"—We cannot thank you enough for your continued concern for our household."
"No, that’s only natural. It’s nothing you need to thank me for."
Saying so with deep embarrassment, Subaru, in response to the words of the man serving the tea—Wilhelm—flusteredly waved Beatrice’s hands on his lap.
Beatrice gave Subaru a flat stare for the gesture, but she could probably feel his tension from the heartbeat against her back. With a put-upon sigh, she continued to devote herself to being Subaru’s marionette.
—Having just finished their audience with Filore, who had hurled the royal selection into utter chaos, Subaru and the others, unable to sit still after hearing at that Dragon Church of Crusch’s awakening, came straight here to Karsten Manor in the nobles’ district.
Naturally, proper manners would require making an appointment before calling. But though their visit was such a social failure they even forgot that, they were nonetheless received graciously.
Shown to the parlor by Wilhelm, they sat four in a row on the settee (with Beatrice on Subaru’s lap), waiting with bated breath for the moment to arrive.
Perhaps noticing how keyed up Subaru was, Wilhelm bowed deeply at the waist.
"Please allow a little more time for Lady Crusch to prepare herself. My apologies."
"No, no, we just dropped in out of the blue. If anything, we should be grateful you didn’t turn us away."
"Turn you away? Perish the thought. Lady Crusch, too, was most pleased that Subaru and Lady Emilia had come to visit."
"No, no, no—in that regard it might be the other way around; I mean, if I see Crusch-san awake, I might just start crying…"
Pathetic as it sounds, there’s a real chance that’ll happen, no joke, so he wanted Wilhelm and Emilia and the others to be mentally prepared in advance.
For now, to rein in his mounting impatience, all he could do was shake Beatrice’s arms in time with each “no, no” as he responded to Wilhelm.
"Hey, you’re swinging Betty’s little hands way too much! My shoulder and arm are getting tired already!"
"Guh… sorry, my bad, forgive me—I just can’t calm down. It’s because…"
Beatrice, who had been dedicating herself to being Subaru’s emotional support doll, finally reached her limit and barked at him. Poking her cheek, Subaru paused for a beat and broke off his words there.
Restless, on edge—yes. But the waiting is worth it.
"Because Crusch-san is…"
"—Yes. There is no mistake."
To Subaru’s sigh laden with countless feelings, Wilhelm nodded just as deeply moved. —No, calling it “just as” was outrageously presumptuous.
Wilhelm’s relief was bound to be many times, dozens of times, greater than Subaru’s. The recovery of the one to whom he had sworn his fealty was that momentous.
"I’ve said it so many times already, Wilhelm, but I’m truly happy for you."
Yes—the one who once more offered words of appreciation for Wilhelm’s efforts was Emilia, seated beside Subaru.
Emilia had been present when Filore used the church’s sacred rite to treat Crusch, and she had been able to extend her thanks to Wilhelm and the others that very day. Even so, because Crusch’s consciousness had not returned afterward, with the chance to speak to the now-awakened Crusch before her, Emilia’s violet eyes, too, shone with anticipation.
"Good grief, at this rate I’m worried the two of them will cause a scene. Rem, if Betty and the others don’t keep it together here, things could get ugly."
"Indeed. Leave it to me if they go overboard. I’ve been getting used, little by little, to the handling and heft of the iron ball."
Since Subaru and Emilia couldn’t sit still, it was reassuring that Beatrice and Rem, who remained calm as visitors, were ready for the critical moment—but the faint clink of chains that accompanied Rem’s slight movements was both frightening and a little thrilling.
When asking Rem for backup, Subaru would need to be thoroughly prepared himself.
"Oh, speaking of backup—where’s Felis? Helping Crusch-san change? There’s a lot I want to talk about with that guy, too."
Noticing, all at once, that a face that ought to have been here was missing, Subaru voiced the question.
Subaru and Wilhelm, too, had joy beyond expectation at Crusch’s recovery. But the one who must feel it most is none other than her foremost knight.
Of course, the fact that Crusch’s salvation had been brought by the Dragon Church must have been a bitter blow to him, a healer himself—but I have no doubt he’s the sort of person who can take joy in Crusch’s safety over any self-reproach born of helplessness.
However—
「——」
「—? Mr. Wilhelm?」
At Wilhelm's reaction, his expression momentarily tightening, Subaru knit his brows in puzzlement. However, Wilhelm immediately smoothed that over with a 'My apologies,' and—
「As for Felis... in truth, he's feeling a bit under the weather. Right after what happened with Lady Crusch's health, it seems all the mental strain he'd been carrying burst out all at once.」
「Oh no, that happened after all that? ...I'm worried about Felis. Even though Crusch-san finally woke up, if he collapsed himself, Felis will just blame himself.」
「Yeah, that's right. Mr. Wilhelm, is Felis in bad shape?」
「...No, I believe rest will make him better. However, for now I would ask that you refrain from visiting. I don't think he himself would wish to hinder the feelings of everyone who has come to see Lady Crusch.」
「I wouldn't think of it as a hindrance, but... all right, I understand. I'll make it another time.」
It wasn't exactly 'when it rains, it pours,' but given those circumstances, Emilia nodded at Wilhelm's suggestion, and Subaru agreed as well.
Subaru and the others planned to remain in the Royal Capital for a while longer. Even if they missed today, there would be other chances to show Felis their appreciation. This was a time to respect his wishes. —Or so they had just let out a breath when—
「—I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting.」
Hearing that, and seeing the person who opened the parlor door, Subaru found himself springing to his feet.
At the entrance to the room, the one who appeared was a beautiful woman—tall and slender, with long green hair—wearing dark sleepwear with a pink stole draped over her shoulders: Crusch Karsten herself.
「——」
The last time he'd seen her, Crusch's breathing had been pained and uneven, and she'd seemed in such a state that even lifting her body from the bed was difficult. For her to be standing on her own feet and showing herself before Subaru and the others like this filled him with unexpected joy and deep emotion.
Only, as she looked at Subaru with a fragile smile, one half of her face remained wrapped in bandages that covered her left eye, and that, unavoidably, was the first thing to draw the eye—
「Please, be at ease. I'm only wearing these bandages because one eye is still a little hard to see out of; the greater part of the affliction... no, the affliction has been removed.」
「Ah...」
「So please, don't look so downcast.」
Being told that, Subaru reflected that, though he'd come to pay a visit, he'd ended up making her worry for him instead.
The fact that the bandages still covered part of her face was a surprise, but more than that, what deserved attention was that Crusch had come to meet Subaru and the others on her own two feet like this.
That had seemed such an enormous hurdle as to be impossible, given how grave Crusch's condition had been.
「——」
「—Sir Subaru?」
Noticing Subaru fall silent, the smiling Crusch narrowed her amber eye. With that single eye fixed on him now, Subaru chose his words with care.
After all, if he slipped with even a single word or a single breath, his forbearance felt like it would instantly turn into drops and spill over.
「...Um, you know, Crusch-san. There are a lot—really a lot—of things I wanted to say, and most of them were just 'I'm sorry,' or 'I was wrong,' words of apology like that, but—」
「—... Yes.」
「But when I met you face-to-face like this, Crusch-san, what came out was all things like 'I'm glad' and 'I'm relieved.' I'm really, really relieved...」
As a visitor come to pay his respects, he should have had any number of model answers prepared in advance.
On the way to the manor, and even while they were waiting, he had desperately simulated in his head the best words to say when visiting, and thought he had chosen the perfect answer.
And yet, the moment he met the real Crusch, all of that blew away, and what came out of him was nothing but a childlike, immature, rambling sense of relief.
「——」
At those words, wrung out from Subaru's own pitiable self-awareness, Crusch's eyes widened for an instant, then a soft smile returned to her lips.
「Hearing you say that puts me at ease as well. I've shown you my unbecoming side time and again, Sir Subaru, so I feared you might have run out of patience with me by now.」
「No way! Not at all, not in the slightest! I mean, making you stand and chat when you're just recovering isn't right. Um, please, have a seat.」
「Heh, then I shall.」
Flustered and off his rhythm, Subaru offered the chair opposite; Crusch, a hand to her lips as she laughed, followed his lead. Somehow Subaru ended up arranging things, but since this was the other party's home, it was only natural to be laughed at.
