5 (PART 1)

Everyone was grateful for the much-needed break. They all wiped their tears and rested a bit before moving to freshen up in the bathrooms. The snacks and water bottles were all consumed in pure silence as no one knew what to say after that scene.

The sight of Subaru's brutal death had set many of the audience to fall in silence and shock.

"I should not have brought him…"

We see an almost catatonic Emilia stare into the darkness of the window's space with her jaw moving incoherently. Her hands were rigid on her lap, enclosing and opening into fists over and over. Her entire nervous system was in horror at the death of Subaru.

"I shouldn't have let him come with me… Reinhard would've protected him better than me…"

These were the words coming out of her shocked state. The silver-haired princess felt nothing but complete horror and compassion for what had happened to the boy beside her but the shock forced her to stay deathly still. As if she was afraid that should she move away from the screen, this death she saw would be the least painful for her knight.

And the thought that he dealt with it on his own without confessing to her in the slightest was making her feel a pang of eclipsing guilt and pain from the roots of her soul.

"I…I could've helped you… Why didn't you say anything… Why did you die because of me, Subaru?!"

Emilia's state was compulsive and rigid at the same time. Her guilt, betrayal, selfish desire to understand everything, and fear of what she might learn all forced her into a mumbling mess that was shutting down every time her memory burned with Subaru's unseen moments.

Beside her, it seemed like a much more ancient entity was also capable of emotional collapse.

It's just that Beatrice's collapse was internal as she recalled what had happened to her own contractor while he was in the mansion beneath her protection.

She was supposed to be the spirit guarding the mansion against any outside threat, yet her own protection failed to come for Subaru on that night.

Beatrice's eyes were hollow and empty, but she was staring at no void, unlike Emilia. The spirit girl was more content by letting her eyes fall to Subaru's limp hand. She moved her palm and patted across his covered sleeve. Her blinks were slow and mechanical. Her lips were so thin she couldn't help but feel like an inanimate doll.

"What made you do this to yourself, I wonder? To go through that and not ask for help… Has Betty failed you that many times, Subaru?"

The spirit girl's questions remained unanswered. Her feeling of uselessness and need for understanding reminded her of her own mother's greed. Still, at this point, the spirit wasn't as shallow as whatever reason her mother's greed initiated. No. Beatrice only wanted to see how many failures she had committed, hidden by the curse Subaru was holding. Only he remembered her uselessness.

It was not fair. It felt like he didn't trust her enough to cry tears of anguish for him. Like he wanted to stay alone in a cycle of pain while making her watch. She had watched him bloody his forearms every night, and she was forced to promise him to do nothing about it every single night.

And now he wouldn't even let her see how many times she had failed him? He wouldn't share with her about the times she couldn't protect him? He couldn't have confided in his Beako about his deaths so she could help him better than a few scratch wounds-

"...G~hk!"

All that could be seen through her collapse was an empty choked sob. Beatrice simply laid her head on his warm shoulder.

Bottomless despair the spirit had fallen into because of the confusion and heartbreak of her contractor's situation.

But it had seemed that even for an intelligent spirit that lived in a library, there was still someone with a piece of information that was unknown for her and Emilia.

This someone simply couldn't help but grind their sharp teeth, fuming in place as they glared at the ground, afraid of what she might do should she glance at her colleagues.

"What was Roswaal-sama playing at..?" Frederica, the blonde maid sitting in the second row at the back, had taken to growling incisively. She had been working in that mansion for years along with the master of who had killed Subaru.

She knew exactly who those chains belonged to. The same chains that had sounded out before Subaru's brutal demise.

"How can you put him down like he was some animal?!" Frederica's fingers almost turned to claws from her heated anger.

"Wh-Who are you angry at, Senpai?"

The blonde immediately closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her anger was justified but she didn't want to be hasty and harm her master's image right now. Coldly, Frederica turned to the child who asked her.

Petra, the little child that should've been in a crying mess of a state, seemed to have the most natural-looking expression on her adorable face. Frederica took a second to understand the hidden glint in the little maid's eyes.

"Petra-chan-"

"You don't want to disobey him, don't you?"

The little one cut her off with a seething glare. It seemed that the little maid was more mature than expected.

"Petra-"

"Tell me why I should keep protecting that man! He's the one behind Subaru's pain!"

Although her voice was hushed, Petra's anger could still be felt by the older maid, mainly for the reason that she can see the fire of fury in Petra's eyes.

The little maid was angrier at who she thought was killing Subaru instead of being broken in tears as she had been a few minutes ago.

"Petra-chan," Frederica sternly called, hushing the angry girl, "It's not Roswaal-sama I'm angry with, I'm merely confused on what he was doing at the time."

"Then who were you growling at?" Petra asked again, firm and staunch with hatred in her eyes.

Frederica fell into silence for a moment… Before deciding that the little one was mature enough.

"The one who killed Subaru… Isn't Roswaal-sama."

Petra looked like she wanted to protest this before she was cut off.

"But they do work for him."

"..."

After this, Petra simply kept her head down and stared at the floor below her feet with a silence overcoming her.

After what Frederica had explained, the little girl can't look at anyone in a maid outfit again.

"I did it for Subaru… It's the reason I came to this place and wanted to be around these people…" Petra whispered with a few tears reaching out of the corner of her eyes. The little village girl was feeling nothing but sorrow for what the poor boy had to go through. She wouldn't know what he did to get out of this situation but now that she knew the true reason for his death, Petra was starting to have some very toxic thoughts.

This uniform is really gross now.

And from Petra's hatred for this path she had chosen to take just to get closer to Subaru, someone had the same wavelength as her and Frederica.

Someone that, like the two maids, knew who murdered Natsuki Subaru so brutally.

"You still don't think he is dangerous after all of that, Lady Crusch, nyan?"

Crusch immediately whiplashed to look at her conversing knight as she was handed water by him.

"Ferris?!"

The healer simply held an emotionless expression as he looked at the shocked Crusch, "We both knyow now that he was killed by the residents in the mansion. Rem-sama's weapon is a-"

"It's a chain, I know that. But that doesn't give us the right to put an accusation on either Rem-chan or Natsuki Subaru."

The healer seemed to be shaking in place as his hands turned to fists, "What more do we need?! After he died like that, by Rem-chan's hands? He probably did some shady works to manipulate her and the rest of the household to get revenge!"

"Ferris," Crusch sternly called, stopping him in place, "I do not doubt Subaru's ingenuity, Ferris. I understand your disturbance with how his power is being used by him, but I assure you that what we have is no indicator for anything other than mere theories. It could be Rem-chan that murdered Subaru… her reasons could be good… but we can't doubt the allies we've made in them both, Ferris."

"B-But…"

"You can't forget all the good Subaru-dono has done, Ferris-dono."

A third voice interjected on them both as Wilhelm appeared to have heard their conversation and decided to weigh his support for the black-haired boy.

"..."

The healer appeared more liable to protest as he clenched his fists around his skirt, making the duchess narrow her eyes.

"What is the matter with you, Ferris?" Crusch asked in suspicion, "Why are you so hostile to Subar-"

"Pardon me for cutting you off, my lady. But my priority is your will and yours alone. Also I am not going to trust someone that has placed your life in danger multiple times because he has ties with the Witch Cult and could be a Witch blessed human on top of everything. His power makes him manipulate everyone around him, and all we have is his word and the things he's prepared around us. If the maid saw fit to kill him as we've observed, shouldn't that be telling of something 'deeper' happening with him, nyan?!"

Amber eyes stuck to brown as Crusch formed an unreadable unimpressed expression at her knight, who gave her a look of indignation.

"Ferris… "

"Your wind reading isn't blowing because I'm telling the truth, Crusch-sama, nyan!"

"... I don't need any blessing to guide me to the fact that what you said just now… wasn't the real reason you are feeling so much hatred."

"...!"

Crusch replied to the knight's look of shock by simply leaning on her armrest and resting her chin on her knuckle. Her eyes were half-open as she glared down at Felix.

"We must be careful how we take the screen's advances into our friend's life, Ferris. For all we know, Natsuki Subaru is just an innocent kid that got dropped into a world of dangers with nothing but this ability…"

"... Is that what you think about him, Crusch-sama?" Felix asked rigidly.

Crusch replied with closed eyes, "It's what I believe… My talk with Rem in the carriage, my interaction with Emilia's knight at the tree… I want to believe in the best of this boy's heart until I'm proven wrong, Ferris."

"..."

"You don't have to tell me what your reason is for believing in the opposite, Ferris… Just don't act so rashly on it."

After his lady's soft dismissal, the healer went to his original seat beside Wilhelm with hair covering his eyes.

You could hear a soft whisper under his breath,

"...-dn't save you…."

Back with the old man sitting beside the young Duchess, Wilhelm gave his master a signature bow, "Thank you for empathizing with my plea from before, Milady."

Obviously alluding to the way he told her to trust in Subaru before the last viewing started, Wilhelm was delighted to see his lady give the black-haired boy benefit from the doubt his curse had cast on him in the eyes of everyone scheming in the theater.

Crusch did not give him a second look as she swiftly drank her water.

