9 ( Part 1)

No light shone inside of the room, even with all of its occupants chattering inside.

The air wasn't quite as damp as it was expected to be, yet there was a taste of forlornness in the air. The crowd had settled in their positions. Bringing forth many feelings of discomfort at seating positions not suited for most of them.

Yet the individuals bore with this uncomfortableness to hold a place in the political game inside of the theater.

"My my, ya'll seem ready, I suppose~" Anastasia mused, walking out of her room and facing the chattering room with observing eyes.

"Here, boss! I kept your seat!" Mimi waved to the merchant princess. From behind Subaru and beside Crusch.

"What's gonna happen to the Cap'n in this one?" A blonde demi-human asked from his seat with a hardened look on his face.

"This is the Third Arc…" Julius muses, answering the boy's question since he was sitting right behind, "It seems that these Arcs revolve around Natsuki's greatest battles? I'd say this may be Subaru's journey to defeating the White Whale."

Garfiel nodded his head, wide-eyed at the prospect of finally seeing his captain's most renowned feat as it happened. But his frown still showed the boy's maturity in which he understood what was coming for his hero to achieve such a feat.

Julius gave the boy's back of the head a small smile, though the knight's eyes were not as fiery or composed as before. There was a certain chaos to him, like a cloud hanging over his head.

The knight understood that somehow, this would contain his very first meeting with Subaru. The time he met the misguided boy that proclaimed himself a knight just to help the lady he stands beside.

Julius wanted to be his friend from then on.

He believed that he could at least have a comrade in the stubborn butler boy when he'd met him.

But now he understood that the fault in that delusion laid solely on him.

Julius was not worthy of someone like Subaru's friendship.

He understood this. He accepted this.

But damn, does he hate it.

"So this will show the Whale, nayn?!" Felix called from beside his mistress. Uncaring to the fact that this may as well show some of Subaru's worst moments and memories. Only thinking of his mistress' greatest deed and announcing it to the world with pride and excitement.

Something Crusch noted and frowned upon.

"We might get to see how Subaru-dono arrived at the information regarding both the Whale and Sloth," Wilhelm spoke in a grave tone with his expression stern and hardened as if he was going to battle.

"That's right! Natsuki-san led the excursions to both the great calamity and the Witch's Cult in Margrave's domain!" Otto looked at the screen with fear itching his expression as he thought about the possibilities the Subaru had lived through.

"So he truly faced them both?" Frederica asked with her heart clenching in sympathy for the boy as she knew how hard and terrifying it must have been.

"So this Arc revolves around those two?" The blonde royal beamed from the front,"I guess we need to watch this and learn what big bro had to live through, huh Reinhard?"

"…"

"Rein?" Felt looked at the knight sitting beside her.

The Sword Saint was looking at the screen with a look of guilt and curiosity. "I'll finally get to see the penance of the monster that I saved," the knight muttered, hands clenched, "I don't want to see Subaru die to it."

Reinhard whispered in a broken tone. The reason for his monstrous self and the only one capable of sharing the consequences of his greatest crime. The whale that had shared the title of his grandmother's killer and the title of a monster will finally be seen by the kid that had suffered and shared those same titles with it.

Felt was worried just like her knight. She was afraid of what might've happened to Subaru but she couldn't help but feel scared about her knight's reaction to all of this. She can see him growing more and more dilated in the eyes. "I shouldn't have let him go." gritting her teeth, Felt scolded herself as she remembered how relieved she was once she had seen him in the palace.

"Ah," the little girl sucked, "This will show that part about Big Bro, uh..." Felt became uncomfortable once she realized what they would see. Perhaps looking beside her was supposed to have resulted in comfort, but she only grew more anxious.

Besides the little girl, was an equally transfixed Half-elf that was stealing glances at her knight's other side.

Where there was supposed to be a blonde little girl sitting beside Subaru and opposite from Emilia, there happened to be an Oni maid happily caressing her knight with a soft smile.

"Um… Rem, I-Isn't that Beako's chair?" Emilia asked, looking at Rem weirdly.

"Are you jealous?" Crusch, wanting nothing more than to think about something other than her fight with the whale and how it would've gone without Subaru quickly took the opportunity to make fun of the clearly jealous Emilia.

"N-No! I just… wanted to check on Beako! Yeah!"

"I'm fine, in fact. You don't have to use me as an excuse for your jealousy, it shows on your face anyways, I suppose." Beatrice snorted as she leaned in her seat beside the happy Rem.

She would've never given her place beside Subaru over to anyone… but the maid looked like she truly needed it. And the fact that this Arc would bring some very unpleasant memories about Subaru wasn't going to make Rem feel any better so it was important.

Beatrice was doing this for Subaru, it would be a shame if he were to finally wake and find the maid he's been fighting so hard for as a broken soulless girl that had drowned in her guilt of murdering the boy.

"A real shame, I suppose," Beatrice growled as she saw Rem caressing his hand.

Up above, A fiery-haired princess could be seen glancing back and forth between a mop of spiky black hair and the black screen.

"Is something the matter, princess?" Al asked worriedly as Priscilla never looked this anxious for anything since he knew her.

"I wonder if that boy truly understands the power he has."

"It's no skin off my nose but...What do you mean?" Al asked silently.

"Hmph! How much of a fool must you be?"

Al sighed and shrugged his shoulders. If she didn't want to talk then she didn't want to talk.

No skin off his nose.

Priscilla's scarlet eyes remained focused on the screen.

[Screen is now loading the next viewing. Get ready.]

"My, my, that sounds so ominouuuuuus!" Roswaal's smile was completely gone, far removed was the mirth in his colored eyes. Replaced with harshness and great dread.

The book he'd once held with great care had foretold a narrow line of events for the clown lord. Should this have been a normal viewing, Roswaal would've been bored to watch Subaru's journey as exactly transcribed within the tome.

Dreadfully, Roswaal's teeth shinked against themselves.

Teacher's descriptions may have been… lacking so far. But I am sure that Subaru would have to die a few times to bring the greater good. That is why teacher's gospel was most gracious to keep the details from my eyes. It was for the greater good of our plan.

The man rambled on and on about his teacher. Though his position has become that of a Pharaoh, waiting to be drowned by many of his enemies in the room, he understood that one true enemy was the threat towards his teacher's gospel.

If these viewings are a glass filled with water that he must drink, he would think it tastes like poison.

But with every episode, the poison becomes all the more bitter in the glass, fully corrupting the water.

His trust in the teachings of the gospel, his belief that he'd done the right thing for his teacher's way, all are now hindered upon the suffering Subaru was going through. These loops that came out of a horror novelist's dream.

He knew about them. There was always going to be bad ends for Subaru to redo.

Death was never the option. And it jarred Roswaal to find out that his teacher did not trust him with this information.

"How about you drink something before the watch begins, Petra?"

"Mhmh, I'm good, thanks."

"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Frederica's whisper didn't receive an answer. The little maid grimmed at her mentor.

"I'm not faltering here, Frederica-sama. Please don't worry about me."

The blonde maid looked stricken at the little one's sternness. As if she was in contempt of the world around her.

"Petra..."

Before the people of the theater could converse or think any further into their predicament, the blackness of the room died with the light from the screen.

[Season 1 Episode 7 Director's Cut.

Begin.

"Okay, and to finish, stretch your arms up and… finish! Victory!"

"Victory!"

Subaru is shown doing his warm-up routine with the entire village following his movements.

As they finished, a happy-looking Emilia was walking towards Subaru with her hood covering her entire form.]

"It seems that this has become a normal occurrence," Frederica noted in sadness as she lamented her luck for not being able to be as close to the nice people of Irlam as Subaru was.

"My hero loved to spend time with the people's village. He would always take all the chores needed to be done either on the outskirts or inside the town." Rem smiled softly at the memory.

"Yep! Subaru is so fun to play with." Petra said in a somewhat cheerier tone than she had before but still damp with a hidden melancholic aura.

Felt was baring her teeth in annoyance at the missed opportunities she could've had torturing her followers by forcing them into a routine such as this.

["All right, line up!"

The happy group of village children quickly lined up with papers in their hands.

Subaru quickly took the stamp offered by Emilia and called out to the children. "Time for your stamps! Who's first?"

The black-wearing butler began placing stamps of a cute Puck on the children's papers.

"The kitty is so cute!"

"The kitty is so awesome!"

"The kitty is so sad!"

The children looked at their papers with happy smiles.]

"What's he doing?" Priscilla asked in genuine interest which surprised everyone.

"Subaru is giving us our daily kitty stamp! Those who attend for a month get prizes!" Petra giggled as she remembered some of the stupid Subaru prizes that were given.

