Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?!” Dimitri asked, rushing to Edelgard’s side and checking for wounds or signs of injury. The imperial princess huffed and shoved Dimitri away from her, glaring.

“Must you always be so easily ruffled? I am fine. I didn’t call you here because I’m in danger,” Edelgard said, tone slightly irritated. Dimitri brushed himself off from the harshness and looked around the training grounds. No one else was in here at the moment, which was odd enough.

Felix practically lived in the training hall and Dimitri found himself wondering where the stubborn swordsman was. Although, there was a brief incident where he began yelling at Sylvain. Perhaps that was occupying his time at the moment.

“Forgive me. Why did you call me here then?” the prince asked, noticing that beneath the irritation, the leader of the Black Eagles seemed stressed about something. She did a quick scan of the room as Dimitri just had, likely to ensure that they were completely alone.

“I trust you can keep a secret, yes?” She asked, crossing her arms. Dimitri nodded slowly, Edelgard’s demeanor not something he would ever be able to get used to. His El from childhood was not this stone-cold figure before him. That soft El who taught him how to dance was somewhere lost in the mix of who she’d turned into. It was miraculous enough that she sought him out to have a conversation, albeit one with an ulterior motive apparently.

“I think something strange is happening in regard to the crests. I noticed Lysithia’s crests acting up in a mock battle the other day. And my own crest is giving me trouble as of late. Have you noticed anything with yours?” She asked, straight to the point. Her collected nature was the slightest sliver gone. Dimitri was unsure of how to process this. In truth, he hadn’t the smallest inclination that something strange was going on. Everything seemed normal at the monastery. And what exactly did Edelgard mean about crests “acting up?” That could mean a myriad of things.

But Edelgard’s concern was not to be taken lightly. She may have been cold, but she was not blind. If something seemed amiss, it likely was.

“Nothing like that has happened to me or any of the Blue Lions, but I can ask around if you’d like,” he offered, feeling dumb as soon as the words left his mouth. She’d impressed upon him that this was meant to be a secret. Of course she wouldn’t want him to ask about this. Edelgard’s knowing look told him that she knew what just went on in his head.

“What sort of things are hap-

“Hey Dimitri, you’re here! Told you he’d be here Felix, didn’t I? Oh, and the lovely Edelgard is here as well. How are you on this fine day my lady?”
“Do you ever shut up?”

Dimitri was caught off guard by the presence of his two childhood friends all of a sudden. He hardly remembered what he was saying from the suddenness of it all. He supposed his questions for Edelgard would have to wait. The imperial princess went to make an exit, but Sylvain spoke up before she could.

“Your imperialness,” he breathed dramatically, reaching for Edelgard’s hand. “You don’t need to leave. In fact, stay a while, won’t you? Then maybe you and I can share a meal after?” He asked with a wink and charming smile. The imperial princess pinched Sylvain’s hand in a way that hit his nerves in response, causing him to squeal and run to Felix, begging the swordsman to ease the ache. Dimitri chuckled a little at the display and the way Edelgard hid a smile did not go by unnoticed by him. They shared a secret look of a past forgotten for a moment so brief, it may not have even happened.

“Spar with me unless you’re afraid,” Felix directed to Dimitri, grabbing an iron sword from the weapons rack. Those words snapped Dimitri out of whatever thoughts were starting to form and he looked to Edelgard apologetically.

“We shall continue our talk later, though I don’t think you have any answers I’m looking for,” Edelgard relented, looking at a loss. Dimitri wanted to be of more help, but he wasn’t well versed on the knowledge of crests to begin with. They weren’t that important to him. But that thought alone gave him an idea. He raced up to Edelgard and asked her to wait.

“You could always ask Hanneman about this after his seminar. I think it ends in about half an hour. He is so passionate about the subject of crests, surely he won’t even try to pry about why you’re asking in the first place,” Dimitri suggested, gesturing to the door. Edelgard seemed lost in thought as she always did these days and finally elected to nodding and heading out, leaving the Prince to spar with his childhood friends. Dimitri hoped she might thank him, but he knew it was a lost cause with this particular girl.

“Aw man, she’s leaving? Now what are we fighting for?” Sylvain asked, electing to peer out the window and see if Dorothea was in sight. Felix shot Sylvain a glare that went missed, and Dimitri decided to pick out a steel lance to get in fighting form.

-

“And if you turn the page, you'll see that there are various stances for casting magic as well!” Hanneman chortled, rubbing his beard jovially. The rest of the class was either half asleep, or doodling aimlessly in their tomes.

“Claude, stop throwing spitballs at me!” Hilda whisper yelled behind her. unfortunately, she turned around at the wrong time and a spitball landed smack on her forehead, causing her to shriek loud enough for the people in Enbar to hear. the entire class froze, including Professor Hanneman. Hilda's eyes slowly went from pink to red and her fist clenched into a fist so tight, it made her outfit look like a potato sack. Claude laughed nervously and waved jokingly at the pink haired girl.

“Claude Von Riegan!” She then shouted, jumping out of her seat like a wild jungle cat. The future leader of the alliance gulped and tried to calm her down, but anyone that knew Hilda knew that it was a lost cause. The pair ran out of the classroom at thoron speed, with Hilda shouting profanities after Claude. Professor Hanneman seemed like he was waiting for someone to say something, but realized he should probably be the one to.

“Ahem, well. Back to the chapter at hand. Magic casting stance...” he lectured, clearing his throat. The class shrugged and went back to not paying any heed to his humdrum seminar. Once or twice, Annette was caught humming by Lindhart who asked her to quiet down as he was trying to nap.

A few minutes later, the bell chimed, and the class flooded out into the halls, eager to see Hilda and Claude going at it no doubt. One young lady was left behind in the sea of students as she was ensuring all her things were organized in her bag.

“Ah, Jasmine. A word please?” Professor Hanneman inquired as he wiped the chalkboard clean. The brunette sighed, fearing this would happen. She knew she should have just shoved everything into her bag and organized it all later. Being the new girl sucked. Still, as Jasmine walked up to Hanneman's desk, she hoped her stepsister was having better luck.

“Yes professor? You asked for me?” The most recent addition to the academy asked. Hanneman pushed his glasses up and tapped his clipboard with purpose.

“Ah yes. Lady Rhea asked me to let you know she’d like a word with you, no doubt about which house you have decided to join,” He conveyed with a nod.

“Of course professor. I will go speak her right away,” Jasmine replied dutifully, thanking him. As she headed for the door, Hanneman piped up.

“Speaking of, have you decided which house you will join? I was hoping my speech about how respectable the blue lions are would have swayed you in the right direction,” he asked, crossing his arms and giving a warm smile. Jasmine almost felt guilty about not having given that speech much thought. Somewhere between the “And we triumph over nay doers…” portion of Hanneman’s monologue on her first day seeing the school, she’d tuned out and wondered how a nice a bubble bath would feel in the monastery bathhouse.

“I’m still deciding, but I’m sure the answer will come to me sooner rather than later,” Jasmine spoke, forcing her smile now. Hanneman placed a finger up as though he were about to go into yet another monologue and Jasmine figured she may as well settle in for the next half hour. That delicious looking strawberry pastry in the dining hall would have to wait.

-

“So what’s been going on with you and Felix? He seems to always grow more frustrated whenever you’re around,” Ingrid asked. Evangeline, the young golden deer student beside her, shrugged disinterestedly and tossed more bread at the birds flapping nearby the fishing pond.

“Are you asking me to try and understand the mind of a hotheaded Fraldarius?” She asked Ingrid, who couldn’t hold in a laugh at that. “It’s dreadful enough that you went off and got engaged to Glenn, but both of us dating in that family…can you imagine?” Evangeline added as an afterthought, paired with a giggle. Ingrid smiled serenely and switched to a laying down position so as to get more comfortable. The sun was just beginning to set, and the heat felt nice against her bare skin.

“I’d like to imagine it,” Ingrid answered, turning to face her closest girl friend. “We could be sisters in a sense. Would that be so bad?” She asked logically, nudging the other blonde. Evangeline waited for Ingrid to say she was only teasing, but the betrothed girl did no such thing.

“You can’t be serious Ingrid. Felix is the most stubborn, cold, and downright rude boy in all of Fodland! While impressive, it’s not admirable,” Evangeline scoffed, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Well then who is admirable? You never mention liking anybody. I’m not trying to say it’s a bad thing. I’m merely curious,” Ingrid explained, squinting for a moment when the sun hit her face at a harsh angle. Evangeline looked off into the water and thought to herself. For a brief moment, it seemed like she may be willing to explore something romantic with Claude, but the moment she saw him blowing something up in the dining hall with Hilda, that went away. Then for a time, she thought perhaps Caspar would be a suitable match, but his loudness was too much for her.

“I guess I don’t like anybody. It’s not from a lack of looking though, trust me. Nobody caught my eye is all,” Evangeline conveyed.

“E!! I finally found you! Man this place is HUGE! But E! I’m here!!” A powerful voice called out, causing a rift in the peaceful atmosphere. Ingrid immediately sat up, alert at once. Evangeline held in laughter, knowing that voice all too well.

The two blondes turned to see the source of the loud voice; a girl with dark brown hair that showed hints of mint blue hidden with the messy bun she adorned. She also sported a monastery uniform similar to Ingrid’s. Her gray eyes were bulged with a million thoughts to convey.

“Ingrid, you remember how I told you a friend of mine was joining the officer’s academy? Well, meet Nazareth,” Evangeline introduced, standing up and helping Ingrid do the same.

“It’s nice to meet you. Like Evangeline said, I’m Ingrid,” the blonde greeted with a welcoming smile. Nazareth shook Ingrid’s hand with sheer enthusiasm and returned the greeting before springing her energy onto Evangeline once more.

“E! I’m supposed to pick a house to join but I don’t know which one to pick! You’re a golden deer, right?” the brunette questioned, her voice traveling at rapid speed. Ingrid seemed to be trying to keep up while Evangeline was all too used to it.

“Take a breath Naz. Yeah I’m a golden deer. If you’re not sure which one to join, why not talk to the house leaders? I’d take you to Claude, but he’s kind of in detention right now,” Evangeline snickered, Ingrid soon following. They knew the leader of the Golden Deer house well enough to know that he was often there at this time. Nazareth seemed upset that she wouldn’t get to meet Claude, but then Ingrid piped up with a friendly smile and said,

“But I think Dimitri is in the training grounds with Sylvain and Felix. He’s the leader of my house, the Blue Lions. I could take you there if you like?”

Nazareth beamed and nodded right away, asking Evangeline to come along with and the trio began walking toward the training grounds. Along the way, Evangeline pointed out to Nazareth where the dining hall, dormitories, cathedral, and everything else the monastery had to offer was.

Once the trio reached the training grounds, Evangeline opened the door and the other two stepped in to see Felix and Dimitri in the middle of a sparring match. The Prince of Faerghus was expertly dodging all of Felix’s attempts to strike him but was not landing any hits of his own.

“Felix, you’re too aggressive. Ease up and wait for the right moment,” Glenn called out, arms crossed and expression calculating.

“Glenn, you’re here. I thought you were done sparring for the evening,” Ingrid mused, walking up to her future husband and giving him a kiss all the same. Nazareth looked at the people in the room and tried to piece together who they were.

“So that blond one is Dimitri? And those two look a lot alike, are they brothers?” Nazareth asked Evangeline, gesturing first to the Prince and then Felix and Glenn. Evangeline nodded.

“Yup. Dimitri leads the Blue Lions. Felix and Glenn are brothers and Glenn is Ingrid’s husband. Well, future husband. But they’re practically already married. The guy with the red hair back there is Sylvain. Stay away from him, he’s a total player. They’re all Blue Lions students,” Evangeline explained, pointing to each person she described.

“You don’t seem to like any of them in particular except for Ingrid,” Nazareth chuckled awkwardly.

“What do you mean?” Evangeline asked, appearing a little offended at the accusation.

“Well, you seem indifferent with Dimitri. You sounded like you were going to explode when you said Felix’s name. And you made Sylvain seem like the plague,” Nazareth grinned accusingly, poking Evangeline’s side. The blonde pushed Nazareth away and shook her head, not realizing she sounded so aggressive toward Felix.

“No, it’s not like that. They’re all great. Ingrid’s just my best fri-second best friend so,” Evangeline laughed, changing her sentence halfway through when Nazareth glared at her.

“Oh, Evangeline, who is this?” Dimitri suddenly asked, halting his match with Felix. The swordsman did not seem particularly happy about this. He would have landed a blow to Dimitri in his irritation were it not for Glenn and Ingrid keeping him at bay.

“Hi Dimitri. This is my good friend Nazareth. She’s from Morfis and just moved here to the academy for school. Naz, this is Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, future heir to the throne,” Evangeline introduced, teasing Dimitri a bit because she knew how flustered he got at being addressed as such. Nazareth, for what it was worth, gushed at that.

“You’re an actual Prince? Wow! I’ve never met one in person before. And you go to school here?” The brunette asked, tone all bubbles and awe. Dimitri immediately grew pink cheeks and waved that off.

“Please. Just Dimitri is fine. Nobody addresses me by my title here. That’s all in the future,” he insisted humbly. “But it is a pleasure to meet you Nazareth. So you’re not sure which house to join?” He asked with a kind smile. Nazareth nodded and pointed to Evangeline.

“See, E is my best friend, but I don’t want to just pick the Golden Deer house because of that, you know? I want to make this choice without any bias,” she explained. Dimitri chuckled at that.

“I see. A noble thought. Well I hope I and the others can manage to sway you into becoming a Blue Lion,” he said with a charming smile. “If you have any questions about the other students or anything at all really, please don’t hesitate to ask,” he encouraged, flustering Nazareth a little. His kindness was so unexpected. Not that the brunette thought him to be rude, but he was just so…charming. Nazareth was struck with something. She tried to form words, but his smile was rendering her a little speechless, so she nodded dumbly, which Evangeline noticed with a peculiar expression.

“Thanks Dimitri. We’re going to go ask Ingrid something now, but I’ll be sure to send Naz your way right after,” Evangeline said, briskly pulling Nazareth away from the blond Prince.

“So?” The blonde asked her best friend. Nazareth smiled brightly once more, her trance seeming like it never happened.

“Well he seems really nice. Like super nice actually. Very friendly. I think that’s a good sign,” Nazareth conveyed honestly. Ingrid caught Nazareth’s words and nodded in agreement.

“Oh yes. His highness is an extremely kind and patient man. His father taught him to be a gentleman and it was quite funny growing up with him. He was the picture-perfect prim and proper prince. Meanwhile, I was a slob who got into messes more often than not,” she revealed with a reminiscent laugh. Glenn smiled fondly at the memory and added a few choice details of his own.

“Oh I can just see it from that one conversation we had. He seems very sweet,” Nazareth added, no doubt planning out their entire friendship in her head.

‘Unbelievable. It’s like she doesn’t even realize she’s already crushing on the guy,’ Evangeline thought to herself as her best friend and Ingrid conversed more about Dimitri and his personality.

“Your little friend cut my training session short,” Felix commented, walking past Evangeline and placing his now worn-out sword on the weapons rack. Evangeline told herself to take a beat so as not to lash out at the hotheaded guy.

“Yes. Nazareth is new and I just wanted her to get comfortable here before she starts classes and training next week,” Evangeline answered, walking toward Felix seeing as he’d walked away. She took care to emphasize Nazareth’s name so Felix wouldn’t indulge in his habit of not referring to people by their actual names.

“It matters not in the long run. I would have fell that boar prince within two more minutes,” Felix shrugged off. Evangeline held in an eye roll. It was like nothing she’d said in her sentence was heard.

“A pleasure as always,” Evangeline said sarcastically, heading back to her friends.

-

Edelgard walked toward Professor Hanneman’s classroom with hope in her heart. If anyone knew of a crest’s suspicious nature and hidden powers, it was him. The man loved to talk, but this time he might actually say something useful. She silently thanked Dimitri for coming up with such an ingenious idea.

When she neared the lecture hall however, she heard Hanneman’s voice going off with no intention of stopping. He was prattling on about the Blue Lion house’s history. Edelgard rose an eyebrow and peeked at the poor unfortunate listener of such a lecture.

‘That’s one of the two girls that joined. The sisters. I can’t remember their names however,’ Edelgard thought to herself, looking at the brunette sporting a well-done braid crown. She seemed to be forcing herself not to come off as rude, but Edelgard could see that awkward shifting of weight from one leg to the other; a trick any girl used when they secretly wanted out of a situation. The imperial princess quickly thought of a way to both help this girl out and destress herself in the process. The crest questions would simply have to wait a little longer.

Edelgard pushed the door open and narrowed her eyes at the brunette, capturing both party’s attention.

“There you are. Your sister has been searching for you for quite some time now. You do remember the dinner reservation we all had, don’t you? It’s impolite to keep a party waiting,” Edelgard said to Jasmine, crossing her arms. Jasmine caught on quickly, which was something Edelgard appreciated. The brunette faked a bashful expression and turned apologetically to Hanneman.

“I’m really sorry to cut your speech short professor, but it’s true. I did have dinner plans and I would hate to keep them waiting longer than I already have,” she said to Hanneman with a bow.

“Oh not at all young lady! I am so sorry to have kept her Lady Edelgard. Well then, I’ll be off. A very good night to you both,” Hanneman said, dismissing the pair. Edelgard gestured for Jasmine to follow her and the brunette did so gladly. Once they were out in the hall, Jasmine looked and found the girl to be familiar. If she recalled correctly, this girl was the leader of the black eagle house.

“Seriously thank you for that, Edelgard was it?” Jasmine asked as they walked down the expanse of hallway.

“Yes. Edelgard Von Hreslveg. And you are Nazareth, yes?” Edelgard asked conversationally. Jasmine laughed and shook her head, the thought of being mistaken for her step sister too laughable. With blue in her hair, it was impossible for Nazareth to look like Jasmine. And that wasn’t even taking into account that Nazareth wasn’t her sister by blood. Though Jasmine supposed it could just be the fact that Edelgard hadn’t met either of them yet.

“No, that’s my younger step-sister. I’m Jasmine Von Rikenhart,” the brunette answered, stifling a yawn. The day’s events were starting to take their toll on the young girl. All she wanted was to get some food and then relax for a bit. Hanneman had drained her of what little energy she had at the start of his seminar.

“Ah. It’s nice to meet you. I’m guessing by the way Hanneman was going on about the Blue Lions legacy, you haven’t decided which house to join yet?” Edelgard mused, leading Jasmine down a different corridor. Jasmine sighed and stretched her arms behind her head. If she didn’t decide which house to join soon, she might burst from the sheer absurdity of it all.

“You guess correctly. Lady Rhea explained that I could go talk to the house leaders, but it’s a little difficult to get ahold of some of them,” she replied, thinking of how Claude was likely sitting comfortably in detention right now. How before that, he was busy pranking some poor blond boy with glasses (something to do with replacing paint with assorted jams?). And Dimitri was always sparring with Felix, so she didn’t feel comfortable interrupting that. Edelgard was the only one she didn’t make much of an effort to try and talk to because most people feared her. But seeing her here now, Jasmine wasn’t the least bit afraid. In fact, the brunette admired this house leader so far.

“Well, I could always go into the history of my house if you’d like,” Edelgard started with a delicate smile that hinted she was joking. “But something tells me you’d much prefer the shorter breakdown of it all,” she then continued, sensing Jasmine’s frustration with Hanneman’s ability to endlessly talk. Jasmine had to give the girl credit. She had a very subtle sense of humor that you’d miss if you blinked.

“I know,” Jasmine giggled, letting the girl know her joke was appreciated. “And sorry if I appear irritated. It’s just…

“Been a long day?” Edelgard finished, nodding understandably when Jasmine said that was exactly what it was.

“Well I’ll tell you this then; The Black Eagles, my house, is one where studying takes precedence. We have the highest marks of all the houses. We pride ourselves in being strong and try to get each other out of our comfort zones enough to be able to handle anything the outside world may throw at us,” Edelgard listed off as they walked past the garden. It was riddled with purple and orange windflowers at the moment and added a regal feel to the outdoor expanse. Jasmine took care to not step on any of the delicate buds.

Jasmine liked that description a lot. It seemed to check off everything in her mental list. Studying was definitely a priority, and to have that in a house was something she wasn’t used to. No one from her family quite took to studying. Nazareth would sooner watch paint dry than take an interest in school.

“The Blue Lions house is led by Dimitri, better known as the Prince of Faerghus. His house members consist of his childhood friends and a few nobles. They like to keep themselves presentable to all. They are all very kind and helpful and believe in strong familial bonds,” The imperial princess continued, leading Jasmine through a hidden path to sit at the gazebo within the garden. The two girls sat at one of the tea tables as Jasmine continued to listen to Edelgard’s descriptions.

The Blue Lion house seemed like a nice place to be if you wanted to feel right at home. Jasmine just wasn’t sure it was what she wanted. Home was amazing, but she preferred to keep school as a separate feeling altogether. The Black Eagle House seemed to still be the choice to make so far. There was nary a thing that seemed unappealing about it.

“And finally, the Golden Deer. Led by Claude Von Reigan of the Leister Alliance. Sometimes I wonder how he gets dressed in the morning. He’s more of a prankster than he is a leader. He rarely takes anything seriously and his house is more of the fun place to be rather than a place of serious learning and growth,” Edelgard said briskly, crossing one leg over the other after she finished.

Jasmine didn’t know what to think. Of all her descriptions, the one Edelgard gave about the Golden Deer seemed so…mean. She sounded rather condescending when talking about Claude’s house. It didn’t help that Jasmine was already weary of the boy. He appeared to be too high-strung for her taste.

“Do you know Claude well?” Jasmine asked carefully. While she didn’t know her well, Jasmine could tell Edelgard was not a very open or sharing person by default. She would not offer this information up. It was up to the brunette to pry it out of her.

“Not too well. Just enough to know that he isn’t very driven. However, that probably has to do with upbringing. Dimitri and I were brought up very differently, being from a royal lineage. But never mind all of that. What do you think based on what I’ve told you? Do one of the houses sound like a right fit?” Edelgard asked, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. She seemed to be getting a read on Jasmine, who felt as though she were being graded for an assignment she did not know was due today.

While intimidating, Edelgard seemed to be a natural born leader. She was someone Jasmine could look up to as a role model. And she even helped her escape Hanneman’s dreadful lecture earlier. But before formally agreeing to join the house, Jasmine wanted to get to know some of the other students better. If they didn’t get along with her, there would be no point.

“If you want to get to know some of the students better, I believe Ferdinand and Petra are in the dining hall preparing dinner. You can’t miss them. Would you like me to take you there?” The imperial princess offered, seemingly reading Jasmine’s mind.

“I appreciate that. And thank you for everything Edelgard. I think I’ll do that. But I’ve taken enough of your time. Don’t worry, I’ll find my way there,” Jasmine replied, not wanting to disturb her hopefully future house leader.

“It’s really no trouble at all. And it will give me something to do as well,” Edelgard insisted. Jasmine was secretly overjoyed over this turn of events. It seemed as if the goddess granted her a burst of energy from her meeting with Edelgard and it was inciting her to explore more rather than nap.

“Lead the way,” Jasmine smiled, as the two stood up and heading into the direction of the dining hall.

-

“Yes actually. Despite his goofy external surface, Claude is quite brilliant and tactful on the battlefield and in his studies. He also has a keen knack for solving mysteries. But he loves to make everything in life enjoyable as well, so others assume he isn’t very driven. Is that sufficient enough of an answer?” Dimitri asked, seeming embarrassed for having gone on so long about the subject. Nazareth did not seem to mind at all if her ever bright smile was anything to go by. The two were sat at a bench in the training grounds, Dimitri and Felix’s sparring match long forgotten. Nazareth had been firing off question after question, trying to get to know everything about each house.

From Dimitri’s descriptions, the other two-house leaders sounded equally amazing and smart. The only person Dimitri had yet to properly explain was himself.

“Oh yes. I find it very charming how you grow so passionate about even the smallest things Prince Dimitri,” Nazareth joked, emphasizing his royal title for fun. She didn’t regret that decision when Dimitri chuckled, hopefully finding her spunkiness just as charming as she found him to be.

“Are there any more questions you’d like me to answer?” he asked kindly, folding his hands in his lap.

“You’ve not told me a thing about yourself Prince Dimitri. What kind of person are you exactly?” Nazareth asked, hands hunched under her chin, so he knew he had her undivided attention. Dimitri’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as he pondered on how to answer the question.

“Forgive me Nazareth. It’s just a little difficult to be put on the spot I fear,” he chuckled awkwardly, pulling at his collar. Anyone with working eyes could see that Nazareth was positively smitten with the prince. Except for Nazareth herself apparently. Every small action he took, every simple word he spoke, had her captivated. Even his nervousness was alluring to her. She’d never met someone so utterly kind and helpful to anyone and everyone. It just didn’t register in her mind that this was more than simple admiration.

“No apology necessary. I understand this completely. I met Caspar earlier, and he is an amazing person really. Loves to talk and is as loud as me! When he asked me to tell him what I was like, I was at a loss. If it helps, maybe try saying things you are interested in?” Nazareth rambled with ease, trying to help make Dimitri feel less exposed. It seemed to work as the blond rubbed at his chin for a moment before he found the words.

“I am rather handy with a lance. I enjoy wielding one. I also enjoy making sure people are always happy. It pains me to see people suffering,” he listed, seeming satisfied with his answer.

Neither of the two noticed the rest of the room watching them with interest. Sylvian in particular found the scene interesting. He nudged Ingrid and said, “it’s about time, don’t you think?”

The blonde faced Sylvain with confusion.

“About time for what?” She asked. Felix rolled his eyes, seeming to guess what was coming and Evangeline’s expression was an interesting mix of both Felix’s and Sylvain’s. Glenn seemed uninterested, but paid attention for Ingrid’s sake.

Sylvain placed a hand on his heart and dramatically sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? Nazzy has an adorable little crush on his highness. And he is not minding the attention,” Sylvain conveyed, putting his arms around Ingrid and Glenn alike. They instantly shrugged him off with aggression and Sylvain pouted in response.

“A crush? I doubt it. She only just met him,” Ingrid countered, crossing her arms. “Not everyone is always thinking about the next hookup as you do Sylvain,” she berated as an afterthought. Sylvain smirked and pointed to Glenn.

“Bold words from the only one of us at the monastery who is engaged,” he jested, laughing heartily when Ingrid elbowed him for such a comment.

“Well I think it’s sweet that Dimitri is finally getting this kind of attention. Look at the sweet thing. He’s not used to it and he’s practically basking in it,” Dorothea piped up, hand on her chin as she admired the couple. Felix narrowed his eyes at her.

“When did you get here?” he asked. She was not in the training room earlier and the door hadn’t made a noise.

“Isn’t it? I bet by this time next year, they’ll be engaged,” Sylvain winked to Dorothea and the two laughed as though they were sharing some unknown secret. Felix grew frustrated that his question was left unanswered and clenched his fists.

“I’m sorry, is no one else wondering when she got here? She wasn’t here a moment ago,” the hotheaded boy reiterated. Still, his question went on deaf ears. Evangeline would have answered were it not for the fact that she was too busy being shocked at the fact that Nazareth went and got a crush five minutes into entering the monastery. And on Dimitri no less. They weren’t the most unlikely pair, but it seemed off. In fact, Evangeline could’ve sworn Dimitri had a thing for Edelgard.

“Evangeline? You haven’t said anything. Nazareth is your best friend. What do you think about this?” Ingrid asked, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. It was unlike Evangeline to not partake in a group conversation. Usually, Sylvain’s antics entertained her if anything. The blonde in question seemed to spring back to reality and she glanced over at Nazareth and Dimitri. Her best friend was animatedly telling some story to the prince, who was laughing and nodding along at all the seemingly right places. Evangeline knew how hard it was to keep up with Nazareth’s hyper personality. However, Dimitri was also just very kindhearted. She was afraid of Nazareth’s heart breaking for reading into that friendship as more than it was.

“I’m not sure they’re going to be a couple. They seem like they’ll be very good friends though,” Evangeline tried, but Sylvain and Dorothea took that thought through one ear and let it pour out of the other faster than a bolt of thoron. Ingrid tried to indulge her friend’s take, but Sylvain and Dorothea began naming Nazareth and Dimitri’s future children and so Ingrid thought it to be a waste of time.

“What about you Glenn. Do you suppose his highness could really end up with that girl?” She instead asked her betrothed. Glenn for his part, at least attempted to look invested for Ingrid’s sake.

“So we’re going to pretend that Dorothea was here the whole time are we?” Felix asked with a mutter. Evangeline was too absorbed in the conversation regarding her best friend to indulge Felix, and the others simply didn’t hear his mumbling.

“I think it’s possible, but she does seem a little too lively for him. Dimitri himself is very reserved and calm,” Glenn answered eventually.

“I happen to agree,” Ingrid mused, looking once more at the pair who were stuck in an endless conversation.

“Seriously, even the windows are barred. How the fuck did she get in here without me noticing?”

-

Edelgard seemed embarrassed as Caspar and Petra continued to make a mess of the stovetop. The two of them together on kitchen duty was a recipe for disaster apparently. There were eggshells in poor Petra’s purple braid and a surplus of flour all over Caspar’s uniform.

“Caspar. I am believing that the flour is too much amounting in the batter for the cake we are in making,” Petra concluded after a moment, noticing that the dough was too thick. She attempted to showcase this by lifting the wooden spoon out of the bowl. It was apparent that she was right when the dough came out with it, stuck to the utensil. Jasmine had surprisingly gotten used to the Brigid girl’s way of speaking faster than she thought. It had only taken three sentences for it to start to sound normal.

“Hmm, I guess we can always just try again. Hey Jasmine! This could be a great bonding exercise! Why don’t you help us out?” Caspar asked in his signature loud voice. Petra seemed to think that was an amazing idea as well as she gestured for the brunette to join them. Edelgard went to protest, but Jasmine insisted it was alright.

“In fact, why don’t you help out too Edelgard? That way, there’s less of a chance of something…exploding,” Jasmine laughed, pulling the house leader behind the stove so the four of them were now cramped in the small cooking station.

“Pass the butter!”

“I am to be mixing the bowl with swiftness.”

“Petra, Caspar, please. Measure out the flour before putting it in. That is how you caused such a ruckus in the first place. Honestly, take caution in the kitchen. We don’t want any fires.”

“I think this would taste nice if you add some vanilla essence. That’s what my step-sister would do.”

The four of them worked surprisingly well together. Edelgard’s no-nonsense attitude balanced out with Caspar’s abrasiveness. And Petra’s cluelessness countered perfectly with Jasmine’s awareness. In a way, they somehow made the best chef team.

“Well, thanks to all our combined efforts, we managed to get it in the oven without any further accidents,” Edelgard mused, setting a timer for their pound cake.

“I knew we’d get it done! Thanks to me mostly!” Caspar self-praised, crossing his arms. Petra smiled happily at the smell of cinnamon and vanilla that followed the baking process.

“I am liking the sweetness,” she then added in, staring at the oven as though it were the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

Jasmine pondered on how this moment felt. In short, it just felt right. Watching Caspar throw flour at Petra and then explaining that it was a fun thing to do. Laughing as Edelgard smacked Caspar with a wooden spoon for wasting ingredients. Almost dropping the bowl at one point and feeling utterly clumsy until Petra insisted that she’d dropped the bowl countless times before. All of it seemed so welcoming.

“I think the black eagles is the house I’m going to join,” Jasmine declared with confidence. Petra and Caspar immediately began rejoicing and welcoming her in officially. Edelgard sent a simple smile and nod her way and said she looked forward to seeing Jasmine at their study sessions.

Jasmine also found herself wondering which house Nazareth decided to join. Hopefully they picked the same one.

-

“Reason is impossible. And a waste of time. Why do I need to know this?” Felix mumbled in disdain, slamming his book closed. Evangeline winced at the noise, not having expected it so suddenly in the library. Ingrid instantly tuned in as if her favorite show was about to start, and Glenn did not so much as even bat an eye.

Evangeline shook her head and tried hard to not take that comment as a personal affront.

“Reason is extremely important for a myriad of reasons. Range can be very useful in battle if an enemy is a lot faster. That’s something swords do not provide,” she said with heat. Felix rolled his eyes.

Glenn and Ingrid silently placed bets on who they thought would win the argument. Ingrid’s money was on Felix’s stubbornness whilst Glenn was sure Evangeline would outsmart him.

“Range is for cowards. If someone is not man enough to face me head on in combat, they are weak,” he countered, shoving the book away from his vicinity. Evangeline clenched her fist and glared at the swordsman.

Glenn nodded in agreement with his brother’s statement, earning him a nudge from Ingrid along with a, “what about my javelin? Or your Levin sword?!”

“Range is for strategists, not cowards. That’s a concept any Golden Deer would know. You’re making unreasonable excuses because it’s just an impossible concept for you to grasp,” Evangeline whisper-shouted in her anger. That accusation seemed to get to Felix because he glared right back and rolled his sleeves up.

Ingrid tried hard not to laugh at that, but it held some truth to it in her eyes. Glenn seemed to be worried for Evangeline’s well-being. A harsh blow like that was not something that sat well with Fraldarius men. He wouldn’t be surprised if Felix challenged the poor girl to a fight then and there.

“If I cared to learn about it, I would grasp the concept instantly. And I’d pass you up faster than any little thunder magic you can conjure,” he bet with attitude. Ingrid and Glenn immediately pretended to look busy so as not to be blatant with their eavesdropping.

“So which house do you think that friend of Evangeline’s will join?” Glenn asked Ingrid, tuning out the bickering pair. Ingrid seemed surprised that Glenn took an interest in someone else’s life, but knew better than to call attention to it. That would end the conversation.

“I think she’ll pick the blue lions. It’s clear she gets along well with Dimitri and liking the house leader is the biggest part of this decision,” Ingrid reasoned, silently returning the question back to her betrothed. Glenn shook his head.

“I disagree. Evangeline said the girl was from Morfis. That means she’s likely gifted in magic. She’ll join the Golden Deer. Pair that with the fact that it’s the house her best friend is in and the answer is obvious. Girls are guided by their emotions,” he said, relaying his thoughts. Ingrid rose an eyebrow at that last bit and Glenn inwardly cursed himself for the lecture that was sure to follow.

Meanwhile, in the far corner of the library, Nazareth was handing book after book to Dimitri.

“You’re sure it’s alright for me to borrow these many books at once? Also, please let me know if they’re getting too heavy! I can always carry some of them,” the brunette asked apologetically as she stacked a seventh book onto the pile the prince was carrying.

“You can borrow as many as you like at once. And it’s really no trouble at all. If I cannot carry a few books, I am ill-suited for a battlefield,” Dimitri insisted with a chuckle. Nazareth still felt a little bad and decided to carry half of the books, despite Dimitri’s instance.

After a few more books, the two settled to taking a small break and placed their books on an empty table to sit down.

“So have you decided which house you’ll be joining?” He asked, genuinely curious. Nazareth nodded eagerly.

“Oh yes. I want to be a Golden Deer. It seems like such a fun place where people can joke around and be aloof. And the mages you described seem like wonderful mentors. And of course, Evangeline is there so I’ll feel right at home,” Nazareth conveyed, reaching for one of the books she’d grabbed. It was titled ‘Reason for Intermediates. A Look into Elthunder, Elfire, and excalibur.’

“Oh,” Dimitri said, Nazareth’s answer not being what he expected. “I admit, I was hoping you would choose the Blue Lion house. You seemed to get along well with the others back at the training grounds. But I respect your decision nevertheless,” Dimitri continued with a tinge of sadness. Nazareth beamed and bubbled into laughter, confusing the young prince. She looked up from her book, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“I was joking. I want to be a Blue Lion. You all seem so friendly and kind. I want that to rub off on me. The ties of friendship are what I value more than anything. And I’m already certain Ingrid and I will get along great just as you and I do,” she explained, thinking it was worth the teasing when Dimitri turned bashful. For a moment, he was silent, but then he broke into a different kind of smile. It was the sort of smile you saw on someone who was reliving their childhood. Nazareth wondered what caused such an action.

“I admit, that worked. You had me fooled. But I am happy to be the first to welcome you into the Blue Lions. I hope you grow to love it here at the monastery,” Dimitri said regally. Nazareth could not stop smiling and the pair began to delve into the subject of magic with one of the many books she had pulled off of shelves. The brunette found it quite comical how the prince lacked any magical knowledge.

-

Jasmine dipped her feet in the fishpond, hoping the rumors about fish nipping at people’s flesh were false. The water was cool and felt nice in contrast to the warm breeze that was blowing. It had been a long day indeed, but later into it, it grew to be enjoyable. She’d gotten a dorm room and was ready to retire to it in a few minutes. She just wanted to see Nazareth first.

Also, there was something about Edelgard that did not sit well with her. Sure, the imperial princess seemed put together and an amazing leader, but it seemed like she was hiding something. Every one of Edelgard’s words and moves seemed calculated and precise. And her demeanor was very shifty at times. It was almost like she wasn’t just at the monastery merely as a student. But what else could she be planning? Jasmine tried to tell herself it was the excitement of a mystery that was making her think this way, but it was hard when Edelgard seemed so suspicious right off the bat.

“Jas, hey. There you are. I’d say I’ve been looking everywhere for you, but to be honest, I only just got out of the library,” Nazareth piped up, settling into the small space next to her step-sister. Jasmine leaned into Nazareth’s side and they sat there together in the peaceful air.

“I actually was looking for you a while ago. I picked a house,” Jasmine said, glancing at her sister from the corner of her eye after admitting that. As expected, Nazareth perked right up and went back to her natural hyper state.

“Same time?” Nazareth asked, bright grin on her face, feeling that Jasmine had to have picked the same one.

“Same time,” Jasmine agreed with a nod. They took in a breath and then cried out-

“Blue Lions!”
“Black Eagles!”

“Wait WHAT?!”

-

Edelgard shut the door quietly behind her, certain no one caught sight of her. She settled into the room and sat across from Byleth.

“I spoke to Dimitri. I nearly asked him to join my path. My cause. Yet, I held back still. I do not think he will understand,” Edelgard relayed with anger. Byleth placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to offer comfort.

“Are you alright? That must have taken a toll. I know what Dimitri means to you,” he said.

“It’s fine. I block out those memories the best I can. I don’t hold fondness for those times. In other news, I also recruited that new girl, Jasmine into our house. I feel that I may be able to get her to see the error of the church’s ways,” Edelgard bemused.

“That is wonderful news Edelgard. However, are you prepared to deal with the fallout if she is not willing to cooperate? And I detect that this may be a way for you to divert your attention from Dimitri,” Byleth says calmly.

“I will be hurt, but I am prepared to do what I must,” Edelgard relents, slouching her shoulders. For reasons she could not explain, she always felt a warm comfort in the presence of her beloved professor. She purposely ignored his acknowledgement of Dimitri.

“Edelgard,” he intoned knowingly. The imperial princess sighed and looked away.

“I still want to try and convince him. But what if I cannot?” she asks, unwilling to admit how much it would break her when the crown prince inevitably turned on her and became something else entirely.

“It will all be alright. You knew this was a path that not many would follow. The important thing is that you yourself stay true to what you believe in, Byleth placated.

Edelgard smiled softly at him, her amethyst eyes sparkling with a passionate fire. “I think the important thing is that you chose to side with me professor. I don’t think I would have the strength to keep on going without you walking this path with me,” she admitted.

“I trust you. I always will,” Byleth conveyed with a sincere smile. 

Chapter Text

“Ah, Edelgard. I’m grateful you made time for m-ah. I see you’ve brought Hubert,” Dimitri bowed, losing a small part of his composure when seeing the royal guard accompanying the princess. The cathedral was empty this early in the morning, save for the choir coordinator and the three of them. Hubert made a lowly sort of grunting sound toward Dimitri. His daunting lizard-like eyes were as calculated as ever where Edelgard was concerned.

“Hubert, you are dismissed until I call for you again. Leave Dimitri and I to discuss something,” Edelgard ordered. The dark mage scowled in Dimitri’s direction once more, not even attempting subtlety in the action.

“Yes, Lady Edelgard. Should anything trouble you, do not hesitate to send for me,” he spoke in his dry, raspy tone. His eyes never left Dimitri, even as he left the cathedral. The blond Prince noticed this, but regality trained him not to visibly react.

“He is as ever watchful as he was when we were kids,” Dimitri commented with a chuckle once Hubert was out of earshot. Edelgard did not respond to the mention of their past and simply gestured for them to take a seat at one of the pews. For the hundredth time, Dimitri wondered whether Edelgard even recalled their short time together from childhood.

“Do you remember? What it was like when we were kids?” He prodded once more when Edelgard made no move to start the conversation. She appeared to grow uncomfortable at the question. Her demeanor stiffened further; a feat Dimitri did not think to be possible. His stepsister was always so frigid.

“I am not here to discuss the past. We must look to the future,” she says briskly, placing one hand on her hip. Dimitri muttered “where does that leave the present,” but it felt on deaf ears as Edelgard continued.

“Dimitri, can I trust you?”

“Are we not past this point yet? What purpose do you have of reaching out to me if you still must ask me this?” Dimitri asked, patience slowly wavering. Edelgard brushed his reaction off and went back to speaking.

“I have not been granted a moment alone with Hanneman, so I was unable to discuss my concerns,” she relayed appearing disturbed.

“May we stop speaking in riddles? Tell me what is happening with the crests. What have you uncovered El?” Dimitri asked with desperation. It was infuriating and a bit humiliating how much he had to ask for answers when it was her coming to him.

“Have you ever taken notice to Lysithea? The mage in Claude’s house?” she questioned. Dimitri was certain that this conversation was completely one sided, but his feeling overtook his logic in the imperial princess’ presence.

“Not particularly, but I know of her. Why do you ask?”

“She has two crests.”

When Edelgard revealed this, there was a flash of something that went through her eyes. Dimitri wondered if that was her attempt at sympathy. But…why?

“Is that not a good thing? Crests bode well for social status and-

“You are beyond ignorant Dimitri. You do know that?” Edelgard cut him off with furrowed eyebrows. Dimitri sighed and began walking toward the door. He did not need to sit here and be treated like a child when he was both mature beyond his years, and confused from lack of information. But Edelgard reached out her hand and grabbed his arm, looking down.

“I did not mean to snap at you. Forgive me. You couldn’t have known. Lysithea was a victim to brutal experiments. Her major crest, the one of Gloucester, was the one she was born with. After those…horrendous experiments, she was branded with the minor crest of Charon. Have you taken note to the color of her hair and eyes? They are both light, an odd combination, do you agree?” she asks, slowly letting go of his arm. Dimitri’s arm felt warm from where her grip once was. He looked at Edelgard with only more and more questions forming.

‘Why was she paying attention to Lysithea?’ ‘Why did she notice that?’ ‘If that’s true, then does Edelgard have two crests?’ ‘Is that why Edelgard’s hair was once brown and is now white?’ ‘Was she experimented on?’ ‘What kinds of experiments?’ ‘What does possessing two crests mean?’ ‘Why them specifically?’

“Edelgard, wh-

Before Dimitri could finish his question, Hubert barged in, shooting the prince a glare for no reason as always.

“Lady Edelgard. Classes are meant to start soon. Shall we?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of Dimitri. His glare would have haunted any other, but Dimitri was indifferent to it by now.

“I’m afraid I won’t be attending my classes today. Dimitri won’t be either,” she says to Hubert, her eyes also not leaving the prince. Dimitri shot Edelgard a bewildered look.

“And when was this decided?” He asked her, not liking how she was dictating his moves.

“I knew our conversation would run long. I had Professor Byleth make arrangements so that we may take the day off,” she explained. Hubert finally moved his gaze away from Dimitri to look at the future empress.

“You know I could have very well taken care of that for you. I live to serve you Lady Edelgard,” he said, sounding upset at the fact that someone else had done something for her. And at the fact that he was not notified of her plans.

“I know Hubert. But it was easier this way because Byleth is a professor himself. You are dismissed once more. I will meet up with you again later tonight,” she said, waving him off. Hubert shot one final glare at Dimitri before taking his leave, slamming the door in his wake.

“He does not like anyone, does he?” Dimitri asked, momentarily forgetting the seriousness of their conversation.

“No. But that has its own explanation. Back to the matter at hand…”

-

“What is that Princess constantly talking all hush and quiet like to Dimitri about?” Claude wondered aloud, tossing some roasted hazelnuts into his mouth. The young Golden Deer leader sighed and put his binoculars down. Were they just sneaking around like secret lovers or was there more to it? Claude wasn’t sure just yet, but he was going to get to the bottom of it if it was the last thing he did. Well, that and recovering his homeland’s hero’s relic.

He was so absorbed in his meddling that he didn’t catch someone spying on him.

“What on earth are you doing?!” Jasmine exclaimed, eyeing the binoculars around Claude’s neck. Claude glanced up and rubbed at his chin.

“I don’t suppose you’ll believe me if I say I was birdwatching?” He asked with a goofy grin. Jasmine squinted, trying to put two and two together. The only person in their line of sight was...Dorothea! Jasmine instantly narrowed her gaze onto Claude and placed her hands on her hips. Claude seemed to immediately catch onto where Jasmine’s mind went because his goofy demeanor faded, and his eyes widened.

“I swear, it’s not what you think!”

“You were peeking at Dorothea while she wasn’t looking!”

“No no! You got it all wrong, I-

“Pervert!”

“Jasmine, shush,” Claude pleaded, covering the brunette’s mouth with his hand and forcing her to sit down next to him on the ground. Jasmine tried to smack his hand away, but the house leader was too strong. With his other hand, he pointed at a rather narrow slit in the wall of the cathedral. “Edelgard and Dimitri are in there,” he said exasperatedly. 

“Hmm mm mmmm!” Jasmine exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows. If looks could kill, Claude would have finally died; a feat Hilda had sought after for years.

“Did you say that you think digestion is extremely important and a nice walk along the garden is in in order?” He winked, holding in laughter.  Jasmine gave up her struggling and instead sighed in defeat, giving Claude a somber look.

-

“This homework is taking forever. How can Professor Rodrigue expect us to get all of this done before class?!” Evangeline complained, throwing her pen in the grass in annoyance. Ingrid peered over her friend’s shoulder and rose an eyebrow.

“I received no such homework and I was in that seminar the week before,” she voiced. Evangeline grew confused at this news.

“I was in that seminar with you yesterday and I didn’t get that assignment either,” Felix revealed, sounding as uninvested as ever. Evangeline crossed her arms at this confession. Why was it only her that got extra work? That wasn’t fair.

“I’m going to talk to your father about this,” she decided, closing up her books and packing her things. Felix didn’t bother responding, but Ingrid stopped Evangeline in the middle of packing and shook her head.

“Hang on Evangeline. Aren’t you attending his seminar with Felix again today? Why don’t you just ask him then and save a trip down there?” She suggested. Evangeline thought for a moment and sighed, settling back down onto the grass.

“You’re right. I just hope I won’t get in trouble for not finishing this,” she explained, taking out a tome and deciding to study that instead.

“Felix, why don’t you help her out next time? You’re more proficient in swordsmanship after all,” Ingrid asked.

“Because I have better things to do than tutor an amateur. Speaking of, I need to go to the training grounds and help Sylvain learn how to actually hold a lance. He and that bore prince don’t have the slightest idea how to do it,” Felix grunted, hopping up from the grass. As he walked off, Evangeline rolled her eyes and mumbled, “oh so if I’m an amateur, what’s that make Sylvain?”

“Don’t let him get to you Evangeline. That’s just how he’s been since we were kids,” Ingrid sighed, laying down in the grass with her hands behind her head. Evangeline was going to respond by complaining about Felix some more, but something else caught her eye and distracted her.

“Hey Ingrid? Isn’t that Claude over there by the garden? Walking with…Nazareth’s sister Jasmine?” Evangeline asks, looking up from her fire tome.

Ingrid follows Evangeline’s gaze and cocks her head to the side.

“It is. That’s odd. What on earth are they spending time together for? Did she not decide to join the Black Eagles?” the lance wielder asked peculiarly.

Evangeline thought to herself to ask Nazareth about it later. If there was something going on, Nazareth would be peeved if she didn’t know about it. It was odd enough that she’d caught sight of Dimitri and Edelgard spending time together. Something weird was going on and needed her best friend’s perspective of things.

Plus, it wouldn’t be easy for Nazareth to hear that her crush was off having private time with another girl. The imperial princess no less.

-

“So, what is so fascinating about Dimitri and Edelgard being in the cathedral?” Jasmine asked as she and Claude walked alongside each other near the gazebo. The young girl had relented into going on a walk with the Golden Deer leader after he overpowered her.

Claude shrugged and hummed a little before gracing Jasmine with an answer. Eventually, he said “Just felt like snooping on his and her royal highness, that’s all. They seem kinda secretive lately, don’t you think?”

Jasmine chanced a look back to where the entrance of the cathedral was and caught sight of blue and red attire peeking through the aforementioned slit in the wall. Was Claude actually onto something? Or was he just being a jokester like usual? It was too soon into the year to tell for sure. And even if Edelgard and Dimitri were sneaking around, what did it matter to the future leader of the Leister alliance?

“Something tells me I’m not the only one with the eye for romance,” Claude said, breaking Jasmine out of her thoughts. Dark brown eyebrows furrowed as she silently questioned what he was getting at. He held their linked hands up and winked.

“We didn’t have to be holding hands for this walk, yet you didn’t pull away.”

Jamine hadn’t yanked her hand back so quickly in all her life.

“Why do you care so much that Dimitri and Edelgard are spending time together?” She asked accusatorily.

“What if I said I was a creep,” Claude winked. Jasmine rose an eyebrow, not amused.

“Geez, you’ve got a sense of humor even worse than Hilda,” he says with jazz hands and signature goofy grin.

“Is that the pink haired girl who chased you out of class? Because she’s starting to seem less and less crazy,” Jasmine huffs, crossing her arms.

“Whoa there. I don’t know why you seem so upset. I’m just having a bit of fun,” Claude insists with jazz hands. Jasmine lets up on her irritation but still looks away from Claude as she says,

“I don’t enjoy lies. And you seem dishonest about your intentions.”

Claude’s goofy demeanor genuinely falters for a moment before he regains composure, shaking off his surprise.

“Look. Trust is earned. I wasn’t sure if you could keep a secret,” he argued. Jasmine eases up more now, deciding this excuse was somewhat valid.

“That’s fair. How about this. I’ll tell you a secret and in return, you can decide if you want to trust me or not?” she offers. Claude taps his chin in thought, humming through whether this was a worthy offer.

“Sure, I’ll bite. What’s your secret shortie? Could it be that you secretly wanted to be a Golden Deer?” he teases, poking the brunette’s rib much to her dismay.

“Not even close. No. My secret is more of a test for you. To see if you can even keep a secret to begin with,” Jasmine starts, seeing that Claude’s interest is piqued.

“Nazareth isn’t actually my stepsister.”

-

“Be sure to take good care of your weapon. Respecting a sword is a part of wielding it,” Professor Rodrigue lectured, moving to write the proper steps of maintaining iron and steel weaponry. Evangeline was fighting to pay attention, but proper weapon maintenance was dreadfully boring to learn about. The blonde wondered how and why Petra seemed beyond fascinated by such a topic.

She was the only magic user in the seminar today. The blonde made a mental note to pay attention to the attendees list next week, so she’d be in classes with some of her friends.

Still, Evangeline found herself observing the other students in lieu of paying attention to Professor Rodrigue.

Felix was half paying attention; where the other half of his attention was, she couldn’t say. Ferdinand was being a good student and paying attention, but Evangeline could tell that he wished he were near the stables instead. Caspar seemed mildly invested, but he constantly doodled something on his page with his tongue sticking out in concentration.  

Evangeline’s mind drifted back to earlier in the courtyard where two unlikely duos were spending time together. The blonde knew that Nazareth had a tiny crush on Dimitri at the very least and the fact that Claude liked to stir up rumors of him and Edelgard together would hurt the poor girl.

Chancing a look at Felix, Evangeline decided to try and confide in him. He was the only one she knew well enough in the class to talk to. But before she could even say anything, Felix turned to her.

“You could pretend to pay attention at least,” he admonished quietly. His demeanor was so casual, Evangeline thought she imagined him saying it at first. Quickly, her temper flared, and he was on the receiving end of a fierce glare.

“If you were paying so much attention, how did you come to notice that I wasn’t?” She countered with malice. Felix could be so full of himself.

“It’s called multi-tasking. That’s something any good strategist would know how to do. No wonder you haven’t passed your certification exam,” Felix snorted with a mean smile. Evangeline was practically seething at that statement, which was why she couldn’t account for the volume of her next words.

“You wouldn’t know strategy if it sliced you in the skull with a brave sword!”

…

Evangeline’s face quickly flushed a color similar to Hilda’s hair and she willed herself to shrink in place. The whole class was looking at her. Ferdinand and Petra had the decency to look concerned for her, but the others were clearly amused. Professor Rodrigue gave her a peculiar look as he glanced between her and Felix.

“Evangeline. Please stay after class,” he said easily, coughing whilst getting back to the lesson. Evangeline nodded, her voice failing her as the utter humiliation sunk in further. She slid down in her seat until only her eyes were visible from above the desk.

She could feel Felix’s gaze on her, but she refused to meet it. Her fury and stress levels were at an all-time high and class couldn’t end soon enough.

-

“How do you know all of this? About Lysithea?” Dimitri asked.

“I know I said you were ignorant earlier, but we both know that is not the case. You can conclude how I know,” Edelgard replied, looking away. Her face looked sad. She seemed to be hugging herself for comfort and Dimitri grew sympathetic, his patience firing back up. Edelgard was experimented on. He knew better than to question what kind of experimentation this ordeal entailed, but his confusion only grew.

“El…what did you witness that day when you said that crests were acting up?” He asked, also knowing better than to try and comfort her. The white-haired girl looked afraid for once.

“Our lifespans were cut short as yet another curse of what happened to us. I thought I saw Lysithea’s minor crest giving her enough trouble for her to nearly collapse on the battlefield without so much as being touched,” Edelgard explained. Her eyes were back to looking distant and Dimitri was not to be fooled again.

“There is still something you’re not telling me,” he presumes.

“One step at a time. I need to know how long I will have to live. Myself, and Lysithea that is,” she answers.

“Does Lysithea know that you were effected the way she has been?” Dimitri asked. Edelgard shrugged.

“I assume she has some idea as I do for her,” Edelgard says evenly.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Dimitri asked. It certainly wasn’t to gain his sympathy. Edelgard would sooner reminisce her childhood than she would seek comfort from others. Edelgard looked afraid once more and she seemed to be having an inward battle with herself about what she wanted to say next.

“What would you do if someone you thought you could trust…betrayed you? If the people you once held in such high regard, did something that made you question the very concept of morality?” she implored, boring her amethyst orbs into his azure ones. Dimitri’s heart stilled for a moment. His brain would function a lot more normally if Edelgard would give at least one clear answer now and then.

“Who are you talking about?!” he asked, near hysteria. Edelgard clutched onto Dimitri’s school uniform and began shaking.

“Answer me!” she demanded.

“It depends! I need specific answers Edelgard. You cannot keep spinning me around your riddles! Who has betrayed you? I cannot and will not help you without details,” he says, standing his ground and pushing her away. She regained composure but let a silent tear fall.

“I cannot trust you with all the answers right now,” she whispered, looking past him. Dimitri glared at her and shook his head.

“Then goodbye Edelgard. I do not trust you either. For all I know, you are making all of this up. This is some convoluted story meant to gain attention. I will have no part in it,” he said.

“Where are you going?” she asked, seemingly unphased by his declaration.

“I am going to my afternoon seminar. As should you.”

-

“What?! What do you mean you’re not actually stepsisters?” Claude asks, perplexed. Jasmine hushes him and leads them to a table so they can sit.

“Listen. Nazareth doesn’t actually know. She thinks that we’re stepsisters because my father married her mother, but the reality is that we have the same dad. I’m sure you can conclude what that means,” Jasmine shrugged, holding in how hard this memory was to talk about. Claude was wide eyed at this confession, and he placed his hands on his chin.

“Jas, are you ever going to tell Nazareth?” he asks, shocked and sympathetic. Jasmine shook her head almost instinctively.

“No! I couldn’t. Nazareth respect my father-well, our father so much. I can’t tarnish her image of him. She’ll never trust him again if she found out he was keeping it from her. No matter how terrible he is for keeping this a secret from her, he’s still an amazing father. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s kind of how it does,” Jasmine sighs. Claude couldn’t wrap his head around that bit of knowledge.

“Look, I can’t tell you what to do, but if I were Nazareth, I would want to know the truth. She kind of deserves the truth, don’t you think?” Claude shrugged.

“Hm,” Jasmine bemused, smiling a little.

“You agree?” he asked.

“No, it’s not that. Well, maybe. But I was mainly impressed that you know when to be serious,” she admits. Claude does not say anything in response, which worries Jasmine.

“Are you alright?” she asks. Claude shrugs once more.

“What did Edelgard tell you about me?” he asked with a weak smile. Jasmine was hoping he wouldn’t ask that, but here they were.

“She mentioned you had a tendency to be very silly,” Jasmine tried, laughing lightly. Claude suddenly seemed to snap back into his old self, but Jasmine had a feeling it was somewhat forced.

“Well, she was right,” he smiled, showing all of his teeth. “And to answer your question from much earlier, I like to tease Dimitri about his age-old crush on Edelgard, so I was spying on them in hopes to reveal their secret love affair,” he grinned wider.

“So, they really are having one? An affair I mean?” Jasmine asked curiously.

“I like to think so. It makes the school gossip much juicier; don’t you think?” Claude beamed. Jasmine wished she could go back in time. When Claude’s goofiness didn’t seem so…fake. It was as though he were forcing up this act because of what he perceived Edelgard’s opinion of him to be.

“No one can be goofy all the time,” Jasmine says softly, placing a hand on Claude’s shoulder. The house leader’s mouth formed a small ‘oh’ with his lips as Jasmine stood up. She thought for a moment before winking at him subtly, saying “Edelgard has plans to be in the dining hall after hours tomorrow night. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was to see Dimitri. Be there at midnight sharp and I’ll meet you. I’d like to try and see what you see,” and then walked off, leaving him speechless.

Claude smiled at her retreating form, thinking that perhaps there was more to her than met the eye as well.

-

Dimitri tapped his pencil on the desk mindlessly as Professor Manuela discussed the different levels of magic and when to know it was time to level up. His mind wouldn’t stop thinking about his discussion with Edelgard. It wasn’t like her to make up such stories, but it was highly unbelievable. No one was known to have two crests. And why did she seek out his help after refusing to speak to him for over a decade?

There was also the comment she made about betrayal. Who had betrayed her? Or did she mean that someone soon would? Maybe she meant that he would betray her by not believing her? But that wouldn’t make sense because there was a part of her that thought he might. There were too many questions that arose from her confusing nature. He couldn’t focus on anything. Not when he was feeling like this.

“You okay? You seem lost in thought. Is it a girl?” Sylvain whispered to him when Manuela’s back was turned.  Dimitri grew flustered as usual and immediately rejected the thought. Edelgard may have been a girl, but he was not thinking of her in the regard Sylvain’s tone suggested.

“Of course not. There’s no time to think of such matters,” he said with finality. Sylvain rose an eyebrow and shot a flirtatious look at Dorothea who reciprocated. In the redhead’s eyes, there was always time for girls.

“Why not? What’s got you so busy your highness?” Sylvain joked, judging the prince. Dimitri regretted saying what he did because he couldn’t exactly explain. Edelgard wanted him to keep the crest business a secret, but he was not used to keeping things from his childhood friends. Did it even matter anymore now that he openly told her she didn’t have his trust?

No. He was a man of his word. He may not trust Edelgard, but he wouldn’t compromise his morals for the sake of pettiness. He would get over it soon enough.

“Why so quiet, huh?” Sylvain prodded with a smirk. Dorothea, who was listening in on the conversation, eyed Dimitri curiously.

“Nothing. I simply wanted to be attentive to Manuela’s lesson,” Dimitri replied easily enough.

“Or were you perhaps thinking about Edelgard? Or Nazareth?” Sylvain teased further, noting how Dimitri’s shoulders tensed at the mention of both girls. Dorothea noticed how Ignatz seemed to start paying attention to the conversation at the mention of the latter girl’s name as well.

“Sylvain please. There are a number of important things to contemplate on a daily basis. Women are not one of them,” Dimitri brushed off, looking nervous. In truth, he hadn’t had time to think of Nazareth with the Edelgard situation going on. The new Blue Lions member was a cheerful young girl. Dimitri for a brief moment wondered if spending time with her would be beneficial. He could do with a break…

But no! He couldn’t just ignore what Edelgard said no matter what his feelings were. There was too much going on, and Sylvain’s pestering was not helping him sort out his thoughts in the slightest.

“Please enlighten us then. What do you like to think about on a daily basis?” Sylvain asked, feigning utmost interest.

“Weapon durability,” Dimitri mumbled, dismissing Sylvain by turning away. Sylvain pouted but went on to mess with Marianne who was sitting across from him as Yuri handed Dorothea a rose. Was love really all around them all the time?

Dorothea accepted the rose from Yuri and then watched with interest as Ignatz scrawled something on a piece of parchment paper and hesitated multiple times before tapping Dimitri’s shoulder. The blond prince turned behind him expectantly and accepted the paper in confusion. He cocked his head to the side, reading it.

‘Do you truly have feelings for Nazareth? In a romantic sense?’

Dimitri’s ears turned pink, and he thought to crumple the paper up and throw it straight at Sylvain’s head, but he knew that wasn’t the appropriate thing to do. Ignatz was not at fault for Sylvain’s innuendos.

So instead, he scrawled ‘No. And I would appreciate it if this was not brought up again, please,’ on the back of the paper and handed it back to Ignatz wordlessly. The young archer looked satisfied with the first part of the letter and then grew sheepish and the second half of it. He then tossed the paper without so much as a glance at the prince.

“Why are you so keen on knowing if Dimitri likes Naz?” Dorothea asked him playfully. Ignatz widened his eyes and gave instant jazz hands.

“A f-friend wanted to know!” he insisted, going back to sketching a design for a painting he was going to craft later.

“Friends with ourselves, are we?” Dorothea questioned with a sultry tone. Ignatz flustered even further but said nothing in response to Dorothea.

-

The class was soon empty, save for two or three stragglers, one of which was Felix. As he began to make his leave however, Professor Rodrigue shook his head.

“You would do well to stay too Felix,” he called out as his son’s hand touched the doorknob. Felix groaned and crossed his arms.

“And why should I? Evangeline is the one who caused a scene, not me,” he said curtly. Evangeline clenched her fist. Felix had a special way of coming across as indifferent, but she knew better. This was his way of pouting like a petulant child. He was throwing a tantrum in his own way.

“Son. You will stay. Have a seat next to Evangeline,” he said simply in lieu of answering his youngest’s question. Evangeline laughed softly when Felix begrudgingly did as his father asked which didn’t go unnoticed by Professor Rodrigue. The two shared a look and for some reason, Evangeline felt as though she were doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

The atmosphere shifted quickly however, and Professor Rodrigue went back into teacher mode.

“So. Who would like to give their side of the story first?” He asks, taking a seat on the desk and placing his hands on his knees. He seemed rather amused for someone who was meant to be punishing two students. Felix and Evangeline shared a look of contempt before turning back to Professor Rodrigue. They opened their mouths at the same time to talk, but the professor held up a hand to stop them.

“Ah. You were unable to decide amongst yourselves. I suppose that means I shall choose. Evangeline, you may speak first. Felix, I trust you will not interrupt her,” Professor Rodrigue said in a no-nonsense tone.

The blonde huffed and sorted her thoughts in her head for a few seconds before going into it. “I was minding my own business when Felix decided to distract me. He insulted me and was incredibly rude, as always,” she complained. It was just then that she realized who she was talking to and grew sheepish. “I’m so sorry professor. I know he’s your son and-”

But professor Rodrigue held up a hand once more, cutting her off.

“It’s quite alright Evangeline. I am aware of how difficult Felix can be. Son, you may now give your side of the story,” he nodded. Evangeline still felt embarrassed but said nothing more.

“I was actually paying attention to your lecture on weapon maintenance. This girl was off daydreaming. It’s no wonder she runs out of tomes on the battlefield without taking care to have backups. She never focuses,” Felix conveyed, grumbling the last part. Evangeline was offended at first, but then was confused. They weren’t in the same house. They never fought on the same side of the battlefield. How could Felix know that she ran out of tomes midbattle (which only happened twice!).

“Felix, whether or not that’s true is not your concern. The real issue here is, why do Evangeline’s habits and actions bother you so much?” Professor Rodrigue questions, giving Felix an odd look. Felix narrowed his eyes and looked straight at Evangeline.

“Because she is going to end up wildly injured or worse if she doesn’t clean up her act,” he said. He may have spoken in third person, but it was obvious he was talking directly to her. The blonde was so caught off guard. Felix’s tone was harsh, but his words were full of care.

Care. Such an odd word to associate the purple haired swordsman with. And yet, it was the only word that fit his actions currently.

“Why do you care about that?” she blurted, forgetting that Professor Rodrigue was present for the moment. Felix seemed to realize what he’d said because his anger worsened. His glare intensified and his pupils were nearly nonexistent.

“I don’t. And I have training to do,” he spat out, walking right out the door despite his father’s admonishment. Professor Rodrigue sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“He takes after his mother in regard to his temper,” Professor Rodrigue said in an attempt to dissuade the awkwardness his son left. Evangeline pondered on this. Felix never mentioned his mother once in all the time she’d known him. In fact, Evangeline was led to assume she wasn’t in the picture because Glenn never mentioned her either. But that couldn’t be true if Professor Rodrigue brought her up, right?

“I see your confusion. Don’t mention it to my boys, but she and I have separated. I just haven’t gotten to telling them about it because I haven’t found the right words,” Professor Rodrigue sighed once more, giving his beard a thoughtful stroke. Evangeline wondered why he was sharing such deep personal information with her. She wondered again how she was meant to keep this from Felix. Or Glenn for that matter.

“Professor, am I in trouble? For today’s…outburst?” she asked instead, changing the topic entirely. The sword master smiled, shaking his head.

“No, of course not. Just try not to let Felix get to you. He has a way of getting under one’s skin. I know you’re better than that,” Professor Rodrigue praised, getting up and placing a hand on Evangeline’s shoulder. The blonde gasped silently. He was looking right into her eyes, and it was making her feel a sort of tingle she was certain shouldn’t be felt. Time seemed to stop, and Evangeline knew she should say something. Do something. But her body was frozen. Her eyes were locked onto his as well.

She noticed every detail about her professor from this close proximity. His silky, darker than amaranthine luscious hair. How they brought out his midnight eyes that were zeroed in on her. His slight facial hair that gave him the look of a father, albeit a young one. His heart melting smolder that she couldn’t help but imagine interlocking with her own lips…

“Evangeline?” he questioned, backing away subtly. He seemed to bear a sort of hidden smile as he blatantly looked her up and down.

“Y-yes professor?” She sputtered out, still not quite processing what was happening.

“Your top few buttons are open. See to it that you close them,” he instructed, turning around and stacking papers together on his desk. The blonde flushed up a storm and went to do so, unaware of when that had happened. She frantically reached for her schoolbag and beelined for the door when she was stopped by her professor’s baritone voice once more.

“Oh, and Evangeline?”

“Y-yes Professor?” she repeated, cursing herself for not seeming to have anything else to say.

“You can toss that extra homework out. This interaction will suffice. And…your…eyes look nice today.”

Evangeline’s heart raced something fierce, and she sprinted out of the classroom.

-

“You barged in here angrier than usual. Any particular reason?” Glenn asked, dodging a hit from Felix. The pair were in the training grounds. Felix clearly needed to let off some steam and sparring with his brother seemed to be the answer.

“Father struck a nerve in class,” Felix grunted out, getting two successful jabs in. Glenn wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and placed his steel sword on the weapons rack.

“He can be trying at times, but he means well,” Glenn argues, landing a jab of his own.

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, did you happen to see the boar prince or Edelgard in morning classes? They missed the pointless lesson on wyvern riding from Seteth. That new girl, Nazareth or whatever was asking about him,” Felix asked, jumping over Glenn in a swift move and landing a hit to his back.

“Come to think of it, no. Dimitri wasn’t in the seminar on weapon levels either. And Hilda mentioned something about Edelgard skipping on Professor Byleth’s lesson as well,” Glenn hummed in thought, putting his blade down for a moment.

“I think it’s strange that the both of them were missing,” Felix says, crossing his arms.

“What do you suppose they were doing?” Glenn asks.

“Sylvain and Claude seem to think they’re hiding a secret relationship,” Felix shrugs.

“I asked what you thought,” Glenn replies coolly, leaning on his sword. Felix cursed their similar mindsets. It wasn’t possible for them to distract one another.

“I think they’re hiding something obviously. What that is, I’m not sure,” he tells his older brother who looks indifferent.

“I think that Dimitri doesn’t keep secrets from those close to him. When he’s ready to tell us about it, he will,” Glenn shrugs, moving to walk toward the weapons rack.

“And just where are you going? We’re not done here,” Felix calls out.

“Look. I know you would spar all day if you could, but I need a break. Nearly being killed in the tragedy of Duscur does that do a guy, and I have dinner plans with Ingrid. She was experimenting some new Almyran dish that she learned from Claude,” the elder Fraldarius sibling explained. Felix rolled his eyes.

“You’re too soft. Women have that effect on men,” Felix said, seeming disgusted with the notion of love.

“Is that the effect Evangeline has on you?” Glenn teased in good humor, changing into his monastery outfit. Felix looked as if he were about to rip Glenn’s head off, but the girl in question had just then barged through the door, looking partly horrified and partly desperate. Glenn shot a knowing look to Felix who shot daggers at the blonde.

“Why are you here?” He asked angrily. He had left his father’s classroom to get away from her and now she showed up here?

“Look, I know that you are upset with me. Why? I don’t know and I honestly couldn’t care less, but I ne-

“Either spar me, or get out,” Felix interrupted, pointing his sword toward the door. Evangeline’s jaw dropped at the way he was speaking to her.

“Excuse me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I said either spar me. Or get. Out.” He enunciated.

“Felix, that’s a little over the top, don’t you think?” Glenn asked, looking between the two. The fire in Evangeline’s heart was ignited once more, but it wasn’t from passion this time.

“I am trying to talk to you about something important!” She reasoned.

“I will not repeat myself again. You can confide in your housemates for this. You’re not a blue lion,” Felix said in a bored tone. As he said this, he also thought about how her friend Nazareth acted more like a Golden Deer. Perhaps they should have been in opposite houses.

“Felix, come now,” Glenn tried once more.

“Did you not have plans with your fiancé?” Felix asked him. He couldn’t have seemed less interested in conversing with the two. Evangeline sucked in her cheeks and fought not to gouge Felix’s eyeballs out. Instead, she wordlessly left the training hall, leaving Glenn to smack Felix upside the head for such rudeness. The elder of the two left shortly after Evangeline, leaving Felix all alone. Or so he thought.

“You kind of deserved that one,” Dorothea said, leaning against Sylvain who snickered at the exchange.

“When the hell did you two get in here?!”

“Never mind that man. You gotta go find Evangeline and make things right,” Sylvain shrugged. Dorothea nodded in agreement. Felix wanted to question how they got into the training grounds further, but assumed it was a moot point. It was bad enough the first time when there were witnesses and no one seemed to care. He knew in his heart that he acted out of anger with Evangeline and she didn’t deserve to be talked to in such a way. So he decided to go find her and left, ignoring Sylvain and Dorothea flirting behind him.

-

“Oh, um. Well, that’s…nice Ferdinand,” Marianne said softly, looking uncomfortable as she usually did in social situations. The only girl in the monastery who disliked social interaction more than she did was Bernadetta.

“Ah. I see you wish to know more. Well, fear not. I am well versed in horseback riding as well. If ever you’d like a demonstration, I am available,” Ferdinand beamed. Marianne shook her head.

“Oh, that’s quite alright. It’s very generous of you to offer, but I really must get back. Petra requested I read her a story in order to improve her English skills. I’ll be seeing you,” she said quickly, rushing off. Ferdinand scratched his head in confusion. He thought they were having a rather stimulating conversation, but her abrupt leave had that thought being second guessed. In any case, he headed toward the stable when he heard a voice.

“And then he completely humiliated me in front of the entire class!”

Ferdinand cocked his head to the side. That voice sounded a lot like Evangeline. But who was she talking to? No one had gone into the stables to his knowledge. He heard a horse neigh indignantly and almost hid a laugh. Was the blonde mage talking to a horse? He decided to listen in on what she had to say out of sheer amusement. He’d make his presence known soon enough.

“So, then I had no one else to talk to about this. I couldn’t ask Ingrid because she was having dinner with Glenn. Felix was obviously a dead end. Mercedes and Annette had gone into town for a market run and dragged Ashe with them, Sylvain is useless unless it’s about girls, and Dedue doesn’t ever want to talk to anyone except Dimitri and I couldn’t talk to him because well, it’s about him!” Evangeline exclaimed to her horse, Buttercup. The horse bumped its head against Evangeline as if it were sympathizing with her.

‘Why is she only talking about Blue Lions? She didn’t mention asking even one of her own house members. And what did Dimitri do?’ Ferdinand thought to himself.

“And what’s more confusing is that Professor Rodrigue made a pass at me! Ugh, I still hope it isn’t true. The Dimitri and Edelgard thing. Not just for Nazareth’s sake either. If they truly are having a relationship, then Claude will feel even more left out than he already does. He’ll never admit it, but he’s jealous of how close Dimitri and Edelgard seem to be, which is why he’s going to spy on them with Jasmine. I wish he’d leave them be but leave it to Claude to find a way to make this whole thing a game,” Evangeline sighs. Ferdinand nearly gasped out loud.

“Claude von Riegan is a spy?!” he cried out instead, bursting into the stables. The horses panicked momentarily from the sudden noise as did Evangeline. She nearly jumped up three feet in the air from shock.

