"You could not live with your own failure so where did that bring you? Back to me"
I bet you never expected to see this gem of a fic again, yet here we are back like again. Now in case you aren't caught up with the lore this was actually made by a good friend of mine named Writing Pupil (another good friend Heretic Slayer was a beta reader as well). Unfortunately, we'll just say a group of "intellectually challenged" people decided they absolutely hated this fic enough to harass and threaten Pupil. This led to him deleting the fic shortly after its publication, an act I disagreed with immensely. I was able to convince him to give me the doc so that I may upload this myself. There really isn't much more to say about this story but I do have some closing points.
Heretic is actually writing a continuation of this fic, so please support him when it finally does come out. Other than that *Ahem*
Fuck you if you made death threats
Fuck you if you complained about it being "ooc"
Fuck you if you called it "NTR" (if you think it is you are braindead)
And if you made any valid critics…then you're cool
Alright onto the show bois and not bois
The star.
The star is one of the only few things that shines in the night. When the moon is covered by darkness and the sun is nowhere to be found, people all over the world look up at the stars. The stars are something they can rely on to always be there, thousands of twinkling shining lights that bring comfort to all those who look at them, light that many people use as a way to guide the way home for lost souls. Some even find complete peace and bliss beneath them for they are the eternal guardians.
Yet, not one star is even remotely close to each other. They are one of the loneliest things in the universe. They're taken for granted while offering so much.
They are always destined to be alone, for the rest of their lives, trapped in an endless void of dark and empty space they can never escape from.
Today marks the 5th year since the royal selection for the new queen of Lugunica had finally ended. The current queen had won by a large margin. Her expert strategies have saved countless lives, and her confidence was a guiding light, inspiring everyone who could see her image alone. Her camp not only led the charge against the witch cult, but they destroyed and dismantled the entire witch cult, killing each and every archbishop one by one.
It was the pinnacle of achievements, recovering those lost to time and avenging those lost to death. The person who did something in a span of the first five years when it would've taken even the sword saint if a few decades was none other than the silver-haired half-elf candidate herself, Emilia, now formally known as Emilia Lugunica..
The half-elf, who shared the most resemblance to the Witch of Envy, appeared at first immature andstupid. She had more of a chance surviving a full powered attack from the Sword Saint then actually winning the royal selection. But, she had proved everyone wrong. She came from the bottom, the worst amount of luck, the worst genetic traits, and the worst mental state, yet she overcame it all, accomplishing her goal of becoming queen and left a trail behind that not even the greatest of warriors could follow.
Yes, all around the entire country, people of all different races, size, height, and much more celebrated their new queen. They threw massive parties, giving out free food to strangers and being merry with one another as they gathered, sharing stories of their queens accomplishments, how much better their lives have gotten because of her. Ever since Emilia's reign, these five years of her being queen have been the most peaceful the kingdom has ever been. Crime was at an all time low, the neighboring countries were on good terms with them; it only made sense they went all out for the half a decade of peace their queen had earned for them.
Today was also a joyest day for the queen of the country. She halted everything to make one important announcement, an announcement that made everyone's joyful mood change into that of pure bliss.
The queen was soon to be wed.
When the queen made the announcement, none of the people were surprised at the queen getting married nor who she was getting married to. It was quite the opposite, in fact. They were more surprised at how it took the two lovebirds five years to get wed to one another. It was obvious from everyone's point of view how in love they were. The way they blushed when they saw one another, the way they each tried their best to impress each other and, in turn, embarrassed one another. It was cute and adorable. They were glad their queen and their soon to be king had tied the knot. The citizens of Luginica knew with the wedding going underway, their half a decade of peace would turn into a decade and soon grow into centuries.
As the sun faded from the sky entering its own dormant state of slumber, the people of Lugunica found themselves getting ready for bed as well. Children were being tucked in by their parents. Adults of all shapes and sizes left the once rowdy streets of the capital to attend their own business at home. Either to just like the children, sleep and get their nightly rest, or have a spicy night of who knows what's behind those closed doors.
The entire capital of Luginica and its neighboring countries fell asleep nearly all at once in perfect still silence. Only to be rarely interrupted by the hooting of owls, chirping of crickets, and the loud but surprisingly graceful yawn of a ground dragon.
However, deep inside the castle walls, one raven-haired boy found himself unable to sleep. No matter how many times he closed his eyes, allowing darkness to completely overtake his vision, he would only open them again, finding himself still in a dark, lavish room on an equally lavish bed.
He found himself trying to do something, anything to join the others of the world and fall into a blissful dream. He twisted and turned his body around the bed, even rolling in an attempt for his body to have the perfect position. He turned his pillow to the other side to regain the coolness once lost by the warmth of his head and that did soothe him for a few seconds before that soreness disappeared, and what returned was the heat he tried escaping from.
He tried closing his eyes, forcing him into total complete darkness once more. There seemed to be only one thing that could help him fall asleep, and that was to use an old trick that every parent taught their children when they'd have a hard time falling asleep. A trick he used in this world, and one that no matter what, would help him fall asleep. It was called taking a deep breath. The Spirit Knight, Natsuki Subaru, closed his eyes once more, clouding himself in complete darkness before parting his lips and began mumbling quietly to himself.
"One sheep, two sheep- No that was always stupid. Doesn't even have a good rhythm to it," The raven-haired boy cried out, clicking his tongue slightly in disgust at how anyone found sheeps comforting when it came to the ancient technique. Sure, it was the oldest trick in the book, but having sheeps be the center for some kind of comfort? Just , their wool was fluffy but they were anything but cute.
"One Puck, two Pu-ughhh, it wasn't like last time. Yes it helped, but man so much has changed. I don't need to remember the worst father in history again," Subaru grumbled, his mind flashing back to a wasteland of ice and snow that could be seen for miles and miles on end. The only sign of life being a giant sharp tooth beast with glowing yellow eyes towering above the world.
That vivid image his mind made up on the spot sent chills down Subaru's spine. For some reason he could swear on the dragon, the temperature in his room got colder the second he saw the towering beast in his mind. Was it here, was Puck back and Emilia somehow died and he's about to end the world again.
No, it was probably the cool night air penetrating through his half open window. He was getting paranoid and being paranoid only made it worse for the knight who wanted to sleep. So, he shook the very thought of the beast of the end out of his mind. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes once more, prepared to try another method to the ancient technique.
"One-Roswaal, two-Roswaal, three-Roswaal, definitely not. Seeing three Roswaals in my mind again is worse than death itself. Nee-san probably recounts his name every night though. I worry for that girl's mental health," Subaru growled under his breath, his mind showing him images of a clown in his traditional white make- up, blue hair, and big red nose. The knight couldn't help but feel annoyed and a bit disappointed in himself for even thinking the clown was a good option to help him slumber. He only hoped when he found a method to the trick did work, he only hoped that three baby Roswaals won't come down from the heavens and take him away to the afterlife.
If the yellow glowing eyed beast caused Subaru to shiver with its presence in his mind, the thought of three baby Roswaals coming down from the heavens caused his entire nervous system to feel like it was melting him from the inside out.
"Ok! Time for one that always works. Seriously, I am an idiot, this should've been the first thing I've done. One-Emilia-tan….two-Emi-"
Pain.
That was the only thing Subaru could feel when he tried uttering the name of his lady. The person who he declared his never ending love and loyalty to. There was a sharp echoing from the deepest part of his body. His chest ached as an image of a beautiful silver-haired maiden began clouding his vision. His heart began beating against his chest, threatening to tear through the muscle and skin that piled onto his chest and fall flat on the floor.
