Chapter Text
The cramped mercenary tavern stood with its doors tightly shut. Under the dim glow of the candlelight, three shadows were swaying upon the walls. A figure clad in a black cloak leaned against the bar, swirling the tumbler gently in his right hand. With most of his face concealed beneath the broad hood, he looked down upon, coldly scrutinizing the two figures before him.
The purple-haired young man knelt on the floor, his face pale and ashen. Blood spilled desperately through the gaps between his fingers covering his mouth, soaking through his white gloves and uniform. Beside him, a slender young man with flaxen cat ears was using healing magic to save him.
It was so close to success. Was hisy hypnosis on Blue's mind not strong enough? Subaru wondered.
When the Knight drank the poisoned wine offered by his friend, Subaru was about to comfort and praise the young man he called Blue, who clung tightly to him, trembling. Yet the knight's eyes, filled with concern for his friend and without a trace of resentment, caused Blue to stagger back to him.
What a pity…
Perhaps he should start over again.
"Subaru... I'm sorry... I can't, I can't do it. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of any help to you... " "Blue", his face pale as a sheet of paper, looked at him. "The future that Subaru and Her Highness hope for... there must be another way to achieve it. We don't have to kill Julius, right? "
Subaru simply shrugged.
The Knight was at the end of his strength, but he still shielded Felix with his own body. Subaru couldn't help but applaud. Laughing aloud, he said, "Truly befitting the Finest of Knights. Even when your former friend attempted to poison you, even when you nearly died for the sake of friendship and trust, you still wishes to protect him. Ah, such a noble knightly virtue! How truly..."
The dark red eyes gazed deeply into those golden eyes filled with fury. Pain, death, and betrayal had failed to dim them even in the slightest.
"How truly detestable…"
"Just who are you?" Julius tightened his grip on the rapier at his waist and demanded hoarsely.
"As for my identity, I don't mind telling you. After all, this world will soon be erased anyway."
The Sin Archbishop straightened with a smile, drained the wine from his tumbler in one gulp, then swept back his black cloak and gave an exaggerated bow.
"Natsuki Subaru, the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, representing Pride. Remember that, will you? Though I can hardly compare to a knight as upright and noble as yourself, I have at least been struggling desperately through the mire in my own way."
The beautiful knight leaned on his rapier, the hair at his temples dampened with cold sweat. The blood only made his lips appear even paler, yet he still did his best to offer his friend a gentle smile as he softly reassured him.
"Don't worry about me, Ferris... I will protect you. Someone as inadequate as me has already lost my master, and with that, I have lost the meaning of my own existence... If I cannot even protect my friend, then Julius Juukulius would be unworthy of being a knight."
Felix gritted his teeth, desperately holding back the sobs. He suddenly rose to his feet and stepped in front of Subaru, pleading, "Subaru, Anastasia has withdrawn from the Royal Selection. You no longer have any reason to kill Julius. Please spare him. He will surely be able to help you and Her Highness..."
The air remained silent for a long while. As the slender young man stood there, despair slowly appeared on his face, a gloved hand reached out and stroked Felix's head gently.
"All right, Blue. As you wish.” A faintly amused voice came from beneath the hood. Whether Julius would be willing to serve their camp was another matter, but keeping him alive for the time being would not be a bad choice if it meant gaining better control over Blue.
More than that, seeing Julius resist yet remain powerless to fight back brought him an unexpected thrill. It would be a pity to let him die here.
Ever since the Royal Selection candidates were publicly announced and the struggle for the throne began, threats and attacks both overt and covert against had increased. Obviously, this was no longer merely a small-scale struggle among the candidates. A far more dangerous force had quietly infiltrated the capital.
—The Witch Cult.
Gradually, with prejudice and suspicion adding fuel to the fire, some baseless rumors began to quietly spread throughout the capital:
"The Witch Cult was drawn here by the ominous half-elf Emilia."
"The Witch Cult is the force operating behind Emilia."
However, Emilia's achievement of defeating the Sin Archbishop of Sloth made those rumors vanish.
