Reinhard had lived through good times and bad times alike, but usually his life was some unholy mix of sad, pathetic, and pitiful that he liked to label as "What I deserve". But even in those dark moments, little bits of light poked through and found their way to him. He had the stalwart companionship of two fellow knights, even if they were never fully at ease around him, he had a Lady to call his own and to entrust his sword to, even if she was never very lady-like, and he had a friend, a true friend who saw him for the monster he was and stood by him anyway. Even when his pathetic, undeserving self was distanced from his companions in different camps and when his own Lady rejected and left him, Reinhard always had Natsuki Subaru to accept him.

That is why, sitting at the dinner table across from the only reliable person in his life, for the second time that week, Reinhard felt an awful sinking feeling within himself akin to when his grandfather berated him or when Felt left him but so, so much worse. He could practically feel the unfettered hatred his frie- no he didn't deserve to call him that even in his mind anymore - his comrade was directing towards him. Even with Subaru avoiding Reinhard's gaze as best as he could - surely because he was just that repulsive to look at - the red haired knight could see a grimace on the tracksuit-clad man's face, one even more stern than anything Subaru had ever directed towards the archbishops he had defeated and slain. Truly, Reinhard was a monster beyond anything even Subaru had seen. And yet...

Yesterday, he had dearly hoped it was nothing but a fluke, that it was merely a one time thing. He had felt a twisted relief knowing his comrade's mental state was less than optimal to the point where he saw him cry himself to sleep in the dining room. He had hope, coming to dinner today, that Natsuki Subaru, once put back together, would look at him with understanding and kindness once more. But here Reinhard was, across from the comrade he wished was his friend, on the end of a glare full of malice.

When the great spirit, whom Reinhard knew loathed and despised Subaru with all her heart to the point of scratching at him whenever he went to see her, intervened to calm his comrade down, he was confused to say the least.

"Have I been so despicable and unreasonable that Subaru received the gentle prompting to calm down from a being that hates him? I guess I truly am that repugnant aren't I. I can only bring people together against myself. I can never inspire, never command, never be the hero like Subaru..."

"Betty would like to apologize in place of her contractor, I suppose. Betty's Subaru is sorry for staring at you with hateful eyes, in fact." the girl-like entity said, not only derailing Reinhard's entire thought process but also completely stunning him to the point where even his innermost thinking was silent for a time.

He processed the spirit's words slowly and carefully. He analyzed the tone and content with as much of his brain as he could to the point where he did not notice he rudely failed to respond, nor that Subaru was still looking at him with utter disgust.

"So Subaru truly was looking at me with hateful eyes, then? I already knew that but the confirmation from great spirit-sama still stings. I guess that's what I deserve…"

"But why did she apologize? It was not for herself in any way, it was to represent her contractor's wishes, Subaru's wishes."

Reinhard had been staring at his empty plate with such intensity that any harder, he would have quite literally destroyed it with his gaze.

"So Subaru hates me but feels sorry for doing so? Why? Why would he feel regret for his hatred? Why would he maintain it despite his regret? Was it something I have done? Was it something I did not do? Surely I must be at fault in some way but I just can not comprehend how."

Reinhard closed his eyes, not noticing the table shake and the food, that he also did not notice the presence of, spill slightly onto the tablecloth. Nor did he notice when Garfiel's body flew past his head, followed shortly by Subaru's running form. He was simply so lost in thought that he spent the entirety of the dinner unmoving, ignoring whatever was going on around him. He was quite literally trapped inside of his own head.

No matter how he analyzed his actions, no matter how much he combed through his every memory, no matter what he thought about, he could not find a logical reason as to why Subaru suddenly started hating him yesterday afternoon. Hell, not even twenty minutes before dinner yesterday they were having an amicable conversation in which Reinhard had used his Divine Protection of Empathy to see that Subaru only felt friendliness and guilt towards him, as he always has. Why he felt guilt, Reinhard still has not made a conclusion about but that was not the matter at hand.

And so, his Divine Protections and logic failing him, Reinhard had resolved to pay Subaru a visit either tonight, preferably just after dinner, or first thing tomorrow morning and ask him all these questions directly. He knew he was eating into Subaru's incredibly valuable time and was an awful person for doing so, but he just… had to ask. " I am just that pathetic."

Suddenly, Reinhard felt a light tug on his shoulder. He looked over to see Petra, the kindly orange haired maid whom he always complimented the food of, regardless of its actual quality, pulling on him with all her might. Noticing she drew his attention, her grip on his coat slipped and she began to fall backwards to the ground. Moving almost instantaneously, he grabbed her falling form in his arms.

"Are you alright, Petra-san? What ever is the matter?" the knight asked, troubled by her unusual behavior.

She looked up at him with confused and concerned eyes as she got back onto her own two feet, saying, "Reinhard-sama… are you alright?"

