I'll be honest, the original story was written in a 30 minute bus ride after a deal with a friend, and I was planning on abandoning it completely. But then I saw my inbox and people asking to continue the story and I did not want to continue giving you that mess. So, I just decided to rewrite it a better one instead. Here's the rewritten one and I hope you'll like it.


"We're here!" Subaru jumped off the carriage and stretched his arms into the air. He was finally home after spending a year in Vollachia.

Looking at the mansion that had remained seemingly unchanged for the past year, a bright smile came over his lips. The thought of how surprised everyone he loved, who he hadn't seen for a long time, would become when they saw him made him shriek with delight.

Rattling sounds from behind him, brought him out of his thoughts. He looked back to see the precious girl with azure hair descending the steps of the carriage. He moved towards her, offering her a hand to help her down. Instead, she slapped it away, stepped off the carriage and walked past him.

Subaru's smile faltered at Rem's cold attitude towards him. He had tried his hardest to make sure she was happy and bring her back safely. But he still couldn't get her to soften up towards him. He hoped that after interacting with the Emilia Camp, maybe she would open up to him.

"Subaru-sama, it was a pleasure traveling with you. If it's fine with you, I'll be taking my leave now." The carriage driver that had helped them return to the Miload Mansion said.

"Yeah, thanks! Also, when you see Priscilla, can you pass on my thanks to her?"

"Sure, Subaru-sama. I will pass on the message."

Rem gave a small bow to the driver as he turned the carriage around and left.

The extravagant dragon carriage that they had travelled back to Costuul in belonged to Priscilla. He had an endearing grin on his face as he thought about the sun princess.

Priscilla had helped him out a lot in Vollachia. Despite her arrogance, he found out she was a surprisingly nice person….

Nice to him, at least. She had supported him at a time when he was at his lowest. He was extremely grateful to her.

He thought back to the last conversation they had before he had left for Lugunica. He raised his hands to touch his lips. His cheeks dyed themselves red, and he felt the presence of a heat, deep inside his chest.

"No! Stop thinking about that! It didn't mean anything! My heart belongs to Emilia-tan!" He slapped his cheeks, trying to shake off those thoughts from his head.

His actions made Rem turn around and look at him with pity, before silently turning back around and walking towards the mansion.

"...Is that-" From the distance, it seemed that Beatrice had spotted them approaching the mansion from the garden.

"Subaru! Subaru! Subaru!" She chanted his name over and over again, while scurrying over to him and tackle-hugged him, soaking his shirt with tears.

Subaru was finally holding her in his arms. After a year, he had finally managed to return to them. Relief washed over him as he hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go of her again.

The sight of the two embracing was enough to melt Rem's frigid heart. Conflicted about what to say to the boy she had been mistreating, she stayed quiet. She understood it was not his fault. She knew he was just as sad as she was. She couldn't understand why it was so hard for her to be nice to him. Maybe because in a corner of her mind, she still resented him for Louis's death.

"Rem!" A voice broke her out of contemplation. A maid with peach hair came running towards her.

Twins. That was what he had said. An elder twin that she idolised. This must be the person he was talking about.

"...Ram?" She asked softly. The girl nodded. Her eyes filled up with tears as a relief overtook her soul. Even if he hadn't told her, she would have instinctively known. The girl—Ram hugging her was without a doubt, her other half.

"You're awake! You're really awake!" Ram's happiness knew no bounds. With a single utterance of her name, it was clear to Ram that her sister did not remember who she was. She was happy nonetheless. If Rem didn't have memories, they could always make new ones. The important thing was that she was awake.

"Barusu, thank you… For bringing Ram's sister back."

Subaru nodded happily, while Beatrice gave a smug smile.

"Subaru!"

"Subaru-sama!"

"Cap'n!"

"Natsuki-san!"

The other members of the Emilia Camp rushed outside, hearing his arrival and Subaru soon found himself being mobbed with hugs.

After the long journey back home, Subaru had finally settled down with everyone.

"Subaru, I'm soooo glad to have you back. I missed you a lot."

"How have you been, Natsuki-san? Vollachia must have been tough on you."

"Cap'n, I heard you helped the emperor of Vollachia in the civil war. Is that true?"

"What was that ridiculous news about Natsumi Schwartz, I suppose?"

He was bombarded with questions from everyone around him. He laughed and told them about his adventures, naturally leaving out the bad parts.

"Abe- Vincent really helped me a lot. When I first met him, I never thought a day would come, when we would actually get along." He smiled remembering all the times they had fought and argued with each other. His fingers traced the wolf crested on the Vollachian knife he had attached to his belt.


"Natsuki Subaru, for your contributions in this war, I award you with the seat of the fourth Divine General." Announced Vincent to the audience while he placed the medal around Subaru's neck. The audience cheered loudly at his declaration.

"...What did you just say?" Subaru couldn't believe his ears.

"Natsuki Subaru, I wish for you to become my Divine General." Vincent smirked.

