"Do you think he'll be okay?" Dorothea delicately sipped her tea.

"We are having a few more days before class resumes," Petra nodded. "I am certain he'll be returning to his usual self."

Edelgard sat with her classmates under the gazebo within the hedge garden. She didn't have much to add to the conversation as her internal conversation took precedence.

Her teacher had seen years of combat, it was unlikely he still suffered adrenaline dumps. Yet, Byleth had not left his quarters, at least, not to her knowledge. Could this have anything to do with his lack of heartbeat?

No. Byleth's condition preceded his ability to hold a sword. If he had been this frail in his youth, Edelgard was certain Captain Jeralt would've never introduced him to the battlefield. Whatever the reason was, it was unlike her to not have seen him in almost a week.

"I'm sure he'll be right as rain," Dorothea nodded as she shot Edelgard a smile.

"Did you hear about Professor Eisner?" A cheerful girl spoke to her friend at a table next to theirs.

Edelgard couldn't help but to cock her head.

"Oh, I know!" Her friend exclaimed, "A real hero's relic! I heard he had a crest, but I had no idea it was the Crest of Flames!"

"I always thought he was cute, but to also have the rarest crest in existence?" They giggled, "Imagine if you could be the mother of a bearer of the Crest of Flames."

"The school year is half over," the girl lifted a single brow provocatively. "I may have to find a way to stay around the monastery if he plans to teach next year."

"Edie," Dorothea's voice rang in Edelgard's head and drew her gaze. "Pay them no mind."

"I'm not," Edelgard lifted her teacup as she attempted to straighten her posture. "The ramblings of school girls are hardly what I'd call 'important.'"

"There is truth in your words," Petra offered her a bright smile. "Should we not instead be focusing our strength in helping our professor?"

"That's a wonderful idea, Petra!" Dorothea perked up, "I know Annette has been going on and on, asking any Black Eagle she can find if the professor was any good at making sweets. Apparently, she heard from someone that he is quite the chef."

Ingrid chose the wrong person to confide in, Edelgard thought to herself, slightly amused. Annette was a sweet girl from what she had observed, but not one to keep her sweet-tooth under wraps, especially if there was a capable baker within her reach.

"Are you believing forcing the professor to cook will make his mood bright?" Petra pursed her lips, "No, that is incorrect. Brighten his mood."

"I wouldn't call it 'forcing,'" Dorothea placed a thoughtful finger on her chin. "From what I've seen, the professor loves to help his students. Think of it as a way to get him out of his room, and show him how appreciated he truly is."

"By… making him bake sweets for us to consume?" Petra's face scrunched as she struggled to understand Dorothea's reasoning.

Edelgard's attention was not on her classmates' conversation, instead she occasionally nodded when one of them finished speaking.

"Why should we even wait?" Her focus was on the next table over, "there's a forge in the marketplace. At the very least, my father's name would earn us a discount."

Edelgard's laser focus blinded her to the fact that Dorothea and Petra were no longer talking.

"We can't both have a ring made for him," her friend replied.

"Of course we can," the girl's arrogance was beyond Edelgard's understanding. "He can choose which of us he likes best."

"That sounds like an act of war, friendships have been shattered over less."

Edelgard startled at the warmth that covered her hand. She peered down and saw Dorothea's hand give hers a subtle squeeze.

Dorothea directed her gaze at the two at the neighboring table, "I highly doubt our professor even knows either of your names. He's a little above accepting such a gift from girls that only value him for his crest."

"Who's she?" The girl leaned closer to her friend, her smile faded into a callous grin.

"I think she's that opera commoner," her friend laughed.

"Commoner?" Edelgard couldn't stop the words from escaping her mouth, but she did manage to keep her voice from cracking with rage. "I'll have you know what Dorothea lacks in terms of a crest, she more than makes up with eloquence that far surpasses any noble I've met, especially the likes of you two."

She could feel Dorothea's wide eyes rest upon her. In the corner of her eye, she saw Petra vigorously nodding.

"And above all else," the flood gates had already opened and Edelgard saw no reason to close them now, "she is one of my dearest friends."

"L-Lady Edelgard," the girls rose from their seats. "We didn't recognize you."

"We are so sorry," one of the girls gave her a rushed bow. "We must be going now."

