Byleth stepped outside. Above the sky had a purple tinge to it, confirming his belief that he'd been trapped inside the dining hall for a long time. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

And that's when he heard the girl's laugh. He looked left and saw two girls in black uniform conversing with each other. The one facing him was short with white hair, the Golden Deer student, Lysithea.

But it wasn't her that bothered him. It was the other girl who was speaking to her, the one who's back (for the moment) was turned to him. She had short red hair and had labelled herself "Captain Jeralt's first and greatest apprentice." It was the one called Leonie.

Oh no.

Lysithea met his gaze and her eyes widened in recognition. She raised her hand and pointed.

He strode to the nearby steps, ignoring the pain in his ankle. He heard Lysithea mention his name. He reached the steps and moved briskly downward.

'Byleth? Wait!' Leonie said.

He kept moving, cursing under his breath. Where he was going, he wasn't sure. He hadn't been to this part of the monastery before. He got to the bottom of the stairs and reached a bank that oversaw a large pond, a wooden pier at its centre. To one side was a fishing stall where a knight stood inspecting its goods. Byleth looked one way, then the next, and then opted to move right. He could hear footsteps moving down the steps behind him.

'Byleth!' Leonie called.

The name made the knight at the stall turn just as Byleth walked past. He was a plump-looking knight with a goofy smile. He met Byleth's gaze and skipped to him.

'Greetings Professor! How are you today?'

Byleth stopped and darted his head back. He looked at the gatekeeper and then flickered his eyes in the direction of the stairs.

'Byleth!' Leonie called again, reaching the bottom of the steps and moving towards him.

Byleth met Dudley's gaze again. The gatekeeper looked at Leonie, back at him and then winked.

'Hey, Byleth!' Leonie said, catching up. 'I've been trying to find you.'

'I'm sorry but you'll need to speak to the professor another time,' Dudley said in a tone that tried to sound serious but came off to Byleth as ridiculous. 'I have important business with him at this time.'

Leonie frowned. 'But Byleth just left the dining hall, how can you have business with him so suddenly?'

'We agreed to meet here after lunchtime.'

Leonie put her hands on her hips. 'What's your important business then?'

'It's… uh, important business, important business which is none of your business.'

'Oh c'mon'-

'No "c'mon's" to me, you can speak to him later.'

Leonie rolled her eyes and smiled at Byleth. 'I guess I'll speak to you later then. Your father is really important to me so it would be great to get know you more. See you!'

She stuck her tongue out at the gatekeeper and then turned, moving back down the bank and back up the steps to the dining hall.

Byleth wiped sweat from his brow. 'Thank you.'

Dudley chuckled. 'You'll be like a celebrity to the students; I'm not surprised you need a bit of breathing space from them every once in a while.'

Byleth nodded and Dudley raised a fishing rod to him.

'Ever been fishing here?'

'No.'

'You can fish in the pond here whenever you want! Just ask the merchant behind the stall over there and he'll sort you out with a rod and a bait. I was just going to do some now, wanna join me?'

'Are you not working?'

'It's my break!'

Of course, Byleth thought. He shook his head.

'Ah c'mon, I'll make sure no one else bothers you for the rest of the day. Besides, what else will you do, go to your room?'

The question made Byleth pause. He'd wanted to be alone for the rest of the day, but realistically there was only one place that would allow him to do that, his room. He looked at the large pond, which shimmered blue in the sunshine. A waterfall came from a large stone tower at the pond's centre. Fish of dazzling colours swam underneath the rippling waves.

'Just what kind of a tour guide would I be if I wasn't the first one to introduce you to everyone's favourite hobby around here?' Dudley said. 'Have you been fishing before?'

Byleth nodded.

'We could have a competition, see who gets the most! I'll warn you though, I'm a fairly good fisher myself!'

Byleth looked around again. Dudley grinned.

'Tell you what, how about you just watch me. You don't have to watch or talk, you can just sit and relax and if you want to join in then you can, sound like a deal?'

Byleth sighed and then nodded.

'Great!' Dudley said. He grabbed a rod from the man behind the fishing stall and led Byleth to the end of the pier. He sat down at the edge and motioned for Byleth to do the same.

