For that moment, the only thing that dominated Subaru's mind was a complete blankness.
Subaru couldn't even think of any desperate plea to deny the scene before his eyes. His thoughts were simply consumed by the white scenery.
My throat froze, I forgot to breathe, and even my heart felt stagnant as if it had stopped beating. What solved that was the feeling of a drop of sweat running down my forehead and caressing my skin.
Subaru's consciousness returned from its void as he felt sweat dripping from the tip of his chin to the ground.
However, when reality hits you, there's no denying that the person standing before you is the person you didn't want to believe was there.
--This is bad. This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad.
After the blank space, my thoughts were filled with a rambling ramblings that had become a jumble of frustration and confusion.
He couldn't think straight. Was the person standing before him really the Rem he knew? Or was it a fake? There was no way it could be a fake. There was no point in doing something like that.
"Actually, triplets or something..."
Even if that was the case, Subaru knew better than anyone that it would be of no consolation.
Seeing Subaru's fighting spirit now vanishing, Rem gently stroked his short blue hair with her free hand,
"If you don't resist, I'll end this easily."
"Do you think there's anyone who would say, 'Yes, that's fine, I'd appreciate it, hehe' to that offer?"
"My apologies. Yes, that was indeed the case with you."
Her polite bow is completely out of place in the atmosphere of this scene. Her behavior is so normal that you could easily mistake it for a scene inside the mansion.
That was why the rough prey in her hands felt so foreign.
"It's true that a girl with a powerful weapon is romantic, but..."
A barbed iron ball attached to an iron chain, a lethal melee weapon that would mince anyone it hit directly. The one who'd chosen this for her must have been someone with very bad taste.
Subaru had once tasted the power of this and lost his life to it, and he had already experienced for himself that she could control it at will.
I instinctively held my breath, and even as my impatience turned to drops of fluid on my forehead, I formed words.
"Why would you do something like this... can I just say something cliché?"
"It's not that difficult. If in doubt, punish them. That's the rule of a maid."
"Isn't there a saying that says 'love thy neighbour'?"
"Both of Rem's hands are already full."
Rem didn't seem to be interested in just stalling for time, as she answered his questions, her eyes fixed on Subaru without wavering for a moment.
We don't know what she's up to, but there's one thing we do know.
That meant that if he moved now, he would definitely die.
Subaru's instincts, which had died five times in any event, were screaming and sounding the alarm.
It was too one-sided to be called a stalemate. Subaru racked his brains, struggling to squeeze out any information he could.
He must avoid incurring Rem's wrath, and must pique her interest and draw out the topic. By telling himself this, Subaru tried to temporarily avert his eyes from the hopeless reality that was looming before his very eyes.
Once you're faced with that, there's no way you can resist collapsing to your knees.
"--Ram, do you know about this?"
The name of her older sister, who looked exactly like her, suddenly came out of her mouth.
She is unsociable, foul-mouthed, and has a bad attitude, and her abilities as a maid are no match for her younger sister's, but for Subaru, she is the person with whom she has spent the longest total number of days at Roswaal Mansion.
Even that girl, with whom he had enjoyed verbal quarrels, had turned against him――Just the thought made his body tremble.
"I plan on finishing this before my sister sees me."
The answer Rem gave could be said to be the answer Subaru was looking for.
The situation remained bad, but my mood had been prevented from falling to its worst state at the last moment.
He let out a long sigh, and Subaru was surprised to discover that it was actually born of relief.
I wondered how complacent my thinking had been, to the point where I could find something optimistic about such a desperate situation.
Subaru raised his head and looked straight into Rem's eyes. Then, seeing Rem frown slightly as she glared back at him,
"So, it's your own decision? Unless it's Roswaal's instructions."
"I will remove with my own hands anything that could be an obstacle to the fulfillment of Roswaal-sama's wish. You are simply one of them."
"Can't you even discipline your pet dog? Try to think about what passerby A feels like, right?"
"I will not tolerate any insults to Roswaal-sama."
Subaru, trying to find out Rem's true feelings, lightly provoked her, but her face exploded.
The impact of the blow caused his vision to shake, and the sharp pain made him instinctively touch his cheek, soaking it with bright red blood.
The iron ball was still connected to the wall - he used the chain that connected it like a whip, striking Subaru in the side of his face. His cheek was torn in a distorted pattern by the chain, and blood ran down his forehead, entering his left eye and making him cry out in pain.
