Chapter Text
"We look forward to learning from you, professor."
It was a simple sentence, spoken with sincerity from a passing student, but it weighed on Byleth's mind as she approached her father's study.
With a precursory knock, she made her way in the room. There, surrounded with armor and book titles she did not recognize, her father was surrounded by an unfamiliar past. It was befitting of the former captain. It also reminded her that she didn't know much about teaching... nor about him.
"Why the long sigh?" Jeralt asked, turning around.
As she put a hand to her mouth with a tilt to her head, he laughed. "I'm joking. It seemed like you might want to let one out."
She couldn't deny that. Between her new position and Sothis suddenly appearing it felt as though she barely had time to think of how to approach either situation.
So she gave a nod.
Jeralt cracked a smile. "I'd be more worried if you had managed to adjust in the few hours since Lady Rhea sprung being a teacher on you. I'm not sure what she's after but those brats are lucky to be taught by you."
"You think so?" Byleth asked.
Her qualifications were the bare minimum. She'd taught children how to defend themselves and other mercenaries on proper weapon uses when they came to her but that surely wasn't all it took to become a teacher. That was clear.
Between an accomplished physician who had also made it as a singer and a notable crest researcher, how was a mere mercenary going to compare?
"I know so." He patted her on the head. "Just teach like you always have and things will go fine, kid. Any troubles and you can talk to me, okay?" he said with reassurance.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
In her new room, she found just about all she would need. A bed, some spare clothes that the previous owner must have left, plus a desk and board that she could make nice use of. The clothes must have belonged to a previous student. The few pieces that weren't uniforms were small accessories.
After her personal change of clothes and gear were put away she could consider herself unpacked. With that, she found that she had little to do for her first day at the monastery.
Byleth grabbed a quick meal from the kitchen and set her sights on exploring.
The dorms were nothing special. Seteth was not lying when he informed the former mercenary that the only difference between the commoner and noble rooms was location. Each one was only unique in the sparse personal touches she caught glimpses of while walking past open doors.
She found the pond most interesting. The fishing gear in particular called her attention. The only other part of her exploration of the first floor to catch her interest were the animals she stopped to pet. By the time she had gone to the garden and market, the sun was beginning to set, cutting her sightseeing short.
As she made her way back to the dorms, she had a better look at the pond. Fewer people were now gathered, letting Byleth see the subtle waves glittering on the surface.
She also had the acute feeling that someone was watching her.
She could discern spying wasn't their forte from how easy it was to throw them off by moving behind a tree as soon as she had rounded the corner. What she had not expected was to see that it was one of her students that she had unceremoniously flipped to the ground as soon as they had walked close enough to grab.
He hissed as the debris settled. Small pebbles scattered out around him
"You shouldn't have been tailing me," she said. He narrowed at her visual lack of concern. Extending a hand, she pulled the redhead to his feet. He didn't seem injured from the strange grin soon spreading across his face. He dusted his hair.
As she carried on walking back to her room, he didn't get the hint. Or maybe he needed something, echoed in her mind. That would account for his tailing. In an instant she felt that she had made a big mistake at an instructor—it may have sprung from self-defense, but would he be comfortable speaking to her again?
Byleth stopped. The sudden reaction threw him off and he bumped into her. Although she didn't care, he apologized, as disingenuous as it sounded with her flat voice. Rather than respond and give away that she could only remember that his name started with an “S,” Byleth tilted her head and waited. She wished to keep her shortcomings hidden as long as possible.
He commented on the weather and her hair, trivial things but Byleth still wasn't quite sure what he needed. The nagging feeling that the tall man was skirting around the issue grew as he stepped closer. "Was there something you wanted to ask me?" she finally said. It was getting later by the minute and she was hoping to wash before bed.
"Want is such a strong word," he said, shrugging. "I would say it's more of a... curiosity." He looked the fresh new professor in the eyes for the first time. "How did you know I was following you?" His eyes were sharp, his smile fixed in place.
She hummed, knowing that wasn't the question he was interested in. "Your scent," she replied. His footsteps had also been rather obvious, but she could smell birch trees that were not common to the area as well as another rich aroma that she had not encountered before that keyed her in.
That appeared to be what he wanted to hear, his eyes lighting up. "Really?" he said in a low voice. When he leaned in, his hair touched hers. "I didn't think I was being too obvious just then."
