*Peace is a fragile thing. Subaru Natsuki knows this better than anyone.*
The royal selection has settled. The estate is quiet. Emilia smiles, the tea is sweet, and for a moment, Subaru allows himself to believe that happiness might be something he's permitted to keep.
But peace has a price—and the bill is coming due.
When a forgotten bell tolls in the dead of night, the villagers of Arlam begin to lose pieces of themselves. Memories. Names. The things that make them who they are. And the dee
Re:Zero - The Bells of What Remains - The Pain of Memory — A Heart Drawn Even When Forgotten
The morning light was slowly beginning to warm the still-cold air. The mansion of the Roswaal frontier estate lay wrapped in the uneasy silence that had carried over from the night before. Ever since that bell had rung, the air inside the house felt somehow thinner, as though something had been drawn out of it. Footsteps in the corridor echoed strangely far away.
Natsuki Subaru, having passed a sleepless night, dragged his heavy body down the hallway. The moment from yesterday—when Rem had looked at him in front of the bell tower and asked, "Who... are you?"—replayed in his head over and over. The curiosity and wariness that had surfaced in her eyes. Those were the eyes of someone looking at a stranger.
Unconsciously, Subaru clenched his left hand inside its black glove. He could never tell anyone about Return by Death. The moment he tried, a searing pain would lance through his chest, a agony like his heart being crushed in a fist. So even if Rem had forgotten him, he could never explain why.
*I've just become a man she doesn't know.*
The thought left something cold pooling in the depths of his chest.
From the direction of the kitchen came faint sounds—the steady rhythm of a knife striking a cutting board. Subaru stopped walking. Someone was cooking this early in the morning.
—Rem.
Subaru felt his heartbeat quicken. He wanted to see her. But he was afraid to. The look in her eyes yesterday was burned into his mind and wouldn't leave.
Even so, he headed for the kitchen.
When he reached the doorway, a girl with a short blue bob stood with her back to him. Her white maid's apron was tied neatly, and her hands moved deftly as she cut vegetables. The bangs she parted to hide her right eye swayed slightly.
Rem. The last survivor of the oni clan, and a maid of this mansion. The girl who had once called him "Subaru-san" and smiled at him. Now, there was none of that familiarity in her back.
Subaru hesitated, unsure whether to speak. But he couldn't run away now.
"Morning, Rem. Thanks for working so early."
Rem's hands stopped dead.
She turned around slowly. Her narrow blue eyes found Subaru's face. For an instant, something flickered in them. But just as quickly, she bowed politely.
"Good morning. You are... Lord Subaru, was it?"
Her voice was courteous and kind. And yet it was unmistakably different from the "Subaru-san" of before. There was distance now. A wall. The memories of Subaru had been torn clean out of her.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Natsuki Subaru. Seems like your memories of me took a little detour yesterday. Well, no need to force yourself to remember."
Subaru deliberately kept his tone light. He put on a smile. Whether it looked convincing, even he couldn't tell.
Rem stared at his face. Her hand, still holding the spoon, had stopped. Her gaze caught his eyes directly—and yet it was somehow restless.
"Forgive me. For some reason, when I look into your eyes, something deep in my chest grows restless. I have no memory of you, and yet I don't want to leave your side. ...What has happened to Rem, I wonder?"
She said it without hiding her confusion. Her pale fingers gripped the edge of her apron tight.
Hearing those words, Subaru felt as though something had seized the very center of his chest.
Even without her memories, Rem was feeling *something* for him. Deep in her heart, her feelings for Subaru still remained. And they were surfacing as this "restlessness in her chest" that even she couldn't understand.
*Even if she's forgotten, Rem still...*
Hope and pain pierced through him at the same time.
"I see. Then don't force yourself to remember. The Rem right now is more than enough for me."
Subaru answered with a smile. Behind that smile, tears welled up. He fought them back desperately. He couldn't cry in front of Rem.
Rem tilted her head, just slightly.
"So you know about Rem, Lord Subaru. And yet Rem remembers nothing of you..."
"I know you. How hard you work, how kind you are. Isn't that enough?"
Rem's cheeks seemed to flush, just a little. She lowered her gaze and murmured softly.
"Rem... wants to know more about you. I have no memories, but my heart is telling me so."
Subaru couldn't say anything.
Rem's words were warm, and they hurt.
Silence fell over the kitchen.
It was broken by a cold voice from the doorway.
"Rem, is breakfast not ready yet?"
Subaru turned to see a girl with pink hair cut in a short bob. Ram. Rem's twin sister, also a maid of this mansion. Her bangs parted to hide her left eye, and she fixed Subaru with a sharp glare. She called him "Barusu."
"Sister Ram, good morning. It will be ready very soon."
Rem smiled at Ram. Ram gave her a small nod, then turned her cold gaze on Subaru.
"Barusu. What are you doing to Rem this early in the morning?"
"What do you mean, nothing. Just talking. A morning greeting won't kill anyone, right?"
Subaru shrugged. Ram stared hard into his eyes. There was clear wariness in her gaze.
"...I see. Then leave. Rem is working."
Ram spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. Subaru glanced at Rem. She was looking back and forth between him and Ram, troubled.
"Got it. Sorry for interrupting, Rem. See you later."
Subaru smiled at Rem and left the kitchen.
As he walked down the corridor, he could feel Ram's gaze boring into his back.
*Ram's wary of me. And no wonder. She thinks I'm the reason Rem lost her memories.*
Subaru bit his lip.
He hated that there was nothing he could do.
A short while later, Subaru was summoned to the back of the mansion.
The rear grounds were thick with garden trees, a place where prying eyes couldn't easily reach. The cold morning air stung his skin.
