Chapter 81: The woes in our hearts.

Focusing on the lessons was something that gave her peace of mind, if that was the right word for it. She didn't truly know what peace of mind was supposed to entail but from her own perspective, she found that when she focused on the lessons she was less caring - or rather, less aimed - of the other things that were currently going on with her life.

At least, that was how she acted during the day, when night came around or her other free hours?

It was…much less clear.

Internally shaking her head, her eyes swept across the assembled faces for a few seconds before she selected out one of the individuals who did not look as though they were actually paying attention. Namely because Sylvain had other concerns in his life, at the same time so did she. That didn't stop her from focusing on her job and she wouldn't accept an excuse from anyone else about personal affairs interfering with their daily lives.

"Sylvain." Her voice came out clipped, the redhead sat up straight with a slightly bewildered look upon his face, it remained frozen on his features for a good few moments before one of his trademark confident grins came upon his face. It looked much less confident than it normally did, once more he was showing the fact his personal affairs were interring with his learning. Though this was only speculation at the moment, whether or not it was actually true was something she was going to find out momentarily.

"Yes, Professor?" His voice contained the same tone that it usually would have, that odd little note of being carefree, but once more there was something brittle about it. Furthering evidence that there was something the matter with him. Not least because he had been staring at the same page of the book in front of him for the last ten or so minutes while everyone else had turned their pages three times now during her brief summary of the War of Eagle and Lion.

She kept his gaze for a few moments, then quickly thought up a question in her head, while she would not normally do this, this situation was certainly calling for something. The question sprung to her mind as she focused on something. "During the battle for the Bridge of Myrddin, how did the Lecister forces secure control of the bridge from the hands of the Adrestian garrison?"

Confusion swept through some of the faces, likely due to the fact this particular question had absolutely nothing to do with what they were learning at all. Especially considering the Crescent Moon War wouldn't begin for another hundred and thirty odd years, so had no real bearing on the lesson. Though whether or not Sylvain actually registered this was something else entirely. He would know about it, especially given the fact that it was a rather famous battle between the two factions, if only because of how the bridge was actually lost.

Sylvain met her gaze for a few moments, quickly running his tongue across his lips before rolling them inwards, his eyes flashed down towards his book for a brief moment. A small noise of confusion left his throat for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and exhaled, shaking his head from side to side rather exaggeratedly and letting out a noise. "Sorry, Professor. Guess I got so distracted by your beauty that I missed everything you said." A faint chuckle escaped from his throat as he looked back up, flashing her a tiny smile, and rather confident, smile that showed just a little bit of tooth. "Can't blame me though, right? You look so confident when you're teaching."

She stared at him for a few seconds before she gave a single dull blink. That was precisely what she was expecting and she very much doubted it was because he found her beautiful. Especially considering it would be rather difficult to admire her physical appearance with his face so fixed on the book while not even reading it. Still, she could at least avoid humiliating him. That would be rather bad.

Turning back towards the board, she reached down and picked up the chalk and brought it back up, writing away on the board and giving herself - and everyone else - the brief reminder as to what they were actually doing. Once she finished, she placed the chalk down and turned back to the class, looking towards Sylvain and watching as his features flattened slightly.

'Sylvain to remain behind for additional archery practice.'

"Focusing on physical appearance is good." She voiced back to him with her voice unchanging, his attention moved from the board and back to her. "Seeing as you have a keen eye, it would be remiss of me to not hone it on an archery range. Your results thus far have not proven very effective, but practice will grind out all the rolls."

Of course, what she actually wanted him to remain behind for was something else entirely.

Her eyes swept across the classroom "Everyone else, remind yourselves of the books you are reading and be mindful of other questions such as those." This was a good chance to turn it into a lesson just to excuse herself. "Surprises can arrive at any point, you must be prepared to counter them. Be they of an academic nature or a practical one. I will call upon others of you in the future for surprise questions such as these."

…Now that she thought about it, that was actually a pretty good idea. Randomly coming at them with questions in regards to topics they had already learned in the past or topics that she had not yet taught them. It would do to establish how much they retained or had previously learnt during their upbringing. She would expect the Blue Lions to be aware of the more common moments in history for the Kingdom, less so with other regions like the Leicester Alliance or the Adrestian Empire.

As she turned, she briefly caught sight of Dimitri giving her a curious gaze, his eyes remained locked onto hers for a brief moment before they creased and flickered off towards the general direction of Sylvain. Evidently he had noticed the exact same thing and sought to see what she was doing, that was good. Aside from the fact Dimitri was present, she could rely on him to be aware of any problems currently occurring within the class. This situation with Sylvain was one such problem that needed to be addressed.

