Blood of the Covenant, prologue.
"Choose me, Beatrice".
"How long has it been since you spoke to me those words? roughly 200 years I suppose?".
These are the thoughts of a blonde Loli while she reads some of her most appreciated books, the diaries her contractor wrote when they just had made their contract and she had to relearn how to interact with people again after 400 years of isolation.
The yellowish pages were filled with the words full of love of her contractor, describing in silly ways mundane events from their lives spent together that to any other person would be insignificant, but to her, supposed great progress in healing her maidenly heart and allowing her to live again.
Despite the old age of the book, it's condition was pristine, proof of the love that she has for this series of books, written in the span of several years.
It could seem ironic that she ended up taking care of books once again in her life when there was a time period when this task was one of the worst things to ever happen to her.
But the situation was different now compared to what was before, for starters, this is a task she herself choose, despite the concerns of her overly protective contractor when she first proposed the matter to him.
Yet, the role of a librarian stills brings a little of discomfort to her heart, so she prefers that the people use the term "archivist", besides, her role is not only of taking care of books this time, so it wouldn't be accurate to call her a librarian, so that's how she came to be "The archivist of the Natsuki household", tasked with not only protecting the books left by one of the greatest mind and hero known in the history of the world, but also taking care of the offspring of her contractor (among other tasks), according to their ancient sacred vow.
In fact, some people consider that last role to be one of the most important jobs ever done in the lugnican post-Election, since the Natsuki's would have crumbled long ago if not from the efforts of the diligent spirit.
"Hahh, the day is coming closer, in fact." She says while finishing her precious reading, putting the book back to its place in the bookshelf. "There is still a little bit of time before we have to start the traditional talk, but I suspect that the Elven kid would be the first on getting dumped here, his parents seemed extremely eager to go and "Have a second honey moon" and this is a good enough excuse, I suppose."
"The Oni girl shall be the second, her parents will bring her here as soon as possible in hopes that this will help her attitude, in fact. But that would be hard, she is Sloth, she wouldn't be Sloth without the mentality of one, at least the kid is responsible, I suppose."
"The purple children shall be the last ones, as I remember their family were traveling the lands of the household making sure everything was in order with the lands in fact, in fact"
She makes her bets in front of the great window of The Archive with the smugest face she can muster because, she knows she is right. All this years taking care of children and raising them have given her the ability to predict every member that bears the Natsuki name, something that no one else is able, and that fills her with pride.
"I should go and make Valentina company, I suppose. There is no sense in staying in The Archive after finishing reading while waiting for the children to come, I suppose. I could wait for them with a nice cup of tea in the Garden meanwhile, in fact".
Talking to herself was not a habit she would have liked to pick up from her contractor, but she ultimately end up developing after being left alone to keep herself company when everyone else was busy with their stuff. At least she was able to shoo away her solitude a little, and understanding this also made her understand her contractor a bit more, yet this realization only brought her anger towards herself for not noticing sooner.
"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Haaa" She had long accepted that she is not at fault for not picking up all the signals before. Subaru was simply too good hiding his pain, and she did help him. Remembering the odd details always brings her some discomfort, so she learned ways to calm herself. It wasn't the first time she used it and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.
Walking down the long hallways decorated with flowers evenly at every side of the corridor, the orange ones where the most abundant, while the silver, blue, purple and yellow ones where in an intercalated manner.
The bright light of the sun that enters the corridors brings warm to everything it bathes, quickly putting Beatrice more at ease, helping her regain control of her nerves.
"Maybe those kids can help me change the decoration of this place, in fact. How many generations since someone dared to change this place? They hold to much respect for tradition sometimes, I suppose".
"It smells almost a bit dusty, but that can't be helped, I suppose. This place is too big for the few maids and butlers that we can bring here. Besides, I don't dislike it entirely, in fact"
Speaking of maids, she found the one she was looking for, Valentina, after walking a bit in the hallways of the mansion, she was preparing some tea in the kitchen.
"You finished cleaning for today, I suppose?"
"Yes, that is correct Beatrice-sama" Noticing the presence of the great spirit, the maid turns towards her and bows while greeting her.
