Frederica: "Subaru-sama, your guest is here to see you. May we come in?"

Subaru: "Hm? Oh, yeah, come on in."

Frederica: "Excuse us, then."

The blonde beast maid gently opened the door to Subaru's room, slowly entering so he could verify her identity upon entry. The exact details on what happened to him over his month of abduction were not entirely known, but based on what her younger brother had told her on the night of their return, she thought it best to be extra sensitive and careful while attending to him as he recovered. For the past few days, Frederica had been tasked as Head Maid to cater to the young knight's needs as he recuperated his mind and body. Subaru hasn't left his recently repaired room since he was brought back to the mansion, insisting that he needed time before walking about and facing everyone again.

Since Ferris recommended as little unnecessary contact as possible for the first few days, Frederica became everybody's source for everything Subaru. After scolding Ferris for his definition of 'unnecessary contact', other members of the Emilia Camp swarmed Frederica with questions pertaining to his condition. Garfiel and Emilia, as the two members of the rescue team who hadn't seen him since first returning to his room, were especially insistent on details. She told them the honest truth that his condition was steadily improving, but she didn't want to divulge much else. She knew Subaru was the type of person who didn't want to worry people, so she kept any personal details she heard or witnessed private on his behalf.

Subaru was very quiet on the first day after his rescue. He wouldn't eat much of anything despite encouragement from Beatrice, who had been with him more than anyone since they found him. He just sat on his bedside looking at different parts of his room most of that day, as if he were in some sort of shock or disbelief that he was really back home in his own bed with his real spirit. Beatrice didn't leave his side that day, sometimes she would speak kind words to him and other times she would just sit with him in silence. They were partners for better or for worse, and this was as 'worse' as she had ever seen him before, so she took it upon herself to be the frontlines for Subaru's mental and emotional recovery. There was no force in the world that could have separated those two that day.

The next day he seemed to be more talkative, sharing his experiences with Beatrice in hushed whispers whenever they were alone together. Frederica never tried to eavesdrop, but even with her keen hearing she could only make out mumbles and sniffling whenever she walked by. She was just glad to hear that he was communicating. Though he rejected every meal on the first day as well as the second, Petra reported that she saw Beatrice sneaking around the kitchen late at night, snatching some fruit and bread from the pantry before scurrying back to Subaru's room. Frederica was relieved to see that his appetite was returning, as well as the fact that he felt comfortable to be without Beatrice, at least for a few minutes.

On the third day, he smiled for what seemed like the first time in quite a while when he saw a stack of fluffy pancakes brought to him for breakfast. The maids went a little extra this morning now that they knew he was eating again, decorating the plate with sliced fruits and sweet jam. As she watched him eagerly dig in, Frederica noticed that some color had returned to his skin and he was starting to fill in a little, something both her and Beatrice smiled to themselves in relief over. It would be a long and arduous road to putting this awful experience behind him, but seeing him make small steps towards progress gave Frederica something positive to report back to the others.

After Frederica carefully made her entrance into his room, the young girl she brought along with her was not so elegant. Meili pushed the door wide open in stark contrast to Frederica's method of slipping in.

Frederica: "Meili! Please, be gentle!"

Meili: "Haaa~ah? Oh, right. Sorry."

Still not one for reading the room, Meili was eager to see him with her own eyes and refused to wait a second longer. When she felt a strong rumbling coming from upstairs one day, only to find out Subaru had been taken by Mama, Meili had been crushed. Nobody else in the Emilia Camp knew how vile and sadistic that woman could be, so when she heard that all she did was take Subaru and leave, she had written him off as either dead or gone forever. No one escapes Mama, nobody is stronger than Mama, and Mama always gets what she wants. This is what was instilled into her during her training as an assassin, so she knew that saving him was nothing more than a fool's errand.

However, when news reached her cell that Subaru had been found and brought back, she wept. Not only was she given hope that Mama wasn't some invincible mastermind after all, but she realized that she had given up on the man who refused to give up on her, even after trying to kill him several times. If it had been up to her, nobody would have bothered to look, thinking that the task was impossible to begin with. But those who had known Subaru longer and knew him better refused to quit on him, and their efforts were rewarded with the boy they sought so desperately. Meili felt ashamed that she hadn't offered to help beyond what they had asked her about Mama's methods and her tendencies. She could have mobilized mabeasts to aid in the search, or checked old safehouses for clues, but instead she chose to accept that he was just another big sibling that she would lose at the hands of Mama's whims. That is why she promised herself that she would not back down the next time she saw him. If there was a way she could help this man, she would steel her resolve and do it.

She took a few steps towards him, to which Beatrice perked her head up from where she was laying in Subaru's lap. She had been playing the part of his emotional support spirit for days now, and she was leary of anyone or anything that could upset him. Meili noted that he was dressed in his signature tracksuit, but he was also wearing his winter scarf, which she found unusual given the moderate weather lately. She kept taking steps until Beatrice made a face, as if to say 'That's far enough, I suppose'. Now only a few feet away from where he was sitting off the edge of his bed, Meili just realized how close she was given the topic at hand.

Meili: "Heeey, Nii-san! How are you doing?"

Subaru: "Oh, y'know. Not terrible, all things considered. Definitely better than I was a few days ago, that's for sure."

Meili: "I see. I'm relieved to hear that…"

Subaru: "So I heard you wanted to see me. Did you really miss me that much?"

Meili: "Wha- No! As if! Hmph!"

Subaru and Frederica softly chuckled at Meili's bashful pout, entertained by her inability to mask her true emotions. Beatrice put her head back down into her contractor's lap, but she kept an eye on Meili.

Meili: "Look, the truth is, I rea~lly wanted to talk to you as soon as you came back, but Frederica-neesan said that I had to wait a few days. So I waited, and waited, and waited, and now I'm finally here!"

She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, looked him dead in the eye, and asked,

Meili: "Onii-san. Do you want to go back to Mama?"

Subaru: "Hell no!"