“Ferdinand?! What on Earth are you doing?!” She cried out, clutching her heart.

“We must confront Claude for his unnoble actions immediately,” Ferdinand said, moving to march out of the stables.

Wait, Ferdinand no! You mustn’t!” Evangeline insisted, moving in front of him to block his path. The orange haired noble seemed affronted by this.

“How dare you. This is a very serious matter,” Ferdinand gasped, placing a hand on his chest. The very notion of Evangeline not wanting justice was too much.

“It is also a very delicate matter Ferdinand. A lot of people can get hurt if they find out about any part of this. You cannot tell anyone,” Evangeline pleads.

“Everyone must know Claude is spying on people,” Ferdinand argues with heat. The blonde crosses her arms.

“Well, you were just spying on me,” she countered, growing angry.

“I was not spying. I thought I heard a voice and wanted to make sure I wasn’t simply hearing things,” he defended.

“Ferdinand, I forbid you from telling anyone about this,” Evangeline makes clear. Ferdinand rose an eyebrow and appeared amused by this.

“You ‘forbid’ me? I am Ferdinand von Aeigr,” he chuckles. “You can’t stop me. The whole monastery will know about this,” Ferdinand declares.

“Ferdinand please. I will do anything. Just please don’t tell anyone about this. There is too much at stake,” Evangeline begged, still not letting him pass. Ferdinand thought for a moment.

“Hmm. You are from the Viscounty of Nuvelle, correct?” the noble asked, rubbing his chin in thought. Evangeline was not sure where he was going with this, but she nodded, nonetheless.

“That part of the Adrestian empire is well known for its high class, and you are quite beautiful. You will pose as my girlfriend. Then and only then will I keep your secret,” he concluded with a grin. He seemed to be awfully pleased with his idea, whereas Evangeline was mortified.

“I will do no such thing!” she protested. “Why would you even want to do something like that?” she questioned in exasperation.

“Because it pleases my father. We need someone proper for my future bride and if he thinks that is you, he will be most satisfied. You don’t bear a crest, but you are gifted in reason. You also are extremely well read. And as I said before, you are very beautiful,” Ferdinand listed off. He was speaking so casually, it Evangeline hardly had time to realize he called her beautiful twice in the span of seconds.

“No. Find someone else to be your pawn. It won’t be me,” the blonde declined. Ferdinand shook his head and leered over her, unsettling the poor girl.

“Oh? I’m sure your best friend would love to know that you kept this secret from her. And I’m sure Felix would take well to the fact that you had a moment with his father. Or better still, I’m sure Claude would love that one of the members of his house is unable to keep her mouth closed. All notions of your loyalty would be questioned,” Ferdinand said innocently, tapping his chin. The blonde turned pale and looked up at the noble with fear.

“You wouldn’t do that…would you? That’s now how a noble should behave,” she fought weakly.

“Nobles also do what’s best for their image and family,” he countered easily enough. Evangeline did not want to pose as Ferdinand’s girlfriend, real or fake. But she couldn’t risk her friendships or Dimitri and Edelgard’s reputations. This was all bigger than her.

“You give me your word that if I do this, my secret stays here,” Evangeline negotiated.

“You have my word milady,” he promised. Evangeline sighed and said, “okay then. Consider us together.”

“Seal it with a kiss?” he asked cheekily. The inner romantic in Evangeline thought that this request was rather…cute. Sealing a secret with a kiss sounded exciting, even if it was with Ferdinand von Aegir. Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to be her first kiss or anything. What would the harm be in a simple kiss?

The orange haired heir of house Aegir began to lean in and slowly joined their lips. Evangeline instinctively closed her eyes and felt Ferdinand’s hands wrap themselves around her waist.

 As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Ferdinand was a surprisingly good kisser. His lips were soft, as though he used lip balm frequently and tasted of something citrus. It felt as though he were about to deepen the kiss when a voice broke them apart.

“And just what is going on here?”

“Felix?!” Evangeline cried out, stepping far away from Ferdinand. The swordsman looked more displeased than he did when he and Evangeline were being scolded back in his father’s class.

“I asked a question,” Felix said, voice eerily calm.

“Was it not obvious what was taking place?” Ferdinand answered with a tinge of sass that was not appreciated by Felix.

“Evangeline?” Felix questioned instead. The blonde was too mortified to answer.

“Can we help you?” Ferdinand asked, stepping closer to Evangeline.

“You can cease speaking to me as I am clearly talking to her,” Felix said through gritted teeth.

“I um…wait. Why are you in the stables? You despise animals. Especially horses,” Evangeline said in confusion. And if she remembered correctly, they were not exactly on speaking terms at the moment what with his rude comments from earlier.

“That isn’t important right now. What is important is that you were kissing…him!” Felix said with judgement. He uttered the word ‘him,’ the same way someone may say the word ‘manure.’

“Upset it wasn’t you?” Ferdinand goaded. Evangeline tried not to gag at the sheer thought of kissing Felix.

The look Felix gave the nobleman in response for his comment was scary enough for Evangeline to be scared on Ferdinand’s behalf. Before Felix could give out a tongue lashing however, the announcement alert went off.

“Everyone please report to the cathedral for tonight’s words of wisdom.”

“Well, you heard that. Time to go to the cathedral!” Evangeline squeaked out, racing off toward said building. Ferdinand and Felix did not say one more word to each other before following her, though they took separate paths.

-

“Man, I hate these words of wisdom. It’s all a load of dung. When can we get back to what matters?” Caspar complained, leaning against his axe. Hilda took a moment away from discussing her next prank with Claude to look up at Caspar as if he grew another head.

“Why did you bring that with you?” She asked, gesturing to his weapon of choice. Caspar shrugged.

“You never know when some new villain like the water wizard or grass gremlin is gonna show up,” he reasoned. To that, Petra wrinkled her nose.

“I am not knowing of these wizards of water or gremlins of grass. Is there being a new enemy?” She asked, looking inquisitively to Caspar. Bernadetta’s hair stood up and she jumped.

“New enemies?? Ohhhh I knew it. I knew I should’ve stayed in my room! This is all Professor Byleth’s fault for coaxing me to be here!” the archer cried out in hysteria. Dorothea smacked her own forehead at the absurdity of her housemates.

“Bernie, there’s no wizard or gremlin. Caspar is simply what we call a baseless brute,” the brunette songstress sassed, checking out her nails. Caspar held in laughter from watching Petra’s confusion turn into a neutral expression and then watching Bernadetta’s panic fade into her usual socially anxious demeanor.

“Couldn’t let me have my fun, could you?” the blue haired axe wielder joked to Dorothea. She didn’t grace him with a reply. Instead, she sauntered off to go spend time with Sylvain no doubt. The red-haired lance wielder was off flirting with Marianne who couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable.

“Sylvie, walk with me,” Dorothea winked, interlocking their arms. Sylvain cozied up next to her like nobody’s business and they instantly became the eye of the cathedral.

On the other end of the cathedral, the Blue Lions were huddled in their own little group, conversing up a storm, save for Dimitri. He was standing by idly and Nazareth took that opportunity to go and talk to him.

“Hi there. Where were you during the extremely important lecture on wyverns Prince Dimitri?” Nazareth whispered, poking the blond’s side to get his attention. Dimitri jumped up at the movement, causing Nazareth to giggle.

“You startled me once more Nazareth. And you are aware you need not call me by my title, right?” he bemused, smiling genuinely for the first time today. The brunette shrugged.

“What can I say? I am beyond respectful,” she joked. “But back to the wyverns. Where were you?” she asked again curiously. Dimitri couldn’t think of a suitable lie, so he chose to misdirect with a question.

“What makes wyverns so special?”

“Um, everything?! We don’t have them back Morfis. Just regular old horses and Pegasus. They’re cool, but not as cool as wyverns. And Seteth said we could even ride one if we attended two more seminars! I’ve not even ridden a horse before so I’m nervous but it seems so breathtaking. The way Seteth described flying was like a girl describing how love feels like for the first time,” Nazareth rambled in response. Dimitri smiled fondly at her passion for such a trivial topic.

“You’ve not ridden before? Ever?” he echoed, unable to believe it. She nodded. “I’d be honored to take you riding sometime if you’d allow me. The stables are full of horses that could use the exercise,” Dimitri offered kindly. Nazareth felt that weird flip flop feeling in her heart again that she felt when she first met Dimitri. Perhaps it was the jitters of her still adapting to this new school?

“That would be so lovely. Are you free tomorrow?” she asked, her eyes practically forming literal hearts in the pupils. Dimitri didn’t think that was physically possible, so he decided to ignore it. His mind was playing tricks on him as it was.

“I am. I will see you at the stables after afternoon seminar then,” he decided, chuckling when Nazareth began twirling around in excitement. She was about to start rambling about horses again when she remembered what she asked Dimitri in the first place. Where was he this morning? The brunette went to ask again, but by then, Professor Manuela began talking and she missed her chance.

“Welcome all students,” Professor Manuela greeted with a sultry smile. “For those that are new, every night here at Garreg Mach Monastery we read a few words of wisdom that we encourage students themselves to handwrite and place in the box that is here in the cathedral twenty-four seven,” she continued.

On the far end of the Monastery, Claude snickered and nudged Jasmine to get her attention. “No one ever writes anything. They try this every year and Manuela always looks devastated that no one wrote anything and then pretends to read something off of a spare bit of parchment.”

“Oh my gosh! Remember when she spent the time talking about proper armor for female units? I swear her breasts were on display even more than usual,” Hilda laughed, roping Lysithea in as well. Ignatz flushed from that remark and Marianne looked troubled.

“I just can’t wait until this is over. The dining hall was gonna serve steak tonight,” Raphael hummed, rubbing his belly.

“Well, I had a date tonight and she flaked at the last second. So all other matters seem trivial,” Lorenz complained, turning away.

“That’s…kind of sad. The words of wisdom thing, not Lorenz’s date situation. Maybe we should write something just to make her happy,” Jasmine suggested, watching as Manuela reached into the box.

“We?” Claude asked, suggestion evident in his tone. Jasmine fought off the signs of becoming flustered and shook her head.

“Misspoke. I meant I should,” she corrected. She was not a part of this house. She was only standing with them because Claude asked her to.

Claude seemed to want to tease her further but took notice of how Manuela pulled out an envelope from the wisdom box. One that was clearly placed in there by someone else instead of herself. Manuela looked as surprised as Claude did curious.

“Did you actually write something in there Jas?” he asked, nudging her once more. Jasmine brushed him off and shook her head.

“I didn’t know this thing existed until right now. When would I have found the time?” she countered, wondering what the words of wisdom were.

Manuela giddily opened up the envelope and began reading, not even paying attention to the words as she spoke. She was far on cloud nine from the fact that someone wrote anything at all.

“Ahem. ‘We hear that the crown Prince of Faerghus and her imperial highness have been spending quite some time together. Could a romantic spark be brewing? Or is there more to this monastery mingling that needs to be uncovered? What’s more is that Felix Fraldarius seems to have feelings for a certain blonde. The purple haired, stoic bad boy fancies someone and get this. It’s NOT Ingrid like you anti Glenn shippers thought. Who could it be? Who indeed? And where does Ferdinand stand in all of this? Place your bets on what the royal duo are doing together and who the blonde that captured Felix’s heart could be. We already know~”

The cathedral fell pin drop silent. Then, everyone except Ferdinand and Felix looked to Dimitri and Edelgard. The two boys instead were looking at Evangeline. But the blonde was busy looking at Nazareth and wondering what she was feeling. Nazareth was looking only at Dimitri, wondering why he hid the fact that he met with Edelgard in lieu of attending the lecture on wyverns.

Jasmine and Claude looked to each other, both ready to accuse the other of revealing the information Manuela read. The first half of it anyway. Sylvain and Dorothea were doubling over in silent laughter, clearly amused by this turn of events. Dedue looked to his liege with judgement but said nothing. And Hubert looked ready to strangle Dimitri were it not for the fact that he knew what was really going on. Still, the fact that the whole monastery thought that Dimitri was with his Edelgard made angry beyond words.

Dimitri looked to Edelgard, but the imperial princess had already begun to make her leave, shooting a knowing look to Byleth.

Nazareth tried to approach Dimitri, but he went after Edelgard. The brunette didn’t like the pit that left in her stomach. She looked up and saw Manuela, Rodrigue, Seteth, Hanneman, and Lady Rhea all talking in hushed whispers at the front of the cathedral. Deciding she didn’t want to stay any longer, she took the exit opposite of the one Dimitri and Edelgard had taken.

When Nazareth went to leave, Evangeline tried to race after her, but was stopped by Felix.

“Did you have anything to do with what Manuela just read?” Felix asked through gritted teeth. Evangeline looked like she was about to cry.

“You knew?! You knew I was distressed, and it was bothering me. I tried to talk to you multiple times today and you blew me off and this whole time you knew?! And you have the audacity to accuse me of leaking it?!” she asked, shoving him in her anger and frustration. Felix for his part, had the decency to seek clarity.

“I suspect we are not talking about the same part of what Manuela said,” he said, grabbing her arm and leading her out of the cathedral through the third exit. Evangeline tried her hardest to pull away, but Felix’s grip was too tight.

“Let me go! You absolute pathetic excuse for nobility!” the blonde cried out, small sparks of fire bursting from her uniform pocket. The shock of that made Felix let go.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“I always keep an emergency tome in my pocket. Now leave me alone like I did for you when you asked!” she shouted in the night air.

“To answer your question, I knew that Dimitri and Edelgard weren’t in classes this morning, but I did not think it was a big deal,” he said, voice rising in volume and ignoring her request to be alone.

“Of course it’s a big deal,” Evangeline scoffed.

“How did you know that Dimitri and Edelgard were together?” he asked.

“After you left from the courtyard earlier, Ingrid and I saw them. Along with Claude and Jasmine,” Evangeline explained, her hysteria still at a high. That was the only reason she was speaking to Felix right now.

“Why does any of that bother you so much?” Felix asked, shifting his weight on one foot to stand more comfortably. Evangeline was about to answer, but sanity started to come back to her. Her blood boiled once more and she shoved Felix again, not knowing when she grew the guts to do that twice in one night.

“Screw you Felix. Where were you when I came to you to talk about this? Why do you care now?! Stop playing these sick games,” she spat out. Felix looked like he was about to say something to explain his behavior, but then Ferdinand joined them outside and his own anger resurfaced.

“Why did you come to me when you clearly have someone else to go to?” he said instead, walking off. Evangeline wanted to pull her hair out. Someone else? Who was he talking about? And he was the one who dragged her out here in the first place.

“That was quite the fiasco, wouldn’t you agree?” Ferdinand asked, startling her.

“What are you doing here Ferdinand?” Evangeline sighed, not knowing how much more she could take.

“I saw you being dragged out of the cathedral by his royal entitled-ness and thought I should check on you. He does not act as nobility should,” Ferdinand explained, gesturing to Felix’s retreating figure. It took the mage a moment to realize that in his own odd way, that was Ferdinand’s way of saying her cared about her.

“No one is here to see us right now. I thought the arrangement was to be your fake girlfriend. Why do you care?” She brought up.

“Well yes, but out friendship is not fake. And I recall you being afraid about your many secrets coming out. This was one of them I presume” he replied, sounding incredulous that Evangeline did not realize this. Evangeline smiled and felt her heart envelop with warmth as she went to embrace Ferdinand.

“And I assume you know who Felix is taken with?” Ferdinand asks as they hug. Evangeline wrinkled her nose. Felix?

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“The latter part of Manuela’s words of ‘wisdom?’ Whoever wrote that note claimed that Felix had feelings for someone,” he reminded in an obvious tone. Evangeline cocked her head to the side. She supposed that with the horror she felt from the Dimitri and Edelgard part of the note, she forgot to pay attention to the rest of the it.

“I don’t. Why? Do you know who he has feelings for?” She asked Ferdinand. It was too weird to imagine Felix liking someone.

“Never mind that then. You were my priority anyhow. You’re okay so I will now return to my quarters. I will see you tomorrow milady,” he saluted playfully, heading off to the dormitories. Evangeline smiled as he walked off.

Maybe a friend like Ferdinand was exactly what she needed right now. He knew her secret after all. And if Nazareth ever found out that she knew how Dimitri and Edelgard were spending time together and didn’t tell her, well. Evangeline had enough drama to deal with at the moment to be contemplating that. 

Chapter Text

“Let us cut to the chase. We both know why we’re here,” Glenn spoke firmly, pointing his sword at Felix accusingly.

“I assumed you wanted to spar. I do question why you felt the urge to do so before the sun has even come out,” Felix replied, slight irritation in his voice. He didn’t seem to question Glenn’s determination. Or the fact that Glenn’s sword was a little too close for comfort as Felix went to grab a training sword for himself.

“You know damn well why. You should consider yourself lucky that I don’t duel you in front of an audience,” Glenn threatened, scowl making its home on his face. Felix wanted to question that comment, but his brother went straight to action, and Felix only narrowly missed what would’ve been a terrible wound to his chest. He shot his older brother a warning look. Sparring was meant to be civilized. Glenn was acting like a crazed animal.

“Watch it,” he warned irritably, taking fighting stance. Glenn shook his head. 

“No little brother. It is you who needs to watch it,” he spat. Felix furrowed his eyebrows. He wondered what his older brother’s issue was. Glenn looked ready to defend someone’s honor to the death. But…whose?

“Would you mind telling me what this is ab-UGH” Felix suddenly cried out, unable to dodge his older brother’s attack. The sword had sliced right across Felix’s shoulder, leaving a trail of crimson on its blade.

“Bastard! What was that for?” Felix growled, dropping his sword to clutch his shoulder in pain. 

“You have grown feelings for Ingrid!” Glenn accused, deciding his point was made. Felix looked at Glenn as though he just admitted to wanting to pursue archery. His confusion was overpowering the pain from the slash, but only slightly. 

“What in the Gods names are you talking about?!” Felix shouted, irritated. 

“Last night. Words of wisdom. It was said that you’d grown feelings for a blonde. Who else do you come into close proximity with other than Ingrid and Annette? Only one of them has blonde hair!” Glenn justified. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose from annoyance. Was Glenn really so daft?

“You fool. I don’t have feelings for Ingrid. She is as a sister to me. I don’t have feelings for anyone,” Felix made clear, when he saw that Glenn was about to question who then, the letter was talking about. Glenn still was not a hundred percent convinced that Felix was being truthful.

“I have it on good authority that the rumors in that letter were true. Why would the one only regarding you be false?” Glenn asked instead, crossing his arms. If he was sorry about slicing his little brother’s shoulder, he did not show it. Felix wanted to get even, but he knew that would lead to either a blood bath or a lecture from their father and he could not decide in his head which would be worse.

“You are asking me a question I simply could not have the answer to,” Felix said, still irritated as he brushed past Glenn. When Glenn started to ask if it was a different girl, Felix shut the door, not hearing whose name he chose to guess next. It might have been too close.

-

The sun had only just risen, and the entire staff of the monastery was gathered in Rhea’s office. The archbishop bore a frown as her hands were placed strategically under her chin. Her expression resembled a mother who was displeased with her children.

The staff members appeared to be eyeing Manuela every now and then as she was the primary reason they were all called in for this staff meeting. 

“Well, I don’t see why everyone seems to be staring at me other than the fact that I am beautiful. After all, attendance at last night’s words of wisdom was at an all-time high,” Manuela practically sang. Jeralt rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead in shame. Hanneman’s eyes were twitching in irritation. Rodrigue seemed amused, and had to hold in laughter, Alois was clueless, Shamir didn’t seem to want to be at the meeting, and Seteth looked to Rhea with concern. 

Rhea waited for everyone to pay attention once more before saying, “Professor Manuela. Surely you must realize that what you read aloud to the student body was absolutely inappropriate,” in admonishment, her expression holding some anger. For her part, Manuela seemed to shrink at being addressed directly by the archbishop and she hung her head solemnly. 

Alois seemed to take pity on the songstress, and he chuckled awkwardly before saying, “well now. She wasn’t wrong about the turnout!” his merry ignorance led him to continue smiling like a buffoon. 

Everyone started at Alois as if to say, ‘shut up.’ Jeralt was resisting the urge to punch the man square in the face. Something about the jolly man grinded his gears.

Jeralt saw that no one was coming to Manuela or Alois’ defense and felt it was his civilian duty to say something to get both of the idiots in the clear simply because Rhea seemed one comment away from firing them.

He cleared his throat and walked to the front of the group. “Lady Rhea, I think it’s plain and simple that Manuela was a bit high on excitement from receiving anything at all to think clearly. Perhaps we should make sure the letter is just screened before being read aloud next time?” he suggested. Rhea seemed to think on this for a moment.

Jeralt felt that he was on the right track and tried to say more, but Rhea held a hand up to stop him. His jaw snapped shut and the mercenary told himself not to speak again unless spoken to.

“Your sentiment is appreciated Jeralt. And you are the first to speak with any sense. However, I feel that it is in the best interest for the school if we cease to hold these words of wisdom,” the archbishop replied. The staff looked between each other and there was a mix of emotions. Manuela looked heartbroken. Genuine tears began to form in her eyes. Alois was shocked; an audible gasp was heard. Hanneman and Seteth seemed to agree with the archbishop, while the rest appeared to be neutral.

Wiping her eyes dry, Manuela spoke up. “Lady Rhea please reconsider. I realize the brashness of the message now, but the students were so enamored with what I was saying. We have a voice this way.” 

Rhea sighed and stood up from her desk. “I am sympathetic with those of you who feel that this will be missed, but I must do what is in the best interest of the entire student body,” she explained. 

Seteth nodded, saying, “I think this is the right approach Lady Rhea. As always, your decision is admirable,” ignoring the comment Jeralt made about him being a kiss-up under his breath. Manuela appeared as though she may burst into horrid tears and throw a tantrum. Jeralt looked at her and cursed inwardly before sighing and speaking once more, breaking his earlier promise to himself.

“Rhea, look. I know the words of wisdom seem dumb to a lot of us, but Manuela does a lot for this school. Especially those two singers. Dorothea and Yuki?” Jeralt started. 

“It’s Yuri,” Manuela corrected, but apologized silently when Jeralt shot her a look. 

“Yes. Yuri. Point being, Manuela is a big donor for the activities that take place in the cathedral and those two kids follow her around like their lives depend on it half the time. Don’t you think we can just make some amendments and have this ‘words of wisdom’ thing stay?” he finished. He was laughing inwardly at the fact that he was talking back to Rhea. That woman never sat well with him, and he couldn’t give less of a shit about the whole thing. Still, opposing her was always fun.

“Jeralt, you are not even a teacher here. Calling you into this staff meeting was a mere formality. Please let the staff handle this matter,” Rhea insisted, leaving no room to talk back. Jeralt shrugged and stepped back, inwardly cursing the lady. Manuela shot him an appreciative look, which he ignored. 

“Would anyone else like to add anything?” Rhea asked. Shamir looked to Jeralt as if to ask if she should try, but Jeralt was past paying attention. Shamir then turned to Rhea and crossed her arms. 

“What bothered you so much in particular about yesterday’s incident Lady Rhea?” she asked. Rhea seemed surprised that Shamir spoke up. She was never one to say much. 

“Well, the students’ privacy was compromised, and it was embarrassing for a number of them to have those secrets blurted out in a mass number,” the archbishop explained as though it were obvious. Her patience was wearing thin.

That did not stop Shamir. “So, it doesn’t have to do with ‘words of wisdom’ as a whole. In that case, the argument that the letter should be briefed seems to bode well here, no?” Shamir debated, ever serious. 

“Words of wisdom is not coming back and that is final. You are all dismissed,” Rhea said firmly, her tone risen in volume. Her eyes held a sharpness that shocked the staff into dispersing immediately. Shamir and Jeralt lagged behind so as to share their thoughts with one another. 

“I don’t understand why she’s so bothered by this. Sure, it was embarrassing for the kids for a few seconds, but I’m sure everyone’s forgotten all about it. That, and it was a one-time thing. It’s not like the letters were going to be like that all the time,” Shamir said to him as they walked toward the first floor. Jeralt’s anger was evident by how he was stomping down each step.

“I couldn’t give less of a damn about the damn letters. She’s nothing but a dictator. I can’t believe I let my son get a gig here as a teacher,” he spoke in frustration, rubbing his forehead.

“Byleth is a smart man. I’ve met him myself. This is a good thing. You have someone on the inside for you,” Shamir reasoned. Jeralt quirked a brow.

“When it comes down to it, I fear he may side with the church. That’s what I’m really afraid of,” Jeralt sighed.

“Comes down to it?” Shamir asked, seeming to playfully mock the way Jeralt worded his sentiment. 

“You know what I mean. The moment the traitor is revealed, part of the school will turn on the church, but the other part will side with it. It all comes down to who that traitor is,” Jeralt sighed, pausing his footsteps.

“There’s only a small number of people that would lead to Byleth siding with the church. And a small number of paths for that matter,” Shamir reminded. 

“And the one where I don’t make it to the end of the impending war seems like a highly possible one,” Jeralt grumbled, brushing past Shamir before she could rebuke his claim.

-

‘All students please report immediately to the first floor of the professors’ quarters. That is all, thank you.”

Each house had different reactions to this as they walked over to that part of the monastery. The Golden Deer were on edge just a bit.

“I bet it’s about how the dining hall ran out of steak early on!” Raphael exclaimed. Lysithea wacked the back of his head and he blinked in surprise but didn’t question it. 

Hilda charged ahead to catch up to Claude and asked, “do you think this is about how we put salt in the Black Eagle’s tea the other day?” in a worried tone. Claude shook his head, at ease as always. 

Leonie rebuked that with, “oh please. It’s obvious this is about Evangeline. We’re going to get in trouble because her name was mentioned last night in that weird letter,” her tone insistent. She even went as far as to stop polishing her lance as she said this. The blonde in question frowned, looking down. Marianne seemed as though she wanted to go comfort her housemate, but the shyness won over in that inner battle.

“Hey now, we don’t go turning on our own housemates. Evangeline didn’t do anything,” Claude started, smiling kindly when the blonde looked up, grateful. “I’m sure this is just about the seminars moving up in schedule or something,” the house leader assured, leading his group to the staff house. Ignatz and Lorenz stayed quiet but seemed as though they were holding in their thoughts.

The Black Eagles marched in sync as though they’d rehearsed it a thousand times for this moment. Edelgard led them, ignoring their passing comments.

“What do you think happened? Maybe there really were gremlins,” Caspar joked, arms rested behind his head in a lax fashion. 

“Are we to be fighting the gremlins?” Petra wondered, thinking she should have packed her training sword just in case.

“If we were all asleep, it wouldn’t be our problem,” Lindhart said somberly.

“I can’t take any more announcements! The first one was bad enough!” Bernadetta cried out, shaking. Caspar chuckled after her.

“I think this going to be about those who displayed exemplary behavior after last night’s fiasco,” Ferdinand guessed, feeling haughty. Lindhart mocked the orange haired noble when he wasn’t looking, causing Caspar to howl with laughter. Ferdinand turned around to see why they were laughing, but Lindhart immediately went back to half lidded eyes and somber expression.

“I think you’re all boorish,” Dorothea shrugged, sneaking a look to Edelgard who honestly did not seem to be paying attention to her house members. 

“Are you faring well Lady Edelgard?” Hubert asked in a hushed whisper to where no one else could hear. The imperial princess brushed him off, not even bothering to respond. Hubert hid his hurt within seconds, but that did not stop him from feeling it. He inwardly cursed whoever wrote that forsaken letter and vowed to ensure their punishment if their identity was revealed.

“It’s a baseless rumor. There are provable facts and then there’s hearsay. This can’t be proven, and even if it could, Edelgard did nothing wrong. Of course she’s fine,” Jasmine pointed out, sharing a smile with the house leader who mouthed ‘thank you,’ to the brunette.

Over on the other end, the Blue Lions seemed least tense of all, save for Dimitri; he worried enough for all of them and then some. The poor blond prince seemed to be jumping at every turn. 

“Your highness. Be at ease. It would not do well to look guilty,” Dedue advised with his eye closed. Dimitri thanked him and tried to appear normal, but he was not good at hiding his emotions.

“I can’t believe they called this announcement right now. I had a brunch date that I had to cancel,” Sylvain whined, dodging a smack from Ingrid. The blonde crossed her arms, seething at Sylvain’s antics. Glenn chuckled and held Ingrid close to him so as to sate her frustration toward the redheaded flirt.

Mercedes glanced up at the sky and made prayer hands, saying, “I do hope everything is alright. The entire monastery seemed to have quite a scare last night. May the goddess shine down her love on all of us.” Annette linked her arm with Mercedes, humming a soft hymn to pair with Mercedes’ prayer. Ashe glanced at the two girls and smiled, hoping their prayer was answered. And if his eyes lingered on Annette longer than they could have, no one had to know. No one except Sylvain that is.

“I had to stop a good training session for this,” Felix complained in a low grumble.

“You ran out of the hall on your own accord this morning,” Glenn pointed out, eyeing his younger brother curiously. Felix shot his brother a ‘my shoulder is throbbing in pain so shut up,’ look in response.

“You did? That’s so unlike you Felix,” Ingrid noted, copying Glenn’s expression. 

“No one asked for your input,” Felix spoke brashly, walking ahead of their group. No one bothered to say anything to him, knowing it was a lost cause. Nazareth thought to catch up to Dimitri to confirm their plans for horseback riding later, but the memory of him chasing after Edelgard last night stopped her. It stung more than she cared to admit. She wasn’t even sure which part bothered her more; him chasing after Edelgard, or the fact that he lied to her. Well, he withheld information which was sort of the same thing.

As the Blue Lions entered the staff’s living quarters, they noticed they were the last to arrive. Everyone was gathered in the middle, while Rhea and the rest of the staff stood in the front. The houses quickly blended together, and everyone noticed how Edelgard and Dimitri stayed on opposite ends of the hall. 

“That’s odd,” Claude pointed out. Evangeline shrugged. 

“Is it though? They were caught spending time together. Clearly, they wouldn’t want to be seen together right now,” she pointed out. Claude agreed and waited for the announcement to start.

Rhea stepped up and demanded silence before speaking. “Good morning students. By now, I’m sure you have an inkling as to what this announcement is about,” she started. “Last night, the rumor mill was beginning to turn. In order to put a stop to that, words of wisdom are cancelled indefinitely. That is all. You may head to the dining hall for breakfast,” she declared, moving to let the staff follow her out. All but Catherine left immediately. She peered straight at Nazareth with squinted eyes, causing all attention to be on the young brunette who was growing anxious at being scrutinized. 

“Were you born with those streaks in your hair?” Catherine asked the mage. Nazareth instinctively reached for a blue strand of her hair and twirled it for comfort as she answered with a hesitant, “Uh, yes. But my mother never knew why.”

“You have the crest of Cethleann. Maybe that has something to do with it,” Catherine mused, a hand to her chin. She seemed to be assessing Nazareth as if to ask how that was possible. Nazareth shook her head, shooting Jasmine a ‘what in the goddesses name is she talking about?’ look. Lindhart peered up at those words, bearing the same crest himself along with Flayn. 

Nazareth immediately denied that claim. “I do not have a crest. You must be mistaken,” she insisted. 

“And how do you figure that?” Catherine asked, amused. Nazareth tried hard to keep her composure, but this woman was talking crazy.

“Because I would know, wouldn’t I?! I don’t possess any extraordinary powers,” the brunette reasoned, thinking to herself. It was true that people from Morfis said that her magic was gifted, but that couldn’t automatically mean she had a crest, right? Jasmine’s father had a crest, but he wasn’t her father. So it couldn’t be true. Right?

“Alright, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll be on my way out. Sorry about the bad news kiddos,” Catherine dismissed, but she didn’t seem convinced. Nazareth went quiet, but as soon as Catherine left, there was an uproar in the hall. 

“How could she just cancel it like that?! We’ve done it every year!” Hilda cried out.

“Right when it got interesting?” Caspar wondered. 

“Are we gonna just ignore how Catherine said Nazareth had a crest?” Felix asked as if that was the only thing they should be talking about. Evangeline seemed interested in the topic as well, but she wasn’t on speaking terms with Felix, so she refused to indulge him.

“Figures she’d cancel it. It was entertaining and you know the church is against that,” Claude joked. Jasmine frowned, not liking how brazenly Claude spoke of a holy place.

“I thought it was an excellent way to call people out on their indiscretions,” Lorenz tsked with his arms crossed. 

“No explanation? Just like that?” Ferdinand asked, frowning.

“Seriously, the crest of Cethleann is just nothing to you people?” Felix asks in annoyance, feeling invisible. He even tried to hold eye contact with Evangeline, but the blonde was clearly not over his actions from the other day, because she refused to meet it.

“If you ask me, I say Lady Rhea is the most uptight being in Fodland. And I’m including Dimitri and Edelgard when I say that,” Sylvain says easily, rubbing at his head when Ingrid punches him.

“I think it’s important that secrets aren’t kept,” Lysithea comments, crossing her arms and looking to the side. 

“For real. Like the fact that I don’t hide how I studied how to fight under Jeralt, and it puts everyone else at a disadvantage,” Leonie agreed, standing tall. Edelgard rolled her eyes at the lance wielder, recalling how Byleth told her how annoying she was to keep talking about how she studied under his father.

“I for one enjoy the gossip. I don’t see why they have to take it away from us,” Yuri adds with a shrug.

“Why is it that the secrets of you up dwellers get to stay hidden just like that?” Constance complains, leaning against Yuri.

“Well, I think it’s good that she’s putting a stop to this. No one wants their secrets exposed,” Annette piped up, shifting the course of the debate. She looked afraid at the fact that she was the first to disagree, but Ashe and Mercedes stood next to her for support and in sync said, “we agree!”

“Um, you want them to take away our freedom of our speech?” Hilda countered, hands on her hips. The pink haired girl sported a fire in her eyes.

“They’re right Hilda,” Ingrid rebuked. “It was so embarrassing for everyone that was mentioned in the letter,” she insisted. “Freedom of speech cannot be at the expense of harming others,” she finished, trying to reason. 

“And it’s nobody’s business what goes on in our personal lives,” Felix spat, realizing that no one would listen to anything unless it was about this. That, and he was angry beyond reason for that blatant lie about him liking someone. 

Hilda frowned and looked to Claude for defense. Claude shifted his eyes around and saw that Jasmine seemed to be internally siding with the Blue Lions somewhat. 

“Look. It’s not that I want everyone’s secrets exposed. But to cancel the whole thing altogether seems a bit much,” he decided to say, looking around for people who might agree. Hilda seemed sated with this answer, but the rest of his house did not.

“It’s inappropriate to continue something that caused such a rift in the student body,” Ignatz said.

“And what do you know? You’re just a bookworm who would avoid the battlefield if he could.”

“Who said that?!”

It became a chaos from there. Each house was arguing even within one another. It didn’t seem like a solution was going to be reached. Dimitri avoided Edelgard’s stare. He had nothing more to say to her. 

Marianne tried to calm everyone down, but to no avail. They kept bickering amongst themselves about how Rhea was wrong for taking away their nightly tradition or about how she was right to protect their privacy. Edelgard shot the blue haired cleric a look and walked to the front of all the house members.

“Listen up!” She called out, voice demanding attention. Everyone stopped talking and looked to her, save for Dimitri. 

“We should separate into two groups. Those who wish to continue these words of wisdom, and those who do not,” she instructed. Slowly, everyone began murmuring amongst themselves. They began to separate into groups. 

Nazareth was both too shocked and unsure to decisively pick a side, but noticed Glenn looking lost too and went up to him.

“Can’t decide either?” she asked. The mercenary nodded, shooting Ingrid an apologetic look when she appeared to be disappointed with him, but wasn’t one to dictate others’ actions. Unless it was Sylvain.

“I feel like I should be on Ingrid’s side, but I don’t know. Rhea’s kind of annoying and if she takes this small thing from us, what’s stopping her from cancelling other things? What separates her from being a dictator?” Glenn mused. 

“What kind of things?” Nazareth asked curiously. 

“The mock battle for one thing. It gets heated as it is. If we’re all fighting like this over something stupid, she might cancel something more serious,” he presumed. Nazareth thought on that and grew even more lost. It didn’t feel like either side was a winning one.

“What about you? Why didn’t you pick a side?” he asked. Nazareth couldn’t answer that. Why couldn’t she? Siding with majority of her house seemed logical. It should have been second nature. Even Jasmine had picked that side. But something was stopping her. She hated to admit it, but she wondered how reliable Dimitri was. But Catherine’s words echoing in her mind were also distracting.

“Well?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts. Nazareth shrugged. 

“Same as you,” she lied swiftly. The groups had settled, and there were three total, excluding herself and Glenn. She wondered what that third group was. Evangeline was in it.

“What is this group?” Edelgard asked, taking the words right out of Nazareth’s mouth, pointing to the group that hosted Evangeline, Bernadetta, Lindhart, Jasmine, Petra, and Raphael. 

“Uh, w-we decided that we don’t want to be in the middle of confrontation so we’re neutral!” Bernadetta squeaked out. 

“Cowards!” the opposition chanted. Edelgard rubbed her forehead in frustration. 

“Okay, and what about you two?” she chanced asking, pointing to Glenn and Nazareth who stood off on their own from the masses. 

Glenn shrugged. “Couldn’t pick a side, but we’re not neutral either. You could call us, undecided.”

“Wouldn’t that just make you neutral?” Raphael asked, scratching the back of his head. 

“No, because we want to pick a side. We’re just weighing out the pros and cons,” Nazareth piped up. She ignored the looks that Evangeline and Jasmine were giving her. The brunette wondered why Jasmine hadn’t said anything about the crest business earlier but decided to shake it off. She couldn’t think about it right now. Catherine must have just been crazy.

“Pick a side and make up your minds. Life is not about indecision,” Edelgard snapped. Nazareth flinched at the tone used by the Black Eagle house leader and swallowed to avoid tearing up. She wasn’t using to being scolded. The brunette tried her hardest never to displease anybody. Glenn felt for her and shielded her face from the others.

“That was kind of harsh Edelgard, don’t you think?” Dorothea asked, glancing at the house leader with concern. Edelgard turned back sharply, irritation risen. 

“Why don’t you go and side with the children that are unable to make a choice too then?” Edelgard snapped again. Dorothea was about to say something with sass, but Sylvain dragged her away, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Felix gagged at the sight. Even Dimitri broke his rule of not looking at Edelgard for this. He gave her a disapproving look which she faltered slightly at. It was gone in an instant, her guilt. It was instantly replaced by determination. 

“You didn’t need to be so harsh to them,” Evangeline said defensively. The blonde gave Nazareth and Dorothea a reassuring look which the brunettes appreciated. Jasmine stayed quiet, which hurt Nazareth more than she cared to admit. 

“Let’s go,” Edelgard said to the group that sided with her. All that had agreed with her initially followed her out the door, but the Blue Lions, which were the majority of the group, shot Nazareth a sympathetic look. Dimitri in particular lagged behind for a second, as did Ignatz. When it came down to it, Dimitri still left, which left a horrid feeling in Nazareth’s heart. He hadn’t stood up for her when Edelgard disrespected her so blatantly. Evangeline had opted to stay, reminding her that the ties of friendship were stronger than anything. Apparently even sisterhood as Jasmine had elected to follow Edelgard in the end.

Ignatz had begun walking out the door, but Nazareth must have been quite the pitiful sight, because he decided to stay at the last minute. 

“Ignatz? What changed your mind?” Hilda asked in surprise. Claude looked interested in the answer to that as well. the blond artist’s nerves flared at being the center of attention and he stumbled over his words but eventually said something along the lines of, “sticking to his house.”

“I can’t believe you guys went against Edelgard. She is going to be furious with you later,” Lorenz said to Caspar, Ferdinand, and Dorothea.

“Well, she had no right to talk to us like that,” Dorothea reasoned. 

“Precisely. You’d think someone of her title would have behaved more politely,” Ferdinand added. 

“I’m still heated about the fact that secrets seemed to be that archbishop’s reasoning for canceling the words of wisdom, yet our secret house remains underground,” Constance huffed.

“And I never really liked her in the first place,” Caspar beamed with handgun gestures. “Nah but seriously. My parents’ kind of made me go to this school so here I am. Just thought the red and black looked cool,” he added as an afterthought. “Also, gossiping is fun,” he shrugged. With every sentence he spoke, less people paid attention. 

“Why did you guys stay?” Felix asked, gesturing to the neutral party. 

Lindhart stepped to the front and said in a lazy tone, “well, I was too lazy to move, Bernadetta was scared of Edelgard, Petra didn’t really understand what was happening, and Caspar told Raphael there would be snacks if he stayed.” 

Felix seemed to accept that answer. Everyone looked around at one another, wondering what they were to do. Eventually, they all turned to Claude, seeing as he was the only house leader on their side. 

“Uh, I got nothing. Usually I ask teach about it, but Byleth isn’t here. I thought he would be,” Claude shrugged. 

“I don’t even want to imagine how Manuela is taking this,” Yuri thought aloud, gaining Dorothea’s attention. As Manuela’s mentees, they didn’t want to see her hurt. 

“Maybe we can do something,” Nazareth suggested, growing a bit flustered when everyone turned to look at her. 

“What do you mean?” Ignatz asked, all ears. The rest of the students nodded, wondering what the brunette would say next. 

“Well, maybe we could hold secret meetings where we still do the words of wisdom?” she suggested, sounding unsure of herself. Claude and Caspar seemed to roll with that idea because their thinking faces took over. 

“How would that even work? Where would we meet? And what if the person who wrote the original letter is a part of the team that left to avoid getting caught? We still need to figure out who wrote it. Any guesses?” Felix pointed out, poking holes in the idea. Claude brushed the hotheaded boy off.

“No no. Nazareth has a point. We could pull it off. We could meet at the cathedral and pretend we’re all there for prayers. It’s the last place Rhea would think to check, right?” Claude mused. 

“What about the initial letter? Are we just ignoring that?” Felix asked again.

“I was all in until you said cathedral. You’re wrong. Rhea would look there. She’d have the brains for it,” Caspar argued. 

“So no one wants to answer the real questions, is that it?” Felix spoke in irritation. No one moved to answer the short-tempered mercenary, and so he left, saying they were all useless.

“Well, maybe not the cathedral then, but I think there is potential in that idea,” Sylvain said.

Hilda cut in with, “Um, why did you even stay? The entire rest of your house left,” tone full of judgment. Nazareth shrunk in on herself, feeling invisible despite having had the attention of everyone seconds ago. Wasn’t Nazareth a Blue Lion?

“Nazareth is here too,” Sylvain scoffed, stepping next to the brunette, and wrapping an arm around her. Nazareth smiled weakly, finding it comforting that he remembered. At least she existed to someone in her house, even if that someone was flirting throughout his point.

“Get your hands off of her,” Evangeline said, pushing him off with no real heat. Sylvain faked a pout and then went back to his place with Dorothea. Ferdinand shot an amused smile to the blonde who returned a sly one. “Wait, what’s that about?” Nazareth whispered to her best friend. Evangeline brushed the question off, which only fueled the brunette’s growing feeling of loneliness.

Lindhart’s voice diverted the attention. “Anyway, back to this plan. Could we do it in the training grounds? There is a corner there that is excellent for napping,” he suggested, eyes half-lidded. 

“That actually might work. Nice idea Lindhart,” Ferdinand praised, slapping him on the back. 

“I am to be confused. Should we not be asking to Edelgard?” Petra questioned. Caspar placed an arm around the purple haired girl and said, “Edelgard sided against us Petra. You might want to pick a side. Are you with us, or with her?” The purple haired swordswoman shook her head. 

“Edelgard did the saving of my life. I am to be with her,” she said, moving to leave the hall. The rest watched her go, Sylvain’s eyes lingering lower than necessary. Before they could say anything else, the bell rang indicating that they needed to get to morning classes. 

“Aw man, we missed breakfast,” Raphael whined. 

Nazareth reached into her satchel and retrieved some things. “Here Raphael. I snagged some dried fruit and a yogurt tub before I got here,” she offered. Raphael happily accepted the food and merrily headed toward class as did the rest. All that stayed behind were Claude and Nazareth.

“You okay? I caught the way you were looking at Dimitri earlier,” Claude questioned. Nazareth darted her eyes around to avoid looking at him.

“I don’t know what you mean. You must have seen incorrectly. I was looking at the wall décor,” she argued, but it sounded like a lame excuse even to her.

“Come with me,” Claude said, not leaving room for debate. 

“But what about class?” she asked, following him, nonetheless. Claude made a ‘whatever’ gesture and urged to pick up the pace.

-

It was right before morning seminar when Hubert approached Dimitri. His bone-chilling demeanor began to irk the prince. 

“Lady Edelgard demands your presence in the greenhouse later,” he informed Dimitri, who shook his head. 

“I don’t see why she does not understand that I don’t wish to see her. Let her know I will not be there,” Dimitri answered, frowning. Hubert took a deep breath, likely to contain his attitude before he said, “you would be making a grave error in avoiding Lady Edelgard.”

“I’m sure she’ll manage to make her peace with my lack of speaking to her,” Dimitri answered briskly, dismissing the callous retainer. Hubert seemed to want to argue this, but the seminar started and there was no time.

As Shamir began the lecture, Dimitri’s inner turmoil prevented him from being able to focus. Sylvain caught sight of this and felt for the poor prince. He went to say something to try and help, but Shamir suddenly called on him to answer. The timing of everything was off today.

“Well? We’re all waiting,” Shamir said dryly.

Grinning, Sylvain leaned forward in his chair. “You see, the reason that Seteth is alone in life is because he’s a bitter old man with no sense of humor,” he spoke proudly, seeming plenty pleased with himself. Everyone turned to look at him in confusion, a few students hiding laughter. Shamir clicked her tongue and tapped her foot on the ground.

“While that may be true Sylvain, the question was about which is more durable; nickel or steel,” Shamir responded after a moment. Dimitri mindlessly thought to himself that he would’ve known the answer to that. Sylvain tried to charm his way into getting Shamir to smile, but the archer was not swayed.

“Detention. After classes are over for the day,” she said, turning back to the board. 

“Here’s to hoping that Dorothea won’t kill me for missing our date,” Sylvain whispered to Ignatz, who scooted his chair away from the red-haired wild boy.

-

Nazareth had no idea why she mindlessly decided to follow Claude. She’d seen Jasmine and Evangeline do so before and assumed from there that it was normal. “Where are we going?” she eventually asked, following Claude all the way to the direction of the outdoor market. Claude didn’t answer and instead lead her to a specific cart in the market square. Anna the merchant was selling an assortment of different things ranging from weapons to obscure items and seals. 

“Okay you’ve had your element of mystery. Now what are we doing here?” the brunette asked. Claude picked up what looked to be a healing staff from the table with Anna’s permission and showed it off to Nazareth. It had a silver sheen and gleamed something fierce. 

“It’s beautiful,” Nazareth complimented, eyes shining at the sight of it. “But Jasmine isn’t actually going to pursue reason or faith. She never cared much for magic back on Morfis. It was more of a familial pressure for her.” Nazareth recalled forced magic lessons from her and Jasmine’s past. Their parents would berate Jasmine for not mastering it as quickly as she herself did. It was enough to sway Jasmine into wanting to take up another talent entirely.

“I’m aware. This is for you,” he said casually, dropping some gold coins onto the table, which Anna happily accepted.

“What?! Why? I hardly know what it is,” Nazareth said in shock seeing how much gold it appeared to cost.

“It’s linked to the crest of Cethleann. It’s called the Caduceus staff. If it works, you’ll know that Catherine wasn’t spitting out nonsense,” Claude shrugged. “And if it doesn’t work, you can find someone else to give it to,” he reasoned. Nazareth eyed him wearily. This all seemed to be a fun experiment to him, but for Nazareth, it was a heart stopping revelation. What would it mean if she truly had a crest? And why was Claude willing to get this staff for her?

“I don’t know,” she said unsurely, unable to help herself from admiring the staff as Claude handed it to her. It felt utterly smooth to the touch and her hands gripped it like she was meant to have it. Could this be the feeling of the Goddess trying to tell her to take it? Jasmine always said she shone her light on those who needed it most. 

“In exchange,” Claude said, grabbing Nazareth’s attention. She looked up from the staff to listen. “You’ll give me tips on how to win over your sister,” Claude said with a lilt to his voice. Nazareth looked at him peculiarly. Jasmine had not mentioned Claude much except for that he was silly, as did Evangeline. If there was something going on between them, wouldn’t she know?

“Win her over in what sense?” Nazareth asked, putting the staff down and leaning against it as though it were a cane.

“Having her start a conversation with me that doesn’t involve catching me in the act of doing something…sneaky, would be a good start,” Claude shrugged with a grin. Nazareth cocked her head to the side and looked skeptical. 

“Let me get this straight. You want to blow a dragon hide’s amount of gold on me in hopes that it gets you a conversation with my stepsister?” She asks in a tone that begs Claude to realize how ridiculous this all was.

“Can’t put a price on love,” he chuckles, seeing how off-guard Nazareth became. She fell over on the staff but quickly picked herself up and cried out, “Love?!”

“Okay, I’m being dramatic to prove a point. I think I might like the way she thinks. I don’t know if it’s simply as a friend feels or more, but this ‘words of wisdom’ thing has her ignoring me. She doesn’t like that I’m for it,” he explains. Nazareth pondered his words. She and Glenn still hadn’t decided if they were for or against Rhea’s decision. Jasmine was adamantly with the archbishop. Claude was adamantly against her. It made sense that Jasmine ignored him. Morality was the quality she valued most in a person.

“Why do you like her?” the brunette decided to ask. If she was going to do this for Claude, she had to make sure he was good enough for Jasmine.

“I shouldn’t?” Claude teased, snickering when Nazareth instantly went to give jazz hands. “No that’s not what I me-

“I’m kidding,” he cuts her off, still laughing. He calmed himself down and thought for a moment and said, “I like that she doesn’t form her opinion solely based on what other people think. She does her own research before coming to a conclusion. Edelgard must’ve said some pretty negative things about my house when she talked to Jasmine because she didn’t pick it, but she still gave me a chance as a person. I would hate to have her image of me ruined simply because of something so insignificant.” 

Nazareth didn’t know what to make of that. From a broad perspective, Claude was not Jasmine’s type. Her stepsister liked serious and put together men with subtle senses of humor. Men like…Dimitri. Nazareth’s thoughts were running a mile a minute from that thought, so she did her best to dispel it. She shook off all of her own thoughts because at the end of the day, it mattered how Jasmine felt. If Claude was sincere about his feelings, she’d try to help. Besides, she couldn’t ignore a speech like that. Claude seemed to really value Jasmine’s personality. 

 “Okay fine. But only because the range this staff is rumored to allow will be plenty useful in that mock battle Dimitri told me about and you’ll live to regret this when you taste one of my blizzard or wind blasts,” she warns with no real heat as Claude seemed pleased with her answer.

“Bows give me plenty range. And we have Hilda and Lysithea. I’m not worried,” he says, having clear pride in his house.

“We’ll see. Anyway, like you said, Jas is hard to get. If you want a reaction from her, make her jealous. Probably with Hilda. Everyone talks about how good friends you two are. That could work. It will get her to stop ignoring you,” Nazareth suggests, thinking about how Jasmine would kill her for saying so. Claude seemed interested at this revelation. 

“I’m trusting you,” he says as they begin to walk back toward the building.

“You know where to find me to thank me when it works,” Nazareth replies. Claude nods and guides them back to where seminars were held. As Nazareth turned to walk away from him as they had separate classes, Claude spoke up.

“Oh hey. About Dimitri. Be careful. He’s not the best when it comes to feelings,” he advised. Nazareth’s hair stood up on her arms. She never claimed to like the prince. How could Claude assume?! 

“I didn’t ask for your advice,” she said sharply, with more heat than intended. She regretted it instantly, but Claude didn’t seem taken aback by it.

“Look, I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You seem like a nice person. Don’t let Dimitri take advantage of it,” Claude said with finality and walked off before Nazareth could respond.

Claude peered at the time and saw he had two minutes until class started. The Golden Deer leader swiveled the door open and waltzed over to his seat, which happened to be in between Hilda and Jasmine. Hilda greeted him normally while Jasmine looked away. He tried not to let it get to him too much, because she didn’t seem to do it out of anger as much as confliction. He quickly whispered his plan to Hilda who didn’t need any convincing thankfully.

“Everyone turn to page 394,” Seteth instructed the second the bell chimed. He walked along the desks with his stern expression. Everyone gulped, hoping they would not be called on. Seteth seemed in a worse mood than normal today. 

“You have two minutes to read the first three paragraphs and be ready for a verbal quiz,” he continued. He watched as every student’s eyes frantically ran across the page. All except Hilda and Claude. The two were pretending to read, but their eyes stayed on one section, clearly toying with their professor. Seteth knew what he had to do. But before that, he noticed that a desk was empty. 

“Has anyone seen Dorothea? Why is she not in class today?” Seteth asked sharply. No one spoke up. 

“Very well. Detention for her. Hilda, I leave it to you to let her know,” he demanded, leaving no room for retaliation. The pink haired girl internally groaned. Why did she have to do things?

The next minute, Seteth watched as students peered up only to shoot their gaze right back down at the assigned text, praying to the goddess that they wouldn’t be called on today. Ashe and Annette seemed to be the only two who were prepared to answer, which made Mercedes’ special prayer to protect all of the Blue Lions ironic. 

“Alright. Who can tell me how many tome uses an elfire has?” Seteth asked, shutting everyone’s books closed to avoid peeking. Ashe and Annette’s hands shot up quickly, which the green haired professor promptly ignored. 

“Claude?” he asked, knowing he hadn’t been paying attention to the text. It was the perfect opportunity to give out a detention.

“The same uses an elice has?” he joked with a shrug. Jasmine fought to restrain herself from smacking Claude. He didn’t know what he was getting into. Or maybe he did and just didn’t care. Either way, she still didn’t want to talk to him, but he couldn’t have picked a more stupid answer.

“Elice isn’t even a thing,” Annette whispered to Ashe. 

“I know! What was he thinking?” Ashe replied to her in a hushed tone as well. Leonie shook her head, having been sat next to the two. She knew that Claude was messing Seteth, and the fact that Ashe and Annette couldn’t see that was a little annoying. 

“Incorrect. Why don’t you help him out Hilda?” he asked, irritated and actively ignoring Ashe and Annette’s raised hands. The pink haired girl put on a dumb expression and widened her eyes for added effect.  

“Um, well, there’s really no way to be sure because we don’t know if anyone has used some of it already and that could affect the answer,” she answered. Claude held in laughter as did Leonie. Even she had to admit that Hilda’s answer was clever. Ashe and Annette couldn’t contain it any longer. 

“It’s 30!”
“It’s 30!”

They cried out in sync, looking at each other. Neither had expected the other to do so, and they cringed under Seteth’s glare. 

“Do not speak unless called on. Claude, can you tell me what the requirements to take the warlock certification exam are?” Seteth asked, patience wearing thin. 

“Being a male,” Claude answered confidently with a snap, relishing in Hilda’s laughter. Seteth was seething now, and he sharply turned to the pink haired girl. Jasmine looked worried for the two, but it didn’t seem like either of them were letting up any time soon. Part of her felt a weird emotion at how…flirty the two seemed. If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume they were a couple.

“Hilda. Help your house leader out. NOW. Or detention for both of you,” he threatened. 

“Um, what Claude meant to say is that you need to have a pe-

“DETENTION. BOTH OF YOU. Do not even think of finishing that sentence,” Seteth warned, eyes bulging out of their sockets as the entire class burst into laughter. Even the two book worms let out a giggle or two. Jasmine caught the smiles Claude and Hilda exchanged and watch as they high-fived over getting detention together. It would just be the two of them in a room together. Why did that bother her so much?

“Um, I was going to say a persistence for magic,” Hilda said innocently. Seteth’s blood boiled, and the class grew pin-drop silent. Slowly, Seteth gestured to the door and Claude and Hilda took their leave. Impulsively, Jasmine rose her hand and wondered what was wrong with herself. She shouldn’t try to anger Seteth further, but for some inexplainable reason, she wanted detention too. 

“Yes Jasmine?” He asked in a tired tone. 

“I really think they should put saddles on wyverns, don’t you? It would be much safer to ride them,” Jasmine said in a serious tone. Leonie face palmed herself and the class braced themselves for Seteth’s coming eruption of frustration. 

Except it never came. Instead, the green haired professor honest to goddess smiled. It was subtle, but it was there. The class was beside themselves. 

“That is very profound Jasmine. I myself often wonder the very same thing. Please tell me how you came to this idea,” he spoke earnestly, seemingly happy that someone had something useful to contribute to class for once.

‘Kill me,’ the brunette thought, mentally buckling herself in for yet another endless class.

-

As the classroom grew empty, Edelgard went to shut the door, telling Hubert she’d speak to him later. Byleth watched Edelgard do so and stacked his papers to give his hands something to do. 

“My teacher. We have much to discuss,” she started, moving to sit on his desk while he worked.

“Is this about earlier with the staff? I did not fight Lady Rhea on the matter. I know how you feel about her, but I also know that you would rather not have anyone diving into your personal affairs,” he explained, looking up from his papers. Edelgard smiled warmly and kicked her legs back and forth softly.

“You seem to always know what to do and say Professor,” she commented. Byleth chuckled softly and indulged her with a, “we were both expected to be great leaders.”

‘As was Dimitri,’ Edelgard thought. She saw how Byleth seemed to be looking at her as if he were waiting for her innermost thoughts to come pouring out. It was how Dimitri used to look at her.

“Would you like to talk about whatever is troubling you?” he asked, confirming her suspicions. 

“Something is always troubling me it seems,” Edelgard said, turning around so she was no longer facing the classroom but facing her teacher. “But you’re right. something about earlier today didn’t sit well with me. It’s about that girl Nazareth. Jasmine’s stepsister,” she said, gauging Byleth’s reaction. He seemed…amused?

“You did not like how she looked at Dimitri?” he said in a tone that Edelgard could only describe as teasing. Why would he do such a thing?

“What? Why would I care about that? This is about Catherine assuming she possessed the crest of Cethleann,” she made clear. Her tone shut down anything Byleth could have said about Dimitri, but the professor was not like other people when it came to Edelgard. He didn’t let her frighten him. 

“I know how you can be Edelgard,” he said calmly, nothing but understanding in his eyes. “You’re quite protective of him, however much you don’t care to admit it,” he pointed out.

“Professor, please try to focus on the matter at hand,” Edelgard said, tone rising in volume. “If Nazareth possesses that crest, my plan may be able to take a different turn,” she said, praying she could redirect Byleth to what she really cared about.

“How so?” Byleth asked, letting go of his hunch for the time being.

Edelgard happily went to explain. “That is a powerful crest. With it, she could use the staff of Caduceus. If we have that kind of a mage on our side, paired with Lysithea’s advance gift for dark magic, we may be unstoppable,” she explained, gears turning in her mind. Byleth wanted to be supportive, but he had to be realistic along with it; a tricky combination to master.

“Are you certain you can convince the both of them to join our cause?” Byleth asked carefully. 

“Of course,” Edelgard replied instantly. “I’m sure I can persuade Lysithea. We have a bond. I feel I can sway Nazareth if we convince Jasmine to join us first. They are very close. Do you not agree?” she asked, genuinely wanting his input. Byleth hummed in thought, moving to sit next to Edelgard on the desk.  

“If you successfully convince Jasmine and Nazareth, you may as well try to get Evangeline. She’s a clever mage and I hear she has a knack for flying. Those could prove to be useful skills as well,” he suggested. Edelgard thought on that for a moment before shaking her head.

“It is unlikely Evangeline will join us. I’ve known her since she entered the monastery. She is very loyal to her house. Ingrid has tried in the past to convince her to join the Blue Lions. But Evangeline stayed with the Golden Deer. Still. I suppose it is worth a try,” Edelgard said unsurely, clearly saying that more for Byleth’s sake than her own. 

“I will always do as you command Lady Edelgard,” Byleth said with a hidden smirk, clearly mocking Hubert. Edelgard smacked his shoulder with a smile of her own and said, “don’t get coy with me professor.”

-

“Professor Rodrigue, Jasmine fell asleep in class,” Lindhart complained, tone only half caring. Jasmine hid a smile as she continued to fake being asleep. She was glad that her housemate agreed to help her get detention and wasn’t nosy as to why. Her plan was going swimmingly. 

Professor Rodrigue however, laughed softly and said, “after last night’s conundrum, I’m surprised more of you aren’t sleeping. I’ll excuse it for today.” He then continued on with teaching his lesson.

‘Oh, come ON!’ Jasmine thought, not even bothering to open her eyes. She figured she might as well just try and nap while she was allowed to then. Lindhart complained further that he always got in trouble when he slept in class to which Professor Rodrigue responded “you may nap if you so wish Lindhart.”

On the other end of the room, Evangeline was looking over her notes, and swordsmanship seemed to make less and less sense with every passing seminar. There was too much to remember and she could hardly wield a sword as it was.

“Remember to pick a partner for your research paper,” Rodrigue reminded. “They needn’t be in this specific seminar hour, but they must be a student of mine. You must write about an evolved class in which sword mastery is an element,” Professor Rodrigue instructed. 

Evangeline tried not to let the stress get to her from this reminder, but anything to do with swords had her tense. “Professor, I’m having trouble understanding when to know which sword to use. I know armorslayers are effective against armored units, but wouldn’t it just make more sense for me to use magic in that situation?” she asked, looking up from her notes in frustration. 

“Stay after class tomorrow and I’d be happy to explain it to you in detail Evangeline,” he smiled.

“Harlot,” Ferdinand whispered to the blonde as an inside joke with a hidden smile. Evangeline flushed a little at the jab because it brought back memories of the first time she was really alone with Professor Rodrigue, but also because she’d never witnessed Ferdinand be humorous. It was a welcome change. She shushed him in response however, because they were still in class. The two hadn’t noticed that Felix heard the word and was seething. 

“What did you just call her?” Felix asked Ferdinand in a scarily calm tone. The orange haired noble quirked an eyebrow and didn’t reply. 

“I won’t repeat myself,” Felix threatened, clenching his fist and reaching across Evangeline to give a warning hit. Ferdinand frowned at that, playful demeanor gone. 

“Felix! That was so rude!” Evangeline scolded quietly, forgetting her plan to ignore him momentarily. 

“And it’s none of your business what I say. But I said harlot,” Ferdinand replied, emphasizing the word in a way that he knew would agitate the Fraldarius boy. Evangeline glanced at Ferdinand as if to say ‘what have you done,’ but the two boys only saw red.

“That’s it!” Felix shouted, leaping out of his seat to attack the lone son of house aegir. Evangeline screamed at first, not having expected that. The whole class gasped and backed away and Rodrigue shook his head, knowing he had to intervene. Before he could, a bright light went off and both boys were on opposite ends of the room. 

“What just happened?” Jasmine asked, waking up from her nap and seeing the scene before her. Ferdinand had a black eye and Felix’s nose was bleeding a tad. Evangeline’s hand was sticking out as though she’d just done magic. How long was she asleep?

Caspar rose his hand excitedly and went to answer Jasmine’s rhetorical question. “So, Felix just started wailing on Ferdinand and he started fighting back and then Evangeline used a heal spell to create and light and then pushed them away from each other,” he summed up, looking to the other classmates for confirmation. Everyone nodded or said, “uh huh,” and “yeah, pretty much.”

Rodrigue crossed his arms and looked to the three perpetrators, disappointed that one was his own son. “You do realize even I cannot be cool enough to let this go without consequences. The three of you will be in detention with Manuela. Claude and Hilda will already be there,” he sighed.

‘Unbelievable. They got detention in the five minutes I went to sleep,’ Jasmine complained in her head. She should’ve gotten involved in that fight when she had the chance.

-

Evangeline’s feet felt heavier than iron gauntlets as she dragged herself over to the far end of the classroom hallway. She couldn’t believe that Felix had managed to get her into detention. Ferdinand had successfully calmed her anger down earlier, but it was starting to surface again. 

The memory of the nobleman’s hand clutched in her own was enough to dissipate it again for a moment. That, and the feeling of his lips against hers. Evangeline hated herself for wanting to feel Ferdinand’s lips again, but it had been a while since she’d been kissed. She supposed that detention couldn’t be too bad if she’d have him there.

“Where are you going?” Felix asks, breaking the blonde out of her thoughts of kissing Ferdinand. She flinched and did a double take. The blonde took deep breaths and tried to keep herself from exploding at Felix. He’d given Ferdinand a black eye over a joke for goddess’s sake.

“Detention,” she replied curtly, brushing past him effortlessly.  

“We don’t serve detention until after dinner,” he reminded, giving her an odd look. Evangeline huffed and brush past him once more, muttering a, “fine whatever, I’ll just go to the library.”

It was a few seconds later when she realized Felix was still behind her, baring a calculated expression. What was his problem?! If he didn’t leave her alone, he’d have a black eye to match the one he gave Ferdinand. She turned back to shoot the boy a glare, but Felix was unphased. Why was he following her in the first place?

“Stop following me!” she cried out to him. To her surprise, he stayed utterly calm. She expected him to snap and start yelling. Nothing prepared her for the calm voice that followed.

“I happen to be going to the library too.”

Evangeline closed her eyes in frustration and counted to ten in her head like Ferdinand told her to do if Felix got on her nerves. He really did not know how to behave in social situations. She decided that the hot-tempered boy didn’t deserve any more of her words and wordlessly picked up her pace.

Once inside the library, Evangeline decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to grab some books for her research assignment in Professor Rodrigue’s class. She didn’t yet have a partner but figured Ferdinand would love to work on it with her. The blonde scanned the aisles of the seemingly endless library. She wondered briefly how much fun Annette, Ashe, and Nazareth would have coming here. She then wondered if Nazareth was getting along with her housemates as much as Evangeline expected her to.

In her jumbled thoughts, Evangeline had mindlessly reached on her toes to get a book, and suddenly lost her balance, yelling. The blonde grabbed onto the first thing next to her for support, which conveniently happened to be Felix, subsequently dragging him down with her. 

“Shit,” he grunted. He landed flat on the ground with Evangeline right on top, her hands on the ground on either side of his head, while his hands were on her hips. The mage’s cheeks turned pink, as she noticed the feel of him underneath her and the proximity of their faces. Felix stared straight into her eyes and found himself mindlessly moving one of his hands a little inward. Evangeline started panicking. ‘Oh my God! He’s about to touch my-’

Felix suddenly came to his senses, recognizing the situation, and quickly said, “are you going to get off of me any time soon?”

Evangeline fumed. 

She shot up like a rocket and crossed her arms. “Just leave me alone!” of course by now, she supposed she should have known better because Felix did the opposite of that. 

“I can’t believe your first kiss was with someone like him,” the swordsman said instead, looking disappointed. Evangeline sucked in her cheeks. How was that related to what she just said? And just who did Felix think he was? Her father?!

“Ferdinand wasn’t my first kiss, not that it’s any of your damn business,” she sassed, still angry beyond reason.

“What?! Who was?” he asked, sounding shocked that Evangeline kissed someone before. She ignored the hidden insult in that.

“You can’t just ask that,” was her reply.

“Why not?” he pushed.

“Why do you care?” she fired back. 

It was silent for a second after that. Felix seemed to be fighting some sort of inner battle. Evangeline still wanted nothing more than for him to leave, but it didn’t seem like that was happening any time soon. 

“I don’t. I’m just curious,” he settled on saying. Evangeline looked straight ahead as though she were peering into a camera to exemplify the sheer absurdity of her situation. Sighing, she figured if she answered enough of his dumb, but personal questions, he’d leave her alone.

“It was Claude,” the blonde admitted, rolling her eyes when Felix’s eyes bugged out.

“What?!”

“You can’t freak out every time I say something Felix!” she said sharply. Something was different about her anger this time. It was all consuming. Every piece of rage had been building up toward him for some time to the point where the words seemed to physically burn him with her sentence. That much was evident by how Felix recoiled. 

The air was tense. For a fleeting moment, Evangeline felt guilty, but the feeling was gone just as fast as it had come. Felix was the most stubborn and inconsiderate jerk she’d ever had the displeasure of coming into contact with. She wondered how on earth he was related to Professor Rodrigue or Glenn for that matter. A more sinister part of her brain was secretly pleased that Ferdinand got a good punch on his face. He deserved it.

“I’m…sorry.”

Time stood still. Silence that only the library could provide enveloped the air and Evangeline had half a mind to clean out her ears because there was no way in Fodland that she heard Felix correctly. Was that an apology?! One that seemed sincere?! 

His eyes were closed, and they stayed that way, which was the only indication Evangeline had that she hadn’t imagined the words leaving his mouth. If he wasn’t able to look at her, he clearly had said something difficult for him to say. The words echoed in the blonde’s mind. Never in all her years did she think she’d hear them from the boy standing before her.

“It’s not a big deal, just stop yelling,” she murmured in response after what felt like an eternity later. The blonde came to the conclusion that he was apologizing for his reaction to her first kiss confession and nothing else. It would be far too much to expect him to apologize for his outburst in class and for punching Ferdinand.

“No not for that. I meant for earlier,” Felix clarified, slowly opening his eyes to meet the blonde’s gaze. Amber eyes met light blue and locked onto one another. Evangeline’s heart did a sort of flutter. Was Felix actually taking responsibility for something? Still, she couldn’t let this one seemingly decent act wash away the facts. Felix had been rude and unreasonable as of late.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Ferdinand is the one with a black eye,” she replied, but her tone was significantly less cold. Felix’s eyes zeroed in on Evangeline and he looked deadly serious.

“No. Not for that either. I don’t give a shit about him. He deserved it,” Felix started, surprising her even more. It wasn’t about today? Then what was he apologizing for? She tried to ignore how rude he was toward Ferdinand when the man hadn’t done a thing to him.

“I meant for ignoring you when you needed to talk to someone the other day,” he explained, looking away. His tone seemed broken in a way. As if he expected Evangeline to zap him with thunder magic as punishment (which she may or may not have briefly considered in the past). 

Evangeline’s breath was caught in her throat. It was so uncharacteristic for Felix to acknowledge that he was being inconsiderate. The way he had treated her that day was beyond disrespectful. In fact, Evangeline was sure Felix had forgotten all about his treatment of her that day. Apparently he hadn’t. 

The blonde bit her lip and decided to ask what she’d been wanting to for a while. “Then why did you?”

Felix shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said uninterestedly. 

Evangeline’s lip thinned and her eyes went half lidded. There was the Felix she knew. 

“Really?” she prompted, crossing her arms.

“Are we doing this research paper or not?” Felix asked, picking up the book that had fallen when the two of them had earlier. Evangeline shook her head.

“Is that your way of asking to do the research paper together?” she asked exasperatedly.

“Is that your way of saying yes?” he countered, but Evangeline caught the nerves in his tone. He was nervous that she would reject him. And he was right to be.

“I accept your apology. But please be nicer. I feel that we should get along somewhat. We are doing a project together after all,” she sighed. Evangeline told herself that this was his only chance. At the first sign of rudeness, she would drop him for a different partner.

“So you’re saying that as soon as the project is over, I can go back to being a dick?” Felix asked, hiding what Evangeline could only assume was a smile. To that, she couldn’t help but release a small bubble of a laugh. It was short, but it was there.

“Was that your attempt at a joke?” she asked, an easy sort of smile on her face

“You laughed,” he shrugged, with that hidden smile still plastered on his snarky face.

“In truth, I wonder why we aren’t friends sometimes. Ingrid is one of my best friends and she’s marrying your brother. One would think that connects us in a way,” Evangeline said in passing, taking another book off the shelf, and bringing it to the table Felix had decided to sit at. She settled into the chair across from him and began skimming through the table of contents. She became so quickly immersed in the text that she missed Felix’s expression morph into a nervous one again.

“I’m not the best at making friends. I consider Ingrid, Sylvain, and his ‘royal highness’ to be my only ones,” he admitted, not taking his eyes away from his own book. Evangeline rose an eyebrow at that confession.

“You insult Dimitri and Sylvain more times than not,” she pointed out, thinking he was joking.

“Ah, so you see my predicament,” Felix replied, looking up. Both their heads were down, but their eyes met, and they shared a smile. Evangeline decided that she liked this side of Felix. The joking and non-insulting version of him was much better company.

“We should really start studying. I think we should do our paper on mortal savants. You’re good with swords and I’m an ace at magic. This way, we’re sure to get full marks,” Evangeline suggested as they maintained eye contact. Felix’s smile turned sly.

“I bet I could easily do magic. How hard can it be to read a tome and let your hands do the rest?”

Evangeline scoffed at Felix’s take on magic and decided to see if he was all talk. “Have at it,” she started, pulling out a red pocketbook from her school uniform. “Here’s a basic fire tome,” she offered, handing it to the boy.

“Hm, let’s see here,” Felix said in concentration as he scanned the tome and held his hand out, away from Evangeline and toward the bookshelf.

“No! Felix WAIT!”

-

Nazareth was happy that her afternoon class ended early because it meant she could head to the stables sooner than she’d planned. The brunette was excited to actually get to ride a horse for the first time. She also thought it would be a good time to try and clear the air with Dimitri. She enjoyed his company and hoped he felt the same way.

As Nazareth waited for him to arrive, she pulled out the Caduceus staff Claude had given her and admired it once more. It was so shiny and cool to the touch. For lack of a better word, it felt magical. 

‘Almost as shiny as Evangeline’s hair,’ she thought to herself with a laugh. 

“What’s funny?” 

Nazareth looked up, expecting Dimitri but her smile fell short when she saw it was just Ignatz. 

“Oh. Hello Ignatz. I was just lost in thought. What are you doing here?” she asked kindly, putting the staff back in her bag. 

“I’m on stable duty. What are you doing here?” he asked with interest as he pushed his glasses up. Nazareth perked up at his reasoning and excitedly hopped up. 

“I’m waiting for Dimitri. He’s taking me horseback riding. Can I watch while you feed the horses?” She asked excitedly. Ignatz admired her bubbliness and blushed a little. 