"If you are about to drink tea in "The Garden" do you care if I join, in fact?"
"It would be my honor, Beatrice-sama"
With an elegant gesture she responds to Beatrice proposal before preparing another cup for the girl beside her.
They could have continued talking, but in a silent agreement they both keep quiet until they were in "The garden" to return to their small talk.
Valentina was the descendant of one of the original maids of the Matters mansion, Frederica Baumann, in some point after the Natsuki's became nobility some of Frederica's offspring came to serve under the new lords, the familiarity was greatly appreciated by Beatrice and she ended developing a solid friendship with this line of the Baumanns, although they really aren't Baumann anymore, since that surname got lost in some point of the middle.
Valentine didn't have blonde hair or the "chompers" of her ancestor, she had red hair and a pair of cute upper canines more suited for her more abundant Demihuman vulpo blood, courtesy of her father, or that's what she has told her. She may not have all the features of Frederica, but her face and mannerism were very similar (Maybe the fact that both had the education of a maid played a role in the mannerism similitude), being a reminder from where she comes from, even if she is a little younger that Frederica when her contractor arrived.
Already in the table located in "The garden" both girls sit face to face, with cups of tea in front of each and a tray with sweets in the middle of both. While a servant drinking tea with one of the important figures of the Household they serve under may be impossible and seen as a lack of respect in other Noble Houses, this Household was known for being the oddity, maybe only rivaled by The Matthers Household. Since this Household had this peculiarities, the servants needed to also have some odd capabilities, like have a minimum of combat prowess, this resulted in the Lords having few retainers but that were highly skilled in different areas, of course, this had its high and downs.
"So, Beatrice-Sama, how was your lecture of the past today?"
"Warm, in fact, remembering the times with Betty's contractor will always bring warm to Betty's chest, in fact. How was your cleaning duty today, Valentine? Sorry to give you so much work lately, but we didn't have that many maids or butlers to spare, in fact. And cleaning all this place by yourself should be tiresome, I suppose".
"It is indeed tiresome Beatrice-sama, but I enjoy it greatly, as it is my duty as a maid of The Natsuki household, but it wouldn't hurt to have some help, maybe Roland if he wasn't in his holiday, but calling him wouldn't be fair. Well, nothing we can do about it Beatrice-sama, the other members of the staff are busy with the rest of the Masters and their children, besides, despite the size of this location, is not so hard to clean, it is very well maintained. I had already heard it from some seniors, but it exceeds my expectations".
"Hmph, of course this Mansion would be well cared, its importance is too much to not care for this place, in fact, besides, every Natsuki treasures this location deeply, is it as if it its engraved in their souls, they wouldn't allow this mansion to decay, neither would I, in fact". Betty moves her arms up while pouting, the decaying of this place is something that she wouldn't let happen.
Hiding a little smirk with her hand she responds to the spirit. "That is true Beatrice-sama, this place is very important, so much, that it's one of the few topics where you are seeing losing your calm sometimes. Anyway Beatrice-sama, the day is coming closer, I only have left "The Archive" to clean, how are the preparations on your end?"
"Who is losing their calm? I suppose, hmph... Betty's almost finished, in fact. It wouldn't be a problem if some child came early, something that will happen, in fact" She puffs her chest after declaring her prediction.
"Oh? And who child would this be, if I may ask Beatrice-sama?"
"Oberon, the child of elven lineage"
"The king of fairies... I wonder what would be his thoughts after this experience"
"He would rethink 2 times his image of Betty's Subaru, but Betty thinks that would be healthy, I suppose, he believes too much the fairytales, some parts may be true, but the truth is a different one, in fact."
"Speaking of which, here he comes, I will go and make sure the room where the young master will sleep is prepared, excuse me Beatrice-sama"
After greeting the approaching boy, Valentine disappears inside the house with the things they used to enjoy the tea in "The garden".
