Chapter 78 78: What Are You Looking At? Everyone Here Is One of Us!

Ram's expression turned dark — what a wonderful little sister you are.

Even if that's the truth, did you really have to be so brutally honest and yank the rug out from under me like that?

But no matter — Big Sister, you see, really doesn't need to prove her own existence by doing all these little chores.

Even as useless a big sister as this, she can still do things Rem cannot.

Thinking such thoughts, Ram licked her own red lips with the air of someone savoring an aftertaste, and her eyes, all on their own, were practically sprouting little hearts.

["You truly are quite an extraa—aordinary fellow, Sir Natsuki Subaru."

Roswaal said it in that same drawn-out, sing-song voice of his.

"To have come all the way to the Kingdom of Lugnica, and yet to wear the look of a man who kno—ows absolutely nothing of it."

Natsuki Subaru chewed his food and asked curiously,

"So what — is this country in some kind of turmoil right now?"

"You couldn't quite call it stable, no. After all, this country has no king at the moment."

"Ngh — I knew it."

Natsuki Subaru ducked his head and took a sip of soup, easing the feeling of having choked from eating too fast.

He used the motion to disguise the speechless look on his face.

Sure enough, the moment a kingdom comes up, it's always this kind of thing.

The old king dead, every faction restless and stirring, scrambling for the throne — the same old play.

"At the time the king passed away, a peculiar epidemic broke out within the capital, one that targeted the royal bloodline alone. Not a single person carrying that bloodline survived."

Roswaal recounted the origin of the country's upheaval with a perfectly placid expression.

"At present, an esteemed body of elders has come together to form a 'Council of Sages,' which governs the country provisionally."

"But — as a kingdom sworn to the Dragon, a nation cannot go a single day without a sovereign. So the selection of a new king is currently under way."

"Huh?"

Natsuki Subaru looked at Roswaal in confusion.

The development of this story was just way too over-the-top.

How conveniently was there exactly such an epidemic — and how conveniently did it target only the royal bloodline at that?

Who in the world would believe there wasn't some mastermind behind all this?

Still, what good would it do the mastermind to simply have the entire royal family wiped out?

Unless — could she possibly be one of those candidates vying for the throne?

Watching Natsuki Subaru's inner thoughts being laid bare on screen through narration, everyone present all turned their gazes, in perfect unison, toward Emilia.

No helping it — after all, of the Royal Selection candidates currently in the room, Emilia was the only one.

"W… what are you all looking at me for…"

Emilia glanced around her and said in a meek little voice.

"Um, everyone, I'm not sure if it's quite appropriate for me to say this."

Otto chimed in at this point, scratching the back of his head and giving an awkward laugh.

"If I'm not mistaken, everyone here is part of Lady Emilia's camp, right? Myself included, of course."

"What I mean is — given that's the case, doesn't it kind of not matter whether Lady Emilia is the mastermind or not?"

At his words, everyone looked a touch awkward, but then, without anyone giving a signal, they all shifted their eyes onto Reinhard.

"That illness truly was strange. The most skilled physicians in the Royal Capital came to treat the sick at the time, and in the end every last one of them was at his wits' end."

Reinhard, who had been wrapped in thought all this while, slowly began to speak.

"I myself once journeyed to the Tower of Sages to seek a cure from the legendary Sage, but I was blocked by the wards and the Tower of Sages' own assaults, and could not advance so much as a single step."

"In the end, all I could do was watch, one after another, as the members of the royal house succumbed to the sickness."

"What Subaru said about there being a mastermind behind this — I do, in fact, agree with that."

"Because I have already found the fifth Royal Selection candidate — Lady Felt! Blonde hair, red eyes; in all likelihood she is a surviving heir of the royal bloodline!"

Reinhard said it with absolute conviction.

But that being so, the problem became plainly obvious.

If there truly had been such an epidemic, one that targeted the royal bloodline back then —

then what, exactly, was the deal with this royal heir who had suddenly turned up out of nowhere?

