The Star and the Valkyrie

by The Writing Pupil

After Julius and Emilia's wedding and Subaru walks off. Crusch Karsten decides to tend to the heart of the broken raven-haired knight and show her true feelings. Welcome to lone star chapter 2 aka the Crusch if.

Ok Archer you won, I lost. here's your fucking Crusch Lone star fic and leave me the hell alone but thank you at the same time because now I have something to say. (Good job on actually giving us Priscilla if chapter 2 though)

People. This is fanfiction! I ain't hiding details from you, especially on ao3 you can read the tags. You can skip my fic, I ain't holding you by the throat and forcing you to read this. if you don't like it or have no actual complaints that could make my fic better besides wanting to bitch in my comics. SKIP IT! Like seriously death threats over a fanfiction? Get a life. Now for those who said the characters are OOC I get that, and that was on purpose but should've stated that clearer in the tags good to know. So for the next one this ain't for y'all. For those who went "This is so OOC" Than go to my comments and say "Subaru would burn down the world". Really, just really. Im not even gonna mention how that makes no sense.

Overall. Fuck off, don't send me death threats over a fanfiction on the internet. If you have no actual things to say to help me improve my writing fuck off. Seriously its fanfiction, don't let me get started on when my good friend shape of evil (who reuploaded the OG lone star so check that out) got thousands of words of paragraph for making the main relationship of his john wick react fic Frederica instead of Emilia. Not to mention someone said petra would be a better fit, anyway right off topic.

What I'm saying is. This is fanfiction, shut the fuck up and take your "EWWW It's so cursed and ntr" complaints and fuck off. Actually, take your complaints and give it too idk fics that has Loli smut in them because seriously writing about children having sex disgusting. Anyway rant over, enjoy I guess.

ONE MORE THING! Archer give us a chapter 3 of Priscilla if PLEASE!

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Inside the Church, it was filled with nothing but applause for the newly wedded couple, friends, family, rivals, and even full-blown strangers all of who came out of their way to the beautiful marriage between Emilia Luginica and Julius Juuklius. It was a beautiful wedding, everything that could have gone right did, and everything that could've gone wrong surprisingly turned out to end in a very peaceful light.

The spirits of the entire kingdom were all at an all-time high, after all the greatest of knights and the queen who had helped slay the witch cult, mabeast, and unfroze the elves held captive in the Elior forest. WIth them together working side by side as king and queen, and husband and wife, there was no telling what the future would bring but one thing was for sure it was going to be a future of prosperity.

It was a joyous day, but for some, it felt empty. It was like one person, one important person who had done so much, one important person who deserves to celebrate or at least feel the same happiness in his heart as everyone else was missing. Some paid no attention to that gut feeling burning deep inside of their soul for dwelling on the fact would only taint such a wonderful day.

However, others including the members of the queen's camp who helped her on every step to victory simply couldn't ignore it. Each was in the front row all standing up clapping with smiles as wide as they could possibly make for the sheer joy they have that the queen finally found her king. They each tried their best to maintain eye contact on the queen but their eyes kept gazing towards an empty seat at the end of the row.

That seat belonged to one person and one person only, their great friend, their hero, and the one who had suffered more than anyone. Possibly the only person who was not feeling joy at this very moment and who could blame him? No matter how many times the Emilia Camp tried to pay attention to what's in front of them, their gazes always fell back onto that empty seat, even the pink-haired maid.

The only person who didn't bother fighting the urge was the great spirit/contractor to the raven-haired knight Natsuki Subaru, and did nothing but stare at the empty seat. She stared on and on without even taking a second to blink, feeling the connection between her and Subaru. She could feel his sorrow, his pain, his heart being broken into a thousand little pieces all due to not getting an answer.

She wanted to get up, and search for her contractor to comfort him in his time of great sorrow, tell him it was ok and that he didn't even need the half-elf to be happy. Her feeling was shared across each member of the Emilia camp, each of them had a feeling to help their friend, savior in his time of sorrow but they could do nothing.

If each of them decided to stand up and walk away from such an important moment in history what would that say about them? What would happen to the queen's reputation if all over the Luginica news was that her own team decided to stand up and leave her as such an important member. The second Subaru disappeared from the crowd they now knew all eyes were on them, watching, waiting for their next move and for the sake of the queen they had to act proper.

For now though they each hated it from the very core of their souls they had to leave Subaru alone with his emotions for a little while longer. At that moment they could only hope and pray Subaru would be able to either maintain himself on his own and keep himself together, or at the very least let someone find the poor soul in the pain he's in and cure his broken heart. Whether that be temporary or a permanent solution hoped for the best outcome, and luckily for them someone was unknowingly about to answer their prayers.

In the very back of the church, practically sitting next to the open door, Crusch Karsten was one of the two individuals that did not have her gaze on the newly wed couple. Instead, she had her eyes set on one thing in partically the open door that Natsuki Subaru walked through.

It pained her heart to see the boy who did so much, the boy who helped her during The White Whale Hunt, and even saved her from Lust's powers, and countless times after that be reduced to such a state. She was right there, she was so close to him with one stretched-out arm and she could have stopped him from walking out the door and comforted him right there, but she did nothing.

She was useless, the same as she was during the attack during Pristella, she let the boy walk out the door with pain in his heart and with nothing but her own thoughts, but no more. She would not stand by and let such an innocent man be tormented with his own thoughts and what happened here today. She would not let this constant beating her heart every time she sees him go answered so that's why-

"Lady Karsten." A voice suddenly appeared as she felt a hand grab her own the very second she was about to stand and walk out the door, quickly she turn to the seat next to her and it was none other than the Sword Demon, Wilhelm.

The years haven't been so kind to the sword-demon as wrinkles appeared all over his body, his band barely having skin and flesh that could be mistaken for bone. He was weak in every aspect, he couldn't fight as he once did, nor could he even walk but what he did have enough energy to do was speak and speak he did.

"You're going to Sir Natsuki, aren't you?" The old man asked weakly, but before Crusch could answer his question he continued. "There is no need to answer. I can see it in your eyes, and how you've been staring at the door. Forgive me if this is insulting my lady, but are you sure that is a wise decision?"

"I am sure, Wilhelm," Crusch answered back without even a moment of hesitation, her gaze turning back towards the entrance of the Church. "He shouldn't be alone with his own thoughts at the current moment."

"My lady." Wilhelm paused before he continued speaking, choosing his words carefully. "As a once-married man who lost his wife, though it is different to what Subaru-dono is feeling. Being alone might be the best-

"No, it is not Wilhelm." It took Crusch everything she had to maintain her composure and not speak in a growl. "Right now, being alone might be the worst possible option for him. In times of emotional distress the best solution is comfort. If alone with these thoughts for so long it will bury deep inside his soul and destroy him from the inside.

Wilhelm stayed silent for a moment, a long moment, it was so long for a second she thought that old age had gotten to the old man, so she turned her head away from the door for the first time ever since Subaru walked out the room and turned to face the old man. Ready to check on him in need only to find her concerns were unnecessary for the old man simply had a smile on his face.

"You speak as a general in battle, seeing her men fall into utter despair," he began with a weak chuckle, "Yet, your eyes can not hide your true intentions."

"My intentions?" Crusch raised an eyebrow.

"It is unlike you, Lady Crusch, to be playing dumb, you know exactly what I mean." Wilhelm paused for a moment, waiting for his master to say something, but instead, she stayed silent and that was his cue to continue. "I've seen the way you've stared at Subaru-dono, the very moment he began his speech. With the look in your eyes, you could tell he was hurting, yet you could say nothing so you felt the same pain. Isn't that true, Lady Karsten? Do you share some kind of feeling for Subaru-dono?"

In a past life, Crusch would've scoffed at the words that came out of the old man's mouth, denying such a fact, but now she had nothing to refute. She knew the old man's trick of seeing the soul through the eyes, and even without her divine protection, he could easily detect her lie so she had no choice but to tell the truth.

"Yes, you are correct, Wilhelm." She spoke in a loud sigh. "Seeing him in a great amount of pain hurts my heart to an untold degree, almost as if my very being was being eaten away."

Wilhelm listened carefully to each word his duchess had to say, slowly nodding along. For in a past life… he had these same feelings every time he saw his wife suffer. He truly understood truly how much Crusch wanted to aid Subaru in such a lowest point of his life but-

"A broken heart can't be mended so easily."

"I know." Crusch answered, quickly turning away from the old Sword Demon, closing her eyes as her mind took her back to another life. A life for when her heart belonged to someone else, someone who was kind, sweet, caring, and oftentimes completely foolish, such as a certain boy. That someone was gone already, returned to dirt long ago and she was left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

She was alone mostly in her mourning, often spending time in her room silently crying for hours on end, and the second someone decided to check on her she would put back up a stone wall over her emotions. She spent her time alone with her emotions and it did nothing but drive her into a pit of despair more and more until time finally allowed her to move on, but the scar in her heart never truly faded.

It wasn't the same as Subaru's, but she couldn't have imagined what she would do if she was in that situation. As strong as she was on the outside, on the inside she can sometimes be emotional, and maybe, just maybe, she would've done something unfitting of a duchess and walked out the room completely ignoring the gazes of the crowd, no matter what it would do to her reputation.