He reacted quicker than the other two in the room could respond, Frederica gasping at the brash inquiry while Beatrice nearly jumped off the bed growling at the little mabeast user.

Beatrice: "What did you just ask Betty's Subaru, I wonder!?"

Subaru: "Beako, shhh…"

Subaru placed a hand on his spirit's head to goad her back into her lying down position, and with a huff, she went along with it. She refused to break eye contact with Meili now, ready to stop her at the mention of anything that could undo the healing he had worked so hard for.

Subaru: "Sorry about her. But to answer your question Meili; No, I do not want to go back."

Meili: "You're sure? You can tell me if you wanna-"

Subaru: "Meili, I can almost guarantee you that if I ever have to see that woman's face again, I'll just end up puking on the spot."

Meili: "That's gross, Onii-san."

Subaru: "Well, so is she. I think it's an appropriate reaction."

Despite what he had gone through, Subaru had retained his habit of using humor to break the tension in a conversation. Meili recalled what Elsa had taught her about learning people's true selves by looking in their eyes. She peered into Subaru's sanpakugan and squinted, doing her best to get a read on the most unpredictable person she had ever met. His face said that he was humoring her in whatever she was trying to do by staring at him so hard, but his eyes… His eyes didn't say anything more about him than they usually did.

Typically, when Mama took interest in someone she found amusing, she would use her ability to implant a kind of dependency in them to ensure that even if they were separated, they would desperately seek to return by her side. Usually this kind of mind control was painfully visible in the way a person spoke about her, or reacted to others speaking of her, but Meili hadn't ruled out the possibility that Subaru was just good at hiding it. That's why Meili volunteered to examine his behavior and use her judgment to determine if he had fallen victim to Capella's spell or not.

But thankfully, after a careful search through the windows to his soul, she couldn't find a single shred of loyalty to her in his eyes. Subaru didn't long for her at all, he even insulted her twice with absolute certainty and without hesitation. The only thing that looked different about him was that he carried a defeated look in his eyes, like a veteran who just came back from a grizzly hellhole of a war front. Meili could tell he was making himself seem more approachable for her sake, but she could tell that he was still fragile beneath the surface. It was almost as if instead of embedding a curse into his heart, she had instead taken something away from him that made him this way.

With a sigh of relief, Meili concluded that, despite his rattled state, Subaru was still Subaru.

Meili: "That's good, Onii-san. I'm glad to see you're still the same reckless moron that I've grown accustomed to."

Subaru: "Nyeeeh!"

Meili: "Nyeeeh!"

They both stuck their tongues out at each other as if they were siblings, their mischievous personalities clashing in a manner they both found friendly and amusing. Meili giggled at their silly interaction, hoping that her laughter would be contagious and he would laugh alongside her. To the delight of everyone in the room, his smile widened. Then he tilted his head and let out a genuine chuckle, laughing along with her like sticking their tongues out at each other was the funniest thing he had done or seen all week.

Frederica: "Meili, are you satisfied now?"

Meili: "Huh? Oh, y-yes! Any doubts I had have been cleared up now. He doesn't seem to be under Mama's control as far as I can tell."

Beatrice: "Hmph. Betty could have told you that much!"

Subaru: "I think it's flattering! It means you really do care, Meili! I never doubted you for a second!"

Meili: "Ugh, to think I actually bothered to see how you were doing…"

She turned her back to him and walked towards the door.

Meili: "I'm done here, you can take me back to my cell now."

Frederica: "Would you stop calling it a 'cell'? I feel like a prison warden every time you do. We don't even lock you in anymore!"

Meili: "Yeah, but it's fortified, sturdy, and underground, which makes it the safest place in the who~le mansion! You hear that, Nii-san? If you ever wanna feel a little extra safe, you can always come and visit."

She spoke louder when addressing Subaru so he could hear her without her needing to turn around.

Subaru: "I appreciate it, but I wanna get used to my own room again before I start visiting others."

Meili: "Well, the offer stands. Back to my cold, dark cell, please!"

Frederica: "Honestly…"

Earning one final laugh from him, Meili proudly walked out of his room and was greeted by two people, one she was expecting and one she was not. The first was Petra standing sharply at attention, who must've been called ahead of time to walk her down to her room in the basement. Meili could've sworn that she saw Petra with her ear to the wall upon leaving, but quickly straightened herself out. The other was a young beastman in a knights uniform, his cat ears twitching at the sound of Meili's arrival.

Ferris: "You must be Meili-chan. Nyice to meetcha!"

Meili: "Uhhh…"

Petra: "Meili, this is Sir Ferris. He was the medic that was part of Subaru-sama's rescue team."

The former assassin's eyes widened for a brief moment before going back to normal.

Meili: "Oh? Here to check in on your patient?"

Ferris: "Nya, you guessed it! Also…"

Ferris: "I heard you were tasked with checking for any lingering attachments he might have towards Lust."

Both Meili and Petra were surprised to hear Ferris' voice drop to a lower, more serious tone when the subject of Lust came up. He was clenching both his fists in his crossed arms.

Meili: "Technically, I asked them to let me check. I know what Mama is capable of, and believe me, you don't want someone loyal to her living in your home."

Ferris: "And? Is he…?"

Meili smiled proudly.

Meili: "He's clean. If he can insult Mama's name without regret and show affection towards other people, it's highly unlikely Mama was able to get through to him. Onii-san is pretty stubborn after all. Personality is probably a factor that plays into his ability to resist her influence, but that's just an assumption."

Ferris: "I see. That's certainly good to hear."

Both Petra and Ferris put a hand to their chests and closed their eyes as they exhaled a joint sigh of relief.

Meili: "Well, I won't keep you from seeing your patient any longer. Shall we go, Petra?"

Petra: "Mmhm! Psst, hey, what does Subaru look like now? Is his hair longer? Is Frederica-neesama being gentle enough when talking to him? Is he eating enough?"

Meili: "Gah! What do I look like to you, Onii-san's personal assistant? Gee~z!"

