Re:Zero ― The Scapegoat's Oath: If Subaru Vowed to Put Emilia on the Throne - Liar's Smile

The morning sun cast a cold light through the corridors of the Roswaal mansion. Outside the window, small birds were singing. The crisp air bit at the skin. Natsuki Subaru stood with his back against the wall. His eyes were closed. But he wasn't sleeping. (I've made my choice.) He had decided it himself last night, after speaking with Roswaal. This was the right move. This would bring Emilia closer to the throne. He would play the villain. Everyone would hate him. And then, everything would fall into place. And yet. His finger traced the small scar on his left temple. This was where his battle had begun. He had died countless times, returned countless times, and still, he hadn't been able to save anyone. (I'm scared...) Truthfully, he was terrified. Being hated by Emilia was scarier than dying. But he had already made his choice. That was when it happened. "Ah, Subaru!" A familiar voice came from down the corridor. He looked toward the sound. Emilia stood there. Her long silver hair sparkled brilliantly in the morning light, a straight cascade reaching all the way to her waist. Her large violet eyes looked straight at him, narrowing with happiness. She wore a white, soft, flowing dress. She looked just like a flower, he thought. "Good morning! You're up early today." She approached him at a light jog. Smiling. A gentle, incredibly kind smile. The smile she always gave Subaru—before he became the villain. His chest tightened with a sharp, stabbing pain. But he spat out coldly: "...Yeah." Emilia stopped dead in her tracks. "Subaru... what's wrong?" Her voice carried a hint of unease. Even so, she still looked at his face with concern. She probably thought he wasn't feeling well. Seriously, you're just too kind. He pushed himself off the wall. He stared at her with his brown eyes—deliberately making them cold, reflecting nothing at all. "I'm sick of your little game of playing king." He saw the color drain from Emilia's face. "...Huh?" "Didn't you hear me? Playing king. A half-elf like you, actually thinking you could become the ruler of a kingdom. What a joke." His voice was so cold it even sent a chill down his own spine. Emilia's violet eyes widened. Slowly, tears welled up in them. He dealt the finishing blow. "The Silver-Haired Witch, daring to show her face in public. Everyone's just scared of you, you know? Haven't you noticed? Oh, right—you're so clueless, you can't even read the room." She took a small step backward. Her lips trembled. "Subaru... why are you saying these things..." Tears traced down her silver hair and fell, one by one, onto the floor. He had to say something even worse. "Your dream is a nuisance. Just looking at your face makes me sick." Emilia had lost all words. She just stood there, crying, looking at him. But her eyes were staring straight into his. Eyes that seemed to say: *These aren't the eyes of a bad person.* No. He *was* a bad person. "...Get lost." At his words, she covered her face with both hands and ran away. Her quiet sobs echoed through the corridor for a long time. He was alone. He punched the wall. A dull *thud*. His hand hurt. But it was far better than the pain in his heart. "...This is the right thing." He told himself that. This was the right thing. This would raise Emilia's standing. Everyone would sympathize with the poor half-elf being treated so cruelly by someone like him. That was the plan. So this was correct. --- —Lunchtime. The dining hall was a stately room, befitting Emilia's status as a royal selection candidate. A long table, heavy chairs. Old paintings hung on the walls, and through the windows, the greenery of the courtyard was visible. But right now, none of that mattered to him. On the table, dishes prepared by Ram were laid out. Bread, soup, grilled fish. It smelled good. Ram stood there, expressionless. An oni maid, Rem's older sister. Her pink hair was cut short, and she was always composed—and sharp-tongued. Emilia was seated. Her head hung low, her face hidden. She was probably still unable to shake off what had happened that morning. Subaru deliberately kicked his chair with rough force. *Clatter!* The loud noise echoed. Emilia flinched, her shoulders trembling. "...What's this?" He took a sip of the soup and made an exaggerated grimace. "Disgusting. You expect me to eat this crap?" With that, he knocked the soup bowl onto the floor. *Crash!