'You are out, Professor, I'm afraid, Hanneman said. 'I must say though you put up a rather good showi'-

A ball of purple flashed across Hanneman's large coat. His eyes widened and he jumped. Byleth could suddenly hear jubilant cries from behind him, they belonged to Claude and Ferdinand. The purple light dissipated and Hanneman's sash vanished with it.

They both turned their heads left.

Bernadetta, who stood at the edge of the trees, had the expression of a scared little girl, yet she held her bow up with the confidence of a soldier.

She had listened to his instructions.

'I forgot about her!' Hanneman spluttered. 'Even then, s-she can fire that f-far? That is nearly as f-far as Claude!'

The rain continued to thunder down, pelting Byleth and the grass. Ferdinand, Claude and Hilda roared, cheered and clapped. Further in the distance, he could hear rapturous applause of many more people. For a moment, he let himself rest in the rain. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

'I sincerely tried my best,' he whispered.

'You did,' Sothis said, 'and I'm so proud of you.'

Up at the observation point, Alois and Jeralt jumped up at the same time, cheering as loudly as the students. They embraced in a big hug.

Catherine and the other knights remained seated. They were too shocked to move.

The rain began to subside as Hanneman helped Byleth to his feet.

'Simply marvellous! And to think I had completely underestimated you! What a genius boy you are! And the courage, the skill! You survived a double-ambush and then eliminated almost every student with few of your own team left. Your excellence just emphasises the importance of real experience over academia!'

Hanneman shook his hand again and Byleth thanked him.

'And I must congratulate Bernadetta as well. What a magnificent shot she fired. I daresay I had no idea she had that range on her! I'-

Hanneman looked left and paused. Byleth did the same. Bernadetta walked towards them. Except, "walking" didn't seem to fit her movement. Shuffling fitted better. Her hands were tightly knit together over her stomach and her shoulders were hunched.

But none of that was what caught Byleth's (and presumably) Hanneman's attention. It was her eyes. They were blotched red and tears slid down her cheeks.

'Bernadetta?' Hanneman asked. 'Why are you crying?'

Bernadetta was someone who'd been so afraid of Byleth, she'd slapped him and had refused to get within ten feet of him. She'd been so petrified of him, and of everyone else, that she'd often stayed in her room, crying. She was a girl who'd pleaded with him desperately to keep her out the mock battle, yet she'd ultimately been the one to win it for them. Bernadetta, the petrified girl, suddenly broke into a wild sprint. She leaped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Ferdinand jogged over with Claude and Hilda. The three of them and Hanneman stared at Bernadetta, stunned. 'Bernadetta?' Ferdinand asked. 'Are you'-

Byleth didn't hear Ferdinand, nor the continued cheers from the observation point. All he could see was the sodden purple hair nestled into his chest, and all he could hear were her loud sobs. Her shoulders spiked and dropped with each inhale. Her whole body trembled.

'P-promise me that you'll stay as our prof-ffessor. P-P-Please!'

Byleth's eyes widened and Sothis spoke in his head once again.

'Tell me that everyone hates you.'

'He sure is,' Claude said. 'Ain't no way I'm allowing him to leave after that performance. He's going to have to spend the year allowing us to learn from him as punishment for doing so well today.'

'Of course he is staying, Bernadetta!' Ferdinand said. 'He shall lead our class this year, and I for one cannot wait to learn from him.'

Byleth looked down at Bernadetta and for a moment couldn't breathe. His mouth was open, yet he couldn't form any words.

'Tell me that you are soulless, tell me that you cannot care for others.'

Sothis's words echoed through him. He thought about what Bernadetta was asking him. Would he stay as their professor? He supposed it wasn't fully down to him, yet in that moment, he knew what his answer would be if it was. He didn't even need to think about. Gently, he put his hands on her Bernadetta's shoulders.

'I promise.'

Hilda began to sniff. 'I think I'm going to cry!'

And that was when Byleth heard something he would've thought impossible.

'That… that was beautiful,' Ferdinand said in a near squeak. 'Like a play…. I cannot miss out!'

Ferdinand wrapped his arms around them in a bear hug. Bernadetta squealed but didn't flinch.

'Tell me you are unloved,' Sothis said.

'Ah shucks,' Claude said. 'Bring it in.'

He joined in on the hug and Hilda, still crying, did as well. Hanneman chuckled.

'Well, I'll go and make sure Dimitri and the others are okay.'

Byleth, Bernadetta, Ferdinand, Claude and Hilda embraced for a long time and as they did, Sothis spoke again.

'You are enough. Never forget that.'