Elgar definitely found himself struggling a bit to keep up with everything in classes and he looked over at the spot next to him. One of the other Black Eagles sat there, one he hadn't been introduced to. No idea who he was. It should have been Hubert there, but he understood why it wasn't. They'd been absolutely inseparable before he'd been taken to the Kingdom. But now...Hubert was a stranger that he'd have to get to know again. So much time had passed, nearly a decade. At least Hubert had seen his physical changes occur.

  The lunch bell mercifully rang and Elgar started to gather his food, met by Hubert. He offered a weak smile at his vassal. "How were morning classes, my lord?" His voice was quiet and tired. Probably a byproduct of having spent the past decade as a servant. How must it feel to be among nobles when he'd spend most of his life as a servant at this point? He was technically noble, certainly, but his life hadn't really reflected that...

  "Difficult. Really difficult. I haven't had really any formal education in the years since my release." He needed help and would definitely need someone to support him through everything. He would need a tutor... Unfortunately, Hubert couldn't help with that. And to ask anybody for help... He couldn't imagine it. It'd get out that their future Emperor didn't know anything about Fodlan's history or anything of the like. He was really struggling since he'd been focused on his changes, then understanding how court worked. In doing so, he completely neglected history and everything else that wasn't combat. What a mess.

  "Maybe you could ask someone to tutor you? If I weren't in year one, I would gladly do so, but..." Hubert frowned.

  Elgar sighed. "Do you have any idea how people would react if they knew their future Emperor had no idea of Fodlan's history? It would be a scandal for the throne before I even took it!" He kept his voice quiet, not wanting anybody to overhear. He wished he could ask someone, but that wouldn't help at all. He really did need the help, but he couldn't ask anybody. It would not inspire confidence or loyalty if anybody knew that their future Emperor couldn't do something as simple as schoolwork.

  "There's no shame in asking for help," Hubert pointed out.

  "This is politics, Hubert... I can't imagine what would go through people's minds if they knew their future Emperor couldn't handle schoolwork on his own." He couldn't offer the throne a scandal before he even took it. He just... He had done everything by himself up until now. The Imperial women had all disappeared (likely dead) and Hubert had disappeared as well... Following his release from the Crest experiments, he had nobody. He had allies in the court, but allies in Adrestia were tenuous at best. Anybody could backstab somebody without any regard. His promises were all what-ifs, based on what he could offer people when he reclaimed the throne.

  He frowned as he swept over the groups of people. There were definitely cliques. People already knew each other. Imperial thinking had severely fucked him over. He was certain some of his allies were at Garreg Mach but political alliances did not equal friendship. All he had right now was Hubert. He ought to get to know the Black Eagles... Ferdinand...posed a special threat to him. He wasn't sure where the other boy's loyalties lie. If he were allied with the Empire, that would do well for him, considering he'd be Elgar's Prime Minister. If he allied with his father... Well. House Aegir would have to be done away with when he took the throne. He didn't care. He couldn't risk that traitorous line to be around for much longer. Then there were houses Hevring, Gerth, and the other Seven... He couldn't make any enemies of House Bergliez… To make enemies with the man that controlled most of the Empire's wheat... That was asking for trouble.

  He continued to dither until he noticed Ferdinand walk over. "Oh, Your Highness, you've been standing there for a good couple of minutes. Would you like to join us?" He saw Petra sitting over at a small table and she offered a wave and a smile. He hesitated before nodding. He wouldn't learn about where Ferdinand's heart lay without interacting with the other guy.

  "I suppose I will." He and Hubert followed Ferdinand over to the table. A book sat open in front of Petra while she read it and took down notes. "Good afternoon." He buried his awkwardness and offered a graceful, warm smile. He was good at masking himself... He'd had to learn in order to deal with court or else he would've been eaten alive. The Adresitan court was absolutely merciless. He wondered what would've happened had Juliane, the former Empress, were still around... All he had were promises which he wouldn't be able to fulfill if he didn't take the throne and make sweeping reforms in a short amount of time.