All that damage was caused by a flippant remark. But it was worth it.
At the very least, her loyalty to Roswaal is genuine. And it's probably true that she thinks that getting rid of Subaru is for Roswaal's sake.
It was decided that Subaru's departure from the Roswaal Mansion would be detrimental to Roswaal, who supports Emilia in the royal selection.
In short, if we sum it up, that feeling is――,
"Ah, I see. --So you couldn't trust me that much?"
"yes"
She nodded without hesitation, and Subaru felt a pain as if a sharp blade had been thrust deep into his chest. The answer stirred up unpleasant thoughts in Subaru, and having those thoughts confirmed changed the color of every scene in his daily life.
Therefore, Subaru did not voice the doubts that had begun to grow in his heart.
However, he twisted the corners of his mouth as if mocking his own ridiculousness,
"Serves me right. I was under the wrong impression that I was doing well."
"...My sister."
"I don't want to hear it! --Take that!"
She shouted, and at the moment Rem showed even the slightest hesitation, Subaru thrust forward the cell phone that was hidden on the back of his hip - and immediately afterwards, a white light cut through the forest shrouded in darkness, causing Rem's movements to stagnate for just a moment.
"--R-raa!"
「――――!!」
He leapt forward and tackled the small body with his shoulder, sending him flying.
For some reason, Rem was swinging the violent device around with unbelievable strength, but in a simple clash, Subaru had the advantage in size and weight.
The relentless charge sent the small body flying backwards, losing its balance and falling to the ground. Without even looking back, he ran past it.
Panting, I forced air into my lungs as my thoughts and feet raced.
If this was Rem's sole decision, there was still a way to save Subaru's life. If he could run back to the mansion and negotiate with his employer directly, there should be a chance.
However, if Roswaal shared Rem's opinion, then escaping the lion's cage and rushing into the wolf's cage was nothing short of foolish.
"But... Emilia..."
There was no room for doubt, it was that silver-haired girl who shone brighter than anyone else in his memory.
If it's her, if it's her, if it's her――
--She was a party involved in the royal selection, and perhaps the one who disliked Subaru the most?
"---!?"
A sudden expression of anxiety welled up in his heart. When Subaru realized it was his own voice, dark and cold, he was shocked as if struck by lightning.
Without a doubt, it was he, his own voice, who had made Emilia doubt her heart.
Subaru himself, knowing that this girl was honest, hardworking, and didn't hesitate to take losses for the sake of others, had doubts.
When your position changes, your thoughts change.
Just like Rem had done, how could he be sure that the other people in the mansion wouldn't try to kill Subaru?
In the first place, it was a mistake to not suspect the possibility of an insider at the time of the second death. It happened inside the mansion. Naturally, it would be easier for someone from the inside to do something about it.
This is the result of being blinded by superficial relationships and overlooking the issue.
They flee miserably through the mountains, unable to come up with a single reasonable solution.
--What do you mean, this time you're going to focus on gathering information?
When a threat suddenly appears before us in an unexpected form, we have no choice but to cling to life, coughing out our lives like this.
I was arrogant. I was too naive. I was foolish.
Breathing heavily, as he tumbled up the slope, the only things filling Subaru's mind were words of regret, rather than any ideas of how to break out of his current situation.
"What on earth was I doing this for...?"
A whimper escapes your lips, tears involuntarily blurring your vision.
His steps became erratic, and the forest suddenly ended, and Subaru saw that night was closing in on the open sky.
and--,
"--a?"
A blade of wind from an extremely high altitude flashed across Subaru's right leg, blowing it away from the knee down.
Watching the tip of his right foot leap high with the force of his movements, Subaru's body was thrown off balance. His balance was thrown off, and as the momentum of his running turned, his body tilted and crashed into the ground. The impact caused the wound on his cheek to bleed again, and he slammed his shoulder into the trees with all his might, causing a dull thud and a pain as if an electrode had been thrust directly into his brain ran through him. Above all,
"Ahhhh! My, my leg!!"
There was no pain, which was in fact a terrifying sensation.
His right leg was gone below the knee, and the pieces flew off, flying off into the bushes beyond. The wound exposed the vivid pink flesh, and fresh blood spurted out, as if he had only just realized that he had been amputated. At the same time, the pain was delayed and attacked his nerves.
