i don't want to live in a world without you

Chapter 2

Her father is the first one to advise against her going for revenge, before the possibility of revenge has even presented itself to her. He tells her one night, while she is visiting alone with him, that he knows how her mind works and that he can see her thinking about it, and that she shouldn't do it. Even if he'd died, he assures her that revenge would not be worth it, and in this situation, it is especially not worth the risk.

"You steer clear of anything to do with them," he tells her. "If anything comes up soon, I guarantee it's a trap of some sort. They want to lure you out, or to lure me out to finish the job. Either way, neither one of us is going to get involved, got it?"

"But if we don't, then something even worse might happen," Byleth argues, and Jeralt shakes his head.

"You need to let the other knights handle it. They've been handling things just fine, before we showed up, and they can handle things just fine while we're out of commission," he says.

"But I'm not out of commission," she argues.

"But I am, and I'm not letting you go up against them when I'm not even there to protect you. Besides, you have your students to worry about."

It frustrates her when he tries to talk to her like a parent, especially in situations like this. There are times when it may be comforting, but right now, it is just frustrating, because he talks to her like he can tell her what to do, like she's crazy for wanting to do the right thing, when he is the one who raised her to be this way. Not only that, but it's frustrating because he thinks she should not go out without him to protect her, when she was the one who had to save him, and when she is the one who has vowed to protect him from here on out.

Of course, she hasn't told him about the last bit, so she can understand him not knowing. But she has a feeling that, even if he did know, he would still insist on being the one to take care of her, and that would just frustrate her even more.

Ever since that day, she's been nothing but frustrated, and so, she ignores his warnings, already planning to seek their enemy out, if she is able to.

Edelgard is the one to come to her with the news, and Byleth prepares to set out, not telling her father about this. He would only try to stop her, or worse, he might try to come after her, and he is still in no condition to be on the battlefield, though he has at least been allowed to return to his own room. She doesn't tell him anything about it as she gathers her students, who have all volunteered to come with her, and prepares for the oncoming battle.

Naturally, Rhea and Seteth attempt to stop her, but she refuses to back down. It is only her second act of defiance against the archbishop- the first being her refusal to return the Gautier's relic to her, and then, Sylvain was there to deflect most of Rhea's ire- but, surprisingly, it does not take long before Rhea backs down, agreeing to let her go. Seteth is less than enthused, even going so far as to insist Flayn not be allowed to accompany the class, but other than that, Byleth sets out without incident.

She hopes that Rhea does not tell her father about this as she and her students (Flayn included, somehow) march their way into what is surely a trap.

~X~

It's been hard for Byleth to say whether or not she likes Sothis. Sothis has just been something she has had to accept, a part of her that they both know should not be there. The fact that she bore the same name as the goddess, the fact that she caused Byleth to remember things she should not know, and the fact that she has somehow always been with her, are all things that are hard to process, and easier to forget.