Work Text:
"Subaru, behind you..." Julius shouted. Upon hearing, Subaru turned around, but it was already too late. A blade pierced through his chest.
W-what... was... that...
Subaru dropped down to his knees, blood gushing from his wound.
"Ia... Do something... Save him... Please..." Julius quickly ran up to the boy, desperately using his magic to at least stop the blood from flowing. But it was in vain, the blade hit his vital area, it seemed like he doesn't have any time left.
"Julius... don't." Subaru murmured. He wanted to ask Julius what happened, who could have possibly killed him, but it hurt to even open his mouth. Despite having《Return by Death》multiple times, he never got accustomed to death. It was always painful and agonizing. Every time he encountered death, he always wished for a painless, or at least a quick death.
Guess not this time...
Using the last of his strength, Subaru gazed at the purple-haired knight in front of him. "Did I ever look at his face this close before?" He wondered.
Purple, silky hair. Long eyelashes. Golden eyes looked like he was about to cry. He always carried around that stoic, serious face of a knight, maybe sometimes he would flash a smile when he teased Subaru. But the Julius in front of him was completely different.
"Subaru, stay with me. Hang in there, help is coming. Felix will treat you, so please..." Julius pleaded, trying to keep Subaru awake for a little bit longer.
The purple-hair knight hugged the boy tightly in his arms, trying to warm up Subaru's cold body.
"I'm sorry. If I were faster, I could have saved you. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry..." Tears streamed down from his face, falling onto Subaru's face.
"Don't... cry... Not... handsome..." Subaru tried to utter a few words, but with each word he said, more blood spilled from his mouth.
"Don't say anything Subaru, please..."
Subaru felt his life was going to an end. It's okay, I will《Return by Death》and retry. I will…
A trembling voice pulled Subaru from his thoughts.
"You know, at the Royal Selection, I was admired by you. It was absurd, but in my eyes, you were such a hero. After that duel, I knew you would hate me, but I didn't have any opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding."
Subaru eyes opened wide. He overheard about Julius' punishment after their duel, that because of Julius, he escaped a death. He secretly thanked him, but on the outside, he still acted like he hates Julius. But Julius admired him, what in the world is he speaking?
"Then, I got a chance to fight beside you during the Pristella battle, and the Pleiades tower as well. Even when I lost everything, my name, my knight status, my sword, my motivation to live, but you still believed in me. I'm forever in debt with you because of it."
Julius tried to speak quickly, hoping that he could convey his feelings to the boy in front of him.
"I know it is too late, but Subaru..." The purple-hair knight inhaled, the next few words made Subaru bewildered.
"I like you... No... I love you..."
There was a lot of things Subaru wanted to ask. How can the Finest of Knight like somebody as bad as him? What is so special about him that makes Julius fall for him?
Setting those thoughts aside for the next time he returned, Subaru whispered.
"I'll... be... back." Subaru flashed a bright smile, then closed his eyes.
"SUBARU." Julius broke down, he hugged the boy even tighter to his chest, tears bursting out.
Subaru had gone. His only reason to live had gone. What is he supposed to do now? He was in this state before, back when Subaru lost his memory at the Pleiades tower.
What about now? Subaru is dead. A dead person cannot revive. That is common sense.
But didn't Subaru just say he will be back? What does he mean by that?
No matter how absurd that thought is, it is Subaru. He will work it out, Subaru will come back to him right? Right?
"You promised, Subaru. You need... no, you must return. I love you, Subaru." A twisted smile appeared on the purple-hair knight. Julius leaned down and laid a quick kiss on the already cold lips.
"I will be waiting for you."
When Emilia and everyone arrived, they saw Julius still hugging Subaru's dead body, his white knight's uniform stained crimson with blood. They asked him questions, he didn't bother to answer. They started crying, he didn't bother to look at or comfort them. When someone offered to carry Subaru's body for him, he snapped back. "Do not touch him." They were surprised by his actions, but they assumed he was simply overwhelmed by the shock of his friend's death.
Subaru's funeral was a rainy day. A lot of people visited to pay their last tribute to the person who they deemed a hero. Julius stood in a corner, his eyes fixated on the coffin from afar.
"Hey, Julius." A young girl with silver hair approached him, snapping him back to reality.
"Lady Emilia." Julius looked at her, then quickly bowed down.
"Don't take all the blame on yourself. You did your best, Julius." A faint smile appeared on her lips as she patted on his shoulder.
"Subaru will be sad if he sees us like this." She continued. Julius could see through her act immediately, he knew Subaru's death impacted her as much as his. She's a strong woman. Julius thought to himself.
"Thank you, Lady Emilia. You should take care of yourself as well."
"The funeral is over, you should head home to rest. You have been here all day."
"It's fine. I will stay here for a bit longer."
"Then I'll see you later."
After seeing Emilia off, Julius slowly walked to Subaru's coffin. He took a look at the face of the person he loved the most in the world. It was so peaceful that, for a fleeting moment, he could almost believe that Subaru was only sleeping for a bit.
"I thought of dying, every single day since you left me. But the thought of you returning to nobody, I pushed the thought away again and again. So please, don't make me wait for too long, okay? I love you. I love you so much."
After a day, news spread far and wide that Emilia had withdrawn from the Royal Selection. She and the people from the Mathers Mansion vanished without a trace, as if they didn't appear in the first place.
As the days passed, it seemed that the Finest of Knight had recovered from the death of his friend. Julius continued the duty of a knight, assisted Anastasia Hoshin in becoming the next ruler of Lugunica. Everyone looked up on him, he was living his best life.
That was what the outsiders thought when they looked at the Finest of Knight.
In truth, he was just a hollow vessel that kept pushing forward. Every night, Julius would have nightmares, about him seeing Subaru being stabbed from the back, about Subaru's body limping in his arms, about Subaru telling Julius that he killed him.
"I want to resign from the position of being your knight.” Julius kneeled down in front of Anastasia Hoshin, stating his wishes.
The woman looked at her knight for a long moment before letting out a sigh. They have been together for so long, how could she not know that he is not okay, that he cannot get over Subaru's death.
"I allow you to.”
"Thank you, and sorry, Lady Anastasia.” They exchanged a look, before Julius bowed at her for one last time, and quickly turned away, leaving someone he had served for his life behind.
He went back to his home, took off his knight uniform. He put it away along with his sword, then changed into something more casual. He didn't have many occasions to wear these kinds of clothes. There was one time that he wore it during an undercover mission, and Subaru told him that he should wear casual clothes more, because he looked good in those.
He quietly left the mansion and walked towards the forest.
"Hey, Subaru, you told me you would return, but why haven't you come back to me yet?” Standing in front of a cliff, Julius talked to himself.
"I know you just said so to keep me alive. You are bad at lying, Subaru.”
“But you know, your words pushed me forward to finish my last goal, which is to make Anastasia the next ruler. You are proud of me, right?”
"Now that everything is finished, I'm no longer Julius the knight. I'm just Juli now, your Juli…”
"So… Wait for me a little bit, I will come to you in a moment.”
Julius jumped off the cliff, his body was never found.