Prophecy of the Star

by Vallhart

"Behold the Star of an unknown sky, its light may bring ruination surpassing the Witch, or lead to salvation for all it shines upon." Subaru dreamt of being special. Confronted with a world where his arrival is expected—where the Dragon gives a prophecy, just for him, how would this dream unfold? And how would those holding ambitions further their own goals with this knowledge?

11. At the Crossroads of Fate

Subaru's mean eyes pierced right into hers—his gaze was intense.

He had come to her with an idea: to take down their leader. At first she was against it. She didn't want him to get into more danger.

But he was right. If his plan worked, they could end the fight without needing to seriously harm them. Which would be especially helpful since she had already been holding back throughout the fight, but in doing so not making many gains.

She knew it was naive to still wish for that. And yet, despite knowing it was naive to hold fast, she still decided to do so. Simply because it was the right thing to do. Regardless of wherever someone would term it stubborn, inflexible, or righteously upstanding… it was merely the right thing to do.

She didn't want to kill them—the thugs that had already tried to kill them themselves. Attacked them now a second time, even after being told to give up—laying their base motives bare.

Not that it would have mattered even if they had good reasons. Emilia promised to protect Felt, and extended that to her grandfather. If they did something wrong that could still be discussed later, but she would not consider letting someone harm them before.

Still, regardless of all of this, she didn't want to kill them. She tried to disarm and push the armored men away instead. Make them give up, so that they could simply escape forward past them. But it wasn't that easy with them being so many, even after Grimm had joined them.

So in the end she conjured the requested ice path across the river and out of sight—but not without telling Subaru to be careful. As he dismissed it with a silly voice and spoke about love, she could only shake her head.

She had been amazed when it worked out. Subaru towered over the thugs' leader, yelling at them to give up. For a short moment she felt relieved. Subaru was safe, the plan worked out. But then…

Their leader turned around and took a slash. She called out for Subaru, who barely held on. Following this, the fight resumed with both sides fighting even more aggressively.

Seeing how Subaru struggled, barely escaping a grievous wound, and trapped behind the enemy, she tried to break through. Conjuring up a wave of ice shards, she fired them against the armored men, breaking their ranks.

Seizing this opening, Grimm dashed forward, knocking two armed men out with a single bash of his shield's rim. With them being pushed so hard into a defensive position, they soon gave way for Emilia to break through.

But when she saw Subaru's contorted face, him plunging down his sword towards the haggard man's face, her breath hitched. The eyes that shone with determination before were now smoldering with rage. His face had assumed the same contorted features as the man's he was about to kill.

However—he stopped. With his blade almost scraping the man's face… he stopped. A wave of relief washed over Emilia. Just before doing something unforgivable, Subaru stopped.

Unfortunately, Subaru lowered his weapon, staring at it in disbelief—and lowered his guard with it. The leader moved quickly. For just a split second she could see the metal of the knife flash up. Barely enough for Emilia to raise her hand and conjure up a lump of ice.

As the knife drew closer, so did the fired projectile of ice. It had become a race between magic and steel.

There was no thought to her action, no consideration of other things. Just enough constraint to focus her magic on where it should hit, and where it should not. An otherwise unrestricted blast of ice, drawing behind it a wave of ice spikes shooting out of the ground, standing a testament to both sheer power and delicate skill.

Magic won.

Ice hit skin, flesh, bone, organ, and the same order in reverse, as it entered and exited the leader's chest. Where once was a solid mass, now instead a gaping hole replaced it. Though the opening from side to side had not been all. As the wave of icicles following the projectile reached the man, a dozen of icicles ruptured and pierced him, all the while finely avoiding Subaru's knee which had still rested on the man's demolished torso. Blood seeped forth from every corner, as the lungs and heart had become little more than mush.

Faced with the gory result of her magic, she held her breath. Her outstretched hand was shaking, while the other hand tightly gripped for Puck's crystal—all the while fighting back against the inner turmoil that had stirred up as soon as she saw the shimmering flood of red.

And there was still more breaking out. Another fountain of blood erupted as the man began to speak; words of malice and hatred, cursing her like she was all her life—Monster. Witch.

She didn't want to kill anyone—fought in such a way to avoid it.

And yet, she had done the unforgivable.

---

A constrictive feeling built up inside his chest, preventing him from breathing, as he was hit by another fountain of blood. The heavy warmth that had seeped through his jacket made him feel sick—though not as much as hearing the man's chest crackle and break as he fell back, pressing out the shreds—the soup of flesh and bones.

Holding his hand to his mouth he got up, trying to shake off the slightly nauseous feeling. It had certainly been a mess to look at… but there was something even more important.

"Emilia-tan, you…" Subaru said with a wavering voice. As he saw her taking a step closer, so did he. Though rather than respond she turned away—facing them instead.

"Thugs!" she said. "Your leader is dead! Give up, or face the same!" Her voice was cold and imposing. Not a shred of its usual softness. Merciless. But not fully steadfast.

Subaru shuddered at her sudden change in demeanor. Even he instinctively took a step back, as her words cut through the street. The thugs on the other side of the road had rested their weapons, their faces showing fear and uncertainty.

With her ice shield floating on one side, and Grimm standing threatening on the other, the armored men backed off. Though their gazes were full of disdain and hate, after the first one had laid down his weapon, the others followed suit—they surrendered.

The thugs on the far side of the road however had not been as calm. Beginning to turn tail, those that still could stormed to the many alleys or down the road, attempting to escape their impending fate.

Carol and Rom watched them running off, only letting their guard down after they were gone for good. Then, Felt jumped down from one of the roofs she seemed to have taken cover on.

"Big sis, is he really…?" she asked, attempting to peek behind Emilia, as the three walked up to the bridge. But both Emilia and Grimm had blocked her view as best as they could. Even Subaru attempted to stand in such a manner that she couldn't see what lay behind them.

"He is," said Emilia with a firmer voice, stretching out her arm so that she couldn't pass. Felt first made a slight pout, but as she could see Emilia shaking her head, she reluctantly nodded. That, and after having stolen a glance at Subaru—who realized his blood-soaked jersey must have been proof enough, and quickly took it off, tying it around his waist.

Seeing the disgruntled faces of the armored men around her, Felt scoffed. "Anyway. Serves him right," she said, spitting on the ground, earning herself both a scolding look from Carol and Rom.

"Dear guests," Carol said, slightly clearing her throat, "you should head back to the estate. I will remain here and make sure the guards will find and take care of these miscreants." Her sharp gaze rested on the armored men, whose swords Grimm had collected and placed right beside the body of the haggard man—far out of their reach.

Grimm nodded understandingly, hefting his shield up—letting it hover just so that Felt could really not catch a glimpse of the body, letting her walk right beside him. Rom had done the rest to block her vision of the body, using his broadness to cover her field of view.

Though where Grimm was quick to move on, with Felt and Rom to follow him suit, Subaru hesitated. Taking a deep breath, he looked again to the defeated thugs—members of the Golden Coin gang, and eventually to the body of their leader. The man Emilia had—

"Let's go, Subaru," said Emilia with a slightly wavering voice. She too had remained behind—something he only just now realized. Her eyes were just as fixated on the man's remains.

As Subaru followed suit, they set off, leaving only Carol behind. But judging by her ludicrous sword skill, he guessed she would be more than enough to keep them under control.

Leading their way through the city, Grimm asked Rom to join him, looking out for guards to report to. Subaru suspected he just wanted to keep an eye on him, but as this was neither something he wanted to point out, nor could he even come close to guessing the reason for it all, he decided to remain silent. If anything, all of them were strangely silent.

Felt threw worried glances over to Rom, wearing a conflicted expression—seemingly sharing his thoughts. Though by her behavior, she at least seemed to have an idea of what was up between them.

Emilia on the other hand had looked almost absent. If anything, she seemed to be a bit off the track ever since…

"I'm sorry, Emilia-tan." These carefully spoken words broke the silence between them. Though Emilia did not seem to react to them. Or even register them? "Emilia-tan, I—"

"I've heard you, Subaru," she cut in. "Don't worry, it's fine."

Subaru blinked surprised. She didn't even look at him. Or ask, what it was he apologized for. Scratching his head, he continued. "It's just that I—"

"You are such an idiot." Chiming in, Felt elbowed Subaru in his side, as she planted herself between them. "You looked so awesome there!"

Subaru first wanted to feign being seriously angry about the sudden insult. But when she mentioned him being awesome, it evaporated, his mouth being opened and closed without a single tone coming out of it instead.

"And then you botched it!"

This left him speechless for a whole different reason. Why was she so good at catching him off-guard? Or why was he still not ready for her always adding a hit on top?

"I mean, if big sis hadn't helped you out back then, you seriously would've…!"

She didn't say it. But it was clear what she meant.

"And then that blast of ice! Man, I could barely see it from the roof, but that must've been quite an attack!"

Emilia's breath hitched, as she turned to Felt, weakly smiling. "Was it that violent?"

"It was that amazing!" Felt said, grinning widely. "You seriously kicked their asses."

But Emilia shook her head. "I'm just glad we got out safely… speaking of which, what about your arm, Felt-chan?" Her eyes had regained a bit of their light as she asked that question… no, she was outright lively, her voice sounding almost as usual.

"It's fine, it's fine… but maybe you could take a look at it once we're back?" That was probably as much as Felt would've been willing to admit of it not being completely fine.

With a gentle, "Mhm," she assured Felt to do so, keeping it unknown to Rom or Grimm.

As they wandered further back to safety, Subaru could feel relief wash over him. Part of him was finally starting to feel like the horrors the Golden Coin gang had caused, were finally coming to an end.

---

Baffled, Subaru looked down at his jersey. It had been barely an hour since they had returned, yet the red had turned back to white. While he already knew that they had some magical means to clean clothes, he really feared his tracksuit had been sullied beyond hope. Then again, it was probably silly of him to think that there were things magic couldn't fix. Still, he was really glad his clothes from Earth were still wearable.

