Interlude

The Sun Princess's Kindness

"Commoner, I have come to talk. Entertain me!" Priscilla kicked the door open as she barged into the room suddenly. The tea cups swerved precariously as she carelessly balanced the tray in her hands.

The startled Subaru dropped the book he was holding as he turned to look at the intruder in shock. The little spirit beside him jumped in the air as well.

"Priscilla?" He looked at her in astonishment. "What are you-" He stopped as he noticed the tray of tea cups in her hands. "Wait, let me help you!" he said, as he kept the fallen book back on his desk and got out of bed to take the tray from her hands to place it on his bedside table, while the spirit kept circling around him the entire time.

As she walked in, Priscilla took a look around the room, dimly lit by a single lantern and the minor spirit of fire, the moonlight entering from the open window barely providing any illumination. A cool breeze flew across the room, making her shiver slightly, in her loose red casual outfit.

Seeing as the open window served no purpose other than her discomfort, she marched up to it and irritatedly closed it, all while the gazes of Subaru and the spirit kept following her in sync incredulously.

Now that she was more comfortable, she turned back to observe the room. With the exception of a few books and some coloured pieces of cardboard on his desk, the room was almost entirely empty, with no decorations or items that could give an insight into his likes and dislikes.

"Priscilla, what are you doing here?" he asked as he got over his initial surprise at seeing her this late at night.

His eyes were drawn to the time crystal on the wall, glowing a bright green, indicating it was an hour before midnight. The spirit also bobbed up and down in the air, as if agreeing with Subaru.

"Can you not see, fool?" she responded curtly. "I have brought your tea for you."

"I can see that, but why the hell are you here? I'm sure Carol-san was supposed to come here, not you."

She ignored his question as she sat herself down comfortably in his bed beside him. Picking up one of the two steaming hot tea cups, she handed it to him.

The spirit's attention was drawn to the cups as she flew over to them, floating from over one cup to another, as if basking in the heat.

"Here's the tea you requested. Go ahead. Drink it!" she ordered.

"How do you know what I wanted? And why are you here!?" he exclaimed, as he took the cup from her hand.

"-Tch. How annoying! Can't you simply accept my kindness without asking too many questions?" she said, but Subaru continued to stare questioningly at her. She sighed as she answered, "I was feeling rather energetic tonight, so I offered to make the tea for you myself. Now, drink quickly and tell me how it is!"

—-The truth was that she just wanted to talk to him.

She had just left Schult in Al's care after spending some time with him, and was wandering around the mansion when she bumped into Carol. The elderly lady had informed her that Subaru wanted some tea and was heading to the kitchen to prepare some tea for him. Priscilla, who had nothing to do, had volunteered to make it for him and demanded Carol to teach her.

She still hadn't had the opportunity to talk to him properly since she came here. Felt had interrupted her in the morning, but now that she was out, Priscilla saw it as the perfect chance.

"...You made it? Is it safe?" he asked, wary of drinking the tea presented to him as the minor spirit of fire continued to blissfully enjoy the heat of the steam rising above the cup.

"What is that supposed to mean? Of course, it is!"

"I doubt a girl who had never seen an unpeeled appa before would know how to make tea." he said as he inspected the cup of tea in front of him.

"A goddess such as mineself has granted you the honour of drinking tea made by herself. Instead, you decide to insult my kindness. You should be grateful I haven't lopped off your head yet."

"Sorry, but my whole family's atheist to begin with, so I'm not particularly fond of goddesses! …I really don't want to get sick and lie in bed all day again…"

"You are overreacting! No such thing is going to happen!" Priscilla stated angrily. "Now, stop complaining and drink it!"

"...If it's anything like what Emilia or Beatrice used to make…" he muttered as he cut off his words and trembled slightly. Shaking his head, he looked over to his spirit above the cup and asked, "An, what do you think? Is it alright?"

The spirit froze in the air as Subaru directed the question to her. The spirit, Antares, slowly hovered up and slowly bobbed up and down in the air, although she seemed doubtful herself.