"I have a good nose." And a good intuition. Judging from his reactions since she had first met him and his distinct smell, he was an alpha.
She had run into her fair share working with her father. Oftentimes she was tasked with tracking when their group was hired. Byleth got it. He was determining what level of threat she was. A pointless endeavor that she has seen countless times. The way he leaned in, seeing if she was something to fight, claim, or ignore was almost laughable. She was his teacher, unqualified, but not a piece of meat.
He scratched his head and scanned the area, landing back on her with a smile that said he was up to no good as he straightened his posture. The collarbone of his open shirt was level with her eyes as he moved closer. He had a physical advantage but she had the experience and skills.
"So how are you finding the place…?" A calculating twinkle shone bright in his eyes.
Byleth opened her mouth to answer but closed it as she saw another of her new charges walking towards them.
Dimitri wasted no time in getting to the point. "Sylvain, it is nearly curfew! You should be getting some rest so that you can be alert during our first class with the professor tomorrow instead of skirt chasing," his voice was angry but level.
"Actually, I'm wearing shorts," Byleth said, moving out from behind Sylvain's back, causing her house leader's eyes to widen.
"Oh," he reddened now that she was in view, "my apologies!" He grabbed his friend's upper arm. "We should be going." Dimitri turned with Sylvain in his grip and waved goodbye as he dragged the taller man away.
Sylvain's scent was overpowering as he had stood before her. But as Dimitri’s cape fluttered near her face in the breeze, Byleth caught an unexpected floral scent that was gone just as she tried to get a better whiff.
Having—for lack of a better explanation—attacked one of her students before the first day, Byleth resolved to not act so rash. At the very least, on monastery grounds she could lower her guard. She knew that having a hostile instructor would do no good for their learning. The best teacher she had was her father. He understood the best way to train her and when she needed a break. Oftentime, Byleth felt he knew her better than she knew herself. With that in mind, she set a personal goal of getting to know all the students she would be teaching .
Byleth jotted several observational notes down in her attendance book as she became better acquainted with the students. In the first few days, she wrote their hair colors by their names to memorize them faster. Quick to see their favorite weapons during training, Byleth began planning lessons around their interests. Beyond that, the professor was beginning to enjoy the small habits each person had leading up to the mock battle.
Dimitri had a smile on his face that persisted through classes until he began concentrating on the notes. A small frown and crease in his brow replaced it as oftentimes, his enthusiasm broke a few writing utensils. She found it rather endearing. But he wasn't the only one she had paid attention to, he was diligent enough to not even have to keep an eye on. As a teacher, she made it a point to not be neglectful to a single student. Annette had a habit of pushing her face closer to the paper as she was working out her thoughts and Felix liked to tap his foot when she introduced topics he wasn't interested in. The others all trained hard and studied, coming to her with questions on the material. Her focused one-on-one teachings brought their moods up, to Byleth's relief. They were all pretty cute kids.
Once the mock battle had ended in their victory and they had celebrated, Byleth found Manuela inviting her to her quarters. Time had flown by. Byleth was far from calling her style of teaching perfect. Her students still got frustrated and hit roadblocks. Byleth at least knew how to motivate them to find an answer, whether through showing praise or criticism. Even better, she had all their names memorized and was far along in noting their interests as she delivered things they left behind to their owners.
"I can't say how surprised I was to find out how much you've taught them in only a few weeks—Don't mind the mess there," her fellow professor said, gesturing to a heap of clothes and books in the far corner near her bed. "I was cleaning up so we could have some private girl time but I wasn't sure what to do with all that…"
"I don't mind," Byleth said. She took a seat as the woman stopped tapping her chin and went to prepare a pot of tea with a skip in her step.
"So," she smiled, placing a steaming cup in front of Byleth, "How is it teaching with so many alphas around?"
Byleth took a sip and frowned. "Normal." Thank Seiros Sylvain never tried to provoke her again.
She figured that they had each other in control, not that she had very many prolonged experiences with alphas outside of her father. It was usually a one and done situation. Granted, Byleth Eisner had no intention of beating and tying up her students, nor did she think they would try and fight her. She thought the archbishop may have had these concerns when she said half the Blue Lions had designations and urged her to think carefully before finalizing her house choice but none of those problems arose.