Closing her eyes, she turned straight ahead and hummed in affirmation to herself while nodding her head, it was likely subtle enough that Dimitri understood what she was doing, she turned from his direction and opened her eyes once more, pacing towards her desk and placing down the book she held in her hand.

"On a similar topic. In lieu of the upcoming raid to remove bandits from Conand Tower, we will be examining different sieges from points in history. Looking at how they were defended against and how they were won. Your task for the next time we meet one another is to examine three different sieges and note down the most pressing details of them."

She paused for a moment as she considered something, considering that they were all going to be taking part in this together, and they would likely have a chance to discover something, then it made sense for this to be a group activity. Then again, some might not be as skilled at this task than others and their weakness would be cloaked by those more capable.

Hmmmm.

…It was better to risk it for the time being, she could always hold individual meetings with the students before the deadline which was still a little over than a week away from them. There was still the matter of getting the final scouting reports and then assembling all of the necessary troops, according to the information Seteth had supplied her with on the last encounter she had with him earlier.

He had taken the presiding role in the few days since her meeting with the Archbishop.

She hadn't actually seen the woman in-

She cut out those thoughts that threatened to linger into her mind.

Not the time for that. Now she was focusing on the lesson.

Where was she? Ah, yes. Group activities.

Perhaps it would be better to assign them into groups for the after class task. Well, she could do that later. She was already aware of who the more academic students were and who they supported in their studies. Many of the students went to Annette for support in their tasks, she knew that much from the many times she had spied on them doing so. Though, for whatever reason, Ashe would go with Petra…

Hmmm.

…Was the Black Eagle House making a move on one of her students? He had proven to be a very successful Archer in recent weeks and had demonstrated a good deal of skill that wasn't hidden. She heard that students could transition between classes but she never once considered it a possibility. Perhaps she would need to look into this, she would prefer not to lose one of her students.

She had underestimated Hanneman if that was indeed the case, it would require further examination.

Her mind returned to the lesson at hand, deciding on what she was going to do. She'd give them the next ten or so minutes to read on the Siege of Castle Gaspard in Seven-fifty at the hands of the then Lord Arundel. That was one of the more notable sieges that lasted nearly the majority of the war. Hindsight was normally better than foresight, which should provide the students with ample opportunity to look at all the mistakes made during the siege. On both sides of it.

Internally confirming the results, she turned back to the classroom and swept her eyes across the assembled mass of students. Seeking out all of those who looked as though they would be more suitable for the task than others. Felix would undoubtedly be a key player in this task, especially because of his rather decent scores when it came to the analysis of battles. Though his written answers could do with a bit of work…

"I shall assign you in pairs. These shall be groups that you conduct this task in outside of the classroom and for two days from now. We will then hold a mock siege where we address some of these issues." She would have asked Goetia to see if he could perhaps make a small castle from dirt, nothing special but something defensible, but he hadn't been seen in two days. At least, he hadn't been seen about the Library. A couple of mutters from the guards told her that he and one of their members - a Sargeant by the sounds of things - had been frequenting Abyss of late.

She supposed that was expected, he had alerted her to his goal of seeking control of Abyss a few days before, she just had thought more time would have gone into it. Still, that wasn't to say she was bereft of options. She was certain that Seteth could grant them a chance to examine some of the more defensible regions around the Monastery could be put to use. She was sure he would understand why they were making the request for training purposes. They could probably enlist some of the knights anyway, those who were going to attend the task with them.

That aside, she glanced at the class once more, ready to assign the groups.

...It could have gone better, was the assessment Byleth made as she watched all but one of the students file out of the classroom.

At the same time, she was used to better understanding of tactics given the previous individuals she had worked with. So she could say that it could have also gone much worse, they had doubtless learned something and those with the actual experience in this sort of thing had presented themselves quite clearly. Dimitri was one that she wouldn't have expected to have performed quite so well, hence why she assigned him with Ingrid.

She initially thought the girl would have been the one to provide the greater degree of depth but it turned out they had been on more or less equal footing. Hence why she swapped a few individuals around. Now partnering Ashe with Ingrid and Annette with Dimitri.

Which left Mercedes with Felix and Sylvain with Dedue.

Not the usual pairings but that was the whole point of learning, to be put out of one's comfort zone and learn.

