Chapter 32: Door of Opportunity (Patreon)

"Well then, please allow our guest to get acquainted with the mansion under Rem's guidance for now~ I shall take my leave first!"

Roswaal bowed with one hand pressed to his chest, though unlike Reinhard he wasn't the least bit solemn about it — even as he bowed, a comical grin spread across his face. He moonwalked backward toward the corner of the corridor behind him, and with a flicker, vanished from sight.

His voice was so distinctive that even after he'd gone, the singsong lilt of his speech seemed to linger in the air, refusing to fade.

"Your master's got some real flair. Not bad — I like it."

Privately wondering whether the man was imitating some famous singer back on Earth, Subaru gave a faint smile and turned to the blue-haired maid beside him, speaking with exaggerated politeness.

"I'll leave it in your hands then, Miss Rem. I'm relieved it isn't Ram showing me around — that would've been unbearably dull."

"Ram will pretend she didn't hear that insult." Ram passed by him, and though she held her tongue, she shot him a fierce glare. "If you bully Ram's most important little sister, you'd better be ready for Ram's revenge!"

"Relax, I'm always a gentleman with girls. Speaking of which... the ribbon on the back of your dress has come undone. Don't you want to fix it?"

At that, Ram froze for a moment and reached her right hand behind her back — only to find the ribbon on her maid uniform was perfectly fine. An indignant flush rose on her round little face, and she snapped:

"Barusu! Ram will never forgive you for this!"

With that, Ram strode off without a backward glance, clearly having lost all desire to stay a moment longer.

"Ha ha, pranks welcome! I'll be looking forward to your revenge!"

Just as Subaru was grinning ear to ear, Rem beside him suddenly tugged at his sleeve, her expression seeming more serious than usual.

"Lord Subaru, please don't tease my sister."

Rem gave his sleeve another gentle tug, her tone more earnest than before.

"I don't mean to tease her, honestly. I'm just teaching her a sense of humor." Subaru raised both hands with an innocent look. "It'd be nice if she could learn to laugh a little, like you do."

Hearing this, Rem felt no joy at all. Her eyes lowered, as though something had stirred inside her, and in the brief silence that followed, a faint, almost imperceptible shadow flickered through the blue eye not hidden by her bangs.

But she quickly composed herself, carefully tucking the emotion away, and returned to her courteous manner.

"Now then, please follow me, Lord Subaru." Rem gave a slight bow and stepped aside to lead the way. "Allow Rem to show you around Lord Roswaal's estate."

It had to be said, Roswaal clearly had genuine artistic taste. Compared to the Barielle estate, which piled on opulence and extravagance with seemingly no upper limit, this mansion felt considerably more understated.

Fewer priceless porcelain pieces and gaudy ornaments, more oil paintings and finely carved reliefs — even the greenery in the courtyard had been trimmed into artful shapes. Whether that was Roswaal's own doing or the maid sisters' handiwork, Subaru couldn't say, but on the whole, the estate carried the air of a scholar's retreat.

Come to think of it, though — Rem hadn't mentioned anything like a library the whole way here.

Just as Subaru was puzzling over this, Rem led him to a large door at the end of the corridor. She was about to push it open and describe what lay inside, but noticed Subaru's gaze had drifted, thoughtfully, toward a door to the right.

"This is the bathing room — a fire-attribute magic circle at the bottom of the tub provides hot water..." Rem turned, puzzled. "Is something wrong, Lord Subaru? That's just an empty spare room."

"I'm sensing something. The flow of mana in the air is off."

A flicker of green light — his void psionic power — passed through Subaru's eyes, and his entire bearing turned grave. He raised a hand to cut off Rem before she could explain, frowning.

"Something with powerful magic is behind this door. Don't tell me... there's an assassin!"

"Eh?! What's happening?"

Seeing the usually playful Subaru suddenly seem like a different person entirely, Rem — still not understanding what was going on — tensed up along with him.

"Stand and face your reckoning, villain!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Subaru let out a sharp yell and slammed his foot into the door. A blade of emerald light flared to life along the golden vambrace on his arm, and he charged straight into the room.

Alright then, let's see who's got the nerve to try assassination in Bro Roswaal's own house—

And then came a silence so complete it was almost deafening.

Inside the room sat a small golden-haired girl with drill-shaped twin tails, dressed in an elaborate ruffled gown. Her slender little feet, sheathed in purple-striped stockings, had been merrily kicking free of her round-toed shoes just moments before — but now they froze mid-air at the sudden intrusion of an uninvited guest.

The smile on her round, chubby face vanished instantly, replaced by pure shock. The little gray cat cradled in her arms had its eyes wide open too, back already arched, one hiss away from bursting out in alarm.

Witnessing all this, Subaru was even more bewildered. Wasn't this supposed to be an empty room? One glance made it obvious this was some kind of archive — and how did this little golden-haired girl end up so cozy with that nasty cat?

Whatever the case, Subaru knew one thing for certain: he'd made a fool of himself.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Coughing hard twice to mask his embarrassment, Subaru dismissed the Bent Light War Blade, reached up to pull his hat brim down low, and — quite literally — dissolved into a patch of shadow, vanishing on the spot.

"Sorry to intrude! Carry on, you two — I'm... just a passing shadow!"

With that, the shadow condensed a hand out of itself, quickly pulled the door shut, and left the still-baffled little golden-haired girl and the gray cat staring blankly at each other for a long, long moment before either could react.

"So... what exactly was that?"

Reappearing, Subaru pressed himself flat against the wall beside the doorframe, straightened his collar, and peeked back toward the door of the supposedly "empty room."

"That... should be Lady Beatrice's 'Door Crossing.' It can connect the Forbidden Library where she resides to any door in this mansion."

Rem stepped forward to explain.

"Usually, if she doesn't want to be found, you'd have to open every single door in the whole mansion before you'd ever stumble upon her."

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?" Subaru said, half wanting to cry. "Well, looks like I'm flooring it straight down clown-comedy avenue now. Then again, I suppose it proves my sense of humor hasn't atrophied yet — not bad!"

Watching Subaru bounce right back from his brief slump and rally his spirits again, Rem curled the fingers resting at her skirt's edge, swallowing back the words of comfort she'd been about to offer.

If she couldn't even help their guest with something this small, what right did she have to accept that gift?

As she'd feared — Rem really was this useless...

"Well then, including Lady Beatrice's Forbidden Library, that covers the general layout of the estate."

Rem summed up quietly, her gaze dimmed faintly beneath her bangs. She gave a small bow, then took her leave with quick, hurried steps.

"If you need anything at all, please feel free to let Ram or Rem know at any time. Excuse me."