Hello everyone, and welcome to the long-overdue second chapter of The Mind Forgets But The Heart Doesn't.
I don't have much to say in the way of opening remarks, other than I would like to sincerely apologize, for taking so long to get a second chapter of this story actually out.
This was mostly because I came down with a very bad sickness over Christmas and the early part of the year, and the fact that I didn't quite know exactly where I wanted to take the story going forward. Considering that when I wrote the first chapter I didn't really have much of an overarching plan.
But thankfully with the help of a friend, I have a much clearer vision of where exactly I want to take this story going forward. This same friend who goes by the name CheeseIsKey3 over on archive of our own. Is responsible for this chapter not being absolutely dog crap in terms of grammar and sentence like the first chapter was, I really owe it to him for helping me execute this chapter in the way that I wanted to.
Anyway with all of that rambling aside, here is the second chapter of The Mind Forgets But The Heart Doesn't.
"Natsuki Subaru... precisely, who is that exactly?"
The question was an interesting one for sure, one that even before all of this Subaru wouldn't have been able to answer even if he tried. But now whether there was an actual answer to a question like that it, like much of everything else, didn't really matter to Subaru anymore.
But even if Subaru didn't care or have an answer to the question posed to him, he did take a fraction of interest in the fact that today was different from all of the others. Instead of his two usual torturers, or even the guards coming to his cell, instead somebody ultimately brand new had decided to appear. Somebody that Subaru had once considered a close friend, who eventually became someone he despised with every fibre of his being.
Reinhard van Astrea standing in the doorway to Subaru's cell was certainly a sight to behold, as everything about his appearance, from his hair to his face looked completely and utterly perfect. In fact, Subaru couldn't help but think that it was almost as if God himself had decided to sculpt a perfect human being, taking care that his new creation had no blemishes or imperfections of any kind.
And of course, that was not to mention Reinhard's strength, who was on a completely different level from anyone else that Subaru had ever met. Even somebody like Roswaal, who could easily destroy an entire city with a single swipe of his hand, paled in comparison to the destructive potential that Reinhardt could unleash. And that was without using the Dragon Sword Reid, a weapon used by his ancestor Reid Astrea, which when combined with his insane power, made Reinhardt this world's equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
Yet even though Subaru once envied Reinhard's overwhelming power, now it didn't really matter. Subaru just couldn't bring himself to care about anything anymore. Everything from having his bones broken and nerves fried to the simple sensation of water dripping on his skin was muted and numb to him now, sure he could still feel everything but it was as if Subaru just couldn't simply process the feelings anymore.
"I will repeat it again. Just who are you, 'Natsuki Subaru'?" Reinhard's voice was calm much like it always was. Yet the sword Saint's eyes betrayed just how he truly felt. The look of loss, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity was one that Subaru was familiar with after all. Considering that for the longest time, his own eyes have had that same look in them while he was being relentlessly tortured. Yet it seemed that Reinhard wasn't finished ,as after a moment of silence, he continued to speak. "They accused you of being a witch cultist. A sin Archbishop no less... Yet even with all of the torture you've been through, you've never confessed... So I must ask... no. I need to know, who are you exactly!?" Reinhardt said almost pleadingly.
Subaru did not speak or respond, but it wasn't because he couldn't, even though his vocal cords had been one of the few parts of his body spared from torture, and were a little dry from underuse. Subaru, as far as he knew, was still capable of speaking, yet there was just no point to anymore. After all, why would Reinhard give him the opportunity to speak now, when nobody had ever listened to him before.
"-" Subaru's dark hollow brown eyes lock directly onto Reinhard's azure gaze, Subaru could see every single one of Reinhard's emotions behind his eyes, everything from uncertainty, frustration, and sadness. Reinhard on the other hand saw absolutely nothing in Subaru's eyes. And as the two stared at each other for what felt like forever, the only sound that echoed off the stony walls was the occasional but steady drip of water from somewhere in the ceiling. Reinhard's patience and nerve began to grow thin.