"A prize system for children participating in a game? That's a waste!" Petra and Mimi slapped the back of Tivey's head for his blasphemous words.

The little boy could only squirm beneath the gazes of his sister and the pouting Petra.

["The villagers seem to be full of life again. Thanks to you, Subaru."

"Well, I did put my life on the line to save them all. I went into the forest and got bitten by dogs to save the kids, got bitten by dogs when I tried to save Rem after she turned into a demon, then had to be saved by Roswaal when I was about to be bitten by a giant dog… wait… Did I even do anything at all?"]

"He seems to be brushing off the fact that he died," Anastasia mused wonderingly, making a certain spirit, elf, and an Oni look down in sadness.

"Subaru-dono's self-worth is very lacking." Wilhelm sadly noted as he remembered how surprised the boy was to find the soldiers waiting on him after the subjugation of the whale. As if the mere thought that people were respecting him was foreign to the boy.

The old man shook his head sadly at how Subaru had to demean himself to survive the harsh reality of this world.

Would the boy have been better off in his own world? Away from them all?

Wilhelm gripped his seat in disdain at the thought. Subaru was very dear to both him as well as many in this room.

He won't let the boy leave his side after this.

[Emilia sighed and turned around to the butler boy.

"Oh, come on! Don't fuss over the small details! There are those who know the truth. That includes Roswaal and Ram… And especially Rem. And of course, I do, too." Emilia smiled warmly at the boy.

Subaru blushed deeply as the breeze blew around him and Emilia.]

"Emilia-sama's smile is very effective on dogs like Barusu." Ram snorted at the scene

Emilia looked at the scene with unease. She shouldn't really feel this happy. But the look on Subaru's face made her chest feel warm.

Rem just looked at the screen with a deep look of sadness as she wished her hero could look at her smile like this one day.

"Cap'n's love story is really cool." Garfiel nodded his head while smiling at the scene.

Otto shook his head with a fond smile as he glanced at his brother.

"You're such a softie, man."

[Scene change…

"Welcome home. Please forgive me for parking in front of your mansion."

An old man dressed in a butler uniform bowed politely to the newly arrived Emilia and Subaru.

Wilhelm van Astrea stood before the two at the front of L. Mathers' mansion with a dragon carriage beside him.

(Opening plays: Redo)]

"So this is where you meet him," Reinhard noted in curiosity.

Wilhelm said nothing and just looked past his grandchild's head.

The two remained silent and distant.

One was guilty.

And the other was curious how his cold steeled grandpa first dealt when meeting Subaru.

"O-Oh," Emilia meanwhile, seemed to have just realized what it was she's gonna be watching. "... So it starts there?"

[Scene changes to Emilia and Subaru talking to Ram in a hallway.

"An emissary from the capital is visiting. Roswaal-sama is attending to them now."

"An emissary?" Emilia asked in alarm.

"I believe it concerns the royal selection." Ram emotionlessly warned.

Emilia looked put off by this, which was noticed by Subaru as he began rolling his arm around.

"Alright! Given the circumstances, I'll try not to do anything dumb." The butler smirked in excitement.]

"Hmph!"

"That's not gonna age well…pfffft!"

As Priscilla and Anastasia giggled and snorted, many looked at them curiously.

Emilia looked a bit guilty and angry at the two.

It isn't funny… This will only lead to something terrible.

She seethed inside her head.

["Um, I'm really sorry, Subaru, but this will be a very important discussion." Emilia smiled nervously and began walking away with Ram behind her while Subaru just stared.

He noticed the old man standing by the carriage from the window.

Scene change…

Wilhelm is peacefully wiping along with the carriage's doors as a cheerful Subaru was seen walking towards him with a tray in his hands.

"Aren't you bored waiting out here?"]

"Right on time." Crusch gave a smirk. The Duchess already understood what was happening from the first look on Subaru's face.

"He's a bit shrewd." Wilhelm snorted.

Emilia flinched and bowed her head, "I'm sorry for his behaviour, I don't know what he did here but I wish I could've stopped him."

The old man shook his head, looking at the girl with warmth in his eyes. Dare she say, mirth. "None of this is harmful, Emilia-sama. This is the road your knight has taken to bring us joy and safety."

Reinhard looked down a little as he heard the man's tone. Proud, confident, and most of all, compassionate.

Emilia stuttered at the magnanimity of these words, seeing what the old man was truly trying to tell her.

'But I can't accept that… I can't just believe that this madness was necessary for Subaru to win his fights.'

Crusch narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. Giving the silver-haired girl a once over, seeing her reactions.

'She won't accept Natsuki's journey. That's expected,' The Duchess mused within her mind, seeing Emilia's brindelled personality.

"Hm..."

Anastasia had her eyes glancing at the green-haired royal beside her. She can feel something going on inside of that militaristic mind— a dangerous thought.

The merchant had this instinct to keep an eye on the Lion's holder.

Crusch held no worry for the eyes trained on her figure, she also had her focus over the select few who got on her nerves.

The merchant queen was at the top of that list.

[Subaru and Wilhelm begin conversing while drinking tea.

"It tastes lovely. I feel as though I'm indulging in a great luxury."

"It's seriously the most expensive tea in the mansion. If the pink-haired maid finds out we drank it without permission, she'll flip."]

Roswaal snorted once he saw just how fiery the pink maid's eyes were.

"Poor him," the lord said in pity.

Ram didn't seem as fiery when she realized just how effective such a technique was. She found herself more impressed than furious.

"That was nice thinking, Barusu," she admitted, surprised with her own tone.

"This is a surprise~" Roswaal teases, forcing his maid to bite her lip.

[Wilhelm narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the boy. "And what is it you hope to gain from this old man, using such precious bait?"

Undeterred, Subaru smiled wide and carried on. "I only want to know the reason for this visit. If you could just give me a vague idea… "]

"Th-That's dirty, Subaru!" Emilia shook her head in disappointment. How could he just go behind her back and use such dirty tactics to disobey her like this?

"I'm soooo sorry, Wilhelm-san. I never imagined that my knight would do su-"

"It's fine, Emilia-sama. I've never been one to be easily fooled and I found it endearing at the time so there is no problem. As I said once before."

Emilia sat back and gave her stupid knight a seethign glare.

["As I have no idea about your standing in this mansion, I cannot say anything careless. Please understand." Wilhelm denied while holding his cup.

Subaru looked deflated at this.

A smile found its way across the old man's face. "However, I did see that you are quite close to Emilia-sama."

"Did it look like things were serious between Emilia-tan and me?!"

Wilhelm quickly backed away a few steps to not catch whatever sickness this boy had suddenly afflicted as he began posing around with blushing cheeks.

"Tan?" Wilhelm noted but then looked away from the giggling boy. "It is a steep path you climb." He spoke in a grave tone.

"Huh?"

"You are dealing with one who may be the future queen of Lugunica."

Subaru turned around and faced the man with a sheepish look. "Right now, we're just a super cute girl and a useless servant boy."

"You probably think your wife is the prettiest girl in the world. Isn't that what you thought when you proposed to her?" Subaru smiled brightly.]

Emilia had to flush down on herself after hearing this private discussion between the two about her. Her cheeks blushed in embarrassment.

Julius, Crush, Felix, and Reinhard all widened their eyes in shock at the sentence.

And how the old man smiled at him.

"Subaru-dono…" Wilhelm smiled clearly at the fond memory.

"Subaru-san is dangerous with words." Otto smiled at the two on-screen.

"Is that Subaru's dad or somethin'?" the blonde warrior youth rubbed the back of his head and brashly asked his question.

Crusch giggled at Garfiel's statement.

Reinhard… was looking at the scene with shock and disbelief.

Subaru just spoke about his grandmother to the man that had been missing her most.

And his grandfather smiled at him.

He didn't know if he should feel anger or happiness that his friend and Grandfather got along so well since the beginning

["My wife…" Wilhelm struggled to get his bearings for just a moment before returning to his steeled expression. "I see. You are indeed correct. I believed my wife was the most beautiful lady in the world." Wilhelm smiled a bit.

A loud voice came from the side of the carriage cutting the conversation between the butlers. "I'm back, Old Man Wil!"]

"Hm, so this is how he got you to like him, nyan?" Felix murmured, unamused.

"He did more than this, dear Felix-dono. He's done more than anyone should." Wilhelm's answer was one fond and stern for two different reasons. Ones that the demi-human already understands.

The healer fell to silence and continued to watch.

[The two turned to find a cute-looking lady with cat ears stepping closer.

"Sorry to make you wait outside. I bet you were bored huh?"

