The Melancholic Path

by Strandenstein

Subaru meets a particularly Melancholic Man during his last failed attempt to reach the mansion and decides to form a contract for their mutual benefit. However upon returning by death to the market with Rem, Subaru questions why he would even bother to save everyone after what they put him through.

14. Times that Remain Unseen

She was down, broken, and depressed.

She knew exactly what she was, she knew that she was truly the worst of the worst, of the worst.

She knew how she took everything from those that loved her, that cared about her, and how she did nothing more to repay them other then to destroy their very lives.

She had seen what she had done, she had borne witness to the irredeemable sins she had committed.

Emilia knew that they had become the burden she would have to bare forever, and no matter the size of the penance she paid, they would be a burden which she would never be freed from.

She may have wished for death, but in the end that would be a gift she was completely undeserving of.

Emilia looked back towards the icy shape that resembled her mother's body as the world began to grow white around her, colours fading as form was lost, descending into an endless white abyss without anything to give it meaning or understanding.

It hurt her to see the outline of Mother Fortuna's body fade away, she knew that she never deserved her kindness, and she now knew that she would likely never see her again aside from the painful memories that felt like they were poisoning her very psyche.

Yet they were memories that she knew she absolutely could not ignore or attempt to repress, not simply because of what Echidna had told her, but also from something she had read in one of the dusty old books she had studied whilst preparing for the Royal Selection, a part of her life that felt so distant.

She had once read a quote by some famous philosopher, "We all die twice, once when our final breath escapes our lips, and once when our name is spoken for the final time." And although this quote had not meant much to her when she had first read it, she was now endeavoured to ensure that the elves of Elior would not experience their second death as long as she lived.

However Emilia's attention was soon drawn outward as the white void around her soon began to transform from that of a blank canvas, to that of a scene that could not be said to be unfamiliar to her.

Out of the emptiness grew a lush grassy field encircled by a deep green forest, within the field stood a grand mansion with impressive stone gates and marble facades. Inside the confines of the outer gates lay endless beds of flowers, blooming in a wide array of colours as birds chirped overhead.

Yet the trial did not focus on this mansion, instead it came to a little tree on a small hill just a short walk outside the front gate, sat within the meager amounts of shade that it offered were a black-haired boy and what looked to be a young girl.

She wore an immensely ornate red and white dress that extended all the way to the ground in the back, her eyes were blue with pink pupils in the shape of a cross, resembling a minimalist take on a butterfly, her long blond hair draped away from the sides of her head in a pair of massive drills. Although she was quite young looking, Emilia knew that she was in fact ancient, the spirit Beatrice had been born into this world nearly 400 years ago, and unlike Emilia she had not spent a single moment of those long years trapped in ice.

"Betty will help her contractor; it is only natural, I suppose." Beatrice spoke in a voice that made it seem like she was doing her contractor a favour with an almost begrudging reluctance, however the subtle glance she gave out of the corner of her eye as she turned away from him with crossed arms told a different story.

Whether it was due to some impeccable ability to pick up on these subtle actions that Beatrice tried to hide beneath a layer of body language, or just part of his personality, Subaru reacted with immense enthusiasm almost immediately.

"Really Beako, you'd do that for me? YOU'RE THE BEST, THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU BEATRICE!" Subaru looked at Beatrice with his face completely consumed with joy as he lifted her up over his head in a state of admiration. Beatrice however appeared to be completely shocked and overwhelmed as her face first froze before shifting to something resembling an odd mix of sheer terror and pure joy.

It would be completely incorrect to say that Beatrice did not enjoy the attention she was getting from Subaru, but it would be incorrect to say that she really understood how to handle it, leading to an odd juxtaposition of wanting it to go on forever but also wanting it to end immediately.

Subaru continued to spin Beatrice around in the air as she failed to find the words to respond, releasing only a vague series of sounds as she tried to simultaneously decide whether to say something along the line of "Put Betty down this instant, in fact!" or "Betty will accept this as a reward for her upcoming assistance, I suppose." Perhaps Subaru was continuing to put Beatrice in this predicament because he thought the expression on her face was cute, perhaps it was to put her in a spotlight she had never gotten to stand under during the entirety of her 400 year long life. However it could have also been because sometimes he just liked to bug her just a bit, that was just the kind of relationship this spirit-contractor pair had. Sometimes Subaru would play the role of a big brother as he doted or poked fun at his little sister who was older than him, in fact. Other times Beatrice would bestow her wisdom on her contractor while supposing that he was the perfect one to be paired with her despite his many short comings.

This went on for a few minutes until Subaru eventually put the exasperated looking Beatrice down as the two returned to sitting under the shade as they had been before, their prior discussion returning as well.

"Betty thinks that it would be best if we divided up who we are going to approach and the tasks everyone will undertake, in fact" Beatrice resumed her previously calm demeanor, seemingly managing to completely ignore the events that had just happened with only a slight pink tinge remaining on her face.

"I guess that would be a good idea, it'll be easier to keep Emilia-tan in the dark if everyone does a bit of work, rather than us doing everything. Honestly I'm not sure I like keeping everything from Emilia-tan like this, brings back some bad memories….." Subaru's earlier jubilance fell from his face as his gaze began to sink towards the ground, sadness towards his earlier actions beginning to rise up as he remembered the not-so-distant past.

However before he had the opportunity to sink very far he felt a small hand begin to clasp his own, causing him to turn to see the defiant gaze from his partner in crime staring up at him.

"Don't be so sad about what happened in the past Subaru, you obviously haven't told Betty everything but she knows that her contractor meant well, he probably just screwed up the execution to the point that it went horribly. Betty's contractor told her that they were going to do this so to make the girl feel special, and that if it wasn't a surprise then it would not have the same effect. Betty already agreed to help you, so remind yourself about why you want to do this and tell Betty what you want her to do, in fact!" As Subaru looked down into the eyes gazing up at him, he found a smile make its way across his face, strength returning to his heart as his confident and boisterous self returned.

"Exactly right Beako! Can't let myself get distracted or feel down when we are preparing for Emilia-tan's special day. I'll make sure to get Otto to order some decorations from town and ask Garfiel if he can get some wild berries from the forest. Could you get Frederica, Nee-sama, and Petra to cooperate on the day of, oh and make sure Roswaal knows too so he doesn't find a way to ruin everything?" A smile crossed Beatrice's face as she saw her contractor return to his normal self, it hurt her every time she had to see the normally happy boy wither into a depressed husk that was completely alien to his normal self. And although she did not always want to show it, it did make her feel quite good inside when she was able to help her contractor, the person who managed to convince her to release the chains that had confined her to the forbidden library for so long.

"Betty will do her best, I suppose." The smile on her face grew as she took the hand of her contractor before the two stood up and left the shade of the tree, walking towards the mansion hand in hand.

There had been two spectators who had stood on the sidelines, watching this spectacle unfold with eyes that showed just how hard it was for them to believe what they were seeing. Both the Witch of Greed and the half-elf who had frozen the Elves of Elior seemed stunned into silence, albeit both by something different.

While Emilia remained crumpled on the ground as she had watched a scene that had never occurred, she had raised her hand to cover her mouth after hearing the single word that had stunned her into complete and utter silence.

"tan….." Was the only sound to weakly slip through the cracks between her fingers, thoughts and memories racing through her mind as she was seemingly brought back to the not-so-distant past, the one of joy and contentment that she had ruined not so long ago.

She remembered when Subaru had first used the honorific "tan" with her, saying it was a sign of closeness from his homeland, saying that he had used it because he wanted to get to know her better, that he wanted to reduce the distance between them. She remembered when he was still the boy whose eyes lit up whenever she would round a corner and bump into him as he settled into his new job at the mansion.

It was the happiness of those mean looking eyes that hurt so much to remember, not because she now hated him, but because she knew that she was the reason that look would likely never return to them.

She remembered the look that had replaced the joy that once sparkled there when she got to see him for the first time after their fight in the capital, a deep sadness and hatred had seeped in and choked it all away. He did not laugh or crack jokes like he used to, instead she only saw how much he seemed to be suffering as he lamented having to see her again, as he spoke of her just like everyone else did.

And then there was the only other time she had seen Subaru, just mere days after their encounter amidst the ruins of the capital, yet this small period of time was all it had taken for him to be broken completely. She had seen him stumble down the stone steps of the tomb, his eyes lacking any hint of sanity, or even life as he staggered aimlessly, incomprehensible nonsense escaping his lips as if he was immersed in his own world far away from realty.

She knew since that moment that she had ruined him, broken him, but it stung evermore now that she was getting a fresh reminder of all his antics that had used to make her smile and giggle. Nothing would trump learning how she killed Mother Fortuna, but this was defiantly close enough to hurt.

However despite this pain there was one thing that stood out to her, while Subaru was probably the closest to Beatrice out of everyone in the mansion, they were never this close, and Beatrice never left the mansion itself, no matter what.

