Chapter Text
Chapter 6: You’re Not Here for Closure
“Aren’t you cold, Emilia-sama?” asks a maid as she stands outside in the night with her leader. The woman’s arms rub against each other as her body shivers. Water vapor in the maid’s breath immediately condenses upon exhale, making it look like she’s smoking. Emilia, though, is so relaxed that it’s like she’s on vacation.
“I’m okay, Sylphy-chan,” she answers. Ever since the queen broke from the ice in the Elior Forest, her spirit father had been helping her regulate her fire magic so that she might always experience life at the most comfortable temperature. Even with Puck absent, Emilia has become so proficient at the art that, no matter how exhausted or stressed she is, her body will always employ a small amount of mana to keep her inner climate the most ideal. Even fevers are affected by this spell, much to the detriment of her doctor’s mental health.
Behind her presence-warding cloak, the half-elf wears a nostalgic dress with a short skirt and thigh-high boots. The golden crest of the Mathers family has been crudely sewn over by purple threads on her sleeves. Most noticeable to Emilia is the missing gemstone that used to hang at her sternum. Even now, she brings her hand to where the stone once lay, only to feel nothing.
“What am I to tell Julius-sama when he asks for you?” Sylphy asks. Her formal demeanor continues to be thwarted by the chilly Priestellan air.
“Tell him … yes! Tell him that I am working on a surprise for him and that he mustn’t come or it’ll ruin it! Say it’s for … his birthday,” Emilia stumbles out.
“His birthday isn’t until the summer, Emilia-sama,” Sylphy says monotonously with pursed lips.
“Oh gosh, that’s right! Then … wow, this is reeeeeeally hard.”
“May I suggest something?”
“Please do.”
“I shall say that you are preparing a surprise for him out of gratitude for the parade preparations and do not wish to have him work more than he already has.”
“Hmmm … wouldn’t he just say that it is ‘No big deal, Emilia-sama?’” the queen asks, trying and failing to replicate her husband’s voice. Sylphy smiles with a small chuckle.
“You know your husband well, Emilia-sama. Very well—I shall tell him that the surprise is a bit embarrassing, so it is in his best interest to—”
“Sylphy-chan! That’s soooo scandalous!” Emilia interrupts, putting her hands in front of her.
“Is it wrong?” Sylphy asks, her head slightly tilted.
“... No,” the queen lies.
“Perhaps then, it is for the best. Julius-sama may be a bit protective, but I can tell that his love for you is real. Honesty will set him up with positive anxiety as he awaits the woman he loves. Men like him won’t admit it, but they do like to wait a bit.”
Emilia’s face is flushed red at this point, even though her maid is speaking matter-of-factly.
“Honestly, you …!” the queen mutters.
“It’s probably best that you get going before Julius-sama recognizes that you’re gone, Emilia-sama,” Sylphy suggests, her shivering legs more indicative of her true motivations.
“Ah! Sorry, Sylphy-chan. The parade preparations must have exhausted you—please, have a good night.”
“You as well. May Od Laguna bless you with an heir.”
Emilia puts her hood up before Sylphy can gauge her reaction. As the queen turns on her heel to walk, Sylphy bows respectfully. The maid does not go back into the hall until Her Majesty turns the corner and puts up the hood of her cloak.
No guards are deployed—the maid figures the queen is enough by herself if any mugger is unfortunate enough to stumble across her. It does not cross the woman’s mind that her liege, the woman who saved her from Greed fifteen years ago, is off to see her old knight.
The events of this night would not find themselves in any newspapers, nor would there be whispers among strangers in any bars.
As the Witch of Frost slowly creeps her way to the Natsuki household, the calm night air makes her mind wander.
For some reason, since the parade, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Sanctuary. More specifically, everything that happened after. Beatrice and Roswaal had gone into the tomb to see Echidna, leaving Subaru and me on the stairs.