"Not like I want to be played by Hoshin's words. I fought beside the man myself."

Her fists shook from the anger at her own stupidity. She almost started falling for the bait and almost betrayed her words of oath to the debt Subaru and Emilia had on her.

She almost thought the worst of a boy who was dying. If not, her heart ached to see his suffering, and her confusion mounted to see how his own friends were acting around him.

They should know how precious he is; heck, Rem knows how good Subaru is for this world…

Yet, she's the one who killed him.

Crusch affirmed that she did believe Felix on this one matter. Her eyes firmly laid at the stiff back of the blue-haired girl that saved her.

"Was that smile fake, Rem-chan?" Crusch's whisper was soft, barely audible. The duchess closed her eyes again and rested silently on her chair with all of these thoughts preoccupying her mind.

Preoccupied is barely what can be used as a description for what this blue-haired girl was dealing with at this moment.

If Emilia and Beatrice were emotionally unstable, then the girl that had massacred the boy so brutally was in a shattered state of emotional turmoil. She sat there, behind the row in which the boy had slept. Her maid uniform was nearly torn at the hems from her constant clenching and shaking. Her lips quivered manically.

If one was to look into Rem's eyes, they would see clear dystopia. Her light blue irises were shrunk into pupil shapes.

I did it…

That feeling she had felt as soon as Subaru was brought conscious to the mansion. That first night, she placed his body on the bed and unclothed him to place the robes after Beatrice had healed his wound.

But I never acted on it… I-I… Subaru-kun…

Rem remembered how much she had wanted to strangle the boy for his supposed link with the Witch Cult. His stink was enough to send her into a rage just for being so close to her loved ones.

But right now, as she had lived through that week with another perspective entirely. She had found a most beautiful obsession. But it seemed that all of the feelings of love that had replaced her rage was, yet again, replaced by another emotion.

Her fanatic care and love for the boy forced a pang of most torturous guilt on her heart.

I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…

If she could whisper it, Rem would let her tears fall once more as the image of Subaru withering in pain because of her burned into her brain.

If she could raise her voice more, the Oni would beg forgiveness if she could, scream her pain away. Cut her hand out for retribution after what she had done to him.

Rem's nerves were in a clutter of convulsing and shaking. She was barely keeping hold of herself after what she had witnessed. She wanted nothing more than to jump and hug him as tightly as possible. Make sure his guts were still in one place, make sure his arm was okay, make sure he isn't feeling the pain and only her warmth.

She didn't want him to scream like that.

Not because of her.

"Sister."

"...Y-Yes, Sister?"

The coldness between the two made Rem's facade grow weaker. The blue-Oni was more inclined to believe that the slight heat in her sister's pink irises was because she wasn't because the halls of the mansion were shown to be filled with blood.

Ram was staring at Rem with a look that screamed absolute fury and disappointment. Rem couldn't stand it. She couldn't look away because she was afraid that her older sister would just disown her right here and now. She may even reveal the terrible act was actually hers to the rest, making the blue-haired girl liable for everybody's wrath.

"... Come with me, Rem."

Flinching, She whimpered beneath her sister's cold gaze, "S-Sister-"

"Roswaal-sama is waiting for us, Rem. Please don't keep him waiting."

Rem noticed how her sister made no mention of wanting her there herself.

"... I can't leave Subaru…"

Closing her eyes, the incriminated maid held her face down and rejected her older twin's hardened gaze. Her selfishness and bravery showed the ugliest side of her obsession full for her sister to see.

Rem wanted Subaru's heart even if she had hurt him in such a manner.

"It is no time for you to feel guilty. Roswaal-sama wants you beside him before the screen inevitably shows why Barusu was attacked so viciously. I don't need to ask. I know what happened to him."

The maid couldn't help but flinch. Ram had sat down and whispered harshly into her younger twin's ear so that none of the distraught people around them could hear what she was saying.

But Rem couldn't even protest as her hand was grabbed into a tight hold and her sister roughly pulled her up and stepped across the row of seats while painfully dragging Rem.

"Come."

"S-Sister…" I want to sit near Subaru.

"You will only hurt yourself more."

Contrary to what Rem had believed, Ram was not looking forward to punishing or derailing her sister. She was furious with what she did, yes. But Ram was more afraid that her sister would be taken away from her when she just got her back from the Gluttony illness.

Sleeping Beauty had taken a lifetime from the twins, Ram couldn't lose Rem for whatever reason there was.

Barusu will understand.

If he didn't forgive her sister… Then Ram will do whatever it takes to earn that. She would beg him herself no matter how disgusting the thought was.

It was the minimum she must do to make up for being such a lousy older sister to Rem.

"Weeeell, isn't my staff looking lovely today, hm?"

Both twins sat down to the sides of the eccentric lord they served. He greeted them with great sarcasm in his voice.

Feeling this being unusual, the guilty sister tried to speak up, "R-Roswaal-sama, I-"

"Just tell me why that haaaappened to him, Rem."

As cold as ice, Roswaal asked firmly with no amusement or warmth. His change in tone didn't make the maid inclined to answer.

"Rem… I hooope you know that what you've done was a direct violation of my orders." Roswaal softened his tone as he spoke to the maid, he seemed to have taken pity on her.

"But I didn't do it, Roswaal-sama," Rem desperately wanted to not appear pitiful or broken in front of her master. But the unfairness of blaming her for killing Subaru when she would've dreamed of it now was becoming harder and harder to carry for the Oni.

A soft pat on her head showed Roswaal's unseen warmth for her.

"I know, Rem. But you muuuust not ignore the fact that it was another you that hurt Subaru-kun."

"..."

"You could've possibly hurt him mooore in other loops."

"..."

"Look at me, Rem."

The blue Oni simply did as she was told.

Her tears didn't blur her vision enough to clog the disappointment in Roswaal's eyes.

"If Emilia-sama wishes it, you will be resigned from serving the Mathers estaaaate. Understood?"

"...Yes, Roswaal-sama."

Ram and Rem stayed silent as the lord simply looked at the front without a single other word coming out of his mouth.

"Don't worry, Ram. They won't lay a haaand on your sister."

Surprised, the pink-haired maid felt a huge spread of relief coming down on her.

"Thank you, Roswaal-sama."

The lord seemed content with resting his eyes for the moment.

How could I blame you, Rem? I've done much worse to him than you ever could…

"We can't keep dancing around…", Otto's tone was stern and hardened as he announced to the silent crowd.

"Ya tell me," Garfiel growled, hiding his fury beneath a hardened glare as he ate some of the appas presented and staring at the floor.

"Big bro… He really lived through that?" Felt's face was frozen, unreadable as she asked her question. Reinhard could depict from her tone that she was in disbelief. He would be too.

Sure, a couple of deaths from knife wounds and a death when he was asleep were really scary but that…

Dying all alone in a hallway with your arm cut off. Then having your head blown to bits…

It was just…

"... You can't tell me he didn't tell any of you about that!" It was Felix that had spat out towards the boy's camp.

"I'd rather not question the validity of Natsuki Subaru's motives when all we've seen is him being butchered, Ferris," Julius spoke in a calm, collected manner. Even that didn't conceal the knight's fury.

No one disagreed.

"The important question 'ere is who was it tha' killed Natsuki-kun in the hall," the merchant queen beside Julius looked to be equally as fuming as her eyes pierced right on the people closest to the boy.

It wasn't a surprise that all the other camps looked at the Emilia crowd as well. They were the mansion's residents.

"You must know somethin' since he'd already saved ya from this, correct?" Anastasia pointed out in a tired and stern voice. She had lost all her cheer at this camp's incompetence. They had a powerful individual on their side that had the knowledge and abilities to change Lugunica for eons to come.

They have a figure with revolutionary ideas akin to Hoshin's time and they do nothing but get him killed over and over. The merchant queen's fury knew no bounds.

The Emilia crowd simply stayed silent.

They were divided.

Otto and Garfiel waited patiently with hardened looks as they no longer wanted to joke around.

Their brother's death was brutal and unfair. Their blood boiled.

"Hey! Didn't you hear the question of our lady? Who was it that killed the big bro?!" Mimi was pissed off at how her friend died, wanted revenge and wanted an answer.

"Emilia-sama…"

Emilia looked up at the person who called her name.

Crusch looked down at her with a serious, stern expression. The Duchess had all kinds of hidden intent behind her amber eyes.

"We need to know how Natsuki dealt with this threat. Did he tell you of an attacker in the mansion?"

Emilia shook her head. "S-Subaru never told me about anyone attacking the mansion. He only knew about the Mabeasts invading the village below the estate. H-He never told me about this." Emilia looked at her knight in pure sadness.

Why didn't he ask her for-

Emilia remembered something.

He was in anguish that night. The night he cried on her lap. He was so broken.

So he was asking for help…

"But why couldn't you tell me? Why aren't you saying anything about this?" Emilia whispered as she watched Subaru sleeping innocently.

Oh, how she felt about this boy. How horrible it is for her to watch him go through this on his own.

"Maybe the boy didn't speak about the attacker because it was someone that already knew him."

All eyes turned to look up at the princess that was fanning herself.

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked, hollow and cold.

