The screen once again lit up to a moderately sized room which only featured windows on one side furthest from the door. It consisted of mostly hazelnut brown wooden furniture such as various bookshelves, tables and chairs as well as a light red carpeted floor. This wasn't to mention a scent akin to pine and melting wax which permeated the atmosphere.
There was quite a lot of clutter about as opened books and unfurled scrolls littered the many tables surfaces, absorbing the many rays of light that shone directly into the room from the clear sky outside.
"So with that out of the way, this wraps up nicely." Subaru, dressed in dark smart casual clothing, folded his arms behind his back in satisfaction as he observed his pieces on the map in front of him. Leaning backwards in his chair, the wooden piece of furniture gave out a slight creak at the added pressure on its back legs.
"Rem's Subaru-kun looks very handsome in his attire." The blue haired oni maid remarked, silently thanking whoever graced her unworthy eyes with such a sight.
"Betty's contractor is handsome in all attire, I suppose." Beatrice responded to the maids words with a smug tone, nodding her head in agreement with her words.
Rem could only close her eyes and nod her head as well, vividly playing memories of her Subaru-kun standing heroically in a wide selection of clothes. The thought made her lightheaded as she started to shift her body more and more with each outfit, the newest ones being even more seductive to her than the last.
A love-struck smile started to form on her pale face.
Emilia was also deep in thought as she observed the soft features of her knight on-screen. While his sharp eyes were still there, there was a subtle, albeit very obvious difference to her, between the young man she normally saw and the one here.
The creases along his brow were absent and the slight bags under his eyes were no longer there either, completely forgoing the tired expression he desperately tried to conceal from those in her camp, Emilia in particular.
"Has his face ever been like this when he was with us?" She whispered to no one in particular.
Ram too, seemed to notice this difference as her gaze narrowed.
Those in the room however with a moderate understanding at the very least of military tactics could see the glaring weakness in the young man's arrangement of his forces, grimacing at how oblivious the young lad was.
One trio of individuals in contrast, stared at the red pin on Subaru's clothing which was shaped into a crimson flower with a small cross in the middle.
Until he noticed something that didn't seem quite right…
"Hey! My whole left flank is completely vulnerable like this!" Subaru yelled as he exaggerated his statement by pointing at the map where his pieces happened to be extremely exposed.
"Well at least he noticed right?" Ricardo commented with a toothy grin towards the knight from his camp.
Julius nodded in agreement with the wolfman however continued in a serious tone;
"He did, however should this have been on the battlefield-"
"It would've been catastrophic." Tivey finished, only for a loud thwack to ring out as he once again felt the hardness of his sister's staff.
"Oi, don't diss on big bro like that, he's still learning here." The small girl scolded her brother despite his very valid point.
Garfiel however could only give a big thumbs up at the quick defense of his captain which elicited a blush from the girl.
"They've got a good point though. No matter the context, it's important to be realistic." A grey haired merchant mused at the ongoing scene.
An older gentleman addressed his younger companion's heated remark with a gentle smile and a calm response.
"Indeed Subaru-dono, and should you encounter a similar situation, what do you believe the most optimal way to counter attack the enemy forces would be?"
"Ah, so he's learning under your tutelage, Wilhelm-sama." Emilia smiled at the interaction between the older man and her knight which caused the butler to mimic the smile his counterpart showed on screen.
Reinhard watched on enviously as the view demonstrated how easily and carefree his usually stoic and stern grandfather interacted with Subaru, regardless of whether they were even of the same house or not.
Felix looked on happily with interest and announced excitedly;
"And with that, it seems that Subaru-kyun's second showing is with Crusch-sama's camp, nyah."
In response to his words, Crusch sat up in her seat and the hand she was using to caress Subaru's began to tighten as did her chest at the thought of having Subaru all to herself.
My Subaru...
The action didn't go unnoticed by one half-elf and a small blonde spirit, both tightening their hold on his nearly crushed forearm or leaning back further into him.
"Well firstly I'd-"
The response was interrupted as one of the many servants of the manor barged into the room in a hurry, sweat running down his brow as he attempted to readjust his glasses and reach into his jacket pocket."Please excuse my intrusion, Subaru-sama, Wilhelm-san, I have a message for Ms Karsten's advisor."
"So he doesn't aim to become a knight in this one either hmmm?" Al questioned Subaru's position and mused aloud.
