Monday 21st Great Tree Moon

As Byleth slept that evening, the day before the incident in the training ground, Jeralt was being kept awake by a man that annoyed both of them.

'You really weren't kidding about the age thing, huh Jeralt? You haven't aged a bit in twenty years!'

'Try say it louder next time Alois, I think only three thirds of the monastery heard you.'

Alois threw his head back with a loud, booming laugh. His voice echoed across the land below. They sat with their legs dangling over a grand battlement. The moon shone above, and towering mountains protruded from a thin layer of mist that hung below the monastery.

'You know, I don't think I've been up here in years,' the knight said, sighing. 'You always used to come up here to hide from Roland if I remember rightly.'

'The old gatekeeper?' Jeralt said. 'That jackass never left me alone, always had some nonsensical story to share. I'm not sorry he got fired for sleeping on the job.'

Alois laughed again. 'He meant well. But how did you find out about this place anyway? Knights of Seiros don't do rounds on the walls. Did you just dare to wander up here by yourself one time?'

Jeralt paused. 'It was Sitri who showed me. Took me up one day after I told her about one of my adventures. She wanted to know where it'd happened and when I said I'd point it out to her she brought me up here.'

He exhaled and shook his head. Alois put a hand on his shoulder.

'She was an amazing woman.'

'I miss her.'

'I know you do.'

They sat in silence, listening to the wind blowing, the clanks of knights marching and the gates opening and closing from somewhere below. After a few more moments, Alois spoke again.

'What was the name of your second wife?'

Jeralt blinked. 'Um… Mary.'

Alois nodded, scratching his chin. 'I'm sorry I never met her, but she lives on in your son.'

'Yeah.'

'Your son who's now professor of the Black Eagles!'

Jeralt shook his head. 'If you'd told me he'd be in this position a week ago I would've called you crazy. Wasn't even able to ask him about it either, he was already asleep when I went to see him earlier.'

'He'll be tired after his first lesson today,' Alois said. 'And from all the conversing he did with his students at lunch! I was watching him, they asked him a million and one questions!'

'And he seemed okay to you? Did he seem like he was settling in?'

Alois laughed. 'He looked a bit uncomfortable with all the questions but he seemed fine otherwise. He's quite reserved, isn't he?'

'Y'know, that's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you insist to Lady Rhea that he should be a professor? Why not just allow him to join the Knights of Seiros?'

'Because I think he's the perfect man for the job! The last professor was a pompous coward from some fancy school. All talk and no substance. He fled when the bandits attacked a few days ago, leaving our students in danger! Byleth on the other hand risked his life to save them. He might be reserved, but the students won't care if he's half the warrior you are. And besides, it'll do your son some good, bring him out of his shell!'

'Right,' Jeralt murmured.

'You don't think it's a good idea?' Alois asked.

Jeralt sighed. 'At first, I wanted to smack you. You forced me to return to Gareg Mach Monastery, knowing that Lady Rhea would force me to re-join the Knights of Seiros if she saw me, and in doing so, you forced my son into the fold.'

Alois opened his mouth, but no words came out.

'And the thing that really bugged me,' Jeralt continued, 'was that you insisted he be a professor, when I think you knew he would've turned it down if he had a choice. You forced him into a role where if he makes a single mistake, he could piss off the most powerful families in the land. That made me want to break your nose.'

Alois lowered his head. 'I'm sorry, Captain.'

Jeralt exhaled and shook his head. 'I know you meant well. It's just… the kid's quiet, it's a huge responsibility for him to take on.'

'If you don't mind me asking, why is he so reserved? He's your son!'

Despite his annoyance, Jeralt couldn't stop himself from grinning. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Alois laughed. 'I think you know, Captain.'

Jeralt chuckled. 'I do, actually.'

His grin faded.

'Byleth hasn't had the easiest life, partly because of me. He's spent his whole life in my mercenary group with no one his age to interact with.'

'And now suddenly he's surrounded by them.'

Jeralt nodded. 'It'll be strange for him, scary, but he's always been… different, always quiet. When he was a child he rarely spoke and I never saw him laugh or cry or get angry. He didn't take an interest in anything either, he'd just sit and stare into the distance for hours on end.'

Alois nodded but said nothing.

'But some of the other mercenaries helped him come out of his shell as he got older. You remember Alain?'

Alois' eyes widened. 'That Alain? The old combat instructor?'

Jeralt nodded.

'Scary guy. He glared at me once when I was training and I soiled myself!'

'Appreciate the details, Alois. Anyway, after he left the monastery, he bumped into me on the road and decided to join my mercenary group. He became Byleth's combat mentor.'

Alois' jaw dropped. 'That explains how Byleth was able to do so well in Remire!'

Jeralt nodded. 'That's why the kid's so respected even though he's quiet, his skill is incredible, and it's thanks to Alain. When Byleth was young I was too soft to ever push him hard in training, but Alain showed him no mercy. He was tough on the kid, but I don't think Byleth would be alive today without him.'

'Edelgard, the student, said that saw Byleth go toe to toe with the giant in Remire and knock him to the ground.'

'Byleth got help from many people for his combat skills, myself included, but again, I thank Alain mostly.'

Alois continued to watch his old mentor, and saw a smile grow on his face.