That feeling only amplified as the silver haired maiden's image began showing more clearly; everything about her was beautiful to Subaru. Her eyes, beautiful and gentle, her ears, pointy but cute. Her voice… oh her voice, the sound of gentle silver bells clashing amongst one another, entrancing all those who had the pleasure of hearing it, and her tone of voice was equally as sweet as honey.
The image in his mind was always a sight of comfort, joy, and other emotions that he could write an entire book about. In fact he had, in his own mind. He loved everything about her, so why was his chest burning with such pain.
Oh wait… he knew why. Tomorrow was going to be an amazing day. Tomorrow, the queen was going to get married. Tomorrow was going to be the happiest day of her life, and he would be there, right by her side as he always had. Tomorrow, he would see the love of his life walk down the aisle in her wonderful white dress. He would be suited up in a nice suit and tie, and watch her with a feeling of pride of how far the woman he served, lived for, and died for numerous times had come.
Yeah, that was why he couldn't sleep. Tomorrow, Emilia was going to get married, and he couldn't wait. He just couldn't wait. He didn't have a smile on his face nor was his heart racing with excitement like it usually would. Probably because he was tired and sore all over his body, yet his mind had a different story to tell.
"Looks like I can't sleep," Subaru muttered to himself. After another two minutes of trying and failing to fall asleep once more, he let out a loud sigh that had a clear mixture of frustration and anger at how bad his insomnia was before swiftly getting up from his king sized bed and placing his naked feet on the cold marble floor.
"Welp, good as any excuse to walk around the castle. Maybe I can go to the forbidden places Ram-san is always telling me not to go. Though she would kill me if I do, knowing her, she's probably still asleep anyway. I can go wherever I want as long as I'm not too loud. Nope, not worth the risk."
The knight whispered to himself, stretching his stiff arms and legs a little bit before walking over to and opening a lackluster brown door. He walked through the door to explore the castle he had the honor of calling home for so many years, for what felt to be the 5th or 7th time he's done so far.
The castle was not like the Roswaal manor. No, the best way Subaru could describe the castle was if the Roswaal manor was double the size and triple the rooms, which in turns triples the long hallways, and even alot more stairs. Even the backyard, if the field of different flowers of all different shapes and sizes, trees, and even lots of beautifully multi-colored birds inhabiting it could even be classified as a backyard, was much, much bigger than anything the manor had to offer.
In summary, the inside of the castle and even the outside made the grand Roswaal manor small in comparison, almost pathetic when comparing the two, but of course it was always destined that way. You don't compare an ant to a human, and you don't compare a planet to a star. Subaru knows that all too well. He too tried to compare himself, a lowly ant to giants in their craft, and that foolishness had cost him so much, even at times his very own life many times before.
At night, as one can expect, the manor was dark and deathly quiet. Not a single soul could be seen outside their rooms besides Subaru himself. Walking along the large hallways of the marble floors, the only light being given to him was by the moon through the many different windows scattered throughout many of the mansion's walls. No, scattered wasn't the right word for it because it meant that it had been randomly placed around the castle. Subaru knew that wasn't the case as each window had just enough light from the moon to allow him to see where he was going down the hallway without any source of extra light.
Each window that led outside gave a large scale view of the area around it from where Subaru was walking. He just had to turn his head, and he could see the entire backyard from where he was standing. Each colored flower, small insect, was visible to him with no need of forcing himself to go outside into the chilly night. Well, it's only fitting for those in royalty. No one wants to go out and get their hands and feet dirty in the middle of the night just to see some flowers.
Subaru knew, just knew, that every architect that worked on this castle must've racked their brains for months on end. Where each window, hallway, room had to be located to please anyone of royalty. Well, he's certainly pleased afterall, but he was just a commoner as Priscilla puts it. He was pleased with everything grand and large before him, even after living in this castle for so long, he still found new things that made him admire its beauty and craftsmanship.
Subaru only spent fifteen minutes taking a walk and looking around the castle. In those fifteen minutes, he didn't even explore half of what the castle had to offer, he didn't even go up or down the stairs. He remained in the same long hallway the entire time, but he wasn't complaining. The walk was entirely worth it, and he got to see a lot of cool stuff.
He felt his eyelids getting heavy, his movements began slowing, and every time he closed his eyes, he would jolt himself back awake. He could swear that a few minutes had quickly passed by, even though he couldn't exactly prove it, but there was one conclusion and one conclusion he had come up with to why he was feeling this way.
Yup, he was tired all right. The short walk took every ounce of energy that somehow surged itself into Subaru's body for each attempt he would try sleeping. Now, he could finally turn around and go back to his room, this time planning to count smol Beako's to put him more in a cuteness induced coma for good. He assured himself that the moment he laid his head on his pillow, it would be like getting hit in the head with a big metal bat, and he would go to sleep. However, as glad as he was to finally be tired, there was a slight problem.
He walked for fifteen minutes on the same floor his room resided in, meaning he would have to turn around and walk all the way back. Hopefully, he wouldn't fall asleep on the way there. After all, it would be very embarrassing if someone found him knocked out on the floor.
"I can't believe it. Tomorrow reallllllly is a big day."
Subaru stopped right in his tracks, his ears being blessed by a gentle voice of silver bells. Instantly, his head turned towards the source of the voice and by fate had it, he was standing near the window the voice came from. Almost instantly, every ounce of fatigue Subaru might've been feeling, both mentally and psychically, had disappeared, his body being drawn to the window right next to him.
The window showed the backyard with its fields of grass and beautiful flowers in all its glory for Subaru to see once more. There, in the center of it all, a figure could be seen bending down picking up a small lilac flower. The moon above was shining its light on her and seemingly only her. The figure's silver hair sparkled in the moon's silver light. Her beautiful purple-blue eyes were staring lovingly at the light-purple flower in her hand as her hand gently tapped one of its four petals.
"Emilia-tan…." Subaru whispered. He could feel and hear the beating of his heart as he watched the woman he served look absolutely stunning beneath the moon's gentle light.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to get married, and ah. I don't know, I feel happy, nervous, all these emotions all at once. But I remember Frederica saying it's normal when a woman feels this way. I wonder if he's feeling the same way right now," the half-elf continued speaking, with each word she uttered the tip of her pointy ears glowed a bright pinkish red.
"The same goes for me as well, Emilia-tan. It really does," Subaru whispered, nearly pressing against the window, his own face emitting a light pink.
"No, of course he does. He said he loves me, and I do too. I am happy, so very happy. It wasn't very lady-like, but I am so happy ... .so happy, I decided to propose to him," Emilia said this time in a nearly inaudible whisper, it was a miracle that Subaru heard it from where he was standing.
"Yes… the proposal," Subaru muttered to himself once more, his face still as pink as ever and the tears in his eyes as he looked back at that beautiful moment.
The proposal, Subaru remembered it all too well because it was something that had been engraved in his memory. If someone asked, he could tell them everything about it, who was there in the room that night, and word for word what everyone said and what order they spoke.
It was a couple of weeks back when all the former royal candidates, besides Priscilla, gathered together for a small meeting at the request of the queen. The simple plan? Giving each of the candidates a job, Crusch being in charge of military activities, Felt helping with her unique sense of picking the right people for the right job no matter who they are, and lastly Anastasia who, with her merchant experience, was the only one fit for handling the kingdom's economy.