Finding the conversation awkward no matter what he did, Subaru watched as Crusch sat down with Wilhelm's help, then cast a resentful glance at Emilia and the others right beside him,
"Why am I the only one running around while everyone else gets to take it easy? Why am I the one getting led around by the nose?"
"Because the one who was most worried about Crusch-san was you, Subaru, right? So I figured you'd want to be the first to talk to her."
"I'm not in a position to butt in here right now. Besides, there was also the matter of Beatrice-chan."
"About Beako... huh? Why is Beako on Rem's lap? Weren't you sitting on my lap?"
"I was, but when you jumped to your feet, Subaru, I got sent flying! If Rem hadn't caught me so nicely, I'd be lying spread-eagle in the middle of the room by now!"
"R-right, sorry about that. You were literally out of my sight..."
"That's a terrible way to say it!"
Beatrice puffed out her cheeks and, still being stubborn, clung to Rem. Leaving her to Rem, who was ready to accept the embrace, Subaru also reflected that he'd been far too oblivious to his surroundings.
At that exchange between Subaru and the others, Crusch deepened her smile with a soft chuckle. In response to Crusch's reaction, Emilia narrowed her deep violet eyes,
"Sorry we're all being so noisy when this is supposed to be a get-well visit."
"No, I don't dislike lively company. And the fact that you came to visit as soon as you got word... that made me happy, too."
"I'm glad to hear that. ...Ah, but I'll make sure we don't get too carried away."
Mindful of Crusch's condition, Emilia added a final remark that was very her.
In it, you could see her compassion and her intent to choose her words carefully; even in a moment like this, one could feel the visible growth in Emilia.
Of course, it's not good to take Crusch's words entirely at face value either—but—
"How are you feeling?"
"Yes. I'm feeling much better. Regaining my strength will likely take a little more time, but I don't believe there's any major problem."
Crusch answered thus and adjusted the position of the stole draped over her shoulders. Having just recovered, her complexion was still a touch pale, but her responses were natural, and there was no dimming of her keen intellect.
From the look of it, her gait and the like were steady, and aside from the bandage covering her left eye, it seemed none of that day's traces remained on her. For the moment, one could call it a relief.
That said—
"Even while I was bedridden, I, too, received reports. ...Including the news that Priscilla-sama has passed away."
With that keen mind of hers still intact, Crusch also fully understood that this was not a situation where they could simply rejoice over her recovery.
"——"
They'd known it was an unavoidable subject, yet it had seemed inappropriate to bring it up right away; having it raised by none other than Crusch made Subaru and the others' cheeks stiffen.
As if to say she had no desire for the comforting notion of praising Crusch's recovery here and saving the deeper talk about the royal selection for another time.
"To the best of my recollection, I exchanged hardly any words with Priscilla-sama. However, there is no doubt that she had her own sense of honor and joined the battle of Priestella—by extension, the royal selection as well. That is precisely why we must continue the royal selection for her sake as well."
"—. Yeah, I feel the same way. For Priscilla's sake too, we can't keep wilting forever—that's how I see it."
"That's right. I'm glad. That Emilia-sama feels the same way."
Letting out a breath of relief before the nodding Emilia, Crusch brought her teacup to her lips. Moistening her tongue and lips with a sip, she fixed them with the amber gleam of her lone right eye and, "In that case," she continued,
"I believe you will agree that what we should prioritize now is the stability of the Kingdom. In the royal selection, the Witch Cult's deeds were indeed a grievous matter, but devoting too much time to measures and responses against them would be off the mark from the royal selection's original mandate."
"Mm, I understand that too. The royal selection is to decide the Kingdom's future, not to do something about the Witch Cult. That's what you mean, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Of course, dealing with those people is an issue for those in power to tackle, but putting it first would be playing right into their hands. We must remember the very essence of the royal selection."
"In that case, Felt-chan is in the Royal Capital now, too. Anastasia-san still doesn't seem able to make it back here yet, but if we can talk things over, I'd be happy to—"
"—And also," Crusch cut across Emilia mid-sentence, leaning forward slightly. For an instant, Emilia's eyes opened wide at the sensation as if a naked blade had been leveled at her.
Ignoring Emilia's reaction, Crusch only intensified the light in her amber eye,
"I heard. The tower of the 'Sage'—the Pleiades Watchtower—has had its path opened. I am deeply impressed by such a superb accomplishment. If that tower truly holds the power spoken of in rumor, it will be ample as a deterrent against other nations. As for how to handle it, we must deliberate cautiously with the 'Council of Sages'."
"Crusch-san..."
"As for the crucial 'Succession Ceremony'... there is now less than a year and a half left until the deadline for the voting day that will decide the next king. From here on, the rightness or wrongness of each faction's claims will be tested all the more. More than ever, we must look at the faces around us and listen to their voices."
"Wait, Crusch-san, I do want to talk. But please don't be so hasty. For now—"
"—I!"
"—!"
All at once, just as Emilia tried to dam with emotion the torrent of words that had burst forth from Crusch, a sharp, forceful cry split the reception room.
The teacup in Crusch's hand was set back onto its saucer with a rough motion, a sharp clatter and a splash of tea. Wilhelm swiftly drew back Crusch's hand, laid a handkerchief over her hand, which had been about to be doused, and at once moved the cup to the rear.
Meanwhile, Crusch, letting it all be done to her, did not take her eyes off Subaru and the others for even a moment.
Without looking away, her thin lips quivered,
"Am I mistaken...?"
"——"
The tone that, until just before, had held firm, intelligent poise wavered, and her question was wet with tears.
In reality, no tears welled in Crusch's eyes. But her voice was crying. The size of that gap between reason and emotion carved painfully into Subaru's chest.
She understands—Crusch does.
She is clearheaded, possessed of excellent insight, and a hard worker who has continued to face many responsibilities and tasks; so whether Subaru and the others choose their words carefully or fail to, it makes no difference.
She understands that the way she was saved was not befitting of the king she aimed to be.
"...What kind of stupid talk is that."
Looking back at the certainty that had taken root within himself, Subaru ground his molars.
You can't call it anything but ridiculous—truly ridiculous. To say the way she was saved was wrong—it's as if you're saying it would have been better if Crusch were still suffering under the malice of 'Lust'.
That's nonsense. Why should someone as admirable as Crusch have her dreams and goals cut off by the deeds of a bunch of jokers like the Witch Cult?
It was unreasonable suffering. An absurdity with no reason to endure.
And then, because she was saved by someone's kindness—so what? Thank you for saving me. I won't forget this gratitude; from here on I'll keep doing my very best. — What's wrong with that?
"—You're not wrong. Not one bit."
A feeling welled up in his chest, together with a helpless anger.
As if pushed from behind by it, before he knew it Subaru had once more risen to his feet, and he squeezed Crusch's hand tightly across the low table.
On Crusch's white fingers, from which the handkerchief had fallen, there were no longer those ugly black blotches. This was as it should be—Crusch's hand, with no reason for anyone to defile it.
"Subaru-sama."
"You're not wrong. Not in the least. Let's do the royal selection properly. Let's talk properly, think properly, and all compete properly together. I'll do whatever it takes."
He spoke prepared to be scolded and cursed as making yet another easy promise.
They were a rival camp. If, as things stood, the powerful rival Crusch were to drop out of the royal selection, it would be a great help to Emilia—anyone would think so.
"But no. That's not it. The royal selection we all entered because we wanted to make our own candidate the king—it's not supposed to be decided like that."
"——"
"So, Crusch-san, you're not wrong."
He wasn't confident he'd even managed to form a sentence that properly led into that 'so'.
Even so, overborne a little by Subaru's pent-up momentum, Crusch let out a breath as if something taut within her had slackened.
"Geez, Subaru, when you go all 'waaah' like that, almost everything I was going to say gets said first. That's not fair."
Perhaps sensing that change in Crusch's mood, Emilia, still seated on the sofa, pursed her lips and chided Subaru's behavior like that.
At once, realizing he'd rushed ahead and gotten heated all on his own, Subaru felt even his ears grow hot.
Then, thinking no, no, that's not good, Subaru hurriedly tried to scurry back to his original spot, and—
"—. Subaru-sama, your hand..."
"Huh? My hand?"
Prompted, Subaru looked down at the hand with which he had just been holding Crusch's.