"Echidna….what is this….." Emilia mumbled out as she managed to remove her eyes from the figures making their way towards the mansion so that she may turn to face Echidna, only to stop speaking in surprise as she watched a single tear roll down the Witch's face.

Prior to the change of trials, Echidna had been seen to have been taking joy in breaking Emilia, smiling as she took in all the emotions of the half-elf as her spirit was finally shattered to a point beyond repair, or at the very least had seemed to.

However those expressions were gone from her face as she stood completely straight, staring directly at the spirit who referred to Subaru as her contractor, absorbing her every action and reaction. Her head was tilted just far enough forward as to allow her bangs to cast a shadow that obscured all vision of her eyes, at least it seemed to be the work of a natural shadow.

Her face that was visible seemed to have frozen up into an unnaturally empty expression, devoid of emotion but so fake looking that it may as well have just been a mask plastered overtop of her true face. There was absolutely no mistake, the sight before her was causing her immense pain, yet it had also given her a handful of words, a single phrase to latch onto.

A wry smirk crossed her face as she brought her hands behind her back, uttering the words aloud in a way that was lacking in volume and projection, yet managed to hold a tone so laced with regret that anyone who only knew her as the Witch of Greed would be incapable of believing that it had belonged to her.

"So you are capable of leaving the past behind Beatrice, only time will tell if you can do so without the boy's help…." By the time these words left her mouth, Echidna began to return to her more normal, neutral state as she turned to face Emilia, revealing her eyes to look completely normal.

"'Behold an Unthinkable Present', the name of the trial that shows you what could have been had you made one or many different decisions leading to this very moment. Everything you see, everything the you in this timeline will experience, you could've had it all, and all you needed to do was to make a single divergence from the path that you walked to get here. I'm assuming that you already know where your timeline diverged compared to this one by now?"

Echidna looked down at Emilia with a hint of expectation in her eyes, not a trace remaining of the regret that had been tainting her voice mere seconds earlier.

"If I had just believed Subaru instead of leaving him…..if we hadn't of fought…..he wouldn't of left me…I wouldn't have ruined his life…." Emilia could not maintain eye contact with Echidna's expectant gaze as her own fell towards the ground, and it was because of this that she did not get to see the frown that formed on the Witch's face when she heard her response.

"I wouldn't go as far to say that you are wrong when you say that, there is a good chance that he would have remained by your side should you have lost your backbone and backed down as you are suggesting. However that would have made you a weak willed woman who simply panders to men in order to get through life, a doll who either plays in his hand or perches herself upon a pedestal to be fawned over by others. If you were a bit less of an incompetent idiot, then I assure you that you could have handled the discourse in such a way as to not lead to your separation." Echidna spoke in a somewhat offhanded way that managed to take some of the wind out of the insults that she hurled at Emilia, almost like she was taking the smallest amount of pity in her.

Emilia continued to look at the ground, incapable of feeling any worse after having already hit rock bottom not long ago, yet her gaze returned upward when she saw a pale white hand extended in front of her face.

"You still have a trial to get through, there isn't much point in staying here any longer" Echidna spoke in a neutral tone as she lent Emilia whatever little physical strength she had in order to help her up, something that was once again rather out of character for the one who had only berated and beaten her mentally up until now.

Emilia took her hand before the two slowly walked after the contractor-spirit pair as they headed towards the front doors of the mansion.

Once they entered the mansion they found the pair stopped at the foot of a large marble staircase that was trapped in a velvety red carpet made of fine and expensive cloth.

"Betty is supposed to be meeting Petra for afternoon tea, she will take the opportunity to ask her then, in fact." Beatrice stood with one foot perched on the first step of the stairs as she turned to face Subaru with a single hand on the railing. Although there was no real emotion exuding through her tone or facial expressions, she still managed to give off the feeling of happiness, nonetheless.

"Alright Beako! Otto normally starts drinking in his office around now, hopefully I can get to him before he is too far gone. And Garfiel likely won't be back from the forest for a little bit so I'll try to catch him after." Subaru said rather enthusiastically as he stood away from the base of the stairs as his destination was an office on the ground floor.

"And Betty will go see Roswaal after Petra's break is over, he should agree if only to avoid further antagonizing the others, I suppose." As Beatrice said this Subaru struck a pose where he gave a thumbs up while flashing a movie star smile using one side of his mouth, causing Beatrice to just stand there looking at him, seemingly confused.

However Beatrice then tried to copy Subaru's pose, sticking out her tiny arm with her thumb pointing outward while mirroring her contractor's smile, just with significantly more hesitation then he had used. Seeing this Subaru first kind of looked at her with a "huh" expression on his face before he dropped his arm to stare at the sight before him.

"What's wrong now Subaru?" Beatrice said with a hint of concern as she stared at her contractor who seemed to be entirely enraptured by something.

"You really are cute Beako, and I'm still not used to you just calling me Subaru…" Subaru had a really dumbfounded look on his face as he said this, one so intense that it even leaked into his voice as he spoke.

"Just focus on the task ahead Su-Su-Subaru….." Beatrice instantly crossed her arms as she first spoke in a voice that was loud, flustered, and tried to sound as annoyed as possible, however once she tried to say her contractor's name it all fell apart, she stuttered and only managed to say it weakly whilst full of embarrassment. Beatrice then instantly turned and began walking up the stairs as Subaru shrugged with a smile on his face before he himself began to walk in a different direction.

"So he was beyond all doubt the one who brought you out of the library in this timeline, he gave you the happiness that I caused you to lose…." Echidna's eyes were focused on Beatrice as she watched her walk up the stairs, her hand caressing her chin as her eyes remained fixed on the spirit, just the tiniest bit of emotion tainting her voice.

Whilst Emilia did notice this, she did not seem to pick up on the nuance, this was made incredibly apparent by what she focused in on.

"They both seem so happy….Subaru seems just like before… and I've never seen Beatrice look so happy with anyone who wasn't Puck…." While Emilia sounded completely despondent and exasperated before, it somehow got worse when she mentioned the name of her furry parent-spirit, her hand rising to grasp the broken remains of the crystal he had once resided in.

However Echidna raised an eye as she looked towards the depressed half-elf without turning her head, there was a moment of silence before she began to speak in a voice that seemed to almost ridicule or even mock the spirit.

"The way you say his name, it makes it seem like you are actually upset over him leaving you? He's literally only ever been a detrimental influence, but when he finally makes himself useful in the end you feel sad? You really have no understanding of the world around you, don't you?"

Hearing this it seemed like Emilia wanted to defend Puck, to fight for his name and state all the good things he had done, how he had always been there for her, but she couldn't, she was far too broken in spirit to manage something like that. The result was only a handful of words escaping her mouth, a tone too weak to possibly be considered practical for defending someone's character.

"Puck was all I had for so long…..he raised me and protected me after I came out of the ice…..I don't deserve everything he did for me… I didn't deserve his love and care…." Emilia's voice reeked of regret and sadness as her thoughts were drawn back to her father, how he would hide in her long silver hair when it was nicely combed, how he'd always comfort her when she was feeling down, how he used to do his best to make sure she was not feeling lonely. But that was all over now, he was gone, and it was all because of her.

However Echidna seemed to almost balk when she heard this, yet choosing to speak in a rather matter of fact voice nonetheless. "That thing you seem so attached to was nothing more then a failed experiment that was repurposed to look out for you after your mother died. It has such an egregious memory leak that I was honestly considering just disposing of the thing, yet it seemed almost adequate for the purpose of caring for you. It just seems that it became so obsessive, so blind that it may be partially to blame for some of these complexes you've developed. Honestly I almost feel a bit bad about the whole ordeal, but she seemed happy enough with how it kept you out of harms way that it can be considered to be more or less a success." Echidna kind of shrugged her shoulders after she finished, it quite honestly seemed that she did not see Puck as a sentient being, but rather as little more then a ball of mana capable of some level of decision making.

Emilia really did not have it in her to keep even attempting to half-heartedly defend him, it hurt to think about what she considered to be the good times, it wore away at what little remained of her heart, and at this point there quite frankly was not enough left of her spirit to even consider waging such a battle against the Witch of Greed. However at the very least she could take this opportunity to learn a little more about her father who had remained more or less a mystery to her for the entirety of the time that they had remained together. It was something that retroactively stung her, she had never taken the time to learn more about Puck even though he had always been so focused on her.

"Echidna, since you made Puck, could you tell me more about him?" Emilia looked into Echidna's eyes with her own as she said this, it may have seemed insignificant to the Witch, but for Emilia it would be the first step along her long road of penance.

Hearing this Echidna finally turned to fully face Emilia, her arms crossed as she spent a moment studying the half-elf, a tiny smile adorning her face when she finally found what she was looking for.

