Chapter 30: Rude awakening

He remained sat at the desk of the library for hours, making not a sound as he read through book after book relating to his side study of the official history of Fodlan. It was less to satiate his curiosity and more to distract himself from everything else which was happening at the time.

The reveal of Lysithea's state of health had dragged up some...memories of his time before coming here. None of them were ones he felt like dwelling on in any meaningful way. If only because he knew that if he started he would never be able to stop and he would drive himself into a self-destructive argument regarding Mash's choice. By all accounts she should have chosen to accept his offer, yet she did not.

And now he was faced with someone of a similar condition.

Suppose he did cure her of her affliction and remove the Crest, it would ultimately change nothing but the number of years she would live. What was a change in but a few numbers? He would merely increase the amount of time for her to make any meaningful decisions in her life before she inevitably met the same end. Whether she lived for another ten or another hundred years, she would still die all the same.

But even with that knowledge, he hadn't been able to stop himself from acting when he became aware her life had been in danger. The same basic principle applied, whether she died on the battlefield or of natural causes it should have been of little personal consequence to him. Yet…

Perhaps he had taken some small liking to her. It wasn't unusual, he had encountered a similar thing with Mash. It seemed that Lysithea's and Mash's similarities continued to build although they were still few and far between.

It also seemed that there was something happening to him as well.

His own feelings on that particular subject were mixed.

His vision gradually returned under a blurry haze, his entire face felt numb as consciousness returned to him. In truth, he felt more tired than anything else, as if he had just woken up from a long nap.

A weak groan escaped him as he attempted to move, he felt a hand push down on his shoulder and force him to still himself. He was on a bed, that much he could make sense of although he still couldn't see that much, everything looking like odd shapes and any sound that was present came off as little more than a muffle.

"...fes..r!" He could just about make out a call for someone as he tried to focus his vision, weakly trying to free himself of the grip around his shoulder to little avail. "...amn it. Don't….ove….ki…" the voice continued to speak, sounding as if it were directed towards him. It was definitely feminine but a little on the rough side.

Eyes blinked repeatedly as his vision cleared, making out the general shape of Catherine as she stood over his bed, staring down at him before looking back across the room "He's waking up here."

"Yes, yes." That was Professor Manuela's voice "I heard you the first time but he's not the only one having a rude awakening. I've just had to convince the little deer Lysithea that this is not the afterlife."

"Pretty shitty afterlife." Catherine grumbled before she sighed, looking back down at him and pursing her lips "Hey...kid…" her manner of speech was awkward at best and jilted at worst. As if she wasn't quite sure what to say "How...how are you feeling?"

"...Tired…" Ashe weakly managed to groan out before moving his head as best he could, his muscles in his neck were still protesting so he winced as he moved "Where…?"

"Infirmary at Garreg Mach." Catherine supplied "You were out will all the other injured but we moved you here with the other students who got a little roughed up. Although it was just you and the other kid we were kinda concerned about."

"Wha…" Ashe winced as he felt another headache coming on "What...ha…"

"Ah…" Catherine winced, turning away from him and reaching for something. Ashe cringed as he faintly heard the sound of wood being scraped along the ground before coming to a halt near his bed as the knightness dragged a stool to sit on. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Ashe racked his memory, scrunching his face up in thought. He was at the battle on the mountain, they'd managed to fight through the fog and make it to a clearing where they encountered Lonato. "T-the mountain…" he croaked, Catherine nodded her head. His eyes shot wide "L-Lysithea!-"

"Is fine." Catherine cut him off "None of you kids ended up dead." a frown soon came to her face "Church Knights were less lucky but you should let us worry about that. Anyway, girl's safe and Lonato is…" she trailed off.

"...He's dead…" Ashe asked in a quiet voice "Isn't he?"

"...Yeah." Catherine replied "Yeah, he's...um...dead."

"...Can I…" He swallowed "Can I see him?" he furrowed his brows in confusion as Catherine froze like a deer in the sights of a hunter, then watched as her expression turned into a grimace before she looked away "What?"

"That...that's not a good idea, kid." She flickered her eyes away from him "It...it ain't pretty."

"Oh…" Ashe slumped into his bed, looking up at the ceiling "Alright."

"Listen...kid." Catherine reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner, although she looked more uncomfortable than he felt "I'm...you have my condolences about Lonato."

"...Thanks." Ashe whispered, still looking at the ceiling "My...my brother and sister…?"