He thought he'd been called out for some outrageous discourtesy, but that was not it. What Crusch's amber eyes were concerned with was not Subaru's poor manners, but—
「Subaru-sama’s hand. It had become the same as my body… Could it be that Subaru-sama’s hand, too, was by the power of the 『Dragon Church』？」
「あ、いや、これはもっと乱暴というか、‘bang’ってなった結果なんだけど、詳しい方法は俺もわからずじまいなんで、地味に怖い話ではある」
In fact, Subaru’s hand has now regained its original, human skin tone, but the process that brought it there was pretty violent—nothing anyone should imitate.
To put it plainly, it was burned, blown off, and then regrew. —As things stand, you could say his leg is in the same state as well, but he has no intention of testing whether burning it off and blasting it away would make it regrow.
「—i」
「——」
Opening and closing his hand, Subaru was looking back on that extreme treatment when he suddenly felt as if he heard a faint whisper, and he involuntarily held his breath.
Blinking in surprise, he looked at Crusch before him. Thinking, No way—that couldn’t be.
「Crusch-san, first, take your time and rest your body. After that, just like Subaru said earlier, I intend to do whatever I can。」
「…Thank you. You may end up regretting it, you know？」
「As I am now, I think I can tell better than the old me which regrets are okay to have and which are not。」
However, the sense of discomfort and doubt that had pricked Subaru was pushed aside by the exchange over his head between Emilia and Crusch—a conversation befitting two royal selection candidates.
In fact, Subaru and Emilia’s proposal was nothing short of aiding the enemy, but even if they avoided that and defeated Crusch, there’s no way they could truly rejoice from the heart.
That’s why this proposal and declaration of resolve aligned with the wishes of Emilia’s camp.
「—Phew」
After that exchange, Crusch let out a sigh tinged with fatigue.
She was fresh from an illness and hadn’t regained her strength, and there had even been a moment when emotions flared. For Crusch physically, it had already become quite a long ordeal.
「It’s about time we took our leave, Emilia。」
「Right. Even though you’re super tired and having a hard time, thank you for seeing us。」
「No, if anything, I’m sorry we couldn’t offer much in the way of hospitality. Wilhelm, could you see everyone out？」
Prompted by Rem, and with Emilia moving to bring the meeting to a close, Crusch smiled and said that to Wilhelm at her side. Wilhelm bowed and accepted, and as Subaru and the others began getting ready to withdraw, Crusch also stood to see them off.
And then—
「Thank you so much for today. I was glad to see you。」
「——」
Apologizing for the discourtesy of seeing them off there, Crusch gave that greeting to Subaru and the others.
For a moment, Subaru hesitated over whether to say a word—
「—Subaru-dono, I shall escort you。」
As if sensing that, Wilhelm cut him off.
「I was terribly rude earlier。」
As they left the parlor and were being seen to the mansion’s entrance, Wilhelm, walking ahead, opened with that. At his words, Subaru, holding Beatrice’s hand, widened his eyes with an “I knew it,”
「I noticed you stopped me at the end. …But even I didn’t really know what I was about to say there。」
「Even so, I overstepped by cutting off a guest’s words. It was solely out of concern for Crusch-sama’s well-being, but I apologize for my rudeness。」
「…Mr. Wilhelm, you’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? About Crusch-san—how she was。」
「Of course. She’s far from her best and will need some more time to rest. But even if her body and heart recover…」
Lowering his eyes, Wilhelm said nothing more. Still, Subaru could more or less guess the part he left unsaid.
No one had dared to say it outright back there. But precisely because Crusch herself felt it most keenly, such searing emotion had spilled out.
And besides—
「Felis must be frustrated too. Right now he should want more than anyone to support Crusch-san at her side, and yet his body won’t do as he wishes。」
Glancing back toward the parlor they had just left, Emilia murmured that with concern. At her words, Wilhelm’s throat worked faintly as he walked ahead.
Then, without stopping his steps, in a solemn tone, 「Emilia-sama,」
「Earlier, I told you a lie。」
「Huh? A lie？」
「Yes. —About Felis。」
At those words and that name, Subaru and the others exchanged looks.
Wilhelm said it was a lie concerning Felis. In his explanation, Felis had taken ill and was resting—but…
「No, that’s off. Wasn’t Felis the type who doesn’t get sick in the first place？」
「Even so… he’s not, um, Reinhard。」
'Sure, Reinhard is off the charts too, but in that sense Felis is one of those off-the-charts types as well.'
Setting aside Reinhard, the human marvel who can scoop up a dragon carriage and leap in a single bound, Felis is a healer—and moreover, he holds the title of 'Blue,' hailed as among the strongest in the Kingdom.
Once, Subaru saw Felis get caught up in a Witch Cultist’s suicide attack, and then calmly return from the scene where the dragon carriage had been blown to pieces.
In other words, he’s the kind of super-healer you know from manga and anime—that’s Felis.
Of course, he’s had mana shortages and was pouring everything into Crusch, so you can’t say for sure that what applied then still applies now.
'As you have noticed, Sir Subaru, Felis is not bedridden. He is not in this manor at present.'
'Not in the manor? Then that means...'
'—To the Royal Cemetery, if you would.'
Without answering the unexpected question that had surfaced, Wilhelm tersely gave that place-name and led Subaru and the others to the mansion’s entrance.
The Royal Cemetery—just from the name, it sounded like a place with an obvious purpose.
Yet Wilhelm’s true intent in telling them about that place was—
'However much shame I may heap upon myself, I now serve Lady Crusch. I cannot act in defiance of my liege’s wishes. —Please, lend your ears to what I have to say.'
With a deep bow at the waist, Wilhelm sent Subaru and the others on their way.
The anguish etched into his deeply lined face told of a problem that even the Sword Demon could not cut through with his blade, and yet one he still prayed to see resolved, even if only after bitter struggle.
△▼△▼△▼△
—The Royal Cemetery lay at the very back of the nobles’ quarter of the Royal Capital Lugunica.
As its very name suggested, the place was a cemetery—that is, a bed for those whose souls were prayed to rest, where countless gravestones stood in rows to mourn the dead.
'Remember the White Whale Subjugation? They say the graves of those who took part in that battle and lost their lives are here too.'
'I see. Then not having come till now makes me way too cold-hearted. I didn’t bring any flowers today, so next time I gotta come properly prepared.'
'Yeah. We need to say lots of thank-yous, and tell them they’ve earned their rest.'
Passing through the black-iron main gate without a speck of rust, they found before them a processional path paved in a geometric pattern of stone slabs, flanked on both sides by ranks of grave markers—and among the headstones standing there, not a single one could be called a mere monument.
Some were crowned with statues of knights proclaiming their deeds in life; others were small, temple-like structures adorned with intricate carvings that told the history of their line. Standards engraved with family crests fluttered in the wind, and the colorful bouquets left by mourners lent the only touch of vitality to this world of gray stone.
'As expected, nobles are show-offs even with their tombstones. ...Strip away the flash, and it’s kind of like the cemeteries I’ve seen in Western movies and TV shows.'
Well-tended lawns and the stone-paved path radiated out around a gentle hill. There were none of the Japanese-style headstones, wooden grave tablets, shrines, or temples familiar to Subaru—just a space swept by a cool, lonesome wind.
'Come to think of it, I’ve been avoiding the question, but... do they cremate the dead here? Or bury them?'
'Basically cremation, I suppose. When a living thing dies, its soul—Od—slips out of its body. A body that’s lost its Od will only have its form slough into mush, an unbearable sight. So before that happens, we mark the body, too—like the Od—as having finished its role.'
'I see—so it’s not for plague prevention or anything, it’s just how existence itself is set up.'
Thanks to Beatrice’s prompt answer, he could accept that logic as well.
No wonder, then, that during the Great Disaster in Vollachia, many of the zombies that came back weren’t in rotten bodies or missing limbs—in other words, they weren’t incomplete. In those cases, their bodies were shaped from clods of earth, based on the form of the souls used to revive them.
That’s why those zombies returned to the world of the living just as they had looked in life.
'So that means the destination of souls—the Cradle of Od Lagna, or whatever—was a pretty precious place. Like the River Styx, or the very ends of time.'
'Don’t start mumbling scary things out of nowhere. The Cradle of Od Lagna is not something you should speak of, even in jest. Word is, if you happen to meet its gaze, it’ll rob you of your sanity.'
