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The soft weight on his chest was the first sign that the universe was once again orchestrating one of its pranks for its favorite victim.
It wasn't the usual oppression of despair that Subaru knew so well, nor the icy grip of fear that greeted him whenever he opened his eyes in this fantastic world. No, this weight was different. It emitted a pleasant warmth, an unexpected lightness, and the comforting scent of old books mixed with a faint floral perfume. He slowly opened one eye, then the other, and his vision adjusted to reveal a swirl of cream-blonde hair scattered across his torso. Small hands clung to his nightshirt, with a devotion almost befitting the most precious tome in a priceless collection, while a soft, rhythmic breath tickled his neck.
It was Beatrice.
Subaru blinked, a sleepy smile barely forming on his lips. "Beako..." he murmured, his voice hoarse with lingering sleep. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Normally, at this hour, she would have woken with a start, called him a fool or perhaps an idiot, and then retreated to the farthest corner of the room, cheeks flushed, pretending that the idea of seeking comfort in her contractor's arms in the middle of the night was absurd. It was their ritual, almost as ingrained as the rising sun. But today, something was different.
Today, the little librarian only snuggled closer, rubbing her cheek against his chest like a kitten seeking warmth. "Mmm... Subaru," she whispered, her voice syrupy and deeply drowsy. "Betty's Subaru... is warm, in fact."
Subaru's brain froze. This was, without a doubt, something new. The level of direct affection was... alarming. Usually, he had to navigate a labyrinth of tsundere behavior, decipher a couple of riddles, and endure at least one witty insult before earning a crumb of her affection. This was like skipping the prologue and the first ten chapters of a book, landing squarely in a confessional epilogue full of sweetness.
"Huh? Beako? Are you okay?" He patted her head awkwardly. Her hair, surprisingly, was incredibly soft to the touch.
"Better than ever, I suppose," she replied, not moving a single inch from her comfortable position. "Being with my contractor is the panacea for all ills, in fact. Now, be still. Betty wishes to absorb more of Subaru's warmth."
"Absorb... Subaru's warmth?" His brain, still in slow startup mode, struggled to process the peculiar phrase. It sounded strangely scientific and, at the same time, incredibly endearing. He decided not to question it. After everything they had faced together, maybe Beatrice was finally letting her guard down. He had gotten used to her being clingy, but this... this was a whole new level. An "industrial-grade glue" level. And to be honest, he wasn't complaining. It was... nice.
With a sigh, Subaru lay back down, deciding to surrender to the moment. A few more minutes of sleep, he thought, wouldn't hurt anyone.
The second sign, and this one much louder and more abrupt than the last, arrived in the form of a pink-haired demon.
After successfully negotiating his release from Beatrice's "clutches" (which involved promising to read her three stories before her nap and giving her plenty of hugs), Subaru headed to the dining room, stretching and yawning carelessly. He expected the usual barrage of witty insults from Ram, a cheerful and lively greeting from Petra, and a professional smile from Frederica. Instead, he received something... unexpected.
"Ah, little brother Barusu. Good morning."
Subaru stopped dead, one foot still suspended in the air. The world seemed to tilt dangerously on its axis. His eyes fixed on Ram, who was standing by the table with a pitcher of water. There was no sarcasm in her voice. There was none of that look of disdain she had perfected into a true art form. Instead, there was... a smile? It wasn't a full smile, more of a slight, almost imperceptible curve of her lips, but on Ram's face, that was equivalent to an explosion of fireworks in the sky.
And then, there was the nickname.
"Lit... tle brother... Barusu?" he repeated, the words coming out choppy. An icy chill ran down his spine. That wasn't right. That was categorically, fundamentally, and cosmically wrong. Barusu was his badge of honor, a medal of irritation he wore with a strange pride. But "little brother"? That sounded like something from an alternate universe where he, for some bizarre reason, was Rem.