One might wonder why he would focus his thoughts on such a matter. However, having returned from his encounters with the Golden Coin gang, all he wanted to do was get his mind off that topic. Therefore, even something as simple as clean clothes was distracting enough. Because the alternative was… to deal with the fact that he almost messed up again. Thrice.

And that thought had to be shoved aside. Away. As far as he could. At least for now.

Though soon he wouldn't need to worry about occupying his thoughts while alone. Grimm had offered to prepare them a meal despite the advanced hour, which they graciously accepted. Even if Subaru didn't feel much appetite back then, by now hunger had caught up. And he could imagine the others felt about the same.

Much to his surprise though, when Grimm eventually fetched him again and brought him to the dinner table. Only Felt was sitting there, lazily leaning into her chair, giving him a slight wave as he entered the room. Contrary to the hallways, which were only lightly illuminated by a dim, blue shine, the dining room was brightly lit, making him blink a couple of times.

"Felt, how's your arm?" he asked, sitting down. When they separated, Felt had very subtly asked Emilia for a short conversation, in order to not worry Carol or the men.

"It's fine. Emilia used a bit of healing magic, and sent me to rest until the food would be done," she said, demonstratively stretching her arm. "See? Doesn't hurt anymore."

Subaru smiled weakly. She shouldn't have gotten hurt to begin with. If anything, he should have caught that hit. "I'm very glad to hear that. And thanks for your help back there." If Felt hadn't helped him against that thug, then…

"You're very welcome!" said Felt with a grin. "Can't leave all the amazing moments to the others now, right?" Her attitude, accompanied by a wink, baffled Subaru. He felt bad—Felt got wounded because of his carelessness. But to her, it was instead a moment to shine.

"Was probably the only useful thing I did in that fight anyway," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"The others really are way better fighters, huh?" said Subaru with a sigh. "And once Carol and Grimm showed up, it was barely a fight anymore."

"Yeah. Though I think if Emilia blasted the guy away like that from the beginning, it would've been even faster," she said with another shrug. "But… I guess it's fine that we tried it the other way first." Felt didn't sound concerned—it seems she didn't hold it against Emilia.

Subaru rubbed his eyes. He too could've ended it—if only he plunged down the sword. The Golden Coin gang had made his otherwise calm days as a guest here a living hell. A dying hell. But… it was over. Emilia made sure of that.

Lost in thought, the sudden movement of the doors startled him. It was about time that Emilia and Rom…? But much to his surprise, Carol and Grimm entered the room instead, carrying two plates each.

After having laid down the plates before both of them, they gave a slight bow. "Dear guests, we hope that you will enjoy this light broth we prepared."

Though as Subaru looked down, he could see it not just being a broth… but more akin to a beef stew. A proper stew with chunks of meat and various vegetables. Together with the different sorts of bread, from white to granary, offered along with it, this hardly passed as a light meal.

"Say, Carol. Where are Emilia-tan and old man Rom?"

"Old man Rom's sleeping already," said Felt, letting her fingers dance around the spoon before her. "He said he was pretty beat and just wanted to catch some sleep."

"As for Emilia-sama, she has informed me she didn't feel hungry, and would rather rest as well," added Carol.

"Looks like pulling most of the weight got to them," said Subaru with a sigh. It would've been nice for them all to be here together, properly celebrating victory together. Well… celebrating might be a bit much, but at least bask in the feeling a bit. For he had gone through literal hell to see them all being safe, and wouldn't be here without their help either.

"That reminds me… Carol, Grimm. How did you find us? Why were you even in the slums?" When Carol suddenly appeared beside him, things got out of hand quickly. Their hostility against Rom, and the Golden Coin gang revealing their true motivations, had made him completely forget to wonder about that.

With a slight bow, the maid answered, "Because of the smoke pillar. When we saw it rising up from the lower parts of the city, sometime after Emilia-sama had told us you intended to visit that place, we were worried about your safety, and wanted to escort you back. Little did we know that you were even involved in that occurrence already—that some thugs had sought after your lives."

When Grimm finally had found a guard, he first only reported that thugs who attacked guests of the Astrea household were apprehended and waiting to be arrested. He was then quite surprised—meaning his eyebrow was slightly raised—when Felt also revealed the thugs to be behind the fire that had broken out earlier in the slums.

"We are very sorry, had we known how dangerous it could've become, we would have accompanied you from the very beginning."

Subaru shook his head. "Pretty sure we would've declined anyway… so don't worry about that." Truth was, he wouldn't have wanted to trouble more people. And he was pretty sure Emilia thought similarly. "If anything, I'd have to thank you that you appeared regardless."

"It was the least we could do," she said, them both bowing to both Felt and Subaru. "Now please, enjoy your meal before it gets cold." It seemed neither of them felt too comfortable being thanked like that… too bad.

While Subaru was thinking about saying something else, the daggers Felt was now glaring at him made him reconsider. Instead, he silently nodded, moving his hand to the cutlery. As soon as his fingers grazed the spoon, Felt raised hers up, digging deeply into the stew. Barely bothering chewing, or keeping up any form of etiquette—much to the apparent dismay of Carol. But Subaru could only smile lightly, as he too began to devour the food. Seemed like he had been way more hungry than he thought.

After having made sure they would not need anything further, Carol and Grimm excused themselves, leaving Felt and Subaru to finish their meal.

The two remained silent for a while, the only sounds being their content munching and Felt's slurping echoing through the far too big room. "Man, being stuck here sucks, but I'll definitely be missing the food from this place once I'm free again," said Felt, drinking the last drops from her stew. "Well… that and the company, of course."

Right. As soon as the lockdown's over, he'll accompany Emilia to settle the debt she thinks she owes him. And Felt and Rom will—

"Felt…," he began slowly, "I don't know how to ask that. But… with the loot house burnt down… what are you going to do next?"

Felt's previously broad grin shrank a bit, though she was quick to shrug it off. "Old man Rom's got plenty of connections and hidden stashes… at least that's what he said. I'd be lying if I claim all's well with that… but I'm sure we'll make it through." There really was no doubt in her voice as she said that. "If anything, people living in the slums are tough."

Subaru admired her optimism. Despite basically having lost their way to live for now—of which he was not quite completely innocent of—she still looked on ahead. Though, now that the hellish loop had finally ended, so could he.

"Speaking about the future though, Subaru," said Felt perking up. "I've yet to ask you… what are you going to want as a reward from big sis? You know, for saving her from Elsa." There it was again. That mischievous glint.

"I haven't really thought about that," he said nonchalantly. After all, Subaru's attitude hadn't changed much towards his reward. Though… no. That was not quite true anymore now, was it?

"You haven't thought about it?" she asked baffled, slumping into her chair, the glint of imaginary unseen riches quickly fading. To describe her voice as sounding disappointed would have been a massive understatement. It almost felt like he had let her personally down.

However, unlike last time… now that he thought about it, he had a wish. Because there was one significant change. Something happened. Something he couldn't deny at any cost. "I guess there's something," he said slowly, making her sit up again. "I want to stay besides Emilia… so I'll ask for something like that. Working for her, or maybe ask for her hand."

Felt stared for a moment, then moved a hand over her eyes, rubbing them. "So is that really how it is between you two…?" Subaru couldn't tell if her voice carried shock or awe with it, but—

Subaru's cheeks flushed. It was clear to what moment she alluded to. "It's not what you think!" said Subaru, quick to deny it. Even though it hurt to deny it like that… their relationship wasn't like that… yet. He could always hope. "It's just… you said it yourself, right? I just don't want to miss her company." That was surely convincing.

"Uh-huh," exclaimed Felt, letting him know just how convincing he was. Though much to his surprise, she didn't double down immediately. Instead, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. But Subaru was prepared now… just what was she coming up with?

"You know, Subaru… part of me thinks you're being way too reckless," she eventually said, now looking him directly into the eyes. Yet despite his preparedness, he couldn't really make sense of that, so he waited for her to continue. "Alone saying that might bring you into trouble, you know? I just don't get it. On one hand, you're unbelievably careless, and on the other, really careful at times."

Subaru was at a loss of words. Not because what she said was shocking… but rather direct. Merciless, even. Him stating in all seriousness to ask for Emilia's hand, who was basically a princess for all he understood… that alone could maybe get him into trouble. Regardless… that didn't matter to him. He would not deny his heart's wishes. As for the careful part… he didn't even want to think about that. That was after all only thanks to his many lives.

"However!" she suddenly exclaimed, pulling Subaru out of his thoughts. "Your complete disregard of norms, you not giving half-of-a-damn about it, that is certainly something!" She shot up from her chair, almost throwing it over. "Your recklessness in doing so—that's something I can respect!" Content with her declaration, she crossed her arms again and nodded to herself. "Yeah, that's right. Big sis and big bro… that would certainly be a sight to behold now, wouldn't it?"

Subaru grinned. Not only because she showed her support for his idea, but also because she had called him big bro again. It might have been a bit silly, but it had been really hurtful when she not only stopped calling him that but… instead regarded him with hate. Another proof that the nightmares of this loop had come to an end, and that things were set right.

"Looks like your big bro's asking for a proper reward after all, huh?" he boasted, making her nod along.

"If that's the case, you must miss her dearly already, no? Barely enduring that she didn't join the meal, despite her having previously said so?"

Subaru drew a grimace, much to Felt's joy. "That's not… completely wrong!" he pressed out, agonizing over Felt's snide remark, making her snicker. "Though you are right… it's a bit weird that she didn't show up, isn't it?"

"Well, she didn't seem too tired before at least," she said while suppressing a yawn. "Contrary to me now. I'll be heading off… let's continue talking tomorrow, after a good night's rest."

"You won't tell her anything, right?" asked Subaru, as he too got up and the two of them neared the door.

"I ain't a snitch," said Felt, sounding almost insulted. "If anything, you should be careful not to say too much." Stepping from the illuminated dinner room back to the much darker hallways, Felt couldn't stifle another yawn. "Well, there you have it. Good night, Subaru!"