Felix and Sylvain bickered as much as the two got along while Ingrid and Dedue seemed to be at silent odds in higher frequency. Ingrid and Felix also had minor issues. Nothing too concerning all and all. To her relief, Dedue and Sylvain had sparked an amicable relationship.
Four alphas was not terrible.
None of the arguments that arose between her students, designated or not, led to physical violence. The Blue Lions were good at keeping their emotions in check. She only had to be careful to keep any tendency towards aggression or irresponsible misuses of authority in check. It wasn't an issue per say, but having dealt with alphas that had gone berserk for jobs left an impression on the professor. It was baffling seeing an alpha using their authority to dissuade a classmate from taking the last dessert but she had no need to put her foot down. Claude had a close eye on Hilda the second time she tried to pull the same stunt in the dining hall.
Teaching was not as hard as Byleth expected. Manuela's tip when she began helped immensely. Knowing that designated individuals were more likely to butt heads was her main determination of who to keep an eye on. Sothis assisted with keeping tabs on their behavior to an extent that wasn't of hindrance but not necessarily provided a benefit either in her commentary.
Byleth never really learned how to meditate for personal problems that became heated, few and far between as they were. All she had to rely on were her words and fighting experience. Everyone knew that she was not the most eloquent speaker around, hardly one to be caught in idle chatter. To get them to settle, she pushed responsibility to Dimitri. As their house leader, he knew them well and was more adept at voicing her concern.
"Just normal?" she asked, a little disappointed.
"How are the Eagles? There is an alpha in your class," Byleth asked in an attempt to switch the burden of conversation from herself. She never particularly cared about the topic of alphas or omegas. They made her work as a mercenary easier because of her sharp senses. Other than that she steered clear, in no mood to have an altercation.
"They're all lovely," Manuela rested her hand on the table, propping her head up with it in a pout. "But Ferdinand provokes so many of them in one way or another. He's a good kid, don't get me wrong. I don't think he's aware of all the tension he causes half the time."
Byleth gave a noise in agreement.
"Oh right!" Manuela chimed, pushing her hands against the table. It shook from the surprise. She went to rummage through a nearby cabinet before coming back. "There was a new delivery of suppressants. If you could give them to your omega that would be a big help. I made sure there are enough for you as well."
There were seven neatly tied bags in front of them, six red and one black. Byleth went ahead and picked one up to inspect the contents. It smelled rotten, sending uncertainty down her arms in prickles.
"It's just the usual dissolvables," she said. Watching Byleth's curiosity grow as she shifted the contents to see that it was all dry, she frowned. "Don't tell me you need a stronger dose?"
She looked up from the unfamiliar bag of grains, taking a few between her finger and thumb for a closer examination. Preparing to recite one of the lines she said most, Byleth sighed. "I’m not an omega."
"What?"
Manuela stood so quickly, snatching the pouch from her. Byleth nearly had to jump in order to reach out and keep their two cups of tea from spilling with the jostle to the table. Even her class had not had that bad of a reaction. Sure they were surprised when she told them the first day but betas were so common to find.
"I know there's a lot you don't know but you should at least know that ingesting the wrong one is dangerous," Manuela puffed in exasperation. The woman threw a clean hand towel Byleth’s way.
"What do you mean?" Byleth asked.
"Suppressants work to trick the body into thinking that it is putting out enough pheromones so that your body doesn't produce them itself," she explained. "It's a secondary trait blocker. If an alpha has any of this, it would be like getting caught by a heat. I figured from your class choice and since I could smell you that you were an omega but I suppose your scent is just strong for an alpha…"
Byleth tilted her head. "I'm a beta though."
The woman was at a loss for words. Byleth had never presented, already an adult, with no heat nor signs of being an alpha left her to only be a beta. It seemed like a no-brainer. Even so, she trusted Manuela's knowledge more than her own on this subject.
"Are betas uncommon to hire here?"
Shaking her head, Manuela tapped her finger to her cheek. "No, no, betas are still the most common to employ given that we make up most of the population. It would be more inappropriate to ask applicants the question in the first place. But besides your father and the archbishop, I can't think of anyone on staff who isn't a beta." Manuela crossed her arms. "Are you really not part of a designation though?"
"Positive," Byleth said.
"Well I'll be," she said to herself. "I wonder why Lady Rhea was so worried about you not coming to me for any medicine yet? Even I got worried since you would have needed to take them daily and I was sure you would be running out soon."