Ram tilted her head, her expression still soft. "Is something wrong? Did you not sleep well? Your face looks even more stupid than usual."
There it was. A glimpse of the Ram he knew, the one he had come to fear (and appreciate in his own strange way). Subaru let out a sigh of relief, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "Ah, ha ha! For a moment there, I thought you'd been replaced by a kind and caring double. You know, one who doesn't look at me like I'm an insect she just stepped on."
Ram's smile widened by a fraction of a millimeter. "Don't be foolish. Even if you are an insect, you are my sister's insect, and by extension, a valuable insect to the mansion. Now sit down. I'll pour you some water."
Subaru sat, still completely bewildered by the turn of events, as Ram poured him water with unusual grace and, most importantly, without incident! She didn't throw the pitcher at his head. She didn't "accidentally" spill water in his lap. She was... helpful.
The bewilderment morphed into a rising panic as the rest of the group began to arrive.
Frederica wished him good morning with a smile so radiant that Subaru felt he could have photosynthesized with it. "Subaru-sama! What a joy to see you this morning! Your presence brightens the entire mansion!" and little Petra at her side nodded as if what she said was the greatest of truths.
Otto, who entered behind her, had visibly moist eyes. "Natsuki-san! Last night I had a dream where you signed an incredibly advantageous trade agreement for us! Your very existence is a blessing to my finances and my soul!" He blew his nose with a handkerchief, a gesture that would have been hilarious under any other circumstances.
Garfiel, the fierce "Shield" of the mansion, burst in like a tornado of muscle and overflowing enthusiasm. "Cap'n! Yer lookin' amazin' today! That shine in yer eyes could scare off an Earth Dragon!" Instead of giving him the usual friendly punch on the shoulder that would likely dislocate his arm, he gave him a few soft, reverent pats, as if afraid of breaking him.
"What... the hell... is going on?" Subaru whispered to himself, his eyes scanning the room. He felt like the protagonist of a low-budget otome game, trapped in a scene he didn't understand.
The door opened again and Emilia entered, looking as beautiful as ever, her silver hair shining in the soft morning light.
"Subaru! Good morning!" Her voice was like the gentle tinkling of wind chimes.
"E-Emilia-tan! Good morning!" Subaru felt a small pang of relief. Emilia was always kind and sweet. She would be his anchor in this sea of strange kindness, his reference point in the madness that was unfolding.
He was wrong.
Emilia approached, and instead of stopping at a respectful distance as she usually did, she leaned in and cupped his face in her hands. Her thumbs caressed his cheeks with a tenderness that made Subaru's brain short-circuit. Her amethyst eyes looked at him with a depth normally reserved only for life-or-death moments.
"I'm so glad to see you this morning," she whispered, her warm breath against his skin. Then, she leaned in further and gave him a soft kiss on his right cheek, and then another on his left. "I was thinking about you all night. You're a veeery good boy, Subaru."
Subaru's brain, a veteran of countless deaths, a tireless fighter against maniacal cultists and magical beasts, completely collapsed. He sat there, stiff as a statue, his face burning, as Emilia took a seat beside him, happily humming a tune that sounded of pure contentment.
Beatrice, who had stealthily entered, looked at him with a frown. "Hmph. Emilia, you're being too familiar with Betty's contractor, I suppose. His face is Betty's property, in fact."
"Oh, Beako, don't be jealous. There's enough Subaru to go around," Emilia replied with a sweet, carefree giggle.
"I'm not an all-you-can-eat buffet!" Subaru shouted, his panic reaching stratospheric levels. Something was terribly, fundamentally wrong. This wasn't normal. Had he died and entered a fake paradise loop? Was this an illusion created by a new Sin Archbishop, the Archbishop of "Unsettling Affection" or the "Absolute Protagonist Syndrome"?
He decided he needed to get out of there, and fast. "Oh, right! The meeting in the capital! Emilia-tan, we should get going!" he said, jumping to his feet so abruptly he nearly knocked over his chair.