Her eyes remained on the papers she had collected from each of the groups, placing them in front of herself to be glanced over later at another time. She would have them compare what they had learned now to what they would hopefully have learned by the end of the out of class study session, though the greatest issue she faced right now was something that didn't really revolve around academics.

…Something she was less suited for than she would like.

Rising herself up from her seat, she moved around to the front of her desk before coming to a stop, then leaning back slightly and perching herself on the furniture ever so slightly. Her arms came up and folded themselves over her chest, looking squarely towards Sylvain as he stared right back at her with the same cocky smile on his face.

Silence.

Sylvain opened his mouth to talk-

"While I do intend for you to practise archery, that isn't the only reason I had you remain behind." No sense in hiding her goal, Sylvain raised an eyebrow but she could see something along the lines of exasperation flash through his face for a brief moment before it vanished, replaced by the mask of confidence, or something thereabouts. She figured she was getting better at this sort of thing. "You have become increasingly distracted these last few days."

The boy gave her a coy smile, leaning forwards in his seat "I didn't realise you were paying such close attention to me, Professor…is this the legendary spark people talk about?"

"It is affecting your learning and therefore your chances of survival." She continued on, not even replying to the question he put forth. She heard such things from him before. "I would rather not see that you die."

Sylvain's expression brightened "You care that much for me? I'm flattered!"

"...This is no laughing matter."

His posture slumped "...Can't a guy get a little credit for trying?"

"No."

"Pfft." He snorted, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head "You don't mince words, Professor. Right for the heart, every time. But that's alright, I like direct women as well."

Did he now?

"You have personal issues that plague your mind." She announced, not seeing the need to hesitate, especially since he made such a declaration for 'direct women' or along those lines. His face froze for a brief moment, but she gave no quarter. "As such…is there anything you would like to speak with me about that you do not feel as though you can discuss with your classmates?" he would probably need some assurance. "Nothing you say will leave this room."

Sylvain exhaled, dropping his arms and closing his eyes "...You're worrying over nothing Professor." there was something in his tone that made it clear he wasn't entirely willing to pursue this line of questioning further. Though when it came to his survival, she would have to overstep whatever privacy he believed he held.

She was in charge of keeping them all safe and alive, if he was truly disturbed over the prospect of fighting with his brother then she would have to remove him from the mission. His hesitation could get himself killed or, just as bad, get another killed. Therefore, whether he wanted to share it or not, she needed to be aware of his personal thoughts on the matter.

"I don't believe I am." She used the same voice she had when commanding, though she didn't know how obvious it would be for those who weren't used to her. A clipped tone and slightly commanding, Sylvain straightened ever so slightly and fixed his eyes on her. "Whether you wish to claim as such or not makes no difference. I have watched your behaviour for these past few days and noticed you're becoming distracted a considerably greater deal than usual."

He stared at her in silence, his expression cycling through several emotions before it finished on a perfect mask. Something that she would see if she were to look in the mirror in the morning, the complete absence of emotion.

She might have lost him there.

"I am worried this will affect you in the upcoming mission." He remained completely stationary as she delivered the warning, not even looking as though he registered what she was saying. Regardless, he made no effort to interrupt her so she continued onwards. "If this behaviour continues, then it will affect not just your performance in the class but also on the battlefield. Especially when surrounding the current situation."

Stepping away from the desk, her heels clacked against the floor as she moved across the room towards the boy, Sylvain's eyes tracked her with an intensity behind them, starting from her feet and moving right the way up to lock onto her own eyes. Byleth stopped walking when she was directly in front of his desk, his arms slowly folded themselves over his chest.

"...It would be most unfortunate if you were to die because you could not control your emotions in this situation." He remained unmoved, then she finished it off. "It would be worse still if you were to survive but another were to die because of your own mistakes." her eyes pierced his, searching for any sign of understanding. "If you feel as though you are struggling with the contents of this mission, or with anything else related to it…"

If he was then…

Recently she found that airing things brought things into clarity.

"I might not understand your problems, but I would be more than willing to lend my ear to them." But she lacked that bond with him, the same bond she had with others. She was only their professor at the end of the day and she didn't truly have a right to hear his private life, not until it concerned his chances of survival. But as long as the problem was solved, then she was content with the results. "If I am not an acceptable choice, then I would advise you to seek out one of your friends to air your concerns to. Just so long as they are aware of them."

She leaned forwards slightly "A team cannot function if one of its members is distracted. If not for your own sake, then think of theirs…An unpleasant truth is better than an appealing fabrication."

