With a dry, rattling laugh, on the bed, Roswall lightly tapped himself on the thigh as he p.r.o.nounced this.
For just a moment, Subaru was taken aback by how meekly he had accepted defeat.
[Subaru: …….Just what, kind of wind is blowing here]
[Roswaal: Tha~t you don’t trust me up to now makes me feel a bit lo~nely. But then again, considering the relations.h.i.+p between you and I, I can’t blame you for fe~eling this way]
[Subaru: Not that I think it’s good to be so blatant with my wariness, but with everything that’s happened up to now, it’s only to be expected. You’ve always been a little on the excessively secretive side, after all…… But this time, I can trust you?]
[Roswaal: Of course]
Seeing Subaru’s suspicious gaze, Roswaal nodded and lightly opened his arms.
[Roswaal: Everything that you have accomplished over these past few days have given me more than enough proof to open my heart to you. I can be at ease now. From now on, I can place my trust in you, and into the depths of my heart accept you and recognize you――as my acco~mpli~ce]
[Subaru: Hold on. Why, do I get the feeling I’ve just been given a few heavy crosses to bear? It’s alright if you don’t rip everything open like that, just letting me touch it a little is enough]
[Roswaal: Ayaaya, even when it’s bursting out of me you’re sti~ll so cold]
[Subaru: It’s not that, but if you suddenly pull it all out like that, it’s just a bit too heavy……]
As their exchange was starting to sound like a couple who had just began dating disagreeing about where to take their relations.h.i.+p, Subaru coughed and tried to sort out his thoughts, and began with [Anyhow],
[Subaru: Let’s leave the accomplice part for another conversation, for now, just let me ask some questions I’ve been wanting to ask you. ――So, what’s the real reason you’re hiding all this information from Emilia. First, let’s start from there]
[Roswaal: ――――]
Once again, Roswaal closed one of his eyes and glared at Subaru.
How Roswaal chooses which information is shared with Emilia――the implications that can follow from this, including all the events of the previous loops, would be unfathomable.
The fact that she was a Half-Elf by birth―― if she had known that this information would incite the Witch Cult into action, then perhaps they might have been able to prepare effective countermeasures against the attack on Arlam village and the Roswaal estate.
And on the other side, it would have had an impact on Subaru’s actions as he frantically dashed to and fro to salvage the situation, then, as a result, maybe what happened to Rem would have――
[Subaru: Answer me, Roswaal. If you want to make Emilia-tan the King, then surely, it would be just as inconvenient for you if she dropped out on the way. Yet even so, why are you going to such lengths to put Emilia-tan at a disadvantage by concealing information from her? It doesn’t make any sense]
[Roswaal: To that question, I will answer it as such ――Everything is as you pointed out, and it is because it is exactly as you pointed out, that the information I share with Emilia-sama is restricted]
[Subaru: …….!? What’s that supposed to mean. Are you trying to say that concealing information and placing Emilia at a disadvantage, is somehow necessary for her winning the Royal Selection?]
[Roswaal: Indeed it is so. You don’t think there is any me~rit in that?]
Roswaal’s reply throwing his thoughts into disarray, Subaru furrowed is brows and laid bare his confusion. Seeing this response from Subaru, Roswaal s.h.i.+fted himself on the bed, causing it to creak.
[Roswaal: Subaru-kun, could thi~s be what you wa~nted to say? That when they learn of Emilia-sama’s partic.i.p.ation in the Royal Selection, there would be a possibility that the Witch Cult would make a move. And in reality, the Witch Cult did move, and attacked my lands. Furthermore, if I had known of this possibility, then I should have been able to prepare some appropriate countermeasures]
[Subaru: Y-yeah. Exactly like that. Anyone would think that, it should be obvious. I might not have known, but the relations.h.i.+p between the Witch Cult and Half-Elves is common knowledge, isn’t it? In fact, you must have known. If that’s the case, then why didn’t you prepare anything……no, even before that, why did you leave estate and seclude yourself at the Sanctuary?]
