The all too familiar bell rang across Garreg Mach, signaling the end of class and the start of the weekend.

"Alright, that's it for today's lecture. Certifications are next week, so please remember to study diligently," said Byleth, "Although that might be easier said than done," the professor thought to himself.

It was plain to see that this was going to be the case. Especially during the month of the Ethereal Moon. The long awaited ball was approaching and the students of the Golden Deer House were taking their time to discuss their plans and aspirations for it. In one corner, Lorenz was discussing with Ignatz about proper ballroom etiquette and how to approach a lady, but for the most part Ignatz found the advice to be a bit too upfront for his style.

"Now remember, it is the dream of any noble lady to be wooed by a gentleman, so be sure to stand upright, reach for her hand, and don't bother with names or anything else until after the dance. After all, this is an interview for a potential spouse. No need to get too attached to a lost cause who cannot properly conduct herself on the dance floor," declared Lorenz.

"Um, sure, but I think it might be better for someone like me to at least ask if she wants to dance fir-" Ignatz was cut off.

"Although, once you get to my level of gallantry, there's no need for you to approach. The ladies instead flock to you for the honor of a dance, haha!"

"Honestly, Lorenz are you trying to ruin the night for Ignatz? That's terrible advice!" exclaimed Leonie who had happened to be listening in on the conversation.

The professor had a small smile appear across his face. For the most part he did not express emotion too often, but his students did bring him joy even if he didn't say it aloud. Glancing around the room he continued to look at the rest of them. Lysithea was trying to read a book about advanced dark magic, but even she found it hard to focus with all the talk about the ball. Raphael was enjoying an afternoon snack at his desk while asking a passing student if they knew what food would be served at the ball. Claude and Hilda were as usual discussing the various happenings at Garreg Mach, but Claude's grin no doubt meant that he was coming up with a scheme for the ball. Lastly, looking towards the back he saw Marianne. However, unlike the others, she did not appear to find any excitement about the upcoming dance and instead sat gloomily by herself.

"Marianne," whispered Byleth.

As of lately she was on his mind, although he wasn't exactly sure why this was. The two of them did get along well, but so did he and his other students. Furthermore, his relationship with Marianne wasn't exactly that of best friends. He was her teacher, so while he did listen to her, talk to her, and had even dined with her on more than one occasion, he still kept an element of professionalism with her. Yet, he couldn't deny that compared to the others he did find her and her company to be very agreeable, even if she was very, very shy. This was all the more reason why it pained him to see her so downtrodden, and with this in mind he decided to go and talk with her. However, he did not manage to get too far.

"Teach, got a minute to talk?" asked Claude.

"Hm? Oh," said the professor in a surprised tone.

Claude and Hilda had approached him before he could get very far past his desk. His eyes darted towards the back to where Marianne was, but it did not matter as she began to pack her belongings to head out of the Golden Deer classroom.

"Teach? You got something to do?"

"Claude, you stopped him right before he was about to leave. Of course he was going to do something," said Hilda.

"Ah, right. My bad."

"No, it's fine. It wasn't that pressing. What did you want to talk about?" asked Byleth.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk about what's on everyone else's mind as well; the ball of course. You see Hilda and I made a little bet and we need you to help settle it."

The professor gave a nod.

"Great," said Hilda. "Now Professor, tell us, have you ever been to a ball before? Claude thinks that you haven't, but I personally think that a jack of all trades like yourself has."

Byleth shook his head

"Hah! Told you," exclaimed Claude.

Hilda let out a groan and reluctantly handed over a coin.

"See Teach, I think I've got you all figured out. Although we're not done yet. Our bet did have a second part. Now that we've established that this dance is going to be something new for you, do you have any idea who you're going to dance with?"

Who he was going to dance with? Such a question had surprisingly not dawned upon the professor in spite of the fact that all he had been hearing about so far was the ball. Even though it was a dance for the students the rest of the faculty would be there and so far, he had not heard any rules that stated that they weren't allowed to dance. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for an answer to appear in his mind. Marianne's face quickly popped into his head, but he knew he couldn't just outright give her name to Claude and Hilda.

"Well, I haven't given it much thought, but I suppose I wouldn't mind sharing a dance with someone," replied Byleth.

"Hah, I told you the professor wasn't a total shut out. I'll be taking back that coin now, Claude," Hilda gleefully said.

"Bah, fine," said Claude handing back the coin, "Although, a total shut out? You're really going to call Teach out like that?"

Hilda had noticed that Byleth was now giving both of them a rather downhearted look for considering that he was a loner who did not enjoy interacting with others.

"Ah, well, I didn't mean to say shut out that is. What I meant was that Claude and I merely thought that perhaps you didn't care much to participate in a ball for students."

"Yeah, Hilda's telling the truth. After all everyone here loves you, Teach. That wouldn't be possible if you were some weird loner."

Byleth gave a nod.

"Although, a bit of aloofness isn't that bad," noted Byleth.

"True, a nice bit of mystery around someone does add a bit of charm. It's one of the things I like about ya, Teach... Heh, this new information is gonna make the ball just a bit more.. interesting. Anyway, I'm starving so I'm heading off to the dining hall. Hilda, you coming?"

"Sure, I could use something to eat."

With that, the two of them began to head out of the classroom and towards the dining hall. However, before they were fully outside, Hilda told Claude to go on ahead and that she would catch up.

"Oh, Professor. By the way, sorry about that little slip up back there," said Hilda letting out a sheepish laugh, "Okay, um, don't be mad and I'll do you a little favor. Does that sound nice?"

Byleth merely shook his head with a smirk.

"Go catch up with Claude," he said in an affable manner, "And please, tell him to study."

"Sure thing, Professor!"

She gave a wink and began to run out of the classroom.

"Hmph, I should've told her that that goes double for her as well."

Author's notes: I had intended to release this chapter as a stand alone and see where things went from there, but in the end I just finished all the way to chapter 9 over a period of several weeks or so. It's actually my first fanfiction so if it sucks just shoot me a message and I'll cease writing. Just kidding, but any reviews for any chapter works well and if I see that there's good reviews/ no bad news I'll probably end up writing more chapters after chapter 9.