Remembering the various snow sculptures of Puck leads my hand to grasp at a jewel that isn’t on my chest. Looking down, my old outfit is illuminated by the street lamps. It’s soooooo nostalgic, honestly. How long has it been since I wore this? Five, ten years? Maybe that’s why I’m thinking about it.
Thinking about the day when I told Subaru that I was carrying his baby in my belly.
Back when I thought that kissing made babies. An image of his tometo-red face with a hateful glare directed toward Puck’s crystal plays in my head. I can’t believe I actually believed something so stupid! My entire body shivers as if to chase the memory out.
Of course! I don’t need the memory anymore, because I know how babies are made. Julius taught me on our wedding night—I’m not the same stupid, innocent girl that Subaru knows. By the spirits, it’s a good thing I’m going to clear that up with him. He probably still thinks I’m some whiny, ignorant girl who he has to do everything for. He probably still thinks I’m a child he has to wait on.
He probably heard about how I handled the Scryphillus outbreak in the Royal Capital. Well, probably not, actually. He was still in Gusteko at the time—I hadn’t formed the parliament.
The world didn’t know about Return by Death. The Witch of Envy was still around, and so was the Witch Cult. But … why else would he still think of me as some dumb, ignorant girl who’s not even worth a passing glance? What did he hear?
Back then, there was an outbreak of some weird disease. One of the infected asked for an audience, to which Julius agreed. It’s not like I wanted to see what Scryphillus did, but wow, it was reeeeeeaaaally disgusting. Felix took Julius and me to a secret room to show us a man who died of it and—
Ew, ew, ew! Whatever it was, it needed to disappear fast. It was like they were rotting alive—to this day, I can’t get the image out of my head. I have half a mind to vomit right here on the cobblestone as I remember it.
Subaru wouldn’t have heard of all of that, though. No, if Subaru heard about anything, it probably would have been the meeting about it the very next day.
Of course, because I am a good queen, I made sure to call every water mage I could to discuss possible sources of outbreak for the disease. During the meeting, they kept saying this weird word. Something about an… es tee dee? I had no idea what it was, and because I should be in the know about everything regarding my queendom, I asked the country’s top water mages what this “es tee dee” thing was.
I’ve never felt a room go quiet so fast before. I swear some of them were looking at me like I had grown an extra head before Julius corrected them! It’s always that same dumb look whenever I ask about anything. They probably thought I had nothing in my head—if Subaru heard about this particular moment, it would be the best-case scenario.
As it turns out, an STD is a sexually transmitted disease. An investigation into the source of the outbreak was swift—apparently, these kinds of diseases are only spread from “corner girls.” Corner girl operations are illegal in Luginca, of course. No one should be paying to do something so sacred with another human being! Why would someone do something so stupid as sell their body for money when it means they can’t get married?
So dumb!
After learning that these corner girls primarily operated at night, I had a brilliant idea. If we wanted to stop the outbreak, then cutting it off at the source would be the best move. These girls, despite their bad decision-making, still deserved to be healthy. So, I asked the knights to round up all of the corner girls and bring them to the royal palace. The royal palace is where all the best water mages in the queendom are, so I figured that the best course of action would be to bring them all together to save time. Going to bed that night, it was as if the problem was already solved. I didn’t even ask Julius for his help on that one!
I said, “See! The people who are saying I haven’t made a single meaningful decision as queen will eat their words now!” Julius even praised me—he said that I did a good job!
I did do a good job! The plan made sense!
Nowhere in my order did I say “break into people’s homes, drag them to the royal palace, perform invasive procedures in my name, and throw them out!”
By the spirits, I should have known better. I reeeeeaally wish I hadn’t set out on a peace meeting that morning because I would have stopped them. In what world did they think that I was going to appreciate the infected nobles showing up to spill insults at those girls? Just because they made some poor decisions about their chastity doesn’t mean they deserved to get yelled at!