"We've got a battalion of Knights marching into Gaspard." Catherine replied "You're brother and sister are gonna be fine. It's just to look for evidence of if Lonato was working with anyone, its not an inquisition."

"Okay…" The boy nodded his head "Did...did you kill…"

"Lonato?" Catherine shook her head "...No. Just, he's dead kid...better leave it at that." she slowly pushed herself to her feet "I'm gonna let you have some rest, got some stuff I need to sort through with the knights." she turned away from him and made her way of the infirmary but not before stopping and sending glance to Manuela. "Take care of him."

"I will." The woman looked up from her papers and sent a knowing look towards Catherine "You shouldn't feel as though you're responsible. That mess with Christophe-"

"I know." Catherine grunted, pulling the door open "But that kid's...It's what Christophe would have done."

"Hmmm." Manuela hummed in response as Catherine shut the door behind her. The physician looked towards the far end of the room where Ashe was still lying on the bed. The quiet sounds of sniffling had her let out a small sigh before she walked towards the end of the room, peering around the curtain to see Ashe's cheeks a puffy red with tears leaking from his eyes.

The boy noticed her and froze "S-sorry…" he sniffed "I'm going to ruin your pill-"

"None of that." Manuela waved her hand, moving back across the room and picking up a small cloth before pacing back over to his bed and placing it on the table next to his head. "Crying is a good melody for a bad mood."

"R-really?"

"Well..I've found it worked wonders for me." She shrugged, then sent him a half smile "Be sure to dry your eyes."

"...Thanks."

The door at the far end of the library opened up, Goetia's eye opened up slightly before the other one soon followed. His eyebrows rose in mild surprise as to the person who strode through the door. Leonie stared at him for a few seconds, frozen on the spot before a steely expression came to her face and she marched across the room towards him.

The ginger girl came to a stop at the foot of his table and stared down at him with a complicated expression on her face and her hands on her hips "So…" she began "...How are you?"

Her response was only one of his eyebrows lowering, eliciting a mildly annoyed grunt from her "Don't look at me like that! I hear you're suppose to ask people how they feel after these kind of things."

Goetia remained silent as she huffed and threw up her arms "You could at least show some reaction about it. Have some pride-"

"Pride?" Goetia repeated the word in a blank tone of voice "Pride in what?"

"Well...you saved our lives, saved Lysithea and that Ashe kids life." She explained "Helped put down the rebellion...that might be a good place to start."

"Did you come here to ask if I felt pride in my actions?" Goetia replied in a bored tone, Leonie scowled before she slowly shook her head and let her arms fall to her side.

"No...Lysithea is awake now." She watched his reaction, only noticing a slight twitch in his hand and nothing else "...Really? Nothing?"

"I knew she would recover." Goetia dismissed "Therefore being surprised or having a positive reaction towards her awakening would be pointless." he looked back down at his desk "Was there anything else?"

"Yeah...where in the shit were you?"

"...Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She growled, slamming her hands on his desk "Everyone was there, Captain Jeralt, Alois, heck even Seteth turned up!" she exclaimed "All there fighting, doing our best and barely winning…" her eyes narrowed "Then you show up and resolve the entire thing in what...three minutes, less?"

"Your point?"

"M-my point!?" She recoiled from him before scowling "My point is that you could have come with us from the start!"

"I could have, but I didn't want to." Goetia replied in a calm tone of voice, then looked up at her before she could continued on "Would you leap at the opportunity to solve any and all problems in Brigid?" she went silent and tilted her head "Or in Almyra?"

"That isn't the sam-"

"Yes it is." He cut her off "Ignoring the commonly held belief that Almyra's are savages. The problems of Almyra or Brigid are likely of little interest to you."

"Well...I'm not in Almyra or Brigid right now."

"No...no you aren't." He admitted "But suppose you were, would you be so willing to raise your sword to aid people you have no true connection to?"

"...I would." She affirmed "Because you know what? It's the right thing to do."

"Then I must compliment your mentality in that you are so readily willing to slaughter strangers in the name of strangers." Was his simple reply, she bristled but he cut her off "I have been living within Fodlan for a little more than several months, and while the Church has been more than fair in accommodating me, that does not give them the rights to demand that I kill in the name of belief's which I do not hold."

"But all those knights-"

"Were expected to lay down their lives for the Church." He scoffed "From my perspective, A Church I have no real interest in was facing a rebellion from a Lord who's son they had executed without a trial. Even if I did care enough to act, which side sounds as though it is the correct one from your perspective?"