Yet Subaru was better, though he was in pain, and she could hear his voice breaking every second containing the urge to burst out in tears and curse the world. She was amazed at how he was able to control his emotions when, a few years prior during the time of the royal, he had embarrassed himself in front of the entire world. He'd grown an insane amount over the years and though his mind has grown, his heart was still filled with love as ever, and his loyalty towards the half-elf might never change.

"It will take time to heal, but at least if I'm there by his side" She slowly placed her hand over her chest, gazing at the entrance with even more determination than she ever had before. "I can at least quicken the process and maybe-"

"Help him move on completely?" Wilhelm raised an eyebrow, but the answer to his question was met with nothing but silence and that silence told him everything he needed to know. "Lady Karsten, I fully understand your intentions and I will not fight or argue with you on such matters, but please heed my warning."

"You're the wisest out of us all, Wilhelm, I'm listening." Crusch once again turned her head away from the door and back at the Sword Demon who finally, after realizing he's holding his duchess's hand like a child for too long, decided to move his hand away.

"Thank you, my lady." He began with a small bow. "Subaru-dono, from what I've known about him throughout all these years. is a good lad with a big heart. That heart of his may never be able to be healed completely; there are wounds that can be filled and replaced. However, knowing him, it may not be replaced. What I-"

Uncharastically and being known as someone who would always listen to what someone had to say until the very end, even when they seemed like complete madmen. Wilhelm was taken aback when Crusch put her hand directly in front of his face, silencing him completely, and for a few seconds, the space between them was dead quiet.

"I understand what you are getting at, Wilhelm." Crusch, with Wilhelm no longer holding her down, stood up from her seat and began checking her surroundings. Everyone was still standing, still clapping for the married couple, and that meant no one would notice her leaving.

"If I can't fully be his heart, I will at least heal it to the best of my abilities." Without another word, the duchess of the Karsten household quickly made her way out of the Church unnoticed by anyone. Leaving the old man behind wishing her luck under his breath.

Crusch had a plan, she played it over and over in her head. The second she witnessed Emilia proposing to Julius and saw truly how hurt Subaru was. Her plan was fairly simple, she would go to Subaru, talk to him, comfort him, and they would carry on with life as friends or more if Od allowed it. Yet now when she was ready to put her plan into action she mentally kicked herself for forgetting one of the obvious rules that a strategist such as herself should allow.

Always make sure where your opponent is at all times. Yes, she was outside of the Church, and with her title, reputation, and how close she was to the queen no one would even bother asking her what she was doing. However she had no idea where Subaru even nor where he could be and the grounds surrounding the Church were massive, with gardens, shines, other buildings it was enough to rival a forest on its own.

She looked down at the ground, hoping that some of Subaru's tears would lead a small trial or at least give her a lead, but no cure for the burning heat of the gun completely tried any trace of the poor boy's sorrow. Oh well, she would just have to make due with walking around the entire area, or what she thought when she noticed some wind passing by her, again, and again, and again.

For any normal person wind passing by would seem normal. After all, it was sunny, though it was also a bit windy as well, and anyone else wouldn't have given this a second thought or noticed the wind at all. However for Crusch, she knew the wind that just blew completely passed her wasn't just any other wind, this wasn't winding that occurred naturally but instead, it was her divine protection.

From the moment of her birth, she knew the difference between the wind of untruth and normal wind, although her ability is mostly used for telling whether someone was lying or not. It often gave her a direction off where a lie was being told, and the wind was now blowing in any direction of the Church or coming from any of the guards, it was coming from far far away from where Crusch was standing. It looked like it was coming directly from the Dragon Church's gardens.

It could be nothing. It could just be a guard on their break and happened to tell a lie to themself, but then again it could also be Subaru lying to himself over and over. Possibly saying "he's ok" or far, far worse, either way, it was the only lead she had so she decided to trust her instincts and walked towards the Dragon's garden.

The garden was to say the very least the most beautiful Crusch Karsten had ever seen in a long while. Trees surrounded every corner of the garden, with all types of flowery structures in honor of the Dragon and though it made her a tad bit disgusted, she had to appreciate the artwork and talent that went into it. Even if she didn't want to look at the dragon sculptures, there were thousands upon thousands of other flowers neatly put in their own sections, and there were what seemed like miles of just that. At this point, she was truly questioning if this garden was even a garden at all, but that didn't matter.

What did matter was with each step she took getting further and further into the depths of the garden, her divine protection became clearer and clearer. What once was a bit of unnatural wind passing by her that was so faint it barely gave her a trial, was now so strong and overwhelming it felt like she was standing in the middle of a hurricane. She was getting close; she had to get to know Sir Natsuki ever since their alliance during the royal selection. She had learned a few things about him from his friends, and that was the fact that when he wants to be alone he hid in the darkest parts of the world and that was exactly where she was going.

The further she got into the garden the darker it got, her scenery quickly changed from a vibrant forest of neatly organized beautiful flowers that were taken with great care was now a dark lifeless forest. There were still plenty of flowers around her but those were either withering, on the verge of withering, or weren't even organized anymore, just laying randomly sprinkled around but that only meant she was getting closer to her goal.

Her Divine Protection of Wind Reading was still getting stronger and stronger with each passing second but there was something else that told her she was going the right way. The closer she got to the edge of the garden she could hear sobbing, the sobbings of a boy who had endured so much but gained nothing. The sobbing of a boy who had his heart broken into a million pieces and was trying to desperately put it all back together, but he wasn't only sobbing.

Between the uncontrollable sobs Crusch could hear the boy talking to himself, and the words that came out of his mouth were complete lies.

"I-I don't deserve to be happy, she always deserved better. She never needed me." She heard him speak his voice faintly, but as she got closer to a certain tree at the end of the dark garden, she could hear him better.

"I'm worthless, crying as if I deserve pity when in reality I don't even deserve to be here!" Crusch heard him scream out and all she could do was ball her fist as she quickened up the pace, she hated hearing him talk like this, she hated how heartbroken he is.

She hated every lie that came out of his mouth when it came to himself, and what she hated most of all was that her divine protection didn't lead her all the way here thanks to the lie that the boy kept telling himself didn't go off. This was how he truly thought about himself when it was all lies that needed to change, she would change that.

"S-Smile Subaru." She could hear his voice breaking. "Get up, smile, celebrate, and be thankful, stop being so useless."

She was right in front of the tree now, she could hear his voice breaking, she could hear his sobbing clearly and he was right behind the tree. In all of the countless battles Crusch Karsten had faced, the one ahead of her was surely going to be the hardest she could ever have to endure. Often, the hardest battles to win aren't the ones that needed a sharp blade and strength, but instead, it was always words.

The power of words was stronger than any sword or weapon, after all, words can either start a war or prevent it. It will take Crusch everything she had and knew. So taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the hard wooden exterior of the tree and looked behind it, and there he was in all his glory.

The man who had helped her so much she lost count, Natsuki Subaru was right there sitting behind a tree, his entire body curled up together in a ball. He wasn't mumbling to himself anymore but one thing was for sure, she could still hear his crying.

He was right in front of her now, all she had to do was say something and that would surely gain his attention, but what she had to say next needed to be perfect. If she didn't she would make an already bad situation worse. One thing was for sure, Crusch standing over the boy and giving him a look of pity without even noticing her wasn't going to do anything either, nor would making up hundreds of scenarios in her head.

She would just have to take a leap of faith and trust herself, and her emotions. Slowly, she walked to the boy's side, taking a seat on the dirt floor behind the tree, and placed her hand over his shoulder.

"Subaru-sama." She spoke softly hoping not to startle Subaru, but her concerns would be unwarranted as the raven-haired boy stopped his sobbing and turned to see the duchess. He didn't say anything but look at her with his blood-red eyes from the constant state of crying.

"Crusch." He timidly whispers, staring at the duchess as if she was a ghost, in a sudden change of personality he began wiping away as many tears as he can, and with it his timid and hoarse voice disappeared. "I didn't expect to see you here, if I did I would've picked out some flowers." He forced a smile.

She hated that, she had a respect for men even in times of struggle to still be able to smile and put on a brave face but even if she respected it she hated it. Everyone, no matter who it is, has a right to express their emotions even in times of weakness, especially in times of weakness.

"Please Subaru-sama, do not act like everything is fine in front of me" Crusch stated sternly and bluntly, taking the raven-haired boy by surprise a little bit.

"I-I'm not acting." He tried to keep himself calm. Even though Crusch was in front of him his mind kept flashing back over and over to the wedding, him giving a speech, Julius and Emilia kissing. "I was just crying tears of joy for Emilia-tan's wonderful wedding, and also crying that Julius didn't fall off the stage." He began to chuckle, hoping that the duchess would do so as well, but when?

"Subaru-sama." That was all she said as she narrowed down her gaze which all Subaru could do was sigh in defeat knowing all too well from previous experiences, in different loops, that no amount of joking would get him out of this.

"Look, Crusch-sama." He didn't bother to look at her, he just kept staring at the black gate in front of them. In a calm and almost emotionless tone he continued, "I don't know if Rem, Beatrice, or Emilia sent you to look for me but I'm ok. I just wanted to be alone for a bit, I'll come out in just a few minutes. You can go now."