  "Hello. The afternoon is indeed good." Petra offered him a smile as well, though it didn't quite meet her eyes. Worry. He could see worry behind those eyes. He wished he could pinpoint why. But she definitely wasn't from Fodlan. He had spent so long in the court that he didn't know much outside of it. "The classes of the morning were good too, yes?"

  He wanted to cringe internally, but he didn't let his smile falter. "They were good, yes." Lying had become second nature to him at this point unfortunately. He didn't want to be caught in lies, but what other choice did he have? The court was a mess and lies were the norm there. Honesty would get him back stabbed and eaten alive. He really needed help in getting the court under his control again. If he could make an alliance with Ferdinand...that would work in his favor immensely.

  "So what exactly brings you to Garreg Mach, Your Highness? I've heard you're quite active in the court which is a bit surprising considering how young you are. From what I hear, heir apparents usually aren't allowed in until after they graduate Garreg Mach," Ferdinand pointed out. That...was a good point which was true.

  "Unfortunately, my father's health has been failing for quite some years now, so I had no choice but to take over the court as soon as I graduate Garreg Mach. I had to start learning how to take over the throne a lot younger than usual." If things had gone to plan, it would've been Tobias on the throne. He would've just been another consort child, not an heir apparent. He would've had his entire life ahead of him to do what he wanted with... But no, he was the only one left. There was nobody else that could take over Adrestia. Well. He had cousins that were still alive, but that would just create a massive headache that he didn't want to deal with. Plus, he didn't have the ability to arrange all of that without somebody like Count Vestra, Hubert's father, finding out about it. He would've seen his plans, so he had to play things as carefully and close to his chest as possible. Chess had taught him how to move carefully and without letting the opponent see the strategy...

  "Ah, yes, I have heard the Emperor's health has been failing for a few years now; forgive me for forgetting that. It's unusual for an Emperor to fall so ill though, at least from what I learned in my lessons... And usually, the oldest takes over the throne about thirty. I'm sorry all of your siblings died to illness." Illness, right... Some far-fetched cover story that was. They had been killed by malice and an attempt to deliberately kill off the Imperial line. Of course, he could understand why... The Emperor had tried to steal power away and with what had happened with House Ordelia... His father was a sick man who had good moments, but he was power hungry. He had basically no goodwill left for the man. It was his follies and desire for central power that had harmed everybody so much.

  "That was years ago. It is what it is now." He shrugged. He missed his siblings, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had been a child at the time. It might seem callous especially when the nightmares still haunted him, but they were dead. He was alive. There was no reason to cling to the dead in his mind. They weren't of any help to the living. He really did see no reason to keep mourning them even if it still hurt to not have everyone around.

  Ferdinand looked concerned for a moment then nodded a bit. "Are you looking forward to combat classes after lunch?"

  He nodded. "Yes, I am." It was really the only time he got out of the palace any longer. He went out to the practice fields and really practiced with the knights and other members of the military. They were always shocked by his brutal strength, but he used it to his advantage. Why not use every tool in his arsenal? Honesetly, he wasn't even sure if the wooden weapons of Garreg Mach would stand up to his crushing blows. He had been using dulled steel for a long time now. Wooden weapons just did not hold up to the stresses he needed them to. So, in that regard, he wasn't that different from Morgan and Lucina... Plus, it was just nice to get some fresh air after being holed up with those noxious vipers all day. At least he got away from them for a year, but at the same time... The court would become an even greater mess without him there.

  Ferdinand smiled widely. "I look forward to seeing what you can do, Your Highness! May the best man win!" Something about that sat a little off to Elgar. He wasn't trying to win any sort of competition. He was just here to help accelerate his learning in the ways of the sword and the court. Why was Ferdinand attempting to make this a competition? Some people were beyond him.

  "So are you looking forward to it, Petra?" Elgar asked. She wasn't from Fodlan, so would she enjoy seeing how other styles of combat played out? Maybe she would... He was looking forward to learning more from the foreign students that made up the Iris Warblers as well as Petra.