“Of course. You’re even welcome to help me feed them if you’d like,” he offered. The brunette eagerly took him up on that offer as she grabbed one of the pails of feed from him and barreled into the stables. She figured she may as well do something productive while she waited for her prince. 

-

“Hubert, I trust you did as I asked and convinced Dimitri to speak to me?” Edelgard asked, shutting the door of the Black Eagle common room. Hubert hung his head down.

Sorrowfully, he answered. “Forgive me Lady Edelgard. I have failed you. Dimitri refused even after I specifically warned him that he shouldn’t.

Edelgard tapped her chin in thought, seeming to have expected as much. “I suppose I could try and ask Professor Byleth to speak to him.”

Hubert didn’t wait a second to shut the idea down. “But Dimitri may become suspicious as to why the professor is doing you such a favor,” he commented. He hoped his jealousy was not as prominent as it was felt.

“You’re right as always Hubert,” Edelgard praised. “I suppose I’ll have to figure something else out,” she said hopelessly. Before Hubert could try and comfort her, something caught the princess’ eye. “Hubert, over there,” she pointed. “Is that not Glenn?”

Hubert squinted in the direction of her finger and asked, “Isn’t that the annoying swordsman’s older brother?” for clarification. 

“Yes. More importantly, he’s close to Dimitri. This could be my chance,” Edelgard quickly spoke.

“Lady Edelgard do-

“Glenn. I need to speak with you,” she said, ignoring Hubert’s words. The retainer of the imperial princess shook off more hurt and stayed a close enough distance away to keep an eye on his liege. 

“Uh Edelgard. What can I…What do you…um, what is it?” Glenn asked, expression odd. Edelgard never talked to anyone outside of their house. Except Dimitri apparently. The swordsman didn’t know how to act around her. She was known for having lavender eyes that peered right through your soul and exposed your secrets. 

“I need you to convince Dimitri to speak with me. We have something to discuss,” Edelgard spoke, straight to the point as always. Glenn looked to the side, rhetorically hoping that she may be talking to a different Glenn nearby because this was quite the uncomfortable situation. 

Uneasy, he said, “I don’t know. He seems pretty upset with you.” The eldest Fraldarius son braced himself for Edelgard’s impending sharp words, but they never came.

“In return, I will ensure that Ingrid receives a killer lance. I know she appreciates a good weapon as much as you appreciate her,” she said instead, voice calm. 

Glenn weighed his options. He could defy Edelgard, but she might make his life a living hell. He’d also have to deal with Hubert’s death glares at denying his retainer something. On the other hand, if he did as she asked, he’d have to deal with Dimitri’s judgement at having fulfilled a request by Edelgard. Yet, Ingrid would receive a nice lance. One that would give them an edge at the mock battle no doubt. And it might be good in the long run for Dimitri to sort out...whatever this was.

“What do you need to talk to him about,” he settled on asking. Perhaps it would help him make his decision if he knew that it was something of utmost importance. 

“That’s between him and me,” she answered shortly, crossing her arms. Glenn figured he should have seen that coming. He wasn’t sure what to do and was reminded of earlier today as a result. Back when neither he nor Nazareth could decide. The swordsman inwardly made a note to work on his decision-making skills. And with that final thought, he left Edelgard and Hubert, not bothering to give them an answer. Whatever he decided would be because it was his decision. That, and he didn’t feel like he owed Edelgard an answer after her coldness.

As he was leaving, Edelgard withheld her anger. That was her last shot at trying to get Dimitri to join her. Now what was she to do. The imperial princess quickly shook off those thoughts. She had to hold onto the hope that Glenn had enough sense not to defy her. 

“Lady Edelgard, do you really think he’ll do as you requested? He does not look to be the reliable sort,” Hubert commented, looking concerned for her. 

“Have faith Hubert. People can surprise you,” she said in an ever- cold tone. There was no trace of a smile on her lips. It was as though she were certain that the fear her tone provided would ensure the task into completion.

-

Jasmine eyed the clock and saw there were only two minutes left of class. She had her pencil at the ready. Raphael was right in front of her. This was her chance. This one had to work. She aimed and threw the pencil at the back of Raphael’s head. 

The blond brute scratched at the place where the pencil made contact and he mindlessly looked around the floor until he picked up the pencil. Turning around, he handed it to Jasmine. “I think you dropped that. Better be careful!”

Jasmine’s eye twitched as she all but snatched the pencil back from the blond brute. 

The poor brunette had spent the entire class trying to concoct a way that would successfully get her detention, and her elaborate pencil plan hadn’t even worked. She felt that she had tried everything. It was getting to be more than it was worth.

“You really want to get detention?” Dorothea asked Jasmine as they put their papers into their schoolbags.  

Then again, maybe it was worth something. Jasmine took the bait and said, “yes, how did you know?”

Dorothea waved the fellow brunette off and said in a tone much too casual, “not important. If you really want to get detention, just yell ‘fire.’ Works every time.”

Jasmine eyed the songstress with a look of uncertainty. “Uh, how often do you use that?” She was just trying to get detention, not get kicked out of the school entirely. Yelling ‘fire’ seemed kind of extreme. Then again, Dorothea had been here longer, so wouldn’t her advice be sound?

“Not important. Thank me later,” Dorothea winked, gesturing to the library as they walked out of the class hall. Jasmine looked over and saw the innocent building. It seemed wrong to cause unnecessary panic, but she had to wonder who would be in the library at a time like this anyway. 

Jasmine went to thank Dorothea for the advice, but by the time she turned back, Dorothea was no longer in her line of sight. Where had she gone? She figured it didn’t matter and walked toward the building, nerves firing up a little.

‘Just do it quickly. Like ripping off a band aid,’ Jasmine said to herself, needing a mini pep talk. Taking a deep breath, the Black Eagle student burst through the door and cried out, “Fire! Everybody run!”

It didn’t take more than three seconds for patrons to make for the exit and rush out of the library. The weird thing was that Jasmine felt some kind of heat coming from a distance. She played it off as having been psychological from having just yelled out ‘fire.’ Before she could confirm her suspicions, Tomas came rushing toward the front door where she stood.

“Did you yell fire?” He asked frantically. The wrinkled man seemed on edge. Jasmine gulped and nodded, ready to hear that she had gotten worse than detention when Tomas said,

“Thank heavens you did! Felix damn near burned the library down!”

What? 

What?

WHAT?!

“What?!” Jasmine finally cried aloud. Tomas had already vanished from the library by that time and Jasmine squinted to see two figures in the distance; Felix and Evangeline.

Felix was staring in horror as the fire was starting to spread across the bookshelf in front of him and Evangeline. He didn’t know what happened. One second there was the smallest flicker of a fire on his fingertips, and then the next, the shelf was licked with small flames that were only growing with every passing second. 

“Run Felix!” Evangeline commanded; eyes zeroed in on the fire. Her hands were spread apart evenly as she tried to channel the fire back into the tome where it belonged.

“It’s not that bad!” Felix replied, but his tone wavered. Even he could see that he messed up incredulously. 

“Shut up and go!” Evangeline ordered, glancing at him through the side of her eye. Beads of sweat dropped down both their faces and the heat from the fire flew toward them in small waves.

“I’m not just leaving you here.” Felix’s guilt compelled him to stay and try to do anything within his power to help Evangeline. The blonde, however, could not let him stand there like a vessel waiting to catch fire. 

“I have to put this out you idiot. Now go,” Evangeline said softer this time. She turned to face Felix while her hands still attempted to absorb the fire for transfer. Felix looked thoroughly apologetic. No one had to explain the severity of his actions. He knew just how bad the situation could have become. With an apology at the ready on his tongue, he slowly drawled out a “I’m…” but Evangeline’s eyes, having been focused on Felix, missed a lick of flames spreading on the far end of the bookshelf and as a result, another shelf caught on fire. 

“Felix! Go! You’re breaking my concentration!” she shouted, turning her head back to the matter at hand. Felix thankfully listened to her and ran toward the front door where Jasmine was still standing.

“Felix?” She asked. “Tomas said you started the fire. What happened?!” the brunette asked. Felix was slightly out of breath but managed to form a sentence.

“I tried practicing magic, but I made a mistake. Evangeline is still in there trying to put the fire out,” he explained, pointing toward where he and she were once studying. Jasmine’s eyes widened when she saw that the fire was getting bigger. 

“She can’t do this alone. She’ll burn down with the building. Felix, go get help. I need to get in there,” Jasmine instructed, charging toward the source of the fire. 

As she lessened the intensity of the fire, anxiety slowly welled up inside Evangeline. What if she couldn’t put the fire out? What if the library burned down? All the books would be lost forever. Everyone would blame her…

Heat. So much heat. It was working its way into her brain until all she could see was a vortex of fire like a hurricane. More beads of sweat dropped down the blonde’s face and she blinked lethargically, slowly losing her grasp on reality. 

Smoke began to permeate the air and Evangeline felt her body wobble. First to the left, then to the right. ‘Just a short nap,’ the blonde told herself, eyes fluttering shut in slow motion. 

-

Dimitri grew nervous with every step he took heading to the stables. He had seen how Nazareth looked at him earlier. She looked so betrayed. The prince felt awful for siding against her. Even worse so for being on the same side as Edelgard, but in doing so he had stood up for himself. He couldn’t allow baseless rumors to run rampant around the monastery. 

‘Were they so baseless?’ his mind taunted. Dimitri was reminded that whatever Manuela read aloud last night in regard to him was far from false. 

Every passing step felt more and more like a comeuppance. How could he face Nazareth? What if she was angry? Or worse, what if she no longer wished to spend time with him? He hated upsetting people.

Before he could decide what he should say, Dimitri noticed Glenn walking toward him with a determined look. 

“Glenn, is everything alright?” The prince asked, walking up to the swordsman. Glenn seemed to be fighting an inner battle. 

“Dimitri, you need to talk to Edelgard,” he blurted, surprised at his own words. He supposed it was his gut telling him to take this course of action. Dimitri did not look pleased with the swordsman’s words however. The prince eyed Glenn as if he’d just said he was switching to the Black Eagle house.

“I’ve already told her retainer that I do not have anything more to say to her,” he replied firmly. It did not look like there was room for discussion, but Glenn believed himself to be rather convincing. 

“Dimitri, I really think you should,” Glenn started. Dimitri held a hand up and interrupted with, “why? So more rumors may spread?”

Glenn sighed. “You know that’s not why,” he reasoned with his childhood friend. Looking to the side, he recalled Edelgard’s desperation to speak to the prince and looked back to Dimitri. “I really think she needs to talk to you,” he settled on saying. Dimitri scoffed and smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes.

“Edelgard needs no one.” It was such a plain statement, but Dimitri had a tendency to say more when he said less.

“This time is different,” Glenn reasoned. 

“What makes you say that?” Dimitri asked for the sake of the argument. 

“She came to me,” Glenn voiced with earnest. “When was the last time Edelgard spoke to anyone other than you outside of her own house?” he questioned, giving the prince a determined look. There was no way that a future leader could ignore such a powerful claim. Dimitri did seem to falter at that admission, but his unease was still apparent.  

Looking off to the side, Dimitri said, “I made plans to meet with Nazareth. I cannot leave her without explaining. And I am already late,” with guilt.

“I can tell her what happened,” Glenn offered. Dimitri knew Nazareth would be less than pleased.

“Please do not mention where I went. And let her know I plan to make it up to her,” Dimitri requested, gears turning in his head. “Tell her to meet me at the dining hall at ten,” he added as an afterthought. Glenn nodded.

“I will take care of it. Now go. Edelgard’s waiting for you in the greenhouse,” Glenn said, already heading off to the direction of the stables.

Dimitri felt a weird pit in his stomach for not being the one to tell Nazareth about their plans changing, but changed his course to the direction of the greenhouse anyway. 

-

Nazareth shrieked in delight when a horse ate straight from her hand. It whinnied happily as she reached into the feed bucket to pull out some carrot slices and present them. Ignatz watched in admiration as Nazareth seemed to have bundles of energy at the ready. It seemed nothing would break her smile. They had been feeding horses for almost twenty minutes and she did not appear to be tired in any sense. 

However, the platinum blond had caught her looking outside to see if Dimitri had arrived. In those moments, the smile faltered, but it would just as quickly come back when the horses caught her attention again. 

“Eeep!” Nazareth yelped when a horse nicked at her finger. Ignatz shot up instantly and rushed to her side.

“Are you okay?” he asked, assessing her hand. Nazareth giggled and brushed him off. 

“Of course. I’m fine. It only scratched a little,” she insisted. But Ignatz saw signs of blood peeking and shook his head. 

“Come on. There’s a first aid kid right outside. This kind of thing happens more often than you’d think,” Ignatz said determinedly, pulling her out of the stables. The young man reached into a wooden box on the floor by the door and pulled out some materials; gauze, a bottle of some type of solution, and a wipe. He had Nazareth sit down on the ground and got to work.

Gently, he reached for the brunette’s hand and pinpointed the area of the cut. When he went to pour the solution over the cut, Nazareth winced, causing Ignatz to whisper out a “sorry,” and really look at her. The brunette’s eyes were downcast, and her smile was nowhere to be seen. It was like it was never there.

Ignatz tried to get her to meet his gaze, but Nazareth’s eyes were stuck on the ground. The hand that Ignatz wasn’t tending to, was clenched in a fist.

“Let me know if I’m wrapping it too tightly,” Ignatz said softly, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, she may leave. Nazareth nodded and Ignatz smiled at how her wavy hair bounced up and down from the motion. The blue streaks almost resembled waves in the moment.

The Golden Deer member delicately, but firmly began wrapping the gauze around Nazareth’s hand and cringed when he noticed her wince once more.

Once he tied it a decent amount, Ignatz cut the gauze and placed the excess back in the first aid box. Nazareth finally looked up when his back was turned, and she admired his handiwork. Her hand felt the weight of the gauze’s presence, but it was not a hindrance. The brunette watched Ignatz neatly pack everything back in the box and check the stables once more to make sure the horses were alright too. Her heart gave a light thump when she noticed how considerate Ignatz really was.

“I wanted to thank you,” she blurted, standing up and scratching her arm from nerves. Ignatz peered back and smiled. He thought she looked beautiful with the last bits of the sunset giving her hair a lighter tint. She appeared to be almost ethereal in that moment.

“I did what anyone would do. Leaving a cut open can be quite unsanitary,” he spoke modestly. Nazareth shook her head, soft brown and blue locks draping around her face.

“Not just for that Ignatz. I meant earlier when people were choosing sides. You switched your side. I noticed you looking at me when you did. I don’t know if I was the entire reason for that, but in any case, thank you. I felt like you took a stand for me when nearly no one else from my house did. Or my family,” she spoke, voice growing weak at the end. The brunette did not want to admit to herself just how much it hurt that Jasmine and Evangeline were on Edelgard’s side even after her harsh words.

“Are you talking about Jasmine? Because I’m sure if you talk to her, she’ll have a perfectly reasonable explanation for her viewpoint. She is your stepsister after all,” he reasoned. Nazareth could see from just a few short interactions that Ignatz was the sort of person to try and see the best in people. She wondered what other admirable qualities this Golden Deer student had. 

“I suppose you’re right about that. It’s just that sometimes I can’t help but feel that I chose the wrong house,” Nazareth admitted, hands on her knees as her head was still hunched down. 

“Pardon?” Ignatz asked, sitting back down across from her. He tried mimicking her sitting position. Nazareth peered up and gathered her courage to admit what was bothering her out loud for once. 

“I thought Dimitri and I got on well, which is why I wanted to join the Blue Lions. Well, one of the reasons anyway. But lately, he’s been keeping secrets from me and not committing to plans…he was supposed to be here half an hour ago. I suppose he isn’t coming,” she said, gauging Ignatz’s reaction. He seemed slightly angry, but Nazareth wondered if that was a trick of the light because the emotion was gone in a flash.

“It’s happened more than just this time?” the blond asked. Nazareth had to give him credit. The boy really wanted all the facts before he made a decision. The mentality reminded her of Jasmine.

“Yes. Yesterday we had plans to study together before the words of wisdom. But he never came to the library,” she revealed, head back to facing the ground. Ignatz felt for her and reached his hand for hers. Nazareth stiffened but didn’t make a move to pull away. After a few seconds, she interlocked their hands and gave a weak smile.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But surely, he must have a reason. I can’t imagine anyone missing out on the chance to spend time with you,” Ignatz spoke so boldly, it caused heat to pool in his own cheeks. Nazareth hadn’t expected a sentiment on that caliber and was taken aback.

Slightly blushing, she said, “sometimes I think the Golden Deer house would have been a better fit for me. Claude is so nice to me. My best friend is there. Hilda seems like a laugh. And…you’re there.”

The heat in Ignatz’s cheeks flared full force at that comment and he nervously placed a hand on the back of his head.

“M-me?”

Nazareth beamed at his lack of confidence. It was so cute.
“You’ve shown me nothing but kindness since the moment I arrived here at Garreg Mach. You are a true friend Ignatz,” she complimented, moving back into her role of friendliness now that their moment had passed. Ignatz’s face went back to its natural tone, and he seemed to be deep in thought. 

The sun was still in its setting stage and Nazareth realized just how glorious the sun was. It could make anyone glow with the allure of a sun kissed angel. Ignatz seemed to have a sense of longing in this light, but he was also perplexed. 

“Nazareth…” he started to say, without meeting her gaze.

“Yes?” the girl questioned; tone worried due to his reluctance to face her.

“You can’t join the Golden Deer.”

Nazareth’s heart dropped. A thousand feeling erupted inside of her. Did her heart truly trust too fast? Perhaps she should be wearier of who she assumed to be kind and who was simply out to get her. A lone tear fell down her sunlit face. It glistened as it made contact with the dirt beneath her. 

No. Ignatz was not a cruel person. This was his kind way of saying that he didn’t wish to spend more time with her that he already had.

“Even someone as kind as you has rejected my company,” she sniffed, smiling despite her feelings. She could live this fact. It didn’t make it hurt any less, but she could move on.

“No! I did not mean it like that,” Ignatz protested, feeling terrible for causing her hurt. 

“You don’t need to spare my feelings. I respect your honesty,” Nazareth insisted, moving to stand up. Before she could, Ignatz reached for Nazareth’s shoulder and continued with vigor. “Nazareth no. Please listen. I meant that everyone in the Blue Lion house is much too proper. You add the bit of fun and adventure that they need. You cannot join the Golden Deer because the Blue Lions need you. I think Dimitri needs someone like you,” he explained, acceptance hidden beneath his eyes. Nazareth was shocked into silence. Ignatz seemed to see inside her for who she really was. 

Still, the mood became too tense, and Nazareth decided to joke, “I doubt Sylvain is proper.”

“Yes, but he’s always off with Dorothea or other girls. You’re the type to want to bond with those around you,” Ignatz said, seemingly ready with the reply. They both bore easy smiles now. Genuine ones that held a touch of serenity they were missing.

“Still. Ashe, Mercedes, and Annette seem to have their own little group. Ingrid isn’t ever free. Felix despises people. Dedue does not speak to anyone…” she trailed off, not wanting to ignore the loneliness she felt, but not wanting to discredit Ignatz’s points either.

“Glenn?” Ignatz questioned. 

“Oh yes! Glenn is actually quite kind to me,” Nazareth thought, liking how positive the blond seemed to be. But Ignatz shook his head and pointed behind the brunette. “No, I mean, look, it’s Glenn,” he reiterated. Nazareth turned around in confusion and indeed saw the elder Fraldarius son walking toward them. 

“Oh! Glenn. What are you doing here?” Nazareth asked, finally getting up from the ground. Ignatz mimicked her movements once more.

“Nazareth, I’m glad I caught you. This monastery is huge,” he replied, seemingly out of breath. “Dimitri asked me to tell you that he’s sorry he missed your plans for today, but he planned to make it up to you later tonight,” he finished. Nazareth’s heart did more little flips at this knowledge. Dimitri hadn’t forgotten. 

“Do you know why he didn’t show?” she chanced asking the swordsman. 

“I’m afraid you’ll have to let his highness answer that one. he requested that you meet him in the dining hall at midnight,” Glenn replied uneasily. 

‘That means he’s definitely with Edelgard, doesn’t it,’ Nazareth thought to herself. Out loud, she said, “Okay. Well thanks for letting me know.”

“Of course. I’ll be off then. A good evening to you both,” Glenn nodded, taking his leave.

Ignatz pushed his glasses up and shrugged. “I told you he would have a reason.”

“I don’t know what it is yet. And I don’t know if I’ll find out,” Nazareth pointed out, sighing. 

“You can ask him tonight,” Ignatz suggested with another shrug.

Nazareth bit her lip. “I don’t know if I should even go Ignatz. What if he lets me down again?” she voiced her fear aloud. 

“Or what if he surprises you?” Ignatz said, still trying to make her see differently. 

“If you were me, you’d go?” She asked curiously. 

Ignatz thought for a moment and took a deep breath before saying, “If I were you, I would do what made me happy. I’m not telling you that you must go, but I don’t think you should discount your choices because of a few bad days.”

The wind blew a soft breeze, but time still seemed to stand still as Nazareth wondered how Ignatz could speak so eloquently. So easily. So effortlessly. It was as though he had the perfect answer to every question. 

“Has anyone ever told you how insightful you can be?” she asked him in awe. Ignatz laughed heartily and replied, “sometimes Marianne does. When I manage to have a conversation with her.”

Nazareth gave her newfound close friend a warm hug and sincerely said, “have a wonderful night Ignatz. And thank you again.”

“Anytime Nazareth. You’re a true friend to me as well,” he replied, returning the hug happily. He waved as she walked off.

As Nazareth headed toward the student dormitories, she saw Annette and Ashe and thought it was fate that she ran into her house members. Maybe this could be the start of her getting to know them better. However, something was off. They seemed panicked and they ran in her direction with frantic expressions. 

“Nazareth! We were just in the library and there was a fire. Evangeline and Jasmine were last seen in there,” Annette explain in a rushed tone. Ashe seemed too afraid to speak. Goosebumps from fear spiked on Nazareth’s arms and she quickly thought the worst.

“What?! I have to make sure they’re okay!” the brunette cried out, making haste to the library. She ignored her housemates cries about it being too dangerous and how Tomas told them to head to the common room while he had the adults deal with it.

-

“Evangeline, snap out of it!” Jasmine yelled, glancing in horror at the wobbling mage. The blonde ignored the plea and nearly fell over before Jasmine caught her. 

“Evangeline, neither of us can put this fire out alone. Help me,” the brunette pleaded, shaking the delirious mage. The motion of Jasmine rocking her back and forth seemed to snap Evangeline out of her stupor and she quickly tried to get back into action. 

Both girls stood side by side and managed to redirect the flames from the first shelf with ease. The second shelf was proving to be a challenge because the fire was spreading at a quicker pace with every passing second. 

“I wish Nazareth was here,” Jasmine complained between deep breaths. The fire was getting to be too much, and smoke nearly enveloped them now. Evangeline had now collapsed, and Jasmine prayed to the goddess, knowing she was always watching over them. Evangeline couldn’t do this alone and neither could she. 

“Jas?”

Jasmine’s head sharply turned to see none other than her stepsister. Nazareth appeared to be calm, but Jasmine knew it was a façade meant to ease the tension. 

“Get Evangeline out of here,” Nazareth instructed, getting in fighting position. 

“Okay, but you’re too far away from the fire. Your magic won’t reach it from there,” Jasmine reasoned, throwing Evangeline over her shoulder. The blonde’s skin was burning to the touch. 

“I’ll get closer. Just get out of here,” Nazareth insisted, giving her best friend a worried look.  

“And Jas?” Nazareth called. The brunette turned around, expectant. 

“Don’t come back in here,” Nazareth made clear, narrowing her eyes. Jasmine wanted to argue, but a piece of debris fell and caused the brunette to put Evangeline’s safety first. 

Jasmine led Evangeline out of the library, shooting a final glance at Nazareth. Once both girls were outside, Jasmine fell to the ground, Evangeline falling beside her ungracefully. 

“Sorry,” Jasmine apologized weakly to the passed-out figure. It was then that the brunette realized she still had her schoolbag hanging from her back, which was likely why it was harder to carry Evangeline. Before she could put it down however, Felix’s voice caught her attention.

“Is she okay?”

Jasmine looked up and saw the swordsman with his expression faltered. Normally stern amber eyes were now wide with concern, all for the girl who tried to fix his mistake. 

“She should be fine. The heat and smoke were too much, and she fainted. I’ll go get help. Will you watch her?” Jasmine asked, sensing that he wished to be alone with Evangeline. Felix nodded; his eyes locked onto Evangeline’s laying figure. 

“I’ve got to get back in there,” Jasmine said, catching her breath and preparing to go back inside when Felix grabbed her hand and shook his head. 

“Look,” he said, pointing as a pillar came barreling down, blocking the entrance of the library. “There’s no way you can get inside now,” he said. Jasmine’s heart dropped. If she’d been only a minute faster…

“I can’t just leave her in there and do nothing,” Jasmine sighed as she finally let her bag drop in a fit of exasperation. It just so happened that Tomas was walking by, and he rubbed his forehead at the noise Jasmine’s books made. 

“Good Goddess. Who slammed those books?” he complained, appearing to be in pain. 

“Um, that was me. Sorry professor,” Jasmine apologized. Tomas shook his head and pointed accusingly. 

“Detention,” he said, moving to walk away when he noticed Felix and Evangeline. 

“You! You’re the one who started the fire. Detention for two weeks! And take that young girl to the medical ward immediately,” he said to Felix, anger risen. He then walked off, muttering about noisy students. Jasmine blinked in confusion. That was all it took?! Well, Felix’s punishment made sense, but her own was unwarranted.

“Wait, Tomas! Nazareth is still in the library! You’ve got to help us!” She pleaded, forgetting all other matters for the time being. 

“I’m going to alert Lady Rhea,” Tomas muttered, skittering off. Jasmine felt something off about the man’s actions. Was he not here earlier? Why hadn’t he gotten help yet? Something didn’t add up.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. The fire caused enough uproar to unsettle most. I’m certain detention will be cancelled,” Felix muttered to Jasmine, his eyes still on Evangeline. The brunette thought it was odd; the way Felix looked at her. Then, it hit her.

‘Does he like Evangeline? Oh my gosh! What if the letter from last night meant that Felix is in love with Evangeline?! She could be the blonde,’ Jasmine thought in her head. Her presence caused Felix to look up at Jasmine and question why she was still here. 

“Go take her to the hospital wing. I’m going to stay here and make sure Naz is okay,” Jasmine said politely, knowing full and well that this would likely be one of their only interactions. 

Felix nodded and took his leave.

Jasmine looked worriedly into the library and prayed to the goddesses to protect Nazareth somehow, some way.

-

The greenhouse plants were sparkling with dewdrops; a sign that someone had just watered them. If Dimitri remembered correctly, it was Marianne’s turn to do so. That would explain how it got done in a timely fashion. 

Currently, it seemed like lilies were growing more than any other flower. They cascaded around the greenhouse and added a sense of elegance to the space. 

Edelgard stood at the far end, next to a plant with some sort of berries growing. They were red in color but didn’t quite look like raspberries. They matched Edelgard’s school uniform color well. 

“You saw to it that I met with you, so what is it you want?” Dimitri asked, cutting to the chase for once. His tone left no room for niceties. Edelgard seemed surprised that he agreed to see her. She was not sure if Glenn would decide to speak to him for her sake.

Adjusting her cape, Edelgard said in a softer tone than usual, “I should not have spoken so curtly to you before.” 

Dimitri could only give a blink in response at first. Leave it to Edelgard to make an apology sound like it wasn’t to be declined. If you could even call it that. Her words seemed more factual than apologetic. For that reason, Dimitri decided not to falter in demeanor.

“I don’t have a lot of time Edelgard. Please cut to the chase,” he said in response. Edelgard appeared to be prepared for this reaction because she did not falter either.

“I do remember our past,” she said, secretly relieved in the reaction it got from her stepbrother. “I do not like to talk about it… it is too painful. Do not ask me why.” Her sentence may have been a command, but Dimitri could tell it was her version of a plea with the ‘please’ omitted. He did not know what to make of that.

‘What exactly did she remember? Is this a ruse to gain my friendship back?’ he thought to himself. It seemed too convenient that Edelgard brought up their past the moment he refused to speak with her. 

Edelgard saw that Dimitri was not going to say anything, so she decided to keep speaking. “I don’t have as many fond memories as you do. The ones I do have are unclear in fact. But I do have…this.” From her pocket, she pulled out a small silver blade. It had a navy blue and gold designed handle. It was not a very ornate weapon, but rather something a child may have been in possession of. 

Dimitri’s pupil expanded at the sight of the weapon and his coldness was nowhere to be found. Instead, hope soared in his chest. Perhaps Edelgard really was sorry about the way she’d spoken to him. Perhaps she thought fondly of their short time together as did he.

“The dagger I gave you the last time I saw you. Until the monastery that is,” he breathed, feeling nostalgic simply at the sight of it. Edelgard bore a small smile of her own.

“I didn’t understand the purpose of such an odd gift,” Edelgard admitted. At the time, she did not know how to react when Dimitri gifted her the dagger. She had thanked him oddly, but Arundel had forced her to leave so quickly after, she couldn’t remember how Dimitri reacted.

Dimitri blushed in embarrassment at her words. “It is a symbol to my people,” he explained.  “I thought perhaps you could use it to cut a path you wished to follow. A path I could one day join you on,” he finished. That explanation seemed to strike something in Edelgard. Hope soared in her heart as well. it seemed that for the moment, things would be alright between the two of them. 

“Could you ever join such a path?” Edelgard asked in almost a whisper, as though she did not have the strength to handle if Dimitri said no. Dimitri reached out for Edelgard’s hand and held it in his own. His eyes were full of sincerity and Edelgard returned the look. 

“If you reached your hand out when you really needed me, I doubt I could deny you El.”

-

Evangeline’s eyes slowly opened but squinted when a bright light came into focus. 

“Wh-what happened?” she voiced, rubbing at her eyes. Slowly, memories came flooding back in waves. Felix. Fire. Jasmine. Smoke. Too much heat.

“Are you okay?”

Evangeline looked up to see Felix. It was then she realized Felix’s head was on her lap. It looked like he had just woken up. How had that happened? Where were they?

“Did the fire get put out?” she asked, looking around. She was on a cot in the med ward. Evangeline briefly remembered Jasmine asking her to hang on, but the smoke was permeating her brain and she could not.

“Yes. Your friend Nazareth managed to put it out,” Felix explained, yawning. “She wanted me to let you know that there was no severe harm to the library or anyone that was inside, save for you,” he said, looking away. Evangeline inwardly was impressed that he remembered her best friend’s name.

“Did you bring me here?” she questioned, not seeing anyone else nearby. 

“Yeah. Jasmine carried you out of the library and I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get seriously hurt because of me,” Felix admitted.

“I feel just fine. Maybe a little tired, but that’s to be expected. I’m more upset that I couldn’t put out the fire,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows. Apparently, her magic wasn’t as strong as she’d thought. 

“Don’t be hard on yourself. Jasmine went in and tried to help you and the two of you couldn’t put it out either,” he pointed out. Evangeline had to admit that Felix was growing on her. At least this version of him was. He was almost…sweet. That was not a word she thought she would associate him with anytime soon. Still, something bothered her. 

“Wait, you said Nazareth put out the fire,” the blonde mused. In the beginning she was so distracted by the fact that he actually remembered her name to consider what that meant. “Jasmine helped her?”

“Well, no. Jasmine tried to go back inside, but the entrance was blocked off by a pillar. The staff is questioning why Tomas didn’t call for help sooner,” Felix explained. 

“So, Nazareth put out the fire all by herself? How is that even possible?” Evangeline asked. Sure, Nazareth was gifted in magic, but even she couldn’t put out a blazing fire all on her own. Not unless…

“Evangeline! There you are. Sylvain told me what happened. I ran here as soon as I heard. Are you unharmed? When I find out who did this, I will have their head,” Ferdinand exclaimed, bursting into the room. Evangeline flinched at his loudness but calmed down when she saw it was just her fake boyfriend. 

“Speak quieter. She just woke up,” Felix said, narrowing his eyes at Ferdinand. The orange haired noble held his head high and looked down at Felix.

“Why are you here?” he questioned accusingly. 

“He helped me when I passed out,” Evangeline explained with a cough that sent Ferdinand into protective mode all over again. He asked her if she needed water or a hot towel or anything else to which Evangeline replied, “I’m fine Ferdinand. It was just a small accident.”

“The person who has caused this fire will be in an accident you mean,” Ferdinand declared, a fire in his eyes. Evangeline shot Felix a worried look. 

“The fire was an accident. It’s okay. I just inhaled a bit of smoke. I’m really fine,” Evangeline insisted. 

“You don’t understand. Whatever fool started that fire doesn’t realize the danger they put you in. you could have died. Do you truly not see that Evangeline?” Ferdinand insisted, rubbing her cheek softly. His words dripped with worry and care and Evangeline grew more confused. This was beyond how a friend would care for another friend. 

“It was me. I started the fire,” Felix blurted. Evangeline looked at him as if he were stupid. Why would he admit to that after what Ferdinand just said?! Ferdinand’s eyes were thin slits and he zeroed in all his negativity on Felix. 

“How dare you place Evangeline in such a predicament? Are you so daft that you fail to see the mess you always leave behind?!” Ferdinand shouted, getting ready to fight the swordsman for the second time in a day.

“Ferdinand be easy! He didn’t do it intentionally. He knows it was serious,” Evangeline pleaded, sitting upright on her cot. Felix to his part, looked guilty. But it seemed like there was just a flash of it before he glared at Ferdinand.

“Evangeline. You are too precious to me for me to overlook something like this. He clearly does not realize the severity of what happened,” Ferdinand said with determination. 

“But-

“Shut up.” They both looked at Felix, Evangeline with hurt poured all over her face. He had said the phrase to her with such animosity. Had the past few minutes been her imagination? Where was the considerate Felix?

“If you weren’t such a horrid teacher, I wouldn’t have set the library on fire in the first place,” Felix spat, glaring at them both now. Ferdinand and Evangeline were in too much shock to say anything in response. Evangeline felt her head spin and wondered if she needed more rest, or if Felix’s friendliness to hatred shift was so sudden, it gave her a headache.

“The only good thing I can think of is that detention got cancelled because of this. Other than that, spending time with you was meaningless,” he finished, looking away.

“You can’t talk to my lady that way!” Ferdinand said with vigor, shoving Felix against the wall. Evangeline protested, but he was too far gone. Felix did not even fight the hold as Ferdinand punched him square on the nose, right where he had been punched earlier in class. Blood began pouring out of it like a faucet this time and Felix scrunched his eyes closed, recoiling from the hit, refusing to let Ferdinand see the pain in them.

“Get out of here while I still let you,” the nobleman threatened, letting go of Felix’s shirt and giving him a final shove. Evangeline’s jaw dropped at that scene, and she wanted to ask so many questions to Felix, but he headed out without another word.

“I’m sorry you had to hear and see that,” Ferdinand spoke conversationally, wiping his hand free of Felix’s blood with a napkin.

“No Ferdinand. It’s fine. I think I needed to hear him say all of that to remember what a jerk he is,” she said emotionlessly. Perhaps it wasn’t fate for them to be friends. They had tried. It wasn’t meant to be.

Felix kept running and running and running until he reached the student dormitories. How he had gotten there so fast, he wasn’t sure, but the second he was sure no one was around, he punched the wall with vigor and cursed at how it cut his hand. Still, it left a nice crack in the wall and that satisfied him to some level.

Caspar happened to be walking by on his way to the Black Eagle classroom and witnessed the whole thing. Laughing, he called out to Felix, “hey man, you trying to tear down the monastery?” 

-

Dorothea was in uncontrollable laughter while Petra just seemed confused as always. Caspar looked eager to hear the ending of Jasmine’s story.

“So, then I used Dorothea’s terrible advice just for detention to get cancelled,” the brunette finished, face palming herself. 

“There was actually a fire. What are the odds,” Dorothea snickered, dodging Jasmine’s elbow at the right time and wagging her finger as if to say ‘try again.’

“Wow. So Felix really is trying to tear down the monastery,” Caspar mused, rubbing his chin. Jasmine thought to question that but thought better of it. 

“I am not understanding. Why were you to be trying for detention? This is not bad?” Petra asked. 

“Yes, why were trying to get detention?” a goofy voice asked with a teasing tone. The four were surprised to see none other than Claude in the doorway of the Black Eagle common room. They looked back and forth between the house leader and each other, wondering how long he’d been listening. 

“So. How did you get detention anyway?” Claude asked Jasmine, inviting himself into the room and sitting across from Caspar. Neither student protested, but Jasmine appeared to be uneasy with his presence. 

Jasmine thought back to the real reason; slamming her backpack on the ground from exhaustion and having Gilbert being irritated about it. That was too lame, and heat pooled in her cheeks which Claude misread as embarrassment at having been caught trying to spend time with him.

“I started that fire in the library,” Jasmine lied swiftly. Petra went to protest that, but Dorothea elbowed her, eliciting an “ow!” from the Brigid girl. 

“Really? And how did that happen?” Claude asked rhetorically, ready to catch the brunette in her little white lie. 

“This should be good,” Caspar whispered to Petra and Dorothea. The latter girl elbowed him as well, eliciting another “ow!” 

Jasmine tugged at the collar of her uniform just to give her hand something to do as she made up her story. “Well, I got hungry and wanted to cook some bear meat for a nice stew, but then Seteth was in the dining hall, and I’m scared of him. So naturally, I ran. Then I ended up in the library and thought I could try cooking in there and…why are you laughing?” she asked, stopping in her tracks. Claude placed a hand under his chin and leaned in close to Jasmine, making her slightly nervous.

“I happen to know it was Felix who started the fire by trying to practice magic. But did you wanted to finish your little bear stew story?” He asked invitingly. Jasmine’s cheeks flushed red, and her heart somersaulted uncomfortably at having been caught so easily. It was pin-drop silent and then Dorothea and Caspar burst into laughter, causing Jasmine to try and elbow them, but they dodged. 

“How do you never dodge when Dorothea elbows you?!” She complained. Petra even let out a small laugh at that.

“How about you try telling me why you were trying to get detention in the first place?” Claude asked the brunette. Nazareth’s words echoed in his head about how Jasmine tended to get jealous. Could Jasmine actually feel something for him already? Or was that jumping the gun? Jasmine waited until her housemates settled down before answering. 

“I thought…it could be a good way to do the words of wisdom! And I uh, wanted to make sure. Manuela is the only professor who we serve detention with so I thought it would be the best time to ask her and the room is big enough to hold everyone that seemed to side against Rhea,” she answered, surprised at just how viable a reason that was.

“But hang on. I thought you were against the words of wisdom,” Claude pointed out, not teasing but instead curious.

“That was before I saw how Nazareth seemed torn on which side to join. Besides, it’s just a harmless gossip session. No one seemed that hurt by it,” Jasmine shrugged, surprised that these words weren’t lies. She genuinely believed what she was saying because she was speaking from her mind.

Dorothea looked at Jasmine in surprise, seeming to agree. “That’s…actually a genius idea. I’ll inform the others. You head to the detention room. I’ll meet you there along with everyone who is on board,” Dorothea said, snapping her finer and darting out of the classroom. The four remaining kids looked at each other with ‘what do we do now?’ looks.

“Well, I’m on board,” Caspar said when no one else spoke. “Just don’t tell Edelgard that we went against her. Last time that happened…well, I miss Monica,” he said with a shudder. Jasmine wrinkled her nose in confusion. 

“Who is Monica?” she asked. 

“Well, would you look at the time. I’ve gotta go. See you guys in detention,” Caspar replied quickly, running out of the room. Jasmine rolled her eyes at her housemates’ antics. 

“Do you know who Monica is?” She asked Petra. 

“I am knowing that we are not to be talking about her,” Petra explained, getting up as well. She seemed nervous at the mention of the girl and quickly left the classroom after Caspar. Clearly she had forgotten that she initially sided with Edelgard.

Jasmine then turned to Claude and rose an eyebrow. “What about you? Are you also going to tell me you’re scared to talk about this so-called Monica?” she asked. To his part, Claude seemed reluctant, but he sighed, relaxing in his chair as if he were about to tell a story. 

“It’s a somewhat of a rumor, but it dates back to the end of the semester last year. Monica was a student in the Black Eagle house and was about to graduate. A few weeks before graduation, she disappeared,” Claude started, seeing that Jasmine’s list of unvoiced questions was growing. 

“The rumor was that she and Edelgard got into some huge fight right before Monica disappeared,” Claude said, seeming to be lost in the memory. 

“No Edelgard! I won’t join you. You’re insane!” Monica cried out, yanking her hand away from the house leader.

“You’re making a mistake,” Edelgard replied calmly. Monica only grew angry at that comment. 

“You act like you want what’s in the best interest of everyone, but you only care about yourself!” Monica accused, jabbing her finger at Edelgard’s chest.

“I would be careful about how you speak to me,” Edelgard said ominously. 

“Is that a threat?” Monica asked, offended.

“You have a tendency to twist my words,” Edelgard replied. “I simply wanted to warn you,” she added, pushing her hair behind her.

“I will go to Rhea, don’t think I won’t. I know she already has her eye on you,” Monica retaliated, shoving Edelgard to move past her.

“We’ll see who has the final word,” Edelgard said quietly to the redhead’s retreating form.

“So you think Edelgard got rid of her?” Jasmine asked, scoffing from disbelief. 

“Everyone else thinks so,” Claude answered, indirectly avoiding the direct question. He then slowly stood up from his seat and started to walk out. 

“Hey Claude, wait,” Jasmine called. The Golden Deer leader paused and turned around expectantly. 

“How did you seem to know exactly what Edelgard and Monica said to each other that night?” she asked. Claude. The house leader tugged on his collar as if he were about to admit to eating the last cookie from the jar.

“I…might’ve been spying on her highness because Dimitri was brooding and I speculated they had a couples’ spat,” he admitted sheepishly. Jasmine shook her head, but bore an amused smile.

“You really are a nosy thing, aren’t you?” she asked rhetorically. 

“One, you’re the one who asked about Monica,” Claude started, moving to leave the classroom while the brunette followed.  “And two, he continued, leading her toward the detention room. “Half of the student body is fighting to keep what we both know is nothing more than a gossip column,” he finished. They both laughed at the absurdity of what student life had come to, temporarily ignoring the severity of the situation that was Monica’s disappearance. 

-

Dimitri felt winded from his conversation with Edelgard. Nothing of substance was discussed, yet he still felt lighter. As though he could truly be friends with her once more. He had decided to head on his way to stables to check if Nazareth still happened to be there by any chance, but before he could get there, Ignatz came in his way. 

“Dimitri. You need to treat Nazareth better,” the young blond declared, arms crossed, and eyebrows furrowed to convey his displeasure. The prince was taken aback. This was the second time Ignatz ever spoke to him and both times were about Nazareth. 

“What do you know of how I treat Nazareth?” he questioned; tone free from defensiveness. He merely seemed curious.

“I am aware that she was left alone at the stables and was grateful that I accompanied her. You mustn’t treat a lady in such a way Dimitri. Forgive my boldness, but Nazareth is extremely kind. She does not deserve such treatment.” Ignatz watched how Dimitri’s expression changed with every word. The prince went from uncertainty to hurt, all the way to guilt. His shoulders fell and his eyes were hidden in a fashion similar to how Nazareth’s were earlier.

“Does she dislike me?” Dimitri asked after a moment. 

“No. she values your friendship. She is hurt by the way you have ignored her multiple times, but she is hopeful you will make it up to her,” Ignatz assured, feeling bad. He knew Dimitri was not a bad person. He simply hated seeing Nazareth so upset.

“I will,” Dimitri declared, picking himself up. His face grew confident, with purpose. The prince thanked Ignatz for setting him straight and rushed off toward the dining hall seeing that it was almost 10:00.

-

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Hilda complained as she and Lysithea headed to the detention room. 

“Caspar said that the secret words of wisdom were moved here. You’re the one that wanted to be here more than me,” Lysithea reminded in annoyance, as they entered the room. Everyone that was against Rhea earlier was in the room. Jasmine had also made her appearance despite siding otherwise earlier in the day.

“None of the Blue Lions are here. Shocker. They’re such goody goodies,” Lysithea commented with a scoff. Hilda scanned the room, her eyes settling on a figure. 

“Um, you’re wrong. Isn’t that Glenn right there?” the pink haired girl pointed out. She then moved her finger to point at Nazareth. “And her. That’s Jasmine’s stepsister, right?” she continued, proving Lysithea’s statement false.

Lysithea went to respond with, “I guess. But that doesn’t-hey!” she said in surprise when someone opened the door, surprising her.

“Excuse me ladies,” Dimitri cut in, entering through the door, and walking toward Glenn and Nazareth. Hilda and Lysithea’s eyes were saucers. Was the Prince really in the detention room right now? To listen to the words of wisdom?!

Dimitri cut off Nazareth’s and Glenn’s conversation off and turned to the brunette. 

“Why did you not come to the dining hall? I waited,” he asked, thinking Nazareth was still upset with him. The brunette crossed her arms and thinned her lips from frustration. 

“You told me to meet you at midnight. I stopped by the dining hall before making my way here. You were not there,” she replied with a bite to her words. Dimitri recoiled at that and shook his head.

“Midnight? But I’m certain I asked you to meet me at ten.”

Glenn appeared to have a moment of realization as he laughed sheepishly and said, “ah. This may be my fault.” Dimitri and Nazareth turned to him, waiting for an explanation.

“I think I may have mixed up the time when I relayed your message to Nazareth,” he said to Dimitri apologetically. “But you’re a smart guy. I’m certain you will figure out how to fix my mistake,” he said confidently, leaving the two to talk. 

“I’m very sorry for missing our riding session earlier Nazareth,” Dimitri apologized. Nazareth went to reply, but Manuela had stepped up to the front of the room and began talking, stopping her short. She figured they could talk later. 

“Attention students!” Manuela called out, ushering a class wide silence. Everyone turned eagerly to see what she would say next. 

“Thanks to the efforts of my mentees Dorothea and Yuri, I am pleased to announce that words of wisdom will continue on in secret right here in the detention room every night at midnight,” she revealed with glee. Claude and Jasmine shared a look that said, ‘okay but how could anyone have had time to leave a note for tonight?’

“This way, we will not even have to worry about censoring what has been written. That being said,” Manuela continued, gesturing to a wooden box at the front desk of the room. “We placed a box in here already and someone has found the time to even leave a note when no one was looking!” she continued cheerily. Claude rose and eyebrow at this revelation and he nudged Jasmine. 

“You know what this means, right?” he asked. The brunette nodded. “It means either Yuri or Dorothea has to be behind the notes,” she whispered in response. Claude nodded and they agreed to talk about it after they left.

“And just to prove it truly is unknown, Dorothea and Yuri were with me the whole time and could not have placed the note in the box,” Manuela continued, reaching into the box and pulling out a rather long piece of parchment paper. Jasmine and Claude deflated, their theory in shambles by a mere sentence.

“By the Goddess! This message is quite long,” Manuela noted, eyes scanning the page. “Let us dive in then!” she called, clearing her throat. “You thought Rhea could get rid of us that easily? Think again Garreg Mach. Our fun has hardly begun,” she started, adding dramatic hand gestures. 

Hilda turned to Lysithea and said, “this is going to take a while, isn’t it?” Lysithea rolled her eyes at the lazy girl and tuned back into Manuela’s dramatic reading.

“We hear that everyone’s favorite blue blood met with a lady in red in lieu of his lady in waiting. However, waiting may have paid off seeing as the Golden Deer’s most talented artist seemed to have given her the company that we don’t need glasses to see she so desperately desires,” Manuela continued, eyeing the students to try and piece who it was referring to. She caught sight of Nazareth’s mouth wide open and Dimitri trying to placate her. But the brunette sauntered off toward where Jasmine and Claude stood, desperately wanting to be away from the prince. Holding in her thoughts, Manuela continued on.

“I don’t know about you, but friendship is a fickle thing. It seems our lovable hothead has fought both his heart and his classmate all for the blonde belle. We don’t think the height of nobility liked this display of emotion if harsh words are anything to go by. What could this chapter of love have in store for us? We eagerly await the next installment,” Manuela read off, giggling at the sheer drama held within a single sheet of paper. Every student looked around for Felix, Evangeline, or Ferdinand, but neither had come to the detention room, clearly not in favor of this secret meeting.

“Back to the blue blood. We’re not done tugging at his heartstrings. We wonder if he knows of Lady E’s rendezvous with the youngest professor this monastery had to offer. We know he’s tempting your highness, but show some class why don’t you?” Manuela read. Dimitri couldn’t even begin to explain his confusion and disappointment in that statement. He knew it couldn’t be true. If Edelgard was spending time with professor Byleth, it had to be strictly professional. 

“Speaking of our lady in red. We hear that a few heads were turned away at her authoritative way of speaking to the student body. Could her royal highness be slipping down from her height of power? Watch your back imperial princess. We can be rattled, but we won’t be silenced. You didn’t even have the courage to hear what we have to say about you after all. Places your bets on how these stories end. We already know~” Manuela finished. The students all murmured amongst one another, piecing together who certain people mentioned were. That was until Lysithea piped up with, “Manuela, there’s something written on the back.”

The songstress made an ‘oh’ shape with her lips and turned the paper over, quickly reading, “P.S. We hear that Glenn’s sweetheart has a small surprise coming her way.”

“I wonder what that means,” Dimitri said to Glenn, clearly worried for Ingrid. Glenn did not appear to be worried. 

“You spoke to Edelgard, right?” he asked the prince who nodded, unsure of the correlation between those two things. Glenn hummed, knowing that Ingrid would be receiving a nice lance soon.

“That’s all for now kids. I will see you all here tomorrow night then,” Manuela said with a wink, heading out of the room to get to bed. The students stayed for a while, sharing their speculations for a few minutes before doing the same.

Chapter Text

Year: 1173

Ashe stared in awe at how beautiful the interior of the mansion was. The room he had broken into appeared to be an office of some sort. There was a small bookshelf in a corner and a desk near the end. Everything was shiny and made of marble and Ashe’s heart began beating rapidly.

‘Alright. What looks valuable enough for me to get enough money to feed me and my little brothers?’ he thought, looking around. The young boy thought to check another room as nothing seemed particularly profitable in this one, when something caught his eye.

A lone book sat on the desk. Its cover was a forest green with gold trimmed pages. It depicted a gallant looking knight on the cover. He held a sharp sword and an expression of bravery. Ashe tried to imagine himself as the knight. Fearless and noble…as his father once was.

Captivated by how beautiful the book appeared to be, Ashe held it in his tiny hands and widened his eyes in wonder for longer than he intended.

“Loog and the Maiden of the Wind. It’s my father’s favorite book,” a voice piped up. Ashe jumped up from fright and glanced up to see a boy who must have been a decade older than him.

“I’m Christophe. Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you,” the boy chuckled, holding a hand to his mouth. “And you are?” he asked Ashe kindly, nothing but trust in his warm eyes. Ashe felt guilty at having broken into such a kind stranger’s home.

“I’m…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say. It was then that an older man entered the room, looking for Christophe. He had long, snow-white hair and stern blue eyes that held the wisdom only a father could.

“Oh, who is this? One of your friends?” he asked, glancing at Ashe. His eyes eased up once he saw the book and he smiled in approval.

“Er, no father. I thought he was the son of one of your friends,” Christophe answers, looking to Ashe curiously.

“That’s one of my favorites,” the man said, gesturing to Ashe’s book and ignoring his son’s confusion. “Have you read it before?”

Ashe glanced at the book and the words inked on it as if it were in hieroglyphics. He shook his head.

“I-I can’t read. I don’t know how,” he revealed, feeling scared despite the man’s kindness. The nobleman smiled placed a hand on Ashe’s shoulders as if he were his father.

“What’s your name kid?” he asked.

“Ashe.”

“Nice to meet you Ashe. I’m Lonato.”

-

Year 1177

“Miklan, please stop!” Sylvain cried out in pain. Miklan did not let up as he landed punch after punch on his tiny, younger brother. No remorse. No regret. Just satisfaction as more and more bruises made their home on the youngest son of house Gautier.

Miklan stopped only for a moment after Sylvain’s face was covered in tears. He took that time to really look at what he was doing.

“How does it feel little brother? How does it feel to have a crest?” he taunted with an evil smile. Sylvain, still sobbing, covered his eyes as his body shivered in fear.

“I n-never wanted a crest!” he cried out. “Take it. Take it away from me!” he begged. “You can have it. It’s yours Miklan,” he wailed, spitting out hysteric comments one after the other.

“You stole my birthright you foul loathsome evil little cockroach!” Milkan spat, shoving the younger boy. He watched Sylvain fall unto the grass and tried to find something else to torture the boy with. The only thing nearby was a well.

“I never wanted to be the heir. P-please Miklan,” Sylvain pleaded. But the eldest son of house Gautier was not swayed by the baseless pleas. He picked Sylvain up from his collar and smirked.

“Say goodbye. I’m taking back what’s rightfully mine,” Miklan whispered, dragging Sylvain over by the well. Sylvain’s eyes widened and he frantically tried to escape Miklan’s hold, but the younger boy was too weak to fight it.

“I hate you,” Miklan spat as he moved to let go of his brother. Sylvain went falling down in the well with an echoing brutal scream for help.

-

Present day

Dimitri walked into the dining hall with a yawn. Sleep had not been kind to him as of late. He located Nazareth sitting at a table with a book next to her and decided it was time they talked. The prince made his way to the brunette and cleared his throat. Nazareth looked up and offered him a wry smile.

“May I sit here?” he asked nervously. Nazareth fought not to give a snarky remark and instead gestured to the seat across from her. Dimitri settled into it and eyed Nazareth’s plate. It was filled with an assortment of pastries and fruits. The brunette caught his gaze and pushed the plate to the prince, offering him some of her breakfast. He gratefully accepted and tasted one of the pastries, humming at the taste.

“Mmm. Whoever was in charge of breakfast this morning needs to be made aware they did a splendid job,” the prince complimented. Nazareth’s cheeks grew warm, and she closed the book she was reading.

“Flayn was in charge of breakfast, but actually, I made these pastries myself,” Nazareth explained. Dimitri shook his head and grabbed another.

“You simply must these more often. They are scrumptious,” he complimented once more. The brunette grabbed one for herself and seemed to think Dimitri was exaggerating, but thanked him, nonetheless.

“Are you almost done reading the books you borrowed from the library the day we met?” he asked conversationally. Nazareth glanced to her book and made an ‘oh’ shape with her lips.

“Actually, I finished those days ago. After the fire in the library yesterday, I took this one,” Nazareth explained, holding up a book on the Knights of Seiros. Dimitri appeared surprised at her words.

“You read quickly,” he commented.

The awkward silence that followed did not go unnoticed by either of them. Nazareth wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words to respond to Dimitri’s comment. Dimitri wanted to say something as well, but felt he’d ruined the moment.

“Glenn relayed to me that you wished to meet in the dining hall last night,” Nazareth finally said, unable to take the festering silence any longer.

Dimitri scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly. “Yes well, he gave you the wrong timing,” he replied. Nazareth tried to smile encouragingly.

“What were you going to say?” she asked, breakfast forgotten.

“I was going to prepare you a meal. A Faerghus special. My father often used to make it for me,” Dimitri explained sheepishly. “Then I was going to explain that I had every intention of coming to give you that riding lesson. I had to attend to something at the last minute,” he said. Nazareth smiled at the first part of his explanation and then frowned at the end.

“What was it exactly that you had to attend to?” she asked. And they went back and forth for a while like that.

“I had to help a friend.”

“Which friend?”

“It was…Edelgard.”

“What did she need?”

“That’s a private matter,” Dimitri said, growing uncomfortable. Nazareth was not amused.

“It’s not fair for you to ditch me for Edelgard,” she said, expressing her feelings.

“It’s not like that. It’s…difficult to explain,” Dimitri tried.

“Then allow me to make it simple for you,” she said, shoving her tray closer to him and then moving to leave. Dimitri grabbed her hand, stopping her.

“Please Naz. As delicious as your pastries are, food is only as good as the company,” he said softly.

“It’s okay Dimitri. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be friends,” Nazareth said, being more honest than she thought.

“Maybe not,” Dimitri agreed, surprising Nazareth. She’d be more hurt if it weren’t for the fact that it was her idea. She was about to continue storming out when Dimitri smiled a rather dashing smile and bowed.

“Would you like to accompany me to the Kingdom of Faerghus this weekend? As my date?”

-

“You think this announcement is about that hole Felix made in the wall?” Caspar asked, hands behind his head.

“Felix punched a hole in the wall?!” Bernadetta asked, seeming afraid.

“Yeah, you shoulda seen it. It’s huge. Dude could probably kill someone just by punching them,” Caspar answered with a laugh as Bernadetta shrieked at this knowledge. Dorothea shook her head.

“Don’t listen to him Bernie. Caspar hardly even knows him. Felix is all talk. He won’t hurt you if you don’t cross him,” the songstress assured. That calmed the introvert archer considerably, but she still remained slightly on edge as always.

“Sooo back to the announcement. What’s it about?” Caspar asked.

“We will find out once we enter the cathedral,” Ferdinand spoke logically as they did just that.

The cathedral was full of students as usual when an announcement was to be made. Dorothea was in a corner talking up Professor Byleth. Lorenz was successfully fending off women despite that not having been his goal. Anette was following Mercedes around as the elder explained the significance of each statue of Seiros in the hall. Dimitri and Edelgard shared a look for such a short time, it was unclear if they actually had.

Rhea held a hand up, demanding attention as usual. Everyone slowly huddled together and quieted down.

“Students, this is a reminder that the mock battle is next week,” she spoke calmly, moving to walk away. Felix looked to the archbishop as if she were a demonic beast.

“Did she really interrupt our morning to remind us about a mock battle that we knew was coming?” he asked hysterically. No one indulged his anger and he grunted curse words.

“Oh yes. One other announcement. There is a mission to recover a stolen Heroes’ Relic. The Relic was taken by a bandit clan led by Miklan of house Gautier. Whichever house decides to volunteer for this mission must let Captain Jeralt know by tonight. Thank you,” Rhea dismissed.

Soft murmurs began to spread as all the inhabitants of the room stole glances at Sylvain, knowing Miklan was his brother. The redhead rushed out of the hall without a single comment, leaving a worried Dorothea and Dimitri in his wake.

Caspar whistled and swung back and forth on his feet. “First the library burns down, then Felix punches a hole in the wall, and now Sylvain’s brother is a criminal. This school is wild,” he sang, marching out after everyone else.

When only Rhea and Seteth remained, the archbishop went up to the latter and concernedly questioned, “Seteth, I overheard Caspar saying that the library went up in flames. Why was the staff not notified of this?”

Seteth rubbed his chin and accusingly voiced, “I believe Tomas was on library watch if I remember correctly. He should have informed us. We must question his intentions at once!”

“No,” Rhea paused, holding a hand up. “Let us wait. Right now, the stolen relic takes precedence. Once we sort that out, we will question Tomas with the proper guards if need be. Let them rest for now before their mission,” She explained. Seteth wanted to protest, but his loyalty was to whatever the archbishop decided. And so, they both left the hall.

-

Hilda, Claude, and Jasmine walked along the class halls, begrudgingly making their way to Seteth’s lecture. On their way, Edelgard’s voice stopped them in their tracks.

“It’s getting risky. We can’t allow him to take Flaynn.”

Hilda tensed. Flaynn? Who was the “him” Edelgard was talking about? Was someone going to take Flaynn? Claude and Jasmine also shared a look. They went to try and peek at who Edeglard was talking to, but were stopped by Hanneman.

“Jolly day isn’t it kids?” He bellowed. “You best be on your way to class. Wouldn’t want Seteth to catch you slacking,” he advised, ushering them along. The trio begrudgingly obliged, thankful that it was a far walk to Seteth’s classroom.

“Okay, I’m willing to bet my faith textbook that it was Professor Byleth she was talking to. I’m noticing how close they are. What’s that about?” Jasmine asked Claude pointedly.

“Oh, well see, we met teach a while back…” Claude started.

“Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn’t bother you were the situation not dire,” Dimitri started saying, sensing Jeralt’s displeasure.

Claude noticed how intently Jeralt’s son was eyeing Edelgard and made a note to ask him about it later.

“What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?”

Sensing that Edelgard was about to say something snappy in response to Jeralt’s agitation, Dimitri held her hand, calming her wordlessly. He continued on, being the most diplomatic of the three.

“We’re being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support Captain Jeralt. Yours and…pardon me, but your name was?” He asked, trailing off once he locked eyes with the mysterious blue haired son of the captain. Jeralt held a hand up to stop his son from answering.

“I find it hard to believe that bandits are around these parts,” Jeralt replied.

Edelgard stepped up and placed her hands on her hips, doing everything in her power not to sound as offended as she felt. “It’s true. They attacked us while we were at rest in our camp. On the way to the Monastery. You-

“We’ve been separated from our companions, and we’re outnumbered. They’re after our lives…not to mention our gold,” Claude cut in, sensing that Edelgard was going to end her defense on a sour note.

“I see. I’m impressed you’re staying so calm considering the situation. We can’t very well leave this village to doom. Prepare yourself Byleth. Time to put that training to work…”

…

“Thanks to you we carried the day! Thank you kindly for all your help,” Dimitri spoke happily. Claude and Jeralt did not seem convinced of that just yet and a shriek was heard, sending all their attention to the left.

The scream had come from Edelgard who was seconds away from getting her head chopped off were it not for Byleth stepping in and…

…

Edelgard was unharmed. Byleth had successfully punished the bandit responsible, and they both were left unscathed.

Jasmine furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean one second Edelgard was about to die but then Byleth was in front of her if he was next to you two?” she asked. Claude shrugged.

“I mean exactly that. It was weird. It almost like teach knew that Edelgard was being attacked before the guy even charged at her,” he explained. Jasmine was too shocked by this bit of information to reply properly.

“And ever since then, Edelgard admired him enough to rope him into being the head of her house. Dimitri was hurt about that, having wanted teach for himself. Honestly, so did I, but he’d made his choice. And since then, Edelgard and teach have been joined at the hip,” Claude finished, leaving Jasmine to theorize the meaning behind this whole story. It was a lot to unpack.

-

Annette flipped through the pages of her book with vigor, not able to wait and see what happened next. The novel had all of her attention, so when Ashe came up from behind her, she jumped up in a panic.

“Ashe! You scared me! don’t sneak up on people like that,” she lightly scolded, gathering her bearings. Ashe apologized sheepishly and pointed to the book she was reading.

“Is that Loog and the Maiden of the Wind?” he asked curiously. Annette looked down to her book and then back to Ashe, nodding.

“You’ve read it?” She asked, closing the book for a moment. Ashe rubbed his arm nervously and settled into the seat across from his housemate.

“I have. Actually…that book is the reason Lord Lonato took me in,” he explained, seeming to be lost in another time. Annette widened her eyes. Ashe never talked much about Lonato.

“What do you mean exactly?” She asked, scooting in.

“Well, I never told anyone this because of the esteem everyone in our house has…but…before the monastery and before Lord Lonato took me in as his own son, I was a common thief,” he explained softly, gaging Annette’s reaction. The girl was shocked, but did her best to appear nonjudgmental.

“I can tell you’re wondering why,” he said with a soft laugh. “See, my parents died at a young age, so me and my little brothers were left to fend for ourselves. I only stole so we could afford to eat. That was until Lonato caught me in his personal library, holding a copy of that book,” he explained, pointing to the green bound novel.

“I’m glad that Lonato gave you a chance Ashe,” she spoke earnestly. Ashe grew bashful and flipped the book open, scanning through for a specific image. Finding it, he pointed at what was meant to be Loog.

“That’s Loog. He was the first King and founder of Faerghus,” Ashe said with a smile full of admiration. “Actually, he was the descendant of the legendary hero Blaiddyd. You know, from the Ten Elites?” Ashe said with a voice of wonder. Anette processed this information and then gasped.

“Does that mean the knight from the story is a distant relative of Dimitri?!” She asked, covering her mouth from the sheer absurdity of it all.

“Could be,” Ashe said, having thought the same thing when he’d connecting the dots years ago.

“Whoa,” Annette breathed, looking at the book as though it were completely different than what she was reading before. It had a whole new meaning to it.

“Thank you,” she said after a beat of silence.

“Whatever for?” Ashe asked, moving to get up so as to leave Annette to read in peace.

“For sharing your past with me. I can tell Lonato means a lot to you. I’m sure you mean the world to him,” Annette said with a bow as she returned to reading. She didn’t see the pink that tinged Ashe’s cheeks as he left the library in a rush.

-

The Blue Lion common room was quiet. Ingrid chanced a peek at Sylvain, but the redhead refused to meet anyone’s gaze. He was sitting off in the corner, looking out the window.

Felix moved to talk about the mission seeing as no one else was going to. “Well, I for one think that this mission should go to our house seeing as it regards-ow!” Felix cried out, rubbing his shoulder where Glenn had elbowed it.

“Miklan?” Sylvain filled in. “He’s not going to magically be summoned here if we say his name,” the playboy taunted, but the mirth didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Sylvain, we don’t want to volunteer for this mission if it isn’t what you want,” Mercedes said with empathy.

“Do if you want to. I just won’t be going,” he shrugged, moving to leave.

“Sylvain wait,” Ingrid started, reaching for his shoulder. the redhead shrugged her off instantly and left without another word.

“Well that went well,” Felix mumbled, dodging another elbow coming his way from his brother.

“I guess not all brothers get along,” Nazareth voiced, not knowing exactly why Sylvain hated Miklan so much. It couldn’t just be for the fact that he was a thief. His hatred ran deep.

“Those two never really felt like brothers,” Ingrid sighed, leaning into Glenn.

“I understand Sylvain’s frustration. One should not be forced to face their past,” Dedue spoke, clearing his throat. Dimitri shot his retainer a knowing look. They collectively decided to let another house take this mission. There would be others.

-

“I mean he’s nothing more than a boar in high society’s clothing.”

“Always going around with his nasty temper. It’s no surprise that the ladies loathe him.”

“I simply can’t believe he is related to someone of Glenn’s caliber. I pity Rodrigue for having one son who will amount to nothing with his attitude.”

Caspar’s ear twitched at that last comment and he shot a warning glance to Ferdinand, who did not heed the warning. He continued on.

“To think that that he has his sights set on someone as pure and heavenly as Evangeline is laughable. Never mind the fact that her heart belongs to me. The boy is a failure,” Ferdinand said as Lorenz laughed, tacking on his own thoughts.

“That’s enough,” Caspar said firmly, standing up from his spot at the polishing station. He held his silver axe up warningly and quirked an eyebrow. “Either back your words up in battle or leave to have your gossip session near the confessional box,” he threatened lazily, moving the axe around as though it weighed nothing more than a feather. Ferdinand and Lorenz gulped, not wanting to fight one of the strongest weapons. They muttered out apologies and skirted off toward the dining hall.

Caspar laughed and then dropped his axe with a loud THUMP on the sand. “Phew. That shit is heavy,” he then sighed, thankful they didn’t call his bluff. His fighting skills were nowhere near as good as Felix’s.

-

Rodrigue was grading papers in his classroom late that afternoon, waiting for Evangeline to arrive for her questions on his research assignment.

He made a face at Claude’s description of how magic can be used to make horse poop on a more regular schedule to avoid constipation or irritable bowel syndrome. There was something not right about that boy but somehow, he was on a leadership level second only to Dimitri and Edelgard.

Rodrigue groaned and rubbed his temples. This young buffoon of man did not understand the assignment despite his thorough citations and research. Someone ought to check the stables to ensure the horses were doing alright. Rodrigue dropped his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked out the window.

As he observed the sun lighting up the cloudless sky, his thoughts turned to the one who similarly lit up every room with her sunshine hair and million-dollar smile. Rodrigue sighed. He knew it was wrong to think of a student in such a way, especially one so much younger. One who would be entering his classroom any second at that.

He also couldn’t deny noticing a spark of something in his normally brooding son’s eyes when he looked at the young woman. He wondered if Felix cared more for the blonde belle more than he let on. Deep down, he knew his son did, but that didn’t stop his thoughts from going to her anyway.

Evangeline.

It wasn’t as if Rodrigue had any emotional investment in the young, beautiful blonde. No, he had let go of such meaningless attachments years ago when…Rodrigue paused, there was no need to think about the past.

With Evangeline, it was merely just…lust. Desire. An almost insatiable hunger. He was thankful that she was one of the students in the academy who was very well of age, so his thoughts were not teetering on unfathomable. In a sense.

Rodrigue sighed again. He really needed to get out more.

As if on cue, Rodrigue heard a knock-on his classroom door.

“Come in,” he said straightening himself and clearing his throat.

As the door opened, none other than Evangeline herself entered.

“Professor?” she called out hesitantly, only provoking Rodrigues fantasies.

She looked like nothing less than a goddess with her golden locks flowing around her. Had her hair been that same hue as Lady Rhea, he would have been convinced that she was a descendent of her ladyship Sothis.

Rodrigue took the time to appreciate how the monastery uniform hugged her lean, yet still shapely figure. With every step she took, coming closer, her assets moved too. A perfect orchestra of curves moving across a blank, but promising canvas.

“How can I help you, dear?” He said after clearing his throat once more.

“Actually, professor I had a question for you,” she prompted.

Rodrigue gestured in front of him, urging Evangeline to continue.

“Well, I was in the library the other night, as you know. I’m sure you heard about the fire?” she half questioned, half stated.

Rodrigue nodded and just barely processed what she had said as she came to the student desk directly in front of his and leaned against it, half sitting and crossing her legs. It was not lost on him how the position caused her skirt to hike up revealing more of her smooth, peachy thighs. Thighs that Rodrigue should not looking at.

“Well, I was looking for books with Felix actually. For your research assignment,” she continued.

Rodrigue shook his head.

“Felix? But I thought Ferdinand told me that you and he were partners?”

“Yes, we are now. It didn’t work out between me and your son. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about him. He has been extremely disrespectful toward me as of late.”

Rodrigue’s heart raced at that admission. Did not work out in more ways than one perhaps?

“Evangeline my dear, you know very well I should not be involved in the private life of my students.”

“But professor I-”

“Enough.”

Rodrigue stood up and walked over to the young woman, towering over her.

“I will not hear of your qualms with my son again. Understood?”

“Yes,” Evangeline finally answered, annoyed that he wouldn't do something about it.

"Very well then. I typed up a guide for you to use on this research paper. Feel free to use it while you work with Ferdinand. Now be off, I have much to do," he said, still giving her a once over. Evangeline noticed this and her face flushed before scampering out of his room. 

Rodrigue forced unsavory thoughts out of his mind, seeing as his son was taken with the young blonde. He really needed to clear his head. 

He looked down at the paper on the desk in front of him.

‘Magic Manure. A study by Claude Von Riegan.’

Shit.

-

A faint breeze passed, rippling the water underneath Sylvain’s feet. His own reflection bothered him. In the past, when they were just young children, everyone would say that Sylvain and Miklan resembled each other. Sylvain wanted to love the idea of having a brother. A best friend to grow up with. But Miklan was a bitter reminder that his childish fantasy of having a loving older brother were less likely than Dimitri and Edelgard holding hands and singing kumbaya.  

Looking at his reflection now, Sylvain frowned. He tried everything to stand out from his brother once the roles were made clear. Apart from the color of their hair and eyes, nothing was the same between them, so it seemed that his efforts worked.

Felix was rather inconsiderate most of the time, so it didn’t come as a shock that he wanted the mission to go to their house. Sylvain appreciated Mercedes’ and Ingrid’s attempts at comfort, but no one could understand his past. No one would make the trauma disappear. And no one could fix Miklan.

Sylvain went to lay down on the dock when his hand felt something rough. A pebble. Alone and innocently sat on the dock with no qualms. The lance wielder reached for it and admired how careless it seemed to be. He let it roll around in his hand for a few seconds before tossing it into the water below. Four skips passed before it sank without asking for permission.

“Sylvie?” a sultry voice called out. Sylvian smiled on instinct. There was no thinking necessary to know that was Dorothea. Without turning around, he said, “my sweet Dorothea. To what do I owe the intense pleasure?”

A giggle sounded and Dorothea settled herself next to Sylvain. Milky thighs pressed against trouser-clad legs. She leaned her head on his broad shoulder and looked up to see his brooding expression that he was only just beginning to conceal.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, cradling his face with one of her hands. It was difficult to do so in the position they were in, so the brunette sat cross-legged and watched in amusement as Sylvain’s eyes followed her leg’s movements.

“You’re still wearing clothes,” he joked in response. Dorothea rewarded him with kiss on the cheek before getting back to the matter at hand.

“Honestly though. You look disturbed. Did Dimitri scold you again?” she asked teasingly. Sylvain brought his knees to his chin. They looked like children in this position. A young boy and girl ready to share secrets they would not soon forget about for years to come.

“No,” Sylvain answered. “As annoying as Dimitri’s lectures are, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today,” he revealed. Dorothea mulled those words over. It was a heavy statement.

“He helped you with admission to Garreg Mach?” she asked for clarification. Sylvain shook his head, bringing his knees higher up and hiding his face. The fear was too strong for him to share it with anybody. He was Sylvain, not a vulnerable schoolboy.

“Sylvie, it’s me. You can tell me anything. You did not judge me for my past. I certainly won’t judge you for yours. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here,” the songstress said sweetly, giving Sylvain a rather awkward hug (he was not coming out of his hiding position) before moving to stand up.

She had only taken one step when her hand was caught in a firm grip. Sylvain’s face peeked out through his knees, and he was not looking at her when he said, “please stay.”

Dorothea could not refuse. She sat back down on the wooden dock, next to the troubled flirt. He would not meet her gaze. The water had all his attention. Dorothea felt for the boy. Sylvain had not let go of her hand. Slow-moving circle motions on the back of his hand soothed Sylvain into leaning against the woman beside him.