'No, I’m not joking—I mean it... But that was just Rui running her mouth, so who knows how credible it really is?'
Chided by a frowning Beatrice, Subaru casts his mind back to that pure-white space where, for better or worse, he spent an intensely packed stretch of time.
Rui Arneb, playing at being the gatekeeper of that place, dubbed it the "Corridor of Memories," but even if that description fits to a degree, what it actually was remains unknown. Rui's consciousness has vanished somewhere, and now that she has been reborn as Spica, there's no way to verify it.
"If I had to say, we could track down another of レイド's books and risk going through hell to peek inside again, but…"
"—Um, I know you're in the middle of talking, but may I?"
"Huh?"
"You came here to look for someone, right? Felis, was it?"
Tugging lightly at his sleeve, Rem asks Subaru that as he turns back.
Rem, her eyes shaded with deep puzzlement, naturally doesn't know what kind of person Felis is. Brought along to a graveyard like this, she would certainly feel at a loose end.
"Ah, my bad, my bad! Uh, the one we're looking for has cat ears and that cutesy 'kyarun' vibe. They've got a tail too, and they're pretty darn cute, so you'll know them when you see them."
"…I'd like something a little more useful than that."
"No, I think those were pretty solid hints… Ah, and by cute I don't mean Beako-type cute; more like Petra or Meili-type cute. About as tall as me."
"I see—those are very different kinds of cute."
With Beatrice lifted and held up before her face, Rem studies her features and nods as if satisfied with Subaru's explanation. Beatrice herself only looks more dubious about that conclusion, but a lack of self-awareness about the finer points of one's own cuteness could be called part of the charm.
In truth, cuteness comes in countless varieties—beauties with a cute slant, cuties with a beautiful slant, and everything in between. Even so, having shared Felis's traits like this—
"I wonder what Wilhelm's attitude back there meant. It's worrying."
"—He knows where they are, and still wants us to go talk to them, huh."
"Mm, right. I'm happy when they consult us or rely on us, but I always felt like neither Crusch-san nor Wilhelm really shows that side of themselves."
Subaru can agree with Emilia's sense of it.
What he can gather is that some problem has arisen in Crusch's camp, and Wilhelm is unable to move on his own to resolve it.
Of course, Subaru can think of what might have sparked that problem. But even so, the bonds in Crusch's camp are strong. Compared to any of the other royal selection candidates, those two were tied by the longest and firmest bond.
The depth of that feeling hasn't vanished even if Crusch's "memories" were lost—at least, that's how Subaru felt, and what he had believed.
However—
"——"
Staring down at his right hand, Subaru glowers at the lifeline in his palm. What crosses his mind is the moment he, rudely, took Crusch's hand—and had his own hand looked over in return.
She looked at Subaru's hand, saw it had been freed from that black pattern, and when she heard it wasn't thanks to the sacramental power of the Dragon Church—
"—That's unfair."
—she said it in a voice so small it almost faded away.
"I didn't mishear that… did I?"
He dearly wishes that were the case, but Subaru doesn't have ears—or an ego—so conveniently favorable. That was, without a doubt, a dark, honest feeling that slipped from Crusch's lips.
Honestly, it shocked him. But if he were to wish to deny even her right to say it, that would be pure arrogance. More than anything, Subaru understands all too painfully why Crusch would let those words slip.
"…There's no way I can talk about this with Crusch-san."
Crusch is at the center of it all, her body only just recovered, and now she bears the risk of suffering countless wounds to her heart. If he can't press her directly, does he think he can ask Felis, her knight? It's not even something he has any certainty about.
It's just that he knows if he slinks back to his companions like this, he'll only go on tormenting himself with a question that yields no answer.
"Hmm, I don't see Felis anywhere."
Lost in thought like that, before they knew it Subaru and the others had circled the graveyard.
The grounds are by no means small, but being a graveyard in the nobles' quarter, most of the dead interred here are thought to have borne heavy responsibilities for the Kingdom, and their remains are treated with more than due respect. The farther in you go, the larger and more carefully maintained each headstone is, and with so few visitors, faces are easy to pick out—so it's hard to think they simply missed Felis.
At least, if we just knew who he had come to the cemetery to see, that would be a different story.
"We had a general look around, but I don't see any woman matching the description we heard."
"Strictly speaking, not a girl... no, but looks don't matter, so forget it."
"—? If there's anywhere else that stands out, it'd be that building, I suppose."
While giving Subaru, who had skipped the detailed explanation, a dubious look, Rem pointed with her hand to the chalk-white building seated on the central hill with rows of stone monuments neatly arrayed across the vast grounds behind it—in other words, the mausoleum.
Clad in a solemn and sacred air, with the gravestones adorning its perimeter seeming to attend upon it as if they had sworn fealty to their lord, its aspect is proof that this is the resting place of the chosen.
If this is the Royal Cemetery, and within it the beds of the dead who are given special treatment, then—
"—Looks like a mausoleum where members of the royal family lie."
"Then the deceased members of the royal family are in there..."
The members of the royal family whose abrupt end served as the trigger for the royal selection—those who, for so long, carried the venerable bloodline of the long-standing Kingdom of Lugunica down to the present and played a great role.
Standing before the mausoleum where such people are interred, Subaru at last, belatedly, understands. —The solemn aura that hangs over this place; in a sense, this is a microcosm of the Royal Capital. If the Royal Castle is a symbol of authority for the living, then the mausoleum is the same for the dead—
"...As you'd expect, you can't just casually go pay respects at the kings' graves, huh?"
"Ordinarily, a mausoleum of the royal family would be under heavy guard. There are plenty who would try to do something wicked with the ashes of the powerful. It's lamentable."
"But at least we could ask who's inside... Ah, perfect timing."
Even if the mausoleum is the only place left unchecked, it's not somewhere you can just walk into.
That makes it all the less likely Felis is there, but having been entrusted with this by Wilhelm, he doesn't want to go back with the job half done.
Just as he was thinking that, Emilia sharply pointed at the entrance to the mausoleum. And sure enough, just as she said, a figure was emerging from inside.
It was a slender person dressed in something like a deep-navy tailcoat. From the grace of their movements even with their back turned, he could strongly feel their respect and solicitude toward the mausoleum.
Since they were coming and going from the royal family's mausoleum, they were probably a caretaker of the cemetery or the mausoleum, or something of the sort; Subaru hurried after Emilia, who had broken into a quick run.
"Um, do you have a moment? About the building you just came out of—I wanted to ask if the one we're looking for was in there."
Emilia, having run up, addressed the person without the slightest timidity. That kind of boldness might have invited wariness, but there were guards posted at the cemetery's entrance, and identities were checked when passing through the main gate, so the assumption was that there were no suspicious persons on the grounds.
Subaru hoped, very much, that that intent would be conveyed to the other party—
"—Lady Emilia?"
With a voice tinged with surprise, the person in the tailcoat turned and looked at Emilia. Seeing them head-on, Emilia let out a little "Eh?" of surprise and came to a halt.
Subaru and the others, too, saw the person over the halted Emilia's shoulder.
Standing there was—
"...Well, you've caught me in a weird place, huh. It was Old Man Wilhelm, right?"
Saying that, Felis gave a faint wry smile that was neither quite exasperated nor quite self-mocking—his slender frame plainly wrapped in a men's tailcoat—and he shrugged at Subaru and the others.
"—"
Without thinking, Subaru was struck speechless at the sight of Felis with the mausoleum's entrance at his back.
This wasn't the first time Felis had dressed like this—in fact, he had put on the Royal Guard's uniform before and dressed as a man. But that had the pretext of being the Order's official uniform, and even then it felt like he'd added touches to present it in a way that was very him.
But in the him standing before them in a tailcoat, there was none of that kind of artifice or flourish at all.
What that meant was—
"...Felis, what happened?"
"Don't make that end-of-the-world face and voice. To you guys, it's not a big deal. It's just—"
Still wearing that slight, drooping-brow smile, Felis started to tilt his head—then stopped. It was almost as if he were parting ways with that kind of mannerism.
True to that impression, Felis went on.
It was—
"—I was just dismissed from my post as Lady Crusch's knight, that's all. So I'm done being Feli-chan, and I've gone back to Felix Argyle."