Ferris smiled at the two girls as they walked away from him. He had heard the laughter through the walls so he had assumed everything had gone well during her visit, but it was reassuring to get direct confirmation. Although he was happy to hear Subaru's mental state was starting to improve, he felt like his visit might only hamper that progress. Nonetheless, he was Subaru's primary physician and the medical Knight of Lugnica, so he had a job to do.

Ferris walked up to the bedroom door and knocked to announce his presence. After waiting a few moments, Frederica opened the door and motioned for him to come in. He entered and closed the door behind him, choosing to lean against the wall instead of possibly making him uncomfortable by getting closer.

Ferris: "It's good to see you again, Subaru-kun. From a physical standpoint, it looks like you're starting to bounce back to your old self again. How are you feeling?"

Subaru: "Better than I have in the past few days, that's for sure ahaha!"

Beatrice and Frederica winced at the eerily similar response he gave to Meili, meaning either he was lacking in creativity in his words, or he was set on giving the same reply to anyone who asked about his condition. Knowing him, they knew it was the latter, even Ferris could tell by looking at his facial muscles that his cool, calm demeanor was a façade.

Subaru: "Here for a physical?"

Ferris: "No, I gave Beatrice the proper rehabilitation exercises to go over with you, so there's not much more for me to do as far as your body's recovery. You have been doing them, right Subaru-kun?

Subaru: "Twice a day, every day since I've been back."

Subaru raised his left arm with his right palm over Beatrice's temple, making it look like he was swearing his honesty on Beatrice herself. Ferris nodded in approval.

Ferris: "That's good. That's good... Subaru, the reason I stopped by is because… I need to compile a report on what happened to you during your incarceration."

At the sound of that subject, the room suddenly grew eerily quiet. Frederica and Beatrice immediately looked to Subaru, who had a pained look on his face, like he knew this was coming but he was disappointed that the topic had come up anyway.

Ferris: "Subaru, listen. This report will be for my personal retention only, it'll be with my personal files. As your medical advisor, and as your friend, I need you to be as honest with me as you can. I'm only obligated to report anything that could be used against the Sin Archbishop of Lust, so if there's nothing of strategic value, then I won't have anything to say to the Sage Council… Subaru, I know this must be hard to talk about, but I can only help you going forward unless I know what happened in there."

Subaru's eye twitched. Confiding in Beatrice was one thing, but to his physician and friend was another bear entirely. Reliving his memories was never an easy task for him to do, but to have people know of those memories and expect him to talk about them was new and frightening to him. Beatrice sat up off his lap, seeing that he was having a reaction to Ferris' request. She opted to hug the side of his torso, hoping that her cuteness could help alleviate the dark cloud that loomed over his head.

Ferris: "I wanted to wait a few days before asking, but maybe it's still too soon. When you feel comfortable enough to share, please seek me-"

Subaru: "It's fine. I'll talk about it."

Beatrice: "Subaru!"

Ferris: "You don't have to-"

Subaru: "I know, but I want to. If I keep everything in, it'll just get worse and worse over time. I've learned that the hard way, and I don't want to repeat that mistake again, so I think it's best if I just get it all out... while I still have the guts to go through with it…"

Beatrice: "..."

Ferris: "..."

Frederica: "... Should I… be here for this?"

Frederica, who had been silent throughout most of this, finally voiced her concerns. It sounded as if something heavy was coming, and she was uncertain of her place in all this.

Ferris: "Maybe it would be best if you-"

Subaru: "You should stay."

Both the beastfolk in the room were surprised at his direct and firm answer.

Subaru: "Frederica… There's no way I can face everyone and tell them what happened. Just thinking about discussing it is already making me feel kinda…"

Subaru paused for a moment, then let a shiver run from the core of his body, up his arms, and through his neck. Beatrice could feel the violent tremors that shot through him, but that just made her clutch him tighter.

Subaru: "Anyway, I know everyone must be curious about what happened to me, and as my friends I want them to know, but I… can't face them. It's still too soon for me, but I can't leave everyone in the dark while I try to… get over this. That said, there's only one person in this mansion with the right balance of maturity and professionalism that I trust to inform the others. I'm sorry that I have to shift that burden onto you, Frederica, but I trust that you'll come up with the right words."

Frederica: "Subaru-sama…"

Frederica was torn. While she was touched to be the one he trusted most to convey his story, she feared the story that she was being asked to tell. After reminding herself that she was the Head Maid of the Roswaal estate, she shook her head and reaffirmed herself to stay and listen to his woes, for him and the rest of their friends. With Frederica and Ferris ready to listen and Beatrice at his side, Subaru took a deep breath in, then out, then in again before he began to speak.

Subaru: "After she took me from the mansion, I was taken to the same hideout you guys found me in. Apparently she caught wind that I remained active despite her cursed dragon's blood, so she kidnapped me to find out why. Of course I had no idea why, but telling her that just made her angry. She tried to get information out of me by threatening me with pain or transforming me with her Authority, but I told her that I didn't care what she did to me… so she tried the one thing that she knew would get a reaction out of me."

Subaru cast his gaze down to the floor at his feet, gripping the legs of his pants. No one wanted to risk making a peep while he composed himself to continue recalling his traumas.

Subaru: "She used Emilia-tan's face and voice to try and get me to talk. I guess she thought I'd be more willing to 'spill my secrets' to someone close to me, but instead I just... freaked out. Maybe more than I should have, but it had already been a few days and she was starting to mentally wear me down. She saw how much it bothered me, so she promised not to use Emilia's form… and in exchange, I would stop fighting her on everything. Because I was 'interesting' she kept me around her most of the time, made me watch her discipline subordinates who failed her, brought her meals to her…it felt more like being an indentured servant than a prisoner. I tried to keep an eye out for any documents or other hints about the Witch's Cult or her assassins guild, but she never let me near anything that important."

Subaru twiddled his thumbs together in his lap, still refusing to look up.

Subaru: "Then she started asking me to… do things for her."

