A/N: HiI!! Here's an extra chapter for this week!! I have decided to post TWO chapters this week instead of just one so that I can celebrate Christmas with everyone AND show off some nice Christmas-themed fanart!! The previous chapter had a fanart picture of Lyra which was commissioned for me by @Wrathful_oni and drawn by @hainomajoeraina, however, this one was instead commissioned by myself, was drawn by @arisuevaa/a_risu (she has different Twitter and Discord usernames), and is instead a fanart picture of Rem!! I am genuinely so happy that they did this for me, and. I look forward to seeing you more art from them in the future!! As I stated in the previous chapter's Author's Notes section, I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Thanks so much for reading!! _

Chapter 23: Fragile! Handle With Care!

Waking up early yet AGAIN the next morning, Lyra brushed her teeth, put on her work clothes, and made her way downstairs to start the day. Getting to her tasks early, she started cutting the shrubs, edging the paths, and trimming some of the smaller trees.

It was close to noon when Lyra was finishing up her duties. She had made sure to get as much done with as she could before it got warm out. She was now on her final task, which involved spreading manure on the flower beds around the perimeter of the mansion.

As soon as she started working on the final bed, Lyra spotted Rem coming out of the mansion. Her hands were full with a set of trimmers and a vase of water. Lyra put down her tools and greeted her with a cheery wave and a friendly smile.

Lyra: Hi, Rem!!! Good morning!!! How are you?

Rem turned to meet Lyra's call and waved her hand with the trimmers. She smiled back at Lyra and responded.

Rem: Rem is doing well. She is fully rested and ready for a new day. It's nice to see that you're so happy and full of energy today, Lyra-chan.

Lyra cupped her hands around her mouth to make sure the sound had fully reached Rem and called out to her again.

Lyra: Nice to see that you are doing well too, Rem! Are you getting some flowers at the moment, by any chance?!

Rem replied with just a simple nod, almost barely visible from how far she was. Lyra only knew that she had nodded by the way her bangs swung when she did.

Lyra called out to Rem once more, waving her arm in a motion to get her to come towards her.

Lyra: Uhhh..you might not want THOSE flowers! They probably STINK!

Taking a better look at what Lyra was actually doing, Rem put two and two together and came over to the yet-to-be-manured flower bed that Lyra was working on.

Rem bowed slightly in thanks once she had fully reached her location.

Rem: If Lyra-chan hadn't called out to her just now, Rem might have made a TERRIBLE mistake and chose flowers not fit for inside of the mansion. Thank you, Lyra-chan.

Lyra: No problem! But...uhhh...don't you usually have a pretty strong and good sense of smell? I'm surprised you didn't notice...

Rem shook her head with an exhausted look on her face and explained.

Rem: Rem has been following Subaru-kun around quite a bit today in order to help make sure that he wasn't getting TOO carried away with anything...and...well...

Lyra: Damn it...don't tell me those flowers are for ..

Rem closed her eyes and nodded her head. Lyra's eyes grew wide in shock as she placed her hands on her head.

Lyra: Wh-wh-WHAT?!— HOW?! That's gotta be, like, what, the FIFTH ONE that he's broken now?!

Shaking her head now, Rem opened her eyes back up, and answered.

Rem: Sixth.

Lyra: Wow...just...wow...

Lyra sighed and let her hands fall to her side.

Rem: Subaru-kun is doing an excellent job of making the floors shine and leaving not a single spec uncleaned when he dusts, but it's at the cost of being EXTREMELY reckless. Rem doesn't even think that he NOTICED breaking THIS one...

Puffing out her cheeks into a pout and crossing her arms out of annoyance towards Subaru's recklessness.

Lyra: So, why are YOU doing it? Shouldn't it be HIM who replaces the flowers AND the vase?

Rem: Nee-sama moved all the vases out of the storage room that Subaru-kun was getting them from and hid them in a different one. Nee-sama said that it's better for us to NOT let him replace them for now, or else we'll run out.

Lyra replied, losing her pout, shaking her head and wiping the sweat off of her forehead,

Lyra: *Sigh* That boy is like a bull in a China cabinet… Here. Take your flowers. I'll finish up here and come help you out with dealing with his antics.

A look of worry ran across Rem's face.

