"Alright, since everyone has gathered, let's begin the first official meeting of the Emilia Camp!"
"Well, whilst I appreciate your enthusiasm, Lia, do you mind telling us what this is all about?" Puck looked at her with deep concern in his vibrant blue eyes, "All this talk about grave danger… you've got me worried!"
"First of all, I'd like to say that this is all just conjecture and theories on my part, and I have no concrete evidence of what I'm about to say… however, I have reason to believe that that Felt girl might not have just randomly stolen from me." Emilia spoke gravely.
"Huh?" Puck raised his eyebrow in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"
"Originally, I thought that Felt just targeted my Insignia because I was a candidate for the Royal Selection, but after listening to Sir Arthur's questions at the Royal Palace, I realized that there's no way that Felt girl could've known the true significance behind my Insignia, and once I got on that train of thought, well, the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed."
"I don't think it's strange at all." Puck shook his head, "She's a thief, after all. Maybe she didn't know the true value of the Insignia, but at the same time, even without including all the Royal Selection stuff, it's gotta be pretty valuable, right? I mean, there's a big red jewel at the center of it. Maybe she saw it and just decided on a whim she wanted to steal it."
"Whilst I agree with your logic, Puck, the issue is that I never once revealed my Insignia since arriving to the Capital. It's a precious item after all, I kept it hidden reaaally safe, but she stole it without even having to search for it, as if she knew where it was before she even decided to steal from me." Emilia wore a heavy frown on her face, gesturing to her outfit, "I've got multiple pockets on my cloak and dress, but she happened to pick the very single pocket where my Insignia was located!"
"Actually, now that I think about it, it is a little strange." Ram held her chin in thought, "The capital city has a population of 300,000, and that's not even including all the merchants and tourists visiting the capital. Isn't it a little coincidental that out of all these people, she decided to target Lady Emilia specifically, a candidate for the Royal Selection?"
"Well, Ram, coincidences do happen." Puck shrugged, but Ram just shook her head and continued,
"Not to mention, out of all her personal belongings, including the expensive crystal she wears openly, the Insignia of all things was stolen? Though I'm not hugely knowledgeable on jewels, that large crystal must be worth way more than the tiny little red jewel, right?"
"Right, right." Emilia nodded her head, "Though I don't condone thievery in the first place, I literally had no money on me. Considering how many rich and wealthy merchants and nobles there are walking around with big coin pouches, why didn't she steal from one of them instead? Is my luck that bad?"
"I mean, maybe it's because of your clothes that she thought you had money? You do dress regally, Lia." Puck made a proud smile, very pleased with his outfit coordination for Emilia.
"I mean, I can't deny you make a good point, Puck, but when it comes to outfit value, I think you'd still be able to find plenty more people with outfits more valuable than mine." Emilia massaged her temples, "Am I really just overthinking things?"
"No, Lady Emilia, I really don't think you're overthinking things." Ram shook her head, "In fact, the more you speculate, the more inconsistencies I seem to notice with this supposed surprise theft."
"What do you mean?" Puck cupped his chin with his paw curiously.
"Please let me explain." Ram lent forward, "Judging by her skill and sleight of hand, I presume this is not the first time Lady Felt has stolen, perhaps she makes a living off it. Anyone who makes a living in thievery has to be incredibly cautious. I would imagine that Lady Felt conducts a rather hefty amount of research on her targets before pulling off a big heist, and quite frankly, it doesn't make sense that she would choose to target Lady Emilia, who only just arrived in the capital today. The Insignia has to be worth what, 3 or 4 gold coins? Even if she does seek money, I don't believe it would be worth it to target an unknown person she has never met before. It must be known that Lady Emilia is a Spirit Arts User, things could've gone incredibly wrong for Lady Felt. And for 3 or 4 gold coins? I just don't buy it." Ram shook her head.
"Well, to be fair, that girl might not have known that Lia was a Spirit Arts User." Puck continued to play devil's advocate. It seemed he would take a fair amount of convincing before he finally gave in. This was not a particularly bad thing, as it spurred Ram and Emilia on to theorize even further.
