Chapter 40 40: Please give Rem the right to interfere in your entire life!

You've still got more tricks up your sleeve, Emilia-tan!

Natsuki Subaru let out a long sigh and buried his face in his hands.

"Alright, we'll have time alone together tonight, won't we?"

"On that note — we're heading out!"

Subaru gave a wave, then turned and jogged after Rem, rubbing his face as he went.

So that was why he'd wanted to leave with Rem in the first place.

For one thing, Emilia and Rem had gotten to the point where they could barely stand to be in the same room — the moment anything involving him came up, both of them stopped thinking straight.

For another, he had things he needed to say to Rem.

He wanted to ask her about the change he'd noticed in her. Was it the same kind of change as the one in Emilia?

Rem, seeing that Subaru had caught up, was just about to turn around and lead the way in peace.

But in the very last instant before she turned her head, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of Emilia's expression — dark and stormy as still water about to break.

And a pair of eyes burning with the fire of envy.

Rem pretended she hadn't seen anything. She turned around with perfect composure and pressed her lips together lightly.

"Lady Emilia seems to have become... rather different from before."

"But Subaru is Subaru. No matter what he's like, Rem loves him!"

...

In the corridor, Natsuki Subaru walked with his head down, trailing after Rem.

His gaze was unfocused. He rubbed his chin, his mind turning problem after problem over in silence.

The plan to heal Emilia's emotional wounds — to teach her to love herself again.

Keeping Roswaal's scheming hands at bay.

Rebuilding his bonds with Ram and Betty from the ground up…

There was still so much to do.

Subaru pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and rubbed. He'd been wracking his brain over these problems for so long that his head was starting to feel like it was running out of space.

Still — it hadn't been time wasted.

In just the short stretch of this walk, he'd already sketched out rough ideas for more than a few of the solutions.

Lost in thought, Subaru didn't notice that Rem — who'd been leading the way ahead of him — had stopped and turned around to face him.

Out of pure habit he kept walking at the same pace, and walked straight into her without any warning whatsoever.

"Ah — Subaru! Are you alright?!"

Rem had reacted a split second before the collision.

To keep Subaru from getting hurt, she quickly spread her arms wide and caught his forward-falling body against her soft, yielding chest.

There was a muffled thud.

When Subaru came back to his senses, he found his face buried in a sea of plush, snow-white warmth.

Hiss—

The situation registered instantly. He swallowed, his cheeks flushing hot, and planted his hands on his knees to push himself upright.

"Rem — are you okay?"

Rem savored the peculiar, heady feeling of Subaru collapsed in her arms, entirely dependent on her — and found herself oddly, unexpectedly entranced by it.

She said nothing. The hands resting on Subaru's shoulders simply pressed down, steady and firm.

She showed no sign whatsoever of intending to let him up.

"Huh?"

Subaru, completely unaware of what was happening, tried again and again to push himself to his feet — and failed every time.

He felt as though an entire mountain had settled on top of him.

And yet — the moment he stopped struggling and stayed exactly as he was, nestled against Rem —

That crushing weight vanished completely.

Hearing the confusion in Subaru's voice, Rem's cheeks went pink.

Even now — even as a Rem who had already married Subaru in another time — she still felt a flush of shame at her own brazen behavior.

But… but!

This felt so nice. She didn't want Subaru to move.

"…Alright, Rem. Let me up."

After quietly enjoying the moment for a little while longer, Subaru finally spoke with an exasperated sigh.

"We're still supposed to get my measurements taken. I can't exactly walk like this."

"O-okay! Yes, Subaru!"

Rem gave a little full-body shiver, then slowly helped steady him by the arm as he got to his feet.

"Th-this way. It's just a bit further."

Rem, still red-faced, resumed her place at the front and led on.

Subaru cleared his throat, composed himself, and followed.

Before long, the two of them finally arrived at their destination —

No. More precisely: Rem finally arrived at her destination.

The two of them filed one after the other into the room where Subaru had woken up that morning. Subaru followed without paying much attention, stepping briskly inside.