…That sounded like the sort of advice Goetia would have given, she wouldn't be surprised if it was something he had said in the past. That didn't make it bad advice though, at least it didn't sound like bad advice to her. Recent events had taught her that much, or so she liked to imagine. It was difficult enough to tell when you avoided spending an extended period of time actually considering them-

This was about Sylvain, not her.

Speaking of, the scarlet haired boy stared up at her for what felt like hours before a slow and confident smile spread across his features, the aura of flirtation returned to him in full as he tilted his head to the side, the smile turned lopsided and his eyes went half-lidded. "Hey, Professor? Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful when you're worried?"

Even at a time like this, he was still going to follow that route? She had to hand it to him, he was certainly tenacious. A pity he didn't put this level of effort into more meaningful endeavours but they couldn't all be winners, she supposed. However, the fact he was clearly avoiding her question was rather bothersome to her.

Feeling her eyes narrow and her brows pinch ever so slightly, though for her she felt as though she had never moved her face so much before in her life. It must have appeared that way to Sylvain as he blinked at her in surprise, then smiled much wider than before. "My word! Have I cracked the professor's legendary glacier with my charm? I'm honoured!" spreading his arms wide, the grin remained on his face "We should celebrate, I'm thinking dinner-"

"Sylvain." She cut him off with a single word, but delivered so curtly that it would be impossible for him not to infer what her meaning was. As expected, he promptly stopped speaking and closed his eyes, the smile dropped off his face and was replaced by playful exasperation, his arms falling limply to his side and his head lolling back. "I believe this is a serious matter. I would prefer a serious response."

The boy shook his head from side to side "Alright, I'll be honest with you - as if I'm not all the time - and start from the top." He rolled his head back forwards and offered a carefree smile and a shrug of the shoulders. "There's nothing for you to worry about. Really."

She continued to stare at him, looking for any signs of cracks in his argument, he must have noticed her stare because he rolled his eyes at her.

"Look, Ashe fought and helped kill Lord Lonato - his own adopted father - a man who actually loved him." Sylvain pointed out, then gradually turned his fingers onto himself, raising an eyebrow at her. "My brother made it clear from my very earliest memory how much he hated me. He was a tyrant and a bully at every chance he could become one, him being a bandit is par for the course. Point is, my brother is going to get everything that's coming to him and he brought it on himself."

Slowly rising from his seat, she watched as an almost lazy smile crossed his features. "Miklan didn't even care about me from the very start. He actually tried to kill me once as well. So what if I've got to kill him now, it's no less than he's probably earned at this point." bringing his hands up, he closed his eyes and stepped around his desk. "If Ashe can go through having to help fight his adoptive father who had real connections with him, then I'm sure I can fight Miklan who always hated me."

There was something about that reasoning that didn't sit right with her. Namely, she didn't think he mentioned how he personally felt about Miklan, rather than the other way around. Something that was rather peculiar but otherwise ignored. However, there was something else of concern in that sentence that was a bit more pressing. "You're not Ashe."

Sylvain snorted "Thank the Goddess for that, nothing against Ashe but I'm much better looking than he is." the cocky smirk remained on his face as he stepped around the table and into the middle of the classroom, onto the walkway that would lead to the open fields, though he kept staring at her as he left. Stepping backwards, Sylvain continued to point at himself. "But honestly, Professor…" he lowered his hands, a more genuine expression coming upon his face. "Thanks for caring but you don't need to worry about me. Sure there are others who are more troubled than I am."

Turning back around, he advanced on the doors to the classroom with a spring in his step. A shame for him that she was not nearly so distracted that she didn't notice his blatant attempt to sneak out, her lips drew themselves thin and her eyelids flattened. She didn't like to believe she was raising a student who could be quite this foolish as to believe he could actually walk out. The personal problems were not the only reason she was having him stay behind.

"Sylvain." She called out, the boy halted and then turned on his heel to face her, raising an eyebrow and releasing a curious hum. "There is still the matter of archery practice and the lesson work you have been neglecting to complete." his shoulders dropped and his expression turned strained.

"...Really Professor?"

"Yes."

The demands of the academic did not stop because he was experiencing a bit of personal trouble. They didn't stop for her so they wouldn't stop for him.

Sylvain made a face of reluctance for a short moment before it gave way to acceptance, raising his hands in mock surrender and then pacing towards the desk, seating himself down and pulling his chair closer. Though the irritation, if it could even be called that, lasted for barely a few seconds before the coy smile came onto his face again. "Still, a private lesson? I'm touched, Professor."