No one talks about the scolding I gave the knights when I came back. Nooooo, the newspapers were just flooded with words about how Queen Emilia is a “violent, barbaric queen” who will “take you from your home if you're sick.”
Thankfully, Julius shut that down fast. How dare they spread lies! Unfortunately, though, word spread quickly. It’s more than likely that Subaru heard about this incident that way.
That’s probably why he thinks I’m still an innocent girl who knows nothing about sex, who knows nothing about the kind of power she wields.
Who knows nothing about anything ever.
Sure, a normal person can feel that way, but Subaru is the Great Sage. I’m not even allowed to meet with him without the three other nation leaders present! How did he even justify coming to the parade?!
Who cares. I have my plan, and I’m going to get some real closure. I’m going to make him see me for who I reeeeeeaally am. The innocent little girl he fell in love with is dead, so he just needs to get over his preconceived notions.
…
Ummm … where am I? I’m pretty sure Subaru’s house is supposed to be the third one on this block.
Did I miss a turn?
Od darn it, Emilia!
After about twenty minutes of searching, Emilia finally finds her way to the porch steps of Subaru’s Priestellan property. The owner of the house is obvious upon a quick glance—not only is the house one of the few with a yard, but a strange marking can be found on the triangular wall between the porch ceiling and roof. The marking depicts two sanpaku eyes with eyebrows raised. The pupils have been replaced with reflective mirrors.
One of the seven symbols of the Sage Church.
The queen takes one glance up toward the symbol, at which she catches a figure. Her entire body tenses, her head swinging around frantically like she’s stuck in the middle of the forest by herself. Even after a few seconds, the only sounds she can pick up are the chirps of insects. Her eyes catch a few empty trash cans, a bench, and some comically uneven grass—maybe the kids were playing outside. Regardless, it doesn’t look like anyone is around. As she tilts her head back up to look at the symbol’s reflective pupils, she sees that unidentifiable figure once again. This time, however, she’s more composed.
This identity-concealing cloak is teeeeeeerrifyingly effective, Emilia thinks to herself. Rustling around in the pocket of said cloak, she pulls out an envelope. The center is stamped with a purple wax that shows an ice crown sitting atop a head with pointy ears. Emilia’s steps are slow but deliberate as she approaches the door. She thinks back to when Subaru did something similar when Petelguese attacked the mansion.
How ironic. Rest in peace, Guese.
A small tear threatens to spill from her purple eyes, but she holds it back. Right now, she has a mission. Bringing her hand up, she knocks on the door. The force is more than one would usually put behind a door, but she figures that children are noisy, so she has to reeeaaaally try if she wants to get anyone’s attention. That being said, shouldn’t she be able to hear the kids?
None of them even yell about someone being at the door! Emilia tilts her head but ultimately decides to knock again.
“No one’s home, Emilia. Go back home to your husband.”
The queen’s eye twitches as a grating feminine voice responds from beyond the door. She almost shouts back but ultimately decides not to respond. There is absolutely no way that the whore can see through her cloak.
It’s just a fluke.
With a clear of her throat, Emilia deepens her voice.
“I have a letter from—”
“A letter? Seriously, this late at night? I figured you were up to some bullshit. I should have known you wouldn’t come here on your own. Nothing changes, though. Go back home to your husband, Emilia.”
The queen grits her teeth, her nostrils flaring.
Get out of my way, prostitute. Go spread disease somewhere else.
“Th—”
“Besides, you’re not even allowed to be here without the other three leaders present. Are you trying to start a war? Over what? Cuz you don’t like one of my kids? The Queen of Lugunica needs to step away from my door,” Andromeda demands. Swallowing, Emilia desperately tries to keep her composure.
“Her Majesty is not present, but it is imperative that you open the door,” Emilia says.
A sigh leaves Andromeda’s lips, to which Emilia’s pointed ears pick up through the door. The sound is muffled, but the intent is clear.
“Who’s it for?” Andromeda asks.
