Watching Arc 4 in The Theater of Despair

by Ostap Bender99

This fanfic is a prequel to the work "The Secret" by Continuer123. The cast is still trapped in an enchanted theater by the enigmatic "Warden". And now they are about to see the trials of Natsuki Subaru that took place in Sanctuary. P.S. - this work is a translation of the finished fanfic.

3. Episode 2

The screen showed a morning panorama of the Karsten mansion. In the center of the courtyard, a caravan of dragon carriages was preparing to depart.

"Emilia-sama and Natsuki Subaru-sama, I would gladly host you two at my home for as long as you need." The duchess addressed her guests.

"We appreciate that, but we do want to get the villagers back home." Emilia replied.

"We'll come back after we take them all home and talk to her sponsor, Roswaal." Natsuki concluded.

"Very well. When you do, I hope I can finally repay my great debt to you."

"Come on, it's not worth it. You helped us, and we helped you. Yes, and I got my reward, didn't I, Patrasche?" The pleased young man decided to stroke his earth dragon.

Patrasche responded by lovingly rubbing her head against his cheek.

"Everyone is wondering who will win the cap'ns heart, but in fact the best girl has already taken it and built a nest dere!" Garfiel said cheerfully.

Numerous laughs in the audience supported this statement. All the members of the half-elf's camp knew well how strong the relationship between the earth dragon and her rider was.

Even Rem and Emilia were moved by this scene.

"I agree with you, brother. Patrasche said more than once that Natsuki-san had already chosen her and due to that she does not even consider others as competitors. Therefore, she is absolutely calm and content." The young merchant decided to add fuel to the fire with feigned seriousness in his tone.

This time there were exactly two fewer laughs. Emilia suddenly wondered if the feelings of an earth dragon are compatible with the feelings of humans. And Rem frowned, realizing that she was right in her hunch when she considered Patrasche a rival at the first meeting.

'I'm not giving up Subaru-kun to you!' She thought defiantly.

"Ow-ow-ow!" The young man jumped back, holding his cheek.

"Are you all right, Subaru?" The half-elf asked with worry in her voice.

"Those scales hurt more than I expected! Now I know how a daikon radish feels when it's being grated!"

In response, he received only giggles from two beautiful ladies.

"Subaru-kyun, I've secured Rem-chan. Be sure to keep her still!" Felix said, leaning out of the window of a rich stagecoach with the emblem of the house of Karsten.

"Okay."

"You'll need your rest when you get back to the mansion, too."

"Me?"

"You've been working your gate overtime since you were going up against Sloth. I did clean up all the toxins in your gate, but you need to let it rest for two months." the healer advised him.

"Two months, huh? Well, surely all this crazy stuff can't keep happening for that long…"Subaru said thoughtfully and then immediately looked horrified. "Wait, did I just set a flag?!"

"That's exactly what you just did!" Otto said desperately. "Honestly, after all he's been through, one could expect him to be more careful with what he says. He's just a walking magnet for trouble!"

"Let me guess. He just threw my instructions out the wyindow, nya." Felix said skeptically, propping his chin with his fist.

"Yeah… well… 'm afraid t'was my bad." Garf scratched his head guiltily, looking at the doctor in embarrassment. "The cap'n and I didn't really see eye to eye at first, so… as a customary way of cool guys, we decided to talk with our fists. And when I cornered the cap'n, he hit me with his shadow magic."

"One useless idiot crippled himself trying to prove his point to another useless idiot. By the dragon, you're worthy of each other." Ram commented with trademark humiliation.

"Hey! After tha' fight, the cap'n and my amazin' self became real bros! Don't ya dare belittle the importance of that moment!"

"Oh, please, how can I possibly offend the feelings of the worms creeping around my shoes?"

"Ram wants to say that she was quite jubilant when you became close friends with Subaru!" Emilia decided to play the role of translator.

Ram expressed her gratitude to the lady with a haughty chuckle and turned her head to the side.

"All right, it's time for you to get going. Go on, Crusch-sama. Give them a few parting words!" Felix added cheerfully.

"Emilia-sama, I wish you good health. I look forward to seeing you again very soon." Crusch extended her hand to the half-elf. Which she accepted with some doubt.

"Please don't think that I didn't trust you, Crusch-sama!" Emilia reacted worriedly. "It's just that almost no one ever has offered me a hand before, and I was a little confused by such a friendly gesture!"

"You're worrying for nothing, Emilia-sama. I understand your feelings. I can only hope that such gestures have become much more familiar to you since then."

"Yes. Yes, they did. And it's all thanks to the efforts of my knight." She gently stroked the hand of the sleeping youth.

"You, too, Crusch-san. Please be well. Next time, I won't just be the one who always needs saving. I'll become someone who can help others."

Satisfied with her answer, Crusch turned to the young man.

"Natsuki Subaru-sama, I wish you all the best in the future, too." Natsuki looked confusedly at the outstretched palm and timidly slapped it with his own.

"Why didn't he just shake her hand?" Tivey was puzzled by this boy's reaction.

"Maybe that's how they say goodbye in his world?" Mimi suggested.

"Knowing his habit of blaming himself for everything, he might have thought that he had no right to accept my hand after what had happened. Fool…" Crusch commented, looking sympathetically at Subaru and gently ruffling his hair. The feeling was pleasant.

'It doesn't matter.' She thought to herself.

They will have more than one opportunity to shake hands in the future. And if her plan comes to fruition, then it won't be limited to handshakes. The girl felt a blush appear on her cheeks and concentrated her gaze on the screen.

Otto took the reins and the caravan started moving. Crusch, Wilhelm, and all the members of her camp present escorted the wagons with respectful bows. Lady Crusch looked confidently ahead and said:

"I know we will meet again."

The scene changed to the interior of the stagecoach. Subaru pulled the curtain to keep the sun out of Rem's face and sat down right next to Emilia.

"Right, then…"

Emilia was pretty surprised by this.

"You know, Subaru, you always sit beside me as if it's the obvious choice."

"Oh, is there something weird about that?" Natsuki didn't understand her.

"And still Barusu does not have even a trace of manners! He sits down so frivolously close to his mistress, a royal candidate to boot, as if she was his girlfriend. I would be a naive fool if I expected him to understand his place as a butler, but I expected more sense of decorum from you, Emilia-sama."

"Well, I don't remember how I felt at that moment. Most likely, I was worried about his state of mind and therefore did not pay attention to such trivial things." Emilia replied matter-of-factly, ignoring all the criticism.

"It's not a trivial thing at all, Emilia-sama! Even as a knight, I don't allow myself such familiarity with my lady!" The second most zealous disciple of rules and protocol in the kingdom indignantly remarked, clearly not intending to stop there:

"Etiquette is not just a set of formalities but an important part of the traditions on which our society stands!"

"I beg you, Julius, do not start your favorite lecture on etiquette and the code of a knight! We want to leave this place and return to our world in LESS than a year!" Felix pleaded jokingly.

He knew, like no one else, Julius's ability to meticulously and expressively recite every line from any book about the chivalric code by heart. But that wasn't the limit of his powers. Julius could also recite quotations and biographies of the authors of each of these lines. And that's what usually happened when the free time was limited. And if there was no hurry…

"Although I fully understand and agree with your plea, Ferris, I must remind you that Subaru now IS a full-fledged knight." Reinhard said. "And if this behavior becomes known to Captain Marcus…"

Hearing this, Julius and Felix unconsciously shuddered.

"My friends, I consider it our duty to make sure that Natsuki Subaru knows how a knight should behave! Otherwise…the possible consequences will be on our conscience."

Reinhard and Felix nodded in agreement.

"Maybe I don't mind if ya let yerself loose a little bit sometimes." The merchant princess grumbled to her knight.

"My lady… do you want me to… act like Natsuki?" Julius asked in shock.

"Dragon forbid, no! Ya'll lose yer status as the best knight then! And I'm a gal who deserves only the best!" Anastasia said playfully. "But the world won't fall apart if you allow yourself to relax a little from time to time."

"I… will do my best, my lady."

"No. I felt a little uncomfortable at first, but now it feels strange if you don't, so it's fine."

"My painstaking efforts have finally been rewarded!" Subaru declared triumphantly. "I'm so moved!"

"You're teasing me again. I know you're still worried about Rem." She looked at the sleeping girl. "There's no need for you to hide that. She's important to you, isn't she?"

"She is! Super important! As important to me as you are!"

"Subaru-kun…" Was all Rem managed to say after hearing these words.

Her heart was pounding like crazy, and her face became completely flushed. Her hero put her on a par with the girl he loved! Previously, she would have thought that now she can die happy after hearing such a thing. But the time spent in this enchanted place changed Rem's mindset. She realized that if she died, even while being happy, she would betray all the suffering Subaru had gone through for her sake. She won't let it happen again!

'You are a cruel man, Subaru—kun…' She thought happily, gently squeezing his palm. 'You make a girl feel so happy! And your words make me a terrible woman, because I do not want to give up such happiness. Although I realize that I don't deserve even a fraction of this joy. But now I desperately want to live on! To be with you! And to hear these words from you directly when you look into my eyes. Before I met you, my life was so much simpler. So please take responsibility for your actions, young man!'

Meanwhile the half-elf girl, who was sitting to the right of the sleeping hero, was busy with completely different thoughts. She was scared because of the difference in emotions she felt that day and now, seeing all the same things, but on the screen. Back then she was touched by the sincerity and arrogance of her dear friend who fought so hard for a girl whom she did not recognize at all. Over the past year, only occasionally did Emilia feel a pang of jealousy, watching him sit next to Rem for hours and look at her with indescribable tenderness.

Now, on the other hand, every hint Subaru gave that he cared about another girl caused a wave of fear inside her. The fear that he would forget about her, leave her behind. Yes, he said he loved her. And he's been repeating these words regularly for the past year. But she foolishly did not respond to his feelings. She just didn't understand what love was and how she should act.