…Sometimes she wondered how he was actually that good of a fighter, unless this was some sort of diversionary tactic. But the main problem with it was it was only aimed towards female opponents. Unless he was going to start complimenting men on their physical appearance then he would be hard pressed to enjoy any success in the midst of battle. Still, all it would take would be a little bit of further training and he might be able to get to a more respectable point.

Probably.

Ingrid seemed to keep his comments in check, so perhaps placing those two in groups with one another was the proper way forwards. Or at the very least, the method to keep him under control somewhat. Regardless of all that, she moved to the desk and picked up the book they had been working on, placing it back in front of Sylvain and flipping it open to the correct page.

Not that he would have known that, considering he just stared at her the entire time she worked. She didn't have much of a problem with examining others and picking up their tells and traits. It was a good habit to pick up, especially if your life depended on whether you could predict what your attacker was going to do next. If you couldn't do that, then you'd be in serious trouble.

Sylvain did not do that, unfortunately. He just looked at her. She wasn't unfamiliar with the look either but she doubted there was anything actually behind it. Not least of all because he deployed these comments as a smokescreen when she tried to ask him questions. As for the answers she received…they were about what she expected and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about that.

He didn't answer whether or not he was alright with killing his older brother, however. Half-brother or not, they were still related. If he said he was alright, then she would treat him as though he was. At least in public, as for how she would consider him in private? It would be best to place him around those who could easily take command if worse came to worst. Either Felix or Ingrid would be a suitable option as they both knew of his situation. Rather, they knew Miklan was the bandit leader, they didn't know about the Lance.

She kept her eyes on him as she stepped backwards, he maintained his gaze on her for a few moments until she nodded down to the book in front of him. He gave an overly exaggerated roll of the eyes and then leaned forwards, tracing his finger along the pages and keeping his eye on the words. This time actually looking as though he was absorbing the information. A marked improvement from the last time he was actually doing this sort of thing.

Her eyes slowly peeled away from Sylvain and towards the door of the classroom, it had been a little while since the last time so she was sure it would happen again. When something occured often enough, you became more expectant of it. Leaning back against her own desk, he crossed her legs over one another and folded her arms over her chest. Keeping her eyes and her attention firmly placed on the door.

Fingers drummed along her arms, tapping out a dull and repetitive tune as she kept her attention on the door. She didn't even need to look at the time or beyond the space to know what was coming. It was just a given at this point. Something pricked the side of her head, her eyes flickered towards the direction of the sensation and found Sylvain looking at her with a slightly curious gaze.

The red head raised a single eyebrow, then slowly turned his head and glanced over his shoulder towards the door. Of course there was nothing there, yet, but there would be soon enough. The boy kept his head fixed in the direction of the entrance for a few moments longer before he turned himself back around and faced her with the eyebrow still raised in clear confusion.

He opened his mouth to speak, though a pointed look from her and then shifting her eyes in the direction of the book was more than enough for him to get the message to concentrate on his own workings rather than what was going on around him. Not quite the lesson she would normally teach, actually quite the opposite, but this was a unique situation. Namely because she knew that any second now-

"Ah, Professor! To think that we would run into one other again so soon!" Something like that was going to happen, which naturally occured in the split second that she had taken her attention away from the entrance, the rather cheerful voice rang out, echoing through the classroom and causing Sylvain to jolt in his chair in surprise. Another pointed look from her caused him to call silent.

Turning her attention towards the entrance once more, she pushed herself off the desk and strode across the classroom towards the newly arrived individual. Far enough away that they would be out of reasonable earshot with Sylvain, the bright smile of Flayn kept itself fixed upon her face as Byleth approached her, not even faltering at the silence she received by way of reply.

"I must say, this is quite the coincidence." Flayn continued on, almost shamelessly so, in her speech as Byleth drew closer to her, her eyes roaming around and her hands interlocking as the Professor drew nearer. "I found myself on a stroll and before I knew it, I had come across your classroom as the students were departing." She continued on, then glanced past her and towards the direction of Sylvain, inclining her head in greeting. "With a notable exception. How do you fare this day, Sylvain?"

There was a silence from behind her before Sylvain spoke up "If I say hello to you, is Seteth going to drop from the rafters and hit me over the head?" Flayn flattened her features at him, though it was likely from the fact that Seteth might actually do something like that. "Someone check the rafters."