Crusch shook her head slowly, placing her hand underneath the boy's chin and turned it, forcing Subaru to stare face to face with her. His face was indefinite, the tears that once ran freely down his chin had either been wiped away or dried but his eyes couldn't hide the emotions he felt. She could tell he was sad, and angry, but most importantly, he looked tired.

For a while, their eyes maintained contact, the duchess and the knight sat in a long silence before the duchess retracted her hand and began to speak. "I didn't come here at the request of anyone, I-"

"You came here out of pure pity, didn't you?" He nearly growled out his response. "Thank you for checking on me but please I ca-"

"No!" Crusch raised her voice slightly, cutting off the raven-haired boy before he could even attempt to push her away. "I didn't come here out of pity, I came because you're my friend and I wanted to check up on you."

The duchess moved a little closer to the raven-haired boy who didn't seem reluctant, but there truly was no point in fighting her. If there was one thing Subaru knew about Crusch, she was stubborn like he was to an extent.

"I will not lie to you, and I will not say I fully understand your grief. Our situations are completely different," Crusch spoke in a kind, and calm manner itching closer and closer to Subaru until their sides were touching. "However, I can understand the feeling of loving someone and having them taken away from you without any warning. I know you love Emilia and desire to be by her side, it's okay if you have a grudge against Julius like the last time. You can tell me."

Subaru merely shook his head at the duchess's words. She could see a single tear threatening to escape before it was pushed back.

"I don't have a grudge against Julius, Crusch-san." Her divine protection didn't go off when he said those words. "I understand why Emilia-tan chose him instead of me. I mean look at me, Crusch." He spread open his entire body, allowing Crusch to examine every inch she could see how stained his clothes were with his tears and how dirty it's gotten.

"Julius is better than me in every way. He's more mature, more handsome, better at fighting." His voice began breaking as he forced himself to say the words he never thought in a million years he would say to anyone. "If he was in my position right now he wouldn't be crying like some pathetic little kid who never knew how to grow up. At least he can protect Emilia-tan from danger, unlike me. "

"Subaru-sama." Crusch was nearly ready to hit the boy for such obvious lies but years of experience helped her maintain her composure. "You have saved Emilia-sama countless times, after the White Whale Hunt you repelled the Witch's Cult's attack, I heard you stopped the Great Rabbit, and you rescued her at Pristella and much much more than that."

"You don't understand, Crusch." He buried his face in his hands. "Every time danger is around the corner I need help from someone else far stronger, and if not,I'm only useful as a meat shield."

"Subaru-sama, you are-"

"I am!" The boy nearly screamed at the duchess as his hands began to tremble. She didn't know why but the look in his eyes changed into what could only be described as pure horror. It was as if he was reliving every bad memory right then and there in front of her, and Crusch could do nothing.

"Countless times, I've tried to protect Emilia." Tears once again threatened to escape but they were all quickly wiped away with one motion of his hand. "Every time I try to protect her, I'm the one that needed protecting. She's d- would've died countless times if someone wasn't right there to save us. Julius was always the better option, I would've chosen him too if I was in her shoes. I'm worthless."

"The wind of untruth is blowing freely around you, Subaru," Crusch stated bluntly causing Subaru to turn his head and actually face the duchess on what she could possibly mean by that, and when he stared deep into her amber eyes he was taken about how…angry she looked. "It's blowing all around you, and you can't even see."

For any other man who stared into the ever-increasing anger-filled eyes of Duchess Karsten, they would've chosen their words very carefully, trying their best not to anger her any further, but Subaru was not like any other man. He simply continued on without a care in the world. "Of course I don't, I'm not the one with the divine protection of a lie detector." He spoke calmly, not taking his gaze off hers for even a second. "Besides, you're lying. I know every word I said was true."

"You're right, Subaru" The duchess's eyes narrowed at the boy's demeanor. "My divine protection does not indicate you are telling a lie, but I know you are."

"Oh really, and please tell me how you possibly know?"

"Because I know you are, Subaru." She spoke the second the question exited the raven-haired boy's mouth without even a single ounce of hesitation, and before he would speak she continued. "My divine protection isn't a universal 'lie detector' as you call it, if someone believes what they are saying it won't go off. That means only one thing, Subaru."

"And what's that?" he seemed uninterested in what she had to say, only sheepishly uttering out a response because he had to.

"You've fallen down so far you now start believing a lie, I know how heartbroken you must feel but that is no excuse for you to keep lying to yourself."

"I'm not lying, Crusch!" He snapped back. "Lying to myself and being honest are two different things. I've lied to myself thinking I deserve anyone's love, let alone Emilia's, I lied to myself thinking I could save anyone on my own."

"If every word that came out of your mouth is the truth then why am I still alive?" The Duchess didn't care anymore for tipping over and giving Subaru some personal space this time she was upright in his face, demanding an answer. "When the Witch's Cult attacked the capital, while I was on the brink of collapsing with Cultists surrounding me, who saved my life?"

"Felix," Subaru answered with a blank stare. "He was able to heal all your wounds, and nursed you back to full health, and got you right back in the fight."

'Stubborn' She tsked in her mind.

"Felix saved me on the verge of death, yes" She admitted. "However Felix wouldn't have gotten the chance if you didn't jump in to save me."

Subaru opened his mouth, ready to speak and,like he always does, give the credit that is rightly his to someone else. No, she had enough of that, she had enough of this wonderful man putting himself down over and over, lying to himself, and for what? Sure, he didn't have the strength of a common knight, nor did he have the skill with the sword-like Julius.

There was so much more than strength when it came to this world, and in her time as the Duchess of the Karsten Houseshe's seen the talents of other people from a very young age. There are those blessed, by Od Laguna itself, with great strength, magical abilities, or a mixture of the two, and even those with all of them. Still, they were cowards, always ready to run away from danger at a flip of a hat. Then there are those gifted with nothing but are still braver than the rest and Subaru was one of them.

"I still remember it clear as day, I was surrounded by countless cultists. Wilhelm was busy fending them off from the other side of the street, and Felix was back at the castle tending to the wounded. I was alone with cuts and bruises all over my body and on the very edge of death, who came and saved me?"

"Y-"

"There is only one answer, Subaru." The duchess cut the boy off before he could even get a single word in, she raised her voice slightly and her gaze narrowed. "You know the right answer, and I will not accept any other"

"I-I-" Subaru tried to speak, he tried to answer truthfully but his heart wouldn't allow it. It wouldn't allow him to take credit for something he's rightfully done, it wouldn't allow him to tell the honest truth about his deeds, and with the gaze of the duchess, the gaze that didn't make him shake or cower in the slightest was overwhelming.

He needed to look away, that's right. If he looked away from Crusch he could force out the response she wanted to hear. He did better in situations that didn't force him to look at someone face to face, but that green-haired duchess saw right through the boy's plan, and the moment his gaze began to look away. Crusch with her smooth hands grabbed his chin and forced his gaze back on her and only her.

"Answer the question."

From that point on, any attempts Subaru made to look away from the duchess would fail, and worse of all his face was getting a little red. He could escape and try to run away but his better judgment told him that Crusch wouldn't let him leave either.

"I did…" he finally said, hoping that could please the duchess, and he could see her give off a faint smile but she wasn't done with him just yet.

"Do you remember how?" Of course, just of course, she couldn't leave it at that and torture the raven-haired young man even more, and Subaru had already learned struggling would be pointless.

"I ran to you with a broken shield, blocked the incoming attack that would've killed you, carried you, and with a homemade smoke bomb I was able to blind the cultists."

At this point, recounting the events of the witch's cult final assault on the capital was beyond exhausting. Not because he didn't want to remember the events. No, in any other situation he would happily tell the tale of how Luginica finally ended the Witch's Cult's reign of terror. Of course, without recounting anything he's done and, compared to the others, what he's done was small.

"And what else?" Crusch wouldn't let up.

"There is no what else. I blinded the cultist and got you out of there." He shook his head. "Any other knight would've done the same thing in my situation. What's even the point of all this?"

"The point, Subaru, is that everything you said about yourself was wrong!" She pulled him closer. "You were by yourself, no Great Spirit, no other knight, nobody else. It was you, your brain, and one injured woman against an army of witch cultists. You not only saved me, but you saved countless people in that city all on your own."

"I used some roughly made tools from my homeland to do all those things." He tried to turn away in shame but, once again, Crusch didn't allow it. "Without them I would have been as useless as I've always been."

"Without a sword, the knights would not have been able to fight." Much to the confusion of Subaru, the second he finished speaking Crusch continued, but before he could ask what she could possibly mean the duchess continued. "Without magic, Beatrice and Emilia would've been just as useless, and without the Sword Saint by our side, we would've been all done for."

"What are you getting at, Crusch?"

"Subaru-sama," She pulled him even closer. "I will admit you have your dumb moments, but you know where I am going with this."

Just a few seconds after she uttered those words she learned through the absolute confusion he had in his eyes, causing her to sigh once again in complete annoyance. She was slowly getting sick of his constant need to put himself down for no good reason.

"What I am getting at is that everyone had some kind of weapon, or ability to help them survive the assault. Without a sword and his spirits, do you think Julius is anything special when it comes to fighting?" She paused, waiting for Subaru to answer, but when she received none she continued. "Better yet, I want you to answer this question for me, Subaru, and I want a truthful answer. Do you honestly believe that not once the Royal Knights, Julius, or myself needed help during a dire situation we were powerless against?"