Rem: B-but you've already worked ENOUGH for today as a part- timer! Please, let Rem handle it—

Lyra: Rem.

Lyra cut Rem off as she stabbed her trowel into the manure to move it to the flower bed.

Lyra: It's not WORK if I'm HELPING you.

Lyra and Rem both smiled at each other, with Lyra smiling first and Rem shortly after. Both women blushed slightly.

Rem nodded and agreed.

Once Lyra was finished spreading the manure and putting her tools away, she arrived back inside of the mansion with Rem a short while later.

Arriving inside the main foyer, Lyra was surprised at how spotless and shiny the floor was. Walking up to the wall, he examined the few nick-nacks, paintings, flower vases, and other things which were located around the foyer.

Lyra turned around and spoke to Rem, commenting on just how clean everything really was.

Lyra: There's not a SINGLE speck of dust ANYWHERE..no grime either...wow...everything really IS super nice and clean...

Rem replied with a nod.

Rem: Like Rem said, Subaru-kun is being VERY diligent with his tasks. However, he IS being rather careless at times.

Lyra scratched the back of her head and looked down at the vase that Rem was carrying. She pointed at the vase and asked a question.

Lyra: So...where does THIS one belong?

Rem; This one belongs upstairs on one of the main side hallways. Once we place it where it belongs, Rem would like to see how Nee-sama is handling Subaru-kun.

Lyra: Sounds good to me!

Lyra and Rem walked up the stairs, found the empty spot for the vase, and placed it there. Along the way to where Subaru was, Rem asked Lyra a question.

Rem: How long have you known Subaru-kun for? Is he ALWAYS like this?

Lyra did not wish to lie to Rem, however, she was also unable to tell her the EXACT truth. Lyra gave the most honest, vague answer that she possibly could at the moment.

Lyra: Definitely LONG ENOUGH to know that this ISN'T really like him. I guess he's just REALLY itching to make a good impression on Emilia or something... haha...

Rem: Hmm...that seems somewhat promising. Rem hopes that he is able to settle in and calm things down eventually.

From what Lyra could tell, these were Rem's HONEST feelings on the matter. What stood out to Lyra the most about it was that Rem was GENUINELY concerned about the longstanding possibility of their continued employment as staff members of the mansion.

Does this mean that we've FINALLY earned Rem and MAYBE Ram's trust? No... It's gotta be from SOMETHING else... What made it different THIS time?

The two rounded the corner and came upon Ram, who was sitting in a chair which had been moved to the hallway from a nearby room.

Next to her was one of the maid service carts. Covered with a white cloth, it hid the lower shelf and only exposed the small caster wheels used to push it around. On the cart itself, however, was a multitude of various items. Vases, cups, porcelain busts, items containing magic ore, glassware, and other certainly-fragile nick-nacks.

In Ram's hands was a cup of tea, more than likely her own brew. She was parked in front of the study that Lyra and Subaru had borrowed books from while they were staying as guests at the mansion.

Rem stepped up ahead of Lyra and walked up to her sister, who was currently in the middle of sipping her tea.

Rem: Nee-sama. How goes supervising Subaru-kun's tasks?

Ram finished sipping her tea and set it on the only part of the cart that she could at the moment.

Ram: Barusu is making a continued, COMPLETE mess in the mansion, as usual.

Lyra: You seem WAY too calm, given you think he's ACTUALLY TRYING to do that.

Ram delayed her response with another sip and then responded shortly after.

Ram: Well, considering that he's been doing that ever since he FIRST awoke in this mansion, Ram is powerless to stop his behavior at this point. The best that we can hope for is to have him atone by cleaning the mansion.

Lyra was at a complete loss for words to Ram's disdain for Subaru. She could only sigh in response.

Rem jumped back into the conversation, realizing that Lyra and Ram were both stuck currently at an impasse.

Rem: Where is Subaru-kun now, Nee-sama?

Ram raised her hand flat and facing upwards. She. directed them to the door just to her side.

Ram: Barusu is currently cleaning the study under MY instruction. Ram DID take the liberty of removing ANYTHING fragile from the room before letting him begin, however.

Lyra: Well, that explains the antique road show display you've currently got out here, then.

Rem went to enter the study with Lyra in tow.