And now, Emilia was haunted by a frightening thought. That the only reason he kept waiting for her answer was because her "opponent" was in a coma. There was no one who could come up to him, comfort him, give him the warmth of a loving woman. Rem wasn't with him. And now she was awake. And soon they will see each other again. And he will be overjoyed to see his blue-haired demon again.

And what will happen to her? Would he even look in her direction after that? A part of her mind kept saying that this was how it should be. That Rem had earned his love with her support, her faith in him, her courage and determination. With her sacrifices for him.

And what did she do for him? Priscilla was right. In the Sanctuary, she was nothing but a burden to him. To such an extent that he had to overcome pain to enter the forbidden tomb and yell at her to make her act. And after that, she was busy preparing for the royal elections for a whole year. To the point that she was completely blind to the pain that her knight felt every day.

But the other part of her mind didn't want to put up with the prospect of losing Subaru. She didn't care if she was unworthy! She didn't care that she was blind! He was HER knight! He said he loved her! He was the first one to say such words to her! And Emilia won't let him go! She won't give him away to anyone! On her knees she would beg him for forgiveness, if necessary. She will give him all the love she is capable of and even more. She saw her mistakes. And all she needed now was a chance to make things right.

"You're being very selfish. Are you aware of that?"

"Sure, I am. Frankly, I feel like such scum, I wish I could die. But it's the absolute truth."

"Subaru…" Emilia didn't know what to say.

They stared at each other. Their awkward conversation was interrupted by the sound of a window opening.

"Did you just say my name?" Otto asked them.

"No, I didn't!" Subaru reacted indignantly. "Wait, have you been there all this time?"

"Well, you just had to butt in and ruin everything, you, spineless huckster!" Felt exploded, seeing that the atmosphere of romance evaporated immediately. Several people (girls mostly) expressed their agreement with this statement.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that they had such a moment there?!" Otto began to justify himself.

"Have you tried to think that these two are clearly not indifferent to each other and they needed time for themselves? You're a bad merchant, Otto-kun!" Anastasia sneered, using her privilege as the senior in the hierarchy of merchants.

"Of course I've been here! Why do you think I decided to work with you?!"

"I'm just kidding. You want to negotiate with Roswaal in person. I haven't forgotten that."

"I'm begging you! My whole life is riding on this!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Time to say goodbye to you for now." Natsuki assured him, and took hold of the window.

"Wait…" Otto began, but his words were cut off by the closed window.

After looking at each other, Subaru and Emilia began to laugh.

"Why does he always do this to me?!" Otto shouted desperately, realizing that now he will have to endure all the jokes and bullying from his friend once more. And maybe even some that he didn't even know about.

"This is your punishment for ruining such a romantic moment between big bro and big sis!" Felt declared ruthlessly.

"Yeah! It's "ugh" to be like that!" Mimi supported her. Just out of girl solidarity.

"Otto-san! With such a terrible skill of reading the atmosphere, not only will you not become a successful merchant, but you will never find a girlfriend!" Petra said cold heartedly.

"Please, Perta-sama, at least you have mercy on me!"

"I'm sure you'll find a way to get her back."

Struck by her understanding, Natsuki could only say admiringly, "Emilia-tan…".

"Also, I think you and I are the same in the sense that we act for our own selfish reasons. I realize that I'm participating in the royal selection for selfish reasons, too."

"Selfish?"

"I'm sorry… I can't explain it very well. I don't want to hide anything from you, but I'm not sure how to put it into words."

"Oh, really? And what happened with universal equality and other idealistic nonsense that you were spewing out the day of the start of the elections?!" The fire princess quipped.

"Everything I said back then was true! I will do everything to achieve such a world. It's just… This was not my original motive for participating."

Anastasia reacted to these statements with a questioning look at Crusch, and Felt looked at her knight. Both nodded, confirming the sincerity of the half-elf's words.

Subaru was just silent for a few seconds, thinking about how to change the uncomfortable topic.

"We can talk everything out after we join up with Roswaal."

Not expecting such an understanding, Emilia looked at him in surprise.

"He might know something about what happened to Rem, too!" He continued with a forced smile.

"Right." Emilia agreed.

Some time passed. Otto's voice sounded against the background of the caravan approaching the village:

"You two, we'll be reaching our destination soon!"

The next scene showed the residents arriving at an empty village.

"No one's here." Petra said worriedly. A resident who came running confirmed that the far side of the village was also deserted.

"What? Why?" The villagers asked.

"So Ram and the others haven't returned from the Sanctuary?" Emilia seemed lost.

"Seems that way. By the way, Emilia-tan, do you know where the Sanctuary is?" Subaru asked.

"Huh? I thought you knew where it was."

"Huh?"

For a few seconds they just stared at each other in confusion.

"Ha! This whole camp is as useless as its half-wit leader! They are not even capable of basic interaction!" Priscilla openly made fun of the helplessness of the characters on the screen.

Otto and Garf clenched their fists in anger. They wanted to stand up for their princess. But the truth, though crudely presented, was with baroness. And although they guessed whose plan this situation was part of, they weren't going to talk about it now.

"It's really weird. Ram-san, why didn't you tell them how to get to the Sanctuary before you left there?" Reinhard asked.

The maid in question looked at him with a face that showed no emotion.

"The location of the Sanctuary is one of Roswaal-sama's secrets. I have no right to divulge such things without receiving a direct order from my master." Ram replied with an even and firm voice.

She understood that she had to carefully choose every word in order not to harm Roswaal's position, while telling only the truth. Neither Crusch nor Reinhard will fail to point out that Roswaal's closest ally is lying about his plans and intentions.

"I was given clear instructions via the letter to wait for Lady Emilia's return and give her the information Roswaal-sama ordered me to pass over." Frederica added.

"Your little schemes again, I suppose?!" Beatrice said angrily.

She didn't care about how Roswaal would look in the eyes of others. Because of his secret plans, her contractor had to go through a series of true horrors, and even did the unthinkable, trying to save the blue-haired girl. And because of that she was really angry right now.

"I can have a little fu-u-un, can't I, Beatrice?" Placing a smile on his face, margrave replied. "Besides, I realized a long time ago that people work the most effici-i-iently when you give out only the essential information. Only to those who nee-e-ed it. And only when it's needed. And I must say without too much modesty that this approach has wo-o-orked efficiently, ensuring the prosperity of the Mather's family for four centurie-e-es.

"Yes, until you tried to use it to entangle Betty's Subaru in your spider web! And then you lost completely!" The great spirit chuckled triumphantly. "After all, as my contractor likes to say, he is a great specialist in breaking the plans of GMs, in fact!"

"And who are the GMs?" Emilia asked with interest.

"All sorts of perverted clowns who like to manipulate others and make them suffer for the sake of satisfying their vile fetishes, I suppose."

"I know I'm late in asking, but what kind of place is the Sanctuary, anyway?"

"I'm not sure, either. Roswaal only said it was like a secret base… and…"

"And?"

"Nothing, never mind. I'm sorry. I should have asked." She said guiltily.

"No, no! Even if we were in a hurry to get to safety, I'm the one who was way too careless!"

Seeing that their conversation had attracted the attention of the villagers, Subaru took the initiative.

"We'll just have to head to the mansion for now. Maybe we'll find some clues there. Otto, come with us!"

"What? To the mansion?"

"Don't be so scared after we've come this far. Take the carriage and the ground dragons around back, okay?"

"All right…" The merchant added with a sign.

The screen changed to Emilia and Subaru, who was carrying a sleeping Rem on their backs, standing at the entrance to the mansion. It was sunset outside.

"We're back, Rem." He said tenderly to the unconscious girl.

"Are you all right?" Emilia asked him.

"Yeah. Come to think of it, I don't remember locking the door when we left. You think we got robbed?"

"Beatrice stayed here, so I don't think we need to worry. Maybe she'll come get the door for us if we knock."

"She might come flying through it, looking for Puck."

"That's true." Emilia agreed, and took hold of the crystal on her chest. "Puck? Puck? Huh? He's not responding. Maybe he's asleep."

"Let's knock."

In response to a knock on the door, an unfamiliar female voice sounded?

"Yes, one moment, please. "

The guests clearly did not expect this. The doors opened, revealing Frederica, who lifted the hem of her dress in greeting.

"Oh! And here comes my sis!" Garfiel said contentedly.

"There are more and more beautiful ladies present! I approve!" Ricardo jokingly commented.

It would be a sin for him to complain about the abundance of beauties of all shapes and sizes on the screen.

"Sister Frederica, as always, embodies the ideal model of a maid!" Petra did not miss the chance to remind everyone once again how wonderful her mentor was.

"Apparently, the universe itself compensates in its own way for the presence of Frederica's direct opposite among the maids in the same mansion." Felix said sarcastically.

To his delight, among the pleased laughs was the one that his lady gave. And Ram's angry glare he ignored.

"Welcome home, Emilia-sama. I have awaited your return."

"Frederica?" The half-elf recognized her. She smiled broadly, showing everyone her pointed, predator-like teeth.

"Yes, it is I, Frederi—"

"Those teeth are scary!" Subaru cried out in fright.

In the next scene, he was sitting with the look of a beaten puppy, while Emilia held his ear with an angry look.

"Subaru, you're a dunderhead!" Emilia shouted indignantly, giving the sleeping young man a slap on the head.

"Subaru-kun, how can you say that!" Rem supported her, adding a slap on the back of her head.

"Subaru-sama, you're a blockhead!" Petra jumped up from her seat, outraged.

"To say that to a girl's face…" Crusch shook her head in disappointment.

"Your tactless fool!" Otto declared angrily.

He even got up from his seat, walked over and added a slap on the back of the head on behalf of all men in the world with good taste.

"A disgrace to all knights!" Julius elegantly straightened his hair with a displeased face.

"No manners at all!" Felix cheerfully took up the baton.

"He…definitely has a problem with tact." Reinhard nodded.