"While he doesn't appear to desire becoming one, I don't think it would be appropriate to rule it out just yet. Natsuki-san has always been one to follow his heart so without much context it's difficult to judge." Otto shared his thoughts on Al's sentiments as he took off his hat to scratch his head.
Garfiel nodded his head at how Otto read the situation before giving his own input;
"Brotto's got a good poin', we'd need ta watch this screen thingy more if want we want ta really know what cap'n will want ta do."
On the other hand, one Vollachian candidate found what the commoner said absolutely hilarious.
"Oh, isn't this interesting, as if the band of jokes at House Karsten couldn't get even more hilarious, you decided to elect someone as inexperienced as that commoner to do all the thinking for you." Priscilla laughed in amusement as she chose to rest her smirking face behind the raised crimson and black fan in front of her.
While she wouldn't admit it at current, the chances are she would do the same thing, even if just for entertainment value alone. That being said however, perhaps with enough time she alone could groom the young man into becoming a fine strategist herself, especially with what she'd witnessed of his previous exploits and her own intelligence of course.
After all, what was a goddess if they had no worthy subordinates to rule over.
Or rule beside, I suppose, mine fine strategist...
Garfiel as well as several others were ready to jump out of their seats at the comment only to be stopped as the Duchess turned to meet the gaze of the Vollachian.
"I will concede that Subaru-sama is inexperienced as the screen demonstrates, however I'm sure you could hazard a guess as to why I would have made such a decision." Crusch calmly answered with a wry smile of superiority, not at all phased by the shots taken at her camp.
"Naturally, one such as mineself am left quite speechless. The workings of a commoner's mind are far beneath me."
Crusch decided to leave it at that as the other woman stewed at being ignored however decided to emphasise her point with a killer move.
Slowly yet confidently, she raised her hand and with it, the one of the sleeping Subaru.
She didn't need to turn back to see the reaction.
"Oh yeah, that's me thanks." Subaru thanked the servant with a smile as he received the cream coloured envelope.
Beatrice could sense the trepidation and uncertainty in her contractor's voice, as if he was unfamiliar with the notion of being in such a station.
"He doesn't even seem to believe his position himself, I suppose."
Crusch narrowed her gaze somewhat at the screen.
"What would it take for me to encourage you to believe in yourself more, my Subaru-sama."
"What is it, Subaru-dono?"
The young man used a nearby knife to delicately open the envelope and read the letter inside, skimming over the contents once...then twice with a narrowed gaze. Reaching the letters end, he gave Wilhelm an empty look.
"It would seeeeeeeeeeeeeem that the young Subaru-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuun has been alerted of something quite important."
As thoughts of what could possibly have been in the letter, the members of the audience could only dread hearing the grating voice of one beaten man in clown regalia.
At the man's words, the atmosphere became even more hostile as pointed glares made their way to the position of the sponsor of the Emilia camp. With the exception of Ram and possibly Emilia, the entire room prepared themselves with renewed vigor to beat the mage for the umpteenth time.
Regardless of wherever or whoever their allegiance was tied to, everyone found themselves with a common hatred for the Margrave. Some for his crimes, some for his attitude or ties to a witch. However, all grew to despise him for the treatment he inflicted upon the Emilia camp, especially on one dark haired knight in particular.
One blonde haired boy with a large scar on his face had already wasted all of his patience on the first word out of the clown's mouth, readying himself at the prospect of giving the mage his due punishment with interest for the fifth time since the sanctuary viewing.
"Oi, want my amazin' self ta shove another foot up ya ass!"
"Go for it Garf-sama!" Petra whooped in excitement while pumping her fists in the air as she drew the support of the other younger members in the room who hollered in tandem. Felt in particular held her thumb pointed downwards at the clown, calling for more than just a simple beating, but his head. A common sentiment shared amongst the other candidates barring Emilia.
Reinhard as well as Julius and Felix, while not fans of vigilante justice, couldn't shake the feeling of wanting nothing more than to exact harsher punishments on Roswaal than what had already been given out. No longer were his crimes against innocent people, they were also against a fellow knight as well as a friend they held dear.
Even if this was before his official knighting, they couldn't care less about minor details.
The head of internal affairs didn't even bother to stop his bro's potential rampage, instead electing to shake his head in exasperation, if he wanted to throw hands, at least this time Otto would be prepared to prevent the clown's tainted blood from staining his clothes.
