Lilia's Journal Entry: 23rd Guardian Moon, 1171

Today I asked Jeralt if what Alain said was true, that Byleth did not have a heartbeat. Jeralt said it was. He apologised for keeping it a secret and said that he did not intend to reveal to anyone, including Byleth, until he was older.

I asked him how such a thing could be possible. It should not be possible… but then again, this is Byleth we are discussing.

Jeralt said he did not know why Byleth's heart did not beat. I asked whether his mother had had a heartbeat and he said she did. I did wish I did not ask the question, however, because I saw hurt in his eyes when I did… and anger. The strange thing is, I did not sense that it was directed at me, at whom, I do not know.

I also told him about the other things Alain had said about Byleth. Jeralt wasn't surprised. He said that most people thought of Byleth in the same way. But he said that it did not matter what people thought about Byleth, that the boy would one day prove them all wrong, and that he just needed to be given the time and love to do so. He is right. Alain is wrong, and one day Byleth will show him.

Speaking of Byleth, I asked him earlier if he wished to read tonight. To my surprise, he declined and said that he was tired. I suppose it makes sense, considering how hard he has worked with Alain recently. Hopefully we can do more soon.

'I'm going to kick your ass, Professor.'

'Caspar,' Dorothea said,' don't be so rude.'

'Agreed,' Edelgard said.

'Sorry Professor,' Caspar said. 'I mean that unless you're as good as Edelgard says you are then I'm going to best you when we spar in the training ground.'

'Ignore him Professor,' Linhardt said. 'He has lots of energy in the morning and gets very excited. As he's incapable of controlling it he often ends up picking fights with people.'

'No I don't!'

'Enough,' Edelgard said. 'Caspar, you can forget about sparring with the professor this morning. It's Jeritza taking this session so none of the professors will be taking part.'

The morning bells had rung shortly after Jeralt had left. Byleth now walked with the Black Eagles (bar Bernadetta, who trailed on her own behind them, keeping a distance from Byleth) along the cobbled roads of the monastery to the training ground. The sky was now a bright blue. The morning bells had rung, and the Black Eagles waded past crowds of students, knights and monks shuffling in different directions.

'Oh, how hard do you think the training will be, Edie?' Dorothea asked. 'Surely as it's our first one it won't be too exhausting, right?'

'I'm hoping it will be challenging,' Petra said.

'I'm hoping it will be cancelled and we can go back to our rooms and get some much-needed sleep,' Linhardt said.

'But you slept for twelve hours, Linhardt!' Caspar said.

'I know, it's not enough, is it?'

'I am personally delighted we have training today,' Ferdinand said. 'And if we are indeed allowed to choose who we spar with, I believe it would only be fitting that I spar with you Edelgard. The professor has seen your combat skills, so what better way to show off mine than to face you.'

'The only thing you'll be showing off is how much of a fool you are,' Hubert said, turning to glance at Ferdinand. As he did, he also caught Byleth's gaze. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to.

His eyes said everything.

'How did you train, Professor?' Edelgard asked. 'As a mercenary, I mean.'

'Lots of sparring.'

'You must have taken much learning from being in battles as well,' Petra said. Byleth nodded.

'Well, you'll have nothing to worry about when we spar then,' Caspar said.

They eventually reached the training ground, which to Byleth looked like a gladiatorial arena. It consisted of a large, open, rectangular area of stone-tiled ground. It was surrounded by large cylinder-shaped pillars that held up the surrounding building. Other students, those who Byleth presumed weren't part of the "main" classes, were stood behind the pillars, presumably to watch the training session as spectators. It appeared odd to him that they'd want to watch until it struck him that these students would be watching their future rulers in action.

On the training ground itself, the "main" students had arrived. He recognised Dimitri and the Blue Lions in one corner. He gazed at them, trying to remember their names. Ashe, Ingrid and Dedue, were jumping and stretching. Annette and Mercedes jogged on the spot together and Hanneman was busy shouting at Felix who shoved a laughing Sylvain against one of the pillars.

On the other side of the ground, Byleth saw Claude and the Golden Deer House queueing up in front of a chest. Raphael, who was at the front of the queue, rummaged through the chest and brought out a large training sword and a pair of gauntlets. Leonie, who stood beside him, shook her head at him, indicating that he could only take one. Behind them Hilda jumped on the spot, excited about something whilst Lorenz Hellman Gloucester spoke with his chest puffed out to a glum-looking Ignatz. Marianne and Lysithea stood at the back of the queue silently whilst at one side Manuela laughed at something Claude had said. Claude caught his gaze a moment later and waved in his direction.

In the middle of the ground on his own was the peculiar man he'd met the day before in the dining hall. Jeritza stood with his arms crossed.

'W-Why are people w-watching us?' Bernadetta asked, trembling. 'I-I don't like it.'

'This is their first chance to witness our amazing combat abilities,' Ferdinand said. 'We must honour them by giving our all in this training session.'