"No, that’s only natural. It’s nothing you need to thank me for."
Saying so with deep embarrassment, Subaru, in response to the words of the man serving the tea—Wilhelm—flusteredly waved Beatrice’s hands on his lap.
Beatrice gave Subaru a flat stare for the gesture, but she could probably feel his tension from the heartbeat against her back. With a put-upon sigh, she continued to devote herself to being Subaru’s marionette.
—Having just finished their audience with Filore, who had hurled the royal selection into utter chaos, Subaru and the others, unable to sit still after hearing at that Dragon Church of Crusch’s awakening, came straight here to Karsten Manor in the nobles’ district.
Naturally, proper manners would require making an appointment before calling. But though their visit was such a social failure they even forgot that, they were nonetheless received graciously.
Shown to the parlor by Wilhelm, they sat four in a row on the settee (with Beatrice on Subaru’s lap), waiting with bated breath for the moment to arrive.
Perhaps noticing how keyed up Subaru was, Wilhelm bowed deeply at the waist.
"Please allow a little more time for Lady Crusch to prepare herself. My apologies."
"No, no, we just dropped in out of the blue. If anything, we should be grateful you didn’t turn us away."
"Turn you away? Perish the thought. Lady Crusch, too, was most pleased that Subaru and Lady Emilia had come to visit."
"No, no, no—in that regard it might be the other way around; I mean, if I see Crusch-san awake, I might just start crying…"
Pathetic as it sounds, there’s a real chance that’ll happen, no joke, so he wanted Wilhelm and Emilia and the others to be mentally prepared in advance.
For now, to rein in his mounting impatience, all he could do was shake Beatrice’s arms in time with each “no, no” as he responded to Wilhelm.
"Hey, you’re swinging Betty’s little hands way too much! My shoulder and arm are getting tired already!"
"Guh… sorry, my bad, forgive me—I just can’t calm down. It’s because…"
Beatrice, who had been dedicating herself to being Subaru’s emotional support doll, finally reached her limit and barked at him. Poking her cheek, Subaru paused for a beat and broke off his words there.
Restless, on edge—yes. But the waiting is worth it.
"Because Crusch-san is…"
"—Yes. There is no mistake."
To Subaru’s sigh laden with countless feelings, Wilhelm nodded just as deeply moved. —No, calling it “just as” was outrageously presumptuous.
Wilhelm’s relief was bound to be many times, dozens of times, greater than Subaru’s. The recovery of the one to whom he had sworn his fealty was that momentous.
"I’ve said it so many times already, Wilhelm, but I’m truly happy for you."
Yes—the one who once more offered words of appreciation for Wilhelm’s efforts was Emilia, seated beside Subaru.
Emilia had been present when Filore used the church’s sacred rite to treat Crusch, and she had been able to extend her thanks to Wilhelm and the others that very day. Even so, because Crusch’s consciousness had not returned afterward, with the chance to speak to the now-awakened Crusch before her, Emilia’s violet eyes, too, shone with anticipation.
"Good grief, at this rate I’m worried the two of them will cause a scene. Rem, if Betty and the others don’t keep it together here, things could get ugly."
"Indeed. Leave it to me if they go overboard. I’ve been getting used, little by little, to the handling and heft of the iron ball."
Since Subaru and Emilia couldn’t sit still, it was reassuring that Beatrice and Rem, who remained calm as visitors, were ready for the critical moment—but the faint clink of chains that accompanied Rem’s slight movements was both frightening and a little thrilling.
When asking Rem for backup, Subaru would need to be thoroughly prepared himself.
"Oh, speaking of backup—where’s Felis? Helping Crusch-san change? There’s a lot I want to talk about with that guy, too."
Noticing, all at once, that a face that ought to have been here was missing, Subaru voiced the question.
Subaru and Wilhelm, too, had joy beyond expectation at Crusch’s recovery. But the one who must feel it most is none other than her foremost knight.
Of course, the fact that Crusch’s salvation had been brought by the Dragon Church must have been a bitter blow to him, a healer himself—but I have no doubt he’s the sort of person who can take joy in Crusch’s safety over any self-reproach born of helplessness.
However—
「——」
「—? Mr. Wilhelm?」
At Wilhelm's reaction, his expression momentarily tightening, Subaru knit his brows in puzzlement. However, Wilhelm immediately smoothed that over with a 'My apologies,' and—
「As for Felis... in truth, he's feeling a bit under the weather. Right after what happened with Lady Crusch's health, it seems all the mental strain he'd been carrying burst out all at once.」
「Oh no, that happened after all that? ...I'm worried about Felis. Even though Crusch-san finally woke up, if he collapsed himself, Felis will just blame himself.」
「Yeah, that's right. Mr. Wilhelm, is Felis in bad shape?」
「...No, I believe rest will make him better. However, for now I would ask that you refrain from visiting. I don't think he himself would wish to hinder the feelings of everyone who has come to see Lady Crusch.」
「I wouldn't think of it as a hindrance, but... all right, I understand. I'll make it another time.」
It wasn't exactly 'when it rains, it pours,' but given those circumstances, Emilia nodded at Wilhelm's suggestion, and Subaru agreed as well.
Subaru and the others planned to remain in the Royal Capital for a while longer. Even if they missed today, there would be other chances to show Felis their appreciation. This was a time to respect his wishes. —Or so they had just let out a breath when—
「—I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting.」
Hearing that, and seeing the person who opened the parlor door, Subaru found himself springing to his feet.
At the entrance to the room, the one who appeared was a beautiful woman—tall and slender, with long green hair—wearing dark sleepwear with a pink stole draped over her shoulders: Crusch Karsten herself.
「——」
The last time he'd seen her, Crusch's breathing had been pained and uneven, and she'd seemed in such a state that even lifting her body from the bed was difficult. For her to be standing on her own feet and showing herself before Subaru and the others like this filled him with unexpected joy and deep emotion.
Only, as she looked at Subaru with a fragile smile, one half of her face remained wrapped in bandages that covered her left eye, and that, unavoidably, was the first thing to draw the eye—
「Please, be at ease. I'm only wearing these bandages because one eye is still a little hard to see out of; the greater part of the affliction... no, the affliction has been removed.」
「Ah...」
「So please, don't look so downcast.」
Being told that, Subaru reflected that, though he'd come to pay a visit, he'd ended up making her worry for him instead.
The fact that the bandages still covered part of her face was a surprise, but more than that, what deserved attention was that Crusch had come to meet Subaru and the others on her own two feet like this.
That had seemed such an enormous hurdle as to be impossible, given how grave Crusch's condition had been.
「——」
「—Sir Subaru?」
Noticing Subaru fall silent, the smiling Crusch narrowed her amber eye. With that single eye fixed on him now, Subaru chose his words with care.
After all, if he slipped with even a single word or a single breath, his forbearance felt like it would instantly turn into drops and spill over.
「...Um, you know, Crusch-san. There are a lot—really a lot—of things I wanted to say, and most of them were just 'I'm sorry,' or 'I was wrong,' words of apology like that, but—」
「—... Yes.」
「But when I met you face-to-face like this, Crusch-san, what came out was all things like 'I'm glad' and 'I'm relieved.' I'm really, really relieved...」
As a visitor come to pay his respects, he should have had any number of model answers prepared in advance.
On the way to the manor, and even while they were waiting, he had desperately simulated in his head the best words to say when visiting, and thought he had chosen the perfect answer.
And yet, the moment he met the real Crusch, all of that blew away, and what came out of him was nothing but a childlike, immature, rambling sense of relief.
「——」
At those words, wrung out from Subaru's own pitiable self-awareness, Crusch's eyes widened for an instant, then a soft smile returned to her lips.
「Hearing you say that puts me at ease as well. I've shown you my unbecoming side time and again, Sir Subaru, so I feared you might have run out of patience with me by now.」
「No way! Not at all, not in the slightest! I mean, making you stand and chat when you're just recovering isn't right. Um, please, have a seat.」
「Heh, then I shall.」
Flustered and off his rhythm, Subaru offered the chair opposite; Crusch, a hand to her lips as she laughed, followed his lead. Somehow Subaru ended up arranging things, but since this was the other party's home, it was only natural to be laughed at.