Frederica desperately wanted to scold her younger colleague as well as her brother for their behaviour however couldn't find the strength or reason to do it. Regardless of whether he was her master or not, the man was a monster, plain and simple.
His one-sided affection (which she and the others took pleasure in watching his apparent rejection as Echidna directed all of hers to Subaru) with the Witch of Greed as well as the numerous crimes he had committed left her questioning if such a person was even worthy of her loyalty.
She couldn't deny the good he had done, that much was true, however good deeds didn't guarantee good character.
Someone who could do what he did and still smile was someone far gone from salvation, no matter what her pink-haired friend thought.
Ram on the other hand was prepared to step in front of her master should the shield of sanctuary choose to engage him, even if the odds of her actually coming out on top after such a fight were slim at best.
Rem could only watch in confusion as while she harboured the same resentment many others did towards Roswaal for his crimes against her hero, she couldn't stand the thought of having to side against her dear sister.
"Garf." Emilia came to Roswaals aid as she brought the room's attention towards herself, using a noticeably more assertive tone than she typically used. Ram looked to her gratefully and Roswaal, using his least bruised eye, looked at her in thanks as well.
The riled up blonde may have been a prideful warrior, but he knew not to disobey someone such as Emilia and elected to give her the reins of the conversation instead.
The growth she had undergone as well as the trials she faced, changed her into a young woman who was not to be trifled with lightly. This wasn't to mention that he was loyal not only to her, but also to her knight as well.
He wouldn't disrespect the girl his captain had so tirelessly struggled and suffered to save after all, so he left the decision of what to do next in her hands with a slight smirk.
"Roswaal, I'll help you just this once because of my promise to Ram." Emilia addressed the mage with a sickly sweet tone that had an underlying edge to it as she turned in her chair to face him.
"My sincere thanks, Emilia-sama." Ram responded in kind earnestly.
"However-"
Emilia's eyes widened as she stared directly at her sponsor, her expression suddenly losing all semblance of kindness as everyone felt the room's temperature drop a few degrees. Those closest to the silently raging half-elf began to shiver either out of fear or the coldness she was emitting.
Voice completely devoid of emotion, she continued speaking;
"Know that my promise is only to save you, not to prevent you from suffering. Roswaal, if you speak without my permission a second time, I'll make you beg to be sent to your precious teacher's grave myself."
As quick as the storm had come, it passed, her sweet smile returning as she went back to playing with her knight's dark hair and ran her other hand along the contours of his face and body as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
The Margrave as well as many others in the room were at a loss for words, still not accustomed to an assertive Emilia, let alone one who hid such a terrifying presence underneath her deceivingly gentle exterior.
Garfiel on the hand could only redirect his attention back to the screen with an even wider smirk
Man, Cap'n really knows how to pick 'em.
Even the small spirit that was comfortably situated on Subarus lap slowly unzipped her contractors tracksuit jacket so she could bury herself in his warmth to escape the icy presence beside her.
With no one willing to carry the conversation from there, the onlookers mentally unanimously agreed to follow Garfiels example and instead return their gaze back to the screen.
Emilia was scary.
The butler decided that if Subaru was in such a state, then it must have been significant so he complied and the two made their way towards the cute knights room. As the two reached the room, Subaru gave a very frantic knock on the wooden door before someone on the other side opened it.
"Nyah, well isn't this a nice surprise to see Subaru-kyun at this hour. Don't tell me you're already skipping out on your studies after Crusch-sama made you an advisor~" Felix teased as his tail swayed behind him.
Julius didn't miss the lighthearted tone his friend used to address Subaru, being far from the condescending teasing he typically uses on others.
"You two seem to be chummy in this one."
"And what's so wrong about that? Is someone a little jealous~" Felix replied smugly in his apparent closeness with Subaru.
The purple-haired knight didn't respond, instead choosing to sit back and fold his arms.
"What can I do for you nyah?""Letting me in would be a great start."
The cat-boy noticed the tense reply and could see the stress in his friends eyes."Serious?""Very."
Beatrice didn't miss the tone her contractor used when addressing the healer on screen.
"Hearing Betty's Subaru speak so tersely is starting to concern Betty, I suppose."
"Indeed, perhaps the letter Subaru-dono received is incredibly significant." Wilhelm agreed with the spirit's words and pondered how important such a message was ."Alright nyah, show me what ya got."
"Hey Felix, we're friends right?"
"Of course nyah, what brought this on."
"Not a word about it, Felix."