Edelgard kept her stare on the two girls as they hurriedly walked toward the metal gates. Neither brave enough to look back. She was not one that enjoyed pulling rank on anyone, she couldn't even manage to win half her arguments with Hubert. However, Edelgard let herself grin at this exception. Not only did she detest the word 'commoner,' but she couldn't allow their verbal atrocities to continue.

She wasn't going to lie, it felt good.

"Edie," Dorothea beamed. "I had no idea that I was so dear to you."

Edelgard turned just in time to catch another of her provocative winks. She had grown so used to them that she momentarily considered winking back, but quickly dismissed the idea as she knew it would only encourage Dorothea to raise the stakes.

"You, as well, Petra," Edelgard straightened the serviette across her lap. "I cannot say that I have many relationships that have elevated themselves to friendship… but, you two… Well, you both are…" She suddenly found her words stumbling over themselves. It was one thing to blurt them out in outrage, it was another to have to articulate it while they both stared at her.

"I am in understanding, Lady Edelgard." Petra lifted her chin higher in the air. "I am glowing with pride to call you my friend."

She gave her a nod, relieved that she would not have to further elaborate. Why was it so hard to just tell them they were her friends? Dorothea certainly had no problems showing her affection. Edelgard suddenly wished she had her courage. Displaying sentiment was not something that came easily to her. Her mind immediately went to the many pieces of parchment that laid on her desk, each an attempt to capture more detail of her teacher's face, his hair, his eyes.

Edelgard couldn't help but to feel a small swell of shame rise from her chest. As long as no one found them, she was content with keeping it her little secret as she had no intentions of stopping her new hobby. Perhaps, it was only exhibiting such feelings that didn't come naturally to her.

"You should've seen us, Captain Jeralt," Edelgard could barely make out Leonie's voice on the other side of the hedge. "You would've been proud."

"Yeah, I've heard all about the class that's been dancing in the homeroom courtyard." That was most definitely Captain Jeralt. "I'm glad that my kid's been showing you guys the ropes."

Edelgard rose from her seat, "excuse me for a moment."

Dorothea and Petra each gave her a polite nod as Edelgard made her way toward his voice.

"I know you're busy," she could make out Leonie standing next to the large man, her hand firmly on her hip as she spoke. "But it's nice to learn from the second best!"

"Don't let him fool you," Jeralt let out a soft chuckle. "He surpassed his old man years ago. I just haven't told him that."

"Captain," Edelgard called out as she walked down the stone path that split the hedge courtyards. "I wonder if I might have a quick word."

Jeralt's eyes darted to her as he lowered his head in acknowledgement. "I'll catch up with you later, Leonie."

"Of course!" Leonie smiled. She gave Edelgard a warm smile before she turned to leave them in privacy.

"What can I do for you, Lady Edelgard?" Jeralt's presence could be intimidating, but this time seemed different. His tone seemed more favorable than when her teacher had taken her fishing, more friendly.

"I had a few questions regarding our teacher," Edelgard tried to suppress the worry in her voice. "Perhaps if I learned more about his youth, it might answer some questions that have been on my mind."

"I'll tell ya what I can," Jeralt rubbed the back of his head. Something about the subject made him uncomfortable but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Honestly, sometimes the boy's still an enigma, even to me."

"He seems to have locked himself away in his room since we returned from our last mission," Edelgard queued up her first question. "Has he ever suffered from such fatigue when you two were mercenaries?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head, "I can't say that he did. When we were on a job, he would be all over the battlefield, it was hard to keep track of him. Afterward, he rarely showed signs of being out of breath."

Unfortunately, his answer only raised more questions.

"In our last mission, we faced an especially difficult foe…" Edelgard began.

"The Death Knight," He nodded firmly. "I heard."

It was clear that Captain Jeralt wasn't one for too many words. She was beginning to see where her teacher inherited it from.

"Yes. Even before our professor bested him, he appeared…" She trailed off, trying to find the right term. "Sluggish. As if he hadn't slept for days when I knew, for a fact, that he had. In addition, he's suffered from more than one nosebleed."

Again, his hand raised to the back of his head. "I don't know what to tell ya. He was never a frail kid, just the opposite."