"Not at all. This young man has been speaking with me." Wilhelm pointed to the confused Subaru.

The lady's cat ears began flickering and flapping as she stared at the butler boy.

"Meow, meow? Meow! Mooooooew!" Subaru blushed as the girl meowed and inspected him all over.

"Ah, nyow I see. Of course. You must be the boy Emilia-sama mentioned." The lady pointed at Subaru with a smile.

"Emilia did?"

The lady leaned closer to the boy and sounded mischievous. "Well, see, we're not going there just for fun. Let's go Old Man Wil." The lady smiled mysteriously. "See you in the capital."

Scene changes to a superstitious-looking Subaru standing before a nervous Emilia.

"Well, see, we're not going there for fun. I received an important summons-" Emilia tried to reason nervously but was cut off by the serious-looking Subaru.

"If it's important, all the more reason! You're in the battle for the throne, right? I want to help you! Please!"]

Emilia and Rem looked down at this as they saw what had happened.

Julius flinched a bit… "He wants to help really bad."

The knight couldn't help the unpleasant feeling in his chest.

"Mhm," Emilia murmured to the knight, "Reeeeally badly," she sighed tiredly.

"It's almost too bad," Rem whispered with an arm on her chest, suddenly feeling the fatigue the rest of the room was feeling in terms of happiness.

"Hm, nothing of that sort should've been possible. But even in terms of loyalty, Subaru seems an enigma." Julius' joke was quite popular with the two ladies, even when his own mistress was struck and confused by it.

[Emilia looked dumbfounded at his sincerity.

A blue-haired maid that was standing behind the begging boy spoke up to the bewildered elven maiden.

"It seems there are people in the capital who helped Subaru-kun. This may be a good opportunity for him to thank them."

Subaru quickly looked back and patted the maid's head while smiling warmly. "Nice assist, Rem! That's right!"

Subaru turned to Emilia with a smirk. "Some people in the capital helped me. I need to let them know I'm okay."]

"He's willing to use this gratitude of his to disobey his master," Felix raggedly noted, unaware of the small glares he was receiving from the two boys at the front of the theater.

But with this observance, Emilia's fluctuating mood seemed to go down once she realized how far Subaru was willing to defy her wish.

'Even back here, he was willing to do the most by using other people. No wonder he broke his promise so easily.'

"I'm not sorry, Emilia-sama."

The voice of one shy girl surprised her. Looking at Rem, Emilia's lips frowned.

"What?"

"I'm not sorry for helping him reach the castle that day," the maid had no expression on her face, not but a sincere smile on her face.

"..." Her amethyst irises stared wide and bewildered— shocked beyond belief at the audacity.

Rem seemed to give her another nod which was as small as the first, she didn't even remember when the maid nodded at her before.

But Emilia understood one thing, Rem was not in fear of Subaru's ugliness in this chapter of his life.

As a matter of fact, the maid was welcoming it openly enough to forget her previous breakdowns and guilt over her crimes.

What could possibly happen between her and Subaru?… Enough to make her defy ownself like that?

The half-elf bit her lip, ignored by all as her watchers found interest on the screen instead of her dazed state.

Why am I feeling so alone?

["Why not? That can be kept separate from our royal selection business." Everyone turned to the smiling lord that had been sitting in the room since the beginning.

"Subaru-kun should go to the capital to thank everyone as well as to receive treatment."

"Huh? Treatment?" Subaru asked in confusion at the magi's words.

Roswaal began to explain. "You overused your already-exhausted gate in the mabeast battle. It will treat that wound. You met the emissary earlier, did you not?"

"The cutesy-face with the cat ears?"]

"Ew." Felix glared in disgust at the fact that Subaru commented on his looks.

["That was one of the capital's most brilliant users of water magic, as well as healing magic. Felix is a peculiar one, whose cooperation was difficult even for Emilia-sama to enliiiiist."

"H-Hold on…" Emilia waved her arms and blushed from embarrassment while Subaru turned around with a shit-eating smile.

"Really, Emilia-tan? You did that for me?"

"W-Well, it's partly my fault that you haven't healed yet… So you could say I'm repaying a debt. It's equal compensation for what you gave up!" Emilia retorted with a blushing stern expression filled with determination.]

"Why are you always trying so hard to ignore your good nature, Emilia-sama?"

Emilia blinked and looked at Otto in confusion.

Meanwhile, Garfiel took note of a few details told on the screen, "So yer a hero?"

"Hm?" Felix hummed, absurdly weirded out that the brash blonde was talking to him.

"Yer supposed to help people… Right?" Garfiel had no emotion in his expression as he questioned the healer.

Felix awkwardly fiddled his ear, not knowing what to say to someone that's been antagonistic towards him since the beginning.

"Um… I try my best, I guess, nyan."

"That's cool. I hope yer attitude gets better," Garfiel surprised everyone by this and turned around to watch some more.

Felix looked struck speechless, not reacting even when his lady gave him a proud grin.

[Scene change to Wilhelm and Felix on the dragon carriage.

"I was surprised to see you talking with the boy. I thought you'd rather chop people in half than talk to them." Felix spoke in a curious tone to the old man that was guiding the dragon.

"That is a grave misunderstanding. I merely took a bit of a liking to that young man's eyes."

"Huh?" Felix looked confused at this.

The old butler just looked ahead with cold unfeeling eyes.

"Those are the eyes of one who has experienced death several times."

Felix smiled at this. "Hmmm… Nyow you've lost me. But if Wilhelm van Astrea, the Sword Demon, says it, I'm sure the boy faces quite a bumpy road." The cat lady sounded amused.

Wilhelm's eyes narrowed.]

"How ironic." Ricardo snorted disgustedly and shook his head as many looked uncomfortable by how accurate the old man's statement was.

"That's a bit too close to the truth." Felix shivered in fear at how his conversation with Wilhelm accurately described Subaru's road.

Emilia and Rem held both of his hands tightly with looks of forlorn sadness.

Wilhelm himself couldn't result to snort at how accurate he was. He was more so begrudgingly thankful that his instinct was still so elaborate.

Now he can focus on honing that foresight into something more. Something that he can use to pave the way for a better future, for his house, and his benefactors.

[Scene change…

"You know, Emilia-tan… maybe we should stop this?"

Emilia can be seen wearing her hood as she walks with her butler in the middle of the capital's crowd.

Subaru was blushing a deep red as Emilia kept holding his hand tightly.

The half-elf looked determined as she kept her grip on his hand tighter.

"Absolutely not! I know you. The moment I look away, you'll be off doing something crazy." Emilia glared sideways at him accusingly as the boy chuckled.]

"You need a leash on him, Emilia-sama." Ram snorted and smirked at the demeaning scene.

Julius and Felix also snorted at how right she was.

"That's a bit too demeaning, I suppose," Beatrice sighed, understanding why the half-elf's treatment was needed here but still finding it shameful for her contractor.

[A flashback begins playing of Subaru holding on to the ledge of a carriage and waving his arms out of it as the carriage was moving full speed.

"Oh man, this is awesome! I'm totally fantasizing right now, baby!"

"Subaru-kun is so cute." Rem smiled at the excited boy.]

"Rem…"

"Yes, sis?" Rem blushed red at her older sister's dangerous glare.

["Parallel worlds ru-ahhhh!"

Subaru waved his hands out of the carriage too far, making his hand get out of the divine protection of the ground dragons that kept everything on the dragon natural and unaffected by gravity's momentum.

The boy flew out of the carriage as there was no more divine protection to keep him balanced at its edge since he left its reach.

Emilia quickly stood up in a panic as the boy fell from the moving vehicle. "Subaru!"

"AHHHHHH!" The boy screamed like a man would if he was not a man.

(I mean like a girl -_- )]

"Pfft!"

"Hahahhahaha!"

Otto and Garfiel leaned on one another as they laughed out loud at how their brother looked.

Ricardo and the twins were laughing on the floor.

Petra and Frederica giggled uncontrollably.

Reinhard and Julius just chuckled and watched with wide eyes in amusement.

"He's very lively." Anastasia mused while Crusch struggled to bite her lip and keep her laughter in.

[Back to the embarrassed-looking butler and his disappointed-looking Half-elf princess.

"I'm really sorry for that… But this is just treating me like a kid!" Subaru pointed at the tight grip she had on him.]

"You are a kid, in fact!" Beatrice called out, miffed that she wasn't there with her contractor.

[Emilia didn't look convinced. "Even though you wanted to hold hands on our date in the village?"

"I was physically and mentally prepared for that. This time, I'm not! My hand is sweating like crazy!"

"Would you two cut out the flirting already?"