What the great majority of people did not know was that, during the period when those rumors were spreading, several unexplained deaths had suddenly occurred within the capital. There was no evidence to determine whether they were murders or suicides. The victims also appeared to have no connection to one another.
To most people, these unsolved cases were merely gossip. Only a rare few with keen senses could sense the danger.
Anastasia was one of them. Merchants possess an instinctive ability to perceive risks and crises, and especially after the Priscilla Camp had quietly disappeared, she made her decision.
At the Hoshin Company's temporary base in the capital, many humans and demi-humans dressed as mercenaries and merchants hurriedly but orderly carried luggage and belongings onto dozens of dragon carriages. The tall, graceful knight in white and the petite girl in a white dress stood nearby, quietly speaking with each other.
"...A merchant's creed is indeed that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. But if the price to be paid for wading into the Royal Selection is Ricardo, Mimi, everyone else... and you, Julius, then that is what I absolutely cannot bear."
Gently stroking the white scarf around her neck, the purple-haired girl taise her lovely face and looked at her knight, whose disappointment was impossible to conceal.
"After thinking it over again and again, I have decided to withdraw from the Royal Selection."
"...So, Julius, you have decided not to return to Kararagi with us after all?"
Julius reached out and steadied the slipping luggage in a passing mercenary's arms. Then he turned to Anastasia and gave a bitter smile, shaking his head.
"I will respect Lady Anastasia's decision. However, I do indeed have reasons why I cannot leave the capital. I cannot simply abandon House Juukulius and walk away. Besides, I am deeply worried about Felix. He has been missing for so long, and until I find him, I will not be able to rest easy."
Anastasia smiled knowingly and sighed softly. She was all too familiar with her knight's excessively strong sense of responsibility.
Therefore, she no longer tried to persuade him. Instead, she smiled warmly, patted Julius on the shoulder, and said in a deliberately teasing tone:
"The future head of House Juukulius, you must look after the Hoshin Company in the years to come, alright?"
"Please don't tease me, Lady Anastasia..."
Julius looked slightly embarrassed and coughed softly into his fist.
Supporting herself on Ricardo's hand, Anastasia stepped onto the carriage. She turned back to bid farewell to her knight.
"Then, Julius…goodbye. Please don't forget—you are family to us. You ‘ll always be welcome in Kararagi if you ever need a place to go. Take care."
The sudden departure of the lord he had once sworn to support on the path to the throne left Julius deeply dispirited. Had his own abilities truly been insufficient? Had he failed to provide Lady Anastasia with the sense of security and trust she needed?
Just as Julius had fallen into the depths of self-doubt, the very person who appeared before him was Felix Argyle, the long-lost friend he had spent so long searching for.
The joy of seeing his friend safe and unharmed, combined with his absolute trust in him, made Julius overlook every subtle inconsistency—until he drank the poisoned wine.
—Until he saw that person.
Subaru pushed open the door, only to be greeted by a flash of cold silver light and a wave of killing intent.
He arched an eyebrow, then slowly glanced at the rapier at his throat and smiled innocently, he said,
"So, is this what you call chivalry? Pointing a blade at your 'savior'? "
"You used Ferris, made him bear the guilt of poisoning his friend, dragged me here, and now you call yourself my savior? "
"Aw, don't get mad. It was just a joke.” The black-haired young man spread his hands and gave an exaggerated sigh. "How about putting the rapier away first? Just hear me out, and after that, you can kill me or do whatever you want. "
"...I have nothing to say to a Witch Cultist. "
The violet-haired young man withdrew his rapier.
Subaru closed the door behind him and casually stepped forward, as if he didn't mind that the beautiful young man had nearly killed him only moments ago.
He strode over to the window, drew the curtains open, and let the bright sunlight flooded into the room. He put on a serious face and talked about the importance of sunlight for young people. Then he suddenly darted over to the violet-haired knight, rose slightly onto his toes, and leaned close to his face.
Such a bold approach from his enemy caused Julius's eyes widened slightly. He could even feel Subaru's soft breath against him.
Looking at Julius's slightly pale, sickly complexion, Subaru put a finger to his chin, pretending to put on a thoughtful expression for a moment before delivering his verdict.
