Hunt's visit didn't last much longer, which was good because Hachiman couldn't quite forget the awkwardness of having the lady visit him so out of the blue. But on the other hand, she left quite early. Which was bad because Hachiman really didn't want to go see Campbell and Claes.

The trip wasn't long enough, though Hachiman suspected it was his mind still trying to convince him not to go. With a feeling strong enough to physically hurt Hachiman as he persisted. Hunt was right. To avoid confrontation would be the same as disregarding his responsibility, to choose the place and way, to acknowledge their feelings were beneath him. He saw it in this world all too often, or heard about it. Nobles and their children would wait until the other party apologized even if they were in the wrong, sometimes for generations, only because their status allowed them to get away with it.

Hachiman wasn't like that. He came from another world, after all. To give in on this world's logic would be… Not bad, but it didn't sit well with Hachiman. Somewhere in between years of being acknowledged as Nicol Ascart, a part of him kept on resisting. To take advantage of his position would make him less Hachiman, it'd be like he gave his back to the boy that was disliked by all his peers. He would grow conceited, safe in the blanket of his new name.

The same that gave him direct ties to the dark mage Dan Ascart.

Hachiman schooled his features and got out of the carriage, the manor in full display before him. The workers recognized him immediately, and sooner than later a maid greeted and invited him in.

Pointless, since the only people inside were the adults. But he still gave his greeting to both.

Claes-sama was kind of awkward now, but still welcomed him with open arms. Cambell's mother reacted like he had shown her a strange animal. Scared, and unsure how to answer. It was a testament to her life as a commoner, as Claes-sama walked her through her answer and didn't seem too bothered by the blonde's faux pas. The patriarch was away, of course, but Hachiman still extended a wish of good fortune for the man.

He knew the man was working, researching, and just doing anything he could for Keith. All in vain, if Hachiman was being honest, but probably keeping the Ministry busy enough trying to obstruct him that Hachiman was able to walk around freely like that.

Probably, hopefully. It was, indeed, the second power of the country. So maybe Hachiman was underestimating its resources quite a bit. But one could hope, right?

"Ah…" Still, pleasantries could only buy him so much time. And eventually he was led to the garden hidden behind the manor proper.

He said 'hidden', but in reality it was simply the back garden. Except, these buildings were so big there was no way of seeing it unless he went all the way around the manor.

Claes and Campbell stood from their seats under a rather big umbrella. Hachiman knew the place, was used by the Claes' parents when they wanted to have some alone time to enjoy the view. It came to reason the two girls would use it, much more now that the Claes patriarch was rarely at home, but it was still quite awkward for Hachiman to face them while only being 'in' on their secret relationship implicitly.

"Am I interrupting something?" He couldn't help asking, knowing full well there was no way the girls would answer honestly.

"No, of course not!" Claes replied as expected "Nicol-sama, you're always welcome no matter the time or date! Come sit with us, Anne-san!"

The maid offered a hurried nod and went away with practiced speed, leaving the three teenagers alone. With the exception of the people stationed among the garden and close to the entrance, far away enough that they still had privacy while being under the care of the servants.

"It's fine, Claes." Hachiman screwed his eyes closed. If he thought about it for another moment, the words would get stuck and everything would be ruined "My reason I'm here, is to offer you both the apology you deserve. My actions… They put you in great danger, especially in Campbell's case."

He brought his arm to his chest, close to his heart, and lowered his head as closely to 90 degrees as he could manage. With years without offering a japanese apology, or any meaningful one at that, his body protested at the odd position he was straining it into.

He gritted his teeth, welcoming the odd sensation. It felt like a reminder, a reminder to who he was. Where he came from.

"I… I am deeply sorry." Hachiman finished, the words he had cooked up on the way suddenly having vanished from his mind. It was quite awkward, but it was better than letting the words just not come out at all.

His ears buzzed from how loud the silence felt.

"...Please raise your head, Nicol-sama." He followed Campbell's instruction, taking notice of the low tone her voice had taken. Not a good sign, but he already knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"I… Thank you for worrying about me, Nicol-sama." Campbell looked away, speaking in as much a controlled way as she could "If I'm honest, seeing both Alan-sama and Gerald-sama… Like… That… It was very scary. I didn't know what to do at first."

Hachiman nodded. Anyone could understand this much. It had been cruel of him to leave Campbell to fend for herself, much more with people as high ranked as Alan and Stuart.

"But you know something?" Campbell turned her eyes to his, a bit of fire noticeable in them as her voice got a stronger tone "I trusted them, and they trusted me. Or Alan-sama did, rather. Something neither Nicol-sama nor Gerald-sama seemed to be willing to do."

Claes gasped, freezing in place as if unsure if she should be there or not. Hachiman almost expected her to back Campbell up, but it seemed this wasn't something they had discussed prior to his arrival.

Somehow that tasted really bitter. Surely, Campbell would have shared such insecurities? It couldn't have been personal enough to warrant…

"Do you remember, Nicol-sama? Even after your personality was fixed… You still didn't want me to heal you." He hadn't opposed the idea that strongly, but he did remember the wariness. The uneasiness that the dark magic planted in his mind "Alan-sama was willing to believe me. Even though he was as strongly affected as any of you… He still believed in me enough to let me heal him."