"Well I've been asked more pointless questions before so I guess I can indulge you just this once. The spirit you call Puck was one of several failed products from an experiment, in all honesty there was little reason in allowing him to continue existing due to the many flaws stemming from an over fixation on his task. He posseses an immense capacity to store mana, an affinity for fire magic that nearly exceeds that of any other magic user. However he lacks the ability to see the world aside from the task he's been given, which has been your protection since the passing of your mother. You've probably noticed it yourself, how he doesn't have a care in the world other than your wellbeing, even going as far as to be incapable of remembering events the second they leave recent memory. However even when his goal is concerned, his fixation, his obsession becomes a burden, he would never do something that would cause short term harm to you, even if it were for your long term benefit. I can almost pity you, you know; it would not be incorrect to say that some of the very complexes that affect you are the result of Puck's actions, but then again it is not wrong to state that you could have also taken steps to avoid the toxicity of the dependence that linked you two together."

Echidna's voice was not even reluctant as she spoke, it was as if she was completely willing and almost happy to share this information with Emilia, like her earlier abject disdain for her was not the whole story of the relationship between the two.

Emilia thought about what she heard, it defiantly still did not make her happy to hear her father being spoken about in such a way, but in a rather untasteful way it did provide her with something akin to relief. If Puck had possessed this rich life that he had given up in order to be with her it would've consumed Emilia with guilt, especially since she had never made an attempt whatsoever to learn about his past. But knowing that Puck had not had much of a life before her, even if it was a result of an unhealthy fixation that he had with keeping her safe, it was almost comforting to know that she had not stolen him away from something.

Emilia wanted to know more, there were so many holes related to Puck left to fill, however many of them ended up leading back to her mother, and Echidna had already said that she would not say anymore in regards to her. Emilia did not have the emotional strength left to even try to push this boundary so she went with the only question she had left that was not tied to this person who remained wrapped in mystery.

"If Puck would never do something to hurt me in the moment, then why did he break the contract and leave me….." Emilia's voice was completely downtrodden as she spoke, they were painful memories that hurt to remember, even the words themselves seemed to sting her the second they left her mouth.

She had learned just how flawed a person she was, how horrible she had been to everyone who had tried to take care of her, she had even gone as far as to kill them. From what Echidna had just told her, Puck had been fixated on her, she was his entire life and now she felt like she was almost blaming him for leaving her. She did not deserve all the care and attention he had given to her, and yet she had just found herself uttering words that made her feel like she was almost blaming him for what he did. She was truly a horrible person, speaking like that after he put himself through so much pain.

Yet hearing this Echidna's smile seemed to grow as she intently eyed Emilia, a hand rising to her chin in order to stroke it as if she was thinking intently, yet the expression on her face made it clear that this was no more then an act as she already had the answer.

"Had he been able to make such a farsighted decision on his own then I may have thrown a party to celebrate, a short-term sacrifice made to enable a bet that could lead to long term success with the potential for the greatest and most blatant failure. If he were capable of such a level of thinking, a scheme with such a risk to his main goal, it would have meant that he had truly managed to overcome his hinderances and would no longer be a failure. However it was due to a rather unwanted visitor that he took the actions that he did, one who managed to direct his hand beyond what he himself both intended, and even noticed. Now in turn I will ask you a question, who is it whom I am referring to, who is it that I am referencing yet not explicitly naming?"

Echidna looked at Emilia with expecting eyes, ones far removed from what she had shown her when they had first met, no longer did she seem to be disgusted by her very existence, instead they had a subtle glint to them that almost seemed friendly to Emilia. It was due to this that Emilia thought as hard as she could, yet the only thing that came to mind when she tried to recall the event in question with any amount of detail were painful memories that fogged over any finer details. She tried, she really did, but in the end it was all for nought as she failed to come up with an answer.

"I don't know Echidna, I was too focused on Puck to really notice anything else…" Emilia spoke in a despondent and depressed voice that had more or less become her normal tone as of late, and with her words the glint faded from Echidna's eyes only to be replaced by a look of annoyance as her focus seemed to wane.

"Disappointing…..I have to say that you seemed like you were beginning to improve, except now you've completely fallen over just before the finishing line. You must experience the consequences that you've been shielded from for your entire life, and so I will not give you the answer, please pay more attention to the trial and the world around you from now on, you may find it beneficial."

Hearing this Emilia could not do anything more then to give a slight nod as her eyes sunk towards the floor after taking another hit to her self-confidence which was essentially already at zero prior to this. However by the time her eyes were finally settled on what should have been the stone floor of the mansions landing, she realized that something was out of place, the floor beneath her feet was not made of stone.

She saw that she now stood upon an immaculate and vibrant red carpet with an ornate gold inlay around the edges, it was nowhere near as exquisite or expensive as the one that had adorned her bedroom, but that does not mean that one could call it cheap looking.

Beneath the carpet was a floor comprised of stained and lacquered wooden floorboards that had been imparted with just the slightest tint of red that gave them a more regal appearance, it would not have been out of place to have seen such wood and treatment techniques used in the royal palace.

Of course Emilia recognized instantly where they were from the carpeting and the floorboards, they were in one of the rooms on the upper floors of the mansions east wing, the area kept prepared to house the accompanying members of an important dignitaries party. It was rarely used however as the mansion seldomly received visitors who required an overnight stay. And it was because of such that Emilia did not initially know why she was in such a room, but this was soon made apparent when the young voice of a child rang out.

"You came Beatrice-sama!" An energetic voice rang out in surprise as a young, auburn-haired maid jumped up from her seat while beaming a smile of sheer happiness.

She was dressed in the same style of maid outfit that Ram and Rem had always worn with the sole exception that hers was a fair bit smaller, a given that it had been sized down as Petra was still a child. In contrast to the two aforementioned maids, Petra retained her iconic red hair band that she wore back in the village, wearing it alongside her work uniform even if it was not the most professional choice of accessory.

However neither Echidna or Emilia were particularly focused on Petra, Emilia kept her head low to the point that she was only able to see her out of the utmost edge of her vision, meanwhile Echidna was completely focused on the same person as Petra.

"The invitation to the tea party had been accepted after all, it would be quite rude for Betty to not follow through with it, I suppose." Beatrice responded in a tone that was rather indecisive as she stroked her chin while appearing to think over the subject matter. Hearing this however caused Petra to raise her arms in excitement as she hurriedly removed a cloth warmer that had been encasing a tiny teapot on the small and portable table that had been set up in the room.

"Sit, Sit! The tea's going to get cold soon Beako!" Petra urged as she quickly started to pour two cups of tea, placing them on saucers besides a small plate of biscuits. However while Beatrice had been in the process of pulling her chair out, she froze the second she heard her nickname, her face becoming slightly flush.

It took only a few seconds for Petra to finish pouring the tea, meaning that she saw Beatrice's reaction almost instantly. However the oddity and suddenness of it lead Petra to just stare at the embarrassed Beatrice with a look of confusion on her own face.

"Is something wron…" Petra started to ask as she tilted her head in confusion, but she did not get the chance to finish her sentence as Beatrice suddenly threw her arms down while shouting out in embarrassment.

"Please don't call Betty that! Betty's name is Beatrice and the only two people who can call her otherwise are Mother and her Contractor, but the nickname that Betty's Contractor came up with is just preposterous in fact!" While Beatrice may have been exasperated as she expressed her frustrations with the nickname that she had been given, Petra just began to giggle as she tried to cover her mouth in order to hide it.

Beatrice then went completely quiet as she sat down infront of her cup of tea and took a long sip while seemingly pouting from behind the cup, Petra sitting opposite her and raising her own glass to her mouth. Before Petra took a sip of her own tea she did manage to speak in a relatively clear voice that only had trace hints of her previous laughter.

"Sorry Beatrice-sama, I thought you liked the name since Subaru-sama calls you it all the time….." Hearing this Beatrice lowered her cup from her mouth and exhaled deeply with her eyes closed before opening them to look directly at Petra.

"Unlike Betty's contractor, it seems you didn't intend to bother Betty by saying it; since Betty is here informally, she will allow you to be more informal too, in fact." While Beatrice spoke in a calm voice she did her best to put a slight smile onto her face, one that seemed to pay dividends as she saw Petra smiling not because of something comedic, but instead from something that made her legitimately happy.

Beatrice was not here solely to ask Petra for a favour regarding having a room set up, she had actually been asked to come to teatime several days before she had gotten involved in Subaru's plan. At first she had been a bit hesitant to accept, being 400 years old she was not quite sure how to interact with someone who was only a child. But at that point Beatrice had seen how friendly she was with Subaru, and it might have come around and made him upset had she rejected her, and because of that Beatrice had said yes.

In that moment she saw the same smile she was seeing now, the pure and innocent smile of a child who was legitimately happy.

Seeing the smile now reminded her of the revelation she had come to when Petra had asked her to join her for tea.

