"I have to say, that was probably the best speech I've ever heard from the professor."

"He was in rare form tonight, I agree."

"Indeed. We all benefit from hearing his encouragement."

Annette half-listened to the chatter of her friends as they made their way through the quiet halls of Garreg Mach towards the dormitory rooms. Ashe and Dedue continued to trade quotes, with Ingrid's casual interjections every so often. The scene was idyllic, almost as though they were reliving their school days once more. She had no doubt the professor's speech was inspirational. And of course, Dimitri's accompanying words meant to rally them were probably equally inspirational, if not more. Hearing their encouragement was usually all it took to fire her up.

But Felix's silence as he sat across from her at the dining table was louder than anything the professor or Dimitri had to say. Not one single word was said, save for a grunt of approval at the completion of the professor's speech. Annette tried not to stare, but each time she stole a glance his way, Felix was either glowering to himself or scowling at Sylvain.

Not only was he silent all throughout the meal, but Felix was nowhere to be found afterwards as well, dashing any of her hopes of speaking to him. Even a casual, 'how was dinner' was something Annette was certain she could sneak by with minimal awkwardness. Instead, he slipped off somewhere unknown. She expected no less of him. Probably off training, or stabbing something, or moodily staring out a window.

All highly likely.

None involving her.

None acknowledging the poached Queen Loach in lemon sauce, save for his clean plate. Her stomach churned with embarrassment.

I knew this whole thing was stupid. Throwing myself at him with a kiss was bad enough. But using food to tell him how I feel? Even worse! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A gentle touch brushed against her shoulder. Mercedes stood at her side, offering a smile as sweet as the Blessed Jelly passed around for dessert. "I feel so motivated for tomorrow's battle after hearing the professor's speech. Don't you, Annie?"

"Eh? Oh. Um... Y-yes! I'm pumped up now!" Annette made a mock arm-thrust, but her laugh sounded less enthusiastic and more nervous. "I really liked the part where… ah…"

"I agree," Mercedes giggled, "it's difficult to pick just one part that resonates most. But we've come to expect that from our professor, haven't we?"

Ingrid stopped in front of her door. She gave Ashe and Dedue a polite nod as they went their separate ways towards their own rooms. "A good speech is only going to get us so far. But I confess, hearing Dimitri and the professor put their faith in us inspires me too. Now if Sylvain could take things a little more seriously…" she shook her head. "Boasting about victory celebrations so soon? Getting cocky like that is only going to distract us."

"Oh, I don't know… A little fun doesn't hurt."

"You're too indulgent, Mercedes! Even Felix would agree with me. He looked like he was about to throttle Sylvain from across the table."

Mercedes smiled, but Annette noted there was something mischievous twinkling in her eyes. "I'm sure he only means well."

Ingrid tsked. Her opinions obviously differed. "We'll see if he can back it up with actions tomorrow. I'm calling it a night. Take care, you two."

Annette mechanically nodded along in-sync with Mercedes, offering a habitual 'good night' before resuming their walk down the hallway. Their steps fell into rhythm alongside each other. It was still early enough in the evening that the halls were lit, and nuns and monks were still going about their business on their way towards evening mass.

A nervous energy seemed to emanate from the very stones of Garreg Mach itself, as though the entire monastery was aware of the history that was about to occur tomorrow when they launched their siege of Enbarr. Just dwelling on it made Annette feel jittery. There was only enough room in her chest for one source of jitters—Felix would have to take a back seat. A perpetual back seat, she thought firmly, given that he was so determined not to speak with her.

She briefly wondered if asking Mercedes for an opinion on her feelings regarding Felix would be wise, but that would require admitting her foolishness in the first place. And as far as Annette was concerned, it was better to simply close the chapter on that book and pretend it never happened altogether. The time to pursue a foolish crush was over and done with. How could she even consider it when the fate of the kingdom was on the line?

Maybe it's better this way. I need to give it my all for tomorrow! I can't have anything distracting me.

Mercedes paused as they reached Annette's room and gave her arm another light touch. "Annie? Do you want me to read to you before it gets dark?"

She shook her head. "Not tonight, Mercie. I'm going to review some formulas. I want to make sure my magic is in tip-top shape!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! I didn't spend years studying just to slack off when it matters most!"

