At first, Jeralt had simply been relieved when the spectating students had stopped their chants… but then he'd wondered why they'd stopped.

Their chanting had been replaced with excited whispers and murmurs. The winged horse riders had since brought three students from the Leicester Alliance up to the observation point and two from the Adrestian Empire but had immediately flown back to the woodland area. Jeralt squinted his eyes and saw four more people emerge from the trees.

'That's Ingrid and Ashe,' Catherine said. 'As for the other two…'-

A knight took down two of the blue flags and then two red ones. Jeralt's heart sank. Suddenly, gasps erupted from the rows below.

'No way!' Catherine breathed. 'I think that's Edelgard down there, and Hubert too! The Black Eagles' top two students are now out!'

Cheers rung out from the spectating crowd and Jeralt had to fight the urge to tell them all to "shut the fuck up". Jeralt mercifully told them to quieten down. Jeralt heard him shout 'It is not over yet, and your noise will only distract the combatants.'

'I told you we'd lose, Byleth is useless!'

Alois recognised the student who'd said that as Caspar, the Black Eagles student who'd been banned from participating in the mock battle after he'd supposedly lashed out at Byleth. He cringed and looked at Jeralt. The man had clearly heard the student because his eyes suddenly bulged and his jaw clenched. Alois put a hand on his knee.

'That's Dorothea, Linhardt, Edelgard and Hubert all eliminated now,' Catherine said. She clicked her fingers and laced them behind her head smiling. 'I hate to say it Jeralt but it's not looking good for your'-

'Shut up.'

Catherine's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Alois caught her gaze and shook his head. After a few moments, she rolled her eyes and looked away.

Alois turned to his old mentor and tapped his knee again. Jeralt nodded, not taking his eyes away from the woodland area.

'It seems as though our new professor has quite the challenge ahead of him,' Rhea said.

'Indeed,' Seteth replied. He wasn't surprised.

'Hmph, it seems as though we weren't the only ones looking wipe out the Black Eagles early on.'

There was a hint of surprise in Felix's voice and Dimitri looked up towards the observation platform in the distance. Winged horse riders dropped off more eliminated students. Identifying faces was difficult, but counting the flags wasn't.

Three yellow flags had been taken down along with two blue ones and four red ones.

'Gosh, it seems like we missed quite the battle,' Sylvain said. His eyes widened. 'Woah, I think Edelgard is out.'

'That will certainly weaken the Black Eagles!' Mercedes said. 'And from what I can see, Annie is still on the field!'

'Correct, I believe we've lost Ashe and Ingrid,' Hanneman said.

'Damn, Ingrid will be pissed,' Sylvain said, grinning.

'The Deer have lost quite a few guys as well,' Felix said.

'Lorenz is out,' Sylvain said.

'Hmph, what a shame.'

'Is Professor Byleth sitting up there?' Mercedes asked. 'He's the man we wanted out after all.'

'That is exactly what I have been attempting to decipher,' Hanneman said, squinting through his monocle. 'If he is, I cannot see him.'

There was a pause.

'He's not,' Dimitri said. 'Beside Edelgard is obviously Hubert, and I'm sure the green hair belongs to Linhardt. The other is Dorothea. The professor is still at large.'

'That's a shame,' Mercedes said.

'Still, losing Edelgard is a big loss to him,' Dimitri continued, 'and thinking about it, they have now lost all their magic units. Bernadetta is their only missile unit remaining. They're severely blunted.'

'And the Deer are the opposite. They've lost a few close-combat units, but all their magic units are intact,' Felix murmured.

'Does that change our plan at all?' Sylvain asked.

They were surrounded by small grassy mounds. A large grassland area separated them from the woodland area that Claude and the rest of the Golden Deer were undoubtedly waiting in.

Hanneman shook his head. 'No, for now Annette and Dedue are still in the game and we will run with the original plan. We could send reinforcements to their position, but if we do then the Deer may launch a full-scale attack. The woods conceal their positioning so we must be careful for now in how we act.'

Felix sighed. 'How boring.'

'Well fought you two! I must say that was an epic'-

'Quiet, you fool,' Hubert muttered. Ashe's face deflated. Edelgard was just glad Ingrid didn't hear him. There wasn't any need for pointless scuffles.

They took their seats on the observation platform. They and the other mock battle participants were separated (mercifully, in her view) from the rest of the spectators. Lorenz sat at one side, gesturing, and shouting at the field below. Raphael and Ignatz sat beside him uncomfortably. Near to them, Dorothea sat beside Linhardt who'd fallen asleep. They sat down beside them.

'Oh, I can't believe I was eliminated so soon,' Dorothea sighed. 'I'm useless.'

'You're not,' Edelgard said. When she did, she heard Hubert let out a quiet "humph.'

She gazed at him. His face was cold and his jaw was clenched, and she knew exactly why. It wasn't simply because they'd been eliminated from the battle so early on, it was because of the man leading them.

As if reading her mind, Hubert uttered a single question; low, so that only she could hear it.

'Not even an hour gone, and the professor has squandered four soldiers under his command. Do you still believe in him?'

Edelgard gazed back down at the open field where the sounds of magic had stopped for the time being.

'I do.'