Her eyes widened. "Annette has to take this daily?" They didn't smell wonderful by any stretch of the imagination. Like meat, let sit for days, and not in a mouth watering way.
Manuela shook her head and thought for a moment. "No, Annette is a beta. I can certainly see why you would think she's your omega though. She always smells like sweets with how much time she’s with Mercedes." Byleth did often find Annette talking about Mercedes’ baked goods.
Manuela put up a finger. "Before I say anymore, this does not leave this room. These are private medical records but you have a right to know so you can look out for her given your class' unique situation." After Byleth made it clear that she understood, she sighed.
"Ingrid. She's the omega in your class."
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Byleth's friendship with Manuela was something she was grateful for in many ways. Not only was she the first woman who she felt she could open up to and relax with without any pretenses, she was also a joy to be around.
Currently though, Byleth was grateful to the songstress for clearing up some of the misunderstandings she had as well as having inadvertently let her know she had accidentally pegged an omega as an alpha. Equally, she was ashamed of her rash judgment. Byleth had been adamantly separating the ones she had believed to be alphas. Dedue, Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain were mentally marked as being of that category due to the conversations she had heard with no other bases taken into account.
There was no plan or reason in her mind to treat Ingrid differently given the new information. However it did make her realize that she had no idea who her last potential troublemaker was. It also made her realize that her first assumptions were probably very far from the truth.
Except for Sylvain. He peppered being an alpha and having a crest into every conversation he had with a girl outside of class. His scent was strong no matter what smell he put out. Thankfully, it did not spread far and wasn't obstructive.
"Is something on your mind, professor?" Dimitri asked, approaching her desk at the front of the room. She had been pondering the matter since class was dismissed.
It was more unusual for him to leave early, but him talking to her after a lesson was not unwelcome. "I was wondering how I could train my nose better," Byleth said, thinking about how little thought she had put into her guesses.
Dimitri folded his arms and took a seat on the bench nearest to her. "I'm afraid I don't understand why you would need to do that," he smiled.
There was no polite way to ask someone's designation. She learned that after Seteth gave her a stern lecture asking him if Edelgard was an alpha right in front of him. Her face was red as was Seteth's.
Dedue's smell of spices and earthy tones likely had all to do with his hobbies. The same for Felix's smell of dried meat. Although, that wasn't quite a hobby but more of the snacks that he and Ingrid thought they had been sneaky about in class. No one else's scent particularly jumped out at her as odd for the environment.
"I don't know either," Byleth admitted. "It's silly for me to stress about smells when I could be planning lessons."
A small chuckle bubbled up from the blond that made her smile into her palm. "Could I do anything to assist you in getting rid of the stress?" he offered.
"Not at this time," she said, "But you could join me for tea if you aren't planning on doing anything after dinner."
"It would be my pleasure," he said, standing in time with her.
The two parted after he held the door open for her: Dimitri towards the training grounds while Byleth headed to her father's office.
The room was empty when she poked her head in.
"Cyril mentioned seeing Jeralt near the Knight's Hall when he came by my office," Hanneman said as he walked past her with a stack of papers. "If there's nothing pressing, perhaps you might be interested in hearing what new information I have on your crest."
Byleth closed the door and glimpsed at the papers he held. They must have been from his class if the art in the corner that looked an awful lot like Ignatz' was an indication.
"You found something?" she wondered aloud.
"It's a theory but your crest appears to be incomplete," he enthused. "All the ones that I have studied have always had a sense of balance—balance that yours lacks. I will have to adjust my scanner to see if it missed anything for my research on you to continue." He stood in the doorway to his office, opening it for her to enter.
"I understand," Byleth said, "I can come by on my next free day if you think it would be useful."
"Thank you, Professor! How does the morning sound?" She nodded, keeping the exchange short.
Her father, rather than be found near the Knight's Hall, was fishing until she sat next to him. Jeralt cocked a brow. "Where's your rod?" he asked, checking behind them to see if she had set it down but there was none to be found. "Is this a conversation for somewhere else then?"
Once Byleth gave an affirmative nod of her head, they relocated to her room, the closest place without prying eyes.
"I'm a bad teacher," Byleth blurted out after the door clicked shut.
He crossed his arms. "What did those brats say to you?" he asked in a stern voice.