The queen, taking this question as evidence of victory, smiles. The smile is evident in her voice as she speaks.
“The Great Sage, Natsuki Subaru-sama.”
“... Damn, Taylor was right,” Andromeda says. It’s barely loud enough for the queen to hear, and she doesn’t think twice about it. After a moment, the whore shouts once again.
“The Queen of Lugunica is not allowed to speak to The Great Sage without all three nations’ leaders present. Being in his home, even without him present, is pushing it. You were there when the treaty was signed—don’t make me repeat myself,” Andromeda says, her tone final. Emilia is clenching her fist so hard that the envelope is crinkled. Her shoulders are raised as her gritting teeth become visible. Her mind races for what to say before her thoughts bring a grin to her face that makes her cheeks sore.
Taking the ends of her hood with her hands, she lowers the identity-concealing cloak even further.
“T-the queen might not be able to, but I am not the queen. The queen is Emilia, and I am just Emi.”
The house goes silent for a moment.
“What? Are you scared that some random woman is gonna steal your husband in the middle of the night?” Emilia instigates. She tilts her head like she’s trying to feign innocence, lips puffed out like a duck's, and a finger poking her cheek. The house remains quiet for a few moments before the woman inside speaks.
“Ahh, it’s just Emi, huh? So the Queen of Lugunica is nowhere to be found?”
“Exactly, just an old friend of Subaru’s. You wouldn’t feel … intimidated by me, would you?”
“O-of course not! I even left the door open—just walk on in,” Andromeda stammers. Emilia has to hold back a chuckle at the whore’s voice, simply because of how desperate it sounded. It was louder than the rest of her words, too—the accusation must have thrown the prostitute off.
“Is that so~? Well then, pardon my intrusion,” Emilia says before opening the door with a hop in her step. She doesn’t believe for a second that Subaru isn’t here. Andromeda’s insecure voice makes her look weak in front of the kids, so Emilia’s presence within the home isn’t going to be met with an immediate disadvantage.
Perhaps she could receive closure right in front of everybody, while they would be unable to stop her. They’d hear all about how Emilia isn’t the same innocent girl of the past and have no other choice but to respect her as she makes that prostitute beg her forgiveness for getting in her way. Everything is going better than anticipated.
That is, until a heavy hand meets Emilia’s back, pushing her into the living room with so much force that she falls onto the ground. Before she can even turn around, a loud slam reverberates around the house. Andromeda slaps her hands together like she’s cleaning up dust, turning to face the Queen of Lugunica.
Everything takes Emilia a moment to register. The woman in her way was at the door—was she there the whole time?
No, no, that’s not important.
“How stupid do you think I am? Genuinely?” Andromeda asks as she stands before the closed door, cracking her knuckles. The frown on her face is sharp enough to cut diamonds. If the cracking of the knuckles wasn’t enough to show Emilia what the woman’s intentions are, then her outfit does.
A sleeveless, thick-threaded black dress adorns her torso. The dress comes with a short skirt that has shorts underneath. Even with the shorts, a keen eye can observe the same white, technical tattoo on her thighs that copies those on her shoulders. While the dress leaves Andromeda’s limbs exposed, the rest is a different story. The solid black is broken with a pearlescent luster in the fabric, indicating the presence of a thread that could stop an iceberg without letting Andromeda get pierced.
A black dress, woven of mana-strengthening fabric, that covers her vitals while leaving a full range of motion in her limbs. Emilia had heard of it in tales told by bards—the armor of the sage’s wife. The clothes that stopped even the Witch of Envy from leaving a scar on her chest.
The Dress of the Battle Maiden. With just a sprinkle of mana into the dress, Emilia would struggle to do any damage to the woman before her.
“What do you have to gain from putting your hands on a member of the Lugunican Royal Family? Let alone the queen?” Emilia interrogates, her body still on the floor.