Ram stood in the shade of a tree. Her pink hair swayed in the wind. She turned as Subaru approached.
"Barusu. Ever since Rem lost her memories, she's been strangely open with you. What did you do?"
Ram demanded point-blank. Her voice held a mix of anger and unease.
"I didn't do anything. I don't understand it either."
Subaru answered honestly. He wasn't lying. Why Rem was drawn to him even without her memories—even he didn't know.
Ram stared into his eyes. Her gaze, backed by the Blessing of Clairvoyance, was sharp enough to see through to the bottom of his heart.
"As long as you're near Rem, she'll be confused. For the time being, stay away from her."
Ram declared it quietly, but with absolute conviction.
Subaru tried to argue. He opened his mouth. But no words came.
"Don't hurt Rem any more than you already have."
Ram's words drove deep into Subaru's chest.
*I'm hurting Rem?*
Subaru clenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm.
He couldn't say a word in return.
It was that bell's fault Rem had lost her memories. But Rem had approached the bell tower because she'd gone with Subaru. Because Subaru had brought her there.
*It's my fault. All of it, my fault.*
Subaru hung his head.
Ram watched him for a while. Then she let out a small breath.
"...I don't dislike that face of yours. But not now."
With that, Ram turned and walked away.
Subaru stood alone in the rear grounds.
A cold wind brushed his cheek.
*Don't go near Rem.*
Ram's words spun round and round in his head.
But Rem had said she wanted to know more about him. That she had no memories, but her heart was telling her so.
*What am I supposed to do?*
Holding that unanswerable question deep in his chest, Subaru began to walk.
The morning light poured softly onto the garden terrace.
Summoned by Emilia, Subaru made his way there. On the white tablecloth sat a silver teapot and two cups. Steam drifted on the wind and vanished.
Emilia sat in her chair, waiting for him. Her long silver hair caught the light and turned translucent white. Her large violet eyes looked up at Subaru.
"Subaru, you came. Please, sit."
Emilia smiled. But the smile was somehow stiff. Her pale fingers were twirling the tips of her silver hair—a habit of hers when she was troubled or anxious.
Subaru sat across from her.
"Hey. You're cute as ever today, Emilia. Getting summoned first thing in the morning—I've become quite the popular guy."
Subaru spoke lightly. Emilia smiled a little, but her expression quickly clouded over.
"Subaru, there's something I need you to hear. It's about Puck."
Emilia's voice was trembling.
Subaru straightened in his chair.
"What about Puck?"
Emilia stared at the green crystal resting on the table. It was the crystal where Puck usually rested.
"Puck won't come out of the crystal, even though it's morning. When I call to him, his answer is... dull. I feel like the memory of our contract is fading from me, little by little."
Emilia tried to smile and failed. The corners of her mouth were twitching.
"I keep thinking I have to hold it together. But I feel like I'm slowly forgetting the warmth of Puck, and I'm scared."
For the first time, Emilia let out a sound of weakness. Her violet eyes were brimming with tears.
Subaru's chest tightened.
Emilia always put on a brave face for someone else's sake. She had been carrying the enormous anxiety of Puck's absence all by herself.
"Are you okay?"
Subaru gently placed a hand on Emilia's shoulder. Her shoulder was trembling slightly.
"Subaru... I don't want to forget about Puck. Puck is my precious family."
Emilia's tears spilled over. They fell onto her silver hair and glistened.
Subaru wanted to hold her. But he couldn't. She still didn't know how he felt.
"I won't let you forget. I'll be by your side. I'll remember Puck for you too. So don't carry it all alone."
Subaru put everything he had into those words.
Emilia wiped her tears and looked at him.
"Thank you, Subaru. I'm truly glad you're here."
Emilia smiled. This time, it was a little more genuine.
Seeing her smile, Subaru felt warmth spread through his heart.
*I have to protect Emilia.*
He renewed that resolve.
But at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he, too, was beginning to forget his memories of Rem.
What promises had he made with Rem? What time had he spent with Rem? Those memories were slipping through his fingers.
*I'm lying to Emilia.*
Subaru carried that guilt alone.
In the afternoon, Subaru visited the forbidden library.
The forbidden library lay deep in the mansion, past a locked room and further still—a repository of grimoires and ancient texts overseen by Beatrice.
Subaru opened the heavy door.
Inside the dim room, countless books filled shelves that reached the ceiling. The smell of paper and old wood stung his nose.
Beatrice sat in a chair at the center of the room. A small girl in a lavish, frilly dress. Her blonde hair was styled in drill-like twin tails that hung over her shoulders. An old book lay open on her lap, and she was staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
"Beako, I'm here."
Subaru called out.
Beatrice turned slowly toward him. Her large eyes were looking at him, and yet somehow unfocused.
"...Why is Beatrice here, I wonder?"
Beatrice murmured softly.
Subaru felt the blood drain from his face.
"Hey, Beako. What are you saying? This is your forbidden library."
Beatrice stayed blank for a moment. Then, as if startled, she shook her head.
"...A joke. I'm just feeling a little off. Beatrice knows perfectly well. This is Beatrice's forbidden library. You are Subaru. Isn't that right?"
Beatrice said it as if to cover for herself. But her voice held none of its usual haughty edge.
Subaru crouched down in front of her.
"Beako, I need a favor. I want you to look for documents on the bell. The bell that eats memories, used in the Witch Cult's ritual four hundred years ago. There should be records somewhere in this forbidden library."
Beatrice stared into Subaru's eyes.
"...Sometimes I lose track of what Beatrice is searching for. But the Door Crossing magic—that alone I don't want to let go of."
Beatrice let slip her fear of her own outline growing thin. For four h
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