was almost in awe at how well Eve spun her lies, and how Dimitri stood beside her through it all. Had he not known the truth, he would have absolutely believed all that Eve was saying. The way she spoke was as if she were confessing something, as if she was finally choosing to come clean. But it was all just another lie.
"With Lonato's uprising, Lady Rhea decided that perhaps now would be the time for Dimitri to be introduced to me." Eve continued on. "And so that's how Dimitri and I became engaged, and how I came to the Officer's Academy."
"But why lie about your meeting and about your crest?" Ingrid asked.
"Well, the idea was that I would never have to use my crest." Eve sighed. "At best I would marry Dimitri and serve as his queen. At worst, I would be required to use my crest to save the Blaiddyd bloodline. So, we created the story we told everyone to hide the fact that our marriage had been arranged and that I had a crest."
"I don't know about all this complicated stuff, and I'm a little sad you were lying to us," Annette added timidly, "but I am really glad you're a part of our class. You're really nice and I think that's what matters!"
"Thank you, Annette, truly." Eve smiled. "I hope you all believe me when I say it pained me greatly to lie to all of you. And I know it was eating away at Dimitri too. We never wanted to lie, but we had to for my safety and the safety of Garreg Mach."
"I want to apologise as well for keeping the truth from all of you." Dimitri interjected. "It pained me deeply to have to lie to those who trust me."
"I know it will probably take some time, but I do hope each of you will one day see me as an ally." Eve added. "I never wanted to have to lie. And though I may be in danger now after revealing my crest, I can't help but feel relieved that now I can share the truth with you all."
Eve had to commend Dimitri's quick thinking. This idea had not only satisfied Seteth but had also worked without a hitch. The Blue Lions were eating up every last word Eve said without question. Eve attributed the fact that this lie was more based in truth than their last one to its success.
Eve could only hope that this lie could last much longer than the last one. Most of the other students would be willing to accept that she had had to lie to them before. But if it came out that she was still lying, they would never trust her. And though she could bear being seen as a liar, she didn't want to drag Dimitri down with her too. The fate of the Kingdom lied in the success of their new lie.
After class had settled and Eve and Dimitri had sufficiently finished their damage control, Eve found herself sneaking onto the roof of the dormitories. It was a beautiful day and the combination of the cool air and the sun on her face made it the perfect place to steal away from her own thoughts.
It had not even been one moon since she arrived in Garreg Mach, and yet so much had already happened. Eve had gone in thinking it would be so easy to play the part of Dimitri's doting fiancée; she had been so confident that their charade could last. But she hadn't accounted for Felix. She had known him all his life, watched him from the shadows as a servant to his house. Knowing what she knew about him, she had expected him to be dismissive of her- tolerating her at best. But she never would have expected him to take an interest in her. Twice now he had kissed her, and Eve still wasn't sure what to do about that. The first time could have been written off as an impulse, an accident. But the second time was so deliberate and purposeful, Eve couldn't ignore it.
"That was quite the performance you gave." Eve was startled out of her thoughts by Yuri's voice as he hoisted himself over the edge of the roof.
"Yuri." Eve blinked, still shocked. "How did you get up here?"
"I climbed." He stated, matter of fact, and gestured down at where he had come from.
"Why?" Her brow furrowed as he came to sit next to her.
"I saw the tip of your shoe from below." Yuri motioned to her foot that was just over the edge. "I was curious who was up here. Didn't think I'd find you."
Eve drew back the offending foot and shifted so she sat higher up on the roof. Yuri was probably the last person she wanted to see at this moment. He was the only one outside of Dedue and Felix who knew she was still lying about her relationship with Dimitri.
"If it weren't for the fact that I knew you were still lying, I would have believed everything you said back there." Yuri smirked, looking at Eve from the corner of his eye.
"I'm not lying." Eve glared at Yuri when he snorted in response. "I'm simply omitting certain facts that aren't important."
"What else are you omitting, hm?" Yuri turned to face Eve with an eyebrow raised. "Does your little prince know about our meeting the last time you were at Garreg Mach?"
"I told him that we met previously, yes." Eve nodded.
"That's all?" Yuri smirked.
"What else is there to know?" Eve retorted.
"Well, everyone is different." Yuri shrugged with a sigh. "I just know that I'd want to know who was warming my fiancée's bed before me."
"If I recall correctly it was me warming your bed." Eve half laughed.
"All the same." Yuri chuckled. "So, I'm guessing you haven't told him about our, ahem, rendezvous, if you will?"
"Why would I?" Eve shrugged with a small frown. "It's not like we're marrying for love. Besides, Dimitri is such a prude he'd probably melt from embarrassment if I tried to bring up the topic with him."
"Does he know that?" Yuri asked.
"Know what?" Eve frowned again.
"That you're not marrying for love." Yuri answered.
"Of course he knows." Eve turned to look out at the view.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Yuri said, following Eve's gaze outward.
"What makes you say that?" She asked.
"The way he looks at you." Yuri answered simply.
"He hasn't even known me for a full moon cycle yet, he can't love me." Eve sighed with a shake of her head, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
"You forget that His Princeliness has likely never experienced romance, real or not." Yuri shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if he mistook your act for genuine feelings."
"I suppose there are worse things that could happen." Eve said. "Afterall, I felt terrible he's been roped into my mess. If he falls in love with me maybe he can marry for love in the end."
"Do you love him back, though?" Yuri turned to look at Eve questioningly.
"Of course not." She recoiled at the question. "I don't even know him."
"Then I feel sorry for the poor bastard." Yuri turned away once more. "Only thing worse than being stuck in a loveless marriage is being stuck in one where you love someone who will never love you in return."