The future Duke of House Riegan was always smiling, his carefree attitude serving as a perfect cover for his constant machinations and manipulations. Of course he was smiling the morning after his victory, enjoying its afterglow as he stood on the pier with his fishing rod cast, waiting patiently for some poor fish to fall into his latest trap.
Edelgard hated his stupid smug smile, and she hated his stupid smug face, and she hated that she hated him for his stupid smugness because it meant he had succeeded in getting under the future Empress' skin. Furthermore, the sight of stupid smug Claude standing on the pier ruined her otherwise lovely view of the pond from her dormitory bedroom's window. It ruined her morning ritual, the quiet fifteen minutes she spent with her ever faithful retainer, watching the sunrise while he brushed her hair to perfection and put in her ribbons.
She couldn't make it four minutes before her irritation got the better of her, her composure cracking and her embarrassment flooding her face.
The nerve of that bloody little weasel
, Edelgard seethed to herself, before resolving to wipe that stupid smug smile off Claude's face and put him in his place. She reached up and caught Hubert's wrist mid-brush and moved it away.
"... my Lady?"
"Wait here a moment," Edelgard enunciated each word with due care lest she raise Hubert's suspicions; an effort she knew was futile considering Hubert was suspicious about literally everything. Yet her constant companion was loyal and obedient (up until he decided it was in her best interest if he disobeyed, but that was neither here nor there).
"Of course."
Edelgard didn't know what she murmured to him. All she had on her mind was that stupid smug smile and the severe dressing-down Claude was about to receive. She rose and strode from the room half-dressed, hair left long, loose and flowing as she paced down the hall and then the stairs with sharp, authoritative clicks of her boot heels. Within a minute, those clicks were a sharper staccato on the cobblestones.
Others would be watching from the windows, including Hubert. Edelgard didn't care. It would be good for the school to see someone give stupid, smug Claude Riegan the tongue lashing he deserved. She was nearing the pier now, and then she was on it; he looked over his shoulder with the dumb face that enraged her so, smiling. "Hey, Edelgaaahhh..."
The future Empress felt a dim sense of satisfaction at how the murder on her furiously blushing face wiped away Claude's smug smile and made his words die off before he said something ridiculous. Something like, "Calm down and take it easy, yeah? Let's talk this out."
Something like those exact words that Claude just said. Edelgard's agitation surged, her heart thumping loud in her ears. The words she had been stewing on died away in similar fashion, before she could even open her mouth and say them. "You little asshole," she growled, her moment of crass spitting in the face of all her etiquette training. Claude dropped his fishing pole with a clatter and turned to her, raising his hands in a placating gesture that only made everything worse.
Once she was in spitting distance of Claude, Edelgard let her boot do the talking, her heel connecting hard with his ribs and sending him with a yelp, shout and flailing limbs into the pond. The splash of his impact was so much more satisfying than how he cringed back from her; she didn't even mind that she'd need to change her clothes after it hit her. She glared down at the water and waited a moment for Claude's gasping head to resurface, her jaw tight, face still red as the tights covering her long legs.
"I am
not
going to say thank you," Edelgard told the waterlogged noble, pleased with how cool and crisp her words were when she felt anything but -- and when in truth, the source of her frustration was the gratitude she felt towards Claude for his meddling. With a deliberate lift of her chin, she gave a smart turn on her heel, flipped her disorderly hair over her shoulder with one hand and began her return to Hubert. Her glare cowed several of the students watching.
It disappeared when she spotted her bemused Byleth watching from her own window, confused by what happened with her lack of context but smiling for Edelgard nonetheless. The sight of it cooled her anger and warmed her heart; she returned it sweetly without thought before thinking better of the rumors it might cause. Ducking her chin with embarassment, she hastened her stride.
"You're welcome," Claude half-groaned, half-called out after her as he pulled himself onto the pier. She didn't look back.
***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***
Seven days earlier...
Everyone in Garreg Mach knew there was something special about Professor Byleth, and no student knew that better than the first three that had met her: Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude, the respective leaders of Black Eagle, Blue Lion and Golden Deer. Each of the future leaders went through considerable effort to win Byleth over. Ultimately, Byleth chose to preside over the Golden Deer house.
Claude, who made no secret of his conniving nature and tendency to hide plans within plans, had to admit he had no idea why she went with him. Not that he wasn't grateful; her practicality and battle experience paired well with his schemes and contingencies, one tempering the other as needed. He loved having her around, but she was impossible to read. Her fine features were almost always devoid of expression, and when she showed emotion it was always so minute that most people overlooked it.
Frank, forthright Dimtri accepted that decision graciously. His honor would permit him to do nothing else. Edelgard also accepted Byleth's decision, but like Claude she was a schemer, her actions often colored by ulterior motives. Where Dimitri drifted away and turned his focus elsewhere after the new Professor chose Golden Deer, Edelgard seemed to double down on spending time with Byleth. She always seemed to find little moments where she could get close to her.
Edelgard would engage her in conversation. Praise her accomplishments. Find littler moments in those little moments where she could justify touching Byleth's shoulder or side. Once, Claude watched her clearly go out of her way to give Byleth a napkin after Raphael's raucous behavior resulted in an unfortunate gravy spill and a slight wardrobe malfunction.
Until that happened, Claude had thought she wanted to sway Byleth to change houses or perhaps enter the Empire's service. When he saw the way Edelgard swallowed softly and averted her eyes when Byleth thanked her with a smile, he realized what really drove her actions. He began to understand why Edelgard had become progressively colder towards him... not that she was particularly friendly to him before Byleth's arrival. It was jealousy.
And not just because Byleth presided over Golden Deer, but because he had ready access to the emotionally distant teacher. Claude smelled an opportunity to give himself a perfect 'in' with the Empire while managing to distract his House's chief rival.
He refused to admit to himself that the thought of the two smiling together made him happy.
***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***-***
Six days earlier...
Another thing Claude refused to admit to himself was how many of his schemes were improvised, finding opportunities where none existed and making them work through sheer charm and stubborn conniving. So it was when Byleth found Claude in the library after a mission and the two began a serious conversation about the Holy Relics. He spotted Edelguard coming down the hall and was inspired to quick action, stepping closer to his Teach and touching her shoulder companionably; a step and a turn had Byleth's back to the entrance and Claude facing it.
