Upon entering the living room, Natsuki Subaru, Emilia, and Rem sat down with their long-unseen friend.
"I heard a maid had resigned not long before I arrived at the mansion. So that was you?" Subaru asked.
"The term 'resigned' isn't quite accurate." Frederica said, gently shaking her head. "I was only on personal leave for a while... though I admit I did return a bit earlier than expected."
"This was before Subaru arrived." Emilia recalled, looking at Frederica. "It was about three months ago. It's so good to see you again."
"Lady Emilia, you're as considerate as ever." Frederica smiled at the compliment, though she habitually covered her mouth with her sleeve—not out of shyness, but to hide her sharp teeth.
Natsuki Subaru secretly sized up Frederica. This golden-haired maid had one-quarter demi-human blood flowing through her veins, a fact evidenced by her prominent canines. Despite her unusual appearance, her loyalty to Roswaal and her work ethic were impeccable. It's also worth mentioning that she was the older sister of Garfiel, the guardian of the Sanctuary.
"I was summoned back, only to find the mansion completely empty..." Frederica continued. "I was at a loss for what to do, but thankfully I found a letter in Lord Roswaal's office that explained the situation."
"A letter?" Subaru leaned forward curiously. "Was it from Roswaal?"
"No, it was written by Ram..." A helpless smile flashed in Frederica's eyes. "She was the one who called me back, but she only left a single letter with a brief explanation. That casual attitude is very much her style. Am I being too indulgent by saying that?"
"Speaking of which." Subaru said, taking a sip of tea from the table, "what was the reason Ram specifically called you back?"
"The answer is obvious." Rem said, her hands folded primly in front of her skirt, her tone serious. "Lady Emilia was—"
"I heard." Frederica interrupted with a smile. "I came back to find the kitchen a mess and the courtyard so overgrown with weeds you could hide a ground dragon in it."
"Pfft—" Subaru nearly sprayed out his tea. "That reason is a little too realistic, isn't it?"
"Wait, Subaru." Emilia quickly tried to smooth things over. "You can't blame Ram for everything. The mansion just seems to get messy on its own for some reason... I tried to help, but..."
"That's not the point, Emilia." Subaru said with a wave of his hand. "That girl was just using the excuse of 'leaving it all to Rem' to be openly lazy!"
"That's not true." Emilia said, lifting her chin in imitation of Ram's tone. "Ram clearly said: 'Please rest assured and leave this level of work to Rem. Rem will figure something out~'"
"Figure something out? Her idea of 'figuring something out' was probably just to dump all the work on Rem and Frederica!" Subaru retorted. He could vividly picture Ram's smug, nose-in-the-air expression as she declared, "Because Rem can do anything," as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Subaru doesn't have to worry." Rem said gently, handing him a cup of tea. "Rem is indeed good at all housework. Whether it's cleaning, laundry, or cooking, I do it better than my sister."
You're being too kind, Rem, Subaru thought, though he was screaming internally. It's because the younger sister is too capable that the older sister became so useless! What kind of ultimate unequal distribution of talent is this?!
"But... that's strange, isn't it?" Emilia said thoughtfully, tracing the rim of her teacup. "When Frederica was away, Ram was always working so hard. Why is it that just this past month..." Her voice trailed off as her purple eyes widened, having clearly realized the answer herself.
During the time Frederica was gone, Subaru silently added in his mind, the mansion stayed tidy entirely because both Rem and Ram were there to manage it. Of course, to say they "both" managed it was just a figure of speech. In reality, Rem alone handled over ninety percent of the mansion's chores.
"It's because without the all-capable Rem, Ram alone can't possibly keep the mansion running." Subaru said, turning to the blue-haired maid beside him and giving her a thumbs-up. "That's why she was in such a hurry to call Frederica back to save the day. After all, Rem is a genius at housework, while Ram is an expert at slacking off."
In response to Subaru's praise, Rem lowered her head slightly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "Sister... she really does try her best."
"Hey, even if you are her sister, you don't have to defend her so much." Subaru couldn't help but say, seeing Rem's willingness to take on all the work. "I've witnessed her slacking off with my own eyes." He remembered the time he tried to teach her to bake cookies; she had simply piled the flour into a model of a castle and called it "strategic baking."
Frederica chuckled, covering her mouth as her fangs glinted. "So many years have passed, but Ram is still the same as ever." Her explanation was that Ram's logic was, "Rem will bake the edible parts anyway..." "It's a nostalgic excuse for being lazy." Frederica finished.
"Rem, as her younger sister." Subaru said to her with a serious face, "you need to push Ram a little. It would be good for you to occasionally learn to refuse that slacker sister of yours. You're working too hard all by yourself."
Hearing this, Rem shook her head, her blue hair swaying. "No, no need! It's Rem's honor to be able to share sister's burdens."
