Rather comfortably, he walked along, careful not to stumble even if he was fairly drunk if he was honest with himself. One of the upsides to his infamous coldness of expression was that most had great difficulty reading if he had anything to drink.

From what he saw, the festivities were finally starting to wind down, students walking arm in arm to their dorms in good spirits. The sight of Hanneman dragging Manuela bodily on his back as she snored was an amusing sight even Byleth had to admit had him chuckling quietly to himself.

It was an interesting sight, seeing all of the students outside of the classroom or the battlefield. He found himself a seat, far away from where he'd found Blythe in the gardens, staring up at the sky. He wondered what it would have been like, being a student like those children, instead of killing strangers. Would he have become a better person?

Bah. He hated when he got maudlin. He let out a cleansing breath, breathing in the night air and staring up at the stars until a noise roused him from his stupor.

Claude sat across from him, ever-present smile aimed straight at him. "Nice night for a stroll, eh Teach?" he offered, eyes uncommonly warm. Had he been drinking too? Probably, why wouldn't he? He came in second, and the Lions had been drinking for less reason than that.

Byleth made sure his mask was in place as he responded: "I suppose. What brings you here, Claude?"

"Oh, you know, just catching up. It was a big day. Did your sister say how I got one over on her?" he said with an uncharacteristic giggle, ending in a soft snort. "Oh, got her good! Free lessons and free tea all year!" he kept giggling.

Byleth couldn't help but quirk a brow. "Okay, you've got my attention. How did you manage to get that out of her? She won." He focused on the boy in front of him, curious. This boy, with the shining eyes, who snorted when he laughed had got one up on his sister. He really was a power, underneath his veneer of casualness.

"Weeeell, as you know, the Deer trapped the forest. It was just me and Marianne, our healer left, and it was her and Petra and, uh, Dorothea and Linhardt..." He knew all of their names, too. He really was good with people.

"Obviously we were dead to rights, but we just kept setting off traps and pulling back, dragging them through the forest until she just calls out 'Claude, Claude, I'm sick of this, just yield!' And then I just threw the terms at her and she gobbled them up!" This pronouncement was punctuated by a silly-sounding cackle, leaning on the table as he did.

"Hm. Well played, Lord Riegan," he offered, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "My sister doesn't have patience for such things, though I imagine you'd have done the same whether you knew that or not," he teased gently.

"Hey, Lord Riegan's my grandpa, I'm still just a punk kid, at least for now," he countered, running a hand through his hair in what, in his drunken haze, he seemed to sense was a self-conscious move.

"I don't think you're a punk, Claude," he offered, uncommonly gently. "You're a good house leader, and a nice person."

"Pff. Flattery will get you everywhere..." he mumbled, continuing to scratch at his hair and looking off to the side, cheeks tinged from what he assumed was the drink.

"No, I mean it!" he challenged, giving the table they sat at a gentle strike with his fist. "You have been nothing but kind to my sister and I, even after we had not chosen your house to lead. You are kind, and I value that."

"You even came to make me feel better for the loss after that green-haired imp stole the win from me..." he murmured grumpily, staring back up at the sky. He only realized after the fact that he was rambling. He'd almost forgotten how drunk he was.

"Wait--what?" Asked Claude, face screwed into a mask of confused concentration.

"Take it from a Professor, Claude, don't work with ghosts. They play favorites," he answered, giving a drunken chortle of his own.

"Stupid kid... she got me good."

Claude gave a loud "Ha!" of amusement, trying and failing to reach across the table and pat Byleth's shoulder, only managing to wave his arm uselessly a few inches from Byleth's chest.

"Teach has a sense of humor! You just need to get a couple of drinks in him! Aw, this is great!"

"Claude, please..." he murmured, blush tingeing his cheeks. From the drink, of course.

"I'm just messing with you, Teach! You're so easy," he said, that rakish smile of his making his chest behave strangely.

"...Yes, I suppose I would be, wouldn't I," he murmured, embarrassed. It didn't help that his statement just made Claude laugh harder.

"Easy Byleth, village bicycle! Bet the villagers loved you whenever you went to the bar after a contract!" he teased, a trifle cruelly.

"I... that is... that's personal, Claude," he said coldly, looking away.

This seemed to cow Claude sufficiently, as he mastered himself, face taking on a more serious posture.

"Of course, Teach. Sorry, that was rude of me," he admitted shamefacedly, again running a hand through his hair.

"Guess I had a bit too much. Welp, I have a rule, stick a foot in your mouth it's usually smart to make an exit before you stick the other on in and fall over," he said, hand at his head, standing up from his seat.

"I'm gonna go sleep this off. You do the same, ok Teach?" He asked, with what seemed like genuine concern.

Byleth nodded, face unreadable. "Of course, Claude. Rest well. Have some water before you sleep," he chided gently.

This forced a toothy smile out of the boy, still scratching at the back of his head. "Sure thing, Teach. See you 'round!" he said cheerily, giving him a backwards wave as he walked off.

And so, Byleth was alone once more, staring out at the darkness around him. It was well and truly night now, not simply dusk. He should probably heed Claude's advice and get some rest. He sighed, standing from his seat in the garden, making his way onto the path back to the students' dorms.