"In one word - Barusu!" Ram summed up triumphantly, pleased that the others finally saw the worthless boy for what he really was.

"But she really has scary teeth." Not understanding why everyone was so indignant, Garf stood up to defend the captain, for which he himself received a slap on the head from Otto. Who, in turn, received a grateful look from Frederica.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Frederica Baumann. I was employed here in the past." The blonde maid introduced herself.

"Now that you mention it, I was told there was another maid who quit just before I came here…"

"I merely took my leave for personal reasons. Then I returned at Ram's request, and found the mansion empty. Fortunately, a letter I found in the master's office gave me an idea as to what had happened."

"A letter?"

"And why did Ram ask you to come back?" Subaru asked.

"When I returned, the kitchen and the trees in the garden were in a desolate state. It was quite awful."

Images of a trashed kitchen and unkempt trees flashed across the screen.

"That's a pretty serious reason!" Subaru was horrified, realizing the reason for this situation.

An image of Ram appeared on the screen with his trademark annoyed expression.

Which she had right now, hearing giggles, or even outright laughter in the audience. The younger ones stood out especially, as well as a couple of idiots in the front row.

"I have to complement the skills of the mansion builders!" Otto remarked between chuckles. "Despite all the trials, the house remained standing."

"It's only because she's too lazy to cause such destruction!" Garf supported him, laughing.

"Don't you dare offend your sister!" Rem said indignantly. "She's the best! And some problems with cooking and cleaning do not detract from her outstanding qualities in everything else!"

"That's right, Rem! Defend the honor of your big sister from the dirty insinuations of Barusu and his minions!" Ram said with a feigned tearful expression, causing another wave of giggles.

"It's strange, though. Ram has always worked hard for us while you were away, so why, in just the past few days…" Emilia said doubtfully, but then it dawned on her.

"With Rem gone, Ram couldn't handle the mansion herself, so she asked Frederica to help?" Subaru answered for her.

"Would you mind explaining to me who this girl who bears a striking resemblance to Ram is?" Frederica asked, looking at the girl sleeping on the other couch.

"She's Ram's younger sister, Rem. She's a really nice girl. She's kind, strong, and a super-hard worker." He explained in a loving tone. "Even I could tell that she and Ram were really close. I'm sure you were a good friend to her, too. You… probably don't remember, though, right?"

"Alas, when I was teaching you two how to work as maids, you were not in a mood for friendship. I'm even saddened that I didn't get to personally see how much you've changed since Natsuki-sama appeared in your life." Frederica commented with a kind smile.

'Although, knowing now what you had to go through from an early age, I have no right to blame you for the way you've been acting. Natsuki-sama is really amazing to be able to free your heart from such terrible shackles.'

"I'm sorry for being so cold with you earlier, Frederica-san. I promise that I will make up for all the lost time. I do have some stories to tell you about. After all, this screen didn't show everything that Subaru-kun and I did together. Like how one day Subaru-kun and I were trapped in a magical trap. Or how he taught me how to paint pictures on coffee. Or about the case when Subaru-kun changed into Natsumi Schwartz."

"I will remember this promise!" Frederica winked cheerfully at her former student.

"Ah, yes. The day when Barusu showed everyone his true nature by wearing a woman's dress and a wig. And all this is just to get to dinner he wasn't even invited to." Ram couldn't resist a nostalgic smile.

This statement aroused great interest in the audience.

"I would love to hear these stories. Something tells me that I will have a good laugh while listening to them!" Anastasia said with interest.

"I also want to hear stories about big bro!" Felt joined in.

"Hmm! Betty's stories with her contractor belong only to her, in fact! So don't expect me to tell you about them."

"Oh, is that how you are going to be, Beako? Well, then you have no right to protest if Petra and I tell some particularly embarrassing stories about you." Emilia threatened with a smile, knowing how the girl spirit would react. And she was spot on.

"WHAT?! This is dirty blackmail, in fact! I object! Betty never was in embarrassing situations!" The spirit girl jumped, blushing profusely.

"Subaru Natsuki… in a woman's dress..." Lady Crusch couldn't believe her ears.

"And believe me, Crusch-sama. He is surprisingly skilled in this." Rem did not fail to praise her hero once again.

Imagining what Natsuki might look like in a dress and a wig, Crusch greatly regretted that she did not have the habit of carrying a fan with her. The heat radiating from her face threatened to set fire to the chair she was sitting on. At that moment, as if from nowhere, a lady's fan appeared in the duchess's hand. Mentally thanking the Warden for his tact, she began to fan herself, trying to calm the beating of her heart.

"Ugh! No wonder this dog has problems with self-respect, if he even doubts his own gender!" Priscilla commented with displeasure. She's going to beat that stupid idea out of him. There's only room for one hot beauty in her camp!

"It would be better if he devoted his time to studying the rules of etiquette of knights or practicing with a sword!" Julius added sternly, feeling a sense of shame for his black-haired colleague.

"Who knows. Given pals' resourcefulness, he can even turn such strange skills to his advantage! Like sneak into some well-guarded place for example." Al decided to support his "colleague".

While others were cheerfully commenting on a scandalous fact from Natsuki's life, Rem gently squeezed the sleeping youth's hand and put her head on his shoulder. It seemed to her that she was ready to melt away from overwhelming feelings of comfort and familiarity. She didn't even realize how much she missed it.

"Unfortunately, no. I wonder how the master and Ram will react when they return…" Frederica noticed with frustration.

"I can't even guess what Roswaal will do." Subaru thought out loud. "And… I don't want to imagine how Ram will react."

Ram lowered her head guiltily at that moment, remembering her reaction when Subaru first showed her the body of a sleeping Rem: an almost complete lack of emotions.

'What a lousy sister I am.' The pink maid thought.

"Hey, Frederica, have you heard anything from Roswaal?" Emilia changed the subject.

"Sadly, I have no way of knowing all that goes on in the master's mind. I believe there are only two people in this world he trusts enough for that."

"Two?" asked Subaru.

"Ram and the great spirit of this mansion's forbidden library."

"Great spirit of the forbidden library?" He repeated, immediately realizing who she was talking about.

"I refer to Beatrice-sama."

The scene changed. Walking down the hallway of the mansion, Natsuki stopped at a random door. Opening it with a push, he found the library room with Beatrice in the center. As usual, she was sitting on a ladder and looking at a book.

"Hey, Beako! Long time no see!"

"Now I see why the mansion suddenly seemed so noisy." She replied with a dissatisfied tone, looking up at him.

"Everyone's been worried about you. You should apologize, even if it has to wait until later."

"Apologize? Me? I fail to comprehend why I must apologize, and to whom, I suppose."

"I could go apologize for you, if you want. I'll tell them you were thanking me with tears and snot streaming down your face."

"Don't make up stories! I haven't shed tears in a very long time, I suppose."

"It never hurts to have a good wail every once in a while."

"Those words carry deep meaning, coming from a man who bawled in the lap of the woman he loves." The spirit girl said sarcastically.

"Would you just forget about that already?" He replied, clearly embarrassed.

"NEVER!" A number of voices spoke at the same time. The hall was filled with laughter.

"How many times have I seen this already, but I still can't believe that he speaks so frivolously with great spirit. He treats her as if she was just a little girl!" Julius shook his head. Even with his little buds, he followed etiquette and a respectful distance in communication.

"For Subaru, she IS just a little girl. It's just that she also wields magic." Emilia replied, as if it were a matter of course.

"Could you please get to the point, I suppose? You weakling." Beatrice asked seriously.

"Oh, yeah…How well do you know what Roswaal's thinking? Someone told me that you know how Roswaal thinks."

"Who said—Ah. It must have been the half-beast girl who just came back. There is a bit of accuracy to what she told you, I suppose. But my connection with Roswaal has nothing to do with the current circumstances."

"But you stayed here at the mansion by yourself, even with no countermeasures in place." Subaru pointed out an important fact.

"I'm capable of protecting myself. That's why I stayed, I suppose. Roswaal has nothing to do with that. That said, I don't believe he had nothing on his mind at all, I suppose."

"Hmm… Were you and I and everyone else just giving him too much credit, thinking he wouldn't go up against the Witch's Cult with no plan?

"Now that is a really interesting question." Crusch raised the topic, turning to the clown.

"Margrave, there is no way you didn't know that the cult would react to Emilia-sama's participation in the elections. They carried out massacres more than once based on rumors related to the Witch of Envy. And here you had a real half-elf. A silver-haired half-elf with amethyst eyes no less! I'm rather surprised that only one of the archbishops participated in the attack on our mansion."

"And knowing this, you send your most capable maid to the capital with Natsuki-kun. Although you were well aware that Ram will not last long in battle alone." Anastasia joined her, looking suspiciously at the head of the house of Mather's.

"And also you gave Sir Natsuki the right to negotiate and make alliances on your behalf. Rem had been talking to me about the alliance for several days, using the rights to mine magic stones in the Elior Forest as bait. But, until he came and offered me information about the White whale in exchange for an alliance, I didn't have a strong motivation to take it. Why would you place such hopes on a man who had previously known only shame in the palace?"

"It is for you that the figure of Subaru Natsuki appeared only in the pa-a-a-lace. And all of you only knew him for his shameful scene. While I, by that time, already understood that this young man has much more potential than what meets the eye-e-e." Roswaal answered them without changing the haughty smile on his face.

The situation was delicate. Of course, later it will become common knowledge to everyone that he knew about Subaru's ability to influence the course of events. But right now he did not want to reveal this fact. As well as the way he found out about him and his ability. Therefore, it was necessary to answer cautiously, choosing each word carefully.

"You mean to say that you saw so much potential that you decided to leave your lands unprotected, even though you knew that the chance of their attack was high?" Wilhelm felt that Roswaal knew a lot more than he was telling.

Julia loved to speak in the same way when she was still alive. The manners of the margrave and his grandmother were so similar that sometimes the gray-haired butler had the feeling that he was talking to his old friend again. Gender was the only thing that changed.

