Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

After making the decision.

Natsuki Subaru put down his wine glass and returned to the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce.

Just as I arrived, I heard a rough, loud voice coming from in front of me:

"Hey bro, what are you still doing standing at the door?"

Subaru Natsuki turned around.

Ricardo Wilkins, the ronin, stood there holding a stack of shipping documents, his eyebrows raised high.

"The bills for today have all arrived. I've been looking for you for ages, and here you are, just standing there doing nothing."

Natsuki Subaru glanced in the direction of Anna's office, then looked at the ledger in Ricardo's hand.

"Let's go." Natsuki Subaru's voice was unusually calm.

Ricardo sensed that Subaru Natsuki was in a bad mood, sniffed, and frowned as he said:

"You smell strongly of alcohol. Did you go drinking this early in the morning? How can you even do the accounting?"

Natsuki Subaru smiled slightly: "It's alright, the more we drink our sake, the smarter we become?"

Ricardo watched his retreating figure and scratched his head with a hint of distrust.

"I don't quite believe it."

"Brother, say less." Natsuki Subaru patted him on the back.

Ricardo was helpless, but Natsuki Subaru was indeed a completely different person now. Although he was puzzled, he did not ask any further questions.

The two returned to the accounting office.

In the blink of an eye, they were immersed in their busy work.

Ricardo was initially somewhat distrustful of Subaru Natsuki's drunken state.

However, after seeing that Subaru Natsuki had been drinking, he was able to give out numbers much faster than before, and his accuracy hadn't decreased.

Only then could I finally relax.

At the same time, I couldn't help but marvel. I'd never heard of anyone whose mind got sharper the more they drank.

The two worked until late at night.

After the last account was settled, Natsuki Subaru closed the ledger and returned to his room alone.

He had specially prepared a lot of accounts for the upcoming period today, so that even if Anastasia's camp lost him, they would have enough time to find a new accountant.

The wine he bought during the day was on the table.

He poured himself a glass, drank it, and then sat on the edge of the bed, remaining motionless for a long time.

I will be leaving Anna's camp tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will transform back into Natsuki Subaru.

I'm going to see Emilia tomorrow.

The three things happening at once made his head throb again.

Natsuki Subaru raised his hand and pressed it to his chest, finally giving up on thinking and opening the seal on his chest.

A tiny glass bead landed in my palm.

The next moment, Capela reappeared by the bedside.

She didn't immediately launch into a sarcastic remark as usual, but instead looked at Subaru Natsuki with a complicated expression, only to quickly look away after meeting his gaze.

Subaru Natsuki glanced at her, reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently resting his head on Capella's head.

Capella's body stiffened for a moment as he felt the hot breath on his head.

Having already prepared to leave, Subaru Natsuki felt no more reservations. He gently stroked Capella's head and said softly:

"You've suffered these past few days. Don't worry, tomorrow we'll go and say goodbye to Lady Anna. We'll never let you feel stifled inside the beads again..."

He added with a sigh, "What a mediocre ruler... The wine is so fragrant, yet he has no tolerance for others whatsoever."

Capela pursed his lips and remained silent.

Natsuki Subaru waited a moment, and seeing that she did not respond, he tightened his arms, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the darkness, only Capela's pupils continued to gleam with a scarlet light.

Her gaze towards Subaru Natsuki grew increasingly complex...

She felt it was because the emptiness inside the beads had accompanied her for too long.

Only when she was held in this man's arms did she finally have control over her body and the ability to think, which led to this situation.

This thought made her even angrier.

Capela closed his eyes, determined to find another way to regain his freedom.

Subaru's breathing quickly calmed down.

She listened to the voice, her lips moved, but in the end she didn't do anything else and slowly closed her eyes.

……

That same night, when Anna returned to her room, the candle had already burned down a bit.

She sat on the edge of the bed, not immediately taking off her coat, her gaze repeatedly falling towards the door.

There were no footsteps outside the door.

Friguel still did not return to apologize.

