Chapter 690 - 11 (part 2)

"I live by your words, Felt-sama." Reinhard's voice made it clear that it wasn't just her order he followed… But his heart commanded the same thing as his lady.

"Hey guys…" Tivey interrupted the moment to make the two look back toward him. His cat ears twitched in a faraway direction.

"It's happening again…" He looked at the two with dread filling him. "It's time to go watch what Natsuki Subaru will do… To get out of the horrible nightmare he's in…"

"Ya don't gotta worry kid…" Felt sighed and glared at the far end of the hallway. "Big Bro's just as hopeless as Rein here… He's not giving up."

"I'd like to argue with that statement since Subaru actually is more amazing—"

"Shut up!" Felt grumbled and almost aimed another kick at her knight who only smiled sheepishly.

:

-x-X-x-

When Emilia finally reached the theater, she found that most of the people had already come to take their seats alongside her.

She took Subaru who was still being carried in her arms to the front row where Beatrice was already waiting for her with a miffed pout.

"Sorry, Beatrice." Emilia gave the spirit a small guilty smile as she settled Subaru softly into his seat. The boy fell comfortably into his sleeping position. "I didn't mean to take him for so long…"

"It's alright, I suppose." Beatrice sighed to herself, surprising Emilia greatly. "Just wipe those tearstains on your cheeks, in fact."

"Oh… Sorry." Emilia blinked and wiped her face, not feeling the heat running upwards to cover her face.

"Did you at least sleep well, Emilia-sama?" Rem came up to sit directly behind Subaru's seat like usual, giving the half-elf the same frown Beatrice gave.

"It shouldn't matter to you…" Emilia muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that, Emilia-sama…" Rem blinked in confusion but Emilia sighed.

"I slept as well as I could… Not that it will stop his scream of rage in my dreams…" Emilia found solace in the knowing nods from the girls around her.

She looked on as people trickled into the theater from the magical hallway of rooms. She saw Felt enter alongside Reinhard and Tivey. Taking their seat in the front row to her side.

Felix, Emilia noticed, was already sitting in his seat on the second row, next to Wilhelm, Petra, and Frederica. She saw a hint of something in his eyes that she couldn't read. As a matter of fact, Petra had a lot of emotions held together on her face as well that the half-elf couldn't understand.

Emilia's eyes went through the rest of the second row behind her, seeing Julius and Anastasia settle down alongside the twins and Ricardo. She saw Otto and Garfiel talking in their seats at the front.

She glanced upwards to see Ram and Roswaal had already both settled in the top row, talking amongst themselves without letting anyone be privy to their conversations.

Priscilla walked into the theater, a little boy following suit behind her, carrying some wine and a glass.

"He's one of the two new guests… Priscilla-sama must be very happy to have her camp allowed with her…" Emilia whispered to herself while watching the boy closely, he seemed to wander his gaze around the room, looking at everyone.

He gave Emilia a little wave and offered her a small smile when he noticed her staring at him.

Emilia was surprised at the gesture and gave a little wave back, before the boy hurried behind Priscilla to sit at the far end of the top row, away from Roswaal and Ram.

"I wouldn't say that he's a bad addition… He's polite, unlike his master, I suppose." Beatrice gave an uncaring shrug, seeing the interaction between Emilia and the small butler. "I'm more curious about the other one, the adult, in fact."

"Heinkel-san?" Rem asked, remembering their meeting with the man once they came back to the theater after Tivey informed everyone that some new guests had arrived. "He's a drunkard who somehow lucked his way into the commanding post of the Royal Guard… He's also the father of the Sword Saint-sama…"

"That's a bit mean of a description about a man we haven't yet gotten to know." Emilia sounded apprehensive, making Rem shrug in place, toying with Subaru's hair.

"Fuck…" A loud voice sounded from the corridor as a new person entered the room finally, showing the man of the hour as he wobbled towards the side rows.

"Scootch a bit, I need to pass." The man who instilled a smell heavy with alcohol gestured for Reinhard to sit down so he could get through the rows.

"Have some decorum when you're in the presence of multiple candidates to the throne, Heinkel…" It was Wilhelm who voiced his discontent with the way the man treated Reinhard first.

And it was Wilhelm who received the rudest of laughs to the face from the drunk.

"Fuck off from that high stick up yer ass, would'ya? This shit's already getting on my nerves as it is, I don't wanna have to be in the same room as this monster or you for that matter."

Emilia couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp just for herself, watching something as heartbreaking as Reinhard and Wilhelm's expressions change into something stone-like, completely automatic as if they were used to this kind of abuse from the rude man.

"Babbling buffoon." A command from the top row sounded, making the drunk man look up with a startled expression. "Stop wasting mineself's time and sit down."

"... Yes, Priscilla-sama…" Showing the red baroness enough respect that surprised even Emilia though she doesn't know the man, he began walking upwards through the theater rows, passing by a glaring Frederica and Reinhard as he walked toward his designated camp.

With Priscilla sitting directly in the middle of the last row, she had Al to her left and the pink-haired boy at her right, looking like an elegant angel of death with servants on each side, the man sat down beside the pink-haired boy, keeping close with Priscilla and her camp.

With this, the final person entered the room with a question immediately shooting from their mouth.

"I demand to be told why we have two new people imprisoned with us here. You cannot keep us in the dark forever." Crusch was commanding as ever as she stormed into the room, pointing her order straight at the ceiling above without a second wasted.

Emilia and the others looked interested to hear the response as well, allowing the duchess to easily take the lead in their place and have her fight this battle for them.

Tivey remembered what he heard in the last time Warden talked with him during the ending of the last viewing. He looked curious to hear more of the Warden's words.

Schult and Heinkel didn't show any particular reactions, only staying silent to not disturb their master, Priscilla, who seemed to take particular interest in what Crusch was doing.

"Let's see how you get out of this one," Priscilla chuckles, knowing how stubborn Crusch can be, wanting some discomfort to hit the man as revenge for their last interaction.

They were both in my way.

"The fuck does that mean?" Heinkel looked towards the ceiling with a glare on his face. "I don't fucking remember anything to do with a voice like yours…"

"Th-They told us that this entity-san has the ability to remove memories from our brains…" Schult brought a hand to toy with his tie nervously.

"Ah… Right…" Heinkel didn't look sheepish for forgetting, instead keeping his eyes sharp on the ceiling. "Why the fuck are we 'ere then?"

"I'd assume you won't tell us how these two got in your way when they were outside? Does this mean something is going on that you don't wish for us to learn about?" Crusch asked the man with a cross expression. "Does this have to do with whoever is trying to capture you?"

Many eyes looked curious to hear the answer once again.

…

[It's amazing to me. The lengths you're going to stop watching what comes next.]

"I am doing no such thing," Even though Crusch could feel the various flinches and grimaces of discomfort from the others behind her, especially Felix, Rem, and even Emilia, she didn't let that stop her advance in the conversation. "We are rightful to ask questions

[You are rightful to get answers. But not from me.]

Crusch's glare intensifies to the point she looks back to Anastasia for a second, receiving a silent shake of the head from her rival to the throne.

[How many of you are still dealing with your issues because of what you've witnessed?]

Petra couldn't help but flinch because of how direct the words were for her situation. She looked down and fiddled with her maid dress, before suddenly a chocolate bar appeared on her lap, coated in some foreign paper with a language she didn't understand.

It looked like something Subaru would be able to read.

The young girl looked up at the ceiling, eyes showing bewilderment and confusion as to why the goggled man she talked to previously was being kind to her specifically.

[This next one will be harsher on Subaru than most. Why not start watching it and then you all can figure out what you truly want me to answer?]

"That isn't fair to us!" Mimi seemed more inclined to whine for the impatient among them, feeling encouraged to do so after Crusch sat in her seat beside Subaru with a seething expression.

"It's alright, sis." Tivey sighed and patted his sister's shoulder. "This was expected."

Mimi blew a raspberry towards the ceiling, coating her brother with some spit. "EW!"

"What the fuck's going on…" Heinkel growled under his breath, not showing a reaction but glaring upward.

"I-Is that normal?" Schult asked, looking more nervous than before.

Above the entire room, a ginormous screen of glass was attached to the wall of the theater with a comforting distance for the eyes to watch and see everything playing in it.

Various images lit up the darkened features of the flat window.

"All these people seem to be less shocked than us, kid…" Heinkel sighed and put a hand on his face, quickly unimpressed by the theater and its activation. "Fucking hell… I need a drink to get through whatever this is."

"I think you've had enough, Heinkel-sama…" The pink-haired boy glanced at the man beside him with a concerned look.

Heinkel could only groan into his open palm. "Argh…"

"Glad to see nothing much's changed," Al chuckled form the other side of Priscilla towards the two's antics. "Our camp's a lot more whole with these two, huh, princess?"

Priscilla didn't give a response, merely hummed with satisfaction as her eyes began scanning the playing dash of memories within the window. Before it finished loading.

[Season 1 Episode 9 Director's Cut.

Begin.

(Note: The following is a small snippet taken from 'Felt-chan's Royal Selection Side Story' written by Tappei. Translated from Witch Cult Translations. And exclusively edited to fit this fic script by me.)

The scene lights up on a lavish-looking door with a voice speaking from behind it.

"Here it is." A man says as the door begins to open.

"Huh." A female-voiced companion sounds dryly.

Striding through the doorway as Reinhard opened the door, Felt stepped into his room for the first time. She glanced around, surveying the interior of the room, but she was greeted by a dull place.

