Enemies and Conspiracy Abound

Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter of Re:Zero A New Crusade! Once more I'd like to give a shout out to Noble Eight and all my other readers who have contributed to this story so far. And since it appears we have no guest review questions to answer, the only thing left to do is get to readin'!

Sunset: Roswaal Manor

"DEUS VULT!" Roared Ulric as his sword collided with Elsa's kukri, releasing a small shower of sparks with each impact. Their fight had slowly but surely been moving down the hall, with the knight pushing back the assassin at first with consistent, powerful strikes that took advantage of the fact that he was in a narrow hallway that afforded Elsa less room to slip past him. He paid no mind to the vases he destroyed or the slashes he cut into the walls, knowing that he couldn't let up for a second against his opponent.

"My, how wonderfully vicious you are today," said Elsa, her sadistic smile still remaining on her face despite the situation, "it's good to see your spirit hasn't diminished since our last encounter."

"I intend for this to be our 'last' encounter," Ulric shot back as he knocked her blade upwards and attempted a horizontal strike at her stomach.

"What a coincidence," said Elsa as she leapt back to avoid one blow before blocking the next, "I was hoping for the same thing!" In a surprising show of strength, she managed to push Ulric's blade aside and kick him in the chest, staggering him a bit before going in with a vertical strike aimed at his helmet. The knight spun to his left, still feeling the blade scratch the side of his helmet as he aimed a low strike at Elsa's legs. The nimble assassin was just a bit faster, however, and leapt upward into a flip which landed her a few feet away.

She wasn't there for long before shooting towards him like an arrow, striking with her own flurry of blows as the knight found himself on the defensive this time around. The duel eventually moved into one of the lounge rooms, allowing Ulric to move back and create enough distance between them to counterattack with some diagonal strikes of his own. Elsa was able to parry these before flowing around one of his thrusts and aiming a strike for his midsection. The knight stepped just out of range of the strike, feeling the pass of the blade even through his chainmail before aiming another diagonal strike at his opponent.

Instead of simply dodging like she had numerous times before, Elsa spun and seized his left wrist with her hand, causing the sword to bury itself in the sofa before countering with a slash at Ulric's throat. The Crusader was forced to let go of his weapon in order to dodge the strike, leaving it buried in the upholstery. Clearly emboldened by the turn of events, Elsa attempted her signature cut towards her would be victim's stomach. Her hopes were fortunately dashed as Ulric, anticipating such an attack, dropped low and moved in close, seizing her wrist with one hand and her collar with another.

He channeled mana through his body at the same time and used the increased strength to hurl the assassin over his shoulder and into one of the nearby chairs, destroying it with the impact of her body. Ulric was quick to draw his dagger and attempt to stab the woman before she could regain her footing, but she'd rolled with the crash and was already prepared to dodge his strike before responding with a slash of her own. It quickly became a series of moves where one would step in with either a lunge or a slash before quickly retreating to avoid a counterattack. Ulric had to dodge a lot more, moving side to side or jumping back, only blocking when he absolutely had to because of the size of his dagger in comparison to his opponent's larger kukri.

At one point, Ulric thought he had her as he managed to narrowly dodge another lunge towards his gut before bringing his blade down, backhanded, towards Elsa's head. She noticed at the last second that Ulric activated Jiwald to increase the strength of his blow and caught the attack with her kukri, having to use both hands to keep the dagger from sliding off and grazing her. This meant that Ulric, whose left hand was still free, had a chance to blast her in the stomach with Kito Jiwald. At least it had been a chance before Elsa actually let go of her kukri and leapt high in the air to avoid the attack while also managing to seize his arm.

The assassin then began to twist her body around his arm, using her momentum to actually pull the him off his feet and send him crashing into the sofa where his sword was buried, knocking it down onto its back. Elsa quickly produced her second kukri and advanced on him, wicked smile again on her lips. But Ulric was far from finished as he grasped his sword, running mana through it and his body before lifting up the entire sofa and bringing it down on the assassin. "How creative," commented Elsa as she sliced through the furniture, "but not quite eno-UFF!"