Not a soul in sight. Peaceful.

He had forgotten how nice it was to wander in the night. Nothing to keep him company but the wind's whispers and his own thoughts. He was almost disappointed when he made it to their door. Kindly, Blythe had left the door unlocked. He slid inside, deftly locking the door behind him with a soft 'click'.

"Feeling better, Blythe? He asked conversationally.

"*I kissed her.*"

"That's nice-what?" he turned from hanging his cloak to goggle at her.

"It-it-it *it just happened!*" she objected piteously. When he looked her over, she was a bit of a mess. Hair out of sorts, still wearing her heels. It seemed she was taking this quite seriously.

Byleth sighed. He could already feel the headache coming. He pinched at the bridge of his nose. "...Fine. Get us some water, and we can sort this out a bit," he groaned, shooing her to go to the well and fill their pitcher.

His beloved sib did just that, walking off in a haze pitcher in hand. In the meantime he finished hanging his clothes and changing into his sleepwear.

So his sister had found someone, eh? Well, what's the worst that could happen? Having the Emperor of Adrestia as a bitter ex? Despite himself he couldn't help but give a hysterical little laugh to himself in the empty room.

Well, what he thought had been an empty room.

"*Relax. She's blowing it out of proportion, it was actually very sweet. She wanted it more than her, even.*" Volunteered the green-haired gremlin that plagued him, floating supine in front of him suddenly.

He was a breath away from snapping at her before he caught himself. No, no, the gremlin with time powers he should respect even if she wore on his nerves at times.

He put his head in his hands, elbows on his knees as he sat on the bed. "*...and how do you weigh in on the matter, Sothis?*" He asked, dreading the answer.

Sothis gave a casual shrug, seemingly disinterested. "*That she shouldn't overcomplicate things. It was a kiss. If something comes of it, fine, if not, it hardly matters. Humans are so hung up on propriety. I'm glad she had the courage to do what she knew they both wanted.*"

...Huh. Did the gremlin actually just give cogent relationship advice?

Blythe chose then to step in, clay pitcher sloshing merrily as she brought it to her desk, filling her cup and handing it to Byleth, who took it gratefully.

"*Hello, Sothis,*" said Blythe, uncharacteristically muted.

"*Hello, dear. Your brother and I were talking about your problem.*" Stated Sothis unapologetically, as seemed to be her way.

Byleth nodded before taking a long gulp of water. "*She was explaining what had happened. Frankly, Blythe, it seems like nothing to worry about. If you kissed her, what is the problem? You're near the same age...*" he led, inviting Blythe to step in.

"*I--well, she was talking about some strange word, propriety, how it was uncouth for a teacher and a student to do such things, and then -- then she kissed me back...*" she murmured, nervously poking her fingertips together, a habit she hadn't seen fit to use since she had been a child.

"*Oh, honestly, dear, listen to yourself. 'Oh no, propriety, blargh!' You said it yourself, she paid lip service and then promptly ignored it! It's not an issue," Piped up Sothis, taking the words out of Byleth's mouth.

It dawned on Byleth that perhaps he'd made his judgments relating to Sothis a bit rashly. She was speaking good sense.

"*I have to agree with Sothis, Byleth. It sounds to me like she was interested and consequences be damned. Torturing yourself with what-ifs is pointless, perhaps it's wise to simply let things happen," he soothed, standing to pour Blythe a glass of her own. She took it gratefully.

"*Either nothing happens and this all blows over, or something happens and you deal with it. Isn't that how you prefer things anyway?*" He teased gently, running a knuckle across her cheek, gently smile on his face. She looked up at him and then away, a slight blush on her face.

"You're right, brother, as always. I'm just... nervous. Edelgard is... nice. I like her. I don't want things to sour." She said honestly, clasping the arm not holding her drink to her shoulder.

"*All that happens is what will happen, sister. If it is not meant to be, it is not meant to be. The contract is only for a year, after all.*" He reminded gently.

"*Yeah, you're right. She's... probably just looking for a--a fling, before she becomes Emperor, or something...*" She replied morosely.

"*Oh, Blythe, none of that! I saw you two, you know she has feelings for you. I won't have you deluding yourself. You're a good person, and she sees that!*" Objected Sothis heatedly. Wow, Byleth was doing great beating him to the punch on his points. Was -- was she doing time magic to steal his points? No, no, that way lay madness. He was too drunk for all this.

"*What she said,*" he offers sleepily, finishing his glass of water. "*Look, just relax and give it a good night's rest. Talk it out with her. I'm frankly exhausted and I'd like to go to sleep and I think you do too.*" He stated definitively, before falling face-first into his pillow.

All he'd done was close his eyes but he instantly felt better. "*Talk to the gremlin if you insist on discussing this further, she seems to have good advice on the matter,*" he spoke through his pillow, gesturing vaguely at nothing.

"*Rude! I'm no gremlin! But I do know a thing or two about such things,*" she answered haughtily with a sniff.

"*Sorry,*" he mumbled through his pillow.

A mock battle, a feast, and his sister had maybe gotten a girlfriend. All told, he felt confident stating that by anyone's metric it had been a long day, and did not feel an ounce of guilt for falling headfirst into sleep's embrace.