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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Re:Zero and other products related to the this series are all owned by Tappei Nagatsuki.

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Chapter 10: One's Trust, One's Stress

Subaru had a lot to think about. And thankfully the small room he had in the living quarters of the Royal Castle would give him the proper setting to think about it.

That was the plan before something 'changed' from the previous life. He wasn't alone in his room. Roswaal having eventually noticed his sickly look and, after bringing it up to Emilia, managed to use her worry to reason him assigning Rem to Subaru for a few hours. Just to make sure nothing bad happened to him. And he could tell that something was off with the maid. She just looked so disgusted by the assignment, which stood out from her usual minor reluctance towards him. So, Rem was now sitting by a chair that had been moved so she could watch over him as he lied in bed.

Quite creepy, but he was still alive and allowed to think of recent events.

He died again, and he came back to a specific 'checkpoint' where he was tightly safe by being in the chariot reaching the capital. That mere notion was unpleasant for a few reasons. Yes, this could possibly imply a form of 'immortality', but the more he thought about it, the more the young man realized that the entire situation was far from comfortable. Especially when it was clear someone had slapped that kind of power in him without his consent. And it was perhaps the very person that summoned him in this world.

It would make sense but... who did this? He remembered the few conversations he had with Emilia about the general things of Lugnica and religion had been a very brief topic because... there wasn't much to it. Despite its fantasy setting, he ended up in one of the few kingdoms where no one worshiped gods. Heck, the closest thing to deities were Grand Spirits and Volcanica, but even these were known to be too limited to be considered outright gods.

So, not a god. This wasn't a DnD situation and... yet someone did this to him. Not only that, but it triggers him dying. Was it a permanent curse? Or did he have 'lives' as if he was playing Super Mario? The entire concept felt so surreal to apply in real life, and on him of all people. The only saving grace of his most recent death was that it wasn't as painful as his first one. Decapitation sure felt a whole lot different than getting gutted and left to die by bleeding and enduring the injury's agony.

That woman... Priscilla had reacted to him being quite snappy. Subaru was slightly ashamed for losing his temper like that, but he had taken her reaction for granted. A proud noble woman, of course she would snap into action the moment her and her family were insulted. Plus, the young man didn't know enough to say if the insult had struck harsher if the woman didn't have a family to begin with. That thought had crossed in his pondering a few times and... it sure made him feel like crap. He had overreacted and paid the price.

In fact, the way Priscilla gloated over the thieves was proof that she wasn't jumpy with her weapon. Unless she was provoked into using it. But what to do about this piece of info? After all, he was still shaking by the notion of being killed so suddenly, and approaching his most recent murderer felt extremely wrong on many levels.

...But should I still help?

Subaru was conflicted about it. His morals told him to still help despite what happened, admonishing him for failing to see the situation he was walking onto and getting killed by his own hands. As upsetting that thought felt, he was at fault there for not expecting a harsh response from the clearly-prideful woman. So... what to do next? Should he really go and 'save' her?

He sighed, his thoughts growing thinner as he felt something worrying him back in the present time. Specifically a simple glance that had slowly turned into a glare. At this point, Subaru couldn't just ignore this circumstance anymore.

"...Rem?"

The maid's eyes gained some focus. "Yes, Subaru-san?"

"Are you... mad at me?"

The girl blinked, her posture remaining composed and yet something felt different in her attitude.

"Mad, Subaru-san?" The monotone tone had grown a bit colder than before, further confirming his growing unease.

"I think you have something against me," He reasoned carefully, not sure if the bluette had been assigned to kill him. For some reasons. Roswaal had shown no sign of wanting him dead and this whole interaction felt off. Why did the Margrave assign her to him, really? He could tell there was more to it, but... what could it be? "And you can hardly hold it against me."

"That sounds a bit too pretentious, Subaru-san."

"Yet you don't deny it," The young man remarked flatly, staring up into the girl's eyes. "You have been glaring holes in me for a while."

"...Perhaps there have been a few developments which made me particularly hesitant to see Subaru-san as a good person," The girl reasoned cautiously. "Specifically, some details I'm most familiar with and can recognize as bad."

...What?

"I don't understand."

"You could be a threat to Emilia-sama," The maid bluntly stated. "Do you have ties with the Witch Cult?"

"The- What? No."

"Yet you smell like that sort of filth. The disgusting scent of a liar, an assassin and a-"

What could be driving that kind of smell? Subaru didn't doubt Rem's concerns were right or not, yet he couldn't help but try to get what could have driven that kind of scent to develop in him. And then, it hit him. It had to be-

"My curse."