  Petra nodded. "Yes, I am greatly looking forward to it. Duke Gerth has kept me locked up these many years. So to see more of Fodlan, it shall benefit me and all of Brigid. Hopefully we will be forging a greater bond between her and the Empire." Brigid... Brigid... Ah, right, a vassal state of the Empire after the last conflict between them and Dagda... Duke Gerth had kept her locked up though? Oh, he could only imagine how pissed off Juliane would've been. That was her brother. Knowing he was keeping a child locked up... But why? Hopefully he'd get to the bottom of that in due time... Now was not the time to ask why she was in Fodlan.

  "My apologies; I didn't know you were locked up during your time here in Fodlan. I doubt I could've done anything but..." He frowned. He really couldn't have done anything, but even so... To have her as a prisoner. What sort of sick man was Duke Gerth? To take--

  Right.

  He was one of the seven that had conspired with the Slitherers that had killed all of his siblings. He'd even been complicit in the disappearance (and probable death) of his own sister. He hated this. He hated all of this. He had no power to do anything. All power had been transferred over to Ferdinand's father, Duke Aegir. He really needed to suss out who Ferdinand was as a person. If he were loyal to the Empire, that would work well for him. If not...it created problems. He just had to be wise in his approach and not give away what he was doing in their conversations.

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  Petra shrugged. "It is no problem. I was well taken care of. Though I was never truly free..." She frowned. He could only imagine. He wondered why the Slitherers let him be. He'd rebuffed the approaches from the current body-snatched Duke Arundel. They had offered him power and the power to take down the Church especially when he went to Garreg Mach. But why do that? They had been the ones to kill his family. What could they possibly say that wasn't a half-truth at absolute best? He didn't trust them. So he had no political power whatsoever. He wished she could take over the throne now, but he needed allies.. And if he could ally with the Church to take them down... Well. In this case, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. The Church wasn't his favorite institution but he refused to believe the Slitherers were nothing less than liars and manipulators.

  "Well, once I become Emperor, you won't have to stay here in the Empire unless you want to. I can only imagine how homesick you must be." He remembered being so homesick in the Kingdom. Nobody spoke his language, nobody understood he wasn't a princess... Dimitri hadn't known either. Then again, the Kingdom was much more conservative than the Empire to his knowledge...

  "That is very good. Though my home is not sick."

  "Ah, that just means you miss your home. Like, you're sick to be home." He could only relate to her struggles with language. Yes, there was a lot of mutual intelligibility between Fodlan's languages due to the shared history of being under the Empire's banner, but drift still happened. The Fhirdiad language spoken was much different from the one in Enbarr. He could only understand maybe twenty percent of what had been said to him for quite a while. Even talking to Dimitri had been difficult due to the vast differences between them.

  "I shall take note of that then. Thank you." Petra smiled at him warmly and he returned it, though it was all just a mask. Be pleasant and allies were much more easily obtained. He felt bad for putting up a ruse with everyone, but nobody really understood what it was like in the Empire unless they had spent a lot of time in court there... Even Hubert wouldn't know since he'd been so separated from it for so long while Elgar had been embroiled in it for the past few years.

  "By the way, Ferdinand, how up-to-date are you on courtly proceedings?" He didn't recall ever seeing Ferdinand in court, but maybe he had some knowledge of what had happened...

  Ferdinand winced a little bit, that perfect demeanor slipping a little. "Ah, Your Highness, forgive me... My father has not really allowed me to be near court too much. I know I'm to be Prime Minister when he passes the mantle to me, but he has not allowed me to learn much of what court does or how to handle the position." Hm. That definitely did leave Elgar both advantaged and disadvantaged. From the sound of it, Ferdinand didn't even know what his father had done... He had no real idea of the state of the Adrestian court. Which both worked for and hindered him.