Finding the conversation awkward no matter what he did, Subaru watched as Crusch sat down with Wilhelm's help, then cast a resentful glance at Emilia and the others right beside him,
"Why am I the only one running around while everyone else gets to take it easy? Why am I the one getting led around by the nose?"
"Because the one who was most worried about Crusch-san was you, Subaru, right? So I figured you'd want to be the first to talk to her."
"I'm not in a position to butt in here right now. Besides, there was also the matter of Beatrice-chan."
"About Beako... huh? Why is Beako on Rem's lap? Weren't you sitting on my lap?"
"I was, but when you jumped to your feet, Subaru, I got sent flying! If Rem hadn't caught me so nicely, I'd be lying spread-eagle in the middle of the room by now!"
"R-right, sorry about that. You were literally out of my sight..."
"That's a terrible way to say it!"
Beatrice puffed out her cheeks and, still being stubborn, clung to Rem. Leaving her to Rem, who was ready to accept the embrace, Subaru also reflected that he'd been far too oblivious to his surroundings.
At that exchange between Subaru and the others, Crusch deepened her smile with a soft chuckle. In response to Crusch's reaction, Emilia narrowed her deep violet eyes,
"Sorry we're all being so noisy when this is supposed to be a get-well visit."
"No, I don't dislike lively company. And the fact that you came to visit as soon as you got word... that made me happy, too."
"I'm glad to hear that. ...Ah, but I'll make sure we don't get too carried away."
Mindful of Crusch's condition, Emilia added a final remark that was very her.
In it, you could see her compassion and her intent to choose her words carefully; even in a moment like this, one could feel the visible growth in Emilia.
Of course, it's not good to take Crusch's words entirely at face value either—but—
"How are you feeling?"
"Yes. I'm feeling much better. Regaining my strength will likely take a little more time, but I don't believe there's any major problem."
Crusch answered thus and adjusted the position of the stole draped over her shoulders. Having just recovered, her complexion was still a touch pale, but her responses were natural, and there was no dimming of her keen intellect.
From the look of it, her gait and the like were steady, and aside from the bandage covering her left eye, it seemed none of that day's traces remained on her. For the moment, one could call it a relief.
That said—
"Even while I was bedridden, I, too, received reports. ...Including the news that Priscilla-sama has passed away."
With that keen mind of hers still intact, Crusch also fully understood that this was not a situation where they could simply rejoice over her recovery.
"——"
They'd known it was an unavoidable subject, yet it had seemed inappropriate to bring it up right away; having it raised by none other than Crusch made Subaru and the others' cheeks stiffen.
As if to say she had no desire for the comforting notion of praising Crusch's recovery here and saving the deeper talk about the royal selection for another time.
"To the best of my recollection, I exchanged hardly any words with Priscilla-sama. However, there is no doubt that she had her own sense of honor and joined the battle of Priestella—by extension, the royal selection as well. That is precisely why we must continue the royal selection for her sake as well."
"—. Yeah, I feel the same way. For Priscilla's sake too, we can't keep wilting forever—that's how I see it."
"That's right. I'm glad. That Emilia-sama feels the same way."
Letting out a breath of relief before the nodding Emilia, Crusch brought her teacup to her lips. Moistening her tongue and lips with a sip, she fixed them with the amber gleam of her lone right eye and, "In that case," she continued,
"I believe you will agree that what we should prioritize now is the stability of the Kingdom. In the royal selection, the Witch Cult's deeds were indeed a grievous matter, but devoting too much time to measures and responses against them would be off the mark from the royal selection's original mandate."
"Mm, I understand that too. The royal selection is to decide the Kingdom's future, not to do something about the Witch Cult. That's what you mean, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Of course, dealing with those people is an issue for those in power to tackle, but putting it first would be playing right into their hands. We must remember the very essence of the royal selection."
"In that case, Felt-chan is in the Royal Capital now, too. Anastasia-san still doesn't seem able to make it back here yet, but if we can talk things over, I'd be happy to—"
"—And also," Crusch cut across Emilia mid-sentence, leaning forward slightly. For an instant, Emilia's eyes opened wide at the sensation as if a naked blade had been leveled at her.
Ignoring Emilia's reaction, Crusch only intensified the light in her amber eye,
"I heard. The tower of the 'Sage'—the Pleiades Watchtower—has had its path opened. I am deeply impressed by such a superb accomplishment. If that tower truly holds the power spoken of in rumor, it will be ample as a deterrent against other nations. As for how to handle it, we must deliberate cautiously with the 'Council of Sages'."
"Crusch-san..."
"As for the crucial 'Succession Ceremony'... there is now less than a year and a half left until the deadline for the voting day that will decide the next king. From here on, the rightness or wrongness of each faction's claims will be tested all the more. More than ever, we must look at the faces around us and listen to their voices."
"Wait, Crusch-san, I do want to talk. But please don't be so hasty. For now—"
"—I!"
"—!"
All at once, just as Emilia tried to dam with emotion the torrent of words that had burst forth from Crusch, a sharp, forceful cry split the reception room.
The teacup in Crusch's hand was set back onto its saucer with a rough motion, a sharp clatter and a splash of tea. Wilhelm swiftly drew back Crusch's hand, laid a handkerchief over her hand, which had been about to be doused, and at once moved the cup to the rear.
Meanwhile, Crusch, letting it all be done to her, did not take her eyes off Subaru and the others for even a moment.
Without looking away, her thin lips quivered,
"Am I mistaken...?"
"——"
The tone that, until just before, had held firm, intelligent poise wavered, and her question was wet with tears.
In reality, no tears welled in Crusch's eyes. But her voice was crying. The size of that gap between reason and emotion carved painfully into Subaru's chest.
She understands—Crusch does.
She is clearheaded, possessed of excellent insight, and a hard worker who has continued to face many responsibilities and tasks; so whether Subaru and the others choose their words carefully or fail to, it makes no difference.
She understands that the way she was saved was not befitting of the king she aimed to be.
"...What kind of stupid talk is that."
Looking back at the certainty that had taken root within himself, Subaru ground his molars.
You can't call it anything but ridiculous—truly ridiculous. To say the way she was saved was wrong—it's as if you're saying it would have been better if Crusch were still suffering under the malice of 'Lust'.
That's nonsense. Why should someone as admirable as Crusch have her dreams and goals cut off by the deeds of a bunch of jokers like the Witch Cult?
It was unreasonable suffering. An absurdity with no reason to endure.
And then, because she was saved by someone's kindness—so what? Thank you for saving me. I won't forget this gratitude; from here on I'll keep doing my very best. — What's wrong with that?
"—You're not wrong. Not one bit."
A feeling welled up in his chest, together with a helpless anger.
As if pushed from behind by it, before he knew it Subaru had once more risen to his feet, and he squeezed Crusch's hand tightly across the low table.
On Crusch's white fingers, from which the handkerchief had fallen, there were no longer those ugly black blotches. This was as it should be—Crusch's hand, with no reason for anyone to defile it.
"Subaru-sama."
"You're not wrong. Not in the least. Let's do the royal selection properly. Let's talk properly, think properly, and all compete properly together. I'll do whatever it takes."
He spoke prepared to be scolded and cursed as making yet another easy promise.
They were a rival camp. If, as things stood, the powerful rival Crusch were to drop out of the royal selection, it would be a great help to Emilia—anyone would think so.
"But no. That's not it. The royal selection we all entered because we wanted to make our own candidate the king—it's not supposed to be decided like that."
"——"
"So, Crusch-san, you're not wrong."
He wasn't confident he'd even managed to form a sentence that properly led into that 'so'.
Even so, overborne a little by Subaru's pent-up momentum, Crusch let out a breath as if something taut within her had slackened.
"Geez, Subaru, when you go all 'waaah' like that, almost everything I was going to say gets said first. That's not fair."
Perhaps sensing that change in Crusch's mood, Emilia, still seated on the sofa, pursed her lips and chided Subaru's behavior like that.
At once, realizing he'd rushed ahead and gotten heated all on his own, Subaru felt even his ears grow hot.
Then, thinking no, no, that's not good, Subaru hurriedly tried to scurry back to his original spot, and—
"—. Subaru-sama, your hand..."
"Huh? My hand?"
Prompted, Subaru looked down at the hand with which he had just been holding Crusch's.