The meeting ended quickly as it began for Queen Emilia, with the help of the advisor of her camp, Otto Suwan, quickly chose who would do what before they even began. The meeting only lasted three minutes, yet the queen still wanted everyone inside the room. She said that she wanted everyone to be here because there is one person special to her that's in this room. One person who took her breath away the moment she first saw him, and a man who has done so much for her. She wanted everyone here to witness something important, an important moment that will shape the rest of her life. Before everyone in the room could even blink, Emilia stood up from her throne and quickly walked out of the room only for a few seconds to return with a black box. Almost instantly, everyone knew where this was going and all at once began to freak out as the half-elf with the box in hand began walking to a man in the center of the crowd, all at a loss for words.
They all tried to stop Emilia for it was unlady like for a woman to be on her knees. Frederica and Ram were basically on the front lines, trying to stop the Queen from even bending down and allowing her elegant skin to touch the floor. However, she didn't allow it. By sheer will power and strength alone, not using magic or any ounce of mana, she got on her knees and opened the box, not even taking a deep breath, holding a bright diamond ring and presenting it to the man she loved. She opened her mouth and began speaking to the beautiful man who was in front of her.
She spouted endless words to the man she loved, words of love, words of gratefulness, and more at such a rapid rate. It was almost dizzying, but to sum it up, her entire speech could be summed up to one single but important sentence.
"I love you more than anything else in the world, and I want you to be the king who rules by my side."
Yeah…Subaru was there for it, and he almost broke down in tears at the sheer amount of passion in her voice, how love struck she was, how she was blushing so heavily. Even though she was running out of breath, she held on strong, still talking, not once faltering as she declared her love, over and over again.
"Ok, don't be a dunderhead Emilia. You can't stay here forever. You need to get your sleep, wake up early, and look beautiful. Tomorrow is going to be your special day. Oh, I can't wait to see how he looks. He looks realllyyy handsome normally, so seeing him in a suit, ahh I feel a bit of heat coming from my face just thinking about it."
The half-elf giggled, holding the flower close to her heart, unknowing of the fact that her words were straining the heart of a raven-haired man looking at her just out of sight.
Straightening herself, Emilia, with her flowers still in hand, turned around and was about to walk back inside the castle when she saw a dark figure in the distance on top of the window. Its body shape and hair looked familiar, but it was too far away from her view to see. Not even the moon's bright light aided her. Emilia felt on guard a bit, but she still took a step forward. However, before she could say anything, she blinked, and the dark figure disappeared from her line of sight.
She was taken aback with sheer shock. She rubbed her eyelids a couple of times and even blinked, but the image did not return. Was something in her eyes? Was she hallucinating? Or could it be much much worse?
Unconsciously, mana began swirling around her. Her hands emitted faint traces of ice that could be seen underneath the tips of her fingers as she got into a fighting stance.
"Is someone there?!"
She asked aloud, gazing at the window, narrowing her eyes slightly, but she was met with nothing but silence. She was very tempted to alert the guards that someone might have broken in. but she swiftly shook her head at such a thought. She was probably tired, that's all. The excitement of getting married to the one she loved, and the thought of how he would look in a black suit and tie was just too much to handle. She practically squirmed in her mind, her pace increasing as a large smile formed across her face
Subaru, meanwhile, had retreated back into his room as fast as he could. He didn't want to, but the second he saw Emilia gazing at him, his flight responses kicked in, and it was just a blur after that. Before he could blink, he was already back in his elegant king size bed out of breath.
He can still hear his heart beating rapidly as the sight of his lady's beauty was still fresh in his mind. The fatigue he had so rightfully gained was now gone, taken by the silver haired maiden of the moon. There goes his chances of getting any night's rest, it wasn't even the fact that for some reason all the energy he spent fifteen minutes of walking to get rid of suddenly returned. It was something else, a strange possibility, it was the fact that somewhere in his mind, he didn't want to sleep, he didn't want to see the sun rise over the horizon and begin a new day. He wanted to stay like this for a while, just him alone in the darkness with nothing but his thoughts and the images of a silver-haired queen filling his mind…and his big heart.
So that's exactly what Subaru did. He stared up unmoving at his dark ceiling for what seemed like the next two hours before sleep overtook him. He did put up a decent fight, trying to push back his fatigue, but no matter how hard he tried to resist, no matter how much he tried to force his eyelids to remain open, they soon fell and without being given much of a choice, Subaru Natsuki fell into a dreamless sleep..
Time. Time works differently when one sleeps. Five minutes could feel like ten seconds, an hour could feel like two, but for Subaru, an entire night passed away in the blink of an eye. Though Subaru still had his eyes shut, he could feel and see the light coming from the window piercing his eyelights. Removing any ounce of comfortable darkness the raven-haired knight had left, forcing him to turn and retreat to the side of the bed in order to escape. However, as he did, he felt something stick his back.
"Are you awake I suppose?" A familiar child-like voice echoed in Subaru's ears. Sluggishly. he opened his eyes just a tad bit wide to see the source. His vision was still blurry with fatigue but from what he could make out, the source of the voice had a very cute face with beautiful butterfly eyes. Her hair was blonde and from his very poor vision, they seemed to be making a drill-like shape. Instantly, from the voice, the hair, even her face that he could poorly make out, Subaru knew instantly it was none other than his little sister figure/contracted spirit, Beatrice.
"U-gh, yeah. Still feel tired, five more minutes," Subaru whispered weakly,turning his head away from her.
"Wake up, I suppose. You know what today is, don't you?" The great spirit with great annoyance in her voice, smacked the top of her contractor's head in an attempt to awake him. Sadly the opposite occurred. Because of her body structure and short size, her small slaps felt more like taps, light gentle taps that rubbed his forehead making him more sleepy than actually forcing his body up.
"Yeah, but sleeping is more important," Subaru responded back with a yawn.
"Such a lazy contractor you are!" Beatrice shouted in annoyance. "Awww, but that's one of my loveable-"
"Of course, a pathetic dog like yourself would respond in such a way." A different voice this time called out, sounding more annoyed than Beatrice was.
"AH!"
Before Subaru could process the voice, he felt like a dent had been planted firmly in his stomach. It was like a fist made out of iron winded back and punched him right in not only his softest area, but the exact place to inflict maximum He could feel his organs getting misplaced from the inside-out, but it would be unfitting if the pain ended there. No, before Subaru could react to the pain he was truly experiencing, he could feel his body flying out of the bed and onto the naked floor.
"MAN! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Subaru screamed, holding his stomach still aching with burning pain. He could do nothing, but twist in turn on the floor trying to find some cool spot to soothe the aching pain.
"Silence Barasu, you're too loud." The same voice returned, this time even more annoyed than last time.
"Of course,I-ahh, would be loud. I got punched, kicked? I don't know what happened, but it hurts!" Subaru groaned out a response. "What is it with you Ram?! You know violence is not always the answer, right?" Slowly, his vision returned and he looked up. The sight he saw was a familiar one to him, something he had grown used to seeing but always dread. It was the sight of the pink-oni goddess herself, Ram, in her signature maid outfit, arms crossed, and staring down at Subaru with nothing but disgust.
"Hmph, you wouldn't have woken up if I hadn't. You should thank me for my kindness instead of whining like the dog you are," Ram answered back, still condescending as always.
"I'm not thanking you! Beako would have woken me up perfectly fine without hurting me because that's what partners are for. Right Beako?!" Subaru spoke aloud, turning his head in the direction of his great spirit.
"It is not her place for Betty to speak, I suppose," Beatrice muttered. Subaru could see a bit of sweat dripping down her forehead as she quickly placed her left hand behind her back. However, it did little to hide her true intentions for Subaru could see a faint glow of light coming from behind the great spirit and he knew exactly what that was untold.