"Well, the Church-"

"Who claimed that Lonato's son was a traitor to the Kingdom and had him executed without presenting any evidence or even holding a trial? Yes, I'm sure that was a widely accepted conclusion for all those who lived within the Gaspard region." His eyes narrowed at her "Do not get so conceited in assuming that my help can be demanded like some common sellsword or lackey. If and when I choose to act, it will be because of my own reasons."

Leonie cringed and looked away from him before suddenly pausing and staring at him differently "...Is that why you stepped in after Lysithea and the Professor got hurt?"

Goetia froze before his lip curled downwards "...It would have been unfortunate if they died. I had a personal connection with them, unlike the Church. Therefore I was more invested in acting on their behalf, if only marginally."

"Marginally?" Leonie raised an incredulous eyebrow "If fire and brimstone is marginal, then what is you when you're completely invested?"

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?" Goetia asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. Leonie bit her lip before sighing.

"No...Although you probably should see Lysithea." She said as she turned away from him and made her way to the door.

Goetia watched her depart before he let out a heavy sigh and leaned back into his chair, closing his eyes.

This was far too troublesome for him.

"Assistant Goetia. Your presence has been requested for a meeting of the Church staff."

And it seemed as though he was going to be present for continued trouble.

The door opened with a subtle creak as he stepped into the room, a majority of the other members of staff were already present, namely the Professors, with the notable exception of Byleth, as well as Jeralt, Alois, Catherine and Shamir. Tomas wasn't present yet, however that was just as likely due to old age than anything else.

"Goetia." Seteth's voice called out to him from the other end of the table "Thank you for joining us, the meeting will begin once Professors Eisner and Jeritza arrive as well as Head Archivist Tomas."

Saying nothing, but still giving a quick nod, he moved across the room towards an empty seat placed at the far end of the table, there was no one sat near him for two spaces on either side. Pulling himself closer to the table, the chair let out a small groan as it scraped along the stone floor before ceasing.

Eyes scanning the other staff, he noticed that Alois still had a rather noticeable bruise on the left side of his face although didn't appear to be in any further pain. Catherine avoided looking at him and Shamir had her eyes closes looking as though she was attempting to meditate.

"Hear you stepped in at the battle at the Mountain pass." Jeralt's voice cut through the silence, prompting Goetia to turn his head to stare at the man. The mercenary Captain's expression remained blank as he went on "Also heard you took down most of Lonato's loyalists."

The eyes of the room slowly shifted to Goetia. The man remained silent for a few seconds before answering "I did."

Jeralt released a grunt as he leaned back into his chair, no longer dressed in his usual armour he instead had a simple tunic on with a noticeable bulge under his shoulder where bandages were pressed into his wound. "Heard you also saved those brats."

"...Yes."

"...Good job."

Goetia raised an eyebrow at him, the man looked uncomfortable. Likely due to the fact that he wasn't used to giving praise. Indeed, Goetia's own face soon mirrored his with its own breed of discomfort. Very quickly becoming obvious that neither of them had much experience with giving and receiving thanks.

Their rescue came in the form of the door opening up again, this time a tall man stepped through. A white mask covering the top half of his face and long blonde hair done up in a pony tail at the back with twin bangs extending down the front of his head from either side. His clothes were a beige coloured smart tunic with a steel pauldron on the right side of his body.

The man scanned the room before noticing the empty seats and slowly making his way over to them, passing by Goetia as he took the second seat furthest left from him so there was still a noticeable gap between the two men. After sitting down, the man turned his head slightly to look Goetia up and down before he turned away without saying a word.

Goetia didn't mind it that much, red eyes turning back to the door just in time to watch Byleth enter. The girl froze for a split second upon making eye contact with him before she carried on. Moving across the room and sitting down on the right side of him although there was still a single seat gap between the two.

It wasn't long until Tomas hobbled into the room "Apologies, Archbishop." the old man croaked with a faint smile on his face, closing the door behind him "I fear my age is catching up with me."

"It is nothing to apologise for, Tomas." Rhea replied with a soft tone "We would be more than willing to have the clergy or one of the knights aid you in getting up the stairs." the way Catherine looked at the table as the woman said that very much indicated she'd rather it not be her.

"Now that we are all present." Seteth slowly rose from his seat at the head of the table, seated just to the left of Rhea who was sat in the middle "We can move onto the agenda and why you are all here." he placed his hands on the table "As you all are aware, and for those that might not be." he looked in Goetia and Byleth's direction "The Goddesses Rite of Rebirth is coming up this month and the Monastery will be opened to the public."