Reinhard instinctively smiled and replied, "Of course, why do you ask? Do you require any assistance in preparing for dinner?"

The maid silently regarded him for a moment, an eyebrow raised, before slowly replying, "Reinhard-sama… dinner is long over. You did not move or budge for the entire time… and for an entire hour afterward. I came to tidy the room after what happened but I did not expect to find you still here…"

Reinhard's smile faltered as he looked around. It was, indeed, nighttime and the sun had long set. His Divine Protections automatically reaffirmed this fact to him. He took a second to compose himself and then responded to the concerned maid, his softest artificial smile fixed to his face, "I think… I was just very much lost in thought. There's nothing to be concerned about, Petra-san. Thank you for your constant diligence. I will be taking my leave now. Good night."

He gave a courteous bow of his head and walked towards the exit of the dining room, leaving Petra so bewildered that she forgot her manners and did not bow back until he had already left.

Petra turned to see that the plate Reinhard had been staring at the entire time, even with his eyes closed, that was fine just a moment ago, was shattered into pieces, the now cold food soaking into the tablecloth.

"First Subaru… and then Beatrice-sama and Roswaal-sama… and now Reinhard-sama as well? What is even happening today?"


Back before Reinhard's mind blue screened for an hour or two and immediately following Beatrice's conversation with her contractor while on his lap, Subaru's newfound calm was disturbed by a loud snort from the seat beside Reinhard.

"One hell of a great spirit you 're. One second y'hate him with e'ery fiber of yer bein' n' the next yer all o'er him like he's th' shatternook y'found in th' prairie," Garfiel said, frowning deeply and crossing his arms.

"What. the FUCK. does that even mean?"

"Excuse you?" Subaru shot back after a moment of confusion, surmising from the demihuman's body language that either he or his Beako had just been insulted.

Garfiel merely glared at Subaru with even more hatred than before but a stern look from Ram stopped him from pursuing it further.

"Okay, among all the people in the mansion, the only one I am certain about is that fucker. I want him dead and nothing short of Emilia and Beako both begging for his life will stop me." Subaru thought, returning Garfiel's glare to which the demihuman did not falter.

The tension in the air was palatable as the two had a glare-off that Subaru felt confident he was winning. He had out-glared even Regulus in the past. No angry cat boy has a greater capacity for disrespect and pettiness than the Sin Archbishop of Pride himself.

Unfortunately for them - and fortunately for everyone else - their contest was ended with an unspoken draw as Petra reentered the room and served dinner to all those seated. Continuing to glare would have ruined their meal, after all.

As Petra placed a bowl before Subaru, Beatrice got up and out of his lap, much to his displeasure, and went to sit back in her own chair. Of course, the food would do nothing for her but it's not like she didn't enjoy a good meal every once in a while. It had been two years since she last ate and part of her was excited at a chance to eat once more.

"I hope Betty's Subaru can contain his madness and rage without Betty's presence, I suppose. Perhaps this will serve as good training for his mind, in fact."

Subaru thanked Petra as she placed the meal in front of him. Noticing it was the same exact soup as yesterday, he reflexively frowned. He looked down at the unfortunately unappetizing dish, thinking, "I miss mayonnaise. It can make literally any meal better. It's been years since-"

Suddenly, Subaru felt, much to his surprise, his shoulder being nudged. He turned to see Petra standing beside him again, a clear container filled with a beige-looking substance in her hands.

"What the-"

"Y-you seemed rather down yesterday, Subaru-sama. So I used one of the recipes you left in the kitchen to make you some of that 'mayonnaise' you used to love," she said, struggling to meet his eyes.

Petra swiftly handed the container to Subaru, who accepted it with shaking hands. He just stared at it with a look of cautious reverence, his eyes involuntarily widening.

Having given her gift, Petra quickly ran off and back into the kitchen, lightly blushing.

"Is- is this really…"

He carefully removed the lid, picked up the spoon that lay beside the untouched soup, and took a small scoop of it to his lips. He warily placed the substance in his mouth, his eyes watering at what he found.

"It- it really is…"

He almost cried. He fought down the urge as hard as he could, but he could not stop the gears in his head from turning.

His mind flashed back to Japan, to his parents, to their unusual breakfasts, to all the happy times, and all the sad ones. He was on the verge of crying happy tears as a result of his past for the first time since he came to this world...

And then, the jar flew out of his hands and into the wall of the dining room, shattering and spreading the delectable goop onto the ground.


The room was quiet for the second after the shattering noise rang out, but the moment was short lived.

Rage. Pure unbridled Rage . Subaru snapped his head towards the monster that destroyed his moment, his happiness, his mayonnaise . He saw a smirking Garfiel looking at him with satisfied eyes.