From beside her, the knight sheepishly spoke, "It may not appear like anything special, but…"

"You're right, it's nothing interesting." Felt cuts off without a moment's hesitation.

"You are quite critical." Reinhard forced a smile and let the girl continue to inspect his room.]

Many eyes widened, not anticipating such a change in perspective immediately.

"Betty wanted to see her contractor's actions after that angry glare he had, in fact…" Beatrice voiced her disappointment loud and clear in annoyance.

"It seems we won't start on Subaru Natsuki immediately…" Julius looked increasingly interested. "But why these two? Why now?" The knight's question earned a small tilt of the head from Otto and Garfiel as both looked increasingly interested as well.

"Moreover…" Otto pointed at the screen thoughtfully, earning a glance from Emilia. "When exactly is this happening?"

Emilia looked from her minister of Internal Affairs towards the candidate who centered on the screen above them. "Felt? Do you remember this?"

The blonde girl earned some attention that clearly wasn't welcomed due to her adopting a silent neutral glare. "Yeah… This is a bit after the duel between that merchant bitch's knight and Big bro happened…"

Beside her, the red-haired knight held a small frown of his own, leading to some confused glances from Petra and Frederica.

"I was allowing Felt-sama to get acquainted with my family's mansion… Since it will be under her dominion for the rest of her part in the candidacy…" Reinhard said gloomily, earning a small snort from Julius.

"You don't sound enthusiastic or worshipful as you should be about that… Something the matter?" Julius was direct, and merciless when it came to Reinhard as a fellow knight among knights.

"Jeez, yer way o' expressin' worries for yer friends is troublesome, Julius-kun~" Anastasia giggled as the charming man tried to clash with the Sword Saint about what's bothering him.

"I don't suppose… After everything we've seen happen to Subaru…" Reinhard couldn't help but look away from Emilia's side of the room, fearing to see the sleeping young man again. "This scene won't be one of my best moments…"

"You didn't have the chance to even consider something would happen to him…" Wilhelm's voice interjected firmly, giving some support for his grandson's guilt.

It was for not when a third Astrea spoke from above them both.

"Figures that whatever this is showin' us, it's that fucking beast screwing up someone's life. Consider me impressed how quickly this shit escalated." Heinkel actually managed to earn glares from Felix, Julius, and especially Felt as he leaned on his palm and watched the screen without a care for all of them.

[Letting her gaze travel around with those thoughts in mind, Felt set her eyes upon a part of the wall. Only that place had a subtly different impression compared to the room of a first-class student. There was a sword that hung in a practical way on the wall. Felt observed the object with curious eyes.

"What's that sword? It looks totally different from the one you're always carrying around."

"Ah, yes. Unlike the Dragon Sword, this is merely a nameless sword."]

Reinhard looked away from the questioning gazes given to him. Even Wilhelm seemed to be interested in the story of the sword as he was caught whispering to himself by Felix.

"Now what would such a sword mean to you, Reinhard-dono…" Wilhelm looked slightly more interested than he let on.

[Saying that, Reinhard caressed the hilt of the sword fitted into a white scabbard, hanging by his waist. The sword he carried with him at all times was one that was tied to an anecdote, which rumored that it had slain the Witch.

Felt continued to look at the knight with encroaching curiosity as to why he would still preserve such a nameless and irrelevant blade when such a legend hung by his waist side at all times.

"...My father had prepared this sword for me, early in my childhood." The Knight said, answering her question adequately.

"Huh." Hearing his words, Felt narrowed her eyes at the polished sword that was neatly tended to.

The screen showed the imagery of Felt glaring with scorn as Heinkel met with her personally after her candidacy was announced.

It returns to the current day Felt as the blonde showed the Sword placed neatly on the wall the same scorn she did to Reinhard's father.]

Eye widened in surprise at the reveal of the dear memory to the Sword Saint.

"Uh…" Crusch was the first to voice a hum of approval. "I didn't take the Sword Saint to be of the sentimental type. This is a welcome surprise."

Emilia had the courage to nod at Crusch's statement, feeling a lot of support within her for the man's cherished memories with his father. "Does this mean that… Reinhard's father was a good dad before now…"

The half-elf looked toward the knight with a small frown on her face, learning more about the knight the more she looked at him and his broken family. "What went wrong?"

She could see that Wilhelm had settled himself to look away from the sword with guilt riding in his eyes. It was clear that the Old Man didn't even know about the sword, much less realize how important it is for Reinhard.

And then Emilia's eyes traveled toward the man who created the sword for his son. A man that sounded like he was supportive of his child one day, someone who cared about Reinhard.

But she didn't see that man the second she locked eyes with him.

"That shitty thing's still not broken? The hell's yer problem t' keep it on a wall like that?" Heinkel looked downright offended at the existence of the sword. "Keeping it on a wall as if I did anythin' to support a beast like you… Fucking take it down once we are outta here!"

Reinhard's eyes looked down at the floor, various emotions playing in them that he tried to control.

"Yes, Father." Reinhard's tone was enraging to Felt and the others around him.

"Come on, pal…" Al was the one who seemed to want a break from the pressure of the Astrea tension. "Are you really that pity?"

Heinkel scoffed the knight's words away, wishing to sip some booze and get his mind off of everything around him.

"That wasn't nice at all, Heinkel-sama!" Schult looked at the man beside him with a small glare. "You have to be a decent dad!"

Heinkel did what was close to an eye-roll for someone his age and looked away from Schult, not wanting to fight with the kid about his behavior.

["Anyway, you read a lotta books that I can't understand."

Felt changed the subject, pulling out several books from the bookshelf before lying down on the bed without being advised to, and then flipping through the pages. Every one of the books were either historical or academic.

Witnessing Felt's posture, Reinhard brought a hand to his own forehead.

"Your manners are unbecoming for a lady, Felt-sama."

"Even a real lady wouldn't care about how others would look at her when she's in her mansion and fresh out of the bath."

"That is not quite true. You must start thinking about it as such."

"Where did you learn that it's 'not quite true', huh? Was it written in these excessively long books? Sounds way too fishy."

Reinhard held his tongue at Felt, who had sat up whilst disturbing the sheets. Whether it was because she blamed him for his lack of evidence, or because she had mentioned the credibility of his books, it was uncertain which one had struck home with him.]

"That sounds so different from our Emilia-sama when she started her journey with Master Roswaal." Ram found herself contemplating, earning a small surprised nod from the silent lord sitting by her side.

"Emilia-sama was always the one to push h~aaa~rd when it came to her starting studies immediately." The man sounded a little fond for a moment until Ram shuddered beside him.

"Really, Big Sis?" Felt looked at the half-elf with a little bit of interest, trying to blow off steam from her anger toward Heinkel. "Did ya start studyin' only when this shitty king stuff happened to ya?"

Emilia seemed to flush under the sudden interest from the candidate and the others. "Um… Well… I wasn't really living amongst a lot of people growing up… S-So I needed to study as much as I could when Roswaal met with me and told me that I had to become King…"

"A half-wit with no common knowledge," Priscilla huffed, "as if to mock mineself more by allowing such a commoner to fight for mine throne."

"Ignore the bitch…" Felt shook her head at the arrogant lady's words and looked at Emilia with a bit of familiarity. "I'm just glad yer not shoving the fact ya enjoy studyin' in my face. I don't need Rein to have another reason to piss me off."

Emilia rubbed her cheek sheepishly, not knowing how to respond to that.

Meanwhile, Rem and Ram glanced at one another with a shudder both, reliving the amount of lessons they had to reteach the half-elf because Emilia wouldn't remember most of her studies.

"Emilia-sama is a hard-working student… But not a bright one…" Rem whispered to herself, "Or the most thinking…"

"What was that, Rem?" Emilia looked back curiously. "I couldn't understand from you whispering, sorry."

"It's nothing important, Emilia-sama…" Rem gave the warmest smile she could, earning a small frown from Emilia.

"You can talk to me you know… I get that I've been pretty hard on you in our previous meeting but—" Emilia was cut off by Rem shaking her head with a rough giggle.

"Don't worry about any of that, Emilia-sama… Water under the bridge, as Subaru-kun would say." The maid's rough smile didn't seem noticed by the half-elf who gave a small look of joy.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Rem! You are reeeeaally the best."

Anastasia leaned closer to Rem's ear and whispered casually.

"I heard ya… And seeing this interaction, I don't blame yer face for changing colors like that…" Anastasia gestured to the clueless half-elf who watched the window with a small smile that proved to brighten her mood.

[After that, Felt sat cross-legged on the bed, and Reinhard pulled the chair near his desk, sitting down in front of her.

"And? What do you have to tell me?"

"Allow me to give you a quick report. Today at the castle, I received an official announcement of my appointment. For the next three years until the conclusion of the Royal Selection, I will be transferred from the post of a Royal Guard to the position of the knight who will be at your side. What will be of me after that will be determined by the course of the Royal Selection, but I look forward to being able to work with you. Although I am very inexperienced…"

"Quit it with your overly formal stuff. I already heard about it yesterday, as well as after the duel, to the point my ears were starting to itch." Felt rubbed her temple.

She recalled yesterday's events, thinking the change in his expression could be tied to a topic related to the castle, another topic related to the Royal Selection…

"By any chance, do you look sad because of something related to yesterday's duel?" Felt asks, staring at him deeply.

"I... cannot deny that. No, it is related."

"The duel!" Felt's eyes widened as she remembered the disagreement that had happened in the palace's grand hall. The incident was shown from her perspective, from Subaru's declaration and the anger on every knight's face as they perceived the boy as a disgrace to their order.]

