That morning, Byleth had looked at himself in the mirror thinking about the challenge that lay before him as a professor. It'd seemed like a big task then, to lead the students well in the mock battle, to prove Hubert and Caspar wrong, to show Bernadetta he didn't need to be feared and to just be a good professor all round. Now, as he trudged to his front door that evening, the challenge felt impossible.

Why am I even trying?

He reached his door and rested his hand on the handle.

'Hello, Professor.'

Byleth closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and then turned to face him.

Hubert glared at him from the other side of the cobbled road. He stood in the shadows yet his eyes seemed to glow.

'You've had quite the week. From being beaten up by your own student to somehow managing to worm your way back into the fold. Did you enjoy your first day back as professor? You were just as useless as you were last week.'

Byleth's response was to take another deep breath in. Hubert stepped out of the shadows. The moon illuminated his face. He grinned and his teeth made Byleth think of needles.

'Lady Edelgard believes that some sort of illness justified what happened to you in the training ground. She is wrong of course but what matters to me is that you are still here. Do you remember our conversation from last week?'

Byleth did.

Resign or face the consequences.

He nodded.

'You had the perfect excuse to resign after you lost to Caspar,' Hubert continued, 'to admit to everyone that you are a soulless, useless nobody who should never set foot into this monastery again.'

Daggers appeared in his eyes.

'So you can imagine my disgust when I learned that you would be reinstated as our teacher, and the fact is, Lady Edelgard wanted you back, but no one else in the class did. She wanted you back because she believed Seteth was somehow worse than you, but her judgement there was wrong, and I believe that after your pathetic performance as a teacher today, she will be beginning to realise that.'

He took another step forward and his eyes narrowed.

'You will resign tomorrow, or plans shall be set in motion.'

'Plans?'

'Plans to remove you. Plans that will… put your life in danger… that is all I will say. Remember who I am, and who I can send to deal with you.'

Byleth remained still, making himself breathe slowly. He was supposed to lead the Black Eagles, but how could he possibly do that when one of them was petrified of him, and the other was actively threatening him to kill him?

'Again, you have my thanks for saving Lady Edelgard, but you do not belong here. You are not wanted here, not by me, Caspar, Linhardt, Ferdinand, Dorothea, Petra or Bernadetta. You may have fooled Lady Edelgard in Remire, but her belief in you will not last long either. You will leave tomorrow or… your safety will no longer be guaranteed. If you do as I say, then not only will your life remain intact, but you will also be able to go before Lady Edelgard realises just how useless you really are.'

Byleth tried to scramble words together to form some kind of argument, but his frazzled mind drew blank. Hubert had challenged him repeatedly during his time in the monastery, and each time he'd failed to respond, now included. Part of his goal was to prove Hubert wrong, to show him he could be a good professor, but he felt, knew, that if he couldn't stand up to the man now, then any hope of winning him over would be gone. It was now or never. He took another deep breath in.

But still he couldn't think of anything.

Hubert glared at him. The man was right. If he wasn't wanted by him, and the rest of the Black Eagles, then how could he possibly lead them? What was the point of even tryin-

'Byleth.'

The high-pitched voice echoed in his head and vibrated through his body. Her voice was soft, but clear. His name was the only thing Sothis said in that moment, but that didn't matter. It wasn't what she said that was important, it was that he heard her voice, because it reminded him of why he was standing in front of Hubert now and why he'd agreed to become professor of the Black Eagles again. It reminded him of why he was trying, despite all the odds against him.

Because if I don't try sincerely to face my fears then I will always suffer.

'Give me another chance.'

Hubert shook his head. 'I will not allow you to waste any more of our time.'

'Allow me the chance to prove myself to you and the others in the mock battle.'

Hubert scoffed. 'We have no chance with you.'

'Let me try.'

'You are incapable of leading us. You are an inexperienced fool who has never taught before, nor do you have the battle expertise to do well, as demonstrated by your performance against Caspar. I don't think you're even as old as me. You are a freak who'-

'I-I'm more capable than you think.'

Hubert looked ready to laugh. 'Really?'

Byleth opened his mouth but his mind fell blank again. Hubert clearly noticed because his horrible grin widened. Byleth felt himself cringe and clench his hands, but then forced himself to breathe.

And that's when he finally thought of something. He thought of his father.

'I-I've travelled over Fódlan and I've survived its different dangers. I've fought alongside some of the land's best warriors against all kinds of enemies and I've played my part in carrying out different kinds of battles strategies in different terrains and conditions, all the while saving many lives.'

'There has been no evidence of any of that in your performances here so far. You are out of your depth and do not belong here. You will resign tomorrow or put your life at risk.'

Byleth shook his head. The odds were against him, but that didn't matter.

It is about sincerely trying my best… to prove to myself that I'm not…

Not what? He thought of all the words he and others around him had used to label himself, all the words that'd brought him so much pain in his life and realised that he could distil them all into a few words.

-… to prove to myself that I'm not the Ashen Demon.

'I will not resign, and I will prove you wrong.'

Hubert's face darkened. 'You will resign.'

Byleth straightened. 'I will lead the class in the mock battle, whether you like it or not, and I will show you that Edelgard made the right choice.'

Hubert met his gaze. His eyes felt hot to look at. They burned, and goaded him into looking away, to drop his head and to give up, but he didn't. He stared back until the man chuckled.

'My, your sudden enthusiasm for the role is quite fascinating. If I entertain this silly idea, then you will be expected to leave once the mock battle has finished.'

'No, if we do well then I get to stay.'

'We both know you we will lose.'

'If we are victorious then I get to stay.'

'Fine, I know you will fail so that makes no difference to me. I will grant you permission to lead us in the mock battle, if you promise to resign when we lose.'

'I will agree to those terms, but only if you make a promise as well.'

Hubert raised an eyebrow. 'Oh and what would that be?'

'You must try your best in the mock battle. You must give me a fair chance.'

Hubert studied him and then grinned again. 'And how will you know whether I'm trying my best? What will you do if I don't?'

Byleth paused again, and then he thought of someone, a man from his childhood. A giant who'd had blue eyes and long, dreadlocked hair. Someone who's skin had been covered in dark ink and scars. A man, who was one of the toughest, most merciless warriors he'd ever known, one of Jeralt's finest mercenaries. A man who'd trained him in the art of combat and survival for hours every single day. He thought about them, and how they would react to Hubert.

He thought of his old mentor, Alain.

He looked Hubert in the eye and stepped towards him. Hubert clearly hadn't been expecting it because he instinctively stepped back and the fire dampened in his eyes.

'I will know if you're sabotaging me. If you do, then I will make sure you do not live long enough to see Edelgard become emperor.'

Hubert's mouth started to twitch and his eyes bulged from his narrow face. He looked like he was fighting to keep his smile from turning into a snarl. He succeeded, just. 'It appears you do have some backbone after all, how charming. Very well, I shall do my best in the mock battle, but should we lose then you must resign, deal?'

Byleth didn't want to agree to those terms, the odds were stacked against him.

But I've sincerely done all I could.

'I accept those terms.'

Hubert gave him a bow that struck him as almost sarcastic, and he supposed it might have been so. 'Very well… Professor, I shall see you tomorrow.'