"Good night, Felt. See you tomorrow," he said, before she wandered down the hallway back to the guest rooms, while Subaru left in the opposite direction, set to find Emilia. He would have accompanied her, but just like he'd told Felt, there was something he first wanted to do. After all, that too would only just further substantiate his victory.

---

"Got you!" she said, her slick, sickening voice echoing through the serenity of the night.

He turned around, his face marred by fear and a deep cut across his cheek. As his legs gave away he must have registered—it wasn't only his face that had taken a hit.

Smiling, she looked down at the quivering thing, now loudly shouting and crying for help. But it would be all for nothing. All the other occupants of the place had already been finished off, no one would hear his pleas.

Well, aside from her. It was probably not her that should come to his aid… But of course, she would—help him to find his full potential, to bring out his true beauty. Another slice, another flush of warmth pulsating through her. Ah, how she enjoyed it.

First making sure they couldn't call for help, destroying their precious communication mirror—if one didn't count getting rid of the many guards that could discover her too early. But that didn't really matter—they died far too quickly to be considered real enemies.

No, they had died far quicker than he would. The memory of his death would keep her warm until she would reach her next destination.

If only they hadn't found her borrowing a fresh ground dragon.

---

There was a deep quietness lingering in the air as Subaru entered the garden. The only noise he could hear was his steps over the stone stairs reverberating through the cold air of the night.

As he looked on ahead he could see most of the city had gone dark, only a minuscule amount of lamps illuminating a few scattered houses. Maybe because of this, the source of light that appeared in the corner of his eyes as he walked down the stairs appeared even brighter.

Though it wasn't Emilia communing with her spirits… it was just Emilia, observing a patch of yellow flowers shone upon by pale moonlight. Just as was her silver hair.

Subaru held his breath as he observed her… as if he could disturb the scenery by that alone. Yet, seeing her there, he also could not just stay back.

"Hey, Emilia-tan," he said, walking up to her with a lightened step. "Couldn't sleep?" He tried to sound as casual about it as he could. Truth was… he hoped he would find her here. He expected her to be talking to her spirits, but maybe she had already done that.

With a slight flinch, she turned towards him, fidgeting with Puck's crystal. "Subaru…?" She was just as surprised as always about him joining her in the garden.

"The one and only!" he said, grinning.

Possibly because of his lighthearted attitude, she too relaxed a bit and took a deep breath. "Not able to sleep… no, that's not quite it. I just didn't have much of an appetite, and needed to talk with the spirits." Stretching out her hand, a couple of lights became visible around it, slowly orbiting around it. "They've kept me company since."

The little orbs of light had not yet ceased to fascinate Subaru, making him regard them with a curious gaze. "Well, at least you weren't all alone then," he said, smiling cheerfully. "But I'm surprised to hear you didn't have an appetite… I've been dying of hunger from all the fighting. Not to mention, to properly enjoy the victory!"

"Victory, huh…" Her voice was hard to read… the only thing he could notice was a slight hitch.

Despite Subaru having been elated by their triumph over the Golden Coin gang, and subsequently overcoming the past loops… he noticed something wasn't right. Maybe she was worried about something—so he resolved himself to ease her mind.

Maybe she felt guilty that she couldn't fully protect Felt? "I mean… Felt and Rom are alive and well. Felt's arm feels all good now already, she showed me during dinner," he said, flexing his arm. But she didn't seem any less absentminded, so maybe it wasn't that.

There was of course another reason she could not see it as a full victory. They had barely escaped the first attack of the Golden Coin gang… and not quite without a price. "If you're worried about the loot house… old man Rom said he'll be alright, no?" he asked. His voice was cheery… though a bit artificially so. "And you got us out of there alive… if anything, that was gr—!"

"Subaru," she cut in, bringing his monologue to an end. "What do you want?" It seems he had not done much to improve how she viewed the outcome of their encounter with the thugs. If anything, her voice sounded a bit blunt and irritated.

"I don't want anything in particular," said Subaru, putting up his hands defensively. "I was just worried because I didn't see you at dinner… and wanted to check if everything is alright."

"If everything's alright…" she repeated ominously. "No… No, I can't say it is."

Upon hearing this, he perked up, narrowing his widened eyes again. "Why?"

"Because you almost died!" she exclaimed, sending a pang of guilt down his spine. "Because I let you go over the river! You almost died because I was too careless! A victory… barely." The frustration in her voice was directed entirely against herself. "You were so scared that something bad would happen. And then, when it really happened, I let you down."

With each sentence added, Subaru could feel his own conscious being laden with guilt. Because the way it sounded… it was because of him. It was his stupid plan that had put himself into mortal danger, and he convinced her to go along with it. His vain attempt to be useful had ended with… with…

There was no way to ignore it anymore. He had done so, and be it only subconsciously, to blindside himself with his victory. He had wanted to say it was good enough. That the loot house burning down and Felt getting wounded were acceptable collateral. Especially compared to the alternatives he was forced to live through. And yet…

Emilia was forced to kill someone. And it was his fault. Because he hesitated, the haggard man could draw a knife on him. Because he failed to seize him, after he snuck over the river, he got entangled in a fight. Because he convinced Emilia to go along with his plan, he ended up in danger. Because he didn't just want to stand on the sidelines.

Noticing his silence, she cast down her gaze. "I'm sorry, Subaru," she said with a heavy voice.

Emilia is apologizing…? The thought of her having let him down had not even crossed his mind. If anything, it was him who had failed her. It was because of him, that she…!

"No!" Subaru shouted, making Emilia's eyes widen. "You helped me! Saved me, when I needed it most!" He violently shook his head, pointing to the city. "If you hadn't… done what you did, I wouldn't stand here. Why would you think you let me down…!?"

"You don't need to blandish what I did," she scoffed. "Despite what I set out to prevent, despite what I had prepared myself for… it was certainly not to take someone's life. No matter the reasons… I never wanted to go that far." She couldn't look him in the eyes, and her gaze was filled with sorrow. "Just because I was so careless."

Subaru could hear the pain emanating from her words, the raw, unbridled disappointment. And yet all he could do was direct it against himself. Because to him, it was clear that it was due to his failure that she felt so saddened and troubled.

"Without you having been so attentive I'd be dead. Killed by the thugs' leader," Subaru reiterated.

Unsaid remained, that he would still be trapped in the loops, being at the mercy of the Golden Coin gang and their madness for revenge. But it weighed no less in his heart and mind.

"If I had been prepared better, I could've just immobilized him! There was surely a different way to do it… without taking his life!" She spoke with such conviction, that Subaru could hardly refute it. "After all, is this not what you and I, both had spoken out against? And yet I acted without any care, and… and…!" Her voice died down, and her hands were trembling.

Subaru bit on his lip, as the last embers of his delusions about a clean victory were dying out. They had won, that much was true. But he could very well understand why she wouldn't want to celebrate a victory like that… or even see it as one, having stained her hands with blood. Having been forced to stain her hands with blood, by his recklessness.

So they remained there for a few moments, both avoiding each other's gazes. He searched for something he could say that would lessen her feeling of guilt or sadness, but he couldn't. It was unchangeable that she had killed someone. No matter the reasons he might list, on why it was necessary… what she had ruled out before, she was forced to break. And any comforting words would leave a bad taste, coming from the one who had caused her that guilt.

After a while, Emilia sighed, looking away with a pained expression. "I'm sorry, Subaru," she said, hugging herself. "I'm sorry… that I endangered you. And needlessly worried you."

Needlessly worried…? If anything, what she said worried him even more. "There's nothing to apologize for," he insisted, though with a weakened voice. Not because his conviction that she shouldn't feel guilty had any lessened, but because his own consciousness weighed him down, and subsequently his flare.

At his answer, Emilia sighed again. "Either way… it has been a long day now, and the fight must've put a toll on you too," she said, showing no indication of accepting his words, but rather just ending the talk at this point. "Again, please accept my apologies for what happened… and good night, Subaru."

As she was turning away, he could only utter a hasty "Good night, Emilia-tan," after her… though it was coated with sadness. Sadness, that he had troubled her to such an extent. After she had helped him to find new courage… he couldn't even as much as cheer her up. With a troubled heart he went to sleep, though not without nightmares plaguing his mind.

---

Traveling all around Lugnica within the span of a day would've sounded unbelievable. Alone traveling by the main roads, it would've taken any rider with a ground dragon at least half a month to travel from Priestella to Ganaks, if not longer. And yet, going alone, having been given a task of utmost importance, he had done just that.

Now that his mission had been completed, he returned to the Capital—unseen by anyone, as not to undermine public order by essentially bypassing the imposed travel ban. He had immediately gone to the palace and was now waiting in front of the throne room, where the Sage Council would call him, as soon as they would find the time.

It did not take long—mere minutes after he had arrived and informed a servant of his intent to report to the Sage Council, he was asked to step inside, walking down the thick, red carpet that had led directly to the vacant throne… a sight which hurt him greatly. But if all went well, soon there would be the rightful ruler, guiding the Kingdom once more to prosperity.

"Sir Reinhard van Astrea, report to the Sage Council what you have discovered," spoke Miklotov McMahon, representative of the Sage Council, as Reinhard stepped before them and bowed, placing his right hand over his heart.

"Esteemed members of the Sage Council, I, Reinhard van Astrea, seek to report the results of the investigation I have been tasked with yesterday morning," he said with a firm voice, after which he returned to standing at attention. Such was the necessary etiquette when faced with the current governing body of the Kingdom.

"Please go on," said Miklotov, looking to the other Elders, exchanging nods among each other before turning their attention back to the knight.

"I set out to the designated border outpost, guarding the northern border to Gusteko. Unfortunately when I arrived, I verified they had been attacked," he said, causing some of the Elders to murmur among each other.

It was only when Miklotov spoke a calm "Continue," that the others ceased their talks.

"The assailant had destroyed their communication mirror. This is why they missed out on their scheduled report… that, and the complete annihilation of any stationed guard present at the time."

