Re:Zero ― The Scapegoat's Oath: If Subaru Vowed to Put Emilia on the Throne - The poison behind the smile

The morning light fell coldly upon the corridors of the Roswaal Margrave's mansion. Natsuki Subaru walked with one hand against the wall. With every step, his knees wobbled. He had barely slept the night before. Emilia's face, wet with tears, clung to the back of his eyelids and refused to leave. (*...This is fine.*) He repeated it over and over in his mind. His usual mantra. This is fine. This way, Emilia gets closer to the throne. By making himself the villain, everything will run smoothly. But. From the far end of the corridor, servants approached. Two maids, the moment they spotted Subaru, stopped dead in their tracks. They exchanged glances, then turned on their heels and walked away in the opposite direction. They looked at him as if he were something filthy. (*...Ah. So that's how it is.*) Subaru crushed a dry laugh in the back of his throat. Word of yesterday's lunch had already spread throughout the mansion. The story of how he'd smashed a soup bowl on the floor, hurled abuse at Ram, and berated Emilia until she cried. Naturally, Subaru was isolated. This is fine. It's all according to plan. It was when he turned the corner of the corridor. "...You're in the way." Ram stood before him. The oni maid, her short pink hair swaying, looked up at Subaru with eyes as cold as ice. In her hands she carried a large silver tray, the remnants of breakfast being cleared away. "Ah, my bad." When Subaru spoke in a deliberately flippant tone, Ram's narrow eyes grew even narrower. "There is something I must tell you, Subaru-sama." "What." "Ram despises you. As the lowest scum who has hurt Emilia-sama, I wish you would disappear from this mansion this very instant." The words were sharp as blades. Subaru caught his breath for a moment, then forced a laugh. "Heh... You don't hold back, do you. But hey, being here is my job. If you don't like it, you can leave." Ram said nothing. She merely glanced at Subaru, then ignored him and walked away. Her back trembled faintly—and not just from anger. (*Ram... you really do care about Emilia, don't you.*) A dull ache spread deep in Subaru's chest. Ram's cold eyes were something he had created himself. But even so. (*...This is fine. This is fine.*) The voice he used to convince himself was terribly weak. He kept walking down the corridor. Before he knew it, he was passing by Emilia's room. The door was shut. From inside, a faint voice reached him. "...Why...?" Her crying voice. Subaru's feet stopped moving, as if sewn to the floor. "Subaru... Subaru..." She called his name. Weeping, in a trembling voice. A pain shot through the center of his chest, as if a red-hot iron rod had pierced him. (*Stop... Don't call my name...*) Subaru clenched his teeth. He forced his legs to move. One step. Two. Dragging his heavy feet, he left that place behind. Emilia's sobbing clung to the depths of his ears and would not leave. --- —Past noon. Subaru was in the mansion's rear garden. The garden was adorned with well-manicured lawns and flowerbeds overflowing with small white blossoms. But Subaru was at its very edge—atop the piled stone wall that separated the garden from the forest beyond. The sky was piercingly blue. Clouds drifted slowly by. Subaru gazed up at them absently. His fingers traced his left temple—the indelible scar from his first death and return. (*I don't want to do anything.*) That was how he felt. "Oh? I didn't expect to find anyone here." A voice suddenly called out. Subaru turned his head. At some point, an unfamiliar man had appeared at the garden's entrance. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. He wore traveling clothes, and from beneath his frayed cloak, a worn-out shirt was visible. On his face was the most amiable smile imaginable. "A traveler? That's rare, in a backwater like this." Still seated on the stone wall, Subaru eyed the man warily. The man deepened his smile. "Ah, well, yes. My name is Darwin. I'm a wandering merchant, you see. I drift from place to place. Today I stopped by this mansion to conduct a bit of business. On my way out, I found myself drawn to this beautiful garden." "Huh... A merchant, eh." Subaru sharpened his wariness internally. (*This guy...*) His eyes weren't smiling. His mouth was genial, but his pupils alone were gleaming, observing Subaru intently. And this garden was quite far from the mansion's entrance. It was far too unnatural a place to wander into on the way back from a transaction. "Are you a resident of this mansion?" Darwin asked in a light tone. "Something like that. A guest, I guess you'd say." "Oh, I see. Have you been staying long at Emilia-sama's mansion? Are you not dissatisfied? If I may be so bold, it seems a rather dull place to keep a young man for long, wouldn't you say?" —There it was. Subaru's intuition sounded an alarm. (*This bastard's digging for information on Emilia.*) He knew about the mansion. He was approaching someone close to Emilia, trying to extract intel. Going so far as to disguise himself as a traveling merchant. (*A spy for another candidate.*) Subaru switched his plan in an instant. Chasing this guy off would be easy. But that wouldn't gain him anything. Quite the opposite. (*I'll use him.*) Without letting his inner wariness show on his face, Subaru let out a deliberately heavy sigh. "—Dull, huh. You're absolutely right." Subaru sprawled out on the lawn and looked up at the sky. "Listen, man. I've had it. Stuck in this country mansion. Emilia-sama? Becoming king? Don't make me laugh." Darwin's eyes glinted for an instant. "Oh my... That's quite a statement." "It's the truth, isn't it. A half-elf, thinking she can become the ruler of a kingdom. And why am I here? Just killing time. The food's free." Subaru spat the words out. He felt as though he could hear his own heart cracking. (*Sorry, Emilia...*) Darwin, with a knowing look, sat down on the stone wall beside Subaru. "I see, I see. So that's why a young man like yourself is in such a remote place. However, I've heard that Emilia-sama's spirit contract—with the Great Spirit Puck, is it?