Epilogue

"... Move your feet three steps to the right... just like that..." As Lysithea tried to keep up her feet with the rhythm of the music, she felt Byleth's gentle but steady hand hold its grip on her own as his other hand kept itself on her hip. He was leading her through their usual dancing training they had decided to do together, as both a way to spend their free time but also to be able to focus on other things than work.

"Very good, and as the crescendo starts, it's time for the spin, I'll signal it by gently giving you a tug like this..." As she felt a gentle tug in her hand she slowly felt her body spin around, everything around her coming out of focus as she didn't know how many spins she did when she was suddenly stopped by Byleth again, his eyes smiling at her as he silently asked if that felt okay.

Feeling herself slightly unsteady for a short moment coming out of the spin, she then nodded as she once again felt Byleth's hands keeping her steady and this time a bit tighter to his own body as his face came closer to hers. Lysithea couldn't stop herself from blushing as they kept dancing through the crescendo until the end of the song.

Stopping their dance, Byleth let go of his tighter grip, taking a step back to create some small amount of space between them while he kept their hands locked together.

"That was great Lysithea, you've made good progress on this dance. Want to call it a day today?" Lysithea could see sweat on Byleth's face and she could feel it on her own as well. She felt hot after all their dancing today and could really do with a break, they'd been at it for about an hour or so.

"That'll be fine." She agreed as she saw Byleth turn towards the side of the room where the lone musician in the room was sitting. He was playing the essential parts of the music for the dances they had trained on today. Obviously most songs, especially for the kind of dancing they were doing, demanded more than a single instrument but in their case they kept it at a minimum for most of their training. It would be a bit much to get a whole group of musicians each time they did this.

"Thank you so much for today Mr. Kotz, we'll see you next week." Byleth said as he thanked the elderly man who smiled and bowed in return.

"Happy to help, and good day to you both, your majesties."

Mr. Kotz then left the room, the sound of his feet echoing in the great hall as a guard met up with the man outside the room, as the sound of their footsteps slowly disappeared. Meanwhile, they stepped over to a table by the wall where there was some water they could both drink. On the way Lysithea couldn't help but humorously note "When did you become the expert dancer Byleth?"

He chuckled at her insinuation. His first performance at the dance back at Garreg Mach had been... okay but nothing else. At least considering the fact that he had literally never danced before at the time. In comparison to now he had a remarkable growth in his skills.

"Expert is a little too generous Lysithea, but I've improved, I'll admit. Thinking of the dancing as another set of skills in a battle stance has helped me learn it a lot faster." Pouring some water for the both of them, Lysithea shook her head at his explanation.

Of course that would be his explanation, considering his background and interests. But she had to admit that the correlation between footwork in a battle stance and dancing seemed reasonable enough. Since she had never learned any battle stances as a magician, she didn't really understand it but she was happy it worked out for him. Her own learning was going at a much slower pace.

"Well, I'm glad that's working out for you. I just wish my own progress was a bit faster." Sighing as she sat down her own glass, the water quenching her thirst quickly, she felt Byleth's hand on her cheek, gently nudging her to look at him. Meeting his gaze, the slight twinkle in his eyes present as she was met by his warm smile which threatened to make her lightheaded.

"It's no rush Lysithea. I'm enjoying spending time with you like this and I hope you don't feel a need to prove anything, alright? We're doing this for ourselves."

"Right, I keep forgetting that I can take my time now. Don't pay it any mind." As she felt Byleth move in to embrace her, she leaned into the hug as she felt herself calm down and let go of any negative thoughts lingering in her mind.

"You're doing fine, besides I'd be glad to continue to guide you, seeing as I'm so "talented" as you put it." Lysithea laughed as she could hear the joking tone of his voice, still chuckling as she let go of him after a moment to meet his gaze.

"Yes please do. I'm quite lucky that you're also a very handsome guide too."

"Is that so?" Byleth asked, his voice suddenly dropping in pitch as he moved his hands and started to caress her back, Lysithea feeling goosebumps on her body as a shiver of pleasure coursed through her, feeling her face flush at the implications in Byleth's eyes. She felt herself getting lost in their depth as they looked at each other in silence, the air of anticipation and excitement between the two of them making the world outside fade away.

She could feel her own heart pounding in her chest, her mind a mess as she wanted to be connected with him again. Her hands moved to hold Byleth's hips as he drew her towards him, their bodies gently colliding with each other as Lysithea felt herself close her eyes as Byleth did the same, their lips closing in on each other.