Reinhard, seeing how the supposed Archbishop was completely distracted and off in his own world, stepped closer towards the young man, gently but firmly lifting him by the rags wrapped around his emaciated body. The heavy metal chains wrapped around Subaru's wrists clinking together as he was lifted up to eye level with the sword saint.
"Who are you?" Reinhard's eyes scorched a fiery blue as he could feel the frustration beginning to build up in his very soul, as well as all of the other negative emotions precariously stacking together like bricks, with only one move required to bring it all crashing down. However, as Reinhardt stood continuing to hold the sickly boy in his sword Saint noticed the ever-slight tremble of his gloves.
"-" The dead eyes that hid behind the black locks of hair that covered Subaru's face stared blankly ahead. His mouth remained closed.
Reinhard couldn't stop his teeth from grinding together as his hands shook with frustration even more. He came here looking for information, yet he was unable to get a single syllable out of the supposed archbishop's mouth? And the longer all of this dragged out, the more that the victims of the cult would suffer. Yet Reinhard proved himself to be useless again, even with all of his divine protections, he was unable to get any kind of information. and if he couldn't get anything out of the Archbishop to try and aid victims, then was he any better than the filth in front of him.
Reinhard shut his eyes as in a moment of frustration he dropped Subaru back onto the stone floor. The weak boy hitting the rock floor with an audible thump as the chains raffle and bounce around him. And after a moment of laying there, Subaru managed after a great effort to push himself back up again, until his back was leaning against the wall in the exact same position Reinhard had found him.
After opening his eyes Reinhard studied the boy in front of him, looking for any sign of him being a human being with emotions. His greasy dark and unkempt hair that covered his head, had small dark gray streaks and light white strands ran throughout his locks. His face never changed and remained unmoving, apart from his empty and hollow eyes that stared back at Reinhardt.
The tattered and torn rags that he wore gave him absolutely no protection from the cold of the cell. The gaping holes in the black cloth allowing Reinhard to see Subaru's rib cage protruding from his sunken and scrawny body, the majority of his pale skin was discoloured, his entire body littered with scars, bruises and lacerations of different sizes, some coloured crimson as a slow trickle of blood flowed from them. In a few places pinks and greens could be seen on the wounds left untreated obviously beginning to fester, the loose skin and muscle in the beginning stages of rot from infection.
The overwhelming stench was just as horrible as the sight. The concoction of blood, sweat, rot, waste, and the musty smell of the cell in general assaulted Reinhardt's eyes and nose, somehow managing to bypass his divine protections as he tried to breathe out of his mouth to lessen the torture on his sense of smell. But there was nothing that could be done for the consistent burning in his eyes that was a result of the stench, the scent of near-death, rotten, disease being so powerful that it caused tears to well up in the corners of his eyes.
It was truly an awful sight. Just how had this archbishop been able to stand these conditions for months and had yet to give up any of his secrets. It was sickening.
Reinhard furrowed his brow, continuing to study the boy all the while the trembling in His Hands had increased as a feeling of dread slowly crept into his mind. The oppressive feeling quickly grew stronger the longer he stared at the boy in front of him, it felt like a weight dragging him down into the deepest darkest abyss, threatening to crush him into nothingness.
He needed to get out of there.
"Tch!" Reinhard clicked his tongue as he stepped out of the cell and into the dark corridor beyond it, the sounds of his boots tapping against the stone floor echoing throughout the halls as he made strides towards the exit.
Drip. Drip.
Feeling liquid splash his uniform, he looked down to see a steady stream of water dripping down his chin, the red streaks down his cheeks led up to the source of this annoyance. He wiped at his eyes as he quickened his pace.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Is this the right decision I wonder..."
Crusch finished signing the papers in front of her, the question bouncing around inside her mind like it always did. After all, it was the question that defined her existence over the last year and a half. Even though she remembered nothing about herself, the image of Crusch Karsten was one she could see clearly in her mind. Yet that was precisely the problem, the image was there yet Crusch didn't know how to live up to it, how could she be the person that everyone wanted her to be, when she had no memories of being this person.
