It was not the first time he set foot upon the mansion's floors, and in all due likelihood it would not have been the last, but something felt distinctly different in the knight's pace.
Each step struck a delicate balance between decisive strength and calculated efficiency.
This bearing of his, combined with the focus clearly expressed through his gaze, painted a vastly different picture from the placid, glacial and sometimes even stumbling of preceding times.
Speaking of the young man's gaze, it scoured throughout the mansion's halls and corridors, its efficacy fueled by singular intention:
To find his contracted spirit, Beatrice.
It was clear that, whatever his plan may have entailed, the assistance of his confidant would be nothing short of essential to his success.
Subaru's quest quickly came to its completion, as he managed to catch sight of her right after turning a corner.
His attention was promptly returned by the spirit, who still seemed somewhat taken aback by the fulminant shift in the boy's behavior.
"There you are Beako! I was just looking for you!"
Even his voice's intensity appeared somehow heightened, each word spoken exuded an aura of inspiring confidence.
And it was perhaps thanks to that very same confidence that the spirit's emotional state seemed to take a slight yet discernible turn towards joy.
"What is it that my contractor demands this time, I wonder?"
She inquired, with her butterfly-shaped irises betraying an ever-growing curiosity.
"Glad you asked! However…"
As the knight replied, he knelt down to her height and cautiously whispered.
"… it would be better if we discussed what I have in mind somewhere more private, away from prying eyes and ears."
To that, she nodded, took hold of her contractor's hand and led him back to his room.
Given that Beatrice had informed the mansion's occupants of Subaru's intentions for the day, there was no explicit risk of someone barging in to bother them, but the knight chose to err on the side of caution, locking the door, turning the curtains and sitting at the center of the room with the bed's sheets enshrouding the both of them to ensure that the sound of their imminent conversation would not be caught upon by any possible outsider.
The girl was no stranger to her contractor's unusual, odd, unpredictable and oftentimes idiotic antics, but given that it had been a rather long while since the last time she ever saw him this excited, she chose to remain mostly silent, keeping her typically harsh retorts in check.
"Alright Beako, I'm sorry to bring it up, but I believe you are well aware of what… what I've been doing to myself as a way to cope with everything I've been through up until now, right?"
To that mention, the spirit's silent expression gave away rather evident signs of dismay, followed by a quick nod after which her gaze began to point downwards, possibly to hide an imminent frown.
To him, despite the outward display of confidence, even just the act of acknowledging his harmful behavior required a not negligible amount of inner strength, causing his mind's perspective to focus once more on the steep walls, endless mires and bottomless pits surrounding his inmost self.
But now was not the time for him to dawdle and wallow, now was the time for him to act upon it, and for that, he would need to concentrate, to focus as much as his resolve allowed him.
"Well… for as much as I've been trying to avoid it, the fact remains that if I go on like this, one day I will snap and break under the pressure…"
His interlocutor raised her gaze back up to face him, wondering about the next words that would be uttered by her contractor with anticipation and apprehension in equal measure.
"… so I have made a decision: I will invite each of the people of this mansion I care about here and, one by one, I will tell them about what I've been doing to myself, along with why I've been doing it…"
To say that Beatrice's anxiety was so intense that it could be noticed from a mile away would have been the understatement of the century.
"What?! Has my contractor lost his mind, I suppose?! Have you even thought about how they would react? What would they do or say, I wonder?"
The spirit's anxious response was met with a slight chuckle from her contractor.
"I know Beako, I know, believe me, I've been giving this a lot more thought than you think, and at this point there's just no simple way out of it, I can't go on lying to them and…"
The girl waited for him to finish his sentence, trying with all her might to keep intrusive thoughts of her own at bay.
"… I really, really don't want you to keep suffering in silence as you watch me slowly destroying myself."
Instinctively, Subaru expected a retort of some sort, an answer of some kind, possibly even a reprimand.
But instead, all he was met with was unceremonious silence.
Focusing his gaze onto her eyes, tears could clearly be witnessed as they welled up, ready to spill out in droves.
It wasn't even a matter of pondering what should be the best course of action to take, the knight's arms simply snapped into motion, enveloping his contracted spirit in a tight embrace, followed by a gentle patting of her head.
While he wished to continue their conversation as soon as possible, he also understood just how much Beatrice needed this, after everything she endured.
In a way, moments such as this one felt cathartic to him, for they would let him know that he wasn't the only one suffering from the many hurdles of life.
That, even though he might never be fully understood by those around him, he wasn't alone.
Even if they may not be the solution to every one of his problems.
Even if, sometimes, they might hinder more than they might help.