"You're right!" Emilia stood up, clapping with childish enthusiasm. "A trip to the capital with just you, Subaru! How romantic!"
"It's not a date!" he yelled again, desperation growing. "It's a political meeting, nothing more!" Under other circumstances, he would have been delighted to go on a date with his dear Emilia-tan, but the unreality of the situation made it difficult.
Still, no one seemed to hear his terrified comments.
The journey to the capital was, if possible, worse than Subaru had imagined.
Every person they passed on the road, from humble citizens to rowdy street vendors, would stop in their tracks to greet him with an excessive and almost religious fervor.
"It's the hero, Natsuki Subaru!"
"Thank you for your service!"
"Marry my daughter!"
An old man, his eyes glassy with emotion, even knelt and offered him a fresh appa, as if it were the most valuable of offerings. Subaru accepted it with a trembling smile, while Emilia, sitting beside him in the carriage, seemed to consider this the most normal and appropriate reaction in the world. She kept taking his hand, intertwining her fingers with his and resting her head on his shoulder as the earth-drawn carriage moved forward. Otto was driving, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks as he witnessed the immense popularity of his "business partner." Garfiel acted as an escort, growling protectively at anyone who got too close, not with hostility, but with a possessiveness that was even more alarming to Subaru.
When they finally reached the capital, the situation spun completely out of control. People crowded the streets, not to attack or protest, but to hail him with deafening cheers. They threw flowers at him. They offered him free food from their stalls. An impromptu band of bards began to play an epic song about "Subaru of the Brave Eyes and the Heart of Fire," which only added to the surreal atmosphere.
"This is too much..." Subaru gasped, feeling completely overwhelmed by the unwanted attention. "I'm just a normal guy who messes up a lot. Why am I suddenly a top-tier celebrity, almost a deity?"
"Because you're amazing, Subaru," Emilia said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, as if her perception were the only universal truth. "Everyone is finally realizing how valuable you are."
They arrived at Crusch Karsten's mansion for the long-awaited meeting, and Subaru, with a glimmer of hope, expected that the formality of politics and state affairs would put an end to this collective madness. Again, he was wrong.
Crusch, the brave and pragmatic candidate for the throne (even with her amnesia), greeted him at the door personally. Her eyes now shone with an unfamiliar and, to Subaru, worrying warmth.
"Subaru-dono," she said, her voice unusually soft and mellifluous. "It is an honor to have you in my humble abode. Please, come in. I have prepared your favorite tea."
"You... know what my favorite tea is?" Subaru asked, confusion clouding his mind.
"Of course. It is my duty to know the preferences of the great men of the kingdom," Crusch replied with a smile that made the hair on the back of Subaru's neck stand on end. At her side, Ferris was vibrating with excitement, his cat ears twitching frantically.
"Subaru-kyuuun!" he squealed, pouncing on him and rubbing his cheek against Subaru's with an effusiveness that left him breathless. "Ferris missed you so much! You look a little pale! Do you want me to give you a full check-up? For free! And with lots of cuddles included!"
"No, I'm fine! Health of iron, I assure you!" Subaru exclaimed, trying to break free from the demi-human's clingy embrace.
Even Wilhelm, the fearsome Sword Demon, seemed affected by this strange atmosphere. The old man approached, placed a firm but gentle hand on Subaru's shoulder, and looked at him with eyes welling up with tears, an image that left him even more perplexed.
"Subaru-dono," he said in a trembling voice, laden with an incomprehensible emotion. "Every time I see you, I am reminded of the flower of youth and the indomitable spirit of justice. You remind me of my beloved Theresia... in spirit, of course. You are the hope of a new generation."
Subaru didn't know how to respond to that. Being compared to the legendary former Sword Saint? The pressure was immense, and his brain was already at its limit.