Further comments from her were silenced by a swift kick from the knight to her stomach, causing her to stagger backwards a bit before righting herself in time to block the next few strikes. 'I can't keep trying to overpower her with just my brute strength,' thought Ulric as he let the power of Jiwald flow through his body, the signature blue glow emanating from his form as he continued his assault, 'even despite being an assassin, she'll easily outlast me in endurance. Apologies Sir Felix but I'm going to have to push my gate just a bit more!' And push himself he did, even despite feeling a bit of mounting pain.

The flow into his body intensified as the knight pulled more mana through his gate, increasing the power of Jiwald and raising his strength and speed even higher as his blade met Elsa's in a deadly ballet of slashes, thrusts, feints, punches and kicks which took them out into the opposite hallway. More cuts were torn into the wall and more pieces of artwork and special vases were knocked aside or shattered, sometimes just by being nearby when the blades impacted. At one point, Ulric actually managed to get a cut on the woman's leg when her blade narrowly grazed his shoulder. This caused her to lose a bit of footing upon her own counterattack and she wound up slamming the handle of her weapon into Ulric's helmet instead of burying the blade like she'd intended too.

Sadly, Ulric was too close to get a full swing in with his sword and instead had to force Elsa back by jamming the back end of his own handle into her stomach. Thanks to his increased mystical strength, it proved enough to send the assassin sliding back a few feet. Though she remained standing, much to the Knight's frustration. "Oh I just love how viciously you fight," said Elsa as she felt the possibly bruised area on her stomach, "so many knights in this kingdom keep attempting to act gentlemanly when they confront a woman like me. But you approach every fight we have as if you're facing a ravenous beast."

"Would I be wrong in assuming that's what you are," said Ulric as he settled into another fighting stance, "I never mentioned it before, but you're not the first female assassin I've killed. This scar on my face came from such a woman."

"A shame I couldn't be the first woman to mark you," said Elsa, "and it's an even greater shame that we couldn't have this encounter alone either."

"What do you mean we're not al-," Ulric started to say before the sound of breaking glass and metal drew his attention behind him. A dust cloud obscured the new arrival for a moment, but it's inhuman growl quickly marked it as a beast. It took only a moment for the dust to clear, revealing a beast as large as Spiegel and even longer. It had the appearance of what Ulric had heard was called a tiger, but with dark blue and silver fur. It also had horns sprouting out of the side of its head and a reptilian-like tail.

On top of all of that was the glowing red eyes that made it plain what this creature was, a mabeast. Even more strangely, it had several black rodents flying around it, propelled by the use of batwings growing out of their bodies. "As a precaution, I invited my friend Meili along," said Elsa as she resumed her fighting stance, "with luck, I'll still be able to see your bowels before you're eaten alive."

"I suppose we'll have to see about that," said Ulric as he resumed his stance and waited for one of them to make a move towards him. Expectedly, the mabeast charged first, its large feet leaving imprints in the carpeted floor as it approached with its large jaws open and hungry for blood. The Knight responded with a very quickly improvised plan as he used a mana infused jump backwards, busting through the window behind him and landing on the outside balcony. As the beast attempted to give chase, Ulric held up his hand and waited for it to run into the remains of the window. "Kito Jiwald!"

A large orb of blue light flew from the knight's hand, hitting the mabeast in the face and causing it to topple over, generating a large amount of dust with the impact. It would've been a successful plan if not for one flaw, the dust screen allowed for a sneak attack from Elsa who threw several spikes out of the dust cloud. Ulric managed to move fast enough to dodge some of them, but a couple still managed to get him in his right bicep, left shoulder and one in his left leg. Thanks to his armor, the spikes weren't able to go very deep but it was painful enough to be annoying all the same.