Subaru and Emilia looked behind them to find a familiar salesman smirking down at them.]

"Oh, it's the guy!" Mimi pointed while the adults around her flinched at the horrible memories the man brought.

"I hope we don't see him in a bad context again." Julius sighed as he stopped the images of his friend's death from playing in his mind once again.

["You're gonna drive away my customers." the man smirked at the couple.

Subaru waved his hand and looked at the man with sincerity. "After I came to make good on my promise? That's cold man."

The man smiled brightly. "Well, I'm glad you felt obligated to shop here now that you're not broke anymore. Here are the….APPLES (Fuck You) I promised." The man said while handing Subaru a paper bag filled with them.

Subaru and Emilia were walking down the streets. "Next will be Felt and Old Man Rom."

"I thought we'd wrapped things up without blame the first time, but then Reinhard's expression went dark, and then he took the girl away." Emilia sounded worried as she explained while holding her butler's hand.]

"Hmph!"

Felt huffed and looked away while Reinhard rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

["That makes it sound like kidnapping, or an abduction and confinement… Hot guys have really got it good." Subaru glared hatefully at the street that made him not sexy or hot.]

"Someone's jealous." Al chuckled. "Although I get it… anyone would be jealous of the Sword Saint."

"I don't understand how my looks could be something anyone should be jealous of." Reinhard tilted his head in confusion.

Julius just glared murderously at him from his seat.

He was almost… pouting.

["If we want to contact Reinhard, we should probably go to the guard station in front of the noblemen's district," Emilia muttered while looking up ahead.

"Emilia-tan, about the royal selection that starts tomorrow… "

Emilia quickly shot him down. "Subaru. What did I tell you? I brought you here to fulfill your promises and to get you healed. You don't have to worry about me."

Subaru looked a little saddened by this.]

"How did he end up at the castle then?" Ricardo asked in confusion as he had heard about the scuffle Subaru caused along with the entire city.

Emilia looked angry for some reason as she crushed Subaru's hand with hers.

Priscilla snorted.

Julius carried on watching. "She was warning you all this time… why couldn't you listen?"

[Scene changes to Emilia and Subaru looking at a huge building with really stunning designs all over its doors.

The two looked unsure if they should enter through the black-decorated door until a voice called out to them.

"Well, if it isn't Emilia-sama."

Subaru and Emilia looked at the person speaking and found a bowing handsome young man in white robes and decorated uniform.]

"Hm? You've met with Natsuki-kun before the palace incident?" Anastasia sounded genuinely surprised.

"Yes," Julius muttered with a hint of fondness, "Though only briefly."

["It's good to see you again. Have you been well since we last met?" The man gave an elegant smile as he bowed deeply to the elven princess.

"Yes, everything is basically the same." Emilia quickly faced the man with a smile and let Subaru's hand go.

"You also seem well, Julius."

"The mere fact that you remember me is an honor."

The young man knelt before the princess and looked up with shining yellow eyes. "You have only grown more beautiful, Emilia-sama."

Julius kissed the back of Emilia's hand….

Making Subaru glare with rage.]

"Ooofff!"

"Hahahah!"

Ricardo and Al winced at the look on the boy's face. While Felt laughed with Mimi at how jealous he was.

Emilia shook her head at her knight's idiocy.

Julius seemed to be in thought as he looked on. "Could it be… he did all of that because of me?" The knight carried on watching with a small frown as guilt began setting in.

"Ya had to be all knightley and stuff?" Anastasia whined in jealousy, toying with her blue scarf.

The elegant man just bowed his head to her.

["Thank you. Forgive me for asking so abruptly, but I have business here, and I'd like you to act as my agent in the castle."

Julius pointed at the rage-seething Subaru and smiled. "Does your business involve this young man?"

Subaru glared hatefully.

Julius grinned. "His character and attitude are ill-matched with his attire. That's no way to conduct yourself before one you've just met."

Subaru tried to smile through his jealousy-filled expression.

"Thanks for the warning! I've got a warning for you, too. You shouldn't eat curry udon in that suit. If soup splatters, the stains will really stand out."]

"…"

"…"

(Kill me.)

"De fuck is that?"

Otto shrugged and shook his head at the meeting between these two.

"Hmm, it seems your relationship was always sour from the very start, huh, Julius-kun?" Anastasia mused with a small smile.

Julius just shook his head and began lamenting on how he'd feel if he was in Subaru's same shoes.

"There must've been an exact reason for him to act so jealously and stupid here… But what is it?" Julius muttered and struggled to understand what had changed Subaru in this scene and in the castle.

"Subaru…" Emilia shook her head at the boy's jealous nature. She didn't like this aspect of her knight… is this why he broke his promise?

"Just for that?" Emilia asked softly in anger.

While the two were trying to piece this together, the others intended to give their own reactions.

"Cap'n's gotten a bit petty 'ere… I love it." Garfiel ended up smirking at the terrible attitude his hero was having. Frederica almost ended up slapping his head had she not been far away from him. She didn't wish her brother to be influenced by such behaviour.

Thankfully, and to her surprise, the gray-haired youth beside her brother came to her rescue.

"You shouldn't take Natuski-san's personality as a role model, bro. This will only lead to his ruin. You need to be someone that calls him out on his flaws and learns from his solutions."

"Eh?! When did ya become a wise ass?" Garfiel grunted, personally attacked by the lecturing tone Otto used on him.

The merchant only winked at him smugly.

Frederica watched this with a small smile of surprise dorning her lips.

[Julius decided to destroy the silence by being the bigger asshole of the three and gave an understanding expression. "I don't know what curry udon is, but I will keep that in mind. Now, allow me to show you to the conference mirrors."

As Julius moved to speak with the guardsmen, Subaru asked Emilia what a conference mirror was?

"It's a metia that allows you to talk with someone through two mirrors facing each other."

"Ah, mirrors… How very magical." Subaru grinned and moved to step towards the building, only to be stopped by Emilia.

"Subaru, wait here. I don't think it would be a pleasant experience for you."

"I've already had an experience that wasn't pleasant." Subaru clenched his fist and glared at Julius. "That bastard, licking all over your cute little hand as if he owned it… "

Subaru gritted his teeth in anger.]

"He seems… "

"A little too upset?"

Frederica nodded with Petra as they both felt really uncomfortable with how Subaru was acting.

Everybody was.

"Do they have a different manner of communication in Natsuki-kun's home?" Anastasia asked curiously. She kept her eyes on the front row, expecting Beatrice to be the one to answer her question.

But to her surprise, it was the royal Duchess who informed her of the knowledge she seeked.

"Natsuki's metia, the 'cell fone' as he called it, is what he used to communicate with in the other world. I think this was brought up in the very first viewing session."

"Ah, I forgot that little bit. I think I had other things in mind that kept me from memorizing these fascinating advancements," Anastasia smiled wryly.

Crusch gave her a knowing casual smirk, "Lucky for you, someone did keep it in mind."

The merchant held her scarf a little too tightly. It even seemed to be moving away from her hand.

["I'll try to come back before things run too long. Be good and wait, okay? Please?"

Emilia begged as she entered through the building.

Scene changes to Subaru sitting on a street ledge with a miserable look on his face.

"I look so pathetic."]

"That's normal, what's the true problem?" Some chuckled at Ram's snappish remark.

"I think you all should keep quiet," Priscilla's voice boomed over them, making a few glare at the woman.

[Subaru looked around and instantly honed in on a fiery-haired lady in a red and black dress getting pulled into an alleyway.]

"Hm? He meets Barielle this early?" Crusch mused in surprise.

Anastasia and Emilia leaned in to see what this meeting was about.

["Huh?"

Subaru quickly stands up. "That's a bold thing to do in front of a guard station. It's darkest at the foot of the lighthouse, I guess."

Scene change to… The three thieves from Arc 1 are surrounding the lady.

[AN: The next few long scenes are excerpts from the novel that were cut in the anime. I took liberty in adding these with a few edits to set for good reactions. In case you guys are wondering why this episode has scenes that weren't there in the director's cut.]]

"Are ya serious?!"

"I haaaaaate these guys!"

Felt facepalmed in embarrassment as those three were members of her camp.

["Don't screw around with us!"

"Want us to mess up that pretty face of yours?"

The lady simply smiled. "Don't make such a racket, commoners. Fools with no character pick fights for the most foolish reasons."

As the lady faced the three idiots, Subaru suddenly entered the alleyway and yelled out. "Sorry I'm late, honey!" Subaru suddenly walks inbetween the thieves and stands beside the lady. "It looks like there's been a bit of trouble, but remember who I am and cut me some slack. Come on, let's go."]