"How do you mean?" Edelgard pushed.

"Well, getting wounded in battle is pretty common for mercenaries," Jeralt's eyes dropped to the ground. "But when I knew that he'd gotten hurt, I'd patch him up. I'd find scars that I didn't even know he had. It was almost like his wounds didn't bother him enough to tell anyone."

Edelgard's mind took her back to her teacher sitting on the fallen tree. At the time, her eyes had scanned his exposed skin, narily a scar-free spot to be found.

"A few of his students have expressed concern for his well-being lately," Jeralt began. "All I've been able to tell them is he's gone through a lot of changes recently, maybe it's gotten to him."

"Changes?" This piqued her interest.

"Well, yeah." Jeralt nodded slowly. "I've never seen him this happy before. The kid never smiled once, I tell ya. Not before we came back to the monastery."

Edelgard couldn't help but to smile. The thought of her teacher being happy was one that she relished in.

"He definitely talks more," he added. "And I think he even has friends now."

"I imagine it was hard to do so as a mercenary," Edelgard nodded. She wished for him to continue, to tell her more that had changed since his youth.

"You don't know the half of it," he let out a nervous chuckle.

Perhaps not, Edelgard thought to herself. She knew about his condition. She knew his human contact was almost non-existent before becoming a professor.

Had it been anyone else, those secrets alone would have been more than enough. But when it came to her teacher, Edelgard was determined to learn all of it.

"Do you intend to leave your room today?" Sothis prodded as she laid on her stomach on the bed next to Byleth. Her arm held her head in an upright position as she looked down at him, her long green hair was splayed across the mattress.

Byleth wearily opened his eyes. His eyelids were heavier than usual. He studied the lines of the wood of his ceiling. If he stared long enough, he could make out slight resemblances to animals, or outlines of people. "I'm tired."

"Yes, I am quite exhausted myself," Sothis agreed. Her legs began kicking in the air. "Turning back the hands of time has been especially hard lately. But we must get moving again. Perhaps you should get your silly stick and go for another run."

"I don't feel like it," Byleth replied coolly. He felt as if he could sleep through the rest of the day, maybe even the next, if it weren't for the nightmares.

The first couple of days after the Holy Mausoleum, Byleth had nodded off several times. Each time he awoke in a cold sweat with the visions of Petra's unrecognizable face, or Bernadetta's missing eye. The last was of Ferdinand's stare, his accusing eyes pierced Byleth's gaze and made his chest throb. But the worst, by far, was Edelgard's soft face, her mouth trying to say something, only for blood to gather in her throat and lungs and drown out any words she tried to form.

"You undid those deaths," Sothis read his mind. "The little ones are very much alive because of what we did."

"That doesn't mean I can unsee it." He rebelliously replied as he pushed his head deeper into his pillow.

"Such a child!" Sothis sighed as she chastised him. "This simply will not do. I won't allow you to sulk any longer."

"I told you, I'm tired." It wasn't a lie. His body felt as if a block of stone kept him plastered to his bed.

"You were only given a week to shirk your duties," she started as she rolled onto her back and crossed her hands over her stomach. "What will you do when you're expected to start teaching again?"

"Then I'll teach," Byleth rolled onto his right side, turning away from Sothis.

"And then come running back to the bed?" Sothis huffed. "You and the skittish one have a lot in common."

Byleth didn't answer her. Instead, he only shrugged his shoulders.

Sothis sighed again as she lifted herself into an upright position. She leaned over his shoulder to get a better glance at his face. "We can't stay here forever. The little ones will begin to worry if they haven't already."

Her head snapped up at the knock at the door.

Byleth didn't move. He eyed the door for several seconds before another, more forceful knock came.

"I wonder who that could be?" Sothis asked mischievously, as if she already knew the answer.

He forced himself to sit at the edge of his bed as he rubbed his eyes before shakily rising to his legs. Each step was heavier than the last.

Byleth blinked several times as he rested his hand on the doorknob, eager to remove any signs of fatigue from his face. Once satisfied, he turned the knob and swung the door open to see Annette standing outside.

"Hi, professor!" She beamed.

He gave her a weak smile as he peered back to his bed. Sothis was gone.