Julius couldn't bear to face the cat-boy who had a mile wide, shit-eating grin on his face."Don't worry I'll tell you, although you both might want to sit down for this." As the butler and knight made themselves comfortable on the bright blue bed, Subaru began to bring out the letter to read its contents aloud.
"To my dear advisor Natsuki Subaru, I, Crusch Karsten, humbly invite you to a luncheon and tour of the Honningbrew winery on this fine summer's day. I would be most delighted, were you to grace myself with your presence, unaccompanied by anyone else. The rest of the letter has a poem or something but you get the point."
The theatre became deathly silent as the on-screen Subaru finished reading the letter in a panicked yet slightly excited voice, betraying his effort to restrain his emotions from pouring out.
Anastasia being the first to speak, was incredibly amused at the scene, hoping to catalogue what they had just seen as ammunition she could use another day.
"My, my, how bold of ya miss Karsten." The merchant princess lightly mocked her rival with a smirk on her face, enjoying the uncomfortable position she was in as well as jabbing her for making such a move on one of her assets.
Priscilla however, snorted at the scene and snobbishly remarked with a hidden fury in her tone;
"While I don't enjoy involving myself in the affairs of commoners such as yourselves, I too find it amusing that you can so carelessly claim as if you are entitled to that young man despite forgoing asking permission from mineself."
Surprisingly even Priscilla, a wildcard to many people, unofficially announced her interest in Subaru and cemented her position in the race to claim him as part of their camp.
Al could only shake his helmeted head at his lady's statement, feeling sorry for not only the position his friend was in, but also his future self. He'd definitely have his work cut out for him, that's for sure.
"Crusch-san..." Emilia whispered as she stared wide-eyed at her ally and friend, not enjoying how straightforward she was being with her feelings, even if her knight could be cutely dense when it came to the emotions of a woman.
Petra pouted as Frederica had to once again pat her head, comforting the young maid as she had to watch another thief try to steal her hero's heart.
Even Rem, whose relationship with the duchess was far more stronger than the others, could only watch her with cold eyes.
To say the Duchess of House Karsten was embarrassed would be an incredible understatement, as the blush that began to appear on her face spread like wildfire, traveling from either cheek all the way to the tips of her ears. While she had no qualms with admitting her feelings as she had long forsaken any misgivings with freely admitting such a thing, the way her counterpart was going about it made her wish the earth would rise up and bury her with it.
Felix however deadpanned at his lady, surely she couldn't be serious.
Right? After Subaru placed the letter down with a sigh, Felix finally responded;
"...That is serious.""Right?" The young man began pacing back and forth around the room, his face covered in beads of sweat and his collar becoming tighter around his neck by the second.
In an attempt to calm themselves down, many of the fuming women focused on how cute a flustered Subaru was as he walked around nervously, choosing to imagine themselves in the position of the yet to appear Crusch was.
Felix was deep in thought as he had his hand on his smooth chin, both legs dangling over his bed frame with his feet lightly swiping the wooden floor below.
When she asked how Subaru-kyun should be invited, I only told her that she could formally invite him as a joke. I didn't mean it literally!
The cat boy facepalmed at the woman in question's inability to understand humour.
Copying his counterpart, the Felix in the theatre facepalmed himself as well, beginning to understand what Crusch's plan was.
"Oh no." Wilhelm however looked on at the panicking Subaru with a nostalgic smile however, only seeing a young man who is scared of facing feelings he never had before. It reminded himself of his own romance.
"Would you say he looked similar to how you did old man?" Felt asked brazenly as some others in the audience winced slightly as she brought up many memories of the butler's long deceased wife.
Wilhelm didn't respond however, simply giving his own smile as he lost himself to memories of asking for the hand of the most powerful woman in the kingdom.
"Theresia…"
The butler stood up from the bed and laid an encouraging hand on his younger companion's shoulder in amusement."There is nothing to fear my boy, Crusch-sama is not only an intelligent woman, she is also incredibly kind. I'm more than confident that whatever mischief the two of you get up to, you'll come back just fine."
Rem narrowed her gaze at what the man on-screen had said, focusing on a particular word she didn't enjoy hearing, especially when it was associated with another woman
"And what would mischief imply, Wilhelm-sama?"
Before he could respond, Crusch, who seemed to regain much of her confidence as everyone paid less attention to her, interrupted with her own answer;
"Naturally, what young couples tend to enjoy, Rem-san."
