Roswaal L Mathers anguished in solitude, his face once covered in makeup now bare. His head arched back as he stared at the ceiling; no one but himself to wallow in this frustration.

Roswaal wasn't sad. He wasn't full of grief. He was Frustrated! Everything he had done in his long life was ruined! Everything he was continuing to work for was done! Here he was now, anguishing at the vain attempts to locate Subaru Natsuki and now the other members of the Emilia Camp that had gone missing!

Roswaal would never succeed in his goal of killing Volcanica and reviving Echidna. First, it began with his Tome of Wisdom, then the disappearance of one Subaru Natsuki. He couldn't even feel the soul-binding contract between them!

He had half a mind to go on a rampage then, hoping that Subaru would be forced to use his ability. But then, not too long after, other members of the Camp were gone! Which left only himself, Beatrice, and a few others. By all means, disqualify them from the selection! So there went any chance of him killing Volcanica, and Ram had gone missing with the rest!

It was just so frustrating! Aggravating and-

Roswaal let out a deep sigh, his emotions dulling, an emptiness replacing the feelings in his heart. He was hollow, without purpose. He was full of melancholy. He sat upright in his chair, and his attention turned toward the table across from him.

A bone on the table sat roughly the size of a dinner plate.

It wasn't of this world, as far as Roswaal could tell. It just up and appeared, and Beatrice had simply found it. She didn't provide any further details onhowshe found it, and Roswaaal couldn't blame her for not being talkative. The emotional state of the Artificial Great Spirit was. Tumultuous at best, given current circumstances, she had persisted in shooing him away.

He felt genuinely bad for the girl, given a purpose only to have it ripped away from her so soon. Roswaal wondered if Beatrice would be content to allow herself to die slowly or if she would continue to persist. Either way, it was her choice and not his problem.

The Court Magician got up from his seat and walked to the table; at the very least, he could finally inspect the bone Beatrice had given him instead of putting it off. It could bring a boom to him, a new insight, and a way to further his goals.

Roswaal looked at the bone on the table, grabbed it, and examined its features. His fingers ran along smooth surface plates. Feeling out the textured surface as his analytic mind went to work. It was reminiscent of a scale and, no doubt, ancient, mesmerizing in his eyes. Whatever creature it belonged to must've been a majestic beast. Perhaps a Dragon?

He held the bone up towards the room's window, letting the light shine on the object. His fingers traced along the surface, though as he did, he felt a chill run down his spine. A whisper in his ear, words. It made Roswaal skin crawl as he quickly looked around, attempting to find a source.

Nothing.

Perhaps it was just the stress?

Another whisper passed his ears and what felt like breathing along his neck. Roswaal looked at the bone and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down. He looked at the bone again.

Roswaal swore he felt something coming from the bone that time but, after a moment of further inspection, found nothing. He chided himself; obviously, his prior assessment was correct; his emotions were getting the better of him.

The Court Magician placed the bone back down on the table. It didn't provide any boon to him; it was just a bone. Nothing would benefit him. All his work was down the drain, in flames!

Every life manipulated and used is now rendered null and void. Pointless in retrospect.

Roswaal returned to his melancholy.

/.\./.\./.\

Crusch Karsten pondered the meaning of life and how one's life could be cut short. The amnesic Royal Candidate knew that death was a part of life and that you could die one day for no reason. Yet with recent news, she found herself alone and quietly pondered life's meaning.

The Dutchess sat in her chair observing the birds that landed in the estate's garden, hands clasped together, resting against the bottom of her chin and elbows on the table. She wore her casual attire.

She hadn't the faintest clue why, but since word got around that Natsuki Subaru had seemingly disappeared, Crusch had been feeling this way. It only worsened when others of the Emilia Camp, including Emilia, had up and vanished.

No trace remained, not a piece of cloth, blood, or hair. They simply vanished without a shred of evidence left behind, and it eerily reminded Crusch of the effects of Gluttony. She was lucky to have her memories taken from her, leaving her an amnesiac rather than erasing her existence from the world.

She shuddered to imagine what life would be like if her name had been eaten instead and how things would change for those she cared about in her life. But ultimately, Natsuki Subaru and his compatriots were still remembered by those they had met, so whatever fate they met was currently unknown. It was not publicly announced they had gone missing either, so as not to draw panic. But they could only hide it for so long before the masses became aware, considering that Natsuki Subaru's exploits were becoming well known.

It unnerved her.

"What are you thinking about?" Spoke a familiar welcoming voice from behind Crusch.

Crusch practically jumped in her seat and looked to see who was behind her, and it was Felix Argyle, her faithful knight, and Lugunica's Blue, "Felix… You... Scared me." He held a tray in one hand, which he placed on the table.

"Sorry, Crusch-sama." Felix bowed.

Crusch gestured for him to take a seat, "It's fine. To answer your question, it concerns recent matters concerning the Royal Selection." She calmly stated.

"Right… The Emilia Camp." Felix frowned, his eyes gazing off to the side, his left arm rubbing the other as he walked to the other side of the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The Duchess knew Felix was concerned just as herself, to what degree she wasn't sure, "I am worried that the other camps may be targeted. The Emilia Camp simply disappeared, first with Subaru and now with the rest of the Camp. It's targeted. Plain and simple." Crusch had to admit that she may sound crazy, but nothing was genuinely natural about their disappearance and considering recent events. The Emilia Camp would be a prime target.

