The Girl's Choice
In the distance, a faint blue light shimmered—waves of water magic, the power of healing.
The one being healed was the boy she had sworn not to let be harmed.
And he had sustained such grave injuries trying to make up for her own mistakes.
No words could properly express just how regretful Reinhild felt at that moment.
But all Reinhild could do was pace anxiously at a distance, fully aware that even approaching might interfere with the healing process.
"Mm, the treatment is complete. Looks like I've just barely managed to stabilize his condition."
Reinhild, eyes closed in self-reproach, had her ears struck by a voice clear as a silver bell.
She quickly stepped toward Subaru, brushing his hair aside to check his complexion.
Seeing blood had returned to his face, she stood and gave a grateful nod to Emilia.
"That is truly a relief. Aside from that, Lady Emilia…"
Once again, she knelt before Emilia, resting her sheathed sword across her upright knee—Reinhild's way of formally apologizing for her failure.
This posture symbolized the highest level of knightly remorse, and she was fully prepared to accept any punishment, no matter how severe.
"This time, due to my own shortcomings, I placed you, Lady Emilia, under great strain. I will humbly accept any punishment for this disgrace."
"I really don't get how you people operate in situations like this."
But the silver-haired girl wagged her finger, puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"This wasn't something you planned, right? And it was only thanks to you stepping in that everything worked out like this. Yet you're trying to take on all the pain and burden by yourself."
Emilia then pointed at Subaru, who was peacefully asleep.
"So thank you for helping me. That's the only thing I have to say to you. I don't see that you did anything wrong, so there's no punishment to give. If you can't accept that, then just be more careful next time."
"I understand. I'm deeply grateful for your words."
Reinhild realized how narrow-minded she had been.
Lowering her head even further in respect, she then stood.
Looking at the girl before her, Reinhild reaffirmed her belief: Emilia truly was the chosen one.
"By the way… why are you even here?"
"It was my day off. I was just wandering around the capital with no particular goal. I swear I was only out for a walk… then I happened to see him… and, well, you know the rest."
As she answered Emilia's question, Reinhild gestured toward the sleeping Subaru with her eyes.
"I see."
"May I ask… what exactly is your relationship with Subaru?"
"I don't remember ever meeting Subaru before. I believe that was my first time seeing him."
"But he helped you. He was right there on the scene, and…"
He'd thrown himself in harm's way to protect her.
But Reinhild didn't finish the sentence.
Voicing that fact so openly would, in her mind, diminish the nobility of Subaru's actions.
"It really is mysterious. I was even wondering if he might be connected to that pervert."
"Please don't insult Margrave Roswaal. He may be… eccentric, yes, but he's still a remarkable man."
"The fact that you immediately thought of him when I said 'pervert' says a lot about what you think of him."
"…That was inappropriate of me. Please keep that comment about Lord Roswaal to yourself."
"Sure, sure."
Reinhild blinked apologetically, and Emilia gave a vague reply.
Then, the topic returned to Subaru.
"Even if he's got nothing to do with that pervert, the fact remains he saved me. Can I take him back with me as a guest? His condition's only temporarily stabilized, after all.
If we have someone from the Roswaal mansion, there's a decent chance we could heal him fully."
"A decent chance, you say? May I ask—how long will his condition remain stable? And what would you estimate the success rate of full recovery is?"
"About three hours, I think. I'd say there's a 30% chance he'll have no lasting effects, and a 70% chance he'll recover completely."
"In that case, if possible, I'd like to host him at my humble abode, as a way of making up for my own shortcomings."
"Then it's settled… Oh, and about what happened here…"
For some reason, Emilia suddenly burst out laughing—but quickly collected herself and asked.
Reinhild vaguely responded, conveying Subaru's wishes and her own attitude of "being off duty and uninvolved."
"Hehe, naughty Knight-sama."
Emilia giggled and then walked toward Old Man Rom and Felt in the corner.
Reinhild watched Emilia as she turned her gaze to the wrecked loot house.
Seeing the massive destruction, she shut her eyes.
Still as lacking in self-restraint as ever—she truly hated this side of herself.
Just the slightest miscalculation in strength and the damage became like this.
If she had gone too far, the entire area could've been obliterated.
With power like hers, self-discipline was absolutely essential.
In that instant, a red flash crossed Reinhild's vision.
Familiar with that glare, she instinctively narrowed her eyes, searching her memories.
And she found it—an exact match.
"Reinhild?"
Felt, holding the insignia, had her hand suddenly grabbed.
Both she and Old Man Rom looked up at Reinhild in shock, their words lost before the knight's serious expression.
"Rom! Don't joke with me… don't think you can get away with anything just because you're stro—huh?"
The giant man, reacting to Felt's painful struggle, raised his club to attack—but his weapon was shattered in an instant by what looked like a feeble hand chop.
Then, with that same hand, moving in an impossible angle, Reinhild struck the back of Rom's neck.
His eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
Felt, ignoring the overwhelming power gap, pulled out a small knife and cursed as she attacked Reinhild—but suddenly lost her balance, her voice trailing off strangely.
Her shoulders slackened, and she glared at Reinhild in hatred.
"Go to hell… you bastard…"
Cursing, Felt's head slumped, unconscious. Reinhild caught her limp body and gently cradled her in her arms.
"Wait, Reinhild. I get that it's hard to just let things go without holding anyone accountable.
But that girl didn't even know the value of the insignia.
Besides, I don't really mind that it was stolen—I was partly to blame, too. So let her go."
Emilia, finally understanding the situation, spoke up. But her blue-violet eyes betrayed her internal conflict.
"No, Lady Emilia. What I find problematic isn't that. It's that the girl before us is the final candidate. Please leave her to me."
Reinhild spoke so forcefully that it bordered on rude.
But Emilia understood—after all, the kingdom had been without a monarch for half a year, and the knights had failed to locate the last royal candidate.
"My apologies for the discourtesy."
Reinhild said, and gently retrieved the insignia from the unconscious Felt.
She handed it to Emilia.
Then she looked at the unconscious Subaru nearby, hesitating for a moment before sighing.
Placing all three—Subaru, Felt, and Old Man Rom—on a nearby cart, she gave a bow and left with them.