"I can assure you that father is not hiding in the rafters waiting to pounce upon you the moment you even look in my direction." The girl replied with an exasperated tone of voice, closing her eyes and shaking her head from side to side as she returned to her original position. Though there was a brief moment where she opened her eyes once more and Byleth could have sworn they darted up to the ceiling. As though she felt the need to validate her own claims after she made them.

As for the first part of her sentence, namely the aspect of it being a coincidence to find her here, Byleth would have been more inclined to believe her.

If it had been the first time this had happened.

If there was ever any belief that the first time they encountered one another on one of these spontaneous walks was a coincidence, then the next dozen or so times they happened in short intervals between one another swept aside any doubt as to what the thought process behind them was. Though, for the life of her, she could not imagine as to why Flayn was continually showing up for some manner of visit.

She had already told her there was no reason for her to feel responsible and yet Flayn had never brought up the topic even once. Which meant that it could very easily have very little to do with the other matter they were familiar with. Then again, she couldn't be sure of that and thus far she didn't have much reason to complain about Flayn making repeated visits to her. They might have been a little peculiar but they weren't all that harmful in the grand scheme of things.

They never even talked about anything substantial, maybe the odd story from her time as a mercenary but very little else. Sometimes fish as well, that was another popular topic for her.

Flayn tilted her head slightly "Is there a reason that Sylvain is to stay behind?"

Byleth focused on the question at hand, eyes narrowing slightly onto Flayn. It wasn't really directed - or rather, focused - on herself but rather that of Sylvain? Perhaps there might have been good cause for Seteth to be concerned about his daughter. Actually, how old was Flayn and Seteth anyway? They must have been like Rhea which meant they would be like Seiros. So were they also really, really old? For that matter, how old was Goetia? With how he was, she was now at a stage where she would be surprised if he was actually a normal age.

Though considering her own father was over three hundred years old apparently, it would appear that very little could be defined as normal.

As for the question itself "He didn't pay attention in class." she purposefully left out the fact that he openly flirted with her in front of all the students. Irrespective of whether she would tell him not to do that or not, he would do it anyway. She didn't care and he probably didn't mean it so it just became something she left others to deal with. Besides, if she was ever bothered with it she could just beat him under the guise of teaching…

…Was that an abuse of her authority?

"Truly?" Flayn had an odd look flash through her face for a moment before she exhaled and turned her eyes onto the youth with a clear look of disappointment in her gaze. "That seems to be very irresponsible of you, Mister Gautier." she placed her hands on her hips, furrowing her brow slightly.

"Remember, you're going to be the leader of a noble house in the future, it would be best for you to learn all of these academic skills now so that you are prepared for this role in the future." holding up a single finger, she gave him a pointed look "And this excludes all the dangers that distracting yourself can cause. Especially in battle. Beyond that, it is not just yourself that would suffer and that seems very unfair to your classmates, does it not?"

Byleth stared at her in silence for a brief moment. Now completely and utterly convinced that Flayn was older than she looked, if she wasn't then there was definitely something that made her different from the other children. Unless she was like Lysithea, but even she seemed to have these odd little moments, or so she had been told. Annette and Mercedes were rather open when they discussed Lysithea and the cake addiction or something like that.

Her mind drifted back, Flayn's expression remained hard for a few moments before she gave a single satisfied nod of the head, seemingly content that she had said what she felt needed to be said. The girl folded her arms over her chest, jutting out her chin ever so slightly and humming as well. "I hope you understand what it is I am saying, Mister Gautier."

Byleth glanced to the 'Mister Gautier' in the room to judge his reaction and was rewarded with a rather dumbfounded expression on his face, the boy looked caught between laughing out loud and actually looking a touch ashamed, perhaps it was because he was being talked down to by someone he imagined was his junior, but Byleth wasn't convinced of that anymore. Though Sylvain wouldn't know that.

After a few seconds of silence, Sylvain finally opened his mouth and then spoke up in a tone somewhere between shock and amusement.

"I understand that Seteth is now here in spirit if not in person." Which was a response a touch smarter than she was actually accustomed to, seeming very much like something another would have said. Perhaps Felix, though he would have worded it less politely than that. "Though you really are Seteth's daughter, aren't you?" He added on, a wisp of amusement flickering across his features.

Flayn evidently looked caught like a deer in a trap, considering the way she froze for a moment and then cycled through several emotions before her hand moved to cover her mouth, staring down at the limb for a few moments before her eyes darted to Byleth. "I-erm-that is to say…I hope you do not feel as though I am encroaching upon your authority, Professor Eisner." she excused herself hastily "I would certainly not wish to have caused undue harm."