While Subaru was learning and creating new spells with Beatrice over a few years ago, he noticed something rather interesting to say the least when it came to magic. It was obvious, but each spell was different and in turn, the amount of mana used could vary, but the thing is what spell is used determines how bright someone's hands glow. A strong spell, no matter what it is, will always have a large amount of light emitting from someone's hand, but the brightness is determined by its type. A weak or normal spell would have a weak light, and its glow barely visible.
So when a certain great spirit comes in every now and then stealing Subaru's mana leading him to feel like he's being struck by lightning and makes him all dizzy, it had a certain faint trace of glowing light to it.
So the small light behind Beatrice's back could only tell Subaru one thing: his great spirit was indeed going to wake him up through pain. Subaru could feel his heart breaking into thousands of little pieces as he could do nothing but stare at his great spirit with shock.
"Beako…you traitor," he whispered timidly, much to the amusement of a certain pink oni maid.
"Even Beatrice-sama deemed that violence is indeed the answer when it comes to you," Ram stated bluntly, cracking a smug smile
"S-Shut your mouth maid! Even if I did it, it would be a lot less painful than when you brutally kick my contractor!" Beatrice retaliated, her face forming into a pout as she crossed her hands and looked away from Ram's smug face.
"Sorry Beako, but I'd rather deal with one hundred nee-san punches than even deal with Beako draining me of my mana," The knight innocently corrected, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck with a small smile.
"You're overreacting, I suppose!"
"Enough, both of you. We do not have time for such nonsense. Barasu, do you know what today is correct?" Ram spoke clearly, cutting the spirit and her contractor from saying another thing to one another further. Ram's tone changed very noticeably. She didn't have that same confident but condescending tone that Subaru was used to.
"Today is Emilia-tan's wedding! She's going to look so beautiful in that dress. She's going to look like an all white guardian angel in all the books I've read about!" Subaru responded back with a smile. However, now he was mentally kicking himself over and over. Of course, just of course, it was in the nature of Natsuki Subaru to open his mouth without thinking. Now he was going to feel the full wrath of the oni/roast god who he knew was sure was not going to let him escape unscathed. Slapping himself in his mind one final time, the knight waited for the oni to once again crush the little pride he had left.
"..."
But to his surprise, Ram said nothing as she looked him up and down. The same serious look remained on her face, but Subaru knew what she was probably thinking. She probably thought his comment was disgusting, he was a pervert, or he probably had a fetishes for girls in wedding dresses. Though the look in her eyes told a different story, it was a look Subaru didn't see all too often.
"Just get ready, Barasu, we do not have time to waste. We will be leaving in two hours. Make sure you don't look like a complete mess during the queen's special day. You don't want to embarrass her…again." Ram finally spoke. A
After a few long seconds of silence, she looked Subaru up and down once more. "Make sure you keep any unnecessary comments to yourself, no matter how much you want to." Without another word, and a forced sigh, The oni goddess and former maid of the Roswaal manor walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"Betty…will have to prepare as well I suppose," Beatrice spoke in a somber tone as she watched Ram leave. Her own expression changed. It was unrecognizable to Subaru, and he couldn't quite make it out, but he felt the emotions his great spirit was feeling through their contract…and it was all jumbled up.
"You ok, Beako?" Subaru asked, taking a small step forward in her direction "You look a little tired."
"I could ask you that, I suppose. It is a very important day between you and the half-elf. Are you sure you're ready I suppose?"' Beatrice responded, quickly turning to her contractor with a bit of what looks like worry in her eyes.
"Of course I am! This is something I will never forget, even when I am lying on my deathbed. I will always look back on this day with a big smile on my face!" Subaru stated loudly, doing a small little spin in the process as each word that came out his mouth sounded more passionate than the last.
"That's like you I suppose. You never change, do you?"
"I'm pretty sure the world will be a darker place if I ever change this wonderful personality of mind."
Her contractor's comment caused Beatrice to let out a small smile.
"It would be, in fact…Well, no time to chat, the oni has a point. Get ready I suppose. I'll make sure Betty looks extra cute just for you I suppose!"
"Thanks Beako."
With a small smile and nod between the two of them, the spirit and the knight parted ways, both getting ready for the long important day that was ahead of them.
Just like last night, two hours came and went for Natsuki Subaru. One second he was walking up to his closet, looking through the countless elegant clothes that would only be fitting of a person of royalty, and the next, he was standing in front of the mirror, touching his face and making sure there weren't any marks or wounds, already finding himself dressed to near perfection.
The knight's outfit was simple yet extremely pleasing to the eyes:he wore an white elegant button up shirt that was hidden underneath a black vest. His jacket suit went over the vest, hiding most of his arms with his sleeves, but allowing the vest to still be perfectly visible. And lastly, to put it all together, he had an orange tie to perfectly match his color scheme. All in all, Subaru was ready, ready for this amazing and perfect wedding, or so he would, but he was still struggling with a simple decision. A decision that could either enhance or ruin his entire look.
"Hair up, or hair down," he muttered to himself over, and over, and he kept changing between his normal spiky hair and his rare but good looking hair down style that for some reason Emilia and the others seem to really like. Though he really couldn't see the interest in it, it was a bit too bland for his liking. His famous spiky hair was the only thing setting him apart from the many many different people of this country, but his hair down state did have some kind of weird attraction on the ladies. So maybe his Emilia-tan would like his hair down, or maybe she wants him to have his spiky hair so she can recognize him easier.
This small little choice of hairstyle was much more difficult than he had intended and it was getting a bit frustrating, especially since he was wasting so much time putting his hair up, even though he mastered the hair style. It took at least five minutes to set it up all just for him to take less than five seconds to put it back down.
"Ok hair-"
Knock
Knock
Knock
Subaru stopped in his tracks, retracting his hand from his head as he turned to the familiar sound of a hand knocking on hard oak.
"Subaru-sama?" Another familiar voice called out to the knight from behind his smooth brown door. The voice's tone was of elegance and sheer respect, one fitting of a maid who had entrusted her entire life to the craft. Subaru knew one maid who had mastered their craft, and it sure as hell wasn't Ram because she was the complete opposite of a proper maid.
"Oh, you can come in, Frederica-san," Subaru answered back, turning back in front of his mirror as he quickly tried to figure out a last minute decision for his hair style.
However, it would already be too late as the beast maid Frederica opened the door and let herself into the knight's residence. Her footsteps filled the air of silence that was his room, Subaru had no choice but to put his hands back down and face the beast maid.
Not to Subaru's surprise, Frederica was out of her usual maid outfit, instead acting to wear a fancy beautiful light yellow dress with faint traces of blue underneath. The dress complimented her long pale golden hair that hung out freely from head to hip.
Once Subaru and her made direct eye contact, the maid as always gave a small, polite bow at the man before her, much to the embarrassment of Subaru. Despite the passing years, he could never get used to anyone, especially a pretty lady, bowing before him like he was a lord.
"I am sorry to intrude, Subaru-sama, but Queen Emilia has informed everyone they will be departing as of now," Frederica spoke clearly as she slowly stood up straight and met Subaru's eyes once again. This time her emerald green eyes had a sympathetic look to it as she stared at the raven-haired knight's eyes and hair which was half-down and half-spiked up.
The raven haired knight quickly saw where her gaze was directing to and turned back to his mirror, his face red with complete embarrassment at just how dumb he looked. It took nearly everything he had not to stutter or squirm as he could feel the maid's pity filled eyes still staring at him.
"No need to apologize, Frederica. I'm almost ready, I'm just deciding if I should have my hair up, or down."