"----------!!"
He claws at the ground, letting out a loud, voiceless cry of pain.
Holding the wound, he shook his body wildly, slamming his free right arm into the ground and punching the tree, his nails coming off in great numbers, the heat bringing his consciousness to a boil.
I suffered, suffered, suffered, and suffered.
The pain was like a file scraping his nerves, plane directly into his brain, damaging his sense of self. Every second he lost blood at an incredible rate, which in turn meant the disappearance of the source of Subaru's life.
There,
"Ah, I finally caught up."
Rem appeared, her maid uniform skirt swaying, dragging the murder weapon.
She looked at Subaru rolling around on the ground, and noticed that his right leg was missing. After a moment of silence, she nodded,
"It's going to hurt. It's going to be difficult. Please wait a little while."
Bending down, Rem brought her pale palm towards Subaru's wound.
His throat was already hoarse from screaming without a sound, and the writhing pain had sapped all his strength, leaving him no energy to move.
Subaru cleared his blurred vision and silently watched Rem's movements. And,
"Mana of the water, heal this man."
She muttered, and suddenly a soft, faint light emitted from Rem's palm.
The light gently covered the amputated area of Subaru's right leg, and its faint light began to compensate for the pain and sense of loss.
Sensing a sign of healing in the itchy sensation, Subaru pulled his consciousness back to normal and stared in shock at Rem's face.
The pain had not completely disappeared, but Subaru was overcome with a greater sense of surprise.
He didn't understand why Rem was healing Subaru at this point. As Subaru looked at her, a hint of a smile appeared on her face.
There, he found a tiny bit of hope――
"If you manage to survive and then die so suddenly, we won't be able to find out anything."
Her next words made me realize that my optimism had been fleeting and foolish.
Rem's arm is pulled, the sound of chains rings out, and the iron ball comes flying.
As Subaru fell to the ground, the thing that hit him directly next to his upper body, the closer he looked, the more crude and crude it became, a violent device solely focused on threatening lives.
Rem had made the effort to bring the iron ball to a visible position. Her true intentions were clearly conveyed.
It's a clear demonstration that your life is in my hands.
Seeing the resignation in Subaru's eyes, Rem prefaced her statement with "Well then,"
"Let me ask you, are you from the camp of the candidate opposing Lady Emilia?"
"...My heart is always on Emilia-tan's side."
The moment he spoke, the chain bent and hit Subaru hard in the upper body.
His underwear, which had been torn along the way by branches and other objects, was torn in an instant, and the skin underneath was equally torn, as Subaru's screams echoed through the forest.
"Who are you employed by and for how much?"
"Emilia-tan's smile is priceless."
The same treatment with a turn of the wrist. As he experienced the technique of hitting the exact same spot without deviation, he praised the skill with cries of pain.
After that, similar answers to similar questions were given.
The sound of chains echoed in proportion to the number of chains, followed by a chorus of screams and shrieks.
Each time Subaru's consciousness was about to be blown away, Rem personally healed him with healing magic, and he was subjected to an endless hell of healing and violence.
Her mind was worn down, her consciousness was interrupted many times, but even so, her heart did not succumb to Rem's treatment of her.
Perhaps feeling tired of Subaru's stubborn attitude, Rem suddenly looked up at the sky and said,
"I better be back soon. Dinner will be delayed."
"...Dinner? I wonder what's on the menu today..."
"Yes. How about a minced meat pie?"
As Rem deliberately clangs the chains to demonstrate the presence of the iron ball, all Subaru can do in response is to say, "Please don't join me for dinner."
Subaru continued to make light jokes until the very end, and Rem finally let out a sigh of emotion. Then she suddenly fell silent, looking down at Subaru with eyes that were even more emotionless than usual,
"--Are you affiliated with the Witch Cult?"
Subaru frowned in confusion as the unfamiliar words came out of his mouth.
Subaru wonders what Rem's true intentions are and so he puts off replying.
"Please answer me. You are one who has been possessed by a witch, right?"
"...A witch?"
"Don't play dumb!"
Raising her voice as if enraged, Rem pierced Subaru with a sharp gaze. It was the first time that Rem had shown any emotion, from their first real meeting to this desperate struggle for life.