"I'm not gone!" Her irritated voice rang in his head. "Do you simply think I disappear when you can no longer see me? You're like a child losing sight of their parents."

"I'm sorry! Did I catch you at a bad time?" The orange-haired girl scrunched her brow.

Byleth shook his head as he attempted to widen his smile. "What can I do for you?"

Annette grinned from ear to ear as she excitedly began bouncing lightly on her heels in excitement. "I heard a rumor that you were an exemplary cook! I was wondering if you might accompany me to the cafeteria!"

Byleth lowered his brow, he sensed he was being watched, and not just by Annette. He took a step forward and leaned his head out the door.

Several of his students stood close to the wall, obviously in an attempt to remain hidden.

Edelgard dropped her head and placed her hand over her eyes. Either in frustration or embarrassment at being caught, Byleth couldn't figure out which. Bernadetta expertly hid behind her. Petra, Hubert and Ferdinand made no attempt to downplay their presence, nor did they seem bothered by it.

"Nothing better than a hearty meal for a downtrodden soul. Right, professor?" Ferdinand shot him a wide smile.

"That's right!" Caspar threw his fist into the air as Lindhardt slowly shook his head.

Dorothea and Leonie stood behind Ingrid. Leonie whispered something in Ingrid's ear before giving her a gentle shove forward.

"I'm so sorry, professor!" The blonde-haired girl intertwined her fingers sheepishly. "I only told Annette, I swear!"

"And that was enough, it would seem," Edelgard did not uncover her eyes.

"They didn't push me to ask you, I promise!" Annette interjected. "I honestly meant to ask you sooner, but I haven't seen you around the monastery in awhile."

"It seems the little ones crave your presence," Sothis mused. "I must admit, it does sound more enticing than staying in this room one moment longer."

Byleth's smile was more genuine this time as he gave Annette a firm nod. "Do you know how to make Sweet Bun Trio?"

Her eyes widened as her mouth hung agape, "that's my favorite! But… I don't know how- I know how to eat it!"

"Well," Byleth began, "I guess I'll have to show you."

"Thank you, professor!" Byleth wondered how Annette's face didn't ache from holding such a wide smile for so long.

He stepped out onto the concrete walkway and closed the door behind him. Many of his students had already descended the stairs and happily skipped as their voices overlapped each other.

Edelgard stood at the bottom of the stairs and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she waited for him to catch up.

"My teacher, I am so sorry. I told Dorothea that this was an absurd plan," Edelgard didn't turn her head to face him.

"Suuure, Edie," Dorothea teased. "Make him think it was my plan to get him out of his room. Good cover." She gave her a wink and Byleth could see Edelgard's face reddening.

"It most certainly was!" Edelgard became defensive. This time, she did look up at him. "Petra was there, my teacher, she can tell you Dorothea-"

"Do you not have a sweet tooth?" Byleth interrupted her. He kept his gaze forward as his students ascended the stairs to the south entrance of the cafeteria.

"A-a sweet tooth?" Edelgard waved her hand dismissively. "I must admit, there are times when I wish I could spend a day engorging in delicate sweets." She hesitated, "Perhaps, 'engorging' was the incorrect term."

Byleth chuckled. They entered the cafeteria to find many of his students already crowding the stove and counters.

Annette rushed up to him so fast that he thought they might collide. "I'm not very good in the kitchen, but I'll help in any way I can! What do you need me to get, professor?"

"Flour, sugar, salt, milk, yeast…" Byleth ran through the list in his head, "Noa fruit, berries, eggs."

Annette lifted her eyes to the ceiling as he could hear her quietly reciting his list to herself. "You got it, professor!"

"This is the most lively I've seen them," Edelgard rested her hand on her hip as she watched her classmates scatter about the kitchen.

"They are most certainly… riled up," Byleth turned to find Hubert standing behind them.

"Come, Hubert," Edelgard left Byleth's and took several steps forward. "It is only right that we help."

"Yes, Lady Edelgard."

Annette pivoted on her heel and Byleth could see her eyes widen just before she crashed into Edelgard.

"Oof!"

The house leader was thrown back and Byleth rushed forward and caught her by her arms. Annette was not so fortunate as she landed on the ground squarely on her behind.

