" "
Abruptly, she felt a tug on her sleeve.
When she looked back, she saw that it was Beatrice there. With a face Ryuzu was seeing for the first time, she was grasping Ryuzu's sleeve with unsteady fingertips.
Even Beatrice probably didn't understand why she wanted to hold her back.
But even without an explanation, Ryuzu saw the earnestness residing in Beatrice's round eyes.
"I—I…promised to…teach you how to read…"
The fact that at the very, very end, the future traced in both their thoughts was one and the same gave Ryuzu's courage the final push it needed.
Gently, Ryuzu removed Beatrice's fingers from her sleeve.
At the end, with their touching fingertips conveying each other's warmth, Ryuzu smiled like a flower in bloom.
She was afraid of nothing—Beatrice had blown all trace of it away.
"Thank you— Good-bye, Betty."
Having shared her affection with the one she had loved most in her life, Ryuzu's consciousness was enveloped by blue light.
10
"—These are all the memories of Ryuzu Meyer that I saw within the tomb."
Shima bowed her head deeply, concluding what was a brief, but seemingly lengthy, tale of the past.
Subaru and the others, listening to the end with rapt faces, had no comments about Shima's gesture. She must have endured anguish for many long years over what she had spoken about: the origin of the Sanctuary and the weight of the hidden truth about Ryuzu Meyer, the girl who was her ancestor.
"The memories end there. I have no way of knowing what happened thereafter. But from the fact that the Sanctuary continues to exist, Ryuzu Meyer's decision does not seem to have been in vain."
"However, this is…far too different from the existence of the Sanctuary as I know it…"
Most shaken of all of them was Ryuzu, who had been born in the same way as Shima. Occupying the same position, yet unaware of what knowledge her kin had kept locked away, the shock she felt from learning the truth was incalculable. Though not on the same level as her, Subaru could not help but be surprised by the truth, either.
"Young Su and others know where the magic crystal as well as Ryuzu
Meyer ended up."
"Yeah, it's right there in the replication facility… But the purpose of the facility, including the crystal, is completely different from what I'd heard. Echidna didn't say one word about the barrier, either…"
During his encounters with Echidna in her castle of dreams, she had never broached the purpose of the barrier.
Once, Echidna had falsely claimed that the Trial was unrelated to her, but his view had made an about-face. To avoid being caught by any more lies, Subaru decided that for investigating the Sanctuary's creation and the nature of the barrier, he would check not with Echidna but instead with—
"Where did Shima…or rather, the Ryuzus hear about Echidna's objective?"
Echidna's objective was immortality—by transferring her memory to one
of the replicas, she could establish a false eternal life. Then some kind of failure had occurred; only the construction of the replicas and would-be vessels remained, and even to the present day, their numbers continued to increase. That had been the story.
"I… We are the initial replicas assigned the duty of administrator. Intelligence…and the objective…were in our heads from the beginning. That is why we never once thought to question…"
"At first, I swallowed that hook, line and sinker myself. As a result, my thoughts and actions lost their normal functionality, and thus, I was removed from the Ryuzus' duty of administrator."
Shima nodded to the bewildered Ryuzu, having overcome that very same shock some ten years prior. It was clear Ryuzu had not taken it all in yet.
However, Shima had no time. They could not afford to wait for Ryuzu to regain her bearings.
"I'm sorry, Ryuzu, but let's move the conversation forward. I'm not surprised that Echidna hid her real goal. That's very normal of her. So about that hidden objective…"
"Mr. Natsuki, this has been on my mind from time to time, but you speak most recklessly about Witches, don't you…?"
"That's because I have a grudge against 'em. So who is this Melancholy who came out in the story?"
Subaru pressed about the term Melancholy, which had played such a prominent, conspicuous role. If it was just something Subaru didn't know out of ignorance, just like the seven Witches bearing the names of the Seven
Deadly Sins, then fine. But if not—
"This is the first time Ram has heard of this Melancholy as well. Even concerning the Witch of Greed, I know little but the name… However, I have not heard a single thing of this Melancholy."
"I dunno of it, either… If it ain't Granny Shi gettin' senile, what gives?"
Faced with Subaru's question, Ram and Garfiel respectively shook their heads side to side. When Subaru looked, Otto was also shrugging, wholly at a loss, his state of confusion over the circumstances only deepening.
But Subaru had a single idea that came to mind, though it was not one he particularly wanted to believe.
"The Seven Deadly Sins are Pride, Jealousy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed,
Gluttony, and Lust…but I've heard that in the past, it was different, and there were other Deadly Sins included with the ones currently recognized."
"Where did you…? I suppose it is futile to ask… So what were these other Deadly Sins?"
"I'm…pretty sure they were Melancholy and Vanity, I think."
—Stripped out of the Seven Deadly Sins, Melancholy and Vanity could be called the "old" Deadly Sins.
If this was related to the Melancholy that was connected to the Sanctuary's past, then a Vanity might also exist.
"However, this is not only vexing but a terrible thing indeed."
At that point, no one present had any room to doubt Subaru's information, which came from uncertain origins. "Is that not so?" said Otto, at the top of the list of believers, surveying the various faces of those present. "Just by existing, the Witches of the Seven Deadly Sins left their mark upon history. And yet, there are Deadly Sins unrecorded in history? Furthermore, just from hearing of them, they seem to be brutal beings indeed. Something is definitely strange."
"In the first place, even the purpose behind the Sanctuary's creation was hidden from Lady Ryuzu. In other words, the existence of Melancholy was deliberately erased. We do not know for what purpose, but…"
"Having people with good heads on their shoulders really speeds up the conversation…"
Sighing in admiration at the speed of Otto's and Ram's respective thought processes, Subaru then looked at Shima. From the group's conclusion and everything Subaru knew based on the current state of the Sanctuary, the story of what had occurred in the Sanctuary was—
"—The whole thing is fake. The duty assigned to Ryuzu, the process to give birth to replicas—it was all camouflage to cover up the
countermeasures Echidna made to deal with Melancholy, huh?"
"—It would seem that Melancholy's existence was something she had to go through such lengths to conceal."
"—! Granny!"
Subaru announced his final conclusion and when Ram agreed, Ryuzu blanched and wobbled. Instantly, Garfiel supported her by her shoulders, gently sitting his grandmother down on the tomb's stone steps.
"Sorry, poor way to say it. But I'm not sure how I should put it…"
"No, it is fine. I have come to the same conclusion as you, Young Su… I
am merely a little tired."
Lowering her eyes, Ryuzu spoke in a heavy voice. One could hardly blame her. Nor was there any reason to make her push herself.