Subaru stopped moving altogether. His lips stopped moving, his hands stopped fidgeting, and his chest no longer moved. Ferris and Frederica leaned forward, ready to move in and help a potentially shell-shocked Subaru, but he suddenly took a sharp inhale and started breathing again. He held a hand up as if to signify that he was okay, but that was a thinly-veiled lie that nobody bought into.

Subaru: "She asked to pet my hair, lay in her lap, call her Capella-sama or Mama… It wasn't much to ask for, and considering what she would do to her underlings, it seemed smart to just play along. It started off with simple things like that, but every couple of days she would throw in something new, something that was a step further than the last thing she asked for. I tried to refuse at first, but she would threaten to revisit the mansion and come back with the head of someone who lived there. So eventually, I… caved. I went along hoping she would get tired of me eventually, but she just kept asking for more and more little things. Until one day she just barges into my cell and pins me on top of my bed, breathing like some crazed animal! By the time I realized what she was doing, I couldn't get her off of me! So she- She just-!"

Subaru's eyes leaked tears as he balled his fists, breathing erratically. He hunched over, looking more at his clenched hands than he was at the floor. Through gritted teeth, he took some shaky breaths before he clarified.

Subaru: "Let's just say that… my first time… is no longer… mine… to give…"

Each part of that sentence was filled with so much anger and hatred towards the one that did this to him that he stammered getting his words out, hesitating to continue after every couple of words or so. He couldn't bear to go into the details of what happened that scarring night, so the best he could do was put it in a way they could understand what he was trying to tell them.

They definitely understood. Beatrice, who had heard all of this in the days prior, just held him as he tried to even out his breathing between sobs. Ferris was the first to see beneath his scarf, so he had a solid hypothesis as to what Subaru had gone through, but had hoped that he was wrong. Frederica knew he had been through a lot, but she had no idea it was this bad. Suddenly everything made more sense; The reclusive tendencies, the jumpiness, his aversion to eating, the limited interaction with other people… Like her younger brother, who was among the first to see his condition, Frederica felt as if her heart sank in her body, refusing to accept such a horrible reality as the truth.

Natsuki Subaru, one of the friendliest and most helpful people she had ever met in her entire life, the one her younger brother and younger sister-figure looked up to so much… had been defiled and deflowered by a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult.

Her training as a maid and her respect for the man suffering before her were the only forces keeping Frederica from bawling her eyes out. Instead she just trembled in place with one hand clasped over the other, hoping that this was the end of his tales of torment.

Subaru: "After that night, she started getting really… possessive."

Subaru grabbed his scarf, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in as he unwrapped it from his neck. When the garment pooled into a heap in his lap, he let out an unstable breath. Before today, only those who were part of the rescue team knew about the collar that was removed upon his extraction from that cave. However, only Beatrice and Ferris, who saw his bare neck that night, knew of the full truth he was trying to hide behind orange cloth.

His neck had a reddened, ring-shaped indent around it that even pressed his windpipe down some, which made the use of a collar that was far too tight painfully obvious.

But below that mark, were tattoos. With thin, black characters that existed just beneath his skin, these markings occupied either side of his neck. The one on his right read in small writing 'Property of Capella-sama'. The one on his left side had a little arrow that pointed toward his mouth, the text next to it read 'Paradise'.

Subaru: "It's... cursed dragon's blood. I've tried scratching them, gouging them out… but they always just fix themselves."

Frederica wanted to simultaneously vomit and beat the ever-loving life out of the horrid scum of a life responsible for this. Her knees trembled and her bottom lip quivered, before she knew it she had started sniveling. She quickly took out a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes and nose clean, also trying to breathe as normally as possible despite the sadness and rage that swirled within her. She bit down on her tongue with her sharp teeth to stifle any further displays of emotion. She winced at the taste of her own blood, but this was nothing compared to what Subaru had endured, so she did her best to keep a brave face on just as he did.

Subaru: "It was on and off like that for a while. Until one day, she tells me that she's going on a trip up north to check in on her 'headquarters'. She wanted to take me with her, but I panicked and said that I had a fear of flying after what she did and would probably end up screaming the whole way there. Thankfully, she decided to leave me behind after that. It wasn't long after that when you guys came in to get me."

He sighed and looked to the side.

Subaru: "When I heard Emilia-tan's voice and saw her face… I screamed at her. I thought it was just Capella screwing with me, but… I never got a chance to explain myself. I apologize for piling on more work for you, but do you think you can relay an 'I'm sorry' for me? I know it's probably not what she wants to hear, but…"

Frederica: "Fret not, Subaru-sama. Once I inform Lady Emilia of your… circumstances, I'm sure she will underst-"

Subaru: "NO!"

Everyone, even Beatrice jumped at his sudden outburst.

Subaru: "You can't tell her, she doesn't even-! I mean she doesn't know about… you know! The same reason you wouldn't tell the kids! Protection of innocence, and all that…"

Frederica: "If that is your request, then I will do my best to abide by it. I'll do whatever I can to keep the specifics away from the ears of Lady Emilia and the children."

Subaru: "Thank you, Frederica. Is that enough for your report, Ferris?"

Ferris: "... Plenty."

The catboy knight had been biting his tongue as well, wishing a thousand deaths upon the madwoman who not only crippled his beloved Crusch, but had also violated his friend Subaru. He wanted nothing more than to curse her name aloud with every profanity in his vocabulary, but this was not the time nor the place. Maybe when he went back home he would visit the woods in the back of Crush's property to vent his frustrations.

Ferris: "Subaru… we will take that bitch down. Mark my words."

Subaru, through bleary eyes, looked up for the first time since this conversation started and nodded at Ferris' bold claim. If only Crusch were here, she would've loved to see these two bond, even if it was over enacting vengeance.

Beatrice: "If you're quite done, Betty can tell that her contractor needs some time to himself. So if you would."

The spirit released a hand from Subaru's side to make a shooing motion to the other two in the room with them, clearly interested in having Subaru to herself, which ultimately seemed like the best decision. Bowing their heads, Frederica and Ferris took their leave, Subaru giving them a weak wave goodbye as he began to pick up his scarf and rewrap it around his neck.

