The rest of the Eagles soon arrived (with Linhardt arriving late) and the training commenced.

Except, it wasn't what Byleth would've called training, it was a far cry from the muddy fields and the relentless sparring he'd done under the guidance of Jeralt and Alain. He watched as Jeritza had the students moving through an obstacle course consisting of poles, nets and stones as quickly as possible. Ferdinand grinned for the first time that day when he accomplished his "shortest time yet", but it vanished when Edelgard beat it soon after.

Large blankets of cloth and cushions were then laid out. Byleth watched the students perform what Linhardt called, unenthusiastically, "piggyback duels". Edelgard, who was on Hubert's shoulders, sparred with Petra who was on Dorothea's shoulders. It didn't take long for Edelgard to knock Petra's weapon from her grip. Jeritza kept switching the pairs. Linhardt lost every match, and only managed to keep Petra and Dorothea in the air with shaking legs for a few moments each. Bernadetta's one match ended with her screaming atop of Ferdinand's, shoulders begging to be put down. After a while, Bernadetta, Dorothea, Hubert and Linhardt began to set up targets whilst the others sparred with one another and Jeritza.

Byleth studied his group. The worst performing Blue Lion against Jeritza earlier had been Sylvain, and he'd managed to exchange at least thirteen strikes. Ferdinand couldn't get more than five before his lance was knocked from his grip. Each time his weapon fell, the man would raise his head upward and mash his eyes shut; the calm charismatic noble from before was gone. To one side, Petra and Edelgard sparred with disjointed and unenthusiastic strikes and movements. They were filled with errors that Alain would've struck him for if he'd made them. If Edelgard had performed like that in Remire, she wouldn't have survived, he was sure. They were making obvious mistakes, and that's what stopped him from going over to help them.

'They know what they're doing wrong… they're stressed because… (Manuela's words entered his head) … because of me.'

But there was more to it than that. He remembered the papers he'd seen on the classroom desk that morning. Dorothea had said over the past week they'd had to write about a book. He squinted his eyes.

'Compendium of… something… Seteth.'

Had Seteth caused them to be stressed further? It seemed likely, given that Edelgard had wanted him gone. He looked at the Black Eagles and wondered what his father would do. Jeralt had always made a point of not allowing a mercenary to take part in an assignment unless he was certain that they were ready, both physically and mentally. Something the man had once said to Alain resurfaced in his memories.

"We don't have an army here. We have to pick the right assignments for the right people who are ready for them."

If it were up to Jeralt, the man wouldn't let the Black Eagles participate in a battle any time soon, Byleth was sure, but this was different. This wasn't an assignment or a contract he could reject, nor was it a situation he could order a retreat from. He had to lead the students, his Adrestian army, against the Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leciester Alliance and win. It was only a mock battle of course, but it didn't feel like it. The outcome wouldn't be death, but he knew it would determine a lot… his future included. All he could do was try to prepare the students as much as possible in the short time he had with them.

But how?

He saw Bernadetta, Dorothea, Hubert and Linhardt hang wooden targets with red dots on the surrounding stone pillars. Dorothea, moved to the centre of the ground, some twenty feet away from her target and stood awkwardly for a moment, before moving into a fighting stance. From it, he thought he recognised the spell she was going to try and attempt, a thunder spell, which as the name suggested, was a spell that involved harnessing magic to shoot lightning from one's hand. The girl raised her hand and it crackled. Sparks flew and then a burst of lightning appeared. It zapped the ground a few feet in front of her and then fizzled out. She put a hand to her face and shook her head. She tried again and this time couldn't get any lightning to appear at all. She dropped her head and Hubert (who'd been shaking his head in disgust at her) took her place in the centre. He cocked his hand back. Suddenly an eye-squinting circle of purple light flashed under his feet, making Byleth's skin prickle in goosebumps. Another purple light, a sphere, formed in his cocked hand, expanding every second. It was bright, but he couldn't take his eyes from it. The sphere expanded a bit more and then Hubert thrust his arm forward. The ball of light surged forward with a horrible screeching chime that reminded Byleth of scraping steel. The ball hit its target with a loud, crackling bang. Bernadetta yelped. A purple mist engulfed the area where the target had been. When it faded, Byleth saw that the pillar was fine, but the target was gone, disintegrated. He blinked. There'd only ever been a few magic users in the mercenary group and most of their opponents, mostly bandits, either couldn't use magic, or were poor at it. Hubert had not only performed a complex spell (it was called miasma, if he remembered Lilia's teachings correctly) that most people didn't know with ease. He'd performed it with a level of grace that most people couldn't dream of accomplishing. Hubert, he was sure, was one of the Officers Academy's most powerful students, yet that idea didn't fill him with enthusiasm.