'I need to keep the battle isolated to one at a time if I can,' thought Ulric as he leapt up and kicked off the side of a wall before turning and doing so once more before grabbing onto and clambering on top of the roof. The sound of movement below him made it clear that Elsa was already on her way up, and just as the knight reached the flat part of the roof, the assassin came bounding up after him. Ulric dodged her first strike and countered by slashing back at Elsa, who jumped back before reversing course and attacking again. The two traded blows for another minute until the assassin backflipped away and tossed a throwing knife at him.

The weapon clanged off of Ulric's blade as he swatted it aside and attempted to reengage his opponent. He was interrupted by the annoying arrival of the many bat-winged rats that had been accompanying the larger mabeast earlier, one of which obscured his vision by grabbing onto the front of his helmet. "Damn vermin!" Exclaimed Ulric as he tossed that one away before having to block a blow aimed for his throat.

He tried following his quarry's movements, but each time he was obstructed by the cursed flying rats that he either slashed or threw away. It allowed numerous openings for the assassin to exploit as she would leap in, strike, and leap away so that the miniature mabeasts could continue obstructing the Knight's vision. While Ulric was able to successfully block all of her attacks against anything vital, he still suffered one cut after another on other places on his body. A small cut to his right leg, a little slash on his lower back, another cut on his left and right arm, one extremely close cut that hit his chest instead of his stomach, and one more cut that hit his right side before the knight collapsed to one knee.

Seeing her opportunity, Elsa again came soaring in with her manic smile on her face as she aimed a strike for his neck. But this had actually been a part of the Knight's plan as he sent his mana into his blade, causing it to flash brilliantly as if the blazing sun was reflecting off of it. The flash caught the assassin by surprise as Ulric swung upwards and sliced into her right arm, causing her to drop her weapon as she retreated backwards and pulled out yet another backup kukri. The flash also had the unexpected effect of disorienting the mabeasts around him, which he quickly took advantage of by slashing or knocking them away.

"I must admit," said Elsa, "even I'm surprised by the numerous ways you keep finding to wield basic magic. Despite being simple, they're often surprisingly effective."

"Don't think flattery will keep me from slaying you, harlot," said Ulric as he readied his stance to move in for another attack, "if you must speak, tell me who it was that hired you to attack us?!"

"Do you think me so discourteous that I'd speak of my clients?" Asked Elsa as an amused expression crossed her face. "Though I might tell you a little once you're inches away, from death." As if some form of cue had been given, the roof beneath Ulric's feet exploded and pain shot through his leg as the mabeast from before bit down on it. "Now try to stay alive long enough for me to join you. We can't have Meili taking all the credit."

Any response Ulric might've made to that was lost in a yell of agony as he was yanked through the roof and swung around until he hit a wall, causing enough pain that he actually dropped his sword before the mabeast began dragging him down the hall. Fortunately, depending on how one looked at it, Ulric had been in this situation before and he had a few ways to get out of it, such as putting both of his mana-infused hands on the mabeast's eyes. "Kito Jiwald!" exclaimed Ulric as light magic burst from both of his hands, gravely injuring the monster's eyes as it yelped in pain, letting go of his leg in the process at it rubbed furiously at it's bleeding orbs.

Groaning with effort, Ulric pulled himself up to his feet, limping slightly due to the bone crushing grip that had previously been on his leg as he approached his sword. He was but a few feet from it when the form of Elsa landed lightly in front of it. "This has certainly been amusing," said the assassin as she brandished her kukri, "but it's time we finally ended this."

"If my sides didn't hurt, I'd be laughing at that right now," quipped Ulric as he leaned against one of the doors in the mansion hallway, "as it is, I might have at least one or two more tricks up my sleeve."

"Then use them if you can," said Elsa, "I want your final moments to be as fun for me as possible!" She advanced quickly then, her blade held expectedly at her midsection as Ulric pushed open the door he'd been leaning against. He felt the weapon nearly cut into his back as he slammed the door behind him and locked it. He glanced behind himself a number of times as he backed away from the door, making sure Elsa wasn't tearing into the wooden portal to get in.