"No wonder they call you the Finest of Knights. Even your appearance is outstanding—you must be very popular with the girls, huh? How annoying. It seems the antidote provided by the Merchant of Death actually worked. Sir Julius has made a successful recovery. Congratulations?"
"So, I'm here to negotiate a cooperation with you. I'd like you to assist me."
"Impossible."
Subaru laughed mockingly and said, "I thought so. After all, you're the noble and pure knight, aren't you?"
Juliu could not help but frown. Just as he was about to say something, suddenly pain shot through his body. His face was covered in cold sweat, and he staggered and fell.
Subaru took half a step back and leaned against the windowsill, coldly watching the knight's pained expression. The corners of his lips curled upward.
He said, "Oh, I almost forgot the doctor's advice. This antidote isn't a complete cure. You can't just drink it once and expect all the poison to disappear. You'd better be careful, Knight."
Julius knelt on one knee, clutching his chest as his heart ached. He bit down on his pale lip.
"...You could have simply placed a curse on me and taken control of my body, couldn't you? Poisoning me is meaningless. I would rather die than join hands with the Witch Cult. Even with this deadly poison in my body, I can still find a chance to kill you at any time.”
Subaru slowly crouched down. His long black cloak trailed behind him as he rested his left hand against his cheek, gazing at Julius as though he were appreciate a work of art. His smile widened and he said, "A mindless puppet that obeys without question is boring, tasteless. I much prefer a fox that knows how to bite. But let me correct one thing: I never asked you to cooperate with the Witch Cult. I want you to assist me in destroying the Witch Cult."
Julius's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Destroy the Witch Cult... You mean... everyone within it, including... you?"
"Including me."
"I will place Emilia on the throne. The ruler of Lugunica can only be Emilia. Therefore, she must possess achievements beyond anyone's doubt or criticism—the Witch Cult is the perfect stepping stone."
"For this, I will give everything I have. No matter what methods I must use, no matter how much blood stains my hands, I will clear away every obstacle on her path to the throne."
Subaru stood against the light. No matter how bright the light was, it could only deepened the darkness before him instead of illuminating him. His burning gaze was filled with obsession and madness.
Julius stared at him in silence, and he found himself deeply moved in a way he could not describe.
The actions of this Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult were undoubtedly the path of an evil fiend, completely opposed to the ideals of knighthood. Yet within those mad declarations lay a profound resolve and conviction: the willingness to sacrifice everything for his lord, Emilia.
Suddenly seeming to lose all interest, Subaru lazily straightened up, as if he had just remembered something, he knocked his right fist against his left palm.
"There's also the matter of Blue—Felix. I know you want to take him away, but you've seen his condition yourself. He's the one who can't leave me."
"Of course, let me make this clear again: his abnormal state wasn't caused by me. Quite the opposite—I was the one who found him and gave him a reason to keep living. I went through a great deal of trouble to stop him from taking his own life."
"So, how about staying—for Felix's sake, Sir Julius?"
After a long silence, Julius finally spoke.
"...I understand. Destroying the Witch Cult has always been my duty. I will stay. Not only for Felix's sake, but also... to watch you."
"To watch me?" Subaru raised his brows in surprise.
Julius looked up at him with a serious expression.
"As the knight who once served a Royal Selection candidate, I understand your determination to place Lady Emilia upon the throne."
"However, I will never allow you to harm innocent people through such cruel and evil means. The moment you stray from your path, I will kill you."
Julius who had lost his lord and was feeling lost, suddenly felt a powerful impulse well up within him after hearing Subaru's grand declarations.
When Julius was a boy, whenever he read in heroic tales about those heroes, who had yet to make their names known, swore their vows beneath heaven and earth to fulfill their missions or fight against cruel fate, the little boy's heart would always burn with passion. He would take a deep breath, solemnly turn the next page, and eagerly await how those heroes would embark on their legendary journeys and leave their names in history.
At this moment, Julius felt exactly the same way. He knew that Subaru was by no means a righteous hero, yet he still wished to witness with his own eyes just how far Subaru could go.
The knight's resolute eyes shone brightly. Subaru suddenly found them almost unbearable to look at and turned his gaze away.
"That's even better."