"Bold!" Ricardo and Garfiel laughed at the stupid plan their brother had made while Otto was rolling on the floor.

Emilia and Rem scowled at the way he called Priscilla honey.

[Subaru tried to get the lady out of the alleyway by grabbing her hand.

He failed to see her scarlet eyes glaring hatefully at him.

"Do not touch me as if you know me!" The lady quickly slammed Subaru's entire body into a wall.

"Cliffhanger…" Subaru uttered as he slid down the wall beside the bag of fallen Apples. (-_-)]

"He was trying to help you, I suppose!" Beatrice glared spitefully at the princess.

"I don't know what toilet you were raised in, but a commoner should not touch a god such as myself."

Beatrice and Priscilla glared at one another with disdain and hatred.

Rem, Emilia, and Crusch were also glaring up at the fiery woman.

["I don't want drooling commoners following me around." The lady glared at the boy with disgust as she opened her fan.

Subaru stood up and glared at the woman. "Figure out what's going on! It was supposed to be the classic scenario where I save a girl from hoodlums! Oh…"

Subaru slowly turned from the woman and to the three thieves… "Are you three the ones from the capital?"

"We met this guy in the alley behind the shopping district."

"It's the brat from back then?"

Subaru quickly leaned forward with a smooth smile on his face. "So, for my sake, could you just let us-"

"Are you dumb? This just makes it three on two, instead of three on one."

Subaru's smile was filled with unease but his expression soon turned to panic as the lady beside him spoke in a bored tone.

"You should correct that… It isn't three on two, but three on one on one."

"Would you be quiet for a second?!"]

"I don't know how she didn't kill him for that." Al shook his helmeted head in relief.

"I think it's hilarious how he treats candidates to the royal throne so brashly." Anastasia thought out loud while watching with a smile.

"Hm, he didn't know that Baraille was a candidate during this moment though," Crusch interjected, unimpressed.

Anastasia shrugged, "Then that means he treats all of the girls he meets in this way don't it?"

While the mischievous merchant and the unimpressed militarist were having this mundane discussion, the crimson baroness above glanced towards them.

For some reason, Priscilla found herself interested in what was being said about her interaction with Subaru.

"Do ya even remember this meeting with him, Princess?" Her knight seemed forward in his thinking, which decently surprised the matriarch.

"Mh… I do not remember such a meeting," Priscilla looked startled for the first time, "How did you-"

"Find out? I can see you're nervous, that never happens."

The baroness snorted to herself, eyes narrowing on the man, "You'd best be careful, Aldebaran. Mineself's mercy isn't far reaching like your attitude."

The knight met Priscilla's seething threat with a careless shrug. "I only meant to help, Princess. I think you should look into why you forgot about Pal's meeting with you in these slums. He's trying to help you here."

"Hmph! That pig is merely slobbering for mine's beauty," the scarlet princess huffed while airing her fan.

"I mean sure," Al shrugs, keeping his uncaring tone, "Pal may have thought of you as a damsel, but isn't that kind of heroic? He still wanted to save someone he didn't know."

At this, Priscilla's frown turns to a snarl, "Al… There is no such thing as heroic in this world. This pig does everything for his own gain."

The knight shrugged underneath her fiery gaze.

"Whatever you say… He's too stupid to not prove you wrong anyway," Al mutters under his breath.

[Subaru glared at the three while thinking to himself.

I have no choice. This is the last trick I wanted to use, but…

Subaru quickly placed his hands in his pockets and leaned closer towards the three.

"Just so you know, I know Reinhard-san. If I call for him, he'll come running!" Subaru stared degenerately at the three making them flinch back.

Secret Technique: Fox in Tiger's Clothing!

The effect was immediate, and Subaru forced himself to act like a big shot to cow them further.

"So what'll it be, guys? One shout and he'll make mincemeat out of you with his bare hands."

It was a desperate bluff, but the men gritted their teeth resentfully.

"W-we'll let you. This time."

"Remember this, it's not like you beat us or anything!"

"And it's not like we're scared of Reinhard's name or anything!"]

"Pfft, cowards," Felt snorts at the trio, not showing her shame for taking them into her employment. Others like the Duchess and the merchant queen seemed to chuckle at the pathetic sight.

While Julius and Felix seemed to frown.

"Isn't it cowardly for him to use Reinhard's friendship like that, nyan?" Felix murmurs, looking at his red-haired friend in sympathy.

"... I suppose that's a way of dealing with them," Julius grumples, disliking the whole unmannerly way Subaru dealt with the thieves.

"I don' care, this was still smart of 'em," Garfiel received an encouraging nod from Otto, and even Emilia herself who heard what Felix said and pouted.

"I don't have a problem with it," Reinhard surprised the two knights, "I'm pretty honored to have him use my name to protect innocents. That's just like him."

"Good grief," Felix shook his head and rested a cheek on his fist.

[The men immediately fled the alley, their weak, stereotypical parting shots only enhancing their petty crook image. Only when they had completely gone did Subaru exhale deeply.

Somehow he'd ridden the crisis out.

Now if he could only get the girl to soften just a little—

"What? Are those the eyes of a beggar? You shall receive nothing from me, commoner."

"They are not. Well, would it kill you to thank me for saving you at least?"

"Save?" The girl inclined her head slightly with a mystified expression. She closed her eyes, sinking into thought, and let out a small sigh when she arrived at an answer.

"So that prattling of yours earlier was meant to save me. Mm, I had not noticed."

"You didn't notice?! This sets new standards for dense, you know?!"

"Do not misunderstand. No difficulty would have befallen me even without your help. I can only marvel at your taking pride in resolving something that was not a problem to begin with."

"I don't know what you mean, so what do you mean? I mean what, like, okay, you're super-strong, so you'd have been fine even if I hadn't saved you?"

"Not at all. It is far simpler.—This world is composed solely for my convenience. Nothing occurs that is not to my benefit. It is thanks to me that I was saved, yet you attempt to claim this as your own exploit. Have you no shame at stealing credit from another?"]

"Eh? This girl is way too arrogant!" Otto seemed genuinely shocked at Priscilla's attitude. Many in the crowd couldn't believe how entitled this lady was, Anastasia and Crusch went so far as to shake their heads at the scene. Even Felix seemed to look sympathetic to Subaru's blight.

"She's not so bad..." Felt almost had whiplash from how fast she turned at this sentence.

"Sis?" Felt almost shouted heatedly at the silver-haired lady beside her.

Emilia twiddles her thumbs, not being comfortable under Beatrice and Rem's scrutiny, and not liking how fast Felt was ready to question her.

"I-I mean… She's nicer here than most of the times I see her talking… So..."

"Priscilla-sama is showing him kindness, I think?" Julius tried to explain from his seat. His expression showed how unconvinced he was in his own argument, "Truth is, I see something else in those eyes."

"Yes, I can see it too," Garfiel grumbled, "She's still actin' like a b-"

Before Frederica could chastise her brother's filthy mouth, the merchant beside him took care of the job for her.

"Sh! Do you want us to go to war?! Don't go around insulting random members of other camps, the royals no less!" Otto hissed as he slapped his hat into Garf's face.

Frederica grinned at the gray-haired youth, brightly.

Meanwhile, above them all, Al was staring at the screen slack-jawed.

"Damn, Princess! You didn't kill him instantly?" he laughs, almost smugly to his liege's discontent,"I thought you were disgusted by his very essence? Why are ya still there?"

Priscilla seemed taken aback. Her lips parted without a single sound coming out. The baroness stayed there, looking confused for a few more seconds before her lips were covered by her fan.

"This is interesting..." Was all she whispered before settling her crimson eyes on the screen.

Al couldn't get a read on his lady's intentions or feelings towards this, but he could see how much interest this entire interaction sprung inside of Priscilla. The knight himself was curious why his lady had forgotten she had such a meeting with his pal? Not to mention the vale of confusion that surrounded her aura. He can sense her interest in the meeting by looking at her. Just her feelings and intentions were unclear, as always. Priscilla was no common rose.

[With one blatant forward thrust of her bountiful breasts, the girl was asserting, as if it was natural as if it was obvious as if it was common sense—that she was absolute.

"Th-that so. My bad for being too big for my britches. Sorry to interrupt. Bye now." Subaru turned and began walking away from the arrogant lady, his mind was telling him to run away but a sudden call stopped him.]

"I don't think you can blame his rudeness here, Emilia-sama," Frederica defended Subaru on instinct, finding his situation undesirable for needing to interact with such an arrogant royal in the streets.

"Why are you talking to me?" Emilia pointed to herself, turning to the blonde maid with a confused expression, "I don't have a problem with Subaru ending his interaction there. He seemed to be reeeeaally uncomfortable."