It would be a moment before Ulric finally took a breath, removed his helmet, and turned around to greet his host. "I'm glad to see I was right in assuming you were unharmed, oh great Beatrice," said Ulric.

"Did you actually expect lowly assassins would be capable of harming me?" Questioned Beatrice as she closed her book and hopped down from her stool, "please, it would be impressive if they were even able to get into this room I suppose." She held a hand up at the level of Ulric's stomach then, her hand glowing as healing magic coursed through it and began mending the knight's injuries.

"Ordinarily I'd think it impressive that they got into the mansion at all," said Ulric, "though given Roswaal's absence and many recent irresponsible acts, I don't find it quite that surprising."

"Roswaal had his reasons for leaving the mansion undefended I suppose," said Beatrice, "not that it really matters to me. I am well-protected in this place whether Lord Roswaal is present or not."

"Which leads me to my next question," said Ulric, "where is everyone? I was in the process of locating Rem, Frederica and Petra when Elsa and that mabeast attacked."

"They are gone I suppose," replied Beatrice in her usual tone. This irked Ulric a bit as she seemed to be speaking of it like one would speak when talking about the weather.

"'Gone' isn't very specific," said Ulric, "if they are alive and fled the mansion, I would very much like to know."

"Perhaps one of them got away I suppose," said Beatrice, "but more or less, I sense that everyone who was in the mansion appears to no longer be in this world."

"Beatrice," said Ulric as he lightly pushed her hand aside and walked further into the library, "did any of them try to flee into this room? Did you even attempt to save Rem and the others?"

"Save them?" Asked the Miniature Mage, "wh-why should I have to do that?"

"WHY?!" Ulric yelled as he suddenly stomped on Beatrice's stool, breaking it with the force of his foot. "What do you mean why?! Are you really asking whether or not you should have saved them?!"

"I," Beatrice had to recompose herself after the Knight's sudden outburst, "I don't have a single reason to save anyone I suppose." This was met with Ulric again stomping on her stool, causing her to jump again.

"You're telling me you need a reason to save the innocent?!" Exclaimed Ulric as he whirled around to face her, "then why in God's name did you even bother saving me?! I'm little different from any of the maids here, so what preference, what order, what sort of damn pathetic whim made you decide I was worth saving over everyone else here?!"

"I," Beatrice looked actually hurt by the Knight's words and his attitude, "I don't understand."

"Clearly you don't," said Ulric, "I explained to you once how I've lost people out on the battlefield. Out there, you risked a lot getting attached to someone who could die in the next few hours or even minutes. But that doesn't mean I just numbed myself to the pain of loss! Were you not aware that I loved Rem?! Were you not aware that Petra was barely an adult at twelve by this land's standards?! Yet you didn't lift a finger to save a single one of them! You're no better than-."

Ulric stopped as he felt his foot kick something that wasn't made of wood. Looking down, the Knight's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of a black book sticking out of the wreckage of the stool. Upon picking it up, he realized that he knew this particular piece of literature. "This," said Ulric as he closely examined the black book, "this is not the same book I gave you to study. Why is this here?"

"NO!" exclaimed Beatrice as she suddenly lunged and snatched the book out of the Knight's hand before collapsing down to her knees, clutching the book close to her almost like it was a dear friend.

"Explain yourself," said Ulric, his tone now lower and more dangerous sounding, "why do you have that book, and why are you clinging to it like it's a precious item?"

"I haven't been given any commands to answer that question," replied Beatrice as she opened the book and looked through it.

"Then tell me what's written in that book," said Ulric, "and who is giving you commands?"

"I haven't been commanded to answer that question either," said Beatrice as she continued to look through the book.

"Are you telling me that your commands come from that book then?!" Said Ulric, more forcefully as he felt his remaining patience slipping.

"That question isn't here eith-," Beatrice started to say before Ulric cut her off.