Avoiding the heated gaze of the oni as well as several women around the room, she decided to not elaborate further, letting their imagination do the work for her.
Ram couldn't hide her disgust however, as dirty images of one verdant-haired duchess and one Natsuki Subaru invaded her mind.
"Tch, damn pervert Barasu, learn to keep it in your pants."
"Don't worry Subaru-kyun, why don't you just rest your head on my lap for a bit and I'm sure I can lift your sp-""Let's not go through that again, please." Subaru shot the offer down in an instant as his facial expression demonstrated that there were some very unwelcome memories which arose with the offer.
"Felix!" Crusch, albeit unintentionally, borderline squealed at her knight, expressing the betrayal she felt that it was possible he would attempt to steal such a precious moment from her if a similar situation occurred in reality.
The cat-boy however let his ears hang low as he attempted to keep a low profile, sliding down his chair and making himself small.
If one listened carefully enough, the sound of armrests cracking emanated from the location Priscilla was.
Her knight on the other hand began to back away from the pissed off Matriarch, a normal beating from her was one thing but a beating from a pissed off Priscilla was another, especially when it was the result of someone touching territory she had specifically said was hers alone.
At the same time, a terrifyingly cool feeling began to spread from the half-elf candidate.
Her lap pillows with Subaru were sacred and to hear someone so callously abuse such an experience. It was inexcusable to say the least.
Had it not been for several people being in the way as they stood in front of him in defence, Felix may have met death itself.
Felix pouted in response, offended that his generous offer got turned down without him even finishing. Turning back to face Wilhelm, Subrau tried to steady himself and clenched his fists by his side.
"I don't remember Subaru being this nervous before our first date."
Emilia, seemingly shifting her attitude in almost the blink of an eye, seriously pondered the current predicament Subaru was in.
Anastasia perked up as Emilia stared at the screen dumbfounded.
"I think ya might understand if ya keep watching the screen."
The half-elf stared at her questioningly before realising that the merchant princess wasn't going to budge. "You think?"
"I've had plenty of experience." The old man shined with a nostalgic smile."Besides, even if you do happen to mess something up, you might find that these hands can do more than just make people feel good…" Felix emphasised his point by staring directly at Subaru dead in the eye, half daring him to try something and half threatening of the consequences.
In response, the butler placed a comforting hand on the healer's shoulder as the latter seemed to be on a mission to tunnel himself to the centre of the world.
The other's in the room however recalled the last time they saw Felix lay his hands on Subaru in such a context, growing even more agitated as they understood what he meant by these words.
"This is kinda why I asked if we were friends Felix.""Don't worry we're still friends, which is why you're lucky enough to get the warning~" Felix winked at Subaru."Uh, um, right..."
Hearing how close they sounded, Felix mustered enough courage to at least sit back up in his chair as he watched the screen, hoping to absorb more of the interaction to alleviate his guilt and give him hope that he might be able to get to experience something similar with the Subaru sleeping near him.
Julius and Reinhard looked on with mixed feelings, on the one hand they were happy that their friend was able to witness himself act so carefreely with the new knight. On the other, it would be a lie if they said they weren't envious either. Felix got off the bed and lightly slapped Subaru on both cheeks at the same time.
Crusch raised an eyebrow as well as many others around the room. Giving Felix a questioning look, audience members were unsure of how to even process the way the knight attempted to hype Subaru up.
Felix on the other hand went back to attempting to drill himself into the ground.
The youth looked dumbfounded for a few seconds before slowly showing a smile grow on his face. Feeling a second wind coming, he used his newfound confidence and began to strike a pose with one hand on his hip and the other pointed to the ceiling."Hell no! My name is Natsuki Subaru, and I'm going on a date with the beautiful Duchess of House Karsten!"
Beatrice watched her foolish contractor's exaggerated yet iconic pose with a soft smile.
"Betty's Subaru never seems to change, I suppose..."
Emilia and Rem also watched on with a nostalgic smile, even if they weren't the woman Subaru was excited to meet, they couldn't help but feel giddy at the sight of him being so silly and happy. His two companions smiled and began to clap as the door behind them began to open.
The two young women could feel their jealousy come back at full force as the familiar voice was heard throughout the theatre.
In walked the verdant haired duchess, still fully dressed in her formal outfit and accompanied with her blue hat resting snugly on her head. Subaru sweat dropped as all colour drained out of his face as he froze mid pose, slowly turning his head to face the new comer. His newfound confidence exiting his body as he did so.
