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When Byleth first came to the academy, Seteth had been cautious of her. She never shared the details of her life, in many cases she seemed not to know the details herself. Yet she’d been trusted instantly by Rhea, appointed as leader of the golden deer, and even granted the sword of the creator (how she could wield it was yet another mystery).
Several months on, Seteth knew she was a reliable ally… and also that she was incredibly weird.
Monday to Saturdays, she’d act seemingly on autopilot. Wake up, lecture, tutor individual students. It was a standard affair, but there was a strange monotony to it, as if Byleth herself was barely present. It was the Sundays that Seteth always looked forward to, the days where she became incredibly wacky.
-
Today, she’d been fishing for 3 hours. Seteth had been watching for 2 of them, and had a sudden urge to give her a raise.
Now, Seteth would never make a judgement about the length of time alone, he’d been known to spend an afternoon relaxing by the pond, letting his thoughts run free… no, it was the way she did it. She’d bought practically all the bait the merchants had in stock, and was running through it at an alarming pace - made evident by all the fish lying around.
“Professor.” Seteth decided to approach her, carefully stepping on the few places on the ground that weren’t covered by plaice. “I’m surprised there are still any fish in the pond.” She smiled at him in acknowledgement, as she pulled her newest catch out of the water, which had… 3 fish on it?
“Fistfuls of fish.” She stated as if it were an explanation, throwing them behind her.
“Do you have plans for what you’re going to do with all of these?” He enquired. He didn’t want to patronise her, but the majority were already dead. If she was just fishing for fun, it would be much kinder to throw them back immediately.
Byleth did have plans however, and was more carefully organised than a first impression would give, the first being organised into three groups. “Sell to the merchants,” she pointed at a pile of fish - all with a golden or silver tint, “Lunch with friends,” she pointed at the second pile, then at the third, “Cooking practice.”
Seteth stared at the fish in disbelief. “I’d be surprised if you got through all of them before they go bad.”
“They’ll keep.” She said bluntly.
Her assertive tone made Seteth believe her. “Well, I wish you the best of luck with that. If you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.”
“Take this.” Turning to him, she took a small object from her pocket, and handed it to him. “It is called a…” She paused for a moment, recalling the memory. “Fishing float. It is a tool that tells you when a fish is on the line. I hear it is appreciated by those who enjoy fishing.”
“Thank you, this is wonderful.” There was a crude drawing on it, of what appeared to be a wyvern. Her description may sound straight out of a textbook, but she’d clearly put thought into the gift.
And so, he set off, satisfied with today’s professor watching.
-
Seteth was used to telling people off for playing with their food, but this was ridiculous.
He didn’t doubt that Hanneman had granted the boy access to his equipment, but he may object to the studies being performed. Shepherd’s pie did not belong in the crest device, Linhardt.
The would-be scholar was particularly resistant to providing his motives, having to be asked several times before he even acknowledged Seteth was in the room.
“I was eating lunch with Marianne, but she didn’t finish her meal, and I took the leftovers. I was wondering if they’d provide a result, seeing as she’s been in contact with them. Furthermore, if I do get confirmation of a crest, I’ll eat what’s left, and see what shows up when-”
“This is clearly an inappropriate use of this machine. I will report this to your professor and-”
“She was fine with it.” Linhardt yawned, not even slightly phased by the threat?
“She… what?”
“Yeah, she was also eating lunch with us. I was telling her about my plans, and she said she thought it sounded fun. I would have asked her for a sample too, but she didn’t even leave a crumb.”
Hearing this, Seteth turned and left, not even needing to ask where Byleth was. It was one of those days, was it?
It was one of those things people just accepted these days, however absurd it seemed. Every so often, once or twice a month, she would spend her entire day in the cafeteria, eating the equivalent of ten lunches. There wasn’t even the question of whether the costs of these meals would be wasted, as she provided all the ingredients to the staff herself.
Yes, there she was. Sharing a meal with Ferdinand von Aegir… and Flayn. Well, as long as the professor was supervising them.
Flayn noticed him first, and scampered away as soon as she’d finished eating. He’d have to speak to her about that later, but he was here to see the professor.
“Ah.” Byleth said when he approached. “Salmon? I haven’t had any of that today.” He tried to refuse the offer, but she paid no notice. “Manuela should be free, it’s been a while since- and she’s been- yes. I’ll be right back.”
A couple of minutes later, the three were eating a delicious salmon meal together, and Seteth still hadn’t been able to bring up any of his concerns. He barely knew where to start. There was Linhardt, Flayn… Hubert kept threatening the lives of faculty if they so much as looked at Edelgard funny, and he was sure he heard meowing from Caspar’s room the other day, he didn’t want to think about how old this salmon was… and Byleth seemed indifferent to all this commotion.