The meeting began, and it was a predictable disaster. Anastasia, sitting across from him, watched him with narrowed eyes, but not with her usual merchant-like cunning or her calculating gaze, but with that of a collector who has just found the rarest and most valuable item in the world, one for which she would pay any price.
"Natsuki-kun," she said, her accent more syrupy and persuasive than ever. "I've been thinking. My camp could use someone with your... unique charisma. I'm offering you a position as my personal advisor. The salary is negotiable, let's say... all the money you could possibly desire?"
Julius, his eternal rival and the most perfect of knights, nodded solemnly. "An excellent proposition. Subaru, I must admit my initial judgment of you was mistaken. Your approach, though unorthodox, has proven to be undeniably effective. It would be my honor to polish your shoes every morning, if you would permit me."
"WHAT?!" Subaru almost fell out of his chair, pure astonishment painted on his face. Julius, the epitome of perfection, offering to be his personal servant? The world had gone completely and utterly mad.
"Subaru is my knight!" Emilia protested, frowning with genuine indignation. "And he doesn't need anyone to polish his shoes!"
"The Cap'n stays with us," Garfiel growled, crossing his arms over his muscular chest, his eyes glowing with protective possessiveness.
"From a logistical and financial perspective, Natsuki-san generates greater benefits by remaining in our sphere of influence," Otto added with an air of grave seriousness.
The argument over who was most worthy of Subaru's attention was heating up at an alarming rate when, with a dramatic, resonant thud, the hall doors burst open.
There she stood, in all her glorious and arrogant magnificence: Priscilla, the sun candidate, her fan in hand and a look of absolute ownership and confidence on her face. Al, her faithful knight, shrugged resignedly behind her.
Priscilla scanned the room, ignoring all the other contenders, and her eyes landed, with relentless precision, on Subaru. A slow, sensual smile spread across her lips, a smile that promised dominion.
"Ah, there you are, commoner," she declared, her voice resonating with an unquestionable authority that silenced the room. "I have decided that you have entertained me enough from a distance. The world revolves around my convenience, and right now, my convenience dictates that I will take you with me."
A thick, expectant silence fell upon the room, almost palpable.
And then, all hell broke loose.
"Not a chance!" Crusch shouted, standing up with barely contained fury. "Subaru-dono is an honored guest in my house and my ally!"
"You can't just claim people, Priscilla!" Emilia said, her voice tinged with righteous indignation.
"Try to lay a hand on my Cap'n and you'll see what happens!" Garfiel threatened, baring his teeth in a predatory gesture.
"Hey, hey, just a moment!" Anastasia slammed her small hand on the table. "If anyone is going to 'acquire' Natsuki-kun, it will be me. I have the resources to ensure he's treated like the treasure he is!"
"Commoners," Priscilla scoffed, fanning herself with an air of innate superiority. "You do not understand. I am not asking for permission. It is a foregone conclusion. Come here, my new toy."
The discussion devolved into a chaotic, nonsensical shouting match. The leaders of Lugunica, the most powerful women in the country, were arguing fiercely over his custody as if he were a purebred puppy at a prestigious dog show. Julius and Wilhelm, meanwhile, were seriously debating which training regimen would be the best and most beneficial for him. Ferris and Otto, in a corner, were passionately discussing his future emotional and financial well-being.
Subaru, at the center of this hurricane of affection and possessiveness, felt his soul slowly leaving his body. His survival instinct, honed by the countless agonies of Return by Death, screamed a single word deep within his being: RUN!
He saw his chance. While Priscilla and Crusch were in a heated debate over property rights concerning commoners and Emilia was trying, in vain, to reason with their stubbornness, Subaru stealthily slipped from his chair. He ducked, skillfully crawled under the table, and, taking advantage of everyone being completely distracted by their heated argument, he bolted out of the room as if his life truly depended on it. Because, in a way, he felt it did.
He ran desperately through the opulent corridors of the mansion, hearing the shouts of "Where did Subaru go?" and "Who has him?" behind him, echoing like distorted sounds in his mind. He burst out onto the street, and the chaos only worsened.