"You're not serious, are you?!" Subaru had prepared himself to stay in his best behaviour, but Vincent's words had caught him off-guard, and he unintentionally blurted out the words on the stage in front of everyone.

"Normally, I would not let you go back so easily. But just for you, I'll make an exception. The seat of the fourth Divine General is yours to take. You can return to Lugunica. However, the seat shall remain vacant in case you change your mind."

Subaru had no words to say to him. The emperor's expectations weighed heavily on him. His legs threatened to collapse right there on stage. He did not believe he deserved any of the praise given to him. Especially after he had failed to save Louis and his save point updated.

But then, several voices called out to him from the audience, cheering him on. Flop, Medium, Mizelda, Taritta, Al, Schult, Yorna and even Heinkel. His eyes turned to face Rem, who immediately turned her face away.

But then his eyes met Priscilla. She gave him an encouraging smile, making him return a smile back at her. Priscilla was right about what she had said earlier. This was his reward after that horrible year. He should stop thinking about his failures and think about the times he had succeeded.

"Subaru," Vincent called him again. He then took out the same knife he had given Subaru the first time he had met him and then handed it to Subaru.

"I'm glad I met you in the forest that day."


"I'm also really grateful to the others as well. Without them, I don't think Rem and I would have been able to safely return to Lugunica… Especially Priscilla." He felt his heart skip a beat just thinking about her. He bit down his cheeks, trying to suppress these dangerous feelings.

"Is that true? Then, I'm reaaaaallllly grateful to Priscilla for taking care of my knight." Emilia said, happily unaware of the conflicting emotions brewing up in his heart.

They talked about all sorts of things, trying to catch up, after having spent a year apart. He felt happy finally talking to them again. This was the reason he had fought so hard in Vollachia for. However, there was still an important question that tugged at the back of his mind.

"I missed you guys a lot. I wished you were there in Vollachia." Subaru said honestly.

"Betty wanted to be with Subaru as well. Betty tried to force her way to Vollachia several times, I suppose. But…" Beatrice glared angrily at the others.

"We had to stop her from taking any reckless actions. We tried to go there, Natsuki-san. But getting to Vollachia through Picoutatte turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. We failed. We wanted to try again from Kararagi after we failed once, but then…."

"...We heard about all the amazin' stuff you've been doin', Cap'n."

"We were sooo relieved to hear that you were safe."

"Ram wanted to come to rescue Rem faster, but her worries became futile as your deeds became popular in Lugunica as well. Ram would have praised you, but that would simply give you a big head." Her words were a praise in and of itself.

Ram looked at Rem and stroked her hair lovingly, while the younger twin sat comfortably beside her sister. It looked like Rem had opened up to Ram far more easily than he had expected.

Beatrice stayed quiet in disappointment, while the others praised his achievements.

"I see." So they really hadn't forgotten about him. They just couldn't enter Vollachia like he had thought.

After the events in Chaosflame, the civil war had become public knowledge as the country plunged in unrest. The citizens themselves fully condoned the civil war with the belief that the mightiest shall become emperor.

Amazingly, even in the midst of such chaos, both Vincent's and Chisha's sides had taken into consideration the possibility of invasion by neighbouring countries and taken appropriate measures. Subaru had his doubts about what it was, probably had something to do with Cecilus, but it seemed as if that was the reason his friends could not get to him.

Soon, Subaru's involvement in the war became public as well and Vincent promised a peace treaty with Lugunica because of it.

"I was scared when everyone found out, thinking about how it could affect Emilia's position in the royal selection." But in the end, because of it, his friends were kept informed about his situation, despite being unable to enter the Empire.

"On the contrary, your involvement has led to a tremendous spike in the Emilia Camp's popularity, Natsuki-san. We've been getting a lot of invitations for meetings and parties because of it."

At least something good had come out of those hundred pointless deaths. He was happy his hard work had ended up helping the girl he loved.

"I'm happy for you, Emilia-tan." He grinned.

"It's all thanks to your efforts in Priestella, the Watchtower and Vollachia. I'm soooo proud of you!"

"What is that, Emilia-tan? Are you falling in love with me all over again?" he joked, making her giggle.

"Geez, you're just as carefree as ever, Subaru. I'm happy you haven't changed much in the past year."

"You didn't deny the love part!" With the brightest smile he could muster, he proposed, "Emilia-tan, it's been a long time, so how about a date with me tomorrow?"

"Of course, Subaru! I'll be happy-"

"Natsuki-san, Emilia-sama… I hate to interrupt but there's a party tomorrow and we wanted to have Emilia-sama attend it." Otto explained with a troubled expression.

"Oh that's right! I almost forgot about it!"

"...That's alright! I wanted a more private date, but-"

"Natsuki-san, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go." Otto said dejectedly.

"Wha- Why not?"