“Oh? Here I thought you were Emi, a friend of Subaru’s,” Andromeda says, a smug growl coating her voice. The queen clicks her tongue.
“Where is Subaru?” Emilia asks with intensity.
“Subaru’s not here. It’s just me and you, Emi-chan. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you bored. We have a lot to talk about.”
The prostitute picks up her foot, walking toward the queen.
“You will not be able to leave this house until I tell you that you can. We are going to have a deep and serious conversation about your relationship with my husband. If you refuse, well,” Andromeda cracks her neck, allowing a small bit of mana to glow from the runes tattooed on her shoulders, “We can settle this another way.”
Emilia’s frown deepens as a confident grin splits across Andromeda’s face. As she clicks her tongue, a spear of ice jets from the ground to one of the house windows. Before it can make contact, though, the queen feels the mana flow in her hand seize.
The yips?! No…
“Subaru…” Emilia mutters.
“That’s right, sweetheart! I’ve got all my husband’s Authorities tonight!” Andromeda brags. As she approaches Emilia, she looms over her like a wolf over a rabbit.
“We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Choice is yours,” Andromeda threatens. Emilia clenches her jaw.
A fight between the two of them would be close, Emilia surmises. However, Sylphy and Julius are under the impression that Emilia is coming back with a surprise for the King Consort. If she comes back with bruises or, Od forbid, broken limbs, the lie would crumble. Julius would probably become even more stringent than he already is.
Darn it. Is there anything else I can do…?
Emilia’s eyes dart around, unable to pick up anything around her.
“... Fine. Say your piece, whore,” Emilia growls.
“Wonderful,” Andromeda says with an irritating smile.
The hostile aura surrounding Andromeda drops as the runes on her shoulder lose their glow. Her confident smile fades into a more neutral expression.
“Get up and follow me. I don’t want to have to look down on you all night,” Andromeda demands. Emilia bites her cheek but ultimately complies.
With Emilia feeling a heavy disadvantage, the real confrontation begins.
In the living room, Andromeda sits in the love seat like a queen atop her throne. With one leg raised on one of the chair’s arms, she sits diagonally. Emilia, on the other hand, is sitting on the main couch as far from Andromeda as she possibly can. As Emilia settles with her hands in her lap and her legs closed, she looks at the other half-elf.
“So. Why are you here?” asks Mrs. Natsuki. Her face is expectant, yet relaxed.
“... I came here to get closure with Subaru,” Emilia answers.
“Closure? What more could you guys have to discuss after that trial nine years ago? You made yourselves pretty clear.”
Andromeda puts her elevated foot onto the floor, twisting her body so that she can lean toward Emilia. With one finger pointing down, she continues to speak.
“If we didn’t remove everything in his book that ‘slandered’ you, then you would take this property and outlaw the Sage Church in Lugunca. There was no other room for interpretation.”
“That’s just the thing—everyone’s emotions were high. Subaru used to be my knight, you know. And he said some suuuper bad stuff as well, so I am giving him a chance to apologize,” Emilia justifies.
“Apologize for what? He meant every word he said. If anyone should be sorry, it’s you.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. There were a lot more threats than just the ones you made toward our property, you know. What was it? ‘You can’t bend fate without your mouth?’”
“That was Julius!”
“Oh yeah? Then, how about when Beako had to deploy their anti-magic spell, B.M.K., to prevent you from freezing us? You gonna blame that on your husband, too?”
“That was—”
“An accident? It’s always an accident with you. It would have been an accident at the parade, too. Just be honest with me, Emi-chan.”
Emilia grits her teeth, her body leaning a bit farther away from the woman in front of her. Andromeda places her hands on the chair's armrests, narrowing her eyes.
“You came to hurt my husband, didn’t you?”
“... Huh?”
“Don’t ‘huh’ me. I thought it through—you couldn’t use ice on him during the parade because of everyone around. His books have been a thorn in your side that has only continued to grow more painful. But you wanna know what I think is the real reason you want to hurt my husband?”