"Clinging to your suspicions, you forget the key moment, ladies and ge-e-entlemen." Roswaal's playful smile did not leave his face.

"I am the sponsor of Emilia-sama, the candidate for the throne of Lugunica. It is in my best interest to do everything I ca-a-an to ensure that she not only stays alive, but also that her popularity in the kingdom gro-o-ows. All my actions, direct or indirect, are always aimed only at achieving my goal. And yes, I saw hu-u-uge potential in Natsuki Subaru-kun. I sincerely believed in him even back then. And I suggest we continue the viewing, and not waste time trying to get answers out of me-e-e."

All the candidates for the throne, even Emilia, looked skeptical. Roswaal made it clear that further questioning was pointless. Although everyone understood that he was hiding something. And the Warden wouldn't allow them to use magic or force against him.

Ram tried not to look anyone in the eye. Beatrice, Otto, and Garf just glared at the clown, but remained silent. They knew that even back then Roswaal was already plotting against Subaru with the help of a gospel.

"You're hiding something, margrave!" Crusch said sternly. "But at least it seems that you are not lying. Although, knowing your experience in court intrigues, I would be a fool to rely entirely on my gift when talking to you."

"Then we are very lucky that you're no fool, Crusch-sama-a-a." Roswaal's face gave everyone a wide smile, but his eyes sent a completely different message: "Don't even try!"

Realizing that this conversation was over, everyone continued watching.

"Oh, that's right." Subaru remembered and took out Betelgeuse's gospel out of his pocket. "Take a look at this."

After looking at the book for just a second, Beatrice recognized it.

"A Gospel… Why do you, of all people, have one of those?!" She asked with worry.

"A very justified concern!" Ricardo said seriously. "The great spirit lady already knew that the kid reeks of miasma, and now he's also showing her the gospel of the cult as if it was an ordinary book. If I were in her place and didn't know what he was going through, I would have prepared for a fight!"

"I took it off the enemy after a battle. It belonged to the guy in charge of the witch cultists who surrounded the mansion."

"And what became of him?" Beatrice asked sadly.

"He's dead. I killed him."

The last moments of Natsuki's battle with Petelgeuse flashed on the screen. The young man showed him the gospel, in which he wrote the word "The End" in his own blood and the death of the archbishop under the wheels of a cart.

Beatrice looked at the book forlornly.

"Then you've left me behind, too, I suppose… Geuse." She whispered mournfully.

"Beatrice…did you know Geuse?" Emilia turned to the gloomy girl in disbelief, who was clinging to her contactor, as if wanting to merge with him into one.

All eyes in the room were also directed at the blonde girl. They had a lot of questions for the great spirit in their heads, but they were in no hurry to ask them, deciding to let Beatrice speak for herself.

"Yes, I knew him, I suppose. Centuries before you were even born, girl." Beatrice's face softened as she plunged into sad but pleasant memories.

"My mother introduced us. He was my mentor. He brought me books. I remember he said he was too busy to read them." With each word, the tears sounded more clearly in her voice. "He promised to make up for it someday, because… he was going to live a long life… Geuse… you're a liar."

Understanding better than anyone what the great spirit was feeling right now, Emilia hugged her tenderly. Beatrice didn't try to resist.

"So you mean to say that this Petelgeuse wasn't always a member of the Witch Cult?" Anastasia asked.

"He was. Geuse was one of the fo-o-ounders of the Witch Cult."

Roswaal did not want to draw attention to himself once again, especially by giving out such sensitive information. But the least he could do for his deceased friend was to protect his name in front of the others.

"But, unlike those fana-a-atics that are known all over the world, he was leading a moderate faction that was against violent a-a-actions. They helped the elven communities and tried to mend the consequences of the Great Disa-a-aster."

"And you call this crazy maniac moderate?!" Priscilla couldn't believe her ears.

"I have to agree! Witch cultists and peacefulness sound like mutually exclusive things!" Rem said harshly, casting questioning glances at Emilia and Beatrice.

"It wasn't his fault!" Emilia interjected, looking coldly at her friend-competitor. "He didn't become such a monster because he wanted to! He was trying to protect me, mother Fortuna, and our entire village from Regulus and Pandora!"

"Who is Pandora?" Wilhelm asked.

They had already seen Regulus. But the second name was not familiar to him.

Emilia's face immediately darkened, and her eyes filled with anger.

"The Witch of Vanity. She's some sort of head of a cult, as far as I'm concerned. At least Regulus addressed her as his senior. When I met Geuse, he was kind, caring, and very humble. If only that… fiend, Pandora, hadn't shown up.… It's all her fault…"

"So you say there are still witches in the world?!" Tivey askes with a mixture of fear and excitement.

"I don't know. It all happened a lo-o-ong time ago." Emilia shook her head.

"Well at least, since we know for a fact that Natsuki Subaru would never get involved with the Witch Cult, there is no need to be afraid that Beatrice-sama can be a part of it." Reinhard calmly summed up. Everyone agreed with him.

"Hah? Who are you talking about?" asked Subaru.

"None of your concern. Anyway, so you killed Sloth, a Sin Archbishop, what happened to his Witch Factor?"

"Witch… Factor?" Natsuki didn't understand her.

"What is this witch factor?" Felt asked, glancing at Beatrice.

"This is what gives the archbishops their Authorities, in fact." Beatrice took up this opportunity to explain things, seeing this as a good way to distract herself from the sad memories of Geuse:

"The witch factors are antithesis of the Od Lagna and its divine protections. Like the witches of sins of the distant past, the archbishops carry the witch factors inside their souls. One for each sin. Also you don't have to be born with the witch factor. It can be placed inside you. Unlike divine protections, which factors have something akin to their own will. After the death of the host, the witch factor leaves the body and looks for a new one, I suppose. And if the host turns out to be incompatible, they will quickly lose their mind."

"The witch factor… given by the witch… is it possible that there was one inside Natsuki-san from the start?! The Archbishop did ask if he was Pride!" Otto thought out loud.

"Sounds logical. In this case, Subaru-dono's ability to go back in time may be the result of the Witch of Envy putting such factor inside him when she transferred him to our world." Wilhelm reasoned.

"And that would explain why he has a witch's miasma on him!"

"But we still don't know for what pyurpose she did it. Everything is clear with the cultists. They want to revive the Witch by using Lady Emilia as a vessel. Sloth declared it himself. But what role does Subaru-kyun play in all of this? After all, it was because of him that the cult's plan failed! Why would she basically stop the cultists from resurrecting her, nya?!" Felix noted.

"We should watch and hope that we will get the answers to these questions. There's no point in starting discussions now. Right now we don't have enough evidence for something more than mere speculations." Al decided to end this conversation as soon as possible.

All this talk about witch factors and the Archbishop of Pride made him break a cold sweat. The sooner they change the subject, the better.

"You don't know what it is? You really don't? If that's the case, then why did you bother to kill Sloth? And what is Roswaal…" Beatrice questioned him in a serious tone.

"I told you, remember? Roswaal is at the Sanctuary! I'm the one who wants to know what he's thinking!"

After a few seconds of silence, Beatrice seemed to come to a decision.

"All the answers you seek lie in the Sanctuary, I suppose."

"What?"

"Roswaal's intentions, the meaning of the Gospel, answers about the witch Factor…They're all there. If you want them, go there. The half-beast girl can lead you there, I suppose."

"All of a sudden Beatrice-sama changed her approach? that's unexpected." Otto noted.

"Yeah, and it sounded very mysterious. Some'n is clearly not right 'ere." Garfiel agreed and turned to the spirit-girl "What caused such a change in yer attitude?"

But Betty didn't indulge him with an answer. She was too busy with mentally flailing herself since she remembered pretty well what would happen next.

'I could have gone with him even back then, I suppose. I could have helped and supported him back in the Sanctuary…could have helped him rip all of Roswaal's plans to shreds! Maybe even save him from another death, in fact! But I chose to stay in my cage feeling sorry for myself… just how much more useless can I be?!'

"Hang on a second! What's up with you? Why are you suddenly willing to talk to me? Also, why do I have to go to the Sanctuary when you—"

"I will not tell you. I have the right to refuse to tell you." She began to speak calmly, but quickly her tone became stern. The space around them began to flicker because of magic.

"I showed you the path that leads to your answers. Do not expect me to indulge you any further, I suppose!"

"Beako… Beatrice!"

"I am not a tool here for your convenience!"

When she finished, Subaru was thrown towards the exit. The door opened, and the young man flew out like a cannonball. But the impact against the wall was mitigated with the help of Otto, who had just come out of the same door and conveniently acted as a dampener.

"Natsuki-san, wh-why did you fly into me just as I was leaving the bathroom?!"

"Why did you look like you were about to cry again?" Natsuki asked thoughtfully.

"Excuse me! Could you please get off of—" The merchant pleaded.

"And that's how it always is! I get into trouble because of his affairs, even when I'm not directly involved with them! And all the while being mercilessly teased by him!" The merchant said desperately.

"Which didn't stop ya from staying with 'em 'n continuing to work at Emilia's camp." Anastasia quipped, stifling a laugh.

"Birds of feather flock together. Barusu, being an idiot and a masochist, deliberately gathers around him people with similar fetishes. Otto and Garfiel are prime examples of this."

"I'm not an idiot!" Otto replied indignantly and continued a second later. "And not a masochist!"

"Your words don't mean much because your actions speak louder." Ram, as always, was merciless.

"Why did you throw Subaru out, Beatrice-sama? And why did you look so upset?" Petra asked, confused.

The great spirit was silent for several seconds. She didn't particularly want to pour out her soul to everyone. But more than that, she wanted to give some explanation at least to herself for leaving Subaru without help again.

"I was… grieving Geuse's death. He left me, just like everyone else before him. I didn't want to get close to Subaru back then. I didn't want to have hope again. After all, even if I had extended my hand to him, he would have left me sooner or later anyway. Back then it seemed that it would be easier to just close my heart."