The duty she had continued believing in for her entire lifetime had been exposed as a complete fraud. Neither Subaru nor anyone else could imagine how bitter it was to know that.
"Do you think it was all futile, Lady Ryuzu?"
"Ram…?"
Amid that silence, Ram tossed her voice toward Ryuzu as the latter hung her head. Ram crossed her arms, glancing at Garfiel, who was right beside Ryuzu, with her usual penetrating gaze.
"I am guessing you feel dejected from knowing that the duty you long believed in was a false one. However, Lady Ryuzu, was the time you spent in the Sanctuary that of duty alone?"
" "
"No matter how it may have begun, surely, it was not duty alone that spurred you on. At the very least, that's how it was for Ram."
It was a barbed way to console someone and a scolding way to be soft. It was very in character for Ram.
Ryuzu's lips trembled slightly as she digested those words. Then she used her slender hand to grip Garfiel's. Without a word, Garfiel held her hand in return. That was plenty.
It was just as Ram had said. However it may have begun, false that it might have been, that did not need taint everything that happened thereafter. Ryuzu had firmly taken those words to heart.
And the more he thought about it, the more Subaru felt emotions of painful longing claw at his chest.
"—Beatrice lost a friend, didn't she?"
Because Ryuzu Meyer was so timid and Beatrice was so obstinate, neither had made plain the friendship the pair felt for each other until the absolute, final moment.
The tender love Ryuzu Meyer had left behind when she was enveloped by the magic crystal had probably eaten away at Beatrice's heart like a curse, continuing to throb with the pain of a wound that would not heal.
He finally understood why Beatrice had rejected Subaru and why it was her true and honest wish to be allowed to die.
The wound in Beatrice's heart from having lost her one and only friend had remained a scar ever since. The hope she had clung to afterward, of meeting That Person just as her mother had commanded, had gone unfulfilled, and time had worn away her soul.
—The four hundred years Beatrice had spent was a blank, with her empty hand still extended toward what she had lost.
"…Ryuzu, has Beatrice ever met you or the others?"
"No, she has not. Lady Beatrice has not set foot upon this land ever since we replicas have been born. I, too, have always wondered: Is she not someone we should meet?"
So spoke Shima, acting as a representative for the replicas. Subaru partially concurred with her opinion.
In the end, replicas were different from the original, and even if Beatrice met Ryuzu and the others, it would not be a reunion with Ryuzu Meyer. Her wound would only widen. But.
"That was Ryuzu Meyer's final wish, right? That this place would become a Sanctuary, where everyone can smile…and she wanted Beatrice to be part of that."
"I suppose so. That was not what happened, but…"
"Certainly, four hundred years is a bit overdue…but it's not too late, either."
Beatrice's wound hadn't healed because for her, time had remained stopped.
No matter how small the wound, it would not heal if time did not advance. That was why—
"—This time, I'll smash her stopped time apart."
Subaru clenched his fist, thrusting it out as he spoke with firm resolve.
A fire had been lit inside his chest. In the back of his eyes, he saw the light. Ahead of his arm was a girl he wanted to reach.
"…I have been ever fearful that lifting the barrier might trample upon the wishes of our ancestor Ryuzu Meyer."
Hearing Subaru's declaration, Shima slowly shook her head as she spoke. The sway of her long light-pink hair came off to him as a tangible display of the unease inside her.
"With the passage of time, eras change as well. There was a time when our brethren, once called Cursebloods, were driven to this place…but those of mixed blood have been treated better of late. I was deceiving myself, using my ancestor's wish as an excuse."
"…I understand why you're worried. This isn't completely separate from the issue of blood, but there's still discrimination based on outside appearance here and there. Even if you go outside the forest, you might have some bitter experiences. But."
Arising in the back of Subaru's mind was the sight of the royal selection candidates assembled in the palace.
In that court, Emilia had put her own will into words, facing and enduring the malice directed toward her head-on. Her ideals had begun to blaze a path to the world Ryuzu Meyer wished for.
At the very least, that was what Subaru believed. And he believed Emilia would succeed.
"When Emilia brings that about, the finished Sanctuary will begin again.
When everything is set right, anyone will be able to call the whole world a Sanctuary."
Emilia would spare no effort for that sake. He couldn't speak firmly for all the other candidates, but he figured at least half of them were the sort of people to work for the greater good.
It was Subaru's role to support her from close by until someday, her ideals were extolled far and wide.
"A fantastic tale that is comfortable to the ear… They are fine-sounding words and nothing more."
"But me, I'm all in!"
When Shima loosened her lips, making that listless murmur, Garfiel vigorously pounded his chest. Smiling with a show of his sharp fangs, Garfiel nodded to Subaru, his face clear of all doubt.
"Don't let it end with just words, General… Even if ya have to give the
Princess…Lady Emilia a good kick in the butt!"
"I won't treat Emilia-tan's cute butt roughly like that. But I get you."
Shima seemed dazzled by the enthusiastic exchange between Garfiel and Subaru.
"The whole world beyond this Sanctuary…will become a Sanctuary itself, you say?"
"When that time comes, it'll be a crying shame to stay cooped up in here. As for the people giving off those disbelieving looks, you can bet I'll be right there with a smug look on my face telling them I was the first guy on board."
"Fu, kuku. I see… No doubt you will."
Shima humored Subaru's comedic manner of speaking with a smile. Judging from Shima's expression, it seemed as if she had set down a heavy, long-carried burden—no, that was indeed fact. She had finally laid it to rest.
And in setting down the heavy burden she had always carried alone, she could begin walking forward anew.
"Looks like we'll all be walking side by side going forward… Er, Shima?"
"…Oh, I have hit my operating time limit, nothing more. I've worked a little too hard for someone my age."
Wobbly, Shima made a flippant reply as Ram supported her frail frame. From Shima's words and the sleepy way she hung her head, Subaru could tell she had certainly reached her limits.
She'd reached the limit of a replica, relying on a faint supply of mana and being able to be active only at certain times. Talk of the past was over. They would let Shima sleep, her duty fulfilled. The rest had been entrusted to Subaru and the others.
"Sorry to push you so much. But you told us the things I wanted to ask and more. Thank you."
"—It's in your hands, Young Su."
When Subaru thanked her, Shima offered only a vague reply. After that, she placed her weight on Ram as her consciousness gently let go. The next time she would awaken was likely the next day, after everything had been decided.
"Yeah, those hopes from four hundred years ago are in my hands now… And they're really heavy…"
They were not something he could entrust to another and of course not something he could drop at his feet. He carried them in both arms, and if even that was insufficient, he'd beg and borrow other people's hands.