"Huh… Isn't that the duel where Juukilius dropped the ball and took his anger out on some stupid kid?" Heinkel's voice rang out like a hoarse ground dragon that was trying to give birth in the silent room.

"Yes… It was between Subaru and Julius, father." Reinhard was the one to respond because he had to remove the questioning as fast as possible.

Before Heinkel had decided to enlighten everyone with his ignorance about his knight's conduct seeing as he was the Deputy Commander, the room had already been tense due to the mention of the duel. Julius in particular seemed the most affected even though he kept his steeled look hardened on the window above.

He ignored the small glares from Rem and Petra that made others around the girls feel awkward and shuffle away.

"Damn," Heinkel continued unabated by the tension Reinhard tried to dispel. "Is that the bum sleeping in the seats over there?" He pointed at Subaru with a disgusted expression. "Lucky bastard's knocked himself out while we have to watch this shit… He's seriously deserving of that beatin' and more if ya ask me."

"No one's asking you, in fact!" Beatrice turned on Subaru's lap and glared at the man with heat. "Shut your mouth and watch to understand that he's not at all lucky to be here or to be asleep, I suppose!"

"Hey, watch your—" Heinkel stopped his statement as soon as the baroness beside him gave him one look of annoyance. "I-I mean… I apologize, I don't know this guy. Let me be quiet so we all can watch…"

Reinhard showed surprise at the way his father submissively gave up his anger just because of Priscilla's look. He took a moment to lock eyes with Wilhelm, communicating with his grandfather about the suspiciousness of this alliance between their family member and the red princess.

Beatrice blinked, so suddenly the winner of the argument without much challenge. Without much to do, she huffed and sat back properly… Still seeming confused at the sudden change in the man.

[Felt focused back on Reinhard once she recalled everything she needed.

"You're familiar with both of them, right? I only know that boy, though." Felt said.

"Julius has taken responsibility for the disturbance, and the Knight Commander has given him the order for suspension. Fortunately, he is unscathed, but… I believe he is reproaching himself for his dishonorable actions."

She gave a blink at this. "Huh."

"And, this is about Subaru, who is our mutual friend, but he is currently visiting the mansion of another candidate, Duchess Crusch Karsten. Although, I do not know the reason for why he is staying there."

"Putting aside whether that boy's 'our' friend, why did things turn out like that? He fought for the half-elf girl, right?" Felt inquired with a look of curiosity mixed with befuddlement.

To be exact, she thought the boy had fought for his self-righteousness because he wanted to believe that, however.

Though he had been placed in a rather complex position, Subaru was someone identical to a savior to Felt. It was true that the incident with the Bowel Hunter would have gone south if he had been absent.]

Emilia grimaced immediately when she heard how the fight was portrayed. Seemingly noticed by the blonde next to her who sighed.

"It's alright, Big Sis… Everyone with a brain knew he wasn't really fightin' for your honor or whatevah nonsense he spouted back then. Big Bro was dealing with a lot… I think he was allowed to have a stupid moment… Even if it landed him a beat down." Felt hummed to herself as Emilia looked at her with surprise.

"I… It's not that… I don't want Subaru to be hurt just because he couldn't confide with me properly… I just remember the fight that I had with him." Emilia rubbed the hem of her dress nervously. "I reeeaally don't like the way I left him in the capital like this… And I'm scared of what he will do after that horrible… Horrible last death with Guese…"

"Ya seem familiar with that monster…" Felt wondered, breaking Emilia's guilty thoughts.

Both girls looked at one another, remembering the green archbishop's laughter as Subaru was broken so thoroughly.

"... Whatevah if ya don't want me to know, ya don't want me to know." Felt shrugged as Emilia kept her lips thin, seemingly avoiding her eyes. "Ya don't gotta push it all into a pile though… Ya will have t'face these things one day."

"Thank you, Felt…" Emilia didn't give a relieved expression to the blonde candidate. She simply held the empty jewel near her neck as the screen was allowed to continue.

[As Felt's thoughts reached a certain point, an awful possibility occurred to her.

"This is just a maybe, but you didn't go to console the boy, right?" Felt's curious eyes turned to one of worry

"No, you are correct. I believe his physical and mental state has been driven into a corner…"

At the answer, Felt only gave an agonized expression and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Ugh, you really had to do that, just as I thought! Don't you understand that you're only rubbing salt into his wound by doing that?!"]

"I'm sorry, nya…" Felix winced, voicing himself for the first time above Reinhard and Felt's row.

Reinhard looked up to his friend curiously, "Why would you need to apologize, Ferris?"

The healer's ears were dropped as soon as he faced Reinhard's eyes, so full of trust. "I kinda took pleasure in the fact that Subaru-kun's meeting with you happened right at the time when he was mopping his pride under Crusch-sama's roof… I kinda convinced him to meet with you by nudging him a little bit with words, nya."

"Why the hell would ya do that, fucker?!" Felt's small growl earned the attention of Julius and Otto at the end of the row. Garfiel and Petra were already glaring towards the healer without the need to listen to anything he was saying.

Felix winced at the surprised expression from Reinhard and the small glance Crusch gave him from her side of the first row.

"I-I… Ferri-chan thought it would be better if Subaru-kyun was pushed to give up on this whole knight thing… It was driving him into a dark place that would push him to break the gate Ferri-chan was healing…" Felix winced when Rem glared at him from his side.

"You wanted Subaru-kun to give up and apologize to the Greatest knight just to remove a weakling you disliked from your master's way." Rem's words were merciless and they cut him deeply as was clear by the crushed flattening of his cat ears.

"... Ferri-chan didn't know how much he was suffering alone…" His words didn't seem to matter for the ones glaring at him.

A hand was stretched to pat his knee, however, earning a look of surprise from him.

"Subaru wouldn't want to meet anyone if he wasn't looking for a way to mend his wounds in the first place," Reinhard said with a gentle smile on his face to comfort the healer. "His meeting with me was no fault of your own."

Felix didn't even give a reply, as the knight infront of him wasn't interested in one. Reinhard turned to look up at the window again, forgetting about Felix's admission altogether.

"Ya got some issues dude." Felt shook her head and sighed, seeing no need for further interaction on this topic after her knight intervened to save the weasel. "Seriously gotta check with someone about them or somethin'."

Felix glared at the floor, holding the hem of his dress as Felt turned away from him.

[Looking at Reinhard's puzzled expression, Felt sympathized with Subaru for the first time. She was able to figure out why Reinhard appeared discouraged because of that.

"Even I would sympathize with Big Bro… He refused to meet with you, didn't he?"

"He did not refuse to see me, at least. However, my visit did not yield a pleasant farewell. It is an unfortunate result, considering we will be unable to see each other for a while."]

"I can sympathize with that, Reinhard…" Emilia found herself giving the knight a small smile with a sad glint in her eyes. "I wish I didn't leave him on such horrible terms too."

"I think your fight left things a lot worse than what I had done to make Subaru corner himself," Reinhard rubbed the back of his head, noticing the wince covering Emilia's face. "I do apologize. I was simply telling you that because I wanted you to understand that Subaru's mentality wasn't the best before we both left him… I don't suppose you can allow me to take some of the blame to share."

"Share?" Emilia tilted her head, "Reinhard, do you want me to blame you for leaving Subaru behind?"

Reinhard gave her a sad smile as he felt many eyes on him, especially Emilia's and Felt's. Wilhelm seemed to strike a small look of unreadable hurt when seeing his grandson like this.

"Had I worked harder to be by his side, Subaru wouldn't have had to see so many bodies… Or act like he has gone mad to avoid the evil ahead of him." Reinhards words placed an air of heaviness on everyone who heard him.

"This shouldn't be your responsibility, Reinhard-dono…" Wilhelm tried to bring a hand on his shoulder but a voice broke through the tension once again.

"Ya act like this isn't normal for a screw-up like that monster, dear father." Heinkel's tone was that of spite and maliciousness. His glare fell behind the entire second row as he aimed it at Wilhelm's head.

"Quit actin' like his guilt ain't fair or some shit. It's the only thing ya were right 'bout for years." Heinkel told Whilhelm from above, bringing curious and shocked eyes towards the old man from people previously annoyed with the alcoholic's rambling.

Wilhelm said nothing as did Reinhard.

"I don't think you should be guilty…" Emilia's eyes looked sure of what she said when they locked with Reinhard's own. "We just… Have to do our best to see what he dealt with when we left him behind."

Reinhard's look went downward, his father's words affecting him more than Emilia realized.

"Aren't we already doing that because we can do nothing else?" Reinhard's words struck her deeply.

Emilia was forced to turn away from the knight with an awed expression on her face, unable to bring herself to say any more words.

Reinhard winced with guilt, not minding his tongue as it spoke for him and causing major harm to one of the candidates he was sworn to protect.

"Don't," Felt commanded him, giving him a stern glare when she saw him try to reach out to the half-elf again. "Ya don't have to worry about this now…"

[Felt was once again astounded by Reinhard's display of his dejected feelings. Pained by a hostile disagreement with his friend… his reaction to it was akin to a human's.

"Seems like even someone like you has a human side, acting dejected because you guys parted ways without making up. Have you known that boy for a long time or something?" Felt asks while tilting her head.]

Felt had to cringe openly when hearing herself speak to her knight like that. "I was still startin' to know ya…"

"I don't think you said anything wrong, Felt-sama." Reinhard tried to give a small smile but couldn't show it to the blonde girl.

Above them, a small snort sounded from the drunk man sitting beside Priscilla.