[Roswaal: I’ve been confined here in the Sanctuary, it wasn’t as if I meant to be away from estate for so many days……]
[Subaru: Your excuses won’t work anymore. How you got injured and placed into a state of house arrest was when you challenged the Tomb in order to appease the villagers from Arlam. In other words, it was a consequence of me evacuating the villagers from the Witch Cult……so before that, not returning was by your own intention]
[Roswaal: Using logic to argue against an opponent you’re angry at does pay off. It re~ally is, a good habit to get into]
Hearing Subaru’s rejection of his simple excuse, Roswaal casually shrugged as if he had never expected it to fool him. Displeased with this expression, Subaru took a step forward, but,
[Subaru: ……Ram]
[Ram: Roswaal-sama is burdened with wounds. But even so, to incinerate Subaru, a single fingertip would be sufficient……But Ram, will not forgive such insolent behaviour in front of her]
[Subaru: You seemed to have accepted it. Being treated like a sacrificial piece, it was the same for you as well. He knew those idiots were coming to the village, and yet he fled all alone from that powderkeg waiting to blow. How do you forgive something like that]
[Ram: It’s not a matter of forgiving or not forgiving. Ram will pardon any and all action taken by Roswaal-sama. However he treats Ram, whether it’s cutting me down or casting me aside, it is all the same]
[Subaru: You――!!]
In front of Ram’s incomprehensible devotion, Subaru’s throat filled up with rage
But even so, he could not suddenly resort to violence. Perhaps it was because of the sober judgement that he would not be a match against either of the two in front of him, or perhaps, it was because――
[Subaru: ……Even Rem, was sacrificed because of those kind of reasons I can’t understand]
[Ram: ――? I don’t know who you are referring to, but Ram has no relation to anyone by this name. To Ram, Roswaal-sama is everything, and everything else is insignificant]
Even Subaru’s wrenched-out appeal could not bring about the slightest fragment of an echo in Ram’s heart.
He had already known that. That for the girl who had forgotten Rem’s existence, that plea would have been meaningless. Yet, at the same time, he also understood.
From the start, he had been aware of Ram’s unusual loyalty to Roswaal.
But this perverse obstinance now, was a different kind of madness than the one carried by the Ram that Subaru had known up to now.
And there was no greater reason for this, than her having forgotten Rem’s existence.
Subaru didn’t know the details of what had happened in their past. But piecing together the fragments from what Rem had told him, he could get a sense of the mutual reliance the sisters had for each other.
With her sense of guilt, and her inferiority complex――swaying in between the two, Rem’s complexes had made her become even more deeply dependent on her older sister. And while Ram’s instability was not plain to see, when she is around her younger sister, fragments of it would show through.
Just like Rem, whose world mostly consisted of Ram, Ram’s world consisted only of Rem and Roswaal. Her complexes having been brought to a resolution, when that narrow world, beginning with Subaru, took in many, various things, Rem changed. But Ram’s world had remained narrow.
Having forgotten the person who had made up half of her world, now, Ram’s world is comprised only of Roswaal.
It may be extreme, but that was the cause of her excessive loyalty to Roswaal.
[Roswaal: Ram do~n’t excite Subaru too much. A~fter all, Subaru didn’t intend to do anything outrageous aga~inst me. It was o~nly, a step forward]
[Ram: If you says so, Roswaal-sama]
[Roswaal: Yes yes. It’s no~ matter. Isn’t that right, Subaru-kun. You look a little angry, but you are not taken over by ra~ge. Something like losing yourself and pu~nching me, you would not choose to lose this opportunity to continue our conversation without interruptions, wo~uld you]
[Subaru: Just what, is that supposed to mean……]
[Roswaal: It’s si~mple. If this was the old you, somewhere along this conversation you would have thrown a fit, shouted, and the conversation would have ended. But you didn’t, and even while you pressed down your anger you hung on to the argument, without letting go…… You have grown up, I me~an to say]
As Roswaal was lightly clapping, delivering this superficial compliment, Subaru felt a burning rage in his chest that made him want to cry out. But, knowing if he gave in to that, it would be giving his opponent exactly what he wanted, he stopped himself, and taking a long, deep breath, he held back the waves of his rage.
――And in doing so, he realized that he had proved Roswaal’s previous words correct, and he couldn’t hold back his irritation with with himself.
[Roswaal: We~ll now, teasing the young man any more than this would not be adult-like. Since you’ve shown me how you have gro~wn up, I should show a bit more matu~rity on my end as well]
[Subaru: ……Then please do so. Anyways, please clearly answer my previous question. Answer without trying dodge it. Why, have you hidden the Witch Cult from Emilia. And why, when you knew that the Witch Cult was coming, did you, the greatest combat force we have, leave the estate!]
[Roswaal: I can answer both questions with a single answer. ――I behaved as such in order to avoid a confrontation with the Witch Cult]