"Either way, I want to let Shima rest… Ram, can I leave this to you?"
"Garf's run-down shack…or rather, Lady Shima's hideaway is closest."
"Hey, if you're headed there, then I can go with…"
"Ahhh, please wait. Garfiel, it is too soon for you to push yourself. If you wish for Miss Ram to have an escort, let us ask Miss Ryuzu to do so." "Ahnnn?"
As Ram embraced Shima, Garfiel tried to volunteer his assistance when Otto stopped him. That action made Garfiel growl, but Ram went, "I suppose so," casually agreeing.
"If crude, rude Garf comes and interferes with Lady Shima's rest, we would be putting the cart before the dragon. I would have a guilty conscience if I left insensitive, inconsiderate men at her side instead of Lady Ryuzu."
"Yes, preci… Huh?! When you said men just now, did you include me as well?!"
Ignoring Otto's shout of disagreement, Ram took Shima and Ryuzu with her and left. As these three people with similarly colored hair departed, Otto went, "Hmm," cocking his head pensively. "I imagine it is likely that Ram still suspects us."
"Well, Ram's intuition is real sharp, so it's completely possible. But the fact that she let us go means…no, the fact that she cooperated with us in the first place means she's on our side, I'm pretty sure?"
Nodding deeply at Otto's comment, Subaru bowed his head toward Ram's already vanished back. He couldn't hold a candle to her.
"Hey, don't go leavin' me in the dark! What gives? Explain already. If ya let stuff like this go, it's just like Morglello's Ten and One, damn it!"
It was there that Garfiel, completely unable to keep up with the conversation, howled in a loud voice. "About that," said Subaru to the angry Garfiel, "you getting ticked off puts us in a bind, which is exactly why I wanted to keep that wild card Ram out of this. It doesn't feel like that meant all that much, though… She's probably hiding how run-down she is, too."
"Keep Ram out of this? Hey now, I still don't understand what the heck you're talkin' about…"
"—From this point, we shall be intruding upon Marquis Mathers's abode, you see. With Garfiel's two hands, and two people who are deadweight, I am sure we can manage somehow."
As Garfiel fell silent while struggling to decide how he should react, Otto winked at him. Glancing toward the pair, Subaru kept thinking about the tomb —and Emilia's Trial.
"Really gotta get back here before Emilia-tan comes all chest out and proud…"
CHAPTER 3
THE DAY ALPHA ORIONIS LAUGHED
1
—The tale now returns to the forest of a hundred years past, the time of the Trial that was being visited by a single girl.
"I am a member of the Witch Cult, the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly
Sins who has been entrusted with Greed—Regulus Corneas."
—The way the boy introduced himself with a laugh was the quintessence of an anomaly.
At a glance, the boy had assumed no discernible stance, instead looking full of openings. His eyes were filled with composure and conceit that would be nonexistent in a wary person. His face projected that he could not even conceive of the slightest harm being done to him.
In peaceful times, or if he was inside a formidable fortress, there would be no problem with that whatsoever. However, the boy was an uninvited guest, and right in front of him was Fortuna, her enmity high and a grave look in her eyes.
To maintain that posture even under such conditions blew right past composure into the surreal.
But the man—Regulus—was anomalous in having forced others to accept his existence.
And Emilia also remembered the title this man bore.
"An Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins from the Witch Cult…that's like the people who attacked the mansion and Earlham Village…!"
She'd heard that Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins was a title granted
to the leaders commanding the Witch Cult—the group that had turned its enmity toward Roswaal Manor and Earlham Village, and thus, the trigger for the villagers taking refuge in the Sanctuary. The other thing she'd learned was that one of those Archbishops had been personally after Emilia and that another was a bitter foe responsible for Rem's unnaturally long sleep.
"Why is a person like that in this forest…?"
"—Archbishop Regulus Corneas! Why are you here?!"
It was Geuse, standing in the forest of the past, who shouted in a shrill voice the question Emilia also desperately wanted to ask. His expression was grave, as if he were a wholly different person than the one who had shown such benevolent love toward the young Emilia and Fortuna.
"I was promised that no one save me would involve themselves with this forest and this incident!"
"Promised? That's an arrangement you arbitrarily declared and started with an arbitrary decision, right? Quite a conceited little spirit, aren't you, trying to push that onto other people and make them obey it. There are limits involving other people's wills and thoughts, so would you stop intruding upon my mind and body already?"
"That is not an answer! If you do not like the arrangement, then you should have raised the issue at the church! Yet, you showed your face here! To start with, who told you about this pla…?"
The angered Geuse and the sour Regulus seemed to be mutual acquaintances of some sort. But there was not a single shred of affection between them, nor did their conversation hold any hope of compromise.
However—
"—That is because I instructed him to do so."
Abruptly, the gentle, bell-like voice of a woman interrupted the heated exchange.
A look of fright appeared in Geuse's eyes, and Fortuna's were filled with anger. Inside her mother's arms, young Emilia's teary eyes became clouded, and Regulus's lips curled into a vile, malevolent smile.
And as she viewed the past, Emilia gasped in shock; Echidna merely gaped.
—Slipping through gaps between the trees of the forest, the sight of a single girl appeared at that place.
The girl came to a halt, lining up side by side with Regulus to face off against Emilia and the others. She was a girl with inhuman, terrifying beauty, enough to make those who set eyes upon her unable to stop themselves from trembling.
Her long, seemingly transparent platinum hair gave off a soft glow like sunlight personified, creating a waterfall of light that traveled from her slender shoulders down her back. Her eyes, rimmed with long eyelashes, were deep blue, almost like they were trapping the world within. Altogether, her facial features were excessively lovely and seemed like the ideal image of "beauty" harbored by human beings.
Her small body seemed so delicate that the thought of carrying her felt precarious. She was clad in but a single sheet of fabric, yet the very idea that anything was permitted to touch her bare flesh seemed unreal.
If, truly for instance, it was possible to kill through beauty alone, it was such "beauty" she possessed.
"What is the matter, Archbishop Romanée-Conti?"
The girl with looks that could kill inclined her head, posing that simple question.
Her tone, the casual glance, the mere fact this girl had made time for him —these things had the potential to give a normal man such an overwhelming feeling of happiness that it wouldn't be strange if his heart simply stopped.
Anyone could understand with one glance—this was a dangerous being who could not be allowed to exist in that world.
"Why…why are you here…Regulus Corneas?! Why have you brought her?!!"
Geuse gritted his teeth, seemingly to reject the difficult-to-resist urges welling up within him. This blood-tinged rejection made Regulus snort with a thoroughly exasperated look on his face.
