Beatrice all but shoved herself away from Emilia, staggering to her feet in one fluid motion. "I-I can walk now… In fact! " She caught herself from falling forward.

" I heard that punctuation hiding in there." Subaru's hands held at his spirit's personal bubble. "You sure you're good?"

"Please don't push yourself to make a point, Beatrice." Emilia's strong, sweet voice was frayed with the beginnings of exhaustion, her wide eyes baggy. "You know Subaru will be happy to carry you."

Relief flashed across Beatrice's face as she regarded Emilia, perhaps due to the complete lack of resentment for draining her. "As he should be, I suppose. But your concerns will be in vain, Emily, for Betty has already made her point—she is strong enough to walk, in fact. Not that I have any intention of doing so, of course. It will be inefficient. But, all the same, Betty is strong enough to help herself, eliminating the need for Emily and Subaru to fret."

"I'm afraid you're preaching to the choir on this one, Beako."

Emilia nodded, worrying despite her blatant raggedness. "Not that we're doubting your strength. If anything, it'll be mine and Subaru's that'll hold us back if anything."

"Then you two had best collect yourselves and clear your hearts, lest we not even bother descending from this ruin, I suppose."

"Right." Emilia's tone reflected the heft inside Subaru's chest.

Whatever came next, they would face together, hand-in-hand. Subaru was at least not going to be alone, and for that, he was a grateful little shit.

Exhaling softly, Beatrice returned to the rulers of Lugnica with confidence. "But that is all you must do, I suppose. We're as good as dead if I insist on setting the pace. Ergo…" Beatrice reached not for Subaru, but Emilia, who understood quick enough to turn her husband around and place his Great Spirit in the "backpack" of his armored coat. Small hands settled on Subaru's shoulders, signaling that she was ready for battle.

Not that Beatrice had the mana to do much. Still, it felt good to have her.

Subaru checked his belt, his whip and sword hanging on either hip. Hand-in-hand, one step at a time, Subaru and Emilia descended the mountain of Castle Lugnica. Glancing from the corner of his eye, the queen's face was set on the base of the rubble, utterly focused, as if she wasn't considering anything but the next immediate step. Subaru was too afraid to ask what their plan was after.

He would like to have a sense of it, however; if he could save them, this loop would be worth all the pain. "Mili," Subaru enunciated, making sure each step found solid purchase, "tell me, how much gas you still got in the tank?"

"Plenty, don't worry about me," she said instantly.

"Oh-ho'h, confidence? I like…" Subaru bit the inside of his cheek. "Alright, so you can definitely fly outta here with Beatrice. And get somewhere that's—"

"Not a chance," they replied at once, flatly, as though expecting this.

Subaru's heart was equal parts warmed and burned. "I don't think I appreciate the lack of consideration for my feelings."

"The feeling is mutual, in fact."

"Sorry, Subaru. But we aren't budging on this, and… and you can't stop us, I'm sorry! Sorry…" Emilia sighed.

Subaru had no choice but to drop it for good this time. "Fine, fine." Was it wrong to feel somewhat betrayed? Yeah, it was. That's how Subaru felt—betrayed and wrong for feeling such. The concoction naturally brought about a sense of self-loathing.

"We'll make it through this. Together."

Even in the face of certain death, Emilia was smiling, however misreading his expression."Thanks for everything, you two." Subaru wasn't deserving of their perseverance, especially in light of how many bad calls he made this loop. Any reasonable person would be saving their own skin.

Subaru was well-aware that he wouldn't be in this position if he was reasonable to begin with, however.

They were almost to the base of the rubble mountain when Emilia said, "I've been thinking, and I think it'd be best if we… regroup with the others at Roswaal's."

"Huh?!" More than anything else, it was her decisiveness that, for once, threw Subaru off. "Wait, Emilia—a-are you suggesting we just… run and leave the capital to this fate?"

"But what can we do to save them, Subaru?" Emilia's voice was faint, her gaze on the dark, sparsely lit districts in the distance. Many had been getting ready for dinner, or quality time with family, when the attack began. "What can we possibly do for Lugnica, but avenge her with a counterattack?" Emilia pressed. "I've thought and thought, and I still don't know. I'm so worthless."