"It's the hero Subaru! He's fleeing the corrupt politicians who besiege him!"
"We must protect him! He's ours!"
"No! We must make him our king! King Subaru, in fact!"
The crowd, in a mass of admiration and adoration, joined the chase, their shouts echoing through the streets. Subaru ran for his life, dodging hands that tried to grab him, impulsive marriage proposals, and outlandish suggestions for a new monarchy. He ducked into a dark, smelly alley, his heart hammering furiously in his chest and his lungs burning from the effort. He placed his hands on his knees, panting, desperately trying to catch his breath in the relative silence.
"This... this is a nightmare, for real..." he choked out, his words barely audible.
It was then that he saw him. At the end of the alley, his back to him, stood a tall, familiar figure with unmistakable bright red hair that flashed even in the gloom.
Reinhard.
A wave of pure, immense relief washed over him, so powerful it almost knocked him down. Reinhard! The strongest, sanest, most reliable guy in the entire world. He was safe. Reinhard wouldn't be affected by this collective madness that had consumed everyone. He would help him, for sure.
Without a second thought, Subaru staggered towards him, breathless and desperate. He couldn't see his face, but it didn't matter. Reinhard's mere presence was a balm to his soul.
"Reinhard! Thank God I found you!" he gasped, stopping a few feet from his back, the words pouring out like a torrent. "You have to help me! I don't know what the hell is going on! Everyone has gone completely insane! Beako is super clingy, Ram called me 'little brother,' Emilia-tan kissed my cheeks without shame, and now everyone in the capital, Crusch, Anastasia, even Priscilla are fighting over... over me! They want to make me king or something! It's like some kind of love spell has taken over the whole damn country and I'm the center of it! It's horrible, it's terrifying, and it's incredibly embarrassing! Please, tell me you're okay, that you're not..."
Subaru stopped short. His torrent of words was cut off abruptly, as if an invisible hand had gagged him.
He felt two strong, warm arms wrap around him from behind. a firm, muscular body pressed against his back, an unexpected but strangely comforting embrace. He felt Reinhard's chin rest gently on the crown of his head, among his messy black hair, almost as if he were being cradled.
And then, a soft voice, overflowing with a tenderness that would freeze the nine circles of hell with its intensity, whispered in his ear.
"...Subaru."
Natsuki Subaru's world didn't just get worse. It shattered into a million tiny, painful pieces. The last bastion of normalcy, his last hope for sanity, had fallen. He was completely and utterly doomed.
What followed was a blur for Subaru. The next thing he knew, he was being carried. He wasn't walking on his own. He was in the air. He struggled to open his eyes and found himself cradled against Reinhard's chest as if he were a small child, his legs dangling uselessly, the rhythmic motion of Reinhard's gait like a lullaby. The Sword Saint walked with a serene calm and astonishing grace, as if carrying a terrified, kicking teenager in his arms was the most natural and ordinary thing in the world.
"Don't worry, Subaru," Reinhard said, his voice a soothing vibration that resonated in Subaru's chest. "I will protect you from everyone. You will be safe with me."
"This isn't safety," Subaru shrieked hysterically. "This is a first-class kidnapping!"
They reached the Astrea mansion in no time. The door burst open and a small blonde girl with a sharp tooth ran out, her red eyes gleaming with familiarity.
"Reinhard! Finally! Did you find him?" Felt stopped abruptly upon seeing the peculiar scene before her. Her red eyes widened, and a huge grin, full of unexpected joy, spread across her face. "Big Bro! You're here!"
She ran towards them with boundless energy and gave Subaru a playful pinch on the cheek. "Damn, you look like a mess! But an adorable mess! I'm glad Reinhard brought you! Now we can keep you safe from those royal witches and hungry nobles!"