Encroaching upon her authority? "He needs to be reminded of this at every opportunity." Byleth explained to her with a shake of her head "Whoever is the one reminding him does not concern me, so long as he takes the advice to heart and actually makes use of it." She sent a pointed look to the boy once more, who raised his hands and swiftly returned to his work.

With a hum, her eyes returned to Flayn. "That being said, was there something else you came to discuss?"

Flayn was silent for a few moments, then nodded her head "There was another matter. I have recently been in talks with father about my education that is soon to begin in this Monastery." Byleth raised an internal eyebrow, did Flayn even need an education? She was better spoken than most of the people Byleth had met in her life. She was probably better spoken than some of the actual nobles in the academy right now. "And I was hoping that you would be willing to debate the possibility that I could become a member of your class."

…This was getting rather peculiar now.

"On the one hand I'm sure Dimitri would welcome you, on the other hand I am now scared of Seteth-"

"Be quite Sylvain." She called over her shoulder, he was now taking every opportunity to ignore the task she set out for him to do. The worst thing was that she knew he was actually capable of doing them. "Return to the task I ordered of you."

"Yes Ma'am!" Sylvain shouted back, judging by the briefly exasperated expression that crossed the face of Flayn, he likely accompanied such a shout with a salute. Naturally, he had the sense to spin himself back around and look as though he was actually focusing on his work when she turned on her heel and faced his direction, the only reason she could tell he had been facing her was the fact she caught sight of a blur before his body stilled somewhat unnaturally.

Her eyes lingered on the back of his head for a moment longer, then returned themselves to Flayn. Her suggestion itself would seem innocent enough, if there was no history behind what had probably brought about this question, she could probably have ignored the repeated 'coincidences' and dismissed them as the girl being overly concerned and nothing else. If she wanted to be worried over Byleth then there was really very little she could do to stop her…

But it was more of a question whether Flayn was worried for her or for Sothis. She understood that the latter would be unlikely but she could no longer dismiss it as a possibility. That seemed somewhat cynical but she would prefer the truth as to why Flayn felt the need to go out of her way like this. Or maybe this was genuinely a coincidence that she wished to join the class, she understood the girl did spend time around the students and Seteth had probably brought her here for a reason.

Either way…

"...There would need to be familiarity with the curriculum and I would require Seteth's approval." She explained slowly to Flayn, just to ensure there was very little possibility of her getting the wrong idea. Though Flayn looked as though she had been expecting these questions all along and nodded her head with her words accordingly, keeping her confident expression upon her face the entire time. "Furthermore, I would need to consult Dimitri and if you were to join the class, it would not take place until after the monthly mission had been carried out."

Namely because she would rather not have to go through the process of actually making sure that Flayn was capable of fighting and changing up the strategies accordingly. Or even worse, if Flayn was actually better at fighting than the rest of the students, she would have to try and accommodate the lack of skill in her original class. Perhaps a poor wording but it was still the truth. Though she was doubtful that Flayn would be better than her students.

…A solid five out of ten.

…Perhaps four.

If she was asked the question, she would confidently answer that Flayn wasn't better than her students four times out of ten.

"A ringing endorsement for your own teaching methods if ever there was one." Sothis dry voice rolled through her skull just as swiftly as she had felt the presence of the Goddess emerge, though there was a lack of any real enthusiasm in her words. As though she was merely going through the act of speaking, which probably meant she had just 'woken up' though how someone who was a ghost could sleep evaded her.

She waited for Sothis to adamantly declare she wasn't a ghost.

Byleth was met with silence. The presence of the Goddess retreated back into her mind, a frown flickered across her face briefly at the lack of a response from Sothis.

"Is something the matter, Professor?" Flayn's voice brought her attention back to the present, her eyes returned to the young looking girl who stared up at her with a slight touch of worry in her expression. "You looked troubled by something? Is there some concern playing upon your mind?"

The intensity of Flayn's questioning aside, Byleth shook her head. "Nothing to worry about. If you are adamant about joining my class and the proper channels are gone through, I see no problems in your induction to the Blue Lions." That was just the truth of it, there wouldn't be any problems and it would give her a little more time to figure out why Flayn was so invested in her. Besides the obvious.

The girl nodded her head, looking rather pleased with herself, "Do not worry, Professor! I shall endeavour to be a model student for you!" she even puffed herself up, almost looking as though she was trying to grow on the spot. "I am rather confident in my abilities to be equal to my newfound peers, not to get ahead of myself, that is to say."

