WebNovels

Chapter 178 - This is All Their Heartfelt Sentiment.

In the dining room, the atmosphere was warm yet subtle. Morning light streamed through the window frames, making the long table seem especially bright.

The table was laden with a sumptuous breakfast—the fragrant aroma of fried eggs, golden-brown toast, and a rich, tempting stew.

Most of it was clearly Natsuki Subaru's favorite kind of food.

These delicious dishes were, without a doubt, meticulously prepared by Rem.

As the all-capable maid of the Roswaal Mansion, Rem's cooking skills were naturally impeccable; the aroma alone was enough to make one's mouth water.

Beatrice sat, as if it were her right, in the seat to Natsuki Subaru's right, continuously placing food on his plate:

"Subaru, eat this omelet. Betty thinks it's cooked just right."

To his left, Rem, while quietly performing her duties as a maid, gently pushed a plate of stew in front of Natsuki Subaru:

"Subaru, Rem slow-cooked this with a new sauce. You must try it."

Seeing this, Beatrice immediately puffed up her fair cheeks, her voice tinged with dissatisfaction:

"The bacon Betty gave you is Subaru's favorite! Isn't that right, Subaru?"

As she spoke, she added another spoonful of mashed potatoes to Natsuki Subaru's bowl,

"You have to finish this too."

"Remember..." Rem pursed her lips slightly, cutting another piece of sausage and placing it in Natsuki Subaru's bowl,

"Subaru said last night that he wanted to eat more meat to build up his stamina. Rem remembers everything."

"Betty also knows all of Subaru's preferences..." Beatrice retorted, not to be outdone, as she handed him a slice of bread spread with jam. "Subaru, come try this. Betty spread it for you..."

"Rem believes Subaru should have some soup first to warm his stomach..." Rem said, ladling a bowl of steaming hot soup.

"This was made especially for you."

"Er... um... I'm about full..."

Looking at the bowl piled high like a small mountain before him, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but speak up with a wry smile.

Seriously, Rem and Beatrice were being a bit too enthusiastic, but feeling their earnest intentions, he could only do his best to eat it all.

Emilia sat at the head of the table, blinking her purple eyes as she watched the undercurrents at the dining table. She seemed a little puzzled but still maintained her gentle smile:

"Everyone is so... um, harmonious today. But Rem, it seems like you've only been serving Subaru. Beatrice and I would love to try some of your special stew too."

"My deepest apologies, Lady Emilia." Rem bowed slightly, but the motion of her hands didn't stop.

"Rem will serve you a portion right away, but Subaru's portion must be prioritized. It is a maid's duty."

Beatrice immediately chimed in, "And Betty will continue to serve Subaru. This is a contractor's special privilege!"

Natsuki Subaru felt the gazes from his left and right—different in meaning but equally intense—and the competitive atmosphere at the table. He could only bury his head and eat for dear life, wishing he could just shove his face into the plate.

This meal... is unbelievably stressful!

It's even more exhausting than fighting the Magic Beast, the Great Rabbit.

Rem's jealousy, Betty's possessiveness... Could this sweet burden be lightened just a little?

However, despite Natsuki Subaru's constant inner wailing, when he looked up at the girls around him whom he had sworn to protect, an indescribable sense of fulfillment and happiness quietly filled his heart.

Rem's focused profile, Beatrice's pouting expression, and Emilia's gentle smile.

Perhaps this was the daily life he had struggled and grown stronger to protect.

It was noisy and occasionally a headache, but it was full of life and warmth.

Even if that warmth was sometimes a bit too... heavy.

"Oh well, I'll just train for an extra two hours later to burn it off."

Natsuki Subaru thought with resignation, continuing his battle against the mountain of food before him.

"After all, this is all from their hearts..."

As for Roswaal and Ram, they had departed early for the Royal Capital to visit some nobles on domain matters.

As the Margrave of the Lugunica Kingdom, Roswaal often received invitations for meetings from various nobles and had to handle inter-domain affairs, so such trips were not uncommon.

"But speaking of which..." Natsuki Subaru recalled as he chewed on a sausage Rem had fried for him to perfection,

"It was only after I beat Roswaal to a pulp during the Sanctuary incident and burned his 'Book of Wisdom' that we truly clarified our relationship."

Though that conflict was fierce, it became a turning point.