Rem, however, had kept a small card up her sleeve. Once inside, she stayed near the door without moving, and quietly eased it shut behind her.

Then her petite frame took one small step back, and she put her hands behind her back with a little twist.

A click — and the lock turned.

Subaru, who had just walked into the room following Rem's lead, noticed none of it.

He was busy looking around the room with no particular guard up, glancing left and right to take in his surroundings.

But the more he looked… the more strangely familiar it all seemed.

No — it went well beyond merely familiar.

The realization hit him a beat late.

Wait — wasn't this the room he'd woken up in that morning?

He'd stared at that ceiling long enough to have it memorized!

"Rem! Why did you bring me here?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be… the manor's fitting room?"

Subaru spun around with his mouth hanging open, staring at her in disbelief.

She'd led him to his own bedroom — just the two of them, alone. What exactly was she planning?

Rem tucked a strand of her fine blue hair back from her forehead and said, a little bashfully:

"Well, yes — but there's no rule that says measurements have to be taken in a fitting room, is there?"

Then she flashed Subaru a mischievous smile, turned, and walked toward the large bed in the center of the room.

Subaru had gotten up and gone straight out the door that morning without tidying up, so the sheets and blankets were still scattered in a jumbled heap.

Rem walked past Subaru — a faint, sweet, milky scent drifting from her as she went — and breezed past him entirely.

"Besides, there's no measuring tape here either."

Subaru's throat bobbed. The words came out in a stammer.

Rem swiftly folded the blankets and smoothed out the crumpled bed until it looked perfectly neat. Then she turned back to Subaru with a smile.

"That's alright —"

She crossed to the window and gave the heavy curtains a sharp pull, and they swept open.

Sunlight — warm and gentle — came flooding in all at once.

She turned her head back to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes full of quiet, smiling warmth.

"Because Rem herself is a tool that can measure Subaru at any time!"

"Rem, what are you talking about?"

Subaru asked, genuinely baffled.

But as his gaze followed Rem's silhouette toward the window —

He was struck completely still by what he saw.

The heavy curtains swept open with a rushing sound, and soft, warm sunlight poured in all at once.

It was as though even the heavens couldn't help but look down and let their gaze rest upon that blue-haired girl.

At the very same moment the curtains parted, the clouds that had been veiling the sun quietly dissolved and drifted away.

A single brilliant beam slid slowly along the windowsill — and came to rest, without a sound, beside Rem.

Rem didn't notice. She simply turned to Subaru with a smile — gentle, and reverent — and said:

"Because — Rem will be watching Subaru forever, like a ruler that can measure him at any moment."

"But unlike a ruler… well, Rem would like to think she's a little more useful than that!"

"When Subaru is exhausted, Rem wants to gently knead the tension from his shoulders."

"When Subaru is hungry, Rem will have a hot meal ready before he has to ask."

Rem lowered her head slightly, one hand pressed to her heart, and spoke to Subaru the most sincere thoughts she carried inside her.

"When Subaru smiles, Rem wants to be the first one to share in his joy."

"When Subaru is hurting, Rem wants to be there to listen — to every complaint, every word."

"But what Rem wants most of all is… to be the closest presence by Subaru's side. To always be there. To measure every fragment, every memory of Subaru's life."

With each word Rem spoke, the light crept slowly from her shoulders up to her cheek.

"I want to know everything about Subaru!"

"His strengths — and his flaws!"

"A lazy Subaru — I love that. An arrogant Subaru — I love that just the same!"

In moments, the warm sunlight had fully illuminated Rem's small, delicate face.

In that instant, her entire being was bathed in a pure, radiant halo.

Her blue hair swayed lightly in the breeze drifting through the window.

Her fair skin glowed with the luminous warmth of fine jade in sunlight.

The light seemed like the physical form of her blazing feelings — gilding every word she spoke with a brilliance that rang honest, and struck straight to the heart.

"That is why Rem wants to be Subaru's one and only personal maid!"

"I am willing to give Subaru everything I am. And so —"

"Please give Rem the right to meddle in every part of your life!"

____

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