Suddenly, Beatrice felt both of her palms being taken by two different hands. To her right, Emilia was looking at her with a puppy-dog look. On the left, Rem looked at her with sadness and warmth. Both knew what loneliness was.

"Wh-why are you grabbing me, I suppose?!" She said, blushing quickly. "Let me go! Don't stop Betty from hugging her contractor!"

Giggling at this cute reaction, the girls, still holding the hands of the confused spirit, turned to the screen.

Scene changed. In the living room, Frederica was pouring tea into cups.

"So you really are allowed to enter Beatrice-sama's forbidden library?"

"What? You thought I wouldn't be?"

"Yes, but Emilia-sama has told me what a reliable person you are, and she was quite thorough in explaining why, so half of me had high hopes that you would be."

At these words, Emilia started in fright, and Subaru was surprised.

"Huh?"

"Hey! Frederica!" The girl began in embarrassment.

"What? What did you tell her?"

"It's not like that!" The half-elf began to justify herself, blushing. "I did tell her about you, but she's exaggerating!"

"No, I heard what you said, too. It made me think there must be more to Natsuki-san than meets the eye."

"Not you too, Otto-kun!"

"Why wasn't I around to hear all this?!" Subaru wrung his hands out of mock despair.

"I could never say it in front of you. Now, Frederica, back to what you were saying!"

"Yes, of course. I know." Pleased with the scene she saw, the maid looked at the guests. "Let us talk it over so you don't find yourself at a dead end."

"Dead end? What do you mean?"

"Even if you were able to see Beatrice, whether or not she'd answer your question was another matter. Both you and Beatrice can be very stubborn, you know."

"That's because Betty and her Subaru are made for each other and are soul mates!" Beatrice proudly declared, but an attempt to enhance the effect by crossing her arms over her chest failed, as she was still being held by two girls at her sides. "Let me go already, in fact!"

"Subaru is right, when Beako is angry, she looks even cuter." Emilia did not even think to let go of the little hand. Rem nodded silently.

And Beatrice, despite the pleasant feelings of warmth and care from other girls, could not distract herself from gloomy thoughts. She couldn't let go of the feeling that every tragedy that would happen to her contractor in the Sanctuary was somehow her fault. After all, she wasn't with him when he needed her the most.

'I won't let you suffer alone anymore, in fact! You will never feel lonely, unnecessary or unworthy again, I suppose! Betty will support you. Betty will protect you!'

"That description is way too cute, but you're right. And?"

"There's a lot I want to talk to Roswaal about, too. So I asked Frederica to tell me where the Sanctuary is."

Subaru remembered that Beatrice had given him the same advice.

"So you're going to tell us where it is, Frederica?" He asked the maid.

"I was no match for Emilia-sama's persistence, even though I have been told not to disclose any more than necessary. But I would like to ask for a bit of time to prepare. Shall we say two days?"

"Prepare? Oh, that's right. We'd all be leaving the mansion, so that's—"

"No, I will be staying in the mansion. I cannot accompany you."

"What? You're not going with us? How are we supposed to get there, then?"

Otto's chuckle was an answer he got.

"You're rather slow on the uptake, Natsuki-san."

"Oh! So Otto's gonna get us to the Sanctuary? Because he thinks cooperating with Emilia in any way possible will give Roswaal, her backer, a better impression of him?"

The merchant's confident expression quickly changed to a scared one.

"No, er…"

"Otto-kun, is that true?" Emilia asked with a childishly naive look.

"Emilia-sama's pure, innocent eyes are killing me! I'm sorry! That's exactly right!"

"The way you wear your ulterior motive on your sleeve makes you all the more likable, Otto."

"That's not exactly comforting, coming from you!"

"You're a bad merchant, Otto-kun! Leave the profession and don't disgrace our brother with your naivety!" Anastasia jokingly demanded, unable to stop laughing at her inept colleague.

"I appreciate your help. On that note, you can tell the three of us about the Sanctuary."

"Very well." Frederica bowed politely. "What I am about to tell you is the undisclosed location of the Sanctuary of Climaldy, and how to enter it."

"Ah! This is so intriguing! To be able to learn about the innermost secrets of powerful people. And completely free of charge! Without risking anything, sitting in a comfortable chair, and even in the form of moving pictures, not some dry reports." Anastasia stretched contentedly, enjoying what was happening on the screen.

Crusch could only chuckle in agreement. She herself fully shared the thoughts of her competitor.

The members of Emilia's camp could only purse their lips in displeasure. Because it was their secrets and personal lives that were put on public display.

"And there is one name you must not forget as you travel there. Beware of one by the name of "Garfiel."

"Ha! Ya gat tha' right, sis! No one could ent'a the Sanctuary without my amazin' self knowin' n' permittin' it!"

"At the Sanctuary, he will be the one with whom you must exercise the most care."

Two days later, Subaru was standing by the bed where Rem was sleeping.

Seeing his sour face Rem and Emilia finally let Beatrice go.

"Did he spend time like this with me sometimes?" Rem asked sadly.

"Almost every day." Ram answered her. "Sometimes it was an hour or two in the afternoon, and sometimes he could sit near you deep into the night. Kept babbling incessantly, telling everything he had done during the day. He kept making up tall tales about his achievements. that he had become an important and respected person, so that you would be proud of him."

A typical quip from a typical Ram. Without even a drop of usual poison. Which said a lot about how worried she was for Subaru right now. No one would even pay attention to this comment. But…

"Those are not tall tales, in fact! My contractor is the best!" Beatrice reacted angrily, casting a stern glance at the pink-haired maid. "In just two months since entering our world, Betty's Subaru became the knight of the candidate for the throne of Lugunica, signed a contract with the great spirit, defeated two of the three Great Mabeasts and the archbishop of the Witch Cult, to boot! Can you name me someone alive who can boast about a superior list of achievements, girl?!

"Beatrice, please, calm down." Emilia calmly but firmly stopped her, taking the spirit by the hand. "Ram did not try to belittle Subaru's achievements. She is well aware of his feats."

"She could try and show some respect to him for that, I suppose!" The great spirit was adamant. "At every opportunity, both on the screen and here, she does everything to trample on the reputation and dignity of my contractor, in fact! As if she had the right to do so! I don't recall that years of polishing the shoes of a perverted clown could put anyone above the rest!"

Beatrice was still riled up from the latest death of her contractor. She was still angry at herself for her uselessness. For all those times when she wasn't around. When she didn't protect him. When she threw him away to his death. And, most of all, for missing her chance to join him before going to the Sanctuary.

Because of this, the usual taunts of Ram caused a violent reaction in the spirit girl this time. She really wanted to help and protect her Subaru. From everything and everyone. At least like this. Moreover, if Rem, in her eyes, rehabilitated herself when she convinced Subaru not to give up and helped him with the White Whale, Ram had no such redeeming circumstances.

"Beatrice…" Roswaal reacted warningly, feeling anger boiling in him. The great spirit may have had her own truth, but he would not allow such attacks on his Ram. "I must say that you are crossing the…"

But there was no stopping the spirit girl.

"Don't you dare shut me up, in fact! I no longer intend to patiently watch her trample on the image of my contractor for her sick pleasure! Betty's Subaru doesn't know how to appreciate himself as it is! And she only adds oil to the fire at every opportunity!" She shifted her fiery gaze from Roswaal to Ram, who immediately guiltily lowered her own.

"You act like you're superior to him in everything! Although we've all seen what you're worth if my contractor doesn't interfere in the course of events! A broken, useless girl crying over the body of a dead sist…

"Beatrice!" With a loud, commanding voice, Emilia made the girl stop.

Turning, Beatrice saw that the half-elf was looking at her with a cold, condemning gaze. Rem, who was ready to express her indignation herself, froze with her mouth open, looking at the princess.

"You're going to stop it right now, Beatrice!"

"Again?! So you are content with her attitude towards Betty's Subaru, I suppose?!" She narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"Back in the Sanctuary, Ram knelt before me and swore her allegiance. Which means she has become my vassal! And as her sovereign, I won't let anyone hurt her body or soul! Not even you!" Emilia stated sternly, then softened her expression and looked at the girl in a friendly way:

"I agree, sometimes Ram's words seem to be re-e-eally offensive. And I agree with you that she should make some corrections with her way of speaking with Subaru. But I can see how Ram really feels about him. Your accusations towards her are unjust."

"Are you saying that this is how she shows her concern for him?! Don't make me laugh, I suppose! Had she said even a single kind word to him since they met?! All year long, he had only heard insults, reproaches and accusations from her, in fact! How many of his attempts to feel even a little bit better were crushed by her comments?! How many scars could have never appeared if she hadn't trampled on his crippled ego every day?!"

"Tch. She sounds so upstanding and justified. But by the looks of it she didn't even try one this whole year to confront the maid about her attitude. And only now, when she saw how utterly incompetent their whole camp is, she suddenly decided to go into overdrive mode with her caring." Al commented on a situation with hints of disgust in his voice.

What was the point in screaming about it now? And what if they never got teleported to this theater? The spirit would probably continue to act like it's all fine and dandy.

"Al, don't get involved in a showdown between 'll just get yourself dirty and that will damage my image." Priscilla answered him sternly.

While Beatrice was arguing with Emilia, the eldest of the maid sisters was also thinking about her relationship with the young knight. She will never tell him this directly, but Ram was aware that Subaru was the most reliable person in her life. In this world, where for many years she relied only on her sister and her master, this flamboyant and loud young man managed to get as close as possible to be considered as a member of the family. A stupid, useless, incredibly annoying little brother, without whom she now couldn't imagine her life without.

In the past year together, she and Barusu have developed their own kind of relationship. He felt her mood well, he recognized when her verbal jabs contained assessment, praise, criticism or advice on how to get better. At least…that's what she thought.