Even if he had to put himself through the smoldering pits of hell itself for their sake.
He wouldn't have them any other way.
And he owed it to them, despite all, to ensure that the person they loved didn't wallow in misery behind the curtains of his deeds.
"… w-what if they react harshly? What if complete and utter chaos ensues? What if-"
The girl's voice was silenced as her contractor's embrace tightened further, causing her face to press slightly against his chest.
"You know, Beako, I've been thinking about that too… but I've come to the conclusion that, no matter what they might do or say, I will be ready to withstand it…"
For a moment, Beatrice attempted to wrestle herself out of his arms, but upon rehearsing the boy's words inside of her head, she halted her struggle.
"… and no matter what, I will never leave your side, I will stay for as long you will want me to, and you'll be free to follow me, wherever I might go."
In that precise lapse of time, the tears barely contained within the spirit's eyes were unleashed in full force, two raging rivers flooding out.
If memory served, he had recently gotten his shirt cleaned up, but right now he could not be made to care less.
And besides, it wasn't the first time his clothes were used as a tissue, at this point it had become an unspoken agreement of sorts.
Speaking of what had been left unspoken, he once again felt the devious pull of his innermost thoughts.
At this point, there was simply no other recourse.
He had to confront them, one by one.
In all due likelihood, they would not simply vanish after today's endeavor, it was unsure if the day would come in which they would simply disappear once and for all.
But still, that was no reason to allow the worst sides of himself to dictate the course of his life.
Once Beatrice had exhausted her tears, he gritted his teeth and then stood up, dramatically throwing the sheets into a corner of the room.
He then looked back down at his confidant, determination clearly shining upon his expression.
"I hope you're ready, Beako! Because this is the day in which Subaru Natsuki takes the first step against his worst habits!"
The young man proudly announced, the theatrics of his motions and words causing Beatrice to lift up her tear-crossed gaze at her contractor.
"And, in order to accomplish a feat of such magnitude, he's going to need the help of none other than the Great Spirit Beatrice!"
As those words left his mouth, he knelt down, almost prostrating himself in front of her and, with his forehead touching the floor, he continued.
"So, in my boundless selfishness, I ask: are you willing to aid me in this arduous and perilous journey of self-improvement?"
In that moment, there were many, many things Beatrice wished to say.
She could have commented on just how ridiculous her contractor's antics were.
She could have scolded him for taking such a juvenile approach in spite of the gravitas of the situation.
But in the end, these shenanigans were part of the reason why she cared so, so much about her dear contractor.
She allowed her frown to turn upside-down, greeting him with a confident smile.
"Why of course, I suppose! Betty will always do her absolute, utmost best for Subaru!"
To her exclamation, the knight leapt up with joy and excitement, something he hadn't sincerely done in months.
"Alright then! Let's get to work Beako!"
And so, the two began to properly devise a stratagem to see the knight's goals come to fruition.
To begin, the order in which the people of the mansion would be invited into Subaru's room, while Beatrice would stand watch outside to ensure no one else would disturb the conversation, had to be established.
Otto ended up being the one picked as the first candidate, since out of all of them he had shown to be the one who, despite how forward he could be at times, would likely be the one most understanding of the situation, and could be relied upon to potentially aid with this whole operation.
Then there were the three maids, Ram, Frederica and Petra. Speaking of the youngest maid, Subaru quickly came to the conclusion that it would have been best if she did not find out about what exactly he had been doing to himself, she simply wasn't ready for it just yet. So him and Beatrice agreed that, while Frederica would keep Petra distracted, Subaru would speak to Ram about what he had put himself through, after which she would relay what had been told to her to Frederica, who was also likely to understand the situation without making too much of a fuss about it, while Ram would have likely required a bit more… persuasion, given her character, although she could be made to see reason with enough effort.
Then it would be Garfiel's turn, and that's when things would get trickier, as his name could easily be added into a vocabulary as a synonym for the term "Impulsive". There was honestly no way to predict how exactly he would react, so Beatrice's help would come particularly in handy in case things got out of hand.
And last, but most certainly not least, there was Emilia. Out of all the people within that mansion, she was the most likely to take the truth in an… unpleasant way, understandably so. For her, Subaru would have to be at the top of his game to ensure the success of his plan, carefully gauging and planning each and every step ahead of time while also being as prepared as humanly possible to improvise a contingency in case things took a wrong turn.
With that settled, the knight and the spirit exchanged an expression of mutual understanding, truly symbolizing just how close they had grown to each other.
And so was the plan finally set in motion.
Thus, did the confrontation between the young man and his most insidious foe begin.