Frederica was the one who closed the door behind them, letting out a sigh she had been holding in for several minutes. Realizing her un-maidly action, she turned to Ferris to apologize for being unprofessional, but she noticed that he was letting out a moan of distress himself.

Ferris: "Looks like we both have one hell of a night ahead of us."

Frederica: "What do you mean?"

Ferris: "I have to write and archive a government report on how my friend was assaulted by a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, and you're the one who has to tell his friends about it. We both have to share what Subaru told us to others, even though it doesn't feel like our place to do so."

Ferris wished he could have helped him through healing magic and psychological rehabilitation alone, but his status and title demanded that he go through the proper channels and make an official writeup on Subaru's case. From what Crush had told him, merely being in the presence of Lust was enough to drive a normal person into sickness and misery. To be held captive like a pet by someone so disgusting and vile… Ferris wished he could've just left the poor kid alone with his spirit today. He hated the feeling of reopening old wounds.

As he thought upon his actions, his ears perked up at the sound of Subaru's bedroom door opening. Stepping through the door was Beatrice, who turned back to peek through the gap at Subaru before carefully shutting the door behind her.

Beatrice: "The beast-maid should feel lucky that she will have Betty at her side then, I suppose."

Frederica: "Lady Beatrice? But-"

Beatrice: "Subaru requested that Betty aid the beast-maid when she delivers the news, I suppose. He asked that Betty represent him should any commotion ensue, which seems likely given the topic and all the troublesome personalities that live under this roof."

Frederica: "Lady Beatrice…"

Beatrice: "And you! Don't you have some forms that need filing, I wonder? Get a move on!"

Ferris: "Nya, what's with that cold attitude? Then again, maybe I should get going, huh? You ladies probably have lots to talk about and all."

With another sigh and a polite bow, Ferris excused himself and made his way to exit the mansion. After seeing him leave, Frederica leaned over the banister and took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. Beatrice stood beside her and looked up at her emerald eyes, giving her a look as if to say 'Betty will help you for Subaru's sake, in fact'. With resolve painted all over her face, Frederica nodded at the Great Spirit and stood up straight. She had a meeting to gather with a fair amount of people to invite, so she needed to get a move on.

The grand dining hall, despite being filled with members of the Emilia Camp, was almost completely silent. Nobody dared say a word after listening to what Frederica and Beatrice had to say about Subaru's experiences in Lust's captivity.

Meili was in the basement, Annerose and Clind were babysitting Louis in her office, and Petra was tasked with keeping Emilia occupied in her room. Everyone else in the Emilia Camp was present for this pre-dinner emergency meeting. Everyone, even Roswaal, had expressed their concern for his current state, and had been insisting on being able to at least speak to him. But upon hearing the explicit nature of his tortures, not a single person spoke up to challenge his isolative living anymore.

Garfiel sat with his arms crossed with his eyes closed, focusing on his breathing so that his emotions didn't boil over. Otto stared at his glass of wine, knowing full well that no amount of alcohol consumption would make him or Subaru feel any better. Ram gripped the hem of her skirt in frustration, enraged that the man who gave so much for her and her sister had to endure such torture. Although her memories had yet to return to her, Rem had come to understand how important Subaru was to her and everyone else, which made the grief she felt weigh her heart down exponentially more. Even the great Court Mage in his long life had seldom heard of such awful things being done to a person, and he couldn't help but wonder if this could've been prevented if he had been more proactive in the safety of those he housed.

This sucked. Subaru had come back from the brink of madness and depravity, there was nothing they could say or do to help him recover faster, and it sucked. They all felt it, especially the blonde duo that wrought this news unto them all. They all sat there in silence for several seconds, everyone exchanging vibes of anger and sadness and those two emotions swirled in the head of all those just learning of Subaru's past.

Roswaal: "I'll be sending in a request to the Iron Fang for additional security. We already have aerial sentries keeping an eye on the skies for us, but I think it would be best to have on-premises security as well. I trust we're all capable of adapting to some changes for the benefit of us all, yes?"

They all nodded in agreement. Everyone noticed that Roswaal had forgone his eccentric speech inflection and spoke to them with absolute seriousness. He also broke the silent tension in the room with a plan to protect Subaru and help prevent this incident from ever happening again.

Garfiel: "My amazin' self can p'trol the mansion grounds, keep 'n eye out fer anythin' s'spicious."

Otto: "I had a few countermeasure ideas I've been meaning to put together. Even if we can't kill her, there should still be ways to at least slow her down."

Ram: "Ram will go about her daily duties as usual, but she will keep an extra sharp watch for any filthy Witch Cultists when she looks out the window for minutes at a time."

Rem: "Lady Beatrice and I can smell the witch's scent, and we're both capable of discerning Subaru's natural odor from other similar scents. If we smell miasma that's not Subaru's, we'll know there's an intruder."

Frederica: "With these improvements to security, I was thinking that I could- hah?"

Frederica cut herself short when she saw her breath in front of her. She looked around to the others and saw that they were all seeing the same thing, Ram especially reacting with excessive shivering like a cold front had just moved in.

Beatrice: "T-This does not b-bode well, in f-f-fact."

After Beatrice stated her prediction, the door to the dining hall opened just enough for a icy gust of wind and a teeth-chattering Petra to slip through before she closed it shut behind her, putting her back against the door.

Frederica: "Petra! What did-"

Petra: "I'm s-sorry nee-s-sama! Sh-She started asking me questions I couldn't answer, I started getting nervous-s-s, and then she started to sense s-something w-was up, th-then I-"

?: "Petra!"

Petra: "Eek!"

A smooth, yet sharp voice called out to the maid-in-training from the other side of the double doors.

?: "Um, I'm going to open this door now! Please don't be on the other side of it when I do!"

Petra: "Wah!"

Right after diving away from the room's entrance, the two doors burst away from each other, kicked open by a strong wing and a fierce kick. With a frosted hallway behind her, Emilia lowered her leg into a stance that radiated the aura of a powerful ruler.