He thought he'd been called out for some outrageous discourtesy, but that was not it. What Crusch's amber eyes were concerned with was not Subaru's poor manners, but—
「Subaru-sama’s hand. It had become the same as my body… Could it be that Subaru-sama’s hand, too, was by the power of the 『Dragon Church』？」
「あ、いや、これはもっと乱暴というか、‘bang’ってなった結果なんだけど、詳しい方法は俺もわからずじまいなんで、地味に怖い話ではある」
In fact, Subaru’s hand has now regained its original, human skin tone, but the process that brought it there was pretty violent—nothing anyone should imitate.
To put it plainly, it was burned, blown off, and then regrew. —As things stand, you could say his leg is in the same state as well, but he has no intention of testing whether burning it off and blasting it away would make it regrow.
「—i」
「——」
Opening and closing his hand, Subaru was looking back on that extreme treatment when he suddenly felt as if he heard a faint whisper, and he involuntarily held his breath.
Blinking in surprise, he looked at Crusch before him. Thinking, No way—that couldn’t be.
「Crusch-san, first, take your time and rest your body. After that, just like Subaru said earlier, I intend to do whatever I can。」
「…Thank you. You may end up regretting it, you know？」
「As I am now, I think I can tell better than the old me which regrets are okay to have and which are not。」
However, the sense of discomfort and doubt that had pricked Subaru was pushed aside by the exchange over his head between Emilia and Crusch—a conversation befitting two royal selection candidates.
In fact, Subaru and Emilia’s proposal was nothing short of aiding the enemy, but even if they avoided that and defeated Crusch, there’s no way they could truly rejoice from the heart.
That’s why this proposal and declaration of resolve aligned with the wishes of Emilia’s camp.
「—Phew」
After that exchange, Crusch let out a sigh tinged with fatigue.
She was fresh from an illness and hadn’t regained her strength, and there had even been a moment when emotions flared. For Crusch physically, it had already become quite a long ordeal.
「It’s about time we took our leave, Emilia。」
「Right. Even though you’re super tired and having a hard time, thank you for seeing us。」
「No, if anything, I’m sorry we couldn’t offer much in the way of hospitality. Wilhelm, could you see everyone out？」
Prompted by Rem, and with Emilia moving to bring the meeting to a close, Crusch smiled and said that to Wilhelm at her side. Wilhelm bowed and accepted, and as Subaru and the others began getting ready to withdraw, Crusch also stood to see them off.
And then—
「Thank you so much for today. I was glad to see you。」
「——」
Apologizing for the discourtesy of seeing them off there, Crusch gave that greeting to Subaru and the others.
For a moment, Subaru hesitated over whether to say a word—
「—Subaru-dono, I shall escort you。」
As if sensing that, Wilhelm cut him off.
「I was terribly rude earlier。」
As they left the parlor and were being seen to the mansion’s entrance, Wilhelm, walking ahead, opened with that. At his words, Subaru, holding Beatrice’s hand, widened his eyes with an “I knew it,”
「I noticed you stopped me at the end. …But even I didn’t really know what I was about to say there。」
「Even so, I overstepped by cutting off a guest’s words. It was solely out of concern for Crusch-sama’s well-being, but I apologize for my rudeness。」
「…Mr. Wilhelm, you’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? About Crusch-san—how she was。」
「Of course. She’s far from her best and will need some more time to rest. But even if her body and heart recover…」
Lowering his eyes, Wilhelm said nothing more. Still, Subaru could more or less guess the part he left unsaid.
No one had dared to say it outright back there. But precisely because Crusch herself felt it most keenly, such searing emotion had spilled out.
And besides—
「Felis must be frustrated too. Right now he should want more than anyone to support Crusch-san at her side, and yet his body won’t do as he wishes。」
Glancing back toward the parlor they had just left, Emilia murmured that with concern. At her words, Wilhelm’s throat worked faintly as he walked ahead.
Then, without stopping his steps, in a solemn tone, 「Emilia-sama,」
「Earlier, I told you a lie。」
「Huh? A lie？」
「Yes. —About Felis。」
At those words and that name, Subaru and the others exchanged looks.
Wilhelm said it was a lie concerning Felis. In his explanation, Felis had taken ill and was resting—but…
「No, that’s off. Wasn’t Felis the type who doesn’t get sick in the first place？」
「Even so… he’s not, um, Reinhard。」
'Sure, Reinhard is off the charts too, but in that sense Felis is one of those off-the-charts types as well.'
Setting aside Reinhard, the human marvel who can scoop up a dragon carriage and leap in a single bound, Felis is a healer—and moreover, he holds the title of 'Blue,' hailed as among the strongest in the Kingdom.
Once, Subaru saw Felis get caught up in a Witch Cultist’s suicide attack, and then calmly return from the scene where the dragon carriage had been blown to pieces.
In other words, he’s the kind of super-healer you know from manga and anime—that’s Felis.
Of course, he’s had mana shortages and was pouring everything into Crusch, so you can’t say for sure that what applied then still applies now.
'As you have noticed, Sir Subaru, Felis is not bedridden. He is not in this manor at present.'
'Not in the manor? Then that means...'
'—To the Royal Cemetery, if you would.'
Without answering the unexpected question that had surfaced, Wilhelm tersely gave that place-name and led Subaru and the others to the mansion’s entrance.
The Royal Cemetery—just from the name, it sounded like a place with an obvious purpose.
Yet Wilhelm’s true intent in telling them about that place was—
'However much shame I may heap upon myself, I now serve Lady Crusch. I cannot act in defiance of my liege’s wishes. —Please, lend your ears to what I have to say.'
With a deep bow at the waist, Wilhelm sent Subaru and the others on their way.
The anguish etched into his deeply lined face told of a problem that even the Sword Demon could not cut through with his blade, and yet one he still prayed to see resolved, even if only after bitter struggle.
△▼△▼△▼△
—The Royal Cemetery lay at the very back of the nobles’ quarter of the Royal Capital Lugunica.
As its very name suggested, the place was a cemetery—that is, a bed for those whose souls were prayed to rest, where countless gravestones stood in rows to mourn the dead.
'Remember the White Whale Subjugation? They say the graves of those who took part in that battle and lost their lives are here too.'
'I see. Then not having come till now makes me way too cold-hearted. I didn’t bring any flowers today, so next time I gotta come properly prepared.'
'Yeah. We need to say lots of thank-yous, and tell them they’ve earned their rest.'
Passing through the black-iron main gate without a speck of rust, they found before them a processional path paved in a geometric pattern of stone slabs, flanked on both sides by ranks of grave markers—and among the headstones standing there, not a single one could be called a mere monument.
Some were crowned with statues of knights proclaiming their deeds in life; others were small, temple-like structures adorned with intricate carvings that told the history of their line. Standards engraved with family crests fluttered in the wind, and the colorful bouquets left by mourners lent the only touch of vitality to this world of gray stone.
'As expected, nobles are show-offs even with their tombstones. ...Strip away the flash, and it’s kind of like the cemeteries I’ve seen in Western movies and TV shows.'
Well-tended lawns and the stone-paved path radiated out around a gentle hill. There were none of the Japanese-style headstones, wooden grave tablets, shrines, or temples familiar to Subaru—just a space swept by a cool, lonesome wind.
'Come to think of it, I’ve been avoiding the question, but... do they cremate the dead here? Or bury them?'
'Basically cremation, I suppose. When a living thing dies, its soul—Od—slips out of its body. A body that’s lost its Od will only have its form slough into mush, an unbearable sight. So before that happens, we mark the body, too—like the Od—as having finished its role.'
'I see—so it’s not for plague prevention or anything, it’s just how existence itself is set up.'
Thanks to Beatrice’s prompt answer, he could accept that logic as well.
No wonder, then, that during the Great Disaster in Vollachia, many of the zombies that came back weren’t in rotten bodies or missing limbs—in other words, they weren’t incomplete. In those cases, their bodies were shaped from clods of earth, based on the form of the souls used to revive them.
That’s why those zombies returned to the world of the living just as they had looked in life.
'So that means the destination of souls—the Cradle of Od Lagna, or whatever—was a pretty precious place. Like the River Styx, or the very ends of time.'
'Don’t start mumbling scary things out of nowhere. The Cradle of Od Lagna is not something you should speak of, even in jest. Word is, if you happen to meet its gaze, it’ll rob you of your sanity.'