He blinked for a moment, realizing he had muttered that last bit and noticing a bizarre expression on Rem's face.

"Curse? Is this a joke or-"

"W-Why do you think I am in bed right now?" Subaru snapped half-angrily, very willing to make a stand to not die. For the third time! He had this urge to tell her the full truth, and yet he knew it would be dangerous. That kind of power was just something he couldn't tell anyone, not even Emilia. Not because he didn't trust the half-elf, but because she would then doubt if his friendship was real or he had manipulated her for it. After all, he had the chance to befriend her once before getting the second life done up to the arrival to the capital. The last thing he needed was to mess that whole thing up with the horrible truth he was keeping to himself. "If I was a bad person, I wouldn't be spending time getting watched over by someone and being away from targets to hurt."

Her mouth opened. "It could be a ruse so-"

"For what?"

The bluette paused, her posture sagging before the very notion that Subaru had done nothing to warrant any harsh reaction. Sure, his smell didn't help his case in her eyes, but the young woman had plenty of reason to hesitate any dangerous move that could risk her position within the Mathers Household.

"I... I don't trust you."

And that was the point of this whole situation. It's been something Barusu had known for a while, but never expected to become reason for suspicion and even potential murder. It was frustrating, but he couldn't blame the girl for doing her job and... he knew he had to somehow defuse the situation or be ready to get killed by it.

"...Rem. Can you come here?" He hummed as he made space on the mattress and patted the free side.

Subaru was aware it was a risky move but... he knew he had to get Rem to know that, if he refused to make a move even the moment he had the means to attack her in an exposed situation, then his explanation had more legitimacy than she was willing to let it be.

Rem hesitated for a moment at the request, and then frowned. "Subaru-san, are you asking me to... lay with you?"

"Yeah, lie beside me so we can talk," The young man reiterated calmly, failing to notice the innuendo he had presented with his earlier question.

The maid blinked once again at this, but her doubts were less about anything depraved and more into getting hurt in complying. Still, she had to accept the order as commanded by Roswaal and she was soon lying beside Subaru. Both were quiet for some time, staring at the ceiling and waiting for the other to talk. Surprisingly enough, Rem was the one that spoke up first.

"What do you intend to do with this?"

"Show you that I'm not lying! I'm not a bad guy."

"...That's all? Isn't it a ploy to assault me in my weakest?"

"I'm not that kind of person," Subaru argued flatly and then Rem shifted in a different position. She turned to fully to give her back to Subaru and... she brought a finger to her lips while staring back at the young man. Much to Barusu's growing surprise, he was soon directed with his gaze to why she had done that.

"Are~ you~ sure~?"

Her butt. She was shamelessly showing him her butt. Of course it was well-covered by her underwear and lingerie, but the skirt was raised and a good amount of her bubbly rear was exposed. And... and it was enticing. Any hot-blooded man would be drawn to such a sight, tempted to do something about it- to reach out and... and grasp it. Grasp 'glory'! His common sense screeched of sexual bait, and that Rem was clearly doing it on purpose to draw that kind of reaction out of him.

And yet, while Subaru's own intrigue had him moving his hand towards the wriggling behind, his mind managed to win over that inner struggle. Rem, who felt her heart beat faster than usual at that daring move to disprove the perverted assassin, was stunned when instead of grasping her flesh and deile her, Subaru merely reached for the edge of her skirt and carefully pulled it down to cover her mostly exposed bottom.

Why does she look disappointed?

Subaru couldn't make much sense of the bluette's mood with how bizarre her reaction was at that daring but gentlemanly move. She stared at his hand, then back at him, then back at his hand and... huffed.

"I guess you really don't wish to be outed as your true self."

At this point, the young man was outright annoyed by the maid. He stood up from the bed, ignoring that this move had Rem tensed up and walked up to the door.

"Where-"

"I want to check on Emilia. You should probably fix yourself," He flatly interjected, giving her a long look before reaching for the door handle and pausing as he held onto it.

"Also, one last thing, Rem."

"Yes, Subaru-san?"

"You are a pervert," The young man accused, sparing no glance at her as he proceeded to leave the room first.

And promptly ignoring the full-face blush that the stunned maid had to deal with for the next few minutes.

Priscilla Barielle was miffed. No, she was unnerved beyond recognition.

Everyone in her camp, those that knew her the most, were aware something had gotten the Fire Princess furious with someone, but at the same time got her interest. Anger and fascination- both factors were, by all standards, deadly when the one bestowing those to others was Priscilla. And if those two were mixed, then the poor unlucky bastard that crossed Priscilla's path was one that was going to suffer the worst fate possible.

