I walked down the dark corridor in quiet contemplation. The periodic jangling of the jail keys weighed heavily on my mind.

I was lucky that Reinhard didn't suspect me of anything nefarious. My teary performance was much more effective than I ever could've imagined.

Subaru was a threat.

I thoroughly combed my memories probing for any trace of him. Nothing came up. He was a completely unaccounted variable. I didn't want to admit it, but it unnerved me.

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, claiming I was a threat, just before I was attacked. A potential accomplice to the unknown attacker? A possibility. However, he was also attacked. A false flag to divert suspicion?

How cunning.

Trying to steal my insignia before I could even grow my base. I would have lost all credibility if it wasn't for Reinhard's discretion. My teeth ground against each other, my fist clenching and unclenching.

There were already people working in the background against me. The other camps? Most likely. I was fighting an enemy I couldn't see…

My only lead was Subaru.

How I loathed mindless brutality. It was so savage. So unnecessary. So boring. My face splits into a smile, a shiver creeps up my spine. I preferred calculated violence. It was such a beautiful thing.

My seven years in the forest had taught me so much.

A human would succumb to their natural impulses with enough gentle nudging. A delicate balance of fear, pain and hopelessness produces the most wonderous reactions. It was always fun to toy with those three parameters.

I fiddled with my keys in anticipation.

How quickly could I get what I wanted? It should hardly take any time at all. I had time to inspect him, the boy was weak. Incredibly so. His hands were that of a baby's, soft to the touch, not a callous present. He hadn't done a day's worth of labour in his life.

His pain tolerance would be low.

Coming up to the cell, I look inside. Just as Roswaal had predicted, the boy would wake up today. He wore a mop of messy, oily hair. His darkened eyes flicked up to me, and I stared back into them. He didn't appear surprised to see me.

"What a pathetic sight."

My little quip was met with an impassive look from Subaru. Curious. Was he more resilient than I thought? Irrespective of that, my ambitions here today haven't changed.

As I insert the key into the keyhole, I pause midway as he interrupts me.

"The blue-haired girl, who is she?" He droned.

My hand remains fixed to the key as I process his words. Impossible. He was unconscious the entire time! He couldn't know about Rem. This boy was dangerous. He knew too much.

I twist the handle and swing the door open. I tentatively step inside.

"Why? Give me a good reason."

"She'll kill me." I narrow my eyes in suspicion. Rem, kill him? I could not fathom such a thing. I'd only known her for a few short months, but nothing leads me to believe that she could do such a thing.

I scoff at his petty distraction.

"That maid wouldn't hurt a fly," I watch his face closely at his microexpressions, "Rem's quite a nice girl, you know?" Did he feel exposed? Indignant? One's face is a gateway to the mind; A twitch under the eye, a pulling of the lips.

"I'll be dead by the end of today if you do nothing."

Hmmm…

'Lia.'

'Yes, Puck?'

'The boy thinks he's telling the truth.'

After some consideration, I agreed with Puck's observation. From what I could tell, he believed his own words. I wracked my brain for possible explanations. Does he know Rem? Unthinkable. He shouldn't even know his own location. He couldn't know she was serving in this mansion. My mind ran through several more cases.

I was left with two options.

The boy was deluded.

Or he was telling the truth.

I didn't want either to be true. If he were disillusioned, the information I would gather from him would be questionable at best. If Rem were really going to kill him, she'd be encroaching on my authority. Both possibilities equally enraged me.

"Tell me, Subaru. Why would she want to kill you?"

I notice a grin on Subaru's lowered face.

"Isn't it such a frightening prospect?"

Huh?

"Don't you hate it when somebody has information about your abilities? It makes you predictable. Your actions can be planned around."

His words resonated eerily with me.

"It's a weakness that needs to be remedied, Emilia. I'm sure you've been very careful in hiding your power. Trust me on this. She will try to kill me."

Everything was going perfectly so far. While it had taken me a couple loops to gather all the necessary information, I was confident in my strategy. Emilia coveted strength more than anything. Whether it be physically, mentally or by prerogative.

It was one of the few things that didn't change too much between loops. I learnt that as time went on, her behaviour often became too erratic for me to anticipate.