"Nothing," she said. "It's me. I misattributed some of my student’s designations because Manuela told me there’s omega in my class. Now I don’t know who the alphas are and I want to respect their privacy but it keeps bothering me since all the alphas we've come across are so violent." She exhaled all the air that remained from her ramble.
"By." He put a hand on her shoulder with a half smile. "I never thought I would need to say this to you but: relax."
"I can't," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "What if I leave it alone and they hurt each other?"
"Am I violent?" he asked, taking a seat on her bed.
"Well… no," she admitted. "But you don't talk to any other alphas." He relinquished a heart laugh which surprised her. Byleth failed to find the humor in the situation. "Manuela said that you and Lady Rhea are the only ones that aren't betas."
He spoke when he had calmed himself down enough. "I made the same assumption that Lady Rhea was an omega when I first worked here."
Byleth shook her head, sitting next to him. "I had thought the omega in my class was an alpha too." Her voice was muffled by the hands on her face.
He stifled another laugh. "It's easy to think they're all the same when we've only come across the type that are out of control. Plus, all of your students mingle with each other so don’t be hard on yourself."
“What does being friends have to do with my curiosity getting the better of me?” she asked point blank.
“I guess you wouldn’t know,” Jeralt said. He rubbed his chin and took a cursory glance around her room. “Think of it like fishing.
“When you’re having a good day, one catch after another, you can fill a basket without any trouble.” Byleth nodded her head, eyes skeptical. “Then when you go to cook the fish, you might use a cutting board but afterwards the board and basket will smell like the fish even though they would normally smell like wood.”
“If we grilled the fish it wouldn’t require the cutting board,” offered Byleth.
Jeralt shook his head, a sigh escaping him. “That’s not what I’m getting at. Don't think about the efficiency.” He stood up and went to her desk, returning with a quill and ink. “It’s also like these. The more you write, the more ink eventually gets coated on the pen. It isn’t part of the pen, so if it isn’t around the ink then it won’t get coated.” She nodded. “So you understand?”
Byleth shook her head. “Not at all. My students aren’t objects.”
“You’re right about that,” he smiled. “What I’m trying to say is that alphas’ scents rub off on their surroundings—objects, people, locations—it’s our way of saying ‘this is mine’ whether we mean to or not. It’s not something betas generally pick up on but you’ve always been special.”
“So the reason I could tell that certain weapons were yours is because of that?”
His eyebrows raised. “Exactly,” he praised, giving her a pat on the head.
“The omega, she doesn’t smell different though,” Byleth said, careful to omit Ingrid’s name. “That person smells normal.”
He made a noncommittal noise. “They’re different.” Jeralt scratched his beard, deep in thought. “If I were to use the ink as an example, they’re like the paper you write on. Omegas take in the scents around them when they aren't trying to attract a partner. The same reason a lot of betas use perfumes to seem more appealing. Ink and perfume will fade over time but the more there is the longer it takes to go away. Betas are like the pens in this analogy, where it comes off easily—ink is only on the pen when it’s being used.”
“I think I understand,” Byleth said slowly. “Since they spend so much time with each other, her smell is eclipsed by theirs. They all smell relatively the same.”
“You got it,” Jeralt said. Byleth dipped her head, expecting a head pat that was delayed. As she looked over at him, his face said that there was something bothering him. “It may have changed since I met your mother but omegas should give off a lot of their own scent even when they suppress…”
“Mother?” she asked with shining eyes.
He warmed at Byleth’s reaction. “She was an omega,” he said softly. “She said that the medicine tasted terrible but that it worked better the stronger it was.”
“Ah,” Byleth said, recalling the foul smelling pouch from her coworker’s room.
Ingrid must take a lot.
Once their talk was over and they had caught up on what they had both been up to lately over a meal, Byleth left her father to enjoy the rest of his day. She went her separate way to meet Dimitri.
She found him in the gardens where Dimitri had already set up a tea set for them. He pulled out the chair for her as Byleth set the fresh pastries on the wooden table. “These smell wonderful,” Dimitri said, close enough that she felt his breath ghost her ear.
Byleth’s muscles tensed as he pushed the chair in, a flash of electricity running down her spine. Was it the low voice? The smile in it? The fact that for a split second, she thought he was talking about her? Byleth didn’t understand why he made her feel the need to cross her legs.
She schooled her expression as he walked to his seat. His back to her, Dimitri couldn’t see her shift between his broad back and the hedges of the garden. She had to push aside her confusion and curiosity for another time.