"Ya seemed far too happy 'bout th-"

Subaru screamed, immediately cutting the demihuman off. He screamed with an anger he had never directed even at his worst enemies before. His eyes were ablaze and his knuckles white from the strength of his grip.

It was at this moment that Garfiel knew, he fucked up.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Despite being hundreds of times more physically capable than Subaru, Garfiel shrunk back in fear of the screaming man across from him. He had known Subaru for two full years and he could not recall a single time Subaru ever got properly angry at him. And now, Garfiel saw a man more enraged than he had seen literally anyone else in his life before, including himself.

Instinctively, he turned his gaze to the impossibly strong knight beside him for support but was met with a man who looked like he did not even hear a single thing that had happened thus far, as if he were living in some sort of parallel dimension to the one where Subaru was screaming at the top of his lungs. No, even then Garfiel thought that the scream would still reach him. So then, " w hat th' hell 's happen-"

His single second of hesitation was all it took for Subaru to leap out of his chair, run across the dining room table, and punch Garfiel right in the face. But no, this was no normal punch. In his moment of pure rage, Subaru had felt something inside him change, as if some evil force within him that was once contained was now released.

Overlapping with Subaru's hand was another, shadow-black appendage that reinforced his punch. The strength in his swing increased over a hundredfold and the unprepared Garfiel was flung straight towards the still zoned-out Sword Saint. Yet he did not collide with him and, instead, turned about thirty degrees to the left and flew straight into the wall. Garfiel, the shield of the Sanctuary, was knocked immediately unconscious with a single punch.

But Subaru did not stop there. He marched towards the slumped over Garfiel, prepared to execute the mayo-hating monster, when the pink haired maid jumped between them.

"Barusu, you need to stop this at once! You'll kill Garf at this rate!" she screamed, trying and failing to reason with the beyond angry man.

But his rage stopped for no man and most certainly not for some maid . He continued his march as she raised her wand, prepared to strike.

"El Vita," a distant voice calmly called out, sounding more like a sigh than a magical incantation.

Subaru fell to his knees, buckling under his own weight. He felt over a hundred kilos heavier than the moment before and was struggling not to fall to the ground and lose consciousness.

But the literal madman's rage compelled him forward and his strange new power stoked the flames in his heart. Black appendages overlapped with his legs and, slowly but surely, he stood up.

Ram's eyes widened further as she thought, "This is getting ridiculous. Barusu can't kill more than a single Ulgarm on his own. How is he able to knock Garfiel out with one punch and stand with that much weight holding him down?! Does this have something to do with his personality shift? Roswaal-sama's strange behavior? Reinhard's apparent apathy? Beatrice-sama's change of heart?"

A voice echoed in her mind, punctuating her thoughts, "...you are not truly Natsuki Subaru?"

She narrowed her eyes at the now slowly approaching madman, "Are you even Barusu?"

"Ram. Knock him out," declared the margrave, his jovial tone all but abandoned.

Without a moment's hesitation, the oni complied with her master's orders, only taking note of the lack of accent after the deed was done. Despite his incredible force of will, Subaru was already pushing himself far beyond his limits. He was unable to even resist the maid's light chop to his neck. His limp body fell to the ground, unconscious.


At this point, the entire dining room, with the exception of a small radius around the immobile Reinhard, was a mess. On one half of the room, a good portion of the wall was plastered with mayonnaise and glass littered the floor. On the other half, a sizable Garfiel-shaped dent remained and the tiles underneath Subaru's body were cracked and shattered, ruining the once beautiful patterns.

The worst part was the table. The tablecloth was intact, if barely, but had several large tears in it. Every bowl of soup, including to a lesser extent Reinhard's, was knocked over while the table itself seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

The entirety of the dining room, which was pristine and fit for the likes of royalty just a moment ago, had been damaged and stained to the point where not even a peasant's dog would choose to eat within it.

Everyone else too stunned silent to do anything, Beatrice was the first to take action. She sighed and walked over to her sleeping contractor, her expression more tired and understanding than disappointed.

"Murak, I suppose."

She easily picked up Subaru's body and headed towards the exit, nobody moving to stop her. She turned as she reached the door, her eyes landing on the pink haired maid.

"Betty's Subaru will have missed an entire day's worth of meals if he is not fed, in fact. See to it that he is brought a meal some time tonight, I suppose."

Ram slowly nodded her head at the spirit, surprised not only by the request but by the events of the dinner as a whole.

"Y-yes, Beatrice-sama."

Beatrice walked out of the dining room and closed the door behind herself.

Alone outside of the dining room, the girl spoke aloud to herself, "Even after all of Betty's efforts, you still went mad, I suppose. Betty's Subaru truly is a hopeless man, in fact."

She smirked and walked through the halls of the mansion, Subaru's nearly weightless body resting on her shoulder.