"See! Even your spirit agrees! Now, stop stalling and drink!" Priscilla answered, annoyed that he would even dare compare her tea with someone else's.

Subaru very reluctantly brought the cup of tea to his mouth and took a sip.

"Ah-!" A sound briefly escaped his lips.

"So, how is it?" Priscilla asked smugly. "Is it not the most divine of teas capable of melting your tongue?"

However, Subaru's expression became unreadable as he turned to face her.

"Priscilla…" he began.

"What is it?" she said irritatedly as he continued to keep her in suspense.

"...Have you tasted the tea yet?" he asked, with pity clearly visible on his face.

"No, I have not. But I'm sure it is wonderful, since it was made by the hands of a goddess such as myself." she declared as she picked up the remaining cup of tea and took a sip.

The moment she did, her eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

'Salty!' she exclaimed internally, realising she had mixed up salt and sugar. She stands corrected. The Sword Saint's divine protection was indeed useful as Felt had said earlier in the day.

However—-,

"So, what do you think? You still think you did a good job?" Subaru smirked.

"Obviously!" Priscilla answered confidently. She was not going to let him have the satisfaction of having seen her ineptitude.

"Huh!? You really see nothing wrong with it? Like maybe a bit too much salt-"

"And how are you so sure that it was not the way I intended for the tea to be?"

"You wanted the tea to be salty!?"

"I do not understand why you're so surprised. After all, you put that thing you call 'Mayonnaise' in your coff. While I do not mind its taste alone, putting it in coff did ruin it. In fact, Al was quite disgusted by it."

"...You really don't want to admit your mistake, do you?" Subaru narrowed his eyes at Priscilla as she continued to pretend to not know what he was talking about.

He was about to put the cup of salty tea down when she grabbed his wrist to stop him. But just as she did, he winced in pain and a short grunt escaped his mouth as Antares panickingly flew towards him.

Priscilla immediately let go in shock, as the cup of steaming hot tea threatened to spill over him. He immediately balanced the cup and turned his gaze towards her.

"What do you want?" he asked in annoyance.

"...I-I…." she hesitated for a bit after being caught off guard. Although curious about his reaction, put that train of thought aside as she took a deep breath to recompose herself and continued, "Commoner, I expect you to finish it. Not a single drop should be left behind. After all, that tea was made by my blood, sweat and tears."

"Didn't you just make a simple cup of tea!?"

Subaru sighed as he took another sip of the salty tea.

"For your first time making this, it's honestly not a bad attempt at all. In fact, if only you didn't mix up salt and sugar, it would have actually tasted good." he commented, making her smile brightly as she continued to drink her own cup of tea. It really was a terrible cup of tea.

As they continued to reluctantly drink their tea, Antares flew down to rest on his hand, the energy she had shown a few minutes prior was almost gone.

"An, you can sleep if you want to. I'll be fine." he smiled lovingly at the spirit.

The spirit flew up tiredly near his face, as she still seemed unsure.

"Don't worry. If I need anything, I'll call you. I promise." With those words, the spirit's worries were alleviated slightly as she hovered to the surface of his palm and disappeared.

Priscilla, who had watched the interaction silently, put down her empty cup on the tray, and said, "The spirit seemed tired. And so do you. You should be asleep. You won't grow any taller if you stay awake for too long."

"I don't think I'm growing any taller even if I do sleep." he chuckled as he put his own empty cup down as well. "...I was asleep. I… just had a nightmare and woke up. Couldn't sleep again, and wanted to drink something. I went to make a cup of tea, but Carol-san saw me and insisted she would make it and bring it for me. …And now, you're here." he sighed.

"A nightmare, is it?" Priscilla mumbled. Judging from his behaviour, it seemed to be a daily occurance. Al, who was from the same hometown as him, had nightmares frequently as well.