It was then Jeritza met Byleth's gaze and nodded in the direction of the chest.

'We are needing to get weapons as well it seems,' Petra said.

'They better have training axes in there!' Caspar said striding towards the queue. Ferdinand and Petra followed.

'What if you're a magic user?' Linhardt asked. 'Surely we don't need one?'

'This is to be a close-combat session with no magic involved, as mentioned repeatedly by Seteth,' Hubert said.

'The injustice,' Linhardt breathed, trudging over. Dorothea followed, pulling a trembling Bernadetta alongside her.

'You and the other professors will watch on from the side, I believe,' Edelgard said. 'Although we spoke about our classes' different fighting abilities yesterday, this will give you a better insight into our capabilities. Please, watch and see if you can spot any weaknesses or areas of improvement in our techniques. That will help us prepare for the mock battle as well as everything that shall follow it.'

And with that, the heiress walked towards the queue. Hubert followed, turning to glance at Byleth one final time as he did so.

'Professor Byleth.'

Byleth blinked and looked up to see Manuela approach him, once again bearing a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

'Professor Byleth. It has a strange ring to it, doesn't it? Tell me, how was your first day yesterday?'

'Good.'

'Lovely,' she said, walking over and standing beside him. Ahead of them, the students who'd got their training weapons started spreading out across the ground. 'I presume you've started working on your plan for the mock battle?'

'Y-Yeah.'

'That's good. It's important to give yourself as much time as possible to prepare, you'll need it. Your students will expect nothing less than an excellent strategy.'

'Manuela, are you trying to unnerve our new professor again?' Hanneman said, joining them.

'No Hanneman, I'm just making sure he's aware of what's expected of him as teacher of the future leaders of the Adrestian Empire.'

'I'm sure he's fully aware already, he'll come to us if he needs our help. Lady Rhea did choose him after all.'

Manuela rolled her eyes. Ahead of the three of them, the students now all had their different training weapons and stood spaced out in front of Jeritza. The man started performing different jumping, swinging and running actions that the students had to follow. Some of the students were more enthusiastic than others. Leonie, Ashe, Felix and Ingrid performed the movements diligently, whilst others like Marianne, Raphael and Bernadetta were often jerked and too slow. Hilda and Linhardt hardly moved. Sylvain stopped every so often to perform bows to a group of female students watching nearby, making them giggle. Lorenz and Ferdinand not only performed each of Jeritza's moves perfectly, but also added in extra movements of their own, causing Hilda to shout "show-offs!" As time passed, more spectators, mostly students, entered the ground.

'How are your students, Hanneman?' Manuela asked.

'The Blue Lions? Fine. Eager bunch, though Sylvain's antics seem to rile up Ingrid and Felix a bit. And Annette, bless her, went to make a cake for the class during her break and supposedly caused a fire.'

'Sounds delightful,' Manuela said. 'My class are lovely mixture of oddballs. There's the adorable Lysithea who's a little moody princess, Ignatz and Marianne who are both shy but precious, Leonie is kind and earnest, and Raphael is clumsy but lovable. Lorenz is the noblest noble you'll ever meet but he's means well, Hilda is somewhat lazy but and Claude is… Claude, charming and a pain in the ass at the same time.'

'How about the Black Eagles, Byleth?' Hanneman asked.

Byleth thought back. So far, Hubert and Caspar had declared their dislike of him, Bernadetta had slapped him and the others, bar Edelgard, had voted him in as professor for reasons he didn't think either Hanneman, Manuela, Seteth or Rhea would appreciate.

'They're nice,' he said.

Hannemen nodded. 'May I ask about how Bernadetta has got on so far? She seems like a very troubled young girl.'

The three of them watched as Raphael let out a loud sneeze, causing Bernadetta to yelp and nearly tumble over.

'She gets frightened easily,' Byleth said.

'She was forced to come here against her will, I believe,' Manuela said. 'Poor thing. It's unfortunate. Although many are envious of these students, some of them clearly don't want to be here.'

'That's actually a good point to note,' Hanneman said. 'The fact that some of the students do not wish to be here is something you need to factor as professor, Byleth. Most will be driven and determined to succeed, but you must also inspire those who are here against their will.'

They're not the only ones here against their will, Byleth thought.

'One thing to remember is that no matter what they say, they're all highly capable in battle,' Hanneman continued.

'Agreed,' Manuela said. 'Each of these students are incredibly talented in the art of combat, be that in physical warfare or with magic. They would not be allowed to join the academy otherwise.'

'Most will have trained from a very young age,' Hanneman said. 'I daresay they could easily hold their own against most soldiers.'

'They're the cream of the crop you could say,' Manuela added, rolling her eyes as Lorenz and Ferdinand joined Sylvain in waving to the group of girls. 'So ignore them when they make up excuses about not being good enough.'