As he took his own seat across from her, Byleth felt the spot he had accidentally warmed. She slyly tucked a piece of hair back so the motion wouldn’t look out of place.
They enjoyed the chamomile tea while the sun set. Only when Dimitri pointed out the sun had set did she realize how long they had spent talking together.
“I took more of your time than I intended,” Byleth said, her lips quirked upward. “It’s a lovely sight.” This would be her first late night tea time. She never thought that it would be a wanted invitation on any day but a free day, but the prince seemed to enjoy it.
“It is,” he agreed. Dimitri did not look up, watching the stars twinkle in the reflection of her eyes. The moonlight illuminated her smile as Byleth gave him a curious look. “Perhaps… we could do this again?” Dimitri averted his eyes, setting his cup on the platter gently.
“I’d love that,” Byleth responded in earnest. “But we’ll have to stop if this affects your studies.” That was one item she had to put her foot down on.
“Of course,” he said. The soft and bright tone he used, recognizing that her words were spoken out of duty, was simply charming.
Just like every time their tea parties ended, he graciously assisted her in returning the borrowed set to the kitchen. She didn’t particularly need the assistance but she appreciated the eagerness to help that was present in all he did.
“Seeing it at this hour, you would hardly imagine the number of people that come here in the day,” he commented as they passed through the dining hall to the cabinets in the back. They did not encounter many on their way, just a few sleepy knights on duty.
He opened the top shelf that she normally had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach without even needing to fully stretch his arm out. She handed him the cups and saucers one by one once he had placed the pot where they had found it. “It's resting from the noise it has to listen to in the daytime,” Byleth said.
Dimitri shook his head with a smile. “That is one way to think about it.” He turned and held his arm out to her. “If you would allow me, I’ll escort you to your room since we’ve disturbed the dining hall’s chance to relax.”
She let out a soft laugh and took his arm. As she said thank you, she couldn’t help but notice the way he stood straighter—if that were even possible.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, leaning her head on his arm. She could feel his bicep tense.
He took a deep breath and turned his head away, not relaxing in the slightest. “Nothing at all, Professor,” he said somewhat stiffly. He was not pained but did not look down at her.
She hummed, not wanting to pry. The prince was probably tired.
When Sunday came and Byleth met Hanneman as promised, he was pleased with what little information he seemed to gain from their chat. Rather than focus on his impromptu lesson on lost crests in the middle of leaving, Byleth’s attention was taken by the unusual amount of traffic by Manuela’s office.
Ignatz had just entered the office as Ingrid wished him a good day on her way out. “Oh,” she said, taken aback, “what are you doing here professor?”
“Hanneman asked me to meet him.” Byleth waved to Edelgard as she and Ingrid stepped to the side to make room. Hanneman returned to his research as the crowding increased.
“It’s a lovely morning, professor,” Edelgard commented. Her expression brightened as Byleth nodded.
It didn’t escape her that Edelgard was holding a red pouch by her side—the same one containing suppressants that Manuela had given Byleth. The string of another, hung ever so slightly out of Edelgard’s pocket.
Ingrid noticed the prolonged stare and coughed.
“Is there a reason she would need two?” Byleth asked. After she had spoken with her friend about Ferdinand and Ingrid, Byleth had assumed Edelgard was a beta. It made some sense that she was an omega from the faint aroma of nuts that followed her.
Yet again, it proves that she had no idea how any of this designation mumbo jumbo worked.
“No, she volunteered to deliver it,” Ingrid said. She shifted a little on her feet. “...um, Professor?”
“Yes?”
“Manuela told me about your conversation. She thought I should know.” Ingrid had her eyes focused on the ground. “What I mean to say is, or rather, what I want to ask is: are things going to change?”
“Not unless you have an issue with how things are now,” Byleth said.
“You’re not serious?” Ingrid asked skeptically. “I’m not saying I want things to change by any means. But you’re saying that you’ll still let me keep the same goals as before? Can I still work towards being a knight?”
Byleth quirked her brow. That was not something she had even considered to have mattered. “I’ll change your goals if the classes you want to test for call for it. I may have you learn other things depending on how the need arises, though that will be for a shorter period of time.” Ingrid practically swelled with joy at the matter of fact tone that Byleth used.