There were more people who wanted to get to know her, not for her knowledge or library, but instead simply because they wanted to be her friend.

And it was this realization that filled her heart to the brim with joy for the second time since she had made the decision to leave the library.

Both Emilia and Echidna proceeded to watch the exchange between the two continue as they went about their tea party, discussing various topics ranging from their favourite pastimes, to what they want to do when the Emilia camp disbands after the Royal Selection. Emilia's reaction to all of these topics was relatively the same, a listless sadness due to the knowledge that she could have made this bright future a reality for these two. She remembered how sad Petra had looked when she had to tell her in the village that Subaru was never coming back, and Emilia knew that Subaru would never return to the mansion to bring Beatrice out of her isolation in the library.

Echidna's reactions however were the more interesting of the two, they initially started off stone faced as per normal. Yet as time went on it was like cracks seemed to slowly form, cracks that should not be capable of even existing according to this very Witch.

She was watching the spirit that she had created, the one who had adored her as its mother, the one she had condemned to four hundred years of solitary isolation in a library, have fun and enjoy herself like she should have been.

Echidna was watching Beatrice continue the life that she had destroyed when she gave her an intentionally defective gospel before she herself retreated into a world of dreams without her. Seeing this now was making a slight smile creep into the corners of her face while a sinking feeling of guilt of an intensity that she had never felt before began to manifest in the pit of her stomach.

However while Echidna may have wanted to focus in on these feelings, analyzing and dissecting them to the fullest before trying to banish them away to a depth that they may never return from, she absolutely refused to tear her focus away from the scene in front of her; she had to take in every last bit of it to its absolute fullest.

"Beatrice, I've only ever seen you drinking the same tea, made the exact same way, don't you ever get tired of it?" Petra posed this mundane question to Beatrice as she ate the last of the sweets that she had brought to accompany their tea.

Beatrice did not answer immediately, instead choosing to drink the last of her tea which was identical to the one Petra had referred to. Once Beatrice had emptied her glass she looked towards Petra with a fondness in her eyes, like she was watching a memory from long ago play back in place of her current environment. When Beatrice finally began to speak, her voice was laced with a tone that sounded just as fond as her facial expression, yet there was just a hint of sadness mixed in as well.

"Betty will never get tired of this kind of tea because it is the same kind of tea that Mother made for her once. Not long after Mother made Betty she showed Betty how to make tea by hand, not even using magic to heat the water even though Mother was an amazing magician. Although at the time Betty did not know it, Mother was testing Betty, in fact. After a week Mother asked Betty to remake the tea the exact way she had, and then again the week after, until it became a regular occurrence. Every week Betty would make two cups of tea the exact same way that Mother had originally shown Betty, Mother would taste it and tell Betty that she had perfectly recreated it, then Betty would sit with Mother as both Betty and Mother drank the tea. Beatrice then paused for a few moments as a heavy wave of sadness washed over her expression and sunk into her voice, yet Beatrice seemed to push through it as she continued.

"But Mothers been gone a long time, so long that Betty is starting to have trouble remembering her, everyday it gets a little harder to remember her voice and what she looked like, I suppose. But the tea reminds Betty of her, so Betty will never get tired of it, Betty could never get tired of something that keeps the memory of Mother alive within her." Beatrice then looked down at the empty cup in front of her as a small wry smile forming while her eyes grew slightly glassy, but not a single tear flowed out.

Petra looked at her new friend with a look of concern plastered on her face, she regretted mentioning the seemingly mundane topic that had dredged up what seemed to be pain from Beatrice's past, leading her to reply with a concerned voice as she reached out to place her hand on top of Beatrice's.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it would make you that sad. But it sounds like you really loved your mother and I'm sure that it would make her really happy to know that, and I'm absolutely positively certain that because of that love that you'll never ever forget her.

Hearing this Beatrice looked up at Petra, the sadness seeming to fade away from her features as the smile on her face grew just a little bigger. "That makes sense, I suppose. Thank you Petra."

Hearing this Petra suddenly broke out into what seemed to be exaggerated joy as she clasped her chest above her heart with both hands, putting on an act that both had seen preformed numerous times by a mutual friend. "Beatrice-sama knows my name! I think I might die from happiness and joy!"

There was a brief moment of silence before both of the girls broke out into a fit of laugher over Petra's impromptu Subaru impression, the laughter only beginning to die down when Beatrice decided to bring up Subaru's request before Petra had to go back to work.

"By the way, Subaru had a favour he would like to ask of you, in fact." Beatrice then waited until she saw Petra nod, indicating that she was listening and receptive to the upcoming request.

"Subaru wanted to use the event hall for a party involving the other members of the mansion, he was wondering if it could be set up for such an event at the end of the week?" Beatrice then watched as Petra thought about the request while looking up at the ceiling, her finger tapping her chin.

"Hmmmmm, we've been using the kitchen attached to that hall since the main one is still being repaired from the fire, but I should ask Frederica-nee-sama before I say anything else. Since its Subaru-sama's request I doubt she would say no, but I don't want her to get mad at me if it would be too much work. If you could drop by my room before you go to sleep tonight, I can probably have an answer for you, if that's okay?" In response to Petra's question, Beatrice nodded to herself while smiling, provoking a similar smile on Petra's own face as they both stood to get on with the next part of their days.

"Those two looked so happy there, but this moment is never going to get to happen…" Emilia lamented as she blamed herself for being the reason that these two would never get to interact in this capacity. However when Emilia waited for the characteristic quip from Echidna, she found only silence in its place.

Emilia then turned to face the Witch who had all to readily hammered away at her deficiencies for nearly the entirety of the trials up until now, yet what she saw was a far cry from what she expected. Echidna stood with her hands clasped behind her back, a slight yet trembling smile on her face as her eyes shimmered while remaining fixed on the image of the now frozen spirit in front of her.

Emilia's eyes were glued to this image of the Witch, this more human and emotional side, she did not even pay attention to how the room was starting to shimmer around them. However Emilia could not bring herself to say anything nor act, once upon a time she probably would offered some words of support, but the emotional strength needed to do such a thing had already perished under the weight of her crushing depression.

Yet as the image of the room began to reorganize itself into that of a different and more familiar place within the mansion, Emilia heard Echidna mumble a few words, "I remember those memory experiments too Betty, I remember them too…"

However by the time that these words were spoken the room had finished being transformed into one that both of them had seen before, albeit at very different times. This new place was still quite regal in design with walls and floors panelled in the same exquisite and expensive wood that was prevalent throughout the mansion, however what made this room differ from the others was how it was commanded by a single large and imposing wooden desk.

Behind the desk sat a rather tall man with long blue hair, heterochromatic eyes, and an outfit that resembled that of a clown, it was Roswaal L. Mathers, the sitting lord of the mansion and the domain upon which it stood.

Infront of him, Beatrice sat in a chair that was just a bit too tall for as she could just barely touch the ground with the tips of her toes. There was an almost awkward silence between the two that was only broken by a rather telltale and unique voice being almost sung out by the clown.

"Well Beaaaatrice, whaaaat could possibly bring you to come and pay a visit to your deaaaaar friend on this fine daaaaaaaay?" Roswaal spoke in his characteristic speech pattern as he looked directly at Beatrice with a smirk on his face.

"Betty isn't sure if you are her friend or not after what you did, but she had come to ask you for a favour, I suppose. No, Betty has come to tell you to do something for her and her contractor, in fact!" Beatrice spoke in a rather manner of fact voice as she stared back at Roswaal, her face not showing any particular emotion as she adopted a more authoritarian stance in the conversation.

"Ohhhhhh, and you think that you can just come and demaaaaand favours from me now?" Roswaal spoke in a voice that was almost mocking, yet still lighthearted, it was clear that he was doing this more or less just to poke at Beatrice, rather than being serious about what he had said.

"Betty and her contractor both know that you will do anything to get back in everyone's good graces, you should be happy to be given an opportunity to do so, I suppose. Betty's contractor is planning a surprise party and it will be the perfect opportunity for you to be seen in a different light, in fact." While Beatrice continued to speak in the same tone as before, almost like she was lecturing Roswaal except she stopped when she saw him raise an eyebrow.

"So Beatrice, you've given up your role as the custodian of Sensei's library in order to be a glorified party planner for Suuuuubaru-kun? I truly wonder how Sensei would react should she ever find out about your decision." While in the past Roswaal and Beatrice had always taken the occasional shot at one another, this was just a bit farther then Roswaal had ever really gone. Yet he leaned forward in his seat so that he may rest his chin in the cradle formed by his clasped fingers, his yellow and blue eyes shining intently as he stared at Beatrice.

Beatrice was quiet for a bit as she carefully thought out an answer to give to the magician that she had known for nearly the entirety of her life, and when she did formulate one she spoke in a voice that was rather quiet, a complete turnaround from her earlier strength.