But what if her judgment was wrong? What if Barusu actually took her criticism and stingy statements to heart? She never wanted him to give up or stop believing in himself. On the contrary, she secretly wanted to see the day when he would become a worthy knight of her mistress. She was grateful to him for taking care of her forgotten sister. For saving them from the cult. But what if she was wrong and all this time Barusu saw in her only a source of humiliation? She found herself terrified at such a prospect.

Betty, meanwhile, was going to continue her tirade, but Emilia got help from an unexpected direction.

"And that's where you're wrong, Beatrice-sama." Otto said with a smile. "Even before we came to this place, we all knew very well that Ram actually values Natsuki-san very much. She just has an extremely peculiar and downright annoying way of expressing her feelings. And Natsuki-san knows it perfectly well. He spoke of Ram-san many times with the kindest words.

Out of the corner of his eye, the merchant was pleased to notice the surprised look of the pink maid directed at him, and continued:

"No offense to you, Emilia-sama, but I would say that after Beatrice, Ram is the first person Natsuki-san trusts and he is always ready to rely on her in the most difficult situations. I'm even hurt by this realization! Back in the Sanctuary I doubted and thought that Ram would be our opponent because of her loyalty to Roswaal-sama. And it was Natsuki-san who was sure that she could be trusted. And in the end, his faith in Ram led us to success."

The maid did not respond to these words. She absolutely did not want to admit these feelings of warmth and gratitude towards Barusu that appeared inside her.

Emilia was also grateful to Otto for saying such necessary words at such an important moment. Although she felt a pang of jealousy that her knight trusted Ram more than her. But that only made her desire to prove to Subaru that she was worthy of his trust even stronger.

"Do you see it now, Beako? If Subaru believes in her so much, then we shouldn't jump to conclusions either. Although it hurts me to hear that Subaru relies on Ram more than on me! Therefore, I demand that you apologize to Ram for what you said to her."

"What?! Apologize?! For what I should apologize, in fact?! Nothing I said was wro…

"Your last words about Ram and her uselessness were extremely hurtful and unfair. And you know it yourself. Using memories about that loop was too much. You should apologize to her. At least for this moment."

For a few seconds, the great spirit stared silently in front of her. She knew herself that she had said too much, and that Subaru would have scolded her very strongly for such a thing. How happy she would be if he woke up now and gave her a good scolding! But he continued to sleep, despite the screams around. Sighing, she gave up.

'You'd like me to do that, wouldn't you?' She thought, taking the boy's hand for reassurance, and turned to Ram. The girl, noticing the spirit's gaze, looked down again with a guilty expression on her face.

"So be it. For the sake of my contractor's peace of mind. Ram, I apologize for using such a painful memory against you. It was unbecoming of me."

After receiving an affirmative nod from the maid, indicating that the apology was accepted Betty continued:

"But Betty apologizes for this moment and this moment only! The rest of my words remain valid! I don't want to put up with your bullying of my Subaru anymore! His own self-deprecating comments are more than enough for Betty. So I expect some well-deserved respect towards my contractor from now on! Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, Beatrice-sama. When Ba…Subaru-sama wakes up, Ram will… change her approach when dealing with him."

For some reason calling the young knight in such a way felt utterly wrong to the maid. It's not like she thought he didn't deserve to be addressed that way (although such thought was present in her mind). But calling him like that felt like she just lost something really important. Like her relationship with Barusu will forever change and not for the better.

And Ram wasn't the only one who thought in a similar way. Seeing that the conflict was almost over, Otto decided to try again to return the status quo.

"Again, I have to disagree with you, Beatrice-sama. Something tells me that if Ram suddenly changes her style of communication with Natsuki-san so drastically, he will simply not accept this. Ram, who communicates with him in this manner, like with a knight of the kingdom, will seem unnatural to him. Fake even. Such change will do more harm than good. Although I personally agree with your demands for Ram to somewhat restrain her snarky attitude."

"Otto is right!" Emilia supported the young man. "I know, I've talked a lot with Ram this year and now I understand her much better! In truth, when it comes to Subaru, Ram re-e-eally li…

"I don't think you should finish this thought, Emilia-sama…" The eldest of the twin demons coldly interrupted her.

Since Otto and her lady were sure that she shouldn't start addressing Barusu differently, Ram allowed herself to return to her normal modus operandi. At least with Emilia.

"You should be more open when it comes to your real feelings, Ram! Everyone will only be happier to understand how you really feel about Subaru!" The princess happily argued with her.

"If that is your wish, Emilia-sama. I would really like to openly discuss my feelings about your vocal talents. You see…"

Emilia gave a very cute squeak of fright and stared at the screen.

"I was wrong, Ram! I was wrong! It suits you very well when you keep your feelings to yourself! Please don't change!" She rattled on, very nervous.

All traces of the domineering and formidable lady evaporated in an instant. It was just Emilia again. Many around her also smiled at the complex but sincere relationship in the camp of the half-elf.

"But the great spirit was completely right at one moment." Julius decided to take the floor. "From the moment of his disgrace in the palace to the official ceremony of celebrating the victory over the White Whale and Sloth, very little time has passed. And in such a short period of time, Natsuki Subaru has accomplished something that all the knights of the kingdom have not achieved in four hundred years!"

"He has already seriously reshaped the future of our world. The death of the whale alone has made life extremely easier for merchants and travelers all over the world! And he didn't even start sharing his knowledge!" Anastasia remarked dreamily.

One way or another, she will achieve a close and mutually beneficial cooperation with him. She will stand on par with the Great Hoshin.

Reinhard nodded in agreement, fully agreeing with his chivalric friend's opinion. Inwardly accusing himself of being useless once again. So much power, so many blessings. And what did he do with all that power? Was he even able to succeed in anything?

'I drove away three bullies from Natsuki, whom he could handle himself. And the Bowel Hunter, but I wasn't even able to apprehend her.' He smiled bitterly. 'Knowing Subaru's resourcefulness, even if I hadn't met him that day, he surely would have come up with a full proof plan himself and succeeded. I only made it a little easier for him. Is this really all I'm capable of? Making it a little bit easier?'

"Rem… We're leaving now. I told Frederica to take good care of you. Be good and wait here for me, okay?"

"I would have waited, Subaru-kun. I would have waited patiently for as many years as it takes, knowing that my hero is looking for a way to save me." Rem whispered softly, without lifting her head from Subaru's shoulder.

When the young man left the room, he found that Petra was waiting for him in a maid's uniform.

"You're ready?" the girl asked.

"Sure am, new recruit. I see you're rocking the uniform already."

"Right?" Happy to hear this, Petra spun around on the spot, demonstrating how her maid's dress suited her and made a bow. "Did you say goodbye to Rem-san?"

"Yeah, something like that. We're not planning to stay out there long, but I wanted to see her first. Could you take care of Rem for me while I'm gone, Petra?"

"Understood, Subaru-sama!"

"Still, we started advertising to hire a new maid two days ago, and this is your first day actually being in the mansion. I'm impressed you found the place without getting lost. And I really admire your decision to leave your parents at such a young age."

"I'm twelve years old! I'm old enough to be a working grown-up! I mean… an adult! You need to treat me like a mature person, too, Subaru-sama!"

"I would say even more mature than this young man." Frederica remarked good-naturedly, stroking Petra's head.

"Less than a week has passed since her statement of intentions, and she already lives with him under the same roof! Truly, this girl is destined to succeed in her endeavor!" Al pretended to be amazed, continuing to cheer for the young maid.

"What was I talking about?" Frederica said triumphantly.

"This girl has a lot of potential. We need to think about hiring her. My merchant's instinct literally screams at me about it." Anastasia remarked to her knight with satisfaction.

Emilia tried to smile at this sweetest scene, but it came out very fake. How did it happen that HER knight kept attracting maidens who had deep feelings towards him? She still didn't know how to deal with the awakened Rem. And now Petra was becoming a real competitor in front of her eyes.

'Maybe I should talk to Ram, ask her for advice? She doesn't have much experience in relationships with boys either, but she has a lot of self-confidence, and she's also beautiful.'

"You're growing up fast as a maid, Petra." Ram said sternly, but with a hint of pride. "I think you'll get a passing grade pretty soon."

"Thank you for such a high assessment, Ram-sama!" Petra happily bowed.

"Get better at speaking politely and get Frederica to fully initiate you and I'll think about it."

"Kay! I mean… Yes, sir!"

"Minus point for breaching the rules of etiquette." Ram added calmly.

"B-but, Ram-sama! This screen shows the events of the distant past! How can you punish me for them now?!

Ram slowly turned her head and looked at Petra without even a hint of emotion. Which made the girl flinch, but she did not look away.

"I didn't say that the score was lowered for what you said on the screen. It was lowered because you allowed yourself to be provoked now and began to argue out loud with your senior's decision in the presence of others, which is unacceptable for a maid."

Many people laughed heartily, watching as the young maid, burning with shame, buried her face in her giggling mentor's side.

"She's got you, girl. You should learn to control your emotions better." Priscilla said good-naturedly. Such mind games were very much to her liking.

"Ram, as always, knows no mercy." Garfiel declared contentedly.

"My sister places a very high value on the noble profession of maids! She is strict, but incredibly fair!" Rem said proudly.

"Not when it comes to me though. Or Natsuki-san. Or Garfiel… wait, does she treat anyone fairly at all?!" Otto asked, shocked by his own statement.

"All of Ram's statements about your trio of stooges are the very embodiment of objectivity, reasonableness and, fortunately for you, good-naturedness!" the pink-haired girl said adamantly.

Subaru suddenly stopped and looked closely at the door next to him. When he opened it, he found that there was an ordinary empty room.

"I forgot what a pain she can be when she's serious about hiding." He muttered gloomily.

"Is there really a mysterious room here?"

"Yeah… Beatrice. You know her, right? Take care of her for me, too. You might randomly encounter her when opening a door somewhere."

"Wait, Subaru-sama! Aren't you asking a bit much of me?"

"I know. Sorry. But you're the only one I can ask. I really am sorry."

At these words, Petra beamed and smiled confidently.