"We're using this opportunity to make people see her for who she is. If you go tomorrow, all eyes will be on you, not Emilia-sama. She is supposed to be the one at the centre of attention. Think a little, Barusu!" Explained Ram. "In addition, your behaviour is disagreeable. What would happen if everyone found out, and became disillusioned over the Emilia Camp?"

"Ram-san, that's too harsh!" Otto exclaimed.

"You're not denying what she said though." Subaru narrowed his eyes questioningly at Otto.

Otto was at a loss for words. He didn't know what was the correct answer for the question.

Emilia looked back and forth between Otto and Subaru. She really did want to go on a date with Subaru, but…

There was only half a year more left for the conclusion of the Royal selection. They were really short on time.

With great reluctance, she spoke, "I'm reaaaaallllly sorry about this, Subaru. But don't worry, now that you're here, we can have the date some other time, alright?"

The Royal selection would end soon, and she needed all the help she could get. —But Subaru would always be with her. She could go on plenty of dates with him later to compensate for this.

"...Yeah, sure." Subaru sighed. He couldn't find it in himself to refuse Emilia, after she had smiled so sweetly at him.

"OK, got it! Don't come to improve Emilia's reputation and not destroy mine!" Subaru gave a thumbs up, as if perfectly understanding their concerns.

He understood, but it still stung a little. He was just back from Vollachia after a year, and he just wanted to spend some time with her.

"Maybe next time, Emilia." He said, hiding his disappointment.


"I'm really sorry, Subaru. But I can't go with you on that date today as well." Emilia brought her hands together and bowed while she apologized.

This was the third time that Emilia had refused a date with him that week, leaving Subaru feeling extremely disappointed.

It had been a week ever since he was back from Vollachia, and it left him feeling heartbroken. He had been waiting for them to rescue him, but they never came. Because he was a man with good timing, they believed in him. That he would be able to come back somehow.

And when he finally did return back to them, she left him behind once again. He understood it wasn't her fault. That the Royal Selection was important to her. But still….

"This is a reaaaallllly important meeting for me, Subaru. So, please just wait for me here. We can go on that date any other time you want." Emilia gave a small smile trying to make Subaru understand.

It wasn't like he was expecting her to confess to him after he'd been gone for so long. But at least, he was hoping she would've missed him. But her actions were beginning to make him doubt if she even cared about him at all.

Which made him question—why was he trying so hard to get close to her, if she wasn't even interested?

Subaru heaved a heavy sigh, and with a wry smile, responded, "...Sure Emilia. You do whatever you feel is right. Best of luck for the meeting."

"Thanks a lot, Subaru. You're the best. I'll see you later." Emilia climbed onto the dragon carriage, and Subaru watched it leave.

As Subaru walked back into the inn, he didn't know what he was more disappointed with—Emilia probably never confessing to him, or him chasing after Emilia even after knowing it. He should just give up.

"Stop sulking!" A sudden voice berated him.

"Wha-"

Hearing the sudden voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked around and found Rem standing by the entrance. She wasn't really very friendly with him. But at least, she was talking to him.

"Despite it being two years after you became Emilia-sama's knight, you still don't comprehend the importance of these meetings for her, something which even I can understand."

"...I know…. I'm sorry." Subaru looked at her guiltily. For his own selfishness, he had not been fully supporting what was important to Emilia.

"I'm not the one you should be apologising to." Rem answered, in her usual sharp tone.

"...I know. I'll… apologize to Emilia when she comes back." He would not bother Emilia with any more. He would just support whatever she wants to do…. as her knight.

Rem nodded her head in satisfaction, and she accompanied him back inside.

"You're too spoiled. It's finally time you understand that not everyone will go along with all of your demands."

Rem berated him as usual, and Subaru tried to not pay any attention to her.

"-thinking of yourself as some kind of hero-"

Listening to her only made him want to hurt himself.

"-because of it, you're reckless and don't listen-"

So, Al had proposed that he just ignore her during these conversations.

"-and just because you breezed through Vollachia so easily, does not mean-"

"What do you mean by easily?" Subaru stopped in his tracks. There was still a limit to how much Subaru was capable of ignoring everything she said.

"Do you seriously think we won the war that easily?"

Rem was startled by his sudden question. Composing herself, she replied, "Your plans were too reckless. But it was fortunate, luck was on your side, and you got everything you wanted, exactly how you wanted when you wanted it."

"Is that how you saw it?" Subaru replied in a mumble, eyes downcast, as he tried to stop himself from thinking about it any further. She didn't know about Return by Death. That didn't mean it didn't hurt him.

"Even though everything goes your way, you're still so selfish." She closed her eyes in sadness, holding her hands in front of her chest. "….Louis was always so worried for you."

Subaru's eyes widened at the mention of Louis. He didn't want to hear Rem talking about her.

"She did her best to help you."

Stop!

"Even though you treated her so badly."

Stop!

"Because of it, she…. even died-"

"JUST SHUT UP, REM!" Subaru screamed, not even letting her complete her sentence.