As their lips finally closed the distance between them, one of Byleth's hands went to her head as he tangled his hand in her hair, gently caressing her head. Meanwhile Lysithea felt her own body respond to the contact with Byleth's as their mouths moved slowly against one another, as Lysithea felt her passion rise.

Their tongues quickly met in a passionate embrace of their own as they enjoyed themselves with the kiss. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest as her breathing was getting ragged from the lengthy kiss, their mouths and bodies still pressing against one another, a battle for supremacy which she was determined not to lose. In her own hunger for Byleth she could hear the small groan from Byleth's mouth as they continued, her hands grabbing at his clothing, holding on tight as the passion kept rising until the need for air demanded that they separate.

Reluctantly their lips moved away from each other as he leaned his forehead against hers as they tried to collect their breaths. Lysithea couldn't stop herself from smiling as she felt Byleth's arms hold her tightly to him.

As their gazes met, their eyes spoke their love to one another without any words needed. Lysithea felt so lucky and happy that they were partners and lovers. They stayed like that for a moment before Byleth took a step back as he let go of her body to her immense disappointment, coaxing himself out of her tight grip as she reluctantly let go, her groan as she did making him smile.

"Come on, we promised Shamir we'd join her before dinner." Lysithea nodded, having forgotten that completely during their training.

"Alright, though she could have joined us." Lysithea noted, she was a good dancer after all, in fact she was actually a really good dancer. It had been proven on those rare occasions when Shamir had danced with them. "Why did she decline again?"

"She wanted us to spend time alone together and she wanted some time with Lily." Byleth explained as they walked out of the great hall.

"Right, of course." Little Lily was a mix of her mother and her father; with Shamir's violet eye color and Byleth's teal hair color along with his more "unkempt" hair. Every time she saw Lily she couldn't help but want to hug the little girl tightly as she felt herself get turned into a mess of baby noises. Little Lily had her unknowingly in a tight grip.

"I can't believe she's almost six months old already." Lysithea added as they walked past a few servants going about their jobs in the palace.

"Yeah, time really flies by. I felt like it was yesterday she was born." Lysithea nodded, she still remembered the day vividly and probably would for quite a while.

As they walked through the halls towards their destination, Byleth remembered something he needed to say to Lysithea.

"By the way, I read your proposal regarding Sunday school for the children, I think it's a great idea."

"You think so? I have to admit I'm wondering if the ambition of the plan was simply too much…" Lysithea said as they rounded a corner and started climbing the stairs to their floor.

"No, I think it'll be a good thing to work towards implementing throughout the whole country. But starting small first is the key, to try it out and let it be a good way of showing how it will work. It will also be easier to not make the cardinals flip over in their chairs."

"Yeah, they weren't really sold on the whole idea the first time I mentioned it to them." Lysithea said, unamused as she thought of the group of old men who held the positions as cardinals of the church.

With her marriage to Byleth, she had become Queen of Fódlan, a duty both she and Byleth had seen as more than just one of his wives. She had her own duties which Lysithea was glad that Shamir fully supported. Shamir herself had little desire to be a public figure and was happy to "stay in the background" as she had said. Shamir gave them both good advice and was a perfect person to bounce ideas and thoughts off, always giving her straight answer back with no bars held back.

So Byleth had assigned some of his duties to her which helped him keep his focus on the larger matters that needed to be attended by him personally but also gave Lysithea the chance to get experience in dealing with statecraft. But it also gave her both space and a base to work off as she made plans for reforms and to use it to push them through. Lysithea had many she hoped to enact and oversee over the coming years.

One such reform was a school reform for all children in the realm, regardless of status or wealth. Once a week children from the surrounding areas would gather in an appropriate locale, preferably nearby to or attached to their local church.

Priests and nuns from the church would be responsible for educating the children with the help of any invited guest speakers or teachers. Lysithea had worked out a plan to have a comprehensive list of subjects to go through over the years ranging from history, arithmetic and geography for instance.

So far she knew that her idea had the support of Seteth, Flayn and Ferdinand (as Duke Aegir) but she knew she would probably receive more of her friends' support as she proposed her plan for them.

On the other side were the upper echelons of the church (most notably the cardinals) who were… not very keen on her idea. Some didn't like it overall, others were just worried about the idea of teaching other subjects than just knowledge about the faith and church. Which is why she was going to have to fight tooth and nail to get the support the idea needed and to make sure more subjects were added to the reform.