Where there had been minor talks before, now a deep silence followed his words. He could see how some of the Elders looked uncomfortable or worried, shifting in their seats. But as they had not interrupted him, he continued.

"As I arrived, the surviving guardsmen—mostly locals or those that were on their ways back from the border stations—were taking care of their fallen comrades. Investigating the nature of the attack, I inspected several of the victims. It looks like they had fallen to a blade. Though by closer inspection, several of them showed a particularity. An opened abdomen… they had been gutted." Some of the Elders looked over to the vacant chair… of their former colleague. They were quick to understand the implication, and could most likely already anticipate what was coming next.

"In order to make sure this was the only such incident, I inspected the other border guard outposts—of course without coming close to any border region itself—however, they had heard of no strange movements or attacks. Therefore I report, that it had likely neither been a Gustekan action, nor is it related to the prophecy—it is unlikely it had been the Star. I am certain these men fell victim to Elsa Granhiert, who had used that path to escape the country northward. The wounds match with not only similar wounds I observed on his late excellency, but as well as a survivor of another incident unrelated to these matters. They were made without a doubt with the same blades, which are rarely used and originate from Gusteko."

Reinhard didn't want to connect the cases of his friends getting attacked by Elsa and the attack on the Sage Council. Especially not as this could lead to very problematic questions regarding the Ladies Emilia and Felt. "This is the conclusion of my report."

A moment of silence endured. Then, a firm voice resounded through the chambers. "These are some very troubling news, regardless of the possible perpetrator," said Bordeaux Zellgef, moving a hand to his chin. "This is an unprecedented attack on guards protecting the border. If somehow Gusteko is involved in this—"

"Let's not come to hasty conclusions now!" interrupted an energetic voice, gesturing his disapproval. "You heard the Sword Saint, it is of his estimation that this is not in connection to Gusteko, but to that assassin that escaped your impulsive city lockdown." The voice belonged to Torin Arezzo, an Elder as open-minded as Bordeaux was narrow-minded, yet not an inch less stubborn or disagreeable.

"Mhm… Please," Miklotov said, raising his hand. "If this Elsa Granhiert—the so-called Bowel Hunter—was truly responsible for this attack, this does not only mean she escaped out of the city, but is also potentially even out of reach by now. And should your estimations be correct, she could have even escaped to Gusteko, that much we cannot deny." Such was the wit of Miklotov. Being able to pacify both sides, while still only stating and supporting his own observations and conclusions. Aside from keeping the peace within the Council.

The other two men nodded in agreement, apparently being content with this summation of facts, causing Miklotov to continue. "So it is not related to the Star at all, you say? I have wondered… even if its arrival and the attack on our friend and colleague were close together in time… perhaps they are unrelated after all?" His words called for another row of murmurs, though he showed himself to be uninfluenced by them.

"It appears most unlikely that this Elsa-person would be what the Dragon would have warned about. Not to mention she must have arrived quite earlier to both, make such an attack and then escape our immediate reaction. No… these are certainly two unrelated things…"

While the Sage Council debated their thoughts, Reinhard stood still… like a statue. Neither did he feel invited to participate in the discussion, nor had he been dismissed. So he patiently waited for them to reach the conclusion of their discussion, which had gotten quite lively after Miklotov had expressed his thoughts. By the sound of it, they had expected the death of Azah Febry and the arrival of the Star to be related… that this was the beginning of something terrible. And yet, with the culprit having been found, and ruled out as Star… it seemed unlikely. Meaning the Star was still a big unknown and at large.

"Sir Reinhard," said Miklotov, drawing Reinhard's attention to him. "Thank you for your fast discovery of these most unfortunate events. Until further noti—hmm? Is there something else you would wish to address?" His eyes widened, noticing Reinhard had raised his hand.

Reinhard bowed again. "Indeed, Miklotov-sama. It is about my other task. I believe…"

---

Subaru fell to the ground. Again. For the past hour he had practically been doing nothing else, other than admiring the shifting, blue-orange sky of late noon. That, and the hard rim of Grimm's shield whenever he messed up to properly dodge or block his counterattacks.

The day had so far been slow. Exhausted from yesterday, the group had mostly kept to themselves. Emilia had to make up for the lost studies of the previous day, and excused herself to her room shortly after breakfast. Felt had somehow been entangled by Carol to go with her somewhere, and old man Rom said he needed to do correspondences… something to help him get on his feet as soon as he and Felt get released from here. As he put it.

That left Subaru with a lot of time alone… to do nothing. Something he severely disliked now. Because time alone was best to think about things, and he didn't want to do that. Either to avoid being confronted by his failures, remembering the equally haunting as vivid horrors he had gone through, or reflecting on his previous talk… they were all things Subaru dreaded.

So he had asked Grimm to train with him. And while the butler had first advised him to properly rest, after he had asked again and then almost begged, the man was swayed. Subaru's reward was another "first" training lesson—a reward, not only because he could improve himself, but also to keep his mind occupied, far away from uncomfortable thoughts.

Despite the meager success he had fighting against Grimm, this had still been the best part of his day so far. Though if one were to observe them, they surely would just find Subaru's attempts pathet—

"Very good, Subaru. That last attempt to dodge was not half-bad."

Subaru slowly turned his head to the side, wondering who it could be that directly contradicted his line of thought, and was just trying to be nice. Much to his surprise though, it had been…

"Reinhard? You're already back?" Before his eyes stood his red-haired friend, throwing him a smile. He hadn't expected him to be back before tomorrow… if even then.

"Yes, I just got back," he said, stretching out his hand to Subaru. "My mission was over faster than expected." After he had helped up Subaru, he turned to Grimm. "I'm sorry for having given you a wrong time."

Grimm raised his hand upon hearing the last words, followed by a bow. "Welcome back… young master." It seemed he was just happy that Reinhard was back… as was Subaru. Though he wondered what Reinhard would think about all the things that had happened since he was gone.

"Ah, but please excuse me. I didn't want to interrupt your training," Reinhard said with an excusing smile, stepping back.

"Don't worry Reinhard, I think this is as much as I can take at the moment," he said with a grin, rubbing his battered shoulder. "Thank you very much Grimm… for having listened to my selfish request like that."

"Any… time," he said as he retrieved the training weapon from Subaru. And it had been true, for all Subaru knew. While Grimm had been reluctant at the beginning, he had given him just as helpful instructions afterwards, and even attacked for a short while before it became clear that weak counterattacks would be all Subaru could take for now.

"Oh, but now I'm probably the one holding you up, right?" said Subaru with a wry smile.

"Don't worry about it. Though let's continue talking over dinner… depending on how it goes, there will be a lot to talk about," he said, his gaze suddenly seeming rather distant.

"I fear there will be plenty to talk about regardless," mumbled Subaru, leaving the knight with a confused expression.

"Regarding… dinner. It, will be… ready—soon," said Grimm with his strained voice. After making another bow, he turned around and left—probably to store the training equipment away. Subaru had been really grateful for the taciturn man's help. Not only in training, but also in reminding them to…

"I should definitely freshen up in that case," said Subaru, turning back to Reinhard. "Being thrown to the ground a couple of dozen times is bound to raise dust."

The knight nodded. "That is a good idea, I'll need to do that as well—I'll see you in the dining room, Subaru." With a wave they parted ways, leaving to their rooms to prepare themselves for the evening.

---

"My sincerest apologies," said Reinhard at the head of the table, bowing deeply before his guests. "Words cannot express my regret—for you having been through such danger while under house Astrea's protection." Carol and Grimm, who had stood right besides him, bowed as well.

Meeting in the dining room, the group had just finished their retelling of the previous day's events, after Reinhard's departure. Well… leaving out minor things, such as in what state Subaru had asked Emilia for help, or that they not simply walked to the slums—both girls had been kind enough to not allude to that in the slightest. But when they had reached the part with the burning loot house, one could see Reinhard's characteristic smile vanish, leaving behind only a stern expression that persisted until the retelling ended.

"Likewise, I must express my utmost gratitude for your help, Emilia-sama. Not only for your protection of Felt-sama, but also her family."

Old man Rom, who was sitting right next to Felt and directly opposite to Subaru, raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. He seemed to be surprised about the knight's positive attitude towards it… given that there had been some tension before.

But this seemed irrelevant to Reinhard, who turned his gaze to the giant. "Rom-san, please rest assured that you are welcome as Felt's family to stay as long as you desire."

Rom appeared bewildered, perhaps not used to being treated as such. Despite that, he still expressed a , "Thank you very much," accepting the man's offer, and earning himself a toothy grin from Felt for it.

Carol and Grimm on the other hand wore unreadable expressions—Subaru wondered whether they were really happy with the circumstances, or had even dropped their grudges.

"Though, as you mention it; I must also thank you, Emilia-sama," said Rom, turning to her. "For getting us out of there… twice." There was a surprising softness in his otherwise rough and loud voice. It seemed he really wished to express his gratitude.

This is why Emilia's reaction was even more surprising. "There's nothing to thank me for," she said, shaking her head. "I… almost made a tragedy happen."

"What a stubborn girl," whispered Rom, inaudible to anyone else, as he rubbed his eyes.

A tragedy would've happened without you, but it's not like I can say that…

The heavy thought coursed through Subaru's mind… but he would sound nothing short of a lunatic if he would try to claim that… either that, or desperate.

"Cut the crap!" said Felt with a surprisingly harsh voice. "You saved our lives… in the loot house alone, not to mention in the fights afterwards. Could it all have gone better? Sure. Were we in danger? Definitely. But don't downplay you helping us like that!" To Felt, her help had meant more than them getting cornered.

Emilia bit on her lip and cast her gaze down, looking at her folded hands in her lap. Subaru looked at her with worry. From her expression, it seemed all Felt's rebuttal had caused was for her to just remain silent, instead of a real change of heart. So that too was ineffective…

"But anyway, Reinhard, when can we finally leave?" asked Felt, waving her hand and attempting to get the conversation into a different direction—while at the same time making room for her dissatisfaction.