"I'm so, so, so sorry, Lady Edelgard!" Annette's apologies began while she still sat on the floor.

Edelgard lifted her head and met his gaze. She swallowed hard before she brought her legs firmly underneath her body. Byleth gave her a gentle push upward and let her go once he was confident she had her balance.

Edelgard straightened her uniform jacket as she let out a nervous laugh, "it's quite alright. We are both unharmed."

Byleth couldn't help but laugh as the student body immediately resumed their chaotic activities. He watched as Edelgard had recited his list of ingredients from memory and assigned each of her classmates a job. With her orders firmly given, their random and frantic movements seemed more orderly.

He approached the counter where Bernadetta stood before a large, metal bowl. It was filled to the brim with flour, "we only need about half of that. Unless you plan to have a sweet bun dozen."

"Oh-oh," Her voice quivered. "I knew I'd screw this up somehow!"

Byleth gently shook his head. "It's not a mistake. It's not something we can't fix. We can simply put some of the flour back." He learned the best way to speak to Bernadetta was a calm, soothing voice, full of affirmation.

"O-okay!" I'll do that right now," Bernadetta followed his direction as Ferdinand joined her with the eggs and milk.

Byleth continued down the line of students. Edelgard and Leonie stood at the counters as they sliced the fruits and berries. Edelgard was clearly becoming agitated. "This would be simpler and faster if I could just use my sword or axe. I find such small, precision slices of these small berries rather infuriating."

"Hey, professor!" Leonie acknowledged his presence. "I was wondering, how did you get so good at cooking? Were you like the mercenary cook?"

"He probably has supernatural taste!" Caspar yelled though he stood on the other side of the same counter as he lined a baking pan with butter. "I mean, he has supernatural hearing. It's gotta be like… a mercenary thing. You know how they taste the dirt and can say how many soldiers have traveled on it, or something like that."

"I don't eat dirt," Byleth simply replied.

"Well, I'm sure, not like for a meal," Caspar rebutted.

Ingrid rapidly approached with a glass cup. She held it up to show him its contents. He shook his head, "a little more sugar." She gave him a firm nod before dodging her way through the students that lined the kitchen.

"Yes!" Annette exclaimed. "More sugar! My favorite words!"

Byleth had to admit their energy was rubbing off on him. He felt a little less tired, and a little more energized. He helped Ferdinand and Bernadetta knead the dough and couldn't help but smile as he would scan the room and watch his bustling students deftly weave around each other without another collision.

"I guess those dancing lessons have really paid off, huh?" Annette took the small pieces of dough he handed to her and rolled them between her hands. "I can't so much as walk without running into something."

"It is true," Ingrid added with a nod as she meticulously stirred the berries and Noa fruit together, mixing them with cream. "She often flips over the tables in our homeroom."

"Speaking of which, professor," Annette shot Ingrid a scowl. But somehow, coming from Annette, seemed a lot less intimidating than she probably intended. "Ingrid and I had a question for you."

Byleth stopped kneading for a moment to give her his undivided attention. "I know your class is already large… but we were wondering, would you have room for two more?"

"A new partner?" Caspar bellowed. "Does this mean I don't have to chase the professor around anymore?"

Byleth ignored him as he turned his gaze to Ingrid, "you both want to transfer?"

"We've been watching you guys practice outside of the homerooms," Ingrid sheepishly spoke. "Annette and I thought that we'd benefit from better agility."

"Yes!" Annette exclaimed. "Would that be okay, professor?"

"I don't see why not if your current professor says it's okay," Byleth nodded with approval. "You're both Blue Lions, so it seems natural to pair you up together."

"Wait, they're pairing together?" Caspar deflated.

"Sorry, Caspar," Byleth couldn't help but smile. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

"I assume we'll be no trouble?" Ingrid asked hopefully. "Obviously, Annette and I are unfamiliar with… pairing, or how you incorporate it into training, so getting caught up might-"

"It's no trouble at all," Byleth assured her.

He wasn't sure how his students managed to maintain their level of energy. Even while the buns were baking, they jovially stood and sat around the counters, regaling their new classmates of the Black Eagles' battles. Now that they were done baking, they rested in the cooling oven, soon to be devoured by several excited students.