All of the rugs had been rolled, stood, and leaned up against the tall bookcases lining the wall, leaving the wood plank floor fully exposed.

On the opposite side, both Rem and Lyra saw Subaru pushing a broom along the floor as well as dusting bookshelves at the same time.

He was making his way around the perimeter of the study, going around the bookshelves.As he circled around back to the middle, Subaru finally made eye contact with the two young women and did not stop what he was doing as he greeted them boisterously.

Subaru: Rem! Lyra! How good it is to see you BOTH! It's a beautiful day to be cleaning, isn't it? I could do this ALL DAY!

Subaru rounded the corner to the bookshelves that he was sweeping against and dusting. He continued on his path, which had now led away from the two people that he had just greeted.

Rem sighed and spoke in a hushed tone to Lyra.

Rem: Are you CERTAIN that this isn't like him?

Lyra replied as she shook her head and crossed her arms.

Lyra: I'm certain. He'll lose his freaking MIND if he keeps THIS up.

Rem: Is there anything WE should do?

Lyra: Sometime later today, when I get the chance,I'll see if Emilia can speak to him. At this juncture, there's little that YOU or I can say to HIM to help solve this..

Rem: Should we just work AHEAD of him? Hopefully we can limit what ends up getting broken and let Subaru-kun do his best at cleaning.

Lyra shrugged and agreed.

Lyra: At this point, that's about all we really CAN do…

Lyra and Rem set about to stay a step ahead of Subaru's duties should they involve areas with fragile items. Subaru's diligence kept Lyra and Rem pretty busy as they tried to maintain their lead.

The two finally got a break once dinner was to be prepared. With all four staff members helping prepare, it was easier to keep an eye out on Subaru and make sure that he didn't do anything too reckless.

With dinner finishing up, Lyra volunteered to help Rem with the dishes, as THIS evening's meal was one that had FOR SURE left MANY dishes in bad shape.This also let Rem give Ram some free time AND kept Subaru from possibly breaking any dishes.

Lyra: Here! Let ME scrub and rinse, and YOU could dry and put them away after I'm done, okay?

Rem: Are you sure? REM can help you scrub.

Lyra: Oh, it's fine. Besides, all this scrubbing will dry your hands out. We can't have THAT, now.

Rem: Why not?

Lyra: Adorable, gentle, sweet, and cute women like yourself are supposed to have nice, soft hands to hold. That's one of the best parts about someone like YOU.

Rem looked down at her hands and opened and closed them a few times, trying to determine if her hands were more SOFT or DRY.

Lyra had her back to Rem and was scrubbing away at dishes while Rem placed the dry dishes into their racks in the cabinets. Rem eventually replied with a question.

Rem: Does Rem have dry hands?

Lyra: Not currently. However, if you WERE to wash all of THIS, then you might.

Lyra was caught up trying to scrub a particularly-difficult spot on a dish when she answered, not giving much thought to the context of her answer. Instead, she was focusing more on honesty.

Rem: So, Rem"s hands must be soft then?

Lyra answered again in her semi-oblivious manner as she continued staying concentrated.

Lyra: Yeah..REALLY soft…

Lyra let out a giggle as she started to blush,

Rem's face turned a shade of scarlet as she turned around. Her thumbs felt the opposite side hand as they both were on. She wanted to see EXACTLY what Lyra had meant.

Speaking through her increasing blush, Rem drew her conclusion out loud.

Rem:So then, Lyra-chan must have ENJOYED holding Rem's hand yesterday…

Lyra: Yeah. I really did…Wh-WH-WHA-

Rem giggled and responded.

Rem: Rem enjoyed holding your hand too, Ly-Ly. She also thinks that you are adorable, gentle, sweet, and cute and deserve to have soft hands, but she is also generally grateful for your assistance with chores as well.

Upon realizing what she had implied by giving her HONEST answer, Lyra's head snapped around. She was given a scene of Rem with her back to her and putting a dish away. There was a tint of red on her cheeks which was concealed by her bangs just barely. Lyra calmed herself down for a moment.

She's not responding to that any further... maybe she just meant nothing by it.I NEED to be more careful and TRY not to let my thoughts escape so CASUALLY like that next time!

After the dishes were finished being cleaned, the two headed upstairs to Lyra''s room for a tutoring lesson. As they continued walking, they rounded a corner leading to their destination..The light from the evening sun was pouring into the hallway from an opened door.