Despite her usual coarse language and rough attitude, her tone was as cloyingly affectionate as everyone else's. Subaru felt his last shred of hope, his final spark of sanity, wither and die completely. Even Felt, his anarchic friend from the slums, his last bastion of "rebellious normalcy," had succumbed to this epidemic of affection.
They brought him inside. Reinhard finally set him down, but only to place him firmly on his lap in one of the chairs, as if he were a rag doll. Subaru was too shocked to offer any resistance. He just sat there, stiff and motionless, as Felt excitedly told him her plans to "rule the slums and the kingdom together, like brother and sister," her words echoing with a strange and unsettling sweetness.
He needed to escape. But how? How could he escape from the strongest man in the world who was currently using him as a personal, protective hug pillow? His racing mind desperately searched for a solution, any solution. A distraction. It had to be a distraction, something to capture the Sword Saint's attention.
"H-hey, Reinhard!" Subaru stammered, pointing a trembling finger toward the door, a crazy idea forming in his mind. "Isn't that your father, the Vice-Captain, coming to reconcile with you?"
It was a desperate, stupid, almost suicidal gamble. But the word "father" seemed to have an immediate, perceptible effect. Reinhard's smile faltered for a microsecond, and his head instinctively turned toward the door, a purely human reaction.
It was all Subaru needed.
With a movement that would have made an eel escaping a fisherman proud, he slid off Reinhard's lap, rolled across the floor with surprising agility, sprang to his feet, and shot out the door before anyone could react, leaving only a trail of dust behind him.
"Big Bro, wait!" he heard Felt shout behind him, her voice now tinged with a new shade of alarm.
But he didn't stop. He ran and ran, aimlessly, his footsteps echoing on the cobblestones as the sun began to set, painting the sky in vibrant shades of orange and purple. Panic was his only fuel, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He plunged deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of dark, narrow alleys of the capital, looking for a place, any place, where no one could find him, where he could hide from this avalanche of affection. Finally, he found a small nook behind some stacked barrels in an abandoned backyard. He squeezed inside, curled into a ball, and let the darkness and exhaustion finally claim him, plunging him into a fitful sleep.
When Subaru woke, it was to the soft, dim light of dawn filtering through the cracks between the barrels, painting faint golden stripes on the ground. For a moment, a fleeting fraction of a second, he didn't know where he was, confusion clouding his mind. Then, the memories of the previous day hit him like a sledgehammer: the suffocating affection, the frantic chase, the visceral panic.
He peeked out with extreme caution. The streets were quiet, bathed in the cool calm of the morning. The distant murmur of the city awakening could be heard, the sound of the first merchants opening their shops. A merchant passed with his cart, gave him a quick glance, and then looked away with unusual speed, a hint of... shame on his face?
Subaru emerged from his hiding place, shivering slightly, the early morning chill seeping into his bones. He walked through the streets, expecting with every step that at any moment people would start hailing him again or trying to kidnap him. But none of that happened. People looked at him, yes, but their gazes were normal, the everyday glances of passersby. Some even seemed embarrassed and apologized with a nod of their head before continuing on their way, as if an uncomfortable memory had just surfaced. It was... normal. Terrifyingly normal.
"Subaru!"
A familiar voice, thick with genuine concern, made him jump. He turned to see Emilia running towards him, her face filled with a worry that held not a trace of the previous day's cloying adoration.
"Emilia-tan!" His name left his lips with a relief that almost brought him to tears.
"Oh, Subaru, I was so worried! You disappeared yesterday and nobody knew where you were!" She stopped in front of him, breathless, her hands on her chest. Then, a deep blush covered her cheeks, spreading to the tips of her ears. "And... um... about yesterday... I... I don't know what came over me. I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable, really."
Subaru stared at her, his eyes wide. It was the usual Emilia. The sweet, slightly clumsy, and genuinely kind Emilia he knew and cherished. The madness was over. The nightmare of affection had come to an end.