"Are you saying I brought her here? Now, just hold on a minute; I resent people who arbitrarily decide those kinds of things. You know I despise coercing someone more than anything else, right? Her accompanying me is of her own volition. Do you have a grudge against me to make anything and everything my fault?"
"Archbishop Corneas, our friend seems confused. Do not be too hard on him."
It would not have been strange for such a statement of rebuke to set off
Regulus's temper. In spite of this, Regulus respectfully bowed, and the corners of his lips curled in enjoyment.
Written or spoken words were no longer sufficient to describe the abnormality of the vile man.
"This is… Is this not too cruel even for you, Lady Pandora…?!"
Geuse's voice, nearly out of breath, made the girl break into a thin smile.
The girl's charming smile encouraged a feeling of happiness that rivaled all the blessed things in the world. The forbearance of the girl named Pandora, forgiving all that surrounded her, was a boon to the world.
She spread her slender hands, as if her dainty arms could embrace anything and everything.
"Now, bring the Key and the seal here—so that the Witch Cult's greatest desire may be fulfilled at last." "Pandoraaaaaa—!!"
The girl's gentle declaration overlapped with Fortuna's harsh cry.
Shielding young Emilia behind her back, Fortuna howled as she summoned blue lights around her. These bright points transformed into long stakes of ice, in such great numbers that they filled Emilia's vision, their sharp tips aimed toward Pandora.
"Oh my."
"I'll make it up to Brother by turning you into a pincushion!!"
As Pandora casually stood there, Fortuna mercilessly launched a magical barrage at her.
The ice stakes, each as thick as an adult's arm, bore down on Pandora with incredible force. The sharp tips impaled the astounded girl's face; fragments of shattered ice daubed the forest white.
"With this, you will be no more—!!"
Furiously contorting her beautiful face, Fortuna cruelly brought the glimmering scene to an emphatic end. The forest sky parted, and a giant mass of ice fell, directly striking Pandora. The cold gravestone smashed into the earth.
The spectacle left young Emilia, and the Emilia of the present, unable to make a sound.
Even borrowing Puck's power, could Emilia employ magic to rival what her mother had just done? She hadn't intended to underestimate Fortuna, yet her combat ability was far above her expectations, shocking her. But— "—Now, hold on. Right now, you're not even paying attention to me, are you? Yet, the fact is that despite this, you attempted to involve me in your attack regardless… What's with that? That's trampling on my life, my
existence, my rights, and my very humanity, is it not?"
They heard deeply resentful lines emanating from within the white haze. The next moment, the fallen glacier broke apart. The sight of Regulus standing leisurely in the middle of that surreal scene of glimmering ice fragments was terrifyingly abnormal. And Pandora, standing behind him unharmed, was similarly disconcerting.
Though Regulus lightly brushed off his jacket, not only was he unharmed, but his clothes were not marred in the slightest in spite of the tremendous attack. All Pandora did was fix her hair, askew from the wind.
Regulus had likely stepped in front of Pandora to shield her, but the phenomenon was not a matter of defensive ability alone. Emilia couldn't even begin to grasp what had happened.
"So that is the Greed of this age. When I consider this encounter is normally impossible, it is deeply interesting indeed."
"…Echidna, do you know what happened just now?"
Emilia posed the question to Echidna as the latter departed from the shade of the trees, shifting to a location from which it was easier to observe the battle. Echidna lifted the corners of her lips as she frowned at Emilia, who'd moved right beside her like it was the natural thing to do, but she immediately sighed and spoke.
"I can hazard a guess, but I am far from certain. I would have liked to observe the situation a little longer before speculating about his Authority…but it would seem the circumstances will not permit it— They are on the move."
Emilia felt vexed by how authoritatively Echidna seemed on everything they were watching but decided to focus her attention on the past.
Fortuna gritted her teeth at her initial attack being fended off. Geuse stretched an arm before her.
"Lady Fortuna! Please take Lady Emilia and retreat from this place! At present, we are entirely too powerless against Regulus Corneas!"
"No…! Are you telling me to back off with that woman in front of me?!"
"Please think of the situation! Who are you protecting right now?!!"
"Urk…!"
Geuse scolded Fortuna for her aggressive position. His comment made
her open her eyes wide; Fortuna remembered that her beloved daughter, right behind her, was clinging to her clothes.
"M-Mom…"
"Emilia…"
As Fortuna picked young Emilia up into her arms, Geuse spoke with a calm voice.
"Please withdraw. And immediately seek aid from the settlement. I and the believers who came with me share a common wish. They will surely be of aid to you."
"But if we do that, what will become of you?"
"—Rest at ease. I do not intend to simply stay behind without a plan."
Countering Fortuna's morose gaze, Geuse responded with a smile, even while tension oozed from every pore he had.
In response to that proudly smiling face, Fortuna closed her eyes tight, as if severing all reluctance asunder.
"I will come back to save you— I will."
With young Emilia in her arms, Fortuna raced into the forest, leaving those words behind.
Writhing within her mother's arms, young Emilia desperately shouted toward the fast-receding Geuse.
"Geuse—!!"
That youthful, tender love brought a peaceful smile to Geuse's face as he raised his hand. From there, Emilia receded deeper into the forest, from where she could see Geuse's slender figure no more.
In spite of that, the scene, which Emilia surely had no memory of, continued on. This threw her into confusion.
"Geuse got separated from us… What's going to happen to the Trial now?!"
"Naturally, it will continue. This is a past you did not set eyes upon, but the book of knowledge is working to adjust the course of this replicated world. Considering this is a Trial, however, you should pursue your own self. What will you do?"
Replying to Emilia's question, Echidna unexpectedly stated she should go after Fortuna.
That option tempted Emilia's heart. Of course, Emilia's objective was to break past the Trial. She had no room to doubt that she should pursue her own past for that sake.
However, this was where Geuse had fought so boldly, a battle for which he had put everything on the line so that Fortuna, and moreover, young Emilia could escape. Besides— "Heh, you're staying?"
"Echidna, from how you spoke just now…it feels like you are saying there isn't a particular reason to do so."
" "
"Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but it's almost as if you want me to go that way…"
"—You are free to think as you please. Besides, even as you linger, events are already in motion."
Echidna took a step back, putting some distance between them without replying to Emilia's question. This was so that she might occupy a position with a commanding view of the battleground that the space had become.
And as Geuse stood still in the battlefield that spread before the Witch's eyes, the fiendish, white-haired man uttered a mocking laugh.
"Hmm, putting on a decent show, aren't you? But you know, who are you rejecting in allowing them to escape? Any way you think of it, my business is with them, not you. In other words, your interference is a violation of my actions, of my rights."