For a while, after the duchess demanded Subaru to answer the question there was nothing but silence between the two. The duchess was by no means backing down, staring deep into the very being of the raven-haired boy who tried his absolute best to come up with an answer. His mind was divided on one hand. His mind already knew the answer to that question, of course, it was a yes.

No one, not even the Sword Saint himself could go on for days without fighting or his daily tasks without needing some kind of help. Everyone else, even the demi-humans, just like Subaru, weren't gods. They were human. On the other hand, he was in another world, a world full of magic, a world where, compared to everyone else, he was small. Of course, they probably didn't need help most of the time, or maybe that was just his heart telling him lies in order to make him feel worse than he already is.

"I guess sometimes." He finally answered.

"No, you're wrong." The answer that came out of Subaru's mouth clearly did not please the duchess one bit. "Every single day, I need help and so does Emilia. She wouldn't even have won the Royal Selection if it wasn't for you. So please listen to me, and listen to me clearly, Subaru."

Subaru was indeed listening, after all, he really didn't have anywhere to go or a choice in the matter, but it was nice for Crusch to ask anyway, acting like she couldn't just force him to sit down and listen with her mere presence alone.

"You are worthy of so much, and even more. Even if Emilia didn't choose you that doesn't mean your worth is out of the window compared to everyone else in this entire kingdom. Even if you don't see yourself worthy I won't, because to me there is no one in this country or world as worthy as you are. I am envious that Emilia had such an amazing person such as yourself standing by her side instead of me."

Every sentence, every word that came out of Crusch's mouth landed itself deep inside of Subaru's shattered heart. It was truly a long time since anyone had talked to him in such a way. He's suffered, and suffered, going through countless loops to get to the point where he is. To get to the happy ending he sought the very moment he entered this new world, but no one gave him the time of day. No one even thanked him for all the struggles he had to go through, and over time he thought he didn't deserve it, but now…

Crusch did exactly what she set out to do, she healed his broken heart and mended it together, but for Subaru, it was more than that. She didn't just fix his heart but she fixed his very soul, just like how Rem fixed his terrible outlook on himself during what could only be described as his most hellish loop of them all.

He felt like crying in all honesty, the only reason he didn't break down in tears right then and there is because of the countless trials he had suffered through. Trials that forcefully taught him that the best way to survive in this world was to hide your emotions and fake it until you make it. However, that didn't stop Crusch from wiping away a few tears that managed to escape.

"Do you really mean it?" Subaru timidly choke out, it was a dumb question of course, but he meant it. Even if he didn't have the Divine Protection of Wind Reading like Crusch did, even a fool like him could tell when someone is being honest. Especially since Crusch had that same honesty in her voice Rem had when he was on the verge of giving up and leaving everyone else behind.

Crusch smiled at Subaru's question, letting go of his chin, and instead of pulling him close for a hug and letting their bodies melt together. This was something Subaru didn't know he needed until he got it. For so long, all he ever wanted was a hug, just a hug, and a shoulder to cry on when the entire world felt unfair.

"I do." Crusch whispered in his ears, mending his broken and shattered heart even further. It wasn't healed nor will it ever be. It will forever be a lasting invisible scar that would plague the boy with regret every now and then, but as they say, scars don't heal they fade. So for now, until this terrible scar completely fades away, he would hold onto the duchess with all his might.

"Crusch-san."

"Yes, Subaru?"

"Thank you, for everything."

"There's no need to thank me, Subaru-sama. You would have the same for me and I will always do the same for you. Just promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"You won't ever call yourself unworthy of anything again."

"I promise. Though it really doesn't matter if I'm truly unworthy or not of anything because I'm at least worthy of one thing" Crusch couldn't see his face but something told her that Subaru had a massive smile on his face.

"Why's that?"

"I"m worthy of you, right?"

Crusch now had a smile on her face. "Right."

Too fucking long. That was the only way Rem, Ram, Otto, Frederica, Beatrice, and Garfiel, the entity of the Emilia camp, could describe the wedding. Yes, they were happy for the newlywed couple, and of course, this was their special day, but man, it shouldn't have taken that long. They couldn't even celebrate or take joy in it due to the fact that Subaru was still missing. He never returned and of course, no one blamed him. However, to be fair on Emilia's part it wasn't exactly the wedding that was long, but it was the growing concern for Subaru that dragged things out for each member of the Emilia camp.

After the wedding, there is a party being held in the church right after, and this gave some of the members of the Emilia camp the chance to sneak out and find the raven-haired knight. While some others stayed inside to dare not ruin the queen's reputation, Od knows the fallout if rumors spread of the queen's inner circle leaving on her most important day to instead be with the boy.

"Finally out of that Church, in fact," Beatrice grunted out her frustration, being practically the first in line out the Church door, followed by Otto, Garfiel, and surprisingly Ram who looked annoyed. "Another minute and Betty would've destroyed the entire building."

"Please calm down, Beatrice-sama" Otto was right next to her, understanding why the Great Spirit was in such an outrage but that didn't exactly calm her down. In fact, it made it worse.

"How could Betty calm down, I wonder?" She snapped back at Otto and without even looking, delivered a weak pathetic punch to his side in order to let loose all her frustration, anger, and sadness. "Betty's contractor is missing, possibly crying his heart out and Betty's not there to comfort him."

Otto really didn't have anything he could say back to the Great Spirit that wouldn't anger her any further, and besides, she just said the words that everyone was feeling at the moment. Subaru disappeared in a blink of an eye somewhere in this entire area that some could say rivaled a country itself, and there was nothing they could do to help him. They wished they stopped him, they wished from the moment they heard about the wedding announcement they stopped by and comforted him.

They knew how foolish the raven-haired boy was more than anyone ,and instead of acting on instinct they got busy with other things: The wedding, business meetings, they forgot all about him until it was too late and now they had to pay the price.

"Captain couldn't have gone that far, right?" Garfiel spoke up but it was nearly nothing but a faint whisper, to him Subaru was not only his captain and hero but his brother. He knocked some sense into him when he was in his darkest moments, so it was only right that Garfiel would do the same but, no, he didn't. Just like everyone else he ignored his pain, but he had to make it right, he just had too.

"Barasu may be an idiot when he's emotional, but he couldn't have gone far." Ram answered Garfiel's question, her voice was calm and indifferent as ever, hiding the true feelings of worry that plagued her heart.

"Can you for once in your life stop insulting Betty's Subaru, maid." Beatrice growled, not even giving Ram the honor of meeting her gaze, there was something different about Beatrice's tone to Ram. Of course, it was no surprise that she would defend her contractor's name but she seemed more on edge than usual.

While they walked around the grounds surrounding the Church in looking for Subaru, her eyes were darting around all over the place in search for her even adding to the fact that her body was small, she was still far ahead of the group, outpacing them completely in walking speed. Of course, who could blame her for being so on edge. She wanted to find Subaru as soon as possible and so does everyone here.

Each of their hearts were filled with worry about where the boy could possibly be, and how long he had been alone just crying alone. So it made sense for the contracted spirit to be the most worried out of them all, and would not take kindly to even a slight hint of slander towards her contractor's name.

However, a certain pink-haired Oni did not seem the get the message. While everyone else would respect the Great Spirit's and let silence fall upon the group, she would not.

"I will when you stop acting like a child"

"Betty is 400 years old, in fact!" Beatrice instantly snapped back, and for the first time since exiting the church she slowed down but only slightly. "Betty is older than everyone here combined, in fact"

"Then why does Barusu treat you as such?" The Oni titled her head to the side.

"Betty's contractor does not do so in the slightest."

"Well," Almost instantly after Ram spoke Otto couldn't help but join in, for as harsh and blunt Ram could be she offered to everyone what is much needed at the moment: A small distraction from the pain they ignored so they can be in much better shape to not only find but aid Subaru. "He does give you lots of headpats and he only does that to the children in the village."

"If you had one of Betty's Subaru's headpats, you would understand how divine it is."

It was amazing how a few simple words from the pink-haired maid could lighten the overwhelming feeling of shame, and tension that was on everyone's back. The Great Spirit was indeed glad the oni came with them, but would never admit that to anyone. Plus, if they wouldn't help Subaru feel better on their own with hugs and sweet words, Ram was always a good backup plan with her harsh but caring attitude. Sadly, that attitude wasn't there when he needed it the most.

They were now searching together, but one problem still hung in the air. They walked for a minute, two, then ten, hell who knows, possibly even half an hour around the entire area but they couldn't find a sign of where Subaru was. Even when they questioned the guards if they saw someone with raven-black spikey hair they simply shook their heads and said no.

Their latest stop was by a forest-like garden where they had hoped Subaru would be. After all, being his contracted Spirit, Beatrice had learned quickly when her contractor was feeling so much pain and sadness in his heart to the point where he wouldn't even bother talking to her. He often preferred dark places that no one would even dare to enter, and the edge of the garden was just that and that wasn't only it.

Her contract led her there, she felt him there, but when they arrived there was no trace, just a single strand of forest green hair and nothing else. So, just as quickly as the group entered the forest of flowers they left. Beatrice's speed increased as her mind was just being flooded with worry.

"Captain couldn't have gone that far, right?" Garfiel spoke up. Out of all of them, he was second only to Beatrice in wanting to find Subaru. "He couldn't have left the area right?"