Priscilla simply looked at Roswaal and pointed at him with an unimpressed look.

"It's simple… This jester sent his goons to kill your dog, half-wit."

…

…

…

"I swear to f'king God!" Garfiel stood up and set his sights on the clown.

Everyone was looking at Roswaal with anxious looks.

The clown was smiling through all of this as if nothing was happening around him.

The twins beside him both tensed up, especially Rem.

I would rather have them come at me than them …

They aren't the ones who deserve those hateful glares.

"Nooooow, why would you say that Barielle-sama?" amused and unaffected by Garfiel's growl, Roswaal slowly turned to face the orange-haired princess, who looked at him with a disgusted look.

"It's obvious that you thought of him as a spy and decided to get rid of him."

"Whaaaat a big accusation, you're throwing towards me. I will have you know that I was merely content to watch the boy as he lived inside my domaaaaain. I had no intention of killing our dear Subaru-kun at aaaaall."

"Ye're a lying hefty Piece 'f shit!" Garfiel was about to jump the clown when a stern commanding voice sounded.

"He is telling the truth." Everyone looked at Crusch as she stood up and glared at Garfiel.

The blonde was having none of it. "Th' fuck would you know?!"

"Crusch-sama has the divine protection of wind reading. She can tell if a person is lying or not."

"I can tell he's saying the truth as well." Everyone looked at Reinhard as he spoke for the first time in a while.

"He had no intention to kill Subaru."

Seeing the Sword Saint and Crusch back him up, Roswaal smiled wide and clapped.

"Are you satisfied, Barielle-sama?"

The princess snorted at the clown. But she didn't conceit. Priscilla looked down at the crowd below her and pointed at a certain girl clinging to a black-haired boy.

"You there, great spirit."

Beatrice slowly looked up with an unimpressed expression. "Yes, I suppose."

"Can you tell if an intruder slipped through the domain?"

Beatrice's eyes widened as she understood what Priscilla was implying.

The princess smirked behind her fan as she saw her meaning get across to the spirit. "Smart girl," she whispered.

"Betty can't tell if foreign hostiles entered L. Mathers domain. But she can since everyone's mana in the manor grounds, in fact."

"What does that mean?" Felix asked, confused why Beatrice looked so surprised.

"It means that Beatrice-sama would have been able to sense if there was a hostile entity in the manor," Frederica explained, more confused for the fact that her master was proven to be innocent. She still wanted to fish Rem out by eluding and helping clue everyone towards her. She noticed that her lord had taken the twins to his side. She didn't want to get Petra or her in trouble for revealing Rem to the masses when Roswaal himself was protecting her.

"And if she sensed an intruder inside the mansion, she would have more than likely intervened," Julius quickly caught on.

"That means… someone from inside the manor, someone Beatrice-san trusted and didn't feel they were a threat was the ones that killed Natsuki-san," Otto quickly continued the train of thought.

"B-But… that only leaves…" Emilia slowly and coldly turned to the twins.

Rem looked down in fear. Ram glared right back at the elf.

"Rem… Ram… Did you…" Emilia's tone was so cold and so stern it sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Roswaal was watching with a wild smile on his face. His hands were trembling in anger.

[I think that is enough for now.]

Everyone looked at the screen and listened to the voice as it spoke.

"Who are you? Why are you making us see this?" Felix shouted in anger.

"Why are you letting Subaru-kun die?" Petra asked with an angry scowl on her face.

[Don't get me involved in your mess. I'm showing this to you so you could learn of his broken sanity. Not to punish you.

I want you to help Subaru.

Not to fear him.]

Everyone stared at the screen in confusion. Emilia kept her eyes on the twins and was about to do something she knew that Subaru wouldn't approve of.

Suddenly, the screen began playing once again.

Emilia could only sit down and hug her knight tightly as she promised vengeance for her Subaru.

But for now… she would watch and learn of his pains and trials.

She brought him into this mess… she will see it through to the end to understand him.

Everyone else stopped the investigation and watched with bated breaths and dreading hearts. What's crueler than the last death?

There was no way that this boy could go through something more brutal than the last one.

[Season 1 Episode 4 Director's Cut

Begin.

The screen opened in darkness… Faint sounds of wind could be heard before the shot opened on Subaru's sleeping face.

He was sleeping soundly for a moment on the same lavish bed of the guest room when, suddenly, he began screaming while holding his arm as if it was cut off. He screamed and sat upright. His eyes were wide open with panic and fear. He was breathing heavily as if horrified.

"My left arm!" He shouted as his breaths went heavy and sweat ran down his forehead.

"I still have it right?"

Looking at his hand and opening his palm as if to make sure that it was really there.

"I went back again… No, maybe I should say I made it back… "]

"Look at the tears in his face…" Petra whispered in sadness as thoughts filled her head about how it felt like to die and wake up as Subaru did. It haunted her to the core.

"Must've been feeling all of that pain up 'till the end… Or he could still be feeling it now?" Ricardo mused from his seat.

"That wouldn't be the case since he appears to have stopped acting on his pain," The purple-haired knight answered in an indignant tone.

"Or… Natsuki-kun can still feel the pain for a simple moment after he wakes 'cause his ability takes a second of time between his death and resurrection, no?" A purple-haired princess candidate took a moment to show hardened resolve to understanding this curious power of the boy since it interested her far more than she would've anticipated.

"Natsuki Subaru has always been a subject of great debate among the nobility, I'm sure he would become something of a… much-desired tool, should anyone know of this 'Return By Death' ability outside of us… Hm, Hoshin-sama?"

"..."

Seeing Anastasia's look of increasing interest, the Duchess of house Karsten sat out to pointedly call out the shrewd merchant girl in a low voice that barely passed Emilia's row. It would be bad for the camp before them to learn about their discussions and schemes about their innermost member.

"Oh? No need to worry. Curious as I may be, that power of his is not useful to me should it be only activated upon his demise. I's a bit inhumane to subject that on him I'd say~"

"Then what are you planning?"

Crusch asked coldly of the smug-looking Anastasia, and no one in their camps intervened as they listened in the tension.

"Ya really should take care of how ya view things, Princess,"

"What are you-"

Anastasia cut Crusch off with a simple wink, "Natsuki-kun has more goin' fer 'em than this… Return by Death 'r whatevah. Your royal court just won't take his other useful parts into the equation. They will waste him and the opportunities he brings to yer table."

Crusch looked at her with a confused raise of her brows. Even Julius and the other mercenaries in the western girl's own camp were staring at her in surprise and confusion.

Anastasia simply smiled wide once her glimmering eyes caught the sight of Otto's heated glare on her.

Ye've been listening all this time… Such dedication could've helped Natsuki-kun at the start of his journey.

With her humorless inside laugh, Anastasia turned her gaze from the silent fuming merchant boy at the bottom row and aimed a cheerful smile towards the ever alarmed Duchess.

"Why would I waste this opportunity by blabbing to useless monarchs?"

"You mean you don't find him dangerous? Aren't you afraid of his power?" The duchess' knight in a dress couldn't help himself from intervening and asking his question.

Anastasia simply laughed the healer off, earning the attention of many in the theater.

"R-Really, Duchess-san, you should worry about what yer side will do to the child before worrying about my own intentions."

Crusch simply met her with a dead stare. Felix influxed on himself and gritted his teeth in frustration as the candidate ignored his existence.

"...So you have intentions?" Crusch muttered to herself and moved her eyes to the screen once more.

Curious…

"What can you see in him more than his power, Milady?" Julius asked but not to the girl that had settled on removing her smile and keeping her eyes on the screen. It was more of a whimper a prideful knight like him shouldn't utter. But he had a few feelings worth more than his pride at this moment in time and the fact that his own master could see something better in Natsuki Subaru than what he currently sees is astonishing.

But he knew Anastasia Hoshin wouldn't reveal her cards this early. He could see a game forming between the candidates, one his lady looked determined to evolve and master.

"Hmph… How heavy must their desperation be? Breaking themselves for a simple child born to be worthless. Tck!"

The red matriarch watched every single member of the two camps and their way of acting as soon as their masters clashed.

Priscilla wanted to leave this wretched room once more as her disgust grew over her curiosity.

[Subaru noticed something standing in front of him in the room. He looked up from his hand to find the maid twins hugging each other while looking at him with scared looks.

Realizing he startled them, Subaru put an uneasy smile on his face.

"Oh, sorry. Good morning."

The twins looked at him with fear in their eyes, making him sigh.

"Right, I guess you don't remember me… "]

"Yeah, working so hard to establish a relationship with someone and then wakin' up to them never knowin' ya just because ya died… that must've sucked," Ricardo noted with his western accent roughly expressing his sympathy for anyone in this type of situation.

Crusch took the chance to glance at the two twins sitting beside the magi lord. Narrowing her eyes on the blue-haired twin. Rem's expression was that of a heartbroken one, her sister, Ram, was whispering into her ear while the trembling Oni was watching.

"Seems like I was correct… But Rem does seem like she is in shock because of what happened… What is going on?"

[Subaru smiled and threw the cover on his bed away as he stood up with his favorite pose, pointing a finger at the sky with his ass clenched.