"Put it however you please, Regulus Corneas. I shall wager my very existence. I will not allow you to advance any farther toward them!"
"Don't say that. You might have been one of the founders of the Witch Cult, and you may have your seat because of a few past services you contributed, but if the question of who deserves it more was to come up now, that seat would be mine! Do you think you can beat me if you try hard
enough? What kind of head do you have on those shoulders?"
"That…I will show you from this moment forward."
To Regulus, who was whipping himself into a frenzy with self-serving logic, Geuse gave a simple, quiet reply.
"No… Geuse, what are you…?!"
Geuse put his hand into his habit. Recognizing that his expression was that of a man resigned to death, Emilia instantly reached a hand out toward the past. But she had no way to interfere with a tale recounting a past already long over.
The hand that had once held hers slipped away. Her outstretched hand stood untouched, unable to halt his determination.
"Hey, don't tell me that you…!"
Geuse had taken out of his habit a small black box. Setting eyes upon that little box, Regulus momentarily knit his brow, but he immediately gazed in astonishment as he realized just what it was.
Geuse shot Regulus, all his initial composure fallen away, a look of determination.
"Surely, you feel it? After all, this is something you, too, once held in your hands."
"I can tell what it is. It is because I can tell that I have no words for the level of your stupidity. Did you convince yourself that this is your trump card? I wonder why you don't get it...given that you are the one who said,
who decided, that you aren't qualified to have that!"
"Certainly, I lack compatibility. Accordingly, I have always simply carried this on my person, protecting what I was entrusted with. However, doing so was for the sake of a time like this."
Unlike the aura of indignation Regulus had borne up to that time, Geuse was composed as he shook his head side to side.
It was as if black, stagnant anger and determination like a blue flame were smashing together inside him—
"—Archbishop Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti."
Pandora, having not moved a step from her initial location, smiled as she spoke to Geuse.
That was his name. Addressed as such, he lifted his head. Pandora spoke gently to Geuse.
"I bid you a pleasant journey."
They were words of blessing, filled not with malice, not with enmity, not with ulterior motives but with goodwill.
That strange dissonance was why Emilia could not stop shuddering from the ring of those words. It was the same for Geuse.
With an expression revealing the pain he tasted as Pandora's blessing sliced into his heart like a blade, Geuse opened the black box in his palm— There was a wriggling black something within the little box.
"—Master Flugel. Please forgive me."
Speaking this, Geuse pressed that black something against his chest, tiny box and all.
Instantly, the mysterious murk scattered as if water had splashed on Geuse's chest, explosively increasing in volume until it enveloped Geuse's entire body. The sight of Geuse seemingly engulfed by a slimy living creature made Emilia raise an incoherent cry. Something was mercilessly blotting out Geuse's very existence.
"Fool."
For the first time, Regulus spat out but a single, brief word of disparagement.
At the tip of his reproachful glare, Geuse raised both arms to the heavens, screaming from his open mouth as something swallowed him whole. It was as if his existence were being clawed away, giving way to agony, delight, and indescribable feelings that were neither.
—Abruptly and eerily, the sound of out-of-place clapping mixed with that of the scream.
"Marvelous."
With a murmur of admiration, Pandora's eyes were moist, like those of a maiden in love.
Staring at Geuse, gasping as his very existence fell into chaos, she surreptitiously let out a heated, excited breath.
"Lady Pandora?"
It was not only Emilia and Echidna who found this abnormal. Even Regulus seemed to feel the same. The white-haired young man shot her a questioning look, to which Pandora responded by interrupting her applause, pointing at Geuse.
"Archbishop Regulus Corneas."
"Yes?"
"He's coming."
The next moment, Regulus found his body suddenly inverted as he was hurled high into the sky.
"Huh—?"
It was as if some angry child had grasped a doll by its feet before hurling it with all the force a child could muster.
Sent flying, Regulus made it clear on his face he had no idea what had transpired as he flew past the tops of the trees, instantly reaching a zenith, and from there on, he precipitously fell toward the ground. Cast down as if his feet were still in a child's grasp, there was nothing Regulus could do as he was slammed headfirst into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of smoke.
With a roar and a tremor, the ground exploded, and one tree fell after another, caught up in Regulus's point of impact. The man was crushed under the additional impact of the great trees, and silence befell the boisterous forest.
"—Ah."
Emilia lost her voice as she desperately tried to piece back together the string of scenes that had just happened.
—She hadn't seen any of it. But there was a single thing she did understand.
"It is aaaas…I told you."
She saw the front of the man in the black habit kneeling on the ground, tears of blood flowing from his eyes.
Glaring at the cloud of dust kicked up between the gaps in the trees, that single man—raggedly coughing at the victory he had won in exchange for all his resolve—rose to his feet, pulling away from the agony of the black something eating away at him.
His breaths were shallow, his legs unsteady. However, his soul burned hot from the flames of unyielding determination.
"Here lies hope…and the great, unforgettable debt of gratitude I owe to the people of this place…"
Mixed with his blood-tinged coughs was a sense of solemn duty that seemed to claw at his mind even as he spoke. Over many years, his feelings must have grown and grown; just how deep they ran, none could see.
None save the man himself, who gave himself over completely in service of that wish so that he might not forget what was dearest to him for even a single moment.
"Those days, that bond, that wish…these, they gave, granted unto me. No matter how much time passes, I shall forget nothing… That is why, this
moment, if I am still fit enough to cough blood…"
Tears of blood flowed freely. His blood and flesh were at their limits, and the man heaved up a clump of blood as he stubbornly clung to blessings beyond his reach.
His eye sockets were vivid crimson. Drenched in blood, his pupils were unfocused; even as he gazed straight ahead, it was doubtful whether he truly saw the world as it was.
"Just what do you see with those scarlet-hued eyes, Archbishop Romanée-Conti?"
"—Love."
It was none other than Pandora, standing at the receiving end of that gaze, who gathered astutely that his crimson eyes were not looking at her. When she paid no heed to this and posed her question, the man replied without hesitation.
Ironically, it was an exchange between two people who had been brought to the same place, two people who could absolutely not accept the other's way of thinking.
"In this world, at this moment, it is likely me who loves you most."
Enraptured, Pandora made her confession with heated breath. Those words made the man close his eyes but once, whereupon the man bared his fangs toward the woman who dared to act like she understood him most in the world.
Geuse—no, this man's name was Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti.
"You will not go after them. You…shall…not…pass!!"
2
Crying tears of blood and having let a black something take up residence inside him, Geuse howled.