"You keeping me prisoner here and then just going away until however-long it pleases you is annoying," she said, crossing her arms.

Subaru could only smile weakly, and hope this wouldn't turn into a full-fledged reckoning for having prevented Felt from leaving… or chasing her around, teaching her manners, keeping her away from her family… that was a way too long list already.

"I have good news in that regard," said Reinhard, putting up a disarming smile. "The city will soon open its gates again… maybe as early as tomorrow. So that means we will be able to leave the city, then."

Hearing that, Emilia perked up. "So that means I… ah. We can return to the Mathers domain. These are indeed good news," she said, throwing Subaru a sideways glance, which he reciprocated.

But just as Reinhard opened his mouth to answer that, Felt shot up. "Wait, wait, wait! First, that's not what I asked… at all!" she said, raising her voice. "And second! What do you mean, we can leave the city!? I ain't going anywhere with you! Especially not away from the Capital!"

"… ah. It seems an explanation is in order, then," said Reinhard. Despite it implying that he slipped up… his demeanor did not change. Almost as if it was intentional to rile her up—and only then explain himself properly. Weird.

But the reason became clear only a few moments later, as Reinhard approached Felt's side of the table, extending his hand much to her confusion. "Felt-sama. Please take a hold off this for a second," he said, handing Felt… an insignia. The very same thing Emilia had shown him a couple of days ago. And the stone in its midst shone.

Felt looked flabbergasted, looking disbelievingly at the thing glowing in her hand—before throwing it away, directly aimed at the closest wall.

But within the blink of an eye, Reinhard had moved into the flying arc, and caught the insignia… and returned it right back into her hand, closing her fingers around it. "Felt-sama, it seems you have dropped what is rightfully yours."

"Rightfully mine…?" repeated Felt slowly, before a deep scowl ran across her face. "Gimme a break! You can't mean…!"

But Reinhard, now covering her hand with both of his, knelt down. "Felt-sama. It fills me with great joy to confirm that you are a Dragon Maiden… that you are a candidate for the throne. To become the 42nd King of Lugnica."

Subaru sat there, wide-eyed. Felt… a princess? Or Dragon Maiden, or whatever they're called here? So she's like Emilia? Turning his gaze to the half-elf, he could see her thoughtful expression—not a hint of surprise. Did she know about it already? Looking back to Felt, he could at least be sure she didn't. Mouth-agape, there was little composure left in her.

"What a mess," mumbled Rom, again inaudible to the others rubbing his temples. Though he did not comment otherwise.

Seeing how Felt had remained silent after the revelation, Reinhard continued. "Felt-sama, it would be my greatest honor if you would accep—!"

"Forget it!" shouted Felt, forcefully ripping her hand away from his. "Dragon Maiden? King!? Leave me alone with that crap…!" Her words were harsh and her voice full of anger. "I'd never want to get dragged into something like that! What are you even thinking? Telling someone from the slums to become King? Being put up as a show for some nobles!?"

A show for nobles…? Subaru was shocked. Shocked that Felt would think of something so vile to occur. Then again, she did have an awful opinion of the nobles and ruling people.

"Felt-sama, I assure you, I would lend you all the support I could give," said Reinhard, probably in an attempt to both lessen her worries and to show just how serious he was. But Felt didn't seem convinced anyhow, instead glaring at the jewel-crested object in her hand. What could've made her rich under other circumstances, she could now only regard with disdain.

Though when she looked over at them, she flinched slightly. When she had exchanged gazes with Emilia, she made a slight grimace—and glared at Reinhard again.

"I have no need for your support, and no interest in being your dress-up King, so shove it!" By her tone, it seemed her final word had been given on the matter—much to the satisfaction of Rom, who had shown a just barely-visible smile.

And much to the dismay of Reinhard, who had seemed more than shocked about her refusal. So shocked, that he too now regarded Emilia and Subaru with a lost expression.

Subaru closed his eyes. He could definitely understand Felt's skepticism. She hailed from the slums, and was just until a couple of days ago a thief, fighting for her survival each day. And then she got entangled into a murder scheme, taken here… kinda as a prisoner. And now it's revealed that she's a candidate for the throne? That was a lot to take in. And yet, hearing his friend's words—his proposal and request—Subaru had no doubt he was serious about it.

"… Hey, Emilia-tan," said Subaru, drawing her attention. "Reinhard seems serious… can't you do something about it? Make Felt listen, or something?"

Upon hearing his words, Emilia glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow. It seemed she was surprised about his request. Well… it certainly came unexpectedly. But Subaru wanted to help his friend. And that aside… if Felt really was a candidate to the throne, she could've at least heard him out. She could still decline Reinhard's offer afterwards, instead of denying it outright.

Emilia tilted her head. "I'm not sure what you expect me to say. If Felt doesn't want to, I'll respect that decision."

"It's not about respecting it or not. It's just that… you know. Isn't that some really big chance? It's just that she doesn't throw it away, without even having considered it for a tiny bit."

There was another motivation for Subaru's attempt to get Felt at least to consider it; guilt. With the loot house destroyed, he had heard Felt's plan of what she wanted to do when she would get out. "I'm sure we'll make it through somehow." Even though he didn't doubt the girl's tenacity, that was nowhere near close to a plan. So he wanted her to at least consider what Reinhard had just told her. A chance at a better life. A safer life.

After looking thoughtful for a moment, Emilia nodded. "Hmm. I guess I can see your point," she conceded. "However… that doesn't really change that I'm not sure what to say. Or why Felt would listen to me in particular."

Subaru grinned. "She's bound to listen to her big sis, no?" While it was a playful statement, it was true nonetheless. He knew that Felt held Emilia in high regard.

Emilia put a hand to her chin, and regarded both Felt and Reinhard. The knight was still kneeling in front of her, trying to make her listen while Felt crossed her arms, slightly turned away, and wanting to hear nothing of it.

"… Felt-chan, Reinhard," she said. Though as both their gazes fell upon her, she feigned a cough. "Ah. Well. I don't think you will get anywhere like this. Reinhard, if Felt-chan has made her decision, there is little sense in trying to pressure her to change it." Emilia raised her finger, scolding him, making Felt adopt a smug grin and Reinhard hold his breath.

"However, Felt-chan," she continued, wiping the grin away. "I don't doubt what Reinhard said is true. Or that he would want to make fun of you anyhow." Her tone had shifted from scolding to a much softer, reconciliatory one.

Felt wore a pensive expression… at least until she looked at the glowing insignia again. "Maybe… but even if not! That doesn't mean I want anything to do with it!"

"I'd be curious to hear your full reasons for this… rather important decision."

But when faced with Emilia's curiosity, Felt—who had been loud-mouthed before and usually pretty direct—hesitated.

"Would you perhaps feel more comfortable telling me in private? I must say, I am rather curious. And I'm sure the others will excuse us, right?" Emilia looked expectantly around—this wasn't a question at all.

Reinhard stood up, just to immediately bow to Emilia. "Of course, Emilia-sama," he said, a smile finding its way back onto his lips. "I do hope you will find a different answer, Felt-sama. I shall be waiting outside unt—."

"Just leave it at that already! And spare me with your Felt-sama's." Despite Felt's continued harsh words, Reinhard smiled unwaveringly—his optimism sure was something else.

"You sure that's a good idea, Felt?" asked Rom, who so far had not said a word about the whole situation. Though judging by his question, he understood exactly what they had discussed so far… maybe even why Emilia wanted to talk with Felt in private.

"Don't worry granpa. If this helps to get through to that knight's thick skull, I don't see any issue," said Felt, hopping back onto her chair, and placing the insignia as far away in front of her as she could.

"I wonder if it will be that easy," said Rom pensively, looking over to the still-smiling Reinhard. But as he got up, he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you need me, I'll be finishing setting up you-know-what. Just come see me when you're done."

Felt nodded sternly… making Subaru wonder just what the two were hatching. Though Subaru doubted something too secretive, otherwise they hardly would've brought it up here.

"Well, see you later, Emilia-tan, Felt," said Subaru, joining Reinhard and Rom. Once outside the dining room, Carol, Grimm, and Rom said their goodbyes and left, with only Subaru and Reinhard remaining behind.

Seeing his friend's slightly worried expression, and occasional glances to the door of the dining room, Subaru shook his head before clearing his throat, catching Reinhard's attention. "There's something I wanted to ask you about the stuff from before. Though… I'd like to get some fresh air. Do you mind discussing it outside?"

"A bit of fresh air does sound nice," Reinhard affirmed with a nod before leading the way outside, his usual smile having risen back to his face.

Eventually, they sat down before the entrance, at the bottom of the stone stairs paving the way to the front part of the garden, allowing a direct view of the many flower fields.

"So Reinhard, you were pretty insistent in there… leaving me to wonder what that all was about?" asked Subaru with a close-to-blunt tone. Though his face revealed an open curiosity, as any child might show when it is faced with new things. "I mean, I get the idea. Felt a candidate and such. But… why were you so pushy about it? Aren't there plenty of people who would gladly become King, even if Felt doesn't want to?"

But to his surprise, Reinhard shook his head. "It's not that simple, Subaru. We, and by that I mean the Royal Knights of Lugnica, have searched the whole country for almost a year. Out of all the population of fifty million people, there have been found exactly four people showing the qualifications needed to become King."

Subaru's eyes widened. "Four people out of fifty million? And all of that in a year? I… I guess I can see why you'd be happy to have found another one," he said, pulling up a hand to his forehead. "But even then. If there are four others already, why did you put so much pressure on Felt? It's not like she's the only one."

"That is related to the instructions the Dragon had given us. He ordained, that there were five candidates to be found. So Felt being the fifth and last candidate is… crucial" The way Reinhard spoke of it left Subaru with little doubt about the truth in his words. And where his friend's behavior had confused him before, it made much more sense now.