With a wide smile, he yelled out.

"Sorry for the trouble I've caused! Natsuki Subaru will now start over!"

The twins looked at each other in confusion.

"By the way, what day and time is it?" Subaru asked with a smile.]

"How is he able to laugh after that?" Felix's question was quiet as he thought it was only a whisper. But it did get an answer.

"I think it's impressive," Reinhard shared his opinion in a low tone of confidence, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the way Subaru has been ignoring that particular death.

"I think it's disingenuous," Julius grunted and looked away from the screen. Similar to Reinhard, the elegant young man was seemingly upset at the way Subaru was dealing with this.

Reinhard looked at him with a look of pity. "It's not because you used to do the same to handle your problems, is it, Julius?"

Of course, Reinhard could never ask this of his prideful friend.

[Opening Theme 1: Redo.]

Seeing the chance to talk while the music began playing, Crusch tapped Emilia's shoulder, gaining the half-elf's attention.

"Don't think this is some trick to jeopardize your camp's standing, but I've got something to tell you about your sponsor."

Emilia looked at Roswaal and then at Crusch. Her violet eyes were cold but filled with curiosity.

Emilia nodded her head at the green-haired maiden.

"Roswaal was the one that ordered Elsa to steal your insignia."

Emilia's eyes widened but quickly turned stern. "Please explain, Crusch-sama."

Crusch smiled at the expected change in attitude. Of course, Emilia will turn stern as soon as she finds out someone hurt her friends. Especially her knight.

"You remember when that blonde boy asked if he was behind the attack?"

"Garfiel-kun? Yeah, Roswaal said that he wasn't resp-" Emilia quickly stopped talking as she understood.

"He was lying?"

Crusch nodded her head.

Emilia clenched one of her hands into a fist and began ruffling the sleeping boy's hair with the other to vent her frustration.

"Why didn't you say anything? You must have seen the wind of untruth blowing from him." Emilia looked at Crusch with a skeptical look.

Crusch didn't look intimidated, which told Emilia that she had a good reason. "Think about what I was supposed to say. I was about to call out the sponsor of one of the candidates to the throne, which I'm also fighting to obtain, for lying about sending a contracted killer to steal and potentially kill that same candidate which he is sponsoring."

Emilia nodded her head at the logic. Yeah, she would have thought that Crusch was lying as well… if she hadn't seen Roswaal's truth at the Sanctuary but Crusch didn't know about that so she was inclined to keep to herself.

"What about Reinhard? He has the same blessing, why hadn't he spoken up?" Emilia looked at the hero as he watched the screen with a grim face as Subaru was killed once again in the song.

Crusch shook her head. "I asked him… he had the same reason as I did… and he's kind of feeling guilty about letting the killer get away."

Emilia sighed and shook her head at the hero's conviction to blame everything on himself.

"He's kind of like Subaru…" Muttered the half-elf as she ruffled the black hair of the man that protected her for so long.

"Thank you so much, Crusch-sama. I'll be sure to repay you in kind."

"Think nothing of it. We are in an alliance after all."

Crusch turned her eyes at Subaru and reached to ruffle the boy's head between her gloved fingers.

Emilia noticed the soft smile on Crusch's face as she looked down at Subaru.

"An alliance he fought so hard to create." Crusch smiled softly at Emilia.

Emilia smiled back.

[Theme end.

The scene changes to Subaru walking around with his eyes closed as he begins recollecting on his last loop.

It's my third first day in the Roswaal mansion.

That chill I felt… Does that mean I died in my sleep the first time due to physical weakness?]

"He's starting to piece it together, I suppose." Beatrice nodded slowly, her eyes filled with grief and sadness.

"Yeah, but will he have all the pieces to spare him his life this time?" Tivey seemed to ask in disgruntlement.

[The flashing memory of his second loop played showing him as he got killed morbidly in the hallway.

But the second time, there was an attacker.

So if I was killed, does that mean the others in the mansion were targeted, too?

The memory of the time he was fighting Elsa played.

Because we're involved in Emilia's royal selection, like at the loot house?

But even if I know that I have no proof to explain it or any way to avoid it. Worse yet, I didn't see the attacker's face or the victim.

My death was totally in vain.]

"How can he say such a thing?" Petra had a look of horror to see someone she loved so much, say such morbid words.

"It's the nature of his power. He needs to make every death count otherwise… "

"He will die again." Otto finished for Julius.

His tone was cold and emotionless as he stared at the screen. He was shocked to the core by the last death. He couldn't care less if he was jaded or broken by the end of this.

He needed to see what Subaru went through.

"Y'er not alone ya dumbass." *SMACK *

"Owe!"

Garfiel crossed his arms and sat beside his friend. He wanted to see what his undeniably awesome cap'n went through, but he will not let anyone get used to this.

"Ya said it y'rself. Be angry… don't let anything inside or else you get used ta it."

Otto rubbed his head and looked at his brother in surprise.

Garfiel smiled.

["You're irritating me to death. Either stop it or get blown away."

Subaru stops walking around Beatrice in circles and smiles at her.

"Oh, sorry. But somehow, walking around in circles makes the gears in my head turn. Cut me some slack, huh? We're tight, aren't we?"

"Exactly what sort of relationship do you think we have, I suppose? We've only met twice." Beatrice played with her drill as she looked at a book with disinterest.]

"I wish I was there." Beatrice softly whispered and held his hand, trying to tell him that he could trust her and tell her about everything he's been through.

What good was she if her own contractor didn't trust in her?

Beatrice's tired eyes teared up at the thought.

[Subaru smiled…

"Well, I won't make trouble for you. Just serve some tea or something and let me relax."

"As if I'll serve you anything, I suppose."

Subaru leans down and reads the book she has open on her lap.

"Ugh, you're irritating me!"

"What's that book you're reading?"

"It tells how to get rid of bugs that have gotten into my room, I suppose."

"You've got bugs in the library? That sucks. What kind of bugs?"]

"I kind of like their interactions." Tivey voiced out with a small tired smile.

The others let out grunts of agreement and small smiles of their own.

They were just happy that something normal was on screen.

[Beatrice glared at him in annoyance. "It's time for you to leave! Your hands have stopped shaking. So you can disguise your fear now I suppose."

Subaru looked at her with a surprised face.

"You could tell?"

"You were trying to hide it, I suppose. It's quite vexing to be treated as a mere convenience."]

"That was perceptive of you, Beatrice-chaan," Roswaal nodded his head with a sad smile on his face.

"Damn that lil' girl is really cool for helpin' Cap'n through this!" Garfiel seemed to be happy with the duo on screen.

Oh, how she wished to be treated as such for him now. She wanted to be the one he ran to when there was trouble, the one he cried to when he was sad, the one he needed to hug when he was scared.

"Betty is so sorry."

Emilia looked at the small teary-eyed girl in sympathy.

"Poor Beako-chan…"

Emilia slowly got up and hugged the girl.

Beatrice just accepted it. The hug wasn't as warm as Subaru's, but it was comforting.

["You're not nice at all… Thanks for the help, though. I'll be counting on you again." Subaru waved at her with a nervous smile.

"I don't even want to be counted on, I suppose. So don't come here again."

Subaru stopped at the door and looked back at the girl. Beatrice made a motion with her hand cutely.

"Shoo, shoo."

"Shoo, shoo?" Subaru looked up as the truth was revealed before him. "Wait, when you said bugs, did you mean me?!" he glared at the loli.

Beatrice scowled and raised her hand in his direction. "Just get out of here this instant!"

Before Subaru knew it… he was thrown out of the room and out of the hallway… and out of an open window. Falling into a flower bed beneath the windows.]

Otto and Garfiel gave a small snort to each. They were both getting back to their original selves although more realistic than before.

["I-If not for this flower bed, that would've been instant death… " Subaru stood up revealing his entire form to be filled with mud and dirt. He looked up at the windows…

"Um… Can I ask if you're alright?"

Subaru looked behind him to find Emilia leaning down and smiling at him.

He smiled stupidly. "Emilia-tan, your kindness is the one thing that can heal me."

"You know, Rem just spread manure in that flower bed yesterday."]

Okay, they couldn't stop the chuckles and giggles from coming out as each kid plus Otto and Garfiel found the situation Subaru was in funny.

However, Emilia was the only one not laughing as her frown deepened at the sight of this interaction.

"No way out of it… Another life where I failed him…" Emilia seemed more disturbed by the second as she realized how much Subaru had been hiding by himself.

["Augh!" Subaru quickly jumped out of the flower bed and began dusting himself to get rid of the disgusting substance.

"Three-second rule! That didn't count! that didn't count, right?!"

Emilia smiled sympathetically. "You know, they say this kind of thing is actually lucky."

Subaru seemed to gloom over this. "Emilia-tan is already shifting into consolation mode…"]

The half-elf couldn't help but feel a bit hurt by this. She knew that moments like these were constantly stolen from her every time he died. But she couldn't help but feel hurt that he didn't change his way of treatment towards her at all. The same old dance and routine yet he never was feeling any sort of trust to give her a little bit of his pain for her to carry.

