Afternoon

'I overheard a certain cutie talking about Byleth. Sounds like he's going to be coming back as the Black Eagle professor next week.'

The Blue Lions students, who were sat in their classroom seats, turned and stared at Sylvain.

'Woah,' Annette breathed.

'But where has he been all this time? In the infirmary?'

'Yes, Ashe,' Dimitri said. 'He took a bad blow to the head from Caspar so it's understandable that they wanted to give him time to recover in peace.'

'Who did you hear the news from, Sylvain?' Mercedes asked.

'Dorothea at lunchtime. She was discussing it with Petra. Apparently even Caspar wants him back as well, they asked Seteth in class this morning.'

'What did he say?' Ingrid asked.

'Apparently he didn't say yes or no, but I'd say it looks good for Byleth if the entire class wants him back.'

'I hope you're right,' Dimitri said. 'Byleth deserves a chance to prove himself fully.'

'Not sure if I should be surprised or not that you think that, boar prince,' Felix muttered. 'Byleth is a joke.'

'But did he not prove himself to be an incapable warrior when he lost to Caspar in the training ground?' Lorenz asked.

'Yeah, why would you want a professor back that can't even hold his own against one of his own students?' Lysithea said.

'He had an illness of some kind it seems,' Claude said. 'Made him dizzy in the training ground. Makes sense to me, I'd wager he'd beat Caspar with a blindfold on when he's well. If you'd seen him in Remire like I did you'd be begging for him to be our professor.'

Lorenz frowned. 'Once again you are proving yourself to be a foolish and incompetent'-

'I'm glad you're feeling better professor,' Edelgard said. 'Seteth spoke to me and the other Black Eagles today in class. Although he didn't give us a definitive answer, he says that he acknowledges our desire to have you back and that he will speak to you later today.'

Byleth had only just managed to calm himself after returning to the steps again when the Adrestian heiress had slipped in unannounced. The only blessing for him was that she'd knocked on the door this time instead of teleporting in.

'Caspar apologised to Seteth. He cleared you of any wrongdoing and stated that he wished for you to be given another chance as his teacher. Myself and the other Black Eagles have all also informed Seteth that we want you back, and as the man now knows that an illness affected you in the training ground incident, I have no doubt that he will allow you to return as our teacher and lead us in the mock battle.'

Byleth didn't believe for a second that Caspar was sorry for what he'd done, or that he wanted him back as their professor. Edelgard had clearly paid the boy a private visit to explain to him what he was going to say, whether he liked it or not. He was sure Hubert and anyone else who disliked him had also received the same treatment. Despite what he thought, he met Edelgard's eyes and forced himself to nod.

'The more time our class has around you before we are sent out on real assignments the better,' she continued,' and the mock battle would be a great way to help us not only bond with you, but with each other as well.'

He nodded again. Sothis had been silent for a while, yet his mind was no longer quiet.

Voices of the past came flooding in.

'Can I see him yet?'

'Not yet, Dudley' Seteth said. 'I first need to speak to him abo'-

'C'mon, Seteth!'

'He seems to be much better, so I will ask his permission and if he agrees to, you will be able to visit him tomorrow.'

The gatekeeper smiled and saluted.

'Illness? I never thought the boy would stoop so low as to lie.'

'That's what the students were saying at lunchtime and I'm not surprised, Irene,' Agnes said, wiping a bowl. 'He's that kind of person, lie to get himself out of any situation.'

'What is his lie though, that an illness made him act horribly to his student?'

'Something like that,' Agnes said. 'Either way, I doubt he'll be popular amongst the students if he returns.'

'Good,' Irene said. She jammed a knife into a slab of meat. 'Hopefully, he won't last long.'

The church bells rang signalling the end of lessons at the Officers Academy until the following Monday.

Seteth left the Black Eagles Classroom and strode to his office.