Hachiman opened his mouth, tried to get a word in. Campbell shook her head in such a way it seemed like she waved his voice away.

"But not only that, I had no idea what was happening. I… I was alone with three brainwashed friends, and the rest of them on my back." Her expression contorted, pain flowing out like her defenses had melted and it was unraveled for everyone to see. She seeked Claes' hand, probably didn't even realize it when she gave it a good squeeze before continuing.

"Yes, what you two did was completely insane. But you know what? I'd have helped out if I just knew. I… Even a head's up would have been nice, y'know? It was one of the main things we learned back while waiting for Keith-sama, Nicol-sama. Do you remember? Communication is everything. In such a situation… Didn't we become close enough to not immediately judge the other's ideas without hearing them out?"

She took a lungful of air, and another one after the first. As if she was filtering her emotions, or perhaps holding them in so they wouldn't flood out. Hachiman could have taken the opportunity to say something, to excuse himself in some way. He didn't.

"Nicol-sama, I was really scared." Campbell whispered, her voice breaking too much to speak any louder.

"Do you remember the last time we saw each other? Before going to Katarina-sama's home? You were dying in my arms, Nicol-sama. The one thing I can do is heal, and I had no way of knowing how to do that for you or Gerald-sama. Maybe it's my fault, I should've known you were reckless enough to do things on your own again. But I am a poor girl, Nicol-sama. I can't buy a carriage, or a horse, nor can I fly like Nicol-sama does. I was completely in the dark and when I figured out what was happening… I wasn't in a position to do anything."

Campbell stared straight at him, eyes red and only half-way open through the wetness. He wasn't sure she could see him at all.

"I… Thank you for your kind words. But… I just want to know: Why?"

Maybe it would've been better if she just hit him.

He did remember. Waking up in his bed, his mother hurried to his side as she cried tears of joy for his recovery. He remembered Sophia hadn't left his side the whole day, and the whole manor treated him basically as an disabled child for about a week.

He hadn't seen his father through that time, and maybe he should have suspected, but the truth was that there was a really big part of him that just… Didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think how close he had come to dying that time, and so he allowed himself to be spoiled by the family.

Then, the third prince had arrived. In as much as a breath, he explained what he found. The botched records and unfinished tales of dark powers that somehow weren't found anywhere in official records, but strange cases were indeed written down and hand waved as mundane things people just… Dealt with, apparently.

Hachiman knew he should have stopped to think, but Gerald Stuart had carried him back to safety. He was the one that saved Hachiman's life, alongside Campbell who he couldn't see because she had gone back to her town. Perhaps he hadn't wanted to distrust one of his saviors, but in doing so he forgot everything else and created an even bigger mess.

"I'm sorry…" He wanted to say he hadn't been able to contact her. No method that could ensure the information arrived in time, and that no one could get in the way.

That wasn't the truth, and they both knew it. The truth was that, in the end, Hachiman hadn't thought of Campbell as an ally at all.

"So that's how it is…" She smiled bitterly…

And was dragged along as Claes rushed to Hachiman's side and got them both into a hug.

"Huh?!"

"Claes…?" Hachiman couldn't breath, but that wasn't the main problem. He could tell the girl was trembling through her arm and body. He felt wet somewhere close to his nape, and instinct had him stop struggling and try to turn around to have her face him "Claes!"

"Please stop." She mumbled. Her voice felt distant, as if she wasn't wholly with them "Don't fight anymore. This is my fault. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Katarina-sama…?" Campbell sounded every bit as worried as Hachiman was, but she couldn't move any more than he could "What… What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

She all but pushed them away, her gorilla strength getting Hachiman a good couple of meters away and Campbell a bit farther. The lady was shaking, fists balled and tears running as though they were small waterfalls, her usual cheerful self nowhere to be seen.

She lifted her face, a brave grin peeking through the pain as she struggled to keep her breathing even.

"I can't deal with this. I don't want to deal with this. After everything that has happened… I can't have my friends fight because of something I did."

What… What was she talking about? There was no way any of this was Claes' fault. That was completely, utterly illogical. It sounded so wrong Hachiman wanted to get angry. What utter nonsense was she…?

"It's all because of me. Because I was careless, because I'm too dumb to stop and think. Because of me, Keith is locked behind bars, Gerald-sama is brainwashed, and Nicol-sama almost died in front of us… I knew Sirius-kaichou was a dark mage, but I just couldn't bother remembering. I knew the plot went that way, but I was too focused on avoiding my own flags to see everyone else's…"

Hachiman's heart sank. There was something incredibly wrong with hearing Claes speak like this. To speak like she usually did with Sophia, when they were reading romance… Novels…

"Katarina…Sama?"

Claes chuckled, cleaning her face with a gloved hand and breathing a bit more evenly. The seconds ticked, yet Hachiman had never felt time stop like it had just now.

"I'm sorry, Maria-chan, Nicol-sama. Because of me you two… No, this can't go on. I've relied on you two for far too long. I should have known it'd come to this eventually, as I am supposed to be the villainess." Claes took a lungful of air, preparing herself to say something completely outrageous "I have memories from another world, one where this one was nothing but a romance game with Maria-chan as the protagonist. I knew things would go wrong yet did nothing… Please punish this villainous lady."