Was she born with some blessing that gave her resistance to that very plague — or was she a final piece left behind by the king, who had foreseen the trouble all along?

Reinhard was deeply troubled. If the mastermind were to learn of Lady Felt's true identity, would he, when that time came, have the strength to keep her safe?

At the thought, the look in Reinhard's eyes gradually firmed.

As a member of the Royal Guard, years ago he had watched, powerless, as the king he served had died.

This time, he absolutely could not repeat that mistake!

And in order to accomplish that — he would need the help of that legendary man.

He returned his gaze to the screen, fixing his eyes on that still-unseasoned man on the display, and for a long while said nothing.

["I see. I more or less get it now."

Natsuki Subaru folded his arms across his chest and nodded thoughtfully, sorting through his thoughts as he spoke.

"This country is currently in the middle of the chaos of selecting a new king, and at such a time, as a foreigner who's suddenly appeared out of nowhere, I…"

Natsuki Subaru's eyes flew wide in an instant, and he said in shock,

"Doesn't that make me super suspicious?!"

Roswaal folded his hands together and smiled faintly.

"And what's more, on top of that, you have the additional suspicion of having drawn close to Lady Emilia."

"Lady? Why does a fine and proper earl address Emilia as 'Lady'?"

Natsuki Subaru asked, puzzled.

"To use honorifics toward those of higher standing than oneself — surely that goes without saying?"

Roswaal spread his hands.

"Um, so — Emilia's true status is, in fact…?"

The corner of Natsuki Subaru's mouth twitched, and he asked, very cautiously.

"My current title is none other than one of the 42nd-generation Royal Selection candidates of the Kingdom of Lugnica. Margrave Roswaal is my supporter, you know."

Emilia turned her head to one side and explained, looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for frightening you. Um — look, this insignia is the proof of qualification, you see. It's all thanks to Subaru that I was able to safely recover it."

Seeing Natsuki Subaru's thunderstruck expression, Emilia, slightly flustered, set the insignia she always carried with her down onto the table as she spoke.

"So in other words, Emilia-tan, you went and lost the insignia that proves you're a candidate?"

Natsuki Subaru muttered it as a statement of devastating fact.

"Don't put it in such mean words as 'lost'!"

Hearing him, Emilia became flustered all at once, her voice and the speed of her speech ratcheting up a notch without her even realizing.

"It was stolen by a sticky-fingered little child, that's what!"

Emilia's fingers were gripping the hem of her skirt tightly beneath the table, and the tail end of her sentence quavered a little from her fluster.

"They're the same thing, aren't they——"

Natsuki Subaru pressed a helpless hand to his forehead.

Emilia-tan really was no good at lying.

Especially the way she'd noticeably speed up her speech whenever she got nervous — wasn't that just way too cute?

"As I was saying, Sir Subaru, you really did do us a tremendou—us favor, and so a reward is most certainly in order."

Roswaal said in his drawn-out drawl, then spread his arms wide.

"Now then, by all means, go ahead and name your wish."

At that, Natsuki Subaru gave a wicked little smile, abruptly rose to his feet, and announced without the slightest reserve,

"My wish is just one thing—"

Everyone in the dining hall held their breath, bracing themselves inwardly for Natsuki Subaru to demand the moon.

After all, he had saved Lady Emilia's life — no reward could be considered too excessive for that.

Natsuki Subaru cast his gaze around at the people surrounding him, and slowly let out his wish.

"So then — let me work in this estate!"

The instant the words left his mouth, the table fell into an uncanny silence.

...?

Everyone stared blankly at Natsuki Subaru, as if a binding spell had been laid upon them.

The same question floated up in each and every one of their minds, without anyone needing to be prompted.

Hold on — in such a solemn setting, the only wish you could come up with was to work here as a servant?

"Ah-choo!"

In the end, it was Ram who let out a sneeze, bringing the curtain down on this bizarre and decidedly awkward little scene.]

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