CHAPTER 3

A FOUR-HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD CRY

1

When Subaru passed through the gate, slipping through the front courtyard, he looked up at the sun overhead.

Its position in the sky was a bit inclined to the west. Based on that, the time seemed to be a little past noon.

Roughly half a day since leaving the Sanctuary, Subaru emitted a light sigh as he finally arrived before the majestic facade of Roswaal Manor. It was a sigh of relief that he’d at least made it safely that far.

“Could you not show me such a flabbergasted-looking face?”

“…I am not flabbergasted whatsoever. I am merely surprised at your exceedingly quick return.”

Saying this was a tall, golden-haired woman whose jade eyes were open wide—Frederica. Coming out to receive the arriving guest, she was beside herself when she noticed it was Subaru in the entryway. From her point of view, he’d returned after only a single day, a virtual somersault. It was natural for her to be surprised.

—However, to Subaru, his time away had been one of repeated upheaval.

“I have a reason for the quick turnaround… It relates to you, too.”

“…And so you have returned alone? You did not bring Lady Emilia with you?”

“You know full well why Emilia can’t leave the Sanctuary, right? You don’t need to put on an act. I think you’ll find I’ve returned a lot better informed than you might assume.”

Tension was gripping Frederica, something Subaru intended to relieve as he raised both of his hands. He didn’t want to spark any fruitless arguments. His suspicions about Frederica had already been cleared up once before.

He believed she was positively uninvolved in both the raid on the mansion and the calamity occurring in the Sanctuary.

All she had done was give Emilia that crystal, offered several false pieces of information about the barrier, and refused to explain who had commanded her to do so.

—That said, the secret she was keeping close to the chest was one he absolutely had to expose…

“…Come to think of it, I’ve sworn to expose the secrets of brother and sister alike. Man, I’m a disagreeable guy.”

“Are you speaking to yourself? Also, the way you are staring at my breasts… Y-you mustn’t…?”

“I won’t go so far as to say I’m not interested in them, but that’s not what I’m thinking, okay? Anyway, let’s…”

“—Huh?! Subaru?!”

When Frederica noticed the inappropriate place he had let his gaze linger, she reacted by hiding her cleavage and squirming away. Right as Subaru started claiming that it was a misunderstanding, a lively, high-pitched voice rang out. He could hear energetic footsteps approaching as a small, adorable girl in a maid outfit—Petra—raced down to the pair.

“Wah! You came back really fast, didn’t you?!”

Lining up beside Frederica, Petra looked up at Subaru, her eyes sparkling with delight at his return. Her reaction made Subaru cross his arms and turn his eyes toward Frederica.

“Hey, see that? This is what a maid’s supposed to be like.”

“Petra is a special case. I am simply not as charming… Ahhh, so cute.”

“—? Su… Master Subaru, Miss Frederica, is something wrong?”

Petra tilted her head, looking puzzled by the exchange between the pair. Glancing at Frederica, who was enraptured by the adorable sight, Subaru patted his own chest in relief.

Petra and Frederica. He was truly glad that he was able to reunite with both of them safe and sound.

Getting to meet Petra again was making the corners of his eyes particularly hot. —After all, Subaru’s last memory of Petra was from the height of the tragedy at the mansion, when he grieved at seeing her reduced to only an arm.

“…Master Subaru?”

“Nah, I was just thinking, seeing Petra heals my heart sooo much. Seeing your face is a serious relief. Come to think of it, Petra, this time around, you’re the only one I can talk to without worrying about anything.”

As Petra watched with upturned eyes, Subaru flashed a smile and stretched a hand toward her. He proceeded to stroke her reddish-brown hair as if he was combing it, something she happily accepted.

“Master Subaru, let us put that envia— That charming cuddling for later. You wanted to speak with me, yes?”

“Sounded like a bit of your true feelings slipped through for a second there, but not dragging things out is a big help… Is talking in the lounge okay?”

“I shall be there with tea. Petra, show him in.”

“Yes, Miss Frederica. Master Subaru, this way, please.”

Briskly dividing their duties, Frederica headed to the kitchen while Petra pulled Subaru’s hand as she guided him along.

“”

The moment Subaru began walking into the mansion, the urge to head to Rem’s room instantly sprouted inside of him.

However, Subaru suppressed that impulse out of a sense of duty. At that moment, he felt that if he prioritized his desire to meet her, something precious to him would break.

For a short while, he would carefully, carefully hide Rem deep within the confines of his consciousness—

“…Come to think of it, there’s something I have to say to you, Petra.”

“—? What is it?”

“Thank you for the charm, Petra. It saved me. Probably in a different way than you intended, though.”

As Petra walked not so much ahead of him than in a more normal side-by-side manner, Subaru showed her the handkerchief wrapped around his right wrist as he conveyed his gratitude. That handkerchief had truly saved him in an unexpected way.

“Really? I helped Subaru?”

“Yeah. It saved my li— Well that’s not quite exactly how it saved me but pretty close.”

“—? —? I don’t really get it, but I’m glad! That makes me really happy!”

Easily accepting even Subaru’s vague, half-baked reply, Petra’s face broke into a brilliant smile, something that brought a great measure of peace to Subaru’s mind.

—Enough to make Subaru firmly swear to his heart that this smiling face was one of the things he had to protect.

2

When Subaru returned to the front entrance, Petra was staring at him with her cheeks sourly puffed up.

There was not even a hint of the smiling face that Subaru had vowed to defend just under an hour before. With her red face and wet eyes projecting dissatisfaction with all their might, Subaru felt distinctly ashamed of himself.

“Petra, how long are you going to sulk like that? If you keep this up, you’ll be causing trouble for Master Subaru, yes?”

“But—but, Miss Fredericaaa…”