That ghastly sight combined with the solemn determination beyond anything she'd imagined sent a chill running up Emilia's spine.
Though Geuse had absorbed that something mere moments before, he had by no means tamed it. He'd merely allowed it to violate his being from the inside rather than the outside.
"Geuse…what—? What have you done? What did you…?"
What had he taken inside him? What was the power he had used to bury Regulus with a single blow? It was as if something had happened that she could not see, and yet, Emilia had a feeling of déjà vu nonetheless.
—Somehow, it resembled the blow with which Subaru had settled his duel with Garfiel.
"You have splendidly proven your resolve, Archbishop Petelgeuse
Romanée-Conti."
However, Emilia's thoughts were interrupted by a bell-like voice.
Watching Geuse as he panted and literally coughed up blood, Pandora remained aloof as she voiced her praise. She hadn't even batted an eye at the death of Regulus, who'd stood right at her side; her natural beauty had not been blemished in the slightest.
"You, without qualified flesh, have done well to accept the Witch Factor into you. In the name of the Witch of Vanity, I hereby honor your resolve and resolute will by granting thee the seat of Sloth."
"Did you think I desiiired such a seat? This moment, I desire but a single thing without a shred of doubt…tranquility for that mother and daughter—!!"
Thinking of Fortuna and Emilia, who had departed from the battlefield, Geuse poured the blood of his heart and his very life into his resolve to give the pair a chance to escape, thrusting both his arms toward Pandora.
"Love. Such a marvelous thing…"
"It contains warmth that your falsehoods will never attain!"
When Pandora murmured with an expression of ecstasy, Geuse yelled as he turned his thoughts toward offense. The next moment, Emilia could sense an abnormal pressure materializing from thin air, but she could not see anything.
Nothing had happened. Nothing could have happened. And yet—
"The forest is being torn away…?!"
A wave of destruction spread, almost as if giant, transparent serpents were writhing all around Petelgeuse.
Trees were mowed down, the earth was split, and clumps of dirt, flowers, and grass were scattered all about. In accordance with Geuse's will, this gradually transformed from indiscriminate destruction into destruction of a more targeted kind. The forest's collapse, as if some giant were trampling upon it, thrust forward in a straight line toward Pandora, who was standing still.
Accordingly, the destruction would proceed to transform Pandora's little body into a cloud of blood— "Now, just a minute."
"—!!"
"I came here. I am here. What is with this line of thinking, advancing the conversation while ignoring me? I think it's time even someone as generous and unselfish as me should get a little…angry."
Just before the invisible blow was to reach Pandora, a white figure intercepted the strike.
The next moment, there was an explosion. The air rebounded, and the aftershock seemed to reshape the forest's very topography.
In spite of this, the young man bearing the brunt of that might from the front —the supposedly dead Regulus—made no move to retreat. His body displayed no wounds from events prior or even a single blemish.
"You're kidding…"
Emilia could force herself to accept the fact that he had shrugged off Fortuna's initial blow without a scratch. If the gap in strength between two fighters was far enough apart, perhaps fending off ferocious, lethal attacks was indeed possible.
But Geuse's invisible attack was another matter entirely. Emilia had most certainly seen Regulus being slammed into the ground, unable to do a thing about it— Why wasn't he wounded? He wasn't even dirty.
Regulus had some kind of trick that kept attacks—no, something preventing everyone from affecting him at all.
"Regulus Corneas…!!"
"How unpleasant. You, the one who refuses to acknowledge the Witch Factor, ignored its cost and forced it into yourself, yes? Is this not showing contempt for we who rightly hold our seats? Does this not wound my tiny yet unshakable self-esteem?"
"You may say it is futile, but I—!"
As Regulus spoke provocatively, his head violently snapped back from some invisible blow. But when Regulus returned his twisted neck to its previous position, once again his face showed no trace of the strike. The vile man merely grimaced in open displeasure, standing defenseless as he continued to be showered by Geuse's attacks.
Standing still and unguarded, he made no attempt to defend himself, yet even as his entire body sustained blow after blow, Regulus did not fall. The power Geuse had wagered some undefined thing to obtain was ineffective, yet he showed no sign of being daunted, either.
Even if Geuse could not advance, he could slow his opponent down. He continued launching his attacks so as to pin Regulus in place.
"—This is going nowhere. During this time of stalemate, there seem to be developments where 'you' have gone."
The battle consisted of Geuse's valiant onslaught and Regulus's ruthless rebuff—as Emilia observed the fighting, Echidna spoke to her from behind.
Her emotionless statement made Emilia raise her refined eyebrows and grit her teeth.
"Are you telling me to leave this place? Even though Geuse is fighting with everything he's got?!"
"There is room for me to argue that the strength of one's feelings bears no effect upon the results, but unfortunately, I have no intention of debating that with you. I have little interest in bullying the weak, and I find your voice extremely unpleasant."
"Then why don't you just shut up and watch?! I…!"
—She wanted to remain in that place and watch over Geuse.
"—!"
When she tried to speak those words, Emilia froze, stopped by none other than her own heart.
Instantly reaching her hand up, she touched the cracked crystal at her neck. The sensation reminded Emilia of her objective. Emilia had come to challenge the Trial and to come to terms with her regrets about the past.
Perhaps this moment was her one and only chance to watch Geuse's battle until its conclusion. But she would be betraying both Subaru, who had seen her off at the tomb's entrance, and Geuse, who was sacrificing everything to let young Emilia and Fortuna escape.
There was a past beyond Geuse's valiant struggle, a true past that Emilia had forgotten.
"—Surely, even your deficient mind can understand which course is wiser."
"…I think you were right after all. Let's go after Mom and me. Geuse is…"
"This is a battle between two Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins. The scales shall not be so easily tipped. That said, if the remaining person became involved, that would be a different story…but it is inconceivable that she would join in."
Emilia had lingering regrets as Geuse's one-sided offensive against Regulus increased in ferocity before her eyes. His tears of blood continued, and blood also flowed out from Geuse's nostrils and the corner of his mouth. The more that something infringed on the inside of his body, the more the force and the accuracy of the invisible destruction rose by leaps and bounds.
But in contrast, Regulus's inexplicable defensive might was unwavering. It was a total stalemate.
"Haaa…"
Then just as Echidna had pointed out, she noticed how enraptured Pandora was while watching the fighting continue; she did not show even a smidgeon of intent to join in the battle. The abnormality of the scene made Emilia feel a shudder.
"Echidna?"
"—. Let us switch locations and go after you and your mother. They were fleeing into the forest, yes?"