Turning herself towards the direction of the child, she can clearly see his features, Silver hair, soft eyes the color of the sky, pointy ears, a face that looks a bit younger that the real age of the boy with a bright smile and dressed in clothes that emit a sense of nobility, but not extreme luxury. He wore white clothes, similar to the rest of nobility, but without the majority of decorations and folds of extra cloth to demonstrate wealth, the only decorations of the clothes were a pattern of purple flowers at the end of the sleeves, an orange flower near the chest and some purple embroidery as terminations. The clothes also carried a feeling of a bit of sheltering, since his clothes would be difficult to maintain clean otherwise, the problem of choosing white clothes.
"Good to see you again, Auntie Beatrice".
"Hush, why do you speak as if we haven't seen each other in a long time? it hasn't even been a week, in fact". Oberon would always treat everyone with upmost respect, even when there is really no need to do so.
Immediately after hearing those words, the composure of the youth broke revealing is more childish side, pouting at the great spirit. Seeing the change in the attitude of the silver haired child, Beatrice nods smugly at herself, truly, she liked this side of him more rather than the overly noble persona he likes to portray.
"That's better, in fact. No matter how much you try to put the act of a grown up, you are still a child at heart, not that is wrong I suppose. Little Oberon doesn't need to put so much effort, in fact. Those parents of yours leaved as soon as they dropped you by I suppose?".
"Yes, Auntie, even so, I was eager to come as soon as possible, so I don't mind, after all, we are going to be being taught by you, Auntie Beatrice".
The blonde spirit didn't need to see the face of the kid to know that he had sparkling eyes looking at her, he had always been the same ever since he started listening about the stories, being able to read only made the sparkles to increase.
"That's not the problem, in fact, they should have at least come to say hello I suppose! What type of child doesn't greet their family members?".
Now it was Beako's turn to pout, after everything she has done, she doesn't even get a hello?
"Anyway, it isn't that important, I suppose. You don't need to feel so honored about it, I'm just telling you kids about what you should know by right, in fact. But, this little talk will affect you the most, I suppose, Little Oberon, king of the fairytales."
"Auntie Beatriceeee! Could you really not say that silly nickname pretty please? It makes me feel like a nincompoop".
While the boy was hiding is face with his hands from the embarrassment, it was pretty clear to anyone just how much he was blushing from the color of his ears alone.
Beatrice liked to tease this child, not only it reminds her of the banter she used to have with the members of the camp, but it also made the child drop is guard and manifest the silly things that endured the test of time, such as the mannerism of an airheaded half-elf. Although they didn't last that long on their own, Betty has made many moves to ensure a little bit of everyone is passed down every generation, she considers it the "Charm" of the members that bear the Natsuki surname.
Smiling softly, she decides to resume her talk.
"You know well the legends and myths around the great figures of history, you even know better than Betty this legends, I suppose. Betty is here to destroy a lot of your ideas of the legends and myths, I suppose. For the other children the most exaggerated figure would be Subaru, yet to you, it is Emilia in fact."
The boy, seated in the table looks surprised, while he had expected to have his ideas of his idols be changed after this gathering, he didn't expect Emilia to be the person he was more wrong about.
"W-what do you mean Auntie Beatrice"
With a grin that crosses all her face she looks at the boy she just played, Beako says "You'll have to wait until all your siblings finally come here".
Next: "The gathering"
Author notes:
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, Re:Gusteko 3 has given me more trouble than some final essays I had to make. I can't seem to be happy about how it turns out, writing it and starting a new one 4 times already, I'll skip it and write chapter 4 and publish that first, since chapter 4 still can work without chapter 3, I have lost enough time with that already!
Now, about this story, this is just something that came from thinking about what would be the legends and influence of the cast of the Re:zero story, as such, this will be my interpretation of a possible future, where rather than becoming King and Queen, Subaru and Emilia become Nobility. Yes, there is also Rem, because I don't know what direction Tappei will go. Please don't kill me for going the harem route. There is also a 3 line of Natsuki's, I don't think it is so hard to guess where this one comes from if you are up to date with the WN.
More about the future will be revealed in the next chapters.
I don't intend this to be a very complex fanfic, nor a long one.
The process of writting this was me falling sleep at the couch, waking up at 1AM, looking at the hour, writting a bit and falling sleep in my bed, this happened 3 times in a row and I found myself with something decent, so I fixed some mistaked, added some parts and this prologue was the result, I hope that the next parts are not written in such a weird way.