Chapter 57 57: Shifting the Battle to the Kitchen

But that man still hadn't died — probably hadn't yet made up his mind.

Until the day finally came.

Even from inside the hidden chamber, she had felt it — violent explosions, the walls shaking around her.

The organization that man had built had grown too dangerous for the other nations to ignore. They had joined forces and torn it apart.

When Natsuki Subaru opened the chamber door and came to stand before her one last time, Ram understood everything at a glance.

No words were exchanged. None were needed. Between the two of them, there had always been that strange, wordless understanding.

Over the three years of her imprisonment, Ram had lost count of how many times she had been swallowed by remorse and guilt.

She had wanted to make it up to him. To show this man that love and warmth still existed somewhere in the world.

To mend the thousand wounds riddling his heart, and coax it back into the shape of that reckless, careless fool who hadn't had a care in the world.

But in the end, she never did.

Because it was already far too late.

Natsuki Subaru — that man — had died long ago, out in that frozen wasteland of ice and snow.

And she, as the one who had set it all in motion, had no choice but to be the one to grant him release with her own hands.

[You've finally found the will to die, have you… Barusu.]

In the end, without a sound, she had reached out and closed her fingers around Barusu's throat.

And then — she ended his life. Freed that wretched, pitiable soul.

It was over. That desperate, despairing cycle — soaked through with tragedy and regret — was finally over.

And it was precisely that guilt, buried so deep she had no words for it, that drove Ram — now that she had been given a second chance — to reach out toward Barusu again and again.

She wanted to make amends. To repair what had been broken. To win back what had been lost.

Every deliberate approach in the garden, every offer she had made last night to teach him to read — all of it came from that same place.

And yet every single time, Barusu had pushed her away without a moment's hesitation.

Why? Why did he always push her away?

That feeling of rejection drove into her like a needle — straight into that sad, sorry pride of hers — and she lost control. She flew off the handle.

She knew it was wrong. That much had become painfully clear the moment she caught the look in Rem's eyes.

How utterly pathetic.

Ram mocked herself in silence.

Slowly, she released the grip she hadn't realized she'd taken on her skirt. Her knuckles had gone faintly white from the force of it.

The chill that had almost solidified in her gaze dissolved, replaced by something blank and adrift.

She lowered her eyes slightly — avoiding Rem's worried stare, avoiding the guilty, bewildered look on Natsuki Subaru's face — and gave a small bow.

"Ram owes you an apology for just now, guest."

"Please forget what I said. I am deeply sorry."

Her voice was quiet, held together by deliberate composure — but the stiffness beneath it refused to leave.

She didn't lift her eyes to look at anyone. She simply held the faint bow, her pink hair falling forward to curtain the unreadable expression on her face.

A brief, suffocating silence fell over the dining room.

Natsuki Subaru was more lost than ever.

Ram's sudden outburst, followed just as abruptly by this apology — it was like a squall that had blown in from nowhere and knocked him completely senseless.

His true nature? What true nature? He hadn't done anything… except.

Natsuki Subaru's thoughts slid guiltily back to the incidents last night and this morning.

He opened his mouth, groping for something to ease the tension — something along the lines of "Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it."

But looking at Ram — standing there radiating a keep-away aura, wrapped in an air of dejection and self-loathing — the words caught in his throat.

Somehow, anything he said felt like it would only make things worse.

Rem drew a quiet breath and stepped forward just slightly, drawing a little closer to Ram. Her voice came out soft and carefully gentle, tentative as a hand extended in the dark:

"Lady Ram… are you all right?"

Ram's body gave the faintest, almost imperceptible shiver.

She straightened up abruptly, still without looking at Rem.

She turned her face to the side, fixing her gaze on some point in the far corner of the dining room — as though something there had caught her eye with extraordinary interest.

"Ram is fine."

Her voice was even hollower than before.

"Rem should return to attending to the guest. Ram… will take her leave first. There are ingredients to prepare for lunch in the kitchen."

She didn't wait for anyone to respond. The moment the words were out, she turned and walked away.

Her steps carried a forced steadiness — but they were faster than usual. Just slightly.

It was almost like fleeing — a retreat from the suffocating, humiliating atmosphere of the dining room she could no longer stand to be in.

The remaining few stared at the doorway she had vanished through, exchanging uncertain glances.

Rem watched the direction her sister had gone, her eyes full of worry and helplessness, her fingers twisting together without her realizing it.

"Rem — if you're worried, why don't we go after her together?"

Natsuki Subaru caught the look on Rem's face and smiled, folding her small hands gently in his own.

"She is your sister, after all. If you're worried, I'll come with you."

Rem's moist eyes turned to Natsuki Subaru, and what filled them was warmth and tender gratitude.

"Thank you, Subaru — for always being so thoughtful on my behalf."

"I really can't stop worrying about her. So… I'll trouble you, Subaru."

Natsuki Subaru gave a nod, then turned to look at Emilia on his left and Betty still seated in his lap.

"Ram seems to be in a bad place emotionally. I'm going to go see what I can do."

"Let's call breakfast here. Emilia-tan, Betty — head back for now. You two can't really follow us for this part."

Betty, when it counted, had a sensible head on her shoulders.

She was displeased about Ram's sudden tantrum, yes — but she understood that Natsuki Subaru had something important to handle.

So Betty climbed obediently down from his lap and found her footing on the floor.

"Mm. Do your best, Subaru. Make sure you talk some sense into Ram properly."

Emilia pressed both hands to her chest with a look of genuine concern, her worry for Ram written plainly across her face.

"Betty, Emilia-tan… thank you."

Natsuki Subaru looked at them both with a warmth that couldn't quite be contained, and something stirred quietly inside him.

No matter how much time passed. No matter how much they had all been through.

The silver-haired girl in front of him was still the same Emilia-tan she had always been — kind-hearted, worrying herself over the people around her.

It was a pity Emilia had no idea what was going through Natsuki Subaru's mind. If she had, she might have agreed — though she would certainly have had a few things to add.

Specifically: that all of that held perfectly true, so long as Natsuki Subaru's ownership wasn't in question.

With that thought, Emilia briefly turned the matter over in her head.

She concluded that Ram — who had just been so unpleasant toward Natsuki Subaru — couldn't possibly pose any real threat to her.

The smile that settled over Emilia's face grew warmer and more genuine than before.

After that, things moved quickly. Natsuki Subaru didn't hesitate a moment longer.

He took Rem's small hand in his and made a beeline straight for the kitchen, moving with the ease of long familiarity.

"Hah… Ram, figured you'd be here."

Natsuki Subaru arrived at the kitchen doorway with Rem in tow, caught his breath, and then stepped inside to call out a greeting to the figure already at work with the ingredients.

Ram was focused entirely on the potato she was peeling.

The blade in her hand glided smoothly along the curve of the potato as it turned, the skin coming away in one long, unbroken ribbon.

Only once she'd finished did she seem to remember Natsuki Subaru was there. She shifted slightly and glanced at him from the side.

"…Barusu. Rem coming here — Ram can understand that well enough. But what reason could you possibly have for being here?"

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