"I see. So Felt not accepting the candidacy would be really bad for you guys, huh," he said with a contemplative voice, albeit a bit tactless. "So that's why you tried to sway her so much, even guaranteeing her your support outright." Subaru had gotten it.

"That's not quite it, Subaru," said Reinhard, unexpectedly firmly. "My support for Felt-sama is unbound by my wish for her to reconsider. I offered Felt-sama my support simply because I believe her to be the most suitable candidate to become King."

Upon hearing that, dissent welled up in Subaru. Because to him, it was obviously clear who was more suited to become King. "Guess we don't quite share that sentiment," said Subaru with a slightly pouty voice.

But much to his surprise, Reinhard laughed heartily. "Looks like that's a shared commonality between all the people I have the honor to call my closest friends. All have declared their support for different candidates. Though, that is of course just in the nature of such matters."

"Put like that it almost makes me feel a bit silly now," said Subaru, scratching his slightly reddened cheek.

"There's no need for that!" said Reinhard, still chuckling. "All it means is that you seem to have formed a firm opinion on that matter already. There's no need to feel bad for that."

Though as he let Reinhard's words sink in, a particular phrase caught his interest. Because that had been something he was thinking about since yesterday—despite his best attempts to not delve too deep into his thoughts.

"Say Reinhard… what does supporting a candidate mean? Aside from just voting for them, if that's even a thing."

To support a candidate. Now that Reinhard had brought up that topic, Subaru saw his chance to ask him about it. For it was of great importance to Subaru.

During his talk with Emilia yesterday, he had utterly failed to lift her spirits—there was absolutely nothing he could do about it, even though he dearly wanted to. She had helped him a mere few hours ago to recover from the brink of collapse. But when she herself felt down… he failed her. Not only that, but he was the whole reason for her feeling guilty to begin with.

So he resolved himself… to properly help her. Not simply to make up for him having been unable to do so the past evening, but ultimately for all that she'd done for him so far… among other, less selfless reasons. Helping her to reach her goals, whatever they may be. Not having to spill blood again… guilty or not. To ease her burden like that.

This of course meant to help her achieve all her goals. And if one such goal was to become King… then he would support her in that too. As nonsensical as that sentiment might seem—he was broke beyond compare after all—this is what he had resolved himself to. So he waited for Reinhard's answer. Needed it, to give his blossoming desires a concrete shape.

"Well, supporting a candidate means that you endorse them to become the future King. As for how that support looks like… hmm. That is honestly not that easy of a question," said Reinhard, as his smile became a bit wry. "It's not known what exactly will happen once the five candidates are found, so there's not anything concrete to be done. Though there are expectations of it being some sort of selection process. All I can say is that some nobles support the candidates with money, connections, or other resources… or in Felt-sama's case, I wished to offer her at least residency."

Subaru ruffled his own hair. Money, connections… those weren't exactly the things he could hope to provide.

Reinhard's smile grew even wrier, as he observed Subaru. "I must apologize for my lacking answer," he said in an apologetic tone. "As for other support…" Placing his sword to his side, and resting a hand on it, he continued. "Well, I don't know whether that's too informative either. But each candidate is expected to appoint a personal knight."

Upon hearing that specific term, Subaru perked up. A knight. He didn't know what exactly it meant—but going by standard fantasy tropes, it would be someone very close to his master.

"What does it mean to be a personal knight?" asked Subaru, almost bashful.

"To be a personal knight?" Reinhard asked with an eyebrow raised. "Additionally to the normal duties of a knight, to be this for a candidate means to be their aide, in any and all matters they request assistance. It is to help them with advice should they need it, to support them in all their matters. Ideally, there is a deep bond of trust underlying their relationship… it is truly to be their confidant."

With each mentioned word, Subaru's eyes sparkled more. He could certainly not support a candidate as a noble could. But that position of personal knight… wouldn't it be ideal?

"Do all the candidates have such a personal knight?" asked Subaru, his voice sounding just a tad too excited. Thus, he was quick to add, "It sounds like some majorly important position."

Reinhard traced his fingers along his sword and breathed slightly audibly in—meaning he practically took a deep breath. "No. Not all the candidates have a personal knight appointed, as far as I am informed. Though you will surely understand that I cannot go much deeper into detail about this," he said, donning another smile… though this one seemed a bit off.

"Yeah, don't worry. It's just for curiosity anyway, haha," he said with a weak, clearly fake laughter. Now he only had to find out whether Emilia would already have such a personal knight… if not, then maybe he finally had a more reasonable idea on how to achieve what he wanted. Well… reasonable to him, at least.

But just as Reinhard wanted to reply, the door behind them swung open.

---

After the others had left, Emilia went over to Felt and sat down right beside her, using the newfound privacy to find out the reasons for her decision. "So, Felt-chan. Why did you reject what Reinhard said so strongly?"

The girl crossed her arms and scowled. "Simple; I hate nobles." There was a deep-rooted hostility in that voice—so strong, that there was little room for more. But still, Emilia remained silent, goading Felt to continue.

"Thinking they deserve the world just because of being born into the right family, not having worked hard for a single day in their lives. All the while looking down on all others, or treating them like air. But as soon as they want something from you, expecting for you to just jump and serve their shallow purposes—like with this insignia. I'd never want to get involved with that," Felt spat out, glancing around at the rich and decorated dining room they found themselves in. Her expression made it clear, she wanted nothing to do with it.

Emilia had admittedly a hard time understanding her sentiment. She hadn't really come into contact with nobles all that much yet… and when she did, they mostly treated her the same as all others did. Meaning many whispers behind her back, or insults to her face they wouldn't dare to repeat. Though there were a few more cleverly disguised insults coming from them… but she doubted that's what Felt meant.

However, the one noble that supported her candidacy certainly was hard-working. While he certainly was… a bit different than most nobles—or people, even—he was working from day to night, for all she knew. And some of the knights she had met certainly were hard-working too, including Reinhard.

"I don't think that's entirely true, Felt-chan," she said, her hand still resting on her chin. "I can certainly not speak for most and even less for all nobles, but the few I have met are working a lot. Including Reinhard, who didn't hesitate to risk his life when you found him, no? And the same is true for Carol and Grimm… they're nobles too, you know?"

Emilia only really had one goal in this conversation; to find out whether Felt's rejection of the candidacy was really what she wanted, or if some fears held her away from it. And only then maybe make her reconsider her stance on it.

She understood how important finding the last candidate was—it had been explained to her, that all of them would need to wait until she was found before there could be any progress made on the decision of who becomes the next King. But to Emilia this was only secondary. Because ultimately, she didn't want to force Felt into a role she didn't want. And while she did agree in the end to talk with her, she would respect her decision regardless of the outcome.

Felt looked to the side. "Then you must've met the few most hard-working nobles in the world… including the ones you mentioned, I guess. But it remains true for most regardless." It seems her opinion on this was rather inflexible. "That aside, it doesn't change that I don't want to be made into some dressed-up doll to keep up appearances. Even if that isn't Reinhard's intention, it's certainly how most other nobles would treat it—at best."

There was little ground to deny that. Even Emilia didn't really know why her sponsor helped her—she wasn't as naive to believe he did it just out of the goodness of his heart. And that was her opinion about the one noble that actually decided to help her despite all prejudice.

"But couldn't this be a chance?" asked Emilia cautiously. Her candidacy had been a chance for her too, after all, even beyond the mere scope of what had been offered to her directly. Most in the world hated her, nobles included. Not only that, they hated her whole kind—and beyond. Not just half-elves or elves. Practically all demi-humans.

"A chance for what? It's not like I want to become King. I don't see how that's a chance for anything more than misery."

"What is it then, that you want, Felt-chan?" She asked in a curious tone. It wasn't flippant, nor demanding—just an open question. So open that Felt needed some time to find an answer. And she did, after pondering for a few seconds and taking a deep sigh.

"I want to get out of the slums. Together with old man Rom. And then… I dunno. Not worry about my next meal, or having to steal to live. Something like that." It was a very simple wish, in the end. Not some overarching ambition, but just a life away from the bad state she had found herself in. However…

Emilia nodded understandingly. "But isn't this then also a way to achieve that? Granted… it is a bit more difficult than that much. But you'd be out of the slums. Rom is with you now, and by the way it sounded, Reinhard would gladly accept you permanently in his home."

"It's not the same," said Felt, shaking her head. "I want to do that out of my own strength. Not due to something fate threw mercifully to my feet, and for which I should feel gratitude."

"Are you sure that is you speaking, and not just your pride?" asked Emilia unvarnished, making Felt drop her gaze, and shift on her seat uncomfortably. "To me, it sounds like this is a potential chance to both fulfill your goal, and to teach the nobles a lesson."

This might have been a bit pushy—and Emilia certainly would have judged it so as well, were Felt's reasons not just expressed stubbornness. In the end, she wanted to hear from the girl that her reasons were good beyond doubt. That she had a good reason to decline the candidacy. But all she heard so far were knee-jerk reactions to nobility and "fate".

"Do you believe that it was fate when you attempted to get a hold of Subaru's reward, and thus were found to be a candidate? Or that Reinhard would've offered you his help?"

Seeing the girl's silence, Emilia continued. "In the end, you are free to do as you like. All I wanted to know were your reasons for declining the candidacy like that, which I now have heard," she said with a faint smile. "But even now I still find it to be a chance. A chance to not only get away from the life in the slums, but also escape the potential danger that would await you and Rom there now, and get back at the nobles. Get back at them, by showing them just how wrong they are. That Felt-chan will not just be a dressed-up girl from the slums to ignore, but a force to be reckoned with—and which they will neither be able to ignore nor use."

That latter part too was true for her, after all. Being a silver-haired half-elf, there would barely be anyone to take her seriously, not to mention her candidacy. When she had shared her worries with Puck, he was confident that things would somehow turn out right. That did ultimately little to change her worries in that regard but, regardless of all that, she was determined to stand her ground—and could only advise Felt to attempt the same.