"Damn right, that girl showed him that he won't be able to find happiness so easily." Heinkel sounded pleased with himself as he glared at the window above them.

[Reinhard shakes his head. "No, I met him on the same day I met you. Yesterday, when I met him once again at the area of the Royal Selection, it was the first time we had seen each other since that day."

The blonde ex-thief looked outraged with shock. "What!? Then your relationship with him is thin as a piece of paper!"

"Whether I knew someone for a long time or not is unrelated to my respect for them. Subaru has something I don't, and that alone is unmistakably worth my respect. Nothing is special about acknowledging a person that one finds likable as a friend." Reinhard let out his opinion with a pure look.]

"That sounds so sweet…" Petra looked pleased with the knight, unable to stop herself from cooing at the cuteness of the logic.

"How admirable. Who would've thought the Sword Saint is like a pup without an owner?" Ram found herself unable to resist making fun of the childish display by one of the strongest entities in their world.

"Isn't this a bit of a relief for you, Heinkel-sama?" Schult earned the older man's attention as he pointed at the screen.

"The fuck're ya talkin' about?" The drunkard's reply came as rudely as expected.

"Why don't you see how yearning your son is for affection?" Schult's eyes were rounded and innocent, while the older man looked down at him with tired and cynical orbs.

"There's nothing for someone like ya in that story but a taint that will not wash off of ya… Leave it be, kid." Heinkel looked away from the small boy, glaring at his son's pure look. "Whomever this Natsuki Subaru is… Whatever it is that my son likes about him… It's only going to cause that boy to die, painfully."

Al gave a small choke at the words of the Deputy Commander.

"Ya alright?" Heinkel glared at the one-armed man with Priscilla in between them, uncaring for her knight's suffering or the drunkard's words as she looked at the window above with a bored face.

["It sounds like you're mocking him when you say that. Maybe nii-chan thought of what you said as something like that?" Felt muttered out with a look of exasperation at the knight.

Of course, it would turn out like that . She thought inwardly.

"So, the regret is nagging at you, huh… What are you gonna do about it?"

"What I am going to do about it?" He looked at her innocently.

Felt sighed and put a hand on her hip as she answered, "I won't mind even if you put off our departure to your home. If you can't concentrate on your job because you're too worried about not making peace with him before leaving, that is."

She gave Reinhard a small look of sympathy as he gave another shake with his head.

"No, I am grateful for your consideration. However, I am fine. I cannot afford to delay your first step because of my own issues."

"I'm saying it's hard to take the first step!" Felt exasperated and rolled her eyes at the man's denial.

He gave her a small smile as he continued. "Moreover, I am somewhat able to put my mind at ease, since you have been attentive to what I had to say."

"..."

You don't understand , Felt attempted to reprimand him as such, and was rendered speechless as his lips loosened into a smile. His constant look of placidity remained stripped away, however.]

"Wait a second…" Otto earned people's attention when he called out with a thoughtful gaze on the window. "Does this mean that… Had Reinhard-sama listened to Felt-sama's advice…"

Reinhard put his head down low, accepting his judgment with a shameful expression.

"Oi! Don't go 'round makin' stupid accusations!" Felt was on the defense immediately, glaring at Otto and focusing on all of the other candidates who looked her way.

"The boy's right though," Anastasia seemed to glare back at Felt. "Had the Sword Saint-san went back at any time during this period to make amends with Natsuki-kun…"

"He would've been able to help Subaru-kyun deal with that monster…" Felix widened his eyes and looked at the knight with an aghast expression.

"He would've been available to fight the White Whale as well…" Crusch whispered that part to herself, giving the knight a slight look of curiosity.

"Reinhard…" Emilia seemed to have a look of understanding as she looked from the window to the red-haired man out of shock.

The knight kept his fists pushed on his knees, his knuckles steeled on stamping his kneecaps as he ignored everyone around him.

"You see, Emilia-sama?" The knight didn't look at anyone as he growled under his breath. "I'm the one who failed Subaru the most."

Emilia followed Petra and Rem in giving the young knight a look of pity and heartbreak. The guilt he took on, is shared in small parts by the girls around Subaru.

"..." Julius looked away from the scene, not wishing to judge his friend. "I can't put my thoughts in order about this, but I cannot act as if Natsuki Subaru wasn't put into his position of desperation without my own push for him to sink…"

It was Julius who made Subaru injured enough to need medical attention from the Crusch camp. It was his beating of the boy that caused so many fragile parts of his mind to begin breaking down.

He can't blame Reinhard for not being there.

"The fuck are they talkin' 'bout down there?" Heinkel questioned Al, not wanting to upset Priscilla by taking any of her time. "Why's this Subaru kid so important all of a sudden? Wasn't he some wannabe who got his ass beat pretty bad by the knights and that was that?"

Al sighed inside his helmet and leaned back in his seat. "You gotta start being a better Deputy Commander, pal. How do you need me to explain a celebrity to you?"

"The fuck's a celebrity? Why do you always use such fucking creepy language to speak?!" Heinkel growled and leaned away from the frustrating man and his lady.

His glare was mostly reserved for Reinhard below.

His eyes would soften for a moment.

"Just wanna see if he deserves that look on his face or not…" Heinkel's whisper wasn't caught by Schult who was sitting next to him and watching everything attentively.

But Priscilla's slight glance toward the drunk man indicated an acknowledgment of his whisper.

[It felt like his genuine smile was there, beyond the walls that were taken down.

"Well, I guess that's fine."

Saying that, Felt bounced her hips as she jumped off of the bed. And then, she stood on her tiptoes in front of Reinhard, who was looking up at her.]

"Fuck… I should've pushed ya more…" Felt facepalmed, unable to see the rest of this scene due to how frustrating it felt. "Big Bro could've been spared so much… He would've been able to not be in that fuckin' cave… It's on me, Rein."

The knight shook his head at his lady's firm words.

"I won't allow you to act so prematurely, my lady. I'm the one who stopped myself from going there a second time."

"Because I ain't done a good job of pushin' ya… Stop tryin' to take that responsibility from me!" Felt shot her foot to kick him.

Reinhard dared to give his lady a small look of annoyance, not wanting to speak about it any more than he needed to do so.

"You can both share the responsibility, I suppose…" Beatrice growled at the two, bringing Felt out of her defiant standstill with her knight.

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?" Felt looked back towards the spirit who sat atop Subaru's lap.

Beatrice gave the blonde a look of judgment, fully intending to be the harsh one amongst the rest of the Emilia camp.

"For Betty's Subaru's sake, I hope he doesn't suffer a similar fate to the last we saw him, I suppose." Beatrice's words made everyone in the first and second row flinch, remembering the last time, Subaru had perished before them and how much anger he displayed.

Beatrice continued as she glared at Reinhard and Felt.

"Because whatever suffering he endures from here, is so clearly shared by the both of you it's not even a debate that should be had, in fact." Her tone was one of finality and complete hatred as she glared at the candidate and knight.

"Beatrice…" Emilia looked aghast towards the spirit sitting at her side, not believing her to be so harsh like that.

Rem looked away from them, not wishing to be on the same receiving end of the spirit's hatred as she once was a few viewings ago. It was bad enough that Rem had to replay the moments she tortured and killed Subaru so coldly and heartlessly… Judging others for not saving him was but a grand hypocrisy she had no intention of doing.

["We're done here, right? It was a good way to kill time before going to bed, at least. I also found out my great knight was more useless than I thought."

"Useless… that is the first time someone has evaluated me as such."

"Then I'll say it to you for all the times it went unsaid. Useless, useless, useless!"

Felt let out a yawn after repeating the word three times in a row. And then, Reinhard forced a laugh as he rose from his seat, opening his room's door for Felt.]

The two didn't look at one another, still upset and thinking about what was said to them by Beatrice.

It was only Schult who cracked a small smile at the interaction between the two. "They care for one another a bit more than I anticipated. Kinda like Priscilla-sama cares for everyone under her guidance!"

Al coughed as the red baroness let out a small hum of bemusement. "Schult, do not discredit mine divine self's love by attributing it to these monkeys around us."

"Sorry Priscilla-sama, but I don't think you've treated me any differently from how these two are acting." Schult pointed to Reinhard and Felt.

The drunkard beside him let out a small grunt before Priscilla's disgust could show on her face due to being compared with Felt.

"Don't sully the lady's time with unlawful comparisons with street rats, kid," Heinkel growled and leaned back in his seat. "The fuck's a monster gonna do with a lady that abuses him anyway? Be happy? He's not capable of doing such a thing."

Schult looked at the older man with a deep frown. "Why are you so… Angry at your own son all the time, Heinkel-sama? This is beyond cruel…"

Heinkel let out a snort, giving Schult an honest, tired smile that earned him a curious look from Priscilla.

"Not like he doesn't deserve a bit of cruelty for what he's done, kid. Let that monster stew in his doings and don't ever try to get close to him." Heinkel's words felt wrong to anyone who heard them.

Ram and Roswaal gave the man looks of contempt but turned away from the Priscilla camp, not wanting to intervene.

Priscilla herself was masking any emotion she had behind her neutral expression as she observed the man a little longer, before throwing her gaze back to the window above.

"Heinkel-sama…" Schult seemed disappointed with his words so Heinkel merely ruffled the boy's pink hair with a gloved hand.

"Forget about it, kid."

[Feeling as if he would follow her to her room if she did not say anything, Felt jammed a finger towards the tip of Reinhard's nose right as they entered the hallway.

"Don't follow me. I'm going to sleep. You better hurry up and go to bed and forget about it."

