(eventually) yours

Chapter 1

Byleth is not used to getting letters. In fact, Byleth has never gotten a letter before in her life until she came to the monastery to teach, and even then, the letters were just a few polite messages from parents, thanking her for the work she will be doing to take care of their child. Hilda's father writes to her the same as any other noble parent, but not long into her new career, she receives a letter from Hilda's older brother.

She has heard a bit about Holst Goneril, from Hila herself, as well as from others while listening to her students talking amongst themselves before classes. The name is not unfamiliar to her, but she is still surprised to receive a letter from him, when he is someone that she only knows from hearsay.

Professor Byleth,

I hope that this letter finds you well, and I apologize for writing to you out of the blue like this, but I feel like I should express my gratitude to you. My little sister has done nothing but complain in her letters to me, and I know that you are to blame for that. So I really do need to thank you!

For the most part, Hilda seems to like you very much, but her complaints tend to outweigh anything else, and I know exactly what is going on. One of our worries when we sent her off to school was that she would be up to her old tricks straightaway, charming her classmates and teachers to ensure that she had to do the least amount of work possible. She would manage graduation, just barely, and return home the same as she left. It pleases me to know that you are not falling for her tricks, and are making her participate the same as you would anyone else.

Hilda is a good girl, with a good head on her shoulders. If we could only cure that laziness of hers, I'm sure she could do great things. I know that that must not sound like much, coming from me. Part of the problem is that I have always been too much of a doting brother, and I may have spoiled her a bit too much in the past. But I do believe that she is capable of a lot, if she only applies herself. So, again, I must thank you seeing to it that she does her part.

You know, I was at the top of my class during my time at the Officer's Academy. I'm sure Hilda feels like she has a lot to live up to there, and that she would be better off not trying at all, but I think it would do her a lot of good to be told that things like that don't matter, just as long as she is doing her part and giving it her all! But I'm not the teacher here, so my input might not mean much.

Whatever the case, I look forward to hearing more about you from her, and look forward to hearing about you more directly, if you aren't too busy to reply to me.

Sincerely,

Holst Goneril

From what little she knows about Holst, the letter sounds about like what she expected of him. He writes like a typical noble, or at least what she has learned about typical nobles in her brief experiences with them, but seems to be very polite and to care very much about his little sister. She wonders if Hilda knows about this letter, and if she is supposed to mention it to her or not. It doesn't say anything either way, but Byleth decides not to mention it for now.

She does plan to write back, however, and spends a moment thinking about what she should say. While getting letters is strange to her, sending them is even more strange. The responses that she sent to the noble parents were all the same, generic thank-yous that she ended up asking her fellow professors for help with, but this seems more personal, and therefore, she feels like she should have a more personal approach to it, so she spends a bit of time thinking before she puts pen to paper.

Holst Goneril,

I appreciate you taking the time to write to me on your sister's behalf. She must be very lucky, to have such a loving family supporting her. As a student, you are right in saying that she has a lot of potential. From the first day, she has shown promise that she has done her best to hide away, and one of my goals is to help draw that out of her.

You don't need to worry about her using her charms on me. Though she does attempt to trick the other students into helping her or doing her work for her, I like to think of myself as immune to such things. As long as I am supervising, I will make sure that she is completing tasks for herself, getting her training done, and showing us all what she is capable of.

I can understand the pressure she may feel, hearing about your achievements. For the most part, I avoid talking about the top of the class, because I want the students to be able to work together, rather than see this as a competition. Hopefully, that will take some of the pressure off of her.

If you would like to keep up correspondence, then I can send you updates on her progress. Though I wouldn't know personally, I don't think it would be too off base to assume that her letters might stretch the truth at times.

All in all, Hilda is a lovely student, and I look forward to seeing how she grows, and helping to bring out her potential.

Sincerely,

Byleth Eisner

By the end of the letter, Byleth is a bit surprised with how much easier it is for her to speak when she is not actually speaking. For the most part, she speaks in short sentences, and only when it is absolutely necessary. While writing, she can articulate things a lot better, and has the time to think out how they will sound before she puts them down.

But, then, it shouldn't surprise her so much. She always writes down lectures before she gives them, so that she does not trip over her words in front of the class. It only makes sense that that applies here as well.

~X~

Excerpt from a letter to Hilda, from her older brother Holst:

Your new professor sounds like a fascinating woman. I wish I'd had a mercenary for a teacher, back in my academy days! Maybe I should plan a visit to see if she would spar with me.

Oh, but you wouldn't want that, would you? Then I could see in person just how strong you've gotten, and you couldn't keep writing to me about how hard your new teacher is pushing her delicate flower of a student. Well, if you ever find a chance for your professor and I to fight it out, I'd love to! It's been a while since I had someone I could really cut loose with.