"To show the nobles…" Felt said, scratching her head. She looked conflicted if anything. It seemed her words had reached her… at least partially. "Big sis, why couldn't you just have let me be? Now I gotta seriously think about it," she said eventually, drawing a grimace.

"… I can't say I'm really all into that whole King-thingy. But I can't deny what you said. About getting out of the slums, I mean," she clarified hastily. "I dislike the people in the slums who always complain about things, yet never change or use the many opportunities they could create for themselves. Yet here is a really big one for me, and all I did was complain about it."

"So, where does that leave you then? Do you reconsider your decision?"

Felt shook her head. "No, not that quickly, at least. Or, well, maybe. I'll think about it some more, the whole candidacy stuff, I mean," she said, reaching out for the insignia again, which immediately began to glow—much to her dismay. "I'll take some time to think about it. Sleep over it, and tomorrow I'll give my answer, I think."

Emilia nodded. "Mhm, that sounds good. Give it some thought—and if you reject it still, that will be alright. All I wanted for you was to at least consider it."

Felt hopped out of the chair, making her insignia disappear in a pocket. "Guess I'll tell Reinhard… and hope he won't bug me about it again. Or if he does, I'll just tell him I can also decide without thinking about it again," she said with a grin.

---

"So, how are we gonna do this?" asked Rom. He found himself surrounded by Carol before and Grimm standing behind him. They had moved some steps away from the dining room, walking down a hallway—well, walked. Up until the moment Rom posed his question.

"We don't know how you weaseled your way into Felt-sama's heart, Valga," said Carol with a voice like venom, "but as you are part of what she considers family… we won't do anything." As she turned around, he could feel her eyes alone almost cutting him. "Though should you ever do as little as to think about harming her, then—."

"I've looked after Felt since she was a small child," said Rom with a calm voice. "There's no way I could ever do that." His voice was firm, with not the slightest shred of doubt to find in it—if anything, he sounded offended.

"You might think of me as a monster however you like," he continued, fidgeting with the rim of his tattered, yet clean vest. "But those days belong only in the past to me. I won't ask of you to forgive me., but there is also nothing I'd ask forgiveness for either."

"Easy for you to forget your own crimes," said Carol, reiterating their position. "Though in the end, it shall be as Felt-sama decides."

There was an uneasy silence between them. Each of them had clarified their viewpoint. For Rom, Felt was family. For Carol and Grimm, she was their young master's potential liege. Despite their personal differences, they would not act unwisely towards each other. For Felt.

"This is not the end of it. Especially if you should attempt to interfere with Felt-sama's wishes," Carol said, intensifying the tension again. "However, as long as you are of no harm to Felt-sama, we will merely keep an eye on you. So you'd do good not to try anything that worsens this."

Rom shook his head. "And you better not try to force Felt into a role she clearly doesn't want," he scoffed, dismissing her words with a wave of his hand. "I'll do the same as I have done all her life so far, and that is to keep her out of trouble. And I don't see how this is anything but trouble for her."

"Surrounded by… thugs. Safe?" Grimm asked with a strained voice. "Slums… are dangerous. Don't… kid around."

Rom sighed. "It was never that dangerous before she got involved with you lot, that much is clear."

"They were after your head though, and not ours. She would've gotten caught in the crossfire, so don't even try to play innocent for that," Carol spat. "You did defend her, but it's because of you she got attacked there to begin with."

Rom balled his fist, but remained silent. It was true that the Golden Coin gang had specifically aimed for him, due to his troublesome past, or at least used that as a claim to justify their vain attempt for revenge. And that had brought Felt into danger. But it wasn't like letting her get involved in Kingdom business was any safer—especially considering what happened with the royal family before, and in what state the country was in now.

"Think what you wish," he eventually said with a dismissive tone. "I'll support her for any decision she'll make regardless—and not just the one that's most convenient to me."

"Then let's hope that you'll be able to wear your false mask of a caring grandfather long enough for your own sake, Valga," Carol said, walking past him. "As we said. As long as you don't do anything… unwise, you are welcome as her family. And that is all."

As Rom turned around, the two were gone. Or rather—he was unable to detect their presence anymore. "Looks like they haven't lost their edge yet," he mumbled, as he walked back to his very temporary guest room.

---

As Emilia and Felt stepped outside, the two men quickly turned their attention to them, their conversation interrupted. Noticing who they were, Reinhard rushed to kneel very awkwardly down before them, right at the bottom of the stairs—which Subaru then imitated even more awkwardly, leading the girls to raise their eyebrows in surprise.

"Ugh, guess that's one way to get back to me," mumbled Felt, drawing a grimace.

Though as she could feel Reinhard's expectant gaze rest upon her, she groaned even more and crossed her arms. "Anyway. After some discussing it with big sis, I'll sleep over it. You'll have my answer tomorrow morning… but better don't get your hopes up."

By her side, Emilia gave an almost imperceptible nod. Subaru too, smiled at seeing the girl consider the situation more seriously.

Reinhard in turn acted the same as always. "I shall patiently await your decision," he responded with a smile. Yet his words carried a definite sense of liveliness they had lacked for the past few minutes.

---

"I thought you were already against it?" asked Rom, as he sat down on the too tiny chair. "Becoming King, Felt? Is that really something you want?"

On her side, Felt made herself comfortable on the king-sized bed that came with the room she'd been given. It had only been a few days, but she already felt it would be hard to go back to sleeping on the floor, or on old, hard mattresses. She sighed. "It's not like I want to become King. But you gotta admit it's an easy way out of the slums. Especially now that the loot house is gone," she said with a moody voice.

"You really don't need to worry about that too much," said Rom, patting her head. "We'll be fine regardless. It will take a long while to get back to recover… but it's not like this is the only option—that you'd need to force yourself to play along."

Felt weakly shook her head. "It's not just playing along. As much as he bugs me, I don't think Reinhard is a liar… that he'd just see me as a puppet for some plot. So I dunno if it's just playing along."

"So you really wanna go through with it?" he asked surprised.

"If I'll agree I'll go through with it, I might as well try to gain as much as I can along the way," she said with a grin. "Though of course not in some shady deals,—otherwise I'd be no better than the damn nobles themselves. I just mean for life afterwards… if it goes poorly."

"As shrewd as always," Rom said with a hearty laugh, followed suitly by Felt. "That's the Felt I know."

Though it was only for a short while. "By the way… old man Rom. I haven't asked you yet," she said, audibly struggling with each syllable. "But… what the Golden Coin gang said… is it really true?"

So far, Felt had not thought much about the accusations raised by them. They had tried to kill them, and the shock of it all sat too deep so shortly after. And ultimately, she was just happy that they all got away safely. But now that she thought about it, about the person she knew… did she know Rom all that well? Or rather… his past?

To her surprise though, Rom was relatively quick to answer. "… Yes. A long time ago, I went by Valga Cromwell. The very same Valga Cromwell you might have heard a thing or two about," he said, rubbing his neck.

Though that was of course a massive understatement. Everyone knew about the last big war that had torn Lugnica apart—causing scars that lasted well until today, fueling the discontent amongst the population, which had been intensified by the month-long loss inaction of the Dragon. The Demi-Human War. Where the Demi-Humans rose up and rebelled against the government of Lugnica, with both sides committing severe atrocities against each other. And the insurrection was being led by no one else than the giant Valga Cromwell. It was said he disappeared and most likely died during the attack on the Lugnican palace, but against all such rumors and suppositions, it seemed not to be the case.

Depending on who you asked he was a radical, a warmonger, a criminal, or just someone that had risen up against the abysmal circumstances prevalent in the Kingdom. Though the latter view was mostly found among demi-humans… and even they didn't see him as innocent. As for the human side of the population… it was clear that he was but a demi-human savage, the worst kind there could be.

So that's why Felt expected for him to hesitate. But… he didn't. And she didn't need to think long to guess why; They were family. She had never had a single reason to mistrust old man Rom. And it seemed he'd rather admit such guilt, than let anything question that trust.

Noticing her prolonged silence, he said, "Sorry, Felt. It's just not something I could've easily brought up, or—"

But he was stopped… by a hug. With a firm voice, Felt spoke, "Valga or not… to me you're simply old man Rom… So don't worry about it."

"Doubt you'd be willing to win any popularity contest with those words…," Rom said carefully, as he returned his granddaughter's embrace. "But just remember that I'll always be there for you, just as you are for me."

"Imagine, the granddaughter of Valga becoming the next King. Wouldn't that be a great twist to the stories?" she said with a chuckle. "But seriously Rom… what should I do?"

Rom laughed loudly. "I feel you should go with your gut," he said confidently. "If you were against it from the start, maybe you should just go with that." While Rom had told her to go with whatever she'd decide… it seemed that deep down, he was rather against it. She'd need to think very carefully about this.

---

Sitting down at breakfast the next day, Subaru could notice the slight tension in the room. Felt looked like she was still brooding. Rom occasionally glanced at her… as did Reinhard. It was surely not a position he envied. And then there was Emilia who looked about just as curious as he did, twirling her fork while stealing a glance at Felt.

Aside from a short exchange of greetings, Felt hadn't said a word. And yet, he knew pretty much all of them were waiting for what she had to say.

Yesterday evening, Felt and Reinhard excused themselves shortly after their talk had ended. And so did Emilia, after she had informed him that they would leave the next day. While Subaru was curious to see how it would go on from there, he also felt sad… because it would inevitably lead to parting ways with all others here.

And while he had his head full of his own plans and desires to pursue, he was still very much worried about the uncertain future Felt and Rom might be looking at. That's why he secretly hoped she'd accept becoming a candidate. Just so that he knew she would be safe under Reinhard's protection.

But just as the tension couldn't get much heavier, Felt set down her cutlery and inhaled audibly. "To become King or not…"

Just as Felt was about to announce her decision—or at least it heavily sounded that way—the door to the dining room swung open, and a familiar face entered.

"What joyous news!" said the man who entered the room, dressed in a white uniform. Adorned with a sword. Stubbly face. Red hair.

