Chapter 44 44: Good Girl Doesn't Disappoint

Rem listened to Natsuki Subaru's words, eyes shimmering with a quiet, contented light.

She leaned her head gently against his shoulder, letting herself sink into the warmth and the peace of it.

"Subaru — no matter what the future holds, Rem will always be right here by your side, facing every hardship with you."

Rem said softly.

"Don't worry. I'll lead everyone to a future — a perfect future where everyone gets to be happy!"

Natsuki Subaru turned his burning gaze on Rem, his eyes brimming with confidence as he declared it.

"After all, laughing and talking about the future together with a demon — that's my dream!"

Those familiar words reached straight into Rem's chest and struck a nerve.

The corners of her mouth curved upward, tracing a soft, gentle arc.

The flush had not yet fully faded from her cheeks, but a warm smile was already blooming across them. She tilted her head up slightly and looked directly into Subaru's blazing eyes. Her voice carried a faint, choked edge — but she laughed as she said it:

"You're really possessed by a demon, aren't you."

Natsuki Subaru closed one eye and grinned right back:

"Maybe I actually am?"

"Right, Rem?"

...

After everything had been laid bare between them, Rem no longer needed to hide anything.

She already knew Natsuki Subaru's measurements by heart — every inch of him — so there was no need to start from scratch and measure him head to toe just to tailor new clothes.

And so, after a brief, tender moment shared between them, the two parted ways by mutual, wordless understanding.

"I'm going to look for Sister after this — what are you planning to do, Subaru?"

Rem asked, curious.

"Hm — I'll go find Emilia in the courtyard and have a chat."

Natsuki Subaru answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

At that, Rem pressed her lips together. The cheerful smile that had been sitting on her face shifted — little by little — until it went completely expressionless.

Then she clenched her fist, and without a moment's hesitation, the words came tumbling out in a rush:

"Um — Rem just remembered that the matter with Sister isn't actually that urgent, so maybe Rem could go to the courtyard with Subaru instead — !"

"What's this — jealous? How adorable you are right now, Rem."

Natsuki Subaru let out a laugh, placed his palm on top of her head, and ruffled her hair gently — the way you might soothe a small, ruffled creature.

Rem narrowed her eyes and tilted her chin up just slightly, like a contented little cat, soaking in the comfortable warmth radiating from Subaru's hand against the top of her head.

After quite a while, she finally snapped back to her senses and realised what Natsuki Subaru had actually said. Her face went red as she protested:

"No — it's just that Rem…"

Rem stumbled and mumbled but couldn't get the words out.

What she wanted to say was that she wanted to be first in Subaru's heart — she wanted to knock Emilia right off that pedestal!

But those words were never going to leave her mouth.

Because Rem didn't want Subaru to see her as a difficult, troublesome woman.

After all, the Subaru of right now didn't yet carry those sweet memories of life after their marriage — so that easy, unguarded intimacy where nothing needed to be left unsaid wasn't there yet.

And besides, her own heart wouldn't allow her to say such things.

She would show her love for Subaru through what she did. She would outshine Lady Emilia fair and square, with dignity!

Not through something selfish and bitter — not through the grievances of a scorned woman.

Seeing Rem go quiet, apparently lost in her own thoughts, Natsuki Subaru blinked and teased her:

"In that other possible world, we're already married, aren't we? Rem ought to be a little more magnanimous — like a proper first wife."

"And if you're worried — then that kiss just now, the one you initiated, is my answer. The answer of Natsuki Subaru."

Natsuki Subaru fixed his burning gaze on Rem.

Only once Rem finally lowered her head in shy embarrassment did he allow himself a quiet, private sigh of relief.

"Then — let this be the seal of our promise."

But Rem was not so easily handled. A glint of mischief flashed through her eyes. She stepped forward.

She rose onto the tips of her toes — and offered her small, alluring red lips up to a very visibly gulping Natsuki Subaru.

