During the last school year at the officers' academy, something unexpected happened: Monica Von Ochs disappeared without a trace.

Her father, Baron Ochs, searched for her the entire time, without success. Monica was presumed lost.

Baron's desperation led him to speak with the wrong people... two Agarthans took him as their pawn and led him to a market in Adrestia to invest part of his family's fortune in a relic.

At the academy, Balthus, using the excuse that Hapi had fallen asleep in a box and was taken to a merchant ship in Adrestia, convinced Byleth to accompany him.

Unbeknownst to them, they were both after the same objective: the Vajra-Mushti gauntlets, the weapon corresponding to Balthus's Crest.

And face to face... they met. Balthus tried to convince the Baron to hand over the gauntlets, but it was too late... just as happened with Miklan, Baron Ochs was transformed into a beast.

The Baron's death brought the Ochs line to an end. Without Monica and without her father alive, their lineage was officially declared extinct, and their lands were annexed by other noble families of the empire.

Some time later, Professor Byleth's class rescued Manuela and Flayn from the Death Knight, but with them also a third captive woman, Monica von Ochs, the last of the now considered extinct Ochs lineage and, with it, its Crest.

As soon as Monica regained consciousness, she threw herself into Edelgard's arms, weeping inconsolably for all the time she had spent captive. However, Edelgard's expression was... confused, intrigued, as if she knew something hadn't happened as it should... something was wrong in her eyes, but no one knew what.

When Monica fully recovered, she planned to rejoin the Black Eagles class and resume her studies. She displayed a deep devotion and profound respect for Edelgard, sometimes even arguing with Hubert for invading the Imperial Princess's personal space.

But... like a punch to the gut, Monica received the devastating news: her father's death, the erasure of her name, and the loss of her family. She was left without even her own name.

Meanwhile, Edelgard had to leave at the worst possible time for Monica. Without her father, her lands, or her name, and now without the person she admired most, Monica shut herself away in her assigned room.

The days passed... those who passed by her door said they heard her crying nonstop. Dorothea, another person Monica admired for her artistic career, and Hilda, who had been her classmate the previous year, could do nothing to try and cheer her up.

Byleth, who was busy, received a letter from Edelgard, indicating that she would be spending more time in the capital than planned, and that they should try something with Monica in her absence.

And finally, it was your turn... on the other end, you heard her voice. "C-come on, Monnie... be... be strong... for... for Lady Edelgard... you must... be useful to her. D-Dad is gone... and so is home... but you mustn't give up..." She sobbed, trying to find strength in those words.

When you knocked on the door, Monica on the other side became agitated. "Wh-who is it?! Lady Edelgard?!" Her tone sounded hopeful, but when you told her no and confirmed your identity, it reverted to its previous tone. "Oh... o-okay..."

The only thing that crossed your mind was this: Monica survived her captivity, but she didn't survive the world she returned to; everything she knew disappeared in a year.

((ESP->))