Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

Rem's room is never a place where male guests can enter freely.

However, considering Rem's expression when she mentioned Subaru last night, it went far beyond gratitude towards an ordinary guest.

If she, as the older sister, doesn't intervene in advance, it will eventually develop to a point where she can no longer control it.

Ram had to seriously consider whether the man in front of her was qualified to continue getting close to her sister.

Subaru Natsuki has a strange thought process, and his speech often leaves people scratching their heads.

But he never treated Rem as a servant.

He will respect Rem, affirm what she does, and stand in front of her without hesitation when the blade falls.

However, these alone were not enough to gain Ram's approval.

But the arm lost protecting Rem carries more weight than any sweet words.

In addition, Lord Roswaal also wanted to keep Subaru Natsuki.

If Subaru Natsuki and Rem's relationship continues to improve, the likelihood of him staying in the team will naturally increase.

Whether as an older sister or as Lord Roswaal's subordinate, Ram had no reason to continue obstructing the process.

This is indeed a win-win situation.

In the end, Ram gave the room's location.

"On the second floor, on the east side, Rem's room is the second one at the end of the corridor."

She paused for a moment, then added with a slightly teasing tone:

"I know Rem is cute, but Subaru, don't do anything 00XX to her while she's asleep, okay?"

Natsuki Subaru's brows immediately furrowed.

"What kind of person do you take me for, Natsuki Subaru?"

"How could I do such a thing to the noble Rem?"

"But I'm a married man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ram and Emilia opened their eyes wide at the same time.

The restaurant fell silent again.

Natsuki Subaru realized he had said something inappropriate and quickly added:

"No, to be precise, she's my fiancée."

Ram squinted.

"fiancée?"

Emilia did not respond.

She only felt as if something had gently bumped into her chest.

why?

Why did she get nervous when she heard Natsuki Subaru say that he had a wife?

It was clearly a message that had nothing to do with her.

Natsuki Subaru didn't notice the expressions on their faces.

He stood in the center of the restaurant and began to tell the story of his fiancée.

"That was a marriage arranged for me by my former lord, Boss Cao."

"Because Boss Cao liked me so much, he felt that a talent like me should not be left to wander outside, so he betrothed his daughter, Princess Qinghe, to me."

"Unfortunately, it seems we won't have the chance to get married right now..."

Upon hearing this, Ram's expression became slightly more serious.

Natsuki Subaru's voice also softened unconsciously as he recalled the past.

He rarely mentioned Princess Qinghe, and he rarely even dared to think about her.

It's not because I forgot.

It's precisely because I remember it so clearly.

The first time I saw her, Princess Qinghe was wearing a light gold dress and standing under the corridor of the Prince of Wei's residence.

The weather was lovely that day.

Sunlight streamed down from the eaves, illuminating her hair ornaments, making them appear as if a small golden flame rested in her hair.

She is very beautiful.

She wasn't the kind of beauty that made people only want to look at her from afar and not dare to approach her, but rather someone with bright eyes and a lively expression who could make people want to keep looking at her even if she just slightly raised her chin.

She was holding a small fan in her hand, and when she saw Subaru Natsuki, she first looked him up and down.

"You're Subaru Natsuki?"

Natsuki Subaru had just returned from the battlefield, and his armor hadn't been completely wiped clean yet. He could charge out without hesitation when facing the enemy, but when facing her, he suddenly didn't know where to put his hands.

"It's down."

"I heard from my father that you were very capable on the battlefield."

"What else did my lord say about me?"

He said that as long as you have a breath left, you will be invincible.

Princess Qinghe blinked.

"And you still say you're not someone to be trifled with."

Natsuki Subaru immediately straightened his back.

"That's natural."

Princess Qinghe burst out laughing.

When she smiles, her eyes crinkle slightly, and her previous haughty demeanor disappears, making her look like a girl who has finally found an interesting toy.

"You're really not being polite."

"I'm just stating the facts."

"But I heard that you went in and out of battle seven times and won the battle, but you didn't even dare to hug the girl you captured."

Natsuki Subaru's face turned bright red, and he became incoherent:

"They are all pitiful people harmed by the chaos of war. How could I... when I'm meeting them for the first time?"

Natsuki Subaru stopped there.

He was well aware that his insistence on this point was actually quite ridiculous in this era.

After conquering a city, looting money, people, and women became the mainstream behavior of this era.

His behavior will only make people laugh at him for not being a hero.

And that was indeed the case. Princess Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then laughed even more happily.

But Natsuki Subaru inexplicably felt that the smile on her lips didn't actually carry much of a mocking meaning; instead, it revealed a certain...satisfaction?

They talked for a long time that day.

She asked him about his experiences on the battlefield, what kind of alcohol he usually liked to drink, and why he always ended up covered in wounds.

Natsuki Subaru was a little reserved at first, but he gradually relaxed.

Princess Qinghe was very beautiful and intelligent.

She would secretly observe Subaru's expression after saying something forceful, and only after confirming that he wasn't angry would she continue speaking as if nothing had happened.

She would push her favorite snacks in front of Subaru Natsuki, but deliberately say that they were leftovers from not being able to finish them.

She would pretend not to understand a joke after Subaru Natsuki told it, and only burst out laughing when Subaru was disappointed.

That laughter was soft, yet it remained etched in Natsuki Subaru's memory for many years.

Princess Qinghe did indeed have a strong personality.

After the engagement was finalized, she met Subaru Natsuki for the first time in a formal meeting, and tapped his chest with her fan.

"Let me say this upfront."

"If you ever dare to take a concubine, I will kill you."

Chapter 45: 045. Pressure Vegetable Subaru

Natsuki Subaru was stunned.

Princess Qinghe's cheeks flushed slightly, but her tone remained unyielding.

"After I kill you, I will kill myself."

"That way, even if you go to the underworld, you won't be able to shake me off."

Looking at her serious expression, Natsuki Subaru suddenly felt that this princess was a little too cute.

"Your Highness, please rest assured."

"Although I, Natsuki Subaru, am often misunderstood, I am not the kind of person who is fickle."

"Better so."

Princess Qinghe closed her fan and turned her face slightly away.

"If you don't let me down, I naturally won't let others bully you."

She spoke very softly.

Subaru Natsuki overheard it.

At that moment, for the first time, he felt that he might really have a place where he wouldn't have to die repeatedly or be ready to leave at any time.

Home...

I, Natsuki Subaru, finally have a home...

The engagement was thus finalized.

Unfortunately, before the wedding could take place, Natsuki Subaru discovered that he had been suffering from a serious illness since childhood.

As fate would have it, the illness came on very quickly.

Subaru didn't even have time to formally marry Princess Qinghe before he suddenly lost consciousness on an ordinary morning.

That was the last time he saw Princess Qinghe.

Boss Cao's cries of despair, blaming fate, jolted him awake from his deathbed.

In a daze, he saw Princess Qinghe, dressed in white mourning clothes, wiping away tears not far behind Cao Cao.

He wanted to say, "We're not married, you don't need to do this for me. How will you marry someone else in the future?"

But he no longer had the strength to say it.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the fruit stand.

Princess Qinghe did not live to see her wedding.

Subaru Natsuki never saw her again.

But he always remembered her.

It's not because she's Mr. Cao's daughter, nor because she's a princess.

It was simply because, in his long, almost endless life, Princess Qinghe had once looked at him earnestly, smiled, and spoken to him.

She had also entrusted her entire future to him, a man of lower status than her.

That future never came.

"...That's about it."

Natsuki Subaru snapped out of his long reverie.

"To be precise, she is my fiancée, not my wife."

Ram did not answer immediately.