Mercedes squeezed her hand. "Let me know if you change your mind. I'm sure no one would ever accuse you of slacking off, Annie."

"Regardless, I still have a reputation to keep, empire or not!"

The two exchanged hugs before Annette entered her room, closing the door behind her. She sank into her chair with a slow exhale. Spread across her desk sat piles of parchment and notes, and nestled in the corner was her father's stack of letters—still unopened after receiving them months ago. She swallowed as she caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye. They remained untouched, yet it felt as though the bundle grew larger each time she remembered it. The pile of letters continued to taunt her, and she pulled open a drawer and stashed the piled away, ignoring the mounting apprehension filling her chest. Out of sight, out of mind.

"No. I have important things to do! I don't have time for this," she chastised herself and began combing through her spell books.

Yet despite stowing away all her distractions, her notes and formulas seemed to bleed together. She'd read through these books already countless times. It was nothing more than a simple review at this point. But Annette's mind continued to drift to places she simultaneously was anxious to revisit and desperately keen to forget. Her forehead met the surface of her desk with a resigned thud.

What if I never sang for him in the greenhouse?

Why didn't he say anything at dinner?

How can I look him in the eye and fight alongside together after all this?

"Ughhhh," Annette shoved her chair back from the desk with a groan. "I don't want to think about this anymore! Just let me study in peace!"

A hesitant knock sounded at her door.

"M-Mercie! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry—I didn't mean you—" she nearly toppled backwards in the chair before scrambling to answer the call. But instead of Mercedes, the first and last person she hoped to see stood in the hallway, his hand still raised from knocking.

"Felix?!"

He immediately glanced away, as if feeling guilty. "Were you expecting Mercedes? Sorry. I'll go."

"N-no! I mean, you don't have to. I just thought—well, I mean, she and I were talking earlier, so I figured maybe she came back…"

"Oh."

His eyes darted across her face before scanning the room behind her with the slightest craning of his neck. There was something familiar about his body language. It took her a moment to realize it was the exact same look she'd seen countless times on the training grounds and in battle—he was sizing up an enemy.

Did he just come back to make fun of me again? Is that what this is all about?!

"Listen, Felix! If you think you can just waltz over here to tease me after ignoring me all dinner—"

"Have you seen Sylvain?"

She blinked mid-rant. "S… Sylvain? What?"

"Sylvain," he repeated, urgency creeping into his voice. "Was he here? Did he come by?"

"Um… no? I don't think so."

"Are you sure? When did you last see him?"

All her earlier anger quickly shifted to concern at the panic in Felix's tone. "Is he missing? You don't think he's gone off and done something reckless before tomorrow, do you?"

"He's always doing something reckless," Felix grumbled. "When did you last see him?"

"No, not since dinner. Why? If he's gone missing, we need to go find him!" Annette quickly snapped up her shawl. "There's barely any time before tomorrow, and we can't be down a wyvern rider! I'll pull together a search party."

Felix's hands shot out and grabbed her shoulders before she could push past him. Her breath caught in her chest at his touch. "No," he said. "We don't need a search party. He's not missing. I just… I was wondering if you had seen him."

She was bursting to ask all the questions bubbling up inside. Questions about dinner. Questions about her performance in the greenhouse. Questions about them. But now that she had his full attention, it felt impossible to put anything into words. Annette licked her lips, and then finally blurted out, "I can pass along a message if I see him. Would you like that?"

"No," he answered hastily.

"O-okay. Is… is that all you wanted? To speak with Sylvain?"

"I was looking for you."

Despite his hold on her shoulders feeling quite nice in the moment, Annette couldn't help but experience a rush of indignation. Now that his main objective was complete, apparently it was time to return to an old pastime, and she was in no mood to be teased. "Looking for me? Felix, we sat across from each other at dinner and you didn't say a word! Now you need to talk to me?"

"Yes. It's about tomorrow."

Felix stared into her eyes. The tips of his ears were red. Was he embarrassed?

Ah... Of course! Oh, Felix, you dummy. All you had to do was ask!

The tension in her shoulders eased. Now his urgency was starting to make sense. "You only just recently changed classes, right? There's no shame in asking for help!"