"Wait, I'm not finished." Ram continued, "Beyond that, we also need to consider that Lady Emilia is wearing the emblem of House Mathers. Perhaps someone might be brave enough to steal from Lord Roswaal, the Head Court Mage, but they certainly wouldn't do it in broad daylight with so many witnesses. I'd hazard a guess that if we started questioning people, it would only take a matter of hours before narrowing down the identity of the culprit, and the punishment most certainly wouldn't have been small. I don't believe that any thief in their right mind would risk their entire livelihood for 3 or 4 gold coins, especially one as skilled as Lady Felt."
"Once again, to be fair, this girl might not have recognized Lia's emblem." Puck crossed his arms, pondering deeply.
"Even if she doesn't know it belongs to House Mathers in particular, I still think you would have to be out of your mind to target someone whose robes are embroidered with a golden hawk." Ram responded back logically, and well, it made sense. Each noble house had their own emblem. And from their perspective, it was impossible for Lady Felt who had lived her life in the city to be unaware of this fact.
Puck let out a heavy sigh, "Alright, you've managed to convince me, Ram. If it was just one or two things then fine, it could've just been a coincidence, but quite frankly, there's way too many inconsistencies. If this really was a coincidence, it would have to be the biggest coincidence I've ever heard of." Puck nodded his head to himself.
"I'm glad you've finally come around, Puck." Emilia smiled warmly, turning to Ram, "And thank you for highlighting all those points Ram, I didn't even think of half of those."
"I'm happy to be of service to you, Lady Emilia." Ram made a polite courtesy.
Emilia then turned around and set her sights on me, "What about you, Sir Arthur? You've been awfully quiet, what do you think about the entire matter? Are we really just overthinking things?" Emilia looked at me with clear intrigue, her interest visibly piqued. It was clear that although we had technically only just met, she already valued my opinion, and that was a very welcoming feeling.
"Honestly, Lady Emilia, I wouldn't like to make conjecture without having any concrete evidence, but after listening to what Miss Ram had to say, I came up with a possible theory that I would like everyone to hear." I clasped my hands together and leant forward, "Do you think it's possible that someone could've offered Lady Felt money in return for the Insignia? A large amount of money she simply couldn't refuse? Perhaps enough so that she wouldn't have to continue living a life of thievery? Because if so, everything would tie up perfectly. Everything that was a coincidence would become easily explainable."
Now that they had already put all the pieces together, I could now point them on the right track naturally. Though it was a lot more convoluted than simply telling Lady Emilia she was in danger, considering the fact I wouldn't be able to properly explain myself, for me personally, it achieved a much better result.
As I stated before, Subaru showed how easily it is to quickly sow distrust with people by randomly telling them the future without any proof or evidence to back it up, and considering I only had this timeline, I had to be as cautious as possible to avoid messing things up. The extra bonus was that technically Lady Emilia had surmised this entire theory herself, and naturally, the credit of this achievement will belong to her. Though it took a lot of effort, I was rather relieved to have reached this point.
Perhaps we could've reached this point quicker if we simply conferred to Lady Felt directly, but considering Lady Emilia's lack of confidence, I understood why she would want to hash it out with us first instead of simply waltzing up to the Astrea Mansion.
"But why me?" Emilia frowned, "I haven't done anything wrong." She looked rather wronged, and though I felt sorry for her, her naivety was showcasing itself strongly. That kind of naivety needed to be erased if she did want to sit on the throne, but then again, if everything that made Emilia Emilia was erased, would she still be Lady Emilia? I suppose as long as she kept her kind, pure heart, she would always be my lady.
"Unfortunately, even if you're good to others, others might not be good to you, and Lia, though I hate to say this, there are plenty of people who would like to target you. I suppose it can't be helped my daughter is so well-sought after." He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but the severity in his eyes was anything but funny.
"Lady Emilia, though this might hurt to hear, Puck is correct." Ram added, "Your enemies are not few, and many have strong motives to target your insignia, for example, the other candidates in the Royal Selection. By simply having your Insignia stolen, they can remove one of their competitors from the competition without even having to lift a finger, increasing their chances of obtaining the throne by 20%. They also have the extensive intelligence network available to find out about your true identity, and the resources to pull this kind of thing off. Whether it's means or motive, they fit the bill perfectly."