Rem's eyes widened in horror as he looked at her with indignation.

"Do you seriously think I wanted her dead?" He had tried to be patient with her several times. But he couldn't anymore.

Without warning, Subaru turned around, and without looking at her, he left the inn.

"Barusu, what is happening?" Ram had arrived, feeling her sister's distress.

"Sister, I-...!"

Subaru paid no heed to the panicking voice in the inn, which became softer and softer, until he could no longer hear it as he walked away.

Wandering around the Capital aimlessly, he thought about what he should do. He was so sad in Vollachia, being away from everyone he loved. He wanted to be reunited with them as soon as possible.

But it looked like his friends did not share his sentiments. Ever since he had returned, all they'd been telling him was how they believed in him. How he was a man with good timing. How he wouldn't die so easily. How he was extremely fortunate. They did not mean any harm with those words, but it made Subaru feel as if they didn't care about him.

Lost in thought, he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and suddenly bumped into someone.

"Look where you are going, peasant! How dare yo- …..Subaru?" An exceptionally arrogant, yet endlessly captivating voice rang in his ears. A voice as clear as the waters in a lake, that instilled a sense of calmness and confidence in him, just from hearing it once.

It was the fiery matriarch, staring at him wide eyed. "What are you doing here?" She questioned, her hands clasped over her chest, a very faint blush visible on her cheeks.

"Pris, did you get lost—ouch!"

"Is that the first thing you ask a friend when you greet them, fool!" Priscilla broke out of her trance, and flicked his forehead angrily.

"You were walking alone and—ouch!" Subaru cried out in pain once again as she pulled his ear.

"I'm not a child that requires supervision every moment of the day. Besides, Al and Schult are not in the city, so it's obvious I would be alone! More importantly, I should be the one asking that of you! It is you who is roaming outside the gates of my mansion!" she pouted, still pulling on his ear. It was only then that he noticed where he was. Had his mind subconsciously seeked out Priscilla for comfort?

Just a single glance of her beautiful face couldn't stop him from grinning like an idiot.

"Are you perhaps secretly a masochist?" Her eyebrows raised, she observed his reactions, and an inquisitive smile found its way onto her lips.

"What kind of an assumption is that?!"

"It is surprising how an action such as mineself pulling your ears can make you so happy." With a playful smile, she asked, "Do you want me to pull harder?"

"Please don't! You'll tear it off!" Protested Subaru. It wasn't a joke. With her superhuman strength, it was very likely to happen if she did.

"And give me a good reason why I shouldn't do so. You suddenly appear before my mansion unannounced after not contacting me even once for the past month, and then have the audacity to ridicule me as soon as you see me! Be grateful for my merciful nature, that I haven't done so already."

"I'm sorry. It's just…. I haven't seen you for a month, and I…. I missed you!" Subaru confessed, and Priscilla's cheeks dyed themselves pink, as she .

Her crimson irises trembled, and she stared at him at a loss for words at his honest admission.

"Pris, are you alrig-"

Not even letting him complete, Priscilla wrapped her arms tightly around him, taking him in an embrace, resting her head comfortably against his chest.

"I missed you too." Priscilla responded in a barely audible whisper. It had been a month since they had parted in Vollachia to return home, she had been longing to see him again ever since.

Though initially caught off-guard, Subaru recovered and wrapped his arms around waist, reciprocating her hug. They were locked in a comfortable embrace, feeling each other's warmth.

After a while, they reluctantly pulled away, realising how long they'd been hugging. It was only then that Subaru looked around and realised that they were in the middle of the street. The noble's district was a lonely place, but to think they were out in public made his face completely flushed.

His actions elicited a giggle from Priscilla, who had accurately guessed what he was thinking.

"How long do you intend to make me stand here? Follow me." Priscilla smirked and wrapped an arm around his hand and dragged him into her mansion.

"Wait, Pris! You're going to tear off my hand!" Subaru struggled to release herself from her grasp, but she ignored his wishes. She kicked open the gates with her heels, and boldly marched in, pulling him behind her.

Soon, Subaru gave in to the whims of the arrogant princess, and obediently walked in beside her. Thinking about how he ended up in this situation, a sudden question arose in his mind.

"Weren't you just going outside? Al and Schult aren't here either. Do you have something to do right now?"

"...I-It's nothing." Priscilla murmured and immediately averted her eyes away. In truth, she wanted to meet Subaru as soon as she had heard that the Emilia camp was in the capital city for the awards ceremony.

She felt like an idiot. She had made up nonsense errands for Al and Schult, so she could sneak off and see him alone, when the world had already made preparations to please her and had delivered him at her doorstep.

"More importantly, you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? I'll be honest, I was expecting you to be with the half-elf right now."

"...Uh…" He hesitated. His expression turned bitter as he contemplated what he could say. Priscilla raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"...S-she has a meeting and…" He stammered.

"She didn't take you, did she?" Subaru's silence was all she needed to guess what had happened.