That and the fact that he always handles everything on his own. Even these dangers in the mansion, murderers right under their nose! He wants to take them on by himself.

… "And come to think of it… Why is it that he never made mention of Rem and Ram killing him if they truly did it?"

The silver-haired princess seemed confused and bewildered as she thought about everything she knew… "Could it be… that Subaru made a deal with Roswaal in a future loop? Maybe Roswaal set up another assassin that wasn't Rem and Ram and Subaru had to beat that killer as he did to Elsa last time Roswaal did this? But why…. Why does Roswaal keep sending people to kill us?"

Emilia's thoughts were filled with confusing and confronting thoughts as her entire perception of the lord had to fall to make her see how untrustworthy he truly was.

Not to mention she has yet to have proof that it was the twins that killed and will kill him during this loop.

And if they were… Did Subaru lie to me about Rem? He said he loved her as much as she… Did that mean Subaru was killed by Rem and also killed by me?

"Why won't you just talk to me…?"

Emilia bit her lip and looked down in frustration.

[Emilia giggled and touched the green crystal. "Puck, wake up."

The crystal shined and out manifested Puck, yawning and stretching. "Morning, Lia."

"Morning, Puck. Sorry to ask after you just woke up, but could you wash Subaru off?"

"Subaru? Uh, okay I'll wash you off." Puck smiled and quickly shot a water tornado at the boy, making him spin in it as he screamed.

Puck laughed and stopped the torrent. "There, all clean!"]

All the kids were laughing at Subaru, already forgetting the horror and focusing on the funny ways Subaru got picked on by those around him.

Otto and Garfiel were happy to laugh their frustrations off even if for a little.

Beatrice smiled as she watched Puck joke around with Subaru. She missed her brother.

"The great spirits seem to have great affection to mess with him," Reinhard looked at Julius with hopeful eyes but the elegant knight just kept a stone-cold expression.

[The water current dissipated and left a clean wet Subaru on the ground with a haunted look on his face.

The scene changed to Subaru and Emilia sitting on the lawn with Subaru glaring at a certain floating cat.

"I thought I was a goner. Wasn't there some way else to do it? You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"That's not true at all. Hmph." Puck denied and looked away.

Subaru flicked him on the forehead making the cat grip his head in pain.

Subaru smiled but then was punched by boxer Puck. "Push-backs!"

"Now you've done it!" Subaru smirked and grabbed the cat to start tickling him.

"You like that? It's my lethal move, Make the Cat cry Ha-Ha!"

"Cut it out!" Puck jumped out of his grasp and slapped him with his tail. "Tail punch!"

"You-"

"And I'll finish you with my paw-pad grind!"

Subaru growled and began fighting Puck.

Suddenly, the sound of a female giggling stopped the two in place.

"Oh… gosh… sorry… I can't. What are you two doing? Oh, my stomach… I'm dying… " Emilia continued to laugh out loud.]

"I miss you so much, Puck." Emilia smiled warmly at her father as she felt calm with him right there in front of her. For once focusing on her days with him and feeling so protected by him.

"Hey, the cat is kinda cool!" Mimi said with a happy smile.

"Mimi! That's a great spirit! Show him respect!" Tivey reprimanded his sister for which he got a cheeky slap on the head.

Petra cooed at the little cat on the screen and wished to ruffle its fur once again.

[Subaru and Puck smiled at each other.

"Well, now I've bounced back from my initial bad impression. Thanks for your assistance, Father!" Subaru bowed to Puck, who was more than happy to play along.

"Who are you calling Father? I won't give you my daughter that easily!"]

Emilia snorted at this.

["Please stop… You're both too funny… "

"Nothing beats your smile, Lia." Puck flew down to sit on her shoulder.

"You agree, don't you Subaru?"

"Yeah, I totally do." Subaru stood up and did his pose.

"To me, Emilia-tan's smile is the first shining star in the night sky!"

"Not you, too, Subaru… Also, what does Tan mean? Where'd it come from?"

"It's what they call a pet name. Just like when Puck calls you Lia. It's an expression of affection that shows two people's closeness."

Emilia looked confused at this. "I don't remember getting that close to you… "]

"Ouch!" Mimi flinched in sympathy at the rejection.

"I felt this one…" Otto winced, unable to make fun of Subaru for this one.

Even Wilhelm was shaking his head at the rejection.

Emilia wished she could facepalm at her own ingenuity. She must've been a hassle to deal with on the constant.

[Subaru held his hand to his chest in pain. "That somewhat hurts, but I won't lose heart! Think of it as an advance in our relationship. It means I want us to get close enough to call each other by pet names. Okay?"

Emilia slowly blushes and looks away. "All right, I'll accept that."

Subaru is taking aback by the way she was blushing.

"No… don't look at me!" Emilia smiled and waved him off.

"I expected her to cringe, but I got a positive response."]

"You need more friends, big sis!" Felt yelled out in frustration, making Emilia blush.

"It's no wonder you get along so well with him. You're just as sheltered as my Pal," Al laughed from above, pointing out Subaru's exact nature before coming to Lugunica.

"I… I… " Emilia shook her head and looked to be flushing from embarrassment.

All was good and fun when teasing her, but a certain red-clad princess was staring at the front row with hatred or disgust visible in her eyes.

"To think you would forget the boy's fate just to have a few moments of normalcy is just telling of your pathetic nature you half-wit, tck!" Priscilla clicked her tongue once more as her disgust ran deep but her tone sounded low. She didn't want anyone to hear her, just to make her frustration known at how everyone just seemed to go back to the way things were even when they knew something big was coming.

[Subaru turned to the floating cat. "What could this mean commentator Puck-san?"

"She doesn't have many friends, so she craves things like nicknames. She's easy to please."

The camera turns to show Subaru with a perverted look in his eyes and blush. "My main heroine is easy to please, huh?!"]

"Hmph! Stupid Subaru." Emilia pouted and turned away from the knight as Anastasia and Crusch seemed to be chuckling at her expense.

["Sister, sister. It's only been a short time, and now our guest looks like a drowned rat."

"Rem, Rem. In just a short time, our guest has turned into a dirty old washrag."

"I know I'm a rat. You don't have to tell me." Subaru looked at the two maids.]

"Ram…"

"I know, Rem. I know…"

Both maids were currently wincing visibly because of the scene. Rem was guilty of many things, and she wished she could make up for many of them for Subaru. But the Oni's first offense was the way they treated him by insulting his existence.

Ram was feeling less guilty about that fact, however. She still thought it was a bit much to do it so soon when she knew that her sister would end up doing something regrettable. But she was more focused on the question of why Subaru hadn't told on her sister to anyone.

Roswaal didn't want Subaru dead by Rem's hands. He gave no such order as Ram had seen from his last interaction with Rem.

So if Rem was the killer and her sister would have attempted to kill him again… then surely he must tell on her to everyone that could save his life… right?

"What did you do, Barusu? Were we manipulated? Were you hurt by us so much that you got hung up on being near us? Did you forget? Are you planning an act of revenge?"

Ram's eyes went wide open for a moment as she realized that her sister was attacked and was unconscious for an entire year in stasis… Couldn't Subaru have saved her sister using his power?

And now that she thought about it… Why was he so attached to Rem in the first place? Was he sitting beside her sister every night because he cared for her? Or because he was relishing Rem's state… the useless state of his killer…

"Barusu wouldn't do this…" Ram shook her head from the thought… Her eyes seemed uncertain, however.

[They bowed and spoke in sync. "Our lord, Roswaal-sama, has returned."

Subaru inhaled slowly. "Here we go… "

He was determined…

My first meeting with the lord of this mansion… All I know for certain is that someone will attack on the fourth night.

It'd be ideal if I could let them know, but I can't explain where I got the information, so they might think I'm working with the assassin.

If I knew even just the attacker's physique, it might mean a different story.

So this time, I'll use these next four days to gather information and find out who the attacker is.

And to do that…]

"He's not planning to live through this one," Felix looked angry at Subaru.

"It seems Subaru-dono's gotten used to throwing away his life for mere information gathering," Wilhelm shook his head in disappointment.

"But why isn't he saying anything to Emilia-sama? She could help him!" Petra asked loudly, as this entire reveal was disturbing and confusing the girl greatly.

Emilia dipped down a little bit from the truthful comment's effect on her heart.

"Let's see where this goes in the end, I suppose," Beatrice sighed tiredly and kept her hand covering his forearm. Trembling.

["You may have any reward you request… just name your desire." Roswaal extended his arms wide.]

Anastasia seemed to look annoyed by this as she gave a disappointed shake of her head, "He's gonna be a butler again. Hmph! What a waste of ti-"

["In that case, Let me live here as a house guest, and eat and sleep all I want!" Subaru declared as the table fell silent.]

"…"

"…"

"Screw 'em!"

"Anastasia-sama!"

Crusch, Felt, the twins, and even Ricardo giggled at the frustrated-looking Anastasia. While Julius looked at her with an offended expression.

"This is Subaru's fault," He growled. No way his mistress would say such crude things! No way!

[Ram yawned.

Everyone looked at her.

Scene change.. Subaru was walking down a hallway in thought.

"How am I supposed to gather information, though? I guess I'll start with some indirect questioning."]

