Marianne and the Forbidden Codex: A Fire Emblem Three Houses story

The Challenge

The coachman urged the youth to enter the inn so they could eat something. Leonard enjoyed his breakfast while the girl ate slowly, looking down at her plate and saying nothing more than what was strictly necessary.

The words that Marianne heard from Leonard's mouth left her stunned. His heart felt a jolt like never before. "Leonard was always condescending to me; He encouraged me, praised my way of being, and so on. But the words they say to me now are different. They come to me in a way I didn't expect," she thought as she continued to tear the bread roll she was eating.

"Are you going to eat or make crumbs to feed the pigeons?" Leonard asked, his expression funny but kind.

"No, no... I'm going to eat."

"I see," he replied, looking at his plate. "I want you to try this cheese. It's just like the one in your house! Open the mouth."

"Uh, well," she said, opening her mouth without arguing.

"It is exquisite, isn't it?" Leonard commented, looking at Marianne calmly.

Marianne glanced at her companion briefly as he continued to eat. Evidently, the boy had not eaten from a table in a long time. His gestures were somewhat "wild" for the canons of the nobility or the same Academy of Officers that Marianne attended for a year. Instead, Leonard ate quickly and untimely; He tried the three dishes served simultaneously: the cheese and sausage, the bread rolls, and the fruit. "It must be a consequence of the book, I suppose.", Marianne considered, continuing to look at him.

Another thing that left the girl absorbed was the crumbs that were accumulating in Leonard's beard. Some were already reaching his cheek, over the edge of his beard. Without hesitating or even thinking, Marianne reached out and rubbed her cheekbones, brushing away the bread crumbs.

"Do I see myself eating so childish?" Leonard asked, staring at the girl.

"No, no!" she replied, embarrassed as she realized what she had done. "I just saw that you were getting covered in breadcrumbs, and I wanted to... get them out."

The expression she displayed left Leonard gawking. Her face is to the side, and her hands covering from the nose down. That shy but loving expression drove him crazy.

Suddenly, Leonard returned Marianne's gesture and briefly caressed her right cheek with a gesture of slight nervousness.

"Now we're even," he said laughingly. "You also had a tiny, tiny spot on your cheek."

"Liar... If you wanted that, you didn't have to find an excuse," Marianne murmured, lowering her eyes with a slight smile.

After that exchange, there was a moment of silence until they both finished eating.

After a while, the coachman approached the boys to tell them they should resume their journey to Derdriu. Upon leaving the inn, the youth realized a few Alliance guards were guarding them. They got into the car, settled in, and continued the trip. This carriage

differed from the previous one, which seemed more appropriate to carry provisions or

animals. The current carriage had seats and windows, unusually luxurious for Leonard's taste but relatively conventional for Marianne.

Once they started walking, the young man asked his friend to change sides of the carriage to see in the direction of the sea. She laughed and granted Leonard's request.

"It's strange... You look so mature, but inside, you're still the boy I knew five years ago."

"It's just that I hadn't seen the sea for too long," Leonard replied, excited as he couldn't be. "Look, there you can see the port! Don't you think it's huge?"