“Is this about the mission Rhea mentioned? About…your brother?” she asked quietly. Sylvain tensed, answering her without words.

“He is no brother of mine.”

Dorothea knew that Miklan was a sore spot to talk about, but she also knew it was the only topic that could shake Sylvain into not being himself. Bits and pieces of information of Sylvain’s older brother could be given from Dimitri, but even he knew not to leak too much about it. All the brunette knew was that he was less than kind to Sylvain in the past.

“Dimitri was there that night. So was Edelgard.”

Dorothea’s eyes locked onto Sylvain, despite him still not making eye contact with her. Did he mean the night that Miklan had trapped him in a well? She only knew about that when Dimitri had let it slip to her after hours of prodding. He must’ve told Sylvain that she knew about it.

She wanted to find the right words, but what were they? ‘Sorry your brother was a psychopath who threw you down a dark well?’ Dorothea knew she couldn’t stay silent, but she didn’t know how to comfort Sylvain.

“There is nothing to say,” Sylvain said, breaking through her thoughts. “That’s what Miklan does. He creates a situation no one can come back from. A situation that no one has the right words to describe,” he finished, clenching both his fists. Dorothea’s eyes were wet with Sympathy. Empathy. Everything but pity. She leaned into the boy and asked, “what do you mean Dimitri was there?”

And her boy went to explain.

“HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME. Anyone,” Sylvain cried, losing volume at the end when hopelessness sank in. No one could hear him. No one cared about poor crest bearing Sylvain stuck down in a well over ten feet under with a throat more raw than tonight’s catch for dinner.

Miklan was long gone, as was the sun. Sylvain could not even see his hand in front of him. The hand he’d scraped against the wall of the well, trying to rub the crest clean off of himself. What right did he have to see? Perhaps death would be kinder than life had been.

‘Just for a few moments,’ Sylvain thought, going to close his eyes and sleep. Maybe he would wake up in the morning and it would all have merely been a nightmare.

“Hello? Is someone here?” A voice called out. Sylvain’s eyes shot open like it was their only job and he stood back up in the cold well.

“ME! DOWN HERE. HELP ME. PLEASE!” He shouted once more at the top of his little lungs. Footsteps were heard. Small feet made their way through the grass and over to the well.

“Are you in the well?!” The voice-a boy’s-asked. Sylvain couldn’t see who it was, but he did not care. All that mattered was that someone found him. He was saved.

“Yes. I’m Sylvain Gautier! I’m sure my parents are wondering where I am! Please help me!” he cried out, desperately awaiting rescue. The boy gasped at this.

“Sylvain? It’s me, Dimitri! How did you get down there?” he replied. Sylvain remembered. He’d met the prince once at a banquet. He was attached at the hip with some girl bearing light brown hair and lilac ribbons.

“My brother pushed me down here. Please get me out,” he begged, falling to his knees. He could no longer stand.

“I need to go get rope, okay?” he asked, moving to leave. Sylvain desperately stopped him. “NO! Please don’t leave me here alone,” he said, wiping away more tears. Dimitri was torn. How was he to help the boy if he didn’t get something to pull him out?

“Please. Find another way,” Sylvain begged, unable to bear being left alone with his thoughts any longer.

“Okay okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll figure something out,” Dimitri promised. He glanced around and then saw Edelgard running around a field nearby and sighed in relief.

“El! Hey El, over here!” Dimitri called. The brunette cocked her head to the side and smiled when she saw it was Dimitri calling her. She sped over and waited expectantly.

“Sylvain is trapped down there. Can you go get some rope so we can pull him out?” he asked. Edelgard peered down the well, gaged the length of it and nodded, heading off to fetch the rope.

While the two boys waited for Edelgard to come back, they shared stories about each other. With every word Dimitri heard about Sylvain’s brother Miklan, the prince wanted him banished from house Gautier.

Sylvain shared how lonely he felt growing up. How he had tried to physically cut his crest out from his skin where it was etched. How Miklan constantly abused him for having one.

“Your brother is a bastard,” Dimitri had said after Sylvain finished the brunt of his stories. The red-haired boy chuckled at that and agreed.

“Say it then. Go on. Say he’s a bastard,” Dimitri encouraged with a grin. Sylvain felt an odd sense of excitement of doing just that.

“Miklan is a bastard,” he said, feeling out the words.

“Say it louder. He can’t hear you anyway,” Dimitri pushed. Sylvain took a deep breath and at the top of his lungs (akin to the volume he had called out for help with), belted out, “MIKLAN ANSCHUTZ GAUTIER IS A BASTARD!”

Dimitri stumbled back from the loudness and fell to the ground. Sylvain covered his mouth from shock and mindlessly leaned against the wall.

“Dimitri? You okay?” he asked carefully after a beat. The next thing Sylvain heard was a burst of laughter as the prince of Faerghus could not contain his amusement of the situation.

“Y-you said his w-wh-whole name! Ha! Miklan Anschutz Gautier is a bastard!” Dimitri said between laughs, unable to contain it. Sylvain’s face slowly went from a smile to joining his friend in a fit of laughter. The two laughed and laughed until their voice boxes could no longer take it. When they were all laughed out, Edelgard had returned.

When they successfully pulled Sylvain out of the well, the red-haired boy’s life changed. Dimitri had told Sylvain’s parents exactly what had taken place and soon after, Miklan was banished from house Gautier and Sylvain began to live a normal life, happy to be rid of the source of his torment.

Dorothea grew a lot of respect for Dimitri once Sylvain finished. She had the prince to thank for Sylvain being here. She couldn’t imagine life without the flirtatious, silly boy sat beside her.

“You don’t want this mission to go to the Blue lions,” she concluded with thin lips. Sylvain nodded.

“Hey. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” Dorothea promised, hoping Sylvain would look at her. His eyes never left the water, but a hint of a smile was peeking through. It was a start.

“I just hate that even after all this time. After all he put me through. After he’d been banished. He’s still after a damn relic. Something that won’t even work properly for him because as he loves to mention, he doesn’t have a crest, let alone the proper one,” Sylvain ranted in frustration. The brunette let him release it all and then reached for his hand, holding it lovingly in her own.

“Miklan Anschutz Gautier is a bastard,” she said jokingly, beaming when Sylvain finally met her gaze and showed signs of returning to normal.

“Miklan Anschutz Gautier is a bastard,” he agreed, allowing himself to bask in the attention Dorothea gladly gave him for the remainder of the evening.

-

Jasmine entered the dining hall, hoping to grab a snack before her study session with Petra. Looking around, she saw Mercedes and Ingrid engaged in what looked to be a one-sided conversation as Mercedes spoke nonstop and Ingrid shoveled food into her mouth, nodding occasionally. On the other end, Lysithea appeared to be irritated with Claude and Hilda, who were literally playing with their food and making faces. Claude even took a spoon and pretended to feed Lysithea as though she were a child. Hilda howled in laugher at the display and Jasmine shook her head.

The brunette headed over to the pantry when blue streaks caught her eye. Nazareth? Sure enough, her sister was behind the staff counter, stirring some sort of concoction with vigor. Behind her, an assortment of baked goods already finished were on cooling racks. Jasmine grinned, knowing Nazareth’s pastries and cakes were always yummy.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she greeted, hopping up on the counter to sit. Nazareth looked up from her bowl, dazed and happily greeted Jasmine.

“Hey,” Nazareth responded happily. “What’s up? Want some muffins?” she asked, gesturing to the racks. Jasmine grinned eagerly, grabbing for one. They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Jasmine hummed at the taste of the banana nut muffin and Nazareth slowly poured her batter into cake tins of various sizes.

Once Nazareth had placed her cake tins into the brick oven, Jasmine gestured her to sit. Nazareth held in a joke about how serious her stepsister had done so, but thought better of it when Jasmine seemed bothered. Hopping up on the counter, Nazareth asked what was going on.

“I meant to ask earlier but didn’t find the time. How did you end up stopping the fire?” Jasmine asked. Nazareth stiffened and thought back to last night. It seemed like a fever dream.

The fire was swirling around too fast. Nazareth hoped and prayed that Jasmine would heed her words and not come back in here. It was not a pretty sight.

Nazareth felt foolish for even wanting to try her plan out, but what was the alternative? Let the library burn down? Some of these texts were irreplaceable; one of a kind. She had to try.

Pulling out the Caduceus staff from her bag, Nazareth closed her eyes, channeling in all her strength.

‘It’s not gonna work. It’s not gonna work. I’m going to die here. I’ll burn along with the books. I’ve failed.’

The flames gathered in a fiery vortex above, unbeknownst to the brunette. They spun around in a dance for a few seconds before hissing and flying into the Caduceus staff in one fluid movement, much like water.

The only indication Nazareth had that the flames were gone, was that the intense heat had vanished. The brunette took that to mean that she could open her eyes.

Nazareth’s breath caught in her throat. No burn marks. No indication that a fire was blazing seconds ago. Only a few books appeared damaged. Other than that, the staff had…worked. It was warm to the touch now, having just absorbed so much heat.

Tuning back into the conversation she was meant to be having with her stepsister, Nazareth said, “Oh you know, I just got closer and channeled it back in the tome.” She looked away; afraid Jasmine would be able to read her face otherwise. Nazareth wasn’t quite ready to admit she had a crest just yet.

“But Evangeline had the tome,” Jasmine pointed out, trying to get Nazareth to face her again. The younger girl wouldn’t.

“Right,” Nazareth responded quickly. “I meant a different tome in the library,” she tacked on, kicking her legs back and forth softly from anxiety.

Jasmine was not convinced as she further tried to poke holes in her sister’s retelling. “But it was so hot and smoky, how’d you manage to grab a tome?” she asked.

Nazareth decided to just end the conversation quickly by saying, “I held my breath. Don’t worry about it. The library is safe and that’s all that matters,” and then went to check on her cakes. Jasmine went to prod further, but Nazareth gestured behind her. Jasmine turned to see what that was about when Claude came their way.

“There you are. Ooh muffins. Mind if I have one?” He asks, grabbing the one from Jasmine’s hand before she could even reply. She wanted to snatch it back but had a feeling he was trying to goad her into doing just that, so she stopped herself at the last minute.

“Come back in thirty minutes for cake,” Nazareth said to them both with a hidden smile.

“Come back?” Jasmine asked. She didn’t realize she was going somewhere.

“Perceptive as ever Naz. C’mon my fair Jasmine. Let us away,” he said in an overly exaggerated tone. Jasmine wanted to argue, but he grabbed her hand and dragged her away before she could protest. This was going to be a long day.

-

Memories flooded in once again. Sylvain could not stop the horrid thoughts from swirling around in his head. Dorothea was off at choir practice now. She could not bring him the comfort he so desperately needed in this moment.

He was grateful that he was in the outskirts of the monastery. At least no one would see him like this; broken and full of rage. It was all-consuming. He wanted to break something. He wanted something to shatter just as his childhood had. Reaching for his lance, Sylvian went to make direct contact with the foundation of the monastery. Just a crack or two…

WHACK!

Sylvain smirked, enjoying the crack that followed his strike. It felt exhilarating. He may not have been able to strike Miklan down in the past, but he could take his anger out somewhere now. He was stronger than he was back then. Maybe Felix was right. This mission should go to the Blue Lions. It was his idiotic brother who fucked up. It should be him to go and get justice.

Feeling more powerful than he ever had, Sylvain went to strike the ground again.

WHACK!

The crack grew in size. Sylvain watched it travel a good two inches in fast motion before it stopped, innocent. Helpless. At his mercy.

If he saw Miklan now, he’d have his life in a matter of minutes. He’d love to see the light leave his eyes. To see him beg for mercy. To admit he’d wronged Sylvain in the past. To-

“Sylvain! STOP!”

Sylvain halted, not having realized that he’d been striking the ground relentlessly as the thoughts poured in. He blinked in confusion, hands shaking, knuckles bloody, arms weak, mom’s spaghetti. Mind reeling. Legs wobbling. He fell to the ground, looking at how damaged the floor had gotten. When had he thrown his lance and stricken the ground with his bare fists?

A presence next to him sat beside. He didn’t want to see who it was. Who it was that was witnessing his shame. The worst part was that he was still angry. As soon as this person left, Sylvain would go back to do what he was doing.

“What are you doing Sylvain? What has gotten into you?”

Sylvain looked to see Dimitri. Of course it was him. He was there for him in the past, he was here for him now.

“I hate him so much. He ruined my childhood. He tried to kill me,” Sylvain spat, fist clenching. His hand shook through even that. Dimitri sat cross legged and unclenched his friend’s fist.

“You have every right to be angry. Miklan’s past actions are inexcusable,” the prince started, gaining Sylvain’s attention. “But you must try to quell your rage Sylvain. You are bigger than the mistakes of your brother,” he went on with a frown. Sylvain turned away, not liking where the conversation went.

“You weren’t there for everything he did,” Sylvain mumbled, hiding his face. “I won’t be at peace until he’s no longer breathing. I want him gone,” Sylvain said, anger still coursing through him. The storm inside was not going away.

Dimitri felt for his childhood friend. Finding him in that well was unsettling. It was the most disturbing thing he had seen up until that point in his life. Dimitri recalled how Sylvain’s fingers were blistered because he had fought tooth and nail to climb out in desperation. His eyes were haunted, void of childlike wonder like someone his age was meant to have.

“What happens then? He’s gone, but those memories remain. They won’t go away simply because Miklan is gone. He was banished from House Gautier and yet he still manages to plague your thoughts,” The prince pointed out. Sylvain’s anger hit a roadblock. What Dimitri said was true, but it didn’t change the fact that the anger remained too.

“Anger should never consume you,” Dimitri said calmly. Let it out by all means. But don’t lose sight of the person you are,” he finished, patting Sylvain’s shoulder before standing up and taking off. Sylvain watched him go. Even from a young age he knew that Dimitri had all the qualities of a natural born leader. In this moment, that notion was only proved further.

Turning around, Dimitri held up a finger. “Just make sure that if you accept the mission, you accept it for the right reasons.”

The crack underneath him now told Sylvain that he’d lost control. He was acting no better than his brother. He did not want to be Miklan. He wanted to be everything Miklan wasn’t.

Standing up with the grace of someone with his status, Sylvain concealed his lance and headed to the cathedral. Hearing Dorothea sing would quell his anger faster than anything else.

-

Claude stopped in front of the staff quarters and placed a finger to his mouth despite Jasmine not having said anything.

“I got a tip that I should be here at exactly this time. I don’t know why, but it’s worth finding out, right?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows. Jasmine peered through the window and saw nothing. The hall inside the staff house was empty.

“A tip?” she asked skeptically. “From whom? And when?”

Claude reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a spare bit of parchment, much like the ones that were placed in the confessional box. He handed her the paper and urged her to read it. The brunette unfolded the crumpled-up paper and smoothed it out, taking in the ink. ‘We heard that you want answers. Be at the staff quarters at half past twelve. Let us know what you find out. We already know~’

Jasmine turned the paper over to see Felix’s name written on the back. She waved the paper tauntingly at Claude. “This is meant for Felix, not you. How did you get this?” she asked. At this question, Claude appeared guilty and scratched the back of his head.

“Well, I might’ve seen Felix reading it and then toss it in the trash. Then I fished for it out of curiosity,” he explained. Jasmine held in a gag and let the paper drop to the floor. Who knew what kind of germs it was carrying?

“Why would the confession box people be sending Felix a tip?” Jasmine asked as they walked into the staff quarters to find a good listening spot.

“I don’t know. Glenn and Rodrigue would make the most sense. Maybe they’re behind the confessional box,” he snickered, thinking it amusing for an adult and his son to be behind a gossip service.

Jasmine shook her head. “Highly unlikely. Rodrigue wouldn’t have the time. It would have to be a student,” she said pointedly.

“So Glenn then,” Claude hummed.

“No,” the brunette disagreed. “From what I know about Ingrid, she wouldn’t stand for something like this,” she said. Claude thought for a moment back to the day when the confessional box was getting cancelled.

“Right, but maybe she doesn’t know. Remember when we split apart into groups? Glenn was in the neutral party. That would be the perfect cover, don’t you think?” He asked as they looked through the window to see no one of interest yet.

“Maybe, but my gut tells me it’s someone else,” Jasmine said, mind swirling with possible suspects.

“Plot twist. It is Felix and he’s throwing us off by addressing them to himself,” Claude laughed. Jasmine cracked a smile at that, thinking it would be funny if that were indeed true. That was when her eye caught sight of Rhea.

“Yeah. And Evangeline is in on it too,” Claude laughed. “And-

“Shh! Look,” Jasmine interrupted, gesturing to the window. Claude followed her finger and saw Rhea talking to Seteth. They pressed their ears to the window and listened in.

“Rhea, I have my suspicions about Byleth. His intentions are unclear and several accounts of him seen with Edelgard in compromising situations have been reported,” Seteth said.

“I know you have not liked him since he has been here, but Byleth is a valuable asset to this school now. That, and it is useful to have him on our side in battle. Especially when the time comes,” Rhea replied.

“I don’t trust him. how do we know he is not to turn on us?” Seteth pointed out.

“I am trying to spend more time with him so as to convince him not to grow too close to Edelgard. It is her I don’t trust,” Rhea said.

“She is the Adrestian Princess. She is far more trustworthy than that common professor,” Seteth said in disgust.

“I will not discuss this with you again Seteth. The professor stays. And keep a close eye on Edelgard.” With that, Rhea left, leaving a frustrated Seteth who obeyed her wishes as usual. He exited after her, unhappy.

Jasmine and Claude looked to each other, both theorizing intensely.

“What do you suppose we make of that?” Jasmine asked. Her mind reeled with thoughts of her house leader and how she wasn’t who she claimed to be. It seemed that many didn’t trust her. And a few didn’t trust Professor Byleth.

Claude shrugged, leaning his back against the stone wall. “I’m not sure, but one thing is certain. If we’re here, so were the people that sent in the tip. Let’s head to the detention room. They probably have more insight for us to put the pieces together.”

-

Sylvain was out of breath as he neared captain Jeralt’s quarters. Knocking frantically, he flinched when Jeralt’s authoritative voice told whoever it was to come in instead of knocking like a buffoon.

“Captain Jeralt sir. I wanted to say that the Blue Lion house volunteers for the stolen relic mission,” he said proudly. The redhead waited to hear a response, but Jeralt was busy reading some paper.

“Uh, sir?” he asked nervously. Jeralt looked up and seemed surprised that Sylvain was still there.

“What are you waiting for? A kiss on the cheek? I heard you. Prepare your group and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jeralt said matter-of-factly. Sylvain nodded and skirted out of the room, feeling ready to face the brother he never wanted.

-

Claude and Jasmine burst into the detention room only to find it empty.

“Are we early?” Jasmine asked, looking around.

“Or late,” Claude shrugged, following her movements. Caspar’s head peeked into the room, and he turned the lights on.

“You guys didn’t hear? They cancelled it tonight. I guess word didn’t get to you two in time. They said to come back tomorrow,” the blue haired boy informed. Claude and Jasmine looked to each other before looking back to Caspar.

“Do you know why?” Jasmine asked her classmate. Caspar shook his head.

“I’d say my guess is as good as yours, but mine is that it’s because of the Sylvain drama, so beat that,” Caspar said with mirth.

Claude and Jasmine seemed to share the same thought as they looked back to each other. ‘Could Sylvain be behind the confessional box?’

“Wow, what’s with the…” Caspar trailed off, pointing between Jasmine and Claude. “Is there something the confessional box should know?” he asked, holding in laughter. Jasmine rolled her eyes as Claude laughed aloud, allowing Caspar to chime in.

“Nah but for real. Why are you guys so invested in the confessional box stuff?” Caspar asked after a moment. Claude hooked an arm around Caspar’s shoulder and led him out the door, bellowing “I mean who wouldn’t be?!” while gesturing to Jasmine to look over at the table where the confessional box was from behind him.

Jasmine wondered why he did that when she saw it; another slip of paper like the one with the tip from earlier. Claude obviously didn’t want Caspar to see and be involved in whatever they were suddenly getting involved in.

The brunette walked over to the paper and read the words, ‘We knew the class clown leader couldn’t resist tampering in others’ affairs. And we knew he’d enlist a pretty brunette flower to help him. You want answers C and J? Let’s see if you can be trusted first. Leave Seteth’s lucky chalice on the Blue Lions dining table tomorrow night. If you deliver, so will we~”

Jasmine watched as Claude came back into the room, having successfully lost Caspar.

“Well, did you find anything?” he asked. Jasmine nodded, handing him the parchment. Claude’s eyes scanned over the words and then widened his eyes.

“They’re toying with us. They want us to get the Blue Lions in trouble. How are we even going to swipe Seteth’s chalice in the first place?” he asked, folding the paper in half. Jasmine rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually entertaining this thought?” she asked in disbelief.

“You got a better idea?” he asked, all ears.

“Um, yeah. We could maybe, not meddle in others’ affairs?” she suggested sarcastically. Claude hid a laugh and nodded playfully.

“No worries Jas. I can always ask Lysithea for help. Or better still, Hilda,” he said, emphasizing the latter’s name. He relished in how quickly Jasmine shifted her position.

“We swipe that damn goblet at dawn.”

Unbeknownst to the duo, Caspar had peeked through the doorway, speculating they were hiding something, and heard everything.

Chapter Text

“It should be in our sights soon. The abandoned tower they are using as a base is…Conand Tower,” Dimitri said as they trekked on.

“What’s so special about Conand tower?” Felix asked, assessing his blade for battle. Ashe and Annette both went to speak and shared a look before Ashe let the girl take the lead.

“Conand tower was the site of a massive battle several hundred years ago. It was around the time period when invasions from the north were at their peak,” Annette explained. “Back then, the tower was built for both surveillance and defense,” she said.

“In other words, it will be difficult to seize it,” Ashe added.

“You’re very well-informed Annette. How do you know so much? It cannot just be from history books. Do tell us more,” Dimitri praised with a hidden sort of smile. Annette grew sheepish at the praise but smiled wider.

“My father told me all about it! See-

“Er, Annette. I think that was Dimitri’s version of a joke,” Nazareth cut in, not wanting the poor girl to go on a tangent about the tower only for Dimitri to feel guilty. The girl flushed at that and quieted down. Ashe comforted her and asked for more details as the pair stayed in the back.

“I didn’t think Dimitri knew how to make jokes,” Sylvain mused. The prince withheld the urge to scold Sylvain and instead turned his gaze to Nazareth who avoided it.

“Did you happen to see the local village?” he asked her nonetheless. Nazareth nodded uninterestedly.

“Do you guys smell that?” Felix asked all of a sudden.

“Felix, this is no time to be indecent,” Ingrid said in annoyance.

“No, not that you crazy girl,” he muttered. “It smells like…powdered sugar and fried dough,” he said in confusion. No one responded to this comment and Felix cursed them all.

“Anyway,” Dimitri started, deterring attention from Felix’s antics. “The local village. It was in rough shape, no doubt because of the thief attacks. They’re not going to make it through the winter in that condition. If the thieves had taken up pillaging in order to survive, that would be deplorable…but understandable all the same,” he voiced. Mercedes looked as though she wanted to counter that thought process, but Dimitri wasn’t done.

“But this…This is something else entirely. It looks as though the thieves destroyed those villages purely for pleasure,” he said. “No matter what their reasons may be, that sort of behavior cannot be allowed. Ever.” He said with determination. Mercedes was put at ease with those words and chose to stay quiet. She should have known better than to assume that someone of Dimitri’s nature would be so callous about fatalities.

“Don’t bother losing your head over those lowlifes your highness. It’s a wasted effort,” Sylvain piped up. From the minute they’d begun their trek, something had seemed off in him and the Prince had noticed it. He should’ve known that one talk wouldn’t be enough to get through to Sylvain. Not with the lifetime of trauma Miklan had inflicted upon him.

“Sylvain…the thieves’ leader…Miklan…er, your older brother. He’s successfully stolen the Relic now. I know that he’s been disowned, but…” Dimitri trailed off.

“He is no longer a member of House Gautier…or my brother. He’s nothing more than a common thief who needs to be put in his place,” Sylvain said with finality.

“Are you so sure about that?” Dimitri asked with a lilt. “It would be understandable to find this situation…well, regrettable to say the least,” Dimitri offered, recalling their last conversation. It seemed Sylvain was understandably still struggling with his feelings in regard to this mission. Some moments he appeared calm, but evidence of Miklan’s presence sent him on edge.

“Regrets?” Sylvain asked with a scoff. He gestured to a child’s toy that was burned from flames. It didn’t take a war historian to conclude what took place in the nearby village. “You must be joking. You of all people should know we’re far past the point of regret. And it always falls on the younger brother to clean up the mistakes of their elders, doesn’t it?” he asked rhetorically, walking up ahead to ignore anything Dimitri might say to calm him.

The rest of the group stayed quiet, not quite knowing what to say. Glenn offered to trek ahead and try to accompany Sylvain, but the group decided it was best to leave him alone for the time being.

Ingrid peered up at the growing gray in the sky. “This rain threatens a coming storm,” she said, holding a hand up to feel a drop.

“She brings up a good point your highness. You must hurry and begin battle council before the heavens let loose,” Dedue said. Dimitri agreed and began spilling out strategies and conferring with Jeralt in the process.

“This is so exciting. It’s our first real mission!” Annette said as they neared the entrance of the tower.

“Annette, be careful. While you’re excited, we have to remember that this isn’t so exciting for Sylvain,” Mercedes chided lightly. Annette sheepishly apologized, but Sylvain was too distracted to pay any mind to it.

“This isn’t a field trip kiddos. This is a serious mission. People might not make it out alive,” Jeralt reminded the group, finally speaking. “And you,” he started, looking to Dimitri who looked expectant.

“Remember, you’re going to lead us here, not me. I’m nothing more than an extra mercenary. Let’s see that royal training be put to good use,” he said. If Dimitri was surprised, he didn’t let it show.

“Understood captain. Is everyone ready?” Dimitri asked. His house nodded and verbalized affirmations.

“The enemy’s close by. We’re almost to the top floor,” Jeralt noted, pointing up at a small group of archers.

“They are merely thieves, but we must stay vigilant. They have a Hero’s Relic. Do not drop your guard,” Dimitri said, looking to Felix pointedly who flicked the prince off.

“And don’t hold back for my sake,” Sylvain said, looking to Dimitri the same way. “My ‘brother’ is going to pay for everything he’s done.”

With that, the battle began. Ashe instantly went to work to take care of the opposing archers that were targeting Sylvain as Mercedes covered him from behind.

“Watch out! There’s bandits coming in from the side,” Annette warned, feeling anxious all of a sudden. Nazareth noticed and went up to her, creating a wind cave to shield them momentarily.

“Listen, I know this must feel crazy. Like your heart is beating at a rate you can’t comprehend. The magic flowing inside you suddenly feels like it can make a difference,” the brunette said as she struggled to hold the barrier around them both. Annette nodded as though that was actually what she was feeling. Nazareth was grateful that Felix, Glenn, and Ingrid went to fight the bandits head on because she wasn’t sure how long she could hold the defense.

“But we need you. You’re gifted with magic, and we need as many range attackers as possible with Mercedes as a healer. So take a deep breath and channel that anxious feeling into burning them with fire blasts, okay?” Nazareth said. Annette did just that. She took in a deep breath and then focused her energy into the battle. Within an instant, the orange haired mage blasted a fire ball, shattering Nazareth’s barrier and taking out an incoming bandit. Annette looked in awe at how she finally put to practice what she had been studying.

“Nice shot,” Nazareth complimented, wide eyed.

“Uh, thanks. Well, let’s hop into it!” Annette said, rushing to fire off more magic.

“Guys, I could use some help,” Ashe said as the archers began to fire off killer arrows. Dimitri rushed over and immediately threw a javelin, effectively taking out two of the three archers. He seemed displeased with this outcome whereas Ashe was praising him.

“Dimitri, catch!” Sylvain called, tossing the prince a spare javelin. Dimitri wiped the sweat off his forehead and went for another shot, successfully taking out the last archer.

“Your highness, that was an excellent throw!” Ashe complimented, impressed.

“Thank you. Please go help Felix. He’s decided to take on four bandits at once,” Dimitri said, moving to help Annette and Mercedes himself.

“Not bad kid,” Jeralt said, taking out an enemy coming from behind Dimitri. “Dare I say, you remind me of a young Byleth.”

Dimitri tensed at that comparison, but muttered a ‘thank you,’ as he took out enemy by enemy. The group seemed to be moving rather smoothly for a first mission. Out of the corner of his eye, Dimitri caught Sylvain fighting more aggressively than usual.

“Captain, could you cover me? I need to get to Sylvain,” Dimitri asked. Jeralt understood what the prince was getting at and nodded in agreement. 

“How does it feel?” Sylvain asked a thief lying on the ground begging for mercy. The redhead’s lance was sitting comfortably on the man’s neck, ready to be pierced.

“P-please. I have kids,” the man pleaded, tears leaking from his miserable eyes.

“Did you grant the townspeople mercy?! Or did you blindly listen to your bastard of a leader’s commands?” Sylvain asked with rage, pushing the lance down the slightest bit deeper. “Answer me!”

“ANSWER ME!” he repeated, eyes blazing with the intensity of unbridled rage. He was ready to slice the man’s neck and hang the pitiful fool’s head as a tr-

“Sylvain!” Dimitri called out, tackling the redhead down on the dirt. The prince let the thief get away, who thanked the blond profusely.

“Why did you do that? He didn’t deserve mercy,” Sylvain said, picking himself up from the ground and dusting his clothes off.

“I don’t think it’s for us to decide who gets to die,” Dimitri said.

“You don’t know what it’s like. To see someone who was a part of…” Sylvain trailed off his thought and went to walk away, but Dimitri stopped him.

“Do you think it easy for me to see Dedue every day? Knowing what his people did?” Dimitri asked quietly. Sylvain thinned his lips.

“It’s different. Miklan tried to kill me,” he defended weakly, knowing that wasn’t fair.

“Oh, my mistake. I suppose the death of both of my birth parents cannot compare,” Dimitri said with hints of sass.

“What’s your point Dimitri?” Sylvain asked, tightening his grip on his lance.

“That night, anyone could have come to save you, or no one. but it was I who found you. I wanted to have Miklan executed. It was you who chose to grant mercy on Miklan’s life,” Dimitri reminded. “You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t think it was right. it’s because of you I chose to grant Dedue the same mercy over a decade later.” Dimitri finished, moving to help his housemates.

Sylvain looked up to where Miklan stood on the upper floor of the tower, waiting for the Blue Lions to trek up there. He looked murderous. Out for blood. Sylvain then looked to his lance. It was a pure silver one; his reflection in it was clear. He was no different than his pitiful excuse of a brother in the way he was acting. He’d tried so hard to be different than Miklan and in doing so, started to become him. Dimitri was right. It wasn’t worth the rage. What was he doing?

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Annette screeched in terror, capturing everyone’s attention. The mage was pointing at a hideous looking creature with numerous horns sticking out of it. Its eyes were a demonic red and saliva flew around it when it roared.

“What the f-

“It’s demonic,” Mercedes said in horror.

“It’s a beast,” Ingrid noted.

“It’s a demonic beast. It looks like a mutation of something ungodly to begin with,” Jeralt said, appearing frazzled himself.

“How do we beat it?” Glenn asked.

“Uh, let me try!” Ashe called, firing off a mini bow at it. Unfortunately, the scales on the beast deflected the arrow back and it aimed right at Ashe who couldn’t block it in time and got nicked on the shoulder.

“Ashe, are you alright?!” Dimitri asked, moving to inspect the wound.

“I’m fine your highness. It’s only a scrape. But the question remains, how do we beat it?” he asked, clutching his shoulder.

“I’m not sure…” Dimitri said, looking to Jeralt for an answer.

“Wait! It’s moving!” Annette pointed out, watching as the beast lunged for-

“Why is the demonic beast going after Nazareth?” Sylvain asked in confusion. The brunette was shocked into staying frozen as the beast started to come toward her.

“She’s got something sweet in her pockets! I can smell it from here!” Glenn noted, having been closer to her. He seemed confused at this finding.

“I told you I smelled something earlier!” Felix said irritably.

“Sorry, I bake when I’m stressed!” Nazareth cried out, still unable to move.

“Why are you stressed?” Dimitri asked with a quirked brow. His demeanor faltered when she still refused to meet his gaze, but there were more serious problems at hand then their private situation.

Dimitri shook his head and went to do what he did best; lead. “Sylvain, Glenn, and Felix, you three move to cover Naz and Annette while they cast magic at that monstrosity. Human weapons failed to work, so magic might be our safest option. Dedue, you and I will manage the front lines and take the brunt of the initial attack from that freak of nature. Ashe and Ingrid, you two handle the thieves that are trying to attack from behind and in doing so, leave Mercedes covered so she can heal us. GO!” Dimitri commanded. Everyone ran to position and Annette forced Nazareth to try and pay attention.

“That demonic beast is about to fire a long-range blast!” Mercedes cried out.

“Naz please! Channel your fear into the magic, remember?!” Annette pleaded with the brunette.

“But…its attack is aimed at the building, not us,” Ashe pointed out, gaging the direction of the blast. He was silently questioning why that was the case when Ingrid and Glenn pieced it together.

“When it hits the building, the debris will fall on all of us, caving us in!” Glenn noted, seeing how fragile the structure was. They were doomed and there was no time to move out of the way.

“This architecture is as old as the monastery!” Annette cried out, worried for the history of it all.

“Who cares about that right now! We’re about to die” Felix shouted.

Sylvian gulped. “This is gonna hurt like a mother-

“DUCK!” several of them yelled. Nazareth processed Annette’s earlier words and focused her attention on the magic and attack. She zoned in on the aim of the blast and held her staff up, ready this time because she knew it would work, unlike in the library when things were uncertain.

“Naz, MOVE!”

Before Dimitri could tackle the brunette to the ground for her lack of ducking, the mage fired off a fierce gale wind from the caduceus staff hidden in her battle-wear, effectively pushing the fire blast from the demonic beast to the right and allowing it to attack the group of bandits that were about to charge.

Everyone was in awe at the display and looked to Nazareth for answers as to what on Fodland had just occurred.

“She can explain later. Right now, we’ve got to get Sylvain to Miklan,” Ingrid decided, pointed her lance up to where the redhead stood, angry that the group was still standing.

“Why did you do that?!” Dimitri asked Nazareth partly in anger and partly with concern. In doing so, he ignored Ingrid, but he couldn’t very well lose part of his army in the process of a simple mission. It was the first time she’d looked at him since the moment in the kitchen.

“Annette. Was. Right,” Nazareth said between breaths, gathering her bearings. “This building is. Irreplicable and. One of a kind,” she explained, leaning on the staff for support. That blast had taken a lot out of her.

“So are you!” He shouted louder than intended, capturing the attention of everyone. He had failed to keep up his calm demeanor.

“Hate to break up…whatever this is, but we’ve got company,” Sylvain said as the demonic beast got into position to launch another attack. Ingrid held in an “I told you so,” and got into position beside Glenn who held his axe up threateningly.

“Right. Mercedes, you and Annette stay with Nazareth and heal her. Meet us at the front when you’ve gathered your bearings. Everyone else, charge!”

“But your highness, it would be wise to have one magic user with us in case of an emergency. We still don’t know which form of combat is effective against this beast,” Dedue pointed out.

“Hey, I can throw a mean fire ball,” Sylvain countered.

“Can you heal?” Felix deadpanned.

“He makes a good point Sylvain,” Ingrid agreed.

“Right. Mercedes, come with us. You can heal Naz from a distance. Annette, you heal little miss Hercules head on,” Sylvain said as they ran to the front to chip away at the beast’s health.

As the group tirelessly worked to fight the beast, more bandits flooded in from the room behind, where Annette and Nazareth stood. Sylvain caught sight of them and alerted Dimitri who seemed to falter in confidence.

“Your highness, it may be wise to retreat,” Dedue advised, sensing defeat. “We can report to Rhea and request Professor Byleth to accompany us,” he tacked on. Dimitri knew that was the right call, but he also knew Sylvain wouldn’t take the news well that they had to leave Miklan for the moment.

“Dimitri, charge ahead, we’ll take care of the threat in the back and catch up with you!” a voice shouted from the entrance of the fort. Dimitri turned back, thinking it sounded like Byleth. Indeed it was, but he wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by Dorothea and Jasmine and someone else who he couldn’t see because they were shielded by the others. Not having time to react to the sudden help, Dimitri slashed a blow to the demonic beast, effectively taking it out.

Once it collapsed, Dimitri sighed in relief and turned to his house.

“I called for backup before we left for the tower. It was our first mission and I figured we’d need more magic on our side,” Felix muttered, pushing a blood-stained piece of the creature to the side with his sword.

“Thank you Felix. We would have had to retreat otherwise,” Dimitri said. The group sat for a moment, gathering their bearings once more when everyone else caught up to them.

“Evangeline? Felix, you asked for her?” Ingrid said in surprise, seeing that it was the blonde mage who was the fourth member of the backup.

“Felix called us?” Evangeline asked Professor Byleth in disgust.

“I called the necessary people,” Felix answered curtly, moving to charge at another bandit. The group wanted to question his choices further, but knew it wasn’t the time. Ingrid knew something fishy was going on. If magic was all he was concerned about, he could have asked Lysithea to come.

“Alright. We’re going to split in pairs for this. I feel that would be best. Ingrid and Glenn, you two charge ahead. And Sylvain, you and Dorothea will go together right behind them. Mercedes and Annette will be another pair and will stay in the back. Nazareth, you will go with Jasmine. Ashe, you will go with professor Byleth, and Felix, you will go with Evangeline,” Dimitri nodded. The leader then turned to Dedue, knowing it was an unspoken rule that they were to accompany each other.

“What about Captain Jeralt?” Sylvain asked before they could move out.

“He can handle himself, am I correct Captain?” Dimitri asked confidently. Jeralt nodded.

“I will move to get us to the front at Miklan so that Sylvain may do what is necessary,” Byleth said calmly, pulling out his iron sword. “Ashe, please map us out a path,” he said, and the pair went off.

“So, you called for backup and requested me?” Evangeline asked doubtfully while she and Felix took on a squad of enemies toward the middle.

“We needed magic users,” Was Felix’s reply.

“Jasmine and Dorothea weren’t enough?” she asked skeptically. Felix rose an eyebrow when Evangeline took out the enemy he was about to, with a wave of thunder.

“Is the battlefield really the best place to be talking?” he asked rhetorically.

“With you, there’s never a right place,” Evangeline huffed, moving ahead as Felix followed silently.

“It’s crazy how you all managed to fell a demonic beast and incoming bandits at the same time,” Jasmine said anything but passively as she and Nazareth shot wind blasts at nearby enemies. Nazareth felt the hair at the back of her neck shoot up. Was Jasmine onto her?

“Y-yeah. We were very lucky,” the younger girl replied, pulling Jasmine out of range from an incoming throwing axe. Jasmine thanked her briefly before taking the bandit out with an iron bow. Nazareth squinted her eyes at the weapon of choice and cocked her head to the side.

“You’ve been practicing archery?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Jasmine seemed to thinking of a different memory, which Nazareth was grateful for. They stayed silent for the rest of the fight, neither wanting to be questioned.

“How are you holding up?” Dorothea asked Sylvain as they tailed Byleth and Jeralt. The redhead said nothing, but allowed Dorothea to take charge by damaging the further away enemies with meteor magic. The brunette songstress caught onto the fact that Sylvain was not attacking, and stopped casting magic for a moment.

“Sylvie?” She questioned, reaching for his shoulder.

“Dimitri was helpful, as usual,” he answered shortly, shrugging her off.

“How helpful?” She questioned, raising her eyebrows. “You’ve not touched your lance since I arrived,” she said, spelling it out before he could claim nothing was wrong. Sylvain looked down, unable to voice that he was scared to lose control. He was usually so composed. What he did to that poor bandit earlier would haunt him…

“I know this is a lot, but look on the bright side. Felix called me here. Seems like he pays more attention than we thought,” Dorothea said with mirth. Sylvain flashed a smiled, albeit small, back at the flirtatious girl. Only she could have such an attitude on a battlefield; lax and carefree in the midst of warfare.

“You know you’ll have to draw your lance sooner rather than later. You can’t face Miklan as a pacifist,” Dorothea said as she continued to be the one to fight off bandits in their path as he watched.

‘I choose later,’ Sylvain thought. If he could quell the rage until he saw Miklan, he’d be fine. Miklan’s death was an occupational hazard, unlike a common bandit’s. The longer he could prevent the beast inside him from emerging, the better. And the best way to ensure that was to not draw his lance.

Dorothea seemed as though she wanted to reason with him, but was too busy dealing with the never ending enemies that Sylvain refused to do anything but heighten her defense from.

“Ashe, keep your eyes open!” Dimitri called out as Byleth had gone ahead and left the archer defenseless. Poor Ashe didn’t see an archer from overhead preparing to launch a killer bow at his already wounded shoulder. Byleth was too busy dealing with an elite bandit to notice, and Dimitri was too far away. The closest to the young archer were Dorothea and Sylvain, with the former occupied by enemy bandit swarm.

Sylvain looked around and saw that no one was going to the poor boy’s rescue and cursed the goddesses for testing him. he knew what he had to do. As quickly as possible, the redhead darted toward Ashe and aimed precisely above him, launching a rather small fire ball. It didn’t take the enemy archer out, but it succeeded in burning the incoming arrow into dust, cloaking them for a brief moment.

“Wh-whoa. Thanks Sylvain. I didn’t see that,” Ashe bowed, but it was short lived as Sylvain saw the enemy archer preparing another bow.

“That guy’s speed is unnecessary,” Sylvain grunted, reaching for his trusty javelin. His magic may not have been strong enough, but he was confident he could harpoon his weapon hard enough to take the enemy archer out. The question was, could he trust himself?

“Throw it Sylvie! Trust your instinct. We don’t have time for you not to!” Dorothea yelled, launching yet another meteor at a swarm. Sylvain took a breath and then launched his javelin. The enemy archer fell with a cry.

Sylvain took his right hand and placed it over his heart. No irregular beating. A normal rate, a normal action, a normal feeling. Perhaps he could quell his anger long enough to make it to Miklan. He chanced a look over at Dorothea and saw her struggling without the defense boost he’d been granting her. Reaching for another javelin, he went to join the songstress and they collectively dished out convergent attacks, taking the enemies out faster.

As the group neared the front, Byleth stopped them from proceeding up the stairs.

“Is everything alright professor?” Dimitri asked as the group panted, worn out from the brunt of the mission. Byleth observed the makeshift army and glanced around for clerics.

“You four,” he started, pointing at Mercedes, Nazareth, Jasmine, and Annette. “Will you be so kind as to take charge and heal? I shall do what I can for the front lines, but we would do well to prepare before heading up there. We don’t know what awaits us,” he advised. Dimitri nodded in agreement when Felix piped up with closed eyes.

“Evangeline can heal too. We’ll get done with preparing faster if she helps.”

The blonde in question eyed Felix strangely. He was all over the place. Sometimes he desired her help and sometimes he didn’t. Was he her friend or not?

“Very well. Evangeline, you take care of Felix’s section then,” Byleth nodded, moving to heal Jeralt.

Evangeline began healing Felix’s wounds, who surprisingly did not protest. The blonde met his gaze and frowned.

“I will never understand you, will I?” she asked.

“Hn,” Felix hummed. Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows and her left eye twitched in irritation.

“Hn,” she mocked, “is not an answer,” she said angrily.

“Forgive me for not being focused on being understood in the middle of a mission,” he said sarcastically, running his hand through his hair.

“You say that as though you focus on it when we’re in the monastery,” she fired back, pushing his arm away not so gently when she finished healing him.

“Watch it,” he snapped.

“No Felix. You watch it. You may have treated me like a rag doll in the past, but I’ll stand for it no longer. Treat me with respect, or stay out of my damn way,” she hissed, moving on to heal Ingrid who held in laughter at the way Felix recoiled from her words. As the mage healed Ingrid and Glenn, Felix attempted to say something, but the words got lost somewhere in the mix of the healing process. He supposed he could wait until they got to the monastery.

Nazareth approached Dimitri wearily and gulped before asking, “May I?” and gesturing to his arm which had been slashed earlier with a brave blade. The Prince extended his arm invitingly and nodded his consent. Nazareth swirled her hand in a circular motion over the prince’s well-developed arm and allowed a pleasant white burst of light to envelope it. In a matter of seconds, the slash was gone, and Dimitri sighed in relief.

“Thank you,” he said kindly. Nazareth nodded and went to work on Dedue’s leg wound when Dimitri’s words stopped her in her tracks.

“Naz, why did you say no?”

the brunette stiffened and the weight of the melon cakes she’d made earlier seemed to feel heavier. “W-we will talk about all other matters later. We need to focus on the mission,” she replied, tending to Dedue’s wounds.

As the other mages finished healing their sections, Byleth cleared his throat and gestured Dimitri to stand by him. The Prince did so and prepared his army.

“Alright Blue Lions-and guests,” he started, nodding to the backup. “Sylvain will lead us from this point. We will all stand behind him, ready to defend. I repeat, Sylvain will lead. No one is to get to Miklan before him. It is his right. Am I understood?” he asked, looking to his army. The response was surrounding nods of agreement. Sylvain gave a thankful look to Dimitri and headed up to the front, ready to face his past.

Slowly moving up the steps, Sylvain found himself face to face with Miklan and no one else. The sight of the bandit leader not being surrounded by goons or other lowlifes gave Sylvain an odd feeling. Why did he not have sacrificial lambs to soften the blow of their attacks?

The air felt different up here now that he was in close proximity to the one he once lovingly called a brother. That time was so long ago, Sylvain thought he may have even imagined it. The rest of the army watched silently, gaging the tension. They all wondered who would be the first to speak, or if words would be shared at all.

Miklan squinted in Sylvain’s direction for a few seconds as he came into view and then let out a hysterical sort of laugh.

Before Sylvain could say anything, Miklan grimaced and stood tall, rusted lance held in front of him as though it were the finest weapon. An antique, rustic looking lance stood behind him which Sylvain deduced was the lance of ruin. It was hard to describe, but somehow the redhead knew it was the weapon of fate.

“Why have you come here you crest-bearing fool?” Miklan spat out. There may have been a smile on his face, but he seemed just as twisted as he was when they were kids. One had to wonder how Miklan constantly shifted from a grimace to a bitter smile so effortlessly. Sylvain’s blood boiled at the word ‘crest,’ and he clenched his fist around his own trusted lance.

“I’m here for the Lance of Ruin you psychopath,” Sylvain started. “While it would be satisfying to humiliate you, that isn’t my intention. Hand over the lance and I’ll spare you,” he finished, feeling satisfied with his words. He could do this. Dimitri’s presence nearby was helping him calm his nerves. ‘Quell the rage. Quell the rage. Quell the rage,’ he repeated as a mantra in head between seconds of silence.

Miklan however, smirked, malicious laughter bubbling at the roof of his mouth. The rest of the army appeared afraid and several whispered their thoughts amongst each other.

Dedue turned to Dimitri with skepticism. “Your highness, perhaps we should do something,” he suggested. Dimitri shook his head, firm in his stance and urging the others to do the same.

“This is Sylvain’s battle. We mustn’t interfere unless he asks,” the prince made clear, looking to his army who nodded understandingly. His gaze lingered on Dorothea in particular who did not meet it. She abided by Dimitri’s wishes, but she was not happy about it.

“Say something!” Sylvain demanded, grip firm on his lance. He was ready to deflect any attack Miklan might throw out in surprise.

“You should have perished in that well all those years ago. If not for you…if it hadn’t been for you, I would be happy. You’re the reason our family suffered. The reason mother and father are-

“Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!” Sylvain cried out, unable to contain it. It wasn’t his fault. It was Miklan’s. But of course the doubts crept in. How could his own flesh and blood be so woefully ignorant. Arrogant. Rotten to the core. The fury began to overtake him again. Were it not for the mention of his parents…

Dimitri looked to his closest friend with concern, but knew better than to intervene at this moment. Nobody knew how Sylvain felt, and Miklan had touched the most sensitive of nerves. Dorothea bit her lip and looked to Dimitri who shook his head once more. It still was not their place. The helplessness the songstress felt was all consuming.

“So much for keeping his coo-ow!” Felix cried out, glaring at Evangeline and Ingrid, who had stricken him on separate arms. Dorothea seemed to want to have done the same but feared that she may have caused Felix serious injury.

“If it weren’t for your filthy life force bearing the crest, I-

“Enough! I’m so tired of hearing that. My whole life you’ve blamed me for something that isn’t my fault! You’re a disgrace to house Gautier!” Sylvain shouted, charging at Miklan full force.

It happened in a matter of seconds. Miklan stood tall one moment, and the next, he’d collapsed, sat at the mercy of Sylvain’s lance. He did not beg for mercy. He merely widened his smile at the sight of his brother’s lance nestled at his collarbone.

“You can’t do it. You don’t have the guts,” Miklan mocked, ready to snatch the lance and switch their positions.

“You miscalculated dear brother,” Sylvain said through gritted teeth. He twisted the lance, drawing blood. Miklan was taken by surprise and the smile was finally wiped away from his face, but still, he refused to ask for mercy. “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since you dropped me in that well for dead,” Sylvain said. He then, without looking at Miklan, jabbed the lance through skin, leaving it pierced there. He had done it.

Dimitri was contemplating if they should move to comfort Sylvain, when the redhead’s body froze, trying to comprehend what he’d just done. Was Miklan…

But then, the sound of metal clinking was heard, and everyone turned to see that Miklan had pulled the lance out from where Sylvain had jammed it; his arm. “You fool!” Miklan spat, getting up with a bit of effort. The members of the Blue Lion house watched with wide eyes as he did so. Dimitri got into battle stance and silently beckoned the rest of his house to do the same. Sylvain was confused, but too in shock to retaliate to Miklan’s words.

“You’re just as weak and unworthy as you were when we were kids. Should’ve been looking so as not to miss your target,” Miklan laughed, rubbing the spot that Sylvain had stricken. There was a hole in his arm now, but that didn’t seem to stop him. With the uninjured arm, Miklan grabbed for the Lance of Ruin and resembled the devil in his expression. Sylvain was too stunned to get in fighting stance. What in Fodland was going on?!

“Wh-what are you doing? You can’t wield a relic like that. You’ll-

“Worry not dear brother. You shall taste the sweet relief of death soon enough!” Miklan roared, holding the weapon above his head as though it were the sword of creation. Sylvain could do nothing but watch as a blinding light was unleashed from the relic and blinded everyone in its vicinity momentarily.

“Is everyone alright?!” Dimitri’s voice sounded as the light began to dissipate. The prince frantically looked around to make sure no one was missing. They appeared to be fine for the moment, but several of the army had fallen to the ground and were gathering their bearings.

“Ugh, what happened?” Sylvain asked, blinking his way into being able to see. Having taken the brunt of the flash attack, his eyes adjusted the latest and he understood why there were collective gasps of horror.

He almost wished he hadn’t regained sight when right there before them, a black beast stood; in the same spot they’d last seen Miklan. The Lance of Ruin was nowhere in sight.

“What is that?!” Dorothea asked, shaken. Mercedes and Annette stepped back, fear making itself known. The rest of the house looked to each other for answers when Byleth stepped forward.

“I think that beast…is Miklan,” he said to Dimitri and Dedue quietly. The Prince could not believe his eyes. How could that…thing be Sylvain’s brother? Sylvain seemed to be piecing that fact together himself at the same time as he looked head on at the creature.

“What the-Miklan?! Is that you?!” Sylvain asked after having looked into its eyes. They were the same color and held the same ferocity as Miklan, but how could that be?

“What the fuck happened to him?” Felix asked, disturbed, but ready for battle. Evangeline eyed the beast curiously and then appeared to look as afraid as Mercedes and Annette.

“He didn’t have the proper crest,” she breathed slowly, the gears turning in her head. “This must be what happens when someone who can’t wield a fated weapon or staff, tries to,” she finished the thought. Nazareth turned pale at those words. Did that mean if she was wrong and didn’t have the crest of Cethleann, she would have turned into…whatever Miklan turned into? Thank the Goddess she had been right.

“Does that mean that the two beasts we fought earlier, also tried to use the lance?” Mercedes asked in fright. The pieces were slowly coming together.

“It must have been Miklan’s way of testing if it would work,” Dimitri said in shock. “And those beasts we fought were his failed experiments.”

“Are we supposed to fight it?” Ingrid asked carefully, leaning into Glenn for support.

“Can we fight it?” Ashe asked, looking to Dimitri and Byleth who were trying to process the turn of events.

“It’s like watching a bad dream come to life,” Sylvain said lowly, as memories came flooding in.

“You’re the reason this family is broken!”

“Why won’t you just die already?!”

“It should’ve been me! It was MY destiny!”

“You don’t deserve the crest!”

“Enjoy falling down to your doom!”

Sylvain was pulled out of his stupor when he felt a warm hand envelop his. Without looking, he knew it was Dorothea. How could he stand and contemplate a lost childhood so vividly when there were more important matters at hand? Dorothea and Dimitri were his family. So were Ingrid, Felix, and Glenn. He had people that mattered and cared, and that was enough for him to shake off his childish fear for the time being.

 He shrugged Dorothea off softly, who tried to move back with the army once more. “Don’t leave,” he intoned. “I need you by my side for this,” he said, again without looking toward her. No one else heard it.

“I don’t know how we’re going to win this, but will you all fight with me?” Sylvain asked louder, this time turning around to face his house. Every member nodded with determination, and Dimitri stepped up to the front, placing a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder.

“We’re here for you. Anything you need,” the prince said.

“Do what you do best your highness. Lead us,” Sylvain winked, suddenly jumping when the beast let out a mean growl. It seemed like it was gathering its bearings to launch an attack finally.

“So, this is the power of a Hero’s Relic. To create such a sinister beast…it has gone too far,” Dimitri said aloud. He then cleared his throat and directed his voice to his army. “I fear all we can do now is put an end to it. Everyone. Prepare to attack! Magic users stay behind as usual. Dedue, professor, Jeralt, you three come along with me. We will deliver the initial blows. Let’s put this creature out of its misery!”

-

“Its breath is bated. It’s almost down and out. We just need one more hit!” Ashe called out, moving to shoot an arrow when he realized he was all out.

“Felix, give it a good blow to the head. Finish it off!” Glenn called out, lagging behind and thanking Ingrid for trying to support him to stand up. Felix looked at his blade and then to Sylvain, whose lance was no longer durable.

“Take it,” the hotheaded mercenary mumbled, tossing to sword to Sylvain. The redhead caught it and looked to Felix in surprise who looked away.

“Thank you,” Sylvain said, lunging at the beast to take it out. Just as before, a blinding light flashed and then, the beast was gone. As if it were never there in the first place.

 “Goddess…The beast is gone, yet Miklan and the lance remain,” Mercedes pointed out, gesturing to the weapon laying on the floor a few feet away from Miklan’s lifeless body. Annette comforted the shaken Mercedes and the rest of the house looked to Sylvain.

“It is over…let us retrieve the lance and leave this place,” Dimitri said, directing the comment to Sylvain.

“Miklan…my brother…” he voiced for the first time in over a decade.

“You don’t have to feel an obligation to love him simply because he’s no longer here,” Dorothea comforted. Sylvain shook his head. He reached his hand out for the lance, grabbed it, and stood up in a swift motion. He slowly walked up to Byleth and thrust the weapon in his hands.

“Technically, this belongs to house Gautier…but something tells me you’ll know what to do with it,” he said quietly. The professor gently handed the lance back to Sylvain and his eyes grew soft.

“You’re right about that. And I believe that this belongs to you. I sense that you never wanted your crest. However, I also sense that you will use this weapon exactly the way it was intended to be used. Do us proud like you did today Sylvain,” the professor spoke smoothly.

Sylvain let himself truly feel the weight of the weapon that belonged to his house. It was heavier than it looked. He felt that he was carrying the heavier things that his family couldn’t shoulder. What would his parents think in this moment?

“Your parents would be proud of you. Just as your housemates are,” Dimitri said out loud, sensing Sylvain’s thoughts.

“I’m proud of you,” Ingrid said in agreement.

“So am I,” Ashe said.

“Me too,” Annette chimed in.

“I pray your efforts today are recognized,” Mercedes nodded.

“This could not have been easy. And your efforts were not in vain. You should be proud of what you did here today,” Dedue added.

“Nice hit,” Felix nodded.

“I don’t know how you’re feeling, but they’re right. You did what you had to do,” Nazareth said.

“You did everything right. It’s a shame Miklan couldn’t see that, but everyone else in your life can. Hold on to that Sylvie,” Dorothea said crushing him in a tight hug. Sylvain dropped the Lance of Ruin and returned the embrace, not caring that everyone could see him falter. He deserved this moment. Nay, he earned it.

“I would also like to express my affection!” Mercedes said with a soft laugh, running up to the pair. Annette followed, and soon after, the entire Blue Lion house had huddled around Sylvain, showing him just how much he mattered.

He’d never felt more loved.

Chapter Text

“So how are we going to nick Seteth’s chalice without him realizing? He leaves it on his desk and there are too many witnesses around there,” Jasmine said as she and Claude sauntered up to the second floor of the staff housing.

“Oh so you just expected me to come up with a plan?” he asked with amusement.

“Well yeah. You’re the tactician here, not me. I’m better at following orders,” Jasmine said thoughtlessly as Claude snickered from the small innuendo.

“As luck would have it, I do have a plan. You need to create a distraction so Seteth’s attention is diverted while I swipe the chalice. Easy peasy,” Claude said lazily as they neared the hall toward Seteth’s office.

“Um, no. Not easy peasy. How do I create a distraction? I would’ve tried magic, but last time someone used magic in the monastery, a library nearly burned down,” the brunette countered, standing in front of Claude to stop him in his tracks.

“Speaking of the fire, don’t you find it strange that not one of the teachers seemed to say anything about it? You’d think Rhea would at least make a pointless announcement about being careful,” Claude brought up. Jasmine thought back to the moment Tomas had thrusted detention upon her for dropping her book bag when the fire happened. He claimed he would go get help, but he never showed up again. In fact, she hadn’t even seen him since that day. Had anyone?

“I actually agree with you. I have my doubts about Tomas. I feel like he didn’t report the fire. Maybe we should,” the brunette thought aloud.

“I have a better idea. Let’s focus on the chalice right now, and then when you go on your mission with your house later this week, I’ll go report it to her,” Claude offered. Jasmine thought for a moment and relented, but that brought them back to square one.

“So how do I distract then? I’m not one for keeping a pointless conversation going,” Jasmine said.

“Would you like me to create the distraction and you steal the chalice?” he offered. Jasmine shook her head immediately.

“No way. If we get caught, it’ll go on my permanent record!” she countered.

“So my permanent record means nothing to you?” he asked with a chuckle. Jasmine shot him a look that answered his question well enough. 

The couple peered into the hall to see that Rhea was there as well. They’d have to make sure that both she and Seteth were not paying Claude any attention.

“Lookin for this?” Caspar asked with a fake yawn, swinging the gleaming gold chalice back and forth. Jasmine’s eyes widened, while Claude seemed to put his guard up.

“What makes you think we were looking for that old thing?” Claude asked, crossing his arms. Jasmine shot Claude a weird look for lying, but realized he was calling Caspar’s bluff. After all, how would he know they were on the hunt for Seteth’s chalice?

“Wait, you weren’t?” Caspar asked, doubting himself as he looked to the chalice with regret.

“Nah. We were looking for old man Seteth. Jas here had another brilliant idea in regard to Wyverns for him,” Claude laughed, hoping Caspar would leave the chalice on the table where it belonged. But Caspar took one look at the couple and smiled.

“Is that so? Well, what a relief. For a second, I thought you were going to leave this on the Blue Lions dining table,” he replied goofily, emphasizing the latter portion of his sentence as he tossed the chalice in their direction. Claude leaped up to catch it as it had been thrown higher than he thought. He blinked at Caspar in confusion. He was sure the blue haired boy had been thrown off their scent. How did he know?

“I’m not as stupid as I look. Well, scratch that. I probably am, but I have my moments. This is one of em,” Caspar shrugged.

“Why are you giving it to us? You’re okay with the Blue Lions getting in trouble?” Jasmine asked.

“Well, I didn’t say that,” Caspar said, seeming confused with himself as he scratched the back of his head. “Uh, honestly I’m just bored and no one in the Black Eagles really has a sense of humor. Lemme join in on this Scooby Doo thing you two have going on, will ya?” he asked with a thoughtless grin.

“Unbelievable,” Jasmine said in annoyance. “You’re just Claude 2.0,” she added with a sigh.

“Does that mean you like me twice as much?” Caspar asked looking at ground and whistling anything but innocently.

Claude noted Jasmine’s exasperated look and then turned to Caspar whose attention had been grasped by a bird that almost crashed into the window. The blue haired axe wielder laughed at the sight and then tuned back into the conversation he had started.

‘He’s a bit of an airhead, but he could out us if we don’t let him join. And he did manage to pilfer the chalice before we got the chance,’ Claude thought to himself, weighing the pros and cons. 

“Alright. You can join. But keep this on the down low, will you?” Claude said to Caspar in a tone that Jasmine could only assume was his version of serious.

“Huh? Oh! Right. The thing I just asked. Honestly, I kind of forgot I asked that. You could’ve left me hanging and I wouldn’t have noticed,” Caspar said with a laugh. “Anyways, I’m off to the dining hall. I need a sandwich,” he said, racing off.

Jasmine and Claude looked to each other with the same expression. ‘What on Earth did we just agree to?’

-

“Oh, there’s Hilda and Lorenz. I’m sure she roped him into helping her do something somehow,” Raphael noted, eyeing the pair outside the Officer’s Academy with the latter carrying something and the other.

“Is that Marianne? I wonder what she’s so happy about,” Raphael said, attention diverted knowing it was rare to find her with a carefree smile. They were housemates, but he hardly knew anything about her.

“Oh, is that so? I’m so happy you found all of that food,” the cleric said joyfully, clapping her hands. Raphael stood confused, seeing as there was no one nearby. Who was she talking to?

Upon closer inspection, he saw that there were a few squirrels sitting in front of her, messing with what looked to be a half-eaten sandwich.

“Hiya there Marianne. I didn’t know you could talk to animals,” Raphael said louder than intended. The blue haired girl jumped in fright, shouting “Eeek!” and the squirrels ran off in the direction of the officer’s academy.

“There you are you little thieves!” Caspar cried out, jumping out of a nearby bush, racing after the squirrels. “Gimmie back my sandwich!” he shouted, chasing them. All eyes went to that scene as the brawler neared the squirrels, grabbed one with a mischievous look in its eye and punched it square on the face.

Hilda and Marianne gasped in horror.

“Caspar you brute! That’s animal abuse!” Hilda shouted, starting to charge after him, Lorenz forgotten. Caspar saw Hilda give chase and immediately his blood ran cold.

“No wait! If you saw what they did, you’d underst-OW!” he shouted as Hilda handed him his comeuppance. The pink haired girl turned her head and dusted her hands off.

“You need to control your anger!” she huffed, getting off of him. Caspar, with his hands on his head like he was going insane, retaliated with, “have you seen Felix?!”

Hilda simply shook her head, not one to pay too much attention to Felix, and left Caspar to his mutilated sandwich with a throbbing head.

“Huh?” Raphael responded, not having expected that. He’d nearly forgotten why he had come here.

“Wh-what are you doing here Raphael?” Marianne asked. The presence of the cleric reminded him what he’d seen before chaos ensued.

“I was just walking to digest the food I ate and saw you. Thought I’d say hi. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make your squirrels go away. I can go chase them and bring them back,” Raphael offered. ‘If Caspar hasn’t fully traumatized them,’ he added as an afterthought.

“Oh, that’s a sweet gesture, but I’m not sure they would like that,” Marianne informed him, still shaken up from the events that unfolded.

“Oh. Sorry about that again. But that reminds me. Were you talking to them?” Raphael asked curiously.

“E-excuse me?!” Marianne asked, pink tinging her cheeks.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, scratching the back of his head. Marianne looked down, suddenly feeling like a kid who was caught eating the last cookie.

“Ah, um…yes. I was,” she said with shame.

“That’s incredible,” he said, not picking up on her demeanor. “This place is full of interesting folks, but I didn’t think anything spoke squirrel,” he said excitably.

“No, that’s not it. Those squirrels just happened to be…speaking human,” Marianne said quickly, shifting her gaze left and right sharply before running off without an explanation.

“Amazing. I hope I get to meet a squirrel that speaks human one day,” Raphael thought aloud, looking over to the direction the little critters had run in.

-

Edelgard walked into Byleth’s office and closed the door, down to business as always. She took a seat on her teacher’s desk and threw her legs over, so they were face to face.

“It is a shame what is happening. I pity Miklan. He is just another victim of cruel fate. Forsaken by the Goddess, who now demands his execution,” she sighed, drumming her fingers on Byleth’s desk. Byleth didn’t seem to fully agree, but did well not to outright say it.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“I mean that Miklan became a masterful thief and gathered enough ruffians to capture a fortress and is now being pursued by an army of the monastery,” she said, conveying how impressive she thought this feat to be. The words coming from anyone else would have sounded fearful.

“Isn’t that wrong?” Byleth questioned carefully.

“Right or wrong, he is a gifted leader. He could be a great asset to Fodland. It will be a shame if the Blue Lions execute him,” Edelgard spoke politically.

“You don’t think Sylvain has earned the right to get justice? I know you were there that night when he was trapped in a well,” Byleth clarified. Edelgard was not fazed by this memory, or her professor’s mention of it. She had told him about that night during one of their meetings when the professor seemed to want to know more about Sylvain’s past.

 “It’s true that Miklan mistreated Sylvain in the past. However, we must look at the root cause of why he did so. Such intense actions cannot be unsubstantiated,” Edelgard pointed out, capturing Byleth’s interest. “Miklan was discarded by his family because he was born without a crest. It’s true that a crest can increase your magical abilities and allow you to wield the full might of a Hero’s Relic. But one cannot measure a leader’s worth based solely on whether or not they bear a crest. There are plenty of talented people in this world without one and Miklan is a prime example,” she said authoritatively. Byleth patiently let her say what she needed to say before he said what he knew would upset her.

“Don’t you think your personal bias may be clouding your judgement on the matter?”

“Excuse me?” She asked offendedly, as he’d expected.

“Miklan tortured Sylvain, from what I have heard. Yet Sylvain still remains with a good heart, most of the time,” Byleth said, recalling Sylvain’s mistreatment of women. “That is to say, he still chooses to fight for what is right,” Byleth pointed out.

“People believe crests are blessings from the goddess, that they’re necessary to maintain order in Fodland. But the people are wrong! Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in. Crests are the reason Sylvain was tortured as well as why Miklan’s anger has escalated to extremities,” Edelgard said, not seeming like her mind could be swayed.

“Why do you only blame the crests in this situation and not Miklan? Is he not capable of differentiating that it is the crests he should hate and not Sylvain?” Byleth asked. There was no accusation in his tone, merely curiosity.

“If you’re looking for someone to blame, blame Margrave Gautier, Sylvain and Miklan’s father. He cast Miklan aside for the fact that he was given a son with a crest. Sylvain was treated like a thing rather than a person, hence his difficult personality. Miklan was not treated like anything at all, hence his unbridled rage.” Edelgard said matter-of-factly. “If the crest system weren’t in place, Miklan would not have succumbed to his anger. This is a fact. The power of crests is granted only to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world. That is why we are here my teacher. To create a truly free world is to dispense with the goddess and the crests. If we succeed in that, people will have no choice but to rise and fall by their own merits. If we succeed in that, your question will be answered by the fact that no such occurrence will come to pass again,” Edelgard replied with passion. 

“You do have a point there,” Byleth sighed, feeling tired. Fodland was riddled with issues that half of society chose to ignore and half chose to secretly plot against.

“I understand your point as well. And it’s not fair that the Blue Lions are receiving all of the meaningful missions. Meanwhile, our house is stuck pursuing petty bandits in the Red Canyon,” Edelgard complained.

“All?” Byleth asked, quirking an eyebrow. Edelgard huffed and crossed her arms.

“I was listening in on the staff meeting this morning. Rhea is planning to brief Dimitri’s house about Lord Lonato’s plans to incite a rebellion against the church. She’s going to let them handle the matter, while my house is off fulfilling coin to coin quests,” Edelgard said, knowing full and well Byleth already knew of this fact as well. To his part, the mercenary remained composed.

“Are you certain this is about more than just the fact that the Blue Lions are receiving missions?” Byleth asked.

“Whatever do you mean by that?” Edelgard asked, placing a hand over her heart.

“I mean, you always are a little more worried when it comes to Dimitri. Perhaps you feel neglected from not being asked upon for mission assistance?” Byleth said, holding his hand out with the palm facing up to show it was only one possible assumption.

“This is not the first time you have accused me of letting my emotions get the better of me,” she said, displeased with the course of their conversation.

“I did not mean to imply that,” Byleth said apologetically.

“This is about the fact that all of the Black Eagles are being kept on the sidelines, not just me,” Edelgard made clear.

“May I ask you something?” Byleth asked cautiously. Edelgard assessed her teacher’s demeanor and realized she was once again too harsh. Byleth was not against her, he was only seeking clarification.

“You may,” she said, conveying into her inflection that she would tone her aggression down.

“Why is it that you feel affronted when Dimitri shows care for you, but you show similar care in return without an issue?” he asked, bringing his hand to his chin.

“I do not feel affronted,” she denied instantly.

“Do you believe Dimitri to believe that?” he then asked. Edelgard had no response. Was Byleth trying to tell her to soften up? With what she had planned, softening up was a liability. He knew this.

“My apologies for dissuading from the topic. In any case, we must take into consideration that both these missions relate to members of the Blue Lion house. Miklan is Sylvain’s brother and Lonato is Ashe’s adoptive father,” Byleth pointed out calmly. “I’m sure the next important mission will go to us,” he insisted.

“Do I have your word?” She asked, sounding skeptical. She had begrudgingly seen the wisdom to that explanation, but she was tired of being treated like a second or third in command.

“I will see to it personally,” he promised with a small smile.

“Why are you so amused?” She asked, losing her irritable expression for a moment.

“You’re so high strung about this. It’s rather refreshing to see you lose composure once in an azure moon,” he explained. Edelgard swatted her professor’s arm and ignored the pink that tinged her cheeks from such a comment. Before she could counter his remark, a knight of Seiros came into his office bearing a letter.

“Professor, this message came from Felix. I feel it is urgent,” he said, handing the envelope off to the mercenary. Byleth opened it, perplexed.

‘Come to Conand Tower. This is our first real mission, and I can tell we’re going to be outnumbered. I don’t trust that boar prince to lead us properly. Bring Dorothea. Sylvain is on edge, and she’ll calm him down. Bring Evangeline too.’

-Felix

“Take Jasmine with you,” Edelgard said, having read the note over her teacher’s shoulder.

“Jasmine?” Byleth asked. He half expected the imperial princess to say she herself would come along, given their previous conversation.

“Yes. I’m sure she’ll want to accompany you because her stepsister is involved in the mission. Tell her I pushed for her to join you. It will help build trust,” she explained. Byleth wanted to point out that her stepbrother was on this mission as well, so she should join too, but Edelgard sensed where her teacher’s thoughts were going and her lilac eyes narrowed considerably.

“As you wish,” Byleth said instead, bowing and taking his leave.

“My teacher?” she called as he neared the door. Byleth turned around expectantly. “Utilize caution.” She then looked away and said, “Ensure Dimitri does as well.”

Byleth nodded, heading out to retrieve the three mages.

-

“I see. And you’re going to give it to her now?” Lorenz asked, seeming impressed. Ferdinand closed the velvet red jewelry box and nodded.

“Correct. I am Ferdinand von Aegir, legitimate son of the Aegir family, the Empire’s foremost house. If my lady is not seen wearing only the finest, it will not bode well for my house,” he answered the other nobleman, seeming pleased with his gift of choice.

“Are you not afraid she may feel it is too much? You two have only just began to enjoy each other’s company,” Lorenz pointed out snottily. Ferdinand chuckled and shook his head at the purple haired boy.

“My simpleminded friend. How many relationships have you been in?” Ferdinand asked, tone dripping with insincerity. Lorenz was caught off guard, unable to answer, and Ferdinand kept going. “I have charmed many a lady in my time. None as beautiful or pure as Evangeline. Like the goddess, she has an air of elegance that is simply unmatched. She will not think it too much. She will grace me with a beautiful smile and thank me with the salutation of her lips,” he said boastfully.

“I can show you the salutation of my Bolganone right now free of charge,” Lindhardt mumbled through half-lidded eyes. Lorenz held in a laugh at that comment and waited to see how the nobleman would reply.

“What was that?” Ferdinand asked, not having heard.

“Hm? Oh, nothing Ferdinand. Good luck on your date with Evangeline,” he said with a yawn, taking his leave from eavesdropping.

“Yes. Good luck indeed,” Lorenz said, smiling sinisterly. Ferdinand shook his head.

“I need not luck. I have my whit and charm at beck and call. Now if you will excuse me, which I know you will, I must take my leave,” Ferdinand said as he headed off toward the fishing pond. He’d asked Evangeline to meet him there and was pleased to see that she was sitting by the dock patiently with a textbook in her lap.

“Evangeline,” he called out approaching the fair blonde. The Golden Deer student sat up and looked over her shoulder.

“Oh. There you are Ferdinand. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming at all. I thought noblemen were punctual,” she teased, turning her body around to face him. She gestured for him to sit beside her, but Ferdinand shook his head and made a face as though sitting on the ground was beneath him.

“Your jibe was refreshing, but I can assure you I have a perfectly viable reason for my tardiness,” Ferdinand said, clearing his throat. Evangeline cocked her head to the side, confused. She thought they were meant to be having a study session. Why did Ferdinand seem out of sorts? The blonde watched as he pulled out a small velvet box. It was red, and too big to be a ring, so she calmed herself from freaking out entirely, but the hair at the back of her neck tensed.