Emilia found some of the crowd shaking their heads towards her.

"What's up with ya?" Felt question, irritated by the washed treatment Emilia was receiving. As if she was a child.

It was Julius who answered, to the nods of Felix and Ram, "Subaru shouldn't walk away from a noble before she dismisses him. He could be punished severely if it wasn't for the mercy of Barialle-sama."

Rem bit her lip and looked concerned for a moment. While Beatrice held a glare of contempt at the knight.

Emilia was the only one of them that showed deep rooted annoyance at Julius by shunning him with a pout.

"Was it mercy, princess?" Al humored, looking at his liege.

He was quite surprised to find Priscilla sitting at the edge of her seat, with a deep frown on her delicate features.

"What is this?" she questioned, in an odd tone.

["—Wait."

"Wh-what?"

"What is in that bag there? Show me."

The girl strolled around him, nodding to indicate that Subaru should put down the bag. He didn't want to oblige, but defying her would only prolong things, so Subaru reluctantly opened the bag and showed its contents—a mountain of ripe, red fruit.

"I do not recognize them. These fruits… What are they?"

"They're, um, apples. The fruit of knowledge. Never seen one before?"]

"Figures," Felt snorted, brave enough to slight the scarlet royal without abandon, "That lady probably never seen an untouched appa in her life."

"I'm sure it isn't like that..." Emilia's kindness defended, but the silence in the room was overwhelming.

Al was sweating nervously at the weird looks his lady was getting from the children of the room. The little maid with the red bowtie was almost staring at the baroness in pity.

It was all fucked. Al would certainly have to jump in the way of the kids to keep them from Priscilla's rage. His lady wouldn't take kindly to their gazes upon her.

"Relax, Aldebaran."

Even though her voice was aimed to be soothing, it only unsettled him more. She wasn't even angry with the crowd below her, in fact, she was more focused on the happenings of the screen instead.

Weird… Is she bothered by her not remembering this meeting?

[Blinking at his reply, the girl snorted as she looked at Subaru like he was an imbecile.

"You lie. Do not make me laugh. apples are white, understand? I have absolutely never seen fruits such as these."

Astonished, Subaru replied, "Well, they're white when you peel them…"

It was the girl's turn to stare blankly.

He remarked, "Wait, don't tell me you've never seen an apple that hasn't been peeled…?"]

"I knew it," Felt snorted in disgust. Emilia frowned, deeply disturbed by the sheer luxury Priscilla seemed to be living in.

"I do suppose that attitude of hers required a very easy life, in fact," Beatrice also jabbed.

"Did she really live such a hard life? She couldn't see an unpeeled appa?" Petra asks her mentor, who only gave an amused smile.

"No. It means she's lived a very fulfilling life where fruits came upon her freshly prepared, Petra-chan."

"Eh?! That's so spoiled! I wish I could be a princess like her~" the little one held her cheeks adorably as she imagined her fantasy.

"Like the little one's said, figures." Anastasia had the dignity not to snort like Felt, but the merchant did have an expression of contempt at the description of Priscilla's origin.

"Someone like that has no right to be so arrogant," Tivey felt encouraged to voice out by his master's words.

"I can't find it in me but to feel angry," Mimi murmurs, her happy expression drooping to a low frown.

"It feels scummy… Someone like her having everything in the world," Rem was content to follow Felt's action in showing her distaste for the lady in red.

"Nya~ I can't believe that someone so unworthy would want to lead our kingdom and challenge my Crusch-sama, nya~!" The glowing cat boy was boasting in delight, loving the attitude held against Priscilla.

Felix's attitude was surprisingly recorperated by Ram's snort, who was simply glaring at the screen in disdain and disgust.

Although she was agreeing with the catboy about Priscilla being unworthy, not the whole thing about his master's ability.

That aspect of his attitude was instantly shot down by someone unexpected, "I respect your personal opinions to be your own, but that is no honor bound attitude that someone of your status must hold, Felix."

Everyone's chatter stopped, the booming voice of the elegant knight held the crowd's attention.

"Nya~? Isn't that how you feel about your own master, Julius-kun~?" Felix looked at the knight with a stiff smile. Not liking the way Julius' stare was hardened upon him.

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. My attitude towards my master is loyal and gracious," the knight's stare turned to a narrowed look, "But your attitude is nothing short of obsession if you think slandering a royal lady in front of her knight is chivalrous."

Felix's eyes widened, his blanched expression was quickly covered by an angry glare aimed right for the knight, "Aren't ya taking this a bit too far, Julius-kun? I mean everyone else has been letting their feelings known, nya~"

The catboy felt even more encouraged when Felt came to his argument's defense, "Ya, what's the big deal? Or are ya aiming to beat down someone else for being human?" Felt growled toward Julius, resentment clear in her eyes.

She ignored the tight grip her knight had on her wrist. "Lady Felt..." Reinhard hissed, but his lady was uncooperative.

Julius met the royal girl's anger with a simple bow of his head and a humble expression, "Whatever your feelings may be about myself, Lady Felt. I am only adhering to my teachings and knightly code. And being one of the greatest healers of our time, and an honorary royal knight nonetheless, Felix mustn't act so bitterly."

"So? You will beat him down and anyone like him just for saying the truth?!" Felt's glare grew fiery, her knight's grip uselessly hardened upon her wrist.

Julius offered her no other answer than, "It's not my place to say what the truth is, but the knight's position in a camp is an incredible honor. Someone that uses it to sadistically slight anyone who annoys him or his master is no more than a fool that perverts our code."

"Are you talking about Big Bro?!" Felt's rage was now barren with all of its ambition. She had one booted foot over the seat before a loud commanding voice broke the little one out of her wrath.

"Lady Felt!"

The blonde girl stopped her ascent over the chair and looked to the seat where Crusch sat. Situated between Aastasia's camp and Felt's glare.

Felt's crimson rage met with Crusch's ambered steeled determination.

As the fireball of a princess and hardened Duchess faced off, the matriarch of the two broke the ice by her commanding tone.

"Do not assume I, or anyone in my camp, can do as we please. We have honor bound etiquette that mustn't be violated."

At Crusch's slighting voice, Felix could only flinch and ball in on himself with a frustrated look on his face.

Felt however, threw the steely militarist a great growl.

"I don't care about any of that. I can't let this arrogant guy go around preaching shit whenever he please-"

"I understand you have a lot to say about Juukilius and his way of doing things. But I think you are using my knight's fight to impulsively show your frustration with what happened to Subaru Natsuki in the palace."

The blonde girl seemed to lose some of her anger, the flinch she gave told of Crusch's splendid read on Felt's true intentions.

Julius didn't hold any eye contact with anyone, only looking down at the floor once his deed against Subaru was brought up.

Crusch continued with an unimpressed glare on both Felt and the blanched Felix.

"I understand your anger, I may not even agree with how that situation went down. But please make sure to not give in to your frustration about it so easily. You would've caused unnecessary trouble for Julius when he's already made peace with Natsuki Subaru. Not to mention that you were defending Ferris' wrong doing just to spite Julius." The duchess had chivalry and honor in her voice. Julius gave the woman a deep bow, his expression spilled nothing but his closed fist could be seen as a sign of how deeply the woman's words affected him. Especially when she reminded of his deed against Subaru or the fact that they made up.

"... Tck!" Felt unclenched her fists and pridefully turned away from the woman's sight, sitting back in her seat where Reinhard was giving her a disappointed glance.

"Shut up," she growled. Her knight shook his head silently, obeying her command only because he noticed a few tears in her eyes.

Not done, the diligent lady in blue turned toward her own knight, a gaze filled with disappointment shot Felix like an arrow tipped with poison.

"You will apologize to Barialle-sama, and Julius Juukilous before the next viewing begins."

The healer's eyes widened, having his heart beat heavily from the fear his lady's glare had settled into him, "B-But-"

"Doing so would please me greatly."

Crusch didn't have the heart to even look at the boy's crushed expression before she moved her seat away from him and sat with Wilhelm taking the spot between them.

The old butler didn't give his partner a second glance, more concerned with the screen. His mistress decided to follow his example and cross her arms to focus on the screen comfortably.

With Felix falling to shocked silence, Otto looked at Garfiel as the blonde continuously tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it Garf-san?" the merchant asked tiredly, not liking the tension in the air.

"Was that lady talking about the event Cap'n always soured over?" Garfiel's expression was greatly interested, Otto knew the tiger would surely jump towards Crusch and ask her himself if no one answered him.

"Indeed, this was also Natsuki-san's first meeting with that purple-haired knight there," Otto nodded and pointed towards Julius.