It was frustrating. And, unlike most problems, this one did not appear to have a solution. Countless hours had been spent at her desk thinking of how to get her memories back, every small movement bringing discomfort and pain as the dragons(?) blood seeped through her veins.
However, there was one lead that she could exploit.
The Archbishop.
It was somewhat of an open secret amongst the Royal candidates and their respective camps that the Royal knights had an Archbishop of the Witch's cult in their custody. And although Crusch was not one to believe such rumors without substantial evidence, it was hard to deny that the reason for her knight's absence was something unrelated to the Cultist.
Her knight, Felix Argyle, was the wielder of the greatest healing power in all of Lugunica having the title of Blue as a result. And with all of his time for the last couple of months being devoted to attending "knight meetings" at the Royal Capital which just so happened to be rumored to hold the Archbishop in its cells, well, it didn't take a great amount of genius to figure out exactly what her knight might be up to down and the darkest parts of the Royal Palace's dungeons.
Crusch wanted to believe in the goodwill of her knight, that his actions were born out of selflessness to help all of those affected by the witch cult, but despite wanting to believe it, that didn't overshadow her doubts. Despite not knowing him for as long as she apparently had, Felix was the kind of person that would do anything if it meant helping others. Anything. And counting the days when he would spend more and more time at these so-called meetings, simply caused a bad feeling to begin to form in her gut.
She harbored rage and resentment to this Archbishop, of course. The bastard had taken everything from her and others. The countless people that still slumbered in an unending coma inside of Priestella was a grim reminder of just how cruel and merciless the Cult truly was. But whenever Felix would return from his trips, frustration and guilt plastered on his face, as well as the stench of blood and decay lingering around him made her worried. Not only for him, but also if whatever he was doing was entirely justified in the first place.
Her brows furrowed as she continued pondering, her chin resting in her hands. What if they were wrong, and this Archbishop was not who they thought it was. It was a thought that for some reason had crossed her mind many times before, as if a small part of herself didn't truly believe that whoever was in those dungeons was actually a Archbishop. But that was only speculation at most. The greatest minds of the kingdom, even the Great Spirit Beatrice of the Emilia Camp, had convicted him and found that he was a Cultist, the amount of miasma coming off of him making the Great Spirit want to rip her nose off.
So it was surely a Cultist.
…Right?
Crusch pinched the bridge of her nose and, in a vain attempt to ignore the pain that such forth brought, managing after a small amount of effort to actually stand from her desk as she began to make her way out of her study. She needed to settle her racing thoughts, she needed to get rid of almost the sickening feeling that made itself at home in her chest whenever she thought about the Archbishop.
"Good evening, Lady Crusch." Hearing a deep and grizzly voice as she exited her study, Crusch turned and saw Wilhelm polishing one of the many vases that furnished the corridor they stood in, his features wrinkled as a small smile crossed his lips.
She smiled back at him, "Likewise, Wilhelm."
"I do hope that your studies have been proceeding well?" He questioned as Wilhelm gave the vase one last quick inspection, before putting it back in its usual spot,
Crusch's smile became strained as her eyes averted from his gaze. Her mind had and was currently more preoccupied with thoughts of the Archbishop and her knight rather than her studies and the numerous books stacked and scattered across her desk.
"I…have been falling a bit behind." She looked back at him and straightened her posture, trying to imitate the many paintings and portraits of family members she could no longer remember that were scattered all over the walls of the manor, "But, I will get back on track, you have my word."
Wilhelm's eyes widened a little bit before he eased and chuckled, "Lady Crusch, that determination of yours is quite admirable. It always shines through in times of need."
"Thank you, Wilhelm." Crusch's shoulders relaxed as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Wilhelm." She started, "Have you seen Felix anywhere?"
A mix of emotions flashed on the butler's face before it settled into a slight frown. "I am truly sorry to disappoint, Lady Crusch, however I have not sighted Sir Argyle for the past few days."
Crusch sighed. It appeared that today would not deviate from its usual path that the many days beforehand had followed.