"No, Garfiel." Otto placed his hand on, who he considered a brother's, shoulder as they walked together side by side, trying to think where in the world his other brother could've gone. "One thing's for sure, he didn't leave the area."

"But how can you say that, Brotto? He could've jumped the gate, slipped through-"

"He couldn't have." Otto cut the golden tiger off, he could see in his brother's eyes with each possibility that Subaru instead of staying here just ran off without them doing anything. It was causing Garfiel to be on the absolute verge of tears. He knew better than anyone else how much Subaru meant to Garfiel, and him not being there for him when he was needed the most hurt him. He couldn't be the shield from the cruel, cruel world and comfort him.

"He couldn't have gotten far, let alone leave the area.

"How do you know Brotto?" Garfiel asked ,and from the sound of his voice he was desperate to truly know.

"There are a lot of guards surrounding the entire area, and even if Natsuki-san attempted to leave the area the guards would've noticed," Otto spoke with confidence and sound logic, after all, he was correct in assuming so.

The kingdom's best guards were blocking off every entrance and exit point, and there were others checking every area. It was next to impossible to escape the area. However, that was just Otto's outward confidence, a front to hide his actual worries from Garfiel. Impossible was a word he'd thought and said many times before, it was impossible to defeat the Witch's Cult's Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugnica on their own. It was impossible to reach the top of the Sage's Tower.

Yet for Subaru, the impossible was just a fun little challenge. He had accomplished many impossible feats. He slayed the Archbishop of Lust, slayed not one, but all three of the Great Mabeasts, stopped a civil war from occurring in Vollachia, and returned its emperor to his rightful throne after being teleported randomly into the country. And that was just the first two years after the Royal Selection officially started. If he could do all that even though he is as weak as he is, then escaping without the guards noticing was not in the realm of impossibilities.

Otto is scared to say this but the chances of Subaru leaving without a single trace was more than likely.

"Natsuki-san is here somewhere," Otto spoke but not to Garfiel or anyone else, but to himself, trying to quell the fact that Garfiel might be right.

"Can you stop your chatter, I suppose?" The Great Spirit growled, not even showing one hint of care in the two boy's conversation. After all, it was clouding her ability to focus on searching for needed to find her contractor right this instant, because of she didn't, if she didn't-

"OH! Beatrice, Otto, Garfiel, Ram!" Everyone froze into place as they heard a familiar voice behind them, it was a voice they've heard thousands of times throughout the years. It was a voice that Subaru would always describe as divine and holy, and it was a voice that came from a dear friend.

Slowly everyone turned around almost perfect unison to the source of the voice and there in the distance with the lights of the Church behind her in an almost godly glow, They can see a silver-haired half-elf in a beautiful wedding outfit running towards them, seemingly unworried with how her very expensive dress was getting dirty.

As she got closer and closer to them every one of the Emilia camp had some kind of different expression, Garfiel was looking away in shame, Beatrice had nothing but the feeling of anger in her butterfly-shaped eyes, while Ram and Otto had their poker face on. Emilia on the other hand had a beaming smile and it wasn't long before she was right in front of them.

"I-I couldn't find any of you at the party," Emilia said as she tried catching her breath but she still had enough energy to face them with a smile unaware of the tension in the room. "I was getting worried that something happened to you all."

"We're doing fine, we just went out to get some fresh air, Emilia-sama." Ram was the first one to speak as she could see on the faces of the others how…on edge. They were especially worried about a certain Great spirit.

"Yes, that's right." Otto said, sensing the tense atmosphere.

"That's a relief." Emilia exhaled. "I can understand it's reaaalllly crowded in there. I even lost my way just trying to exit the Church, but if you're done taking in the fresh air you should come inside."

"I apologize, Emilia-sama, I-I think we would all like to remain outside for just a few minutes longer," Ram said only for Emilia to shake her head.

"They're about to cut open the wedding cake, I would really hate for you all to miss it." From the look in her eyes she was serious and there wasn't a hint of hesitation in her voice, especially with the words that followed after. "What kind of queen would I be if I'm not beside the people that got me this far?"

Those words. Those exact 18 words caused something inside the Great Spirit who stayed silent until now to snap.

"You didn't even ask where Subaru even is, I suppose," Beatrice spoke in a soft whisper but that whisper grabbed the attention of everyone in the area.

"Excuse me, Beatrice?" Emilia tilted her head in confusion but that simple action caused the great spirit's wrath to fly to heights unseen.

"Betty said you didn't even ask where Subaru is, in fact!" She nearly screamed out, causing the queen to take a step back. The Great Spirit could see her opening her mouth, probably ready to tell her to calm down but she wasn't having it. She continued speaking, letting out her frustration, anger, sadness, and utter hatred she had gathered against the half-elf at the moment.

"Betty's Subaru had stood by your side ever since the Royal Selection began, he embarrassed himself for you, nearly died over and over for you, and gave all his achievements he rightly earned to you! All because he loved you, don't you understand, I wonder?"

"I-I-I underst-"

"Quiet, in fact!" The Great Spirit demanded from the motion of her hand, she looked as if she was ready to fire a mana crystal right at her. "You don't understand! If you do understand you wouldn't have led my contractor on for years and years. Betty does not care that you have fallen in love with the pathetic man who calls himself the 'Greatest of Knights'. Betty is happy you found someone you wish to marry but why didn't give him an answer? Answer the question, I suppose!"

Beatrice was almost out of breath completely but still, she stood up strong, staring deep into the soul of the half-elf. The group standing beside her was doing the same, under normal pressure they would've silenced the Great Spirit, and leave it for another day, but not today, not again. The one time they did that their once treasured member went missing.

"Answer the Great Spirit's question, Emilia-sama." The oni faked a sigh. "She doesn't seem like she's willing to let any of us leave until you do."

"I-" She began turning in embarrassment. "Forgot to answer his question."

At the half-elf's words everyone's expressions even the pink-haired oni who carried a neutral expression all this time turned into complete shock. They knew for long periods of time that Emilia was childish and prone to forget things but forgetting Subaru's love for her, his declaration this had to be some joke. That's why they stood quiet for what felt like hours waiting for Emilia to say something, anything, maybe that she did indeed tell Subaru she loved Julius and he still had the love for Emilia in his heart.

However the more they stood still, and the fact that Emilia didn't even turn to face them but instead stare at the ground with a look of complete shame. The great spirit was getting angry, it was a miracle that she didn't explode this entire area with one magic spell.

"You forgot." The great spirit repeated in a soft whisper barely containing her rage.

"Y-yeah." Emilia barely got out the words, in fact what were the right words in this situation? She never felt so much pressure before it made her trial at the sanctuary look like a joke. All at once her memories of her time and Subaru flashed before her eyes and all she could do was answer in a soft whisper. "It was so long ago now, I forgot to give a good answer to Subaru. I really am a dunderhead."

"You're an insincere bitch." Garfiel corrected, causing Emilia to jump back in surprise at how easily the words came out of his mouth.

"Garfiel." Otto called out to his brother in a calm manner, usually, he would snap and scream at Garfiel for acting so rude but just one glance at Otto showed he was just tired. "I know you're angry but she's the queen we must treat her with respect at all times."

"I know Brotto but it isn't fair!" Garfiel growled. "Captain risked life and limb for her and she didn't even bother giving a simple no! Especially after he basically handed her everything to win the royal selection! He saved the kingdom and us not her she only stayed in the background and helped"

To everyone each word that came out of Garfiel's mouth sliced through the hearts of everyone more sharply than a sword would due to the simple fact that he's right. The only reason any of them were standing here was because of Subaru. Without him, who knows what would have happened, and his words caused the half-elf to be in even more pain. Today was supposed to be her happiest day but forgetting about the one person who basically handed everything, and playing his heart. Being confronted with all this completely ruined her mood and she could think about nothing else but the number of wrongs she's done to the person she called her knight.

Otto could see the growing distress in his queen's face and even though he knew Garfiel was right, but he was being loud. There were guards around every corner and people could be passing by and listening to them, oh how quickly their reputation and the respect of the public would come crashing down on Emilia if rumors of her own team not liking her spread like even if Garfiel was right, he had to calm the rising tension between all of them somehow,

"G-"

"The tiger boy is right!" Beatrice cut him off before he could even say a word."Betty's Subaru had done everything for you, he slew the witch cult, the great-mabeast, and even more."

"I know he's done so much for me bu-" Emilia tried to speak but every word that came out of her mouth seemed to anger the great spirit to an untold amount.

"Betty has had enough of you speaking in fact!" The great spirit screamed. "There is no but, every time trouble appears Betty's Subaru has to pick up your slack. No matter how many times you try to stand on your own he's the one who has to drop whatever he's doing and come and save you."

Beatrice took a single step forward causing the half-elf to step back with nothing but shock in her eyes and pain in her heart.

"He did this all because of his love for you, and what did you give him in return for all that time and dedication in fact?"

She paused for a moment letting the words sink into the half-elf's heart. "Nothing but the stupid useless title of knight, and not even an answer. How hard is it to simply say no, or you have a feeling for another man in fact? Did you not see the pain in his eyes?"