Rem and Lyra slowed their pace upon seeing it. They BOTH knew that it was irregular for a random guest room door to just be left open so CASUALLY...

However they both quickly realized why it was open. Outside the door was a bucket and a mop.

Lyra: Did Ram forget to clean this room today or...?

Rem replied, shaking her head.

Rem: Nee-sama has already retired for the evening…which means...

Lyra moved next to the wall that the door was on. She stepped closer to the door and listened for the sounds of Subaru cleaning to confirm if he was in there or not.

Rem followed her lead. She took up a quiet position, leaving Lyra between her and the door along the wall.

Lyra took another half-step and heard a noise coming from inside the room. It was the sound of a sniffle, one caused by either crying or having a stuffy nose.

Lyra turned to Rem, tilted her head,and furrowed her brow.

Lyra: —?

Rem frowned slightly in question and looked at Lyra for a moment before walking around her to investigate the room head-on.

Lyra saw Rem's expression change to one of surprise. A name which Lyra had NOT expected to hear had JUST left Rem's mouth.

Rem: E-Emilia-sama?

Lyra was THOROUGHLY confused now. She poked her head into the doorframe to see inside, her head directly above Rem's.

At first she did not see ANYTHING. However, the moment that she looked down DOWNWARDS—

Emilia: Shhhhhh…

Emilia put a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion and stroked the hair of Subaru, whose head was lying on her lap. He was fast asleep and his face covered in dried snot and tears.

Lyra withdrew from the doorframe, not wishing to intrude on what she thought was a private matter between house royalty and servant.

Lyra was no longer witnessing the scene. However, she STILL heard Emilia speak to Rem nonetheless.

Emilia: He looks like a child when he sleeps like this.

Rem remained silent for a moment and then regained her composure before responding.

Rem: He does.

Emilia: I take it that Lyra is here with you now?

Looking back at Lyra and then back to Emilia, Rem nodded.

Emilia: Hmmm…since it's you two, were you going to have Subaru help with some more tasks?

Rem shook her head and answered.

Rem: No. Lyra-chan and Rem were headed back to her room for tutoring. Even so, I don't believe that Subaru-kun would be of much help with ANYTHING at this point.

Emilia: What a bad boy Subaru is, taking the rest of his day off on only his THIRD day here... Oh, and Lyra?

Lyra answered Emilia upon hearing her name be called and seeing Rem look in her direction.

Lyra: Y-yes, Emilia?

Emilia: Study hard, okay?

Lyra gave Emilia a smile.

Lyra: I will! Thanks!

Rem turned to leave with a bow as Lyra stepped past the door with no hesitation. She just KNEW that Subaru would be EXTREMELY embarrassed if he KNEW that he had been seen in THIS state.

Just as Rem exited the doorway, Emilia called out to her one last time.

Emilia: Rem.

Rem: Yes?

Emilia: Subaru is a good person.

Rem remained silent, bowed again,and partially closed the door.

Lyra had arrived at her room alongside Rem. Rem wanted to see where Lyra was in terms of her education. Lyra sat at her desk and Rem sat on the bed.

Rem: It seems like you STILL struggle with reading AND writing…however…

Lyra:Hm? 'However"?

Rem looked down at the floor as she hesitated on how to answer. She swung her legs, which were hanging off of the bed.

Rem: Lyra-chan seems to ALSO have VERY little grasp on a few OTHER academic skills.

Lyra tilted her head and furrowed her brow, confused by what Rem had meant

Upon seeing her reaction, Rem stood up and grabbed one of the MANY books that stacked on Lyra''s desk. She opened it up and placed it in front of Lyra.

Lyra RECOGNIZED this book. She had seen it the THIRD NIGHT of the FIRST LOOP..

Rem: Do you know where WE are?

Lyra looked around at the colored map. It was beautifully illustrated with roads, towns, names, mountains, hills, forests, and various other locations.

Lyra quickly reached the Capitol, then traced her finger along the road going north. Lyra's finger passed over Costuul and continued north until her finger reached an illustrated forest with a tiny road going through it. Following the road just a LITTLE further, there was ANOTHER town. This town was WAY smaller than the two that she had ALREADY passed over.