“This is a wonderful dish. You could sell it at any restaurant in the capital.” Manuela started, and Seteth had to agree.
"The flavour is nostalgic to me, for some reason. I’d like some more.” Byleth looked at him, and seemed like she was about to speak.
“Ah, that reminds me.” Manuela was quicker. “I was speaking with Flayn the other day, you never told me she was born in Enbarr.” Oh. Seteth didn’t respond immediately, trying to think of something to say. Luckily, she was fine with doing most of the talking. “She was asking about the Mittelfrank Troupe actually. Though I have to wonder how she never heard of it growing up, she didn’t even know what an opera was.”
“Well…” He took a long pause. He’d have to talk to Flayn about this later. “Her parents lived in Enbarr until her mother died. After her passing, I became her sole guardian and we moved.” It was technically the truth. “We don’t talk about it much, so I don’t know how much she remembers.” He decided to avert the discussion before either woman asked more questions. “Professor, have you ever been to Enbarr?”
Byleth shook her head. “Jeralt never took me to cities. Not many villages either.”
“It was a beautiful place. I would love to return one day, but I worry it may have changed too much.” He sighed. “Maybe I should ask Flayn about it.”
“She did seem very interested in the opera. You should take her to a show.”
“I’ve never seen an opera.” Byleth spoke, unprompted this time.
“Maybe we should visit together.” Seteth said. “I would be interested in showing you around, and if you were there I would feel better about letting Flayn somewhere so busy.”
“Sounds nice.” She replied, with a rare smile.
Ah, yes. Seteth remembered why he was there (or at least one of the reasons). “You were eating with Flayn earlier, were you not? May I enquire if you spoke of anything noteworthy?”
“Ferdinand was doing some armour maintenance, then Flayn wandered by and smelt the oil. It smelt like cooking oil to her so she became hungry. Ferdinand decided to accompany her to the dining hall, which is where I joined them.”
“I suppose-”
“That was three weeks ago.” Her expression remained unchanged. “Today, Ferdinand was doing some more armour maintenance, then Flayn wandered by.”
“And she was hungry again?”
“No, he saved her from a spring-loaded gauntlet. It was really quite sweet. I decided to have lunch with them again, as I am interested in seeing what happens next.”
Seteth didn’t know how to feel about this. He’d made his daughter upset by getting in the way of her friendships before, and by all accounts Ferdinand was an upstanding gentleman. “I see. Thank you.” He would have to confront the boy directly.
“Come to choir practice with me.” Byleth suddenly changed the conversation, and Seteth noticed she’d finished her meal. For some reason, this caused Manuela to sigh loudly, which Byleth ignored. “I’ve eaten with everyone I want to, and would like to spend the last of my free time with you.”
“It would be an honour.” He replied. “There are some more things I have to ask of you, shall we talk on the way?”
The pair were willing to wait until Manuela was done eating, but she was insistent. “No no, please don’t wait for me.”
-
Seteth saw no fault in his actions. He took interest in the professor’s habits, and developed his own in trying to make sense of the chaos. This did not go unnoticed, and the goddess knows that rumours spiral. Sometimes, all it takes is one drunken rant from one lonely songstress for things to get out of hand very quickly.
“It’s unbelievable! This is the third time I’ve had to eat with them whilst they’re making eyes at each other. I can’t take it anymore! She’s always so reserved, isn’t she? Until we’re getting lunch then her favourite church boy shows up and I can’t get a word in! And I’m still alone after 6 years teaching… You know what he said to me the other day? His ideal woman is quiet, straightforward, proper… Does that sound familiar to you?”
“Apparently he said that Byleth was his ideal woman! Isn’t that sweet? Ah, young love, they remind me of me and my wife at that age. What? That wasn’t a joke Leonie, they really do! I loved my darling for months before I worked up the courage to confess, but it turned out she felt the same all along. Maybe I should give Seteth some advice!”
“I don’t know what else I can tell you Claude, Alois reckons they’ve been in love for months or something, but I dunno. I’ve seen them fishing together a few times, and she’s given him a few gifts, but doesn’t she do that for everyone?”
“So it seems like our professor has a little crush, isn’t that exciting? Wonder if she’s gonna gift him a ring next. And they’ve already been on a few fishing dates, that sounds like something the people of Brigid would enjoy.”
“I am hearing that Professor gave Seteth the gift of a ring. And that she crushed him. I do not understand what that means Dorothea, why would you crush someone that you are loving? That would be painful.”
“I never would have guessed. Our dear professor, managing to find love so quickly. I’m jealous, Seteth isn’t really my type, but he holds such a powerful position… I wonder how Flayn feels about her new sister-in-law.”
-
“Father!” Flayn burst into his office one evening.
“Flayn, you can’t-”
“Now is not the time! How could you marry the professor without inviting me to the wedding?”