Emilia said nothing, her mind flashing back to the moment Subaru stood in front of everyone, she remembered everything so clearly. Subaru got up from his seat, teasing Julius and her while also making everyone in the Church laugh but when it came to seeing the pain. When she tried to force herself to see his pain-

"Of course, you didn't," Beatrice said in disgust, breaking the half-elf out of her thoughts. "You're nothing but a leech, in fact, constantly using my contractor's work to raise yourself. Do you even know where he is after leaving the Church with his heart broken into thousands of little pieces?"

"What? But I do know where he is?"

And just like that in one instant instead of anger before the half-elf in front of her, the great spirit's emotions turned to that of complete and utter confusion. The same could be said for the group of people that were with her looking up and down the entire area, practically ready to tear it apart to find their friend, and here they were in front of the person arguably responsible for him running away flat out saying she knew where he is.

"Stop lying I suppose!" Beatrice screamed out after a moment of silence, the half-elf had to be lying this was the same person who could forget to give her contractor a simple yes or no answer.

She stared directly at the half-elf trying to look for any signs that she's lying and just wanted an excuse to stop hearing the truth but what the great spirit found was nothing. In fact where her face still showed some signs of sadness and hurt from the venomous, the great spirit sent her way she looked confident.

"Emilia-sama," Ram spoke up for the first time, stepping in front of the entire group and asking the real questions. "Are you sure you know where Barasu is?"

"I know for a certain where my knight is." Everyone grimaced at the fact she called Subaru her knight when she was married to another one well king now, but that didn't matter.

"But where is Natsuki-san we-"

"Looked for captain practically around the entire area." Garfiel liked the good brother he finished Otto's sentence for him.

Emilia just stared at all of them with sheer confusion in her eyes tilting her head slightly. "Uh are you guys sure you didn't miss Subaru in the crowd, I know it came be pretty crowded in there."

"No." Beatrice answered almost immediately her rage returning."Betty watched with her own eyes as her contractor left the Church with tears dripping down his eyes, not that I'm surprised you didn't in fact."

"I-I-I" Emilia found it hard to get out the words she wanted to say after all Beatrice was right, she was so focused on Julius she lost sight of Subaru however there's one thing she knew absolutely for sure. "I know where Subaru is because I saw him with my own eyes

"Well then you useless half-elf!" Beatrice spoke as she crossed her arms. "Where could Betty's contractor be?"

"He's in the Church dancing with Crusch right now," Emilia answered, causing everyone to fall silent in pure confusion.

If you asked Subaru how he was feeling right now at this moment being in the wedding of the former girl of his dreams and his frienemy the answer that would be a surprise to many people was that he was having one hell of a time. After spending probably a good hour or two on his own by his own mental estimate, thanks to the help of the beautiful duchess Crusch Karsten he was able to get back up on his feet.

He even had enough strength to do probably the last thing, he would rather die 100 times over and over again than entering the Church, but here he is with people dancing all around him with energetic music playing in the background. Surprisingly a large area was meant to be used as a way for the kingdom to unite together and worship the dragon, making one hell of a spot for everyone to let loose.

'

He expected to be alone sitting in a corner by himself drinking some juice, but here he was practically the center of the dance floor dancing with the beautiful duchess in hand, and one thing for sure was she was certainly one hell of a dancer. Subaru danced once or twice in his entire life and he was not terrible but not decent either but when Crusch took the lead, he looked like a pro.

"Your movements are quite fluid Subaru-sama." Crusch showed a beaming smile as she and Subaru held hand and hand following one another's movements.

"You're the one moving fluid I'm just following you around, and barely doing so at that" He showed his own smile. "Man I'm kinda getting dizzy, how can you do all this spinning without wanting to vomit?"

The duchess merely chuckled at the raven-haired knight's comment. "Well, it takes lots of practice. From a young age, I've been practicing how to dance for events such as this. I still remember waking up at the crack of dawn and putting on my dancing shoes."

"How long did you have to do that for?"

"Oh, Od." She began with a sigh, all the memories of her youthful dancing seemingly all rushing at her at once. Oh she could hear the voice of her instructor judging her for every little bit of her actions, and having eyes constantly follow her around waiting for her to make a mistake. Every day for years.

"Every moment at the crack of dawn." she muttered under her breath but it was loud enough for Subaru to hear even amidst all the noise around them.

Subaru could see "Being a duchess still does seem to suck sometimes."

"It does, but it would suck less if I could see and talk to you every morning." Crusch winked causing Subaru's face to start turning bright red. Throughout all these years and countless times spent with Rem any normal man would have the ability to well flirt back but for Subaru all he could do was try desperately and fail in the process to not act as if he wasn't completely flusttered by that statement.

"O-Oh, well I wouldn't m-mind seeing you everyday either." He barely kept his voice steady and at this point, his face was completely red with embarrassment much to the amusement of the duchess who decided to make it worst by pulling the raven-haired knight so close to her he could feel her breast

"I'm glad you feel the same way, maybe someday we can make this official. " She whispered in his ears, her voice being so soft and tender that Subaru felt like could listen to it all day.

"Y-yeah." Were the only words that Subaru could get out without sounding like a nervous reck, and what's more ironic is that the greatest people from around the world performing music for the newly wed couple began playing slow music, and while still at custom to the different types of music in this world especially since it's old fashion there was something Subaru knew when it came to slow music. It was romantic.

Almost as if reading Subaru's thoughts the duchess pulled the raven-haired boy even closer to her to the point both their noses were only an inch away from making contact. The sudden motion caused the boy to be even more than he already was and the duchess enjoyed every moment but she wouldn't stop there. Slowly with her hands still connected to

"Shall we?" Crusch asks and Subaru could do nothing but sheepishly nod at the duchess' request, and without another word, they dance.

Crusch, of course, being the more experienced, did as she had done in the beginning the moment they reentered the Church and took Subaru's hand in dancing and led the way. They danced beautifully and did everything right, they spun on cue, holding each other closely to one another's chest just taking in one another's warmth. Hell, even some on-lookers froze in place just completely staring at the two, some even smiling at them for some reason.

Subaru didn't notice nor did he care all that he was focused on right now was the green-haired woman he was dancing with, a green-haired woman who sat by his side when she needed a shoulder to cry on the most and for the first time in a while he was happy. Real genuine happiness, not forcing himself to be happy, or trying to think of why this was a good thing, this was what could only be described as true bliss and in that bliss, he danced and danced.

Not caring about anything, anyone, or thinking about anyone else besides the woman who helped him out in a time he needed the most. Well, that was the case however when Subaru made one fatal area, just one while he was dancing with Crusch he messed up on his footing and that caused him to step on someone's foot.

Those little errors caused Subaru to break out of his trance-like state and years of knight training by his master Clind began to take over, he turned away from Crusch for the first time in a while, did a little bow, and began to speak.

"Oh I'm so-" Subaru's words caught in his throat as he realized whose foot he stepped on for a single second it felt like everything had just stopped, the music, time, everything. All the joy he was once experincing faded in a single instant.

As if his own mind wanted to torture him everything came back to him, his beat down in front of the entire country, the wedding, the sadness he felt when Emilia got down on one knee declaring love for someone without even bothering to give him an answer and each and every humiliating he's done in the meanwhile all the came back by the sight of one person.

The newly declared king and husand of the half-elf Julius Juuklius.

"Subaru,Crusch?" Julius looked shocked for a moment before regaining his composure forcing a small smile. "It's good to see the both of you"

For a second Subaru didn't know what to say, what could he say? Just right now he had the urge to run away and bawl his eyes out, he didn't want to talk to him not now. No, he couldn't do that because everyone was watching him, everyone, some may look like they're minding their own business and dancing but Subaru knew there were eyes all around them and just them. If he ran away he would ruin the entire event.

What should he do? What can he do? He didn- and in another instant, all his worries were quelled by a simple squeeze of his hand, and that squeeze came from none Crusch who was right by his side and she did him a favor he would never repay in a thousand years and her next actions gave Subaru strength.

She stepped in front of him, and delivered a small little bow. "It's a pleasure to see you as well Julius-sama, or would you prefer your majesty?"

Julius merely smiled and waved it off. "Your majesty is still a title far too grand for me, Julius would do just fine. How are you doing today?"

"Fine until I had to see your ugly mug." Subaru said regaining his compsure and talked as if nothing ever happened between the two just now, he was speaking to him as if it was their usual banter and that brought a smile on Julius's face.

"You know" he began his voice becoming ever so elegant. "For the 5 years, you've been working as a knight for the kingdom and you still haven't master basic ormal greetings."

" Ad you still haven't mastered how to stop acting like a complete prick." Subaru snapped back immedtially turning away from Julius with disgust clear on his face.

Crusch smiled happily that Subaru had the strength to act like nothing is wrong, but still she knew deep inside that he was still hurting and she didn't know how long he could keep. So she decided to speed up this conversation a bit.

"We are deeply sorry if we caused any inconvenience Juliius-sama, I hope you can forgive us."

"Oh none at all." Julius for some reason lowered his tone a bit, something Crusch did not fail to notice. "Infact I'm actually happy to run into you both, I was lost in a sea of unfamilar faces as you can see." Julius pointed his fingers discreetly in the direction of his dancing subjects and one thing for sure is he's right.

Subaru and Crusch didn't even know a quarter of the people there, and if it wasn't for them never taking their eyes off each other of course they themselves would've gotten lost amongst the sea but that begs one question.