It was another hard choice, for sure. But to decide so lightly, seemingly—

"Subaru?" Her voice cut in suddenly, somewhat harshly. "If you have a better plan, I would be most overjoyed to elect it over mine." Her set face adopted a sad smile. "After all, fleeing is the best that I could come up with."

"No! Not at all! I-I can't think of anything better, really. It's just that… Mi—Emilia… wh-why on Earth are you planning something so… kinda selfish? Not I'm not one to talk, I know! But… it's… uncomfortably out-of-character… for you."

"Well, I… vehemently disagree with that assertion," she exhaled, "Subaru."

"B-but you're not doing this out of malice or anything! I know you aren't!"

"No, I'm not. But it's still a terrible thing to do. Regardless, as the Queen of Lugnica, I know I can't throw my life away all willy-nilly, just because I don't want to feel like I left my people to suffer. I have to make the difficult call—!"

"Be that as it may, are you… sure, Mili, that you aren't just saying what I wanna hear?"

"Wh-what?"

"Hey, now," Beatrice admonished.

"I know! I know! Just, please, tell me, Emilia, this thing's been bothering me for a while now. Just how is this plan coming out so easily?"

Emilia managed to keep a graceful descent as she regarded Subaru with utter shock. "Wh-what?" she echoed.

Subaru was trash. There was a good chance he was way off. "I'm sorry. I really am. I've been tryna deny that this's been on my mind, but…" It's been sitting there, festering in his subconscious, making him wary of Emilia in a time when he should be trusting her implicitly. Somehow, if this was anybody else, Subaru couldn't imagine himself asking something so blunt. But it was Emilia, and they wed with the promise to be upfront and honest when it came to one another.

"Emilia," he continued, "keep in mind, I'm just as guilty of this, but… I can't help but think your priorities are just a little messed-up right now. I'm sure… afraid , honestly, that you're tryna justify keeping me alive and safe. A-a-and that's not a bad thing, not at all! I've been there! With the others, I—! … Am there," Subaru sighed. "But… I'm also just beginning to realize how… wishy-washy you've been all loop. And I'm not just talking about Rem. And… it's been bothering me. Not knowing what's going on in your head."

"That's a pretty arrogant thing to say, coming from you, Subaru."

"Tell me about it. Sorry."

A sad, fond exhale sounded beside him. "Well, you never mince words when your back's against the wall. I've always appreciated that about you," said Emilia, her smirk collapsing into a quivering mess. "But why, Subaru, is keeping you safe something I have to try and justify?" The truth slowly reared its ugly head as Emilia continued, past making her point: "I don't think it's very wrong. You're our king, and my husband besides. I won't lie to myself and say you're completely wrong. But, similarly, I won't deny the pain I'm feeling right now, either, thinking of all those unfortunate souls still alive and full of terror throughout the capital."

"Emilia, I never doubted all that for a second. I'm just thrown off by how… easily, I guess, it feels like you made this decision."

"As am I," she sighed, to Subaru's reactionary appallment. It felt unnatural for Emilia to put her own interests before others. "But if we're being honest, I was far more taken aback by the actions you took sending everyone away."

Subaru hadn't forgotten last night's little fight. "Because I didn't care how the others felt?"

"I thought that at the time, but after allowing it to fester for a day… mind you, it was only a momentary shock; a gut reaction, you could say… but I believe I was shocked, Subaru, by how little… everyone else's feelings seemed to matter. To… you."

"Emilia—"

"As I said, it was a gut reaction. Momentary. My brain understands how much it killed you to do that to them, and my heart completely understands where yours was coming from."

"And my gut?" Subaru tried lightheartedly.

"Hungry for dinner, if I recall correctly." Emilia's smile saddened, surely reflecting on how little Subaru touched his sandwich; though Beatrice more than made up for it, she didn't insist on eating after Subaru recalled having such a meal with everybody the last loop. "So I guess," Emilia continued, "just as it is for you right now, my shock primarily stemmed from where your priorities seemed to lay. They… surprised me, is all."