"But what about Mathers? If it was targeted, as you say, why didn't they get him?" Felix countered her point, clearly not buying the idea.

Crusch was making nothing more than guess with very little information to work with, and she knew that. But that did not mean she would back down. She respected Natsuki Subaru, "I don't know; perhaps he was too powerful to vanish like the rest. But I do have one bigger question."

"What's that?" Felix tilted his head to the side curiously, his cat ears flicking.

"Who would want to remove a Camp from the royal selection, and who would have the power to do so? It can't be us, nor do I believe it's the Anastasia Camp, as we still uphold our anti-witch cult alliance. I doubt the other two camps have any reason to do such a thing, which means it's an external factor. But who."

"Hmm, that's a good question. Wouldn't it just be the Witch Cult?"

"If it were the Witch Cult, they would've done far worse… No, this isn't the cults doing. I doubt we would be having the conversation, considering Gluttony could be involved. If that were the case," From what Crusch understood of the Witch Cult, she reasoned that those fanatical cultists would've killed and made an example of the Emilia Camp's members if Gluttony were to be involved.

Well, they wouldn't be here having this conversation in the first place.

"Is that nyall you wanted to say?" Felix leaned a bit forward in his chair, a grin spread across his lips, "Or is it nya perhaps that you liiike Subaru-kyun~."

Crusch blushed at the insinuation from Felix, her attempts to all but fluttered stutters, '"N-no. It's not. It's a mutual respect for one warrior to another." She looked at Felix and sighed heavily, her shoulders relaxing as she finally emptied what was weighing her down, "I have been thinking about why we are here. What is the meaning of our existence? What makes us well us? Is it our Od, or is it our memories? Is there some greater purpose we are put into this world to carry out? Why must bad things happen to good people?" What a damn tease her knight was. She simply respected Natsuki Subaru; there was no infatuation for the missing knight.

Just mutual respect.

Crusch sighed again and reached for the tea; it was a bit cooler now. She tasted the relatively fresh tea and relaxed into her seat; she placed the cup back onto the tray, "Thank you for the tea and for listening to me, Felix."

The weight on Crusch's chest was now a tad less heavy than before.

"Nyo~ Problem Crusch-sama." Felix smiled and gave a cute salute.

Crusch smiled at her knight.

"Have you heard some strange rumors lately about a forest?"

/.\./.\./.\

Reinhard Van Astrea stared into his mirror and vowed to find Natsuki Subaru.

And, by extension, the rest of the Emilia Camp members that went missing. Whatever happened to them could happen again, they had been participating in the royal selection, and outside influence or particularly interested parties in the royal selection could be the cause.

Reinhard moved the motions of his day with unmatched grace; he got into uniform quickly, his coat the last thing he slipped on.

If something like this happened to Felt, it would break Reinhard. So he would seek out the perpetrator or perpetrators behind the disappearance of one Natsuki Subaru and the Emilia Camp.

With the Dragon Sword Reid in hand, he would begin his patrol of the capital's streets.

Not only to prevent an event like this from happening again and ensure the safety of his Lady and the people of Lugunica but also to find his friend.

Reinhard continued his daily routine patrolling the streets; nothing of particular note happened under the careful watch of the Sword Saint.

Even if it meant he was shirking his duties as a Knight to Felt. However, he was lucky as Felt was interested in investigating the disappearance of Natsuki Subaru, and he was more than obliged to help her so long as she remained safe.

He had a lead to work with; there had been reports from traveling merchants of strange plants and an otherworldly forest appearing out of nowhere on the sides of roads.

Some reported it even attacked them.

Others never returned when they ventured in.

"Yes, I am sure this is the one. Now eat up."

Reinhard stopped in his tracks in front of an alleyway, his head turning to look down at it and smile. This alley was the alley he had first met Subaru. Only now, down the alley, was an older man in robes hunched down.

"Are you in any need of help?"

The old man snapped his head in Reinhard's direction, "Huh? Me, no, no. I am fine." The old man stood up somewhat hunched over, having shoved something into his bag, "Don't you have more important things to do, knight?"

The older man's face was wrinkly and dotted with liver spots, and his hair had long since fallen out; his eyes were a piercing blue. Reinhard answered, "I'm doing my job as a knight on patrol; what were you doing?"

The old man snapped back an answer, "Nothing important, simply feeding my pet."

"Your pet? It sounded like you were talking to someone?" His divine protections didn't activate, and the older man seemed harmless despite his shifty appearance.

"What, you don't talk to your pets like their people?" The old man seemed bewildered by Reinhard's response, "Are you going to continue to pester or arrest an old man for feeding his pet? Or are you going to let me go?"

"You can go."

The older man grinned and stepped past Reinhard; only after a few steps away from the sword saint did the man pause and slowly turn around to face Reinhard.

"You're the sword saint, yes?" The older man asked with a wry smile, offering his hand.

Reinhard was uncomfortable but politely answered, "Yes, I am. I am Reinhard Astrea." He took the older man's hand, shaking it.

"Ah, well, it was nice to meet you. Reinhard Astrea. I wish you well, like your grandmother." The older man pulled his hand away and smiled; Reinhard swore something was off about him, but again none of his divine protections went off in the older man's presence.

Reinhard watched the older man leave, though as he grew further away, he swore he saw glowing eyes staring back at him from the bag. He rubbed his eyes, checking his vision, but he didn't see the older man anywhere, only a crowd.

Authors Note's:

A small side story for you guys, and don't worry we'll see more of our dear Lugunican friends in the future.