"What kind of place is beyond the Great Waterfall?" she asked suddenly. There were many stories she had heard about what laid beyond it—and none of them were good. After seeing how nightmares seemed to affect both Al and Subaru, she wondered what kind of a horrible place it was.

"Huh!?" he exclaimed, surprised by her sudden question.

"If I'm not wrong, you and Al are both from beyond the Great Waterfall, are you not?"

"...Y-Yeah, but how do you-"

"There are many people who claim to be from beyond the Great Waterfall. However, I believe the two of you are different in that regard."

"...Is it your intuition again?"

Priscilla was greatly surprised by his response.

"It seems you are not as much of a fool as I thought you were.", she grinned, impressed by him.

"...I don't know how to feel about that.", he let out a deep breath as he continued, "Believe it or not, this is not the first time we're having this conversation. You've forgotten all about it though."

Priscilla's calm demeanor wavered momentarily before she began to ask, "Ah, I see. Your 'Name' was eaten so-"

"That's not what I'm talking about though. You had forgotten about me even without all that stuff."

Priscilla tilted her head in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Subaru's face became red as he scratched the back of his head. "...I kinda made a fool of myself in the beginning of the Royal Selection and got beaten up for it. I was so pathetic at that time, you probably forgot me because of that."

Priscilla thought about it and it definitely seemed like something that could happen. If he was uninteresting to her at that time, it was extremely likely she would forget about him.

However-,

"That may be so in the past, but what matters to me is the present. So I suppose I won't be forgetting you anytime soon."

Subaru's eyes widened as a smile came over his lips.

"Priscilla….." he began, as Priscilla turned to look at him.

"What is it, commoner?" she asked. "Did you finally realise the tea I made was an exceptional item, you would only get to taste once in your lifetime?"

"No, it was terrible!" Subaru answered with a straight face almost instantly without hesitation, making her hit his head with her fan. He cried out in pain as he rubbed his forehead with his hands.

"Then what is it? I'll warn you, I can only be nice to you for so long and my patience is running thin."

"...Thank you for trying to save me in Priestella. …Even though you did not remember who I am. Even when the people I loved didn't believe in me." he smiled bitterly.

Priscilla honestly did not like being thanked by him for that reason. This situation had happened because he had saved her life. And instead of being rewarded, he had gotten punished for it.

"I expected you to be more angry at me." she said honestly. "Afterall, you lost your 'Name' protecting me."

Subaru's lips curved down as he asked him dismally, "...How do you even remember it? My 'Name' was eaten, wasn't it? So, why did you help me?"

"I was about to have my own 'Name' eaten, but instead, I'm safe and someone else appeared who claimed he had his 'Name' eaten by that very same Archbishop. At this point, only a fool wouldn't have figured it out when it is so painfully obvious."

"...Priscilla, how did you manage to get cornered so badly? Why didn't you pull out the Yang Sword?"

"...I couldn't."

"What?"

"For some reason, ever since that day, I am unable to pull out my Yang Sword anymore."

'Prisca Benedict no longer has the protection of the Yang Sword and the world no longer operates in her favour.'

A voice echoed in her mind. But just as the voice had surfaced in her mind, she forgot it just as quickly.

Her face scrunched up in disgust as she began narrating, "That day, Lust released Wrath after deceiving me by transforming into Al. I tried to summon my Yang Sword to burn that disgusting fly to cinders, but….." Priscilla's hand shook as she seethed with rage, recalling the incident. "...I couldn't."

As she recounted the events that happened at Priestella, she grew more and more agitated.

"Priscilla, calm down. You don't have to-"

"THAT DISGUSTING FLY! HOW DARE SHE MAKE A FOOL OF ME! I SWEAR I'LL KILL HER WHEN-"

Just as she was about to throw the tea cups she had picked up, and smash them against the wall, Subaru hesitated a bit before wrapping his arm around her head. She did not resist as he pulled her close to his chest.

The moment he did, her anger slowly began to melt, replaced by a hazy memory.

"Have you calmed down now?" he asked in concern.