For a moment, something else seemed to have captured Echidna's attention. However, it was truly momentary. When addressed, her consciousness switched back, and Echidna snapped her fingers right before Emilia's eyes. The next instant, Emilia's vision swam, and the scene shifted.
Then, as they were split off from the battlefield of such fierce combat, the first thing that reached Emilia was— "No! Mom, no! Please don't leave me!!"
Hearing the high-pitched, tearful voice of a child, Emilia reflexively turned around.
Right before her, Emilia saw a familiar, great tree—and in front of the door that led to the Princess Room, Fortuna was trying to get the sobbing young Emilia to listen to her.
"I'm begging you, do as I say, Emilia. It's all right; very soon…yes, very soon, everything will be over, and I'll come back for you. So please, just for a little while, stay here and hide."
"No! Absolutely not! Mom, you have the same face as Geuse! Why do you look like you're not coming back?! Wh-what are you going to…leave me here for…?!?"
Using the entirety of her tiny being, Emilia desperately clung to her mother so she wouldn't slip away.
Considering that she was a young child, shrugging her off should have been a simple thing. Even so, Fortuna could not bring herself to be callous to her own daughter. The reason why was right there, filling the woman's eyes.
Fortuna was Emilia's mother. That was why she could not simply cast aside her tearful daughter's hand.
"Don't leave me! Let me go with you! I won't lie anymore! I won't break any more promises!! I'll be a good girl! I'll be a good girl, so…please don't leave me…!"
"Emilia… Emilia, Emilia, Emilia…!"
Wanting to stay with her mother no matter what it took, Emilia offered up everything she could think of. Her voice made Fortuna spontaneously hold her daughter tight. Had she not done so, Emilia would have seen the state her face was in.
—Her daughter would have seen her mother sobbing a flood of tears.
"Mom…"
And so with clear eyes, the Emilia of the present beheld the scene that young Emilia could not.
To Emilia, Fortuna was eternally admirable, imposing, strong… Her mother was someone she revered, and she'd believed without a doubt that there was not a single weak bone in her body. She'd never imagined seeing Fortuna this hurt, this stricken by nigh unendurable grief as hot tears flowed freely.
Through the prism of the past, her mother's crying tore open Emilia's heart. Though she instantly brought both her hands to her face, she could not stop her own tears.
Seeing that scene, witnessing her mother's face from the present, Emilia keenly understood.
She had never doubted it, but in that moment, she gained renewed conviction.
"Mom…you're my real mother…"
It didn't matter any longer who'd actually given birth to her.
No matter how much Fortuna had claimed to be nothing but a stand-in for her mother and however much she asked Emilia to not forget her real mother, this would never change.
Even though she treasured and respected Fortuna so much, those words alone, she could never accept.
"Mom…I love you…!"
"—Lady Fortuna! And Emilia, too!"
Fortuna was still unable to peel Emilia off her when a voice called to her from behind.
The voice made Fortuna vigorously wipe her tears away and rise to see who was there. It was Archi, the young man with swaying triple braids. Nervousness rested in his green eyes, but the sight of Fortuna and Emilia together made him say, "I'm so glad," visibly relieved.
"Archi! The forest… Is everyone in the settlement safe?!"
"—. No, I am sad to say. Those who came with Lord Archbishop are engaged in combat with a group of men!"
No doubt Archi noticed the traces of Fortuna's tears, but he did not press the issue, prioritizing his report. Hearing the details made Fortuna lower her eyes, which conveyed her worries to Emilia as well. In an attempt to comfort the young girl, Archi reassured her.
"Emilia, there is no need to be so afraid. It's all right. Believe in me and everyone in the settlement. Plus your mother is a very strong and scary person."
"O-okay…"
"Archi, scary is excessive. Goodness…"
As Archi smiled at Emilia, his words made Fortuna indignantly cross her arms. Having regained a portion of her usual composure, Fortuna exhaled sharply at Archi's show of consideration.
"I suppose that even if I return Emilia to her room, it won't keep her hidden for long…"
"It pains me to say it, but if she is in this forest, they will eventually find her. Their objective…"
"—Is the seal, I imagine. I don't know how they heard of it, but even that woman came crawling out…"
Fortuna's anger toward the assailants—in particular, Pandora—was incredible. Something must have happened between them to cause Fortuna to lose her calm like that.
Even if that was not the case, combat was breaking out in every corner of the forest. Emilia's homeland had already been turned into a battlefield.
"Fine. At any rate, I'm heading out. I have the greatest fighting ability of anyone in the forest, so this is not the time to dawdle in a place like this."
"No! We will fight! Lady Fortuna, please take Emilia out of the forest!"
"If we run from here, what then? All that will accomplish is allowing this peaceful land to be stolen. If we lose, it means the seal will fall into their hands. This time, the world will be destroyed!"
When Archi tried to get her to reconsider, Fortuna silenced him with an even stronger tone of voice. After that, seemingly embarrassed by her angry retort, he added, "I am sorry."
"You resent me, don't you? You should never have been caught up in all this. All because you took Emilia and me in… This is a hardship you never needed."
"—!! No one— There isn't a single person among us who thinks that way!!"
"Archi…"
Archi met Fortuna's regretful voice with a fierce retort, as if that was the only thing he could not allow her to say. Archi was indignant, his face red up to the tips of his long, pointy ears, a trait distinctive of the elves.
"Please stop treating us like strangers! It's true that compared to our long life spans, the time we spent here may seem as brief as the blink of an eye! But—but even so, have you forgotten the time we have spent together in this forest?!"
" "
"Who could think of you…of family as unwanted?! You, your older brother, and… Do not make us out to be ingrates who would forget the debt of gratitude we owe to Emilia's mother!"
Archi's emotions exploded, his voice tearful and pleading. The young elf, still a boy at heart, went down on his knees, sniffing as he gazed at Fortuna.
His face left Fortuna wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry—I came very close to once again rejecting my family."
"Lady Fortuna… I—I said too much…"
"No, you helped me remember something very important. I have always disappointed those who love me. Even though I have regretted it many times, I forget again soon after. That's why…"
Shaking her head to the kneeling Archi, Fortuna slowly went down on one knee before Emilia.
"Emilia, listen carefully. Mom has a duty to protect everyone. It's very important. That's why I'll be away, just for a tiny bit."
"N…no, Mom. I—I…!"
"Please. Do as I say, just for a little while. I want you to go with Archi and head outside the forest. This forest…is really dangerous, so please."
Fortuna spoke to Emilia, who shook her head with teary eyes, then looked back to Archi. Seeing the resolve resting in those violet eyes, Archi felt his slender body stiffen.
"L-Lady Fortuna… I—!"
