Chapter 2: Lady So Devine

Emilia was confused and scared. She told them that she went to find Crusch, but in reality, she went off to cry. Since it was dark out, Puck was not coming out of the crystal. So, she was alone.

She found a nice quiet bedroom in the manor to be alone. Her mind raced as the thoughts of betrayal ran through her mind. 'Did he lie when he said he loved me?'

'Of course he lied! He wouldn't kiss Rem in front of you if he loved you!' The voice inside her head cried out.

'But Rem kissed him. He didn't know what was happening.'

'She kissed him the way lovers kiss. Besides, how long were they here together?'

'Only a few days.'

'That's all it takes. As soon as you left him, he turned his gaze somewhere else. He doesn't love you!'

"He does love me! He has to." Emilia shouted aloud as she curled up on the bed and cried. She didn't get wallow for long when she heard a knock at the door. "C-Come in." Her voice was small.

The door creaked open and revealed a worried Subaru. Clad in his black and orange tracksuit, he slowly entered and sat on the foot of the bed. "Emilia."

"I'm sorry I ran off. I-…" She got cut off when a pair of lips made contact with hers. Her teary eyes finally cleared up and she could see that Subaru had leaned over and kissed her.

10 minutes earlier

Subaru looked around frantically. Emilia had stormed off claiming to wish to speak to Crusch. The problem was, Crusch was still unconscious. He turned his head to the manor. 'Perhaps she went inside.' He noticed that Otto was standing near the door.

"Yo, Otto. Did you see Emilia come this way?"

"Yes. She just came through here. She looked as if she was about to cry." The merchant looked strangely at Subaru. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it. I can fix it. I hope." He muttered the last bit to himself as he began to navigate the large hallways of the mansion. 'This is kind of like Roswaal's mansion.' Subaru thought to himself as he continued. He wandered the halls as his mind raced. 'How can I fix this? Maybe I can suggest that, since I love them both, we can try us all being together.' The idea seemed ludicrous, but not impossible. Many minutes passed until he heard a shout from the room he happened to be passing by.

"He does love me!"

That little bit was all he needed to know he found his destination. The person he had been searching for was right on the other side of the door. He waited a little while, not sure if he should go in. That all changed when he heard a muffled sob. *knock* *knock*

"C-Come in." A small shaky voice came from behind the large wooden door.

Carefully, Subaru entered the room and found Emilia curled up on the bed. Her knees were up to her chest and her eyes were red. "Emilia."

"I'm sorry I ran off. I-…" He knew that he couldn't let her put the blame on herself. So, he did the only thing he could think of to keep her from degrading herself. Kissing her seemed to do the trick.

Present time

They stayed that way for a good while before the lack of oxygen caught up to them. The two were heavily panting as they pulled away from each other.

"W-Wha?.."

"Emilia. I love you. That being said, I can't deny that Rem is special in my heart as well. You will always be my number one. However, Rem will always be my second. I want to make all of this work."

The half elf stared up into his eyes with confusion. She was happy that he said that he loved her but hurt that he said that Rem was close to him as well.

"I love you too." Emilia reached up and held him close. Soon, sleep was overcoming her again. Her nap earlier was helpful, but now, she was tired from crying.

Subaru noticed that she was starting to fall back on the bed. He gently laid her down and kissed her cheek. He then shed his black tracksuit and placed it over her as a blanket. Normally, he wouldn't leave her behind, but he wanted to check on Rem. This was something he was going to have to get used to if he wanted to be with both of them.

With the half elf fast asleep, Subaru stood and made his way outside. Those who were knocked out were beginning to wake up, only to see those that didn't make it back alive. Subaru couldn't help but feel fortunate that both the women he loved were alive and well. Even Crusch made it back, not in one piece, but she came back alive.

The green haired candidate had recently found her consciousness and was taking in the surroundings of her estate. Her eyes eventually found Subaru. "Natsuki." She waved him over to where she was.