She could feel her blood boiling, remembering all the times she had seen him crying and waiting for her Vollachia. And now when he was back, she was neglecting him.

Someone who had achieved such great things did not deserve to be hurt like this over and over again. She had no wish to see him harm himself ever again.

"Your disheartened expression really sours my mood. I suppose I have no choice but to keep you company for the day."

Subaru smiled wryly at her dishonesty. But in all honesty, he too was excited at the idea of spending time with her.

"You truly are a fearless man, aren't you? Making a goddess such as mineself entertain you." Priscilla smirked, and Subaru broke out into a joyous laughter.

Priscilla was satisfied. A smiling face suited him much better. Without even realising it, she had raised one of her hands to cup his cheek, while the other hand held his own.

"Pris?" He was taken aback once again by another one of her sudden displays of affection. Not that he disliked it.

The way Priscilla was looking at him, made him blush harder and look away. Unhappy with his reaction, she used the hand that was cupping his face, and held his cheeks between her thumb and fingers.

"Shouldn't you be looking at the other person when talking to them?" Priscilla moved his head forward to face her once again.

And in doing so, she unintentionally brought his face too close to hers. They locked eyes, and found themselves unable to look away.

The throbbing in Subaru's chest was growing stronger with every moment he looked at Priscilla. The sound of her voice, the affection on her face, the touch of her fingertips, the taste of her lips—No!

He jumped back, and looked away immediately in guilt. This was wrong.

Priscilla, on the other hand, raised her eyebrows, wondering what that was about. A part of her did feel disappointed though, that he didn't even attempt to close the distance between them.

"P-Pris, what do you want to do?" Stammered Subaru, trying to distract himself from his earlier thoughts.

Priscilla looked around a bit and decided, "Follow me this way." She dragged him into the garden. "It is a rather beautiful place for…. what is it that you call it?" She put a finger on her chin, trying to recall the word. "Right! A 'date'!"

With his face blushing hard once again, he practically screamed, "Who taught you that word?" She was making it more and more impossible for him to not look at her that way.


"Emilia, is Subaru with you, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, seeing Emilia descend the carriage.

"Why would Subaru be with me?" Emilia was confused. Subaru was supposed to be at the inn, waiting for her to return. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Rem told me he went somewhere after you left for your meeting, I suppose. He hasn't been back since." Beatrice was worried. She disliked how everyone seemed to take him for granted, and didn't seem to care about his feelings at all. She could only hope that he would come back soon.

"Why isn't Subaru here? Where did he go?" Emilia felt concerned. Where could he disappear off to? The sun was already starting to set, and even Beatrice didn't know where he was.

"Beatrice, can't you use your contract with him to find him?" Emilia asked.

"Betty would have done so already, if she could. All Betty knows is that he is in the Capital, I suppose."

"Did he say anything to Rem? She was the last to see him, wasn't she?"

"Betty highly doubts he said anything to her. In fact, Betty is certain that it was Rem's fault he left in the first place, I suppose." Beatrice, clearly remembering Rem's distraught expression as she came to inform her, stomped her feet and walked away,

"...Rem's fault?" Emilia knew that Subaru and Rem weren't on the best of terms, but to find out it was this bad, made her sad. Especially after she knew how much Subaru had struggled to keep her safe.

If Subaru was in a bad mood, she wanted to cheer him up, and thought about what she could do for him. And the answer instantly presented itself to her.

"Frederica, I want to cheer up Subaru, but I've never planned a date before. Will you please help me?" The first thing Emilia did was ask Frederica, her pleading eyes irresistible to the beast maid.

"Of course, I will Emilia-sama." Frederica smiled gently.

They looked up all the good restaurants in the city, and helped Emilia plan a dinner date. Tapping into all of the knowledge Frederica had gained from reading romance novels, she advised Emilia on what to say and what not to say to him during their time together.

I'm sure Subaru will be happy! Emilia thought to herself, clapping her hands.

Emilia had set everything to cheer him up and also make up for the dates they had missed. Now, all that was left was for Subaru to come back.

Rem and Beatrice occasionally came into her room to check up on her. Beatrice was worried that her contractor had still not come back, and Rem felt guilty about what she said to Subaru. It was because of what Rem had said that he had left in the morning.

Rem was guilty. She always ended up hurting Subaru in one way or another.

Rem saw his guilt, Rem saw his trauma, Rem saw how much he missed his friends. She knew Subaru mourned Louis's death, but she had still chosen to blame him for her death.

Rem was frustrated by the situation in Vollachia. And in her frustration, she had blamed Subaru. And it wasn't just Louis. Even if her mood was sour for the smallest of things, she ended up taking it out on him. He was the only one she could take her anger out on, and she always ended up behaving coldly with him.

The past week, her sister told her everything Subaru had done for her. She wanted to make amends with him after he had done so much for her.

The members of the Emilia Camp waited patiently for the black haired boy to come back.