"What he's doing isn't wrong though. Gathering information always was his best weapon." Ricardo nodded his head at Subaru's plan.

"With a power like that, anything could be a weapon." Felix's statement may have been said in anger and resentment, but it made a few gears turn for many who heard it.

Precisely, Ram and Priscilla.

[Subaru stopped and looked out of a window to see Rem fixing the flower bed he fell into.

"That's where I fell… " Subaru quickly rushed out and stepped behind Rem.

"Sorry for the trouble." Subaru apologized to the kneeling maid.

Rem got up and bowed to him. "Of course. If you'll excuse me, sir." Rem walked away.

"Wait… I didn't even get to say anything."]

Ram looked at her sister and hugged her tight.

"I killed him nee-sama."

"Shhhh, we don't want them hearing that! They have forgotten about us for now."

"But I killed him! I killed the man I love most in this world. I-Is that why he didn't choose to love me? Have I really hurt him that much?"

Rem whispered and cried into her sister's chest as Ram held her.

"Barusu has already died so he'll get over it. I would like to have a very lengthy conversation about your taste in mates, especially men, but if Barusu didn't love you, do you think that he would have worked so hard to save you and make everyone remember who you are? If you were so cruel to him and if you had killed him, do you think he would have helped you while you were unconscious when even your nee-sama forgot about you?"

Rem hugged her sister tight and prayed to whatever entity out there that had the power… please don't make her hurt her Subaru even more.

Meanwhile, the sister that was hugging her with comfort and love was seemingly glaring at the screen heatedly herself.

"I'm not sure what's going on with you, Barusu… But you better not have let my sister die and acted like you cared for her because of a grudge… I hope you don't die another painful death… Barusu."

[Subaru starts looking all over the mansion. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary… "

Subaru heard the sound of chains behind him. Scared for his life, the boy quickly turned and found a certain clown standing behind him.]

"They didn't sound like the chains of the killer calm down Garf." Otto pushed his friend back in his seat once Garfiel stood up to punch the clown in the face.

"Chains 'r not, he deserves it," Garfiel grumbled and sat back down.

"Hmm… Chains… " Mimi's eyes seemed to narrow as she looked away from the screen for a moment.

"Those sound so familiar… " The girl sounded confused and frustrated because she struggled to come up with an answer.

["Whaaat do you not see?" Roswaal asked with a smile.

"Ros-chi… Don't scare me like that. It's misleading."

Scene change… Subaru is writing in his notebook…]

"Uh boss," Ricardo's sudden seriousness in tone managed to grab the attention of Garfiel and Otto as well as Crusch and Frederica, "Ain't these writin's a bit similar t'…"

"-Hm yes. It's a writin' style similar to those of the Lost Tomes Hoshin of the Wild left behind…" Anastasia's face looked rigid from the shock as she had recognized Subaru's strange writing because she had been spending a lot of time decoding some of that same scribbling to learn more of the founder of her city-states.

Julius looked baffled, "Natsuki's language, the one from the other world-"

"-Is akin to tha' 'f Hoshin-sama himself…?!" Anastasia seemed to be disturbed more than confused.

"What?!" Otto and Garfiel looked at one another in shock before looking back at the merchant lady to hear more of what she had to say. Otto's eyes were narrowed as he realized how bad this revelation could be for his own goals. While the blonde boy just wanted to learn more about the legendary founder of Kararagi and why Subaru was sharing something with him.

Meanwhile, Anastasia had immediately noticed her loss of cool made her the target of both the troublesome merchant boy at the front and the narrowed altruistic Crusch from her side.

"... 'T's nothin' for ya to worry 'bout," quickly calming herself down and assuming a poker facade, the merchant lady turned back to the screen with narrowed eyes.

"Curious indeed…" Crusch mumbled under her breath and turned her glancing eyes away from her rival candidate and to the screen again.

[Magic-died of weakness in sleeping

Sound of chains

Roswaal's chains X Misleading!

Subaru scratched his hair in frustration as he thought about the evidence he had.

A knock sounded, making him look at the door with a smile.

"Come in!"

Ram came in with some tea for the guest. "Here you go, sir."

"Oh, thanks. Want to drink it with me?"

Ram bowed her head. "No, thank you, Sir."

"Hey, you can be a little friendlier to me if you want… " Subaru watched Ram leave with an uneasy look.

The maid just gave him a look and closed the door behind her.]

"Emilia-sama don't scowl at the maids like that. Nothing has been confirmed," Otto immediately warned his camp leader as he noticed the girl's sudden head turn.

The silver-haired half-elf seemed to be more frustrated by this as she glared towards Otto with an upset pout on her lips, "They have yet to answer me… Why won't they say that it wasn't them? I'm sure we can figure something out if they were forced by-"

"I think we should watch before deciding on anything, Emilia-sama, most of us are confused too… The twin maids above us all. Besides, this was all just rumored by one of our rival camp leaders. I doubt we should take the words of Priscilla-sama over the girl Natsuki-san worked so hard to save, right? Rem doesn't look like a bad person… Does she?" Before any more of the half-elf's frustration could be shed, even more, Otto wanted to calm her outburst down so that her position won't look weaker than it already has between the others. Otto did not believe a word of what Priscilla had said and the fact that Beatrice herself alluded to the maids being Subaru's killers was absolutely ridiculous to him.

"Don't ya think there migh' be somethin' to the red princess' word's?"

"Are you saying you believe her when she says that Ram and Rem killed Natsuki-san as we saw?"

Garfiel looked unsure as his eyes dribbled downward. Otto was more than baffled by his friend's attitude. Didn't this guy have a crush on Ram? How could he believe she would do something like that? By the word of someone like Priscilla of all things?

"I dunno man… My mind is a mess because of what I used to remember 'f Rem before she was uh… I don't think they both did 't. But… It would'ah make sense if they were the ones doin' this t' Cap'n. They both have ruthless heads."

Garfiel seemed so serious that it made Otto chuckle from the absurdity.

"I'm serious, they can be brutal when they wanna be. If they were the ones tha' did Cap'n so dirty… I would lose 't… But I wouldn't blame 'em."

"And why would that be, Garf-san?" Otto was just chuckling in amusement as the entire explanation sounded ridiculous and not to be believed.

"... If Cap'n died by Ram and Rem's hands, it would be the clown's fault more than anythin'."

"..."

Otto wasn't laughing anymore as his eyes went wide. Garfiel sat down with a contemplating frown on his gruff face.

"That IS a biiit suspicious…" Al said in a chillingly amused tone.

"Or maybe they don't like big bro in this one because they see him as a freeloader," Mimi gave her opinion.

Many were conflicted about this.

Were the twins really the killers, or are they just mad at Subaru for freeloading in this reality.

They could have asked the twins if they had hostile intentions towards the boy and see if they're telling the truth via Crusch or Reinhard.

But everyone was focused on the screen and how Subaru will deal with this.

They all knew… whomever it may be… the killer will be revealed.

They just had to watch.

["Well, it's my first day. I guess that's expected."

Scene change… Subaru entered the Forbidden Library and was smiling at an annoyed Beatrice…

"Yo!"

"You come in here every day without even knocking. You truly have no manners whatsoever. It would be in your best interest to leave before you get blown away, I suppose." Beatrice slowly raised her hand and pointed at Subaru.

Said boy started panicking and waving his hands. "Whoa! Wait, wait! I just wanted to ask something!"

Beatrice's interest stopped her from blowing him out.

"Is there any magic that weakens someone and kills them as if putting them to sleep?"

"If I must answer then yes there is."

"There is?"

"But it's not so much magic as it is a curse I suppose."]

"Ah…! This is where you got that information, I suppose."

Emilia glanced at Beatrice as she had heard the mutters of the little girl.

Of course, the half-elf understood she wouldn't get any answers from the damaged spirit girl as Beatrice was looking more invested in looking for clues about something rather than understanding what was happening around Subaru.

Because the spirit knew more than Emilia enough to understand what was happening, she was just missing a few things.

And Emilia was even less clueless about Subaru's situation than even Beatrice.

Her frustration grew even more.

Meanwhile, with Beatrice, the little girl was noticing how Subaru only came to her library to ask for help so he could learn and piece information about his situation. No doubt, he took this answer to realize that whatever had cursed him must've been in the village.

"Would it be too much to ask for… To have you die away from Betty so my protection wouldn't be so faulty be the reason for your butchering?"

Nothing but shame could be felt in the little Beatrice's heart as she realized that her hopes for not having failed him in any of the loops were pushing her to wish for his death away from the mansion altogether.

Just so she couldn't blame herself.

"How disgusting, I suppose…" The spirit found herself shaking her head with wide eyes. She felt disappointed in herself. Her hands moved away from rubbing continuously at Subaru's covered wrist, placed on her lap.

[Beatrice began reading from a book, while Subaru read behind her.

"There are many such things among the spells that shamans specialize in."

"Shamans?" Subaru leaned down as Beatrice held a book with roughly drawn art forms on it.