In the end, Roswaal carved a curse mark of the covenant onto his own body, solemnly promising not to harm anyone here. He also confessed his insane obsession: to resurrect the Witch of Greed, Echidna, at any cost.

This ancient curse magic was a contract where fulfilling a promise came with a corresponding price.

Once the mark took effect, it was absolutely binding.

If he were to break the vow, Roswaal's soul would be polluted by darkness, his body would be consumed and incinerated by hellfire, and he would never be able to return to his form as 'Od Laguna', but would instead fall directly into nothingness—this was the vow he made with his life on the line.

In a way, this brought a great deal of peace of mind to everyone in the mansion.

After all, it was now impossible for Roswaal to betray them; any act that went against his promise meant self-destruction.

"Of course, Roswaal now says he's willing to fully support Emilia-tan's participation in the Royal Selection... I suppose he's realized that without my help, his wish to resurrect the Witch of Greed, Echidna, is impossible. He can only rely on me now."

At this thought, a slight smile touched Natsuki Subaru's lips.

The Roswaal of today was less an ally and more a dangerous figure who had been leashed and forced to cooperate.

Having Roswaal behave for a while was a good thing for everyone in the mansion.

Otherwise, Natsuki Subaru wouldn't mind dealing with him permanently on a physical level.

After countless life-and-death struggles and battles, with his current strength, eliminating Roswaal would not be a difficult task.

The thought was cold, but to protect the people important to him, he had long since prepared himself for it.

While Natsuki Subaru was lost in thought, the atmosphere at the dining table was far less warm and harmonious than the food.

In the afternoon, sunlight quietly spilled into the mansion's corridors, filling the air with a lazy atmosphere.

Natsuki Subaru was about to head to the courtyard when he ran into a hurrying Rem at a corner.

"Rem, what's wrong? You look like you're busy with something."

Natsuki Subaru's eyes glinted slightly as he noticed Rem was holding a cream-colored letter. The envelope's edges had an exquisite pattern, clearly not an ordinary letter.

"Subaru." Rem stopped and bowed slightly. "A messenger from Lady Crusch has just arrived at the mansion to deliver this invitation."

"Crusch? An invitation at this time... it must be to invite Emilia to a gathering in the Royal Capital."

Natsuki Subaru took the envelope and carefully examined the wax seal, which bore the crest of the Karsten family.

After all, Emilia's camp had a close relationship with Crusch's faction. They had previously joined forces to subjugate the White Whale and defeat the Sin Archbishop of Greed, so such an invitation wasn't surprising.

Thinking this, Natsuki Subaru said to Rem:

"I'll take it to Emilia."

"Very well."

Rem nodded slightly, watching him walk away.

Following the familiar corridor, Natsuki Subaru soon arrived at the door to the study.

This study was a learning space prepared especially for Emilia, and its door and windows were usually kept shut.

After all, Emilia was very focused when she studied and didn't like to be disturbed. Sometimes, Rem had to repeatedly urge her just to get her to come out for meals.

But today, the door was ajar.

"Hm?"

Natsuki Subaru gently pushed the door open, and the sight that greeted him was Emilia, fast asleep at her desk.

Her long silver hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, shimmering with a soft glow in the afternoon sun. Her cheek rested on her folded arms, her breathing steady and gentle.

"Seeing her like this... I don't have the heart to wake her. But Emilia really is so cute..."

Natsuki Subaru unconsciously lightened his steps, quietly approaching the desk.

His gaze swept across the tabletop, landing on a tall stack of books.

On top was the 'Compendium of Laws of the Lugunica Kingdom', in the middle was 'Annals of Governance of Past Monarchs', and there was also an open copy of 'Noble Etiquette', its pages filled with dense notes written in red ink.

Natsuki Subaru picked up the 'Compendium of Laws' and flipped through it. The text inside was convoluted and winding, completely beyond his comprehension.

"And there are books written in RO-script. This is way too hard for me."

Natsuki Subaru frowned, seeing that some books were filled with complex and difficult characters he clearly didn't recognize.

The writing system of the Lugunica Kingdom was quite complex. With Rem and Ram's help, Natsuki Subaru had spent a lot of effort mastering the basic I-script, but the RO-script and HA-script had always been a headache for him.