"I see..." Crusch's face fell, the strange sickening feeling from before quickly returning, "If you will excuse me Wilhelm, I will leave you to your work"
The aged butler easily saw the discomfort that crossed her face at that moment even though she tried to hide it, "Lady Crusch... is there anything the matter?"
Crusch was about to take a step but stopped at Wilhelm's question, her brow furrowing as she tried to think of what exactly to say. Of course, she trusted Willhelm, often confiding in him about her insecurities. but despite wanting to tell him, for some reason she just wasn't comfortable/capable of telling him.
"I'm fine Wilhelm, I assure you" she flashed a small but slightly strained smile, "I just... N-need some fresh air is all."
The reserved and slightly concerned look on Wilhelm's face was enough to tell Crusch that the aged Butler was not entirely convinced by her words. But much to her silent thanks, Wilhelm decided to not push the issue, "Alright then... But remember lady Crusch, if there is anything that ever concerns you, I will gladly lend my ear."
Crusch gave a small reaffirming nod, as she turned on the spot and began to make her way to her original destination. Yet as she continued on her way, she could feel Wilhelm's concerned gaze lingering on her. But Crusch quickly pushed that aside as she slowly and painfully made her way down the large steps of her Manor. Intent on making her way to her personal garden, the only place that truly made Crusch feel at peace and somewhat like her former self.
. . . . . . . . . .
Crusch listened to the sounds of birds chirping as they darted through the garden, the wind carrying them through the dense green canopies of the towering trees, their color perfectly matching her green locks that flowed gently flowing behind her as she stepped down the cobblestone path. Sunlight peeked through the winding branches, painting the foliage around her in a golden glow, making their various hues of pinks and reds ever more vibrant.
The gentle clacks of her boots against the stone turned into crunches as she turned onto a smaller gravel path, leading her to a small clearing surrounded by beautiful flowers of all colors imaginable that sprinkled the vigorous grass, wafting pleasant scents through the air as she sat on a small bench in the center of the clearing.
The peace and tranquility of the garden made it feel like a world of its own, as if nothing laid beyond the walls of colorful flora that surrounded Crusch. There was something just so peaceful about it. She felt like this was where she belonged. The mansion was quickly forgotten as she closed her eyes and, for the first time in what seemed like years, relaxed. Her mind cleared as the pain that had been previously coursing through her veins abated.
The sun shining through the opening above her, warmed her soul while the cool breeze cleared her face of green locks as they danced in the wind. The scent of flowers and roses only grew clearer as all of the stress and worry quickly left her mind, the embodiment of peace filling her being. She felt it impossible to even think about moving from this paradise.
However, the bird's gentle calling and songs turned to more short, quick, and frantic chirps of warning as they flocked above her in distress, as they quickly flew away from any potential danger of what had disturbed them. The insects of the garden grew quiet, while the bright rays of light that had previously been carpeting the garden in a golden hue quickly faded as looming clouds choked it away as the entire sky quickly was covered by ominous-looking clowns while the air around Crusch grew still.
The silence was deafening as Crusch stood from the bench, long-forgotten muscle memory, quickly putting her into a battle stance, her fingers searching for the hilt of a blade, but finding only thin air. As the garden grew eerily silent still as her amber eyes darted around her, searching…
And then she heard it.
A faint and distant rumbling had made its presence known in her ears, growing ever louder as the source drew nearer. The heavy and rough sound invading and shattering the former peace of the garden as the echoes replaced the eerie silence. Crusch had heard this sound many times before, yet as she was now, at this spot, it quickly became a sound she hated with a fiery passion. For it having the audacity to spoil and shatter the peace and tranquility of her garden.
A carriage.
Crusch sighed. She was going to have to abandon the peace of the garden and go pretend to be someone that she couldn't remember, all to appease some random lord or sages. Her molars ground together as she gritted her teeth to vent her frustration. The amount of visitors recently had only been on the rise, and every time she would watch their disappointed faces as they looked at her clearly expecting someone else that looked like her to be in her place.