"Ya think Cap'n and him are real friends?"

"Yeah. Looking at Julius-san's attitude, and Natsuki-san's constant tales about him, they are strong friends… Or should be." Otto's bright smile slowly turned to a small unsure frown.

"Hm," Garfiel hummed, unamused and leaned back in his seat. Finished for now.

Seeing the tense situation down below, Al couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. He was holding on to his armrest so harshly his fingers left embeds on the wood.

"Damn, people love to talk about nothing, huh?" Al looked towards his own lady, feeling a hint of rage towards all those who voiced wrongfully concocted opinions about the scarlet baroness and her origins.

"Just cuz she doesn't have apples on the constant doesn't fucking mean she's never been through hardship or didn't suffer like most."

The knight's growl wasn't heard for it was in his own mind, but he could see that at least Priscilla didn't pay them any heed.

Sadly, his princess was all too used to being treated as the menace of the pack. She didn't even give their squabbles another thought. Just kept her eyes on the screen even while it paused for the group to finish their infighting.

He could only thank the lords above that she was so occupied with whatever it was she was thinking about. Less they all would've been fried to the point of charcoal by her anger.

"Hm," Priscilla's beautiful eyes widened rapidly, a small pleased smile showed on her face, "Mineself has remembered that fool's action. I must punish him once he wakes. That appa was unwashed!"

She was like an unfocused kitten. Or a kitten that was too focused on herself alone.

"Come on, princess!"

"Shut it, Aldebaran."

["Mm, I have indeed never seen one that was not at the dinner table.—Very well. Hand them over."

Nodding in satisfaction, the girl audaciously demanded he gives up his apples.

Subaru looked at her in bewilderment, clenching the bag tightly.

"Hand them over. I shall split one open and see for myself. Or is it only lies that dribble from your lips?"

"…Handle with care, okay?" Judging resistance to be the fool's choice, Subaru took an apple out of the bag and placed it in her hand. The girl took the apple, turning it around as if studying the sensation upon her palm.

Then, her left hand flashed toward the apple—neatly severing it vertically and horizontally into four equal pieces.

The girl licked the fruit juice off her fingers, satisfied at the cross-section.

"Sweet and sour… Certainly, this is the taste of an apple. I will spare your life."]

"Eh?!" Otto broke the tense silence by exclaiming out loud, "I thought she might actually be decent here, but to threaten someone's life outta the blue? Nevermind me then."

By chuckling nervously, the merchant boy melted away some of the distress on many nerves in the room. Ricardo and Mimi stifled snickers at the obvious nervousness in the boy's broken voice.

Garfield sighed and patted his friend's back absentmindedly.

"Ya don't have t' act like a clown to relax 'em." The tiger pointed toward the crowd sitting in behind them, a knowing grin on his brutish face.

Otto didn't acknowledge his friend's statement, only sighing and focusing back towards the screen.

["Spare my… No, never mind. Anyway, you're satisfied now, I take it?"

"Ab-so-lute-ly not!"

Her statement, crossing the line from arrogant behavior to tyrannical, made even Subaru erupt in indignation.

"You don't even care that you sliced one up out of the blue. Why do I have to give you all of them? These apples aren't just apples. They're the bonds between two men!"

"Enough prattle. How about this?" The girl pointed at the bag, her lips cracking into a wry smile.

"We shall wager for them."

"—Wager?"

"Yes, a simple wager. Something easy, flipping a coin and guessing whether it is heads or tails. A single apple shall rest upon each attempt. How about it?"

She was proposing a contest, but all Subaru could do was laugh at her suggestion.]

"You seem really stuck on taking what's Subaru's, I suppose," Beatrice narrowed her eyes, her voice cold as ice which surprised the maid that was sitting beside her.

"I don't find this fair at all!" Petra seemed to ignore her mentor's glare.

"That's how the world works," Tivey shrugs at the little maid, "Some royals are just tyrants that wish to take all of your pleasures."

"Hey now," Mimi intervenes, "She's offering for him to play a game with her. That's way better than what most royals might do!"

"I'm surprised by how smart that sounds from you…" Tivey blinks in disbelief.

His sister blows a raspberry at him.

"Subaru can still refuse," Emilia found herself commenting, glancing at Beatrice nervously.

The spirit only snorts with displeasure.

["You just say the darndest things. Why would I agree to that in the first place? There's nothing in that gamble for me. I can just run like heck out of here!"

"Of course, I shall have something worth winning at the ready. Let's see…"]

"See? She's at least fairer than we expected!" Emilia beamed. She seemed at least relieved that Subaru wasn't being bullied by an arrogant royal while under her watch. Not that she wasn't expecting someone like Priscilla to abuse the poor boy out of his apples.

"At least she's being nicer here, odd." Rem was looking apprehensive. Her shy voice was surprisingly soothing for the spirit and half-elf.

On the other end, Anastasia and Crusch were locked in their own conversation.

"What do ya think this girl will offer him?" Anastasia sounded mischievous in the way she asked.

Crusch's eyebrow raised, unamused.

"I doubt it will be something honorable."

Anastasia pursed her lips and looked extremely disappointed with the Duchess' lacking banter.

"I suppose she will think that licking her shoes may be adequate as a gift?" The Duchess surprised her by cheekily murmuring with a smirk.

Anastasia grinned right back, her teeth bared.

"Think Natsuki-kun will agree to such a term?"

Crusch's smirk turned to an amused smile, "You really want a bet this badly, Hoshin-san?"

The company head cupped her cheek with a gloved palm, "Ya know how a gal can be sometimes. Ladies just wanna have excitement."

"Alright," Crusch rested her chin on a knuckle, "If Natsuki loses to the baroness and adheres to polishing her shoes, I will owe you something."

"Oh? You stand by Natsuki-kun? Surprising."

At this, Crusch frowns deliberately, "At this moment of his journey? Knowing what he's about to do to himself, I might take a risk and support him."

"'cause of sympathy?" Anastasia raises a brow.

"No," Crusch sternly denied, "Because someone has to."

"... Eh, nobles are amazing in that aspect. Supporting hopeless things." Anastasia turns away from the Duchess, drawing an ideological line between them.

"Very well..." Anastasia mutters, an easy smile on her face, "let's have fun. I bet Natsuki will lose t' Baroness-san."

The two ladies layed out their bets with an atmosphere of enjoyment and uneasy alignment hanging over them.

You can say the two may even have found partnership between each other's flaws.

[The girl touched her tongue to her lips as she sank into thought. She shifted her bewitching eyes toward Subaru, lifting up her ample bosom with her crossed arms.

"Should you win the wager, you may touch my breasts. How about it?"]

Several instances of displeasure and amazement rang through the watching crowds…

"This is preposterous, I suppose!" Beatrice stood on top of Subaru's legs and glared towards the scarlet harlot in disdain. Though the extremely red cheeks made the spirit look less intimidating than she wished to be.

"Has she no shame?!" Frederica whispered in shock, she kept a hand over Petra's mouth to keep the little one from speaking about this. The little girl was blushing hard and looked like she wanted to be swallowed by the floor.

"I don't suppose she does..." Wilhelm commented, a hint of bafflement showed in his tone before he settled his eyesight elsewhere from the screen.

"I'm surprised it ain't something degrading," Anastasia boredly keens.

The Duchess from beside her was looking unimpressed as well, "It is disappointing that I don't find this behaviour surprising. Is she confident enough to believe selling her body like that to be justified?" Crusch questioned in a firm manner of tone and expression. Her eyes were narrowed in distaste.

Anastasia shrugged and appeared unbothered by the whole thing. "A bet's a bet. So if Natsuki-kun wins, he'll be winning a treasure~" The merchant teased, knowingly getting on multiple women's nerves.

"My lady, please..." Julius sighed and nudged his nose tiredly.

"Eh, ya gotta be dumb not to take that deal though," Ricardo shrugs, a wolfish grin on his beastial face aimed for Subaru on the screen.

"I find this quite uncomfortable," Tivey mutters in disdain while his sister only shrugged.

"I'd like to think Barusu won't be tempted… But then again, he's the king of perverts so I wouldn't be surprised, he~…" Ram snorts at her own joke, enraging Beatrice and Crusch enough to make both ladies glare toward her.

"I don't suppose that will be true, sister," Rem gracefully answers her sister with a casual tone. However the blue-eyed girl was fiercely focused on the screen, muttering, "...I wouldn't hate to see how much he likes a big bosom though."

Another enraged scoff of disgust sounded from the elegant spirit standing upon Subaru's motionless legs. It seems Beatrice could feel Rem's true intention without the maid needing to voice it loudly enough.