After a few attempts, I had managed to string my words together perfectly. Greet her with a leading question. Allow her to piece the puzzle together and reach her own conclusions. Then, strike her with her own lines.

She was currently too caught up with Rem's 'violation of authority' to focus on me.

That was good.

I had no plans to lose any more nails.

Masking my fear with confidence had gotten easier. Rarely, I still felt the urge to quake in her company, I had learnt to suppress them effectively. It had taken a while to get that out of my system.

Emilia sat beside the table, spinning the pliers in boredom. Her elbow rested on the surface, her arm supporting her head, hand cupping her cheek.

I had told her that Rem would come by sometime soon to fulfil her duties. Emilia said she'd stay back and watch our interaction. She reassured me she'd intervene if things did escalate.

Now, it was a waiting game. We sat in mutual silence for a while.

I heard feet echoing down the hall; It was the maid. My body tensed up. I had to remind myself that it wasn't a herald of my death, but an opportunity to finally end this accursed cycle.

I look at Emilia in the corner, her face remaining apathetic. Would she really stop Rem if she swung at me?

Her feet come to a stop in front of the cell, and she peers in. Rem looks to her right and is surprised by Emilia's presence. She places the meal to one side and bows.

"Emilia-sama. I apologise for interrupting. I wasn't aware that you hadn't finished." Emilia waves her off.

"Not a concern; We are just taking a little break. Please continue with your duties." Rem bows once again and unlocks the door. She looks to Emilia for confirmation and is met with a nod.

"Prisoner, your meal is ready. I will uncuff you now. You will have one hour for eating and relief."

I've heard those same sentences repeated enough for me to recite them word for word. I look at the blue-haired maid who set the tray down and began walking towards me.

My heart rate quickens.

I could see the scene flash before my eyes. Her eyes would go wide, before reaching behind her. Within a second, my head would be rolling on the ground again, the world spinning.

She crept closer and stopped.

"You…"

I braced myself.

"…Witch cultist!"

I watched in slow motion as she swung down. The chain cracking backwards like a whip, the spiked ball arching overhead.

Then, she froze in place.

"Rem, what are you doing to my prisoner?"

The blue-haired maid's arms and legs were encased in ice. It had happened instantaneously.

"Emilia-sama, what are you doing!? Release me immediately; The prisoner is an enemy! He's a witch cultist!"

I looked at the half-elf, an expression of contemplation on her face.

"And how is that my issue, exactly? Subaru is mine. An attempt on his life is paramount to betrayal." The atmosphere became heavy. I watched the ice steadily creep up Rem's legs, frosty wisps condensing around her.

"E-Emilia-sama… You are making a mistake," she coughed, "he will bring ruin upon us all…"

At first, it was a light chuckle. Then, she hunched over and began to laugh. The room's temperature continued to drop. A visible aura began to spread around Emilia, and I began to shake.

"Hahaha, that boy…" She wiped a tear from her eye, "that boy will bring ruin upon us?" She cackled madly. "Rem, look at him; Shivering like a leaf, he is absolutely worthless to anybody at a glance. Subaru is weak. That is a fact."

Rem glanced at me and seemed to calm down.

"I have spent an entire afternoon sharing this room with him. Do you know what I noticed, Rem? I sense not a lick of magic emanating from him. His gate has never been used before. He is of no threat to me." She placed her hands on her hips. "I know! How about this… a little game. I've been so bored sitting in this room. I need a little fun." She points at Rem. "Since Subaru is mine, he is also mine to give away. Rem, how would you like to win Subaru? A prize, if you will." I didn't like where this was going. "Tell me, maid. How will killing this boy benefit me?"

She then turns and grins at me. She gazes at me with eyes that pierce my soul.

"And you, Subaru. How will saving you benefit me?"

Shit.

AN: How will Subaru prove his worth to Emilia? He has some convincing to do, or else Rem's having his head. There was some confusion about Subaru and Emilia's pairing moving forward. I had some things planned, but after so much bombardment from both sides, I'll leave it at this: I am now just as confused as you all are. Let's just see how this plays out, shall we? Next chapter wen? Next chapter soon(TM).

Shout out to the awesome people over at the Reactionist Discord Server. They were a big help in writing this chapter. Thanks for reading. Please review!