"Hey, Crusch. How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to Felix and his healing. He can work wonders." She pet the cat boy on the head as a reward. "Wait. What happened to Rem? One second she was by my side, then…"

"She's fine. Out of strength, but fine. Ram is going to kill me for sure. I put her sister in harm's way for my own goals." Subaru looked down in shame. The pride he normally felt was gone. Replaced by shame and regret of his own actions. "If you'll excuse me, I need to find her again." He once again started his journey to find the young maid that had stuck by him through it all.

Barusu!" A voice he knew quite well came from right behind him. "Where is she! I'm gonna kill you if she has even a scratch on her!" A very agitated and hostile pink haired maid came charging at him.

"R-R-Ram? What are you doing here?"

"Roswaal sent me here to make sure that everyone got out okay. Then I find out from Sir Wilhelm that Rem was caught up in the attack by the cult on the way back. You have a shit ton of explaining to do Barusu. Or I will reduce your very being to ashes!" Ram had only shown this amount of hostility to him one time. During his loop where Rem was killed by the mabeast in the village. That time, he wanted to die so that he could fix his mistake, now he didn't.

"Ram, please calm down and let me expl…"

"NO! You will take me to where my sister is! The one you left behind to..!"

"Can you be quiet for a second?!" Subaru snapped back at her. That shut her right up. "I've been trying to tell you. She's fine, a little out of energy, but fine." He turned to lead her but hesitated. "And I didn't want to leave her behind. I care too much for her safety. If I had known this was gonna happen, I would have brought her along with me."

The two eventually reached the large wagon where Rem was sleeping again. The entire walk was silent. Ram was trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. She didn't believe he cared about anyone but himself and Emilia. Yet, he seemed genuinely concerned with Rem's safety. 'Could he actually feel that way about her?'

"You're questioning my reaction, aren't you?" A voice pulled Ram from her thoughts.

"I was trying to figure out how you of all people could care for anyone other than himself." She shot back in her usual stuck-up tone.

"I don't even care to retort. Right now, I just wanna see if Rem is okay." He pulled himself up into the carriage and found Rem right where he had left her. "There you are." Quietly sitting down, he pulled her over onto his lap. The motions awoke the sleeping Oni.

"Subaru?" Rem looked up to see that she was laying against his chest. Her cheeks went red and warm at the sight. "Always looking out for me." She nuzzled her way into his black shirt.

"Well, you've has always looked out for me." Subaru smiled down and stroked her soft blue hair. 'Except for those times where you killed me.' There were times that he wished he could tell her all the things he had seen in his past lives, but the witch's hands were ready and waiting to grab at his heart.

A cough brought the two back out of their little moment. "If you two are quite finished…" Ram spoke up.

"Sissy!" Rem scrambled to get to her older sister. (I already said I'm not doing honorifics, so sissy and big sister are all I'm gonna do 😊)

"Woah, Rem. We weren't separated that long." Ram scolded as she held her sister.

"Says the one that threatened to kill me if I didn't show her where Rem was resting." Subaru's smug grin and voice came from behind Rem.

Rem pulled back and stared glared at her sister. "Don't ever threaten my beloved again, big sister."

"Since when did he become your love interest?"

"After that night in the forest. Subaru saved me and has become my hero. Even if he doesn't love me the same way, I will follow him forever." A tear fell from her eye as she thought of herself becoming Subaru's maid. Not that she would mind. She just wanted to be more.

Ram noticed the tear and shot a look to the man in the cart still. "There you go again, making people cry."

Subaru calmly walked out of the wagon and hopped down. "I'm willing to bet that she's not upset, and that she's very happy."

Without warning, Rem jumped down and into his arms. "Right again. I love Subaru."

Ram scoffed at her sister's actions but couldn't help but feel happy for her. No one had made her little sister smile in a long time. Now she had someone that could make her every wish come true. "Well, you two enjoy your little moment."

"Uh Uh. I want Sissy here too." Rem was quick to pulled Ram into their little group hug.

Even though he was surprised, Subaru wrapped a careful arm around Ram's shoulder. Although it was nice, his entire body tensed at the though of Ram murdering him for touching her.

"Don't worry Barusu. I will not kill you, this time." Ram eased into the embrace. 'I wonder if I will ever find someone like him.'