So I'm surprised, huh? Was such an awful feeling really so simple? "Well, when you put it like that, guess I got no right to feel unnerved. We're all kinda selfish, after all."

"Don't worry about it, Subaru. I assure you, I'm plenty unnerved for the both of us."

What could Subaru say to comfort her? "Emilia—"

"You have your sins to bear. And I have mine."

"As does Betty."

Her smile was audible, and Emilia cast hers towards Subaru, tired with little emotion to spare, but managing a loving gaze. "You don't need to do anything more than offer your shoulder in support, whether that be to help carry them, or… cry," she croaked, inhaling shakily. "Cry when their weight becomes too much to bear. Your shoulder would be an invaluable thing to have in such times, you know, Subaru."

Regardless of how Subaru felt, Emilia was still Emilia at heart. "And it'll always be there. No matter what you think or do." A smile bloomed on her face, content with this.

And so continued their descent from Lugnica Castle's ruins. Emilia had spoken as if they were already out of the capital. Did she already have a plan?

Could they really do this?

Could they escape this nightmare, make up with the others, and then plan a counterattack?

Could something like this still be salvaged as a victory loop?

Subaru remembered all the times he hoped for such a thing and banished the fantasy. What mattered right now was leaving the capital. "We could try a main gate, but that would mean serving me on a steaming platter with that scent."

Emilia gave a start. "Oh, right. I forgot about that… Well—"

Subaru's mind raced. "We could risk pushing you and flying us out… and keep our fingers crossed that the ice-surfer in the night sky is mistaken for a bird."

"There's always the royal escape tunnel, I suppose." Beatrice muttered, "Not that we have a means of accessing it fairly easily."

"Yeah, and we'll be caught with our pants down if the Witches decide to make for the castle while we're digging. We got no cover here."

"So in essence, we're a pig trapped in a pen and they know it, I suppose. This likely explains why they haven't pressed further."

"No. If anyone's the pig here, it's me. You guys could still—"

"Would you stop with that?!" Emilia snapped. The fingers curled around Subaru's shoulders tightened as shock overwrote her face. "I-I'm sorry, m'sorry—"

"It's fine, Mili—"

"No, listen."

"I get it."

"Just listen to them." Emilia merely grasped her forehead, wrangling a fistful of silky silver hair. And, "I'm sorry."

Tension like that of the unknown filled the air, tightened the grip on Subaru's shoulders. "They're struggling to the bitter end, in fact." Her words quivered in his ear.

It was enough to drag Subaru out of the thoughts that had been buzzing without his realizing, giving way to a distant quiet tinged with countless roars united as one. Those overlaid cries equally together.

"Julius…" He, among hundreds of Knights, were far outside the castle's collapse range, having planted themselves in the grassy nobleland. Except, the mountain was now between them and where the attack began. Perhaps Julius was already dead, but still. But still. "M-Mili, they're fighting—"

"I'm sorry!" Emilia took Subaru's hand and descended the Southern Road. "I'm sorry!"

"We're just leaving?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She wasn't apologizing to just Subaru, he realized. Emilia, you were… planning this?

That made it sound so malicious. Emilia made it clear that she didn't choose this lightheartedly. She was doing what she thought was best for everybody—perhaps not even just for Subaru, but the others who were going to suffer so much at the hands of the Witches of Sin. Objectively, realistically speaking, trying to prove that they weren't monsters by joining the fight was not only self-gratifying, it would prolong victory if Subaru's life was cut short without having more to take back.

All of this made sense.

It all made perfect, sound reasoning.

And yet… and yet…

"I'm sorry, Julius! I'm sorry Crusch! Forgive me! I'm sorry, forgive me!"

And yet, Subaru let himself be dragged down the cobblestone trail that ran from Lugnica Castle to its Southern Gate. It was several miles long, they were without a ground dragon, and Subaru could only think, Mili, how could you?

That was just his gut reaction.

"I Can't Understand if You Don't Tell Me"