"Priscilla, are you alright?" a voice inquired as she was tackled to the ground just as she was about to have her 'Name' eaten.

She couldn't remember much about the voice or what it said but it continued to comfort her till she passed out.

A warmth she had never felt before began filling her chest.

She nodded her head against his chest as she reluctantly backed away.

"Soon Gluttony arrived and almost ate my 'Name'. Unfortunately, the memories of that incident are not very clear beyond that… but I do remember, someone tackling me to the ground while Gluttony was suddenly thrown backwards into the air. —-That was you, wasn't it?" she inquired.

"...I heard about the capture of Sirius and I was heading over to you. And then it happened…"

"After the confrontation, I remember Al panicking while trying to wake me up. As I got up and we were heading back to the shelter, we heard the commotion that the half-wit and the spirit were causing. Just listening to all of your stories, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened."

"..."

"So, let me repeat what I said in Priestella. -Thank you for saving me."

Subaru was struck speechless, seeing her smiling face as she thanked him. A light red dyed his face as he turned his head away from her.

His reaction amused Priscilla greatly, as she slid closer to him. Wrapping her arms around his own, "What is it? Do you not like being thanked by a goddess such as mineself?" she teased him.

His face became even more red as he released his arm from her grasp and jumped back.

"-Tch!" Priscilla clicked her tongue in annoyance as an awkward silence filled the room.

"So, you tried to save me in Priestella because I saved you?" Subaru finally broke the silence.

"That is one of the reasons, correct. If you hadn't done so, I would have simply observed you from afar to see what you would do."

"You're horrible, you know that!?" Subaru exclaimed as Priscilla smirked proudly. And then realising something, he asked curiously, "And what were the other reasons?"

"You seemed amusing." she answered nonchalantly. He sighed as if he already knew what her answer would be.

"...Priscilla, can I ask you something?" he spoke up suddenly, remembering something.

"Go on. Just for today, I'll answer any questions you ask me today."

"...Prisca Benedict. That was what Louis Arneb called you as she was trying to eat your 'Name'."

"..."

He was the one to save her that day. So she had expected him to have overheard her real name. But now that he had actually asked her about it, she didn't know how to start.

"If it's something hard for you to talk about, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer." he reassured her.

Taking a deep breath, she began to recount it. The tale of the Imperial Selection that the Crimson Countess had previously taken part in.

After finishing her story, she looked at him, curious to know his thoughts.

"...You're a Vollachian princess!?" he exclaimed after hearing her story. "Wait, if you faked your own death, why did you even participate in the Royal Selection? Isn't it dangerous?"

This was the second time she was hearing that question. The first time she had heard the question, she was surprised when Al had so easily agreed to her plans. Honestly, if he hadn't, she would have beheaded him immediately using Heinkel's sword. So, she was glad he had agreed. But in the end, it had all been a waste.

"I simply did not wish to live my life in fear.", she answered. "...And yet, I did the exact opposite on that river. After I lost the Yang Sword's protection, due to my cowardice, I jumped into the river, and almost drowned."

"...I don't think it's cowardice at all though.", Subaru responded, surprising her. "Is it really that bad to escape an overwhelming situation that you believe you have no chance of winning?"

Priscilla's eyes widened as she glared angrily at him. "How dare you even say that? Of course it is! Are you suggesting that it is better I keep my head down, eyes shut and ears plugged, while I live in fear for the rest of my life? If that is so, I believe I was mistaken in my assessment of you.", she spoke, with disappointment lacing her voice.

But to her surprise, Subaru simply chuckled at her words. "I'm not saying that at all. Knowing your personality, I know you'll never be satisfied with a life like that."

Priscilla still couldn't understand what he was trying to say. "Stop speaking in such a roundabout manner, commoner! Tell me clearly what you mean by that!"

"-You haven't actually run away at all, have you? All you've done is put the situation under hold until you're better prepared to face it."

Priscilla stared in shock for a second time as he spoke.

