Subaru stood infront of the mirror, admiring the perfect fitting on his uniform while rem stood outside of the door.
"It's a perfect fit, you're really good at this rem. I suppose there's no need for me to do any tweaks in sewing."
"Sewing? Do you like Sewing, subaru-kun?"
Rem asked in her usual monotonous tone but her eyes couldn't hide the tinge of curiosity. Subaru simply smiled and nodded.
"Somewhat. Me and my brother used to sew clothes for the kids the church took in."
Subaru answered, straightening his clothes out, the butler's outfit suited him quite a lot.
"You have a brother Subaru kun?"
"Used to. He died a while ago."
Rem went silent at the revelation, a mix of emotions flashed through his eyes. Surprise, guilt, sadness, pain and finally ended with neutrality.
"I'm sorry for reminding you of a sensitive topic, subaru-kun."
She apologized, bowing forward and then leaving with an excuse of work before he could speak, leaving him alone in the dressing room with a single, confused thought.
'was I too blunt?'
______________
In the kitchen, while peeling the potatoes, subaru felt a gaze on him. Looking up he caught rem staring at him with cold piercing eyes.
"Uhh.... rem? is there something on my face? You've been staring at me for a while now."
Rem remained quiet and unresponsive, gazing at him with the same intensity. Soon, an answer came from his side.
"She's probably disturbed by your hair barusu. They look like a birds nest."
Ram said, stopping her work and staring at rem with a look that clearly said 'don't do it'.
"Really? Well, I haven't really given it a thought til now but I guess they have gotten too long."
Subaru answered, pulling a lock of hair down and realised that they were indeed longer than ideal.
"By the way, rem is the one who takes care of everyone's hair in this mansion. She styles my hair and dresses me every morning."
'at least do those yourself you laz- wait, she might actually ruin it with how bad she is at everything.'
Subaru stopped his laugh at the thought of ram managing to go bald from using a brush. So, to keep his composure, he decided to talk to the blue haired made.
"If it's bothering you, you are free to cut them rem, i won't mind."
Rem remained silent for a few seconds, glancing at ram before shaking her head
"No, that isn't it. The truth is that it did bother me a little… very much, a little... extremely, a little."
Subaru used his patience developed over eons of bantering with a stupid chicken and managed a smile that could not hide his annoyance.
"Well, anyway, that proves the point that it bothers you so you don't have to hesitate."
'oh transcendents, bless me with patience because I am going to lose it.'
_____
Subaru was wiping the floor of the bathroom when he suddenly paused, sighing dejectedly.
'most preparation are done. My physical output is greater than previous loop, my proficiency and merits are also better and I also have a secondary power source to boost myself.'
With so much advancement, he should have been happy but his disappointment stemmed from something else.
Raising his hand, subaru pointed at the floor and focused. The mana in his gate rippled and surged as the feeling of discomfort settled in his body.
His gate was newly opened and was very delicate but he could cast basic spells with it so he tried...
"Fura."
....Only for nothing to happen and the mana that was sloshing around like waves settled into calm unmoving pond.
'i can't cast spells without overloading it but that drains me in a single use. I need to find the right conversion ratio.'
He sighed and got rid of the thought and returned to work when he noticed Rem standing tin the door way.
"Rem? I'll be done in a few minutes so don't worry, you can use it first since ros-san and I will be going through some budget management.'
"No, this is about what we discussed at lunchtime."
"Lunchtime? Oh, about my hair? So it really does bother you huh?"
"No, I felt that I said some things that were uncalled for." Rem bowed her head deeply and apologized with her most sincerest tone.
"I am very sorry. We may be colleagues, but as Emilia-sama's savior, your rank surpasses mine."
"Hey now, no need to bow your head. It's completely okay I don't mind it at all!"
"No, I should apologize for saying something so pointless. Please forget it." Rem looked away.
The atmosphere was starting to become awkward so subaru began thinking of anything to help get rid of the awkwardness.
"Okay, since you're really apologetic, how about you grant me two favors and in exchange, I'll forget about that entire conversation."
Rem blinked in confusion and tilted her head to the side, a flicker of curiousity dancing in her eyes. "Favor? Very well, I shall hear you out."
Subaru smiled and pulled on a lock of hair.
"For my first favor, can you give me a haircut? I believe they are way too long and get in the way of work."
Hearing his simple request, rem couldn't help but just stared at the boy in silence.
'well, there goes my attempt of making things less awkward.'
"Is something wrong rem? You can refuse if you don't want to, I'm not forcing you."
Rem quickly took off her shoes and socks and picked up the broom to help the boy clean the bath.
"It is just as Emilia-sama said. You have no ambition at all."
Taken aback by the sudden gesture of help and her peculiar words, subaru couldn't help but be taken aback.
He composed himself and returned to clean the bath with her company this time.
"Well, I really don't have many ambitions to begin with. A peaceful life with people I care for is more than enough for me."
Rem listened to him silently, evaluating his words and the genuine feeling behind them.
After a little while, they were done cleaning the bathroom and so, subaru was now sitting infront of a mirror as rem moved the scissors through his hair, expertly cutting the long and uneven locks.
"Ram wasn't lying when she praised your skills, you really are an expert when it comes to anything related to servant duties."
"You praise me too much, I'm not the impressive one, my sister is far more amazing."
Subaru did his best to not let his inner thoughts show but if he was game character, a large circle for "doubt" would be floating above his head.
"Uhhh Yeahh ram is.... Good. But you shouldn't be selling yourself short either rem."
She didn't say anything after that, focusing on her as the silence brought a sense of comfort to the both of them.
After some trimming and evening out the edges, subaru's hair were now in a much better shape than before.
The style was still the same but now atleast he wouldn't have to tie them like before. Checking himself out in the mirror, subaru gave a nod of approval and turned to rem.
"Thanks rem, you did an amazing job as always."
"I only fullfilled the request you made, doing my best is the duty of a maid of roswaal sama. Now, what is your second favor?"
Rem's reply was as straight forward but by the end there was a slight strain in her voice. Subaru noticed but kept it hidden and pretended to think.
"Hmmm... Nope, nothing comes to mind yet. I'll tell you when I need help with something, kay?"
Rem nodded and silently left, leaving subaru alone with a few words.
"We will be leaving for the village tomorrow to get some supplies. Please don't make a fool of yourself infront of the villagers, subaru-kun."
Subaru sighed and rubbed his forehead. Before rubbing his neck.
'She's very bad at hiding her killing intent, though I must say, her self restraint is admirable with how easily she managed to keep her hands from driving that scissor in my head.'
His golden eyes focused on the door, cold and calculating as he he thought of the worst case scenario.
' I'm quite sure now, her chances of being the killer is higher than anyone else's. Can they be deceiving roswaal? I can't jump to conclusions yet.'
_____
End of chapter.