Chapter 27: Angel, or Demon? (Patreon)

Not long after the courtyard farce had wound down, Ciel led the guests from the Mathers Domain to the parlor for a proper discussion.

Clearly, both the victim and the instigator had thoroughly enjoyed themselves — though Natsuki Subaru himself insisted it had been an utterly horrifying ordeal, the maid sisters seemed entirely unbothered, and even seemed to think they wouldn't mind doing it again sometime.

In any case, the horseplay had run its course, and it was time to get down to business. Once everyone had settled into the parlor, Rem stepped forward with a letter, offering a respectful bow as she presented it.

"Lord Subaru, Lord Roswaal has heard of your valiant deeds in the royal capital, and wishes to thank you personally for everything you've done for Lady Emilia."

Natsuki Subaru accepted the envelope with both hands, but the moment he opened it and glanced inside, his face clouded with difficulty.

Watching Subaru's brow furrow, Ram kept her expression composed on the surface, though her heart lurched — if someone this unpredictable was wearing such a serious look, could it mean he was displeased with whatever terms Lord Roswaal had proposed? Or had their earlier offense actually left him harboring a grudge against her and her sister?

Oh no, this was bad!

Meanwhile, the letter's recipient, Subaru, was just as tense, staring at handwriting that swirled like dragons and phoenixes in flight, paired with grammar that made no sense whatsoever — the situation was hopeless, like a one-eyed man reading an eye chart. There was simply nothing to see!

All Subaru could tell was that this Roswaal fellow clearly had considerable artistic pretensions — not only was the penmanship wildly flourished, like flocks of birds taking wing across the page, but the wording felt like wading through some ancient, arcane script.

Worse still, he himself was practically illiterate, having only just begun learning this world's writing system. Faced with the letter's contents, "understanding" was too generous a word — "utterly clueless" was closer to the truth. All he could do was furrow his brow seriously to mask his embarrassment, pretending to be deep in thought.

What kind of person was this? Could he not just write a simple letter?!

After several tense seconds of standoff on both sides, Subaru turned to the white-haired girl seated beside him, swallowing down his grief and indignation, and wordlessly handed her the letter with a straight face.

"Lord Roswaal certainly seems eager," he said, raising his eyes to Ram, "but—" inviting a guest without bothering to write a proper invitation does seem a touch careless, doesn't it?"

There was no doubt this remark made Ram's already-tense heart lurch again; her hands, folded before her maid's skirt, quietly tightened their grip on the fabric.

"Ciel, what do you think?"

Ciel took the letter and glanced over it briefly, catching Subaru's faintly awkward expression from the corner of her eye, and replied with perfect understanding:

"Indeed — the handwriting scatters like birds in flight, and the grammar is as obscure as ancient prose. It seems the Margrave is more gifted in art than in etiquette."

"And unfortunately, Lord Subaru is already a guest recognized by Lady Priscilla. For him to simply leave with you now would hardly be proper…"

Yes!

That's exactly it — that's exactly what he'd been thinking!

Subaru nodded, shooting Ciel a grateful look.

In truth, Priscilla had long since handed the decision entirely to him — whether or not to visit Roswaal was completely his own call. The problem was, he could hardly admit that his earlier expression had simply been because he couldn't make heads or tails of the letter. Ciel's timely addition was, frankly, both perfectly timed and perfectly reasonable!

Truly, Miss Ciel deserved to be called an angel!

"I see. We were thoughtless," Ram said, bowing slightly in apology. "Forgive the intrusion — I'll relay this to Lord Roswaal."

"No need to rush off — I never said I wasn't going."

Subaru waved a hand, gesturing for her to sit back down.

"You should know, I've never liked breaking my word to people. I promised Emilia I'd come see her once things settled down, and I don't go back on promises."

"In that case, what has Lord Barusu decided to do?"

Ram raised an eyebrow slightly, allowing herself a measure of relief — at least for now, it seemed the task Lord Roswaal had entrusted her with could still be carried out smoothly.

"Simple." Subaru snapped his fingers. "I might not be able to just leave on my own — but what if I didn't leave on my own?"

"Say, for instance, the two of you got a little carried away, knocked me out, and dragged me off… Not bad, actually — I've never been kidnapped by maids before!"

"Wha—?!"

This time not only Ram and Rem were stunned, but even Ciel's fingers, holding her teacup nearby, trembled slightly. Truth be told, there were moments when Subaru's train of thought was simply impossible to follow.

"You… are you sure, Barusu?" Ram was so startled she forgot her honorifics. "A servant from one Royal Selection faction kidnapping the honored guest of another Royal Selection household — do you truly understand what that would mean?"

"Ha, just joking. Don't take it seriously."

Subaru's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward slightly, looking every bit like a shady merchant hawking some dubious goods.

"Here's how we could actually stage this: the two of you escort me openly, under the guise of 'guards.' Naturally, I'd be reluctant about it, but given how earnest Lord Roswaal's invitation is, and how I really ought to give him some face, I'll let myself be half-dragged along, putting up just enough token resistance."

"Then, once I arrive at Roswaal Manor, you two tell your master to write my princess an apology letter — and make sure the wording is sincere this time, nothing like today's letter. He needs to show proper humility and put in real sincerity."

As he spoke, he smiled easily and turned to Ciel beside him.

"Miss Ciel, would you mind passing a message to Her Highness for me? Tell her, 'Your honored guest has been borrowed for a while, and will be returned twofold.' I'll be back in three days at most, no more, no less — think of it as catching up with old friends."

"Oh, and while you're at it, pass a letter along to my friend Sword Saint. Tell him I'm doing just fine over here — I've more or less shaken off the whole unemployed-drifter situation, so there's no need to send anyone to come bail me out."

The air froze for about three seconds.

Ram and Rem stared, dumbfounded, as this guest — who clearly wasn't taking any of this seriously — casually laid out a plan that was airtight from theory to execution. They'd assumed he was just rambling nonsense, yet somehow he'd actually come up with a brilliant scheme.

No wonder Roswaal had warned them again and again to tread carefully — this guest was clearly no ordinary man. Behind that carefree, grinning exterior lurked a mind of real cunning.

Ram's fingertips curled unconsciously. Quickly gathering her thoughts, she asked, solemn and composed:

"Understood, Lord Barusu. What would you have Ram do to assist?"

"You two just need to pretend to knock him out. I'll use Yin magic to dull his senses a bit — it won't hurt much~"

Before Subaru could answer, Ciel spoke up first, smiling sweetly.

Subaru turned to look, and saw a flash of mischief flicker through the eyes of the white-haired girl who always wore such a gentle expression. Still smiling brightly, she rose to her feet, dark motes of magic beginning to glimmer at her fingertips.

"El Shamak…"

"Miss Ciel, you fiend!"

That was the last thing Subaru managed to say before darkness swallowed his vision and consciousness slipped away.