"Betty knows that in the end Mother never saw Betty as her daughter, that all the love Betty had for her would likely never be reciprocated. But that doesn't change the fact that Betty saw Mother as her mother, and that Betty loved Mother as her mother. Betty enjoyed every moment she got to spend with Mother and will cherish the few memories that she still has until the day comes that they disappear, I suppose. But in the end they are just memories and they do not change the fact that Mother is gone, in fact. Betty wants to believe that Mother did not intend to leave her alone in the Library for four hundred years, Betty wants to believe that Mother still cared about her in her own way. But in the end Betty did not know Mother well enough to answer that question. However there was once thing that Betty learned recently regarding this question, something her contractor taught her, in fact." Beatrice's voice may not have started off with much strength, yet with each word that left her mouth it was like a bit of strength found its way into her, leading to her appearing to grow just a bit taller in her seat.

It was like she was almost pausing for effect, or perhaps pausing to annoy Roswaal by forcing him to wait, but once she was satisfied she continued to speak with strength and maturity. "Betty has seen her contractor in his lowest moments when he didn't seem to be able to go on, she has seen him screw up so badly that it should haunt him for the rest of his human lifespan. However when Betty looks at her contractor she does not see that, she see's someone who continues to try and do his best in spite of what has happened in his past. Betty spent the last four hundred years thinking about why Mother may have left her in the library, waiting for the 'one', and Betty still doesn't have an answer. But Betty now knows that doesn't matter, she may learn one day but until then she is going to do her best to move beyond her past and enjoy the present and future while her contractor is still around. Betty hopes that Mother won't be cross with her for that, but if she is then there is nothing Betty can do about it, in fact!"

Hearing this Roswaal leaned back in his chair with a slight frown on his face, Beatrice moving on and leaving Echidna in the past was obviously not the thing he wanted to hear, but he could see that she was firm in her resolve and trying to argue would get him nowhere, meaning that there was no point in prolonging the conversation.

"You have my permission for this event, just ask Subaru-kuuuun to avoid any large fires as I'd prefer to not have to repaaaaair the mansion again." For reasons unknown to Beatrice, Roswaal's verbal tick continued even though his voice did not sound particularly pleased, leading to a rather odd dissonance between the drawn-out words and the slightly irate and sad tone.

However Beatrice had gotten what she wanted and therefore no longer had any reason to continue to stay in the awkward and uninviting atmosphere that enveloped the room. Because of this fact she promptly slid off the chair and left as Roswaal returned his focus to some paperwork on his desk.

The scene then stood frozen in front of them, seemingly in an effort to allow Emilia an opportunity to take in what she had just seen in the trial up to this point before it moved onto whatever would come next. However Emilia did not have an opportunity to focus on what had just happened as she was distracted by the subtle and quiet sound of a singular tear hitting the ground.

"You've passed Betty…. You've passed with flying colours…you've done what I never really could…you've moved on…." Emilia turned as she heard Echidna mumble this to see the Witch's eyes locked onto the frozen visage of the spirit. She seemed enraptured to the point that it looked like she had forgotten that Emilia was even there, allowing Emilia to see the watery lines on her face where tears had started to streak down.

A few more seconds passed like this until Echidna seemed to clue back into reality, slowing turning her head towards Emilia as a brief flash of surprise surged through her face before it was replaced by anger as she clenched her jaw, her gaze becoming more oppressive as it bore down on Emilia.

Emilia then turned away to look at the floor while mumbling a weak "sorry", she had just seen a side of Echidna that she had obviously wanted to keep secret. In Emilia's eyes she was right to be upset at her, she had intruded and been a bother, affecting yet another person for the worse. It was no surprise to her that Echidna had acted with hostility to her before, she really was such a terrible person that did not deserve anything else.

Echidna's eyes shifted forward once again as the two stood in complete silence as the trial began to slowly shift the room they were in to yet another place in the mansion. It was like the trial was adamant to keep them moving forward despite their unintended efforts to get muddled down in one place.

Many rooms in the mansion shared so many characteristics with the others that it could be hard to distinguish between them with only a few distinguishing features based on purpose and the station of the user. For example the living quarters of the staff generally were smaller and lacked the expensive carpeting that may be found in Roswaal's and Emilia's rooms, and then there were rooms that were either primarily or secondarily offices, these being equipped with large desks.

And it was a desk that tipped the two off to the fact that they were in an office, yet they both did not recognize the person sitting behind it and speaking to Subaru.

"Natsuki-san…..why do you want all these party supplies?" The man who spoke had ashen grey hair with a pair of rather dull blue eyes, which alongside his rather average height and green clothing would lead to him being considered rather forgettable. It would be entirely reasonable to say that if one were to pass by him when walking down the street, that they would likely forget about him just moments later, even if they had bumped directly into him while doing so.

"Because we need them to throw a surprise party for Emilia-tan's birthday!" Subaru exclaimed while slamming his hands down on the handwritten list that sat atop Otto's desk, causing Otto to almost spring from his seat in shock, which would have sent his tall glass of wine flying.

"Well I don't have any real reason to refuse then, just how do you know Emilia-sama's birthday when even she doesn't?" Otto posed his rather important question while a smug look began to find its way onto Subaru's face.

"Well I did some digging you see, Puck and Beako were really close and it turns out that he had told her about when he had found Emilia in the Elior forest, and although it wasn't like he had a calendar with him we still have a pretty good idea in terms of the date." Subaru puffed up his chest as the smug look on his face grew in intensity, meanwhile Otto's jaw fell open not in shock, but instead out of disappointment.

"Natsuki-san…. You're saying that you just asked Beatrice-sama, and since she didn't have an exact answer…..you chose to guess? I honestly don't know why you are feeling so proud about this…." Otto just kind of looked at Subaru as he said this before he jumped in fright as the door behind Subaru was violently flung open so that it slammed into the wall with a loud crash.

"Oi! What're ya two doin' her' without my amazin' self? Thought I was yer' friend in all that." Garfiel casually strutted into the office while grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his two friends, while Otto placed a hand on his chest as he took a deep breath in order to recover from the second scare of the day.

"Natsuki-san wants to throw a birthday party for Emilia-sama without even knowing when her birthday is…." While Otto's voice sounded disappointed by the sheer flaws of Subaru's plan, Garfiel's face lit up as he heard the idea.

"Amazin' Cap'n, I'm sure that Emilia-sama will absolutely love 'very bit of 't!"

While Garfiel shot Subaru a thumbs up and smile of approval, which Subaru instantly returned, Otto just looked at the two of them as if they were the biggest idiots on the face of the earth.

"I know that Natsuki-san can be a bit dull at times when Emilia-sama is involved, but I thought that at least you would see the problem with throwing someone a birthday party WHEN YOU DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW THEIR BIRTHDAY!" Otto's voice rose in volume but also in pitch as he spoke in order to put emphasis behind the point that he thought was very obvious yet seemingly being ignored by the two standing in front of him, in fact he even started waving his arms above his head to try and show just how important it was.

"In bouts 'f love, it matters not that th' rooster cries at dawn, 'ut that th' rooster cries a song." Garfiel tried his best to relay a line that sounded like it came out of some old poetry book as he crossed his arms and tried to mimic his captain's smug stance. Hearing this Subaru's own smugness seemed to reach knew levels as he just nodded along in agreement as Otto gave them both a blank stare.

"Emilia-tan has never had a birthday party, so it is more important that we give her one that she can enjoy rather then not because we don't know the appropriate day. The best time to do something was yesterday while the second-best time is now, that's a saying from my homeland Otto." Subaru wagged his finger at Otto as he almost lectured him on the importance of this party while Garfiel seemed to be tossing the new saying he had just heard from Subaru around in his mouth, trying to decide if it was cool enough o be worth committing to memory.

"I guess so Natsuki-san, who would've thought I would be learning things regarding romance from you of all people…" An almost depressed look found its way onto Otto's face as he took a big gulp of wine from the glass that had sat untouched on his desk since this interruption had begun.

"Than…HEY!" Subaru began to shout as he clenched his hand into a fist while bearing it at Otto.

While almost completely ignoring these two, Garfiel pulled up a chair and slammed a deck of cards onto the table, seeing which caused Otto to promptly place his forehead against his desk as he lamented, "I still have so much work to do….." A statement that was promptly ignored as the other two began to clear a space and deal out the cards to all three of them. However before they could even finish giving out half the deck, they all froze as time seemed to stop for all but the two spectators in the room.

"They're throwing me a birthday party…don't they know what I've done…..I don't deserve this…." Emilia weakly mumbled as she just stared at the frozen depictions of one she'd known for months, one she knew for days, and one she had never met. Even though they were doing something for her, Subaru and Garfiel looked so happy, even Otto seemed to have a slight smile on his face regardless of how he was currently acting.