'Now prepare to watch the fishing champion do his thing!'

Byleth looked back. 'What if Leonie or someone else sees us?'

The gatekeeper winked at him.

'I'll tell them we're attending to very important business.'

'Yeah, maybe fishing champion was exaggerating a bit!' Dudley said, laughing.

Byleth nodded, looking at the three fish, which he recognised as Caledonian grayfish, that lay in a wooden basket beside them. He rubbed his eyes. How long he'd been sat there with the gatekeeper, he wasn't sure, but it'd been long enough for the sky to turn a darker purplish pink and for the air to grow cooler. Dudley had managed in the time they'd had together to share what seemed to be his entire life story. From being a young boy who'd always dreamed of becoming a knight to finally realising his dream and earning his place alongside his twin brother at the monastery. Not that his twin brother was as good as he was though. He'd never been a "noble gatekeeper like yours truly".

And yet Byleth found himself not minding. The gatekeeper had acted as if he wasn't there, speaking as if talking to himself and not once turning to look (or stare) at him or ask him questions. The gatekeeper had allowed him to sit there in peace, watching him cast his rod, reel in his hook and then do it again.

Byleth had watched him fish, his shoulders relaxed, his breathing slow and his hands relaxed on his lap.

The gatekeeper sighed. 'That was so nice! I'll be honest, you kinda scared me when I first met you but behind all that Ashen Demon stuff, you're a pretty normal nice guy. (He rose to his feet.) I get better back, I'm on the evening shift at the gates. (He picked up the basket of fish.) I'll get the chefs in the dining hall to prepare my catches. One for me and two for you, sound good?'

'Two for you,' Byleth said. Dudley smiled, shaking his head.

'Trust me, you saved the future leaders of Fódlan, this is just a small way of paying you back. Anyway, if you're not sure how to get back to your room just follow the bank left from here and follow the signs. See you later!'

Byleth watched the peculiar man stroll along the bank and then out of sight up the steps to the dining hall. He then looked back at the pond and let out a long sigh. He watched the fish glide through the water, the sound of the crashing waterfall in his ears.

And yet an uncomfortable sinking sensation pitted itself in his stomach. He looked up at the darkening sky and yawned.

The evening was closing in and soon he'd need to sleep.

'Enjoying the view, Professor?'

Byleth jerked around and immediately regretted it. Needling pain prickled in his abdomen and tingling sensations rippled across his body. A light-headedness crashed over him and suddenly everything spun.

'Professor.'

Byleth opened his eyes and saw an ugly, slender shaped man peering down at him.

Hubert's arms were crossed. His lively eyes were narrowed. 'Are you drunk?'

Byleth shook his head. 'J-Just'-

'Just what? You were swaying back and forth and looked ready to feint. Even now I see a dazed, confused look in your eyes. The consumption of large quantities of alcohol, especially on your first day as professor is certainly grounds for dismissal.'

Byleth shook his head again and struggled to his feet, trying to stop his trembling. 'No, I do not drink alcohol.'

Hubert neared and sniffed. He then glared at him for a long moment. 'Hmph, you're lucky I cannot smell alcohol on you. Tell me then, what was that little "moment" you just had?'

Byleth cursed in his mind. He should've visited the nurse already; his injuries from Remire hadn't fully healed and the tingling pain was getting worse. Something was clearly wrong with him, and yet with everything going on he'd forgotten. 'I don't know. I'm still recovering from the battle in Remire.'

Hubert's brow furrowed. 'I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that I find your answer insufficient. If you're harbouring some kind of problematic issue, then that's just another reason why you are not suitable to be our professor.'

For a moment, Byleth liked Hubert's idea, and then he realised that a simple visit to the nurse would surely solve his problem. There'd be no way he'd be able to use it as an excuse, not to Rhea anyway. He looked around. He couldn't see anyone on either side of the bank, the fish merchant had also left his post. For the time being there was only himself and Hubert in the area.

And the man was trapping him on the edge of a pier.