Emilia: "You all had a secret meeting about Subaru, my knight, my… person I care about a lot… and you intentionally tried to keep me out of it… Why!? Why would you do that!? Don't you think that I care about what happens to him!? Do I not have a right to know that you all do!? … Do you all reeeally hate me so much that you don't want me around him anymore?"

She balled her fists at her sides, trying her best to calm the storm that raged around her, shouting both in anger and to talk over the frigid winds that carried her voice.

Beatrice: "Emil-"

Frederica: "Lady Emilia! I apologize for the secrecy, but please know that this was at Subaru-sama's request! He didn't want to expose you to something that would get you so worked up! The nature of what happened to him, it's… it's something that you wouldn't understand!"

Emilia: "Then teach me!"

Frederica: "..!"

Beatrice: "..!"

Emilia: "If there's something I don't yet know, or something that you think I would struggle to understand, then please teach me! I can't stand the thought of Subaru crying and shaking while he sleeps at night, having nightmares about how much I scared him… How much I may still scare him… So whatever I need to do to understand Subaru's pain, to help him live the rest of life happy and smiling, I can handle it, and I WILL learn it! So please, teach me!"

Conflict arose within the Head Maid of House Mathers. She had promised her hurt and fragile friend her word, but she could not ignore the woman who was on par with Beatrice in affection for this very friend. Combined with the swirling frost winds, the people slowly freezing at the dinner table, and the fact that Emilia did have a right to know as much as any of them, if not more so. Frederica always knew that the responsibility of giving Emilia 'The Talk' would likely fall onto her one day, but never did she imagine it would possibly be under such circumstances.

Frederica: 'Subaru-sama, please forgive me!'

Subaru looked up at the familiar ceiling above his bed, wondering if Frederica had finished breaking the news to everyone yet. He knew that he'd get sympathy from all of them, and while he appreciated it, he also wished that they would just move on and let him lick his wounds in private. He didn't want to drag them all down into the swampy, boggy, filth and muck that was his mind right now. Having Beatrice around was great, but being alone with enough time to sort through his thoughts was a luxury he hadn't had in quite a while.

He lamented over his pointless efforts to utilize Return by Death upon his capture. When he first arrived in that dimly lit maze of a cave, the moment he was left alone he mercilessly chomped down on his own tongue in a single bite. After finally bleeding out, he was just brought right back to the moment of being thrown into his cell, mortified at the realization that his capture at the hands of Lust was an unavoidable fate. All he could do was survive it, and keep moving forward like always.

Subaru rolled onto his side and glanced over at the part of this bedroom wall that was made from much fresher wood than the surrounding material. A nice repair job to come home to, but it was also a grim reminder of his smash & grab abduction. He half expected a black dragon's hand to bust through and take him away for a second time at any given moment, but he dismissed his paranoia as just that. Maybe switching rooms would be a good idea, this one had too many bad memories now. Well, just one, large, terrible memory that summed up to a bunch of smaller bad ones.

Just as he was getting lost in thought, a knock at his door made him jump and yelp in a comical manner.

Subaru: "W-Who is it?"

?: "It's me."

It had been days since he last heard that beautiful silky-smooth voice, the one that used to give him such a sense of calmness and tranquility. But since he shouted and yelled at that voice, he felt terrible and had longed to make things right ever since. He sat up and tried to make himself presentable, making sure his clothes weren't too wrinkled and that his scary was secured. He wasn't ready for her to see his shameful marks and scars.

Subaru: "You can come in."

Emilia walked into his room looking fidgety and nervous, her face slightly flushed from what looked like embarrassment. She gently kicked the door to close with the back of her heel, casting her gaze down, then up at him.

Emilia: "How are you?"

Subaru: "Doing better, all things considered. How have you been, Emilia-tan? Have your studies been going well?"

She sighed and shook her head.

Emilia: "You're so silly Subaru. Always worrying about other people before worrying about yourself. You really need to kick that nasty habit."

Emilia winked at him, clearly trying to put him at ease with some affection, taking a note from his book on how to cheer up the person you care most about.

Subaru: "Ahaha, well you know me, Emilia-tan! I care just a little too much sometimes!"

Emilia: "But you should make time to care about yourself too, right? I mean, after being with someone who mistreated you so badly, someone who twisted your heart to her will… I can't even begin to imagine what that's like…"

Subaru: "Wait… Emilia-tan, how much do you know about what happened to me?"

Emilia: "... Everything."

Subaru: "Everyth-!"

Subaru: 'Dammit Frederica, what the hell!? I thought at least Beako would've tried to stop you, but still, what the hell!?'

Emilia: "I know you've been through a lot, which is why I reeeally wanted to come see you."

Subaru: "Oh yeah?"

Emilia: "Yeah!"

Emilia smiled to herself and carelessly began to close the distance between them. At first Subaru began to panic, but he calmed himself so that he didn't repeat the same mistake he made the last time he saw her. She walked over until she took a seat on the bed next to him with a little bit of space between them. She pulled her skirt back until it reached about mid-thigh, giving Subaru a nice view. She patted her bare lap, inviting Subaru to rest his head on his favorite pillow.

Entranced by such a haven, he laid down on his back and put the back of his head and neck onto her half-elven thighs, his stresses and worries practically melting away. While he didn't want to spoil this moment she had bestowed upon him, but he had preloaded an apology that was burning a hole in his mind for three days that he had to get out.

Subaru: "Emilia-tan, I wanted to say- Hey!"

Emilia: "Oh Subaru…"

Blinded by his combined feelings of laying in Emilia's lap and thinking about his drawn out 'I'm sorry', she put a finger into the cuff of his scarf and pulled it down just enough for her to see his neck. He went completely rigid, worried that his Emilia-tan would see him as broken or as a defective product. Why have a knight with problems when you can just find someone without any issues or baggage? He shuddered at the thought of being abandoned by the woman he dedicated his life to serving.