…Quite.

Nodding once, she turned herself side on to Flayn "If that was all you wished to speak with me of-"

Flayn opened her mouth "There was actually the matter of whether or not you wished to have lunch together…" she trailed off, shaking her head from side to side and answering to herself before Byleth had a chance to. "Though I can see that you are busy and will therefore retract the invitation so as to not bother you."

Byleth kept her expression measured, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly but otherwise showing nothing.

"On another topic." Flayn continued on, furrowing her brows "Have you spoken with Goetia as of late?" she asked which drew an internal surprise from Byleth, not quite a question she had been expecting, or maybe she should have been? It was difficult to say what was going on with Goetia anymore. "I asked around but all I received was that he was speaking with those in Abyss or away in the market talking with some of the Merchants."

The merchants? Goetia talked with merchants? Was he buying something?

"I have tried to find him at the library but Tomas said he had not been there for some time." Flayn frowned ever so slightly, a troubled look moving across her face as her eyes flicked to the side. "I know that father has not yet spoken with him but I imagine there will come a point where he will ask Goetia to resume his duties, even if Tomas has not pushed the issue as of late. It is simply that…I imagine you would have a better chance of speaking with Goetia than I." she pointed to herself, expression strained. "I would venture to Abyss myself but I fear that father would become…overly concerned if I were to travel to such a location."

That was certainly one word for it, Byleth supposed. Another would be 'flung into a state of abject panic' but at least Flayn was self aware. She knew why Goetia was going to Abyss but if he was putting off his actual job…

"...If I encounter Goetia, I will be sure to pass along the warning." That was really the least she could do, it was also the most she could do. If he had no interest in going to the Library to work then there was nothing else for it. Besides, there was that new assistant from somewhere in Adrestia, Wiebke or something along those lines. She seemed…weird. Not Goetia weird, just weird weird.

Regardless, she would be sure to pass the message along to him if she saw him. Though depending on how things were going, there was no telling how long it would be until then. If Goetia was truly set on building Abyss then…then there was really nothing else for it.

Flayn stepped back, bowing her head slightly "That is all I ask of you." raising her head, she flashed another smile. "In that case, I shall take my leave before I become the type of distraction that you warn Mister Gautier against, until we meet again, Professor Eisner." the smile continued as she turned away and started to walk off "Have a pleasant day!"

Byleth watched her depart, confident in the knowledge they would probably be meeting again later on in the day for some reason or another. Be it coincidence or premeditated, they would most likely end up meeting once more. Though now she had to consider how she would induct Flayn into the Blue Lions if Seteth agreed to it. Though she didn't know how informed Seteth was of her agenda.

That being said, she turned back around and walked back towards the classroom, moving past Sylvain and towards her desk, stepping around it and seating herself down. Her thoughts directed themselves inwards towards Sothis, she knew the Goddess could hear her.

'Are you alright?'

She felt the silence in her mind stretch on for what must have amounted for a good ten or so seconds, then Sothis let out a tired breath that flooded every ounce of her mind.

"...If you wish to speak, pick a more opportune time than right now." Sothis voice was rather dejected, lacking in anything that could be considered care. Evidently it was not unique to her earlier comment but a sign of something else. "I shall not play third wheel to a lesson between yourself and one of the youths. I suggest speaking again when he has completed his work…whether I am in the mood for a conversation is…"

Sothis trailed off rather meaningfully, but there was really only one way that sentence was going to end regardless, so she accepted that it was not going to be a conversation that took place right now.

…It also meant the silence left her alone with the thoughts she had tried to bury, no matter what else she wanted, they surfaced once more. Her mind drifted to the many swirling statements in her head. She felt her mood gradually change into nothing, though her expression remained unchanging. The mask of ice which concealed her true feelings.

There was nowhere to begin and end.

It wasn't that she felt terrible for what had been done to her mother.

…It was that she didn't feel anything at all for a woman she never met, who her father clearly loved, and who had impacted so much of her life.

…And she felt nothing for her beyond sadness of the grief that her life and death had caused.

Byleth was alive because of Rhea and her mother, but now her father was torn apart…and the only reason she cared was because it was her father who suffered.

AN: This Chapter is just here to remind you that Byleth is a teacher and there is a population to Garreg Mach beyond the bickering married couple that is Goetia and Rhea.

Once again, no Omake because I'm not going to try and force ideas for myself.