"Where's Emilia, Julius?" Subaru asked the question in a hushed tone, staring directly in the eyes of the greatest of knights all the while preventing his own from escaping. "You remember every word I said right? Letting Emilia sit in a corner by herself and not having fun dancing is breaking the rules of our promise."

Only Od knew how much willpower it took Subaru to keep his voice steady and stop any tears from appearing, and he was thankful Crusch was still holding his hand because beyond the sight of the greatest of knights Subaru was squeezing it tightly. He was squeezing it with so much force any normal person surely would've gotten a broken bone, but luckily the duchess was no normal woman. She knew better than anyone how hard Subaru was struggling, so she did what she could and squeezed his hand as well, allowing some stress to leave his body.

Julius on the other hand looked away from Subaru in shame, his mind being clouded with two different thoughts at the moment. He indeed remembered every single word that Subaru said at the wedding, but he could also see the pain in his eyes. He could see how Subaru forced himself to speak in a kind, gentle tone when all he wanted to do was break down, and he could see it here now.

All Julius could think about at this moment was how much Subaru had grown during the last royal selection. He knew if Subaru from the past was here, who knows what would have happened, just like the time during the royal selection it would take some time before Subaru's broken heart was fully mended and right now.

"I-" Julius paused for a moment trying his best to choose the right words in his mind. "I lost track of her when I went to get some drinks. I looked away for about two seconds and she was gone."

"You what!" Subaru nearly screamed the saddest that was once present in his eyes turned nothing into shock and rage, just what the greatest of knights wanted. " I trusted you with Emilia-tan, and you let her get out of your line of sight. What kind of husband are you!"

"Yes Julius-sama." Crusch stepped forward. "A king is not supposed to leave their queen's side for any reason unless it's an absolute emergency." For some reason when Crusch spoke those words her grip on Subaru's hands tightened and looked at him for a slip second before turning back and looking at Julius.

"Seriously man and you wanna know the worst sin of them all?" Subaru's eyes narrowed staring deep into the soul of the greatest of knights who simply shrugged causing Subaru to get even more heated. "The music is perfect, everyone is slow dancing, and Emilia-tan is not here. She's missing out on such a one and a lifetime moment right now you're ruining her happiness."

Julius merely chuckled. "I will be sure to find her when I get the chance."

"You better." Subaru growled. "Not knowing where Emilia-tan is at all times to keep her safe at all times is an even bigger sin."

"Uh-I'm here." An angelic voice called out behind him freezing everyone in their tracks.

Back in Subaru's home world, there was a saying, 'speak of the devil and he will appear.' Ironically enough the phrase still applies here as well but it wasn't a devil that appeared it was an angel. An angel's voice that Subaru had heard hundreds of times before to the point all she would have to do is say a single word and automatically he knew who it was and this angel was right beyond him and it was Emilia.

In all honesty, when he arrived back in the Church he expected the first person he would see was Emilia coming to check up on him and he was fully ready to put on his best smile and had a small conversation but now that she was behind her he wasn't ready. His first instinct was to run, run as far away from here as possible and deal with this another day but he couldn't.

He could imagine how hurt Emilia would be if she saw him try to actively get away from her, and how pathetic he would look. He had to face this head-on, Rem taught him that running away from all his problems won't solve anything and it still held on true now and besides. He wasn't alone. The duchess Crusch Karsten was by his side, still holding his hand tightly. So with every last ounce of strength he had left, pushing all the emotions he was feeling deep within the back of his mind, and forcing a smile turned around.

"Hey Em-" he paused midsentence, he expected to see Emilia by herself but she wasn't. Right by her side was Ram, Garfiel, Otto, and Beatrice and they were all staring directly at Subaru and only Subaru, and for a second it was dead silent.

No one blinked, no one moved, no one breathed it seemed like it that way until his contacted Great Spirit stepped forward in front of everyone and practically leaped into the arms.

"Where have you been I suppose!" Beatrice screamed only for it to be muffled into his fancy suit, the raven-haired knight could feel her tears entering her clothing. "Betty was so worried in fact."

It pained Subaru to see Beatrice in pain, and it was all his fault he couldn't control his emotions better. From Beatrice's;s point of view, her contractor just went and left. He didn't give her a warning, he didn't take him with her no he was so pathetic he instead

"I'm sorry Beatrice." He whispered, lifting her up as if she was a child. "I'm sorry for leaving you."

"Don't be sorry Natsuki-san" Otto was the next to step forward` he opened his mouth once more to finish speaking but quickly his gaze went towards the greatest of knights. "Julius-sama if you don't mind, could you please leave? We would like to speak to Natsuki-san in… private."

Julius didn't even say a single word he turned to Emilia who simply nodded in agreement to Otto's words, and began to walk away. He knew better than anyone that his presence for whatever was going to happen they needed time. So he just turned back to Otto, gave a small nod and walked away disappearing into the dancing crowd, Otto turned to the duchess who already got the gist.

She really didn't want to leave Subaru's side, she didn't want to allow the boy to get hurt again but she had no choice. It would be wrong of her to refuse the privacy between friends and from the looks of it they were at least going to talk to him. So in a bold move that shocked everyone, even the queen herself, the duchess threw her arms around the raven-haired knight and hugged him tightly.

"Remember if something happens, come to me and I'll be there for you always." She whispered in his ears causing him to blush slightly but he accepted the hug fully for something in hjisminmd told him he would need it.

"Thank you." He whispered back and with that the duchess walked away, turning her head back at Subaru every now and then just to triple check if he was ok.

"You've gotten close to the duchess I suppose/captain." Garfiel and Beatrice uninteontally said in complete and utter unison.

"Yeah" Was all Subaru could say as he watched the duchess leave, before taking a deep breath and turning back towards his camp members. "Uhh well first thing's first I want to say I'm-"

"Natsuki-san." Otto interrupted, shaking his head in complete disappointment. "Like I said, you have nothing to be sorry about. We should be the ones apologizing."'

"We're sorry Captain." Garfiel whispered but it was just loud enough for Subaru to hear and he was just completely taken aback by this.

Why were they apologizing? He didn't deserve one, no one died, nothing bad happened to him so why were they all saying sorry? Was this their way of just throwing pity at him? And just like that in under a second he realized why, and to be fairly honest with himself he was not angry but a little bit annoyed.

"Guys, listen. Ifyou're apolgizing because Emilia-tan didn't choose me then stop it." He snapped back and tried to look at Emilia but he couldn't. He didn't have the strength anymore. "It's not like I'm going to burn down an entire kingdom because of a rejection."

"No Subaru." Beatrice was the next to speak. "We… we had so many chances to stay by your side, help you get over your feelings for the half-wit but did nothing."

Subaru looked around the group and all of them nodded at the words of the great spirit, and she was right. They ignored his feelings, the wedding was placed over him and he understood why this was a national event after so he couldn't bring himself to hate them over that. He even had his moment when he was too busy setting everything up so the loop can go perfectly.

"Subaru…" Emilia spoke up ."Can we go outside for a few minutes?"

The raven-haired knight couldn't help but hold his breath for a split second, and the tension already persent in the room was only amplified. Ram and Otto felt a small chill down their spine while Beatrice couldn't help but stare at the half-elf with shock in her eyes, but that shock was quickly transforming into anger.

"Y-you will not I suppose" Beatrice growled. "Betty will not stand here and let you hurt Subaru more than you already have."

"I won't" Emilia answered back without any hestitation.

"Oh really?" Beatrice couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Betty doesn't buy that for a single second. You will probably take him outside, give him a meaningless apology and go back to not telling him anything!"

Beatrice was wrong, and Emilia knew that. The great spirit's prediction is not how it was going to go the way she had envisioned because it already did happen. It happened the very moment that Emilia fell for Julius and instead of giving Subaru an answer he rightfully deserved she just ignored him. Everything could've been avoided if she just said that she loved Julius instead of leading him on for years, and now here she was expecting him to agree on going outside?

She may be the queen of this country but right now Subaru had all the power and right now he was at ease. It was clear from the look on his face and how he was despately triyng to avoid eye-contact with the half-elf. She knew right that he was debating whether to put his heart and soul on the line again as he had done many times before, and Beatrice could see that.

No she could even feel the emotions through the bond of their contract and there was no way in hell that she was going to let that happen again. She took a step foward at the half-elf and prepared to completely yell at her with all the harsh words she could muster. She didn't care if she was in the middle of the entire party and some were staring at them.

"Ok" Subaru exhaled, stopping the great spirit dead in her tracks. She absolutely couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Let's go outside and talk, Emilia-tan. All this music is hurting my head anyway." The raven-haired boy said as he rubbed the back of his head, clearly nervous and unsure about his decision.

The knight and the queen simply looked at each other, nodded and left and began walking out the front door with no one to stop them. Beatrice and the others wanted to do something but was it really their place? This was a problem between the two of them and Od knows throughout their many

"Just don't mess this up I suppose" The Great Spirit stared at the back of the half-elf while exhaling a loud sigh.

"They'll be fine" Ram injected with her usual confidence.

"How could yer be sure?" Garfiel asked to which Ram simply shrugged their shoulders and paused for a moment before giving an actual answer.