"Then what are you allowed to answer?!" Exclaimed Ulric, "what can you tell me?! Did that book order you to save me, and if it did then why didn't it order you to save the others?!"

"Yes I suppose," replied Beatrice, attempting to keep her composure, "I saved you because it was written in here and didn't save the others because it wasn't mentioned. Everything I do is in accordance with the Gospel's guidance I suppose! It is the very meaning of my life and the purpose of my existence!"

"I don't believe that," said Ulric, "can you really say to me that you've followed every last step in that book, that you haven't deviated even once! Is that book even now telling you how to respond to me and my inquiries?! Don't make me laugh! You can choose to do something without reading that book-."

"And who are you to judge me?!" Yelled Beatrice as she pointed a finger at Ulric, "you whose people followed something you referred to as a Gospel, word for word and letter for letter! You did everything your religious leaders asked without question, didn't you, because you believed that was your purpose! Likewise I have followed this gospel and it has influenced everything I've done, seen and said, all of it written in this book! A feeble soul like you could never have moved my heart to act on your own, I suppose! So don't act so full of yourself human, because everything I do is for Mother! And you, you're just a human, just a human, a human!"

"Yes, I am a human!" Ulric yelled back, "and like a human I followed what I was taught and believed to be my purpose. Only recently did I learn to question, only recently did I learn to start trusting my own judgment more completely and I've realized something. A Gospel that is not built on love, faith and trust is no Gospel at all. I thought it my duty to reclaim a city that was proclaimed holy, but never once did I question if the priests might've had a more selfish motive behind their declaration."

"But now I know what a fool I was. By not questioning the Gospel being preached, I made myself unable to truly grow and understand it, nor did I ask why I was doing what I was doing. Which is why I failed to discern the difference between it and the priest's words. The Gospel is a way to live life and not an excuse to commit atrocities or ignore one form of suffering over another. I've chosen to continue walking its path because I know it would never ask me to betray those who have come to trust and love me. But you, you speak as if you won't hardly lift a finger to do even the smallest task unless it's written in that book!"

Ulric had started slowly advancing towards her as he spoke. "No, don't touch me human!" exclaimed Beatrice as she failed to meet his eye and clutched the book even tighter, "I don't even know you, I suppose, human! In fact I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" She struck out with the book then and was surprised when Ulric caught it in his hand.

"If you truly hate me," said Ulric, "then I want to hear you yourself say it, and not because you read it out of some book!" He clenched his hand even tighter as light magic emitted from it, causing the book to catch fire from the intense heat.

"NOOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Beatrice as she took the book from Ulric and used her magic to put the fire out. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no." She kept repeating those words as she checked the damaged book over and over again, trying to repair the damaged pages with her magic. It was a sad sight, and Ulric was certain he would've acted just like that not so long ago if he hadn't worked so hard to inscribe the words of his own Gospel on his heart.

He didn't have long to take in the sight, however, as the door to the library was suddenly opened and the Knight's eyes widened a bit as he saw who had managed to enter.

"What a shame," purred Elsa as she casually strolled in, not seeming fazed at all by the mystical library before her, "and here I was hoping that you might've come up with one more trick to entertain me. But without your sword and dagger, there's little else you can do."

"You'd like to think so," said Ulric, regaining his composure as he withdrew his vial of poison, "but I might have one last trick up my sleeve. Care to guess what this is?"

"Why I do believe that's a vial of poison," said Elsa, "had you used it on your sword earlier, perhaps it would've made things a bit more interesting."

"I can still make use of it," said Ulric as he popped the top off, "in ways you won't hardly believe. 'Til we meet again, harlot. Deus Vult." The Knight downed the contents then, much to Elsa's surprise and Beatrice's horror. But all of that was gone soon enough as the Knight felt death take him once again into its dark embrace.