"I've already gone through this before, but we are currently viewing a timeline were your little group that you claim to be a royal selection camp never split up. As to your other statement, I cannot claim that they don't know what you did in your past, but all I can say to it is that love is blind." While there was a slight hint of annoyance in Echidna's voice, likely from having to repeat herself, the dominate emotion that could be found in her voice was a regretful tiredness. It was like something was overwhelming her greed to continue viewing the trial, something that made her want the trial to end as soon as possible so she could get onto something else, something she had come to realize was far more important.

"Love….how could someone love me enough to do this…." Emilia thought to herself as she watched the scene change in front of for what seemed like it would be the last time.

They were now in a room that Emilia had only ever been in once, it was the secondary kitchen that was attached to the mansion's event hall, one that she had never seen used as it was exclusively designed for servicing large events.

Compared to the mansions regular kitchen, this one was vastly larger and seemed to be equipped to serve a significantly larger number of people. It seemed to have more then twice as much equipment, entire walls of heating elements and ovens, more counterspace then there even was space on the dining room table that they would eat at. Even the cooking equipment looked more expensive, and not just because it seemed shiny and new due to an apparent lack of use.

There were only three people in the kitchen, all clustered around one of the ovens that had a subtle glow emitting from the glass window.

"Barusu, I hope this cake tastes better then it was preapred, because with the amount of it that has overflown the pan it looks like you won't be sleeping tonight and that you'll need a new toothbrush." Ram chided Subaru without either of them looking away from the oven.

"Don't worry Nee-sama, this is for Emilia-tan so I made sure to put my all into this cake!" Subaru proclaimed loudly as he finally took his eyes away from the cake while striking a pose that made Beatrice put her palm against her forehead.

"Barusu, you look like an absolute idiot."

"Betty's contractor can be rather absent minded, I suppose. Subaru, the cake is starting to burn in fact!"

"Wait what?! IT'S BURNING, THE OVEN MITTS, THE OVEN MITTS, PASS THE OVEN MITTS BEAKO!" Subaru shouted as he frantically opened the oven door and hastily put on the oven mitts that Beatrice nonchalantly held up in complete contrast to her contractor's panic.

Thankfully for him when he pulled the cake trays out they had not really started to burn, only the edges that had overflown their metal pans had become a bit crispier then intended, putting a smile on his face as the panic faded away.

"See Nee-sama, they look absolutely perfect! Now once they're decorated we can bring them out and the party can start, I can't wait to see the look on Emilia-tan's face when she see's this masterpiece!" Subaru proudly proclaimed while puffing his chest out with his hands on his hips, inflating himself like a balloon which was promptly popped by his older sister pointing out a rather obvious flaw.

"Barusu, the party is supposed to start in less then half an hour but the cake will take longer then that too cool to the point that it can be iced and decorated. I have to applaud your ability to carry out a task surprisingly well only to screw it up to the point of undoing all of your prior work." Ram began to slowly clap in the most sarcastic way possible as she just stood facing Subaru, staring at him with as empty a face as possible in order to emphasise the sarcasm.

"Huh, it has to cool? It didn't mention that in the recipe book Beako?" Stress started to seep into Subaru's voice as he turned to his contracted spirit, who was intently studying the cakes in their baking pans.

"Betty has never actually baked a cake before, Mother said that it would be too much for Betty to eat on her own, and she would have to exercise if she were to help Betty finish it. Betty assumed that her contractor knew at least that much about making cakes, even if he did need a recipe, I suppose." It took Beatrice a few seconds to draw her eyes away from the cake pans, but when she did she just ended up sighing while crossing her arms.

"Betty's contractor is truly helpless without her, I suppose." Beatrice then extended one hand over each of the cake pans before the little bits of steam and smoke that were rising from them suddenly vanished.

"They've been cooled, in fact." Beatrice said in a rather matter of fact voice as she retracted her hands from overtop the pans.

"THANK YOU BEAKO, YOU'RE THE BEST!" Subaru exclaimed as he hastily began to remove the cakes from their pans and get to decorating them with icing and wild berries.

However before Subaru could get very far the door to the kitchen was suddenly thrown open by a rather angry looking Frederica who was essentially carrying Petra, whose face was bright red and appeared to be just a bit detached from the world around her.

"Ram! Why am I hearing that you gave Petra permission to try some of the alcohol meant for the party? Does she look okay to your right now?" Frederica was wagging her finger as she lectured Ram while easily keeping Petra upright with her other arm, before pointing at her which drunk Petra took as her opportunity to speak.

"Heyyyyyyy Subaruuuuuu HIC the cake looks really HIC yummy!" Petra said as she took a step towards the counter that was holding the cake in the midst of being decorated, except she almost immediately fell over the second she escaped from Frederica's grasp. Thankfully for her Frederica caught her almost instantly before she could hit the floor, there was a look of concern that was only slightly tinged with disappointment on Frederica's face as she gazed at Petra, however the second she turned back towards Ram it was immediately replaced by one of anger and annoyance.

"When I was younger then her, I was often drinking with the adults and had no issue holding my alcohol, I fail to see how this could be Ram's fault when it is clear that it is just a result of her poorer then expected tolerance. Honestly I expected Barusu to be like this, not Petra." Ram spoke in a voice that was rather uncaring as she just kind of shrugged her shoulders at the whole situation, her tone only became mocking in nature when she brought up Subaru's name.

"HEY! How am I getting brought into this?!" Subaru shouted while continuing to work on the cake as quickly as he could, except everyone in the room had seemingly decided to take a stance of ignoring him.

"Anyways, there is still a fair amount of work for me to get to, so I require that either you or Subaru-sama take care of Petra until the party is well under way." Frederica looked between Ram, who turned away at her gaze and Subaru. Subaru clearly would rather have spent the party with Emilia, yet he could see the slight bit of desperation in Frederica's eyes, it was clear that things would fall apart if she had to focus on Petra instead of the work that still remained.

Just as Subaru opened his mouth to voice his acceptance of the request that Frederica was making, a voice rang out from beside him and cut him off before he had the chance to speak. "Betty will take care of Petra, I suppose."

"Beatrice-sama…"

"Beako?"

Both Frederica and Subaru voiced their surprise the second they heard this, even Ram looked at a little shocked as she turned to face the spirit.

"Betty knows that her contractor wants to spend the party with Bubby's daughter, and Petra is….Petra is Betty's f-friend, so she doesn't mind watching her for a bit." Beatrice stumbled a bit when she said that Petra was her friend out loud for the first time in a way that probably would have made Subaru fawn over how cute she was, but she did not give him the chance as she almost instantly turned to face him and continued to speak.

"But Subaru still owes Betty for this! Betty wants Subaru to save some cake for her, and after the party Betty wants Subaru to sit with her and tell her stories as she eats the cake, in fact!" Beatrice pointed her finger right at Subaru as she listed her demands, almost as if she was trying to come off as stern and strong as possible, however all she managed to garner was a one liner in response.

"Beako, you really are cute aren't you?" Subaru just straight out said this to Beatrice as he looked right into her eyes with a look of amazement plastered onto his face.

"HUNGIHNNNNNGGIIHUNNNNNNGGGGHHHHHHHHH" Beatrice's face instantly went red as a flurry of noises came out of her mouth, her arms flailing as if trying to dispel a cloud that had formed overtop of her head.

Beatrice then walked over to Petra who just so happened to be the only person in the room to currently possess a redder face then herself and took her hand in an effort to lead her to one of the stools that were kept in the kitchen.

"Plaaaaaydate with HIC Beatriceeeeeeeeee, I'm so HIC excited!" Petra took Beatrice's hand as the two began to walk across the kitchen, only making it a few steps before Petra lost her footing and fell towards Beatrice.

"Ugggggh, please stand up before you crush Betty, in fact!" Beatrice said as she struggled to keep the intoxicated Petra upright as she regained her footing. Thankfully for the both of them this was the only incident along their journey to the stool, but it was enough to nearly completely deplete the meager physical strength that Beatrice had.

"Wait here while Betty gets you some water." Was all Beatrice said as she walked towards a cabinet in order to fetch a glass, a request that Petra nodded at with copious amounts of enthusiasm.

"I never would have expected to see these two get along like this?" Frederica exclaimed as she stood alongside Subaru and Ram, all of them watching Petra and Beatrice.

"That just shows your poor judgement of other's characters." Ram jested at Frederica as the two turned to face one another.

"I would like to say that my ability to judge character is one of my better skills, and we would not be even having this conversation if you had not have told a little girl that she could drink alcohol, and then not even bothered to supervise her." In return Frederica fired right back at her with her own slightly mocking down, however as Subaru was caught in between them he decided to jump in.

"How much did Petra even drink to get like that?" Subaru asked Frederica as he managed to put an end to the back and forth bickering between the two.