"Oh shit." Ricardo had to laugh at the kids' bad luck, as the cause of all Subaru's anxiety strutted into the room.
Al sat forward in surprise, interested in how Subaru would handle the situation.
"C-C-Crusch-tan."
The helmeted man could only mentally slap himself in the face for even considering a different outcome. Regardless of who the kid found himself with, Subaru had a long track record of wearing his heart on his sleeve even if it would be disadvantageous or even stupid to do so.
This would be one of those stupid times as occupants in the seats adjacent to the half-elf master of the boy in question began to stick themselves to the side of their seats which were furthest from her.
Crusch on the other hand could only see the futility of attempting to disarm the literal ice bomb that was two seats from her. That being said, she could do nothing but stand by her feelings for the amazing young man, even if it brought her into contention with another ally or friend.
As the two began to stare each other down however the loud booming voice of the warden broke the cold war brewing in the middle row of people.
"Miss Emilia, Miss Karsten, I suggest the hostilities cease. Not only for your benefit, but for that of the others around the room."
Emilia, having none of it, began to respond only to be cut off before she even began to argue back
"There will be no second chance, it would be easy to shift the seating arrangement should you attempt to dispute my demand."
Emilia, far more concerned with the prospect of leaving her knight on his own in the presence of a challenger for her man decided that she'd rather be here where she can stay close to him than watching from the back row as some other woman took her place.
"Fine." A response came through gritted teeth as she opted to sit back and relax while keeping a grip of the now mangled hand of Subaru.
In an effort to not draw out the conflict any longer, Crusch remained silent and mentally thanked her faceless friend for bringing the situation back under control.
With that, the viewing resumed. The duchess hummed sweetly in response and cocked her head to the side by a few degrees, closing her eyes briefly as if she was replaying the voice in her head over and over again.
"Mmm?"
"The million dollar question indeed, Natsuki-san." Otto wearily replied, fatigued by the constant skirmishes between the terrifying women who wanted to get into his friends pants.
"Of course, however I thought it would be nice to surprise you by visiting early so we could go there together."
Felix could see his lady's face on screen and watched as his eyes bulged out of his skull.
Holy shit, she's really going to do it! Her honey coloured eyes danced in delight as an elegant expression washed over her face. Crusch adopted a kightly stance, feet clicking together as she folded one arm behind her back and extended the other to lightly yet firmly grasp Subarus free hand within her own. Gazing into his eyes, she smirked and confidently asked "Now, I Crusch Karsten, will be your escort to the winery. Natsuki Subaru, would you still accept my hand in joining me on this date?" Had it not been for the duchess keeping a firm grasp of his hand, Subaru was confident he'd be staring at the ceiling from the floor by now.
The women around the room sat stock still, gazing at Crusch as she held onto Subaru's hand with strength she didn't know she had before, once again wishing for the earth to consume her whole.
Felix on the other hand deadpanned at his lady, lamenting how naive she was.
The other knights as well as Ricardo, Garfiel and Wilhelm couldn't help but watch on in awe and support of the Karsten leader, not only for flawlessly asking Subaru out, but for how noble and elegant she looked while she did it.
They could only imagine the embarrassment Subaru was feeling as he appeared to be nearly literally swept off his feet by the dashing duchess.
As she continued to gaze into his eyes, Crusch started to feel her shoulders slowly tense as an awkward silence began to settle in the room. Suddenly she started to regret her decision and was very close to abandoning the idea altogether.
"Of course." The young lad's voice raised at least several decibels as his response quickly turned into a squeal.
"He agreed!" Crusch yelled at the screen, completely blindsided by how such a plan actually worked, especially when being used on someone as prideful as Subaru.
Emilia instead went back to squeezing Subaru's hand as if she were trying to juice an orange.
Crusch, seemingly too engrossed with having succeeded in her task, felt her brain fail to process any thought, causing her to pause for a brief few moments.
Shaking her head, she began to play Subaru's approval in her head as a large smile appeared on her face. Pulling him closer and into her side, she made her way with her partner to the carriage awaiting them outside.
Before leaving the room however, the duchess spared the others a quick glance and gave a knowing wink.Thanks for the help.
With the pair close to having made their exit, many of the males began to pump their fist in the air, a tribute of respect to the duchess who won the hand of the boy she was so attracted to. Even Mimi and Frederica had to give a resounding cheer in response to the victory achieved.