"I…can see that. Well, I recommend you hurry. We will be departing soon. Queen Emilia has already departed in a private dragon carriage alone."
"By herself?! Shouldn't I be allowed to go with her? It's not good for Emilia-tan to be by herself, especially when she's the queen and all. I'm her knight after, well,she has hundreds of knights, but I was her one and only…" Subaru trailed off. His mind was still in complete shock at how Emilia just up and left him. He knew she was the queen and she could do whatever she wanted to, but it just wasn't like Emilia to do that in his eyes. Still, he shook off the thought and went back to doing his hair, making it sharp and spiky as it once was.
"I understand the troubles, but because this is a special day for the queen and…yourself. It is recommend that–"
"I understand, it sucks Frederica. Not being by her side at all times… not seeing her smile, not having her talk to me. Even when I'm apart from her for even a second…it's like my heart is screaming out for her to return," Subaru replied The look on his face darkened as a slight pain in his chest began to build up, but he ignored it and continued doing this hair, just now finishing two of the three front spikes on his hair,
"That's all right Subaru, it's only natural for a man still in love to feel this day." The maid responded back with a small smile on her face.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. And I'm also guessing since you're still here, that everyone must be waiting on me."
"Yes, they are. We will get there much earlier than expected, but I do recommend you hurry, not for the chance of us possibly being late, but because Ram is growing more impatient each second."
Subaru couldn't help but shiver as his mind visualized the wrath of the oni god, a pink aura of wrath surrounding her as a vein could be seen on the top of her head ready to burst. He knew that Ram's temper was nothing to play with should he continue wasting time. It was almost certain that he would lose his life, and not even return by death can turn back time and save him.
"A-alright. I guess I can't keep everyone waiting all day. I'm done anyway." As Subaru spoke, he finished the last and final spike at the front of his hair and made sure to slick his hair back. Perfect, he now had his iconic look and was ready to take on this wedding with looks and style that he sure would make anyone, mostly and hopefully Emilia, will be unable to take their eyes away from him.
"All right then, let us go, everyone is waiting," Frederica said with a smile and nod, turning her back to Subaru, walking out the door. Following the maid's leads, Subaru did the exact same thing, making sure to close the door behind him. Together, side by side, the maid and the knight descended down the stairs of the royal castle.
"Oh Capn, there ya are!" Subaru heard a cheerful voice talk to him as his feet planted firmly on the first floor of the castle behind the demi-maid. Instantly, he turned his head, and his face lit up with a smile as he saw Garfiel shield-no, Garfiel Tinsel, royal knight of Lugunica, dressed finely in the standard in the outfit of the royal knights. Looking up at Subaru with a cheerful, sharp tooth smile, he wasted no time and walked up to him.
Garfiel wasn't the only one there. Petra, Otto, Ram, Roswaal; every single member of the Emilia camp was there. Each of them wore some kind of fancy suit that matched their color and taste perfectly.
"You sure took your time Natsuki-san, we've been waiting for twenty minutes," Otto whined the second his eyes laid upon Subaru.
"Oh come on, stop overreacting. I had two entire hours, I'm sure I didn't take that long," Subaru rolled his eyes as he took a few steps closer to the group.
"I'm sad to Subaru-kunnnnn, you did take two hours and twenty entire minutes. We all have already prepared forty minutes ago. We've been waiting for you the entire time," The court mage, Roswaal L Mathers, answered back in his iconic accent. His words froze Subaru right in his track as his face grew slightly red with sheer embarrassment. No way he took that long, how did everyone even get ready before him? He knew he can sometimes be slow, especially when it came to getting out of bed due to his experience as a shut in neek,but he couldn't be that slow not when it was such an important day.
"I'm surprised you even got up this morning," Otto added with a sigh, his tone being a little bit more sympathetic.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"You know exactly what I mean," Otto shot back, and much to the surprise of the raven-haired knight, Otto didn't look annoyed but more surprised, as if the words that escaped Subaru's mouth were unnatural, no..almost like everything Subaru did was completely unnatural for any human being to do. A sweat escaped the back of Subaru's head as the stare he was getting from Otto made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Enough. Now it is no time to be talking, our private dragon carriage has already arrived. It would be a dishonor to Queen Emilia if we all show up late. Especially…a certain boy," Roswaal once again spoke, his voice becoming a little more serious as his head turned to the open door leading outside of the castle grounds. Right in the white concrete road with green lushes of grass winged behind it, a dragon carriage of white and purple stood being pulled by the long time pet ground dragon Patrasche. iThe carriage was being protected by thirty men who seemed to live the words battle hardened. Their hands were constantly next to the hilt of their swords, their eyes constantly shifting and looking at the environment around them.
Seeing this, the margrave instantly turned around and began walking out of the door into the sunlight. Everyone else, after a few seconds, followed the margrave. Petra, Frederica, Otto, even Garfiel looked down at the clothing, fitting in some slight fixes to make sure they looked proper. Now that they basically lived in the castle and directly worked hand in hand with the queen, it was important that everyone looked professional and proper at all times, tenfold if they were going to important events such as the Queen's wedding. Her public image tied directly to theirs so it was something they needed to do to maintain at all cost.
"Welp, that's our cue to leave. Let's go," Subaru said aloud, resisting a loud sigh from escaping his mouth. Picking up his pace a little, he walked up and instantly grabbed the hand of his contracted spirit. "Let's go together, Beako. Don't get lost now"
Beatrice, at first, was shocked and slightly embarrassed at how quickly Subaru came to her side and the words that escaped his mouth, but she didn't let it bother her too much. It was only natural that Subaru wanted Beatrice at his side at all times.
"Barasu."
Unexpectedly, Ram spoke, stopping in her tracks to turn and point one finger straight at Subaru, surprising everyone around her. This time her voice was more stern than it ever was before. She stared deep into his soul as she narrowed her eyes. Subaru didn't know why, but he found himself unable to breath or look away from Ram's stare. It was like something was forcing him to keep looking into her enchanting crimson eyes.
A very strange five seconds of silence passed by between Subaru and Ram.
"Make sure to not embarrass yourself, got it? No matter what, I need you to control your emotions. Do I make myself clear?" Ram sounded even more serious with each word that came out of her mouth.
"Nee-san, why do you-"
"Do I make myself clear?" The pink haired oni cut off the raven-haired knight without any hesitation, her voice a little bit louder than she first spoke.
Subaru's forehead creased, but he soon relaxed it. "...Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. I promise on Emilia-tans name, I'll make sure no to do anything stupid on such a big day." Subaru responded back, this time sounding just as serious as the pink oni in front of him.
Ram this time didn't respond, instead she just narrowed down her eyes slightly and kept on staring. She settled in giving him a small, very fake sounding sigh and turned around without another word and continued her walk. She ignored the stares of the people around her, making her way to the elegant dragon carriage fit for anyone of royalty. The remaining members inside the castle turned to Subaru, all looking concerned at how blunt and, dare they say, rude Ram spoke to him. Yes, they have seen her like this before but not to such a degree, even with a big event happening.
Subaru, just like Ram, didn't say anything, but he responded to his friends' worried gazes with a smile and a nod. Once they all returned, without another misstep, the former but still closely knit together Emilia camp walked out of the castle feeling the bright sunlight on their skin before entering the dragon carriage. They were ready for not the most important day of their lives, but a day that would go down in the history books for generations to come, a day people will look at fondly; their queen, getting married to preserve a bloodline full of kind and gentle rulers.