His head turned to Catherine and Alois "We've recalled some of our knights from the far most installations in order to bolster security for the occasion."

"I'll see to it they're put to good use." Catherine nodded her head, an uneasy look crossed Seteth's face as he reached into his pocket and slowly removed a small slip of paper from it.

"I fear as though they will be needed." He placed the slip of paper on the table, his expression grave as he cast his eyes about the room "This was retrieved from Lord Lonato, the contents of which are deeply disturbing."

"How so?" Catherine asked, leaning forwards in her seat and resting her arms on the table.

"It details a plot to assassinate the Archbishop."

Catherine shot to her feet, her face set in a murderous glare while others reactions were more subdued. Mainly due to realising that the feasibility of such a scheme made it very unlikely. The target in question kept her look expressionless as her eyes briefly scanned the room.

"That seems...quite far fetched." Hanneman piped up, a frown on his face "With Lord Lonato dead and his rebellion put down, who could possibly be left to mount such an attack."

"Ordinarily?" Seteth raised and eyebrow and shook his head "I would have dismissed it as nonsense but still gone ahead with security as a precaution, however...recent events have made it clear that there are other threats to the Church which were in league with Lonato, or possibly the instigators of." his eyes made contact with Alois, Shamir and Jeralt in a meaningful way. The three grimaced and slowly nodded their heads in acceptance.

"I see." Hanneman nodded his head, cupping his chin in thought "You believe there may be a third party involved?"

"Those who stand against the Church are insidious." Rhea spoke up for the first time, her voice set in a low tone of barely restrained anger "And they often cower in the shadows like the heathens they are. It is why we must be vigilant in these times, as we do not know who might harbour such blasphemous thoughts." her eyes, very briefly, flicked over to Goetia and lingered there for a touch longer than usual before they turned back to addressing the room.

Goetia raised an eyebrow, clearly he was missing some information here. Unless someone of the same skill-set as Siegfried was leading the assassination mission, he very much doubted that Rhea was in that much danger.

"Quite so." Seteth nodded his head "Lonato was still a minor Lord and the weapons he had collected for his troops are quite unlike anything I have seen before. We've since collected and had them melted down, after the clergy confirmed that they had been enchanted with magic."

"Truly?" Hanneman widened his eyes "From what I heard their enchantments were quite impressive."

"The works of Heretics should not be praised, Professor Hanneman." Rhea replied coldly, before her eyes softened "I realise that your academic mind would leap at the opportunity to study them, however they were far too dangerous to be allowed a continued existence."

Hanneman sighed and nodded his head "I understand, Archbishop."

"I assume that this threat is going to be treated much more seriously then?" Jeralt asked, earning a nod from Seteth.

"It is indeed. The Knights will begin regular patrols around the Academy and the town of Hillfar at the base of the Monastery." He turned his head towards the Professors "In addition to the knights, your students will also be running patrols on the day of the Rite of Rebirth in order to ensure the safety of the Archbishop, considering that we will both be within the Goddess tower for the duration of the event."

"What is to stop the Assassin simply teleporting into the Tower?" Goetia asked, earning the attention of the room.

"Your concern for my safety is appreciated, Goetia." Rhea replied in a smile that didn't reach her eyes "And you need not worry about such things, the tower is secure enough to prevent such measures from being taken."

'A bounded field then?' Goetia hummed to himself 'Impressive.' it was still a high level Magecraft bordering on magic, then again. He was living in an Age of Gods level world, so it was to be expected that they would have some measure of blocking it.

"On the topic of security." Seteth went on, fixing Goetia with a serious expression "I was reading over the report of the Golden Deer mission log. According to the students you set up what you called a 'Bounded Field' in order to detect the approaching Demonic Beasts?"

"I did." Goetia nodded his head, then gave a quick nod "You want me to set up bounded fields for security." a statement rather than a question, he could tell what Seteth wanted when the man nodded his head in affirmation. "Setting up simple ones to alert you to hostile intentions would be simple enough, I assume you wish them set up around the Tower?"

"If possible." Seteth replied, then paused before raising an eyebrow "I had assumed you would require more convincing?"

"I am an employee ensuring my employer is not killed." Goetia replied in a dismiss voice "It is common sense, my personal scepticism about the likelihood of a successful assassination aside."

"You're confident." Shamir raised an eyebrow at him in questioning "Think the Archbishop isn't in danger?"

"You think she is?"

Shamir gave a small shrug and a 'touché' like expression on her face. She didn't think that an Assassin would find much like either, if their goal really was assassinating the Archbishop. You typically didn't leave plans detailing your entire mission just lying around for anyone to find.