"Archi…it is a little soon, but I entrust the duty of Guardian to you. Please take Emilia with you out of the forest. It is a difficult world to live in, but surely, there is hope. I know there is. So…"
"Please don't speak as if this is the end! I'll stand with you and everyone until the very…"
"Take care of Emilia. For my brother, my sister-in-law, and me, she's our precious, irreplaceable daughter."
Fortuna spoke in a frail, fleeting voice, so removed from her usual strong and sublime self.
Hearing Fortuna, both as a mother and as a woman, brought Archi to tears. He sobbed, covering his face with both hands.
"That's low…! You know that if you say it that way, there's no way I can refuse… I—I want to fight with everyone, too…! Yet…!"
"I'm sorry, forcing so many burdens onto you children like this. Forgive us for being so unfair."
Placing a hand on the crying young man's shoulder, Fortuna painfully asked for his forgiveness. Archi said nothing, but his unceasing tears were proof that he had already accepted her request.
"Emilia."
"No!! Mom, I wanna be with you! Please! Pretty please! I'm asking nicely! Please let me be with you!! I don't want… I don't want to be alone!!"
"You're not alone at all. Listen to me."
Weeping and wailing, Emilia covered her ears, trying to block out her mother's parting words. Seeing this made the Emilia of the present want to go and pinch her younger self on the cheeks.
It was not that she wanted to scold her unwillingness to listen. It was because she wanted to convey that all the words Fortuna was saying, every word and every phrase, were things the girl absolutely had to remember.
"Emilia."
Fortuna bent down low, gently embracing Emilia and pulling her close.
She grabbed Emilia's arms, though the girl was desperately trying to cover her own ears, and nestled her head in her daughter's silver hair. Then she brought their faces close, rubbing cheek to cheek with a gentle touch, as if she was taking care to not damage a thing more precious than anything else in all of existence.
"Mom is always by your side. When you close your eyes, I'll be there, inside your memories. When you hug yourself, I'll be the warmth inside your chest. When you call, I will be the echo under the sky. Mom is with you.
Always, always, forever and ever, together."
"Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar… Mom, you liar…!"
"Emilia—I promise."
Emilia refused all her mother's reassurances, but that last word made her breath catch.
Her smiling mother offered a palm right in front of her, seemingly drawing in Emilia's palm until they finally touched.
"Mom and Emilia will always be together. I promise you."
"W-we'll really…be together…?"
"Yes, really. Emilia… Lia, Mom really loves you, more than anyone in this world."
The gentle voice with which she called her Lia made Emilia, and Emilia's emotions, fall apart.
Sobs spilled out, and the two Emilias, past and present, collapsed into tears on the spot.
"Mom… I—I love you, too… I love… I love…!!"
"I love you. I love you, Mom. I really love you so much…"
Present and past, the two Emilias' emotions overlapped, desperately trying to return those feelings of love.
They strained their voices as much as their bodies would let them, as if they knew that if they failed to pour it all out now, if they didn't share with their mother everything they felt, they would never have another chance.
"—Lia, I love you."
Fortuna gently touched her hot lips to her daughter's cheek, eyelid, and brow.
They touched. They embraced. At that late stage, Fortuna did so to display her motherly love—this was the only moment Fortuna allowed herself to be Emilia's mother.
"…Archi, please."
"—Yes. I understand."
Having expressed her undying love to her beloved daughter with all her being, Fortuna stood up and addressed Archi.
The tearful young man accepted Emilia from Fortuna, firmly holding that tiny body in his arms as he deeply bowed his head.
"You will probably get away safely…"
"Yes...I understand! Emilia…this girl will absolutely not be harmed by anyone!"
As Archi shouted it like a vow, Fortuna relaxed, her relief visible on her face.
After that, she pointed in the direction that led outside the forest.
"Please. Go."
Archi, who no longer had words left to speak, broke into a run in the direction Fortuna pointed.
Held tight by the young man racing through the woods, Emilia looked back over his shoulder one last time— She looked at her receding mother, raising an incoherent voice.
That voice made the sharp look in Fortuna's eyes truly soften gently. "—I love you, Emilia."
3
Held by Archi, Emilia desperately gazed in the direction of her mother, who was no longer in view.
Perhaps if she kept staring over there, the sight of her unseen mother might pop out somewhere without warning. Perhaps her mother was chasing after her. Those were the hopes she clung to.
"Emilia…!"
The little girl's earnest hopes reached even Archi as he clutched her tiny body. What could anyone say to a little girl who'd been separated from her beloved mother? No one had a good answer to that.
"Why…why…?! Why did it end up like…this…? I-is it because I broke my promise…because I left the room…?"
"No. You're wrong, Emilia. Emilia, it's not your fault! It's not Lady Fortuna's fault; it's not anyone's fault! There's no reason for you to blame yourself!"
"Then why…? Why are they leaving me…? Mom, Geuse… Is—is it because they hate me…because I did all kinds of bad things…?"
The all-too-sudden separation had pushed young Emilia's heart right up to the breaking point.
She looked back on her own actions, trying to find some way she was responsible, the reason why everything had gone so badly.
She'd broken her promises. She'd left a room she wasn't supposed to leave any number of times. She'd gone to a place deep in the forest she was forbidden from going, discovered a seal she wasn't supposed to know— She couldn't help but think all these things put together had brought this about.
"Would it be better if I'd been alone…alone locked in that room the whole time? If I'd done that, could I have been with everyone…not losing anyone…?"
"Emilia…!"
"Was I a bad girl…? Is that why everyone hates me…why I'll be alone?"
"You're wrong… You're wrong, Emilia. No one— No one hates you at all. This world doesn't exist to make you suffer. This world, and everyone in it, is here to make you happy…!"
The girl's tears kept falling as Archi desperately tried to get through to her. Part of it was because he wanted Emilia to stop crying. More than that, it was also what he so dearly wanted to believe in.
It wasn't just Fortuna or Geuse. Everyone related to Emilia in the past loved her, protected her, and would do anything to help her.
"You, youngster there—!"
As Archi sprinted through the forest, there was a sharp voice as someone leaped out onto the path.
Archi immediately shot a wary look toward the individual in a black habit who had slipped through a gap in the trees. But the other party greeted him by lifting both hands up.
"Wait! I am one of Lord Archbishop Romanée-Conti's 'fingers'!"
"The Lord Archbishop's…"
"Yes, be at ease. You are safe he… Wait, could that be…?!"
The man in the habit identified himself, bringing Archi some measure of relief. It wasn't long before the man noticed him carrying Emilia in his arms and reacted with shock. Archi solemnly nodded at him.