"Would they really do such a thing? Considering they're competing to rule this Kingdom, it's not a very honorable thing to do." Emilia looked incredibly downcast at the idea that a potential ruler of all these people would lower themselves to such trickery.
"Honor and chivalry are hard to find in this day and age, Lia." Puck let out a heavy sigh, "Think yourself lucky you ran into Sir Arthur."
"Indeed." Emilia nodded her head, "Without Sir Arthur, I'd probably still be running around the city looking for my Insignia. I was reaaaaally lucky." She smiled brightly.
Puck also smiled, but the smile soon disappeared in an instant, replaced with a ferocious expression that contrasted sharply with the rest of his cute appearance, "And I can think of another group who would like to target you, Lia." He spat out, the hatred in his voice practically tangible.
"The witch cult." Ram grit her teeth, the hatred in her voice even more visceral. It felt as if I could quite literally feel the boiling hatred bubbling off her. Considering how placid and amiable Ram had been this entire time, I naturally felt shocked to witness such an intense bloodthirst.
Puck then turned to me and let out a heavy sigh, "You're probably not aware, Arthur, but the Witch Cult are a group of maniacs that worship Satella, the Witch of Envy who swallowed half of the world whole four hundred years back. They are an incredibly, incredibly dangerous group, responsible for countless atrocities across the years, and unfortunately, due to the unfortunate resemblance our Lia bears to Satella, they've really got it out for her. Though I can't prove anything, if the Witch Cult really was behind this, a lot of things would make sense. I mean, think about it, apart from us, Rem, Roswaal and Beatrice, no one else should know that Lia is a candidate that possesses the Insignia, but the Witch Cult possess those Gospels that can see the future, and that could perfectly explain how they would be aware that Emilia was A. a candidate and B. in the Capital today. Though I don't know exactly what their plan is, sabotaging and targeting Lia is exactly the kind of thing they'd do, and if it really is the Witch Cult, then Lia- no, we're all in a lot of danger."
Hearing Puck's words, I closed my eyes and pondered over them. Incredibly logical. Though I already knew who was actually behind this matter, he almost managed to convince me it really was the Witch Cult. Either way, despite the fact it wasn't actually the Witch Cult, I still owed Emilia an apology.
"Lady Emilia." I turned to her, looking her in the eyes with unparalleled seriousness, "If it wasn't for the fact I returned your Insignia to you, this threat would not have occurred. Though it's only my first day on the job, I've already failed you and put your life in danger. As a knight, there is no greater sin I could have possibly committed. Despite that, I hope you'll forgive this dunderheaded servant of yours." I fell to one knee and bowed my head.
"Arthur." Emilia frowned, meeting me with equal sternness, "Please, never, ever say such silly things again. You're right, you really are a dunderhead. Do you have any idea how bad things would've been if my Insignia was stolen? Don't misunderstand, Arthur, you saved me, even if I wouldn't have died, my dreams would've been crushed, leaving me worse than dead. And even if you didn't return my Insignia to me, it isn't like the Witch Cult would stop targeting me, it would've only been delaying the inevitable." She spoke with sad eyes, and I couldn't help but grip my fists tightly. Sure enough, the Witch Cult were my biggest enemies in this world, and I wouldn't allow them to harm a hair on Lady Emilia's head.
"With that being said," Ram interjected, "We can't confirm anything without any evidence, and I believe what we need to do next is obvious."
"Find Lady Felt / Felt / that girl." Myself, Emilia and Puck spoke in unison.
"Thankfully, we know where she is, and even better, Sir Reinhard practically lives next door to us." I made a small smile, "Though I'd feel incredibly bad at troubling Sir Reinhard so late in the evening, considering Lady Emilia's safety is on the line, I'm afraid we have to disturb him even if that means earning his ire." I stood up and let out a small sigh. Though I was genuinely worried Reinhard might grow irritated with me knocking on his door so late in the evening, most likely when he was in the middle of eating dinner, I would be lying if I said a small part of me wasn't excited to see him again.
It was precisely then that the sound of knocking against the front door echoed out through the spacious hallways of the Mathers guesthouse, and immediately, the tension in the room became so thick that you could cut it with a knife. This was understandable. We were just talking about a potential attack from the Witch Cult, now there was a knock on the front door, it was impossible not to be worried.