"I believe letting it slip from my memory would be an unfaithful act…"

"When tomorrow comes, it'll be no use even if you bring your annoyances from today to the next day. The next time you see him, you better apologize to him properly. Until then, at least try your best to study how to apologize with your books."

Shoving the books into Reinhard's chest as he gazed at her with widened eyes, Felt pushed the bewildered knight back into his own room. After that, she attempted to leave without saying anything else.]

Felt seemed to snort at her own joke, trying to ignore the winces from Petra and Emilia at the mention of Reinhard not meeting with Subaru immediately again.

She nudged Reinhard's shoulder, feeling the stiff arm not budge against her not-so-gentle effort.

The knight felt it either way, his body leaning sideways toward her serving as evidence.

["Felt-same."

Upon being called on, Felt held back the urge to click her tongue as she halted in her tracks.

"...What?"

"Thank you very much. I would be honored if I am allowed to have a moment of your time to speak with you again."

"You…!"

Reinhard had invited her to his room at night with an innocent look.

Felt stuck her tongue out, one half of her exasperated, and the other half of her flushing at his defenselessness.

"Who cares, you idiot!"

Huffing that out, she began stomping towards her room… with a rosy color on her cheeks.]

"I hope you enjoyed that happy moment, you two buffoons." Beatrice glared at them both while holding on to Subaru protectively.

Felt and Reinhard had a clash of personalities at the way they reacted because of these words, giving the floor a small glare of frustration and a guilty frown. Both refused to outright reply or challenge Beatrice however.

"Beatrice… Please…" Emilia tried to reach out for some sort of mercy so the two could have a semblance of peace while watching the rest, but the spirit's angry eyes turned on her for a moment, giving Emilia a hint of what the spirit was holding back from saying about everyone else in the room, Emilia included.

"Let me be, I suppose."

Emilia let her hand fall in her lap and allowed a deep frown to overtake her expression, head held low.

[(The side Story scene ends here. The story is way bigger than this so please go to Witchcult translations to read the full SS! Now let's start the episode.)

The scene opens upon the clenched hands of Rem and Subaru with the sunset hitting the tiles of the cobbled road they walked upon.]

Many eyes went wide as the screen changed its course to show the two walking forward.

"It changed again!" Mimi exclaimed from the back, earning a confused expression from Schult in the back.

"Does it do that a lot? Isn't this kinda creepy… For a large window as this to constantly monitor our loved ones?" Schult looked uncomfortable with the window above him showing two new people other than the Sword Saint and his master.

"You'll get over it, buddy." Al chuckled and leaned back in his seat, preparing for a long time of hardship ahead. "Now settle into your seat, Schult-kun. This is going to be really ugly to see…"

Schult looked uncomfortable for a moment but the man to his side sniffled begrudgingly.

"I know I've accepted the weirdness 'ere much faster than any of you did… But why isn't that kid's face face being shown properly?" Heinkel pointed out with an annoyed expression.

"Subaru-kun…" Rem held a hand to her chest as she remembered the red blaze within his pupils the last time she saw him in that window. The one after he had died, frozen while holding her body close. "Please don't do anything rash… I'm so sorry…"

Crusch and Emilia turned away from the Oni as they occupied themselves with leaning forward as much as they could to see his face again. Emilia's hand snaked its way to hold Subaru's sleeping hand as tightly as she always did, being careful not to give her strength more boost, or else the hand would need to be rehealed again.

[Zooming out away from them, the shot pans to show a grand garden gate and walkway. An elegantly dressed man with a neat blonde hairstyle walked down the steps of a carriage cart that was parked in the walkway of the mansion grounds.

"If Crusch-sama's goal should be attained, I'm sure it would suit your desires, Wilhelm-dono. I expect the best," the blonde man smiled to Wilhelm sincerely.]

"So Russel Fellow-san had his dealin's with ya even prior to me askin' 'bout it from his network…" Anastasia earned a small glance from Crusch's eyes with her musing. "I wondered how Natuski-kun managed t' acquire a lightnin' strike deal with the Head of the Merchant's Guild so easily before I came into the situation to sweeten his deal…"

Crusch's steely look gave the merchant queen some pushback to reassess her point in a clearer way.

"I'm just sayin'... The kids used his ability delightfully to manipulate all of us…" Anastasia looked away from the small hurt looks Julius and Otto gave to each other. "It's such a disgusting ability he has… Terrifyin' when a gal's gotta rely on knowledge he may have already learned about…"

"Whatever it is you find yourself complaining about, Anastasia-sama," Crusch interrupted the train of thought in Anastasia's mind immediately with a firm voice, "let me say that Natsuki Subaru never used that disgusting curse that captured his soul to get a harmful advantage on anyone he's ever known so far."

Crusch's lips turn upwards into a small teasing grin. "You've lost five different bets based on his ability to not take advantage like that after all."

Anastasia rolled her eyes and gave a small giggle, lightening the mood of her camp members who were already pretty tense from the haunted expression on Rem's face.

"From the looks of that pretty blue maid, I suppose our fella will not be making the right choices, eh?" Ricardo whispered his question to Tivey who was sitting beside him.

The little tactician of the Hoshin camp made a small hum and nodded his head.

"Ah hell…" Ricardo sighed tiredly and leaned forward in his seat, wanting to give enough respect by watching this wasted life with his full attention at the very least.

"I mean… It was obvious that this wasn't the one, no?" Mimi shrugged her shoulders, earning a small glance from Garfiel and Otto. "Big Boss hasn't met the Whale yet…"

Her tone was not as excited as it usually is, but that wasn't important for those who heard what she said. Their hearts clenching immediately, Garfiel and Otto glanced toward one another and to the window above them instantly.

"Ya think Cap'n's gonna die to that thing, Otto-bro?" Garfiel didn't waste time in questioning with an increasingly agitated look at the screen.

Otto remained silent and observed with a look of concern etched on his face without any easy removal.

[The two older men instantly looked to their side to find a black haired young man with sharp eyes walking into the mansion's grounds toward them while holding the hand of a worried looking blue-haired maid.

"My, how unusual it is to see you!" The blonde man commented and smiled at the black haired boy.

"My apologies. I am the treasurer of the capital's merchant guilt. My name is Russell Fellow. It's a pleasure to meet you, " Russell gave a modest bow before slowly raising his head and giving a mysterious smirk towards the boy, "Natsuki Subaru-dono."

The boy said nothing… He didn't reply back. Only watched with Wilhelm and Rem as the guild treasury master went inside of his cart and rode out of the garden.]

"H-How did he know Subaru's name?" Emilia asked while feeling intensely worried about her knight's face being hidden and wanting to have some semblance of control.

"Shouldn't he be mindin' his own business with the Karsten lady?" Felt finally spoke after a long silence, giving the blonde man on the window a suspicious gaze. "What do ya know about this guy, Rein?"

"..." Reinhard looked at the man with scrutinizing eyes.

Ram could feel her master suddenly grow stiff due to the increased attention on Russel Fellow, for reasons unknown to her of course, but she had seen many letters being sent back and forth between the Merchant Guild's true figure and her own master during her hay-day at the old mansion.

Surely enough, her master began speaking to throw everyone off the scent she had picked up on years ago.

"He's a powerful politician, Emilia-sam~aaa~. He already had his sights on Subaru-kun because the b~ooo~y seemed like an easy opportunity to get closer to another one of the camps. Subaru-kun did proclaim he was your knight infront of the throne and its councilmen after ~aaa~ll." Roswaal gave a friendly smile but his eyes focused on Crusch and Reinhard secretly, giving his best effort to read their eyes for any signs that their Divine Protections of Wind Reading could read through him.

"Technically I have not lied about Fellow's partial motivation…"

It was Felt who took his explanation in stride first. "So he seeks to use Big Bro and scam him? Reinhard, no more deals with that guy."

Reinhard nodded his head, turning from the magi above them to look at his lady. "I did warn you lady Felt. That man is very shre-"

"No more deals with that guy." Felt repeated without a second to waste on any accusation that may or may not have been thrown by her knight.

"I understand, Felt-sama." Reinhard realized how serious his lady was as she glared hatefully at the man on screen.

Emilia just frowned deeply and caressed Subaru's hand. "No one will use my knight when I get him back." She growled out silently while watching the screen with pure anger. "It's not his fault he was left all alone because I thought it would be better he stays away… People were after him even though he had nothing to do with me anymore?"

Emilia's outrage was met with a small amused snort from the only experienced politician near her.

"You require a dire lesson in political sociology if you think that boy will ever leave your shadow after the spectacle he's been a part of in the royal chambers." Crusch gave Emilia a tired look, expecting more from her.

The half-elf gripped the unconscious hand harsher than before as she looked away from her fellow rival to the throne, a small blush adorning her cheeks.

["Wilhelm-san, who was that?" Subaru asked with a bored tone as he continued looking at the moving carriage.

"Russell Fellow. He is, despite what he said, a shrewd man with dealings in all of the capital's inner and outer financial matters." The older man answered stoically and turned to the boy.

"Now, I was just about to head back inside… "

The frozen young man finally turned to face Wilhelm… face still hidden from view.

"Do you have something to say?" The old butler asked while staring at Subaru intently.

Rem glanced at her love with worry in her eyes.

Subaru's nasty eyes were never revealed to the screen as it went dark to light up again.

Opening Theme 2: Paradisus-Paradoxum]

"Why can't we see Subaru's face, I suppose?" Beatrice asked, a lot more concerned now after the screen went out of its way to remove his face from various angles.