“Ferdinand? What is that?” she asked nervously. Not knowing what to do with herself, Evangeline closed her book and waited for him to answer.

“This,” Ferdinand said haughtily, opening the box to reveal a gleaming gold bangle. Upon closer inspection, Evangeline noticed that there were ornate leaves carved into it. It looked like something an empress would wear on the day of her coronation. “Is a gift I had made for you,” he said, urging her to try it on. The blonde’s peach lips formed an ‘oh’ shape as she fought for the right words.

“Tell me this is an elaborate quip,” she finally said as her left eye twitched a little.

“A quip? No milady. I had this specially made just for you. The lady of an Aegir noble should only wear the finest,” he spoke, faltering the slightest bit.

“Oh,” Evangeline said, gears turning in her head. “So this is just for show then. I will wear it in front of your father, but you can keep it until then,” she said passively. Ferdinand thought on that for a moment. Was this merely for the ruse? Something about the thrill of Evangeline being his lady not just for fun enticed him in a way that not even besting Edelgard in battle did.

“It would not be just for my father,” Ferdinand spoke, losing his wits. Curse Lorenz and the accuracy his words held. Was this too soon?

“No?” Evangeline asked, confused. “If not for that purpose, then what for?” she asked, unable to detect Ferdinand’s unease and growing apprehension. To his part, he did hide it well. The nobleman let one hand rest on his side as he pieced together a viable answer.

“I notice your love for plants, seeing as you spent some time with Ashe in the greenhouse three days prior. There was a spare bit of gold in my possession, and I felt it would go to best use if wielded into a bracelet you may wear and had the blacksmith add the leaf pattern, hoping it would cater to your liking,” he explained quickly. Evangeline felt her cheeks tinge with pleasant embarrassment at the lengths Ferdinand went to, just to make her happy. It was a rather beautiful bangle.

“I simply cannot accept such an extravagant gift for no reason,” she answered, this time bashful. Her heart wanted to try it on, but her mind knew it wouldn’t be appropriate due to their arrangement being a sham. One day she’d find her true love and she’d happily accept any and every gift they would proffer. It seemed as though Ferdinand was going to say more, but before he could, Professor Byleth had come walking over to the pair with a serious expression.

“Evangeline, I’ve received word from the Blue Lions and they require mission assistance. Will you be able to join me?” he asked. Evangeline shot up from the dock at these words and threw her book into her bag.

“Of course I’ll come. Are Ingrid and Nazareth okay?” She asked quickly. She then processed her words and sheepishly added, “as well as everyone else of course.”

“I do not have the status of the students, but let us move quickly. We need to get Dorothea and Jasmine as well,” he said briskly, moving along. Evangeline moved to follow him, but Ferdinand stopped her, looking determined.

“Will you wear it in battle?” he asked, holding the bangle out once more. “You need not keep it, but know it would greatly please me if you adorned it for the time being,” Ferdinand said with earnest. Evangeline wanted to think of how to respond, but knew Professor Byleth would leave soon, so she was at an impasse.

“Professor, I will escort Evangeline to the exit gates myself while you recruit Dorothea and Jasmine,” Ferdinand called. Byleth nodded and quickened his pace. Ferdinand then moved back to the blonde, awaiting her answer.

“I shall wear it only for the mission. Because you asked so kindly,” she warned, extending her arm to the nobleman. Grinning victoriously, Ferdinand clasped the bangle on his lady, admiring the way is dangled from her slender arm. Evangeline took a moment to marvel at its beauty and feel warmth in her heart at how much thought went into the gold trinket when Ferdinand muttered, “And I am sure it will remind that wretched swordsman who you are promised to.”

Evangeline tensed and she looked up to see Ferdinand struggling to hide a smirk. The blonde felt sick to her stomach. She blamed no one but herself for thinking that Ferdinand had selfless intentions. He thought her to be some pawn in his baseless competition with Felix? She shut her eyes tightly and thought about how to respond without losing all composure.

“You just want me to wear it so Felix will see and get angry because you have a maddening superiority complex when it comes to him! I’m not taking this and you’re boorish if you think I would, blackmail or not!” she spat, shoving the box at Ferdinand with vigor. She sighed internally; upset she hadn’t been able to contain her anger as well as she’d hoped.

Ferdinand physically recoiled at her sudden shift in attitude, and he realized how the situation seemed.

“That is false milady!” he called out before Evangeline could leave on a sour note. He saw that she hadn’t faltered and desperately thought of what to say to remedy the situation.

“I apologize!” he cried out, rushing up to her side. Evangeline rose an eyebrow.

“What are you sorry for exactly?” she asked, crossing her arms. She had to test his intentions. The nobleman could have just been saying what she wanted to hear.

“You are…right. My intention for giving you this gift was not pure of heart. For that, I am sorry,” he said sincerely. Evangeline softened at those words, but the bracelet still looked ugly to her now.

“I appreciate your apology Ferdinand. And while I agreed to keep up appearances for your father’s sake, I didn’t agree to be caught in the middle of whatever is going on between you and Felix,” she made clear.

“I understand. It will not happen again. You have my word as a noble!” Ferdinand said firmly.

“Oh right, there’s something else,” she started, capturing his attention once more. “This is something I’ve been meaning to say to you for a while now,” she went on. The orange haired noble’s eyes widened. Was she going to say what he thought she was going to say?! Could she feel the same way?

“I couldn’t care any less about your title or how worthy of it you feel,” she blurted, flinching when Ferdinand’s expression turned to one of sheer disbelief. He looked as though Evangeline had insulted thirteen generations of his lineage. He slowly felt his heart begin to beat at a pace unfit for a noble. His brows met his eyes and seemed to match his lips in formation. Astonishment was a fraction of what he felt in this moment. He resembled one of the pitiful kittens that were refused food from Hubert in the corners of the Monastery walls.

“Of all the things you could have said to wound me…” he whispered. Evangeline face palmed herself and put both her hands on either of Ferdinand’s shoulders.

“Listen to me you over-reacting citrus head” she started. “Let me finish before you disgrace me with your dramatics,” she warned. Ferdinand went to say something, but Evangeline narrowed her eyes, stopping him in his tracks.

“I am not impressed by titles or class. What matters to me is what a person is on the inside. When you apologized to me just now, I respected you more than I ever did until that point,” she explained. Ferdinand slowly took those words in and hummed.

“Your morals are very different from mine Evangeline. I think I will learn a lot from you, and you may even learn a little from me,” he said, flashing a bright grin. Evangeline graced him with a fond smile.

“I shall see you when I get back,” Evangeline said, nudging his shoulder playfully and running off to the outer gates. He watched her retreating form and looked to the velvet box, feeling in his heart that one day, his lady would accept the gift happily.

-

Jasmine relaxed in the warm water of the outdoor bath, trying to forget about her shenanigans with Claude. The brunette had left dumb and dumber in Seteth’s office after the Golden Deer leader promised her that he would take care of the chalice.

 She enjoyed the cool breeze on her face in contrast to the water. The temperature here was far more favorable than it was on Morfis, where it was always dreadfully cold (she thought about how Nazareth must miss that). She looked out at the expanse before her and noted the remarkable view of the rest of the monastery that the balcony offered. If she looked beyond the campus grounds, she could see the beautiful hills covered in windflowers and noticed how they seemed to be the most common type of flora here. ‘Fodland, really is special,’ she thought to herself, nestling deeper into the steamy water.

The mage really needed this bath to calm her nerves. She honestly didn’t know what had gotten into her lately. Sneaking around, spying on people, getting herself into detention. It was so unlike her! All because of... she really needed to get it together. Young “schoolboys” were just a waste of time. That’s what her father had always told her. Why bother, when she knew she was likely going to end up with someone pre-approved for her anyway? That, and she hardly knew anything about Claude. Was their relationship nothing more than sneaking around together for baseless clues? She would hardly call him a friend.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and the doors to the balcony creaked open, setting her heartrate ablaze.

A gasp escaped the brunette. It was absolute last person on earth she expected to see right now. But of course it was him. Sothis herself was likely laughing at her predicament in this very moment.

They stared at each other, eyes wide for a solid minute.

Jasmine was frozen, unable to comprehend what was happening. Her breath hitched as she took in Claude’s form. The steam from the bath was muddling her thoughts.

Golden skin covered his sculpted body. Jasmine dragged her eyes slowly from top to bottom, taking in his broad shoulders, and strong, sinewy arms. Her eyes traced the toned muscles of his abdomen leading further down to a towel sitting low on his waist. Jasmine felt heat begin to pool into her cheeks and her neck as her breath hitched. Why was he even here?! Had he taken care of the chalice?!

Claude furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he gazed upon the young woman in the water. Her dark hair was wet, the shorter strands at the front sticking to her face. For once, she didn’t look completely put together.

Her shoulders were barely peeking out from the bath, while the rest of her body was hidden by the lavender-colored water. He hardly had time to appreciate the way the sunlight caused her dark brown eyes to appear hazel as reality hit him.

“Jasmine?” he asked, thinking if he said her name aloud, it would turn out to be a mirage. When she was still in front of him, Claude thinned his lips and tried hard not to give away his thoughts.

“What exactly are you doing in the men’s bathhouse? If you wanted more time with me, all you had to do was ask,” he said instead, struggling not to fall into hysteria.

Jasmine was suddenly pulled out of her trance with the aggressive interruption and sputtered out without any time to process, “Y-you idiot! This is the women’s bath hall! Get. Out!”

Claude made a point to look to his left and right so as to sate her accusation and held in a mocking smile as he said, “sorry to break it to you my dear flower, but this is definitely the men’s bath hall. This is the east wing. If anything, you should be happy it’s me and not, I don’t know, Sylvain seeing you like this,” he finished, pointing to the sign that clearly stated so.

Jasmine felt her stomach somersault at his overly casual use of the term of endearment and then followed his finger to see that this was indeed not the women’s bath hall. She wanted to gouge his eyes out for how amusing he seemed to find this situation, but the embarrassment was taking over. How scandalous would this look to an outsider?!

Claude observed the realization suddenly dawn on her and the look of horror on her face. It was a sight to behold. But he could not for the life of him have prepared himself for what happened next.

Jasmine suddenly got up, wanting to exit this wretched place as soon as possible. When standing to her full length, the water splashed around her, sending little lavender drops into battle as they attacked the marble floors.

Claude bit back another smirk and tried his absolute hardest, gathering the willpower from all the goddesses before him not to laugh. How had she not realized? Surely her brain hadn’t malfunctioned entirely?

There she was. Standing waist deep in the colored water. The top half of her body completely exposed, little lilac drops trailing down exposed skin.

This could not be real.

He followed the smooth skin of her neck downwards to the valley of her breasts. He did not wish to be that guy, but she stood so innocently in front of him. He watched the rise and fall of her large, soft mounds as she breathed heavily from nerves. He watched the colored water trail down her breasts, the purple of the essential oil pairing rather nicely with her dusty pink nipples. Her wet body glistened, the curve of her waist transitioning into hips that flared and disappeared into the water that did not realize its fortune.

Claude cleared his throat, gesturing to her top half without making eye contact. He coughed once before saying, “Um, Jas?” smile still stuck on his smug face.

Jasmine yelped and covered her chest with her arms and quickly sank back into the water. How mortifying was this?! And how dare he still be so snarky even in the presence of her…assets! “WHY DIDN’T YOU TURN AROUND YOU PERV?!!

Claude was thankful Jasmine wasn’t looking at him because that comment caused him to falter slightly. “H-hey that’s not fair, you’re the one who creeped into the men’s bath!”

Jasmine was livid. “By accident! That’s not an op-” she suddenly stopped, just having realized that Claude fumbled in his words. That was new. She slowly turned back to look at him and saw it.

Pink. Honest and true pink tinged his cheeks. He may have been acting suave, but nature was his enemy. He had genuinely been flustered. By her. Thank the heavens that her brain was starting to work again.

“Wh-uh. Why did you look back?” he asked, the pink not expanding, but not disappearing either. The tables had successfully turned. It was now Jasmine with a stung stayed smile and Claude looking shocked.

“What’s wrong Claude? Can’t handle the view of a woman?” she teased, holding in bubbles of laughter. Claude instantly tried to match the game they were now playing, not being one to relent so easily.

“Was it I who couldn’t handle it?” he countered. Jasmine knew better. Minutes ago, she would have blushed in mortification, but she knew she held the upper hand here despite what Claude was trying to prove. The proof was in the pink.

“Oh? So you won’t mind if I stand up again then. To change?” Jasmine asked in a sultry tone that she picked up from Dorothea. It was ever so slight, but a flash of something went through Claude’s eyes at that sentence. She had to be bluffing. There was no way…

“Of course not,” he mirrored, calling her bluff. Jasmine laughed in a way Claude didn’t know was possible. Slowly, the brunette moved her hair to one side and then reached for the edges of the tub, preparing to elevate her body once more when his eyes widened and-

“No!”

Jasmine smirked. She’d won. “No?” She asked with faux innocence. Claude’s smile didn’t leave, but the pink in his cheeks was more prominent now. The master tactician had been taken down a peg.

“Well played Jas. Well played,” he said, moving to hand her a blush pink silk robe. Jasmine accepted the peace offering. She was thankful this had turned into something other than an episode of embarrassment for her. She watched as Claude turned back around and wondered what was going through his mind.

“The chalice is in place. We’ll wait for shit to hit the fan at dinner when the Blue Lions are back from the mission,” he said to pass the time by as Jasmine robed herself. The brunette hummed in acknowledgement of his words. Truthfully, she was disheartened at Claude’s appearance. The thoughts she’d tried to rid herself of seemed to never go away. Spying was not her forte and spending time with Claude was starting to feel more and more like a chore. Perhaps she should heed Edelgard’s advice and maintain a healthy distance from him. He seemed to only interact with her when it was about their unofficial missions.

Claude turned around, but stopped and smiled a genuine smile this time as he turned to look back over his shoulder. No smirk in sight. It was a different, but welcome change. He seemed to view Jasmine in a new light now. As an equal like Hilda rather than as Lysithea whom he aimed to constantly tease. That caught the brunette off guard. Perhaps she was too harsh in her thoughts?

“We should hang out sometime. Not for digestion or spying purposes, but to simply enjoy each other’s company and get to know each other better,” he said, asking a question without asking it. To his part, he seemed nervous about Jasmine’s answer.

“You mean see even more of each other?” she asked incredulously. Spending time with Claude minus the spying sounded like spending time with Nazareth without her rambling about some nonsense she’d learned in class; highly unlikely. But not unwelcome.

 “Only as much as you want me to,” he winked, turning back around to walk away. Jasmine shook her head, but found herself not completely repelled by the idea of spending time with Claude without there being a malicious motive. She hardly knew anything about him. It wouldn’t hurt to find out if it was worth spying with him or not. What were his intentions?

“I think I’d like that,” she acquiesced, grabbing for her clothes.

“While I have you here,” Claude started, turning around to give her privacy to change. “Did you hear that Miklan used the Lance of Ruin to turn the tables on his pursuers?” he asked. Jasmine slid the monastery uniform she’d borrowed from Petra on and furrowed her brows at Claude’s words.

“First of all, where did you hear that? And second of all, how is that even possible? He doesn’t have a crest,” Jasmine replied, buttoning the last of the buttons on her uniform. She let Claude know it was safe to turn around.

The archer faced her and said, “I overheard Gilbert telling Rhea about it in the mission details. As for your second question, I have the same one. as far I knew, that wasn’t possible. I need more answers,” he said.

“You know what a good place to start would be?” Jasmine asked, placing a hand on her hip.

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Claude said with a grin.

“The library. Go find some books on crests,” she said with snark.

“Not a bad idea. Oh, and Jas?” he asked, suddenly remembering something.

“Hm?” she asked, gathering her towel and essential oils.

“Teach was lookin for ya. He said to meet him at the gates of the Monastery for mission assistance with the Blue Lions. Apparently you were requested by her royal highness herself. You take care of the field research and I’ll head to the library for the old-fashioned kind. We’ll compare results when you’re back,” he said with a wink, heading out.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU LEAD WITH THAT?!” She shouted frustratedly, quickening her pace to gather her things and head to the gate so as not to keep the professor waiting. In the back of her mind, she thought to thank Edelgard later for letting her go.

-

Dorothea walked across the Officers academy, trying to distract herself from thoughts of Sylvain being unhinged on his mission. She had to trust that Dimitri would take care of him like he’d promised. It was then that she saw Caspar sitting on the ground, looking traumatized with leaves in his hair.

“Oh, Caspar! Ju-

“Who’s there?!” he shouted, jumping up and getting into battle stance. Seeing it was Dorothea, he eased up with a sigh and said, “Oh it’s just you. What’s up Dorothea?”

“Um, that was rather weird. Anyway, I have a tiny little request, if you have time to help me,” she said, picking out the shrubbery from his blue locks.

“Uh, maybe?” he asked, shrugging out of her reach and ruffling his hair back to how it was.

“Wonderful. Would you mind coming along to my room?” she asked gleefully.

“Your…room? Uh, I’m not that kinda guy,” Caspar said, hands up. “Besides, I’m not trying to deal with Sylvain murdering me if the confessional box hears about this,” he said, covering his bases.

“Don’t be so uncouth! I just need you to lift my bedside table up because I need to dust it,” she said, huffing offendedly.

“That’s all?” he asked skeptically.

“Come along Caspie,” she hummed, skipping to her room as the axe wielder followed, wishing those damn squirrels hadn’t escaped him.

…

“Okay, you got your clip, now I’m going to-

“Wonderful. Thank you so much. Now just lift this cabinet over here,” she instructed, interrupting him.

“Uh, okay,” Caspar said with a shrug, doing just that. Once he had it in his grasp, Dorothea grabbed for some knickknacks that had likely fallen under it over time. Once she came back up and started arranging them, Caspar went to leave once more when Dorothea tsked at him.

“Hold on a moment. I also need you to slide the bedframe over so I can clean behind it,” she decided. Caspar sighed dramatically and fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap.

“There’s still more to do? Why do you care so much about keeping this place clean? It’s just a dorm room,” he complained, covering his eyes with his hands.

“Were you raised in a stable?” She asked irritably. “Leaving a room dirty is just wrong! In fact, I think once we’re done with this room, we should clean up your room as well,” she scolded. She knew she was being unreasonable but cleaning obsessively seemed like a good way to distract herself from the mission.

‘Oh goddess, kill me now,’ Caspar thought to himself. Peeking his eyes out of his hands, he said, “Okay, what’s going on. I know something’s up. Talk to me.”

Irritation left Dorothea as she looked down, folding her hands together. “I…” she trailed off. How could she put into words how worried she was without sounding like an overprotective mother?

“Oh. Something’s actually wrong? I was just trying to get out of helping,” Caspar said, scratching the back of his head. Dorothea shot him a glare, causing him to gulp and urge her to continue.

“I’m just worried about Sylvain and the others. It’s their first real mission and it’s a tough one. It’d be one thing if it was after the mock battle, but are they really ready?” she asked, sharing a bit of her worry. Caspar sat up cross legged and drummed his fingers on his knee.

“Don’t you think the fact that Jeralt trusted them with this mission is a testament to how much he believes in their abilities?” he asked. Dorothea pondered on those words, seeming to buy them for a moment when Byleth burst into the room.

“Dorothea,” he said calmly. “I need your help. We must head to Conand tower immediately. The Blue Lions asked for help. They’re fine, but need backup,” he explained. The brunette songstress shot up and followed him out the door, not giving Caspar a second thought.

“Oh thank Goddesses. They were not about to make it out alive without help,” Caspar whistled, thankful he was now free.

-

“We’re finally back. I’ll give the report to Lady Rhea, but she’ll want to see you so head to her office when you’ve gathered your bearings,” Jeralt said, slapping Dimitri on the shoulder harder than the prince expected. Nazareth let out a small laugh at the action, which caused the Prince to gaze at her fondly. The rest of the Blue Lions as well as those who helped with the mission scattered, and Nazareth went to speak, seeing as she’d left things unresolved back during the mission. That was, until a flash of red caught the pair’s eyes.

“Huh…Edelgard,” Dimitri said softly, watching as she walked along with Manuela past them. The imperial princess moved her stern eyes to Dimitri upon hearing his voice as Nazareth contemplated whether she should grab Dimitri’s attention. Deciding against it, the brunette walked off. Dimitri hadn’t even looked in her direction to bid her farewell anyhow.

“Professor Byleth told me about your upcoming mission at Red Canyon. Remember, on a real battlefield, one can never tell what is to come. You can never dismiss the possibility of the worst-case scenario. Take care Edelgard,” Dimitri said to the princess warmly. Having gone through such an intense mission put into perspective just how dangerous the field could be.

“There’s no need to state the obvious, Dimitri. But it begs the question, why so much concern? Do you doubt my abilities? If so, your lack of insight is disappointing to say the least,” Edelgard snapped. Dimitri recoiled immediately and tried to understand where he went wrong. How could it be that they take three steps backward for every half step forward?

“That’s…not what I meant in the slightest. If I’ve offended you, I hope you’ll accept my apology,” Dimitri said kindly. Edelgard withdrew at those words. Dimitri was always so…chivalrous…despite her callousness.

“Why is it that you feel affronted when Dimitri shows care for you, but you show similar care in return without an issue?”

“I do not feel affronted.”

“Do you believe Dimitri to believe that?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Edelgard said briskly, her eyes not meeting Dimitri’s as she walked off before he could respond. 

Dimitri watched her retreating form, wondering what that was about. She seemed lost for a moment. He wondered if the past plagued her thoughts as it did his.

“Don’t take it to heart Dimitri. She’s been on edge lately,” Manuela assured the prince as she raced after the princess. Dimitri looked to the side and sighed, all too used to hearing that phrase in regard to his stepsister.

“Um, Prince Dimitri?” Nazareth’s timid voice called out. The Prince turned to his right to see the usually bubbly looking girl appear guilty as she waddled her way over to him.

“Naz. I didn’t see you,” he said, feeling himself growing used to being addressed by his title by her. It felt more like a nickname than a formality coming from her lips. “What troubles you?” he asked caringly. He also wondered why she came to him voluntarily when she’d done nothing but avoid him as of late.

“I…the thing is…you were…um,” she trailed off, suddenly seeming to find the tiles on the floor to be more interesting than ever.

“Are you alright Naz?” He asked with concern, moving to walk closer to her. The brunette shot up and with aggressive jazz hands, insisting he didn’t need to come any closer.

“It’s just…” she tried again, unable to get the words out.

“Are you injured from battle?” He tried, unable to decipher what she wished to say.

“No! I’m perfectly fine. Okay I’m just going to say it. I hate lies and I don’t want to lie to you, I was eavesdropping on you and Edelgard just now and I feel bad, but I was curious because you’ve been meeting with her, and I wanted to know why because I was sad about how we still haven’t had our riding session and I’m really nervous about the wyverns as you know and I thought riding a horse first would ease my nerves so I’d be better prepared for it so as not to embarrass myself because Seteth scares me and if I make a mistake, I fear no one will let me forget it. Anyway, I realize now that it’s not my place to have been listening in, but I just had to tell you before the guilt ate me up alive and I understand if you don’t wish to be my friend because I didn’t respect your privacy,” she rambled, resembling Bernadetta in her anxious fit. Dimitri rose his eyebrows at that, having followed every word.

“Naz, why did you say no to being my date this weekend?” Dimitri asked. The brunette squinted her eyes, unsure if she heard him correctly.

“Did I talk too fast?” She asked more to herself than to Dimitri. “I admitted to eavesdropping on you and you’re asking me why I declined to be your date?” she asked for clarification.

“I appreciate your honesty. I am not mad about you listening because it seems you understand and won’t do it again. That, and I understand your curiosity. I’m not sure what I would have done if the roles were reversed,” he explained with a smile. Nazareth shook her head, guilt intensifying.

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better. I know you would never have done something like this,” she said.

“I fear you have put me on a rather high pedestal,” Dimitri chuckled. “Even I make my fair share of mistakes,” he informed the brunette who seemed to take those words for what they were worth.

“You may be right about that,” she admitted. “Forgive me. I’m not used to being classmates with a Prince,” she said.

“It may help to start calling me Dimitri instead of Prince,” he teased lightly. The blush that landed on Nazareth’s cheeks was subtle, but noticeable.

“Right,” she said, smile making its home on her face. “Well then. I’d very much feel honored to be your date this weekend Dimitri!” she said, bubbly as ever. When she noted Dimitri’s amused expression, she turned sheepish somewhat and threw in an “if you’d still have me that is.”

“The honor would be all mine. But may I ask what changed your mind?” he asked, caught off guard.

“I think being on a battlefield changed my perspective on which opportunities I should and shouldn’t avoid,” Nazareth offered. “That, and I was told Faerghus has exceptional flora and fauna!”

“You will absolutely love Faerghus. I will introduce you to my horse and I will show you this lovely meadow,” he said, having considerably perked up from his conversation with Edelgard. Nazareth beamed at that notion and immediately went to fire off questions about Faerghus and Dimitri’s horse and everything else she could think of before Dimitri had to leave to give Rhea their mission report.

-

Dimitri gave Rhea’s office door three steady knocks before being told to enter. The prince walked through the door and saw Rhea standing by her podium, appearing somewhat weary.

“Ah, Dimitri. I see you and your house have returned safely. Jeralt informed me of what took place. The goddess is indeed generous with her divine protection,” Rhea greeted with a serene smile. Dimitri coughed to guise his own thoughts on how generous the goddess was.

“Yes, it is a blessing that we all made it back one piece,” he answered instead. Rhea then stepped away from the podium and took on a rather serious expression.

“I ask that you keep what transpired at the tower to yourself,” she started, closing her eyes. Dimitri furrowed his eyebrows. What part should be kept a secret?

“People would lose faith in the nobles should rumors spread of one using a Relic and transforming into a monster. All regions of Fodland would fall into chaos. We must avoid that at all costs. Please ensure the rest of your housemates who accompanied you understand that as well. have I made myself clear?” she asked, eyes narrow as she opened them. Dimitri did not like the sound of what Rhea was saying. Why would rumors spread if Miklan wasn’t able to use the relic? Was it not common knowledge to avoid relics you could not wield? The prince mentally noted to discuss this with Edelgard as discreetly as possible.

“Of course,” he answered Rhea, feeling a twinge of guilt as he lied. Rhea could sense his unease, but not his dishonesty, so she went to further explain.

“Miklan’s transformation into a Black Beast was nothing short of divine punishment from the Goddess. Punishment for someone arrogant and foolish enough to use a Hero’s Relic even though they were untrustworthy and unqualified,” Rhea said in disgust. “He was granted mercy in my eyes. A death by whom would see to it that he wouldn’t suffer,” she said, referring to how he died at Sylvain’s hand. Something about the way Rhea was speaking put Dimitri highly at unease.

“You knew of this?” he asked, hoping he did not sound as accusatory as he felt. This was the archbishop. He didn’t believe her to have malicious intent, but how could she have known about Miklan’s fate and not have given the students a warning.

“If someone without a crest were to wield a Relic, they would meet the same fate as Miklan, yes,” Rhea said, looking toward the window. “However, we had no way knowing that Miklan would do so.”

“Lady Rhea…why were we not told this in class? Or through an announcement?” Dimitri asked.

“There is a time and place for everything Dimitri. All your questions will be answered. Now tell me, what happened with the lance of ruin in the end? Jeralt told me it was in Byleth’s possession,” she said, brushing off the prince’s question. Dimitri knew not to push his luck and tucked the thought away to discuss with who he knew he could trust.

“Professor Byleth entrusted it to Sylvain. I will see to it that he takes care of it,” Dimitri answered.

“Excellent. Please report back with Hanneman for your new mission for the coming moon at that time. That is all,” Rhea dismissed. Dimitri bowed and left the room, heading to the detention room for the words of wisdom that he grew to learn was necessary for being kept in the loop at the monastery.

-

“Gather around students. We’re about to begin,” Manuela announced, heading to the front of the classroom. The usual students were in the room in their usual spots, ready to listen to the incoming gossip.

“Ahem,” Manuela started, unfolding the paper. “We hear that a redheaded flirt conquered a fear only for the fact that his brunette songstress was near. Miklan won’t be missed by anyone, or will he? Her imperial highness was heard commending his leadership abilities, and seems to find his death regrettable. How will poor S take this?” Manuela read, gasping at the words.

To his part, Sylvain appeared to be fine. He was standing calmly next to Dorothea, unphased by the confessional box’s words. In fact, he seemed rather amused. Dimitri seemed pleased that his friend was back to his old self, while Dedue seemed concerned that Sylvain appeared fine after having just slain his kin. Claude and Jasmine shared a look about Sylvain’s appearance as well.

Seeing that no one was going to say anything, Manuela continued. “As for the ragtag group carrying out our side quests, we ran out of time to reach you privately, but where can you find time when there are no clocks?” she read off, scrunching her nose. Everyone looked to each other in confusion, as that one didn’t make sense to most. Claude and Jasmine made sure not to make eye contact, knowing it was directed at them. They couldn’t give anything away. Not until they knew more about what they were working toward exactly.

“It seems as though our favorite orange haired noble is officially in the running for the blonde belle’s heart. Better be careful now. We don’t think the hotheaded Blue Lion has given up on this battle just yet, so best keep your guard up, son of Aegir. As per last time we asked, it seems you’re losing this bet,” Manuela read, her voice regaining its signature sultry tone.

Nazareth squinted her eyes at those words and felt that she had a lot to discuss with Evangeline. Was it her that they were talking about in the confessional box? And if so, who did her heart long for? Ferdinand or Felix? The only one from that trio present in the detention room was Felix and he seemed to regret the decision of being here. Why was he here?

“Squirrels punched, sandwiches stolen, heavy lifting, possible fling in lady D’s room, and discreet spying. Seems a bluehead had been making headway when it comes to Monastery relations, good and bad. Tell us fair axe wielder, do you know what you’re getting into?” Manuela read off, her eyes landing on Caspar who appeared to be zoning out despite everyone looking at him.

Seeing as the Black Eagle wasn’t going to say anything, she continued. “How funny that the library went up in flames, but nary a staff member did a thing to help. And has anyone seen Tomas as of late? Hear hear monastery student body. So many questions for you all to ponder on. Place your bets on how these stories end. We already know~” Manuela finished.

“The library went up in flames?!” She asked, alarmed. Several students murmured “yes,” while others seemed just as shocked. “What is all this about Tomas?” Manuela asked, imploring for a student to answer. No one went to speak up, startling her.

“Rhea needs to be informed of this,” the choir leader said with urgency, suddenly feeling feint.

“Manuela please. Take it easy,” Dorothea said with concern, rushing to her mentor’s side. “We can go tell Lady Rhea together,” she offered, handing Manuela a cup of water.

“I still don’t quite understand all the meaning behind this,” she said, accepting Dorothea’s help. “But,” she spoke up, capturing their attention. “The Blue Lions have had a long and gruesome day. I suggest you all return to your rooms and try to rest up before your classes tomorrow,” she advised, gesturing to the door. Everyone groaned and tried to protest, but Manuela was adamant on making sure the students were not developing sleep deprivation as a result of their secret meetings. That and she had to tell Lady Rhea of this fire nonsense first thing next morning.

As everyone scattered from the detention room, Claude looked around, making sure no one could see him as he reached for Jasmine’s arm and pulled her behind some of the trees in the officers academy so they’d be hidden from view.

“How chivalrous,” Jasmine said sarcastically, not even phased at his antics anymore as she rubbed her arm. He shot her an apologetic look and went to speak but before he could, rustling was heard, and Caspar appeared before them.

“Don’t forget about me,” he said happily. Claude moved to respond to that, wondering how he’d seen them, but shook his head, thinking better of it.

“We steal Seteth’s chalice and get nothing in return?” he asked instead, sounding disappointed.

“I’m the one who stole it,” Caspar reminded, weaseling his way between them. Jasmine fought not to roll her eyes, going through the words from the confessional box in her head.

“I think their jab at us was a hint as to where they left the next note,” she said, unable to decipher it. Claude and Caspar thought back to the confessional box note Manuela read, searching for the meaning behind the supposed hidden clue. Neither of them were able to come up with anything.

“Neither of you are subtle, leaping behind the bushes like a bunch of fools,” a voice mumbled from where they couldn’t see, feigning disinterest. The trio looked between each other, and Claude mouthed ‘Felix,’ to which the other two nodded. The voice matched. But why did Felix care about what they were up to?

“Check the sundial. That is where one can tell time without a proper clock,” he said. The trio looked to each other before parting the bushes so they could see the swordsman.

“Why are you helping us?” Jasmine asked curiously.

“Because you’re clearly unable to decipher the simplest of clues,” Felix said lazily.

“Then why aren’t you following them instead?” Caspar asked confusedly.

“Not interested,” Felix answered, shortly, moving to leave.

“Interested enough to pay attention to them. And interested enough to attend words of wisdom,” Claude pointed out, standing up. His partners in crime followed his lead. Felix stopped and turned around, one hand on his hip.

“Also interested enough to throw the first clue away, which you grabbed from the garbage bin,” he snapped back at the house leader. Jasmine widened her eyes at the harshness of those words. She made a mental note to ask Nazareth if Felix was always this cold.

“Why don’t you join us,” Caspar asked. “You cared enough to tell us about the clue. You might have fun,” he added. Claude and Jasmine shot Caspar a look as Felix scoffed at that.

“I doubt spending time with you three could be fun,” he answered.

“Well, we’re so dumb, we won’t even be able to figure out what to do at the sundial,” Caspar sighed exaggeratedly. “If only we had someone with a brain on our team,” he said. Claude seemed impressed with Caspar and Jasmine didn’t seem to think his plan would work.

“It would benefit you to have my help,” Felix said, rubbing his chin in thought. “I will do it. Only for the fact that you would be lost without me,” he acquiesced, still not seeming interested. “We’ll check the dial tomorrow before breakfast. No one other than Glenn is awake at that time, and he’ll be near the greenhouse,” Felix said. Jasmine and Claude were at a loss for words as Caspar fist pumped the air.

“This is so cool. We’re like a mystery squad,” he said excitably.

“Don’t call us that,” Felix said curtly.

“Mystery squad on three,” Caspar said excitedly, ignoring Felix and putting his hand in the middle of them. Jasmine rose an eyebrow toward Claude who shrugged, putting his hand on top of Caspar’s. Jasmine sighed and then did the same. They looked to Felix who shook his head and walked away.

“1…2…3, mystery squad!”

…

Felix grumbled to himself about how he already regretted agreeing to help them when he finally saw who he’d been looking for. She was sitting at the dock, swinging her legs back and forth as the wind blew her hair.

He wordlessly sat next to her. The blonde’s arms tensed as she hadn’t heard someone walking up to her.

“Felix,” Evangeline said neutrally. “I didn’t hear you coming,” she said.

“I do you know,” he mumbled, not looking at her. Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows.

“You do what?” she asked.

“Respect you,” he answered. Evangeline was about to question what he was talking about when she remembered what she’d said on the battlefield.

“No Felix. You watch it. You may have treated me like a rag doll in the past, but I’ll stand for it no longer. Treat me with respect, or stay out of my damn way.”

“Do you now?” she asked skeptically. Felix nodded, pulling out a red bound book from his pocket. He handed it to Evangeline who looked it over, suddenly realizing what it was.

“The tome from the library…” she trailed off. She’d thought it was lost in the fire or that Nazareth had it.

“Magic is…harder than it looks. You make it look easy,” he said, looking up at the stars.

“I suppose you’re being decent right now and you’ll go right back to being insufferable come sunrise?” she asked, not having the patience or energy to deal with him.

“I don’t mean to be insufferable. You’re just-” he stopped abruptly, realizing he was getting frustrated.

“I’m just what?” she asked, already anticipating an insult.

“Not you,” he said, closing his eyes. “I’m not one to make or keep friends. You have my respect. Good night,” Felix said shortly, getting up and leaving before Evangeline could respond.

The blonde watched him leave and tried to figure out what to make of that.

Chapter Text

Rhea shut the door behind her and beckoned Hanneman, Manuela, and Seteth to come closer.

“As you know, we’re still unable to locate Tomas,” the archbishop started with a frown. She gave Manuela a knowing look. The poor choir leader had come barreling into Rhea’s office last night, hysterical about the fire. Rhea had to remain composed and let the songstress know that the staff was doing what they could to try and alleviate the situation, but it was difficult when the one who had the most answers was nowhere to be found.

“Lady Rhea, I overheard some of the students talking and apparently the last student to have had a conversation with Tomas was Bernadetta,” Hanneman mentioned.

“Bernadetta?” Rhea asked, not sure if she heard correctly. “If I’m not mistaken, that young lady prefers to be locked up in her room,” the archbishop said, waving off the claim.

“I thought the same thing, however the students would know best,” Hanneman pointed out.

“He’s got a point Lady Rhea. If the students mentioned it amongst themselves, it’s safe to assume it might hold some truth,” Manuela added.

“Alright then. I’ll have it taken care of. You are all dismissed. Let’s put our best foot forward and make today a great day,” Rhea said with a soft nod. The staff murmured responses and headed out the door.

‘What on Earth is Bernadetta doing speaking to Tomas? The girl doesn’t care for reading much. What could they have been talking about?’ Rhea thought to herself when she was alone in her office. Strange things were happening around the monastery and the archbishop could not ignore that they began happening so soon after Byleth joined their staff.

-

“Well, here we are. Now what?” Jasmine asked. Claude took one look at the brunette and burst into laughter, going as far to clutch his stomach from the intensity of it. Feeling self-conscious, Jasmine inspected her uniform, praying to the Goddess that she hadn’t forgotten to button one of her top buttons.

All her buttons were secure, there were no stains, and as far as she knew, she hadn’t put any makeup on that could potentially have smeared. What was so funny?

Caspar walked up as Claude was laughing and joined in on it, throwing his head back.

Felix, having been the first one to arrive, ignored the scene and was intensely observing the sundial.

“Why are you two laughing?!” Jasmine asked, a soft pink beginning to glow on the apples of her cheeks. She was so offput by the unexpected laughter that she didn’t think to ask why Caspar had a bruise on his face.

Once their laughter settled down, Caspar shrugged. “I dunno. I just saw him laughing and thought it looked like fun,” he said. Ignoring his remark, Jasmine turned to Claude, waiting for an answer.

“Did her royal highness have a hand at your hair?” Claude asked with a snicker, covering his mouth. Jasmine absentmindedly went to touch her head, remembering she’d chosen to wear her hair in a tight bun today. She’d taken care to make sure there were no loose strands. Edelgard had asked her to tea later and she wanted to make a better impression. That, and it was how she liked to keep it. Or, her mother did at least.

“I did this myself as a matter of fact,” Jasmine answered, tone showing she was less than pleased with his mocking. Claude cleared his throat and without asking, worked his fingers through the dark brown, silky strands, releasing only a few locks to create flattering tresses alongside the girl’s face. Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat as the soft strands made contact with her skin.

“And I did this myself,” he said casually, backing away right after to address Caspar.

Not having expected such an action, Jasmine felt warm inside. She was suddenly thankful the tresses hid her caught off guard state and she reached for a strand, feeling its silky nature. What Claude did was no different than what Nazareth would do when Jasmine would wear her hair this way in her youth. But then why did it feel different?

“Anyhow, I thought there would be a clue waiting for us here,” Claude said a bit louder, rubbing his chin in thought. Jasmine shook away the mindless thoughts and was brought back to the task at hand.

“Ah, you’re so naïve,” Caspar said condescendingly, eyes closed as he leaned against the wall with confidence. Jasmine and Claude gave him an odd look as Felix refrained from punching his face.

“Are you going to finish your thought, assuming you have those?” Felix asked through clenched teeth. He had taken a break from his fixation on the sundial to hear the blue haired boy out.

Faking a yawn, Caspar shooed Felix away, causing Claude to hold the swordsman back from doing something he would regret.

“Listen up mystery squad. The clue said to meet at the sundial,” Caspar said brightly. The three others waited for Caspar to continue, but he seemed to be finished. Felix seemed to mutter something to himself before capturing Jasmine and Claude’s attention.

“Do either of you two have anything of substance to say?” he asked, seeming like he was one antic away from leaving the unofficial mystery squad.

“It seems as though you have something on your mind. What are you thinking Felix?” Jasmine asked, recalling how he was critically analyzing the sundial. The swordsman scratched his chin.

“The clue told us to meet at the sundial, but it didn’t specify a specific time. I thought sunrise to be our best bet because that’s when the sundial will react in any kind of way, but that doesn’t mean it’ll lead to a clue for sure,” he explained, looking up. Sunrise was minutes away from occurring.

“That’s a fair point, but it’s all we have to go off of at the moment,” Claude sighed, placing his arms behind him as a means to rest his head.

The quartet watched as the yellow orb of the day came into view, causing the sundial to depict an angular shadow. They waited for a few minutes. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Fifteen minutes went by and nothing of significance materialized.

“I fear you may have been right Felix,” Jasmine said with disappointment. Felix let out a “hn,” and thought for a moment.

“We should have planned for this,” he finally said unhelpfully. Jasmine’s eyes suddenly lit up and she eagerly captured the group’s attention.

“Maybe the clue wasn’t about the sundial directly, but instead what it signifies? It indicates the passage of time. Maybe the clue has to do with timing in general,” she said, thinking. Claude and Felix seemed to entertain the idea whereas Caspar was not sold.

“Or,” the blue haired boy piped up. “It just means they wanted us at the sundial because something was gonna happen here that we should see and we should find a hiding place,” he shrugged.

“Will you shut up for a mere five minutes?” Felix spat, ready to clock the blue haired boy.

“Wait, someone’s coming,” Claude said in mild disbelief. “I can’t believe I'm saying this but take Caspar’s lead. Let’s find a place to hide,” the house leader said.

“Let’s split up gang. Claude and Jasmine, you two hide behind that tree,” Caspar said, pointing. “Felix, you and I get the bush,” he said, dragging the swordsman along who was cursing at the pairing. Jasmine seemed to want to protest as well, but Claude had already began leading her to the tree.

Caspar led Felix who yanked his arm away. “We’ll be safe in here,” Caspar said with a beam.

“I could kill you in one swipe if I wanted to,” Felix said coldly. Caspar gulped and laughed it off awkwardly as they settled in to see who was approaching the sundial.

“Is that Lindhart?” Caspar asked louder than he should have seeing as Felix elbowed and shushed him.

Near the tree, Claude was in awe at the scene being displayed.

“What’s Flayn doing with Lindhart?” he asked more to himself than Jasmine. The brunette didn’t have an answer, not knowing much about Flayn as it was. All she knew was that she was Seteth’s little sister. In any case, she tuned into what this unlikely pair could be talking about.

“Hello Flayn. I appreciate your coming to see me. I was curious if you could confirm some suspicions I have,” Lindhart said diplomatically. Flayn seemed as though she didn’t truly want to be there, but did so out of curiosity.

Hello Lindhart. What is it?” the young girl asked, hands folded together properly.

“I’ve recently been lost in study on the topic of Saint Cethleann. You’re familiar with her life, yes?” Lindhart asked.

‘That’s the crest that Catherine assumed Nazareth had!’ Jasmine thought to herself, shooting a discreet look at Claude who seemed rather interested in the topic himself. She stored some questions to ask later in the back of her head and continued on listening.

“I know a little of her, as do many, but what does this have to do with me?” Flayn asked innocently.

“Interesting that you would say that,” Lindhart said, tapping his chin. “Your question betrays your understanding of my inquiry,” he said. Flayn seemed taken aback by that but fought to keep her compsure.

“I am quite certain that it does not,” she replied evenly, tone clearly trying its hardest to stay polite.

“I have interviewed several members of the academy and the monastery. All agree that you have trouble focusing on detail-oriented work,” Lindhart said as though it were a matter of fact. “As I mentioned, I have been carefully researching Saint Cethleann’s history, and I found several intriguing anecdotes concerning her life,” he went on. “Granted, it is not stated explicitly in the texts, but it is easy enough to read between the lines and get to the underlying truth. The authors of several tomes, all written within 50 years of Saint Cethleann’s passing, imply she too found it difficult to maintain focus on detail-oriented tasks,” he rambled.

‘That new student in our house…Jasmine’s sister. She has trouble focusing on tasks as well. I caught her attention drifting elsewhere in one of Shamir’s seminars,’ Felix thought offhandedly. He chanced a look at Jasmine through the bush and saw that she seemed to be thinking the same thing. What it could mean would have to be put on hold as Lindhart was revealing quite the enticing discoveries. 

Flayn went to say something, but Lindhart indicated he wasn’t finished.

“Then, just this morning, as I was studying statues of Saint Cethleann, I came to realize how similar her visage is to your own. Interesting, no?” he asked, now awaiting to hear her thoughts. Flayn stomped her foot on the ground and furrowed her eyebrows much like a petulant child.

“I do not appreciate your disrespectful approach to this topic Lindhart!” she cried out, seeming rather offended. Lindhart was not fazed by her outburst. He instead nodded and took in her words.

“No disrespect intended; I assure you. Saint Cethleann is a major saint. I only mean to say that looking like her is an honor,” he explained.

“I actually meant that you are being disrespectful to Saint Cethleann,” Flayn clarified softly.

“There was one other item,” Lindhart spoke up, indirectly asking her for permission to continue.

“If you must,” Flayn relented.

“You are quite skilled in white magic, yes? My understanding is that you have a very high affinity for the art,” he said.

“Wow, just like Nazareth,” Caspar whistled.

“Will you shut up or do I need to make you,” Felix hissed, shoving the black eagle student and tuning back into the conversation.

“Did you hear that?” Lindhart asked, glancing at the bush. Flayn waved it off, saying there was a squirrel problem around the academy these days and it was likely those critters, unaware that Felix was threatening Caspar within the greenery).

“To answer your question, I do. I am very confident in my capability,” Flayn answered. “I am glad of my abilities, for it is a way in which I am able to help others.”

“Indeed! Once more, an echo of Saint Cethleann. I’m so curious as to why such similarities exist...” Lindhart trailed off. He quickly zoned back in to finish. “Her crest. Perhaps hereditary traits then? Or is it possible I am allowing myself to see patterns where there are none?” he said, seeming to second guess himself.

“Um, I am very busy as you know. I’m sorry but I don’t have any more time to talk,” Flayn said, moving to leave. Lindhart reached for her hand and as soon as they made contact, a shock was felt. Lindhart rose his eyebrows.

“Flayn did you feel th-

I will be going now” Flayn said quickly, rushing off toward the dining hall, not gracing him with a response.

“Hmm. Curious indeed,” Lindhart said, taking his leave as well and contemplating further theories.

“Can I talk now?” Caspar mumbled through Felix’s hand, which was covering his mouth. Rolling his eyes, Felix moved his hand away and made his way out of the bush. Claude and Jasmine came out from behind the tree as well and they all reconvened by the dial.

“Can we take a moment to realize that I was right?” Caspar asked, yelping when Felix shot him a warning glance.

“I have too many questions,” Jasmine admitted.

“We all do Jas. Let’s start with why the tippers wanted us to hear this,” Claude mused.

“Tippers?” Jasmine asked.

“Faster than saying ‘the people who leave us tips,’ all the time,” Claude explained.

“Braid’s got a point,” Felix said. “Why was this the conversation they wanted us to hear? We should look into Saint Cethleann,” he said, looking at Jasmine.

“Why are you looking a-

“You know why. I’ve seen the Saint Cethleann statue as well. While she does look like a mirror image of Flayn, she also looks like that hyperactive sister of yours too if you pay attention. She clearly has something to do with all of this. Maybe that’s why they wanted us to be here. Pay the statue a visit for yourself if you don’t believe me. then look into Saint Cethleann as much as you can,” Felix interrupted, crossing his arms.

‘Nazareth…linked to St. Cethleann? I don’t know much about her, but Felix is right. Research is our friend here,’ Jasmine thought worriedly. ‘First thing’s first. I do want to give the statue a gander for myself. There’s no way there’s any resemblance between her and the Saint,’ she decided. She wondered how her half-sister would take this news.

“And you,” Felix started, looking to Claude. “You can do some research on Flayn. Start with Seteth. I suspect they’re lying about their relationship,” Felix said.

“You mean they’re dating?!” Caspar asked in shock. Felix took in a deep breath and Claude insisted he’d handle this one.

“I think he meant because Seteth looks a little too old to be Flayn’s sister,” the house leader explained to Caspar. The blue haired boy made an ‘oh,’ shape with his lips as that made much more sense.

“What will you be doing?” Jasmine asked Felix, taking care not to sound accusing. The Blue Lion had ordered her and Claude to do some digging, but what was he getting done?

“And me!” Caspar reminded.

“You can kindly take a-

“What Felix means to say,” Claude cut in with a laugh. “Is that you can keep your eyes peeled. The tippers are sure to hit us with another clue while we’re researching. So you’re in charge of that,” he said. Caspar seemed elated at this task and nodded eagerly.

“I will be doing research of my own. We’ll reconvene in three days’ time to share information,” Felix said vaguely. Jasmine wanted to question further, but knew it wasn’t worth the risk of invoking Felix’s stubbornness. Caspar had taken enough of his energy out as it stood.

“Mystery squad?” Caspar asked excitably, putting his hand in the middle of them again. Felix walked away, muttering that he’d never partake in this. Claude and Jasmine half smiled and indulged the blue haired boy. Putting their hands in, they once again chanted “mystery squad,” before Caspar bounded about his way.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got somewhere to be as well,” Claude said mysteriously.

Jasmine thought to pry, but then shook it off. She had to meet Edelgard for tea soon anyhow.

-

Claude grew uncharacteristically nervous with every step he made closer to his destination. He was lucky that Jasmine’s hair distracted him out of his stupor earlier. Otherwise, it would’ve been hard to feign composure for their morning mission.

What he’d read in the library that night after leaving Jasmine in the bathhouse was jarring to say the least. And it led to a surplus of questions directed for Edelgard. Adding the Saint Cethleann situation to that only aided in perplexing his mind. He may have been a clever tactician, but he didn’t know of strategies that applied to scenarios with this many different situations going on at once. It was overwhelming on his poor mind.

It helped that Jasmine looked unquestionably enticing with a messy bun. More like a balance of who she pretended to be and who she really was. Shaking thoughts of the brunette flower out of his head, Claude realized he was standing outside his intended location. Taking a deep breath, he got into character.

“Hey prof. Got a sec to talk about crests?” he asked with a knowing grin, bursting through the office door. Professor Hanneman’s eyes immediately sprung to life as he ushered Claude into his office with glee.

“Of course, my dear boy, have a seat,” he beckoned. Claude held a hand up to indicate he preferred to stand. Walking over to the bookshelf, he tried to ease into what he knew would be a shifty topic.

“You see, I was in the library the other night, in the restricted section,” he started, recalling just how eerie it had felt to find out what he did. “And I read something rather odd about a rare crest ritual,” Claude continued. He could almost feel the hair on his arms tense like they had that night.

“It’s called, as I understand it, a half blood splice?” he asked, working hard to remain composed. He refused to look in Hanneman’s direction, afraid of the reaction he’d get for asking such a question so brazenly.

“I beg your pardon?” Hanneman asked, as soon as Claude uttered the word ‘splice.’ The professor’s gleeful glint was gone. His usually easygoing demeanor shifted to a look he reserved mainly for Manuela due to how uncouth she could be. Claude factored in for this response and chose to press on.

“Half blood splice,” he repeated a bit louder, hoping he sounded as confident as he typically did. “I came across the term while reading and I didn’t fully understand it.”

Hanneman frowned and had to wonder why that book was in the monastery library. He briefly thought that must have had something to do with why the library was up in flames not too long ago and thought to mention to Rhea that a student was inquiring about such a subject.

“I’m not sure what you’re reading but this is very dark stuff. Very dark stuff indeed,” Hanneman said, hoping he sounded firm enough to end this conversation before Claude asked something he was not prepared to answer.

“Which is why I came to you,” Claude said evenly, turning around now. The Golden Deer leader had never seen Hanneman look so serious in all his time at the academy. “I’m sure you’ll guide me properly on the subject,” he said for good measure. Hanneman’s eyes softened lightly at that, and he took a seat at his desk.

“A half blood splice is a an extremely dangerous and dark ritual in which one can conceal part of themself within another person,” he explained monotonously. 

“But I don’t understand how that works exactly. Or why someone would want to,” Claude said.

“You would take half of your soul and fuse it with another’s. Essentially, they’d be half of you. By doing so, if you were felled in battle for example, your tether with the other party could potentially bring you back, but at a dire cost. It would be like living half a life. in other words, you have two lives to lose,” Hanneman explained, expression grave.

“What do you mean half a life? Would that person’s body not work the same way?” Claude asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Imagine the energy you have in this very moment. You are young and full of life. An individual undergone this ritual, would come back with half as much energy. They would get tired faster. They’d lack exertion to do things you and I could do with ease,” Hanneman explained.

‘Isn’t Lindhart always tired…?’ Claude thought to himself, recalling his conversation with Flayn from earlier. There were too many questions piling up one after the other. He had to focus on getting his information to fill in one blank before he let himself focus on another.

“How does one split their soul in such a way?” Claude asked, walking toward Hanneman’s desk.

“Why so interested?” Hanneman asked, growing confused.

“The book made it seem like there was another way to achieve this. That the crest needed to complete the ritual may not actually be needed,” Claude said, remembering how the book said the only notable successes of the ritual were with the crest, but not limited to it.

“I think you already know the answer to that,” Hanneman answered.

“I have my speculations,” Claude replied. Hanneman leaned back in his chair seemed to find the ceiling rather interesting.

“There are a myriad of exceptions,” the professor started.

“Such as?” Claude egged on.

“If one possesses two crests, or if the partners in question share a crest, or if they share blood to name a few,” Hanneman listed. Claude tensed at the first possibility.

‘Edelgard has two crests. And ten siblings,’ he thought to himself, willing himself to get through the rest of this conversation.

“Can you only split the soul once? What if, for instance, someone tried to split it say…ten times?” Claude asked quickly. Hanneman’s monocle fell from his face, and he stood up in a fit of frenzy.

“Ten?! Dear Sothis, Claude. Isn’t it bad enough to consider the cost of splitting your soul once? To rip one’s soul into ten pieces!...” he trailed off, hysterical. He then turned to look Claude directly in the eye.

“…This is all hypothetical, correct Claude? Purely academic?” he asked, suspicions arising. Claude widened his eyes and shook his head.

“Of course! I’m not crazy. I just threw the number ten out randomly. During times of war, I can see why someone would consider this in a fit of desperation, but in general it makes no sense. Don’t worry prof. you can trust me. This’ll be our little secret,” Claude said, moving toward the door.

“Claude?” Hanneman called as the boy’s hand hit the doorknob.

“Yes professor?” he asked.

“I don’t want you asking such questions in the future. Am I understood?”

“Like I said professor. You can trust me,” Claude answered, walking out of the door feeling like his soul had been split in that very room from the weight of the conversation alone.

‘All of Edelgard’s siblings are dead. She’d be way too weakened by now if she actually did that splicing ritual. It doesn’t make sense. But now I’ve got my suspicions about Lindhart. I could be crazy. It could be all in my head, but…’ he let that be his last thought before he got distracted by his archery seminar starting.

-

Nazareth tried not to squeal in happiness when Dimitri asked her to accompany him for a walk. She tried harder not to squeal when he’d held her hand for the walk. She then tried not to let it show how saddened she was that he’d let her hand go as they settled down on the base of the fountain.

Her smile came back when Dimitri scooted closer to her. He seemed to lack a regard for personal space, which was more than fine by her. From this angle, the blue of Dimitri’s eyes put even the sparkling fountain water to shame.

“You speak so much of all matters except your exceptional talent for magic,” Dimitri noted as soon as the comfortable silence had settled. Nazareth noticeably tensed at ‘exceptional talent,’ and her smile weakened slightly. They’d talked endlessly about light matters. Food (Nazareth had come to realize Dimitri would eat anything you placed in front of him), hobbies, passions in life. Bringing up the topic of magic seemed unnecessary to the brunette.

“There are so many other things to talk about,” Nazareth replied with a shrug, not meeting the prince’s gaze.

“My apologies if it is a sore subject. I just feel as though I do not know much about you if I’m being honest. You were given the chance to ask me so many questions on your first day, but I never took the time to ask about you,” Dimitri said patiently. Nazareth looked up at him, realizing that was fair.

“I understand. I suppose I don’t find it to be a fascinating subject. I am gifted with magic. I don’t know what else to say,” the brunette answered with an awkward laugh.

“Do you enjoy it?” Dimitri asked curiously, gaging the girl’s reaction. Her gray eyes turned to the left, seemingly lost in thought.

“I don’t abhor it on the battlefield,” she half answered. “But as for training…” she trailed off, getting lost in a memory.

“Again Nazareth!” Mrs. Rikenhart commanded, smacking her staff against the wood hard enough for it to hurt Nazareth’s ears. The young girl sniffled and fell to the ground on her knees.

“Please mother. I’ve been training for three hours nonstop. May I please take a break? I want to play with Jasmine,” she pleaded, knowing it was a moot point. Jasmine was at her own mother’s place at the moment. Lady Rikenhart glared at her youngest daughter and started walking over.

“N-nevermind! I’m up I’m up. I’ll fire at the target again, I promise,” Nazareth spoke up, standing up quickly. It was too late. Her mother grabbed her side braid and yanked her head toward the wooden target.

“Do you see that?” Her mother asked, pointing to about a mile away where Nazareth had sent most of the practice targets. “You need them to land MUCH further away than that. On a battlefield, a few centimeters mark the difference between life and death. Do you want your future allies to die? The surviving ones won’t be as forgiving as I am right now,” her mother spat, letting go of Nazareth’s braid. The brunette fought not to cry as she nodded in understanding.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to her mother, getting ready to cast another cutting wind blast. The young girl took a deep breath and channeled her fear into the magic, letting a gush of blue wind escape her fingertips and sent the target flying many miles past the previous ones. Mrs. Rikenhart smiled serenely and pulled her daughter in lovingly.

“My little prodigy. Do you see? I’m tough on you because I love you, okay? You did a very good job,” she praised. Nazareth couldn’t bring herself to smile. She knew what was coming next.

“If you can match that energy for the next seven targets, you can take a break and spend some time with your sister,” her mother said. Nazareth nodded robotically, readying her strength for the next wind blast. She knew whatever Jasmine was doing had to have been better than this.

…

“It was awful. And then she made me stay out there for another three hours. I wish you lived here,” Nazareth said sadly as she and Jasmine at on the steps of Nazareth’s home. Jasmine giggled before moving Nazareth’s head to rest on her shoulder.

“I’m not joking,” the younger of the two pouted.

“I know you’re not. I have good news Naz,” Jasmine sang secretively.

“Are you alright?” Dimitri asked after a moment. Nazareth turned her attention back to the prince and sighed.

“I think the pressure my mother put on me when I was growing up led me to resent training,” she explained. Waving her hand around, Nazareth caused the wind to pick up the leaves that were strewn around them. Slowly, she created a vortex with them. A mixture of green, brown, and orange swirled until Nazareth shot them up in the air, past the clouds. They were no longer visible. Dimitri went to say something but halted when Nazareth then directed her magic toward the clouds. Slowly, they parted, and the leaves came floating down, back in the same formation they’d been in before they were messed with.

“That was incredible,” he marveled. Nazareth cringed at those words, having heard them so much in her childhood. It was all she was good for; magic. Never mind the fact that she cared more for white magic. Her mother always focused on reason more than faith.

Nothing else she did mattered. She’d never even gotten to ride a horse.

“My mother made me practice for hours each day. That’s why I channel all my anxiety and fear into my magic. That is the only way I know how to. My only escape was getting to spend time with Jas. She always stood up to my mother when I never could. Sometimes I feel like my mother viewed me as a weapon instead of a child. If I wasn’t good at magic, I wasn’t good for anything,” Nazareth said, hiding her face in her legs. Dimitri regretted bringing up such a fragile topic. He didn’t like seeing the usually bubbly girl so upset.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” he tried to say, unsure of what words were the right ones. Nazareth didn’t peek out from her legs when she replied, “one time, she made me go out and practice in the freezing rain. She said that if I was scared of a little water, I would never survive on a battlefield. She always made it seem like I would be carrying the weight of every death on the battlefield if I wasn’t careful enough and attacking every enemy on sight.”

“I apologize Nazareth. I didn’t know,” Dimitri said quietly.

“It’s okay. That’s just the reason I don’t love to talk about magic. I love to read about it because then I can learn without exerting myself to the point of fatigue. I don’t know how to do balanced training anymore,” Nazareth explained, slowly peeking her head out.

“If you’d like, we could train together sometime and I can show you that it can actually be rather fun,” Dimitri offered. The brunette shook her head.

“I doubt I can ever view training as anything other than punishment,” she replied.

“Maybe with magic, but I could show you how to wield a lance,” Dimitri said with determination. “Training should be fun and beneficial, not torturous. I will show you this myself,” he said as an afterthought.

“What about you?” Nazareth asked, slowly getting her smile back.

“Me?” he asked, confused.

“Yeah, you. What’s your mother like?” she asked, scooting closer to the Prince to where their shoulders touched gently. As she suspected, he was not bothered. Nazareth internally giggled at the fact that she was leaning against a prince whose arm was packed with muscle to spare. It felt safe.

“I lost my mother to the plague. My father and stepmother both passed away as well during the Tragedy of Duscur,” Dimitri said sadly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” Nazareth said, suddenly feeling insensitive.

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago and I was too young to remember my birth mother. My father remarried later however, and my stepmother treated me with such kindness…just as though I were her own flesh and blood. And yet, she never so much as hinted that she had her own child…” Dimitri said, his turn to be lost in thought.

“Her own child? You have a stepsister?” Nazareth asked.

“Edelgard,” Dimitri said stoically. Nazareth’s eyes widened and her entire perception of Dimitri and Edelgard’s relationship shifted.

“We were born and raised in different territories, without ever knowing the other even existed. Yet against all odds, just for over a year, we became childhood friends,” Dimitri explained, sensing Nazareth’s confusion.

“I am so confused. I have so many questions. How did you not know until much later?” Nazareth asked.

“I understand. It is a complicated situation. Ask me what you’d like to know. We were both unaware of each other’s stations or backgrounds. We met when she and Lord Arundel were living in the Kingdom and became incredibly close to one another,” Dimitri explained.

“Who is Lord Arundel?” Nazareth asked, the name not sounding familiar.

“Edelgard’s uncle. She spent a better part of her childhood with him until they both came to the Kingdom,” Dimitri answered.

“Why wasn’t Edelgard with her mother and you to begin with? And why did Arundel come to the kingdom too?” Nazareth asked, more and more questions flooding her mind.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I never understood why my stepmother never told me about Edelgard. As for Arundel, he was in exile…this was during a time of great turmoil within the Empire,” Dimitri started, recalling the past. “I ran into Edelgard when visiting Lord Arundel’s residence with my father all those years ago. She seemed…quite bored with everything. Hm, no. perhaps bored is the wrong word. She didn’t seem to have any emotion at all,” he mused, seeming to be lost in his own memory.

“Father, who’s that?” Dimitri asked, pointing to the girl with light brown hair and reddish-brown ribbons.

“That is the imperial princess, Edelgard. She is Lord Arundel’s niece. Be polite son. From my understanding, she does not have much interaction with children her own age,” King Lambert answered. Dimitri looked at the princess with wonder in his eyes. No offense to Ingrid, but until this moment, the prince wasn’t aware that a girl could look so beautiful.

Edelgard slowly met Dimitri’s gaze and narrowed her eyes, appearing offended. Blushing greatly, Dimitri looked away. He wasn’t sure why, but the girl intimidated him. He wanted so greatly to be her friend but wasn’t sure how to approach her. ‘It doesn’t seem as though she likes me very much,’ he thought to himself.

“Dimitri, you and Edelgard go play outside while Lord Arundel and I talk,” King Lambert ordered. Dimitri once again looked to the princess and bowed before her, offering her his hand. Edelgard held her head high and refused his hand, instead leading the way outside. ‘Have I done something to offend her? Perhaps she does not find me pleasant to look at,’ he thought, reluctantly following her.

As the two walked out the door, Dimitri worked up the nerve to say something-anything to the princess.

He thought about what Ingrid, Felix, or Glenn would say at a time like this. Ingrid would likely ask Edelgard if she wanted to play in the mud. Felix would see if she wanted to play a game of tag. And Glenn would ask her if she wished to train.

Before he knew it, they were outside. Edelgard took to sitting at a table without sparing Dimitri a glance. The prince looked around and saw nothing but grass and more tables.

“May I sit here?” he asked Edelgard, gesturing to the chair across from her. Edelgard shrugged, which Dimitri took as an invitation to sit.

“So, your name is Edelgard? I’m Dimitri,” he greeted, giving his most kind smile. The girl thinned her lips and crossed her arms.

“I know. I heard King Lambert address you.”

Dimitri wasn’t sure how to react. No one his age acted like this; callous and uninviting. You really could not judge a book by its cover.

Nazareth wasn’t too surprised by this information. The imperial princess did not seem like the friendly type even now. She doubted she’d ever understand why Dimitri held such a fondness for her.

“At first, I found her to be difficult and stubborn, but that façade quickly fell away, revealing her true self beneath. That one year before she had to return to the Empire was…so much fun. The time of my life in many ways. Though I doubt she feels the same. It is a little pathetic to think about now…” Dimitri trailed off once more.

“Wrong foot Dimitri! You’re supposed to lead with MY left, not yours!” Edelgard chided.

“This is harder than you make it look!” Dimitri said, matching her tone.

“Pipe down lovebirds. There will be plenty of balls for you both to get better at dancing for,” Sylvain joked with a chuckle, imagining the beautiful girls that would likely attend.

“You’d better just focus on staying away from my grandmother Sylvain!” Ingrid scolded, causing Sylvain to run away as she chased him. Felix and Glenn laughed at the sight before turning their attention back to Edelgard and Dimitri. The prince appeared to be flustered as Edelgard appeared to be annoyed.

“Give the guy a break El. He’s not used to being around a girl who isn’t Ingrid,” Felix laughed lightly. Glenn nudged Felix warningly.

“What do you mean a girl who isn’t Ingrid?” he asked his younger brother.

“I mean that Ingrid isn’t exactly feminine,” Felix shrugged, dodging another incoming hit from Glenn. “I don’t mean it as an insult! Ingrid’s just more like us. El is more like Dimitri; all proper,” Felix tried explaining.

As the two brothers bickered, Dimitri turned his attention back to Edelgard. “He’s right you know. Felix knows me better than anyone almost. I’m not used to being friends with girls,” he explained.

“What’s so different about me and Ingrid?” Edelgard asked, irritation forgotten.

Dimitri gulped as he looked Edelgard up and down. “W-well, you’re much more prim and proper than she is. You have an air of regality around you. You’re special El,” Dimitri listed off shyly. Edelgard felt a warmth in her cheeks at Dimitri’s words.

‘Special? He thinks I’m special…and he doesn’t know about my crests. Or about anything that makes me ‘valuable,’ in the eyes of the Empire. What could he think is special about me?’ Edelgard thought to herself, and the warmth spread.

“I did not mean to offend you,” Dimitri said worriedly as Edelgard hadn’t responded. The brunette shook her head and guided Dimitri’s hands to her waist, smiling this time.

“Lead with your right foot. We will move more gracefully,” she explained patiently, placing her own hands around his neck. Dimitri blushed like a tomato when realizing their close proximity and did as instructed. ‘He’s rather charming when he’s flustered,’ Edelgard thought amusedly.

The pair danced around in circles in the ballroom and the Fraldarius brothers watched, amused. It seemed as though the couple really were in synchronization. 

“Who knew Dimitri would fall for a girl so quickly?” Glenn whistled.

“They seem like a good couple. I hope he’s happy,” Felix noted.

…

“El! So it’s true…you’re really going away? Going back home? I didn’t think you’d really leave the Kingdom,” Dimitri said, upset. ‘I don’t want her to leave. There are so many things we haven’t gotten to do. So many things I haven’t gotten to say,’ he thought to himself.

“There’s nothing I can do about it. it’s all happening so fast. I’m as surprised as you are,” Edelgard said, mirroring his expression. ‘I don’t want to leave. I’m used to moving around time and time again, but nothing has felt quite like Faerghus. It feels like…home,’ she thought sadly.

“El…” Dimitri trailed off. ‘I want to tell her how much she means to me. I want to tell her to stay. I…’

“What is it?” Edelgard asked.

“Um, I want you to have this,” Dimitri said, offering her the dagger he always kept in his pocket in case of emergencies.  

“…A dagger? Why would you give me something like this?” she asked, startled.

“I, uh. El, listen to me. no matter how hard things get, you can’t give up, okay? You’ve got to cut a path to the future you wish for, no matter what,” he said bravely, handing it to her. “I am sorry I couldn’t think of anything better to give you,” he apologized after.

“It’s interesting to say the least,” Edelgard commented, hiding a fond smile. ‘Dimitri is so chivalrous. But also, a little silly and aloof. He seems to lose his bearings around me,’ she thought afterward.

“Edelgard, there is something I wish to tell you before you leave,” Dimitri started, ever nervous. ‘Now is your chance Dimitri. Tell her you care for her a great deal. Tell her you…’ he thought, losing his wits.

“What is it?” Edelgard asked, pocketing the dagger.

“I…” he stammered. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get the words out.

“Edelgard! What are you doing? It’s time to go. Hurry and get in the carriage,” Arundel said coldly, cutting their moment short.

“Oh, I’m sorry uncle,” Edelgard said, fear in her tone. “I have to go now. Goodbye Dimitri,” she said, frowning just as she had when he’d first met her. Any evidence of a smile was long gone now. Dimitri solemnly watched her go.

“I love you…” he whispered as she went into the carriage, unaware of his confession.

Nazareth could hardly believe what Dimitri was telling her. “I can’t tell what sounds more unrealistic. Edelgard smiling, or Felix being a good friend,” she finally said. ‘Or that he had the hots for his step sister,’ Nazareth tacked on as an afterthought.

“Yes, I suppose it is rather hard to believe,” Dimitri laughed. “I would hardly believe it myself had I not lived it,” he admitted.

“Why does Felix act so cold toward you now?” Nazareth asked. Dimitri appeared to grow even more tense at this question than he ever did at mentions of Edelgard.

“I’m afraid that is a story for another day,” he deflected. Nazareth knew better than to push on that. It was miraculous enough that he was choosing to tell her about his troubled past with Edelgard. It made sense why Dimitri held such a fondness for her. He never truly viewed her as a sibling, and they were not brought up together. He only knew her as the lovely ‘El.’

“I wonder how Edelgard felt living with her uncle all that time. She must have missed her mother,” Nazareth thought aloud, suddenly feeling like she’d judged the Black Eagle house leader too harshly. There was more to her than met the eye.

“I couldn’t tell you. Edelgard was never one to be open with her feelings. All I know is that she did not look forward to being dragged around to different places. Stability is something that came in small numbers for her. I fear I am grasping at straws when I speak to her most of the time,” Dimitri said sadly.

“Is that why you were spending time with her? To relive the past?” Nazareth asked curiously.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Though I think I might be realizing that is a lost cause,” Dimitri answered.

“Does anyone else know about this? About your relation to her?” Nazareth asked.

“Only those who were close to my father at the time. Rodrigue and one or two others. No one else at the monastery knows. Ingrid, Felix, and Glenn only remember a girl from our past. And Sylvain remembers her from the time we helped him out of a well, but he does not know she is my stepsister. I would appreciate it if you’d keep this between us. To speak openly about it could still cause a scandal. That is the last thing Edelgard needs,” Dimitri explained.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Nazareth promised. “I’m beginning to understand why you cling onto your memories of Edelgard. She is the only family you have left, isn’t she?” the brunette asked softly.

“Indeed,” Dimitri confirmed. There was an edge in Dimitri’s eyes at that sentence. Something about the mention of family caused him to appear less gentle than usual. Why that was, Nazareth couldn’t say. But she was willing to bet money that more answers were hidden in the truth about the tragedy of Duscur.

-

As Jasmine neared the table Edelgard was seated at, a cherry blossom landed on her head. The brunette sighed and picked it out. Gently placing it in the flowerbed a foot away, she walked on, taking care not to unsettle her hair. A woman of Edelgard’s caliber was likely to not take kindly to it. She wondered how Bernadetta flew by the Princess’s radar and chalked it up to the introvert shutting herself away in her room.

Jasmine took the seat across her house leader and they greeted each other briefly.

“I see that you and Claude have been more than acquainted,” the imperial Princess said with an edge to her tone.

‘It’s as if she’s scolding me without being direct about it,’ Jasmine thought. ‘But what’s wrong with being friends with Claude? Why does she seem to hate him so much?’

“We’ve had a conversation or two,” Jasmine agreed evenly, trying to play this game Edelgard seemed to know by heart.

‘How clever. She’s feigning innocence even when I know for a fact, she has read the subtext of my words loud and clear,’ Edelgard thought, hiding a proud smile.

“Jasmine, you were born with somewhat of a silver spoon were you not?” Edelgard presumed.

“How did you gather?” Jasmine asked, genuinely surprised by the question.

“Your mannerisms. They are of Blue Lion caliber. I wish I could say the same for the Black Eagles, but you’ve met Caspar,” Edelgard sighed, pausing. She then looked back to the brunette before her. Jasmine had chosen to fashion her hair in a bun today, complete with a comb sporting a real jasmine (the faint sweet smell was a giveaway). It was neat and elegant, not a hair out of place.      

Jasmine’s eyes squinted the faintest bit as Edelgard’s words met her ears. ‘My mannerisms…’ the brunette thought, tensing at the memories.

“Jasmine! Pour the tea slower. What will Viscount Maddock think?” Countess Shamalia chided. Void of emotion, Jasmine straightened her arm so as to the let the flow of tea lessen. The boiling purple beverage slowly took up the space of the porcelain white teacup adorned with cherry blossoms.

‘He should think nothing considering I am a child,’ Jasmine thought mindlessly as she set the teapot down with exaggerated grace.

“Do not think me unaware of how you retaliate with your highfalutin mannerisms,” her mother said, frown stung stayed.