Lyra: This small village right here is Arlem, right?

Rem nodded with approval and responded

Rem: Yes.

Rem changed her expression and posed a question of her own

Rem: Where did Lyra-chan come from before arriving at the Capitol? Do you see anything that looks like where you're from?

Lyra knew DAMN well that the location of where EXACTLY she was from wouldn't be located ANYWHERE on THIS map. She pretended to look around the map and search for a place before sitting back in her chair and shaking her head.

Lyra: No...not REALLY…

Rem: Hmmmm…it cannot be helped then. Not EVERYONE knows where their home is on a map. Many people here are just NEVER given the proper chance to learn.

Rem closed the book and set it back onto the stack.

Rem: Rem will have Lyra-chan work on that, okay?

Lyra: Sounds good to me!

Lyra picked up her quill and set to practice her writing, with Rem giving her instructions the entire time.

Close to an hour later, Rem let out a yawn Lyra spoke up in response.

Lyra: Ahaha...yeah…same… I'm not so sure if you would be alright with falling asleep in MY room, so feel free to go get some rest in your OWN room if you feel like it. If you need some sleep, then that's fine with me!

Rem nodded in agreement.

Rem: Today was quite the day,wasn't it, Lyra-chan?

Lyra responded as she capped her ink and organized her papers

Lyra: I mean, with the flower garden stuff AND us having to chase Subaru around, I DO agree with you that it WAS pretty hectic.

Rem stood up and reflected further.

Rem: Things DID become MUCH easier for us once it was time to prepare for dinner, though.

Lyra: For SURE! It seemed like talking to Emilia about Subaru really WAS the right choice! She DIDN"T exactly handle it in a way I wasn't expecting, though…eheheh…

Rem: Yes. It was rather... unorthodox.

Lyra giggled at Rem's response and spoke underneath her own breath.

Lyra: Lucky bastard…ha…

Rem tilted her head in question at what she had just overheard Lyra say about Subaru.

Upon noticing Rem's reaction, Lyra had no clue as to exactly WHAT she had made this sort of expression over. She stopped giggling.

Lyra: Hm? Did I say something that confused you, Rem-Rem?

Rem: 'Lucky'? For how Emilia-sama handled him?

Lyra looked up and away from Rem while answering, twirling a strand of hair with her index finger, and blushing slightly.

Lyra:Uh…u-um.. I mean...who WOULDN'T want to be given a l-l-lap pillow by someone they c-care about, right?

Rem: 'Lap pillow'? Is Lyra-chan jealous that Subaru got to lay his head on Emilia-sama's lap?

Lyra put her hands up as if surrendering.

Lyra: N-no..n-not really.. Not because it's from Emilia..b-but—

Rem: So, then, does Lyra-chan desire to have SOMEONE ELSE give her a lap pillow?

Feeling the tension in the air rise around her, or so she thought, Lyra struggled to respond.

However, just before she stumbled out a word in response, the door to her room opened with a "ker-chunk."

?: Rem?

Rem and Lyra both turned to see who had opened the door and spoke. It was none other than the mansion's eldest maid and older sister of Rem, Ram.

Ram: Rem. It's rather late. Don't you think that Lyra has been lectured ENOUGH?

Ram asked this question while holding a rock light, dressed in her pink nightgown, and holding the door halfway open.

Rem: Yes, Nee-sama. Rem was just saying good night to Lyra-chan..

Rem gestured to Lyra with her open palm turned upwards in her direction in a very maid-like fashion.

Ram nodded at Rem and turned to shut the door, but not before saying goodnight to Rem and Lyra. Afterwards, Rem spun back around and faced Lyra..

Rem: Rem will also be retiring for the evening.

Lyra: So will I. Hey, Rem?

Rem: —?

Lyra smiled warmly at Rem as her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

Lyra: Thanks for all the help, today. I really appreciate it. I appreciate it more than words can say!

Rem nodded and smiled back at Lyra as her cheeks ALSO turned a slight shade of pink. Then, she responded.

Rem: Of course. Rem is ALWAYS more than happy to help Lyra-chan.

Rem walked to the door and opened it slowly. She stepped out of the room and turned once more to face Lyra before closing the door.

Rem: Good night, Lyra-chan.

Lyra: Good night, Rem.