The Witch's Graveyard

Ulric awoke with a start as he coughed a bit, trying to get his bearings. 'Alright, where am I now,' he thought as he managed to get up to a kneeling position and looked around. He realized he was once again in the Witch's Graveyard, and judging by the numerous, small glowing lights it was right after he'd completed his own trial. The sound of whimpering also reminded him that he wasn't alone in the chamber. "Lady Emilia," said Ulric as he moved over and pulled the silver-haired girl up to a sitting position.

"U-Ulric," said Emilia as her eyes slowly opened and took in the sight of the one holding her.

"It's me your ladyship," said Ulric, "just take it slowly and breathe." She might have responded to that if her eyes didn't suddenly widen.

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me," said Emilia, experiencing the terror from the trial just like last time.

"It's alright, everything's alright," said Ulric as he pulled her close and gently stroked her hair, waiting patiently as she worked through the apparent nightmare she'd just experienced.

Later That Night: Main Village Cottage

"I'm sorry everyone," said Emilia as she stood in the dining room, clothed in her pink night garments, "it took me a while, but I've finally calmed down."

"You needn't worry about that right now," said Ulric, who was seated at the dining table with Otto next to him and across from Ryuzu and Garfiel. Ram was also present and standing to the side. "The better question is how are you feeling right now?"

"Better," said Emilia, "because you were there for me, Ulric. Now, we need to talk about the trial, don't we?"

"Indeed we do," said Ulric as he crossed his arms, "facing ones past is never an easy thing to do." This, expectedly, made just about everyone glance in the Knight's direction in varying degrees of surprise.

"How did you know what happens in the trial?" Questioned Garfiel in a slight snarl.

"I imagine you already know the answer to that," said Ulric, "the ruins glowed upon my entrance, meaning for whatever reason I was also deemed qualified to take the trials. Moreover, I was apparently able to pass it as well." A few gasps followed this revelation, though Ulric didn't like the slightly disheartened look on Emilia's face.

"Young Sir Ric passed," said Ryuzu with a hand to her covered chin, "assuming he's not joking, that's quite the achievement. And if it's true, we can remove the barrier. Garf, how does the barrier look right now?"

"I'm not seeing any changes," replied Garf.

"So you lied, good-for-nothing Knight," said Ram in her expectedly haughty tone, "drop dead."

"Only if you're sure you don't want to hear the rest of the explanation as to why the barrier's still in place," said Ulric.

"If it is true, Ulric," said Emilia, "what exactly did you see in your trial?"

"I saw Jerusalem again," replied the Crusader, "experienced the chaotic nature of fighting a battle for reasons I myself didn't truly understand. And I saw my parents. I asked them a few of the burning questions that had been on my mind for ages, questions I never thought I'd be able to ask them. And I realized that it was my choices which led me too and kept me fighting in the Crusades. I also realized that despite all the pain and suffering, there was still some benefit to it all."

"I see," said Emilia as her gaze became a bit downcast.

"But I also learned something else when I completed my trial," resumed Ulric, "it appears that in total, there are three trials with facing one's past being the first."

"So….that means there are two more," said Emilia with obvious reluctance clouding her features.

"It does seem daunting," said Ulric, "but if I could pass one, then you can most assuredly pass yours as well. You simply need to realize what it is about your past that you're running from or holding onto. At least that's what I believe."

"You'd best give her all the advice you can," said Garfiel, "because that's the first and last trial you'll be passing while you're here."

"I don't recall suggesting that I take the trials in Lady Emilia's place," the Knight pointed out, "the challenge was issued to her and it was merely by some strange twist of fate that I happened to qualify for and pass the first trial. I will only participate further in them if Lady Emilia herself wishes for me to do so." Most eyes in the room turned towards the half-elf girl as she pondered the new information.

"As always, I'm grateful to have you as my knight, Ulric," said Emilia as she lifted her head up and looked him in the eye, "but this is something I must face myself. I'll never be able to progress if I keep running from my past or having you fight all of my battles for me. So if it's not too much to ask, please trust me for just a little longer."