"Oh, all right! If you insist, I'll just have to help you out!"

"Thanks. You're really a huge help."

"Just how does he manage to charm everyone like that?!" Reinhard was amazed. "Even my divine protection of "Sweet Talk" does not have such an effect!"

"Maybe your sweet talk would've worked better if it weren't for your nasty habit of kidnapping people!" His lady quipped at him. The knight could only smile guiltily.

"I wish I had this talent too." Tivey remarked dreamily, but immediately corrected himself. "Uh, that's… uh I don't mean to charm girls! This is for negotiations with contractors! A very useful skill!"

"My little Tivey is growing up and becoming a real man! Soon I will be able to retire and patiently wait for my grandchildren." The mercenary captain pretended to wipe away a man's tears.

"What kind of retirement are you talking about? You can still be used as a workforce for many years, like a ryger!" Lady Hoshin looked at him with a feigned threat.

"Madam, you are a slave driver!" Ricardo pleaded jokingly.

"You're a weakling, Tivey! The girls won't look at you!" Mimi said with a smug face. "Girls love strong guys!"

"Intelligence is also a power." Her twin said resentfully, adjusting his monocle.

"And much more powerful than some might think. Sir Natsuki is living proof of that. But it should be combined with courage and determination." Crusch decided to support the young demihuman, winking at him amiably.

The screen changed to the courtyard of the mansion, where a stagecoach stood ready for the trip. Otto sat on the box, and Subaru and Emilia stood in front of Frederica and Petra.

"Take care of the mansion for us. And Rem, Petra, and Beatrice, too."

"You can rely on me. Take care during your travels, Emilia-sama. And take this." Frederica said, handing the girl a blue crystal on a string. "This will allow you to get past the barrier in the forest, and enter the Sanctuary. From there, the ground dragons should take you to the location I described."

"So this stone is the requirement to get through the barrier?" Subaru asked.

"You have the location and the qualification. Now you only need the resolve and a strong will." She said it as if she were drawing a line between the past and the future.

"Frederica…" Emilia said in amazement.

"Take good care of the Sanctuary. And do not forget what I said earlier."

"Okay. We'll watch out for Garfiel. I promise."

"Um, Subaru-sama…" Petra called out while blushing heavily. "Would you please accept this?"

"Uh…"

"Lending a white handkerchief to a traveler, who later returns it stained and worn from the journey, is an old custom performed as a prayer for safe travels."

"Oh, it's one of those things? Okay, got it. Thanks, Petra. I promise I'll return it."

"That's a great move, Petra-san!" Wilhelm nodded approvingly. "When I was as young as Subaru-dono, such talismans were greatly treasured by soldiers. They reminded them of home, their loved ones, and gave them the strength to endure any hardships."

Rem couldn't resist biting her lip out of indignation. She knew there was such a custom. Then why didn't she remember about it before she and Subaru split apart?

"I'm already ready to bet my salary that her age is the only reason why Petra doesn't have Natsuki's last name yet." Al said with amusement.

"This girl is really cunning beyond her years. In no way should she be underestimated!" Crusch remarked with satisfaction, enjoying the startled expression on Emilia's face.

There was no need to be afraid. Natsuki was a noble man and would never take advantage of a young maid's infatuation. But it was definitely not a good strategy to waste time and wait for Petra to reach the appropriate age.

Right after tying a handkerchief on the young man's arm, Petra embarrassedly ran behind smiling Frederica.

"What? What brought that reaction on? This sudden rebellious phase is making me sad."

"Now, you should hurry. The Lost Forest of Climaldy grows more dangerous as night approaches. I wish you a safe journey."

Patrasche started moving the stagecoach forward. Frederica and Petra bowed and watched them go.

"Subaru-sama!" Petra said loudly, waving her hand, which had a similar handkerchief tied on it. "You'd better protect the lady!"

Frederica took the letter out of her pocket and looked at it.

"I have done exactly as the Master directed. Now everything depends on how Emilia-sama overcomes the Sanctuary. There is nothing we can do but pray."

The scene changes to a forest road along which a dragon carriage was moving.

"Puck isn't showing up?"

"Yeah."

"I've called out to him several times, and I can feel the link from our contract, but…"

"Has anything like this happened before?"

"Not very often, but there have been a few times when he didn't show up for a few days."

Subaru, at these words, remembered Park's last words to him to take care of Emilia."

"Ha! It seems even your own spirit was so fed up with you that he just ran away, throwing his burden onto the boy! Why am I not surprised at all?" Priscilla couldn't help but sneer.

"Bubby would never leave his partner for nothing, in fact! He probably felt that something was preventing him from acting outside the crystal and gathered the remnants of his power to ask Betty's contractor to protect her!"

"But what could prevent the great spirit from responding to the call of his contractor?!" Julius asked in surprise. For him, as a spirit arts user, this was very frightening news.

"Really, what…" muttered Beatrice, immediately thinking of the ancient magician in clown's attire. "Did the book order you to do that, Roswaal? Or did you come up with such a plan yourself, while pursuing your goals?

"Couldn't have been…" Subaru thought about it. Seeing his doubts, Emilia hastened to calm him down:

"But I do have contracts with lesser spirits, too and I can also fight with them. No matter what happens, I'll protect you!" For greater effect, she held up her finger, around which several younger spirits appeared.

"Wow, you're so manly!" Natsuki teased her, imitating a rescued damsel in distress.

"Hey!" Emilia replied cheerfully. The couple laughed merrily.

"Did you want to show him so badly that you could be relied on?" Crusch turned to Emilia.

"He organized two successful expeditions against the White Whale and the Witch Cult. He saved the whole village." The girl remarked sadly. "And I was just a passive observer who didn't even know about what was happening around me. I wanted to prove to Subaru… and to myself that I can be useful and reliable too.

'And soon everyone will see how I failed miserably…' She thought, remembering how she first failed the Trials, and then completely ran away from everyone.

Trying to calm down somehow, she gently, remembering her great strength, squeezed Natsuki's palm.

'But you said you loved me anyway, didn't you? Even though I was just a pain in the ass back then, you haven't left me. You won't leave me now, will you, Subaru? Because I don't want to, I can't let you leave me! Not after all of this…'

"Frederica did warn us that something might happen." Subaru reminded her.

"Oh… Garfiel, right?"

"Yeah. Roswaal did mention a few times that he was going to see him…"

"Excuse me! We're in the forest!" Otto's voice announced.

Pulling back the curtains, they looked at the dense forest that stretched on both sides of the road. The screen changed to a scene from the past, where Frederica described the protective mechanism of the Sanctuary:

"The Lost Woods of Climaldy. A special barrier there protects the Sanctuary. It makes outsiders lose their way, to prevent them from getting close. That is why they call it the "Lost Woods.""

"So the Sanctuary is just ahead…" Subaru muttered, looking into the thicket of the forest. After seeing how tense Emilia was, he asked: "Emilia-tan, are you actually nervous?"

"Huh? How could you tell?" She asked surprised.

"I know everything about you! At least, that's what I'd like to say, but anyone could tell."

As a hint, he began to stretch his face. After repeating his movements, Emilia realized how tense her face was.

"You're right! I'm sorry for worrying you. When I think that we're about to arrive at the Sanctuary, a village where only demihumans live…"

"No, I should apologize. I wasn't thinking that far ahead. "

"I guess there might be more half-elves like you there, huh? "

"I've never seen any half-elves other than myself. But just maybe, in the Sanctuary…"

"Don't worry. I'll—" His monologue was interrupted by the bright glow of the crystal on Emilia's chest, which was given by Frederica.

"Emilia?!"

"Uh… Is this…?" The girl asked fearfully.

"What's going on?!" Felt asked nervously, fearing that fate had decided to use another dirty trick at her friend. "Big sis, what's going to happen now?!"

"I… don't remember. I lost consciousness, and when I came to, Subaru was there with me along with Garfiel." Half-elf replied no less excitedly.

"So, is everything going to be okay with big bro?" The red-eyed girl asked hopefully.

"I… hope so." Emilia replied with uncertainty, looking at the screen with concern.

"I suddenly have a really bad feeling!" With that, he reached for the amulet. "I'm borrowing this, Emilia! Emilia!"

Taking the amulet from her, he opened the window, intending to throw it away, as if he expected it to explode. But when he heard a dull sound from behind, he turned around. Emilia was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Emilia!"

In this moment the crystal's radiance has increased, its light filled the carriage and blinded the young man. When his vision returned to him, Subaru found himself outside the stagecoach in the middle of the forest.

"What happened?! Where did the stagecoach dissapered?!" Petra asked, startled.

"This is the magic of displacement, in fact!" Beatrice noted. "Such a spell cannot be created by a mere magician."

"But why was dere such magic in the crystal?! It's just a family heirloom tha' my sis and my amazin' self inherited from my mom!" Garfiel looked completely lost.

"Someone put this spell in the crystal, I suppose. What do you say to that, blonde maid?!" The great spirit stated, turning to Frederica.

"Me?! It's true that Garf and I have crystals capable of holding a large amount of mana. But I don't have that kind of magic!" The girl replied in a frightened voice, feeling awkward from so many glances. "I acted strictly according to the letter that the Roswaal-sama left me in his office! Among other things, I was instructed to give this amulet directly into Emilia's hands! Honestly!

"She's telling the truth." Crusch confirmed.

"And my divine protection of empathy informs me that she is just as surprised as we are." Reinhard supported the duchess' words.

"That leaves us with one option. You, clown! What kind of scheme were you plotting there?! What were your intentions regarding the half-wit?"

"I kindly ask you not to throw such accusations at my master!" Ram stepped between Priscilla's accusing gesture and Roswaal. "Also I kindly ask you to refrain from insulting margrave and the court magician of the kingdom!"

"Hush, servant! Maybe you think that your loyalty does you honor, but clinging to it will only drag you down with this pervert!"