Anna waited until the candlelight dimmed further, her fingers crumpling the hem of her dress.

"That idiot..."

She muttered a curse under her breath and glared at the door that remained closed.

"You were the one who provoked us first, and you just left after getting a few scoldings?"

There was still no response from inside the room after those words were spoken.

Anna bit her lip, the anticipation of waiting for someone to return stuck in her chest, growing increasingly suffocating.

"Let's go then."

She abruptly threw off the covers, lay down, and turned her back to the floor.

"Who cares if you come back to coax us!"

After saying that, she couldn't help but turn over and glance at the door.

The door remained closed...

At the same time, in a makeshift interrogation room deep within the palace, Julius stood before a table.

Crusch sat behind the table, Russell Ferro took notes, and Wilhelm stood to the side.

From his past experiences to the relocation of the Knights, to the current situation of Anastasia's camp, and the actions on the night of the attack on the palace, Julius has answered many questions.

But to his surprise, Crusch never seemed to ask him if he was willing to swear allegiance.

The feeling of the guillotine hovering above his head, refusing to fall, caused him immense pain.

Finally, Crusch, dressed in military uniform, made a move beyond asking a question. She closed the notebook, exchanged a glance with Russell beside her, nodded, and said:

“Julius Jucrius, you may leave now.”

Julius raised his head, his tone filled with surprise:

"Leave? Now?"

“Now.” Crusch nodded calmly.

"Is Lady Crusch not going to continue questioning?"

"That's enough."

Julius looked at her, his brow furrowing slightly.

"I don't understand."

Crusch offered no explanation. With the capital in such a state of chaos, he had neither the inclination nor the time to provide an explanation for everyone.

He simply signaled to the guard to open the door.

Julius walked out of the interrogation room with doubts.

Wilhelm followed behind him, and after walking a distance, he whispered:

"Lady Crusch, I have one more thing to report."

Crusch raised her eyes.

"what's up?"

"Regarding Subaru Natsuki's whereabouts."

"You have a lead?" Crusch's previously weary eyes lit up with a hint of surprise.

"Yes."

Wilhelm paused for a moment.

"When I took Julius to see Lady Anna today, I saw a white-haired young man in the merchant guild."

Crusch tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

"so what?"

"He was young, and his handsome face was no less than Julius's. He was the new accountant in Anastasia's camp."

Wilhelm recalled those eyes and continued:

"But I found his eyes to be very special, and they felt familiar to me."

"The things inside are things that only those who have walked on the edge of death countless times possess."

Crusch didn't interrupt and continued listening.

If someone else had said these words, she would have laughed at them.

But the person before him was Wilhelm, known as the Sword Demon, a figure who had overshadowed a generation of Sword Saints. His sensitivity to such auras was definitely superior to his own.

"Besides that, there was a resolute determination in his eyes..."

Wilhelm hesitated as he spoke.

"Actually, I haven't seen it in anyone else, so I can't be sure if it is perseverance."

"But I know very well that the last person with such eyes was Subaru Natsuki."

Crusch's gaze darkened.

"So you mean that Subaru Natsuki has changed his appearance and is hiding his identity within Anastasia's camp?"

Wilhelm nodded slightly.

Kurush closed his eyes and pondered.

After regaining consciousness, Lord Merotov kept asking about Subaru Natsuki's whereabouts, but after searching for a long time, he still couldn't find any clues.

Now Wilhelm finally saw a gaze similar to Subaru's in a white-haired youth.

This matter needs to be confirmed in person.

"Alright, Lord Wilhelm, I'd like to trouble you to make another trip to the Hexin Chamber of Commerce early tomorrow morning."

"Find that white-haired youth."

“Bring him back. Once we see him, Lord Russell and I will be able to confirm through the blessing whether he is really Subaru Natsuki.”

Wilhelm bowed his head and accepted the order.

"Yes."

……

The night grew deeper.

One by one, the lights throughout the Chamber of Commerce went out, and the people who had been busy all day gradually fell asleep. Only Anna's room had a small lamp still on.