"I'm probably the biggest hypocrite while saying this, but no matter how you see it, it's stupid to recklessly charge into a situation you have no chance of winning. In that case, running away doesn't show you cowardice, it shows how smart you are."

Priscilla stared in shock at him for sometime, before bursting into laughter.

"That is certainly a flowery way of describing the fact that I ran away. Be glad that if it was anyone other than you who had said that, I would have beheaded you this instant."

Subaru shuddered, while she continued to laugh.

After a while, Subaru put his hands on his chin and began to think as if realising something.

"...Priscilla" he called out to her slowly.

"What is it?"

"...How did the Witch Cult find out your real name?" he asked, having a horrified expression on his face.

"...It was Lust. She said one of her children told her."

As she answered, she was sure he also had the questions as her. Due to the Royal Selection, they were always in the spotlight, and it was hard to control the spread of information on them. Just how much about them does the Witch Cult actually know?

One of Lust's children had informed her. How many of them were there? Just how many members of the Witch Cult were hiding in plain sight, camouflaged among them and gathering information on them?

They absolutely could not let anyone know they were heading to the Watchtower. If the Witch Cult were able to reach the Watchtower and the seal after following them…

"Our group needs to be as small as possible, and we absolutely cannot let anyone find out." Priscilla spoke out.

"So the ones that are going for sure are Rein, Felt, you and me, and maybe Roswaal-"

"We aren't taking the clown." she declared sternly.

Subaru's eyes widened as she looked at her in horror.

"What do you mean? If we leave him, then-"

"If you're worried about the Mabeasts, the Sword and Heinkel are coming with us. I am also capable of defending the carriage myself. There is no need for him to be present."

Priscilla agreed with Felt on the opinion that Roswaal was untrustworthy. Even if he did not do anything against them, he gave off all the wrong vibes. Was Subaru really that blind to not see it?

"But if we don't, he might…."

"He might?"

"According to the contract, he might ki-" he suddenly stopped, and then corrected himself, "He might no longer support Emilia's candidacy."

So that was it. That was why he had agreed to help out Roswaal. But it still felt like Subaru wasn't telling the entire truth. But she didn't feel like prying any further.

"If the half-wit loses her sponsor, I do not see how it is your problem."

"But because of me she might-"

"If he can so easily abandon her for you, it simply means her own sponsor does not believe her to be capable of winning the Royal Selection in the slightest. A person like that should not even be a Candidate in the first place. I had already believed so from the very beginning, but your words have just confirmed it for me."

"How can you say that? Sure what she did in Priestella hurt me, but that doesn't mean I can stand by and not say anything when you belittle how she had worked for the past year-"

"Do you really have the luxury of being worried about her? You have a bigger problem than her. We are leaving for the tower to return your 'Name', not protect her candidacy." Priscilla spoke with annoyance as she crossed her legs and covered the lower half of her face with her handheld fan.

"But-"

"And it's not just that. I heard you were keeping the problem of getting your 'Name' back on hold, in favour of searching for us. Normally, I would have rewarded you in any other case, but this is just foolish. Do you not realise that until your 'Name' is returned, the world believes you are a Sin Archbishop and is trying to hunt you down?"

Subaru clenched his fist and simply looked down, unable to answer anything.

"...The discussion about who's going to the tower can wait until the thief and the sword saint are back. But there's something else I need to address."

"What is it?"

"You are one of those people, aren't you?" Priscilla asked, as she observed his reaction.

"What?" Subaru tilted his head in confusion.

"Those with a hero mentality." she answered.

"..."

His silence was a more than enough answer for her. In addition to his low self-esteem, his desire to be a hero seemed to make him prioritise others over himself.

"In that case, I suggest you cease such an idiotic thought process immediately." she advised him harshly.

"It is not a bad thing to want to save someone else. In fact, I wouldn't be here safe and sound if it weren't for that mentality of yours."

As she continued to speak, she could notice his expression sadden, probably having figured out what she was trying to say.