With a painful step, she began to make her way back to the manor. The garden now seeming lifeless and devoid of peace, the gray of the gravel and stone matching the sky, as well as her mood.
Entering the courtyard of the manor, Crusch saw a carriage parked in front of the Manor, it's entire exterior adorned with extravagant and expensive-looking engravings and decorations. A couple of knights clad in expensive but mostly ceremonial looking armour disembark from their seats at the front of the carriage and quickly move to the side to open the door for the occupants inside.
Moving closer with a slight limp, Crusch was able to discern the sole occupant that was now climbing out of the carriage, wearing a wrinkled and slightly dishevelled royal knights uniform with hastily straightened but still messy chocolate brown hair falling down onto his shoulders supporting a set of cat ears, it was-
"Felix!" Crusch quickened her pace, now completely ignoring the pain in her body, as she approached her knight, managing to catch herself as she almost tripped over her feet.
Felix's ears perked in surprise, his eyes holding a look of hopefulness as he turned to the caller of his name, only for his gaze to dim once he saw the owner of the voice limping in pain towards him.
"Lady Crusch…" His ears flattened as she strode up to him, doubling over for a moment as a wet and ragged cough rocked her entire body.
"Felix, where have you been?" She questioned as she managed to finally catch her breath, noticing her knight's dejected and saddened expression as she continued, "What's wrong?".
"N-nothing Crusch, I just had some meetings to attend with the knights…" He stammered as he averted his tired-looking dark gold eyes, noticeably fidgeting on the spot, as if he was desperate to be anywhere else but here right now.
Crusch's amber irises narrowed as she examined her knight. His messy and unkempt hair, that had obviously been hastily straightened in an attempt to look presentable. The greyish blue bags that hung below his bloodshot eyes, the knight uniform that he wore was wrinkled, scratched in places, and combined with the small stains, dirt, and general grime made his overall appearance very unkempt.
And the winds of untruth cascading around him as if he was the centre of a violent maelstrom.
"Felix, would you like to rest? We can have some tea prepare-"
"No, I'm alright…I have some more business to attend to if you will excuse me." Felix grabbed a large blue nondescript-looking book and stepped by Crusch, ignoring her attempts of hospitality.
Crusch's brows furrowed as she watched the dishevelled looking knight slowly stumble his way towards the mansion doors, his steps being uncoordinated, which caused him to trip on one of the many protruding cobblestones. She reached out her hand and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn't need her divine protection to know that something was very, very wrong.
BAM! Felix collapsed to the ground, his tired form not even trying to break his fall, ultimately leaving him sprawled out on the stone alongside the book he had been carrying that had now clattered away, all of its pages as well as what look to be notes, scattered across the floor.
"Felix!" Crusch ignored the burning in her veins and ran over to her knight as he sluggishly began to push himself up, rubbing a small new cut on his chin with his gloved hand, a small red stain being left behind as his glove left his chin. "Are you alright?" She knelt by him and helped him stand up.
"Yes…I'm alright, thank you." Felix mumbled as he accepted her hand and was helped to his feet. But, then a smile crossed his lips as he rubbed his thumb over the scrape, his eyes gaining colour as he plunged into thought.
"..." Crusch eyed the emotions flashing on his face, from hope to happiness, then to sadness and despair, and then determination. It was beyond concerning at this point, bordering the line of being quite frightening as she watched his smile grow bigger and almost somewhat darker as droplets of blood formed on the scrape that he had opened, gathering under his chin. Before dropping onto his white uniform and staining it even more.
Looking at his face only now did she truly sense it. The darkness that seemed to enshroud her knight, the stench of blood and death, the demented gleam in his eye as he eyed the book, and finally the absolutely demented look that adorns his face.
Her eyes shifted down to the pant leg of his uniform, and the splotch of faded but still noticeable crimson that was nestled in the fabric, even though his recent injury had been nowhere near his leg.