The ride to the wedding ceremony was eventful to say the very least. The capital of Lugunica was no stranger to having thousands of people as far as the eye could see walking around exploring the street at once. It was one of the most populated areas after all. Thousands of people had made it their home here and even their businesses and livelihood. But, the capital seemed even more populated than usual, the thousands of citizens walking around the streets seemed to triple in size.
From the seat of the private dragon carriage, to Subaru and the others, it looked like millions of people were in the city streets. Both demi-humans and humans alike, some from this country, and obviously others from afar were all standing off to the side of the road, cheering and clapping as they passed by. Some held homemade signs out of wood spelling out the word 'Congratulations.'
For miles on end, that was all Subaru and everyone else could see, people cheering them on as they passed by. Even the famous shops were closed down and the owners were front line and center. Secretly, each of the Emilia camp members thanked Od that their dragon carriages windows weren't seen through. To keep up the great public image they made, they would have to smile and wave like it was no tomorrow in every direction.
"Wow…that's a lot of people," Otto muttered out timidly as he stared at the window, the dragon carriage passing by hundreds of people in a straight line. The line was continuous, a horizon of people in high spirit. With the amount of people steadily increasing, it was surely leading to the location they were heading.
"Mine amazing self has never seen so many people in my life." Garfiel followed after Otto, his face smoosh against the window as his eyes sparkled at the sheer number of people coming to see him–ok, mostly his queen, but they were still going to see him as well.
"Watcha make of this Cap'n?" Garfiel asked with a toothy smile as he took his head away from the window and looked at Subaru across from him, sitting down with the great spirit calmly sleeping on his lap.
"..."
"Cap'n….?"
Subaru said nothing, his head also turned towards the window. His expression was completely unreadable. He just kept a robotic pattern of petting a sleeping Beatrice on the head as if she was a cat.
"Cap'n, you be ok?" Garfiel spoke up, this time a bit more worried, at how strange his Cap'n is acting.
"Don't worryyyy, Garfiel-kun. Subaru-kunnn is just deep in thought; he always acts like that. Ain't that right, Otto-kun?" The clown smiled as he turned his head towards the merchant, sending a small chill down his spine. Though it's been years, Otto and many of the others still can't bring it in them to trust this clown. Still, they had to try.
"Y-yes. I'm pretty sure Natsuki-san will snap out of it very soon. He does have that habit, but I can understand why. It's a joyous but pretty stressful day, especially with what Ram-san said." As the former merchant spoke, his eyes shifted over to a pink-haired oni, sitting right beside her master. She didn't say anything, but gave a short shrug of uninterest, barely acknowledging the merchant's comments.
Otto was going to open his mouth once again to speak about how it wasn't necessary for Ram to say those things to Subaru, yet he couldn't as something else caught his interest, the dragon carriage was slowing down. The ground dragon that had been running nonstop for the past forty minutes was now taking a slow and steady walk before coming to a complete stop.
"We have arrived," The driver in front said aloud in a respectful tone as the dragon carriage doors opened by a man wearing white gloves and the standard uniform of the royal knights. He gave a small and polite bow to everyone before standing off to the side, still holding the door handle.
"Beako wake up, it's time to go." Subaru, now snapped out of his thoughts thanks to the voice of the driver, leisurely poked Beatrice's left cheek.
Beatrice twitched in annoyance. "Five more minutes, I suppose." She lazily turned to the side, making herself more comfortable on her contractor's lap.
"Look what you've done, Barasu. Your lazy habits have infected the mind of the great spirit," Ram spat out in disgust.
"Come on, Beako is tired and just wants to sleep a little bit more. Don't make me bring up all the times you slept for hours on end while everyone else had to do work around the castle," Subaru retorted back, rolling his eyes at the oni's comments due to her sheer hypocrisy. If he had a dollar for every time Ram claimed that he was lazy, barely does work, or does nothing right but she turns around and does little to no work, and doing things worse than Subaru ever could, he would be rich, so rich he could buy the entire Hoshin company. He could already feel his arms getting sore remembering each and every time he had to pick Ram's slack even long after he became a knight.
"Hmph. Clear difference. I've been working hard ever since we lived back in the Roswaal manor." Ram simply scoffed at the knight in front of her.
"That is a bold face lie and you know it!"
"Enough, in fact. Betty is awake," Beatrice muttered tiredly with a yawn, getting off her contractor's lap and onto the wooden floor of the cart dragon. She was wobbly at first, but maintained her balance.
"Look what you did, Ram! It's never good for a child to have to wake up due to an argument!" Subaru whined, his nasty, sharp eyes glaring at the maid with nothing but disapproval and disappointment as he stood up and took the hands of his great spirit.
"Betty is not a child, I suppose! Can we hurry up? The sooner we go, the sooner we start and the sooner Betty can go back to sleep." Beatrice tugged with all her might to pull her contractor's hand so he could move forward, but due to her very short size and strength, it was beyond futile.
"Yes, I am pretty sure they're all waiting on us. Let's go, Subaru-kunnnn, there is no time to waste after all. It wouldn't be good to keep the queen waiting, isn't that right?" Roswaal spoke with a small smile, turning to give a slight gaze at the raven-haired knight.
Subaru's breath hitched for a second.
"Yeah." Was the only word he could manage to say. Beatrice, seeing how nervous he was, tightened her grip around his fingers in an attempt to calm him, and luckily enough it worked. Subaru gave her a small smile, a message folded in his smile that only Beatrice could read. Yet, for her contractor's wellbeing, she decided silence would be her virtue. Without another word, the former Emilia camp, now all together to serve the queen, left the dragon carriage .
When the wedding was announced, Subaru didn't actually know the customs when it came to the world. For all he knew, slapping someone in a wedding and completely telling everyone out loud what was wrong about them could be seen as a sign of love. Who knows? Well, he surely didn't.
Luckily, fate was on his side. Weeks before the wedding was announced publicly, Subaru had taken some time to research the customs of this world and by Od would have it, the customs of marriage were exactly like those in his home world. The two couples would gather all their friends and loved ones to a church. Once everyone sits down, the two couples would say their vows and get the blessing from a priest, and the two would have their kiss, and everything after that would just be bliss.
Simple enough, Subaru had seen so many different romance movies and half of it always ends with a wedding, so he was slightly experienced on how things would go. Everything would be simple and clean, even though it was such an important meeting that everyone would be attending. The entire country was looking at this meeting behind the closed gate of the entrance to the church and thousands of people would be inside shortly soon.
For a massive kingdom that is home to the largest population of people in the world, Subaru expected there to be lots of churches, churches in the neighborhood by manors or even one a few steps over by the old Roswaal manor, but surprisingly no. There was only one church to Subaru's knowledge that actually existed, one home to thousands of members and something people came to visit regularly.
That church was called the Dragon Church, one made to sing the praises of the holy dragon that saved the country from falling apart on itself. One word to describe the Church: massive. It was bigger than anything Subaru had seen in movies. The architecture of the Dragon Church itself was similar to one of a standard romance movies Subaru had the displeasure of watching with his family. Instead of the color being white, it was mainly a dark blue color, and the colorful stained glasses shaped by biblical figures had the dragon in the center and the sage and the sword saint around it in different poses. The dragon stood tall, looking down at everyone with his wings spread, symbolizing protection over the prosperous Lugunica.
Just like the castle and the Roswaal manor, half of the area was covered in grass, flowers, and bushes, which were expertly cut in order to resemble the shape of the holy dragon. The only thing separating the look from the castle and the Roswaal manor was that there were little small statues of the dragon scattered along the white concrete road. It paved a small guide to the inside of the church while the outside was nearly empty besides the hundreds of royal knights standing guard and the queen's honored guests just arriving themselves.