Ferdinand took it upon himself to explain the advantages of pairing a distance fighter with a close-combat fighter and how their buddy system worked.

"And never, ever, leave your buddy unguarded," Ferdinand pointed a serious finger to each of the girls.

Leonie used a ladle as a makeshift spear as she demonstrated 'The Dance of Water', "you'll be surprised how much stamina you can conserve." Leonie beamed proudly.

Annette listened and watched in awe as Ingrid smiled. It seemed the Black Eagles clammored over their new classmates, either trying to show off, or simply excited for new potential friendships.

Byleth felt a warm sensation rising from his stomach. He knew it was his job to teach them how to fight, how to survive. But there was something about the way they took his lessons seriously, at least, seriously enough to begin lecturing new students.

"Quite an exhausting venture," Edelgard leaned against the counter Byleth sat on as he wiped his hands with a towel.

"Not a bad way to spend an afternoon," Byleth grinned.

Edelgard's face immediately lit up, "I swear, my teacher, I'll never get used to those."

"My smiles?" Byleth let his face fall, "do they look weird?"

"Not at all," she chuckled softly. "They're just an unexpected surprise. A pleasant one, I assure you."

"Then I'll be sure to do it more often," Byleth nodded.

"It's time!" Annette jumped from her chair.

"Already?" Byleth had been inwardly counting the time that had passed since they put the buns in the oven. He was impressed that Annette seemed to have that same internal timer, at least when it came to sweets.

"Allow me, my teacher," Edelgard retrieved another towel from the counter. "Please, have a seat and let us serve you for once."

Byleth was taken aback by her statement. He never considered his position as simply a service, but something he genuinely enjoyed. But it seemed Edelgard wished to return her gratitude whenever she could.

"Yes, professor!" Petra nodded firmly. "We will be topping the buns and bring your plate to you."

Ferdinand threw his hands into the air, "we insist."

Byleth hopped off the counter and lifted his brows as he made his way to the closest chair. He kept his ears open though, with the oven open and Annette's habit of tripping, he didn't want to take any chances. Not when he'd have to explain how a student that wished to transfer to his class ended up in the oven.

It wasn't long before Bernadetta approached him. Both of her hands tightly gripped a plate with three small buns on them. "Here you go, professor!" He gently took the plate from her, quietly noting she hadn't stuttered.

In short order, he was surrounded by his students, each with a plate in front of them. Edelgard sat to his right and Annette to his left.

"I think Dorothea should go first, since it was her idea," he noticed Edelgard was still desperate to make him believe her side of the story.

"Not at all, my dear, Edie," Dorothea smiled devilishly. "But I'll take the credit if you insist."

Her reply only flustered Edelgard even more. Byleth wished he could tell her that Dorothea was cunning with her words, and it was best to let her win.

"But I think Annette should go first," Dorothea finished. "It is her favorite dish and she was the one brave enough to knock on the professor's door."

Byleth nodded at Annette. Her face glowed with excitement as she lifted the bun to her mouth, abandoning any use of utensils.

"Professor! This is so good!" Crumbs flew as she spoke while she chewed.

As if on cue, everyone either lifted the buns in their hands or used their utensils to cut into them, as Edelgard did.

"She's right, professor," Lindhardt covered his mouth as he spoke. "Delicious, but light enough for my afternoon nap."

"You did most of the work." Although Byleth had enjoyed his time in the kitchen more than he expected, he wasn't sure he was hungry.

"I promise transferring to your class has nothing to do with you baking for us!" Annette shook her head as she tore into her second bun.

"Do the Black Eagles do this often?" Ingrid gingerly patted her mouth to clear it from any clinging crumbs.

"No, but we can certainly start," Byleth answered with a smile. He turned to share his grin with Edelgard, but it quickly faded as he saw her face sullen as she stared toward the north entrance of the cafeteria.

He quickly turned his head to see Cyril standing in the doorway.

"Not yet," Edelgard vigorously shook her head. "It's much too soon, he still needs time to recover."

The students' voices quieted one by one until an eerie silence fell upon the dining hall. They exchanged glances with one another as some of them lowered their heads. Others tossed their buns in frustration back onto their plates.

"I'm sorry, professor," Cyril's voice pierced the quiet. "Lady Rhea needs to see you immediately."