“I apologize dearly Countess Shamalia. I would never intentionally cause your feelings distress,” Jasmine spoke softly with closed eyes. Jasmine’s father chortled at that remark, earning him a glare from his wife. He quickly coughed it off and told Jasmine to mind her mother.

“This is precisely why I insisted she stay with me. Spending time with you is ruining her future,” Countess Shamalia said with frustration. Her husband frowned and looked to his firstborn.

“We can discuss this at a later date if you’re adamant on what you say,” Jasmine’s father replied.

“But sir Rikenhart,” Jasmine started. Her father held up a hand.

“We agreed that when you’re not in formal training, you will address me as ‘father,’ remember?” Jasmine’s father said firmly. The brunette recoiled. Her antics had caused tension among her parents. She should have stayed a robot for five minutes longer. Then she would have been able to go with her father and see Nazareth again sooner.

As her parents bickered back and forth, Jasmine reached into the pocket of her frock and pulled out the piece of paper she’d been gifted from Nazareth on her past birthday.

‘Happy Birthday Jas! I think it’s cool how princess-like you are! Mama says that I could learn a thing or two from you, so maybe you can teach me too~ the way you pour tea is so fun to watch. I’m sure it makes your mom happy that you try really hard. I look up to you so much. Anyways, hope you have lots of fun today with your real parents. I wish I could have you to myself, but stepfather gets onto to me about it. I suppose I’ll share you with your mom if I have to.

Love Naz <3’

She briefly prayed that her stepmother wasn’t being too harsh on her beloved sister. And she pocketed away the guilt of Nazareth not knowing the truth about their father being the same.

“Get her out of my sight then. When I see you in a fortnight, I expect better Jasmine,” Countess Shamalia said briskly, turning away.

“Come along Jasmine. Naz and your stepmother are waiting,” her father said, reaching for the girl’s hand. Jasmine went to join their fingers but stepped back.

“One moment father. I’ll be back,” she said, walking after her mother.

Countess Shamalia was sat at the table in the kitchen, seeming to be simmering to herself. Taking a breath for courage, Jasmine walked over wordlessly and poured the tea into the second teacup.

“Your ladyship,” she curtseyed, backing away. Jasmine’s mother turned to see not a drop out of place. The tea was at the perfect level and by the sound it made, Jasmine had poured it with just the right intensity.

Clearing her throat, Jasmine’s mother said, “The Viscount will be pleased. Run along now. Your father is waiting.”

“I’ve decided I am going to live with father, Nazareth and Lady Rikenhart. I will visit you on weekends rather than the other way around now,” Jasmine spoke crisply, no hesitation. Countess Shamalia’s jaw dropped as she contained her growing anger.

“I will continue my training and duties under your tutelage. But this is no longer my home. I bid you farewell,” Jasmine bowed before heading back to the drawing room where her father stood proud, having heard every word.

‘I did it for Nazareth, not you,’ Jasmine thought to herself, ready to go to her real home and perform her favorite task; being an older sister.

“You carry the weight of your past the same way your carry yourself,” Edelgard noted in understanding.

“I do,” Jasmine replied, glancing at the tea in the cup before her. Small waves of steam floated from it, and it had the aroma of citrus. And a pleasant type of essential oil.

“You’re fond of bergamot?” Jasmine asked, gesturing to the cups before them. Edelgard rose an eyebrow, clearly impressed that Jasmine not only knew what type of tea they were drinking, but about how she knew of bergamot in general.

“Yes. I was not aware that you’d be familiar with the fruit. I didn’t think it common in Morfis,” the princess commented. Jasmine smiled softly.

“It is not. But it is abundant in the Empire, is it not? That is likely why you have a liking to it. It is commonly used as aromatherapy. It also aids in stimulating the mind, a fact I’m quite certain you enjoy,” Jasmine noted, taking a gentle sip of the drink. It was still hot, and the brunette hummed as the refreshing taste hit her tongue.

Lost in waves of memories, Jasmine indulged in the tea. She pictured the beautifully bright chartreuse color of the sweet bergamot. She imagined a skilled teamaker taking a knife and cutting it into slices. She then briefly imagined biting into one of the slices and letting the juice drip down and shuddered internally with pleasure. Those thoughts intensified the already vibrant taste of the tea and she found it easy to understand why this was her house leader’s favorite blend.

“You have a keen palate,” Edelgard complimented. “I admire your knowledge on the subject. However, I do wish to discuss your relationship with Claude,” she said carefully. Jasmine placed the cup down. The time for pleasantries and indulging had passed.

“I feel that you’re familiar with the concept of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, am I correct?” Jasmine asked coyly. Even as she said the words, a sliver of guilt washed through her core. Claude was a friend, but she had an image to uphold as a Black Eagle. Her duty was to her house, not her heart.

“I must say, you find new ways to impress me every day Jasmine. I’m glad we had this talk. Continue to impress me. The mock battle is coming soon. I expect great things from you,” Edelgard said, pushing her teacup to the middle of the table and taking her leave. Jasmine peered into the cup. Edelgard had finished her tea before Jasmine even sat down.

‘One conversation down, a whole semester to go,’ Jasmine thought wearily.

-

“Agh, that doesn’t feel good at all. Why did she have to punch me so hard? Caspar asked exasperatedly.

“Caspar! What on Earth happened to you? Your face is all swollen,” Hilda noted, appearing concerned. Caspar yelped at the sight of the pink haired girl and then gave her an odd look.

“Um, you did this Hilda. Remember?” he asked, recalling the squirrel incident.

“Oh right!” Hilda laughed, remembering. “Sorry about that. Well come on, let’s get you to the infirmary,” she said.

“No no. that’s really too much. Like I said, I’m fine,” he insisted, puffing his chest out proudly.

“Don’t argue with me, just come along. You look ghoulish. Gross,” Hilda said, but her tone sounded concerned.

“Huh? Maybe it’s worse than I thought. Whatever. It can’t hurt to have it looked at I guess,” the blue haired boy decided, following Hilda to the infirmary.

As they walked into the room, they noticed it was empty.

“Guess the nurse is busy right now. Oh well, we tried,” Caspar said, moving to leave. Hilda grabbed his arm and glared.

“Not so fast Caspar von Bergliez. Stay put. The necessary supplies are here,” Hilda demanded, sitting him down on a cot. Caspar seemed to fear for his safety and did as she asked. He watched as the normally lazy girl bounded about the room to gather what she needed before sitting down next to him.

“What’s that?” he asked as Hilda opened some sort of cream.

“Stuff,” Hilda answered in an obvious tone as she slowly brought her fingertip to Caspar’s swollen eye.

“OW OW OW!” Caspar cried out, backing away and jumping up. Hilda blinked in confusion before crossing her arms.

“Caspar you idiot. I didn’t even touch you,” she huffed. Caspar looked side to side for a moment before sitting back down.

“Oh right. I just kind of expected it to hurt,” he laughed awkwardly.

“It’s not an open wound. It’s just a bruise. You’ll be fine,” she insisted. Caspar allowed her to rub the cream on this time and sighed in relief when it didn’t sting.

“How much longer?” he complained.

“It’s been ten seconds,” Hilda deadpanned. After a minute, Hilda packed everything back up. Caspar may not have looked any better, but he surely felt more relieved.

“Gee thanks Hilda. I had no idea you were so good at this stuff,” he said, poking his eye and then wincing.

“Yeah, well I always tended to my brother Holst’s wounds, so I have lots of experience,” she explained with a smile. “But you know, you really shouldn’t have gone after those squirrels,” she chided, closing the cabinet door. “If you’re able to be stricken by me, how will you ever protect me?”

“It’s not like I wanted to. If you knew how good that sandwich they stole was, you’d underst-wait p-protect you?!” Caspar sputtered.

“Next time, find me. I’ll make you a different sandwich,” she offered with a wink. Caspar’s heart raced.

“You’d do that for me?” he asked in awe.

“Sure. If you do something for me eventually,” Hilda said. Caspar gulped, unsure of what that meant. Or what any of this conversation meant.

-

“She loves me…she loves me not. She loves me…she loves me not.”

Petal after petal fell to the water, ripples following in order to sway them in a ballet unlike any other.

“What the hell are you doing?” Felix asked, shoving past Ferdinand who dropped his flower from the surprise of Felix’s entrance. The orange haired nobleman grimaced and picked the flower up off the ground. He couldn’t remember how many petals were left on it before Felix’s interruption and they’d been torn off in the commotion.

“Why have you made an entrance to the pond? You lack the fragility to be in such a place,” Ferdinand sasses, hand on his hip.

“You sound like more of an imbecile than the boar prince,” Felix sneered. Ferdinand analyzed Felix’s mannerisms. The swordsman seemed on edge despite speaking so callously.

“What troubles you?” Ferdinand asked, anything but concern in his tone. Felix glared at the nobleman and stepped unforgivingly on the petals littered over the floor.

“Nothing troubles me you popinjay,” he spat.

“You’re behaving like even more of a scoundrel than usual. Why that is, I wonder,” Ferdinand said, refusing to show Felix anger.

Felix went to reply, but was interrupted by footsteps rapidly approaching them.

“Ferdinand! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. What are you doing here?” Evangeline asked, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. It was then that she noticed Felix and greeted him briefly.

“I was merely enjoying the scenic view of the hills nearby,” Ferdinand answered. “You were looking for me? What can I help you with?” he asked kindly. Evangeline seemed to just then remember why she’d come here

“Oh! Yes. I need my book back. Are you done with it yet?” Evangeline asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“As a matter of fact, I am. It just so happens that I have it right here,” Ferdinand answered, reaching into his bag to retrieve a rather bulky textbook. The blonde happily went to reach for the textbook, but Ferdinand moved it out of the way before she could grab it. She turned to Ferdinand with a confused expression, but he appeared as though nothing happened. Shaking it off, Evangeline went to reach for the book again, but the same thing happened.

“Ferdinand, may I please have my book back?” she asked innocently, not realizing he was messing with her.

“But of course. Go ahead and take it,” he offered, holding the book out one more. Evangeline hesitantly reached her hand out. Ferdinand hadn’t moved the book. Sighing in relief, she went to grab it once more, but the Ferdinand held it high above her head with mirth in his eyes. This time Evangeline knew she was being messed with as she placed her hands on her hips and glared.

“Ferdinand, give it back,” the blonde said with a huff.

“I did not hear the magic word I’m afraid,” Ferdinand replied, holding in laughter as Evangeline leaped up and tried to grab it. Unfortunately for the blonde, Ferdinand was nearly three heads taller than her.

“Oh, I’ve got a magic word for you. ARCFIR-huh?” She stumbled, making contact with a firm body. Her face felt warm as she realized Felix had held her back. His arms held her impossibly close, and she could feel his chest muscles even through the monastery uniform. That’s how defined they were. The poor blonde was too frazzled to react.

“Felix! You scoundrel! How dare you handle a woman in such a way?!” Ferdinand asked, seething. He seemed to want to duel Felix to the death then and there.

“Um, Felix? W-why are you holding me?” Evangeline finally mustered up the composure to ask. He was still holding her close, his gaze fixated on her. It was as though Ferdinand did not exist.

“Felix?” she tried asking again. It was then that she noticed the pain in his eyes. ‘He looks like he’s remembering something stressful. But what could cause such a reaction?’ the blonde thought to herself. She mulled over her mind what had just happened when it hit her.

Fire. Magic. The library. ‘He must be wracked with guilt over what almost happened that day,’ she pieced together.

“Felix. Unhand milady at once,” Ferdinand demanded, tone hardened. Evangeline tried to convey to Ferdinand that it was okay, but Felix did as the nobleman commanded. He let Evangeline go and stepped back.

“Are you alright?” she asked him softly to where Ferdinand couldn’t hear.

“I am fine,” he said, but Evangeline sensed he was holding back. Before she could ask him if he was sure, Ferdinand yanked her back and twirled her to face him.

“I am so sorry he laid his unsavory hands on you,” he said apologetically. Evangeline wasn’t sure how to respond to that and luckily didn’t have to because then Ferdinand handed her the textbook.

“One more thing Evangeline,” he said as she was moving to leave. Evangeline turned back expectantly and gasped when Ferdinand pulled her in and placed a tender kiss on her cheek. His lips lingered for a moment before he pulled back and seemed satisfied with how flustered she seemed.

The sound of grass crunching was heard, pulling Evangeline out of her stupor. She saw Felix retreating at a quick pace. ‘He must really have been shaken up about the fire,’ she thought to herself, deciding to check on him later.

Ferdinand on the other hand, smiled secretively. ‘I win,’ he thought victoriously.

-

“Just the person I’ve been looking for. Got a sec?” Claude asked, racing up to Jasmine. The brunette instinctively backed away before Claude could try to ruin her hair once more, but she was too slow for the Golden Deer leader.

“Actually, I really must be g-

“Awesome. Come now,” Claude interrupted, looping their arms together and rushing toward the training hall. Jasmine sighed. Why did this feel so fun but so wrong?

“Where are we going?” Jasmine asked with a sigh as she let herself be dragged. She hoped Claude wasn’t making a habit of doing this.

“You’ll see,” Claude winked.

“I don’t much care for surprises Claude,” she complained.

“You need more spontaneity in your life Jas,” the house leader said with a laugh. Jasmine tried to hide how much those words affected her.

“Naz, we have to get back. If your mother finds out we came out this far, you’ll get in so much trouble!” Jasmine said despite still letting Nazareth lead her further on.

“Oh puh-leaaase. She’ll yell at me no matter what. Might as have some fun with it!” her younger sister said carelessly.

“But when will we head back?” Jasmine asked exasperatedly as more flurries of trees passed them by. Why did they have to run?

“I don’t know. Whenever we’re done having fun. I didn’t have a time in mind,” Nazareth shrugged, pointing gleefully at some pretty flowers they were passing.

“You really need some structure you know,” Jasmine sighed, but internally she agreed that this was quite fun.

“And you really need some more spontaneity in your life Jas. Smell the flowers. Look around!” Nazareth laughed, letting go of her sister’s hand and pushing on ahead.

Jasmine smiled involuntarily. They really did get up to all sorts of things as kids. She missed those times, though she did feel that Nazareth did develop more structure in life. It would do the brunette well to indulge in some spontaneity, right?

“You’re right,” Jasmine said, stopping them. Claude seemed surprised by that.

“I am? Uh, well then why did we stop?” he asked.

“Because. I just had an idea. Follow me for once,” Jasmine said, rushing off in the direction of the professors’ quarters. Claude followed suit without missing a beat.

…

“So, what exactly are we doing here?” Claude asked, slightly on edge from his conversation with Hanneman from earlier.

“When I first came to the officer’s academy, I had meetings with every professor here. I remember seeing something kind of odd in one of them, but I can’t remember whose,” Jasmine explained. “Something tells me that it might be a clue of some kind.”

“What do you mean something odd?” Claude asked as they entered Jeralt’s office.

“It looked like there might be some kind of hidden passageway,” Jasmine said, looking around the office.

“I can’t believe you’re willing to dig around the prof’s office when he’s not in here. You’re wilder than I thought,” Claude said in amusement, joining her in her search.

“It’s for a reason. I’m not snooping for fun,” Jasmine justified, shoving the pang of guilt she felt down.

…

“Well, we looked in every office except Professor Jeritza’s and Lady Rhea’s,” Claude pointed out as the pair neared the front of the hall.

“I’m starting to think maybe I imagined the whole thing. Maybe this mystery squad business is getting to my head more than I thought,” Jasmine said, feeling embarrassed.

“Hey, we still have two more offices to check. Don’t lose hope,” Claude reassured, seeming to believe her.

“I suppose. But we really should head to the detention room. I know you don’t want to miss the latest gossip. We can come back and check the other two offices after I get back from my mission tomorrow?” Jasmine offered.

“Sounds like a plan,” Claude agreed, and the two made their way to hear the confessional box wisdom.

-

“Students! Gather around,” Manuela instructed. “First, I would like to say that the library situation is being investigated and any student who had any information on Tomas should come forward,” she announced. Several murmurs went around about where they thought the ex-librarian might be.

“With that being said, let us begin the words of wisdom,” she said brightly, reaching into the box to pull out tonight’s piece of paper.

As per usual, the professor cleared her throat and began reading, “It appears that a certain Blue Lion leader has been keeping many a secret. Who knew that the Prince and Princess shared more than just blue blood? It appears their parents shared more than a trade port. We’ll let him explain the intricacies of that relationship~”

Instantly the room was in chaos. All eyes turned to Dimitri and several students began firing off questions all of which the Prince was refusing to answer. Instead, he raced for the door and all the students turned to each other to theorize what that could possibly mean.

Nazareth worriedly ran after the prince and avoided Evangeline’s questioning look as she left.

“Are you okay?!” Nazareth asked, catching up to Dimitri who had made his way to the student dormitories by now.

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, a stranger, with such precious information. I have no one to blame but myself” Dimitri said solemnly. Nazareth recoiled at those words, and she instinctively reached for her necklace as a sense of comfort.

“Wait, surely you don’t think it was me who let the confessional box person know about this,” Nazareth said in disbelief.

“The fact of the matter is that you’re the only person that knew Nazareth,” Dimitri said, crossing his arms and looking scarier than Nazareth had ever seen him look. This was a side of Dimitri she’d not seen before. Nor was it one she wished to see again any time soon.

“You don’t believe me,” the brunette said with shock, voice losing an octave or two.

“Surely you aren’t going to stand before me and pretend you didn’t,” Dimitri said.

“I thought we trusted each other. I thought we were friends,” Nazareth said, tears beginning to form. How could this be happening?

“I thought the very same thing. It is a shame,” Dimitri said, faltering only for a second before opening the door to his dormitory room and leaving a disheartened Nazareth in his wake.

Chapter Text

“You’re careless!”

“Wake up!”

“We’ve got a big mission today and you’re not going to spoil it by being late to the briefing!”

Byleth shook awake with a start. He looked around the room and saw Sothis floating above his desk table with a stern expression. Such an expression didn’t look right on such a young face. She resembled a daughter taking after her mother.

“Well it’s about time,” Sothis said snottily. “Hurry along. You know that green haired professor already doesn’t like you. Tardiness will not help your case!” she said with annoyance.

“Right. Thank you for the…wake up call,” Byleth said, moving up to get dressed in his daily attire. He thought to add his glasses to the look today. Edelgard always commented on them when he’d wear them, and it was fun to see her lose composure here and there.

“Do not sass me. Move along now,” Sothis huffed, swaying her hair so harshly, a breeze hit Byleth’s face. He wondered how so much sass was contained in such a small body. And one that wasn’t real. Sometimes he could physically feel her presence, and other times she felt like an ethereal being.

Regardless, he headed out of his room after bidding her farewell to which she stuck her tongue out at him for.

“Good morning, Professor!” Ignatz greeted as Byleth made his way past the dormitories. Byleth nodded in greeting and smiled.

“Professor! Good morning. It’s nice to see you up so early,” Annette greeted as she saw him passing. Byleth waved and returned the greeting, a happy feeling stirring inside him. In all his years as a mercenary, never had people been so fond of him. All the students at the monastery however seemed to enjoy seeing him. It was a lovely contrast, and a testament to how much he’d come to bond with the students here.

“Professor,” Dimitri greeted cordially, nodding his head and moving along. Byleth shook his head in amusement as Dimitri didn’t wait for him to return the greeting.

‘Well, most students,’ he thought to himself with a chuckle.

“Fret not. He’s just about the only one who doesn’t absolutely adore you,” Sothis said to him in his head. Byleth sighed. How his link to the young girl worked still baffled him. He replied to her in his head about how she shouldn’t do so in public because he might look crazy in the eyes of everyone around them. Sothis agreed, but not before scolding him for being a know-it-all.

Byleth made his way to Rhea’s office and took a seat. Rhea smiled softly at seeing him, but the mercenary felt uneasy with her expression as he usually did. Something struck him as insincere about her softness.

“Don’t let it show on your face you child! Look normal,” Sothis chided in his head. He put on his neutral expression at her guidance and waited for Rhea to say something.

“Thank you again for taking on this mission. I fear I will be putting a lot on the Blue Lion house soon, so I appreciate your willingness to handle this one,” she said kindly.

“Of course. Anything to help the church,” he said, wondering what was keeping Seteth. He was supposed to be here during the briefing.

“Ah yes. Anything to help the church. You have no trouble lying through your teeth I see,” Sothis mocked. Byleth warned her in his head not to say too much. The last thing he needed was Rhea looking into his head and seeing that he had some sort of tether to an unknown being in the form of a child.

It was then that Seteth made his entrance to the office, greeted Byleth and Rhea, and took the seat next to the mercenary. Edelgard knocked firmly twice on the door before he could say anything.

“Yes Edelgard?” Seteth asked, looking questioningly at Byleth. The mercenary said nothing to indicate whether he anticipated the imperial princess’s presence.

“Professor Seteth. I wanted to request permission to sit in during the briefing,” she asked without asking.

“If it is alright with Lady Rhea, it is alright with me,” Seteth answered, looking to the archbishop. Rhea did not appear to be thrilled but did her part to guise it as best she could.

“If it is alright with the professor, I don’t see why not,” she said instead. Edelgard looked to Byleth who nodded his consent and gestured to the empty seat between him and Seteth. The princess then noticed Byleth’s glasses, and she stared at him a moment too long if his clearing his throat to pay attention was any indication.

“As you have already been notified, your mission is to subdue some bandits,” Seteth said.

“Subduing bandits seems easy enough. just try not to sacrifice your life for the first pretty princess that comes across your path again?” Sothis mocked, laughing when Byleth shushed her in his mind.

“The last time we fought bandits, you saved me. maybe I can return the favor this time,” Edelgard said gratefully. Byleth fought to keep his expression neutral as he nodded.

“Your students have been learning about combat through study, but this is a precious opportunity to provide them with practical experience. The knights will support your mission and are prepared to offer their assistance if necessary. You will receive a message from the knights when it is time to depart. Until then, use your time wisely. I’d say brief your students on what is to come,” Seteth instructed sternly toward Byleth.

Edelgard sent a look to Byleth, silently asking if she could speak. Byleth returned the glance, letting her know it was alright with him.

“The knights are well aware of our enemy’s strength. We can count on them to keep the battlefield under control for us. It seems unlikely that we would lose. Still, let’s do all we can to prepare,” she said confidently.

“Let’s just focus on doing our best,” Byleth replied to her, stifling a smile and sending her the most subtle wink her highness had ever witnessed. Edelgard narrowed her eyes. Byleth was teasing her once more. This time in the presence of others.

“If that is all Seteth, we can relieve the professor and her highness,” Rhea said. Seteth seemed to pick up on the moment Edelgard and Byleth shared but shook his head and said that was all.

Edelgard exited first, brushing past Byleth with slight attitude. He held in laughter at her childish reaction and winced when Sothis’s voice echoed in his head loudly.

“Are you so insolent that you’re being distracted by her again?!”

Byleth frowned, knowing she had a point. 

“At least you refrain from arguing. Come along now. You promised your father you’d meet with him as soon as that meeting was over! Or did you forget?” her voice snapped with sass. Byleth assured her he didn’t forget and let his feet drag over to his father’s office.

Giving three steady knocks, Byleth walked in when Jeralt’s voice gave permission to whoever it was to come inside.

“Ah, it’s you. Come in. Sit,” Jeralt insisted, pointing to the couch. Byleth did so and looked up at his father expectantly.

“You seem well. Are you adjusting to life at the monastery?” Jeralt asked, crossing his arms.

“Must he always appear so stern and set in his ways?” Sothis asked, seeming intimidated herself.

“I think so,” he answered his father, trying to convey the emotion he felt. His father’s main qualm with him was that he didn’t do that enough.

“Oh? I didn’t expect that answer,” Jeralt said, tone softening up.

‘Guess I didn’t do the best job,’ Byleth thought to himself, deciding he’d do better for the next question.

“Why do you say that? You didn’t think I’d be a brilliant professor?” he asked his father, half serious.

“It’s not that. It’s just that when we were mercenaries, I handled everything. Outside of battle, you didn’t have much contact with people, did you? I thought being thrown into a swarm of noble brats to teach would be a bit much for you. But I guess I had nothing to worry about,” Jeralt explained. He almost sounded proud of Byleth, but there was something leading him to not let that show full force.

“I guess you did a better job raising me than you think,” Byleth replied smoothly. Jeralt rose an eyebrow and shrugged.

“By the way, I heard about those bandits. Your first assignment is to take them out, right? That’s fairly routine for you by now, but don’t forget it’s the first real taste of battle for those brats. It’ll be tougher to sleep at night if you let one of your little pupils die, so stay vigilant and lead them well. I wish I could offer you my support, but Lady Rhea won’t allow it. She claims I should rest after helping that little Prince on his mission. For now, I’ll try to figure out what that archbishop wants from you. I don’t mind you settling into your life here, but don’t let your guard down. And whatever you do, don’t dedicate yourself to the teachings of the church. Something about this place doesn’t sit right with me. Am I clear?” Jeralt asked, sternness back full force.

“Of course father. Have I ever let you down thus far?” Byleth asked with a hint of cockiness.

“And lose the attitude. It doesn’t suit you,” Jeralt said, but he was smiling as he said it. Byleth returned the expression and said goodbye to his father. It felt like they had shared a warm embrace without having made contact.

-

“Come. I could use your help,” Felix said, tapping Evangeline on the shoulder. The blonde rose an eyebrow and let her pencil fall on the desk.

“Good morning to you too Felix. I’m actually in the middle of homework, so you’re welcome to wait until I’m done to help you with whatever it is that you need,” she sassed with no real heat. Ever since their talk, Felix had become much more bearable to be around. Now his demeanor was cold, but not icily so. Felix didn’t reply, but he did take the seat across from Evangeline in the library.

Evangeline rolled her eyes and continued on her work. She had just gotten sucked back into writing her essay on proper wyvern care when she felt a presence unnecessarily close. Turning her head, she saw that Felix was all but hovering over her paper to read.

“Do you mind?” she asked, moving her paper away from his line of sight.

“No. I just happened to notice that you spelled ‘wyvern,’ incorrectly in the third paragraph,” Felix said casually, looking away. Evangeline sucked her teeth in, letting her eyes scan the third paragraph. Irked, she erased the word and wrote it correctly.

“You’re welcome,” Felix coughed, scooting his chair closer to hers.

“I didn’t say thank you,” Evangeline huffed.

“I know. I was implying that you should have,” Felix sneered. Evangeline was about to retort when she noticed that Felix was smiling.

‘How peculiar,’ she thought. ‘It’s almost like he’s enjoying this.’

“Thank you kindly for your help Felix. I appreciate it,” she said, trying a different tactic. Felix seemed taken aback, which made the blonde feel victorious.

“Finish your paper already so you can help me,” he mumbled, suddenly seemed interesting in the book laid in front of him on the table. Evangeline shook her head fondly and did just that.

About fifteen minutes later, she put her pencil down triumphantly and said, “I’m finally done! Now I’m free for the rest of the day.”

“Oh no you’re not,” Felix objected, yanking her back down. The blonde glared at him.

“You could say please you know,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Evangeline. Will you please help me with some research? You’re the best I know,” Felix said, tone flat.

“Oh, Well. um, thanks,” Evangeline said, not having expected high praise.

“It wasn’t a compliment. I was stating a fact,” Felix said quickly. Evangeline gave him an odd look before shaking her head, deciding this battle wasn’t worth pursuing.

“Right, of course. What do you need help researching then?” she asked, placing her essay in her schoolbag.

“Saint Cethleann. I have Jasmine looking at her statue in the cathedral right now, but that placard likely won’t tell us much. Could you find out more about her?” Felix asked, eyes focused.

“Why so interested in the faith saint? I don’t recall you mentioning her before,” Evangeline asked, shouldering her bag and moving to stand up.

“Personal interest,” he answered.

“Personal interest? Since when do you give a flying falcon about research?” Evangeline asked skeptically.

“Since it became imperative to getting some answers. Find me mine and I’ll grant you yours,” Felix said, patting her shoulder and walking out.

“I won’t do this for free!” Evangeline called out to him, half joking.

“I will buy you a fresh quill and ink pot. Happy researching,” Felix called, walking out of the library.

‘He’s lucky I know where the books on the four holy saints are,’ Evangeline thought to herself, heading to the section right before the restricted section.

The blonde walked across, skimming over the titles and seeing which one had Cethleann in it. Eventually, she found a book and seemed satisfied, but about three spaces away, there was an empty space.

‘That’s odd. No one usually reads about the ancient history. Only Ashe and sometimes Naz check out books for fun, and those are usually stories about knights and heroic acts,’ Evangeline thought to herself. The blonde grabbed the book she wanted and headed to the front desk. Tomas’s replacement checked the book out to her.

“Could you tell me what the book next to this one would have been?” Evangeline asked, pointing to the shelf she’d come from. The woman behind the desk perched her glasses up and followed Evangeline’s line of sight.

“Ah I see. A young man with green hair checked that one out a few days prior. I’m afraid that’s all I remember,” she said. Evangeline thanked her and then headed outside to read, thinking to talk to Lindhart later.

-

Jasmine entered the cathedral, her nerves abuzz. Luckily, she was able to play it off as being anxious for the upcoming Red Canyon mission. The last thing she needed was people questioning her sudden interest in Saint Cethleann. She can’t imagine Felix would take kindly to other people figuring out their mission.

The brunette walked across the marble floors, trying not to pay too much attention to how her shoes click clacked across the floor. Other than the choir instructor, the only other person in the hall was Mercedes. She was near the front of the cathedral by the altar, seeming to be in the middle of an intense prayer.

Shaking her head, Jasmine looked toward the chamber on the right where the supposed four saint statues stood. Where Saint Cethleann’s statue stood…

‘It’s not a big deal. Maybe Felix is just crazy, and Saint Cethleann looks nothing like Naz,’ she thought to herself, as her feet continued to move. ‘Besides, Lindhart thought Flayn looked like the Saint. Naz and Flayn look NOTHING alike,’ Jasmine thought, calming down.

Entering the chamber, Jasmine closed the door behind her. She didn’t need anyone sneaking up on her while she observed the statues. The brunette turned and read the name plate on the closest statue to her. The statue itself appeared to be holding a bow and the quiver was extended.

‘Saint Indech. One of the Four Holy Saints of Fodland. It is said that he was known for his wisdom and dexterity. Though unskilled in the art of human interaction, he used his gifts to help those in need. He was also an indomitable warrior who slew countless foes on countless battlefields. None to this day rival his skill in the art of archery.’

Jasmine shrugged, moving on. Nothing really seemed to stand out to her about the statue. ‘Not even the bow. Doesn’t remind me of anyone. Nope,’ Jasmine tacked as an afterthought, moving to the next statue. This one had a pointed hat and was dressed as a warlock.

‘Saint Macuil. One of the Four Holy Saints of Fodland. It is said that his gift for strategy was unparalleled. He served as chief tactician of Saint Seiros and was a pioneering figure for and master of the magical arts. Many speculate that he was the first to use dark magic for the purpose of good.’

Jasmine smiled at the thought of Naz firing dark spells at bullies in their youth. Saint Macuil would have liked her. While Naz was younger, she certainly was braver than Jasmine.

Moving on, Jasmine found the third statue and tilted her head to the side. The face was covered by armor, making it difficult to discern what the Saint really looked like. There was an alluring mystery about it.

‘Saint Cichol. One of the Four Holy Saints of Fodland. It is said that he was a compassionate yet stern figure whose faith was so true, he was able to perform miracles. One such miracle being how he came to obtain his daughter(s). There is no written record of how his daughter came to be, as he was never wed. He is the father of Saint Cethleann, his most beloved.’

Jasmine was puzzled. Why was there an ‘s’ with the word ‘daughter?’ and in parenthesis no less. She found herself wishing there was more on his placard. Perhaps the library had a book on him where she could learn more.

‘Now I want to see the statue of Cethleann more than ever,’ the brunette thought, walking over to the last statue in the room. Knowing which one it was due to process of elimination, Jasmine read the placard before looking at the statue itself.

‘Saint Cethleann. One of the Four Holy Saints of Fodland. It is said that she was a beautiful and kind soul who was beloved by all for her empathy and her ability to heal severe wounds. She is the only known daughter of Saint Cichol.’

Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat as she slowly looked up and gasped. The statue of Saint Cethleann had long flowing hair, big, bubbly eyes, and was holding a staff. The brunette sighed in relief. Nazareth didn’t necessarily look like Saint Cethleann and Felix was talking nonsense. Her sister may have had large eyes, but that didn’t mean anything.

“What’s up buttercup?!” Nazareth yelled with a silly grin, hopping out from behind the statue and giving Jasmine a heart attack as she fell to the ground with a yelp.

“Oh my god,” the elder sister breathed, clutching her heart. It was then that she took in Nazareth’s appearance and widened her eyes greatly and her heart began beating rapidly and wouldn’t stop.

“OH MY GOD!” She shouted, looking from her sister to the statue about ten times. Nazareth was all but the splitting image of the statue.

 “Oh? You think I look like Saint Cethleann?” she went on, moving to stand next to the statue and pose dramatically. “Wow it’s uncanny isn’t it,” Nazareth said with a slight edge to her tone, silliness gone.

Jasmine was too confused to speak. What was Nazareth playing at? And was she hiding behind that statue the whole time? The door hadn’t opened, and she hadn’t heard anyone come in.

“Don’t look at me like that Jas. Evan told me everything. Why didn’t you come and just tell me what you were thinking?” Nazareth asked with a sigh, dropping her crazed act.

“Wait, so you made your hair look like that on purpose?” Jasmine asked, still processing as she gestured to how Nazareth could’ve been the inspiration behind the statue of Saint Cethleann. Nazareth shrugged.

“Yeah. Once I found out what you were doing, I found some chalk coloring to cover the blue with green, and curled them for good measure,” Nazareth explained.

“Surely you must see the resemblance,” Jasmine sputtered. Nazareth shook her head and crossed her arms.

“You’ve had too much spiked tea if that’s what you think. I purposely made myself look like her Jas. There’s no resemblance,” Nazareth insisted, attempting to wipe the chalk, but giving up when it was just resulting in making her hands green.

‘How oblivious is Naz? The only reason I can’t say she’s a carbon copy of the statue is because Flayn is. But they could honestly be sisters,’ Jasmine thought to herself. Just then, another thought struck the elder sister.

“Hold on. You said Evangeline told you that I was coming here and looking at the statue. But how did she know about that? I never told her,” Jasmine pointed out. Nazareth shrugged once more, seeming bored with the conversation.

“Felix told her, I think. He’s been making a real effort to be nice to her. Her words, not mine. I’ve never seen Felix be nice to anyone,” Nazareth answered, contemplating that.

‘So, what I saw the night of the fire wasn’t in my head. There’s gotta be something going on there,’ Jasmine thought with a smile.

“What’s funny?” Nazareth asked.

“Oh Naz. You’ll never have observation skills, will you,” Jasmine sighed.

“Maybe if you’d explain things to me, I wouldn’t seem so out of the loop,” Nazareth snapped, still her expression neutral. Jasmine was taken aback.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, that’s my thing apparently. Why are you here Jas? So what if you think I look like Saint Cethleann? What was that supposed to even mean?” Nazareth asked.

“Why are you being so snappy with me?” Jasmine asked, avoiding the question. Nazareth sighed and slumped down to the marble floor, pitifully sitting next to the statue. Jasmine tried to ignore the resemblance, but it was hard.

“I feel like I haven’t gotten to see you since we enrolled at the academy. I miss you. It seems like you’re always hanging around Claude these days. That’s all. Because of it, I resorted to spending my time with Prince Dimitri and now that we’re not on speaking terms, it feels a little lonely. Even Evangeline seems so busy with Ferdinand and Felix of all people,” Nazareth explained, leaning her chin on her hand. Jasmine felt for her younger sister and slouched down, right next to her. She pulled her younger sister in and shook her head affectionately.

“You know if you miss me, you can always come find me, right? I don’t always need to be the one to reach out,” Jasmine said pointedly.

“I did that just now, didn’t I?” Nazareth pouted, burying her face in Jasmine’s arm.

“Yes, you loser. But you know what I mean,” Jasmine said, playing with Nazareth’s hair like she did when they were younger, and Nazareth’s mother had just scolded her greatly.

“Why do you care that I might look like Saint Cethleann?” Nazareth asked again, looking nervous.

“I remember what Catherine said that day. About you possibly having that crest,” Jasmine started.

“And you think it might be strange too. Considering that mother doesn’t possess a crest,” Nazareth finished.

“Well sure, but father does,” Jasmine countered.

“Okay, but he’s not my real father,” Nazareth said in an obvious tone.

‘Shit! I almost gave that away. I need to be more careful,’ Jasmine scolded herself. “Right. I must have been thinking that your real father might,” she covered up quickly. Nazareth seemed to be pondering this possibility.

“I wouldn’t know. Mother refused to talk about him. Any time I brought it up, she insisted I ask stepfather about it. I don’t understand why. How would he know? Unless he knew him,” Nazareth said sitting up. Her mind seemed to be devising millions of questions.

‘I’ve gotta get her to patch things up with Dimitri big time. I’m already saying too much,’ Jasmine thought nervously as she eyed Nazareth. Her younger sister was looking at the statue carefully this time and then back at her reflection from the mirror behind it.

“Jasmine?” Nazareth asked, her eyes suddenly void of their usual bubbly sparkle. The elder sister didn’t reply.

“Do you ever think that maybe…” Nazareth trailed off, clutching her necklace. ‘Maybe mother is hiding something from me, and she won’t tell me what it is?’ she finished in her head. She couldn’t verbalize it out loud. What good would it do? Jasmine would tell her she was overthinking and needed to stop worrying over such things.

“Maybe what?” Jasmine asked, standing up and reaching her hand out to Nazareth. The younger sister took the hand gladly and dusted her uniform off.

“I…can’t lie to you Jas,” Nazareth said worriedly.

“What do you mean?” Jasmine asked.

“I didn’t channel the fire into a tome that day at the library,” Nazareth said, shuffling her feet awkwardly. Jasmine narrowed her eyes.

“Then?” she asked, tapping her foot on the floor.

“Claude gave me this, long story, don’t ask. But…it worked, and you saw it briefly that day on the battleground. I think your father has been lying to us and I didn’t know how to tell you because I was still processing myself,” Nazareth said, digging through her bag.

“Claude?” Jasmine asked in confusion. “I didn’t know you two talked,” she said.

“Uh, yeah we were hanging out at the marketplace one day,” the younger sister said, seeming to have trouble finding the staff.

“When?” Jasmine asked, more and more questions flooding her mind. Felix was telling Evangeline about their topics of research and Claude had a rendezvous with her younger sister?

“During school heh,” Nazareth said, recalling how out of character that had been for her.

“Naz, you skipped class?!” Jasmine asked with disapproval. ‘Claude is a bad influence on everyone he spends time with,’ she thought.

“It was only one class!” Nazareth defended, stopping her search for a moment.

“Oh my goddess. Okay. It’s fine. Just, what did you want to show me?” Jasmine asked in exasperation.

“Oh right,” Nazareth said. “Here!” She cried out, finally finding the staff.

“What is it?” Jasmine asked.

Nazareth handed her the caduceus staff and went on to explain. “Only those linked with the crest of Cethleann can wield this. And it worked for me. I managed to set off a gale wind strong enough to deflect the demonic beast’s blast back at Conand tower before it could cave us in,” she said, void of emotion. Jasmine’s eyes widened. Wait until the mystery squad heard about this. Jasmine suddenly felt a pang of guilt for hiding that group from her sister.

“Naz…are you okay?” Jasmine asked. It just struck the elder sister that Nazareth claimed to think that their father was lying. How could she sway attention from the topic?!

Nazareth seemed to realize how her face looked because she quickly shook it off and replaced it with a bright beam.

“Of course. If anything, this means you need to watch out during the mock battle,” she winked. As she did so, Nazareth noticed the staff beginning to glow and dropped it in shock. The glowing stopped. She looked up to Jasmine who looked equally as shocked.

“What was that?!” Nazareth cried out.

“You think I know?!” Jasmine countered. She reached for the staff and held it in her hands, but it didn’t react.

“Naz, hold it again,” Jasmine said, holding the staff out. Nazareth seemed skeptical, but sighed and grabbed for it anyway. It began to glow again, and Nazareth forced herself not to let it go.

After a few seconds, the staff morphed and extended.

“Whoa. It looks so different now,” Nazareth said in surprise. Jasmine’s blood went cold, and she hesitantly pointed up to the statue and said, “Naz. Look.”

The younger sister looked at the statue of Cethleann and dropped her staff once more. The caduceus staff now looked identical to the one Cethleann held in the statue.

“Naz, do you know what this could mean?” Jasmine asked in a whisper.

“Um, I’m late for a reason seminar. Hanneman wants me to practice more wind blasts. He was amazed at the ones from last week,” Nazareth said quickly, rushing off before Jasmine could ask her more.

‘Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about diverting her attention from Father’s many lies,’ Jasmine thought to herself, still plenty shaken from the events that unfolded.

-

“Lady Edelgard. Everything is in motion as you requested. Tomas still has not been sighted, I assure you,” Hubert relayed, shutting the door behind him. Edelgard hummed to indicate she heard him but made no move to verbally reply.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, high on alert.

“Oh yes, of course. It’s just that sometimes I wonder if your life could have taken you down a different path,” Edelgard responded. “If you had never met me and entered my service, you might have had a more peaceful-

“A more tedious path? Inconsequential and spoiled rotten, like so many other nobles? Never,” Hubert interrupted with a scoff. “My duty to you is no mere obligation. I chose this,” he made clear, loyalty dripping out of his words. “I had thought that would be obvious to you. The blame is on me for having you believe otherwise.”

“I understand you well Hubert. Better than anyone. I know where your loyalties lie. But when I see you at the monastery, studying with the others…it makes me wonder what kind of life you might have had without me. That is all,” Edelgard said.

“Such a life may have had its appeal. I thought I’d left my years of carefree innocence behind me. But I cannot deny that I find myself enjoying my time at the monastery. Even if I do not share that sentiment for all its inhabitants,” he said, mumbling his last sentence.

“I feel the same way,” Edelgard agreed, crossing her legs. She sensed Hubert had more to say on the matter.

“That enjoyment, however, is only thanks to you,” he admitted. “Standing by your side is all that truly matters to me. It’s all that ever will,” he bowed. Edelgard didn’t appear to be fazed by these words and Hubert thought to try harder.

“I see. Then I won’t speak of such things again. If it’s what you really want, I’ll gladly keep you by my side. The path I must walk…is soaked in blood as you know. It is a path that can lead to madness, can snatch away one’s future, and can even take one’s life. And the pool of blood at my feet is growing larger. Those stains can never be washed clean,” Edelgard said, her eyes seeming lifeless toward the end.

“Please leave the violence to me Lady Edelgard,” Hubert insisted. “A leader must be seen as pure. Above the fray. Allow me to paint the path that lies before you, red with the blood of your enemies. I will do it gladly,” he bowed once more. ‘Especially if that professor you admire so much happens to be one of those enemies,’ he tacked on as an afterthought.

“You do always make it seem like you’ll do anything to protect me,” Edelgard said with a laugh, not realizing Hubert was not exaggerating in his words. “For now, let’s focus on this mission,” she said.

“Ah yes. The…mission,” Hubert said in a wayward tone.

“Is everything okay with you?” Edelgard asked, placing one hand on her hip.

“Yes of course,” Hubert said calculatedly.

“You forget how long I’ve known you. What is on your mind?” Edelgard asked.

“It’s not that I don’t think this mission is of importance. I fully accept the necessity of real battle from time to time, but it is still a surprise to be tasked with punishing bandits without warning. It is a rather different sort of mission. It makes me wonder what the archbishop is planning…” Hubert mulled.

“Planning? Who cares what she is planning? She is no match for the army we are building. You know as well as I that she is the least of our concerns,” Edelgard scoffed.

“Too right you are. I always did love your fighting spirit. It was one of the first things that drew me to you,” Hubert said with a smirk.

“We’ve come such a long way,” Edelgard said fondly. “We were only four when we first met. Since then, you’ve always been protective of me,” the princess noted. Hubert tried to ignore that rather than affection, it was fondness in his lady’s voice. She viewed their relationship as platonic no matter how hard he tried to sway that.

“From your perfect memory, Lady Edelgard, I expect nothing short of the utmost precision. Do go on,” Hubert said.  

“Please don’t mock me with such frivolous praise. I can hardly recall that day,” Edelgard said with a frown.

“Forgive me. I suppose I must have been six at the time. I have no recollection of it either. My earliest memory of you is when you were injured. I recall being scolded most sternly by my father. ‘You are Lady Edelgard’s servant!’ he said. ‘You must protect her with your life!’”

Edelgard appeared shocked at this. “I had no idea. But House Vestra has served House Hresvelg for generations…given that, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised,” she said, suddenly feeling bad for how hard Hubert’s father must have been on him.

“Indeed. After that, I made certain to accompany you wherever you went. That is, until…the incident,” Hubert said, trailing off.

“Ah, when my uncle, Lord Arundel, defected to the Kingdom and took me with him,” Edelgard said, feeling oddly nostalgic, but guilty just the same.

“The sensation of loss that overcame me on that day defies all description. It was as horrific as if I’d lost all my limbs. I left the city in a mad rush to rescue you. My father also sent soldiers to capture me. I fought them off for three days, but they did finally manage it. Of course, I was only ten. I never would’ve reached Fhirdiad,” Hubert said, seeming lost in the memory.

“I will erase all of you. I WILL get to Lady Edelgard!” Hubert shouted, firing off miasma spells mercilessly.

“Give it up kid! You’ll be lucky if we decide not to rip you apart limb from limb!” the guards spat, approaching him with their swords.

“I would give my LIFE for her!” Hubert said, flame in hand.

“So be it!”

“I’ve never heard that story before. So, there are things you’ve never told me,” Edelgard said, her heart pounding with growing guilt. Hubert had…come for her way back then?

“It wasn’t important,” Hubert waved off as though this were a children’s storybook that needed to be put away for the night.

“That’s beside the point. I wish to know these things. If there’s anything else you’re keeping from me, please tell me at once,” Edelgard said firmly.

“Respectfully, I decline,” Hubert answered coolly.

“Why? It’s a simple order. I really must kn-

“Speaking of your orders, there was a task you gave me earlier which I have yet to carry out. Excuse me,” Hubert interrupted her, stalking off in the opposite direction of the Black Eagle common room.

“Wait just a moment…and he’s gone,” Edelgard sighed. “I just hope he’s not hiding anything too worrisome…in any case, I must find Byleth,” she said, going on her way as well.

-

“Evangeline! There you are,” Jasmine said, walking up to the docks where the blonde usually seemed to be.

“Oh, hey Jasmine. You were looking for me?” Evangeline asked with a smile as she turned around.

“Yeah, I was,” Jasmine replied, taking a seat next to her. “Naz told me that Felix told you a bit about me looking into Saint Cethleann,” she started. Evangeline nodded, recalling her conversation with the swordsman.

“Yeah. He did mention that you guys were researching. But I asked all the professors and none of them claimed to assign any research paper on that topic, so I was confused,” Evangeline said, closing the book she’d been studying. Jasmine scrunched her eyebrows.

“Wait, Felix didn’t tell you that this wasn’t for a class?” The brunette asked. Evangeline shook her head.

“No, he did say it wasn’t for school, but I had a hard time believing that Felix would research something for leisure. The whole thing struck me as odd, but to be honest, I was just thrilled that he was showing an interest in something other than swordsmanship,” Evangeline explained with a laugh.

“Why did he tell you anyway?” Jasmine asked, more to herself than anything.

“Well, he knows that I know my way around the library and would find the book faster,” Evangeline said, tapping the book she had. Jasmine took a look at the mint green book with bold black lettering on the cover. ‘A Historian’s Look into Saint Cethleann.’

“He asked you to help research?” Jasmine asked, amused.

“Don’t look so surprised Jas. I am really good at looking things up,” Evangeline laughed in good nature.

“Have you learned anything interesting yet?” Jasmine chanced asking. Evangeline eagerly nodded and flipped the book back open, stopping at a page near the middle. The blonde held the book up and pointed to an image. It looked like the staff that the statue in the cathedral held.

“See this? It’s the Saint’s staff she used in the war. Doesn’t it look kind of miraculous?” Evangeline asked, seeming to be building up to a bigger point.

“It’s…certainly something,” Jasmine said awkwardly, recalling her moment with Naz from earlier.

“Well, get this. After the war, there were claims that the staff took on a less flashy look so as to avoid falling into the wrong hands. Apparently, it looked like any other staff out there,” Evangeline continued, flipping through pages. “See, here’s a picture of what someone described it to look like at the time,” she said, holding the book back up. Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat for the umpteenth time that day. Unless the brunette was going crazy, that looked exactly like the caduceus staff.

“That’s not all,” the blonde went on, shutting the book and suddenly a sparkle appeared in her eye. “This part is nearly unbelievable and sounds like one of the fairytales that Ashe reads about, but hear me out. It’s said that when a descendent of Saint Cichol, Cethleann’s father, wields the staff in the chamber where her statue lays, the staff will be restored to its original appearance! And it can go back into the concealed appearance just by the wielder wishing it so!” she finished, gaging Jasmine’s reaction.

…

“Jas? You okay?” Evangeline asked with concern, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Please excuse me, I have to go!” Jasmine finally said, rushing off and leaving Evangeline on the dock.

“Huh. That was…incredibly rude to be honest,” Evangeline hummed out loud. “She’s lucky I like her,” the blonde shrugged and continued reading the book, hoping to find more exciting pictures of Cethleann and her staff.

-

‘Where is it that she said you all were headed?’ Sothis asked. Byleth looked around to make sure no one was lurking before easing his stance on the bench and engaging in conversation with the voice in his head.

“The red canyon,” he answered.

‘How peculiar,’ she hummed.

“Does it sound familiar?” Byleth asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

‘No. I can’t say that it does. Something about this mission seems a bit odd though, does it not?’ Sothis asked.

“Odd how?” Byleth asked.

‘Pay attention! That small princess is headed here. Can’t have her knowing you’re talking to two women at once, can you?’ Sothis chided, disappearing from his head for a moment.

“There you are my teacher. I had been looking for you. We should make to head out soon,” Edelgard greeted. Byleth chanced a look to the sky. The sun was still high, meaning they still had a bit of time.

“Sit,” Byleth half asked, half commanded. Edelgard rose an eyebrow at his tone, but complied, nonetheless.

“What is it that worries you about this?” Byleth asked peculiarly. Edelgard softened her features as she only did with her beloved teacher and leaned into him.

“For some students, this will be the first time stepping onto a real battlefield,” she said plainly.

“And you think they may not be fighting fit?” Byleth asked.

“I simply think it is important that they are mentally prepared for what is to come. You know as well as I do that all the Black Eagle members are well suited for the battlefield in terms of combat,” Edelgard said confidently.

“Even Jasmine? You have yet to see her capability,” Byleth pointed out.

“That is correct. However, I know that you have seen her in action. If there was something of concern, you would have mentioned it to me,” Edelgard replied, hiding a smile.

“You always have an answer, don’t you?” Byleth asked with a small laugh.

“If I don’t, I dedicate my life to searching for it,” Edelgard responded, turning her head, and eyeing her teacher curiously.

“Everything okay?” He asked, regaining composure.

“Yes, of course,” Edelgard answered quickly. “It’s just,” she started.

“Just what?” Byleth asked.

“It’s rare that I hear you laugh. And in these trying times, it’s a welcome treat,” she answered, hiding the faintest of smirks. Byleth was caught off guard. Unsure of what to say.

‘My oh my. Miracles never cease. She is flirting back with you!’ Sothis all but sang. Byleth shook his head. Had the sun been beating down so harshly from the get-go? It was suddenly unbearably warm.

“Professor! There you are!” A voice rang out. Byleth and Edelgard shot up from the bench in time to see a guard heading over to where they once sat. Hubert was with him.

“I just received word from the knights. They’ve located the bandits. Lady Rhea asked me to inform you immediately,” the guard explained in a rush.

“It seems they have them cornered. They are in Zanado, the Red Canyon,” Hubert added.

‘Zanado? Now that is a name bearing familiarity,’ Sothis chimed in. Byleth wanted to ask her questions, but time was not a luxury they were afforded at the moment.

“We must gather the students and leave at once,” Byleth announced.

“Already took care of that for you,” Hubert said in a low tone, pointing toward the gates where the Black Eagles stood waiting. “On your count of course,” the warlock said with a tinge of sarcasm. Byleth nodded at Hubert, ignoring his attitude and they caught up to the rest of the house.

“I can’t wait to get started! I’ll strike those heinous thieves before they know what hit them!” Caspar said with passion, zooming ahead of the group on the path to Zanado.

“Charge ahead if you must Caspar. Just do not put the rest of us in danger. Some of us have titles to protect,” Ferdinand said with a sigh.

“Or the squirrels,” Lindhart added with a yawn.

 Caspar mellowed out considerably after both comments.

“Uhhh, I’m going back! I won’t be of any help anyway. And I don’t want to get hurt…” Bernadetta said abruptly, turning to head back. Unfortunately for her, Dorothea used a surge of thoron in the direction Bernadetta was turning back to.

“Don’t worry Bernie. It’s only some bandits. We’ll have no trouble at all. As long as you don’t turn on us,” she teased, firing up another thunder bolt. Bernadetta let out a screech and rushed up closer to Caspar.

“Eh, don’t get ahead of yourselves,” Lindhart said. “Unfounded optimism isn’t the greatest strategy. Let’s just focus on getting this over with so we can all turn in early,” he declared.

“There is nothing to be getting over. We will be working with each other to achieving our mission,” Petra said with determination.

“Petra’s right. My stepmother always said the battlefield was an entirely different world. After what I saw while helping Naz and the Blue Lions, I know she was right,” Jasmine piped up.

“What did you see there?” Lindhart asked curiously. “You never did tell us how it went.”

“Well, it was-

“You all seem prepared to get out there,” Byleth said, interrupting the brunette and confusing the rest of the students.

“Excited or not, it’s time professor,” Edelgard said, pointing to the canyon. “We’re here. Give us orders and let’s move out,” she said expectantly.

“The thieves must have been driven back,” Hubert noted, as the battleground was seemingly empty. “Exercise caution, or the cornered mice may just bite us,” he warned.

On the other end, Kostas squinted at the sight of people coming toward the Canyon entrance.

“Who is that?” he asked, nudging his underling to get a closer look.

“I can’t tell chief, but they seem to be bearing the church emblem,” the thief replied fearfully.

“What?! The knights chased us all the way here?!” Kostas asked in alarm.

“Chief, let’s get out of here!” Another thief piped up.

“Yeah! There’s no way we can win against them. They’ve been training since birth!” Another added.

“Shut your damn mouths! Where would we go at this point? You can’t be a thief if you fear death. Brace for attack you lowlifes!” Kostas ordered, preparing for battle.

“Him?!” Edelgard asked, flabbergasted.

“Who is that Edie?” Dorothea asked, not recognizing the man. 

“That’s Kostas. The bandit that nearly took my life earlier in Remire village,” Edelgard said, shooting a pointed look to Byleth. Her teacher had saved her from him after all. “I will gladly take my revenge now,” she said with fury.

“We need to proceed with caution,” Byleth said, trying to calm Edelgard down.

“There are those that deserve no mercy. Kostas is one of those people. Let me charge forward,” Edelgard said, indicating it was not a question.

“Calm yourself,” Byleth said firmly, but still with tranquility. The rest of the Black Eagles eyes widened. No one spoke to Edelgard that way.

“Think with your head, not with your thirst for revenge. This is a real battlefield and I need to make sure you all are properly mentally prepared,” Byleth said pointedly. Edelgard took in those words and felt slight shame. She’d done the very thing she was worried about her housemates doing.

“Look across there,” Byleth said to his house, pointing toward a rock path. “We can see that there is a back road to the west. It would be wise to split up and charge from both the west and the front. Advancing tactfully will allow us to attack from both sides,” he said authoritatively. The rest of the house slowly nodded.

“Regardless, we’ll have to cross the bridge first,” Jasmine piped up, assessing the battleground as well. “Who do you want on the front lines?” she asked the professor.

“Myself, Hubert, and Caspar,” Byleth answered. Edelgard did well to hide her displeasure of not being included in the mix to her part.

“Professor, I see a treasure chest up ahead. It’ll likely have a weapon. And I have a key. Shall I proceed to the west path?” Dorothea asked, spinning a key on her index finger as she spoke.

“Yes Dorothea. You, Ferdinand, Petra, Jasmine, and Bernadetta will head westward. Edelgard, Hubert, Caspar, Lindhart, and I will push on the straight path to clear the field,” Byleth instructed.

“Are all real battles this exciting? Come on, let’s get onto the next one!” Caspar said eagerly.

“Caspar, we’re not even done with this one,” Jasmine said wearily.

“Oh yeah,” Caspar said. “By the way, don’t worry about the fact that we’ll be split up. We’re still mystery squad pals,” Caspar whispered to her with a wink.

“Thanks for the reassurance,” Jasmine said in amusement. Caspar was like the little brother she’d never had.

“I don’t care if they’re stealing! Can I go home?!” Bernadetta wailed.

“Pull yourself together Bernie. We’ve got thieves to thrash. Stay behind me and land some curve shots and you’ll be fine,” Dorothea said, dragging the frightened girl along with her.

“I will not allow Dorothea to get all the glory from the west path. These ruffians are no match for a noble like me!” Ferdinand sang as he rushed to catch up with the songstress and archer. Petra looked to her sword and then to Jasmine, staring deep into her eyes like only Petra did.

“Are you okay?” Jasmine asked, feeling exposed.

“Yes. I was just thinking about my homeland. They are to be saying that a battlefield is the time to be fighting for what is just. Our cause is just. This sword will be slashing the enemy now. People and beasts are as one. Calm your heart and do not be worried about these killings. I will be having your back. Will you be having mine?” The Brigid girl asked intensely.

‘It’s like she can see through souls,’ Jasmine thought with a gulp. “You can count on me Petra. I know those three charged ahead, but we’ll try our best to stick together, okay?” the brunette answered. Petra nodded and the pair took off after their group.

-

“Hiya Ashe,” Annette greeted kindly, taking the seat across from him in the dining hall and setting her plate down.

“Oh, hello Annette. How do you do?” he asked, smiling up at her.

“I’m great! The chef handed me an extra pastry because he knows how I am about sweets,” Annette said with glee. Ashe chuckled and looked to his own plate. The book he was reading could wait.

“That’s right. Would you like mine as well? In all honesty, I wasn’t planning to eat it,” Ashe said, offering her the cinnamon roll. Annette gladly took it, thanking him profusely.

“Were you studying or reading for fun?” she asked after taking a bite of the delectable roll. Ashe turned the book over so she could see that title.

“For leisure,” Ashe explained with a grin. “It’s a story about a young boy who became a knight despite being born with nothing,” he said dreamily. Annette giggled and finished the first pastry.

“Sounds just like the type of book to hook you in. Your fascination with knights is something admirable,” she complimented.

“Thank you. I owe it all to Lonato,” Ashe said, wavering over his adoptive father’s name. Annette noticed and cocked her head to the side.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. “I remember you mentioning that he hadn’t returned any of your letters as of late,” she said with concern. Ashe seemed to grow uncomfortable, and he folded in on himself.

“If you’d rather talk about something else, that’s fine,” Annette said kindly.

“Actually, you’re one of the only people I trust to tell this to,” Ashe admitted. Annette felt her cheeks warm at that confession and she waited for her friend to continue.

“Lonato seems to be in a hefty amount of trouble with the church,” he said, frowning. “There’s been talk of him starting a rebellion against the church,” he told Annette who seemed shocked at this news.

“Lord Lonato? Inciting a rebellion? I don’t understand. I can’t believe it,” she said quietly, making sure no one could hear them. Ashe smiled sadly at her quiet outburst and leaned his back against the chair.

“It warms my heart that you can’t believe it either. I’m not so sure that Lady Rhea shares that sentiment,” he said with pain. “And I think our house’s next mission is going to be to stop it,” he said, burying his face in his hands to hide his emotions. Annette was startled by this admission even more and she stood up from her chair and rushed to Ashe’s side.

“Hey, listen to me Ashe. Just like with Sylvain, no one is going to force you to face a mission you’re not ready for,” she said, quickly trying to think of the rights words to make Ashe feel better. “We can always pass the mission along to the Black Eagles. Or you could stay here. I’d even stay with you if you wanted,” she said sincerely. Ashe seemed grateful for her words, but his sadness was developing over the course of a couple of days at this point.

“I really appreciate that Annette, but I’m not sure that’s the honorable thing to do. A true knight would be able to put aside his feelings and do what is necessary for his people,” Ashe said, trying to sound tougher than he felt.

“Ashe, Lord Lonato isn’t just people. He’s your adoptive father. And you’re not a knight yet. You’re still a student. It’s okay to put your feelings first,” Annette said carefully, placing a hand on his shoulder. As soon as she did so, Ashe stood up and smiled, but it wasn’t genuine.

“Thank you for your kind words, Annette. I’ll try to remember that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really must go and finish my book,” he said briskly, walking off. Annette frowned as she watched him go.

“He didn’t even finish his food,” she said softly, seeing the half-eaten plate in front of her. ‘He’ll come around,’ she told herself, moving back to eat her pastries. They were helping her digest everything Ashe had just told her.

-

“Spoiled little noble! Just die like a good little rich kid!” Kostas spat, nothing but greed in his eyes. Edelgard narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her trusty axe.

“Do you really think being born a commoner gives you the right to kill? Despicable,” she retaliated, her stance shifting into one of attack.

“Sending mere brats instead of the knights means they’ve underestimated me. Big mistake!” Kostas said, holding his club up high. “Time to finish what I started in Remire village!” he said with a sinister smile. Byleth tensed at those words and reached for his sword, but Edelgard stopped him.

“No, my teacher. This time, I am prepared,” she said, giving him a knowing look. Byleth wanted to say something, but reluctantly allowed Edelgard to get her due justice.

“Be ready to provide backup as need be. Lindhart, move ahead in case she needs to be healed,” Byleth instructed the rest of the house. The Black Eagles complied and Lindhart stepped up right behind Hubert, who was ready to maul Kostas if he landed even one blow onto his lady.

“You’re right about one thing,” Edelgard said eerily calmly to Kostas. “This is for Remire Village,” she finished, walking gracefully up to the thief and felling him in one swipe. The rest of the house watched in shock. One minute Kostas stood strong, but after one hit from her majesty, he was on the ground, fighting death.

 “I should have never listened to that idiot…what a mistake…” Kostas moaned as his last words. And then he was no more.

“Is making us experience a real battle part of the church’s teachings?” Dorothea asked, looking down.

“Edelgard is…unbelievably powerful,” Jasmine breathed, eyes fixated on where Kostas lay.

“Yes. Her majesty is fighting for years. A lot of time to be training,” Petra nodded, seeming proud of Edelgard’s display of strength.

“It’s like she killed that guy just by looking at him!” Caspar said in awe. Ferdinand wacked him across the head for speaking so brazenly of the newly dead. The brawler rubbed his head in pain and recoiled.

“Edie, are you alright?” Dorothea asked, slowly walking up to the house leader. Edelgard turned around, face void of emotion.

“Do not worry yourself over me Dorothea. The situation is regrettable, but there was no other way,” she answered evenly. “Thank you for leading us professor. Though I suppose there was no way we could lose to a familiar face,” Edelgard said with a bow.

“Y-yes, thank you professor,” Dorothea said shortly after. The rest of the house gave their thanks and began heading back to the monastery, Byleth staying behind with Edelgard.

“Something about this canyon feels inexplicably strange,” Edelgard said to him once the others were out of earshot.

‘She feels it too! Now is your chance to get some information. Go on! Say something!’ Sothis demanded Byleth. The professor jumped up in surprise, not having expected to hear her in front of so many people.

“Are you alright my teacher?” Edelgard asked with concern.

Sothis growled in his head ‘Each time I speak, it scares you so. You must be weak of heart,’ she chided. ‘Steel yourself and focus! I wonder why it is that we recall this place. Ask her something!’ Sothis repeated.

Byleth cleared his throat and said, “Yes, my apologies. The battle is still running through my mind. I remember this being a peaceful place whenever I came across hearing about it. since when has it been called the Red Canyon?” he asked the house leader.

“I’m not certain. However, chance a look around,” Edelgard replied, gesturing to the expanse of rock and dirt. “Do you notice anything professor?” she asked.

“I do,” Byleth nodded, eyeing the ruins. This place seemed riddled with history. History of what kind, he couldn’t say. He attempted to quell Sothis’s cries of demanding answers from Edelgard.

“Of course. I expected as much,” Edelgard said. “The area is covered in ruins, each more curious than the last. They do not match the architectural style of any era or culture within the Empire. Or across all of Fodland for that matter. That can only mean one thing. The valley’s civilization must have flourished and fallen in the distant past, long before the Empire was established,” she explained peculiarly.

“Who do you think lived there?” Byleth asked, brows furrowed.

“Ah. That is the very question I was going to ask you,” she said with a pleased smile.

“A culture long since perished?” he chanced.

“It is possible they weren’t even human. Hm, perhaps their remnants still influence this world even,” Edelgard hummed, more to herself than anyone else. “In any case, we must head back. I’ll charge ahead to catch up with the others and let them know I am proud,” she said, taking her leave.

‘Although the battle is at an end, do not feel too at ease. Anyhow, I am still quite fascinated by this place. As far as I can tell, this is your first time here,’ Sothis’s voice rang. Byleth shook his head. How could that be possible? It wasn’t. However…

“Still, it feels familiar. Have you been here before Sothis?” he asked. While it wasn’t possible for him to have been here, it was highly likely that Sothis might have been. Anything was a possibility for her it seemed.

‘I daresay it would be impossible to have forgotten such a place as this. How odd. I wonder if somehow, my memories have…hmm. I must admit I am unsure. Beyond the name and this strange feeling of familiarity, I can’t seem to remember anything about this place. And yet…a great depth of emotion is tied to that sense of familiarity. Like joy and sorrow. Pain and love. And all things in between. If I was somehow here before, I wonder what took place…more answers lay in those ruins your girlfriend was talking about,’ Sothis said with sass toward the end.

‘In any case, you must become accustomed to my voice! If you fall down with shock each time I speak, that just won’t do,’ she complained.

“You’re right. One other thing confuses me. How did Zanado come to be called the Red Canyon? Nothing here is red. I expected the rocks to be,” Byleth noted.

‘Who but time can say? That is who reveals all things after all. One day, I will remember that which I have lost,’ Sothis said ominously.

“All that you’ve lost?” Byleth asked.

‘Never mind that. It is time to depart. Hurry along before that nosy killer princess comes back to check on us,’ Sothis chided. Byleth stored his other questions for later and did just that.

-

Felix threw his sword down in frustration. No matter how hard he trained, he couldn’t get that infernal blonde out of his head. Why did she continue to plague his thoughts? He could no longer even train in peace.

“Hello?” A voice called out as the door to the training hall opened. Felix groaned. Great. Just what he needed. The boar prince decided to make an appearance.

“Oh Felix! Would you like a sparring partner?” Dimitri asked, smiling at his childhood friend and walking over to the weapons rack.

“I was just leaving,” Felix spat, not returning the sentiment. Dimitri paused in his actions and sighed.

“I wonder what went wrong with us Felix. I recall the days you used to whine unless you were given permission to spend time with me. You’d complain if you weren’t doing everything with me in fact,” Dimitri said slowly. Felix clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes at the prince.

“Shut. Up,” he said in a low tone.

“I only mean to come to an understanding,” Dimitri said, trying not to take Felix’s words to heart.

“Go away. Just looking at your face makes me wanna retch,” Felix said, reaching for the door.

“I cannot fathom why you seem to hate me so.”

Felix tightened his grip on the doorknob and felt his blood boil. Filled with all the malice in the world, paired with his frustration toward whatever he was feeling about Evangeline, he turned around and threw daggers at the prince with his eyes.

“You want to ‘fathom’ why I cannot stand looking at you?” Felix asked through clenched teeth. “I’ll tell you why,” he said quickly before Dimitri could respond. “It’s because I know what you really are – a beast. A beast craving blood and not caring who dies on your path to make sure you get that blood,” Felix hissed.

“A beast craving blood, am I?” Dimitri asked, looking down. “I assume you’re speaking of the events of two years ago. Last time we met outside of the academy?” Dimitri asked quietly.

“Give the prince a prize,” Felix said sarcastically. “The way you suppressed that rebellion…It was ruthless slaughter, and you loved every second. I remember the way you killed your victims. How you watched them all suffer. Your face bore the expression of all the world’s evil packed into it. I remember it vividly, with it being our final battle,” he accused.

Dimitri stayed quiet and bore a perplexed expression as he stared the ground down.

“I will kill every last one of them!”

“Dimitri, calm down. We have to focus!”

“I will hang their heads for the crimes they’ve committed…”

“And what’s more is that I recall you telling Sylvain not to lose his humanity back at Conand Tower. Don’t think I didn’t notice. You’re lucky I didn’t call you out for the hypocrite you so verily are then and there,” Felix added, waiting for him to respond.

“If you’re waiting for denial or anger from me, you will be waiting forever Felix,” Dimitri said lowly.

“I’m not waiting for either of those things,” Felix said, picking up his sword he’d dropped earlier and glancing at his reflection in it.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Dimitri asked, slowly looking up.

“An apology,” Felix said, pointing his sword toward Dimitri calmly.

“I apologize for frightening you with my words and actions that day,” Dimitri bowed.

“I didn’t mean for that,” Felix said angrily.

“Then what for?” Dimitri asked with exasperation. He wasn’t sure how much more of this conversation he could take.

“Glenn almost died that night!” Felix cried out, frustration taking over. His sword fell from his grasp, and he clutched his head. “He almost died protecting your sorry ass and you never once checked on him after that happened!” he shouted, heaving from his rage.

“Felix I…” Dimitri trailed off, not having expected that. How long had Felix been keeping that in? Then a moment later, it was as though Felix hadn’t had his outburst. He was eerily calm, and he walked toward the door again.

“I suppose the Dimitri I once called a friend died during that slaughter in Duscur, along with his father. You’re lucky Glenn survived. Unlike my father, I see no honorable qualities in you, nor do I feel I ever will,” Felix said, leaving on that note.

Dimitri sank to the ground and placed his face in his hands. Felix was right. He had been so caught up in his personal vendetta that he lost sight of what he still had. Glenn had thrown his life in danger to save his own. If Felix had not interfered that night, Glenn could have ended up more heavily injured…or worse.

“Hello?” a voice called out, the training hall door opening once more. “Is anybody in here?” the voice asked, nervous. Tiny footsteps followed and then a gasp.

“You,” She breathed. The prince looked up to see Nazareth. Her appearance was enough to distract him from his thoughts as he took in the sight of her.

“Nazareth. You look different. It is a good different. That is not to say that your usual look is not…I mean. Ahem, hello,” he stumbled, shaking his head. Nazareth tried not to look amused, but it was clear that Dimitri struggled to give compliments to girls.

“What are you doing sitting on the ground like that?” She asked, ignoring his nerves.

“I’m surprised you show concern after the way I last spoke to you,” he admitted, sitting up a little straighter. Nazareth joined him on the ground and smiled encouragingly at him.

“Perhaps I knew you’d come to your senses and realize I wasn’t lying about keeping your secret,” she shrugged.

“Why do you seem to forgive me for it so easily?” he asked. Nazareth sighed and bumped their shoulders together.

“Because I can see for myself how sorry you are,” she said with a lilt to her voice. Then she gazed down at the floor as did the prince. “Or maybe because I realized how much your emotions must have spiraled in that moment. If the most intimate parts of my private life were made public, I’m not sure how I’d react either,” she said softly. Dimitri looked to her in a new light.

“I think I really needed to hear that. Thank you Naz. Your forgiving nature reminds me of what drew me to you in the first place,” Dimitri said with a dry laugh. Nazareth glanced at him from the side of her eye, and she fidgeted with her fingers out of nervousness.

“And what’s that?” she asked.

“You try your hardest to put yourself in another’s shoes when they take drastic action,” he said in admiration. “I’d like to think we have that in common,” he added, nudging her back this time.

“I like to think so too,” Nazareth said, nudging him back.

The two sat in silence for a moment, gently nudging each other every few seconds and then laughing about it despite nothing being said.

After a moment, Dimitri stood up and stretched his arms. “What brought you to the training grounds anyhow?” he asked Nazareth. The brunette went to stand up and bashfully took Dimitri’s hand when he offered it to help her up.

“I saw Felix leaving and assumed it would be empty in here. And I recall you saying that training could be fun. I thought I’d try my luck with a lance,” she answered sheepishly. Dimitri smiled and walked over to the weapons rack. He grabbed for two lances and offered one to Nazareth.

The brunette took it and gasped when their fingers touched for a brief moment from the exchange. Dimitri’s soulful cerulean eyes were locked onto her startled gray ones. They stood there for a moment and then Dimitri stepped closer.

Nazareth instinctively stepped back and took a deep breath before sticking the lance out and smiling radiantly. “Well, I’m ready for my first lesson!"

Dimitri blinked out of his stupor and nodded, working to show Nazareth the proper form of wielding a lance.

-

‘Well, are you going to knock or not?!’ Sothis asked impatiently. Byleth tensed, still wanting to be alone to think about the strange feeling that immerged from being in Zanado. He knew giving the report to Rhea was mandatory, but couldn’t it wait?

‘I can tell what you’re thinking, remember? All will be fine and answered in due time. For now, go tell that archbishop lady about our success,’ Sothis said softer this time.

Byleth nodded and knocked before entering Rhea’s office.

“Ah, professor. I was wondering when I’d hear from you. I got word that you returned from your mission a short while ago,” Rhea greeted, gesturing for him to take a seat.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I stopped by the dining hall before coming here,” he answered, sitting down.

