Chapter Text
It was a sunny day, and Emilia was taking a day off, normally she'd be studying or doing something related to the royal selection, but Subaru had told her that taking breaks from time to time would be more beneficial than overwhelming herself, so she decided to take a break, sadly Subaru wasn't with her which made her a little sad, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to stick together all day long even if they wanted to... Beatrice had already tried that and it didn't work.
As for Subaru's current whereabouts?
He's supposedly talking with Anastasia and Otto about a business venture that could grant great profits to both camps with Subaru's ideas and Anastasia's funding, so Emilia didn't need to be there...
and Otto was there too, supposedly making sure that Subaru got a fair trade and that Anastasia didn't abuse his kindness to keep most of the profits.
She didn't really understand but Subaru looked exited when he tried to explain it to her, which made her happy, even if she didn't understand what he was saying.
Emilia: "i wonder how are things going with-"
**BOOM**
Suddenly an explosion roared from the room where Subaru was
???: "WOAH WOAH WOAH" Thud RUSTLE "Ow"
It was Subaru, that for some reason flew from the room to the top of the tree, and came crashing down after hitting every branch on the way to the ground.
Emilia: "Subaru? What's going on?"
She asked, with a worried expression
Subaru: "Emilia-tan?" Standing up and cleaning himself a bit he starts to explain "Well the thing i-"
???: "SUBARUUUUU!!!"
Looking towards the room the voice came from, Emilia realized that the voice came from Beatrice, and she had a worried tone
Beatrice: "RUN I SUPPOSE!!"
Next to her was Julius who went out of view quickly, and Subaru realized what that meant
Subaru: "sorry Emilia-tan, the explanation will have to wait"
And with that he started to run, she didn't understand what just had happened, but maybe she would get the answers soon...
a few minutes later Julius arrived to the base of the tree...
Julius: "Hello Lady Emilia" he was looking around for something or someone "pardon me but, may I ask you a question?"
Emilia: "Hello Julius, yes, you may ask"
Julius: "Do you by any chance know... In what direction did Subaru went?..."
...
The silence was oppressive, what was supposed to be a simple, normal and harmless question suddenly had a weight enough as if it was someone asking for the weakness of an archbishop, Emilia didn't know how, why or anything else, but something inside told her that if she responded truthfully, It'll put Subaru on a great predicament.
She had to lie but, she made a promise to never lie, how can she break a promise that important so easily, but something inside her was screaming, it was like a response or mental trauma after learning that the barely noticable man she bumped into in pristela was in fact the archbishop of greed and that he gad kidnapped her.
It was as if the two sides inside her head were battling, but neither side was winning.
So she did the most sensible thing she could think of
Emilia: "Oh Subaru? He went over there" she said, aiming at the general direction Subaru went.
That was what she could think of, a half truth, she wasn't lying but she wasn't saying the truth either, it was a Half truth, so technically she didn't break her promise, yes, she is so smart.
Julius: "I see..." He knew she wasn't lying, but also knew that it wasn't the complete truth "Thank you Lady Emilia"
And he started running towards the direction she pointed at, it wasn't the exact direction Subaru went, but since he was faster than Subaru it would take at most a few minutes to find him...
When he was far enough she could finally breathe
Emilia: "I'm sorry mother fortune, but i fear something terrible would've happened if i didn't do this"
But how did all of that ended up happening, the answer lies in the past... To be precise around 15 minutes
Subaru, Anastasia and Otto were talking about making a carriage suspension, apparently it could make dragon carriages feel smoother on the road, and while regular people or carriages would not be able to afford them, if they worked, it would surely be popular with the Nobles and alike, Subaru had spent a few weeks working on blueprints and working with some blacksmith's to see if the idea was feasible.
The original idea came from his hometown, it was something he called a "Karr" he didn't explain too much other that it was like a dragon carriage that didn't need the dragon and that was made out of metal.
Anastasia: "A carriage that works without a ground dragon? How does that... Work?" She asked cautiously, trying to squeeze information out of him, she wanted him to drop something crucial something that she could figure it out with enough time
Subaru: "Honestly i don't know"
Anastasia: "You don't?"
Subaru: "Yeah, i mean i looked beneath the hood a few times but i didn't understand much of it, at most i knew that the engine was important, but that was a modern engine and it would be way too complicated to recreate here or maybe we could........"
It was all going according to plan, he was spewing out information about his hometown and she could use it, or so she thought because at most all of that were just concepts for the future, until he said something
Subaru: "also there was a steam engine, the i don't remember exactly how it worked i remember i once saw a video on how to make one may-"
Anastasia: "What does it do?" All the subtlety was out if the window, he said that he knew how to make one, and that it was steam powered, if what she gathered from his rambling was to be useful in this moment, she could deduce that it was easier to make if he mentioned seeing a "vydio" whatever that was, on how to make one
Subaru: "Huh? Oh it's simple it takes steam energy and transforms it into mechanical energy i think, maybe i could try... to make... one" this is the softest was to say it, he fucked up, even Otto was scared, he just told the greediest woman (Alive) in the world that he possibly knew how to make something that could revolutionize the world as we know it, but there's a problem, her vaguely remembered about the video, there's no way he could make a steam engine by himself so... He tried to escape.
Subaru: "anyways excuse me for a bit i want to go drink some water"
Then Anastasia pointed to the jar full of water that was in the table.
Subaru: "well i need to go to stretch a bit"
Anastasia: "you stretched right before the meeting"
...
Subaru: "...
Anyways if you'll excuse me"
After saying that he tried to go to the door, only to be stopped by Julius who stood in between him and his escape.
Anastasia: "now Natsuki-kun if you will" she said with a wide smile, she had won... Or so she thought .
Subaru: "how about this..." He walked towards where he was sitting a few minutes ago, and before sitting he took a deep breath and said
"BEAKO PLAN B" and he sprinted towards the window.
Beatrice: "Y-YES" it took her off guard, but she knew exactly what he was talking about.
They had talked about the possibility of needing to escape from the mansion at anytime, so before the meeting started, she checked how far was something that would ensure to be the most safe thing for her contractor to land, and in the case of this room and many others, it was a lone tree in the courtyard, perfect for sleeping when taking a break.
So she used the same spell that she used in her contractor the first few times she met him, but the reason was different, because back then, she used it to chase him away, and now? It was too save him from the greed of the woman whom her sister had made a contract with.
But even at the end his escape was fruitless he was captured by Julius and was currently taking him to Anastasia
Subaru: "Can we talk about this?"
Julius: "forgive me, but the only one with whom you'll be speaking will be Lady Anastasia"
And now Subaru was scared for his life, he'll probably be exploited until he could figure out how to make a steam engine from scratch... He's screwed.