'Bern, are you in there?' Dorothea asked, knocking on her door. 'We have class soon.'

There was a brief moment of silence, and Dorothea knew that Bernadetta was trying to pretend that she wasn't in. It was a tactic she'd tried almost every morning. It was her sneeze that eventually gave her away.

'Bern, are you okay?'

'I-I d-don't feel well, I-I'm not c-coming out of my room today.'

'Oh Bern, you said that yesterday as well and you were fi'-

'P-Please just leave me alone!'

Dorothea sighed. 'Bern, I'-

"Bern" started to cry.

On the other side of the monastery, in the stable, dust and hay once again made Caspar sneeze. He jerked forward and dropped his shovel … and the contents that'd been on it.

'Not again!' he groaned. He glared at one of the horses. 'You guys sure do go a lot.'

The horse looked at him dully, chomping on a clump of hay. He sighed and shovelled the manure back into the air.

'Caspar.'

The shovel hit the ground again. He spun and froze. He'd so far managed to avoid her, but his luck had run out.

'Oh… hey, Edelgard.'

She entered the stables. Her face was emotionless as ever and yet… there was something about it today that sent a chill down his spine.

'We need to talk,' she said.

'Oh… um… what about?'

She moved closer.

'So all of this pain that you have spoken about, all of your suffering, which healing magic, antitoxin and vulneraries have all been ineffective on has suddenly been fixed with a Restore spell, is that what you are claiming?'

Byleth nodded at Seteth, who glared at him from a nearby chair. The man pinched his forehead and sighed.

'In all my years no such medical condition has ever been recorded, you do realise how absurd you sound?'

'The pain I saw him in was real and horrible,' Moira said. 'I saw the effect the Restore spell had on him with my own eyes, there's no way he was faking it.'

'I know, Moira, and that is, if I am honest, the only reason why I am not expelling Byleth from the monastery immediately.'

Byleth gazed at Seteth and continued to roll the fragment of stone between his finger and thumb. 'I-I forgot to say I normally healed in my sleep without healing magic before this.'

Moira's eyes widened and Seteth leaned up in his chair. 'You what?'

He repeated what he'd said and Seteth asked him how long he'd had such an ability for. He told the man he'd had it his whole life. Seteth's eyes narrowed, but Byleth didn't think it was because the man didn't believe him.

'Do you have a crest?'

Byleth blinked. 'I-I don't know.'

Seteth stared at him in the same way Edelgard had done the night before. It told him that he did indeed have a crest and that he was either stupid or lying for saying that he wasn't aware of it. His ability had always just been a part of who he was and so he'd never questioned it. It didn't help that Jeralt had told him that he didn't have a one.

But in that moment, he didn't care that he'd never known, what mattered was that he did have one.

'I've never head of a crest with that ability,' Moira said.

'Neither have I,' Seteth said slowly, 'but his ability must come from one. It is the only explanation.'

The man's tone had changed from his annoyance to curiosity, yet Byleth still didn't care. He opened his mouth, but Seteth spoke first.

'Whether it played a part in this mystery illness of yours I do not know, but I think it best Professor Hanneman speak to. He will be able to determine whether or not you have one and if so, what one it is.'

He rose from his chair and Byleth's hand tightened around the fragment of stone.

'I've been having s-strange dreams, could the crest cause them?'

Seteth blinked. 'I have never heard of a crest causing strange dreams. What kind of dreams do you mean?'

'I….'

He trailed off and Moira spoke.

'Nightmares?'

He nodded, feeling a lump in his throat as he did so.

'Nightmares are often down to stress,' Seteth said, 'and you have been through much recently that may have caused them. I highly doubt your crest could cause such an issue. They will pass in time, I am sure, but know we are here if you ever want to discuss them further.'

Byleth's hand started to thump, the stone digging into his wound.

'Continue to rest for now,' Seteth continued. 'Although your progress is encouraging, you must make sure to take it easy until your pain has subsided entirely. (He gave a slight bow.) I shall be back when I can to check on your progress.'

The man moved towards the door and Moira followed. Byleth's throat was still tight, it felt like he was being strangled by Bayen the giant all over again. Seteth opened the door and exited. Just as Moira reached the door herself, she looked back at him.

'You seem more troubled today, even though you are recovering. Is it to do with your dreams? Do you want to talk about them more?'

"If something ever feels wrong, tell me."

Lilia's words made Byleth's stomach twist. He opened his mouth again.

Tell her.

'N-No, I'm fine.'

The nurse nodded. 'Ring the bell if you need me.'

And with that, she left the room, leaving Byleth on his own. When the sound of her footsteps faded, he dropped his head into his hands.