“No need to worry. So, you have safely disposed of those bandits. I pray that their souls find salvation. But why did they target the students to begin with? We must further investigate the true cause of all that took place. Until we know more, I ask that you support the students and relieve them of any unnecessary worry,” Rhea said, getting straight to the point.

“Of course Lady Rhea. I will do what I can,” Byleth bowed, ignoring Sothis mocking him in his head.

“Good. I have high expectations for you. By the way, how was your time in Zanado? Legend has it, in ancient times, a goddess alighted upon this world in that very canyon. For a goddess from the heavens, Zanado could only have been a temporary haven,” Rhea said with a fond look as she always bore when talking about the goddesses.

“I’m sorry, did you say a goddess?” Byleth asked, interested captured.

“Yes!” Rhea said happily. She seemed thrilled that the professor was showing interest in such a topic. “Long ago, the divine Seiros received a revelation from the goddess. A gift, to help guide the lost. That goddess is always watching over Fodland from her kingdom above. However, in ancient times, the goddess graced this world with her presence and offered salvation to the people here. She is the mother of all life, the arbiter of every soul,” she explained with passion.

“I…didn’t know anything about that before,” Byleth explained, taking that in. Who was this goddess and why hadn’t he heard of her before?

“I see,” Rhea said, looking down, happiness shaken. “I was hoping your father might have mentioned it to you. During your time here, I pray that you come to devote yourself to the teachings of Serios,” she said, sounding like a mother. Byleth suddenly felt small. His father was not very religious and seemed to dislike the church and Rhea. To promise himself to devote himself to the teachings of the church seemed wrong.

“Lady Rhea, I am sorry to interrupt, but there is something I must ask about in regard to those bandits,” Seteth’s voice rang, as he walked into Rhea’s office. Byleth was never happier to see him.

“As you wish. We shall continue our discussion when we next meet,” Rhea said, dismissing Byleth. The professor stood up and headed out, desperate to confer with Sothis.

“You’re awfully quiet,” he said to her as soon as he found a quiet place outside of the staff house and on a bench nearby some cats. “Usually you have much to say,” he provoked.

‘A goddess? I have no memory of her. But then…I have no memory at all. I’m quiet because this is quite bothersome you dolt! It is as though I know…and yet I don’t. Perhaps Zanado was my home back when the goddess walked the land. If so, what does that make me now? A ghost?’ She asked, perplexed.

“I…don’t know. Maybe you’re the…” he trailed off, worried he might offend her somehow.

‘I know what you’re thinking, and no. That can’t be. I also cannot be a ghost. I am most certainly alive. Of course, we also have the mystery of why I’m here with you. Is it somehow connected? Perhaps some past regret is stopping me from moving on, and now I’m forced to stay with you instead…no that’s not it. I can’t believe in such a meaningless existence! I…I…if only there were a way to retrieve lost memories,” she said brokenly.

“There must be a way. We’ll find one. I promise, okay?” Byleth said fiercely.

‘You seem rather confident for someone who does not know much,” Sothis said.

“No, but church does. Maybe we should take Rhea’s advice and devote ourselves to the church,” Byleth said with a hidden smile.

‘Your girlfriend won’t like that!’ Sothis warned. Byleth ignored her jab and walked back toward the dining hall. In his rush to report to Lady Rhea, he’d left half his Derdriu style fried pheasant on the table and his stomach growled at the thought of getting to finish it. The canyon mystery could wait another hour at least.

-

“Ashe! Is it not the finest of days for a stroll?” Ferdinand asked in surprise, catching up the Blue Lion student. Ashe seemed surprised to have been found. They were quite a distance away from the monastery and Ferdinand wasn’t exactly someone he would call a friend.

“I suppose it is Ferdinand. It’s…good to see you,” Ashe said politely with a nod. Ferdinand seemed to take that as invitation to join Ashe on his walk.

“Are you heading somewhere in particular?” the nobleman asked conversationally.

“No, not really. Um, you?” Ashe asked as they walked somewhat awkwardly together.

“It seems I am always headed toward a path for answers,” Ferdinand said boldly, chest puffed out as though he spoke more profoundly than any other.

“Ohhhkay,” Ashe said with an awkward laugh as he mapped out an escape route from this conversation without appearing rude.

“I heard about Lord Lonato,” Ferdinand said flatly. Ashe tensed, ceasing his footsteps. Ferdinand mimicked him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ashe tried to say, internally angry that Ferdinand felt he could bring up such a topic so brazenly.

“I simply mean to say that I understand,” Ferdinand said with his usual haughty expression. ‘Evangeline will be so pleased with me! I am being a good confidant!’ he thought to himself.

“No offense Ferdinand,” Ashe started, shaking his head. “But you’re the son of a highly respected noble. How could you possibly understand?” he asked, frowning. Ferdinand seemed to grow quiet at those words, but Ashe had had enough. Processing what Lord Lonato was allegedly planning was hard enough without false sympathies under his belt.

“Ashe wait,” Ferdinand said, faltering in his expression.

“I really don’t have time right now Ferdinand. My apologies, but I should get going,” Ashe said, continuing to walk.

“My father is not the honorable man you and many other may like to think he is,” Ferdinand said somberly. Ashe halted at that and turned around, confused.

“Ferdinand, what do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean to say, it is not just words. I understand what you might be feeling,” Ferdinand said, smiling weakly this time. “It’s…hard to imagine the man you looked up to with nothing but adoration…as anything but a hero. A role model. To hear that he may be doing something you don’t agree with…” he trailed off. Ashe felt guilt pour into his head. He thought Ferdinand was entirely one dimensional, but apparently the noble was capable of thinking complexly. Perhaps he’d pegged him all wrong.

“Ferdinand, are you o-

“Well, I’ll leave you be then! Best of luck on your mission tomorrow. And I do hope that I haven’t said anything to greatly upset you,” Ferdinand interrupted, heading back the way he’d come from. Ashe watched him leave, wondering what on Fodland Duke Aegir could have done to make Ferdinand react in such a way.

-

Nazareth looked up from her homework to see Jasmine at her doorway, looking exhausted.

“Jas, you’re back! Come, sit,” Nazareth said, gesturing to her bed. Jasmine shook her head, seeming out of breath.

“I don’t want to get your bed dirty. I have to take a shower, but I needed to tell you something before I forgot,” she explained.

“Is this about earlier? Because we really don’t need to talk about it,” Nazareth said, looking down. Thinking about their father, Cethleann, Cichol, any of it really, made the younger sister anxious and afraid.

“I know you don’t want to, but you need to hear this. It’s a long story how I know, but your staff has two appearances. The extravagant one it’s in right now, and the plain one from before. I think to avoid drawing attention to yourself, you should change it back,” Jasmine said caringly.

“Change it back? But…how?” Nazareth asked.

“Go back to the Saint Statues chamber. Hold the staff in front of Cethleann's statue and it’ll glow and change back again,” Jasmine instructed.

“I know you said it’s a long story how you know, but how do you know that?!” Nazareth asked, holding her face in her hands.

“Listen Naz,” Jasmine started, walking up to her sister and putting her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders. “I know this is scary. If you want to wait for me to finish taking a shower and then head down there together, let me know. I’ll come straight here,” she promised. Nazareth looked into her sister’s eyes and sighed.

“I love you Jas, but it’s okay. I’ll go do it,” Nazareth said. “Go take your shower. I’ll do it right now,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Jasmine asked.

“One thousand and one percent,” Nazareth winked, but Jasmine could see she was still nervous.

“I’ll see you at the words of wisdom later?” Jasmine asked. Nazareth nodded and they both set out to do what they needed.

-

‘Hmm…what was that name again?’ Sothis asked, not realizing she’d tapped into her connection with Byleth.

“Something on your mind?” the professor asked, thankful no one was in the corridor.

‘Oh, this is frustrating to no end! I simply can’t stand it. That place brought back some fragments of my memory. I cannot help but wonder why. I feel we must return to find some answers there,’ Sothis said petulantly.

“Zanado?” Byleth asked, recalling how frazzled Sothis had become when they were there. How frazzled he had gotten.

‘Yes! If there is a chance that answers lie in those ruins, we must seek them out,’ Sothis insisted.

“Alone? And what was that you said about the answers coming forth in time?” Byleth asked, perplexed.

‘Yes, alone. We can’t have a merry group of children accompany us. They will have too many questions. Now hurry! We’re losing daylight. For as the saying goes, there is no time like the present,’ Sothis answered shortly. Byleth chose not to argue and went off, thankful that classes were finishing up and he did not have any papers to grade. Sothis had a point. When else would they find another opportunity like this?

On the far end of the corridor, Edelgard rose an eyebrow toward Hubert.

“Did you see? It seemed as though he were talking to himself and now, he is sneaking off alone. Where to, I wonder,” Edelgard said, feeling left out.

“I don’t recall hearing of any such plans for our house. We had just the one mission. Perhaps we should follow the professor,” Hubert offered, not trusting the mercenary.

“Intrigued, are we?” Edelgard asked, looking surprised at Hubert’s suggestion despite her wanting to do so on her own.

“Are you not?” Hubert asked, avoiding the princess’s gaze. “Will we follow him or not? It is your call,” he added. ‘I would follow you anywhere,’ he added to his thoughts.

“Yes, let’s do just that. We will consider it…extra training,” Edelgard decided, and the pair scurried after their wayward professor, careful to stay hidden.

As fate would have it, Dimitri and Dedue were at an angle where they also saw Professor Byleth scurrying off.

“It is most unlike the professor to go wandering like that. Without Edelgard no less,” Dimitri thought aloud as he watched the mercenary make a beeline for the gates, her imperial highness nowhere in sight.

“Curious your highness?” Dedue asked, sensing that they would have to depart after the professor.

“Yes. I have an uneasy feeling about this,” Dimitri answered, watching curiously as Byleth continued on. ‘Where is he going at this time of day? And alone no less,’ he thought.

“Why is that?” Dedue asked.

 “What could be so secretive that even Edelgard is not accompanying him? I must find out what is going on,” Dimitri said with determination.

“Your highness, I cannot allow you. It is too dangerous,” Dedue said firmly.

“If you are so worried, why not accompany me?” Dimitri asked, making it clear that he was not going to be deterred.

“…Very well. I will do all I can to keep you safe,” Dedue agreed as the pair headed off toward

-

“So Felix tells me that you’ve been helping with the research,” Claude says to Evangeline as they make their way to the monastery gates. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows. First Jasmine and now Claude? Why was it so surprising that Felix sought her out? That, and why did those two seem to know about it? Felix hadn’t mentioned that he confided in anyone else about his supposed self interest in the topic of Cethleann.

“Yeah, a little. I’ve been reading up on her history a bit,” she said carefully.

“Don’t read too much. It fills women’s heads with ideas, remember?” Claude jokes, knowing how Evangeline’s mother was. She laughed in response, shaking her head.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said jokingly. “By the by, did Felix happen to mention to you why he was so interested in Saint Cethleann?” she asked Claude. It was the house leader’s turn to look confused as he took in Evangeline’s words.

“He didn’t tell you?” Claude asked.

“Not in so many words. After all, we are talking about Felix,” she shrugged.

‘Hm. Guess he did keep that part a secret then. But why ask for Evangeline’s help if he wasn’t going to loop her in completely? And it’s not like she’s part of the mystery squad,’ Claude thought to himself. That was when it hit him, and he chuckled.

“Sounds like someone has a tiny crush,” he said in amusement. Evangeline widened her eyes and wacked Claude’s shoulder gracelessly.

“I would never in a million years think to have a crush on Felix Hugo Fraldarius!” She said in disgust. Claude moved his head to the side.

“I meant that he had a crush on you, blondie,” he chuckled. Evangeline sheepishly laughed along and felt rather silly.

“Oh. Well. Wait, no. That’s even more absurd,” she said after a moment, shaking her head. “There simply is no way,” she insisted.

“Oh please. I see the way he looks at you,” Claude said, tone nothing but mischief.

“Oh? And what look is that? The same one you gave me before you kissed me?” she taunted lightly. Claude shoved Evangeline playfully and winked.

“You know as well as I that the only reason that kiss happened was so that we both could say we’ve kissed someone before. While it was nice, it was hardly a kiss that could compare to one you’d have with Felix,” he said innocently. The blonde felt a healthy blush form on her cheeks. A kiss with Felix was not something she spent time thinking about. He was always so angry and hotheaded and tense and…Evangeline shuddered at the thought of lip locking with such an aggressive man.

“You’re impossible,” she said, still smiling. Evangeline enjoyed spending time with Claude. He was one of the only boys to not flirt with her or shoot insults at her for rejecting their advances. It was refreshing to see him treat her as an equal. “I wonder what’s keeping Hilda,” she said, looking around.

“She’d better show up soon. We’ve got to get first pick at the fireworks,” Claude said, leaning his head on his arms behind him. “What do you think she’s doing? Studying?” he joked, snickering to himself. Evangeline grew wide eyed at that, and face palmed.

“Oh shoot. I just remembered that I have to finish revising my essay from earlier. I did the rough draft and then got distracted by researching Cethleann. You think you and Hilda can handle this without me?” Evangeline asked with guilt. Claude shook his head, but smiled nonetheless.

“Of course. With the time you’ll have left over after you finish, you can do more reading and then update us, cool?” Claude said.

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks Claude. Catch ya later,” she said, racing toward the docks to study. Claude watched her go and wondered if she really would end up with Felix. They kind of reminded him of his own parents. At least from the stories he’d heard. His mother was said to always have had her nose in a good book and his father was an excellent swordsman.

Before he could fully dive into thoughts of his late parents, a flash of red and then blue caught his eye. The tactician quickly ducked behind a couple of barrels and saw the prince and princess exiting the monastery gates, but from opposite sides, each unaware of the other.

“And just why are Dimitri and Edelgard sneaking off the monastery grounds on a weekday?” Claude asked aloud, watching as Edelgard and Hubert charged ahead. Dimitri and Dedue seemed to be following them, but from the opposite side. Why were they going in the same direction and unable to see the other?

“Wait. Is that…teach? He’s involved too? I hate not knowing what’s going on,” Claude said, trying to quell his frustration. Clearly something of substance was about to take place and he was the only house leader (yet again) to be out of the loop.

“Okay that’s it. I’m getting to the bottom of this. It’s not like I’ve been assigned a mission to go on,” he muttered to himself. The fireworks operation would have to wait.

“Are you talking to yourself?” Hilda asked, walking up to the house leader with a judging expression on her face.

“I was. Come on Hilda. I could use your strength,” Claude said, ushering her to follow him after the prince and princess.

“You’re making me work?! But we were supposed to go shopping!” Hilda protested.

“Yeah, now come on,” he insisted, moving on ahead to follow Dimitri follow Edelgard follow Byleth.

-

“Lady Rhea, we really must do something about the incident in the library. Some of the students are restless and Manuela was practically in an uproar the other night,” Seteth said, closing the archbishop’s office door behind him.

“You know as well as I that our students’ safety is a top priority. No one was hurt and that is a blessing,” Rhea started. “And while I’d love nothing more than to question Tomas, we still haven’t been able to locate him,” she explained, feeling helpless.

“Should we appoint a specific student or teacher to this? We have to get to the bottom of what took place,” Seteth insisted.

“Why don’t you take charge?” Rhea asked sincerely.

“M-me?” Seteth sputtered.

“Yes. Why not? You know this monastery in and out. You care about keeping the school safe, and you are more than knowledgeable,” Rhea listed kindly. “I think you to be the perfect man for the job,” she said.

“Your words honor me, Lady Rhea. But I was actually going to suggest Professor Manuela. She seemed so frazzled. Perhaps giving her this responsibility will distract her,” he said, hands behind his back.

“You make a fair point Seteth. I will let Professor Manuela know at once. You are dismissed,” she said with a nod. Seteth nodded and thanked her for her time before taking his leave.

-

‘Yes, it’s all coming back to me. this structure,’ Sothis breathed, taking in the ruins up ahead.

‘Oh but it’s as though my memories are clouded. The most important pieces are obscured. But I once called this place home. I have no doubt. I seem to recall something…on the other side of that wall. I cannot see it, but I can still feel it…it is not my imagination. I know this to be true. We have already been deep within this valley once before,’ she said, seemingly in a trance.

“We?” Byleth asked. “Other than today, I’m sure I haven’t been here before,” he insisted. Before Sothis could answer, the ground shook the slightest bit and a resonating “GRRRRRRAGH!” was heard.

‘Oh my! What was that awful sound?!’ Sothis asked, nerves flaring.

“A terrible scream,” Byleth said unhelpfully. Sothis shared a few choice words to which Byleth clarified with, “some sort of beast?”

‘Yes, and not an average one, but a huge and terrifying one. Look! There! At the entrance of the valley…a giant shadow!’ she cried, urging Byleth to turn around. The professor turned just in time to see some other ungodly creature. Before he could reach for his sword, another, slightly less violent “gaaaargh!” called out.

“What is it now?” he asked, looking around.

‘There! See where the dust storm is forming?’ Sothis asked. Byleth focused his gaze to the middle of the battleground and squinted, trying to make out what those grayish figures were.

‘It’s hungry wolves! That howl must have riled them up. The beast is still hidden from view for the most part. We have no choice but to fight our way out. Give it your all you child!’ Sothis commanded.

“For someone who stays safe in my head, you love throwing around the word ‘we,’ a lot,” Byleth mumbled.

‘What was that?’ Sothis asked warningly.

“Nothing. Time for action. Allow me to demonstrate,” he said, grabbing for his sword and charging toward the wolves.

Near the entrance of the canyon, Edelgard and Hubert rushed up in time to see the scene unfolding.

“It’s good we caught up with the professor, but this situation is…hard to put into words actually,” Hubert said, trying to make sense of the beast and dust clouds.

“Wolves to the front, hawks to the rear, and what appears to be a demonic Beast at the canyon’s mouth…” Edelgard said, suddenly nervous. Would she, Hubert, and the professor be enough to take on so many enemies?

“A wild beast at that. Or perhaps it’s more fitting to call it a stray,” Hubert noted, checking his tome usage. He could only throw out so many Miasmas.

“If we can’t prevail over that Demonic Beast, we won’t make it out of the Red Canyon alive. The first thing we need to do is reunite with our professor. The wolves are closing in…” Edelgard said, trying to think of how best to cut through to do that.

To the west entrance of the canyon, Dimitri and Dedue caught up and processed the scene as well.

“This is bad…it is a good thing we managed to catch up with professor Byleth. If we cannot take out this beast, I doubt we will ever see him, or the monastery again,” Dimitri said in worry.

“It is a good thing Edelgard has decided to come too,” Dedue mentioned, pointing across the field to where her imperial highness stood. Dimitri was shocked, not having seen her. In hindsight, it made sense. Edelgard would never have allowed the professor out of her sights. She and Hubert must have followed him as did they.

“We must help the professor first and foremost. He is alone. But let us keep an eye out for Edelgard as well,” Dimitri said authoritatively. Dedue nodded in agreement and the two went to clear a path toward the professor.

…

Claude sighed as Hilda sank down to the ground for the fifth time on their trek.

“What is it this time?” he asked the pink haired girl.

“I think I got some mud on these shoes. And they’re new Claude,” Hilda complained.

“If you just got new shoes, then why were you going out shopping today?” Claude asked skeptically. Hilda went wide eyed and stood up abruptly.

“Um, you know what? A little mud never hurt anybody. Let’s get to wherever Dimitri and Edelgard are headed to already!” She said, moving on ahead. Claude shook his head. He never knew where that girl’s head was.

“Um, Claude?” her voice called out after a minute.

“What is it?” he asked, catching up to her.

“Look,” Hilda said, voice odd. Claude moved to Hilda’s vantage point and took a look. If he was perturbed by the scene, he did an extremely well job of hiding it. His eyes showed that he was scanning the entire battlefield and mapping out points of retreat as well as offense.

“It was the right move for us to follow them. However you look at it now, they’re in a tough spot,” Claude said, squinting his eyes to make out the distance between the pairs and then Byleth.

“That’s a demonic beast Claude. We should never have come here. We’re not trained for this. We haven’t even been on a real mission before. We should’ve asked the others to come too at least,” Hilda said, growing more and more scared with each word.

“Don’t say that,” Claude said smoothly, quelling down frustration from how his house was perceived. He could deal with that later. Right now, he had to figure out a strategy to help both the royal brats and the only teacher that ever really believed in him.

“But what’s a demonic beast doing here? Even Teach and their royal highnesses are having trouble out here all alone,” Claude said, more to himself than to his retainer.

“So then we just jump right in?” she asked skeptically. At least she had decided to bring her brave axe with her.

“No,” Claude said after a moment. “Let’s wait until they really need us,” he said, crossing his arms. Hilda seemed to want to question that. It wasn’t like Claude to do nothing. What was going on in his head?

“Whatever you say,” Hilda sighed, leaning against her axe to rest and watch as the other house leaders and Byleth fought through the swarm of beasts, each seemingly unaware of the others.

Just then, a hawk was making a beeline for Edelgard, and Hubert was too distracted by a wolf to notice. Another hawk was coming in from the opposite side and heading for Dimitri as well.

“Now?” Hilda asked.

“Yeah. Throw your axe toward the hawk on the left. Now,” Claude commanded, charging ahead.

“But it won’t reach that far in time!” Hilda tried to say.

“Throw it Hilda. NOW,” Claude shouted. Hilda took aim, lunged her axe as far and high as she could, and then closed her eyes, unable to watch.

Claude raced after it, took out a tome, and let a gush of wind magic escape his fingertips, accelerating the axe to take out the hawk before it could get to the imperial princess. He then rolled to the right, swung out his long bow and fired three clean arrows toward the other hawk, effectively felling it by Dimitri’s feet.

“Nice shots Claude!” Hilda cheered, running up to the scene. Edelgard seemed frazzled as she looked up in time to see what had happened. She seemed bewildered to see Claude. Dimitri seemed to have a similar reaction.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad you’re here Claude,” Edelgard said gratefully.

“I am indebted to you,” Dimitri said kindly.

“You’re right. And since this risk is simply too high for your highnesses, I must humbly insist that you both wait here where it’s safe and won’t get your royal clothes dirty. Hilda and I will handle the heavy lifting of course,” Claude mocked, firing off more arrows at incoming hawks.

“That is quite enough. As though I would allow you to make any call on the battlefield on your own. Dimitri and I will take care of the front lines while you shoot arrows from afar, right Dimitri?” Edelgard asked, thinking he would back her up.

“Considering the situation we are in, we all must work together. With our combined strength, we can help the professor faster. Please, try to get along,” Dimitri begged, using a tempest lance technique to fend off a wolf as Dedue came in to finish it off. Hubert to his part, had been taking out the creatures from further away to avoid an ambush.

“Right, well, tag along with Hilda and me if you insist. Just don’t come crying to us if we all meet a terrible fate, deal?” Claude winked.

“Likewise,” Edelgard grumbled. “No use dallying. Weaken that beast’s arm so as to immobilize it. It’ll be easier for me to find an opening,” she commanded Claude. The jokester did as she suggested, but then veered off toward the middle, surprising the prince and princess.

“What are you doing Claude?” Dimitri asked with concern as he pierced his lance into the flesh of another wolf.

“Someone’s gotta get to teach. You guys have it under control here. I mapped out the grounds from the higher ground,” Claude said, disappearing into the dust clouds.

“That Claude. He refuses to think,” Edelgard said judgmentally.

“I think it seemed as though he had a plan Edelgard. Regardless, he proves himself time and time again. We must push on and rush to help him,” Dimitri said, felling the last of the wolves. Edelgard seemed to want to counter Dimitri’s defense of Claude, but incoming hawks stopped her short. She hurled a throwing axe at one of them, effectively rendering it unable to fly. Hubert came in to take it out with a dark spell while it was down.

“Is that the last of them?” Hilda asked hopefully. The group looked around to secure the perimeter before nodding.

“Let’s catch up to Claude. He’ll need our help,” Hilda said, Charging forward.

“He will need all the help he can get,” Edelgard muttered, following, as did the rest.

“He who is wise listens and adds to their learning…and let the discerning get guidance,” Dedue said to Edelgard.

“Excuse me?” Edelgard asked, offended.

“Claude arrived here not too long after we all did. He stayed behind and surveilled the area. He waited until the moment was optimal to help us. Say what you will about him, but he is a tactful leader. He may even give your highness a challenge,” Dedue answered, eyes shut.

“Dedue’s methods of explaining are a bit unorthodox, but he has a point Edelgard. Try not to be so hard on Claude. I think it bothers him more than he cares to admit,” Dimitri said softly, so as not to offend his stepsister.

Edelgard said nothing. Hubert seemed to want to defend her, but she held a hand up, silently telling him that now wasn’t the time.

“Look, there they are,” Hubert said after a moment. Byleth and Claude were collectively working to chip away at the demonic beast’s health, but they were looking worn out.

“Professor, we’re here to help!” Dimitri called out, launching a javelin at the beast.

“Guys listen up. Whoever has magic, try to exhaust all you’ve got on this thing. I know we’re mainly physical attackers, but you must have some kind of magic sense. This thing doesn’t react much to manmade weapons!” Claude called out.

“Claude is right. We’ve noted that its main weakness is fire magic!” Byleth added.

“Umm, I have no magic,” Hilda said, laughing nervously.

“Here. This is a thunder tome. I am certain you will make better use of it than I,” Dedue said, offering Hilda the yellow book. Hilda thanked him greatly and went off to fire some admittedly weak thunder strikes.

“This isn’t working,” Edelgard said in frustration. “Our best bet is to collectively attack it with our strengths,” She tried to say.

“I think Claude and the professor already tried that and it didn’t work,” Dimitri countered.

“We won’t know unless we try all of us at once. Seven attacks are stronger than two,” Edelgard reasoned.

“She has a point,” Claude said, coming up from between them. “I didn’t consider that but you’re right,” he said respectfully to Edelgard.

‘He…agrees with me. Even after I’ve been horrible to him,’ Edelgard thought to herself, feeling a pang of remorse.

“But let’s adjust the plan. Dimitri, do you have a blessed lance?” Claude asked.

“Yes, I do,” Dimitri answered, whipping one out.

“Perfect. This…thing also reacts to holy weapons. Use magical weapons, but charge at it. Maybe physical attacks will deal more damage. Now let’s go!” Claude called, reaching for a bow and lacing it with a flare of arcfire.

-

“Do you think Professor Byleth likes sweets?” Annette asked as she pocketed the muffin she’d just purchased. Mercedes hummed in thought as she eyed a stall selling mini-Goddess statues.

“I’m not sure sweetie. Maybe we can ask him at tomorrow’s seminar,” Mercedes replied. Annette sighed and nudged her best friend’s shoulder.

“Well, we won’t get that chance if we have to go on that mission tomorrow,” she pointed out. Mercedes made an ‘oh’ shape with her lips, seeming to have forgotten.

“Wait, why do you say ‘if,’ Annie? I thought it was confirmed,” Mercedes asked.

“Well, I saw Ashe earlier today and let’s just say that it might be a conflict of interest,” Annette explained.

“A conflict of interest? How so?” Mercedes asked. Annette shuffled her hands around nervously and avoided eye contact with her best friend. How could she tell her about Ashe? She promised to keep it between them two.

“I can’t exactly say, but we might not end up going,” she answered carefully. ‘For Ashe’s sake, I hope we do go. I know he might regret not getting to face Lonato himself. If one of the other houses got the chance, he’d regret it forever,’ she thought.

“Well, I would never push you to tell me Annie, but I hope it all works out,” Mercedes said with her hopeful smile. Annette beamed, loving how upbeat her best friend was. It was then that Annette caught sight of Ashe at a bread cart a little bit down the market. She chanced a look at Mercedes who didn’t seem to notice and thought quickly.

“Hey Mercie, could you grab us some peach tarts from over there? My treat,” she asked sweetly, dropping a few gold coins into the older girl’s hands. Mercedes giggled and agreed, marching off in the opposite direction. Annette took her chance and skirted off toward Ashe.

“Hey,” she said softly, approaching him. Ashe looked up, loaf of bread in hand, surprised.

“Oh, hello Annette. Funny seeing you twice in one day,” he said amicably. Annette smiled up at him, grateful he seemed less stressed than earlier. Maybe they really would get to go on the mission after all.

Before she could say anything, Ashe’s shoulders drooped, and his smile vanished.

Then again, maybe not.

“Are you still thinking about what you told me earlier?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“I’m…trying not to. But it’s harder than one would think,” he said sheepishly. “What would you do if your father was arming up to go against the church?” he asked brokenly.

Annette opened her mouth and closed it three times, unsure of what to say. She knew his question was rhetorical, but she couldn’t not say anything.

“I think I would get some cheese,” Annette said with determination.

“Excuse me?” Ashe asked, unsure if he’d heard that correctly. Annette shook her head and smiled, hoping some of her courage would rub off on her friend.

“I said I would get cheese. It goes great with that Almyran loaf you’ve chosen. And it pairs really well with peach tarts,” she said, grabbing Ashe’s arm.

“And lucky for you two, I’ve got some goat’s cheese on me,” a smooth voice let out, coming up behind them. The pair turned around to see Sylvain with three goat’s cheese wedges in his hands.

“When did you get here?” Ashe asked in confusion.

“Oh please. I was here the whole time. And look, Mercedes is coming back,” he said, pointing toward where the older girl came bearing a brown food bag.

“Hello Sylvain. Hello Ashe,” she greeted kindly, not asking when they had arrived or if they were going to join her with Annette. She assumed they would all hang out now. “Oh goodness,” she said suddenly, frowning. “I only have three tarts, but there are four of us,” she explained, holding the bag up.

“Not to worry my fair lady. I’m allergic to peaches anyhow,” Sylvain said with a bow.

“Wait, you’re not allergic to-ohhh. I mean yes. He is allergic,” Ashe said, coughing when Sylvain shot him a look.

“Let us feast!” Sylvain said, shooting a fist pump into the air. As the four sat and ate their makeshift meal, Annette caught Ashe’s eye and flashed him a warm smile. Ashe returned it, mouthing ‘thank you,’ to her. Annette’s cheeks flushed a low pink, and she looked down at her peach tart, wondering if perhaps there were things that were more sweet than dessert after all.

-

“It’s over,” Byleth said between deep breaths. He let his sword fall to the floor and followed soon after. He hadn’t felt this exhausted since his father took him out on his third mission. That day was…Byleth shuddered at the mere thought of that ambush.

‘Our work is done. My, my…things did not go as planned. Let us return, before any more hawks or wolves join us. But what was that demonic beast doing within the Red Canyon?’ Sothis asked. Byleth shook his head, not ready to leave.

“We can’t leave. We haven’t gotten answers yet,” he said firmly.

“I’m glad that you’re safe professor, but it was rather reckless of you to venture out alone like that,” Edelgard said, moving down to his eye level.

“Professor, I am glad that you are unharmed as well, but why did you come out here alone? What if we hadn’t followed? Something unthinkable could have happened,” Dimitri said, following suit.

“Yeahhhh listen Teach. No one likes aimless wandering more than me and maybe Hilda, but it’s not worth dying over,” Claude said, crossing his arms. He stayed a bit away from the professor as he spoke. “And who were you talking to?” he added in.

‘You childish fool! Do not respond to me right now! They can hear you. We will leave for now and come back if need be!’ Sothis decided with fury.

“I apologize. I was gathering my bearings. I must have been thinking out loud,” Byleth answered weakly.

‘He’s lying. Question is, why?’ Claude thought to himself, letting it go for the moment.

“Still, I would like to know what brought you to this valley in the first place,” Edelgard said inquisitively.

“Perhaps that battle wore me out more than I thought. I am a bit sore,” Byleth replied, avoiding the question.

“Your highness, our instructor is safe. We should return to the monastery at once,” Dedue cut in, clearing his throat.

“Yes, I suppose you are right. If we stay here much longer, we are sure to be reprimanded,” Dimitri said, looking back awkwardly.

“It is not untrue to assert that our professor led us here for battle experience,” Dedue offered with a shrug, only thinking of what excuse would get them out of trouble.

“Dedue, you surprise me! And you professor. I hope you will tell us what brought you here,” Dimitri said, backing up Edelgard’s question from earlier.

“Well, we’re all okay now, so I say let’s just focus on the positive. Turns out the Golden Deer really are ready for a real mission. If we say we were with Professor Byleth, we’re sure to not get detention,” Hilda piped up.

“Hilda you scamp! No one has a knack for getting out of trouble quite like you do. It’s a gift,” Claude said in disbelief. Still, he smiled for the first time since they’d started their goose chase. She always was a good source of entertainment to soothe his nerves.

“Oh, is that right? Well, no one can get into trouble quite like you, so it works out,” Hilda said with a huff.

The others of the group looked between each other so as to decide what to do next. Listening to Claude and Hilda bicker didn’t seem to be the general consensus.

“I suppose we came out here without permission too. If we all wish to avoid punishment…perhaps we can all agree that we came out here for an extra-curricular activity. Let’s leave it at that and leave the professor to his thoughts,” Hubert suggested. Byleth shot up, shocked that Hubert would indirectly come to his defense. Now was not the time to question it. The rest of the group murmured in agreement and trekked off, telling Professor Byleth they would see him back at the monastery. Edelgard gave him a lingering glance before she too stalked off to join the group.

‘Oh dear…I put us in a bit of danger there! We are fortunate that those delinquents followed us…you very nearly met your end! What a marvelous professor you must be, for your students to be so concerned,’ Sothis said with a guilty laugh. She seemed to feel bad for yelling at him earlier.

“I’m proud of us,” Byleth told her with a soft smile. It was true what just happened was dangerous, but it was also exhilarating and something about this canyon truly felt nostalgic.

‘Hmm, you seem more confident in your ability to teach. But that makes sense as you have me to help you out,” Sothis said, half teasing. ‘Huh? What is this strange feeling? My memories…do you feel them stirring? How curious. You seem to have grown stronger,’ Sothis said, waiting for Byleth to agree.

“Yes, that’s fair,” Byleth said, voice turning up at the end to indicate she wasn’t as convincing as she’d hoped.

“And all thanks to our journey here. While it was a bother for a spell, in the end I think we should think fondly of this little trip. We had a delightful time, wouldn’t you say?’ Sothis said with childish hope.

“I suppose,” Byleth said, smiling fondly. While the high strung being in his mind was…well, high strung, she was also endearing in her own right.

‘So it really was worth all that effort! Now let’s head back,’ Sothis said, and Byleth could hear the beam in her voice.

“Alright,” he acquiesced, getting up from the floor and moving to trek back to Garreg Mach.

‘Really? Just like that?’ Sothis asked, expecting him to put up a fight.

“Yes. I found something after all. Let’s go,” he said, continuing to walk as Sothis pestered him to show what he’d found.

-

“Kids! I have a wonderful announcement. I have personally been placed in charge of figuring out what has happened to Tomas. Please, if any of you know anything, you owe it to me, to the words of wisdom even, to let me know,” Manuela said dramatically. A couple of students murmured amongst themselves, but no one stepped forward. Dorothea bit her lip as though she were contemplating saying something but thought better of it. If anything, she seemed rather concerned for Manuela, as did Yuri.

“Anyone?” Manuela asked, frowning. No students stepped forward to say anything. The choir director sighed. “Very well then. I suppose we shall get on with the words of wisdom then,” she said, reaching into the box to pull out the piece of paper.

“We hear that the Blue Lions and the Black Eagles are being given the real missions on campus while the poor Golden Deer watch from the sidelines. It’s no wonder the goof house is losing the bet on who will emerge victorious from the mock battle. Sorry C, but you’ll need to shoot more than arrows if you want to hit your target at this school~”

Immediately, murmurs went around the room and several students looked at Claude who seemed to take this confessional slap with grace. The house leader was leaning against a wall and seemed content.

“Hey Claude, you okay?” Hilda asked, cocking her head to the side. Claude winked at her and said, “Never been better Hilda. I’m waiting for Manuela to get to the good stuff.”

Several other Golden Deer students shared glances amongst each other and shrugged. If Claude wasn’t worried, why should they be?

“Oh my,” Manuela read aloud, skimming through the second paragraph. She cleared her throat and continued. “A Prince and his makeshift Princess were spotted getting hot and heavy in the training hall. What pretenses those were under are still unclear, but you can bet we’ll find out~”

“Dimitri and Edelgard?” Jasmine thought aloud, scrunching her nose. Evangeline perched up in her seat, having heard the brunette say as much and gestured her over. Jasmine seemed confused, but walked toward the blonde.

“What do you know about Dimitri and Edelgard?” Evangeline asked in a hushed whisper. Jasmine thought back to what felt like so long ago. When she’d caught Claude spying on the other two house leaders. The first note from the confessional box was making a lot of sense now.

“Not much. Just that they tend to sneak around a lot and Claude is suspicious that they’re dating. Though, I suspect that he’s using that as a cover up. He might just feel left out,” Jasmine whispered back, tapping her chin. She then looked to Evangeline to see that the blonde was piecing together something. “Why do you ask?” she asked, suddenly realizing it was rather odd of Evangeline to question her about this.

The blonde shook her head and shrugged. “I just heard you saying something and got curious. Plus, look around. Nazareth is blushing brighter than when she was crushing on that viscount you’re betrothed to,” she said in a hushed tone, gesturing to the blue haired girl. Jasmine’s jaw dropped and she covered Evangeline’s mouth.

“Watch it! Don’t go around mentioning it. I like to think I escaped all that when I came here,” Jasmine said quickly.

“Escaped?” Evangeline asked, Jasmine’s hand still covering her mouth. “Does Claude know you’re betrothed Jas?” the blonde asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Shh, Manuela’s about to read the next bit,” Jasmine said, avoiding the question.

“A knight and mage. A cute love story, wouldn’t you say? I wonder how adorable the kids of a ginger lady and white-haired lad would make. Let’s keep an eye on this budding couple, shall we?” Manuela read, growing positively giddy at the notion of a new romance that didn’t seem scandalous.

“A ginger who is possibly a knight or mage,” Nazareth thought aloud. “I wonder who that could be.”

“The first name that comes to mind is Annette,” Dimitri hummed.

“That would make the boy Ashe, wouldn’t it?” Glenn asked, curious.

“Ashe and Annette?” Nazareth asked, thinking of the two younger members of their house. She beamed and clapped in happiness. “That would be such a cute couple! Oh, I cannot wait to congratulate them!” she cheered, moving to find them, but stopped when Glenn yanked her back by the collar of her shirt.

“You gonna explain this one Princey? Or should I?” Glenn asked Dimitri. The house leader cleared his throat and shot Nazareth a pitiful look. He knew how much she loved romance and felt bad stopping her.

“It’s wonderful that you’re happy for them Nazareth, but Annette and Ashe are very shy. I’m afraid if you call attention to their newly found relationship, they may become awkward with each other,” he explained. Nazareth deflated and pouted softly, understanding but not being thrilled about it. They all tuned back into Professor Manuela.                                                

“And surprise surprise. A mystery mission to the Red Canyon after hours took place. Who was included in that unlikely bunch other than the merc professor himself? We’ll let our beloved house leaders, or their underlings answer that one~” Manuela read, gasping as she looked to the house leaders. They all seemed to feign innocence as they looked around as well.

Evangeline quirked an eyebrow. ‘Looks like Claude and Hilda didn’t make it to the market after all,’ she thought to herself.

“Secret missions seem to be the theme of the day. Rumor has it that our favorite hot-headed swordsman has enlisted the help of one Lady E on his quest to find out…well, we don’t know what. Or do we? I suppose you all will have to wait and see~” Manuela sang, seeming elated by the amount of gossip pouring out from the paper today.

Nazareth looked toward Evangeline and saw that she was seated by Jasmine. The brunette frowned. She hadn’t spoken to Evangeline in so long and apparently, there had been a lot going on with her. And Jasmine for that matter.

Glenn looked toward Felix with a peculiar expression. Sylvain roared in laughter and slapped Felix’s back to which Felix glared daggers at him. Manuela cleared her throat, saying that she had one last bit of gossip to relay.

“Professor B is mysterious to say the least, but one thing we want the answer to is who he’s talking to when no one else is around. Have any of you heard of a grown man talking to himself in this day and age? We sure haven’t. Place your bets on who he could be strategizing with in secret. We already know~”

Claude’s ears perked up at this bit of knowledge. ‘So I’m not crazy. Teach really was talking to himself back there. But, to whom? And why? It doesn’t make any sense,’ he thought to himself, looking around. No one else seemed to be interested in what Manuela read. Claude then caught wind of Dorothea. Her usual flirty expression was replaced by one of contemplation. Could she have noticed the professor talking to himself too?

“Thank you for reading tonight’s words Miss Manuela. And as for the case of Tomas, I think you’d benefit from asking Professor Jertiza,” Dorothea said with a lilt to her voice. “It seems that whoever writes the confessional box entries does not pay enough attention,” she said with a notable edge.

Claude quirked his eyebrows. ‘Why is Dorothea so aggressive about the confessional box not saying that. Do they get tips from the students? Did Dorothea send that one? Did it get vetoed?’

“I agree,” Sylvain piped up, rubbing his chin. “They also didn’t mention how I scored with a babe last night,” he laughed, causing a string of laughter to start from several boys.

“Sylvie you flirt. If you’re trying to make me jealous, it’s working,” Dorothea winked. Sylvain laughed more nervously at that, and the room slowly grew quiet.

“Well, thank you for your suggestion, Dorothea. I think I will inquire what Professor Jeritza might now about all this,” Manuela said. “Well students. Please make sure to get proper rest and for those of you who are in my morning seminar, make sure you are well prepared for the exam. Good night,” she said, walking out of the detention room.

Chapter Text

“Dimitri and…Nazareth? Erm, thank you for coming to see us. As I am sure you are aware, I have a new mission for you and your students,” Rhea greeted, gesturing for the prince to take a seat. She then nodded to Nazareth, seeming to shake off the initial shock from having seen her enter with the prince.

Seteth stood beside the archbishop as usual, with his arms crossed in front of him as if he were displeased with everything in existence. Dimitri took the seat across, the pit forming in his chest being slightly quelled by the comfort he felt from Nazareth being with him. He had a substantial idea as to what this mission was about.

“We have received reports that Lord Lonato rallied troops against the Holy Church of Seiros,” Seteth said, sounding personally affronted about the matter.

“Who is Lord Lonato?” Nazareth asked softly, pondering on if she’d heard the name before.

“He is a minor lord of the Kingdom. He has been showing hostility toward the church for some time now,” Dimitri whispered to her. Seteth heard this and cleared his throat.

“A vanguard unit from the Knights of Seiros is already on its way to his stronghold, Castle Gaspard,” he continued on. Nazareth felt a bit embarrassed that Seteth seemed to be annoyed with her ignorance.

“Lord Lonato’s army is nothing compared to the knights. It is quite possible the rebellion has already been suppressed,” Rhea said, not seeming to be as worried at her self-appointed retainer.

“Even so, I would like for your class to travel with the knights’ rear guard to deal with the aftermath,” Seteth said sternly, looking to Dimitri. “War zones are unpredictable, as you know. We do not expect that you will have cause to battle but be prepared for the worst. This is the archbishop’s safety that is being threatened,” he said, worry pouring out of his words. Rhea seemed worn out, but appreciative by his initiative.

“Do you mean to say that you suspect Lord Lonato will not even be there?” Nazareth asked, processing Seteth’s words. Rhea nodded slowly and stepped forward.

“It is likely that he has come to the conclusion that he will not be able to best the knights of Seiros in battle. That being said, Lonato is a calculated man and holds a grudge against the church. There is no telling which course of action he will take,” she explained. Nazareth and Dimitri shared a look before directing a question of his own to the archbishop.

“Why does Lord Lonato hold a grudge with the church?” he asked. Before Rhea could answer, a woman-whose expression was cold-walked in. She crossed her arms and looked ready for business.

“Thank you for coming Shamir,” Lady Rhea said kindly. Sensing Nazareth’s confusion, Seteth went to explain.

“Shamir will be leading the knights whom you will be accompanying. She is one of our bravest and strongest, and that is no small feat. Only an exceptional few have what it takes to join the Knights of Seiros. Her talent for archery is nearly unrivaled,” he said. Shamir appeared to accept the praise without feeling embarrassed. Dimitri sensed she must have been better than advertised if that was the case.

“This mission should prove useful in demonstrating to the students how foolish it would be to ever turn their blades on the church,” Rhea said warningly, seeming to be thinking of someone in particular when she spoke. Dimitri wanted to ask who she directed those words at, but feared it would be another unanswered question.

-

“Well hey there Caspar~ Looks like your face healed pretty well,” Hilda greeted. Caspar jumped up at the girl’s voice and instinctively kept some distance from her.

“Oh please, you’re not still scared of me are you?” she asked nonsensically.

“No way Hilda. I just uh, can see you better from here,” he replied. Hilda thought for a moment before nodding.

“That’s true. I am really pretty from that angle,” she agreed.

“So uh, what are you doing here?” Caspar asked.

“Gee Caspar, what a question. Why does anyone come into the dining hall?” she asked sarcastically. Caspar grew flustered at that and laughed lightly.

“I guess I was asking if you were eating or cooking,” he asked again.

Lifting a hand up, Hilda asked, “Do these hands look like they cook?”

“You know it can actually be fun,” he piped up.

“I doubt that,” Hilda said.

“I’ll prove it to you!” Caspar said eagerly. He ran behind the counter and held out a wooden spoon. “Be my sous chef,” he half-commanded, half-asked.

“Orrrr I could just watch you cook and eat it when you’re done,” Hilda said with a dazzling smile. Caspar tilted his head to the side, confused by her tactics.

“Or you could help me,” he countered with a shrug.

“Or I could just watch your muscles in action,” she replied, fluttering her eyelashes in a way that got every man to do whatever she wanted.

“Are your eyes okay?” he asked in concern. Hilda huffed and snatched the spoon out of Caspar’s hand.

“Okay whatever I’ll help. Just tell me what to do,” she relented.

Caspar went to work, grabbing a hodgepodge of ingredients from the pantry and tossing them onto the counter. Hilda watched as he took out raw chicken, some spices, veggies, and cooking oil.

“Who taught you how to cook?” Hilda asked, almost mesmerized by the way Caspar was moving so fluidly around the kitchen. Caspar cracked an egg into a bowl and whisked it, seeming to be thinking about the question.

“No one did. I just kind of throw things into bowls and pans and it ends up tasty,” he answered, handing the bowl off to Hilda who continued whisking.

“How long have you been cooking?” she asked, finding the action of whisking eggs somewhat soothing.

Caspar threw in a bunch of seasonings into the egg mixture and added some buttermilk as well as hot sauce. “Ever since I got to the monastery. Whenever there was time between training and school, I got bored. I found out students were allowed to cook so I just kinda went for it,” he answered. He quickly threw in some wet ingredients into a bowl and stirred it before offering it to Hilda. “Here, try this,” he said.

“There’s no raw egg in it, is there?” Hilda asked skeptically.

“Of course not. This is the sauce,” he explained. Hilda swiped her finger into the bowl and hummed at the taste before letting out a little squeak.

“Ooh! It’s a little spicy at the end, but really good,” she complimented.

“Perfect. We’ll mix it into the noodles. They’ll be really plain without it,” Caspar explained.

Before Hilda knew it, she was helping Caspar plate the breaded chicken on top of sweet, but spicy noodles. She looked in awe. It was the first thing she’d ever cooked, granted Caspar did more of the technical work.

“It smells so good,” she hummed, ready to dig in.

“Enjoy,” Caspar said with a bow. Hilda then noticed that there was only one serving.

“What about you?” she asked. After working so hard, surely Caspar would’ve thought to make himself a plate.

“I was actually headed out when you came up to me. I figured I’d stay a while to help you make something to eat before leaving,” Caspar explained, taking his apron off and hanging it.

Hilda felt something warm stirring in her heart at this gesture. At the same time, she felt it sink. How sweet of Caspar was it to do this for her. He didn’t have to. At the same time, she was saddened by the fact that Caspar would not be joining her in sharing the meal they’d created together.

“Do you have to go right now? Can't you stay a few minutes to have a few bites?” she asked hopefully.

“Sorry Hilda. I need to be in the library,” he said, not catching onto her tone.

“Right now?” she asked, feeling annoyed at how desperate she sounded.

“Yeah, but let’s grab lunch another time,” he said, rushing out of the dining hall.

Hilda sighed, watching him leave. She jabbed a fork into the chicken and took a bite. Instantly her mouth was graced with a burst of intense flavors and feelings. It might’ve been the best thing she’d ever eaten.

Yet still, she was left a smidge unsatisfied.

-

“I’ve heard whispers about Lord Lonato. They say he is a very kind and gentle lord. Why would such a kind man suddenly raise an army?” Mercedes asked as the Blue Lion house headed toward the battlefield. She prayed that they would not have to fight, and that if they did, they would emerge victorious.

“After Faerghus lost its King, there were many rebellions. It is likely that Lord Lonato’s provocations are related,” Dimitri said. “How frustrating that I am too young to take the throne. Rendered powerless by age…if the throne is vacant much longer, the Kingdom will fall to ruin,” he continued on sadly. No one thought to respond to that, thinking Dimitri needed a minute.

“Doubtless, there are times when one must take up their blade, even if there’s no chance of winning. But this…it’s downright senseless. Lord Lonato knows better. If he had enough allies to back his rebellion, it would be a different matter…” Dimitri trailed off, hardly paying attention to what he was saying.

“Allies?” Nazareth asked, confused. It seemed like Dimitri almost thought what Lonato was doing was a noble cause. And wished that the Lord had more of an army to accomplish his goals.

“Ah, my apologies. I was just thinking aloud. This whole situation is a bit too strange for my liking. Even with the necessary preparation, there is always a chance that something unexpected will occur. Please be ready for anything,” Dimitri said, shaking his head.

“His highness is strong, but on the front lines anything can happen. Losing him would be devastating for Faerghus. I hope the church understands that,” Dedue said as they trekked on.

“Lonato’s some minor noble rebelling in Faerghus. He has no chance of winning. I wonder what he’s hoping to achieve. In any case, it should be an easy victory,” Felix said, dodging a swipe from Ingrid.

“Be more sensitive! Lonato isn’t a random thug. He means something to Ashe. You’d do well to show some compassion,” she hissed. Felix glared at her, but backed down when Glenn seemed to agree.

“Something about this situation doesn’t feel right though. Why would a minor lord raise an army against a foe he cannot possibly hope to defeat?” Dedue asked contemplatively.

Ashe could hardly take it anymore. Everyone was talking as if they were going to find Lonato right then and end his life.

“What’s going to happen to Lonato? If he’s killed, I…I don’t know how I’ll live with that. Please your highness, there must be some mistake. Lonato would never raise arms against the church. At least…he never said anything to me about it,” Ashe said, conveying hurt.

“Pointing a sword at the Holy Church of Seiros is akin to pointing a sword at the goddess herself. Doling out appropriate punishment to the sinful is a sacred duty with which we have been entrusted by Lady Rhea. As a member of the church yourself, you’d do well to take that to heart,” Shamir spoke up coldly.

“But why would Lonato incite such a reckless rebellion?” Ashe asked, coming to slightly agree with his housemates, despite not sharing their seeming eagerness to kill the Lord.

“You should know more about that than any of us, Ashe,” Shamir replied brazenly.

“Well I don’t. Lonato never mentioned anything of the like to me,” he said, slightly irked at how Shamir was speaking. Dimitri placed a hand on Ashe’s shoulder and tried to speak compassionately, knowing this was a lot for the boy to handle.

“He probably didn’t want you getting caught up in his own personal vendetta,” the prince said.

“What vendetta is the question,” Ingrid mused, rubbing her chin.

“Lonato raised me as though I were his own blood. He was always so kind. I don’t know if he’d have a vendetta…I guess it has to do with Cristophe,” Ashe thought aloud.

“How much do you all know about the tragedy of Duscur?” Shamir asked, crossing her arms.

“Not much,” Nazareth said when no one else spoke up. Dimitri tensed, but kept leading everyone.

“It’s when the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was…”

“Murdered,” Dimitri cut in, nodding toward Shamir. “My father was murdered by the people of Duscur. It happened four years ago. It’s okay Shamir. Go on,” he insisted.

“Maybe it would be better if you told the story. You lived it after all,” the archer offered. Dimitri sighed, but nodded.

“Right. well, Lord Lonato’s son, Cristophe, was accused of being involved in that whole awful affair. He was…” it was Dimitri’s turn to trail off.

“Executed by the church,” Ashe filled in.

“Why was the king targeted? And why is the church executing these people? Nazareth asked in horror.

No one answered for a moment, but then Shamir spoke.

“King Lambert, Dimitri’s father, was attempting a major political reform. Needless to say, he had many enemies. And whatever the truth behind that incident may be, Lord Lonato has harbored resentment toward the church ever since,” she explained.

“But if that’s true,” Nazareth started. “Why did jurisdiction of Cristophe’s fate get handed to the church? Would it not be with…” the brunette stopped speaking, not sure how to phrase ‘wouldn’t Ashe’s adoptive brother’s fate rest at Dimitri’s hands, considering it was his father that Cristophe aided in killing?’ the rest of the Blue Lions seemed to pick up on what Nazareth was implying and Dimitri grew somber.

“No, you have a point. But that adds to why Lonato’s main grudge goes as far as against the one who turned Christophe over to the church in the first place,” Shamir said, dodging the question of why Cristophe’s death came at the hand of the church.

“Who is that?” Annette asked.

“No one knows,” Ashe answered, sighing. Before the conversation could continue, Shamir drew her bow and stopped the rest of the house.

“The enemy army is greater in number than we predicted. They used the fog to slip past the knights’ perimeter!” she called out, firing a torched bow to grant some visibility.

Looks like our mission just changed your highness,” she called toward Dimitri.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!” Dimitri called out. “Lonato’s behind this. Be ready to do whatever is necessary!”

Ashe gulped, clutching his bow close. It was now or never.

-

“Half-blood splice…half-blood splice~” Claude sang, scanning the shelves in the library. He couldn’t shake the conversation he’d had with Hanneman out of his head.

“You would take half of your soul and fuse it with another’s…it would be like living half a life. In other words, you have two lives to lose.”

“They’d lack exertion to do things you and I could do with ease.”

‘There has to be more to read on the subject. If it isn’t in this library, it has to be somewhere,’ Claude thought, tired of looking. He’d been in this building for an hour now.

‘I gotta find out if that ritual was done between Lindhart and Flayn too,’ he thought, doing a third sweep of the library.

“If one possesses two crests, or if the partners in question share a crest. Or if they share blood.”

‘Lysithea has two crests. Flayn and Lindhart share a crest. And Naz and Jas share blood. There’s examples everywhere, but this whole thing is wack,’ Claude thought, collapsing in front of a bookshelf. He held a hand to his forehead. All this searching had brought on a migraine.

“You okay?” Jasmine asked, cocking her head to the side as she assessed the exhausted house leader. Claude smiled up (and down) at her and gestured for her to join him. The brunette did so and looked at him expectantly.

“How’s it going Jas?” he asked coolly. Jasmine shook her head, wanting to skip the pleasantries. They were past that.

“What are you looking for now? Evangeline has the book on Cethleann so you won’t find it here,” Jasmine pointed out. Claude perked up at that.

‘Right! I forgot to consider that someone else might have the book I’m looking for. But who?’ he thought.

“What is it?” Jasmine asked him, waving a hand in front of his face.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Claude said, looking up at the ceiling, contemplating how to search every student’s room without getting caught.

“Claude,” Jasmine started. “I found out that my sister is a descendant of Saint Cethleann somehow. There’s hardly anything I won’t believe after that,” she insisted.

Claude looked at the black eagle student before him and sighed. Her eyes were sincere. He knew he could trust her, but the reality was that he didn’t want to think about the half blood splice ritual. A part of him was relieved he couldn’t find a book on it.

“The other day, I was in Hanneman’s room, asking him about this ritual I found out about,” Claude started, getting ready to tell her everything.

“Got room for one more?!” Caspar’s voice sounded. Jasmine and Claude looked up to see the bubbly black eagle member seeming excited to be included in yet another monastery secret.

“Caspar, you need to keep quiet about this one,” Claude warned. Jasmine’s eyes widened as she prepared herself for what the house leader was about to say. She’d never seen him look so serious. Caspar, to his part, nodded understandingly and quietly sat to listen.

“It’s called a half blood splice…”

-

“Why are we here again?” Evangeline complained as Ferdinand dragged her to some secluded spot in the woods. He didn’t answer her, to which she said, “if you’re bringing me out here to kill me, you should know that I told Hilda where I was going.”

“Ah how you make me laugh my sweet Evangeline,” Ferdinand said with a chuckle. “I could never bring myself to strike down such a beautiful dame,” he said. Evangeline rolled her eyes, but let herself be dragged along deeper into the woods.

“Do you hear that?” Ferdinand asked, cupping his free hand to his ear. Evangeline tried to listen in, but heard nothing.

“I don’t hear anything,” she said.

“Precisely,” he beamed. “We’re nearly there,” he said happily, leading her along for a few minutes more until they reached an area surrounded by trees. A picnic blanket, along with a basket full of food lay in the middle. There was a vase with yellow roses placed on the center of the blanket as well. Evangeline’s breath caught in her throat as she admired the scene before her. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

“What is all this?” Evangeline asked, walking toward the blanket. Ferdinand watched happily as Evangeline peered into the basket and soaked in everything.

“Something to appreciate what an amazing presence you are in my life,” Ferdinand explained, moving to sit in front of the basket. He pulled out two sandwiches and offered one to the blonde who took it gratefully.

“No one has ever done something like this for me before,” Evangeline said gleefully, biting into the sandwich and humming at the taste of something tangy paired with the saltiness of the meat. Their trek into these woods had certainly built up her appetite.

“Someone should always be doing things like this for you,” Ferdinand insisted, wiping the corner of Evangeline’s mouth with a napkin. The blonde looked up at Ferdinand and saw him differently once more. Underneath his pride, there was a caring soul. One who knew how to treat a lady.

As they sat there, side by side, Evangeline found herself loosening up around the nobleman. She slowly rested her head on his shoulder and fluttered her eyes shut. ‘I could honestly take a nap,’ she thought to herself, humming when she felt Ferdinand’s hand make its home on her side. He pulled her a little closer and then rested his head on top of hers. The proximity sent butterflies fluttering all around her body. Ferdinand was warm and more muscular than she’d pictured.

“Evangeline?” Ferdinand asked suddenly. The blonde let out a questioning hum, slightly annoyed he was ruining the moment by talking.

“Why do you have a book on Saint Cethleann in your bag?” he asked, noticing the book peeking out of Evangeline’s satchel. The blonde sat up and shoved the book back into her bag. For some reason, she felt that Felix wouldn’t like her talking about their research with anyone, least of all Ferdinand.

“It’s just a project that professor Manuela assigned my Wednesday seminar,” she lied swiftly. Ferdinand seemed like he was going to prod further, so Evangeline surged forward and caught his lips with her own. She slowly coaxed him into kissing back and only felt slightly guilty that she was doing so as a distraction.

“You are breathtaking,” Ferdinand whispered between kisses. Evangeline smiled and wrapped her arms around Ferdinand’s neck, deepening their kisses.

A distraction that she didn’t mind at that.

-

Ashe galloped up to the front line on his horse. His breath got caught in his throat when he saw Lonato. Except, he’d never seen Lonato like this-eyes void of reason. His adoptive father looked ready to spill all the blood he could get his hands on. Ashe looked up at him and tried not to, but faltered when Lonato looked right at him.

“S-stop!” he shouted at his adoptive father, struggling to get a proper grip on his bow. Lonato narrowed his eyes and shook his head, reaching for his weapon from his holster.

“Stand down Ashe. I must destroy these evil-doers by any means necessary,” Lonato said firmly. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he held his lance threateningly. Ashe’s eyes widened as he looked at the man he’d grown to call a father. Would he really strike his own adoptive son down?

“Please. Lonato please surrender. Whatever your reason for doing this, we can still talk it out! Back at the monastery,” Ashe pleaded, lowering his bow as a peace offering. Lonato shook his head, and his horse took a step forward, asserting dominance. Ashe’s heartbeat was rapping against his chest at a breakneck pace. Imagining this scenario a million times hadn’t helped him prepare for the real thing.

“Rhea, the leader of that wretched monastery, is an infidel who has deceived the people and desecrated the Goddess! They are the reason Cristophe is DEAD. We have virtue and the Goddess herself on our side!” The lord proclaimed, not backing down. Ashe was struck by this as he remembered his house’s earlier conversation. The church was the reason Cristophe was dead. Nazareth had a point earlier. Why did the church decide what happened to Cristophe? Why was the church involved at all in fact? There were too many questions, and the battlefield was not the place to ask them. Not when the rest of his housemates were not too far behind him taking care of the rest of Lonato’s army.

“Even if that is true, dragging the townsfolk into it like this isn’t right. Surely you can agree with that?” Ashe implored, holding a hand to his heart. Of course he cared if his adoptive brother died wrongfully, but this was not the way to make things right. Innocent lives were being compromised all in the name of Lonato’s cause.

“They should have stood down just as I am ordering you to,” Lonato said sans remorse. Ashe was almost sickened by the man’s lack of empathy. He wouldn’t move and instead, stared Lonato right in the eye as a show of defiance.

“Enough talking then. If that is how you feel, prepare yourself! I’m putting an end to this!” Lonato said, readying his lance. Ashe stared in disbelief as Lonato prepared to strike him down. He closed his eyes, preparing to join Cristophe at the hand of his own father…

“Gale wind!” Annette’s voice cried out. A sudden gush of purple air whizzed past Ashe and aimed right for Lonato.

“URGH!”

Ashe opened his eyes to see Lonato on the ground, clutching his arm in pain. He turned around to see Annette behind him, signs of having fired off the spell on her face. She was breathing heavily and rushed up to where he stood.

“Are you alright Ashe?” she asked, worried, checking him for possible injuries.

“I-I’m fine. Thank you,” he said, unable to get a grip on his words. Annette looked back to Lonato who appeared agitated.

“Ashe, you know what you must do,” Annette said in a knowing tone. Ashe looked to Lonato and nodded disdainfully. “If I don’t end this now, more innocent people will be harmed by his hand,” he said flatly.

“If you’d like me to do it instead…” Annette started, not able to finish her sentence. Surely Ashe knew what she meant to say.

“No.” Ashe said plainly. “It should be me.”

Lonato looked up at Ashe with acceptance on his face. It saddened the Blue Lion student that to the very end, Lonato seemed to not have regretted his course of action.

“Make it quick,” Lonato said quietly, looking away. Ashe arched his bow toward the Lord. He pulled his arrow back and fired it with a heavy heart.

-

Jasmine looked like she’d seen a ghost. Even Caspar was stunned into silence. Claude finished telling them what he’d discussed with Hanneman and was waiting for them to say something, but the two didn’t seem to be in a state to speak any time soon.

The three sat in the library that way for five minutes before Caspar seemed to jolt back to reality.

“Are we going to tell Felix?” he asked. Claude and Jasmine shared a look. On one hand, they were all a part of this mystery squad, but they wondered if Felix would even be any help toward all of this.

“It feels wrong not to,” Jasmine said, scanning Claude’s face for a reaction. He seemed to worry about if Felix would keep it a secret, which was surprising to the brunette, considering he trusted Caspar with it.

“We’ll tell him when we know more?” Claude half asked, half decided. Caspar and Jasmine nodded in agreement.

“So what were you looking for here then? The same book you read before?” Jasmine asked.

“Yeah, except I can’t find it anywhere and I’ve checked the entire library about four times,” he said exasperatedly.

“Someone must have checked it out,” Jasmine said. She then realized the answer to their problem. “Wait. We can ask the replacement librarian to look up who checked it out!” she said. Caspar and Claude perked up at that and the three rushed to the check-out counter.

“Could you tell us who checked out the Rituals for Rites book?” Caspar asked before the other two could. The librarian lazily typed away at the computer and adjusted her glasses for good measure before crossing her arms.

“Honestly, I wish students would look thoroughly before coming here to the front,” she complained. “That book hasn’t been checked out. It should be on the shelf!” she said, turning away from the trio to look at her own book again.

“But-

“Shh, c’mon,” Caspar said, interrupting Jasmine by leading them all to a far corner of the library. “Do you know what this means?” he asked seriously.

“Someone must have taken the book without checking it out so that we wouldn’t know who’s onto us,” Claude nodded. Caspar blinked dumbly and shrugged.

“I was gonna say that we should forget about it and get lunch, but that’s cooler,” he said. Jasmine rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Claude.

“You really think someone else is researching on half blood splices?” she asked unsurely. Claude seemed to be deep in thought, but he nodded.

“It’s the only explanation I can think of. Why else would it be in here one day and gone the next? It’s too sketchy to be a coincidence,” the tactician reasoned. Jasmine had to agree that made sense.

“That’s a fair point. But who do you think took it? You said you didn’t tell anyone else about this and Hanneman made it clear that he didn’t want this to be public knowledge,” Jasmine mused.

“Maybe Hanneman took it,” Caspar suggested. Jasmine was about to thwack him upside the head.

“You think Hanneman took it?” Claude asked skeptically.

“Well, it would make sense, wouldn’t it? He didn’t want anyone knowing about it and he seemed like he didn’t want you to learn any more than you did that day,” Caspar reasoned.

“He’s got a point,” Jasmine said in disbelief.

“It’s too easy,” Claude says with a sigh. “You might be right, but what if someone who had done the ritual took it? Or someone that might do the ritual right now,” he said pointedly.

“You think someone at the monastery is going to do it?!” Jasmine asked in horror.

“I think some people might already have,” Claude admitted.

“Like who?” Caspar asked.

“Maybe Edelgard. I don’t know who with, but she always rubbed me as calculated in an odd way. Lindhart too. Not calculated, but he’s always tired and he shares a crest with Flayn, or at least half of one,” Claude explained.

“So does Naz,” Jasmine said quietly.

“So you think Edelgard took it,” Caspar deduced, crossing his arms. Claude clenched his eyes shut, not knowing what Caspar might say next.

“Look, I know Edelgard can be intense, but she’s not insane. She’s a good person and she cares about us,” Caspar defended. He looked to Jasmine for help, seeing as they were housemates. The brunette stayed quiet, causing a rift to form between Caspar and Claude.

“You need to tell us what you’re thinking,” Claude said eventually. Jasmine took in a deep breath, not believing what her life had become. Dealing with the viscount wasn’t nearly as difficult as the trials the monastery was putting her under.

-

After what felt like an hour of making out, Evangeline lay next to Ferdinand with puffy lips and sighed in content. It had been a while since she’d been kissed. Ferdinand may not have been the best kisser, but he certainly wasn’t bad by any means.

“I do hope Ashe will be alright after today,” Ferdinand spoke up. Evangeline felt the vibrations from his voice because of their proximity and hummed-until she processed what the noble said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, sitting up. They were facing each other now and the blonde could see how distraught Ferdinand looked.

“Given the mission details, I don’t see Lonato living to see another day,” he said in a somber tone. Evangeline was surprised at how empathetic Ferdinand seemed to be about this.

“You seem to be taking it rather personally,” she said.

“No one should have to see their father and their worst,” Ferdinand said. Evangeline smiled small at him and nodded.

“I agree,” she said.

“You seem to have taken that personally,” he said, noticing her shift in demeanor.

“Let’s just say that bad fathers aren’t in small numbers,” she said, looking away.

“You know, Edelgard’s father was not an honorable man either. I think much of her coldness stems from that,” he brought up.

“Edelgard never really talks about her parents,” Evangeline said, wondering if Ferdinand knew more.

“Probably because she does not have the fondest of memories in regard to them. Her was mother was alright, but her father mistreated her greatly in her childhood,” he said.

“I still don’t think that warrants her attitude toward Nazareth,” Evangeline said, concerned that Ferdinand was trying to get her to side with Edelgard for something greater.

“No, I absolutely agree,” Ferdinand said instantly. “But I do wish people took the time to realize she is not callous without reason,” he said, leaving it at that.

“You really care about her,” Evangeline concluded. Ferdinand looked off to the side and shrugged.

“When I was younger, my father did terrible things. Now that I’m older, he still does terrible things. Edelgard is one of the few people who has never once judged me for it,” he revealed. “She would do anything for what she believes in,” he said.

“What if what she believes in isn’t right?” Evangeline asked.

“Who’s to say what’s right?” he countered. The two stared at each other, each wondering what morality truly was in that moment.

-

Dimitri raced up along with the rest of his house to see Ashe and Annette looking winded at the peak of the battlefield.

“You two charged ahead before I could advise you to wait for more backup to join you!” The prince announced in concern. In actuality, he was grateful they were okay, but they should have known better than to venture to the front alone. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he tacked on, slightly out of breath from the battle. Peering around the battlefield, the prince frowned.

“Where is Lonato?” he asked, not seeing any sign of the perpetrator. Ashe stayed quiet while Annette worriedly looked at him.

“Ashe? Annette?” Dimitri asked once more. The rest of the Blue Lions were quiet, not knowing how to approach the situation.

“Ashe had a bow to Lonato, but the Lord had me in a tight spot. I tried to attack him first, but he was more experienced and had his lance to my throat. He knew that we were taking his army down and it was only a matter of time before you all caught up to us,” Annette gulped, afraid still from what took place. Still, she continued on. “He told Ashe to put the bow down or he’d kill me. Ashe put his bow down and then Lonato started to retreat. Before he could get away, Ashe fired an arrow, making Lonato drop his lance. That’s when Lonato charged off. But, on the lance, this note was attached,” Annette finished softly, handing the note to Dimitri.

“Ashe, are you okay?” Mercedes asked, rushing up to him to check for injuries. Ashe nodded slowly, sinking to the ground. Dimitri saw the exchange and handed the letter off to Dedue, telling him to read it aloud while he went to sit down next to Ashe for moral support.

Dedue unfolded the note and began reading. “If you’re reading this, it means I have successfully slain Lady Rhea, or have died trying. The plan was to target the archbishop on the day of the Goddess’s Rite of Rebirth. Cristophe, my own son, was executed by the church for allegedly taking part in the Tragedy of Duscur. In actuality, he attempted to kill Lady Rhea in the name of the Goddess. The Western Church had it on good authority that she had to die for the goddess’s sake-nay the world’s sake. Make no mistake. Rhea and church are not to be trusted. That is all I can say on such limited confines,” Dedue read. “It ends with his signature,” the retainer informed. Ashe’s expression was one of bewilderment.

“Cristophe had no part in the Tragedy?” he asked, getting up. Dimitri seemed to be on edge by this revelation too. In fact, the entire Blue Lion house seemed to be simmering with questions and theories.

“We have to find Lonato,” Ashe said hysterically, ready to charge out and find him. Sylvain held him back before he could start a trek to who knows where.

“Take it easy,” the redhead said plainly. Ashe tried to struggle out of the hold, but Annette held his head and shook her head.

“Ashe. There’s a lot to think about. We need to head back to the monastery and refresh ourselves. All will be answered in due time,” she said. Ashe was not happy but complied. The bitterness was starting to set in, but he knew there was no way he’d catch up to Lonato now.

“I never should have let him get away,” Ashe said, hunching in on himself.

“You didn’t do it on purpose. Whatever Lonato has done or plans to do is not on you, you got that?” Sylvain asked Ashe firmly. The young boy seemed to be frazzled by this.

“Let him go Sylvain,” Ingrid instructed. Sylvain did as he was told and shook his head.

“You’ll be okay Ashe. Let’s get back to school and wind down,” Ingrid said placatingly before walking over to the prince, Felix joining in.

“What do you think about what the note says about not trusting Rhea and the church,” she said softly, so as not to alert the others.

‘I think there might be some truth to it,’ Dimitri thought to himself, recalling how Rhea refused to answer why Lonato held a grudge with the church. Could it be that she knew too that Cristophe had nothing to do with the Tragedy of Duscur? For so long, he’d believed that Ashe’s adoptive brother had something to do with the death of his parents. Was everything he knew a lie? Edelgard was starting to make sense. Who he could and couldn’t trust was becoming more and more confusing to figure out.

“I think we should head back to the monastery,” Dimitri said loudly, leading his house back to school. Dedue walked close to his highness, knowing there was a lot weighing on his mind.

Felix and Glenn shared a look. “I think there’s a lot to think about,” Glenn said to his brother, Ingrid, and Sylvain. “We should pay his highness a visit later tonight,” he added, the rest of the crew agreeing.

Annette and Mercedes accompanied Ashe on their trek back to the monastery, with Nazareth not too far behind. The mission seemed to have taken a lot out of everyone.

-

Ignatz walked back into the Golden Deer common room after grabbing his drink and settled back at his table with Hilda and Marianne.

“Did we finish?” he asked, pushing his glasses up.

“Well, Marianne and I pretty much finished most of our part, but we couldn’t find the illustrations for your part anywhere,” Hilda said, shuffling through their papers.

“Yes, although, I tried my best to stay out of the way,” Marianne said quietly.

“Oh I don’t think you need to worry Marianne,” Ignatz said to her. “It’s a group project, so it’s only logical that everyone contributes in their own way,” he said, looking among the papers for his illustrations as well.

“Oh dear, I’ve messed up?” Marianne asks, getting anxious.

“Relax Marianne. It’s just for Seteth’s class anyway. Nobody really cares about the work they turn in,” Hilda said. Marianne didn’t seem fully convinced, but calmed down considerably.

“Oh!” Ignatz piped up, reaching into his book bag and pulling out some drawings. “I forgot I placed them in my bag earlier. Here they are,” he said, matching them with the proper writing.

“Awesome! That means we’re done!” Hilda cheered. Marianne even managed a smile.

“I’ll take all the pages and compile it together for us,” Ignatz offered, packing up all the papers.

“Oh no, are you sure you don’t want any help?” Marianne asked.

“I don’t really need any, but if you want to, I’m going to head to the library,” Ignatz said. Marianne nodded and packed her stuff up as well.

“Are you coming too?” Ignatz asked Hilda. The pink haired girl looked side to side and laughed awkwardly.

“See, I would but I’ve got some shopping plans,” she said. Ignatz laughed knowingly and then he and Marianne bid Hilda goodbye.