"Always, your ladyship," said Ulric with a polite bow of his head.

Shortly Thereafter: Outside the Main Cottage

"Garfiel," said Ulric, catching him and Ryuzu just before they walked off, "a quick question before you two leave."

"Geez, it's getting late you know," grumbled the half-beast man, "what do you want?"

"I was merely curious as to why you'd be opposed to me taking the trials," said Ulric, having noted the change in his attitude this time around, "as mentioned I have no intention of doing so without her ladyship's approval, but it seems strange that you'd have any sort of preference as to who was responsible for removing the barrier."

"He is opposed because it would go against what young Ros wants," answered Ryuzu instead of Garf as she turned to him, "he believes that Emilia should be the one to liberate the Sanctuary."

"I was under the impression that at least one of you didn't think too highly of the man," Ulric pointed out.

"Don't get the wrong idea," said Garf defensively, "I hate that son of a bitch as much as you do, but…you get how things are?!"

"I suppose barrier or no barrier, this is still part of his domain," admitted Ulric with a hand to his chin.

"Young Ros oversees all of this land," said Ryuzu, "none of us wish to endanger our positions by defying him. Even so, I hope you and the others know that I am sorry."

"Think nothing of it," said Ulric as he put his hands on his hips, "that man has a lot to answer for, and I'm quite likely to accidently drop him from the carriage on the ride back once everything is cleared up."

"Even if that weren't the case," said Garfiel, "I'd still want the princess takin' the trial over you, qualified or not!" Those were his final words as he and Ryuzu turned and walked off into the darkness, their way lit by the lamp Garfiel was carrying. Ulric might've pondered a bit more on his behavior, but he had more important matters to worry about at the moment.

Inside the Main Cottage

"And just whaaaat is it you'd like me to do, Sir Ulric?" Questioned Roswaal with his usual smug look on his face. Ulric had a million questions he'd like to ask the Royal Mage, the book in Beatrice's library being chief among them. But he was certain Roswaal would merely avoid the question, lie to him again or at best tell him only part of the truth. So for now, he had to settle on getting back to the mansion a bit earlier first.

"I want you to bring up the suggestion of getting the remaining Arlam villagers back home," explained Ulric with his arms crossed, "Lady Emilia can't leave at the moment, so there's no longer a need for any leverage to force her or my cooperation. If you bring up this suggestion to Ryuzu and the others, I imagine negotiations will go relatively smoothly."

"And why is it that you think they wouldn't listen to yoooou, Sir Ulric?" Questioned Roswaal.

"Garfiel's too volatile for me to convince in a short time," replied the Knight, "and there are some matters I wish to investigate on my own back at the mansion since there's little else I can do about the trials right now."

"Ram did inform me about Frederica," said Roswaal, "but given what I know about her, she would not hastily-."

"And why should I believe anything you have to say about her," questioned Ulric as he narrowed his eyes, "it was Frederica who gave Emilia that glowing stone in the first place. So I'm going to confirm myself whether or not she can be trusted."

"And if she proves to be an enemy, what shall you do?" Questioned Roswaal, "Like Ram, she is no ordinary maid."

"That depends entirely on the situation and her choices," replied Ulric.

"Well just in case things do get a little out of hand, perhaps I can offer you some form of assistance," said Roswaal as he held up one finger. The Crusader was certain he wouldn't be overjoyed to hear his idea.

The Next Morning

"If I may be blunt," said Ram as she stood behind Ulric, "I don't like this."

"Then voice your complaints to your master," said the knight as he adjusted the straps on Spiegel's saddle, "I had no intention of taking you from his side, but he's the one who insisted I bring you along."

"And I have no intention of defying my master's orders," said Ram, "I just don't like the idea of leaving his side while he is still injured."

"Says the maid who didn't even bandage the man herself when he sustained said injuries," Ulric pointed out, "you know it doesn't say a lot of good about your medical ability if Garfiel of all people is better at wrapping wounds."