Soon, the sun set and the sky turned dark. Subaru still hadn't come back.

Emilia waited and waited for him to return, but he didn't come. Everyone else, who held him very dearly, were also starting to get worried about his absence.


"Cheers!" The glasses clinked against each other, and the two lifted their glasses to their lips, savouring the taste of alcohol coating their tongues.

Subaru and Priscilla were on the balcony of her room, enjoying the cool breeze while they exchanged drinks.

Subaru leaned against the railings, thinking about all the changes that had happened in the past one year. He swirled the glass of the red coloured liquid in his hands, and took a sip.

A year ago, he never thought there would ever come a time when he would enjoy drinking. It wasn't as if he disliked the taste. It was the fear of what he would do when drunk that stopped him from drinking.

But back in Vollachia, that first time Heinkel and Mizelda had made…. forced him to drink, he had discovered that he had a fairly high tolerance to alcohol. If he wasn't going to get drunk easily, all his fears were unfounded.

"I'm also twenty now, so that excuse won't work any longer either….." He mumbled to himself.

"What nonsense are you thinking about right now?" The Vollachian matriarch asked, drawing his attention to her. He didn't know if it was an effect of him being drunk, but she was practically as radiant as a goddess at that moment.

He raised his unoccupied hand to caress her lovely cheeks. Although surprised at first, Priscilla rested her glass on the railings and came closer to him. Her hands touched the hand lovingly caressing her cheek, and brought it to her lips. She kissed his palm gently.

Unable to hold himself back anymore, he kept his glass down as well, and cupped both her cheeks, as his face drew closer to her. She closed her eyes in response.

And that was when he was snapped out of his trance and he realised what he was trying to do. She stumbled as he immediately pulled himself back and looked away.

"Subaru?" Priscilla stared at him, hurt by his actions.

"Pris… I think….I think I should be leaving right now. It's getting rather dark…." He trailed off for a moment, trying to think of a reason why he should leave. "…and everyone is probably getting worried." He said unconvincingly, as he picked up the glass in a hurry, walked back into her room, and kept it down, beside the empty bottles on the table.

It was a bad idea to drink too much. In his defense, they were just so happy being in each other's company, they had completely lost track of how much they were drinking.

"—Where do you think you are going leaving mineself alone like this?" Priscilla stopped him, grabbing his sleeves.

"...Pris?"

"That half-elf—She was satisfied waiting for one year for you to return. Surely, she could wait for a few more minutes." She stated bitterly, her voice suffused with envy. His wrist was held tightly in hers, unwilling to let him go. But then,

"...Pris… please… let go… It hurts…" A weak cry of pain reached her ears.

She looked down to see her hand nearly crushing his, as he struggled to free himself. She let go immediately, and he withdrew his arm, gently rubbing his wrists with his other hand.

Unaware of the bloodlust she was emanating, in her anger, she had hurt the boy she loved. Sure she hit him a lot, but none of those times were as bad as nearly grinding his bones to bits.

"Pris, are you alright?" He rushed to her, making her feel worse. Her eyes were drawn to the bruised hand that had become clearly visible after he had rolled up his sleeves.

"Just leave this instant! I do not wish to see your face for even a moment longer!" She demanded. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see him leave. She should have known, he would always choose the half-elf over her. She did not want to get her hopes up and end up hurting him every time he left.

She waited, but no sound of footsteps came. Instead, she felt the bed creak beside her, as she felt his fingers delicately stroking her head.

Priscilla opened her eyes wide in surprise, and turned to see him looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Pris, what's wrong?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you, fool?"

Subaru didn't answer. Of course, he knew why she was behaving that way. He had been trying to deny it. But he wasn't dense. And that was why he had to confront her properly about it.

"...Priscilla…." He began. "I'm really sorry for hurting you." He looked down, as his hands temporarily stopped brushing her hair.

"Don't stop! Keep doing that!" Priscilla ordered, making him chuckle as he patted her head.

Satisfied, she stared at him patiently, urging him to continue what he was saying.

"I…." He hesitated.

"...If you're going to spout nonsense about how much you hate yourself and how you don't deserve mineself, I prefer you shut your mouth. I doubt even the sword saint has half as many achievements as you do."

"That's…." Subaru was shocked into silence, hearing her assessment of him. It was something that he definitely thought about a lot and it surprised him how well Priscilla knew him to guess his thoughts so accurately.

"I…." But that wasn't his only reason. "I just feel like I'm a terrible person."

"And why is that?"

"...I have already confessed to Emilia, but…. the moment I…. felt sad and needed comfort, here I am with you, instead of talking to her about it. ….I feel like scum." He put his hand down on his lap, and stared at the ground in guilt.

"I don't see how that's wrong in any way." Priscilla replied immediately, making him look at her in surprise. "It is not like you are together in the first place, and I highly doubt she would confess to you any time soon. It is only natural for you to have taken a liking to someone as beautiful and kind as mineself." She spoke out proudly.