  "Ah, so I see... I do know some parents don't like their children to be in court for whatever unfathomable reason. It is curious that he doesn't want you to know considering your future position..." He knew exactly why. It would allow him to poison the well with Ferdinand against Elgar. He would be able to work against him. As he prepped Ferdinand for the position, then he would drop lies and all other sorts of nonsense into his son's mind. Well, too bad for Duke Aegir... He was attending school with Elgar now. Elgar was in an advantageous position to be able to try to work things in a way that benefited him.

  "Yes, indeed, it is a shame. I want to understand what we do for the Empire. It is a noble's duty to uplift the people and work for them." Elgar suppressed the desire to quirk his eyebrow. That...didn't sound like anything Duke Aegir would spout. He was all about abusing and manipulating people for his own ends. If Ferdinand held himself to a high standard, then...maybe he could easily win him over as an ally.

  "Well, you'll get your day in court eventually. Let's just say there will be some...changes once I take the throne, following graduation." He left it vague and his tone said he wouldn't comment any further on it. Petra and Ferdinand did look a little wary, but nodded. "Is there any way I can help you, Petra?" He didn't want to leave her hanging... She was obviously struggling with the language. He wished he knew the language of Brigid, but with as tight of a grip as Rhea had on Fodlan, materials for that were basically non-existent. Plus, it really was only somewhat recently that Brigid had come under the Empire. It wasn't like there were constant convoys coming and going from the nations where it was absolutely necessary for a lot of people to know Brigid's language. But if he could help her, he would do it.

  "No, I do not believe so. I am doing very well. Though...my speaking manner is very strange to your ears. I suppose I could be using help with some constructions."

  Elgar sighed. "Unfortunately, grammar isn't an area I understand very well." The time he really should've been starting grammar lessons had been the time he'd been taken to the Kingdom. He could read and write just fine, but yeah, grammar was beyond him. He knew how to speak mostly through just listening to people and doing it. He didn't understand the constructions of the language or how they worked on any sort of deep level. He just knew how to handle language through acquisition most of all.

  "Perhaps I could be helping you with that instead? I have learned many things of Adrestian and Fodlan Common in the years since I have been arriving in Enbarr. It is from books, yes, but I have been told my writing is quite well done. It is mostly my speaking that some find difficult to follow."

  Elgar shook his head. "I can understand you just fine. Yes, your speech is what's called stilted, meaning it doesn't flow the most naturally. But I can understand what you're trying to convey pretty well. No need to worry about that." Honestly, she was just fine. Somehow, Morgan and his sister were far more accomplished in Fodlan Common than Petra that had been studying it for years. That was kind of scary. He wasn't sure how long they'd been in Fodlan, but they spoke clearly, if somewhat accented by whatever their homeland was. He really couldn't believe they had picked up on Fodlan Common that quickly. That proved they were terrifyingly smart. "But honestly, I would appreciate it... I'll need to learn to how to draft letters and such by time on the throne." Again, something he should have learned but had not because he sorely lacked education on even the most basic things. If anything, he should be with Hubert... But he wasn't sure if his father would survive that long or not. He couldn't go through four years of schooling and not expect the court to run wild while he was away.

  "Very well then. Shall we be having meetings after classes then? Perhaps Ferdinand, you, Hubert, and I could be having a...what is the term?" Petra screwed her face up.

  "I believe the term you're looking for is study group," Hubert pointed out. "If anything, I would appreciate it... I'm in second-year classes compared to your fourth-year classes, but I could still probably benefit from your guys' knowledge."

  "That sounds like a wonderful arrangement! I can prove I am superior to all of you!" Again with this superiority thing... Winning at combat. Elgar didn't understand. "But, ah, yes, I can help as well." Ferdinand smiled sheepishly, looking at Elgar. Had he really given away his feelings? Had his mask slipped that much? He wasn't trying to... But yes, it was incredibly obnoxious to have someone wanting to prove he was better. The Empire didn't need more of that. "Are there any subjects you're particularly struggling in, Hubert?"

