Tsukasa looked at Rem, who was like a completely different person compared to the expressionless maid who always carried a heavy burden before.
His tone carried a hint of approval as he said with a smile, "Not bad. Compared to that preoccupied, expressionless look from before, your current state is much better. And..."
He deliberately elongated his tone, looking at her with sincere eyes. "The way you look when you smile is very beautiful."
Facing his blunt praise, Rem's face turned a bit redder. Looking at him dressed in a black uniform, possessing an aura that was both dashingly unrestrained and mysterious, she couldn't help but feel a sense of security.
She responded in a small voice, "This... this is all thanks to Tsukasa."
"No, this isn't my credit."
Tsukasa shook his head, pulling back his joking expression a bit as his tone became serious.
"Subaru and I, at most, acted as the accelerant that gave you a push. The real key to untying that knot in your heart..."
He gazed into Rem's eyes and said with a smile, "Should be Ram, right? She has already talked to you, hasn't she?"
Hearing this, Rem's eyes widened slightly in surprise. She didn't understand how Tsukasa knew about that conversation between her and her sister.
Looking at Rem's confused expression, Tsukasa knew very well in his heart that his previous words had perhaps only broken the layer of ice wrapping Rem's heart, but to make the frozen emotions completely melt, the truly warm sunlight ultimately came from her closest kin—that is, Ram's deep-seated, unchanging sisterly love.
...
After confirming once more that Rem's body was fine and only needed rest to recover, Tsukasa took the initiative to bid farewell and leave the room.
To be honest, since helping Rem untie her heart's knot, the defenseless tenderness and trust the blue-haired maid showed him made him, a man used to doing as he pleased, feel a bit overwhelmed.
He followed the path he came by, preparing to return to the guest room where Subaru was.
However, just as he reached a corner in the corridor, he ran head-on into someone he hadn't expected to meet at this moment.
"You..."
Standing before him was none other than the master of this mansion, Roswaal L. Mathers.
At this moment, his posture was somewhat peculiar. Dozens of envelopes of various colors were floating around him, as if held up by an invisible force.
But what was most amusing was perhaps the undisguised, exaggerated expression on his face, a mix of astonishment and inquiry.
Tsukasa looked at Roswaal's face, which hadn't yet composed its surprised expression, and before the other party could organize his words, he spoke first with a playful tone, "Hey, clown-face, we meet again. This expression of yours is much more pleasing to the eye than that usual fake smile."
Hearing that familiar mocking tone, Roswaal quickly snapped back to his senses. His habitual, seemingly calculated smile resurfaced as he shook his head slightly and responded in that unique cadence of his, "Although your appearance is indeeeeed surprising, after witnessing thaaaat pillar of light soaring into the sky that night, I had already expected it. In any case, I must solemnly thaaaank you, Tsukasa-san, for saving Rem and the entire village."
After finishing his thanks, he paused, his heterochromatic eyes sweeping over the floating envelopes as he took the initiative to explain, "These letters are thank-you gifts sent by theeee villagers and the children. Thanks to you, the village waaas preserved. Among these letters, most written by the children aaaare thank-you notes for Subaru, while the villagers mostly express their gratitudeeee to Emilia-sama."
Tsukasa listened quietly, his gaze lingering on the letters for a moment, then suggested in a flat tone, "These letters... the part regarding Subaru, leave them to me to handle."
"I happen to be heading back to her room. As the lord, your aftermath duties must be piled up like a mountain, right? There's no need to handle such trivial matters personally."
Roswaal was clearly stunned for a moment upon hearing Tsukasa offer to share the load, and then the smile on his face seemed to become a bit more genuine.
"Quiiiiite so, then I shall beeee most grateful. There are indeeeeeed many urgent matters awaiting my attention."
As he spoke, his fingers moved slightly, and the portion of the floating letters belonging to Subaru automatically separated and fell neatly into Tsukasa's hands.
After completing the hand-off, Roswaal headed in the direction Tsukasa had come from—toward the courtyard where Emilia was—humming a melody with a seemingly relaxed mood as he walked away.
Tsukasa looked down at the thick stack of letters in his hand, the handwriting childish but full of sincerity, and his thoughts couldn't help but drift back.
It reminded him of a long time ago in the orphanage, when there was also a little girl who often wrote letters to him like this. She was one of the few people who could be called a friend in his long and lonely past.
He sighed and shook his head, shaking those suddenly emerging old memories out of his mind.
Now was not the time to indulge in the past.
He delayed no longer, using Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue to suspend the letters in the air, then walked straight toward the room where Subaru was.
—
In the depths of the chaotic darkness of her consciousness, Subaru felt the oppressive gloom around her gradually fading. In front of her blurred vision, a figure seemed to be standing.
Though she couldn't see the person's face clearly, an indescribable, reassuring sense of security was constantly flowing from that direction.
Then, she felt her outstretched hand being gently grasped by a warm hand. The touch was real and firm, as if it could dispel all the gloom and unease shrouding her.
"Ugh..."
With a faint groan, the "sleeping beauty" Subaru lying on the soft large bed had her eyelashes tremble as she slowly opened her eyes.
Subconsciously using the support of that hand, she sat up somewhat weakly. Her pupils were initially a bit scattered and hazy, but they quickly focused, regaining their usual clarity.
She looked around somewhat blankly. This guest room, decorated as magnificently as a princess's bedchamber, made her feel a bit unfamiliar and out of place.
Just then, a familiar playful voice rang in her ear. "Do you like holding my hand that much? It seems you really like me. It's okay, next time I can be more generous and let you hold it as much as you want."
Subaru snapped her head down, only to realize that she had been tightly clutching Tsukasa's hand the whole time.
That real, warm touch had never disappeared.
Instantly, intense embarrassment flooded her heart, her cheeks turning bright red in a flash. As if burned, she quickly pulled her hand back.
And this scene was captured perfectly by Ram, who was quietly keeping watch by the bedside.
She immediately let out an undisguised click of the tongue filled with disdain. "Tch."