Unable to contain her emotions, Ingrid shifted with a sense of restlessness that Byleth had never observed in her before. “Thank you, professor! I promise I will not disappoint you.”
She watched as the blonde made her way down the hallway excitedly before slowly walking back down the staircase herself.
The training grounds and pond were more crowded than she would have liked. Thus Byleth found herself in her classroom, looking over what supplies they might need to stock up on from the notes she had made on loose papers.
After transferring the information to a single paper, she walked down to the market. Her first trip, she bought enough dried meat for that month and weapons to replace what had been broken during practices. Taking into account their progress, much of what she bought, particularly the swords and lances, was higher grade than she usually purchased. This shopping trip she bought somewhat of an excess compared to what was currently needed. Fortunately, she knew they would all be used. More likely by Dimitri, but perhaps the other lancers would appreciate the variety before they would inevitably be sent to the blacksmiths for repairs.
It was easy to carry them back. All she had to do was sling the bow and arrows on her shoulders, the swords in one arm, and the lances in another. The food supplies Byleth had tied to her back courtesy of the merchant.
After putting the weapons in their designated storage room, Byleth stood back and stretched. She started by pulling each arm across her chest, then stretched both out in front of her. As she lifted them, she found that she wasn’t alone. Her hands bumped Dimitri gently on the head, indicated by the startled noise he made.
“Ah,” Byleth said looking up at him, "my mistake."
“It’s no trouble. I finished sparring with Sylvain not too long ago and came to let you know that there are a few training lances that look like they won’t last much longer... Felix took my place since I volunteered to tell you,” he explained.
He lifted the shirt of his loungewear to wipe a bead of sweat off his forehead before quickly pushing it back down, face red. He averted his eyes and she sighed. She understood it was a subconscious action.
“I have seen a bare chest before,” Byleth informed him, to which he reddened further. “If you’re hot you could take it off.”
“N-no,” Dimitri said. “I will make due.”
She nonchalantly closed the door. “You should do what makes you feel better. It’s more rare for Sylvain to keep his shirt on during the entirety of a training session so I’m sure no one would mind.”
“That is different,” he protested, “He’s doing that because he knows girls are watching. I… it would be a bother.”
Before he could cover his chest by crossing his arms, she grabbed the hem of his shirt. Pulling it up, he made a noise in surprise.
“P-professor, is this necessary?”
She looked from his abs to his well sculpted chest. There were some old scars, most from weapons but some looked to be fading burns, though she wouldn’t have noticed the discoloration left from older ones if it had not been from her close proximity. “You have a nice body,” she finally said, letting his shirt fall. “Don’t feel embarrassed.”
He took a step forward, a sour look on his face. Not angry per say but not particularly pleased. “I may be your student but you shouldn’t do that,” Dimitri said. He looked straight into her eyes as he continued, leaning over and resting his arm on the door behind her. “I’m still a man.”
It was only a moment, but Dimitri closed the distance between them, placing a chaste kiss on her lips. As his eyes opened, to see her shocked expression he wasted no time in backing up.
“I don’t know why I thought that would be a good idea,” he said, turning away in a panic. “Please forgive me, professor.” She watched as he balled his fists and dashed the first direction he had turned towards. Her title was almost a whisper in the wind by the time he had reached the word.
Byleth blinked at the empty space in front of her as he ran around the corner. His ears were red as were Byleth’s cheeks.
“Don’t be mad, Sothis,” Byleth said, knowing the woman was awake from the barely audible snicker in her head. The divine pulse was supposed to be reserved for life and death situations. There was no threat of that at the monastery. And fixing her mistake only required a few minutes, so there should be no harm in using it for her own gain. Sothis could probably not fault that logic.
“—You shouldn’t do that,” she heard Dimitri say again.
Instead of staying still, trying to figure out what he was about to do. Byleth felt her head touch the door as she backed away as he leaned down.
“You’re right,” she said, giving him a pat on the head. “I acted without thinking."
Dimitri stood stunned for a moment. His hands were already on either side of her head but there was still plenty of distance between their faces. She had nowhere to go, no reason to move as his actions caught up with his thoughts. The moment they did, he set his mouth in a deep frown. He didn't look like he needed to find the quickest get away route but he still seemed upset. With himself or her, she couldn't tell.
"Stick with this," Sothis spoke up with a yawn. "No matter how you change this, he will find an issue."