  "Thankfully I have a sound base in magic theory, but I'm struggling in some of the other classes..." With that, the pair delved into what was bothering Hubert and Elgar fell silent, focusing entirely on his lunch. He didn't really get along with people. He could get on fine with his community of people like him, people changing themselves to be one gender or another or all the genders or none, but outside of that... Forging alliances and getting along with people on a casual basis were two entirely different things. It felt like he was a complete outsider here... He doubted he'd forge friendships so much as alliances just like with court... He couldn't even cout Hubert as a friend yet since they were basically strangers at this point with how long they'd been apart. And he didn't want to admit that he was struggling with class... Who knew what Ferdinand would say about it...

  "Is there anything you're struggling with, Your Highness?" The question from Ferdinand startled him out of his stupor. "I can help you with anything you need."

  "Ah, no, I'm fin--"

  "My lord said he was struggling a bit with everything that wasn't magic," Hubert interjected.

  "Hubert!" he hissed. What was he doing? He hadn't given Hubert clearance to tell anybody that! It was true, but still. He didn't want to be looked down on for not being able to handle basic topics. He was struggling badly with almost everything, but again, it wasn't Hubert's place to speak.

  "Well, if you're struggling that much, I can help you. I'm sure some of the others wouldn't mind pitching in. Perhaps we could get even some of the Blue Lions in on it?" Ferdinand smiled warmly and Elgar just shot Hubert a withering glare. Ferdinand's expression changed to one of worry. "Is...Is this a bad suggestion?"

  "I didn't tell Hubert he could say that."

  "My lord, it's my duty to help you. And if you're struggling this much, then you need help. Help in this case will come through your fellow students. You don't want to fall behind, do you?" Hubert's tone was gentle. Elgar sighed. Hubert really was just trying to fulfill his duty as vassal to the best of his ability. It felt like stepping out of line to Elgar, but even so... He wouldn't have Hubert's head for this.

  "You don't need to be afraid to ask for help, Your Highness. We'll all here to learn the same things and excel. We can only do that by truly working together," Ferdinand said. "I know the Adrestian court might say otherwise but..."

  "You're right about that." Elgar shook his head. "The court is nothing but a bunch of backstabbing bastards that only see what they can gain by helping themselves before others." He would definitely be purging the court to a large extent. Nobody could tell him otherwise. The court needed to be cleaned up and Duke Aegir was top of his list. He didn't want to tell Ferdinand but it would come up eventually. He sure didn't seem like a chip off old daddy's shoulder, that was for sure. Of course, it could all be just a ruse, but the light in Ferdinand's eyes was so different from everybody else's in court. They were bright and genuine in a way that almost nobody else's were. Maybe he didn't need to forge an alliance... Maybe... Maybe they could just be friends. But how could Ferdinand be so different from daddy dearest? It didn't make any sense.

  "Perhaps we could change it? Though...I will not be Prime Minister any time soon. My father will hold the post for many years to come." Elgar nodded, though it was just a ruse. He just...didn't feel comfortable letting Ferdinand know quite yet. They had barely known each other for twenty-four hours. They needed a lot more time than that to build rapport. He wasn't exactly sure of the policy around the Prime Minister's role... Maybe he could have Hubert read up on that. See what the norm was when people took the position from their parent.

  "Perhaps. If you have any policies you want to help implement, let me know. I'll see what I can do." He really wasn't sure just how much Ferdinand knew about the corruption of the Adrestian court. He would hold that card close to his chest until he felt he could trust Ferdinand to some degree. He had his own ideas for policies, but he was sure other people had good ideas... He was mostly worried about taking over the throne immediately more than anything though. Policies would have to wait a year or two until his rulership was fully cemented.

  "I do have many ideas, yes! We shall work marvelously together in order to transform Adrestia!" Ferdinand smiled brightly, though they all looked up when they heard the clock chime. Five minute warning bell for lunch. They picked up their plates and disposed of the leftover food, then started heading back to classes.