(Walnut: Is this canon, or did the fanfic author just make it up?)

In the Lugunica Kingdom's writing system, the basic I-script was used for daily communication by common people, such as on shop signs and letter signatures.

Having been in this world for about two months, Natsuki Subaru was basically proficient in it.

RO-script was mostly used for official documents and historical records, making it much more difficult than I-script. He only recognized a few simple phrases.

And HA-script was the most complex; only nobles and scholars would study it systematically. It was said to have over a thousand characters, and to this day, he couldn't recognize a single one completely.

Several of the books before him were written in RO-script and HA-script. It was no wonder Emilia had to spend so much time studying them.

"Looks like being a royal candidate isn't so easy."

Natsuki Subaru sighed softly, his gaze once again falling on the sleeping Emilia.

Although Emilia was often criticized for her half-elf status and silver hair, she had never given up trying.

Fortunately, Natsuki Subaru's successful subjugation of the White Whale, defeat of the Sin Archbishop of Greed, and killing of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth had helped improve her image in the eyes of the people somewhat.

But even so, as a candidate for the Royal Selection, Emilia's disadvantages were obvious.

She had no prior knowledge of human society and now had to learn governance strategies and etiquette from scratch, which was indeed very difficult.

Natsuki Subaru stood quietly at the desk, gazing at Emilia's beautiful, unguarded sleeping face.

The sunlight gently fell on her face, outlining her soft features.

In this moment, she was no longer the royal candidate shouldering a heavy burden, but just an ordinary girl who needed rest.

"Oh well... I should let her sleep a little longer."

Natsuki Subaru unconsciously reached out, wanting to stroke that soft silver hair, but he pulled his hand back abruptly just before making contact.

Just as he was about to leave quietly, he heard a rustling sound behind him.

Emilia slowly raised her head, her amethyst eyes still hazy with sleep:

"Subaru? When did you get here?"

"Just now."

Natsuki Subaru quickly turned around and replied.

"Why is Subaru here?"

Emilia tilted her head slightly, asking in confusion.

"I just came to see how you were doing, and I happened to catch our future queen secretly dozing off." Natsuki Subaru composed himself and looked at Emilia again, a teasing smile on his lips.

"But falling asleep while reading... that's actually really cute."

To be honest, Emilia usually had a serious and airheaded demeanor. This was the first time he had seen her sleeping so unguardedly; she looked a bit more soft and childish than usual.

"I-I wasn't slacking off..." Emilia blinked her amethyst eyes, her cheeks flushing slightly as she said, "I was just a little tired... so I closed my eyes to rest for a moment."

"Mmm... that explanation doesn't seem any different from no explanation at all."

Seeing Emilia's cute and shy appearance, Natsuki Subaru couldn't resist teasing her further.

"Hmph, honestly, Subaru!"

Emilia puffed up her cute cheeks and deliberately turned her head away, pretending to ignore him.

"Alright, alright..." Seeing this, Natsuki Subaru reined in his smile and pointed to the high stack of books on the desk.

"Having to learn so much difficult material every day, from law to etiquette, and also memorizing knowledge about domain management... it's perfectly normal to feel tired. If it were me, I probably would have given up long ago."

He meant it. Just looking at all that convoluted text made his head spin, let alone trying to memorize it all.

"Subaru... are you worried about me?"

Emilia tilted her head slightly, her purple eyes holding a hint of shyness as she asked in a small voice.

"Of course I'm worried about you, do you even need to ask?" Natsuki Subaru replied without a second thought, a warm smile spreading across his lips. "Don't forget, I'm your knight. Worrying about you is my duty, and more than that, it's what I want to do."

He paused for a moment, his eyes lighting up as if he had just thought of a good idea, and leaned forward.

"Hey, I thought of a way that can help you concentrate and efficiently review your lessons. Want to give it a try?"

"Eh? What kind of way?"

Emilia blinked her eyes, her curiosity immediately piqued.

"Well..." Natsuki Subaru deliberately dragged out his words, beckoning mysteriously to Emilia.

"Come over here, and you'll find out."

This trick was an essential skill for students back in his world, specifically for tackling those tough subjects. It should be able to help Emilia out.

But seeing how innocent she is, she might find this method quite novel.

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Sorry for the delay in the chapter, we are caught up with the author in the chapter count.

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