"Thankfully not much before I caught her, she such a sweet and innocent girl and I would like for her to stay that way. At first I could not believe that she would have just done something like that, but once she said that she had gotten permission it made much more sense, but from now on I would like to make it clear that she is not to be allowed to consume alcohol under any circumstances, that applies to the both of you." Frederica's intense gaze was directed to both Ram and Subaru this time, and although Subaru was not exactly sure why he was being included in this, he decided he did not want to find out.

"Federica, you're kind of scaring me…." Subaru was leaned back away from her just ever so slightly as Frederica raised a hand to her mouth as if to cover her smile before speaking.

"Whatever could you mean Subaru-sama? However I feel that I must now return to my duties in order to finish the final preparations." Frederica then curtseyed before turning and leaving the kitchen as she headed off to where the party was being held.

"I will go find Emilia-sama, you better be ready for her arrival Barusu, because you will look absolutely incompetent if she walks in and the surprise party is still being set up." Ram then left the room without a second glance as she left Subaru to finish the cake's decorations while Beatrice attended to the still plastered Petra.

Thankfully for Subaru the cake was rather small as it was only intended to feed the mansions residents without leaving any leftovers, which meant that it took him relatively little time to ice it and decorate it with an assortment of wild berries that closely resemble what he would have called strawberries and blueberries.

Although the finished product was not impressive if it were to be compared to the artistic creation of a professional baker, it was certainly impressive for someone who had never baked a cake before. The cake was comprised of two cylindrical pieces that had been placed atop one another with a thick layer of white icing and chopped berries in between. Then the outsides and top had a thinner, yet still substantial layer of the same white icing laid upon them, before the berries were attached to the top of the cake with the aide of some chocolate cream. The same chocolate cream that had been used to letter in "Happy Birthday Emilia!" onto the top of the cake.

What was even more impressive was the fact that he had managed to produce this level of decoration in what amounted to not more then 20 minutes, a speed that more then made up for the slight crudeness that resulted in some inconsistencies in how the icing was spread, or how the berries were not chopped perfectly. Subaru stood back with a proud look on his face as he just stared at the cake, noticing all the deficiencies, but also taking pride in having done something that he believed would make Emilia's day.

"All done! I'm going to take this to the party room, thank you for looking after Petra Beako, I'll make sure to have a slice of cake ready for you after the party!" Subaru exclaimed as he carefully moved the cake off the wire rack it had been decorated on, and onto a more ornate serving dish.

"Don't skimp out on Betty's piece, in fact! Since Subaru is leaving Betty will probably take Petra up to her room once she is feeling a bit better, if she falls asleep then Betty will join the party, but that doesn't mean that Subaru will be able to get out of his obligations, I suppose." Beatrice half turned her head to face Subaru as she helped hold a glass of water that Petra was slowly sipping from; Petra's face had gone from the bright red of a joyous drunk to the paler colour of someone who was beginning to regret the quantity of alcohol that they had just consumed.

Subaru then picked up the plate and began his careful trek to the room where Frederica, Garfiel, Otto, and Roswaal should be waiting to surprise Emilia. It was on the other side of the mansion, the very same room where they had all celebrated together following their winter festival long before the events that even led up to the Sanctuary had occurred.

Being on the upper floor this room had thankfully been spared any substantial damage from the fire, only requiring the replacement of some of the furniture due to smoke wafting up from the lower floors which had been nearly completely consumed by the flames.

In fact the only reason that the mansion had survived the fire at all was due to a rather unexplainable change in the weather pattern following the defeat of the Great Rabbit. A portion of the magic induced storm had been blown overhead by the wind once the magical algorithm holding it together disappeared, leading to a localized snowstorm that could not have been said to be insignificant in the slightest. The snow that had rained down from it had blown in through the many openings broken in the mansion, snuffing out the fire rather quickly.

It did not take Subaru long to reach the room where the party was set to take place, it would have taken him even less time but he made sure to walk slowly and carefully to avoid dropping the cake, he could only imagine how Ram would scoff at him when he broke the news if that were to happen. Thankfully by the time that he did arrive in the room everyone seemed to be in place.

Everyone who was expected to be in attendance was present, with Ram as the exception as she was almost certainly with Emilia in order to slowly guide her to the room for the specified time.

Immediately upon entering there was a large banner that had been hung from the ceiling that contained writing that matched what was written on top of the cake. There was a small round table placed at the forefront of the room, just underneath the banner, and everyone stood crouched behind this table with a cup full of small pieces of shiny and coloured paper, the closest stand in for confetti in this world.

The only one without one of these cups was Roswaal as he had agreed to cast a simple yang spell to illuminate the entire room once Emilia entered, the room itself was presently quite dark as all the candles had been snuffed out and windows covered so that not even the moonlight from outside could seep in.

Finally at the back of the room was a longer table that was surrounded with chairs and set up for dining with all the cutlery, dishes, and drinks that would be needed once the party itself began.

"Natsuki-san, you're cutting it really close…." Otto muttered with an anxiety ridden face as Subaru joined him in kneeling behind the small table.

While Subaru opened his mouth to try and drop some one-liner response meant to jokingly bully Otto, he did not get the chance when a particular bell like voice became audible through the recently closed door at the front of the room.

"Why are we here Ram? I'm supposed to be studying for a bit longer tonight, Puck would be so mad if he found out how I was ditching my work…" Emilia's voice sounded full of confusion, but contrary to what one might have thought, she did not sound particularly sad when her recently lost father, it was clear that she had already managed to come to terms with it.

"Roswaal-sama wished to discuss something with you, he just wished to enjoy the warmth of the fireplace with his evening drink today rather then his cold office." Ram spoke in her normal professional tone as she placed a hand on the door, applying just enough pressure to make it creak a bit before suddenly flinging it wide open.

The second everyone saw Emilia staring at them completely surprised they all went into action as they suddenly bombarded Emilia with their home-made confetti. Roswaal raised an arm towards Emilia and confidently said a single word, "Shura" and with it came a massive blast of light that temporarily blinded everyone in the vicinity.

As vision returned to everyone, they were met with a dazzling sight of the small amounts of light produced by the backend of the spell reflecting off the shiny coating of the paper, causing them to twinkle as they slowly twirled back towards the ground.

"Happy Birthday Emilia-tan!"

"Happy Birthday Emilia-sama!"

"H'ppy B'rthday Emilia-sama!"

"Happy Birthday Emilia-sama!"

"Haaaaaaappy Birthday Emiliaaaaaaa-sama"

"Happy Birthday Emilia-sama"

Everyone cheered out almost in unison as the confetti fell, rendering Emilia completely speechless.

At first she opened her mouth as if to speak, yet due to the sheer amount of emotion suddenly rising up to swirl inside her, no words came out; all she managed was to raise both her hands to cover her gaping mouth as tears began to form in her eyes.

It was not long before they suddenly began to steadily pour out, and no matter how hard she tried to wipe them away she could not get the flow to stop, she was just that overjoyed.

"Tha…Thank you everyone, this makes me reaaaaally happy I-I can't put it into words but thank you!" Emilia did her best to stammer out a response, but instead of going with some long-winded recount about never having had a birthday like this, she instead chose to end her statement of thanks with a smile.

It was the same smile that she had given Subaru when their paths had first become truly intertwined, the same smile that she had given him her real name on that fateful day. When for the first time he had learned that her name was Emilia and not Satella.

And judging by how his expression had changed from what it had been when he had been shouting in joy to one of total and utter amazement, it was clear that he was just as enraptured right now as he had been on that day.

Yet this image of a half-elf staring directly at her knight, brought to tears by the sheer joy she was experiencing while he stood completely captivated in awe appeared to be the last thing that the trial deemed fit to show them as time froze once again for what seemed to be the final time.

There was another half-elf completely brought to tears by the present situation however, yet these were the only similarities between the two as everything else that could be said about them could only be characterized as a stark difference. It was hard to say that they were even the same person at this point.

While one overflowed with joy, the other was crippled by depression and an absence of self worth.

While one was surrounded by friends that had almost become family, the other was completely alone with only someone who gave every indication of despising them to serve as their only company.

While one's eyes glistened with hope, the other's were dull with despair.

Finally, while one carried themselves pride and an immaculate appearance, the other was listless, broken, and worn down.

"I just don't get it … how could I deserve all this … they went out of their way to make me happy… someone who murdered their own family….their own mother….doesn't deserve to be happy…..I don't deserve this…." Emilia lamented as her eyes were glued onto the happy faces of her friends in this timeline, each filled to the brim with joy at the prospect of doing something to make her happy, something that she very clearly did not think she deserved.

Even when she felt a hand on her shoulder as she sunk to the ground before the frozen visages, she did not look, even as tears born directly from her depression at all the wrong she had done to bring about the current timeline rather then this one rolled down her cheeks, she did not wipe them. Emilia did not even look up when she heard a rather turbulent voice speak quietly into her ear.

