Three Houses Reader Inserts

Jealous (Claude x Byleth!Reader)

Requested by Lemon_Ginger_Tea

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You had been working as a Professor at Garreg Mach Monastery for a few months now. You were actually enjoying your time here, though that wouldn't stop your father, Jeralt, from worrying.

But being here made you feel more human. You grew up being a mercenary and never really being in touch with your feelings. And it never helped whenever someone called you the "Ashen Demon". You were only 16 when that title started to circle around the company and some small villages. You felt like it alienated you further. You didn't like it.

But now that you were a Professor, you could finally embrace the maternal instinct that you had always had within you. You didn't know where it stemmed from. Sothis believed it might have something to do with her presence in your mind.

It was a little jarring at first, but you quickly grew to love having Sothis with you. She helped guide you through this unknown world of rampant emotions and social interaction that used to be a foreign concept to you.

Though sometimes her comments made it hard to concentrate on the lessons. And lessons were hard enough to concentrate on already at the moment. Since you had recruited Sylvain to your house, the Golden Deer, he had been more than a bit distracting.

It was quite clear now that his initial promise to be a "model student" was part of his plan to convince you to recruit him. And his intentions were quite far from those of others, like Lysithea for example, who actually wanted to learn.

Worst of all, having both him and Lorenz in the same class made it quite hard for some of the girls to feel comfortable, given these boys' track record when it came to girls.

You were still working on convincing Ingrid to join your class in hopes that she might be able to control Sylvain. Until that happened, however, you just had to endure.

Thankfully, today's class had gone smoothly. Sylvain mostly just stared at you and gave you that smile he would put on whenever he was trying to get girls to fall for him.

To be completely honest, at first you kind of enjoyed his attention. You were extremely close in age to your students and you were quite sure some of them were actually older than you.

That might all be easier to decipher if you actually knew your exact age...

You'd have to ask you dad later.

But now, Sylvain's constant attempts at romancing you were becoming annoying. Regardless of your age difference, or lack thereof, it would not be appropriate to be in any type of romantic relationship while you were still his professor. Not to mention that, at this point, you had no more energy left for his antics.

After you dismissed your students and most of them had left, the infamous red-head approached you.

"Hey, Professor!" he said is a smooth voice.

"Yes, Sylvain?" you asked, your face as emotionless as usual.

"There are some things I need a bit of help with." he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "It's about the chapter on battalions and formations. Think you could explain it to me?"

"Of course, that's what I'm here for." you said kindly, yet your expression did not change.

"Actually, I promised Felix I'd help him with something after class, and you know how he gets."

You raised an eyebrow, you knew were this was going.

"But maybe you could explain it to me later?" he said, with a sweet smile that was easy to see through. "Over dinner maybe?"

It took all your willpower not to sigh and your lips fell into a nearly imperceptible frown. This wasn't the first time he had attempted something like this and you were becoming tired of having to reject his advances time and time again. But maybe if you just agreed once he'd end this little game of his.

It was worth a try, right?

"Insisting for a lady to go out with you," a familiar voice interrupted before you could actually say anything, "especially after she's said no multiple times, isn't very noble of you." Claude said teasingly to Sylvain, leaning on the desk beside the red-head.

The Golden Deer house leader had his usual laid back smile as he spoke. To Sylvain it probably seemed like he was making a joke at his expense, just for fun. But you could tell something was off. His smile didn't reach his eyes. Not that it usually did, but this time his eyes seemed... angry?

"There's no harm in trying to get a pretty girl to notice you, is there?" Sylvain said with a lopsided smile. "But anyways, I can take the hint," he turned back to you with a carefree wink, "But think about it. Alright, Professor?"

With that, he left the classroom and Claude seemed to relax a bit.

He brushed his hair back with his hand as he glared at where Sylvain had left.

This struck you as odd. But Sothis clued you in.

"It looks like someone is jealous." she said and a teasing voice. Before giggling a bit.

You stood stunned at the revelation.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Say something!"

Your expression softened, still mostly emotionless.

"Thanks for the help, Claude. I appreciate it."

Claude turned to you a bit surprised, "Oh, yeah, it was no problem, Teach." he said with his signature wink, "Someone needs to knock some sense into that guy."

"I am more than aware, but you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I know. But it looked like you were about to agree to his proposal just to shut him up. I couldn't let that happen." he said casually. It seemed he hadn't thought through what he had said.

"And why is that?" you asked, slightly tilting your head to the side.

And for the first time since you've known him, Claude Von Riegan actually appeared to be flustered.

"Um, I," he averted his gaze to the side, "It wouldn't be fair to you, you know? You shouldn't have to do anything you don't actually want to, Teach." As he finished, he turned back to look at you with a smile, apparently satisfied with how he had "saved" the situation.

You looked down and shook your head with a small smile and a light chuckle. When you looked back up at Claude, his eyes widened at your expression.

"Thank you, Claude. It's nice to have someone looking out for me." you spoke, the smile on your face and the warm feeling in your chest never leaving you.

"Heh, of course, Teach. What kind of noble would I be if I just let that happen?" he said with a smirk and a wink, jokingly.

You walked around your desk in order to head out of the classroom, but as you passed by Claude you put a hand on his shoulder, "It was more than just part being a noble." you told him, still smiling, "So, really, thank you."

You leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. After, you walked away without looking back at him. Feeling completely out of your element, and more than a bit embarrassed.

But, had you stayed for just a moment longer, you would have seen that the current shade of pink on Claude's cheeks matched the one on yours.

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I'm going to be sticking to writing shorter chapters for quite a while. Those last two were exhausting to write and they took a lot longer to finish. 😅