"Magicians. However, shamans are a subclass of magic and spirit arts users that originate in the northern nation of Gusteko, I suppose. They're all quite useless, and not to be taken seriously. But there is an easier method than a curse, I suppose." Beatrice turned from the book to Subaru.

"Easier?"

Beatrice's cute face contorted into an evil smirk.

"I believe you've already experienced it."]

"Beatrice-chan is so mean!" Petra glared at the screen.

Beatrice couldn't help but agree with the little maid as even she seemed to be flinching by the way her counterpart was acting.

"Seems like he's doing good so far, I suppose this is where he learns of their being a shaman in the village and exposes the mabeast user being the actual threat?" Crusch swiftly inquired with the confidence of the little girl in the front row, a half-lidded look as she expected her answer was correct from what she analyzed.

"Indeed, I suppose…"

[Subaru looked at the girl with confusion until she placed her hand on his chest, making him realize what she was talking about.

"Wait, you mean… That mana drain you did against my will could actually kill me?!"]

"Little sis is so mean!" Felt joined Petra in glaring at the screen.

Beatrice didn't say anything.

[Subaru remembered the time he first met the girl and how she knocked him out cold.

"Mana is also one's very life force. If you continually suck it out by force, one could die of weakness, I suppose."

"Wait… You're not the one who killed me, are you?"

Beatrice was reaching for a book that was too high for her.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm busy. I couldn't even spare the effort to kill you."]

"Maaan, She's so harsh!" Mimi joined the loli clan and glared at Beatrice on the screen.

Beatrice simply glared as she watched. They were kids. She had to ignore them.

"It won't help you to make fun of me, I suppose… and I would never kill my contractor," but I still manage to fail him time and time again, in fact.

[Subaru quickly helped her reach the book and went back on topic.

"So, uh… oh, yeah! Can anyone do that mana-sucking thing?"

"That's an absolutely terrible way to put it, I suppose. In this mansion, only Bubby and I can. Even Roswaal can't."

"Oh… It's actually a pretty rare skill, then. Don't suck up that stuff too much. Especially from me. I'm really short on blood right now, so I'd die in a heartbeat."

"Yes, all your organs were restored, but your blood wasn't replaced, I suppose. Well, I have no obligation to do that, anyway."

"My organs." Subaru looked down at the place where he was once cut open from and looked back at the spirit girl that was reading her book.

"The way you said that makes it sound like you were the one who healed my wounds. Trying to take the credit from Emilia-tan makes you look bad!"]

"What an ungrateful idiot." Felix snorted. Julius and Ricardo nodded at the comment.

"That silly girl doesn't have the power to heal fatal wounds yet, I suppose."]

"Beakooooo…"

"Owe! What are you doing, I suppose?!"

Emilia pouted and began pulling on Beatrice's cheeks to punish her.

"I'm not silly!"

"Okay! Okay! I suppose!" Beatrice rubbed her cheeks and pouted with tears in her eyes, giving a small scowl at the equally pouting Emilia.

["Huh?"

"She and Bubby stabilized you, and I healed your wounds."

"Huh? F-For real? You're kidding, right?" Subaru, unable to believe such horrendous blasphemy. "Of course… It's a lie. It was a lie! It's not nice to lie! No lying!"]

"I think he needs to listen to his friends more." Even Reinhard found Subaru's behavior a little offending to the great spirit.

["Shut up I suppose! You're too averse to the truth. Someone not worth saving should disappear, I suppose!" Beatrice raised her arm towards the boy.

All he could do was give her a horrified look before she sent him flying out the door and out the window, making him land on the same flower bed.]

"She's feisty!" Ricardo laughed at the screen.

"That's it in fact!" Beatrice quickly jumped and threw a water bottle at the dogman, drenching him and making him look like a sad puppy.

She sat down and humphed out in anger.

[At least, this time Emilia wasn't there to see hi-

"Um… once again, are you alright?"

Subaru groaned as Emilia smiled sympathetically.]

"Bro, that's some really bad luck, Pffftt haaha!" Felt laughed out loud with a beaming smile as she began to feel a bit better from the sheer hilarity Subaru got involved in.

[Scene change… Subaru is sitting on his desk late at night, staring at his notes.

So, in the end, the keywords are curse and chains.

I don't know anything else.

If the conditions for Return by Death are the same, I died three times at the capital and survived the fourth time.

But that doesn't mean I intend to treat this as a throwaway life. That's why I asked Puck to keep an eye on Emilia for me.

Flashback to Subaru and Puck talking to one another while Emilia is fucking around in the background.

"This is all really vague, but I can tell you're asking out of concern for Lia." Puck smiled at him.]

"Hmm, it seems he's not as used to it as you thought, Wilhelm-dono." Crusch mused as she watched with rapid interest how this boy deals with this situation.

"Do we even know if his power has another trigger… Or a limit to how many times he can redo?" Tivey asked, gaining interest from everyone.

"I doubt we know anything, we don't even know who's the one that gave him this power and summoned him to our world," Reinhard shook his head while seeming in thought.

"We don't even know if his 'save point' or placement in time is changing to his own well or because of something else," Julius added regally, keeping to himself and reserving any emotion on his face.

[The scene shifts out of the flashback and to Subaru as he lamented in his room.

On the morning of the fourth day, I'll leave here and-

A knock sounded and in entered the pink-haired maid.

"Pardon my intrusion, sir."]

"What does he mean by leave?" Anastasia inquired.

"He's… Leaving?" Emilia suddenly stared up towards the maids and noticed how relieved both of them seemed. She slowly glanced to their side to stare at the eccentric clown sitting beside the two.

Roswaal seemed to be bewildered as his expression did not hold a fake smile for the first time, but a gaping mouth and widened eyes.

'Maybe… They really are innocent?'

"It seems like Subaru made a plan to gather information." Reinhard smiled and watched with rapid interest. This was getting exciting for the knight. He was sure Subaru would make it out of there quickly and have the rest of the village saved. He truly wanted to learn from him how he was dealing with this on his own. It seemed wrong for the knight to use this as a learning course but he was guilty of curiosity. What would someone like Subaru do in this situation? What is this power of his really about? Reinhard really wanted to learn more about this kid and see what was so different between the both of them. So he can better himself.

"But what if he dies again…?" Reinhard's thought managed to pass his lip unconsciously… He frowned at the way this thought was ignored by the people near him.

"I hope that doesn't happen again to you, Subaru."

[Subaru quickly hid his notes with some papers and smiled at Ram as she brought a tray of tea and biscuits to him.

"I see you really are studying, sir."

"That's super rude! I am a guest here, you know."

"You're a freeloader calling yourself a guest. That's how I perceive it, sir." Ram gave him a cup.

"Thanks. Ugh, it's still nasty." Subaru looked at the disgusting teacup.]

Ram glared at the comment but couldn't allow herself to speak about it. She opted to stay quiet for the rest of this 'hearing' and keep her shaken sister protected.

"Shhh… It seems like Barusu won't stay in the mansion this time, Rem. He might not be dying by your hand…"

"I didn't want… I didn't want that to happen at all…" Rem seemed to have trouble breathing but a little bit of relief was apparent on her expression.

[Ram sat down on his bed and sipped from her own cup.

"You're going to incur the wrath of the finest tea leaves in the mansion."

"Slacking off right in front of your guest? I have no words for that nerve of yours."

"You were the one who told me to be more friendly toward you. I only responded to your demand." Ram dangled her legs.

"So? How is your studying coming along?"

"Not bad. I can read simple fairy tales like these now." He opened a book and shifted through it. "It's interesting how the morals differ just slightly from what I know. It's like true cross-cultural communication. Maybe I should import a few fairy tales from my homeland. Like The Red Ogre Who Cried."

Subaru smiled at Ram as he said this. The maid appeared to be interested in this.]

Ram found herself interested along with her counterpart.

"Hmm," Priscilla muttered as her eyes lit up with interest as well.

"Oh… I remember this one, I suppose…" Beatrice seemed to stare down for a second before glancing up at Subaru's sleeping face with a stare of realization, "Is this why the story was your favorite, I wonder?"

Emilia only seemed to grow more disdained as she heard Beatrice's words.

'He… Told Beatrice those stories?'

"Hey these two are getting along well… Don't they seem to like it?" Ricardo sounded unsure as he commented vainly about the boy and the pink-haired maid on the window.

"Silence and keep your dreadful perception to yourself, dog," Priscilla didn't even dignify the merc with a glare as she snarled her annoyance towards the dogman to make him stop interrupting the viewing as she finally got something that wasn't useless and annoying.

["The Red Ogre Who Cried?"

Smiling at her gaze, Subaru nodded his head. "All right, your attention please."

"Once upon a time, there lived a red ogre and a blue ogre. "

Subaru picked up a spoon with a red jewel in one hand and a quill that had a blue jewel on it. He held the two together.

"The two were very good friends. The red ogre wanted to be friends with the people of the village. But the people were too scared to get close to him. The blue ogre couldn't bear to watch, so he devised a plan to help his friend."

Subaru began shaking the quill that represented the blue ogre.

"I'll make a ruckus in the village, so you come and stop me. Then the villagers will be sure to trust you."

"The plan worked and the red ogre befriended the humans. But as time began passing by, something began to worry him. His friend, the blue ogre, no longer came to visit him."

