Byleth wandered the monastery, seeking out the house leaders as Rhea instructed so she could get a better feel for her potential students. As she encountered each of the burgeoning lords, she listened intently as they introduced their fellow classmates.

Of particular note were each of the three houses' ninth students.

Claude gave a hum as he considered. "Shez is a mercenary hired to be Lysithea's bodyguard, though I couldn't say why Lysithea needs one. Still, Count Ordelia must hold her in high regard to bankroll her attendance here. She's good with a sword and definitely devoted to her contract, but she's not the brightest."

"Monica is the only daughter of Baron Ochs, a talented mage and a devoted supporter of mine," exposited Edelgard. "This is actually her second year at Garreg Mach. Her education was interrupted by a harrowing incident, so the Church has allowed her an extra year to complete her schooling."

Dimitri frowned. "I must admit, I'm not very well acquainted with her. Truth be told, I never even knew she existed until she arrived at the monastery. She seems abrasive, but I'm sure she'll be an asset to our class."

"In fact," continued the prince, "I believe the archbishop is speaking with her right now."

"I'm Kronya!" announced the last student to form the Faerghus lineup. "Kronya von Faerghus!"

Rhea's eyes narrowed as she took in the pale, wasted skin, the psychotic and irreverent tone, and the obviously inhuman twin tails wagging behind her. Never mind that, despite how it sounded, 'von Faerghus' was not actually a Faerghus name, nor was it how Faerghean names worked. This was clearly the latest attempt by the Agarthans to infiltrate her sanctuary, but perhaps this hilariously inept infiltrator could be useful.

"Of course," acknowledged the archbishop. "And could you remind me, under whose sponsorship are you attending Garreg Mach?"

"I'm here on behalf of Cleobu- ah shit, that's not right, what was her name again?" trailed off the wannabe spy as she raked her brain for actionable intelligence. "Cornelia!" she remembered. "Cornelia Arnim!"

"I see." Rhea made a note to send a hit squad to Faerghus in the near future. "Thank you for your candor."

"What do you mean your operations in the kingdom are on pause?" demanded the Flame Emperor.

Arundel coughed almost sheepishly. "It appears that detestable Church dispatched a contingent of knights to assassinate our head agent there. We're currently shuffling personnel around to mitigate the damage, but it will be some time before we're ready to mobilize."

The Flame Emperor loosed a disgruntled sigh. "You realize the archbishop attained that information from your newest agent to 'infiltrate' the monastery, yes?"

"Nonsense!" refuted Arundel, offended, "Kronya is the culmination of centuries of gene splicing and mental conditioning! She is the pinnacle of our efforts, the very epitome of an infiltrator assassin!" He regained some of his usual bluster as he sneered at his ally of convenience. "Clearly her brilliance is far too blinding for you to notice."

"Your infiltrator gave up her patron's name, location, and typical schedule with barely any prompting from the archbishop herself. She is a hazard to our goals and should be disposed of immediately."

"That is not going to happen," declared Arundel stubbornly. "Kronya will maintain her position at the monastery and be assigned a new handler once our position in the kingdom has stabilized." He paused and stroked his beard in thought. "Perhaps Myson. He's getting too restless, sitting on his laurels…"

Another long sigh emanated from behind the sinister mask. "If that is your final decision, then so be it."

"Good," concluded Arundel with a nod. "Until next time." He warped away in a flash of magic.

Now standing alone, the Flame Emperor exited likewise, appearing with a flash of magic in a different location next to a familiar retainer. Gloved hands reached up to remove the mask.

"Welcome back, Lady Edelgard," greeted Hubert with a customary bow. "Was Lord Arundel willing to reassign his agent to a less conspicuous position?"

"No. He insists on Kronya's presence here."

"A foolish decision," disapproved Hubert. "Despite whatever martial skill she may display, Kronya will leak what little intelligence she possesses to the Church at the slightest prompting." A stern frown crossed his face. "Unless he wishes to dispose of this alliance even sooner than we do by having her incriminate us."

As she divested herself of her disguise, Edelgard took a deep breath, "They're idiots, Hubert. Idiots!" She proceeded to share what Arundel had said regarding the Kingdom, trading her sinister vestments for her usual school uniform as her retainer respectfully averted his gaze.

"Should events continue to progress as they have been, perhaps we'll not need to exert so much effort to eradicate them once we have no more use for them," considered Hubert.

"Yes, but that still leaves us with the problem of the Church." Edelgard sighed. "Maybe it's time I sought other allies instead of these malicious yet increasingly incompetent undesirables." She paused to ponder the possibilities. "Perhaps I might start with our new professor…"