Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

I guess I should have refused, since we've only known each other for two days and aren't familiar with each other yet...

But I've heard that if you reject someone's confession too harshly, it can hurt the other person a lot.

Besides, I'm already an old maid in my early twenties.

Some of the sisters I grew up with already have children...

Should I also start to get anxious...?

Just as Anna's pretty face was frozen in shock due to her intense inner struggle, Natsuki Subaru had already moved closer to her.

not enough.

Subaru Natsuki felt the sake flavor wasn't strong enough!

The smell of alcohol was enough to stop him from swaying, but it wasn't enough to make him completely forget how Emilia had just tied her shoelaces!

So Natsuki Subaru followed his instincts and took another step forward, reaching out to support Anna's hand.

Faced with that handsome face so close to hers, Anna's pupils trembled slightly. Could it be...?

Then, Natsuki Subaru gently kissed his hand.

Before his lips touched the back of her hand, he first smelled the intoxicating aroma of the wine.

The chaotic struggle in my mind finally subsided.

Natsuki Subaru breathed a satisfied sigh of relief.

Anna's cheeks flushed from the hand-kiss, the heat spreading up her cheeks to her ears.

She covered her eyes with her other hand, but her gaze unconsciously peeked through her fingers at Natsuki Subaru's handsome face, her breathing quickening involuntarily.

This man...

That's too domineering...

Natsuki Subaru looked up but didn't let go of Anna's hand, his face even showing a hint of lingering satisfaction.

Finally, finally I don't have to think about what just happened anymore...

Natsuki Subaru let out a long sigh, looked intently at Anna, and said:

"Lady Anna, please, no matter what, don't let me leave your side!"

Anna's face turned even redder, like a burning tomato. To prevent Subaru from taking any further extreme actions, she said in a panic.

"What kind of confession is that?"

"If you want to stay by our side, you should at least show enough sincerity to move us. What kind of confession is this?"

"You should give up on this idea..."

Anna ultimately chose to try to reject Subaru Natsuki in a less extreme way.

The two of them had known each other for far too short a time, so short that she didn't even know who the man in front of her was, let alone whether she liked or disliked him.

While she is indeed very curious about love, that doesn't mean she wants a relationship like that.

Confessing your feelings?

Natsuki Subaru was puzzled, because in his opinion, every word he had just said was a declaration of loyalty.

How could Lady Anna think he was confessing his feelings?

Oh, I understand.

Subaru Natsuki quickly figured it out.

Anna must be from another country; where they live, they like to express their loyalty through declarations of love.

In this light, Anna's reply just now becomes understandable.

Only by demonstrating enough sincerity to impress the lord can one be qualified to sit at the lord's table!

What a powerful and authoritative speech!

Natsuki Subaru immediately stood still and loudly swore:

"Alright! I promise I'll come up with something that will definitely impress Lady Anna!"

Anastasia was startled by Subaru Natsuki's voice:

This man... he still seems to have a lingering attachment to our family...

However, Anna quickly came to terms with it.

Well, as long as he doesn't do anything weird again...

As Anna thought about it, a smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Subaru Natsuki.

It was thanks to Subaru Natsuki's interruption that she was able to dispel the gloom and inner turmoil in her heart.

This man may not be without his merits.

Anastasia looked Natsuki Subaru up and down again, her thoughts drifting unconsciously.

She's good at math, can help ease our mood, and is also very attractive to us.

Aside from her rather eccentric way of speaking, she is indeed an ideal and capable wife...

Anna raised her head with a touch of arrogance.

Besides, he's already put it this way, so we might as well give him a chance.

Anyway, he was the one who liked our family first.

Anyway, he'll survive as long as he leaves our house.

As for whether we can ultimately gain our family's approval...

That depends on how well he can do it.

As Anna thought this, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

……

Meanwhile, Emilia ran into Ram in the corridor when she returned to Roswaal's mansion.

Seeing her absent-minded look, Ram stopped and asked:

"What's wrong with Lady Emilia?"

Emilia seemed to still be reeling from the memory of meeting Subaru Natsuki today.

"I met a man with white hair today. He was strange, but when I saw him, I felt... I became even stranger..."

Ram's eyebrows twitched slightly. What kind of radio wave description is this?

However, since the other party was the master, Ram refrained from using harsh words and instead offered advice in a calm and collected manner:

"Lady Emilia, it's best not to talk to strangers casually."

"There are still many ill-intentioned people in this world."

Emilia nodded.

She didn't refute verbally, but her gaze drifted back in the direction she had come from.

That mature, white-haired face, and the unwavering tone in his voice, lingered in my mind.

"Where is Roswaal?"

"Lord Roswaal is sleeping in his room."

Emilia slightly widened her eyes.

"Still sleeping?"

She turned to look at the closed door at the end of the corridor.

"Roswaal must have been asleep for a long time. I haven't seen him since the night Subaru disappeared."

"Are you sure everything's okay?"

Ram didn't answer; in fact, she didn't know what was wrong with Lord Roswaal either.

Why did you suddenly stop going out of the house...?

Behind that door, Roswaal was lying on the bed, his face as pale as a wet sheet of paper.

His chest and limb injuries had not fully healed, and every breath aggravated the lingering pain.

But what he couldn't let go of was that red figure, even more than his injuries.

"Sword Saint... truly worthy of the title Sword Saint."

Roswaal closed his eyes.

It's a pity that even though he suffered such serious injuries, he still couldn't kill Mycroft.

I wonder if such a price would still be enough to persuade Subaru Natsuki to help liberate the Sanctuary...

Outside the door, Ram was already preparing to leave.

Emilia asked:

"Ram, where are you going?"

"Rem has been in a bad mood lately, Ram should go check on her."

Emilia nodded. She knew that Rem had been even more devastated than Emilia since she learned of Subaru's disappearance.

If Reinhard hadn't stopped her, fearing he wouldn't be able to explain if something happened to her, Rem would have already gone out into the streets to search for Subaru's scent.

"Be careful, and tell Rem not to worry, because..." Emilia paused, but ultimately didn't finish her sentence.

Ram glanced at her with a puzzled look, but didn't ask any further questions, and turned to walk down another corridor.

Emilia returned to her room.

He raised his hand and touched the wrist that had just been gripped, the image of the man who called himself Friguel speaking flashing through his mind:

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"Having wandered for half my life, I have yet to encounter a wise ruler..."

The words lingered on her lips, and Emilia suddenly turned to look at the royal capital outside the window.

Whether it's intuition, reason, or Parker.

Everyone was telling her that the white-haired man was Natsuki Subaru.

So that Freuguer must be Subaru.

Why did Subaru change his appearance like this?

Emilia's fingers gripped the curtains, her knuckles turning white, revealing a thoughtful expression.

"Is he observing Anna's camp?"

Emilia thought it was very likely, since Subaru Natsuki had always shown that he would observe all the factions before deciding which one to side with.

The first team to be observed was their own, but unfortunately, their performance was so poor that they didn't leave a good impression on Subaru.

It is now reasonable to re-examine Anastasia's camp from a different perspective.

Anna seems very shrewd; her allegiance will surely please Subaru...

The moment this thought crossed Emilia's mind, a sense of tension immediately arose within her.

No!

She had to do something, otherwise what if Subaru really joined Anastasia's side?

Subaru won't drift further and further away from me, will he...?

Emilia's eyes gradually lost their luster as she recalled that scene.

The next second, Emilia belatedly came to her senses.

Huh? Why do I have these thoughts about Subaru...?

Thinking back, it seems that ever since I met Subaru, my gaze has unconsciously followed him...

What exactly happened?

Emilia couldn't understand it.