Ram's hand twitched at this.

"One day, the red ogre went to the blue ogre's house. The door was tightly shut, and a letter was affixed to it. The letter said…

Red Ogre-kun, please have fun with your human friends. If I continue to hang around you, they might think you're a bad ogre, too. So I've decided to go on a journey, but I will never forget you. Goodbye. Please take care of yourself. Your friend forever… Blue Ogre."

"The red ogre read the letter in silence over and over again. Tears fell as he began to cry.

The end."]

Petra, Mimi, and Felt sniffled at the story.

… Why was Ricardo sniffling too?

"What a courageous ogre," Ricardo said while wiping a few tears.

"That is a tragic story…" Reinhard commented with a frown that even his grandfather Wilhelm seemed to have.

Crusch's gaze turned to the small blonde in the front row and coughed, "Is Natsuki's World… Suffering in a sense? Or is this story a simple case of imagination?" The Duchess asked her question of the only person that held more information on Subaru than anyone else.

Had she not been busy being depressed, Beatrice would've held her head with pride. But not even the little one could answer the question.

"..."

"You don't have an answer, Beatrice-chan?" Emilia seemed to ask. The realization that the girl didn't know something about Subaru seemed to settle some form of relief in the half-elf.

"... Betty's Subaru told her that his world is beautiful, in fact and it's beautiful because it has darkness overwhelming it."

"How does d'at make sense?" Felt rubbed her head and stared at the spirit girl in confusion.

Rem and Crusch were the two most invested after Emilia and the rest of the cast.

"A Beautiful Darkness, the world where hope must persevere over tragedy and bloodshed. A world that sometimes goes against hope to not corrupt it and turns it to darkness." Although the answer was vague and forced for the girl seemed to not understand the extent to which this darkness reaches in Subaru's world, neither does she know what this amazing hope looks like in the said world, everyone seemed to be struck as they all mulled this statement. Beatrice seemed to have closed herself off and hugged her contractor's forearm.

"Subaru's world seems… Complicated? Thank you for the words nonetheless, great spirit-sama," Crusch bowed her head to the spirit girl and leaned back in her seat with a finger to the chin. Thinking about what she had heard and struggling to pinpoint just where Subaru had come from… Nonetheless what type of life he led before Lugunica.

'Surely he mustn't want to stay here all his life… He must be actively looking for a way out, right? Is Natsuki Subaru even happy in his home?"

The Duchess held an angry, pained expression at the thought.

"Beautiful Darkness?" Priscilla muttered under her fan while her scarlet eyes focused on the spirit girl. The story of the ogre… Was something the crimson baroness oddly appreciated and truly felt pleased to have been retold the story for her own enjoyment. That story was… Just what she needed to calm down?

"Beautiful Darkness indeed!" She held a smile of twisted pleasure without a form of annoyance.

"Wow, I want more!" Mimi jumped up and down as the statement only seemed to make her want to hear more of Subaru's world.

"So… Is Subaru trying to go back…" Emilia seemed to whisper into the unknown as she couldn't understand anything from what Beatrice had spoken except for the part that Subaru was proud of his home and attached to its memories.

"... Sister." Rem seemed to be calmed. She seemed to have been even encouraged to look her sister in the eye finally.

"... Sister don't blame yourself, please."

"..."

Ram simply held her arms on Rem tighter and turned her head away from the blue twin.

[Ram slowly sat up and looked out of a window. "That's a sad story."

"Yeah, it is. But I think it's a sweet story too."

"I think all the characters in it are just stupid. The red ogre, blue ogre, and the villagers, too."

"That's kind of a harsh critique. I mean, I'm not denying it, but… that's why I both love and hate that story."

Subaru smiled and looked at the quill. "The blue ogre's self-sacrifice is really appealing, but it's stupid because he gets nothing out of it. I'm the type that wants to be rewarded for the effort I put in."]

Anastasia huffed and muttered under her breath. "Yeah? Ya like loser rewards apparently."

Crusch heard her and had to hold back a snort.

Julius gripped where his sword was supposed to be and tried to contain himself… he was a knight… knights don't hit sleeping boys on their heads… don't do it, Julius.

Reinhard simply chuckled at him, even Felix seemed to be enjoying this with a small smile.

"... It's a bittersweet story… Rem," Ram whispered under her breath short enough to make her sister stare up from her hug.

Ram didn't care for her tear running down her cheek.

["Is that what you think of the blue ogre? But it's the red ogre that I think is beyond help. He dragged the blue ogre to his desires and as a result, he lost nothing."

"Then what do you think the two ogres should have done?"

"If the red ogre truly wanted to befriend the humans, he should have broken off his horns and gone to them. He should have done that before the blue ogre couldn't bear watching anymore." Ram stared out the window with a forlorn look.

"That's a pretty extreme opinion, too… "

Ram put the cup down and walked closer to Subaru. "Is it? Which of the two ogres would you rather be friends with?"

"Which of the two?"

Ram raised both hands and held a finger up with each one before the boy.

"The red ogre, who can only wish to be taken care of by others, or the stupid blue ogre, who basks in his own self-sacrifice?"

Ram looked down at Subaru expectantly.]

Rem looked up at her sister with confusion and pity lacing her face. Ram just glared at the screen.

"I feel like… You're being too harsh on yourself, Ram." Emilia muttered as her face contorted a sad frown.

"This story is so reminiscent of the two of you, Rem, Ram." Frederica held a thin-lipped expression as her eyes glanced towards the two in contemplation. Could she have done something to help them? The beastwoman was seemingly more confused by these emotions of wanting to help them and wanting to skin them alive for what they've potentially done to innocent peoples under Roswaal's command.

[Subaru looked between the two hands, he reached for one and picked…

"Huh?" Ram looked confused.

Subaru… chose both of them. He had each of her hands in one of his.

Subaru looked up at Ram.

"What a foolish answer. If you want to befriend both, you must be an indecisive, adulterous type. You'll regret it one day." Ram pulls back and stares at him.]

"Natsuki san always says that he's selfish because he wants to save everyone without sacrifice," Otto recalled and smiled warmly.

The others in the Emilia camp and even in some other camps like Ricardo, Wilhelm, and Reinhard smiled too.

"He does seem naive…" Anastasia voiced.

"But he has a good heart," Crusch smirked at the merchant girl.

"Good… heart?" Priscilla whispered softly and glared at the sleeping boy.

What a foolish notion!

"Foolish…" Priscilla muttered to herself… but she looked uncertain.

Roswaal just frowned deeply as he heard their words.

"Selfish… " The clown muttered and glared at the sleeping boy.

["I don't recall it being that kind of story!"

"Putting aside your homeland's fairy tales, did any of these stories leave an impression on you?" Ram pointed at one of the books.]

"You guys think we should get him to tell us a few of these stories," Felt asked in excitement

"Stories from another world?" Felix asked in apprehension.

"That does sound exciting," Otto muttered to which Garfiel nodded his head with an excited smirk.

"Hmph! You're all so pathetic in fact! Subaru has been telling Betty all of his world's most exciting fairy-tales and fictional stories, I suppose." A very smug Beatrice smirked as she received the glares of a few girls with pride.

Subaru was her contractor, not theirs.

["Well, the ones that interested me most were the one in the middle, about the dragon, and the one at the end about the witch."

"I finally know where the name Dragon's Kingdom of Lugunica came from."

"Oh?"

"It said the royal family signed a covenant with a dragon, so it's more a folks tale than a fairy tale, right?"

"Yes, since it's true. The noble dragon still protects this nation from far away, beyond a great waterfall. It will do so until its contract with the royal family is fulfilled."]

"What's on your mind my lady?" Julius looked at his lady and shook his head.

"I was thinking that maybe Subaru's world is beyond a great waterfall."

"That's actually quite interesting… " Reinhard thought about the idea with excitement running through him. He couldn't get out of Lugunica's borders since he was a national threat to every other country so he loved to learn about the outside world in any way he could.

Hearing the story, a person in the crowd seemed content to lean in and rest their chin on their knuckle. This person closed their eyes and listened in, for they heard the story a thousand times. They've actually been there when it happened.

'And the pain never dissipates no matter how many times I hear the story, Fourier.'

Crusch's lips were thin.

["Wait, didn't the royal family that signed the contract recently die out?"

"Yes, quite abruptly. No one knows what the dragon wants. In the nation's current situation, only the gods know… No, only the dragon knows what the dragon will do, sir."]

Crusch glared a bit and remained calm as she remembered what her wish was to advocate the throne.

Breaking the damned covenant… Gluttony may have taken her purpose and memory but the deep hatred she had for the dragon was still implanted in her heart.

["Oh, by the way, about this witch story… " Subaru was flipping through the book but was suddenly cut off.

"I don't want to discuss that. I've stayed here too long. I'll come again to notify you when dinner is ready sir." Ram quickly turns around and picks up the tray, bowed to him, and left.

"O-Okay." Subaru watched her as she stopped at the doorway.

"That story you told me about the ogres… don't tell it to Rem. I'm certain she wouldn't like it." With that, Ram closed the door behind her.]