"If you want I can speak to the cardinals about it." Byleth offered helpfully, the man always so eager to help out whenever he could. As touched as she was by his offer, this was a fight she had to win by herself.

"I appreciate that Byleth, but I need to try and do this on my own. We can't have a situation where you have to intervene every time someone doesn't like my ideas. We can't run things that way."

"Fair enough, let me know if there is anything I can do though, alright?" Byleth grasped her hand and squeezed it as Lysithea nodded and gave him a smile back, tugging at his hand which made him stop as she then quickly tiptoed and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for always supporting me, my love."

Byleth smiled back at her before they then continued hand in hand the rest of the way in silence.

As they arrived at their destination, the two of them quietly knocked on the closed door to their living room and waited until they heard a quiet "Come in".

As they entered, they saw Shamir sitting on the couch, with little Lily wrapped up on her chest. Shamir was holding her close as Lily seemed to be currently resting. Shamir looked up at them as she held up a finger to her mouth, the two of them nodding as they quietly approached Shamir and Lily, trying to keep their voices and sounds as low as possible.

"How did it go today?" Shamir quietly whispered as Lysithea gently sat herself down by Shamir's left side as she was welcomed in by Shamir's arm. It wrapped itself around her shoulders as Lysithea placed her head on her shoulder as she settled herself in, looking at Lily as she felt comfort from being close to Shamir. Lysithea felt Shamir kiss the top of her head as Lysithea smiled, a content feeling spreading through her as Byleth sat himself down on Shamir's right side. He placed his arm around Shamir as the two kissed briefly before he placed his other hand over Shamir's that was holding on to Lily.

"I'm getting better, slowly though. We're still going to be dancing at least twice a week, every week to keep up the training." She whispered as Shamir looked over at Byleth who nodded.

Watching baby Lily, Lysithea could see the girl's content and calm expression on her face, her small mouth opening and closing as if it was trying to either eat or say something, yet all she did was continue to sleep peacefully. She's so cute!

"Lysithea is doing fine and being modest. Her learning is going faster compared to before so I think the training is going quite well."

Giving Byleth a side-eye, Lysithea rolled her eyes at the proud smile he was giving her.

"Well excuse me for not tooting my own horn, like a certain person calling himself "talanted"." Lysithea whispered back as she emphasized the last word. Byleth's quick response was to retort with "And who was it that called me an expert in the first place?"

Crossing her arms in frustration as she saw Byleth's grin towards her, she saw Shamir roll her eyes at their childlike antics.

"Alright, that's enough you two." She said quietly and sent the two of them a pointed look before she turned back towards Lysithea "I'm glad it went well today and that you're making progress."

Smiling at Shamir, she felt content as she thanked her and leaned back in and rested her head on Shamir's shoulder. Shamir gently caressed her hair which was something she always found so relaxing.

"How's it been for you Shamir?" Byleth asked, his gaze settling on Shamir again.

"Lily's been mostly quiet so far, she was awake a while but after some food she quickly fell asleep again." Byleth nodded as he caressed Shamir's cheek as she watched Lily with a look filled with motherly love.

"Want me to take care of her for a while, so you can get some free time?" Byleth asked as she turned to look at him, thinking the offer over for a second before she answered "Sure, would be nice to stretch my legs for a while and get some air before dinner."

Gently passing over Lily to Byleth, the little girl shifted slightly as her small hand grasped in the air, Byleth quickly giving her one of his fingers to hold on to as the girl settled herself once again. Shamir smiled as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before she rose from her seat on the couch.

"Want to tag along Lysithea? You can show me what you've learned today..." Shamir said as she looked at her, Lysithea cast a glance at Byleth who was focusing on his daughter. Byleth could use some time alone with her so she quickly accepted.

"Sure Shamir, but we have to find someplace secluded. I'm not showing that off in public just yet."

"Then I know just the place." Shamir said as she waved at Byleth and told him they'd meet him later.

"Have fun you two." Byleth said quietly as he smiled before turning back towards his daughter, settling himself in the soft couch as he held her close to his chest.

Lysithea and Shamir left the room as they closed the door behind them, leaving Byleth in peace.

And so their lives would go on as they enjoyed their days together while working every day to keep the peace in the land as they built a better future for them all.

Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoyed my story!

While I'm done for now with this trilogy of stories, I might be tempted to return in the future, we'll see. If you'd like me to do that you can always leave feedback so I know that there is an interest for it.

As always, a special thanks to all of you who show your support! It always warm my heart!

To all of you; have a great day!