Crusch herself had seemed to have experienced every single emotion there was under the sun, even quite possibly experiencing the five stages of grief as the long silence painfully clawed itself onto the scene. But with the young man's acceptance, she could only raise her free hand in victory as well.
Among those who desired the boy however, it was a completely different story.
Looks of defeat on numerous faces as they couldn't do a single thing except allow Crusch to bask in her victory. Not only this, they could only watch in rage as the victor claimed her spoils, that being a demonstration of superiority as she stood and faced the others in the room, her man's hand in hers, and smugly smirked down at the losers.
Truly, it felt good to be a part of house Karsten.
As the door to the room closed, Felix facepalmed with both hands, slowly dragging them down his face while allowing his eyes to drift towards the back of his head."I take it that the envelope and escort idea was unintentional?" The healer knight only sighed in response at Wilhelms words and face planted back onto his bed, eliciting a chuckle from the older gentlemen as he shook his head.
"Well I suppose that so long as the occasion is successful it doesn't matter." Staring at the door, Wilhelm whispered;
Wilhelm nodded at his counterparts' words, he truly did wish for the young man to achieve the happy ending he deserved, especially after the literal hell he had gone through to get there.
Speaking of hell…
Clearing his throat, the butler broadcasted his thoughts to the rest of the audience;
"I hate to disrupt everyone's thoughts, however did anyone notice something different about Subaru-dono?"
Emilia, who was still wallowing in defeat, was drawn out of her thoughts as she seriously pondered the question Wilhelm had raised.
"Now that you mention it, he looked like a completely different person." She said carefully, starting to piece puzzles to a picture she didn't want to see.
"What are ya talkin' about? Tha' man right there was ma' capn' alright." Garfiel replied as he smiled at remembering the squeal his manly captain gave as an acceptance of Crusch's invitation.
"It's his eyes."
Rem, who had been incredibly quiet since the duchess demonstrated her earlier victory, answered a confused Garfiel immediately.
Wilhelm nodded in affirmation.
"I'm sure you all heard how the first time I met Subaru-dono, I commented on how his eyes held the gaze of a man who had experienced death many times. This Subaru-dono, the one shown on-screen did not have that look. Far from it in fact."
The others were shocked to learn that such a revelation would imply only one thing.
"He hasn't returned by death...has he?" Emilia said softly as the hand she was using to caress Subaru's hair froze and the hand she had on his seemed to shoot off, as if her very touch would cause him to break.
Which it ironically did.
"S-s-so does this truly mean that if he never came with me, if my Subaru never met me-" Hot tears cascaded down her pale face as she struggled to utter out her thoughts...or an admission of guilt really.
"He wouldn't...die?"
She uttered them, the words she didn't want to hear. Piecing together a puzzle she didn't want to see. An unthinkable present she didn't want to face.
Slowly clenching her fists, the half-elf began to break down as her vision started to become blurred.
Just as she had thought she had changed, just as she thought she had grown…
She really was still that small girl in that frozen forest, selfish and alone.
As realisation dawned on her, she steadily retracted her hands from the young man, as if her mere presence would sully the light that he had so clearly been shining.
"Emilia-sama! Let's think this through for a minute, surely he would-" Otto frantically attempted to calm her down however, lost in the throes of pain and guilt, she just ran.
To her room, to the manor, to hell itself, she didn't care, as long as it was far away from him.
==========================Author's Notes============================
Yeah so, this isn't a part 2 for Felt and for that I'm to blame...
Long story short, I kinda fucked myself in the ass by ending the chapter so satisfyingly which resulted in the second part I typed up looking wayyyyyyyy too forced and it just didn't feel right so I decided against it.
The second part will probably be uploaded along with a copy paste of the first and synthesised into a one-shot as will all my stories that I get the audience to react to. Otherwise, big ups to the beta readers, especially the three randoms that were live on my doc the entire time my shit was being typed. True mvps for keeping up with my chaotic imagination. Also, also, my upload schedule will be out of wack and inconsistent so don't rely on chapters coming too early, I kinda just do this shit when the vibe is right and just spew words into a doc. On another note, some of you may notice that I'm writing the candidates to be leaning on the hyper aggressive side and well...you'd be right. Blame Godzilla V Kong as I can't but help see the candidates fight each other over Subaru like giant Kaijuus.
Also, also, also, can we please appreciate how cool a weapon like the claymore is?