'But there were two others who helped look after Byleth. There was a jackass named Arthur. A goofball fisherman from the Kingdom. We saved him from some raiders and he ended up joining us. You know why he chose to tag along with us? Apparently because Byleth didn't laugh at one of his jokes. It was that bad I still remember it to this day.'

'Really? What was the joke?'

'What do you call a fish with two legs?'

'I don't know.'

'A two-knee fish.'

'Ha!' Alois snorted. Jeralt shook his head.

'I don't think Byleth even got the joke, but the man was so stunned that he claimed he "just had to join our adventures so that he can teach the kid how to laugh." That and the fact he clearly had a crush on Lilia.'

'Lilia?' Alois asked.

'She was a songstress from Enbarr. We'd been ambushed by bandits on our way to the city and by chance, we met her, and she used magic to heal our injuries. It just so happened that she hated her life in Enbarr and so I was able to convince her to join our group as a healer. She was one of the best things that happened to Byleth.'

'She was like a mother to him, I suppose?' Alois asked.

Jeralt nodded. 'At first, she was unsure of him, but the kid grew on her and eventually she treated him like her own son. She taught him how to speak to people, how to read and write, how to do maths, made sure he ate enough each day, made sure he didn't stay up too late and kissed him good night every evening. You're right in saying she was basically his mother, fiercely protective of him.'

'So Byleth was raised by you, a terrifying combat instructor, a looney fisherman and a fancy songstress?' Alois said, laughing. 'That's quite the team!'

'You're right,' Jeralt said. 'They were like family, especially for Byleth. They meant so much to him and they brought him out of his shell.'

His smile faded and was replaced with a look Alois had only seen once before.

After Sitri had passed away, he thought.

'Sadly, they were killed.'

'That's horrible! What happened?'

Jeralt sighed and suddenly Alois could see deep lines etched into his mentor's face, ones he'd never seen before. Jeralt fixed his gaze downward, his hands clenched together. 'We've never been able to piece together what happened exactly, but it seems like the three of them and Byleth were ambushed.'

'By who?'

Jeralt shrugged. 'Don't know. We'd set up camp just outside a village and I was speaking to the villagers. Byleth was up a nearby hill, he liked to explore, and Lilia went up to join him soon after. A while later we heard shouts and the sounds of magic spells from the top of the hill. We rushed up but were too late. Lilia, Arthur and Alain were all dead, clearly burned with magic, and Byleth was unconscious. There were no other bodies.'

'My…,' Alois breathed. 'And you never found out who was behind it?'

Jeralt shook his head. 'All the villagers were with me at the time of the incident. Alain and Arthur didn't know magic and the spells I heard in the distance weren't ones Lilia knew.'

'What did Byleth say when he awoke?'

'He remembered speaking to Lilia but that was it. He didn't remember seeing Alain or Arthur. They'd been hunting nearby and my guess is they ran up when they heard the commotion. As for whoever was behind the attack, Byleth has no recollection of it.'

The pair of them were silent for a while. In the distance, owls tooted and another howl echoed through the air. A knight barked orders somewhere below whilst a cold breeze brushed past them.

'The kid was different after that,' Jeralt murmured. 'He went back to the way he was before, not talking or showing any emotion, he closed up. It was like a part of him died when Lilia, Alain and Arthur did.'

'He took the loss very hard,' Alois said.

Jeralt nodded. 'It traumatised him, and no matter what I did, he didn't change again.'

A vein in his forehead pulsed and he spat.

'And that's why he eventually got stuck with that stupid fucking nickname, the "Ashen Demon," because people are scared of him. They actually think he's dead inside or some stupid nonsense because they don't understand what he's been through.'

He shook his head and Alois put a hand on his shoulder.

'Byleth is reserved but he's certainly not dead inside, and I think it's obvious from the way I saw the students interact with him today that they don't think so either.'

'And that's why I'm starting to think that this professor thing might actually be good for him. It's only been a few days, but I've felt…'-

He paused for a moment.

'I've felt… more… from him in the past few days than I've done in ten years.'

'More?' Alois asked.

Jeralt nodded. 'It's subtle, but he's more… alert, as if he's awoken from some kind of trance. It sounds crazy, I know, but'-

'Perhaps this new life is helping him move on from what happened.'

'I want to think so. I want to believe that his students will be a good thing for him. He told me yesterday that he didn't want to be a professor, but perhaps he'll have changed his mind by next week. It certainly sounds encouraging given what you saw today.'

'And if he wants to stay, you'll happily remain here as well?' Alois asked.

Jeralt sighed. 'The truth is I don't care where I am anymore, Alois. I've done everything I've wanted to do. The only thing that matters to me is giving my son the best life possible. I just want him to be happy and if that means staying here, so be it.'

'I understand, Captain. Know that I shall do everything I can to support him in his time here at the monastery.'

He extended his hand and Jeralt shook it.

'For what it's worth,' Jeralt said, 'I'm sorry I fled twenty years ago. I didn't like leaving without saying goodbye'-

Alois shook his head. 'No need to apologise, Captain!'

Jeralt grinned. 'You're still an ass, though.'

Alois burst laughing. Black clouds floated in front of the moon, darkening the view ahead.

'I think your son is going to surprise a lot of people this year.'