"It's 'Rem's honor'?" Subaru sighed helplessly, mimicking Rem's common speech pattern. "Honestly, where can I get a perennial good girl of a sister like Rem?"
At the same time...
In the Forbidden Library, the lights swayed gently in the darkness. Beatrice's slender white fingers hovered over a yellowed page, a freshly written annotation still wet beside a quill pen.
Ever since the sound of the dragon carriage had reached the mansion, the familiar footsteps had drilled into her ears like an annoying spell. Her heartbeat, which hadn't wavered for four hundred years, was now racing as if under a spell.
"That noisy human... has he finally decided to come back, I suppose...?"
Beatrice slammed the heavy tome shut with a thump, the sound exceptionally loud in the quiet library. "How unsightly..."
She walked to the door but stopped, hesitating, her fingers hovering half an inch from the ornate handle. That person who always annoyed her was probably downstairs telling boring jokes right now. Even the soundproofing barrier couldn't block his exaggerated laughter... it seemed even louder than she remembered.
"He's such a big idiot..." she whispered to the empty air.
It's been a month. Has he grown taller? Why does an ordinary human boy have to do such dangerous things? The White Whale... and a Sin Archbishop... The wounds from the battle, I wonder if he treated them properly?
"But... but why... why can't I get that person out of my mind?"
Her fingers finally touched the doorknob, only to retract as if shocked. Could four hundred years of solitude be shaken by the company of a human for a few mere days? Beatrice looked down at her slightly trembling fingertips. There, she could still feel the phantom sensation of the candy wrapper he had forced into her hand a month ago. It was a wrapper she should have thrown away long ago, but it was now tucked away within the pages of her most treasured book.
"It's not like I'm waiting for him, in fact."
After chatting with Frederica, Emilia, and Rem, and introducing a trembling Otto to everyone, Natsuki Subaru returned to his room alone. The moment his fingers touched the doorknob, a familiar premonition washed over him. That subtle resistance... he was almost one hundred percent certain.
Sigh... Is it the Door Crossing again...?
Creeak—
As the door opened, he was, as expected, greeted by the unchanging sight of the Forbidden Library. In the windowless, sealed space, time seemed to stand still.
And in that dimness, the small figure was just as he remembered. A spirit girl with golden twin-tails, her little feet clad in purple thigh-high socks, swayed gently as she sat on a stepladder taller than she was, completely absorbed in a book that covered her entire lap.
That chair is taller than she is. Is she really not going to fall? Subaru thought. He put on a brilliant smile and greeted her in a deliberately cheerful tone.
"Yo! Long time no see, Little Beako!"
"Hmph." Beatrice finally deigned to lift her eyelids lazily. Her brilliant blue pupils flashed with an almost imperceptible ripple upon seeing the visitor, before immediately reverting to a look of annoyance. "No wonder the mansion is so noisy all of a sudden... So it's you, the troublesome one, who has returned."
With that, her gaze fell back to the page, as if looking at him for another second was a waste of time.
"Yep, yep~ It's your beloved Natsuki Subaru, returned in triumph!" Subaru walked into the room nonchalantly, closing the door behind him. "It's been so long. Did you miss me?"
"Hmph." Beatrice snorted through her nose. "Betty was rather hoping you would disappear and not come back to bother me every day, in fact."
"Oh, now that hurts~" Subaru said, clutching his chest dramatically. "I, for one, was missing Betty's sharp tongue every single day!"
"Since you're here alive and kicking, I suppose all that boring commotion is finally over." Beatrice said, turning a page without looking up, deliberately ignoring his teasing.
"My, my, are you worried about me?" Subaru grinned, leaning closer to the stepladder.
"Who'd be worried about you?" The book snapped shut with a thump. Beatrice finally gave Subaru a full glare. "Betty has no free time to worry about a mere human, in fact."
"Is that so? I get the feeling you're lying." Subaru stared into Beatrice's blue eyes.
Beatrice turned her face away. But Subaru keenly noticed that as she closed the book, her slender fingers had quietly made a tiny fold on the corner of the page.
Whoa, isn't that a complete giveaway? This Great Spirit, who was always going on about how "Betty never stops reading." had actually been distracted this whole time. She cared so much, yet she still had to put on an act of annoyance... What a perfect tsundere.
Subaru smiled. "I see. My dear Betty wouldn't be waiting for me, of course. It's just a coincidence that you happened to be folding a page corner today, and just happened to look up the moment I walked in, right?"
"W-What are you talking about!" The tips of Beatrice's ears instantly turned red. "Betty wasn't waiting for you, in fact! You, a mere human, stop being so full of yourself!"
As if for emphasis, she held up her little finger. "And besides... Betty doesn't care about you, not even this much!"
"Okay, okay, my dear Beako hates my guts." Subaru said, suppressing his laughter.
"That's right... I hate you." Beatrice muttered, but from an angle Subaru couldn't see, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Quietly, she opened the book again to the page with the folded corner.
_____
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