Andromeda’s nostrils flare. She slams her hand down on one of the armrests, causing Emilia to flinch.
“You saw my husband having a good time with our little ones. You saw a man, someone you once deemed unworthy of guaranteeing safety, someone whose experience has made leadership hard for you, talk happily with his children. You looked at our daughter, gazed at the features you share with her and saw what you don’t have—a family. Children. It made you jealous.”
The Queen’s eyes fly open, and for the first time, she removes her hands from her lap.
“Jealous? Jealous of what? Anyone can have kids with a loose woman who sells her body for money!”
“Oh, you really don’t like my past. Do you mind reminding me why it is I spent the last century in Gusteko’s pleasure district, oh wise Miss Emi-san?”
The pale half-elf’s dry mouth shuts like a steel trap, a bead of sweat beginning to roll down her face. Andromeda sits back up, continuing to stare daggers at the other half-elf.
“Who was it that froze my home while I was out of town with my dad? Whose adoptive father went insane, letting the whole world know that the Witch Cult was no longer protecting the Elves? Why do you think a bunch of freaks thought it was a good idea to attack the carriage we were traveling in, kill my father, and take me away like some fucking merchandise? Do you understand that you are at the center of every bad thing that has happened to me in my life?”
Emilia’s arms fly up above her head with a confused grimace.
“You can’t blame that on me! I didn’t get to decide what Guese did! Plus, Pandora was going to open the Seal. I was a kid—what did you expect me to do?”
Andromeda grits her teeth but sits silent for a moment as she blinks. Lying back while looking at her fingernails, she continues speaking.
“You’re right. Whatever’s behind that Seal would have likely caused much damage—you did what you needed to. What you could. But that’s just it.”
Andromeda’s eyes find Emilia once again.
“I was just a kid, too. You don’t get to come here and judge me about my past like I chose to be a prostitute. Like I chose to be a whore!”
The dark half-elf’s voice deepens into a growl as she speaks, her fingers stiff.
“And now you choose to come to my house after threatening my husband and scaring my kids. I have every reason to believe that you’re here to hurt him. So you’re gonna tell me—what in your jealousy-ridden mind made you think it was appropriate to come here?”
“Jealousy, jealousy, jealousy! Oh, you can’t help but repeat it every five seconds! You know what I think? I think the real jealous one is you!” Emilia accuses, pointing a finger at Andromeda. Andromeda’s lips flatten as she brings her head back, absolutely flabbergasted by the “revelation.”
“Do tell what jealousy you think I have,” Andromeda instigates.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You manage to use up all your luck in life to find the most stupidly forgiving man on the planet, snatching him up before anyone else. You discover that he used to serve a different, prettier, pure half-elf girl before you. It becomes obvious in your head, and to everyone else, that you’re a replacement. You somehow manage to keep him for a few years, even guilting a couple of kids out of him so he can’t leave. Even then, he can’t resist. He has to bring his family here, despite how much you plead for him to stay away. You even make up some … some story about how I’m this ‘big bad girl’ to keep him out of the house tonight. All because you’re so afraid that the pretty girl who runs this country is going to come back for what belongs to her.”
Emilia’s face distorts into uglier and uglier shapes as she speaks. She’s even standing, holding her chest after shouting sentence after sentence, breathing hard. However, Andromeda isn’t phased. Rather, her eyes are narrowed.
“... What belongs to her?” Andromeda mutters.
The contents of Emilia’s rant send question marks flying across Andromeda’s mind. Here was a girl, jealous of the family that she has with Subaru, shouting about “replacements,” “purity,” and what “belongs to her.” These were not the ramblings of a crab in a bucket trying to drag its mate from the bucket’s lip.
Like a magic stone had been fed mana above her head, an idea pops into her brain. She suppresses a chuckle, which Emilia catches.