The inside of the church was booming with life: humans, demi-humans, nobles, knights, former royal candidates , even people who looked like everyday citizens were all there talking to one another. They were each dressed in the finest clothes their pockets could handle, sitting on white chairs evenly organized in rows of ten separated right down the middle, allowing anyone to freely walk in and walk out without any trouble.
"That's…a lot of people." Otto looked on with shock. "Where are we even supposed to go once we get inside?" Through his years as a merchant, he was used to seeing large numbers of people in a crowd either waiting to score the next deal or to get a product before it sold out, but this was on a whole different level because he at least had open spaces to be able to make his deal. Not a single openspace could be seen, no matter how big the church might be on the inside.
"No need to worry Ottoooo-kun, they have seats prepared for us right in the front row."
The clown said with a smile, wasting no time in walking inside the church, forcing the group–mainly Subaru and Otto–to follow the clown's lead and go inside the blue building.
The second the group made it inside the church, it was like their presence alone had stopped time. Everyone stopped talking, stopped what they were doing and turned their necks to them. Staring at them as they passed by, their glares were razor sharp, but out of everyone walking by, the camp noticed that they were looking at one person in particular, one person who was walking with them, but had his head down gripping the hand of his contracted spirit tightly.
The stares continued all the way up until the group made their way in front of the entire church, having the best seats in town for they could see the entire stage without any problems. Even after each member of the group took a seat, the stares didn't stop. They were no longer looking at anyone else, but this time just straight at Subaru. Each gaze was filled with nothing but concern, pity, sympathy, and Subaru didn't like it, not one bit. He hated the looks he was getting from the people around him. He hated the looks he was getting from his own camp as from the corner of his eyes, he could see Otto, Ram, Roswaal, even Beatrice, staring at him with a sliver of pity.
Today was a good day, an amazing day, a joyous day. Not a day where it's just everyone staring at Natsuki Subaru like he's a poor helpless child going through trauma. He didn't know why he was getting such stares, he didn't know why his chest ached every time the wedding was mentioned. He didn't know why his head, chest, soul, was burning with pain as he sat inside the Church, and lastly, he didn't know why he couldn't look up. His eyes were glued on the floor, but he could still feel the pity filled stares around him.
"Eh-hm. Hello, I would like to thank you all today for coming to attend such a joyous event!" A loud voice called from the beautiful white concrete stage. The voice was elegant, kind, gentle and by luck of the Od, it was able to turn everyone's attention away from Subaru to the source. The source of the voice was none other than the priest, Melty Prtis, wearing her iconic blue dress and white knee-high boots.
'I need to stop sulking. I need to smile more.' Subaru thought to himself, trying his best to force his head up and look at the stage, but he couldn't. He just couldn't, it hurts, every hurts, his chest, his head, everything.
"There is nothing more joyous than seeing the wedding of two souls greatly in love joining together in union."
'I can't ruin Emilia-tan's wedding by looking sad. Look up. Smile, smile damn it.'
"Today! Friends, family, rivals, but most importantly, all of us together as the kingdom of Lugunica. We came to celebrate the union of Queen Emilia Luginica, and the greatest of knights, Julius Juukuluis."
The second the names of the bride and the lucky groom escaped the priest's mouth, Subaru could feel his salty tears threaten to build up.
'I want to cry, but I can't cry. I don't deserve to cry. Just look up and smile. Make today the happiest day of Emilia-tan's life.'
"Please, give them a warm and respectful welcome." With a large smile on her face, the priest and many others…including the reluctant Subaru looked off behind them.
While the custom of marriage in Subaru's world and this world are similar, not everything was the exact same. The groom was supposed to be the one standing in the middle of the stage, waiting for the bride to be led by the bridesmaid, then the usual process begins. Instead, the kingdom of Lugunica did no such things. Instead, the two lovers could never be separated,not even for a moment, not even for a single second.
From the door leading to the outside, two people could be seen walking inside first, leaving small trails of white and purple flowers in their wake leading all the way up to the stage. One being a male having purple hair and wearing a golden monocle with a large smile on his face. The other was a blue-haired oni who was not as reluctant as the man beside her, but still maintained a smile on her. That smile quickly faded once she reached the front of the stage and her eyes made contact with Subaru.
'Rem, why are you looking at me like that? Stop, your Emilia's bridesmaid. Keep smiling'
Once the bridesmaid and groomsman finished placing a trial of flowers, they each gave one another a small bow before splitting apart. Rem sat by an empty seat next to Subaru and the purple-haired brother of the greatest of knights, Joshua, took his place amongst the Anastasia camp.
"Are you ok, Subaru-kun?" Rem asked worryingly, grabbing the hand of the knight beside her and giving it a gentle rub. She could feel the sadness in him, though it wasn't present on his face.
"Of course I am, Rem! Why wouldn't I?" Subaru reassured. "My Emilia-tan is getting married! I feel like a proud father!" Subaru responded back, much to the shock of everyone next to him and those behind him. He appeared as cheerful as ever, Subaru acted the same as he always would. A happy tone, a bright smile on his face, and a dumb response.
He seemed fine, but to the oni who had known this boy for so long, stayed with him for nearly a year in an unknown country when she lost her memories, and saw him at his lowest point, she could do nothing but nod and widen her eyes slightly in worry.
'It's not fair Rem, I wanted Garfiel or Otto to be my best man. I want to be the one.''
"Here they come!" Someone said aloud, and instantly everyone turned their heads back towards the entrance of the church and the sight they saw nearly took their breath away.
It was the queen, and her king, Emilia and Julius, walking side by side amongst one another, Emilia in a beautiful white dress and a gold crown embellished with purple gems on top of head. She was pressing on the shoulders of a violet-haired fit man, wearing a black and white suit similar to Subaru's. The bride had her hands around the groom, and just stared at his handsome face in a dream-like state.
Steadily, seemingly stepping on each petal on their way, the two finally made it to the stage, exchanging a small hug before standing in front of one another. Their fingers intertwined together, staring lovingly into one another's eyes.
"The two may now say their vows," The priest said to the two with a small smile before taking a step back, making sure they had the entire stage to themselves.
"Emilia, when I first saw you, you were the most beautiful woman I ever laid my eyes upon. Your beauty can not truly be matched by anyone in this world, but as you know…" Julius began softly, a small smile forming on his face as he tightened the lock around Emilia's fingers.
'Everything about her is beautiful, her eyes, her nose, how she talks. Everything about her is perfect."
"Beauty in physical appearance means nothing when it comes to the soul, and I can say without a doubt," Juluis smile widened slightly as he paused for dramatic effect.
'Her soul is pure.'
"Your soul is pure, your personality, your kindness. It's something that many people, including myself, wish to have. These traits are why you are deserving to be queen of this fine country, and I was honored…and slightly embarrassed when you proposed to me. I promise, not on my title as greatest of knights but as Julius Juukulius, to be a beloved husband that fits all your standards. I will protect you, even if it costs me everything in this life or the next."
The words Julius spoke almost turned Emilia into a blushing red appa. She was speechless. What could she say to be honest? Everything Juluis had said sounded like it came from the very depths of his soul, his eyes gleamed with determination and commitment and that wasn't lost on the half-elf queen. The greatest of knights did love her, did want to be with her and spend the rest of her days ruling by her side.
That fact alone made Emilia smile, her heart racing rapidly as she could only be grateful. She knows without a shadow of a doubt she chose the right person. Someone who loves her with all of his being, someone, who in the face of death itself, would have no hesitation to jump forward in order to save her. That someone was Julius and she…felt the exact same way. She couldn't think about any other place she could be without Julius by her side. She was willing to die for the greatest of knights, and she wanted to express that now.