"Fe…" Crusch stammered as her eyes were glued to the blood on Felix's clothing as he clambered over and hurriedly picked up the book that he had dropped, grabbing and forcefully stuffing the pages that they scattered around him into its library of worn parchment.
She shifted her gaze down when she noticed a piece of paper directly at her feet and somewhat in a daze she picked it up, her eyes widened in horror at its contents, her pupils dilating to mere pinpoints as they shook along with her hands.
A well drawn diagram of the exact anatomy of the human body was present on the page, all of the correct organs and the anatomical features drawn in ink were in their proper place. However, at the top of the page lay the words 'Human anatomy' furiously and angrily scribbled out in pen and the word 'Cultist' replaced the former label. Following suit, many areas of the diagram were hastily scratched off by pen, some of the scribbles being so harsh that the paper had torn and ripped from the force applied to it.
The right arm was entirely crossed out, all that remained was a messy black sprawl. Multiple straight lines were scratched across the diagram's chest and abdomen each line having a little x present next to it, followed by the complete removal of the bowels, as they were now a hole through the page, displaying the stone path below Crusch.
The legs were barely even visible beyond the frantic scores of ink across them. While the neck had a single aggressive slash through its center, with the word 'Soon' next to it. What made the image even more haunting was the juxtaposition of a neatly written list of all of the different body parts and organs on the side of the page, most of them having a little black line running through them with an X next to them.
And worst of all was the leftmost corner of the page, completely cloaked in a dark crimson splatter, that despite not being wet the splotch was obviously a recent addition to the tattered diagram.
"Felix…" Crusch's eyes tore themselves off the paper to find the knight finishing putting one of the last pages in the book he cradled carefully, only for him to turn to her and completely freeze as he saw what exactly she was holding in her hands.
"U-um, Crusch, i-it's not what you think!" He frantically waved his hands as he moved towards her and making an attempt to rip the page from her hands, only for her to move her hand away, and take a step backwards.
"Felix."
"P-please give that back, I need it!" He took another step towards her, his face etched with fear that only grew as she continued stepping backwards, away from him.
"Felix."
"Crusch, please!" He manically lunged at the page she held in her hands, "I NEED IT!"
Felix's momentum came to a halt as he felt something strike his shoulder, bringing a crushing pain as its grip tightened. He turned to see Crusch's shaking hand holding him family and place.
"...c-Crusc-"
"FELIX!" He snapped his mouth shut as his name thundered into the air, his lady's amber eyes now wide with fury and discussed as they bore holes into his very soul. His ears folded downwards as he whimpered, instinctively trying to back away, yet being unable to do so he was held in place. being forced to endure Crusch's sheer wrath that was being entirely focused down on him.
"What have you done!?" She roared, undeterred by the tears now slipping down Felix's cheeks as he trembled underneath her gaze. No longer was any apprehension or nervousness holding her back as she narrowed her eyes at him, the discussed and anger that she felt displayed on her furious face.
"m-My lady…please understand…I didn't mean to-"
"SILENCE!"
Her voice echoed across the courtyard, cutting through the air like a sword honed to its sharpest point, all of the other knights present stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the altercation. But Crusch didn't care if the Divine dragon himself was present, all she could think about was the disgusting and abhorrent acts that Felix had almost definitely been committing.
"Y-you don't understand…"
The words were barely above a whisper, in fact she wasn't so laser focused on Felix in front of her, she would have thought it was the wind.
"I've done so much... E-everything I've done is to try and help y-you, and..." Felix stumbled over his words at first, before his anger reached a boiling point. "A-and this is h-how you thank ME!?"
She was caught completely off guard by Felix's sudden outburst, instinctively recoiling slightly as she saw the whole emotional spectrum run across his face, the strongest being the absolute betrayal etched into his features, that if Crusch was in any other situation she would have found heartbreaking. But considering the nature of what he had been doing, any feelings of sympathy for him died before they could even register her mind.
"Everything was for me? I didn't ask you to do anything for me, Felix!" She tried but failed to keep her anger in check, fury flowing through her veins with such intensity that it completely overpowered the Dragon blood that it intermingled with. "AND, I certainly did not ask you to do these horrendous acts in that cursed dungeon!"