"You know why this almost unspeakable present isn't the current one, do you not?" It was easy to tell from Echidna's voice that there was something gnawing at her that she was trying to bury, but Emilia did not look at her face as she did her best to answer.

"Because of me….if I had done something different then this could have happened…but because of me everyone here is probably either suffering or dead instead…" Emilia began to sob as the last of the words left her lips, not quite as intense as she had when Mother Fortuna had died, but still sobbing nonetheless.

"Good Girl" were the only words that Emilia heard from the Witch who had been overseeing her trials, words that were truly out of place for her to say.

But before Emilia even had the chance to turn to face her the world instantly went white, it was not a smooth transition like before, but instead an abrupt and jarring change. There was no elegance to it, no beauty, it was rash, violent, and almost simplistic seeming in nature.

If a master of magic had orchestrated the previous transitions, then one could only say that this one was preformed by someone of far less skill.

It was just as this thought made its way through Emilia's mind that she heard a voice boom out at her from every possible direction simultaneously.

"Behold, an Unavoidable Future!" It was a masculine voice that felt undoubtedly familiar, yet Emilia could not place its name, the only thing that she was certain of was that the owner of this voice had never spoken during the trials up to this point.

The second that Emilia heard the voice she could feel Echidna's hand that gripped her shoulder clench, an aura of sheer and utter rage emanating from her.

Yet the whiteness, the blankness of the world that surrounded her seemed to move inwards, it seeped into her until she could absolutely see nothing else.

No matter how she tried to turn she could not see Echidna, she could not see her own hands, or even her own nose that should have been between her eyes.

At first what seemed like abstract idea's forced their way through the front of her head, lingering within her mind for awhile, before exiting through the back of her skull.

Repentance.

Wholeness.

Loss.

Envy.

Love.

Melancholy.

Determination.

Regret.

As the last of these concepts left her mind she was greeted with one single image, something she wished she would never have to see in her entire life, something she wished she could scrub from the very surface of her mind.

There was an endless sea of flames, like the world itself was burning.

Within this sea of flames stood a mountain of corpses, piled so high that Emilia could not even hope to ever count how many bodies were within it.

Twisted, mangled, burnet, tangled, it was utterly impossible for her to even hope to recognize any single corpse within what seemed like an endless pile.

However atop the pile stood one thing she did recognize, a black metal door that stood defiantly and ominously, the same door that she had encountered long ago in the Elior forest and again during the trials.

Except this time it stood ominously open, except within it all that Emilia could see was a boundless expanse comprised of black shadow that appeared to be oddly transparent.

However from within the expanse of the shadow stepped out a man, yet somehow even though she could see through the shadow the only thing she could make out was his outline, and even that seemed to be constantly shifting between two similar but different forms.

And just as soon as it appeared, it completely disappeared as the white expanse seemed to retreat from within her, leaving her vision filled with the face of the Greedy Witch who stared intently and directly into Emilia's eyes, a hand on each of her shoulders.

And that's when Emilia noticed that the scenery behind Echidna was not a blank white void, but a grassy field with slightly rolling hills, and there were five figures all slowly making their way towards them.

"Thank you Emilia, you're free to go" Were the only words that left the mouth of the Witch of Greed before Emilia felt a single finger touch her forehead as she suddenly felt like she was launched backwards at immense speed.

Echidna was the last thing she saw before everything went black, her tear-streaked face adorned with a genuine smile.

She did not feel her hair get rusteled by the wind, but she felt the sensation of falling in the pit of her stomach nonetheless. It was like she was plummeting away from whatever place she had been with Echidna, she tried her best to focus in on it but soon found that impossible when the sensation of falling suddenly stopped.

However Emilia instantly found that the second the sensation left her, that her vision left her as well, except it was not due to something like blindness but rather due to a piece of black cloth that felt like it was tied overtop of her eyes.

It felt like it was made of silky-smooth fabric in some places, however in others it felt hard and rough, like it had been soaked with a liquid which had in turn eventually dried.

Emilia slowly raised her arms to her face and felt the ripped piece of cloth that appeared to have hastily been fashioned there, and that was when the shattered and incomplete memories of that auspicious night came back to her.

She had tried to kill herself, smashed her head so violently and forcefully with a mirror as to shatter her skull.

At the time she wanted nothing more than to die, she would have, she should have, but in the end she had become nothing more then a burden to Garfiel and Ryuzu who had ended up bringing her here, to Echidna's tomb.

Emilia did not feel any wounds on her face, nor did she even feel any patches of dried blood, it seemed that she had been blessed by with the good fortune of being healed by someone with the power to mend wounds perfectly, a feat that was even beyond water magic, which always left scars. As to why there was no dried blood, the only answer seemed to be that the person had also been diligent and caring enough as to wipe it all away.

She truly wanted to stay lying on the stone floor, to give in to the crushing weight of her sins and remain motionless, let the moss grow over her so that she became one with the landscape, yet she knew that she could not due such a thing.

There were people she owed, and she still had to repay them.

Emilia stood up, shakily at first but she soon steadied herself by placing a single hand against the wall as she began to walk out of the tomb. However before she left, she turned to see the massive stone door behind her, the one Carmilla had emerged from, the one that still remained tightly sealed.

"Thank you and I'm sorry" was all she said in a weak and low voice as she exited the tomb and let herself be engulfed by the blinding rays of the suns light, streaming down from high in the sky.

As she stepped out onto the staircase it was like the suns rays blinded her, they felt so strong as the bore down onto her pale skin, but this blinding lasted for only a moment as the world seemed to come into focus around her.

She could see destruction in every direction, sundered trees and scorched earth, collapsed and ruined houses, and endless piles of rubble. The results of the battle that Emilia had brought to this village when the White Whale had followed them here, if not for her the tranquility she had destroyed would have persisted, all the fresh graves she could see in the distance would not have had to been dug.

Emilia looked to the base of the stairs and saw a crowd of people looking directly at her with eyes full of hope and anxiety, and at their forefront was Garfiel and Ryuzu. With each step that Emilia took as she descended the steps in order to approach them their eyes followed her, Garfiel even fidgeted with the large bag he had slung over his shoulder.

And it was not until she stood directly in front of them that she brought herself to voice the few parting words that the Witch had left her with.

"I passed, I'm….Echidna says we're free…" Emilia meekly said as she let her gaze fall towards the ground, yet the second these words reached the crowd it was like they were whipped up into an absolute hysteria.

"WE'RE GOING TO LIVE, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT!"

"I KNEW SHE COULD DO IT, I'M TELLING YOU, I ALWAYS KNEW!"

"WHOOOOO"

It was an almost incoherent mass of screams and whoops as some of the crowd praised her, others thankful that their chances to survive the repercussion of the attack on the sanctuary just skyrocketed. Yet to Emilia this was nothing to be happy about, nothing to take pride in, she had caused these problems for them, she had almost killed them all just like the elves of the Elior forest, she had already killed some of them.

Almost the entirety of the crowd seemed to eb either unaware or indifferent to her reaction, for all but Garfiel and Ryuzu continued the celebration as the two in question closed the distance with Emilia in order to speak over all the shouting.

"Emilia-sama what's wrong, this is a time to be happy and yet you're still so sad?" Ryuzu spoke in a concerned voice as she looked at the depressed half-elf in front of her.

"I'm a monster, a real monster and I know it now…I don't deserve to be happy…I don't even deserve to die….only to suffer for what I've done." Emilia brought her head up as she said this to show the two her tear stained yet lifeless eyes, the trials had truly destroyed whatever tiny fragments of her old self that had managed to endure until now.

Although neither Garfiel nor Ryuzu truly knew what Emilia was talking about, they definitely understood that it was something that had to do with what she had faced in the trials and so both knew not to ask.

"You're welcome to stay here, Echidna-sama's house is as much yours as it is her's at this point." Ryuzu tried to comfort Emilia by offering her a place to say, but Emilia just slowly shook her head when she heard this.

"Can you point me in the direction of Elior…..I have to start making up for killing them….." Emilia looked at Garfiel and Ryuzu as she said this, almost crazed desperation filling her eyes, so severe that Garfiel almost gasped when he saw it.

However Ryuzu managed to keep her composure as she pointed directly to the north, to which Emilia weakly nodded as she slowly began to trudge off in that direction.

Yet before she managed to get far she felt someone roughly grab her wrist in order to stop her, and when she turned she saw it was Garfiel. He pressed the large sack that he had been holding into her hand before almost hesitantly yet genuinely saying, "Tak' it, it'll help ya on y'r journey 'nd once ya get ther', it's thanks from us for savin' us"

And to this Emilia once again weakly nodded as Garfiel released her so that she could continue walking away into the distance. The image of this broken half-elf slowly meandering away with her blood-stained clothing and sickly looking hair was the last image the few villagers who's eyes followed her had, the sound of her crying being the last thing they heard from her.