'It's nothing bad,' he said. 'It's just str'-

'With each word you utter I find myself disliking you more and more,' Hubert said. 'You do not care about Lady Edelgard or the others. You are what your nickname suggests, a soulless being. Are you even capable of caring? I doubt it. You are not fit to be our professor for all the reasons we have explored already, and I watched you in class today. You looked completely out of your depth, Lady Edelgard had to run the lesson for you.'

Byleth opened his mouth but once again no words came out. The aftermath of his latest "moment" had frazzled his mind. Hubert crinkled his nose.

'Still can't speak? You are like a frightened puppy, a fool who was voted in as our professor for ridiculous reasons. Do you know the "reasons" why you were wanted? Dorothea wanted you as our professor because you're "eye candy". Ferdinand merely wanted you to spite me. Petra voted for you because Edelgard did, and Linhardt (he closed his eyes) because you "speak quietly". You were chosen for all the wrong reasons.'

'What about Edelgard?'

'And that leads me to my next point. My family, House Vestra, has been sworn to House Hresvelg for generations. Since the dawn of the Empire, it has been our duty to protect the emperor by any means necessary. My duty is to determine potential advantages and potential threats to her highness. If one proves themselves useful to her, then all is well. If they don't...'

His eyes glinted. 'Then they are disposed of.'

A cold breeze brushed by and Byleth could feel the dried sweat on his skin turning cold.

'You see, professor, I support and protect Lady Edelgard in the open and from the shadows. Sometimes, that means protecting from her own choices.'

Hubert's face twisted into a snarl.

'So if when she happens to make a rash decision, say, such as to trust a random mercenary to be her professor, it becomes my duty to step in.'

Byleth scanned the area again and still saw no one. Above the sky was darkening. Hubert smiled.

'What's the matter? Worried I shall strike you down here? No, as easily as I could, I intend to give you a final chance to resign. How you go about it matters not to me. Step down as professor. If you do this, nothing will happen to you. If you don't, I shall have to take the necessary steps to protect Lady Edelgard's interests.'

Byleth's head pulsed. A part of him wanted to tell Hubert that he intended to try and leave after a week, but what if the man told the others, and Rhea and Seteth found out?

What if I just ask Rhea to leave tomorrow? Why wait a week?

Confronting the archbishop tomorrow seemed like the best and most obvious solution… yet somehow, he knew he couldn't.

She wouldn't accept it… not yet. That's why Jeralt said wait a week.

He opened his mouth… and then closed it.

Hubert shook his head. 'I highly suggest you heed my warning. Resign as our professor or face the consequences.'

The man turned and walked away, moving along the bank, up the steps and out of sight.

Byleth bent over. The peaceful state he'd been in with the gatekeeper was long gone.

'I need to go to the nurse.'

A cold breeze gushed by and he shivered. He looked up at the darkening sky. How late was it and would a nurse still be willing to see him at this time? And where was he supposed to go again? He rubbed his heavy eyes and found himself struggling to remember.

Near the audience chamber, he thought.

But the audience chamber suddenly felt like a long way away. And the idea of possibly bumping into someone else, such as Alois, Seteth or worse, Rhea, made his stomach churn and his headache worse.

Another cool breeze stung his skin and he shook his head. 'I'll go tomorrow when I have more energy.'

He straightened up and yawned. Candlelight glowed from the dining hall windows. Dinner would soon be served in there and yet he wasn't hungry. Nor did he want to be around anyone, especially the likes of Hubert. The idea of bumping into him again, or anyone else made him feel even more exhausted.

So where would he go? It was too cold to stay where he was. Realistically, there was only one option, his room.

He shivered.

Stupid Bernie! Why did you leave so suddenly like that? You looked ridiculous!

'I-I was scared,' she murmured.

Well now they're all going to think you're strange!

'Useless… worthless… unmarriageable….'

If you're scared of talking at the table how do you possibly think you'll manage to survive the assignments?

Bernadetta mashed her eyes shut and began to cry.

'I… I don't… I don't want to be here!'

Useless, worthless, unmarriageable!

Dudley knocked on Byleth's door later that evening, holding a plate of fish stew in one hand. When there was no response, he shrugged and strolled back to the dining hall.

Jeralt knocked a while later, but still there was no response.