'He won't help me in the mock battle… he might even do the opposite.'

He rubbed the sides of his face, and that's when he noticed Bernadetta. Dorothea pulled the girl to her feet and guided her to the centre of the training ground. She gripped a training bow in one trembling hand. Byleth rested his chin in his hands. He specialised mostly in close combat with a sword, but Alain had taught him archery as well. In theory, he could help Bernadetta, but he knew better. If he went to her, she'd run away. Dorothea gave the girl a hug and then stepped back. Bernadetta wiped her eyes and then faced her target. He watched her fumble with her bow and expected the worst. He wondered whether she'd even manage to draw the nock back fully.

He watched, not knowing that he'd never forget what he saw for as long as he lived.

In that moment, Bernadetta disappeared, and someone else took her place, someone whose body didn't tremble. This someone, this girl- no, woman, stood tall and raised her bow. She pulled the nock back with a smooth motion and cocked her elbow past her ear. Before Byleth had the chance to blink, the woman released the string and there was a loud thud. He turned his head to the target and froze.

The arrow was wedged into the bullseye.

His jaw slackened. She fired another three arrows and each one struck the bullseye. After she fired her final arrow, the woman dropped the bow… and the trembling girl returned. Dorothea gave her a pat on the back, but she shrank away and walked briskly to the corner of the ground again.

Byleth watched her go and wondered how someone so feeble and frightened could turn into a deadly warrior so quickly. Hanneman and Maneula's voices came into his head.

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

"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."

"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."

Hubert and Edelgard weren't his only elite students, they were all elite. They were the "cream of the crop," as Manuela had said. They were all incredible warriors who, if they put their minds to it, could cause problems for any opponent, be it a bandit or elite soldier.

But they're stressed and-

'How are you doing, Professor?'

Byleth blinked and looked up. Edelgard stood a few feet from him, covered in sweat. The frustration she'd pent up sparring with Petra was etched on her face.

'Fine,' he replied.

'I'm glad. Just please make sure you are getting some practice in yourself. We can't afford to have you being rusty.'

Byleth remembered Dimitri snapping his lance and nodded.

'I apologise,' Edelgard continued, taking a seat beside him. 'I haven't had chance to properly speak to you since Friday. I suppose you can tell that the mock battle won't be easy for us.'

Byleth watched Ferdinand trip over his lance and nodded.

'We're far behind the Golden Deer and Blue Lions in terms of preparation, and the class know it and it is causing them to be nervous and frustrated. That was of course because of the unfortunate events that befell you… but also because of Seteth.'

She sighed, Byleth felt venom in it.

'That man did nothing except throw books and academic work at us. He left us feeling no more prepared for the mock battle than we were at the beginning of last week.'

Envisioning Seteth frowning, glaring and stomping around the classroom was too easy for Byleth to do. He was of course, no stranger to being on the wrong side of the man himself.

'He gave us so much homework that we had to do lots of it at the weekend. And in all that stress, the class hasn't really bonded in the way it should have, in the way the other classes have done. Ferdinand and Hubert are at odds with one another, Petra means well but is still trying to adapt to life here away from Dagda, Dorothea doesn't always take things seriously enough, Linhardt skips classes, Caspar hasn't even been around and Bernadetta'-

She shook her head.

'Bernadetta is… something else.'

'I have never met someone like her.'

'Neither had I before I arrived here. She is from House Varley. I'd heard rumours of a reclusive daughter belonging to that house growing up, but only upon meeting her did I realise just how true those rumours were. I don't know why she is so frightened. It's not just you she's scared of, she seems to be scared of… well, everything, me included! And she's getting worse. With each passing day she growing more uneasy and anxious. She cried in the classroom nine times last week, and since Thursday it has become harder and harder to convince her to leave her bedroom. This morning was even more concerning, given she was only in the class for a few minutes before she broke down.'

'For such a scared girl, she has a good shot,' Byleth said, watching the trembling girl.

'She does,' Edelgard said. 'All noble students at this academy have been trained in combat from an early age, Bernadetta included. That's the thing, I don't doubt the abilities of anyone in our class, Linhardt included… but they'-

'Edelgard, time to train.'

Jeritza raised his training sword at her as Ferdinand walked out of the duelling ring shaking his head. Edelgard sighed and rose to her feet.

'There is nothing scheduled for our class tomorrow, so how we spend it is up to you. I would avoid any more combat training to avoid injury, but perhaps we could go over our battle plan a final time. It might help to ease some of the classes' anxiety about it.'

She left and Byleth rested his chin in his hands again.