Yet things were far different from the usual spiel of frustration-driven actions the woman would take in this regard, and some were starting to notice that there was a degree of 'odd restraint' in the Lady Barielle's take on the matter. She was angry, yes, but she wasn't acting on it as impulsively as she tended to. And Priscilla refused to quantify any questioning glance.

One brave man decided to ultimately go and see what was going on with the Fire Princess, and the end result was... pretty amusing.

Standing close to six feet, Aldebaran didn't look much fit to be the main guard to Lady Barielle. And his missing left arm further weakened any claim behind his current strength. Still, his frame was stocky and his body was covered in thick bulging muscles that gave him an imposing figure compared to many around his height. His overall shabby look, including his clothes and unshaven legs, can easily confound him with bandits sharing that sort of frame and clothing.

Some even called him the polar opposite of his mistress, Priscilla Barielle, due to this. He was after all a thuggish individual handling a princess. His outfit consists of a pair of green split-toe sandals with yellow buckles, sand-colored pants, a bandage around his right wrist that matched the one that goes around his missing limb, bandages of the same assortment that are wrapped around his feet like socks, an open green linen vest with yellow lining and a hem of white fur, and a shabby yellow mantle that reaches down to his hips.

What really made Al the best bet in trying to get the truth out of Priscilla was his general 'fearless nature' around her. It wasn't like he was outright disobedient, but the woman hardly punished him if he managed to play with his tongue long enough to amuse her. And in this situation, the helmeted man knew he was walking on egg-shells with his mistress.

"What's the purpose of that huffing, Princess?" He inquired, pausing just for a moment at her irritated look.

"I found a slanderous piece of trash, that's what!" She remarked fiercely, grasping tightly at the armrest of her chair, cracking both by her own strength alone. "And- And it infuriates me I can't find a reason to outright execute him."

That was... odd. Why would the woman feel the need to hold back on someone if she was so sure he had lied about her?

"Princess-"

"I was wandering the streets just a while ago. Wanted to see how amusing the low-life was," Priscilla started to explain, mostly in an effort to vent her frustration on him.

Al opened Pandora's box, and he knew he would have to endure it without uttering a single complaint. Which was quite upsetting, but nothing new on the long list of awkward things he had been subjected to in recent years.

"Then this mongrel happened to pass by, he 'dealt with' some of the scum that was trying to mug me and-"

"You were almost mugged, Princess?!" Al jumped at that detail which would have been relevant about the overall situation. Specifically why he told her to not wander alone the streets and to have him around in case she wanted to stroll among the trash.

"Not relevant, fool!" The noble woman lashed out fiercely, her glare easily subduing Al's own worry. "Still, this cur- this pathetic waste of air just helped me and- and when he started to actually appear like a proper servant, he actually rejected my reward!"

Al couldn't help but frown where this was going. "If it's not asking too much-"

"Kissing my hand."

And that explained a few things.

"He- He then refused by saying that it would have been wrong of him to 'taint me' with his lips."

Which sounded fair within the common logic used by Priscilla in handling 'rewards'. Heck, Al wouldn't be surprised if she had found reason to lament if this poor guy had actually gone through with that 'request'.

"So, I demanded him to go through with it," The noble woman replied, confirming her usual mindset towards this sort of thing. "And then he made the most disgusting accusation I have ever heard. He told me I, Priscilla Barielle, was a pervert!"

...Ah?

"I don't think I heard you properly, princess."

"He called me a pervert. For willingly shallowing my body with a lowlife's lips on my hands," The woman remarked louder than before, her left eye twitching in clear irritation. "That little bastard just went on to say that he wasn't sure 'I was thinking right' and left me a stuttering mess."

...Seems like you got a taste of your own medicine, Princess.

The ranting continued for a while, with Priscilla cursing the guy's name over and over again, but actually sorting no plans to hunt down and punish the individual at once. Quite odd, but perhaps she had yet to digest and recover from that verbal slap. Meanwhile Al hummed to himself as he thought about a few peculiar details about this story. Natsuki Subaru, that sounds like a name from back home. Soon the knight left Priscilla to huff and puff before the 'outrageous' event that forced her to remember such a pitiful name.

Priscilla wasn't going to let this matter go without some proper punishment, and yet he could tell this guy was going to handle her just fine.

AN

Pure Barusu manages to leave behind the seed of affection in Rem... and Priscilla too?! That's still up in the air, but the Fire Princess ain't going to forget our beloved Japanese moron like she did in Canon.

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