And then — between the two of them came a rather strange sound.

"…Mmph — !!"

Rem suddenly felt something was off, and let out an involuntary startled sound.

But when she opened her eyes, she noticed that Natsuki Subaru's thick arm had found its way around behind her at some unknown point.

Then she felt a draft slip in against the back of her maid uniform, sending a shiver rippling straight through her.

Rem caught on quickly. She shot Natsuki Subaru one reproachful glance — and then closed her eyes again to focus on what they had been doing.

A long moment passed.

Rem was the one who pushed Natsuki Subaru away.

Her face was so red it looked ready to bleed. One hand, palm facing outward, covered both her eyes; the other hand pressed her maid uniform's skirt firmly downward.

Without another word, head ducked down, Rem fled the room in fast, tiny steps.

Natsuki Subaru watched her go — followed her retreating figure until it vanished entirely from sight — and only then did his throat move in a slow, heavy swallow.

Something seemed to drain out of him all at once. He took a few unsteady steps and collapsed face-first onto the large bed in the bedroom.

Sprawled across the soft mattress, Natsuki Subaru buried his face deep into the smooth silk covers and rapidly tried to sort through his thoughts.

Rem's flustered, bashful expression from just moments ago — her fierce, unguarded, burning love — refused to leave his mind.

He hadn't expected… to actually go through with it!

Natsuki Subaru let out a long, slow breath, his mind still reeling from the several intimate moments — the kind that only belonged between two people in love — that he and Rem had just shared.

But he didn't regret accepting Rem's feelings.

Thinking back to her confession just now, and the way she'd looked — like her heart was about to shatter — he felt a deep, aching tenderness well up inside him.

Natsuki Subaru turned over in his mind what Rem had told him — how, on the rooftop in the Royal Capital, she had taken his hand and run.

When he had said he didn't regret eloping with Rem — that hadn't been a lie.

Rem regretted taking his hand that day, choosing to flee the Royal Capital together — but Natsuki Subaru felt nothing but deep, moved gratitude.

Because no one knew better than he did exactly what he was worth.

The plan for leaving the Royal Capital, the money they would have needed along the way — all of it, without question, would have been arranged entirely by Rem.

And the him of that time, shattered by a future that had felt like nothing but despair — he probably would have ridden in some cheap, unblessed old lion-tiger carriage, something far cheaper than a land-dragon cart, and slept with his head in Rem's lap the whole journey.

While his lips probably would have murmured, on and off, the half-conscious ramblings of a man telling himself how weak he was — how he couldn't protect anyone.

And once they'd settled in that small northern country, Karalair — his frame, already scrawny by this world's demi-human standards, wouldn't have been suited to much work at all.

Most likely — he would have had to depend on Rem just to eat!

At the thought, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth pull into a smile.

But even if he had been that useless, Rem would surely have smiled, comforted him, encouraged him — and in the end, they would have lived happily together all the same.

That sounds… pretty great, actually!

Natsuki Subaru rolled over on the big bed, draping one arm across his forehead, and stared blankly up at the ceiling.

So — a girl as wonderful as Rem… what reason could he possibly have had to reject her confession?

In the memories of that future which Natsuki Subaru had received, the him on the rooftop had turned Rem down — citing his feelings for Emilia as the reason.

And then proceeded to act in a string of ways that could only be called irresponsible.

He had rejected Rem — and then, with no sense of shame whatsoever, turned around and asked for her help.

And Rem — without a single word of complaint — had agreed, willingly, with open arms.

He had even held Rem in his arms and promised her a future in which he would become a hero — and yet…

By the time he had truly become that hero, Rem had fallen into a deep slumber — one from which she would not wake, no matter what.

Natsuki Subaru seized his own hair in both hands and gripped it tight, steeling something fierce and unyielding inside himself.

No matter what happened — a girl as good as Rem should never be left to suffer for it.

____

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