She had the same commitment as the knight, and she is completely willing to show it through her words.
"Julius, I... It's really hard to describe my feelings sometimes. But…I love you. I realllyyy do. You're nice, handsome, and you've always been there for me."
'I was always there for her from the start. When Elsa came to attack, when the mansion was under attack by the witch cult. I was the one there, so why Julius. Why? Is it because he's stronger? Yeah…that's why. Why would Emilia love a weak loser like me? I was a fool thinking I had a chance in the first place.'
"When everyone saw me as just a mirror of the Witch of Envy, saying mean and hurtful words, you were the first person to not see me as that. You didn't see me as a tool either to grow relations with your camp. You saw me as Emilia, just Emilia."
'I was the one who always stood by your side. Even when you gave me a false name, I cared for you and only you.'
"When I was at the lowest point of my life, really going through a very hard time, you were the one who raised me up. You were the one who lifted me back up and gave me hope even when everything around me was burning."
'You did the same with me, Emilia-tan. You've always seen me in my weakest state, you were always the one that needed to pick me up. Julius never experienced such a state, maybe that's why you never answered me. You were sick and tired of me being pathetic all the time.'
Subaru could feel tears once again threatening to form under his eyelids, but through sheer willpower, he was able to force it down, pushing down the pain he was feeling in his heart and the need to scream out at the world.
"It took me a while to understand this feeling in my chest, why I feel such warmth in my chest when I see your smile. It took me nearly five years, but I'm completely sure now. I love you, and I don't want anyone else by my side."
The pain in Subaru's chest increased to an indescribable amount, once Emilia finished speaking.
His heart was crying in pain as his mind tortured him with the last sentence Emilia uttered out. It kept repeating over and over in Subaru's head, not stopping for a second to let the raven-haired knight breathe. It was almost like a sadistic god was standing above Subaru, enjoying every ounce of Subaru's mental struggle, watching and waiting to see him break, to release all the pain he was feeling inside the chest with one powerful scream. Yet, he knew he couldn't. Nothing would work. The pain would stay despite anyone's efforts, mainly his own.
The only thing Subaru could do was ask himself why? Why did Emilia choose Julius over him? Why did he earn her love and affection when Subaru couldn't? As he asked himself that question, his mind gave him an answer. An obvious answer. Subaru should've seen from the start, an answer already given to himself but pushed down in the bottom of his mind.
Compared to Julius, Natsuki Subaru was nothing.
He was a weak, little coward that always needed to be saved by others. He was only able to save the people he loved because of Return by Death. Without it, he would be powerless in face of disaster. He knew that now, he accepted the fact. Julius was everything that Subaru could not be. He was the perfect man for Emilia and would be so much better than him. He hated that it was true, he wished it weren't, but what can he do? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
After a few seconds of silence, seeing the two lovers done with their beautiful vows,the priest finally stepped forward again. She looked at the queen and future king for a few seconds before turning and facing the thousands of people currently sitting in the church.
"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, say them now or forever hold your peace," she said aloud, unconsciously her gaze moved away from the crowd and onto a seat. A seat she expected to be filled with a certain person but much to her shock….it was empty.
"Yeah. I got something to say." Subaru's voice could be heard in the middle of the room. Quickly, everyone turned and saw that the raven-haired knight was indeed standing and staring directly at the two lovers.
Ram was the first one to notice and instantly stood up. She was ready to get up and pounce at Subaru to prevent him from embarrassing himself. She would never admit it to his face, but she felt extreme pity for the fool. She could tell how troubled his heart was. Something in her entire being was telling her to stop this, stop him from feeling anymore pain.
But before the oni could do anything, she was instantly stopped by a hand gripping her shoulder. She looked away from the boy for a few seconds, meeting the eyes of her lord and love. Silently shaking his head, he tugged her hand down and for the first time in a while, Ram reluctantly sat down.
Just like Ram, everyone looked at the raven-haired knight with worry in their eyes. Even the former royal candidates, Felt, Anatsias, and Crusch were practically ready to stand up and run over to the boy. They knew how much he was hurting right now, how much he was hurting when Emilia declared this love to Julius instead of him. At that moment, they wanted to do everything in their power to stop him from saying something foolish. Just drag him away from here, and comfort him to the best of their abilities but it seems like nothing can be done now. He was already front and center stage, even if they reach him. He probably would get a couple of words off.
Even Emilia and Julius looked worried at what Subaru might say next.
"Ok, everyone for Od's sake, stop looking at me like that. I promise my nee-san over here I wouldn't say anything dumb," Subaru said aloud, quickly turning around for a brief second and staring at everyone with disappointment. He could feel their sad stares, and it was kinda annoying, but he understood why.
"Now… know you're a self righteous prick. Your color choice for your hair is ugly, your nose is too big, and the way you keep preaching your title, your head all highly,it pisses me off."
"..." No one spoke, even after the raven-haired knight hurled insults after insults at the groom. Maybe it was because Subaru's insults were justified, or…there was more to this than the others.
"But..you're the perfect choice for Emilia-tan. I know you will protect her when I'm not around, and I know you will be a good king. Just promise me one thing." Subaru's voice grew fainter with each word he spoke, but even so he kept his head up high, even when he accidentally gazed upon Emilia's worried face.
'Don't make her cry, don't ruin her wedding. Just say it and get out.'
"Yes, what is that, Subaru?" Julius asked in a soft whisper, just loud enough for Subaru to hear. The look in his eyes had a mix of shame and worry as he gazed upon the raven-haired knight.
"You said you would always protect Emilia, right? I want you to, no matter what, keep your word, even if it kills you. I want you to always be by Emilia's side so she's never alone, got it?"
Julius became partially stunned. "...Of course. I promise to both my lover and you my friend," Julius smiled, gripping Emilia's soft fingers even tighter.
"Good. Just so you know, if you don't and you make Emilia-tan cry, I will find you and kill you! You will experience thousands of years of torment the second I find out!"
Everyone began to laugh at how serious and overreacting Subaru was when he spoke. It was not only funny, but also comforting to them that Subaru still had the energy and will to be himself, doing his dumb jokes that would put a smile on everyone's faces. The only people not comforted by this was the group that came in with Subaru, his camp, the ones who knew the raven-haired knight more than he knew himself.
"Subaruuuu!" Emilia said aloud, a cute little pout forming on her face.
"I'm kidding, Emilia-tan."
"..."
"Anyway, continue. I got nothing more to say, just needed to set the record straight." Without another word, Subaru turned around and began walking back to his seat,or that's what everyone thought.
Once everyone turned their attention away from the raven-haired knight and back at the stage, he wasn't walking back to his seat. He passed his group and began walking out the door. They nearly screamed his name, but he didn't hear it. Nothing would stop his march.
"Well, with no further interruption, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," Priest Melty declared followed by thousands of hands colliding against one another in cheers.
"I hope you are happier without me, Emilia-tan. You deserve a happy ending… a useless man like me never deserve you." Subaru turned around as he reached the door, just in time to see Julius, the greatest of knights, and Emilia, Queen of Lugnica, lips meet softly, but with uncontained passion.
Not wanting to see anymore, Natsuki Subaru, the knight from another world, and the one and only knight for the half-elf Emilia throughout the years of the royal selection, left the wedding ceremony with a large smile on his face and tears tucked away.
The tears forced to not show during the past weeks began flowing out of his eyes like waterfalls.