"Regardless of whether or not the Archbishop is in danger." Alois interrupted "It is best if we treat this situation as seriously as possible, so as we are not caught flat footed again." he smiled across the table at Goetia "And I don't think I thanked you earlier for lending a hand to the students."

Dead silence permeated through the room. For all but Goetia and Byleth as Sothis came into existence and burst into laughter. Earning a twitch of the eyebrow from the former Beast.

"...I did it again, didn't I?" Alois rhetorically asked before his head fell into his hands "I am so, so sorry."

"It's fine." Goetia replied.

"Its hilarious." Sothis chuckled, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye "Lend a hand...although you did one better and gifted your whole arm!"

"If we could get back on track." Jeralt grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head "How many knights are we gonna expect?"

"There will be eighty patrolling the Monastery on the day of the Rite." Seteth rattled off "The town itself will have double that, provided the roads are good and the reinforcements can make it hear on time."

"Well...brats did alright on the battlefield." Jeralt rubbed his brow "I'm sure they can handle a little lookout work." looking across next to him, he nodded towards his daughter "Right, kid?"

"They will be fine." Byleth nodded her head.

"I have every confidence in you and your students, Professor." Rhea responded in an almost motherly tone, which earned itself a mild twitch from Jeralt and slightly narrowed eyes from Goetia. Not that the woman noticed either of them.

She obviously was aware of something, Goetia figured. She'd become almost enamoured with Byleth's progress immediately and always seemed to show a preference for her above other Professors as well as some bizarre confidence. It meant she was aware.

"We will meet again to formulate our plans over the next few weeks as the Rite of Rebirth approaches." Seteth spoke as he stood up, the others in the room taking that as their own cue to stand up as well. "I will personally come and visit each of you in order to check up on your progress. Remember, the safety of the Archbishop is at stake. No mistakes can be made."

There were several responses of affirmation as Goetia made his way to the door, only to pause as he felt a hand come to a stop on his shoulder. His head slowly turned until he could cast a glance at his back.

Byleth slowly retracted her hand from his person as her expression turned the slightest hint of apprehensive before returning to its usual blank look. Sothis floated over her shoulder and into Goetia's face as she quickly assumed a stern face.

"I think we should have a talk." The Goddess spoke.

"We've received word from Solon." Thales spoke as he walked into the room "They have taken the bait."

"As was expected of them." Lemegeton responded "My presence on the battlefield ensured that they would have taken the wild claims far easier than they would otherwise."

"Yes...although I question the logic of revealing yourself as a threat to them."

"It is your place to carry out my directives, not question my logic." The figure turned around and levelled a pointed look in Thales direction "However I have left enough evidence to implicate the Western Church in this matter. Even if we fail the retrieve whatever lies within the Tomb, we shall still be rid of one obstacle."

"...Very well." Thales grunted, sounding more than a little aggrieved at the manner in which he was spoken too "Was it necessary for you to take to the field?"

"It was. I needed to examine the effectiveness of the Mystic codes first hand in order to determine where improvements could be made." They paused for a few seconds "One of the Phantasmals took to the field alongside an individual with mixed blood. Far purer than those of your experiments."

Thales raised an eyebrow "A pet of that creature?"

"Perhaps. For now, he shall remain an exception from future plans until I can properly examine him." He turned away from Thales and looked back at his table "Ensure Kronya understands that implicitly."

"She would never dare do something as stupid as break her cover." Thales scoffed, then realised who he was talking about before a dismissive scowl formed on his face "However, it would be best if she does fully understand her mission."

"Good." Lemegeton grunted.

"I don't need a lecture." The sneering voice of Kronya came from the hallway, the pale skinned girl leaned against the crook of the door frame "As if those blind maggots could find me out."

"...I refuse to entertain her stupidity." Lemegeton responded "You educate her or I will simply find another."

Thales growled and sent a sharp look in the girls direction, prompting her to wince and look away as the Agarthan marched over to her and roughly dragged her down the hallway "Your stupidity is not appreciated." the man hissed at her "We have waited too long for our revenge to have you spoil everything with your ego."

"I don't see why we're talking orders from that thing." She replied with a scowl "Its not better than those creatures. Just using some puppet to bark orders at us."

"It is a partnership, you fool." Thales growled "One which had brought us more progress in the year than we have achieved in decades." they paused, looking over their shoulder before coming to a stop "You still answer to me, not to them. That is the only reason you are still alive." he narrowed his eyes at her, causing her to flinch "Remember that well. He is more important to our goal than you are."