"I believe it has something to do with what happened in his last loop." Crusch mused sadly as she remembered the events that led to many in the crowd grimacing and closing their eyes in sadness.

"S-Subaru wasn't able to move because of shock in the last one… I don't think he could just get out of such a mental state that easy, nyan." Felix pointed out with a nervous and a little scared of what he would see next. The bodies he saw of the children and the twisted Rem haunted him and sent shivers through his body every time he imagined them.

"He tried to act like he couldn't do anything so he could save himself last time…" Frederica didn't want to see the small glare sent her way from Petra, she continued talking to the other adults.

"Natsuki-san's rage forced him to get a grip I guess," Otto muttered from the side with an upset look growing on his face. "That idiot will try something stupid…"

Garf grimaced and shook his head as he remembered the last face his cap'n made. "Holy shit… How many times will Cap'n go through this fuckin' hell… Fuck!"

Wilhelm looked at his lady as Crusch sent him a glance from the front row.

"Would you mind entertaining a question I have, Wilhelm-done?" Crusch raised an eyebrow, having the old butler bow his head to her in respect.

"I'm afraid the idea I see in your eye is correct, Crusch-sama," Wilhelm said in a dignified tone. "I do not remember this taking place… Therefore it's a false loop our Natsuki Subaru-dono will have to face alone."

The duchess grimaced at the confirmation and nodded her head, turning back to look at the boy sleeping beside her. She felt a strange sense of pain when looking at him after confirming that he would fail and die once again.

"This is not at all fair to you…" Crusch muttered and glared down to the floor as the window began loading the next scene.

Above everyone, Heinkel was glaring at them with increasing confusion.

"I'm tryin' to keep up with these bastards but I can't understand half of what I'm hearin'!"

"Then perhaps you should get your ears cleaned from that filth, commoner." Priscilla offered helpfully as she watched the window flashing, not at all interested in the confused members of her party being left to hear the scraps of conversation from the other people in the theater.

"I don't wanna challenge you, Priscilla-sama," Heinkel muttered under his breath, knowing his place and politely bowing his head. "But I need to understand why we are seeing all of this shit… How can a person force you and that monster Reinhard in the same room against your will?"

Priscilla huffed and toyed with her fan as she took a moment to glance at the drunkard with a bit of disdain. "Place no worry for I do not submit easily like that broken animal you call a son."

Heinkel's eyes actually flared when she insulted Reinhard the way she did. But he kept his silence as she continued speaking arrogantly.

"Mineself has been convinced that there's something of interest I must learn from these viewings. And so I willed it that you and Schult become my companions on this journey for I need mine servants to keep my shoes cleaned. Be grateful, gutter rat."

"I'm here too, Princess…" Al said casually with a wave from the other side of the baroness.

Heinkel leaned back in his seat, offering her his silence and inspecting the room below him with already frustrated eyes.

"Goddamn it…" He muttered, pressing his hand on the armrest.

[The scene changes to show that Subaru had requested an audience with Crusch and her camp.

Making him sit before her desk with all of Felix, Wilhelm, and Rem present beside them.

"Some people calling themselves the Witch's Cult plan to attack Roswaal's domain in three days. I want to ask for your help in stopping them." Subaru laid out his plan with an obscure expression.]

"The Witch's Cult?!" Schult had a concerned expression immediately, understanding the danger of the situation without much need for context. "He's dealing with the attack on the L. Mathers domain… The one where the Sin count of Sloth was defeated?"

"Th~aaa~t's the one, dear." Roswaal held a small smile for the clueless boy, understanding how lost he must feel with all the details being thrown at him immediately. He enjoyed that Priscilla didn't mind him answering the young boy as well.

Schult locked eyes with Heinkel for a moment. "Heinkel-sama… We're watching Natsuki Subaru… The half-elf's knight! The one responsible for the White Whale's subjugation!"

Heinkel's eyes immediately turned to his father and son below them, his eyes falling into a look of shock but his silence remained in place. "I heard about 'em… But I didn't think that kid was the one who did that monster in… Besides, I know the final blow was done by the old man… What the fuck is this?"

Wilhelm and Reinhard didn't look at their family member, remaining locked onto the window above them to understand what would happen with Subaru.

"Oh, so he did ask you in this one." Anastasia held a finger to her chin and frowned, ignoring the conversation happening above her and looking at Crusch.

"Could that mean that Subaru already made the deal with Crusch-sama and moved to take on Sloth immediately?" Julius asked in hope and reluctance as he noticed some key differences in the details.

"I don't think so, He went to arrange a meeting with my faction first." Anastasia shook her head and looked at Crusch suspiciously.

"Th-That means he died even with Crusch-sama's army backing him," Rem whispered with a small frown taking over her face.

"So he died with Crusch's army and decided to add more numbers to his cause… Then he went to my lady and made a deal with her!" Tivey shouted with a bit of admiration. "That's a diabolical way of doing things, but he's using his ability to the max so he can save everyone!"

"What fuckin' ability does this kid have that's making you all horny for 'em?" Heinkel looked at the bunch with an aghast face, unable to understand the glazing taking place.

"I'm afraid I'll have to dispel that notion…" Crusch brought a hand to have her hat correct its place on her head, earning looks of attention from everyone in the room. "I do not believe I'm going to be of much help to Natsuki Subaru…"

"You won't help him…" Emilia finalized Crusch's thought with a betrayed look, holding onto Subaru's hand tightly.

Everyone turned to Crusch with wide eyes. Felix's hopeful look turned to one of despair when his lady was at the center of attention.

The lady was looking down at her knees with a guilt-ridden face.

"What do ya mean?" Garfiel asked in alarm.

Crusch seemed to crumble in on herself as she looked away from Emilia's worried glance.

"He… He still hadn't made contact with the Whale…" Crusch's steeled voice lowered into a whisper, unable to look them in the eyes. "The only reason I decided to help Natsuki Subaru was because he knew where I could find the whale."

Beatrice and Rem stared at the lady with alarmed faces. "Then… How well he be facing Guese alone…" Beatrice looked from Crusch to Emilia one more time. "Is he… Is he going to go there anyways, I suppose?"

Emilia looked just as frightened as the spirit, yet Rem from behind both of them looked down to hide the small tear that began running through the corners of her eye.

"That's why he wanted to run away… After so many things going wrong…" Rem whispered with distress without looking back up.

["I see. So they have made their move." Crusch commented with a frown.

"It seems so. Of course, from the moyment Emilia-sama, a half-elf, entered the scene, we foresaw something like this happening." Felix spoke from the side.]

Emilia winced and tried to hide one of her ears with the hand she was allowing to be free from crushing Subaru's own. The guilt she felt was too great to bear as she noticed none refuting what Felix had said. Meaning that people have had this perception of things going badly due to her race before she even showed herself to them.

Felix himself looked a tiny bit guilty, refusing to look at his lady when she glanced upward toward his general direction because of their fight. And because he didn't want her to see how ashamed he felt.

["I understand the situation. My next question is why you chose me to assist you." Crusch asks as the screen moves on to show Subaru from the back of his seat before her.

"Because, to be honest, you seem the most likely to help right now. You've helped me and Rem-"]

"Wrong choice of words there…" Tivey grimaced and tapped his head in a small facepalm of disappointment.

"He's not using his head," Otto muttered under his breath, using his expertise in making deals to understand how low Subaru's hand was in this negotiation. "I don't even think he realizes that this is a negotiation yet."

"After that last fuckin' death?" Garfiel glanced at Otto with a small snort coming out of his nose. "O'course Cap'n wouldn't be in the mood to use words properly."

["Don't misunderstand. I helped you two because I was contracted to do so. If you wish to negotiate, you need to show me what I stand to gain. Otherwise, there is nothing to negotiate. If, with my assistance, you can eliminate the threat posed by the Witch's Cult, what would my profit be? Tell me that." Crusch leans in with a sharp expression, awaiting Subaru's next move.]

"Course… Who would fuckin' go and fight something like the Witch's Cult for free…" Heinkel muttered under his breath, unable to hear the others below him speaking from his headache. "I need a drink…"

"Heinkel-sama… This situation is really dire." Schult said with a frown. "I'm not shocked that it's tough for mister Subaru to win over people who will help him but… This looks a lot more bleak."

"Don't worry about that shit, kid," Heinkel grunted, patting the kid's hair. "Nothing from this matters. We will just see how he convinces all of the others to come with 'em and he will win."

"I hope so…" Schult muttered as he looked up at the window again.

[He remained silent for a split second. "If you help me out with this problem, I'll owe a huge debt to your camp."

"Should I accept that proposal, it would mean Emilia drops out of the royal selection. You understand that?"

Subaru's face wasn't completely shown, but his mouth was shown forming into an expression of shock.]

"He has nothing to give right now… So if he was refused in here…" Julius slammed his fist on the handle of his chair in frustration.

"That is why he used the white whale in his deal with us… he learned from this loop," Wilhelm concluded with his grip on his own handle tightening as he leaned forward.

"Crusch-sama…" Emilia looked a little betrayed when she faced the duchess sitting by Subaru's other side.

"I… Have no words to justify myself. It's a rivalry for the throne and I must do whatever I can to gain favor when I didn't trust my competition as well as I do now." Crusch had the decency to look away and push her hand out of Subaru's palm from the shame.

"..." Emilia couldn't look at the woman either.

["What did you expect? To place your own domain's survival in the hands of another lord calls into question your ability to rule the nation. With that in mind, I ask you again… If you incur a debt to me through this deal, it will mean the elimination of Emilia's camp from the race. Are you sure that's what you want?" Crusch stared intently at the boy.]