Rem's normally calm and composed face was now flushed red with anger as she looked down at Subaru with murderous intent.
Faced with murderous intent directed at him that he had no memory of, Subaru helplessly shook his head,
"I don't know... In the first place, our family has never been religious..."
"You're still playing dumb. --You're exuding that witch vibe, and yet you're pretending you have nothing to do with this, that's just too innocent."
Rem swung her arms down in front of Subaru, the corners of her lips curling in anger. Subaru was astonished at this unprecedented expression of emotion, feeling as if he had just come into contact with her true nature.
"Even if neither my sister nor anyone else notices, only Rem notices the smell! That stench, the lingering scent of a criminal, fills me with disgust and loathing."
As Subaru went silent, Rem bit her lip hard enough to grind her teeth,
"When I spied on you and your sister talking, Rem was so anxious and angry that she nearly lost her nerve. The people responsible for what happened to my sister, and those involved... were happily in a place that was important to both Rem and my sister..."
The incoherent words were muttered like complaints, and Subaru was mercilessly showered with resentful sighs.
"Lord Roswaal ordered us to treat you well, so Rem was keeping an eye on you... But now even the time I spend watching over you is becoming a pain. Even though I know that my sister is only pretending to look after you and acting friendly towards you!"
As if releasing all the hatred she had been building up in one go, Rem lashed out at Subaru with all her rage, as if to regain what little emotion she had felt up until then.
Having declared this, she shook her shoulders and glared at Subaru with rage in her eyes, then suddenly her eyes widened in shock.
it is,
"--Why?"
Subaru had quietly shed tears in front of Rem as she spoke of her hatred.
"I knew it. I could imagine it."
His throat was clear, and the hot liquid welling up inside him dripped down his cheeks, one after another, through his eyelids. As he cried out uncontrollably, Subaru spoke in a staccato, tearful voice,
"This is what I've been through. Even though you were nice to me, I knew there was something ulterior motive behind it. But... I didn't want to hear it."
The two of them taught Subaru the basics of housework, since he was helpless.
Ram mocks Subaru for not knowing how to put on her butler uniform. Rem scolds her and helps her put it on.
Subaru was terrible at using knives and couldn't even peel vegetables properly, but for some reason Ram patiently put up with him and taught him. And Rem would offer him a share of each dish she completed as Subaru struggled in the kitchen.
"I no longer cut my hands when peeling vegetables. I've learned that the way to wash laundry varies depending on the material, and I'm still learning how to clean..."
After just four days, I can't expect to improve any further.
But I thought that if I could get through a few four days, I might still be able to find out in the days to come.
"Reading and writing... it's simple, but I've gotten better at it. I can read fairy tales. Thanks to you guys..."
"What... are you talking about?"
Rem seemed to sense something unpleasant in Subaru's delirious voice and lowered her tone. Subaru looked up at her, choking out a breath.
"It's about what you gave me..."
"I don't remember anything like that."
"--Why don't you remember?!"
The sudden eruption of passion caused Rem to involuntarily take a step back.
Subaru raised his sleeping body, clawing at the ground with his unbalanced upper body, and bared his teeth as he roared.
「Why did everyone gather around me and leave me behind…? What did I do? What do you want me to do?!」
He couldn't control his emotions. He knew that taking out his anger on others was excessive, but Subaru's heart, his soul, couldn't stop screaming.
Summoned to another world, pushed around unreasonably, he still gritted his teeth and lived on. But he had reached his limit.
"What's wrong with that? What did I do wrong? Why do you guys hate me so much?"
"--Rem?"
"I... care about you guys."
--The shock prevented him from continuing speaking after that.
Subaru's body leans back from the force of the surprise attack, and he slowly crashes into the tree behind him.
Hearing the sound of rasping breath and overflowing water nearby, Subaru's eyes wandered, and he soon found the cause.
It's the throat.
The right half of Subaru's throat had been gouged out by something, and air and blood bubbles were gushing out violently from partway through his airway.
In front of me, I could see Rem's face, gazing at the wound in amazement.
Having witnessed that, Subaru's eyes lost all light and his eyes rolled up.
The voice stopped. His consciousness also dropped as if the power had been turned off.
It goes away. There is no pain. Anger, sadness, even emotions have disappeared somewhere.
But lastly,
"--Big Sister, you're too kind."
Then, I thought I heard someone's sad voice.