"Help?" he said, glancing down the hallway before looking back at her in confusion. "I don't…"

"You're training as a mortal savant now, right? I had top marks in Reason! I mean, Sylvain's no slouch himself, but if you can't find him, I'm sure I can help. Your timing is perfect, actually. I was starting to have trouble focusing on my own spell charts," she admitted with a sheepish laugh. "If you'd like, I can lend them to you for tomorrow! And if you didn't want to ask in front of everyone at dinner… I understand."

Felix took great pride in his abilities, so it was only natural that he'd be apprehensive after shifting to a new class that required new skills. It was better late than never to ask for help. Of course he'd look for Sylvain first. They were close friends, after all. But to be his second choice was still flattering, and her heart fluttered at the thought. He trusted her enough to confide in her.

The great, irascible Felix—coming to me and asking for help!

The flush of red spread from his ears across his face. "That's… I mean..."

He looked so serious. Annette felt a pang of sympathy for him. She knew all too well how overwhelming it felt learning a new arte. "You shouldn't be so unsure of yourself though," she encouraged. "You know, between you and me… the professor thinks you're a true natural! He said you had a budding talent for it. Ah—but you weren't supposed to hear that from me!"

Felix scoffed, sounding more like himself again. "Talent means nothing without hard work."

"Exactly! That's why it's so important to study! But… I confess, I haven't been the best at studying lately."

"You study more than enough."

She wondered how long until he realized he was still holding her shoulders but felt absolutely no desire to break away. Something in her chest fluttered again. "It's true though. I've been slacking… And not just with studying! Father's letters—I haven't even looked at them," she confessed. "He… he told me to burn them. But I can't."

It was the first time she had told anyone about her father's letters. Not even Mercedes was aware, although it wasn't something Annette was concealing intentionally. Speaking about the letters made them feel real, and just knowing they sat imposingly in her desk drawer was like concealing hot coals that threatened to catch spark and set the room on fire.

But something about the look on Felix's face made Annette feel compelled to confide in him. Would he do the same if Rodrigue had left behind his own letters?

"What… what would you do, Felix? If you were me?"

"Me? What do you want to do with them?"

"I don't know. I'm… I'm scared. Scared to read them. Scared to burn them. Scared to have them. I want to know what he wrote. I want to read them! It's just…" she flustered, and her own face felt hot. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you all this! I shouldn't be thinking of myself and what I want at a time like this. I guess it's just… you came to me asking for help, so it feels only fair to tell you my secret too."

"Secret?" His voice cracked.

Seeing him fluster was far cuter than Annette bargained for. This was way better than getting teased, and it made the silence between them at dinner all worth it.

"I promise not to tell anyone. You can borrow my notes as long as you need," she grinned. "Besides, the professor is never wrong on these kinds of things."

"I don't… I'm… I'm fine. I don't need them. But thank you."

"Are you sure?"

His jaw was clenched, and his face still flushed. Was his pride that important to him?

"Felix…" she offered an encouraging smile, "I know you're going to be incredible tomorrow! I believe in you."

A softness came to his eyes. He released her shoulders and gently tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're always thinking of others," he murmured.

Her heart sputtered and screeched to a halt. "Wh… what?"

Felix snapped his hand back in an instant, as if he had unwittingly touched a burning candle. "S… sorry. That's… I didn't… ugh," he shook his head. "Thank you... for offering your notes. I'll be fine."

"I…"

Silence stretched between them like a tautly drawn string, threatening to snap at the slightest movement. Annette remained perfectly still, afraid to move and afraid to even try processing whatever meaning—if any—was behind his affectionate gesture.

He stared back at her, breathing heavily through his nose, then turned and started to walk away.

"W-wait! What… what…"

"You're always thinking of others," he said again and stopped, his back facing her. "But you should think of yourself. Read his letters. Not for him. For you."

"Ah…"

Her fingers brushed along the lock of hair behind her ear as she watched him slip back into the darkness of the hallway.

That… what was that?!

Annette stayed rooted in place, her heart pounding in her ears. It wasn't until the sound of his footsteps had completely trailed off did she return to her room and pull the bundle of letters out from her desk. She lit the candle with a shaking hand and sat at the foot of her bed.

No textbooks. No parchment. No studying.

No self-doubt, no guilt, and no shame.

For the first time in recent memory, she read for herself and no one else.