"Why can't this wretched glass panel show the commoner's face?" Priscilla asked in annoyance. She was paying no mind to the betrayal and pain being felt across the room. "Has his pathetic nature spawned a sense of disgust from even the imitation of god showing mineself this viewing?"

Emilia clenched her fists tightly as the words echoed in her head. They were true. Had she been strong enough, Subaru wouldn't have to suffer so these countless dead bodies and the horror of death because of her spirit's stupid ignorance.

"Maybe… I'm not ready to be King… Who would bring such pain and despair to a boy who just wants to help her?" Emilia whispered in guilt and sadness as she realized how heartbreaking this would be to watch. "I do not resent you at all, Crusch…"

[Subaru's teeth grit in nervousness but his eyes remained obscure to the window. "Even so… I still want your help. If she dies, everything ends, anyway," he pushes this notion with an aggrieved hesitant tone.]

"He agreed?!" Otto shouted in surprise, bringing Julius and Garfiel to close one of their eyes each in a small cringe, knowing how mad Otto had to be at this moment. "Just what the hell does he think he's doing?!"

"Subaru…" Emilia looked down and nodded her head. It was his best action at the moment… but she couldn't help but feel the pain of his desperation leading him at this moment. "It's okay if you wanted to help me…"

Emilia rubbed his hand and looked down at the sleeping face of her knight with nothing but an apology in her mind. "I'm sorry…"

"Goddamn, this guy just gave up his lady like she was nothin'..." Heinkel muttered under his breath while holding his hand on his forehead from his painful headache. "How the fuck's he supposed to make it outta this with a political win… Gargh…"

[The green-haired matriarch let her stern expression fall for a moment to show a look of disappointment. "I understand. In that case, the Karsten family will lend you no assistance whatsoever."

"Huh?" Subaru's mouth is shown to be slackened. He hangs back in his seat but his eyes remain unseeable for the window.]

"Why though?" Al seemed to show a hint of indignation at the scene, giving his casual aloofness some rest. "He was willing to do what you wanted."

Crusch just shook her head and refused to meet Emilia's eyes.

"Palcin' yerself in such a position… There must be a thing that caught yer eye in that moment… In that loop." Anastasia mused to herself as she talked about the duchess. She stared with rapid interest, trying to understand what the duchess realized in an instant about Subaru.

"What's makin' her so scared to trust him?" Tivey muttered to himself in secret, fully capturing Anastasia's theory from her grasp without letting her know.

["First of all, the condition of Emilia's withdrawal, which you offered in desperation as an advantage to me, carries no weight in this negotiation." Crusch's stern face came back as she explained thoroughly and elegantly.]

"Why is that?" Felt glared slowly at the lady. "Ya gonna give 'em a speech about how the nobles shouldn't intervene on lands where poor people are expendable or some shit?"

Crusch simply kept her head low and gritted her teeth. "It is something far worse than that…" She admitted without delaying her shame and receiving shocked heartbroken looks from Rem and Petra particularly.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Felt brings herself to stop any dash towards the green-haired princess by holding Reinhard's sleeve hostage in an angry fist.

"Oh…" Tivey's eyes widened in realization, already piecing together a solution that Crusch had invented to her problem during the loop. "That's… So dark…"

["But why? Isn't removing one of your rivals enough compensation?!" The screen pans across Crusch and her camp members with Subaru's exclamation in the background.

"Are you really not aware? Emilia's elimination from the royal selection will happen with or without my involvement."

Subaru's body is shown shaking… His face is still hidden from view.]

"That's so dark… Why would you take this road with him?" Tivey questioned the candidate, even Crusch seemed to be guilty of the way her other version was acting. "There must be something else other than mere politics that's makin' ya act this way towards him…"

"What…" Rem slowly raised a hand to her mouth as she caught the meaning.

"Don't tell me…" Otto glared at the duchess. "You were planning on letting her die if it suited your plans for the throne?"

"Watch what you say!" Felix glared at the merchant, growing discontent with how cornered his lady seemed because of all the glares on her. "Don't touch on the integrity of my lady!"

Emilia had tears of betrayal in her eyes as she watched in disbelief.

["Then you'll just let the Witch's Cult slaughter all the people of that village in Roswaal's domain?!" Subaru's shouts were drowned by Crusch's louder firmer tone.

"Don't change the subject, Natsuki Subaru. It is Emilia who lacks the power to protect that domain, and Emilia whose people will die for her incompetence. Not me."

Subaru's fist shakes. "B-But isn't it wrong to know people will die and not stop it?! If you have the power to save them, why wouldn't you?!"]

Petra brought a hand to her mouth, unable to stop her respect for the duchess from falling downward. "Subaru… He's trying so hard to save us after everything? Going through this…"

"It's okay, Petra-chan… He won her over in the end so there must be something he's missing." Frederica brings a little bit of relief for the small maid but she doesn't take it.

"I know what he's missing… He's not heartless like everyone else around him." Petra glared at the duchess, surprising Frederica and Wilhelm who sat next to her from both sides.

"That judgment is premature, my small lady." Wilhelm gave Petra a look of wisdom, making her glance up at him. "You have to see it from all perspectives when dealing with a matter of this complication."

"It's not a matter of complication at all, Wilhelm-sama!" Petra looked at the old man with heat, which seemed to delight a certain man holding his head from pain in the back. "You can't turn your back on people in need!"

Wilhelm looked at Frederica with understanding eyes in reply to her apologetic glance. "You'll soon learn the difference between your mindset and dreams, lady Petra." He said with an understanding that was beyond the maid's years.

Petra could only look away from the old man with an angry pout on her face.

[Felix growled and stepped forward with a glare. "Hey! I've heard enough of-"

Crusch raised a hand. "It's fine," she keeps her eyes on Subaru's which were not shown to the window even as Crusch continues. "Allow me to correct one idea you have. Say the Witch's Cult does make a move. That what you say comes to pass. However, the problem comes afterward."

"Afterwards?"

"It's simple. How do you know when and where they will attack?" Crusch asked while staring at him critically.

Subaru's mouth was shown reflecting on the surface of the steaming tea cup in front of Crusch, his eyes remained hidden as he struggled to come up with an answer. "Th-That's…"

"If you are a member of the Witch's Cult, it would make sense." Crusch muses boldly.

"That's bull-" Subaru's teeth gritted in a nasty manner, and his eyes remained out of view.]

Garfiel looked frustrated like many in the crowd around him. "Damn, she does have a point…"

"Subaru Natuski can't tell her how he obtained such information so Crusch-sama will remain suspicious of him." Tivey narrowed his eyes at the tense scene.

Crusch bit her lip and glared at the floor. "So that's why he lied about the metia detecting the Whale's location… He had to overcome me as an obstacle as well." The noble lady slowly raised her head and looked at the screen with a guilt ridden expression as she realized that she contributed to the boy's suffering.

"There's somethin' more…" Anastasia earned a glare from Rem and Beatrice, ones of confusion and frustration. "Ye're not some cruel tyrant, Karsten-san~."

"This is making Crusch-sama look bad…" Felix gritted his teeth as he understood and hated the reaction of his mistress on screen.

"That's the logical conclusion I suppose." Beatrice shook her head and glared at the duchess sitting beside her.

Crusch braved the awful looks being sent her way and steeled herself to glare at the screen above her. "If your hatred is my penance then so be it. I do not falter on my goals to repay Natsuki Subaru from this point onwards."

Emilia looked at the duchess with a thin-lipped expression that showed no particular emotion except for hurt within her eyes.

"Don't take this on alone, my lady…" Felix winced as he reached for his hand but stopped himself. He heard his lady's previous words at the start of this viewing flowing within his ears and let himself drop in his seat again with a disappointed frown.

["Crusch-sama, please don't make jokes. Of course, Subaru-kun isn't a member of the Witch's Cult." Rem cut in with grace and eloquence stopping Subaru from blowing up on the Iron Lady.

"Really? Given what he said, if he can't explain how he knows these details, I can draw no other conclusion. Have you never sensed any such inclination in him?" Crusch steadily asked.

"Never," Rem answered immediately and coolly.]

"I hope this other me can help him…" Rem held on to some hope in her heart but winced when she felt her sister's glare on the back of her head. "..."

"You wish for nothing but pain to fill his heart…" Ram's words went by everyone's heads as they were occupied with the failing of the negotiations above them, but Rem understood how this related to the meeting with her sister at the beginning of this viewing.

"I don't want him to be in pain… I just… I just want to be able to hold him up when he needs me…" Rem whispered to herself, trying to convince herself that she was self-sacrificing to help her beloved reach a better place…

[Crusch stared at the maid for a moment and looked down. "Regardless, I cannot lend assistance to Emilia-"

"The Witch's Cult is coming!" Subaru shouted, making all in the room stare at him in alarm.

"They're going to slaughter everyone in the village!" Subaru growled in anger and despair as the images of Alram's bodies played before him. His body trembled but his face was still hidden from view.]

"That's not… The way to go about this…" Heinkel looked almost in shock at how badly Subaru was doing. "The fuck's wrong with 'em to lose control so fast? Kid's got a grudge or some shit?"

"Hold on…" Otto growled under his breath. "This isn't like him…"

"You're right Otto-bro," Garfiel nodded his head with a small amount of concern. "This ain't like Cap'n at all…"

"Roswaal-sama… may you remove that intrigued look in your eyes, please," Ram spoke to her lord with a low voice that could only be heard by him. "It's unbecoming."