"Don't be a fool," said Ram, "what if I had made his injuries worse by putting the bandages on?"

"I personally would've applauded you for it," said Ulric, "he deserves at least some pain for his lack of responsibility to his own domain." Ram was about to retort when Garfiel suddenly arrived.

"Makin' a triumphant return with a pretty girl on each arm? You've got a lotta nerve, you know that?" Said the half-beast man as he approached.

"You should know that Spiegel is a male," corrected Ulric, "though I may bring Rem back with me to visit for a bit if all goes well. But what I'm more surprised about is that you're here this early in the morning. I take it you've heard the news then?"

"To be frank, it pisses me off that this was all decided without me," said Garfiel with his usual frown, "but I ain't gonna raise a fuss about it."

"I am sorry it turned out in such a way," said Ulric, "but with luck, you and the others should also be able to leave the Sanctuary soon. Now then, Ram, we should get going before…Ram?" The maid had seemed to be spacing out for a moment before snapping back to reality. "Are you alright Ram?"

"It's nothing," she said, "this stupid conversation appears to have given me a headache is all." The maid didn't say anything else as she readied to climb aboard Spiegel.

"Well it appears it's time for us to depart," said Ulric, "if all goes well, we should be back by tomorrow. If possible, do you think you could look after things until then?"

"Aren't ya gonna say goodbye to the princess?" Questioned Garf.

"She needs her rest," said Ulric as he climbed aboard Spiegel, "so I left her a letter explaining our departure. As mentioned earlier, we shouldn't be gone too terribly long. Now, is there anything else you need before we go?" Garf seemed to think on the matter for a moment before Ram cut in.

"Are you not going to show any concern for me?" Questioned Ram, "the woman you love is leaving to fulfill her duty after all. Have you no desire to offer any assistance in the matter?"

"You're only this nice when you get something out of it, aren't ya?" grumbled Garfiel before pulling his necklace off and tossing it into Ram's waiting hands. "There, happy now?"

"It will do," replied Ram as she pocketed the stone.

"Now then, take care of Lady Emilia," said Ulric, "and do let her know I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart that I didn't give her a proper goodbye." He snapped Spiegel's reins then, signaling the liger to take off down the road.

"Tell her that yourself, damn it!" Garf yelled after the three of them as they proceeded down the road at a good jog.

Midride: The Lost Woods

"So Ulric," said Ram as she held out the stone Garf had given her, "I couldn't help but notice you seemed a bit interested in this. Do you think it will prove useful somehow?"

"It's possible we might get something out of Frederica if we show it to her," replied Ulric as he glanced back slightly, "but even that is just speculation on my part. Given what you know of the two, do you believe it will prove useful?"

"All I can tell you is that this is part of a matching pair," said Ram as she pocketed the stone once more, "and that it likely means a lot to them." Ulric was going to leave it at that, but the expression on Ram's face made him reconsider as he asked another question.

"You've seemed a bit more unhappy today than usual," said the Knight, "what seems to be troubling you?"

"That name you mentioned earlier," said Ram, "for some reason, whenever I hear you mention the name of that new maid at the mansion, it bothers me to a surprising degree. I feel as if I should know that name, but I can never recall having heard it before."

"You have," said Ulric as he faced forward, his grip on the reins tightening, "I've been meaning to tell you for the last few days if issue after issue didn't keep cropping up. But since we have some time, I'll tell you about her and about a threat that's coming for the mansion. Where shall I begin?"

"Tell me about this girl, Rem," replied the Maid, "and then tell me about the threat. I wish to be clear-headed when it arrives."

"Very well then," said Ulric, "the new maid at the mansion, has actually been working there for as long as you have. As I mentioned before, her name is Rem, and she is your sister."

The plot thickens as possible betrayers are revealed! How shall our fellow knight counter the threat this time? All I can really say is, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Ulric attempts to put a plan in motion against the lethal assassin! 'Til then.