"Ah, Lysithea. What a wondrous coincidence it is that I bump into you now of all times!" Lorenz looked away and raised his hand near his face in an attempt at being fancy.

Lysithea sighed. "What is it that you want, Lorenz?"

"Well, I was just speaking to my good friend Ferdinand von Aegir, and he was wondering if you would care to join us for tea after class?"

Lysithea would typically decline a request to have tea with someone she doesn't know, it not helping that Lorenz of all people would be there as well, but it Edelgard had mentioned that Ferdinand thought as himself and her as rivals.

So, there were two ways this could go;

1. Ferdinand would be very similar to Edelgard.

2. Ferdinand would be hilariously incompetent.

Either way, there was nothing for her to lose.

"Sure."

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"Ah, Lysithea, it is quite lovely to meet you!" said Ferdinand, as he poured tea into the cups on the table.

"It is very nice to meet you as well." Lysithea curtsied.

Ferdinand looked confused by this gesture, but he smiled anyways. Lorenz, who was sitting beside him, held an uptight expression.

She sat down at the table, trying to be subtle about her interest in the platter of biscuits.

Ferdinand place a teacup in front of her. "Southern Fruit blend. I hope you do not mind it."

Lysithea knew that Edelgard had trusted her not to tell him, even if it may have been in jest. But yet, she did not want to lie to him. So as a compromise, she decided on "I have nothing against it."

"I see." Ferdinand's expression tightened. "Well, regardless of that, feel free to treat yourself to a biscuit. Mercedes gave many of them to me, but I fear they would go bad before I would be able to finish them on my own." He pushed the small platter of plain-looking biscuits closer to her.

"Well, if you insist…" she took a bite of one of them. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Did you enjoy it?" Ferdinand seemed to be on the edge of his seat, both figuratively and literally.

"Yes, actually. It was quite lovely." Lysithea tried to imitate Edelgard's blank stare so as not to let herself appear foolish.

Ferdinand clapped his hands together. "I am glad to hear it! I will let Mercedes know next time I see her."

"Right." Lysithea nodded, not knowing what else to add to the conversation.

Apparently Lorenz and Ferdinand felt the same way, as there was at least a 5 minute pause where none of them said anything.

"Well," Ferdinand clapped his hands together again. "It was lovely meeting you Lysithea."

Ah, so this was the unforeseen option 3, in which Ferdinand would be utterly boring.

Nope, Lysithea was not going to let her time have been wasted. "Don't be so quick to dismiss me, that would be rude."

Surprise coloured his face. "Ah. I sincerely apologize, I must have read the room incorrectly."

She waved him off. "No need." Ignoring the fact that 'no need' made no sense as a response to that, she had an issue. That issue was that she had no idea what she would talk about that would make having stayed a good decision.

Taking a close look at Ferdinand didn't really reveal any new ideas. He looked pretty generic for a male noble.

Her eyes met Lorenz's. She jumped slightly, having forgotten that he was even there. Unlike Ferdinand, there was a lot to question with Lorenz's appearance, from his atrocious haircut to his tacky faux flower.

Lorenz always talked about finding an adequate noble woman to marry. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that a noble-obsessed man like Ferdinand would also be interested in romance. Besides, he'd probably say something stupid for her to laugh about.

"So, Ferdinand," Lysithea sipped her tea with a blank expression. "Is there anyone that you've been… keeping an eye on?"

Based on his expression, that definitely caught him off guard. He quickly resumed his professional look, but she didn't forget. "Aha, whatever could you mean by that?"

Nice try. "You know… romantically." There was no failing here, most nobles loved romance. Plus, it made her feel mature to be able to talk about romance with a straight face.

He looked down and away, forehead shiny. "There isn't anybody that I am romantically interested in." He looked worried. "Why, did somebody tell you there was someone? What did they say?"

She shook her head. Clearly this topic was a bust. "No, my apologies, I was simply under the impression that there would be someone."

That didn't seem to calm him much. Oh well, time to switch topics. What was it Edelgard had said to her about him? Something about how she'd never hear the end of it he found out that Lysithea liked the tea he gave her? There's a topic.

"Ferdinand, how do you feel about Edelgard?"

Lorenz gave her a 'don't get him started' look, but it was too late.

"How do you feel about Edelgard?" The passion of a thousand suns burned in his eyes.

If she played her cards right, then she could get a real reaction out of him. But, manipulating people for kicks probably wasn't a great idea. "I think she seems kind."

He raised his chin a tad. "Perhaps. How do you feel about me?"

She scoffed, not wanting to answer. "Wasn't I the one asking questions?"

"Very well then," Ferdinand cleared his throat.

Lorenz looked prepared to leave already. "Ferdinand, it is getting late. Please, let us save this discussion for another time."

Ferdinand sighed. "You are correct, my friend. I shall save it for when you are ready to truly listen and take it in. Goodbye then, Lorenz. Oh, and Lysithea,"

She had started leaving, but stopped. "What is it?"

"You can have the rest of those biscuits if you would like!"

With that one line Lysithea could safely say that the next time Ferdinand asked what she'd thought about him, she'd easily say she enjoyed his company.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: this story kind of got forgotten oops.