Ram was clearly about to give a decent response to this attack when she was stopped by a familiar hand on her shoulder. Realizing her master's message, she sat down.

"It looks like the audience is getting ti-i-ired. After all, just a few minutes ago I said bluntly that the safety of Emilia-sama's life, as well as her vi-i-ictory in the elections, are my main priorities. It would be very stupid of me to set up an accident in the woo-o-ods for her."

"Then why did you put a displacement spell in secret from everyone in the crystal, in fact?!" Beatrice asked angrily. She didn't care what the clown was planning to do with Emilia. But his actions put her contractor at risk. Again!

"It was all part of my plan to reach my go-o-oal."

Everyone understood that Roswaal was not telling the whole truth. And, most likely, skillfully bypassed the abilities of Crusch and Reinhard to recognize lies.

"There is no point in trying to make him confess now." Julius decided to calm everyone down. "Our knowledge about his conspiracy against the Holy Dragon is already enough to make margrave's position very precarious. Pressing him about the secret plans inside his camp won't give us much."

"But if he was plotting something against Lady Emilia, it's treason!" Felix disagreed.

"Alas, we cannot accuse him of anything in this regard. All his words that he needs Emilia alive as a candidate for the throne are true. I would be more worried about his plans for Natsuki Subaru." The duchess reasoned.

"Where… am I?" Looking around, he heard rustling behind him.

Turning around, he saw a girl who resembled Beatrice in height and age. She had long pink hair, blue eyes, bare feet, and a long white cloak that covered her entire body from nose to feet.

"Ryuzu…" Beatrice said sadly when she found out whose clone she saw on the screen.

"Sphinx?!" Wilhelm declared dumbfounded, recognizing the terrible enemy he fought with during the Demi-human war. "No. Impossible! Wasn't she killed in the catacombs of the royal palace?!"

"Who's tha' Sphinx?" Garfiel asked, confused.

How did it happen that someone unfamiliar with the Sanctuary overreacted so strongly to one of the copies? Frederica looked at the old warrior with no less confusion and fear in her eyes.

"I understand your concerns, Wilhelm-san, but I can assure you that the girl on the screen is not that thing.'' Roswaal said firmly, omitting his accent to give his words more weight. "As far as I know, in her last battle that thing lost both arms and was subsequently killed. And this little girl has everything in place."

"Are you really sure about this, margrave? That witch possessed powerful magic! Who knows, maybe she found a way to grow new hands. She looks exactly like that Sphinx!"

"Sphinx… that's the name of the witch who was one of the leaders of the demi-humans during the civil war!" Julius, as always, was professional in everything related to history.

"That's right. I have faced this creature during the war and will never forget how she looks like. It is said she was killed by Leip Bariel."

"My grandmother Julia personally received the necklace and ring that thing was wearing from him." Roswaal added on his own behalf.

"Wilhelm-san. My amazin' self won't argue with yer words, but trust me, on the screen now we see just a dummy doll with no personality! And none of the old hags can be dis Sphinx, much less a witch!" Garfiel tried to convince Wilhelm. He won't allow this mighty old man to start something against his grannies.

"Although I don't completely understand how the girl on the screen, the witch Sphinx and Garfiel's grandmothers are connected, I can assure you, esteemed grandfather, that he is telling the truth." Reinhard sided with the blonde boy.

The words of the Sword Saint calmed William down somewhat, after which he bowed guiltily and asked for forgiveness from those present for his intemperance.

Meanwhile, Roswaal was thinking about how the fact that Sphinx actually was the result of the Teacher's failed experiment that escaped from the Sanctuary several centuries ago and how she will be perceived. A clone of Ryuzu Meyer, which preserved an incomplete copy of the soul of the Witch of Greed, which eventually created a different personality.

And Beatrice was worried that the good memory of her first friend might be tainted by the actions of some clone.

"Who are you?" asked Subaru. "Those ears… Are you an elf?"

She stayed silent, turned around and ran back.

Chasing the girl, Subaru ran out into a clearing structure, constructed from stones piled onto one another, which was a ruin of particularly primitive architecture. Most of the outer facing was covered in green moss and vines. In the center he saw an entrance.

"No, wait! Wait a minute!"

"Hey! Is anyone here? If this is the Sanctuary, somebody answer me!" He called out, but got no answer.

Not knowing what else to do, he went inside.

"This is…"

As he entered the depths of the complex, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice in his head:

"I see. So that is the root of your desire? How very interesting."

"Mother…" recognizing this voice, the great spirit could not remain silent.

"Mother?" Rem exclaimed in surprise when she heard her.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed: the corridor was replaced by a pastoral green meadow. The darkness was replaced by the bright light of the shining sun. The overgrown ceiling was replaced by a blue sky.

"Oh, did I startle you?"

Hearing a voice behind Subaru turned around and saw a street umbrella on a small hill, under the shadow of which a tea table and a couple of chairs were located. One of the chairs was occupied by a slender, elegant-looking young woman. Her black dress accentuated the noble pallor of her skin. Her long, white hair contrasted with the black pupils of her eyes. Anyone who looked could not help but notice the unnatural beauty of the girl.

"Teacher…" Roswaal said in a barely audible voice, unable to take his eyes away from the screen. Away from the image he had been dreaming about for the last four hundred years.

Hearing her master's whisper, Ram pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. She finally saw a woman who, for her own filthy purposes, molded her beloved into a monster worthy of the Witch Cult.

'Truly a witch… even after death she corrupts the lives of everyone around!' The girl thought angrily.

"It has been quite a while since I spoke with anyone, so perhaps I was too eager. My name is Echidna… Or perhaps you would know me better as the Witch of Greed?"

[Screen Title: The Next Location]

"Wait a minute! What does she mean by the Witch of Greed?! Weren't the rest of the witches of sins killed by the Witch of Envy four hundred years ago?! How is this possible for this… Echidna to still be alive?! Is she an imposter?" Julius was perplexed.

"Well dis witch is surely dead. And been dead for a long time." Garfiel put in, completely unsurprised.

"Then where did she send Subaru-kun to? And how can she communicate with him if she's dead?" Rem asked worriedly.

"Echidna really died a long time ago." Emilia began to explain. "She transferred Subaru's consciousness to her spiritual world, which she inhabited since the day of her death. I was in this place once too, after I passed the Sanctuary's Trial".

"Why she invited you, Emilia-sama, I can understand, nya. Once you've passed her Trial or whatever happened to you. But why would she suddenly be so interested in Subaru-kyun, nya?"

"Well… she said it herself that she craved company. And here a new face just arrived." Emilia replied with childlike naivety, causing a lot of glances with a variety of emotions.

Despite her strong sense of justice, the princess had an overly optimistic view of other people. This was probably caused by loneliness, which gave rise to a strong desire to communicate and see only the best in people.

"That's not what's important right now. Beatrice-sama. You called Echidna mother, why?" Rem attracted everyone's attention.

The girl was silent for several seconds, deciding what to do. But since the screen showed Subaru's first meeting with her mother, then the rest of their conversations will surely become known to everyone. Therefore, there was no point in hiding this fact.

"Because she's my mother. My creator, in fact."

"But… is that even possible to create a spirit?!" Julius couldn't believe his ears.

"If you have enough knowledge and magical power, yes, I suppose. Just like the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne, could create mabeasts, so my mother had knowledge of creating artificial spirits and more, in fact." She decided to give only a minimum of information, not wanting to reveal that Bubby was also her creation.

"And besides you, did this Echidna create other artificial spirits?" Anastasia asked, trying to hide her excessive interest, stroking the white fox's fur on her shoulder.

The merchant princess was bursting with a craving to learn as much as possible about the creation of spirits. But at the same time she was afraid that if she showed too much interest, it would attract unneeded attention to her and to the arctic fox cape on her shoulders.

"Quite possibly, I suppose. My mother always strived to try all possible options in her experiments. Betty knows that she was the last of the creations. But Betty will not claim to be the first and only one." She replied evasively, knowing that a direct lie would be revealed.

"But why would she do that?"

"For the sake of knowledge of course. And to achieve her cherished dream, I suppose. My mother dreamed of defeating death itself."

Such a revelation stopped the flow of questions and made the others think. Only the great magician who was sitting on the edge of the room did not listen to the words of his old friend, because there was nothing new for him here.

'So far, everything we saw is going as you predicted, Teacher. All events unfold according to the plan described in the gospel. So what went wrong? Where did your plan fail? Why did Natsuki Subaru displease you so much that you rejected him? Or...' Roswaal looked thoughtfully at the girl sitting on the lap of the sleeping boy. All sorts of scenarios based on what he knew were flying through the ancient magician's head with superhuman speed.

'Or was it not you who rejected him, but the opposite…? Say what you like, but human feelings have always been the most unpredictable area for you. And Natsuki Subaru's greatest weapon. If he found out about your little "experiment" on Beatrice… he would never forgive you.'

"I… have extremely contradictory feelings right now." Ricardo said thoughtfully. "On the one hand, I want to pick up my jaw from the floor from the fact that the guy stumbled upon not just anyone, but an entire witch from an ancient era. On the other hand, if anyone could get into such a situation, it could only be him."

"Indeed, Sir Natsuki has an amazing skill of being at the center of all the most significant events in the kingdom, getting to know the most important people and facing the biggest challenges and secrets of our world." Crusch remarked with some admiration.

"Are you ready to bet, how long will it take before Natsuki-kun to become solid with the Emperor of Vollachia?" Anastasia said, looking at the duchess with excitement. The militarist girl just grinned in return.

"Aha, or how much time will pass before he sneaks into the Watchtower of the Pleiades, has a fight with the Sage and then becomes best friends with him!" Felt snorted cheerfully.

'It already scares me how much your life in our world is similar to those books about people who got transported to other worlds that you told me about, I suppose.' Beatrice mentally asked, and, just in case, pressed her back against her contractor. The last thing she wanted is for some unknown force to drag him away again.

The screen, meanwhile, continued to work, loading the next episode.