Emilia: "It's alright to cry. Crying means the bad feelings are leaving you to make way for more good feelings."

He wanted to believe her as she lovingly stroked his hair, but these tears didn't feel right to him. He was happy to be with Emilia, but he was sad that she saw beneath his scarf, so he wasn't entirely sure which one was making his snivel like a whimpering child. She looked down at him and used one of her thumbs to wipe away his tears.

Emilia: "My Subaru…"

Slowly her head began to lower, her lips aimed to match up with his. Subaru's heart skipped a beat at this realization, elated at the thought of Emilia giving him a kiss but dreading the fact that he was a teary, somewhat snotty mess right now, probably the furthest thing he could get from 'presentable'. But she didn't seem to care, she just closed her eyes as their lips got closer and closer to each other.

Emilia: "I think I really am starting to fall in love with you, Natsuki Subaru."

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Subaru thought that maybe 'true love's kiss' could help ease his pains, undo the witch's curse, as it were. Giving in to his lady's gift to him, Subaru lowered his eyelids, preparing his lips for hers when-

?: "Su-!... baru?"

The two occupants on the bed cut their kiss-to-be short at the sounds of a familiar voice from the door. Apparently it wasn't closed all the way, allowing sound out and granting one the ability to peek. Normally Subaru would be furious at someone who would interrupt his one on one time with Emilia, but the one who kicked his door wide open was none other than Emilia herself. With a chill arriving with her, Emilia's face looked like she had just finished crying her soul out, the tear streaks on her cheeks were frozen over and glimmered in the room's light. He had to crane his neck, upsetting his collar indent in doing so, to see this Emilia. Upon recognizing her ice magic and overall presence, he broke out in a cold sweat when he slowly looked up to face the owner of the lap he was laying on.

Emilia 1: "L-Look Subaru, a fake! Quick, we need to get you out of here befor- DOOF! Hey!"

The Emilia on the bed tried to evacuate Subaru, but before she could get through her proposal she was greeted with a swift clock in the jaw from the Spirit Knight. A punch from him didn't amount to much, but it bought him the few seconds he needed to roll out of her lap and onto the floor, instinctively keeping his momentum to roll to the other side of the room and away from her.

Emilia 1: "Ah! Subaru, wait, this is all a misundersta-"

Emilia 2: "ICE BRAND ARTS!"

Just as the first Emilia was about to step off the bed and approach Subaru once again, a comically-large battle axe the size of the bed itself separated her and her goal, nearly cleaving her face if she hadn't leaned back at the last moment. The first Emilia closed her eyes when she dodged the surprise attack, and when she opened them, her once amethyst irises were now a bloody red. Though the eyes had changed, everything else was still Emilia, her usually docile face was twisted with contempt and fury. The moment the second Emilia had walked through that door, the master and servant duo immediately recognized the true identity of the first.

Capella: "You FUCKING bitch! What is it in that filth-ridden, half-devil, meatbag brain of yours that makes you think that you could just walk in here and interrupt MY time with MY Subaru? I'm sorry, do you think he loves you? You know that's pathetic, right? It's so pathetic because it's pathetic! Isn't it sooo pathetic that you think Subaru would care about a little skank-whore's life like your own? As if some freak like you could ever understand what love is! It's so pathetic it's hilarious! Gahahahaha!"

Emilia listened to her spout her venomous words, completely paralyzed with fear, not prepared for the extent that this horrid woman who desecrated Subaru would go in a verbal assault.

Capella: "Do you think he ever did? Did you seriously think even for a second that the spitting image of the worst scum to ever exist would ever be able to find love? Do you even know how I am? I say it a bunch, but I'll say it again just for your little half-devil ears! All that is love belongs to me, and me alone! I am the one that harbors all the love in the world! I'm the only one who will be in love! I'm the only one to feel love! I am… LOVE!"

Capella preached her madness with Emilia's form and voice, only her bloodshot, angry, scarlet eyes separating her from the real royal candidate. She punctuated her words with lots of hand motions, almost as if she had given a similar sermon on love many times before, putting full devotion into every word.

Capella: "Subaru is such a sweet boy with so much love to give, he just doesn't know where to direct that love. You've already done enough to undo all the hard work I've put into him. It's a shame that I'll have to re-educate him, but I'm sure he won't mind. After all, it's all for the sake of his wondrous, glorious, and ever benevolent; Capella-samaaaa!"

Right as she finished her dramatic statement, a young man in green and a small maid nearly slid down the hallway with how fast they were going, managing to stop themselves just at Subaru's doorway.

Otto: "Eat this, Archbishop!"

Capella: "Gladly!"

Otto lobbed what he had rushed over her with, a small round vase with a large plug at the top, right at the false Emilia's face. To everyone's horror, except for Subaru who was on the other side of the giant ice axe, Capella's mouth opened to a grotesque degree, her jaw splitting down the middle until her neck opened as well, unveiling several rows of sharp teeth of some unknown creature. Instead of catching the pot with her hands or simply leaning out of the way, Capella used her gaping maw to catch the pot in her gruesome mouth and crushed it in her strange jaws. She was expecting it to be filled with some sort of poison or powerful acid, to which she would laugh off and flaunt their futile attempts in their face. But to her surprise, its contents were not only not foul, but also kinda tasty. It was something simple, something familiar that she couldn't quite place. However, when the small maid pulled a glistening red stone out of her apron pocket, Capella finally put a name to this taste on her elongated tongue.

Oil.

Petra: "DIE, MONSTER!"

With a strong arm and razor sharp focus, Petra hurled the Magic Stone of Fire right into Capella's chest, sparking alight and igniting everything above her shoulders. Her mouth spewed flames like an erupting volcano, the fire following the oil trail and reaching down her throat and into her stomach. She was burning from the inside-out and all over her head, screaming in a shrieking, breaking voice at the agonizing pain. As if to try and avoid the anguish, she shifted her form into something else. First she turned into a buxom woman, then an elderly grandmother, then a small village girl, until finally she took the form she was most known for.