Crusch watched as a dejected look crossed Felix's face, his anger seemingly tempered for just a moment by her harsh but true words. "Of course you didn't... after all you're not her, you're not the lady Crusch that I knew!" Felix lowered his head, tears beginning to brim at the edges of his dark brown eyes.
Silence.
There was nothing but a lingering oppressive silence that hung suspended in the air between the two. Crusch couldn't find the words to respond, her mouth hanging open slightly, not quite believing what she just heard from her knight, while Felix stood there unable to look her in the eyes as he began to sob, warm tears slipping down his downturned cheeks.
"...How dare you…"
Felix recoiled as if he had been physically struck, his head snapping upwards as he looked into his lady's golden amber eyes. Yet, he quickly averted his gaze when he noticed that they held a look of hurt and pain, which was only made even worse by the tears that were freely flowing from them.
"..! W-Wait! N-N-no! I D-didn't mean it l-like that!" Felix waved his hands in front of him, trying to , but ultimately failing to do so as Crusch took an aggressive step forward. "C-Crusch! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"
Crusch's fist clenched harder with every word, her rage now spilling out of her eyes.
"p-Please, I'm s-sorry! I didn't m-mea-" A sharp pain in his cheek sent Felix to stumbling backwards onto the ground. Raising a hand to his face and caressing his cheek, he gazed back up, his eyes wide in disbelief.
In front of him, Crusch's fist slowly retracted from its swing, reflexively opening and closing to let off the pain in her knuckles. Her face morphed into a look of shock before it hardened again. "And you don't remind me of the Felix I once knew either, the feeling is mutual."
"Get out of my sight, Felix "
"B-but, lady Crusc-"
Feeling a firm grip on his side, Felix turned his grief stricken face to his side, where he sees a gloved hand clasped firmly on his shoulder. Looking up, he gazes up at the familiar wrinkled face of an old butler.
"It is best if you get going, Sir Argyle." Wilhelm's deep and gravelly voice ordered, turning his gaze upwards to see his lady ferociously wiping her eyes with her sleeve, his expression hardened as well as his grip on Felix.
The sound of two footsteps grew distant as Crusch gazed up to the sky, her vision remaining slightly blurred. The feeling of betrayal somehow grew even worse, when she noticed that throughout all of this Felix had never let go of the book, clutching it tight to his body as if it was his last lifeline.
The great wooden doors of the manor creaked open as Wilhelm opened them for the dishevelled and downcast Felix, who dragged his feet as he hung his head low. Without giving any acknowledgement to Wilhelm's presence, he continued to trudge to his room, his knuckles grew white from how hard he clutched the book.
Following behind him a minute later, the green-haired duchess approached the entrance as well.
"Lady Crusch, if I may be so bold to-" Wilhelm didn't finish, as the greenhead duchess limped past him without a word, simply handing him a piece of dishevelled-looking paper, which the butler took a moment to observe.
Crusch stopped her advance and took a moment to catch her breath and to look back at Wilhelm, who continued to observe the piece of stained and dishevelled paper in his hand. His eyes narrowed as his aged and wrinkled face hardened into a reserved but enraged and disgusted look.
"Wilhelm, clear my schedule and order a carriage to the Royal Palace. I'm going to pay this Archbishop an overdue visit."
That's a wrap. Well that was certainly an interesting chapter wasn't it. I can already tell that certain choices I made in this chapter are probably not going to go over well with certain groups of people on this website.
But I'm not overly fussed about that considering that this is my story. Anyway, if you liked the story, give it a favorite and a follow and if you enjoyed it maybe you can give it a review, and if you didn't enjoy what I wrote in this chapter, why not give me a review anyway and tell me what you think. Because I'm always open to criticism even if it's negative.
(PS if you get unreasonably angry at this story for some reason and need to write an overly vitriolic and aggressive comment, just know that that kind of shit makes me laugh so I welcome them with open arms)