"My dear Ram… It seems like I've realized what many others in this room h~aaa~ve as well." Roswaal leaned back with an extra delighted smile seeing no reason to hide his pleasure in the way Subaru was melting down. "This seems to be the moment he started to realize that his power is all he has to offer everyone…"

"That is disgusting." Ram's only reply was a glare aimed at her master because of the way he was thinking. "Even if the wall between us has been thinned due to me knowing about Barusu's deaths, it makes no hindrance to the way Ram should act as a nee-san."

Roswaal didn't glance at her, even though she had announced herself to be a big sister to Subaru as he would refer to her continuously.

["Kill them…" He growled out as his fists shook. "We just have to kill them! All we have to do is kill every single bastard in that cult!"

Subaru's face was shown to the screen to reveal an angry, dilated intense look that held no small amount of insanity and rage.

"That will solve everything! Everything!" Subaru stood up and glared at Crusch with his glowing furious eyes.]

"Bro…" Even Al was staring at the frantic Subaru with surprise from under his helmet. "What are you doing?"

"Subaru…" Emilia held a hand to her chest and looked at the eyes her knight portrayed for Crusch. "I've never seen him so angry…"

"So desperate, you mean…" Reinhard looked angry himself as he watched his friend with discontent.

"It's clear he's taking a much more heavy-handed approach because of all the horror he faced last time… nya…" Felix whispered to the people around him, unable to openly support Crusch from where he was in the second row but kept an eye on her.

"Heavy-handed is right… But ain't this supposed to be the first time they meet or somethin'?" Behind Felix, Heinkel had heard what was being said and opted to stop focusing on his headache to glare at the window above them. "I don't understand why you people are talkin' like this guy's failed already before he even started… Ain't he the one who helped kill that bloody Whale?! Give 'em some fuckin' backbone to rely on, fuck's sake."

"Heinkel-sama…" Schult looked embarrassed when people gave the drunkard shocked glances after his angry outburst. Priscilla herself didn't look at the man, not giving him the time of day, which he wasn't able to notice as he held his head again from the painful tugging.

"Damn it!"

Reinhard frowned at his father's display of support for Subaru.

["You get that, right?" He stepped closer with his glare in place. "We can't let those bastards live! I'm going to kill them!"

Subaru slowly got down on the floor and placed his forehead down to Crusch.

"Please help me!" Subaru pleaded with tears flowing.]

"Reduced to be on his knees… Pathetic beast with no hope to find worth…" Priscilla's words were heard across the room but ignored by the ones most ashamed by the sight.

Except for one person who glared straight at her.

"Shut the fuck up!" Garfiel growled at the lady in red from the front row, "My Cap'n's dealt with this before he met with me. Doesn't matter t' me if he's figurin' out how he's gonna save these people, I stand by everythin' he's doin'!"

"Garfiel-san…" Otto gave the tiger a small look of surprise.

Priscilla's eyes didn't even acknowledge the blonde boy as she glared at the screen with her own piercing eyes in thought. She was stared at by Heinkel and Al from each side, both men waiting to see if she would order them to go and teach Garfiel a lesson for back-talking her.

"... Befriend this mongrel… How pathetic Prisca is to taint the perception of mineself among the divine…" Priscila snarled in disgust at the display on the screen, muttering to herself without anyone from her camp understanding what she was saying.

It seemed like the lady in red wouldn't give Garfiel the time of day, so the blonde settled down because of a tap from Otto.

[Crusch's eyes only narrowed at the pathetic display. "Is this why you behave as you do?"

Subaru opened his eyes and looked up at the noble.

"Your hatred for the Witch's Cult… Is that your real reason for approaching Emilia?" She asked him with an unimpressed look.

"No! I-"

"What else could one call that glint in your eyes but murderous intent?" Crusch interrupted.

Subaru's shaking eyes widened with rage and fury. "Are you suggesting I'm using Emilia as a pretense of revenge against them?!" The boy slammed his hand to the floor and his glare grew more intense and diabolical.

"My hatred has nothing to do with how evil they are! They can't be allowed to live! That's why we have to kill every one of them! That will save everyone!" Subaru ranted with his eyes glowing with murderous rage. He stood up to the shocked and slightly disturbed crowd of four around him.

Unlike the maid and her knights, Crusch was only staring at the fiery boy with a look of determination.

"I'm certain I told you, Natsuki Subaru, that if your own lie doesn't fool you, it won't deceive others."

Subaru began panting heavily. "Why…"

"You don't know why? Because you haven't once said… That you want to save Emilia."

…

…

…

Subaru's face turned to one of realization and horror at the notion. The window zoomed on him as he trembled in place.]

"So ya were tryin' to help 'em realize a better way to go about this other than rage and slaughter," Anastasia commented with eyes wide in understanding.

"So she was trying to help Subaru… " Emilia uttered while slowly turning to the noble lady with a look of quite understanding. "I… I didn't think you'd be that cruel, Crusch…"

Crusch just closed her eyes in guilt, unable to look Emilia in the eye. "It's… Not what I'd hoped he would have to look like before me… Ever… I don't want Natsuki Subaru to ever kneel to me, even when I become King."

"So sure of yerself there…" Anastasia scoffed from behind, earning a small snort out of Felt from Emilia's side. "This is just his loop to vent out this rage within 'em then? I don't like the look in his eyes more than the way he's goin' 'bout, dealin' with this all on his lonesome. No offense to ya dear, Rem-chan."

Rem looked away from Crusch with a sad frown. She was confused on whether to be angry at the lady for not helping her hero or sympathize with her since Rem had done much worse to the boy than Crusch ever well. "None taken, Anastasia-sama… I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking me useless when I'm beside Subaru as he's breaking down like this…"

Petra shared the maid's pain as she nodded her head from the other side of the row. "Subaru… Don't bow your head… Never do that unless it's to make us laugh…" She whispered to herself, earning a small smile from Frederica and a head-pat.

[The silence in the room was deafening as all stared at Subaru.

The boy began stepping closer to the desk, to Crusch. She merely looked at him with the same cold look. He would've been within arms reach of the lady if it wasn't for a tall man intercepting him.

Subaru looked up to find a stoic elegant Wilhelm looking down at him. "I cannot allow you to come closer." The old man said.]

"Figures the old man would stop the fun…" Heinkel snorted and kept glaring at the scene, trying to make sense of it all. "Jeez this kid's messed it all up… Wonder how's the second round gonna win him that army that will defeat the beast you've been after for decades, pops."

Wilhelm didn't comment on the actions of his older self, simply giving a small nod for protecting Crusch when Subaru clearly wasn't in the right mind to be that close to her.

"I wish I could punch him out of it…" Otto muttered through his clenched fist, leaning forward with rapid attention on every fiber of movement in the window. "How the hell did he make it out of this mindset? First, him trying to act insane, and now this? Just complete rage…"

"I as well find myself despondent of this behavior Subaru is displaying to us." Julius flicked his hair back and glared upwards at Subaru's shocked face. "That is not the one I remember fighting beside. Nor will it be the one I remember when I next meet him."

"I suppose we can ignore this shit? Yeah?' Garfiel glared at the knight and Otto with anger. "'Tis Cap'n's sufferin' we're 'ere for, no? We should'a known somethin's botherin' 'em for a while… Yet look what he's been through without us…"

"We can't change the pasts he went through, Garf-san…" Otto looked at his friend with a small frown. "None of us could've known when he has that… Monster holding his heart hostage…"

"Whatevah," Garfiel crossed his arms. "I'm watchin' with all my heart to take all of my Cap'n's lame mistakes and ugly suffering into my soul. So I can help him never feel ashamed o' anythin' he had'a do!"

[Subaru looked to his side when he felt his sleeve being pulled. "Subaru-kun, please calm down."

The boy looked at the maid with defeat written on his face.

"I can generally tell when the person I'm speaking with is lying. I'm quite proud of the fact that I have never been deceived in negotiations."

Subaru looked confused as Crusch stood up and stepped closer to him. "Speaking from those years of experience, I can say you aren't lying."

"Well, then…" Subaru tried to speak but Crusch cut him off with a glare.

"You adamantly believe that your rantings are true. That is nothing short of madness, Natsuki Subaru." Crusch delivered with confidence.]

"Sorry there… Karsten gal…" Felt had an unconformable look in her eyes so she didn't face the duchess next to Emilia and Subaru. "I woulda thought the same if Big Bro came to ask me for help with that look in his eyes."

"Heck, would anyone help if they saw such a face?" Ricardo earned nods from the second and front row at the question. "Big boss gotta learn how t' let his justified hatred go for a sec… This ain't a game anymore…"

"When was it ever a game…" Julius muttered in a low tone, bringing forward his sword hand to push his knuckle into the head cushion of the seat before him.

Crusch took the apology from Felt with stride, unable to blame the blonde for thinking so. She also gave a small nod to Anastasia, who simply winked at her for the support she provided.

"Madness… that's the reason she used the hardass tactic on him!" Tivey clapped his hands in satisfaction, finally having the answer to his previous question.

[Subaru could only shake from his anger with wide intense eyes. He started biting his lip so hard it drew blood.

"Ferris, heal his lip," Crusch ordered from her place.

"Don't bother! Rem, let's go." Subaru wiped the blood away and began turning to the door.

"Do you have anywhere else to turn?" Crusch inquired sternly.

Subaru didn't turn. "I hope you become a great ruler. The kind of dictator who abandons the weak." With that, he left the room.

Before she could follow him, Rem bowed to the noble and her knights in the room. "I thank you in my master's stead for the care you have given us."]