—makes the royal selection far from a dream..." (*Here it comes.*) Subaru's heart thumped. This guy wanted to find out about Puck. Subaru snorted. "Heh. That cat-like spirit? Without him, that woman can't do anything. Spirit arts are all about the contract. In other words, without Puck, Emilia's just a dim-witted half-elf." "Oh... So you're saying that without Puck-sama, Emilia-sama is weak?" Darwin's voice dropped slightly lower. "Yeah, that's right. More than that—without a specific magic ore, she can't even use magic properly. That woman's all show." "Magic ore... Could you be referring to the Roswaal crystals, mined only in the northern mountains?" "That's the one. You know your stuff—as expected of a merchant." It was a lie. Complete nonsense. Emilia's spirit contract had nothing to do with such things. But Subaru, with a straight face, rattled off the false information. Darwin's eyes glittered. His right hand was searching the inner pocket of his cloak. He was surely pulling out a small notebook, trying to jot down some part of what he'd just heard. "Fascinating information. I'm deeply grateful. By the way—if, hypothetically, you are dissatisfied with Emilia-sama, would you be willing to cooperate with us, just a little?" (*There it is.*) Subaru slowly sat up. "Cooperate? What's in it for you?" "We simply wish to do business. A certain noble house in the royal capital—looking ahead to the future political landscape—is gathering various pieces of information. If you were to provide us with information, we could offer you a suitable... reward." Subaru sneered inwardly. (*A noble house, huh. The fact that he won't name the candidate means he's at least trying to be cautious.*) "I see. So, how much?" "...Oh? You'll be motivated by money?" "Yeah. I'll do anything for money. If you want to know Emilia's weaknesses, I'll tell you. It's not just the magic ore I mentioned. That woman still has plenty of things she's hiding." Darwin's smile deepened. "That's wonderful. Then, to start with, the details of that magic ore. If you give me that, I can deliver 50 silver coins by the end of the week." "50 silver? Too cheap. Five holy gold coins." "Five holy gold coins... Hmm. Very well. I'll pay it." Darwin scribbled something in his notebook. The gesture was far too practiced. (*This guy's a genuine spy. He's too good at pretending to be a merchant.*) Subaru was inwardly impressed. "And one more thing. What is the greatest weakness you know of, regarding Emilia-sama and Puck-sama?" —This was it. Subaru stared directly into the man's eyes. Darwin's pupils were slightly dilated with anticipation and desire. (*This guy's trying to sever the contract between Emilia and Puck.*) Puzzle pieces clicked together in Subaru's mind. As Darwin watched with bated breath, Subaru lowered his voice. "Due to the contract, Puck can't manifest between 9 at night and 5 in the morning. No matter what happens, that spirit can't protect Emilia. If you attack her in the dead of night, she's defenseless. But that's not all." Subaru piled on the lies with an air of plausibility. "Also, there's only one way to sever the contract. You need a specific magic ore—the Roswaal crystals mined in the northern mountains. Completely remove those from her vicinity. Without them, the contract can't be maintained, and Puck will be forcibly put into a dormant state." Of course, it was a complete fabrication, with no basis whatsoever. But Darwin, with a serious expression, was scribbling furiously in his notebook. "Roswaal crystals... the northern mountains... I see. So that's why she was so strong." (*He bought it.*) A small sense of accomplishment sprouted in Subaru's chest. But it tasted bitter. "Thank you for your cooperation. I shall deliver the promised reward, in due time." Darwin bowed deeply and left the garden. His retreating back was so light it seemed he might skip. Subaru couldn't bring himself to stand up from the stone wall. He sat there for a while. Was deceiving people really this easy? "...Haha." A dry laugh escaped his lips. (*With this, the enemy will dance to false information. My plan is working.*) His head understood that. But he remembered his own mouth, babbling about Emilia's weaknesses, offering to cooperate with Darwin. It was disgusting. Nauseating. Subaru stared at his right hand. It was trembling faintly. "...This is the right thing to do." The voice he used to convince himself was far weaker than he'd expected, as if carried away and vanishing on the wind. The setting sun began to dye the mansion walls red. From a distance, a voice reached him. "Grow up beautifully, little flowers." Startled, he turned his head. Emilia was crouching by the flowerbed on the opposite side of the garden. She hadn't noticed Subaru. Her long silver hair shimmered in the sunset, and her large violet eyes gazed at the white flowers. Her profile—was smiling. Gently, peacefully, watering the flowers, she was smiling. Subaru couldn't look directly at that smile. (*I... to protect that smile...*) He had taken on the role of the villain. He had lied, deceived people, falsified himself. That was supposed to protect it. And yet. He couldn't properly look at that smile. Subaru slowly turned his back to her. He could feel his own face twisting. The sunset dyed the mansion walls ever redder. Subaru's long shadow stretched across the lawn, warped and distorted. (*What am I?*) The plan was progressing. The enemy had seized false information. With this, attacks on Emilia could be steered in the direction they wanted. Just as Roswaal had scripted. A small achievement. A small catharsis. And yet. Inside his chest, a sense of accomplishment and the terror of not knowing what he was anymore swirled in a vortex. "...Sorry, Emilia."

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Episode 3

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

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