"Lady Emilia, please let me get the door." I immediately stood up, but Lady Emilia was even quicker to stop me, grabbing onto my sleeve, looking at me with her watery amethyst eyes.
"No, don't, Sir Arthur, it might be dangerous."
"That's precisely why it needs to be me, Lady Emilia." I looked at her and smiled gently, "Though this might seem arrogant of me to say, but when it comes to strength in our group of four, mine is the most superior. If it is an assassin, then I will have the most chance of surviving the encounter. Please, Lady Emilia, as your servant, allow me to get the door."
As someone who has rewatched Re:Zero several times, the two-dimensional corpses of Emilia and Ram were still fresh in my mind. I did not want to see anything like that even come close to happening in this timeline, but quite frankly, whether it was Ram or Emilia, despite their strength, they died way too often. Their plot armor was so unreasonably thin that it made me feel guilty for having such a high Luck stat.
Anyhow, though I wasn't invulnerable due to my lack of Avalon, I was confident in my A+ Rank Endurance. It must be known that even Heracles, who was known especially for his durability, only had A-Rank Endurance, though this was his Berserker form. The point was, unless the person on the other side of the door was on the same level of Cecilus Segmunt, it would be very difficult to one-shot me.
Emilia took a deep breath and looked at me with her watery amethyst eyes, acknowledging my decision and my determination despite her stubborn personality. She nodded her head to me, "Alright, Sir Arthur. But no matter what, you're not allowed to get hurt, okay? That's an order."
"Your wish is my command, Lady Emilia." I fell to my knee and bowed politely. With that, I stood back up and left the living room.
Admittedly, as I approached the front door, I was a little nervous. The rational side of me told me that there were very few people in this world on the same level as Reinhard and Cecilus, and at the same time, even if Elsa was planning an attack, she wouldn't use the front door so cordially, but even so, the unknown always made an endless number of 'what if's' pop up in my mind.
I reached out my right hand and rested it on the hilt of my sword, taking a deep breath as I reached out my left hand, opening the door.
However, when I saw the duo that stood outside the door, I was positively dumbfounded.
It turned out that someone on the same level, or rather, someone even stronger than Cecilus had appeared.
A head of crimson hair, and a pair of crimson eyes. Naturally, it was Reinhard and Felt.
Reinhard had an incredibly troubled look on his face as he stood outside the door, holding some packaged food in his hand that was emitting a faint warmth, "Sir Arthur, please allow me to apologize for barging in unannounced so late in the evening. I'm well aware that I might have earned your ire by turning up on your doorstep like this, but my Lady has something urgent to discuss with Lady Emilia, and I'm afraid it couldn't wait until morning."
Authors Notes:
Well, that has been chapter five! I really hope you enjoyed. A lot more dialogue heavy, with a slightly slower pace. I just wanted to take my time with finishing Arc 1 and properly build up the final confrontation.
Having been giving myself more time, you'll be happy to know I'm reaching quite a good rhythm with my writing and editing. Currently, I'm reading the light novels from the beginning to refresh my memory for Arc 2, as things will be a fair bit different from the canon timeline during Arc 2.
Regarding some edits to previous chapters, firstly, a few reviewers mentioned that Arthur saying 'Root be damned' didn't fit well into the story, so I reread the story and quite frankly, I completely agree. I found that piece of dialogue incredibly jarring, and it doesn't seem like the sort of thing Arthur would say in the first place, so I changed it to something that flowed more naturally.
The second big edit was in regards to an issue pointed out by Phantom Thief of Hearts where I seemed to have completely forgot that Beatrice was a fellow humanoid spirit like Arthur. Honestly, no idea how I made such a rookie error, there's really no excuses. I guess that's another example of why I need to take my time processing each chapter, so thank you Phantom Thief of Hearts for pointing that out, the conversation has now been edited so it makes sense.
With that all being said, that has been Chapter 5. As of right now, we're approaching 150 followers, and once again, I'd like to deeply express my gratitude to everyone who has viewed, followed, favorited or left a review on this story, it really means the world to me and gives me the motivation to keep on writing away.
Thank you once again for reading the chapter, take care!