Subaru looked at her open-mouthed and found himself lost for words.

"Besides…." She moved closer to him, until their faces were mere inches away from each other. "...I love you." She breathed out fervidly.

He stared into her blood red eyes, as his heart beat like a drum, feeling the girl he loved so close.

"How long do you intend to make me wait?" She asked. All of his hesitation disappeared in the face of the girl who had so passionately declared her love for him, and he instantly closed the distance between their lips.

"Mmm…" Priscilla felt herself melting under his touch, as he hugged her tightly. This was what she had desperately wanted ever since they had first kissed in Vollachia.

Subaru opened his mouth slightly, to get a better feel of her soft lips. Taking the opportunity, Priscilla slid her tongue between his teeth, in search of his tongue. He reciprocated the kiss, rolling his tongue over hers, as they explored each other's mouths.

They made out for over a minute, making sure to forever imprint their taste on each other's mind, until finally they parted, gasping for air, a thin strand of saliva connecting their lips, as they tried to catch their breath.

"...I love you, Priscilla." Subaru leaned forward and whispered into her ears.

Hearing his words of love, Priscilla gasped. Using her strength, she pushed him onto the bed, and straddled his waist. Her eyes filled up with tears, falling onto his chest.

"Pris…. are you alright?" His voice was soft and filled with care and concern for her, and his eyes were filled with guilt, worried that he may have hurt her somehow. He sat up and his hand caressed her cheeks, wiping the tears that rolled down her face.

"I was just…."

I love Emilia. Just a few months ago, when she had heard those words leave his mouth. His voice was filled with such love, it made her feel jealous. So she was truly relieved when those words became less frequent as time passed by.

Hearing a confession this genuine, meant for her, leaving his mouth filled her up with such bliss that her heart ached from being apart from him this long. She wanted him. She wanted to become his and he hers.

"...Say it again!" She demanded.

"I love you." He obliged, as he attached his lips to hers once again.

"I love you." He breathed out, again and again, taking advantage of the momentary pauses between their kisses, filling her up with ecstasy.

They lost control of their emotions. Their feelings of love after having spent a month apart, of desperation to feel more of each other, all intensified and boiled over.

The couple lost themselves in each other, as their hearts united and they danced under the moonlight. The entire world vanished, drowned out by the intensity of the heat, as the only thing that remained for them was each other.


The sunlight peeked in through the balcony, and fell on Priscilla's eyes, attempting to wake her up from her peaceful sleep. Annoyed and still half asleep, in an attempt to block the sunlight, she huddled closer to Subaru, taking advantage of the warmth and comfort. She intertwined her legs with his, trying to claim him as hers, eliciting a small groan from his lips in his sleep, successfully managing to wake her up.

The first thing that she saw, opening her eyes, was Subaru's sleeping face. She broke into a smile, staring at his defenseless sleeping face. He usually had his bangs up, but he looked really handsome with his hair falling down, brushing over his eyes.

She sat up, causing the sheets to slide off and expose them both. Her face heated up at the sight of his toned body, and traced her fingers across his naked chest, staring at the love bites on his neck and chest, and the scratches left by her nails across the skin of his back.

He really was quite pleasing to the eyes, despite his reluctance to undress the previous night. Although she could understand why. But frankly, his self harm scars on his hands aside, the rest of the scars were nothing to be ashamed of. They were obtained while trying to protect someone, from the slash wound across his gut, to the scars from being bitten all over by mabeasts. It did vex her just how much danger he got into.

"Hmph! You sure are sleeping peacefully, even though here I am wide awake, worrying about you." She playfully poked his cheeks, causing him to stir awake.

"...Where ….am I?" He opened his eyes gradually, and was greeted with the sight of an unfamiliar room, and… a naked Priscilla.

Wait, what? Subaru jolted up from the bed.

"Could you please be a little less lively waking up? Or are you too captivated by the sight of a goddess such as mineself?" She smirked and teased him, feeling immensely proud of the blush that had spread throughout his cheeks.

Cognition slowly returned to him, and he began to slowly piece together what had happened the previous night. He blushed hard, and turned his face away, unable to look at her, as memories of the previous night flooded into him.

"Are you seriously embarrassed after how you took my virginity last night? My body still feels sore." Priscilla teased him even more.

"Don't say it so crudely! It's embarrassing!" Subaru fiddled with the sheets in embarrassment, while she laughed, and got out of bed.

"As much as I would love spending more time with you in bed, it is already noon. We should get ready for the day." She stepped over her red dress fallen on the floor and limped to her wardrobe.

That dress was annoyingly difficult to take off, and it never ceased to amaze her at how masterfully he had undressed her. It seemed his cross-dressing skills were useful after all.

She looked through her wardrobe, trying to figure out what she could wear. All of her clothes were rather revealing, so she was unable to pick out anything that could cover the bite marks across her neck.

On the other hand, "Crap, it's noon already! I never went back last night!" Subaru exclaimed, a different problem occupying his mind.