"I...understand." Kronya muttered under her breath, avoiding eye contact with Thales as he continued to stare at her before he looked away.

"Good. I will not remind you a second time."

AN: Assassination attempts and private conversations. Also a little look into Ashe, because the poor boy lost his father.

And yes, he'll likely speak to Goetia about the manner of his fathers dead soon enough, at least when he finds out anyway.

Omake: Overreaction.

"I'm fine!" Lysithea cried out in exasperation as the sum total of three classes worth of students sprinted about the assembly room and began barring the door. "It's not that serious!"

"Don't listen to her!" Claude exclaimed as he pushed the table in front of the doors "Its serious. Dimitri?"

"I am forced to agree with Claude." Dimitri sent her a small shrug, even as he carried an entire bookshelf on his back as he made his way to the door "We cannot afford to take any chances in these types of situations."

"You're all being childish!"

"I agree with my peers." Edelgard grabbed her by the shoulders and ushered her to a chair in the centre of the room "It is best that we deal with this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible before it becomes an issue."

"Alright." Claude dusted his hands and turned to the others "Hilda, Raf, you two keep stacking junk at the door."

"Really?" The pink haired girl let out a whine "But my arms feel sore."

"You want to wait until he finds out we let her get hurt?"

"...On second thoughts." Hilda whimpered as she scampered away and lifted a table over her head and made for the door, throwing it down on the growing pile of furniture.

"Healers?" Claude looked to the designated group, Mercedes, Linhardt and Marianne all nodded their heads as they formed a ring around Lysithea and held out their hands towards her. Their palms all began to glow as they started to cast healing magic on the white haired girl.

"It's just a paper cut!" Lysithea shouted in a mix of anger and embarrassment "It was no ones fault but my own!"

"I mean, I know that and you know that." Claude let out a wry chuckle, then slowly turned his head to the book in question. Felix and Sylvain with their weapons levied against it as if it were under guard "And the book knows that...but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"He's not going to care!"

"Not going to care about what?"

The entire room fell into a dead silence at the calm voice which didn't belong to any of the students. Claude closed his eyes and felt his stomach drop nearly out of his whole body.

There was a clatter as the chair fell from Ashe's hands and onto the floor, followed swiftly by a whimper from Bernadetta as she hid herself under the desk.

Claude swallowed deeply before slowly turning around, he could already feel the sweat forming on his brow. "G-Goetia." he winced at the stutter he let loose at the start of his sentence.

Goetia raised a single eyebrow at him before looking around the room "...What has brought about this display?"

"Nothing!" Claude answered quickly, letting out a nervous laugh "Nothing at all! Hahaha...just, um...just…"

"Just...preparing a strategy." Edelgard picked up from where he trailed off "In case the Monastery is ever attacked...not to say that will ever happen but its best to be prepared for whe-if. If it happens." she paused "Which it won't."

"But if it does." Hubert gave a sage nod, looking more shifty than usual. "It probably won't."

"But when it does." Edelgard nodded to herself. "I mean if."

"...I see." Goetia gave a slow nod "If that is all-"

"It's just a paper-cut!" Lysithea shook off the healers and stormed past Claude, the boys face – along with everyone else's – paled as she came to a stop in front of Goetia "It's nonsense Teacher! They're kicking up such a stupid fuss over such a little thing!"

Goetia looked down at her hand, seeing the smallest red line across her finger.

"It was this book!" Claude immediately shouted out, pointing in the direction of the book in question. Goetia followed his finger to see the Sylvain and Felix slowly backing away from a small red tome laying on the table.

"You are such fools!" Lysithea huffed "Tell them Teacher!"

Goetia didn't reply, instead slowly walked over to the table and stared down at the book with a blank expression. "Teacher?" Lysithea continued "Teacher, tell them how silly they are bei-"

She was cut off when the book burst into flames. Quickly silencing her and causing the students to all take a single step backwards.

Goetia slowly turned around to look at them before his eyes scanned the face of every student "...Carry on." he disappeared instantly.

"...Get back to the chair Lysithea." Claude tapped her shoulder and pointed in the direction of the healers.

"I-I...but…" The girl slumped her shoulders, still staring at the burning book "But he...what…"

"Healers." Claude ordered again, straining his voice so as to not let his fear show "Now...please."

The girl wordlessly waddled back to the chair of healing, sitting down and making not a sound as the three healing mages went back to casting spells on her.