“Phew,” Hilda said as soon as they left. “For a second there I thought I was going to have to work more than I had to.” She got up out of her chair and prepared to go to the bathhouse when something caught her eye.

The girl walked over to the table across and found a violet colored book with maroon writing on the front sticking out from where it was poorly covered by a few papers.

“Half-Blood Splice. A Ritual Banned in Fodland,” she read aloud, intrigued. It was a rather pretty book. Hilda flipped it open and started reading the first paragraph, eyes growing wide with every word.

‘No mortal can live more than one life. Or can they? I discovered a possible way to live twice. The problem is that no one will believe what I say or take it seriously. They think it’s a dark magic that shouldn’t be tampered with. I say to hell with them all. Who wouldn’t want an alternative to dying? All you need is someone that shares a crest with you. I deduced that this method could work if an individual were to possess two crests, but that is in impossibility in itself so I disregarded that method for the most part.’

Hilda nearly dropped the book. She wondered if she should tell Claude about the book.

Hilda looked back at the table, wondering who would be reading such a book when she realized-this was Lysithea’s spot. Lysithea had two crests. What exactly was that little girl reading?!

‘Did Lysithea do this ritual? Does she have two lives?’ Hilda wondered. For the time being, she placed the book in her bag and strutted out of the common room before anyone could notice she took the book.

-

“I don’t know,” Jasmine said finally. “On one hand, Edelgard is secretive, and it wouldn’t be so far-fetched that Hubert would agree to a ritual like this if it meant ensuring Edelgard’s safety. Everyone knows he’d do anything for her,” she said logically. Caspar was about to give a rebuttal, but Jasmine held a hand up.

“On the other hand,” she started, looking at Claude. “This ritual isn’t some casual accusation on someone. It’s not that simple. Is Edelgard even capable of something like this? Hanneman didn’t even know of anyone that successfully did it, and he’s older than almost anyone else at the monastery, save for Tomas,” she explained.

Claude and Caspar seemed two words away from firing off why what they thought was right when Jasmine had an idea.

“Look, arguing about it isn’t going to get us anywhere. I propose that we all search for the book. Someone has to have it. That much we can agree on. Caspar, you check if Hanneman has it. Claude, you check on if any of the Golden Deer or Blue Lions have it,” she instructed. She sensed that they both were going to ask who was going to check on the imperial princess and pointed to herself. “I will check to see if Edelgard, Hubert, or any of the other Black Eagles have it. I’m the only one objective about it, can we agree?” she asked.

“Fine by me,” Caspar said, not looking at Claude.

“Sounds good. We’ll regroup when we can to see what we find,” Claude says easily enough.

“Guys, we really need to be on the same side here. It’s not about who’s right. This is bigger than that. Lives are at stake,” Jasmine reasoned. Caspar reluctantly eased his stance and deflated.

“I just don’t want him to be right. Everyone thinks Edelgard is scary. She doesn’t have many friends as it is,” he said defeatedly.

“Don’t you constantly compete with her at every given opportunity?” Claude asked curiously.

“Yeah, so she has someone to talk to things about with. I know it annoys her, but I like to think of myself as her little brother sometimes. I don’t know if you guys know this, but she had ten siblings. She lost them all. So I try to help her not feel as lonely. I think Ferdinand does the same thing,” Caspar explained with a shrug.

“Wow Caspar. That’s really admirable of you,” Jasmine said with a smile.

“Yeah,” Claude agreed. “I’m sorry I was being so blunt earlier. I don’t want to be right either, for what that’s worth,” the Golden Deer leader insisted. Caspar nodded.

“It’s fine. Let’s set out to do what we need to. Let’s find that book,” Caspar said. They pooled their hands in, said ‘Mystery squad,’ and went their separate ways.

-

“Welcome back to the words of wisdom my lovelies,” Manuela greeted, reaching into the box to get down to business as per usual.

“I will get straight to the point seeing as it’s already rather late and the Blue Lions had a tiring mission,” she said, unfolding the confessional slip of paper.

“We hear that Lonato slipped away. Is that true, or was he given the opportunity to slip?” Manuela read, appearing confused. Regardless, she went on. “Blood is thicker than water, but rituals are thicker than thieves. We won’t say more, but what are you snooping in the library around for?”

Claude visibly tensed and he looked over to Caspar and Jasmine who were avoiding eye contact. How did the confessional box know about their conversation?! Claude tried to calm down, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that it was entirely possible that someone in their own group was the confessional spy. He had to figure out who he could trust, fast.

“Things got a little heated in the woods during a picnic. Don’t worry, we don’t kiss and tell. For now~” Manuela read, placing a hand to her mouth to cover her grin. This piece of gossip was thrilling to read about.

“Sweet. Someone scored,” Sylvain snickered.

“You lack every bit of mannerisms,” Ingrid said, shaking her head.

“If you want to talk about lacking mannerisms, you should see what you look like in the dining hall,” Felix muttered, dodging a hit from the blonde.

“The church may not be so holy after all. Watch out students, is Rhea not the lady of grace we all perceive her to be? Place your bets on whether this archbishop is as pure as advertised. We already know~” Manuela read off, shaking her head.

“That was a lot,” Manuela said, seeming shaken. “I am going off to bed. You all should scurry too,” she said, walking out of the room to go find an aspirin.

“Who do you think she was talking about when she said things got heated?” Hilda asked eagerly, in the mood to gossip.

“Not sure Hilda, but I’ll catch you later,” Claude said, heading out. He really needed to clear his head.

Felix rushed over to Caspar and rushed him out of the room and shoved him against a wall, looking annoyed. “What the hell did you three do while I was gone?” he asked.

“What do you mean?!” Caspar asked, trying to get out of the swordsman’s hold.

“Felix, let him go!” Jasmine said, pushing the Blue Lion off of Caspar. She ran out of the confessional room as fast as she could when she saw Felix dragging poor Caspar out.

“Are you okay?” she asked her housemate. Caspar nodded, appearing to be shaken up. Jasmine shot Felix a fierce glare.

“What is your problem?!” she all but shouted at him.

“What was that stupid box talking about?! What the hell are blood rituals? I know Claude was in the library earlier today. What is going on?” Felix asked, crossing his arms.

“We can’t talk here!” Jasmine hissed, looking around to see if anyone was listening. She saw a figure not too far away, but sighed in relief when she saw it was just Claude.

“I was wondering how the confessional box knew about that as well,” Claude chimed in, walking up to them. He looked at Caspar accusatorily as well.

“It wasn’t me man. I swear,” Caspar defended, looking to Jasmine for help.

“Guys, whoever writes what’s in that box knows everything somehow. It knew about Dimitri’s past when he’d only told Nazareth, and she’s not one to gossip unnecessarily. Like I said earlier, we need to stick together. If we don’t trust each other, then we need to stop whatever this is,” Jasmine made clear. Felix and Claude shared a look and then turned back to Caspar and Jasmine.

“You’re right,” Felix and Claude said at the same time.

“So we’re in this together?” Jasmine asked, ready to be done with this conversation and turn in for bed.

“No.” Felix said. “I don’t trust him. And neither should you two,” he said, pointing to Caspar in annoyance. He then walked off without so much as a goodbye.

Jasmine watched him leave in disbelief. “I can’t believe he’s that thickheaded,” she scoffed. “We don’t need him. It was just us three before and it can be us three now,” she said dismissively.

Claude cleared his throat and gave Jasmine a sorry look. The brunette internally panicked. Claude wasn’t leaving the group too, was he?!

“I’m sorry Jas. But tonight put things in perspective. I don’t know who I can trust, so it’s better than I go my own way,” he said, honestly feeling bad that this hurt her.

Jasmine felt her heart sink. ‘This hurts way more than Felix leaving for some reason,’ she thought. The brunette searched for the right words to try and convince the goofball to stay, but she was coming up short.

“I really am sorry,” Claude said, patting Jasmine’s shoulder before disappearing into the night. The brunette took a minute to soak in where the night had gone.

“I guess you’re going to leave now too?” Caspar asked with a lilt to his voice. Jasmine looked up, feeling bad for forgetting he was there. It was then that she noticed how broken the poor guy looked. He was blinking back tears, and he was doing it rather well. If she wasn’t so close to him in this moment, she might not have noticed.

“I’m not going anywhere. We started this thing together and we’re going to see it through. You check Hanneman, I’ll check Edelgard. If we come up short, we’ll figure it out, okay?” Jasmine asked, suddenly feeling like his older sister.

“You trust me?” he asked, sounding equal parts surprised and relieved. Jasmine nodded, meaning it. Caspar could be an airhead more often than not, but his heart was in the right place. And today proved that he made some excellent points.

Two minds were better than one. Felix and Claude had chosen poorly. She and Caspar would solve the secrets of the monastery without them.

“What if we can’t do it alone?” Caspar asked realistically. Jasmine looked off into the night, not worried in the slightest.

“Then we enlist for help,” she said easily.

-

Ashe downed his cup of sake and slammed the glass down harsher than he should’ve. Annette watched with a frown.

“Ashe, perhaps you should take it easy,” she said softly.

“Why didn’t you rat me out?” Ashe asked, ignoring her. Annette seemed taken aback.

“Back at the battleground. When his highness asked what happened. Why did you lie?” Ashe asked a little louder this time. Annette thought back to the encounter with Lonato and froze.

‘I can’t do it. I can’t kill him. He’s the only family I know to have left,’ Ashe thought, his bow dropping to the ground. Lonato eyed it and a flash of something went across his eye.

“You realize one of us must die,” Lonato spoke, eyes shut. Annette looked back and forth between the two and her heart ached for Ashe.

“It doesn’t have to end like this,” Ashe spoke, voice wavering. Tears pooled at his gray eyes, and he cursed himself for being so weak. He was further from being a knight than he thought.

“I cannot join you,” Lonato’s powerful voice deadpanned. Ashe’s heart broke as he looked up at the lord, readying his bow once more. Again, he pulled an arrow back and aimed it at Lonato.

“Ashe. Fire it,” Annette urged, afraid Lonato might counter if Ashe took too long. Ashe looked once more into the eyes of his target and fired the arrow…at Lonato’s horse’s leg. The horse let out a cry of pain and hobbled on its side.

“What are you doing?!” Annette asked, covering her mouth with her hands.

“It’s hard to call you this right now, but…father,” Ashe began, swallowing down what felt like salt. “I love you. I always will. I cannot bring myself to take away your life. Not when you saved mine those long years ago,” he continued, tears pooling at his eyes.

Lonato would not meet Ashe’s gaze. Rather, he pulled out his lance, dropped it by Ashe’s feet and slowly got up. He got onto his injured horse and turned it around. Before he could limp off, Ashe spoke once more.

“Make no mistake. I am letting you go this time. Never come back to attack the church or I will strike you down. You saved my life once. My debt is paid,” he said coldly.

Without turning around or saying another word, Lonato instructed his horse to charge. It hobbled off in the opposite direction and Ashe watched it go the whole way. He looked at the lance Lonato left and saw a note attached to it.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if the roles were reversed,” Annette admitted, putting her head down.

“I should have gone with him. He’s out there all alone. He doesn’t even have his son anymore,” Ashe said, voice breaking. His grip tightened on the glass and Annette saw it, growing scared for her friend. She reached over and took the glass away from him.

“He still has you,” Annette said, reaching for Ashe’s hand. “And you have no idea what it must have meant to him. For you to allow him to retreat,” she insisted. Ashe looked into Annette’s eyes and let himself feel.

He let his gaze lower to Annette’s peach lips and then back to her cerulean eyes. Annette noticed his staring and felt some heat rush up to her cheeks. What was happening?

He slowly leaned forward and took Annette’s lips with his own, allowing himself this pleasure. The only one life would offer him at the moment. Annette gasped lightly before meeting Ashe’s lips back in the dance he had started, not knowing if this was smart, but knowing it felt right.

-

Dimitri threw a rock across the water and watched it skip once, then twice more. The scenes from earlier kept replaying in his head. Something didn’t sit quite right with him about the battle. School didn’t feel like school anymore.

“Hey your highness. I’m surprised not to see Nazzy with you,” Sylvain greeted stepping up to where the prince stood. Dimitri turned and saw his childhood friend, with Felix, Glenn and Ingrid coming up behind him.

“What are you all doing here this late?” Dimitri asked, ignoring Sylvain’s jibe.

“We could say the same for you your highness. Did the battle take a bigger toll on your than we thought?” Glenn asked with concern.

“What did you all think? Of the battle?” Dimitri deflected.

“Why aren’t you answering the questions they’re asking you first?” Felix asked coldly. Ingrid elbowed him, but the swordsman did not waver.

“What Felix means to say is that you have us worried. You listened to Annette and didn’t say a word on it after,” Ingrid explains, ignoring Felix’s mutterings of not caring and being forced to be here right now. Dimitri felt guilt at hearing this. As prince, he should have had a better grip on his emotions. Concerning his beloved friends was never something he wanted to have happen.

“I assure you all I am in normal spirits. I fear the back-to-back missions have simply left me a little tired,” he insisted with a dashing smile. The three friends were not convinced. Sylvain shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Talk to us Dimitri. Tell us what’s wrong,” he said a with more firmness. The prince’s smile fell, and he sighed, looking away.

“The truth is…I think Annette was lying to me about earlier. I just don’t know to what extent and why,” Dimitri blurted. Ingrid immediately shot up at this.

“You mean to imply that Ashe may be on Lonato’s side, and she was helping cover it up?” she asked. Dimitri shrugged.

“I’m not sure. It could also be that Lonato had him in a compromising position and couldn’t bring himself to kill Ashe, so he retreated instead,” Dimitri said unconvincingly.

“Lonato would not have retreated with Ashe in his path. He knows he and his army could have handled a mere boy. Unless he was outnumbered, there’s no way he would’ve let Ashe leave,” Sylvain pointed out, poking the hole in Dimitri’s theory that the prince was hoping would be left un-poked.

“I hate to admit it your highness, but Sylvain is right,” Ingrid agreed.

“But he was outnumbered. Annette was with Ashe during the whole thing. With her talent for magic, it isn’t so far-fetched that Lonato was the one in the compromising position,” Felix countered.

“So you think Dimitri’s right,” Sylvain concluded.

“No,” Felix fired off instantly. “Because that leaves the flaw of how he got away. If Ashe and Annette had him on the ropes, how could he have found an opening to retreat?” Felix said, crossing his arms.

“So you all think…you all agree? That Annette might be being dishonest?” Dimitri asked, feeling a sense of belonging. How could he not have leaned on his closest friends? They were always there for him.

“You know we’ll always take whatever you say seriously,” Ingrid said with passion. “You’re our friend before you’re our prince,” she reminded the blond.

“Yeah exactly. Besides, this wasn’t an easy one for Ashe either. It’s not so crazy to insinuate he might’ve done something to deviate from our mission. Whatever it is, we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Sylvain added.

“Thank you. All of you. Really,” Dimitri said, feeling gratitude for such company.

“But how are we going to find out what that is?” Glenn asked. The group of childhood friends looked to one another, neither having a clear answer.

“The mock battle is soon,” Glenn said after a few beats of silence. Ingrid caught onto what her fiancé was saying and nodded with a hand to her chin.

“If we win and are in high spirits, we could have a feast and have a bit too much to drink,” she continued on. Sylvain caught on as well and smiled.

“If we get Ashe and Annette wasted, we can get any answer we want,” he finished. Felix and Dimitri did not seem to be fully on board with the idea but knew there may not be another way.

“And if we lose the mock battle?” Dimitri asked. Of course the prince had faith in his house, but he had to be pragmatic.

“We won’t lose. Everyone knows the Golden Deer are a joke, and Edelgard will be too cocky to win,” Felix shrugged.

“You mean cocky like how you’re being right now?” Ingrid asked pointedly, shaking her head when Sylvain laughed at that.

“He’s got a point. Edie is always so confident she’ll win,” Dorothea laughed along. Felix facepalmed, not bothering to ask when she had come to join them. He knew he wouldn’t get a proper answer.

Chapter Text

‘Man, it’s creepy being in here after school hours,’ Caspar thought to himself as he thumbed through each and every book on Hanneman’s bookshelves. He didn’t know what the crest book looked like, so he had to read each and every title and it was wearing him out.

‘A Guide to Your own Crest, Requiem for a Crest, To Crest or Not to Crest…yeesh he has way too many books on crests,’ Caspar thought, stifling his seventh yawn since the beginning of his search. He thought to mention to Jasmine some of the titles that stuck out, like, ‘The History of Dual Crests,’ and ‘Hidden Secrets Among Various Crests,’ in case she wanted him to pilfer some in order to do research. Or send them along to Evangeline to let her do it for them since she read faster.

‘This is so boring. It would’ve been more fun if someone was with me. Too bad the mystery squad broke up…I’m sure Claude would’ve made Felix come with me. Then at least it wouldn’t take this long,’ Caspar thought, feeling bittersweet. He was devastated that the gang broke up, seemingly because of him, but he was touched that Jasmine had stuck up for him, even though she was closer friends with Claude.

‘Man, it’s not here. I checked all the bookshelves TWICE. I think it’s time to give up,’ He thought to himself, disappointed. He hoped Jasmine would understand.

Caspar was just heading for the door when he noticed a paper on Hanneman’s desk. Curious, he walked over to it and skimmed the page. It seemed to be a note of sorts.

‘Professor,

I appreciated our chat last moon. I know you told me not to go looking into the subject, but I have some concerns I’d like to voice to you in person. Please let me know what a good time to come in for office hours is. I’d like to keep this somewhat discreet.

All the best,

Claude’

“This is great! I can tell Jasmine about this and maybe we can stake out Hanneman’s office and overhear what they say,” Caspar thought, glad his scouting wasn’t a total loss.

Feeling better, he headed for the door again and exited the office.

“Ugh I thought you’d never come out of there. I was about to walk in honestly,” Hilda said just as Caspar quietly closed the door, which ended up being a moot point because he screamed in terror upon hearing her voice.

“SHH you nitwit! You’ll get us both caught!” she whisper-scolded the boy, covering his mouth with her hand.

“Are you gonna be quiet when I let go?” Hilda asked, eyes narrowed. Caspar nodded, wide eyed, heartbeat still going a mile a minute from his shock. As soon as Hilda moved her hand, he let out a sigh, realizing he hadn’t breathed.

“What the Fodland are you doing here?!” Caspar asked in his own whisper-shout. He looked around to see if anyone else had joined her in following him. Hilda had a knack for showing up unexpectedly. Kind of like how Dorothea did with Felix, but no one believed him.

“I saw you walking into the staff hall wayyyy past curfew and wanted to know what was so enticing about Hanneman’s office,” she said. “What’s he got in there? Contraband?” she asked excitedly, scanning Caspar all over for stolen goodies. Seeing nothing, she frowned. “By the looks of your lack of a haul, nothing,” she deduced, disappointed.

“Well, I uh, there’s this uh-

“Uh erm there’s this uh uh uh,” Hilda mocked with playful laughter, shoving Caspar’s side with what was her definition of “light”. Caspar nearly fell over, but quickly picked himself up. “C’mon Caspar, spill. What were you looking for?” she asked, crossing her arms.

Caspar looked anxiously side to side. He liked Hilda enough, sure. But Jasmine was quite literally the only one to trust him right now. He couldn’t tell Hilda about the blood splice book no matter how much he might’ve wanted to. He had to honor Jasmine’s trust in him.

“I was looking for those sparkler bombs that he confiscated from you and Claude back in the Fall seminar,” he lied with his signature goofy grin. Hilda smiled at that answer.

‘Was he maybe getting it back for me? That’s cute,’ she thought to herself, looking at the black eagle student a moment longer than socially necessary.

“Well, unfortunately you’re too late. Claude and I pilfered those months ago. Besides, Seteth’s office is the place to be. That’s where all the good stuff is anyway,” she winked, grabbing his arm and dragging him in that direction.

‘Phew. She bought it,’ he thought wearily, suddenly feeling an odd sensation at being man handled by Hilda like this. ‘Weird. It’s not scaring me like it used to,’ he thought, ignoring it when they neared Seteth’s office door.

“What exactly are you hoping to find?” Caspar asked as she started to pick the lock with a hairclip.

“Have you ever been in Seteth’s office before?” Hilda asked, not moving her gaze from the lock. Caspar shook his head and the Golden Deer girl smirked. “Just wait.”

A few moments later, the door clicked open and Hilda made a gesture for Caspar to go ahead first. He figured there was no harm in participating in this random escapade and did. Seteth’s office gave him the vibe of a dungeon where bandits would be sentenced to punishment in. It was so dark and void of any décor.

“Wow, you’d think he’d at least have a picture frame of Flayn in here or something. Dude’s weird,” Caspar said, moving to find a light switch.

“He doesn’t have a light switch,” Hilda smiled, moving to turn on a lone lamp in the corner. A small pool of light shone, highlighting Hilda’s features in a way that every other light didn’t. Caspar was taken aback. Was she always so-

“C’mon,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. Caspar let her drag him to the desk drawer and she yanked it out with a force that could’ve broken any lock.

Inside the drawer were several things Caspar didn’t even recognize. He noted a few things that seemed of interest-a necklace with gems, an envelope with the name ‘Nazareth’ scrawled on it, and a small picture frame with a photo of Seteth, some woman and a baby nestled between them.

“Do you do this often?” Caspar asked, noticing how Hilda seemed to know her way around the room pretty well.

“Usually with Claude and sometimes Evangeline when Seteth takes one of her books,” Hilda answered, seeming to be looking for something specific.

“Never with outsiders then huh?” he asked excitedly.

“Nope, you’re my first,” she winked with a giggle. Caspar grinned back, more than happy to be included. It was just what he needed after being excluded so harshly last night.

“Who do you think drew this?” he asked, pointing to a cartoonish comic of Seteth inflating like a balloon. He seemed to be angry in it. Hilda snatched the paper out of the drawer and beamed.

“Yours truly,” she said proudly. “It was during his seminar on Wyvern care after he already gave me detention,” she explained. Caspar was amused by how much she seemed to treasure it. A sudden thought popped into his head.

“Lemme see it?” he asked. Hilda handed him the paper, curious to see what he was going to do. Caspar started to fold the paper until it was really tiny.

“My older brother taught me this,” he said, focused on his folds but explaining. “Said he learned it from some girl he used to train with,” he said, doing the finishing folds and reaching for Hilda’s hand. She watched, curious still, as Caspar slid the folded paper onto her pointer finger and seemed satisfied with his work.

“It’s…a paper ring,” she mused, admiring it. You could see the ink scrawls and if you looked close enough, you could still see the drawing. Caspar folded it in a way where the drawing didn’t just look like random scribbles.

“My brother told me that they symbolize different bonds. You’re a good friend to me. So I thought this could signify that bond,” he said innocently. So innocently, Hilda didn’t have it in her to make a joke about he already proposed.

“Of course,” she said, feeling something new blossom in her heart. ‘Spending time with Claude is always fun. Light. But Caspar. He brings about an innocence in the both of us that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before…’ she thought to herself.

“I’ll always wear it,” she said, admiring it once more before moving to turn the lamp off and they both headed out of the office.

“Well, good night then,” Caspar said with a small bow. He started to walk off when Hilda caught up to him. He turned expectantly and his eyes widened when she leaned in slowly.

“By the way, Happy Birthday Caspar,” she said, giving his cheek a parting kiss and strutting off to her dormitory. Caspar, still wide eyed, watched her go.

“Never got a birthday gift like that before,” he mused, rubbing the spot Hilda had kissed softly before heading to bed himself.

-

“As a reminder, the Goddesses Rite of Rebirth is right around the corner, and you should all be preparing for it. Lady Rhea has also asked me to remind you all to be on the lookout for suspicious activity around the monastery. We have no word on Lonato’s whereabouts and as a result, we need to stay vigilant. He has done us the honor of alerting us to a possible attempt on Rhea’s life, so everyone should be prepared for anything. Also, she asked me to relay that the mock battle will still take place next week. There are no plans to delay it as of now,” Seteth read off a scroll.

“That is all. You are dismissed,” Seteth grumbled when no one said anything.

The grand hall emptied out in a manner of minutes and Edelgard led her house into the Black Eagle common room.

“We have one goal-to stop the assassination plot,” Edelgard said, shutting the common room door. The rest of the house sat down, except for Hubert and Byleth, and looked at each other, wondering if anyone had any leads.

“I wonder if an assassination attempt is truly the goal of our enemy,” Hubert said.

“Yes, it is clearly a distraction. A sizable one at that,” Byleth said, hand to his chin. Hubert barely glanced at Byleth despite the fact that the mercenary agreed with him.

“I think so too. However, it’s sloppy, to say the least. While everyone is out here searching for a phantom assassin, the enemy will be free to accomplish their true goal-whatever that may be-with ease,” Edelgard deduced.

“Any ideas as to what that might be?” Byleth asked, addressing the house this time.

“I’ve got several theories your grace~” Dorothea sang.

“Anyone have any ideas that have merit or evidence to back them up?” Hubert clarified, crossing his arms. Dorothea shrugged and covered her face with her hat in order to take a nap. The rest of the house took that to mean her contribution ended there.

“Ahem, the monastery’s weapons vault houses many valuable weapons. Perhaps that is their aim,” Ferdinand mused, thinking of the vast arsenal the church possessed. He’d had his eye on a lance or two himself amongst his many duels with Felix.

“Maybe this whole thing is a farce to distract us from something entirely unrelated to the monastery as a physical location at all,” Jasmine suggested. Hubert seemed ready to ignore that comment and move on, but Edelgard held a hand up.

“You don’t think there’s an impending attack?” she asked Jasmine for clarification. The brunette sighed.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. But something seems weird about what took place in the Blue Lion battle against Lonato. Dimitri and his house are well trained fighters. Arguably the best in the monastery. How could Lonato not only get the opportunity to escape, but allow them to get within close enough proximity to pilfer a scroll with an assassination plot on it before doing so? It seems unlikely that there was any possible ending except one resulting in death,” Jasmine said.

“That is an excellent point. One that Byleth and I had considered as well,” Edelgard praised, nodding. ‘Especially considering it’s the only one that puts some blame on the Blue Lions. Perhaps we should include Jasmine in our plans earlier than we thought,’ Edelgard thought to herself.

“However, the church values Rhea’s life over anything. While they put us in charge of a front-line defense, they have guards plastered around in some locations. If this weren’t a serious level threat, I doubt the monastery would have gone to such lengths,” Edelgard said.

Jasmine didn’t seem entirely convinced with that reasoning, but knew better than to challenge Edelgard, so she stayed quiet. ‘This is something that Claude would be amazing to confide in about but…’ Jasmine thought, shaking her head.

“It could be the treasure vault too. Or anything for that matter. Garreg Mach is immense, and not just above ground, but below as well. Perhaps their aim lies beneath the monastery,” Lindhart pointed out with a tired shrug.

“Beneath the monastery…” Edelgard mused, rubbing her chin. ‘That was the idea with the most merit yet. Underneath the monastery could be…exactly what we’ve been looking for. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that myself. I’ll have to enlist Lindhart. He tends to pay heed to the many details everyone else overlooks’ she thought to herself.

“It would appear then that we shall search the monastery for a clue as to what the enemy may be after. Doing so would ideally help us pinpoint a location. Then, we can aptly prepare for battle,” Hubert said, noticing his lady’s distractedness. Edelgard nodded in agreement, penciling her thoughts mentally for later.

“Yes. Alright then. Everyone see what they can find and let Byleth and myself know if there is anything of interest,” Edelgard instructed. Hubert singed at how Edelgard constantly placed the wretched professor above him, but nodded and petered out along with the rest of the house.

“Hold on Hubert,” Edelgard asked. Hubert’s attention was caught instantly. This was one of the rare times she’d chosen to talk to him instead of professor Byleth.

“Yes Lady Edelgard?” he asked, shutting the door with promise behind him.

“You do realize that this is probably the moment that Flayn’s ‘disappearance’ will take place,” she said in a hushed tone. Hubert seemed surprised by this revelation if his raised eyebrow was anything to go by.

“Lady Edelgard. Don’t tell me you went to that silly trinket again,” Hubert said in disbelief.

“I had to. I had to see for myself what fate had in store for the near future. Flayn will be taken. It has spoken,” Edelgard said with utmost seriousness.

‘Spoken by an uncredible source,’ Hubert thought to himself. ‘How Lady Edelgard believes in that crackpot wheel is beyond my understanding.’

“Hubert?” Edelgard asked when he said nothing in response.

“Lady Edelgard, I trust you know my feelings on the source. I don’t think it is enough to accept that Flayn will be kidnapped simply on the basis of…that,” he said, wrinkling his nose.

“Hubert, it already predicted the future once. You mean to tell me you believe that was truly a fluke?” she asked pointedly.

“It claimed that you would be within death’s reach. Every student attending Garreg Mach fits that description. I don’t think it can predict the future simply off of that,” Hubert defended.

“It showed me being saved by a strong mercenary with blue-gray hair as well. I don’t think everyone in Garreg Mach can fit that description,” she countered, crossing her arms. Hubert frowned. He didn’t recall seeing anyone with blue hair when the memory was shown to him.

“That rickety turn wheel does not have me convinced. Apologies Lady Edelgard, but I’m afraid I’ll have to see more to believe,” Hubert said, taking his leave. Neither of the two noticed that Hilda had been walking by and caught bits of the conversation. Her face paled and she ran off as though she’d seen a ghost.

-

“Did you guys hear about the new threat? It sounds awfully serious,” Marianne said, throwing her head down on the coffee table and muttering something all the lines of ‘it should kill me for being such a nuisance to the world.’

“New threat?” Raphael repeated.

“Yeah, the whole staff is in a frenzy over it,” Leonie said, interest piqued.

“I mean, it has to be that blasted Lord Lonato. I don’t know why everyone is pretending it could be someone else,” Lorenz shrugged heartlessly.

“Lorenz, we should really be more considerate, considering that the man in question is Ashe’s father,” Ignatz said in disapproval.

“Adoptive father,” Lorenz retaliated.

“Ashe is adopted?” Raphael asked, scratching his head. Marianne nodded when no one would answer his question.

“If you ask me, the church is taking this pretty lightly on the surface. The only thing they’ve done is put guards up at the holy tomb,” Lysithea piped up.

“The Holy Mausoleum?” Evangeline asked, interest piqued.

“Yeah, why?” Lysithea asked. the blonde tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and stood up, tapping her chin.

“I remember reading about that tomb in ‘Garreg Mach, a History’ and it’s a really sacred part of the church. It’s one of the older, but not oldest structures in Fodland, originating from the era where the Nabateans and Agarthans fought. It’s also rumored to have been where the goddess slept to regenerate,” Evangeline explained, wondering why guards went to protect that place specifically. Not a lot of people knew about it. Even she hadn’t heard of it until stumbling upon the topic in the book.

“I didn’t even know we had a Holy tomb,” Raphael admitted, proving Evangeline’s point.

“Forgive me for asking a question and breathing in precious oxygen, but who are the Nabateans and Agarthans?” Marianne asked, flinching when everyone looked at her.

“You never heard the story growing up?” Lorenz asked with judgement. Marianne looked as though she were about to descend into the shadows when Claude elbowed Lorenz and sat next to Marianne.

“Don’t listen to him. It’s not exactly a bedtime story,” he assured her. The house leader looked up at Evangeline and asked her to explain the story. The blonde thought back to when she first read about the tale and cleared her throat.

“Long ago, there was an ancient civilization of Nabatea that was established by the progenitor goddess and her descendants,” Evangeline began.

“Progenitor goddess?” Claude asked, not being one to practice Fodlan religion.

“Few know her name. And it isn’t considered courteous practice to say it out loud, so I won’t. But she was described as being a mysterious girl in the possession of the major crest of flames,” Evangeline explained. The rest of the house nodded along while Ignatz rose his hand. Evangeline called on him, feeling silly as though she were teaching a seminar.

“So was everyone of that land considered a higher being?” he asked curiously. The rest of the Golden Deer seemed interested in the answer as well.

“Well…it would make more sense if I were to just tell you more of the story,” Evangeline answered, unable to give a clear cut yes or no. “Eventually, the Nabateans settled in the ancient city of Agartha, which is what is present day Fodland. The Nabateans used to rule over mankind and be treated like goddesses. Some say that this was due to their proximity with the progenitor goddess, while others say it was because they bore the same hair color as the rest of the divine family. They used to be very humble creatures that brought peace and prosperity to the land of Agartha. The common people of Agartha (the Agarthans) even believed that the Nabateans blessed their lands with the goddesses’ light because their crop yields were at an all-time high the year they appeared. Despite this, the Nabateans didn’t possess any goddess-like magic,” Evangeline said, taking a breath.

“It sounds like they had a mutually symbiotic relationship,” Ignatz mused.

“Uh…yeah. What he said,” Leonie agreed. “So what happened then. Clearly the Nabateans must’ve flipped,” she assumed. Evangeline nodded.

“Possessing some sort of high from the praise they’d receive from the Agarthans, the Nabateans began to develop a sort of superiority complex. They began to treat the Agarthans as less and used them as slaves to do their nitty gritty bidding. The Agarthans happily did this at first, but it became too much, and they began to resent the Nabateans for abusing their kindness for free labor on land that was originally theirs,
Evangeline explained. Her housemates appeared shocked at this revelation and shook their heads.

“False storytelling. The goddess’s descendants couldn’t have behaved in such a way,” Lorenz immediately said, sending a pointed look to Evangeline.

“She didn’t say that she believed it. She was just telling us what she read, so lay off,” Lysithea said to the nobleman who scoffed. Evangeline sent a grateful look to her housemate.

“I don’t mean to imply what Lorenz did, but it is a little hard to digest. What do you believe?” Ignatz asked Evangeline. The blonde seemed put on the spot, so she deflected by adding more to the mix.

“Well, that’s one interpretation at least. It was the first one I’d read. Another interpretation says that the Agarthans used the Nabateans. See, the Nabateans were nomadic, and they felt their time on Agartha was over, so they packed their things and got ready to discover new land. But the Agarthans outnumbered them and forced them to stay to keep their land prosperous for eternity,” the blonde explained.

“Well I’ll tell you what I think. I think that the Nabateans are a perfect metaphor for the higher class,” Claude said before anyone else could jump in on that interpretation. “They do one nice thing for people and assume that humanity owes them for life,” he shrugged.

“I don’t understand how you can have such a take when you’re the son of-

“Who my father is doesn’t tell a thing about who I am,” Claude said with a lilt to his voice. The rest of the house could tell Claude was tense and backed off, knowing that was a rare occurrence.

“Well I’m with Claude. Something seems really fishy about these Nabateans if you ask me. It sounds like some folktale trying to make them out to be these pure beings of light when they’re really shady,” Lysithea said, crossing her arms.

“I don’t know. It seems like both interpretations are…well, open to interpretation,” Ignatz said neutrally.

“The Nabateans blessed those commoners who took it for granted,” Lorenz huffed, stomping out of the common room.

“Geez, what crawled up his asshole?” Leonie asked, shrugging when Raphael snickered.

“Well, more to the point, why was that the only place guarded then? Did Lonato have ties to either the Nabateans or the Agarthans?” Lysithea asked, going back to her first point.

“Not that I know of, but wouldn’t Ashe be a better source to ask?” Evangeline asked.

“He would be, but the poor kid’s been through enough,” Claude said, thinking.

“I could go to the library with you to do some more research on the matter if you’d like?” Ignatz offered. Evangeline smiled.

“What do you think Claude? Should we?” she asked, waiting for the go ahead.

“Yeah, I think it’ll definitely give us some answers or at the very least, put a pin in a dead end. Let’s reconvene after the words of wisdom to hash it out, cool?” he said. Evangeline and Ignatz nodded, rushing off to the library. The rest of the house members petered out of the common room as well, leaving Claude in it to sort out his thoughts. Before he could, Hilda came bursting into the common room in a frenzy.

“Hey Hilda, where’s the fire? Not in the library I hope,” Claude joked, trying to lighten the mood when he noticed how frazzled she looked. Hilda stopped in her tracks upon hearing her best friend’s voice.

“Claude, the craziest thing just happened,” she said, panting from breathlessness.

“Lay it on me,” Claude said, putting aside his disdain for the Nabateans for the moment.

“I heard Hubert saying something about Flayn,” Hilda said slowly, her eyes carrying a haunting look from the memory of it. That sentence alone was explanation enough from what she had just heard.

“No offense Hilds, but Hubert doesn’t seem like the gossiping type,” Claude said. Still, his guard was up. Hilda didn’t seem right.

“Something about Flayn being kidnapped or something,” she revealed, looking at the ground. The whole thing was too much for her to wrap her head around.

‘Why would Hubert be interested in Flayn?’ Claude thought. ‘It could be about her crest, but what would Hubert care…unless Edelgard ordered him to. But there’s no way she would do something as crazy as kidnap Flayn. She’s way too high profile,’ he thought. Seeing Hilda’s fearful expression, he softened up from his deductions and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey c’mon now Hilda. You know better than anyone that old Hubert’s all talk. Plus, I saw Flayn in the dining hall earlier, but I’ll keep an eye on her if it makes you feel better, okay?” he insisted. Hilda sobered up at that and shook her head.

“Y-yeah. Sorry Claude. Things around here lately have just been creepy, ya know?” she said with a small laugh.

Claude felt for the girl. Sure, this sort of thing was manageable for the students with stronger stomachs, but having to deal with Miklan’s death, Lonato’s escape, and the library burning down (had Tomas been found yet?), had to have taken its toll on a better part of the students.

“Don’t worry about it. You can always talk to me,” the house leader insisted. Hilda smiled gratefully and gave Claude a quick hug.

“Thanks Claude. Caspar said the same thing. It’s nice to have friends I can count on,” she said. Claude stiffened at the mention of Caspar and what took place last night, but stifled the feeling away before Hilda could catch on.

“Alright, enough sappiness-wait, what’s that?” Claude asked, recognizing the book poking out of Hilda’s bookbag. He quickly added, “I didn’t know you could read,” to not seem too eager about it.

“Hm? Oh! Yeah check it out. Seems like something that a nerd would take from the restricted section of the library,” Hilda laughed, tossing the book she’d swiped at her house leader. Claude caught it and glanced at the title.

‘The Ancient Art of the Blood Splice Ritual.’

His suspicions were confirmed, and he felt his blood pressure rise. Keeping his expression neutral despite his nerves going abuzz, he looked up at Hilda and chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. Where did you even find it?”

‘There’s no way there’s another group out there trying to figure out exactly what we’re figuring out, right?’ he thought. But if the confessional box tipper reached out to Felix, what was to stop them from reaching out to anyone?

Hilda shrugged. “I don’t remember, but it looks really dark and dreary if you ask me,” she said, reaching to grab it back. Claude held it away for a second, which confused Hilda. She looked to Claude questioningly who thought on his feet and said,

“Let’s have some fun with it,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Fun? How. That book is gross. I opened it up and it was talking about cutting someone open to mark their crest and bind it with someone else’s blood. Filthy, and invasive,” Hilda said in disgust, sticking out her tongue. Claude clenched the book in his grip.

“That does sound pretty crazy. You sure you can’t remember where you got it from?” he asked again. Hilda thought for a moment, tapping her chin and trying to remember.

“Um, I think maybe a common room. But I can’t remember if it was our house or the Black Eagles,” she shrugged.

“Why would you have been in a different common room?” Claude asked accusingly, knowing she liked to play pranks on the other houses.

“It actually wasn’t for goofing off this time. I was working on a project,” Hilda defended with sass.

“Who with?” Claude asked with enough curiosity to keep the conversation going, but not so much that she’d get suspicious.

“Ignatz and Marianne,” she answered. Before Claude could respond, she snapped her fingers and jumped up in excitement.

“Oh I just remembered. Yes, it was our common room! But it wasn’t either of theirs. I’m pretty sure I found it in Lysithea’s desk,” she said.

‘I wonder why Lysithea wanted to read about this. Or maybe if someone put her up to it. How else would she have come across such an uncommon concept,’ Claude thought. ‘She does have two crests…’

For now, he had to find a way to keep the book. Letting Hilda hold onto it didn’t seem like the most favorable idea. But figuring out how to take it without Hilda badgering him would require all his tact. She questioned his reluctance to hand it over once already.

“Why do you care so much?” Hilda asked, crossing her arms.

“Because I have an idea,” Claude said, tossing the book up in the air comically.

“Let’s put it back in the library and wait to see who takes it. If it really is Lysithea, we can mess with her and tell her she’s not old enough to be reading it,” he said with an effortless laugh. Hilda’s eyes widened with mirth at the thought, and she nodded eagerly.

“Great idea. Let’s go now. I have a seminar with Seteth so it’s the perfect time,” she said, racing off in the direction of the library. Claude followed after her, patting himself on the back for technically killing two birds with one stone. The problem was figuring out what to do about this spontaneous third bird…

-

Meanwhile, in the Blue Lion common room

“It could be anyone. All Lonato’s letter said was that there was an assassination attempt. It didn’t say that he was gonna do it or even lead it,” Sylvain said.

“Precisely. As we all know, the law says that a man is innocent until proven guilty,” Mercedes agreed.

“Except he was proven guilty when he marched on the church grounds and declared war?” Felix said with sarcasm. Everyone shot him a dirty look.

“Why are you booing me? I’m right,” he said in disbelief.

“Felix, just shut the fuck up,” Ingrid said in annoyance. He looked at her slack-jawed and Glenn shot him a ‘I know man, I know. Just let it go,’ look.

“Ridiculous, all of you,” Felix muttered.

“While it may be difficult to talk about, I think we should consider the possibility that Lonato may be involved in some way, even if he isn’t the orchestrator,” Nazareth pointed out, shooting Ashe an apologetic look.

“It’s probably because you’re newer to the house Nazareth, but we have to stick up for each other,” Annette said quickly. “We don’t know that Lonato is directly involved,” she added. Nazareth’s cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, and she went to sit down, but Ashe stopped her.

“No. While I appreciate what most of you are doing, Nazareth has a point. Lonato isn’t one to be making excuses for,” Ashe said firmly. “If anyone sees him in the monastery, I wouldn’t blame them for striking him down,” he said.

“What about me? I said the same thing!” Felix said.

“Ashe, it is noble of you to speak on a matter so fragile,” Dimitri said.

“It’s not noble your highness. Just the truth,” Ashe said.

“While that may be, it takes strength to be able to look past one’s emotions. Trust me, I should know,” the prince nodded. Ashe accepted the praise and sat back down.

“Where does that leave us?” Sylvain asked.

“To search out for any information we can that can aide us in the impending attack,” Dedue replied.

“Yes. If anyone finds evidence of suspicious activity, report to myself or Dedue immediately,” Dimitri commanded, dismissing them all to their days.

“Nearly everything that happens here is suspicious,” Felix muttered in annoyance, scuttering out with the rest of the house.

-

“You have to make a choice Ashe! It’s me or them.”

“We’re your friends Ashe. You can trust us. We’ll get the church when the time is right. But we have to focus on the mission at hand right now.”

“Join me Ashe. We can avenge your brother together.”

“Ashe don’t! He’s not on the path of justice. He’s only out for revenge.”

“You’re telling me if it was one of their family members in question, they would stand by, idle?!”

“Ashe!”

“Ashe!”

“Ashe! Wake up!”

Ashe jostled awake and sat up in bed, drenched in sweat from that fever of a nightmare. It was all so vivid…Lonato and the Blue Lions all goading him to make a choice. The only one not badgering him was…Annette.

Sweet Annette with her circular hair knots formed in those cute pigtails. She looked up at him with worry in those murky blue eyes that you couldn’t help but get sunk in. Pure Annette who…was right in front of him?

“Huh?” He asked, bleary eyed as he still hadn’t fully woken up. Gathering his bearings, he shook his head and saw his housemate in his room, looking rather concerned.

He must’ve fallen asleep after meeting with his house in the common room without realizing it.

“I was really worried Ashe. You weren’t waking up and you were so cold, but sweating and murmuring nonsense about picking sides. It seemed like a most dreadful nightmare. And in the middle of the day no less,” Annette explained, seeming to be at ease when she saw he was more in his senses now. She sat at the foot of his bed and grabbed his hand. He yawned and drew in a deep breath.

“I’m sorry for frightening you. I didn’t even realize I fell sleep. Carrying the weight of what I did- letting Lonato go-is harder to bear than I thought,” he confessed, rubbing his eyes, and the images of his nightmare away. Annette rubbed soothing circles on his hand and bit her lip.

“Do you regret it?” she asked softly, not meeting his gaze.

“Letting him go?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. ‘I’m not sure. If I could go back, I probably wouldn’t have done it any differently…or would I have? Part of me thinks I would’ve left with him. Joined him in gathering an army to take down the church. Whoa, that was a scary thought.’

“Actually, no. I meant me being there. And then me lying about it,” she said, rubbing her own shoulder in an attempt to bring herself comfort.

“Annette, I could’ve stopped you from doing that. And I could have made sure Lonato and I were alone. I regret nothing about the incident when it comes to you,” he assured, grabbing her free hand so they were facing each other now, hands in hands.

“Even last night?” She asked, referring to the kiss, blush making its home on her cheeks.

“Especially last night. I’m only sorry I wasn’t more sober. But I do not regret it in the slightest,” he made clear, bringing Annette’s right hand up to his lips to press a kiss to it.

Annette’s heart fluttered and she felt a blazing burst of something in her chest.

Whatever Ashe was dreaming about, he was struggling to make a choice on which side of a war to be on. Which meant when it came down to it, Annette would in turn have to make a choice too. The problem was, she wasn’t sure which to follow-her duty, or her heart.

-

“Everyone keeps chittering on about where the attack is likely to take place. Fools, the lot of them,” Hubert said to himself with disgust, walking up to the staff corridor.

‘And lady Edelgard. with her misguided belief in both that professor and the turn wheel,’ he thought to himself, opening the door to Rhea’s office.

‘Empty. Perfect,’ he thought to himself, walking in. A myriad of trinkets were strewn around the headmistress’s office, but Hubert found what he was looking for and sneered. The rickety turn wheel he and Edelgard had stumbled upon by accident was laying there in the corner, unassuming as always. He looked around, making sure no one was lingering before walking up to it and slowly turning the wheel.

A gentle feeling of warmth spread around Hubert’s body, just like the last time, and he felt his eyes flutter shut and his mind being almost taken over with images and sounds that weren’t his own thoughts.

The past or future or whatever it was, started flashing through his eyes.

“Wh-where are you taking me?!” Flayn asked in fear. A figure whose face was covered in armor didn’t answer. They simply kept dragging Flayn down somewhere Hubert couldn’t tell.

“My older brother Seteth will come looking for me!” she cried out in protest.

“Should we silence her?” another shielded figure asked. The one dragging Flayn shook their head.

“Our orders are to take her to the tomb during the Rite of rebirth, nothing more, nothing less,” he answered.

Hubert jolted back to reality with a start. The whole experience was just as trippy and unnatural as it was the first time. He shook his head. It didn’t mean anything. There was something deeply wrong with this turn wheel and he didn’t care to entertain it further.

When he made to move, the whirring began again, seemingly on its own. Confused, Hubert turned around and saw that the wheel was turning faster than before, and the warm feeling came back.

“Ugh, no what is happening,” he said, trying to fight out of it. But it was no use. The wheel had evidently gained a mind of its own and was forcing an image onto Hubert.

“I have been loyal to you the whole time. It is I that has been and always will be there to the very end.”

“I know I can always count on you Hubert. Your loyalty is not taken lightly.”

“I knew we couldn’t trust him.”

“We do not know the full story.”

“He sided with them. What more is there to the story?!”

“Do not raise your voice at me.”

Hubert jolted back once more, taken aback. This time he didn’t see anything, he only heard voices. It was him and…the other voice was undeniably Edelgard’s. They were fighting.

Hubert didn’t need to wager money to know they were talking about Byleth. ‘It doesn’t prove her right about the turn wheel,’ he thought. ‘If anything, it proves me right. It’s just showing me what I want,’ he scoffed internally. This wheel was nothing but trouble.

However, he couldn’t deny that checking the Holy tomb was a good idea. It was what the church valued over all else, and it was already on their radar. It couldn’t hurt. He walked back to tell Edelgard as much, knowing that he may as well keep the second prediction to himself.

-

“I don’t know about you Evangeline, but I’m getting a bit tired,” Ignatz said, stifling a small yawn. The pair were sat at a table in the corner of the library with dozens of books strewn across. Evangeline looked up from her book and widened her eyes when she looked at the clock.

“I didn’t even realize we’d been in here for over two hours. I’m kind of tired too now that I think about it,” she said, feeling the strain in her eyes now that they weren’t glued to a book.

“Shall we head to the dining hall for provisions?” Ignatz suggested. Just as Evangeline was about to agree because her stomach was complaining, she saw Nazareth sitting on the far end of the library with a book in her lap, and a haunted expression overtaking her features. Her normally vibrant eyes were dull and seemingly lifeless.

“Uh, you go on without me Ignatz. I’ll catch up in a bit,” she said instead, stacking their mess of books into a neat pile. Ignatz helped her and questioningly followed her gaze.

“Oh no. Maybe we should check on Nazareth,” he said instead.

“You wouldn’t mind?” Evangeline asked. Ignatz was such a nice guy.

“Of course not. She’s our friend. We should make sure she’s okay,” Ignatz said as if it were common sense. He and Evangeline dumped their books into their bags and walked over to the poor brunette.

“Naz?” Evangeline asked as they walked up to her. Nazareth hardly reacted to them. Lethargically, she looked up and didn’t bother even trying to smile.

“Hey,” she said monotonously.

“What’s going on?” Evangeline asked, taking a seat across from her best friend. They’d hardly spoken since classes started and the blonde was feeling as though she hadn’t been the most involved in Nazareth’s life as of late. Ignatz followed suit and the three sat in a makeshift triangle.

“I…can’t. It’s…insane,” Nazareth said, down casting her gaze. Evangeline and Ignatz shared a look of concern and scooted closer to the brunette for comfort.

“Naz, it’s me, your best friend,” Evangeline said softly, placing a hand on Naz’s shoulder. “You can tell me what happened, no matter how crazy,” she insisted. Nazareth looked back up at her friends, eyes watery and large.

“You guys. I don’t even know if it’s all in my head or not,” she said, voice cracking.

“Well, we can help you figure it out. Or move past it. Whichever you prefer,” Ignatz offered kindly. Nazareth shot him a grateful smile through her inner turmoil and handed the book over to Evangeline.

“What’s this about?” Evangeline asked, grazing over the title, which was frayed and unreadable.

“I don’t know how it got in my room, but it was there along with this note,” Nazareth said, handing the note to Ignatz who adjusted his glasses and read, “You’ve been kept in the dark for too long. The truth can be daunting, so be strong~”

Evangeline elbowed him lightly and said, “Did you have to sing it?!”

“Well, that’s how it was written,” Ignatz defended, showing the paper to the blonde. Evangeline rose an eyebrow.

“There’s something weird about the way it’s written. It almost looks familiar,” Evangeline noted, tapping her chin. Quickly saving that thought for later, she turned back to Nazareth and nodded.

“Okay so someone put this book in your room, anonymously,” she said, thinking. “And you think you’re in danger?” she concluded, flipping the book open.

“Not exactly, but check out this passage I found in it. The author wrote it as if it were a diary,” Nazareth explained, shaking a bit as she flipped the book open a few pages.

The Golden Deer students looked upon the book and Evangeline read the passage aloud slowly, silently sighing at how reading was something she never stopped doing.

“I suppose you’re wondering how I knew the blood splice ritual was done to myself. The simple truth is that I was not sure until it was too late (see following passage). But there were always signs. I would feel an exhilarating rush of energy at one point and a significant lack of it at another-typically when my brother would feel the opposite. We were never quite in synchronization on the battlefield when one would assume we would be considering our bond. This is but one of the many signs,” she finished reading.

She was about to say something when Nazareth urged her to keep going.

“In all my years, I’d never seen anything so horrifying. Parents who favored one child over the other would perform the ritual on their less preferred child, knowing that should it fail, the less favored one would die instantly. This way, they would keep the cream of the crop to continue their bloodline. As hinted prior, I have had the misfortune of seeing the ritual take its toll on my own brother.

He survived the ritual at the time it was performed, which one would assume an act of the goddesses, but that proved to be folly. During a battle between a neighboring nation and mine own, I fell in battle. As I awaited inevitable deliberation in the realms above, I found that it never came. My poor brother-at the expense of my crest, took my place as he breathed in the bittersweet relief of death. I was left to live with the consequences of the actions my parents selfishly put into place…”

“I don’t get what this is meant to tell you,” Ignatz admitted.

“Look at the publication date of the book,” Nazareth said.

“1150,” he and Evangeline said, echoing each other.

“About ten or so years before I was born,” Nazareth said.

“Okay…so the author is a distant relative?” Ignatz guessed. Nazareth shook her head and sighed.

“N-no. Sorry. It means that this ritual or whatever you want to call it, was still somewhat common practice around the time I was conceived,” she explained. Evangeline and Ignatz still looked at her blankly so Nazareth kept going.

“I feel the exact same thing the author mentioned. During the battle against Miklan, I felt a crazy rush of power. I know it was partially due to the staff I was using-

“What staff was that?” Ignatz interrupted, apologizing right after.

“Not important right now. Well, it is but hang on,” Nazareth said in a rush. “Anyway, it was mainly something I noticed happening when Jas wasn’t in battle with me. Before she came in with the reinforcements, I was performing really well in battle. After she appeared, my power felt weakened, and I noticed her healing magic grow stronger. Almost as though we weren’t able to both be at maximum strength at the same time,” Nazareth said, seeing both their expressions change as they realized what she was insinuating.

“Nazareth, you don’t think?” Evangeline said, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I don’t know, but is it so far-fetched to think…?” Nazareth trailed off.

“Have you always felt like this in battle with Jasmine?” Ignatz asked with concern. Nazareth smiled sadly.

“We were never allowed to be in battle together. It was one of the many strict and odd rules my mother put in place. I was meant to be Jasmine’s physical protector while she was my emotional one,” Nazareth explained, getting lost in her childhood.

“And that didn’t strike you as odd?” Evangeline asked, without judgement. It was more conclusive.

“We always thought we were two sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang. It’s just how we were raised,” Nazareth shrugged. “But now I feel stupid. How am I gonna tell Jas?” she asked, looking at Evangeline with worry.

“Well, you don’t have to tell her until you’re ready, but I’m sure she’d want to know,” Evangeline pointed out.

“And maybe you should gather more evidence to see if this is even real or just a theory first,” Ignatz suggested. “Just so you know if you need to freak out or not for sure,” he said.

“Yeah. You guys are right. And guys? Thanks. I’m really glad I have friends like you to count on,” Nazareth said, hugging them both gratefully.

“You know what the legend says,” Evangeline said lightly.

“The ties of friendship are what bind us together!” she and Nazareth cried out, bursting into giggles while Ignatz seemed confused.

-

“So we’ll look in the Holy Mausoleum tomorrow, agreed?” Hubert finished, explaining what he saw in the turn wheel.

“I’m afraid I’m not following. What is this turn wheel?” Byleth asked, confused. Hubert hid a deeper smile at having shared a secret with his lady that the wretched professor was not included in. Edelgard to her part seemed to look a tad apologetic.

“Ah, my teacher, I apologize for not explaining sooner. Hubert and I discovered this relic before you arrived at the academy. We discovered an old turn wheel by chance in Rhea’s office. It seems to show us the future whenever we turn it. But we each see different things,” Edelgard explained.

‘We MUST go see that turn wheel at once. My heart is beating out of my chest just thinking about it!’ Sothis cried out at him. Byleth internally agreed and wondered how Edelgard didn’t think to mention this to him before.

“How do you know it is credible?” Byleth asked.

“We do not,” Hubert answered with heat. Edelgard sighed.

“Hubert is skeptical of its credibility as you can see. However, it predicted that you would save me from those bandits before I’d even met you. I believe in it for that reason,” she explained.

“Does Rhea know about this turn wheel?” Byleth asked quickly, reading Sothis’s mind. She was wondering the same thing.

“We do not know, and we certainly were not going to ask,” Edelgard replied.

“I’m still confused,” Byleth admitted.

“What about?” Hubert asked cynically.

“If you do not believe in this turn wheel, then why do you wish to check the Holy mausoleum?” Byleth asked. Edelgard turned to Hubert.

“You know, that’s something I wonder myself,” she said to her retainer.

“We were already considering it to be a place of interest. The turn wheel showed something that would be of interest to Lady Edelgard in its memory. If any part of it is true, then it is worth examining. Those are my reasons for wanting to check,” Hubert explained.

“What did you see?” Edelgard asked instantly.

“I am not 100% certain, but they appeared to be sealed coffins. The ones that were fabled to possess crest stones,” he said.

“And if we take all the crest stones…” Byelth started.

“Then we can proceed with our takeover much sooner than any of us planned,” Edelgard finished. “We go to the tomb first thing in the morning,” she said with finality.

‘And we go to Rhea’s office to check out that turn wheel NOW,’ Sothis urged, Byleth agreeing. The three went their separate ways, Byleth hoping to the Goddess’s that Rhea was not in her office at the moment.

‘What do you think we’ll see?’ Byleth asked her as he walked.

‘I don’t know. But I hope we’ll get some answers about whatever and whoever I am to you,’ she answered.

‘Me too,’ he said to her, feeling a surge of hope as he neared the staff quarters.

-

“Ugh, the confessional box reading is gonna start soon and no one’s come to take this stupid book,” Hilda complained, stifling a yawn.

“Wanna give up and just head over there?” Claude suggested, wondering what kind of willpower Hilda possessed. He hadn’t expected for them to spend half the day staking out the restricted section.

“Yeah let’s go already. I wanna know what the hot gossip is~” she sang, hopping up and stretching. She raced out of the library, telling Claude to hurry and catch up. The house leader shot up and ran to grab the book when he saw an empty space where the book was not ten seconds ago.

“What?!” he cried out. ‘Who the hell grabbed it in the literal fifteen seconds I turned away to see Hilda leave?!’ he thought in horror. He looked around vigorously. The only person in the library was Nazareth right now. She couldn’t have taken it, could she? The brunette was all the way on the other side of the library. Unless she sprinted at the speed a Wyvern could fly, it was impossible.

Claude sped behind the bookcase and saw none other than Caspar, clutching the book and looking like a kid who ate the last cookie. He squeaked upon seeing Claude and backed away immediately.

“Caspar, hand me the book,” Claude commanded, face stern.

“No way. I promise Jasmine I’d get it,” he said, holding it tight and looking the most serious Claude had ever seen.

“I’m not gonna ask again Caspar,” Claude said, crossing his arms.

“You want it?” Caspar asked, suddenly grinning. Claude wasn’t sure why he seemed so lackluster all of a sudden, but it wasn’t totally off brand for the Black Eagle.

“Okay, come take it,” he offered lazily, holding the book out. “And maybe I’ll tell Hilda that you’re so desperate to have it. You didn’t really seem to want her to know,” he goaded. “Or better still, I’ll tell her about your little chat with Hanneman. Goddess knows you want that kept quiet,” Caspar said, tossing the book from one hand to the other with a smirk. Claude grimaced.

“How the heck do you know about that you little weasel?” Claude asked, more annoyed with himself for not having anticipated this. Caspar was just the wildcard he didn’t need. It was throwing him off his game.

Caspar imitated locking his lips and throwing away a key. Claude wasn’t sure how to take the book without Caspar blabbing his mouth away, but he couldn’t let the Black Eagle leave with the book either. Just as he was formulating another plan, Felix joined in the mix with an angry expression.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed at Caspar. “Is that the book?!” The blood suddenly drained from Caspar’s face, and he backed away upon seeing the swordsman. With Claude, he had leverage. Felix was another story.

“Uhh, no?” Caspar answered, nervous.

“Hand it the fuck over. I’m gonna crack this case and prove to everyone once and for all that I’m the only one with any actual sense in this school,” Felix spat, backing Caspar against the wall.

“Guys, cut it out. We look suspicious. The last thing we need is to draw more attention to us,” Claude whisper-scolded them, losing his patience more with every growing second.

“We’re the only ones in here,” Felix shot back.

Just as Claude was about to say that Nazareth was in here too, the brunette approached, looking concerned.

“Hey guys, is everything okay?” she asked, eyeing the situation.

“Yeah, everything’s fine Naz,” Claude said, flashing her one of his signature easy smiles. He was doing everything to quell his frustration. Nazareth didn’t seem to buy it as she saw how uneasy Caspar seemed to be.

“Hey Caspar, you ready for our tutoring session?” she asked, looking at the Black Eagle. Caspar squinted at her and cocked his head to the side when she winked. Felix and Claude looked ready to object, but the blue haired boy quickly understood and raced to Nazareth’s side.

“Yeah, sorry I’m late,” he said, shooting a victorious smile toward Felix and Claude.

“Nazareth, wait. Caspar has-

“No Felix. I may have let you talk to me like that when I first got here, but I know better now. If you have a problem, fight me for it,” Nazareth huffed, a new fire in her eyes. Claude was surprised by this reaction as was Felix, but that didn’t stop him from clenching his fist.

“You wanna take this outside?” Felix asked, cracking his knuckle.

“Felix, take it easy,” Claude said with a forced laugh, as he tried easing into his usual demeanor. “Sorry Naz. What he meant to say is that Caspar was supposed to finish his part of a group project we were working on, and he didn’t get it done. Felix just wanted the book so he could do it,” Claude explained. Nazareth looked to Caspar and sighed.

“Is that true?” she asked him. Claude and Felix narrowed their eyes at Caspar, daring him to reveal their secrets to the girl. Caspar gulped, feeling more antsy than he did during his live performance at volunteer opera last semester with Dorothea.

“I just wanted the chance to finish it myself. Felix never thinks I can do anything right,” he said, lowering his gaze, appearing sullen. Nazareth felt for the poor boy and glared at Felix.

“You need to be nicer to people. And if you can’t, leave them alone,” she snapped at her housemate. “C’mon Caspar, we’ll work on it together. We will see you both later,” Nazareth said, dismissing Felix and Claude and leading Caspar to a table near the entrance of the library.

“Now what genius tactician?” Felix asked sarcastically, resisting the urge to murder Caspar.

“Well, we know he has the book. We know he’ll give it to Jasmine. Seems like we just wait till it’s in her possession and then…” Claude trailed off in an obvious tone.

“We?” Felix asked incredulously.

“This whole exchange just proved that doing this alone is damn near impossible. You with me or not? You hardly cared in the first place,” Claude pointed out.

“You trust me?” Felix asked, perplexed.

“More than him,” Claude sighed, pointing at Caspar who was making silly faces that Nazareth was giggling at.

“What about Jasmine?” Felix asked.

“She won’t leave Caspar,” Claude said as though that were answer enough.

“Are we sure we can’t trust him? I mean, he didn’t ruin it in front of Nazareth,” Felix pointed out.

“He’s too unreliable. And he still could’ve been behind the confessional box leaks,” Claude reminded. Felix rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation but knew he agreed with the Golden Deer house leader at the end of the day. He did have more tact than seemingly anyone else in the Blue Lion house.

“I’ll get the book from Jasmine tomorrow, and we’ll go over it at night when everyone else is busy exploring Rhea’s death threat possibilities,” Felix acquiesced. Claude nodded, heading outside toward the detention room.

As he opened the door, it seemed like Manuela had already started reading the confessional box note, so he quickly tuned in.

“Siblings keep secrets a little too well in this school. That’s not very cool~ the future is in a wheel, but here’s the deal, a little Lady E wants to change the whole system of our world. To crest or not to crest, that is the question: whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer~” Manuela read, seeming to struggle with today’s confession.

“Ehm, sorry students. This writing is all over the place it would seem,” she apologized. “The pink haired beauty falling for the blue haired dummy. What an unforeseen love story this is. Maybe our belle should be paying more attention to the lies that her most trusted confidant is telling, hm. At least he didn’t lie about keeping everyone’s least favorite professor’s sis safe~ place your bets on how these stories unfold. We already know~” she finished reading.

Hilda instantly looked around and locked eyes with Claude, unsure how to feel. What did the confessional box mean? Did he care about the book more than he let on? And if he did, why on Fodland was he lying about it? They were best friends. They told each other everything. How could he be keeping secrets?

Claude looked away from her and walked right back out of the room, feeling it a mistake to have come in the first place. Just her luck. She’d have to confront him about it tomorrow then.

“How did Caspar of all people manage to gain Hilda’s affections? She is much too beautiful to be with a mere stable boy,” Lorenz said in disgust. Ferdinand rolled his eyes.

“Anyone’s too beautiful for anyone but you, aren’t they Lorenz?” Ferdinand said dryly.

“Well, it’s not my fault it’s true,” Lorenz huffed, storming out of the detention rom, muttering nonsense about commoners.

“Um, excuse me, but is it true? Are you with Caspar?” Ignatz piped up. Hilda turned around, confused by why he was asking.

“What do you care? Got a confession of your own?” she asked, teasing. Ignatz grew flustered and backtracked.

“Oh no! Nothing like that Hilda. I just meant to ask because I thought you fancied Claude,” he said.

‘Me and Claude? As if. Especially not if he’s been lying to me,’ Hilda thought with a huff.

“Claude and I are just friends,” she cleared up, shaking her head.

“My mistake,” Ignatz said humbly. ‘Then what were Claude and Caspar fighting about in the library?’ he thought to himself, having seen them engaged in a heated discussion in the library.

On the other end of the detention room, Dimitri was in turmoil. ‘What is El up to? Changing the world? What does that even mean?’ he thought, nonplussed.

“Your highness, is everything alright?” Dedue asked, eyes closed as he tried to quell his headache. The monastery seemed to be a curse of nonstop activity.

“Dedue, do you sometimes feel that Edelgard has a…well, an ominous energy about her?” Dimitri asked.

“I certainly do,” Sylvain scoffed, inserting himself into the conversation. “I mean, she’s hot for sure. But it’s the hot ones that are crazy you know,” he explained. Dedue shot the boy a no nonsense look, and then turned back to the prince.

“I do not disagree with all of what Sylvain has just said. I tend to feel a dark energy surrounding her,” Dedue offered.

“Hm, but that could just be Hubert’s presence,” Dimitri waved off. “I feel as though the secrets she’s hiding are beyond our understanding,” he admitted.

“I believe it. She cares way too much about crests. I mean, Miklan was a full fledge monster and she defended his ‘tact’ after the fact,” Sylvain shrugged.

“I do believe her obsession with crests fuels her emotions,” Dedue added.

“Do you think her changing the world has something to do with that?” Dimitri asked.

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Sylvain said grimly. He then snickered and joked, “maybe she wants to cleanse the world of the class system and rid it of everyone with crests altogether.”

Dimitri and Dedue shared a look, growing tense. Sylvain saw they took him seriously and groaned.

“Oh come on guys. That’s insane. She has a crest herself,” he said in disbelief.

“Maybe not cleanse the world, but I think we might be on to something,” Dimitri said. “I’m going to talk to her tomorrow. I’m onto her,” he added with finality.

“Oh, that’ll be a cheery conversation, won’t it? ‘Hey Edelgard, sorry to bother you-and Hubert because he’s always following you around-but any chance you’re planning to genocide an entire class system? Just wondering. Yeah you are? Oh okay awesome. Just checking. See ya!’ Sylvain mocked, face palming.

“Again, Sylvain holds some sense in his flamboyant manner of speaking. Your highness, I would err on the side of caution in regard to this matter,” Dedue said.

“Worry not friends. I will think about how to word what I wish to say. I shall go incognito as they say,” Dimitri said, smiling a bit at his own little joke.

Dedue and Sylvain eyed the prince wearily, not sure if this was the best course of action, but knew better than to try and sway him further.

“Perhaps I should accompany you?” Dedue offered.

“No. This is something I must do on my own,” Dimitri said with determination. “But let us meet in the Blue Lion common room tomorrow and I’ll share what I find,” he said. Turning to Sylvain, he added, “Let Ingrid, Glenn, and Felix know as well, won’t you? We can further discuss the Ashe and Lonato business while we’re at it.”

Sylvain nodded and the trio left the detention room to head to bed.

-

‘Are we really doing this?’ Byleth asked Sothis as they crept through the staff hall.

‘Uh duh! This thing could have answers we never even dreamed of seeing. Walk faster already!’ Sothis commanded.

Byleth approached Rhea’s office and sighed in relief when seeing that it, along with every other room in the staff house, was deserted. Looking around, he saw it in a corner-the turn wheel Edelgard mentioned.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, sensing Sothis’s reluctance.

‘Something about this feels weird, doesn’t it?’ she asked, understanding Byleth’s hesitance. He nodded.

‘Kind of like we’re tempting fate?’ he asked.

‘Yes. But also no. I still want to turn it,’ she admitted.

‘Don’t worry. I do too. Let’s take a deep breath and go for it,’ he suggested. Sothis agreed, thankful he was understanding. The two breathed in and out and braced themselves. Byleth walked up to the turn wheel and slowly pulled on it as intended. A soft whirring sound filled the silence, and a gush of pleasant wind was felt against his skin. The room seemed to be bathed in natural light all of a sudden and Byleth gasped before he suddenly felt like he was watching a projection playing in front of him.

“My children. My reason for being. How I love you so,” Sothis said with sheer love. She glanced at all the beings that were living in harmony as they danced on flowered fields, with rich crop fields not too far behind. The lands seemed blessed by the goddess herself.

“Don’t leave us Sothis!” the beings echoed, begging.

“You know my lifestyle my children. I must spread this wealth among the worlds. But I will be back,” Sothis promised with a gleeful smile. The beings glared, halting their dancing.

The flower fields darkened suddenly, the blooms dying. The crops began to wither away to dust.

“You did this to us! We’ll die without you. We NEED you. You gave us hope! We HATE you!” they cried. Sothis felt her heart lurch and she fell to the ground.

“No no no. I promise I’ll be back. It’s not a false hope. You must focus on what I have already done!” she pleaded for them to listen.

“Fix it! Fix it or perish little Goddess!” they screeched, their eyes turning to stone, their bodies becoming bone.

“I-I. Can’t. The Agarthans…Help…” Sothis begged, falling to the ground. “Just…a little nap,” she whispered, fading into the darkness…

“NO!” Sothis screamed in Byleth’s mind. Byleth jolted back to reality and realized his eyes were watery, though no tears had been shed.

“Sothis?” he asked softly aloud.

Sothis did not reply.

‘Sothis, please. Say something. We don’t know that that’s your future. We don’t even know if this is real. Like Hubert said, it could just be a cursed object meant to mess with whoever uses it,’ Byleth tried.

Nothing.

‘Sothis. Are you there?’ Byleth tried again.

Silence.

‘I just want to know if you’re okay…’ he said, growing worried.

Still no reply.

‘Sothis. Just give me a sign that you’re still there. I can’t feel you.’

…

-

“You should really keep your distance from Felix you know. I don’t like the way he looks at you. Or talks to you,” Nazareth said once she and Caspar got settled into their seats. Caspar shrugged and put the crest book on the table, face down.

“You know Felix. He’s just a hothead,” Caspar answered with a grin.

“What’s the project about anyway?” Nazareth asked, flipping the book over and dropping it instantly when she read the cover. Caspar’s face paled and he felt so stupid.

“It’s nothing! Just something Hanneman asked us to do,” he answered quickly, grabbing the book and hopping up.

“Caspar wait!” she begged, running in front of him. “Have you read any of that book yet?” she asked desperately. Caspar shook his head and tried to leave, but Nazareth stopped him by grabbing his hand.

“Please. This is important. I have a feeling that if you know what a blood splice is, Hanneman didn’t really assign anything and there is no group project, is there?” she asked him, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

“Wait a second. Do you know what it is?” Caspar asked in confusion.

“I…okay I need to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone. I need to tell Jasmine first thing after the breakfast banquet tomorrow,” Nazareth explained.

‘Oh geez. This is the first time I have to make my own decision about this whole plan,’ Caspar thought nervously. ‘Well, she already knows what it is clearly. And she said she’d talk to Jasmine. I don’t have to tell Nazareth that Jasmine knows too then. And she might know things we don’t,’ he decided.

“Okay yeah. What’s up?” he asked, and they both went back to the table. Nazareth pulled out the diary she showed Evangeline and Ignatz earlier and explained everything, letting Caspar read the same pages.

A few minutes after hearing it all, Caspar grew tense. ‘This could be a huge key to this puzzle,’ he thought. ‘Man, I feel bad for her…’

“Are you okay?” he asked, unsure of how to comfort the brunette.

“I’m not sure,” Nazareth admitted. “But I was hoping maybe we could trade books for a while? You can check this diary out and I can read your book. Then we can share what we learned tomorrow? I’ll ask Jasmine to come too. I think she should know now,” she proposed. Caspar didn’t know what to think.

On one end, the idea was terrible. Jasmine would potentially kill him for involving her younger sister. And for not being in possession of the book after having been with such difficulty. However, it wasn’t the worst idea in the sense that Felix and Claude would never suspect him having given the book to her. And if they saw this diary, they wouldn’t assume anything because it didn’t say anything crest related on the cover.

“Well?” Nazareth asked. Caspar, realizing he had the power to make some decisions, nodded, handing Nazareth the book and taking the diary.

“Tomorrow after breakfast, yeah?” he asked, confirming.

“Tomorrow after breakfast. I’ll let Jas know,” she promised, giving Caspar a quick hug before placing the book in her backpack.

“Don’t lose it. Please. A lot of people are after it,” Caspar requested.

“I won’t let it out of my sight! Good night,” she said, heading out of the library.

‘I really hope this won’t bite me in the ass later,’ Caspar thought with a sigh, heading out as well.

Chapter Text

The grand hall was filled with the entirety of the school. Some students were begging to trade seats, while others stuck to what they were assigned. Nazareth wasn’t sure how to feel upon having been placed next to Dimitri. Things were always so wishy washy between them, and it was never clear where they stood. He was supposed to have taken her to Enbarr for a visit, but he hadn’t ended up following through with it. There was always something or the other going on. And she wouldn’t have been surprised to find out it had something to do with Edelgard.