* The white bowl shattered, soup splattering across the floor. Ram silently stared at the fragments. "Know your place, servant. The food you make is worse than livestock feed." Ram's narrow eyes pierced through him. But she said nothing. She just quietly began cleaning up the floor. Her back radiated a chilling coldness. He looked toward Emilia. She was still hanging her head, her chopsticks set down, trembling faintly. "You too." He hated how demonic his own voice sounded. "Eating while looking at your face makes me want to throw up. If you want to be king so badly, at least try hiding that silver hair." Emilia raised her head. From her large violet eyes, tears overflowed endlessly, wetting her cheeks. Her lips quivered. She stood up just like that and ran out of the dining hall. Ram glanced at him. In her eyes floated anger, contempt, and just a sliver of doubt. "...Looks like you've got something to say." "No. I have simply come to understand that Subaru-sama is the lowest kind of human being." With that declaration, she gathered up the broken dishes and left the dining hall. Alone, he stood there, rooted to the spot. (This is the right thing...) He repeated it hundreds of times in his mind. This is right, this is right, this is right. But Emilia's tear-streaked face wouldn't leave his head. --- —He returned to his room. It was a room in the Roswaal mansion—a bleak space with nothing but a bed and a desk. The moment he closed the door. His knees buckled, strength draining away. He collapsed face-down onto the bed, pressing his face into the pillow. "...Ugh... ah..." Wordless sounds spilled from the back of his throat. Hot tears soaked into the pillow, one after another. Emilia's wounded face was burned onto the back of his eyelids, impossible to shake off. Her small cry when he had knocked the soup to the floor at lunch. Ram's eyes, cold as ice. All of it, all of it—his fault. "This way... this way, Emilia gets closer... to the throne..." The voice he used to convince himself was trembling. He couldn't breathe properly; his throat made a thin, wheezing sound. With his face still buried in the pillow, he stifled his screams and kept crying. The pain, like his heart was being squeezed tight from the inside, wouldn't go away. It was Roswaal's plan. If Subaru took on the role of the villain and made everyone hate him, Emilia would gain sympathy. But it hurt this much. So many times more than he had imagined. Dozens of times more painful. "...I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Emilia..." In the empty room, he apologized over and over. How long had he been crying? Outside the window, it was already pitch dark. That was when—*knock, knock*. A soft knock sounded at the door. He jerked his head up. Wiped his tears, steadied his breathing. Put his cold mask back on. "...Who is it?" "...It's me. Emilia." A hoarse, trembling voice. His heart began pounding wildly. "What do you want? I told you I don't want to see your face anymore." From the other side of the door, he sensed her catch her breath. "Please... won't you open the door?" He stood up and yanked the door open roughly. Emilia stood there, looking far worse than she had in the morning or at lunch. Her eyes were bright red, and multiple tear tracks remained on her cheeks. "Subaru... did I... do something wrong?" Her voice sounded like it might vanish at any moment. "If I did something to make you angry... I'll apologize... so please, tell me what I need to do... for the kind Subaru from before to come back..." *That's not it. You didn't do anything wrong. This is all me, acting on my own.* But there was no way he could say that. "Hah... what a joke." He deliberately made his voice sound gleeful, mocking. "I'm sick of even looking at your face. And that dream of becoming king—what a laugh. There's no way a half-elf could ever unite this country." Emilia's eyes opened wide. But she shook her head. "No... your eyes are lying!" His heart jolted. "Subaru... your eyes look so, so sad! Why are you telling such sad lies?! I know your eyes... I know they're not the eyes of a bad person!" Crying, she clung to his chest. Her body was small, trembling. "Please... tell me the truth... Subaru..." (—She's seen through me.) Emilia was just too pure. His acting didn't work on her. But that was exactly why. Exactly why he had to push her away now—or his resolve would crumble entirely. "Shut up!! Get lost!!" He shoved her shoulders hard, forcing her away from him. Emilia stumbled, bracing her hand against the corridor wall. "Suba...ru..." He slammed the door shut with a loud *BANG!!* Leaning against the door, he slid down to the floor. From the corridor, he could hear Emilia's stifled sobs. After a while, the soft sound of footsteps faded into the distance. He covered his face with both hands and hugged his knees. "...I'm sorry..." With a voice that couldn't form words, he apologized over and over. Tears wet his palms, ran down his arms, and fell. "...I'm sorry, Emilia... I'm sorry..." Only the moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, drawing a thin line across the room. His lonely battle had begun—by wounding the person he loved with his own hands.

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Episode 2

Name: Re:Zero ― The Scapegoat's Oath: If Subaru Vowed to Put Emilia on the Throne
Author: Novelia

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