'No, I’m not joking—I mean it... But that was just Rui running her mouth, so who knows how credible it really is?'
Chided by a frowning Beatrice, Subaru casts his mind back to that pure-white space where, for better or worse, he spent an intensely packed stretch of time.
Rui Arneb, playing at being the gatekeeper of that place, dubbed it the "Corridor of Memories," but even if that description fits to a degree, what it actually was remains unknown. Rui's consciousness has vanished somewhere, and now that she has been reborn as Spica, there's no way to verify it.
"If I had to say, we could track down another of レイド's books and risk going through hell to peek inside again, but…"
"—Um, I know you're in the middle of talking, but may I?"
"Huh?"
"You came here to look for someone, right? Felis, was it?"
Tugging lightly at his sleeve, Rem asks Subaru that as he turns back.
Rem, her eyes shaded with deep puzzlement, naturally doesn't know what kind of person Felis is. Brought along to a graveyard like this, she would certainly feel at a loose end.
"Ah, my bad, my bad! Uh, the one we're looking for has cat ears and that cutesy 'kyarun' vibe. They've got a tail too, and they're pretty darn cute, so you'll know them when you see them."
"…I'd like something a little more useful than that."
"No, I think those were pretty solid hints… Ah, and by cute I don't mean Beako-type cute; more like Petra or Meili-type cute. About as tall as me."
"I see—those are very different kinds of cute."
With Beatrice lifted and held up before her face, Rem studies her features and nods as if satisfied with Subaru's explanation. Beatrice herself only looks more dubious about that conclusion, but a lack of self-awareness about the finer points of one's own cuteness could be called part of the charm.
In truth, cuteness comes in countless varieties—beauties with a cute slant, cuties with a beautiful slant, and everything in between. Even so, having shared Felis's traits like this—
"I wonder what Wilhelm's attitude back there meant. It's worrying."
"—He knows where they are, and still wants us to go talk to them, huh."
"Mm, right. I'm happy when they consult us or rely on us, but I always felt like neither Crusch-san nor Wilhelm really shows that side of themselves."
Subaru can agree with Emilia's sense of it.
What he can gather is that some problem has arisen in Crusch's camp, and Wilhelm is unable to move on his own to resolve it.
Of course, Subaru can think of what might have sparked that problem. But even so, the bonds in Crusch's camp are strong. Compared to any of the other royal selection candidates, those two were tied by the longest and firmest bond.
The depth of that feeling hasn't vanished even if Crusch's "memories" were lost—at least, that's how Subaru felt, and what he had believed.
However—
"——"
Staring down at his right hand, Subaru glowers at the lifeline in his palm. What crosses his mind is the moment he, rudely, took Crusch's hand—and had his own hand looked over in return.
She looked at Subaru's hand, saw it had been freed from that black pattern, and when she heard it wasn't thanks to the sacramental power of the Dragon Church—
"—That's unfair."
—she said it in a voice so small it almost faded away.
"I didn't mishear that… did I?"
He dearly wishes that were the case, but Subaru doesn't have ears—or an ego—so conveniently favorable. That was, without a doubt, a dark, honest feeling that slipped from Crusch's lips.
Honestly, it shocked him. But if he were to wish to deny even her right to say it, that would be pure arrogance. More than anything, Subaru understands all too painfully why Crusch would let those words slip.
"…There's no way I can talk about this with Crusch-san."
Crusch is at the center of it all, her body only just recovered, and now she bears the risk of suffering countless wounds to her heart. If he can't press her directly, does he think he can ask Felis, her knight? It's not even something he has any certainty about.
It's just that he knows if he slinks back to his companions like this, he'll only go on tormenting himself with a question that yields no answer.
"Hmm, I don't see Felis anywhere."
Lost in thought like that, before they knew it Subaru and the others had circled the graveyard.
The grounds are by no means small, but being a graveyard in the nobles' quarter, most of the dead interred here are thought to have borne heavy responsibilities for the Kingdom, and their remains are treated with more than due respect. The farther in you go, the larger and more carefully maintained each headstone is, and with so few visitors, faces are easy to pick out—so it's hard to think they simply missed Felis.
At least, if we just knew who he had come to the cemetery to see, that would be a different story.
"We had a general look around, but I don't see any woman matching the description we heard."
"Strictly speaking, not a girl... no, but looks don't matter, so forget it."
"—? If there's anywhere else that stands out, it'd be that building, I suppose."
While giving Subaru, who had skipped the detailed explanation, a dubious look, Rem pointed with her hand to the chalk-white building seated on the central hill with rows of stone monuments neatly arrayed across the vast grounds behind it—in other words, the mausoleum.
Clad in a solemn and sacred air, with the gravestones adorning its perimeter seeming to attend upon it as if they had sworn fealty to their lord, its aspect is proof that this is the resting place of the chosen.
If this is the Royal Cemetery, and within it the beds of the dead who are given special treatment, then—
"—Looks like a mausoleum where members of the royal family lie."
"Then the deceased members of the royal family are in there..."
The members of the royal family whose abrupt end served as the trigger for the royal selection—those who, for so long, carried the venerable bloodline of the long-standing Kingdom of Lugunica down to the present and played a great role.
Standing before the mausoleum where such people are interred, Subaru at last, belatedly, understands. —The solemn aura that hangs over this place; in a sense, this is a microcosm of the Royal Capital. If the Royal Castle is a symbol of authority for the living, then the mausoleum is the same for the dead—
"...As you'd expect, you can't just casually go pay respects at the kings' graves, huh?"
"Ordinarily, a mausoleum of the royal family would be under heavy guard. There are plenty who would try to do something wicked with the ashes of the powerful. It's lamentable."
"But at least we could ask who's inside... Ah, perfect timing."
Even if the mausoleum is the only place left unchecked, it's not somewhere you can just walk into.
That makes it all the less likely Felis is there, but having been entrusted with this by Wilhelm, he doesn't want to go back with the job half done.
Just as he was thinking that, Emilia sharply pointed at the entrance to the mausoleum. And sure enough, just as she said, a figure was emerging from inside.
It was a slender person dressed in something like a deep-navy tailcoat. From the grace of their movements even with their back turned, he could strongly feel their respect and solicitude toward the mausoleum.
Since they were coming and going from the royal family's mausoleum, they were probably a caretaker of the cemetery or the mausoleum, or something of the sort; Subaru hurried after Emilia, who had broken into a quick run.
"Um, do you have a moment? About the building you just came out of—I wanted to ask if the one we're looking for was in there."
Emilia, having run up, addressed the person without the slightest timidity. That kind of boldness might have invited wariness, but there were guards posted at the cemetery's entrance, and identities were checked when passing through the main gate, so the assumption was that there were no suspicious persons on the grounds.
Subaru hoped, very much, that that intent would be conveyed to the other party—
"—Lady Emilia?"
With a voice tinged with surprise, the person in the tailcoat turned and looked at Emilia. Seeing them head-on, Emilia let out a little "Eh?" of surprise and came to a halt.
Subaru and the others, too, saw the person over the halted Emilia's shoulder.
Standing there was—
"...Well, you've caught me in a weird place, huh. It was Old Man Wilhelm, right?"
Saying that, Felis gave a faint wry smile that was neither quite exasperated nor quite self-mocking—his slender frame plainly wrapped in a men's tailcoat—and he shrugged at Subaru and the others.
"—"
Without thinking, Subaru was struck speechless at the sight of Felis with the mausoleum's entrance at his back.
This wasn't the first time Felis had dressed like this—in fact, he had put on the Royal Guard's uniform before and dressed as a man. But that had the pretext of being the Order's official uniform, and even then it felt like he'd added touches to present it in a way that was very him.
But in the him standing before them in a tailcoat, there was none of that kind of artifice or flourish at all.
What that meant was—
"...Felis, what happened?"
"Don't make that end-of-the-world face and voice. To you guys, it's not a big deal. It's just—"
Still wearing that slight, drooping-brow smile, Felis started to tilt his head—then stopped. It was almost as if he were parting ways with that kind of mannerism.
True to that impression, Felis went on.
It was—
"—I was just dismissed from my post as Lady Crusch's knight, that's all. So I'm done being Feli-chan, and I've gone back to Felix Argyle."
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