"Ya wouldn't find it in your heart to deny this one eh?" Garfiel nudges Otto with a sly smirk. The cheeky 14 year-old was willfully aware of the effect this question would have on someone as introverted as Otto. Quite the sad existence for a merchant whose job is to sell goods based on his charisma.

"E-Eh?! WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THAT?!" Otto slaps his hat on Garfeil's smug face, blushing furiously.

Frederica let out a small smile at the merchant's useless babbling with her brother.

"He's somewhat soothing to look at when he's so nervous. How weird…"

Meanwhile, Emilia was staring at the screen with large eyes, "Th-That's so shameful… Sooooo impure!"

Contrary to how stern she sounded, the half-elf was nothing but a gushing red and it showed all across her facial features and her pointy ear tips.

Her lips were pursed in an attempt to contain the plethora of embarrassed emotion she was feeling over something so mundane.

"This is dirty and Subaru wouldn't partake in such a thing!"

"Sammer down, filthy Witchling scum. Mine self is busy understanding what's being shown to me." Priscilla didn't even acknowledge the world around her except for these words aimed for Emilia.

"Princess… Did she piss you off by saying you were impure?" Al bravely traded his life for a stupid question.

To which his lady only replied by softly palacating his helmet with her palm, and sending him crashing to the carpet floor with a push so powerful his head cracked through the wooden floor.

Placing her foot upon his head, Priscilla spat, "No one in this world calls me impure, Aldebaran. Now stay quiet."

The man under her couldn't even reply from how deeply he was dug.

Ignoring the glares she got after her insult from Emilia, Priscilla turned her stare from her shoe to the screen once again. She also ignored Emilia's confused look.

"What did she mean by 'understand what's happening'? Shouldn't she already know this part?" Emilia whispered to herself, having a bad feeling.

[Subaru sighed and looked down with a forlorn expression. The girl gave Subaru a slightly suspicious glance, perhaps wondering what was taking him so long. With that gaze bearing down on him, Subaru told her exactly what he thought.

"You need to take better care of yourself. That's crazy talk… And you can't seduce me with that look!"

—And so, Subaru found himself still in the alley, having lost seven straight bets.

"That makes seven wins for me. There are only three apples left, you know?"

"No way! You're robbing me blind!"]

"Of course he would give in..." Felix reluctantly voices in the weakest of voices.

His mistress wasn't even paying attention to him, her amber eyes were glaring daggers of disappointment towards the screen.

"I expected better from Sir Natsuki. It appears I was mistaken about his chivalry," the Duchess' downward opinion of Subaru was hurtful to hear for even her own knight.

"Lady Crusch… You can't possibly think badly of him just for accepting a challenge made by a beautiful lady… That is quite unreasonable."

However, Wilhelm's interjection simply didn't matter for the stern militarist as she settled on deeply glaring at the back end of Subaru's head.

Wilhelm started to rub his hand, appearing uncomfortable. "That jealousy is not a good look on you, Crusch-sama..."

"Can't believe he's losin'! That's our apple pack, Cap'n!" Garfiel curses with a raised fist, not taking such blasphemy. Otto shook his head at his weird friend.

"We aren't there, Garf-san..."

"We should be!" Rem found herself interjecting brazelly with a half pout half death glare.

"I'm sorry, but him losing here is just too funny! Hehehe!" Mimi holds her armrest and rests her head on her hands to hide her face as she chuckles many times.

"I hope he doesn't win!" Emilia, returning to a blushing mess, found herself wishing great shame on her knight in the secret sanctuary of her mind. "Please let him lose and regret this. Please, please, please..."

"Don't wish badly of my contractor just because you have a smaller bosom, in fact!"

Emilia couldn't acknowledge how hurtful Beatrice's comment was. She just ignored the nasty spirit and brought her boot-clad knees up so she could hide her face from the world.

["Now, then."

The girl picked up one of the apples lying before her and deposited it into the bag at her side. Subaru was down to his last two chips, so to speak.

"Now you know what happens to those who challenge me. I am the pinnacle, and you are suited only to wriggling around at the bottom."

"Hey, isn't it a little extreme to treat me as the bottom of the pyramid just because I'm losing? Pride comes before the fall, you know…a fall to rock bottom!"

"You may rest easy. All is rock bottom except for me. The world has me, and all else is beneath."

Subaru wanted to refute her irrational logic, but that would only make him sound like a sore loser.

"Now then, what shall we do next? If you do not trust your luck at coin flips, a different wager is fine."

"Oh, now you've done it… I'm down in the bottom of the ninth, but I propose we do rock-paper-scissors!"]

Priscilla found herself grunting at this mention. "That name ireks me… What is it?"

The scarlet lady found herself alone, no one answered her question.

She actually found herself missing the monkey's voice. Now if only this weird thing under her shoe would stop struggling and die already…

["Rock, paper, scissors…?"

When the girl raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term, it gave Subaru a tiny ray of hope.]

"You don't even know that game?!" Petra gasped, her hands on her cheeks.

Others around the girl just shook their heads or gave unimpressed grunts, already accepting of Priscilla's nature.

["Rock-paper-scissors is a way to settle things. At the signal, you make a shape with your hand, and the stronger shape wins. There're three shapes: rock, paper, and scissors. Paper beats rock, scissors beats paper, rock beats scissors. Understand?"

"Oh, yes, I understand. A rather amusing game, it would seem. What is this signal?"

"Well, when you finish saying rock-paper-scissors, you show your hand when you get to the 'scissors' part. Oh, and if you both show the same hand, you say rock-paper-scissors again as the signal and do it over on the spot."

"That is all there is to it? Very well. I shall go with paper."

"You're already showing your hand?!"

Subaru shuddered at the breathtaking speed with which she strategized.]

"That does sound amusing… I don't know why it still annoys mineself however," Priscilla grumbled into her fan, moving at the edge of her seat to lean closer in anticipation for what's to come.

"Eh, think he's got something up his sleeve?" Anastasia casually inquired of a stern Crusch.

The Duchess only gave a firm hmph.

[She said to him, "Let us begin, then. Rock…paper…"

Subaru felt nervous about falling behind.

"Ah, wait, time-out. I haven't decided what I'm gonna go with ye—"

With his thoughts still in a jumble, the girl reached the signal and raised her hand high

"—scissors!"

The girl's hand indicated paper, just as she had proclaimed. Subaru's hand was rock. She commented, "It would seem that you owe me another apple, complaints about the method notwithstanding."

"It's not that! Statistically, people subconsciously keep their hand closed when they're tossed into rock-paper-scissors without warning! Ugh, I'm such an idiot!"

The strategist had been defeated by his own scheme. Subaru certainly looked defeated as he handed the girl her apple.

—With this, Subaru was down to his very last apple.]

"Such a bad position to be in… I would say I feel bad… but knowing what he is allowed should he win, I can't lie," Julius nods his head, having a small smile at the sheer ludicrous situation itself.

"Yes!" Emilia cheered brightly, her fist raised, which prompted Garfiel, Beatrice, and Ricardo to glare at the half-elf's low consumption of culture.

While Felt just grumbled with a sour face from beside her, "This is just stupid. Big Bro can touch all the breasts he wants."

At this, Emilia frowned at the little blonde sternly, almost mother-like. "That won't be tolerated from my knight. He reeeally should get that thought or any others like it removed from his head."

Felt only snorts, "Then ya don't know Big Bro that well. He ain't gonna be gutsy enough to hack the deal even if he won."

"You mean Subaru isn't playing this to win and touch Brialle-sama's bosom?" Emilia questioned with a finger on her lip.

Felt facepalms at the buffoonery.

"Just ferget it! He's gonna play anyways."

"R-Right!"

["Now, let us gamble for the last apple and bring this to a conclusion, shall we?"

"You wouldn't show mercy on me and let me keep the last one, would you?"

"All the apples you carried belong to me. Leaving one in your hands is the same as leaving you all. It is all or nothing. That being the case, we may as well gamble for all the apples on the final round. That goes for both of us," the girl added, meaning it would be her ten apples against Subaru's one. It was truly emblematic of the girl's ruinous, high-stakes way of thinking.

He asked, "—How about rock-paper-scissors for the last one, too?"

"I have already made my decision. All that remains is for you to choose the method and present me with my apple."]

"He doesn't seem wary that he's gonna lose," Tivey raised his brow.

"Maybe he has a gamble? A last-minute trick?" Mimi loudly inquired.

"This is just stupid. Why are we wasting time…?" Felix muttered in a low disgruntled voice.

"Shh~!" Anastasia and Frederica joined in on the shushing of the healer. He ended up blushing bright red.