An emergency meeting was convened again at the Karsten mansion. This time, the atmosphere was completely different. Everyone present, from Crusch to Anastasia, to Julius and Ferris, looked deeply embarrassed, their faces tinged with a palpable blush as they recalled the events of the previous day. Priscilla, of course, acted as if nothing had happened, though a faint, almost imperceptible blush was hinted at from behind her fan, giving her away.
"It seems we were all victims of some kind of anomalous phenomenon," Crusch said, her usual composure restored, though she refused to look Subaru directly in the eye, a clear sign of her discomfort.
"Area-of-effect magic, perhaps," Anastasia suggested thoughtfully, her usual shrewdness returning to her eyes. "One that amplifies positive feelings toward a specific target. It's... concerning, and potentially very dangerous." In her mind, however, a very different thought resonated, almost screaming: 'By Od Laguna... we almost named the boy who threw a tantrum and probably insulted every knight in the kingdom our king. What were we thinking?'
"Or maybe the source was Subaru-kyun?" Ferris mused, a hand on his chin, his eyes shining with curiosity. "Perhaps some unknown divine blessing activated in him and made him irresistible to everyone."
Subaru visibly shuddered at the suggestion. "Please, no. I'd rather it was a nationwide curse, I assure you. That sounds much more manageable."
In the end, they reached no definitive conclusion. It was a mystery, one more for the long and growing list of unexplained phenomena in this world. With the matter (awkwardly and with much embarrassment) settled, Subaru and Emilia prepared to return to the mansion. Normalcy, blessed and beautiful normalcy, had returned.
As Emilia's carriage drove off into the distance, Felt and Reinhard walked through the streets of the capital, the morning sun already high in the sky.
"Hey, Reinhard," Felt said, her hands behind her head, her tone carefree but her eyes observant. "That whole thing yesterday was super weird, huh?"
Reinhard smiled, his usual kind and perfect smile. "It was certainly an unusual day, Felt-sama."
"Yeah... unusual," Felt glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a suspicion dawning in her mind. "It's weird, though. You're supposed to have all kinds of Divine Protections that shield you from magic, curses, and mental effects. It's a little strange that even you were affected, don't you think?"
Reinhard's smile didn't waver for an instant, his expression of serenity absolute. "The human heart is complex, Felt-sama. Perhaps some feelings are too strong even for a Divine Protection."
Felt stopped abruptly and stared at him, her eyes narrowed, her sharp mind detecting the evasion. She saw through the vague answer. She saw through the perfect smile.
"It didn't affect you at all, did it?"
Reinhard blinked, his expression of innocence so convincing it was almost an insult. "Of course it did, Felt-sama. I was overwhelmed by an immense and sudden affection for Subaru, just like everyone else."
It was a lie so obvious, so blatantly false, that it was almost an insult to Felt's intelligence.
Felt jabbed an elbow into his ribs, though it was like hitting a brick wall. "Liar! You damn liar! It didn't affect you one bit! You just took advantage of the situation to get your hands on my Big Bro and get all lovey-dovey with him! You're a stealthy pervert, that's what you are!"
Reinhard van Astrea, the Sword Saint, the strongest man in the world, the epitome of righteousness, simply tilted his head, his smile now tinged with a touch of genuine amusement that almost humanized him, and feigned ignorance with unparalleled grace.
"I really don't know what you're talking about, Felt-sama," he whispered, the innocence in his voice almost perfect.
Far away, in a sanctuary of shadows beyond time and space, a silver-haired witch dressed in mourning watched Subaru's figure receding in the carriage. Her attempt to show him how much he was loved by the world, in a more... direct manner, had been, perhaps, a little too literal.
But seeing him safe, back to his peculiar normality, a soft, contented laugh escaped her lips, echoing in the void. A laugh that resonated in the emptiness, filled with a love so deep and overwhelming that, if unleashed without control, would make the previous day's events seem like a mere, subtle flirtation.