Subaru could very well remember his first encounter in this world. Where some guy had attacked him. And he got reprimanded for it—by this very man now entering the room.

"Looks like the city gates are finally open!" he proclaimed, as he let his gaze wander over the table. "And all of that thanks to the dear knight of the day letting the murderer escape."

"Father, are you joining us for breakfast?" asked Reinhard, seemingly ignoring the man's wor—wait, did he say father?

"And help you tarnish the good name of the Astrea family further?" he scoffed, as he rested his gaze on Subaru—then, narrowed it. "Looks like you meant nothing but trouble after all."

As the man spoke so directly to him, he realized something else. His voice sounded eerily familiar. Subaru heard it only a couple of days… well, loops ago. He couldn't connect it back then, but now he recognized it. It was the same voice they had unintentionally listened to. Considering that this was Reinhard's father… yeah. That much should've been obvious.

"Heinkel Astrea," said Emilia. "Is there anything you wish to say?"

"How nice of you to ask, Emilia-sama," he said, in a clearly mocking tone… vexing Subaru. "But no, I have merely come to wish you a nice journey home… to see our dear guests off after their very welcome visit here."

"I see. How thoughtful," she said, unmoved. "We must express our gratitude to Reinhard van Astrea, then. The stay has been very pleasant so far."

Heinkel's fake grin stayed… though Subaru could see that the man's shoulders tensed a bit.

"In any case, I hope your departure and homeward journey will be fast and just as pleasant. This of course extends to all our other welcome guests here just as well."

He turned his gaze to Felt and Rom. "Even though I'm not sure whether calling it a homeward journey is that accurate… setting aside expecting you to have a home."

While Rom did his best to just ignore him, Felt glared at him. Subaru too turned his head slowly towards the guy, eyes widened. He wouldn't just have…?

"I just hope that stingy odor will soon be gone as well."

"Fuck you!" shouted Felt, jumping out of her seat, and flipping the man off. "That's no way to talk to your potential future King!"

As the words left her mouth, the man's eyes widened. "A gutter rat, King…? Don't make me laugh, you worthless mutt!" he said, laughing at the girl's pretension.

Highly conflicted, Reinhard looked over at her. "Felt-sama! Does that mean…?"

"Yes, it does!," she said with a smug grin. "Screw that, I'll show him, and that whole stuck-up bunch of assholes just what a gutter rat is capable of doing! And if I have to tear down the whole nobility myself to teach them!"

Despite her harsh—and mildly questionable—words, Reinhard looked more than happy, whereas Heinkel looked just confused, seemingly failing to understand what was happening. And as he looked around the room, it became clear that he was the only one out of the loop. The realization made him grit his teeth, and gaze back over at Felt..

"Did the life amongst your betters delude you that much? Speaking of nobility and King as if you'd have any place among them?"

"Well, it's quite simple. At least if you know what this is," she said, rummaging through her pockets before holding up the black, jewel-crested object that she had regarded purely with dread before—and which was now regarded with dread by the man instead. The mere sight made all color drain from his face, and Felt's grin only grew wider.

"So if you finally get it; looks like the terrible odor is going to stay for a while, Heinkel. Except if you meant yourself—in that case, you can gladly sod off."

Visibly fuming, Heinkel regarded her with nothing but disdain. But it seemed he began to understand what she meant. Being forced to endure his rage silently now, he wordlessly turned around and left—turning tail like a beaten dog. Much to the joy of Felt, who slumped back to her chair.

"Man, what an asshole," she said, placing the insignia before her. "Guess that's that then…"

---

"So you accepted, huh," said Subaru, sitting lazily on a tree branch right besides Felt.

"Looks like it," she answered, sounding mildly lost. "I actually wasn't sure until the very moment I said it. Hope that guy chokes on it." Her words were accompanied by a very lady-like spit to the ground.

The two of them had met in the garden to share a last moment before their ways would part, as apparently a carriage was already underway to pick them up—Emilia and Subaru, that is.

True to her word of course she told him to get ready to depart, though in his case that preparation wasn't really all that much. Pocketing his phone and wallet, as well as taking the plastic bag that had been stored in his room. Though ironically, with that he still had even more luggage with him than her.

"So you and old man Rom are gonna stay here, then?" Subaru asked. "At least you'll be safe then."

But Felt shook her head. "Nah. Reinhard said he'll need to return to his own lands for a while… and we have the great privilege of accompanying him," she said, her voice loaded with irony. "At least Carol and Grimm will also tag along."

"Oh, it won't be that bad," said Subaru with a grin. "Though I guess that means you and Emilia will be bitter rivals from now on, huh?"

"Yeah, sure. The next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield!" she said with a grim voice, followed shortly after by their laughter.

"Though I guess you're kinda right. But it's not like I'd ever view big sis as an enemy. If there ever could be some rivalry, then just a friendly one," she said with a shrug. "But I doubt even that."

The thought had crossed his mind considerably late. But if now Felt was also vying to become King, she'd be in competition with Emilia—and so was Reinhard, who had already offered her his support. Hopefully that didn't make things worse for her, ultimately.

"The same will be true for you, no? If your plan of staying by Emilia's side hasn't changed, then we'll be mortal enemies as well!"

"Definitely," Subaru said with a decisive nod. "If anything, I'm even more sure of it now. The good thing is, I'm sure we'll meet again sometime."

"Mhm," said Felt, nodding contently. "Make sure to stay alive until then, though. Don't let your recklessness get to you." Her advice was more profound than she'd known, so all Subaru could do was smile wryly and nod as well.

Though their talk got cut short, as Felt pointed to the main entrance. "Ah, looks like it's time."

Driving in through the front gate was a carriage, not unlike those seen in 19th century England. Or at least as one could see them in movies playing in that period. Though instead of a horse, it was drawn by a broad ground dragon. And instead of a coachman it was driven by a… maid?

When Felt and Subaru arrived at the main entrance, Emilia had already been talking to the maid, who had just finished her bow.

"Emilia-sama, I hope you have been well despite the prolonged stay in the Capital." As she said this, she curiously glanced towards Reinhard, who had come to see them off.

"Thanks to Reinhard's hospitality, it had been no issue," she said, nodding. "I presume you are aware that there will be someone accompanying us back?"

"Yes, Emilia-sama, I hav—" but the maid got interrupted when Subaru and Felt arrived.

"Sorry for being late, Emilia-tan!" he said, walking right up to her side.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them, as the maid rested her eyes on him. Or well, eye. Her left eye had been hidden behind her bangs, which rounded off her pink, bob-cut hair. The left side had been kept free by a hairpin, which had been one of the three decorations to be found in her hair. Another one had been a big flower with free-dangling cords coming out from the pistil. And the other, a maid headband. Fitting to her maid outfit. Though compared to Carol's, this one almost looked… scandalous. He would've lied though if he claimed he disliked it. If anything… no. Emilia would probably never wear it. Too bad.

As her pink eye looked directly into his eyes, she said, "Emilia-sama, you shouldn't just keep anything you pick up from the ground."

Betraying her appearance… she had none of the mannerisms of a maid. Though she certainly made Felt snicker loudly.

"I didn't pick him up from the ground, Ram," said Emilia, shaking her head. "Subaru has been through a lot, so don't be too harsh on him." Despite it sounding like a reprimand… Emilia smiled. Hopefully it wasn't just driven by pity.

"Of course, Emilia-sama," she replied, before turning to Subaru. "Please accept my apology."

"Ah, it's alright, don't worry," he said, waving his hand. "Though I don't think I've caught your name?"

"My name is Ram, and I am a maid in the employ of Roswaal-sama. Pleased to meet you…?" she said, inviting him to introduce himself as well.

"Natsuki Subaru!" he said cheerfully, making the maid give a slight nod.

"Emilia-sama, Roswaal-sama is expecting us at dinner, so we'd better set off soon," said Ram, turning back to Emilia. "Traffic is very slow at the moment."

"I see. In that case, I guess we should be on our way," she said, nodding to Ram.

As they turned around they faced Felt and Reinhard, who had come to see them off. Felt wore a saddened smile with her arms crossed, while Reinhard stood in his usual dignified pose, with an approachable smile.

"It has been an honor, Emilia-sama, Subaru. I'll look forward to seeing you again," said Reinhard, bowing slightly.

"I'll be seeing you around, big sis, big bro!" Felt said, shaking her head and then conjuring up a more cheerful smile.

"Thank you for all your help," said Emilia, smiling lightly with a nod. "And also, please give my regards to Carol, Grimm, and Rom."

"Yeah, be sure to give them my gratitude as well!" Subaru said, grinning.

With some final goodbyes, the group parted ways. After Emilia and Subaru had gotten into the carriage, the maid took a seat at the front, and with a loud crack, whipped the dragon to move.

The carriage drove off, out of the property's gate and onto the cobbled streets. And soon enough, the Astrea estate was out of sight.

---

Author's note

Just as intended, after the last one was the longest chapters so far... this turned out to be even longer. The chapters will get shorter again. Surely.

It is majorly that, together with the difficulty of writing good dialogue, that it took longer than intended. Sorry for the delay.

A Satella-dialogue filled with "thank you"s to [LookingGlassInsect], the beta-reader of this chapter, fighting the good fight against grammarly and the many mistakes it tries to sell as improvements.

Chapter 10: Resolution of Vengeance

zard428: No, there are no plans for Ezzo to ever be mentioned.

OreosAreYummy: Some would call it sweet irony, though I'd say it's bitter. And thanks!

SentinalSlice: In canon, he did offer her to switch places, so it's not like he was too accepting of it either. And thanks!

Chris8719: Rom's past is indeed quite troublesome. Even in canon he wanted genocide, so it's not like there isn't plenty of reason to see him as enemy still. Though whether they'll believe him that this life is long in the past or not, who knows.

And it is hard to deny that there will be consequences, as shown with this chapter. Now just to hope that this will not spiral out of control.