"No… no…" Hearing Natsuki Subaru mention the word "couple," Emilia immediately denied it shyly, hastily explaining,
"You Te and I just met today; we're friends, not a couple…"
Although very innocent, Emilia still knew a bit about couples, knowing that couples kissed, and after kissing, they would have babies.
This was all knowledge Puck had taught her.
Although she had a good impression of You Te, having a baby was still too early!
Hearing this, Natsuki Subaru was a bit bewildered.
Met today?
They just met and could do such intimate actions?
Is this the local custom of another world?
Truly, the transmigration was right!
Moreover, You Te and Liya had just met, and their feelings weren't deep, so he had a great chance!
"Liya, I also want to be friends with you, can I?" Natsuki Subaru suddenly asked her in a low voice.
You Te raised an eyebrow; this male lead wanted to poach his girl.
No martial virtue.
"Um… My name is Emilia, you can call me Emilia." Emilia laughed awkwardly. She wasn't used to anyone calling her Liya besides Puck and You Te.
"Uh… cough, cough, Emilia." Natsuki Subaru was quite thick-skinned and continued to ask, "Then, Emilia, I want to be friends with you, can I?"
"You Te's friend is my friend," Emilia said politely. She could sense Natsuki Subaru's desire towards her.
Unlike You Te, Natsuki Subaru's overtures were purposeful.
His gaze at her just now was very aggressive.
Also, in front of You Te, Emilia instinctively wanted to maintain distance from other males.
Though she didn't know why she felt this way.
Natsuki Subaru was rebuffed again and could only scratch his head, laughing awkwardly.
This was awkward.
He subtly glanced at the calm and collected You Te beside him, wondering what kind of bewitching potion he had given Emilia.
"Alright, Subaru, let's talk about serious matters first." After Natsuki Subaru finished speaking, You Te gently asked Emilia,
"Liya, what happened? Tell me, and we'll solve it together."
Emilia hesitated slightly.
She didn't really want You Te to get involved in the Royal Selection.
But looking at You Te's very worried gaze, she finally chose to tell the truth.
Listening to Emilia's description of the female thief, You Te immediately thought of the figure that had been jumping on the rooftops earlier.
"Liya, you don't have to worry. I saw that female thief just now. I'll use the Karsten Dukedom's intelligence system to help you find her later," You Te smiled softly.
"Don't worry, with me here, there'll be no accidents."
"Mhm, mhm." Emilia showed a sweet smile, feeling warm inside. This feeling of being helped and cared for was truly wonderful.
At the same time, she thought about the difference between You Te and Natsuki Subaru: one genuinely worried about her and acted, while the other was driven by desire and only paid lip service to wanting to be friends.
Natsuki Subaru, who was beside them, was completely confused.
You Te hailed a dragon carriage, and after the three got in, he briefly explained the situation to Natsuki Subaru.
But he didn't mention that the insignia was a token related to the Royal Selection.
The more Natsuki Subaru listened, the more excited he became, then he assured Emilia, "Don't worry, Emilia, I will definitely help you get your insignia back."
He was incredibly excited, thinking to himself that this was the transmigrator's first quest—helping the silver-haired girl of the Royal Selection retrieve her stolen insignia, building up favorability, and finally winning her over.
He truly was the chosen one.
Just as Natsuki Subaru was fantasizing, Emilia subtly frowned.
Why was Natsuki Subaru so happy that her insignia was stolen?
He said he would definitely help her find the insignia, but he didn't know anything; it sounded like empty promises, just shouting slogans.
But since he was You Te's friend, she would just endure it.
"It's alright, just leave it to me." Seeing Emilia's slight frown, You Te patted her hand, comforting her.
"Mhm… Thank you, You Te…" Emilia felt an overwhelming sense of security when she was with You Te.
She didn't need to worry about anything.
She was no longer alone.
"Hey! You Te, as a friend, how can you touch Emilia-tan's hand?" Natsuki Subaru immediately became annoyed, feeling offended.
After his fantasies, in his mind, Emilia was the sole heroine, a love at first sight.
As a noble transmigrator, Natsuki Subaru genuinely believed he was unique and would definitely win the heart of the native girl.
The manga plots were all like this.
The plot should develop this way.
Although You Te was a good person, he wasn't enough to be his rival in love.
"Ah, I'm sorry, it's indeed my fault." The green tea You Te apologized pitifully to Emilia.
"You don't need to apologize!" Emilia, on the contrary, became anxious. She looked at Natsuki Subaru with dissatisfaction and said, "First, You Te was just comforting me. Second, please don't call me Emilia-tan. My name is Emilia."
"Emilia-tan, don't be angry, I was just joking, haha, hahaha." Natsuki Subaru scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"You…" Emilia was completely speechless.
Taking a deep breath, she continuously self-comforted in her mind—this Natsuki Subaru is You Te's friend, I can't be angry. Natsuki Subaru is You Te's friend, I can't be angry.
You Te watched this scene with interest, thinking to himself that the male lead was truly courting death.
No wonder he was heavily criticized at the beginning of the anime.
With such low emotional intelligence, it's no wonder handsome viewers cursed him.
His reputation improved later because he could use Magic Witchcraft, erasing all the bad points.
Tsk.
Such low emotional intelligence doesn't qualify him to be his rival in love.
You Te and Natsuki Subaru had the same opinion—the other was not worthy of being their rival in love.
Don't rush.
He really couldn't let Natsuki Subaru die for now.
Emilia must be dissatisfied with him.
Let's postpone it after the experiment; there's no hurry anyway.
You Te felt that he should be able to retain his memories, after all, he knew Natsuki Subaru could use Magic Witchcraft, and the Jealous Witch had already caused trouble once.
Thinking about it now, the 'why' the Jealous Witch asked back then should have been asking why he knew Natsuki Subaru's Authority.
What You Te didn't expect was that the divine sword could block the Jealous Witch.
The Sword Holder lineage is indeed powerful.
The dragon carriage quickly arrived at the Karsten Dukedom.
When Natsuki Subaru's gaze fell upon the grand Dukedom, his eyes instantly widened.
The magnificent architecture, towering spires, and exquisite decorations all exuded an aura of nobility and luxury.
Seeing that You Te was the leader, the guards at the entrance of the Dukedom did not obstruct them and let them pass directly.
After handing the apples and snacks to the maid, You Te found Felix and asked him to take the two to the reception hall, while he went alone to Kuerxiu's study.
Inside the study.
Kuerxiu was looking at documents; she had many things to deal with every day.
Seeing that it was You Te, she put away the documents and asked with a smile,
"You Te, did you have fun with Felix today?"
"It was alright." You Te nodded, briefly explaining what happened today and asking for help from the Dukedom's intelligence system.
Kuerxiu nodded, "Of course, I'll send someone to investigate right away."
She paused, then looked at You Te calmly and asked,
"So, You Te, are you planning to join Emilia's faction?"