Capella: "YOU DAMN MEATBAGS DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE FUCKING WITH!"

It hurt. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt a lot! Despite this, she still stood atop Subaru's bed as her face melted just slightly faster than her Authority could keep up with under her circumstances, fire spewing from her mouth with every word she spoke. Normally she could just amputate the afflicted parts of her and regrow them, but she couldn't gouge out her insides with a mansion full of enemies. She could just grow into a dragon to dissipate the flames and crush these meatbags that cursed her with this immolation, but then Subaru would get caught in the rubble and perish for sure.

As her hair curled and withered, her right eye and part of her jaw began to melt off, Capella realized that her best current option… was a shameful one. One that didn't get her what she wanted most right away, but one that would allow her to better plan for a future in which Subaru was hers once more. Sucking her dry, burning teeth in disappointment, she transformed her hand into that of a giant beast and smashed the same spot she had destroyed a few days ago, this time breaking it outwards instead of in. She shrank her arm back to normal and hopped off the bed and onto the edge of the hole in the wall she reopened, gazing out into the skyline, her flaming head almost blending in with the setting sun.

She sprouted bird-like wings and bent her knees, looking ready to jump and take off, but then she suddenly decided to relax her stance and turn around to face the three at the door. Her right eye was hanging out of its socket, the opposite side of her head was missing a good amount of skin along her jaw, and her hair looked like it was made of the yellow-orange fire instead of being incinerated by it. She lifted a hand and pointed at Emilia.

Capella: "MARK MY WORDS! I'LL BE BACK FOR WHAT MINE!"

Even if her voice box wasn't being charred to a crisp, her voice still would have carried the same air-burning, nerve-prickling malice that she spoke her declaration in. Keeping her one good eye trained on a confused and angry Emilia, she slowly let herself fall backwards out of the broken wall plummeting to the ground-

Then flew up, up and away from the mansion as a blazing black dragon. She flapped her powerful wings to rapidly gain altitude while also trying to use her dragon biology to lessen the effect of the flames that still engulfed her head and insides. With enough distance and a little bit of time, she should be able to-

Capella: "GAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

From her blind spot behind her, a large spear of ice penetrated her left hip and erupted just below her right shoulder, skewering through her spine and making any back movements impossible. This of course, included using her wings. Without any movement, she began to plummet at an angle, further and further away she descended towards the ground like a flaming black meteor, until she crashed somewhere over the horizon line where the sound of her impact didn't reach the mansion.

Emilia stood at the hole that Capella had left through, feeling a small amount of pride for landing that throw given how far Capella had flown in such a short time. She knew that a measly ice spear and a crash landing wouldn't be enough to take her down for good, but it would at least send a message that she wouldn't let her take Subaru without a fight. Plus, that had to have hurt like crazy, and for once in her life Emilia wished for a person to feel the pain that she inflicted.

Otto: "I… I can't believe that worked! I am so glad that I had that jar of oil lying around!"

Petra: "I'm so glad I swiped that Magic Stone while you weren't looking!"

Otto: "You didn't 'swipe it', I gave it to you for emergencies! Emergencies like this! Besides, the real hero here is Lady Beatrice sensing the sudden change in Natsuki-san's mood, despite us all being accounted for in the dining room. If it wasn't for her then- Natsuki-san!"

Petra: "Subaru!"

Emilia: "..."

The two ran around the giant axe that still divided the room down the middle, Emilia sheepishly following behind. Otto and Petra stopped just short of the curled up Subaru that was facing away from them, curled up with his forehead against the bottom drawer of his dresser. Emilia stayed much further away, putting a hand on the pommel of the axe to dissipate the weapon. As the shadows of his friends loomed over him, Subaru took notice of their presence and looked over his shoulder, looking at them both with one panicked looking eye.

Subaru: "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He swatted the back of his hand out at his friends before they got too close, startling them both. Emilia could only look down in disappointment, shedding tears once again at the familiar sight of what the Sin Archbishop of Lust was capable of doing to her poor, friendly, kindhearted knight.

Emilia: "Leave him be."

Otto: "But Lady Emilia-!"

Petra: "Lady Emilia-!"

Emilia: "Please! Give him the space he needs."

Subaru: "I'm so... fUHcking… GUHLIBHLE! GAAAAHH! AUUHUHUGGHH!"

Subaru cursed his own trusting nature, blaming himself for falling into Capella's trap, proving that he couldn't tell the kindest woman and the most rotten woman in his life apart. He sobbed into the floor, not caring that his best friend and the young girl who had a crush on him were standing right behind him as he shredded and strained his voice to croak out moans of overwhelming despair. His insides betrayed him, his raw disgust with himself making him cough up vomit that he carelessly let run down the corner of his mouth and onto his arm and shoulder. Poorly hidden as he huddled into a ball, he furiously tried to scratch away at his arms through his track jacket's sleeves, but his nails weren't sharp enough and his sleeves were too strong for him to leave any marks, but this did not deter him. He just kept the subconscious act going, as if his mind would only be satisfied until he punished himself for his self-perceived stupidity.

As Otto and Petra grimaced in concern and pity at the sight and slowly backed up towards Emilia, while the rest of those who attended the dining hall meeting finally caught up to them. Emilia, Otto, and Petra had raced ahead when Beatrice announced her concern, almost as if they all had the same idea to check his room, while the others lagged behind. When they finally regrouped, they were greeted with the exact sight they had all just agreed to prevent from ever happening. They couldn't bear to see Subaru in this broken down, wheezing state, but not a single person felt right leaving his side when he needed their support most. If anything, this hardened the resolve of everyone in the Emilia Camp, reminding them of the gravity of the threat they faced.

Frederica: "Ram. Rem. Petra."

The three mentioned maids perked their heads up out of their trance at the sound of their names, turning to look at their superior.

Frederica: "Ram and Rem, gather Subaru-sama's belongings. When he's stable, we will be moving him. Petra, I need you to go into the basement and inform Meili-chan that Subaru-sama will be taking up her offer, and will be staying with her for the foreseeable future."