They continued watching the class. The rest of Jeritza's session involved a mixture of strength and endurance training in the form of push ups and jump ropes, followed by sparring practice against pells and dummies. Byleth watched the Black Eagles. He'd seen Edelgard in Remire and so wasn't surprised to see that she performed well in both the fitness and combat training sessions. Hubert, Petra, Ferdinand and Caspar all also did well. Dorothea tried, but clearly hadn't trained often with a sword whilst Linhardt did two push ups, three jumps with the ropes and then a single swing with his blade at a dummy. Bernadetta gave up mid-way through and sat at the side, trembling. The whole time, the spectators watched.

Jeritza eventually announced the end of the session. The spectators applauded as the students put their training weapons away. Claude and Dimitri gave waves and appreciative nods whilst Lorenz, Ferdinand and Sylvain, bowed, waved and shook hands with some of them, mostly, Byleth saw, the girls on the far side.

'See you soon,' Hanneman said, patting his shoulder before moving over to where the Blue Lions were gathering. Manuela gave a nod and then went to Claude and the Golden Deer students. The Black Eagles soon trudged to him, caked in sweat.

'Can… (Linhardt gasped) can we go now?'

'You kidding, Linhardt? You hardly did anything!' Caspar said.

'Oh I didn't enjoy that,' Dorothea said, wiping sweat from her brow.

'It wasn't that intense, just some light training,' Edelgard said.

'Speak for yourself,' Linhardt said.

'I very much enjoyed it,' Petra said.

'C-Can we g-go now?' Bernadetta asked. 'I-I don't like all the people watching'-

'Hey Byleth!'

Byleth looked up and cursed under his breath.

'Finally I've caught you!' Leonie said, rushing over. 'I think it's lunch soon, care to join me at one of the tables?'

'My, Professor,' Dorothea said winking. 'It's your second day and you already have a fan.'

'No,' Leonie said, frowning. 'It's that his dad, Captain Jeralt is important to me. He came to my village when I was younger and took me in as his apprentice. He taught me everything I know about being brave and strong and he's the one that inspired me to come here and to one day be a great mercenary like him.'

She turned to Byleth.

'And that's why I want to talk to you, because you're his son and he must have taught you so much. He must be your hero, right?'

Byleth had never been asked such a question before and he didn't know what to say. 'S-Sure.'

He wasn't sure if it was what he said or how he said it, but Leonie's smile vanished. 'You don't sound like you mean it. He's done so many amazing things, do you not look up to him?'

'Lady Edelgard, was it you who said that our professor was unaware that his father was once part of the Knights of Seiros?' Hubert asked. 'Indeed, he seems to be rather distant from him.'

Byleth looked at Hubert. The man was grinning.

Edelgard frowned. 'Hubert, not now'-

'Seriously?' Leonie stared at Byleth, crinkling her nose.

A whistling sound pierced the air, followed by clapping and someone shouting "Attention! Attention!".

Byleth recognised the ridiculous voice before he saw oddly trimmed purple hair of Lorenz moving into the middle of the complex. The ground fell silent and for a moment, the sounds of heavy breathing filled the air.

Lorenz cleared his throat. 'Everyone! I thank you for your attention and apologies for the extrusion. I know you have all dedicated yourselves valiantly to Jeritza's training, but I have an exciting proposition to announce! My tranquil discussion of the delicate finesse required to handle such a weapon as the lance with these (he nodded to the same group of girls Byleth had seen him bowing to before) delicate petals over there was rudely interrupted by yours truly, Sylvain Gautier. His behaviour indicated a lack of understanding of the standard etiquette for'-

'Get to the point!' Lysithea shouted, causing some of the spectators to snicker. Lorenz glared at her.

'Let me take over your nobleness' Sylvain said, joining him in the centre. 'Basically, we think it'd be cool to showcase a few one-on-one sparring matches for the other academy students to see. It's a good way to stoke excitement for the mock battle and it lets us see where we're at in relation to the other houses. We were thinking three matches, and that way it's quick and each house faces each other once.'

Murmuring broke out across the training ground. Linhardt shook his head. 'Preposterous idea. I think I speak for everyone when I say the answer is n'-

'Only if I can fight!' Felix said.

'Count me in!' Leonie called.

'Me too!' Caspar said.

'I shall also put my hat into the ring!' Ferdinand called from the other side of the training ground.

'Outrageous,' Linhardt mumbled.

'This is of course, depends on whether the professors are okay with this?' Sylvain said, looking at Hanneman. The professor looked at Manuela, then at Byleth and shrugged.

'As long as you are using training weapons and are not too long, I'm okay with it. Manuela?'

Manuela shrugged. 'Do what you want. (She turned.) Byleth?'

What felt like the entire training ground turned their attention to Byleth. Their eyes bore into him.

'S-Sure.'

'Perfect! I think that's enough from each house,' Sylvain said. 'May the best house win!'

'I better grab my weapon. (She turned back to Byleth.) You don't even seem to understand what an amazing father you have. Chances are, if it weren't for him, you probably wouldn't be half the person you are now. Think about that.'

She stormed away towards the chest of weapons.

'She seems nice,' Linhardt said.