"However, it is neither your responsibility nor are you obligated to do so. Especially if it comes at the cost of yourself."

"..."

"I don't know why you have developed this mentality, but it will inevitably get you killed someday. So, I suggest you stop your stupidity this instant." Her expression had turned neutral and not a hint of the soft tone she had shown while speaking with him earlier was present.

Subaru looked down sadly as his fingers fidgeted and he let out a deep breath.

"...I-I understand what you're trying to say." he stuttered slightly. "I've been trying to avoid it but… I'm sure the girl who wanted me to be her hero, would probably not care about me, if she were awake now. But…"

He stopped to turn and look at her. He had a pained expression on his face as tears ran down his cheeks as his body trembled in pain.

"...I don't know what else I'm supposed to do." he sobbed like a child.

"Truly a fool!"

Priscilla boldly wrapped an arm around the back of his head, pulling him forward towards her before he had the time to even think. The moment she did so, a warmth filled her chest. His hot breath tickled her chest, his soft messy hair brushed against her skin, and his tears soaked her dress.

Subaru completely froze up and his thoughts came to a halt. Priscilla smiled mischievously at his confusion as she hugged his head against her chest.

"...Wh-Why….are….." Subaru stuttered, as he wiped away his tears.

"This is the only time I'm ever going to comfort anyone this way. Consider yourself blessed."

Subaru's face was completely red as she gently stroked his hair. He tried to ask her to let him go but she refused. In the end, understanding how futile it was, he finally gave in. He seemed to calm down as his breathing became more and more steadier.

"...Your heartbeat is really soothing." he said.

"Do you feel calmer now, being cradled in the arms of a goddess such as mineself?" she asked smugly.

Subaru chuckled weakly at her words as nodded. He seemed to have gotten relaxed, so she was about to let go, when-,

"...Hey, Pris. Can we stay like this for some more time?", he asked, as he wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated her hug.

"How uncouth! Asking something like that of a goddess such as mineself!" And yet, she made no attempt to release him and continued to stroke his hair. "...Pris?"

"Oh, it's a nickname, like Emi-... like Rein or An."

"Is that so? In that case, I'll allow it. Be grateful, for I rarely allow commoners to address me so intimately.", Priscilla smirked.

"Thank you.", he said as the room became silent, they continued to enjoy the tranquility of the room.

Soon enough, Subaru's steady and slow breathing indicated to her that he had fallen asleep, listening to the calming sounds of her heartbeat. She had a smile on her face as she yawned, feeling sleepy herself.

"You have some nerve getting too comfortable and falling asleep in my embrace. You're lucky I am in a good mood.", she scolded him as she gently hit his head with her fan, making him grimace in his sleep.

While she continued to softly run her fingers through his snow white hair, she found her eyelids drooping as she became drowsy.

"...Goodnight… Subaru." she said as she drifted off to sleep herself.

Carol knocked on the door with a tray of tea cups in her hand. She had watched Priscilla mixing up salt and sugar in the tea earlier and had begun to prepare another batch of tea for them.

She waited outside the door for a while, but there was no response. Subaru had probably gone to sleep and Priscilla had left already. Unsure of whether to disturb him, she stood still for sometime before she finally decided to open the door to check up on him.

"Excuse me." she said as she opened the door.

To her surprise, she found Subaru and Priscilla sleeping peacefully, snuggled up comfortably against each other.

Her initial surprise turned into a smile as she silently closed the door, leaving the two to themselves.

As she looked at the two cups of tea on the tray she was carrying, "I wonder if Grimm is awake." she said as she walked away, smiling.

Hi again everyone! So here's the final chapter before the Tower arc. Really sorry about the drop in quality in this chapter, but I'm completely burned out with this fic. After this chapter, I think I'm going take a break from this fic. So I'm really sorry about that. But don't worry, I'm definitely continuing this fic.

There a few things I'm also unsatisfied with, so I'll also be rewriting the chapters from the beginning before I continue.

Thanks for reading till now. See you!