"They've both faced worse" Ram began as everything that happened over the past 10 years flooded through her mind. The witch cult's destruction, the manor burning down, The peace treaty between the naiton of wolves and the dragon country, and the revival of the witch of greed who chose to wander the earth. Everything that happened was not without sacrifice and suffering so that's why "This little talk of theirs won't be any trouble."

The walk outside was quiet, uncomfortably quiet and something both of them were not used to. The silence between them would've been cut off by subaru complimenting Emilia or doing something stupid, or maybe Emilia just talking and laughing between the two but now it was just dead silent. It was akward for the both of them and when Subaru tried to speak he would fall silent, as he truly didn't know what to do or say.

Soon enough the two made it outside but once they were outside that wasn't enough. It was still too loud and they just wanted some alone time to talk to one another. So they kept walking, and walking, and walking until they reached one of the many walls that surrounded the church. There it was perfectly quiet and no one could evedrop on them, now it was all but a moment of truth.

"So" Subaru said as he took a massive deep breath, trying to come up with any scenario in his head on what to say, do, and not mess things up. "First off Emilia-tan i would li-"

"I'm sorry" The queen said, cutting the raven-haired boy off much to his shock.

"What?"

"I'm sorry" She repeated her tone was even more somber than it originally was and Subaru didn't understand it. Why was she sorry? She didn't do anything wrong so it didn't make sense to him. He hated seeing her sad with her head down in shame as if she had committed a crime.

"You don't have to say sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." Subaru took a step foward to comfort her but she just turned around in shame.

"I did. You knew it for the longest time and me" She paused for a moment. "I just noticed. I thought I've grown but I'm still that dunderhead."

"No you're not!" Subaru maintained everytime he had in him not to scream at the very top of his lungs and he turned the half-elf around by force. "You've grown a large margin, I'm actually pretty proud of you for how far you've become you-"

"Stop it Subaru" Emilia cut him off with a frown appearing on her face taking the knight off guard. "I haven't changed because if i did I wouldn't have hurt you."

Subaru's breath hitched for a moment as he cursed himself in his mind. He knew exactly what Emilia was talking about, that's why she was with everyone in the group. He thought he was good at hiding his emotions, the countless loops should've assured that but he was wrong.

"Emilia" Subaru began with a sigh. "You didn't hurt me, because you didn't want to be with me. If that's what you're thinking about, forget about it. I'm not hurt because you found someone else. I'm happy you found someone you love back." The raven-haired knight once again paused and took a massive deep breath shaking his head to himself as he knew the words that came out of his mouth were truly from the heart. "I would be more hurt if you didn't actually love me and just stayed with me out of pity.'

"I know Subaru" The queen looked down, "Over the past few years I've really gotten to know you and you're one of my most treasured friends. Only Od knows where I would have been if it wasn't for you but that doesn't excuse the fact i didn't give you an answer."

Subaru's eyes widened for a split moment. That's right, he wanted an answer to the feelings in his chest but he never got it. The pain of waiting grew more and more until it would all just leak out. That was all he ever truly wanted but now it was too little too late, it would've been nice a few years ago before the wedding but he was happy it was coming out now.

"Emilia, it's fine." he smiled. "With all the queen business you probably forgot so it's fine really. I-I'm just happy you're happy."

"No Subaru" She shook her head. "You're too nice, you know that."

"Nice? Well I wouldn't exactly call myself nice." The raven-haired denied such claims but once more the queen looked saddened.

"You are nice Subaru. Too nice" Emilia slowly began to turn her body and face the church, her mind flashing back to those few moments when he stood in the middle of the church. He could've screamed at her, told her he felt cheated, or do anything and she probably deserved it but no he just gave them his best wishes and went on his merry way.

"But Just because your nice and didn't bring it up doesn't mean I'm not in the wrong so once again so." Than Emilia did something that completely caught Subaru off guard something the queen of Luginica should not have to do in any cricumstane especially not to a mere knight. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry Subaru. I am really realllllyyyy sorry I didn't give you an answer sooner. I still want us to be really good friends, so could you forgive me?"

Subaru for a split second really didn't know what to say. Infact he was a little worried as the queen caught bowing to someone lower ranked could be distratious to her reputation. Otto did go on and on about it after all but that was just Emilia's chram. He couldn't help but smile a little as he could see she truly meant it.

"Ok Emilia-tan" He smiled as the queen slowly lifted up her head. "I forgive you, I really do. This isn't the end of our friendship, you know. Just because you didn't choose me to be your love doesn't mean I don't want to stand by your side. I want you to be happy.?

"As do i Subaru" Emilia said as tears slowly began to form in her eyes. "As do I."

"Besides, I think I found another woman who has already stolen my heart again." Subaru said completely out of the blue and almost instantly the teary eyed expression of the queen turned into pure shock.

"Wait Really? Who is it?"

Crusch Karsten was many things. Strong, smart, and always was able to keep her head in the game no matter the situation. While she was two of those things and she had demonstrated that time and time again, the latter was being a bit too much. When she left Subaru alone to deal with the members of his own camp, a part of her was screaming that it wasn't the right thing to do, that she should've stayed by his side and her little hug did nothing. On the other hand it was the right thing to do, Subaru wanted to be alone with them by his own choice and it really wasn't her place to intrude.

For now Crusch would have to wait and it was unfortunate that one of the many things she didn't like to do was wait, especially when it came to news. She would rather prefer to be right there and center whether it was good or bad. The main reason why she hated waiting was because it an eternity of just standing around with only her mind to keep her company. Worst yet her own mind wasn't the greatest of company as all it did was think about what could be happening next.

What if Subaru and Emilia scream at each other and have a falling out completely, what if the next time she saw him he would be even more damaged than when she first found him. So many what if scenarios played in her mind, over, and over again and she could do nothing but wait for the news.

She stayed mostly in the back far away from the crowd, her eyes scanning in every direction waiting to see if Subaru would return. While rejecting anyone who wanted to take her hand and dance, because she wanted to keep dancing with a certain special person. She didn't even know how much time truly went by, hours, minutes? It didn't matter, the only thing helping time pass by was the small little sips of alcohol in her cup.

"Oh Crusch there you are!" The duchess's eyes lit up as a familiar voice entered her ears and almost instantly she turned her neck in its direction. A smile formed on her face as it was Subaru that called and was walking towards her but there was something different about him and Crusch could tell. He actually looked happy and at peace?

"Subaru" The duchess replied back and began walking to the raven-haired boy. "How was your talk with your friends?"

"It was actually great!" He exclaimed stars practically shining in hisd eyes, taking the duchess off guard for a few seconds. Indeed this was not the heart-broken boy she saw moments prior but she should've expected it. Countless experiences with the raven-haired knight had showed her he was the type to jump back from any situation no matter how dire from just a simple talk. "Had a small chat with Emilia-tan, and then proceed to-"

"Wait, you talked to queen Emilia?" Crusch asked, completely shocked by that statement. She looked around the room for a split second and Emilia on the other end far away from them talking to her husband Julius. "Did it go well?"

"It went amazing." The divine protection of wind detected no lies in the raven-haired boy's statement.

"I see" Crusch's eyes narrowed for a second and a small pain in her heart arised. "What did you talk about?"

Subaru stayed silent for a moment and in that moment Crusch saw his once cheerful face turn cold and dead serious. His eyes traveled every direction making sure that no one could see them, without warning she grabbed the duchess hand and pulled them further away from the crowd. Once they got far enough that people won't even think twice before ignoring them Subaru took a deep breath.

"Ok I'm going to tell you" he paused dramatically "But you can't tell this to anyone or else Emilia-tan's reputation would be in the trash. Do you promise."

Crusch nodded the pain in her heart rising more. "I swear on my household name that this secret won't even be revealed even long after I am in the grave."

Subaru stared directly in the duchess eyes seeing that she truly meant it and he nodded

"Emilia-tan took me outsid and-" He once again checked his surroundings. "And said told me that she's sorry."

Crusch couldn't help but blink rapidly. "What?"

Seeing the duchess expression Subaru couldn't help but let out a light chuckle before continuing. "Yeah that's all that really happened. She took me outside, said she's sorry for not giving me an answer and we still remain great friends."

"Oh I see" The pain in the duchess' heart went away almost in an instant and a bright smile appeared on her face. "I'm happy to see that everything has been patched up between the two of you."

"Patch up?" Subaru asked for a moment, a bit confused but quickly he said "Yeah i guess, it wasn't really broken just I was hurt but hey! It was all worth it if I got a beautiful green-haired woman to comfort and dance with me."

Crusch merely laughed. "I guess having a rash but amazing raven-haired knight to take my hand and be by my side also made this experience worth wild." This little comment from the duchess caused the raven-haired boy to blush hard for a few seconds before shaking it off.

"Well I don't want to stand around here forever," Subaru said as he stretched his legs. "The night is still young isn't it?"

"That is shall we continue where we left off on the dance floor?" the duchess pilotely asked out stretching her hand, to which Subaru smiled and grabbed with any hesitation.

"You know it!"

And thus a wedding between lovers breaking the heart of one. Sparked a romance between The Valkyie and The Star who found comfort in each other. Life continue on with its usual ups and downs but with each other by their sides the two found true happiness.

Thus…the star will still be lonely cause he will die alone but at least he can enjoy life and the afterlife with someone who truly loves him.

---

Aight time to actually work on the other shit i want too. My list is massive.