Priscilla turned around in shock, unhappy with what he seemed to be implying. "You're going to leave?" She frowned.

It surprised Subaru how needy this arrogant princess could get when she wanted something badly. As much as he wanted to stay, they belonged to rival camps, and didn't want the others getting suspicious. He had to get back and think of an excuse about why he hadn't returned back last night. Unless—

"If you're fine with letting everyone know…. about us, then…"

As much as she wanted to, Priscilla couldn't. There was nothing that stated dragon maidens couldn't be in a relationship. But considering who her partner was, she couldn't help but feel it was a bad idea to let anyone know about it, lest she wants it to affect her candidacy.

She stayed silent, and Subaru proceeded to dress himself. Once he was done, walking towards her, he gave her a peck on her lips.

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon." He reassured her. Priscilla watched him in disappointment as he turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Priscilla stopped him. He looked at her, waiting patiently to hear what she wanted to say. Without any doubts in her mind, she declared to him loud and clear, "You are mine. Don't you dare forget that!"

"I'm yours. And yours alone." He smiled reassuringly at her, as he headed outside her room and out of the mansion, hoping to return soon, to meet the lovely girl once again.

Walking towards the gates, he saw Heinkel returning inside after finishing his training with the sword.

"Heinkel-san, you were here?"

"You're leaving?" Heinkel asked him, as they approached each other.

Subaru nodded apologetically. "Yeah… Sorry, we didn't get to talk much."

"We'll talk next time." Heinkel patted Subaru's back. "….But more importantly, just remember that our rooms are close to Priscilla-sama's ….the next time you decide to ….have fun with her." The red haired knight informed him dead-panned, and then he turned around and walked away.

Subaru stood still for a full minute, trying to comprehend what Heinkel just said. And then,

He heard us! Subaru's face was completely flushed, and he rushed out in embarrassment.


"Where were you gone, I suppose?" Beatrice crossed her arms and tapped her feet, after catching Subaru trying to sneak into the inn through the window of his room.

"Uhh…." Subaru's face heated up, and his eyes darted everywhere, trying to think of an excuse.

"Apologise to Betty and the others for making her worried, I suppose." Beatrice pouted angrily, and stomped her foot, doubling her cuteness.

"Beako, you're so cute!" Subaru picked her up and spun her around.

"Subaru, put Betty down! Betty is mad at you, I suppose! Wait, what happened to your hand?" Beatrice asked worriedly, noticing the bruise on his wrist.

"It's nothing. I'm really sorry for making you worried, but I'm in a really good mood right now. So, I'm not going to let you get down." Declared Subaru, continuing to spin her around.

"Is Subaru ba-" Emilia burst into the room all of a sudden, and made him stop.

"Subaru, where were you? We were soooo worried!" Emilia walked to him teary eyed.

Hearing his voice, Rem came in behind Emilia, and glared angrily at him.

"Are you happy now, Barusu? Ruining everyone's day and making them worry about you." Ram walked in as well.

More and more people began gathering in his room and he became more overwhelmed.

"Sorry, I… uh…. met a friend and uh… lost track of time." He replied with the best excuse he could think of. Technically, it was the truth though.

"Geez! Next time, please let us know before disappearing for a day."

"...Yeah, sure." He nodded and turned around to tease Beatrice once more.

"...Actually…. Subaru." Emilia called him nervous.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"...I was hoping that maybe we could go on a date today." Emilia answered, hoping it would make him happy. But instead he frowned.

Before this day, those words would have made him extremely happy. It was the first time Emilia had asked him out on a date. But right now, he felt nothing.

The love for Emilia that he felt before had vanished for some time now. He thought if he spent more time with her, he could fix it. He wanted to so desperately repair his relationship with Emilia.

But after last night, he thought about it and wondered why he was trying so hard to fall back in love with Emilia when she would probably never answer him back, and he was already in love with Priscilla. He had decided he would no longer bother Emilia.

So, when she asked him out, it troubled him greatly. If she was doing it out of pity for what had happened the day before, he didn't want it.

"I'm sorry, Emilia. I'm not in the mood for it. You can go ahead and do whatever you like. Sorry for the way I behaved yesterday." He answered, and everyone in his room stared at him in shock.

"Subaru, you don't have to apologise. ….I know I haven't been paying attention to you lately. So let's do whatever you want to do-"

"What I want to do right now is take a bath and then get some sleep." Subaru yawned. He also had a terrible headache which he was hoping a nap would fix. "So go ahead and attend whatever meeting you have to, Emilia. I've absolutely no problems with it."

Subaru ushered them to the door, to let him have his privacy, while they did whatever they liked.

Leaving his room, Emilia was disappointed. She really was excited to go on a date with Subaru, but it seemed like he had not taken her seriously at all and rejected her so easily without even listening to her. She was hurt.

But inside the room, Subaru had the happiest he had ever been, daydreaming about his beloved sun princess.