“What’s so funny, you … you jealous witch?” Emilia shouts.
“First of all, wow. Second of all, I’ve figured out what this is really about,” Andromeda says, her voice a far calmer tone than that of the pale half-elf. Her nonchalant attitude only makes the queen’s eyebrow twitch as the dark half-elf lays her head on her knuckles, sighing.
“Sit back down, please. I’ve got a question for you.”
“I can answer questions standing up, you know,” Emilia says, a sharpness in her voice like that of a knife. Mrs. Natsuki raises her hands in a shrug. The words that begin flowing from her mouth lack any intensity.
“Say you were able to get my husband alone with whatever thing you had planned with that letter of yours. Say you got to have that,” Andromeda brings her arms up, two fingers sticking up on each hand, “‘closure.’ What would you have told him?”
“Huh? Why would I tell you?”
Andromeda closes her eyes, lips pursed.
“Fair enough. I didn’t wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice. For people like you, Suby-tan’s more gentle methods unfortunately fall short.”
Andromeda is grateful to have complete access to Subaru’s Authorities through World’s Love. Some of his powers, the dark half-elf believes, are perfect for any form of interrogation. Memories can be sifted through, and one can feel another’s emotions—but most importantly, with True Face, people’s lies are undone. Truly, a perfect set of powers for getting any answer out of anybody.
That being said, in this particular scenario, there are a few drawbacks.
Andromeda set this whole meeting up as an attempt to scare the Queen of Lugunica away from her family forever. Keeping the woman away from Subaru or any of the kids is easy in the short term—have Emilia spill a few secrets to some journalists; make her tell the truth about her feelings—but these would be the victories of Subaru’s Authorities, not of Andromeda. As such, when Emilia is back in her throne room, she can strategize or plan her way around these powers. True Face, in particular, requires eye contact for activation. While eye contact can be broken at any point after activation, one would still need even just a moment of eye contact for the Authority to work.
The other Authorities have limits as well, such as Mind’s Library requiring touch, or Best Wishes requiring the spoken word. However, because True Face brings out the real essence of who a person is in the present, over-reliance on its power brings about a scenario in which Emilia could become confident of mental victory if its use were limited.
Any memories Emilia sees with Mind’s Library cannot be unseen. Best Wishes is not effective for interrogation. However, if Emilia thinks to herself that she lost a verbal war with Andromeda because of True Face, then her chance of coming back to try again increases. That being said, if Emilia thinks that she lost a verbal war with Andromeda because of Andromeda, then Emilia will lose hope of besting her, keeping her away more effectively.
If Andromeda wants to keep Emilia away permanently, then she surmises that a total mental victory with minor True Face usage is required.
This is the only time I can use this without Mind’s Library.
Thankfully, Andromeda’s comment about how her husband’s more gentle methods fall short in this scenario guarantees that Emilia will keep giving her a smug expression.
In other words, the queen was willingly staring at Andromeda to spite her.
The dark half-elf only needs to stare at Emilia’s eyes with True Face for a split second. Mrs. Natsuki’s eyes glow their signature purple as Emilia’s fly open. She tries to cover her face, but it’s too late.
As the Authority takes hold of Emilia’s soul, she lowers her hand. The sight of Andromeda brings a stabbing pain to her chest along with twitching eyelids.
“Emi, what did you plan to tell my husband upon meeting him?” Andromeda asks.
“... I was going to tell him that I’m not the same innocent girl he fell in love with.”
Emilia’s judgement isn’t quite clear—rather, it’s as if the clouds hiding the nastiness underneath have been moved. She doesn’t even remember why she wanted to lie in the first place. She doesn’t even know what a lie is.
“Interesting. Okay, second question—does anyone know you’re here?”
“No. I told Sylphy-chan that I was headed out to get a surprise for Julius,” Emilia answers monotonously. Andromeda puts one hand on her chin, stroking it as she thinks. She pokes her cheek with her tongue, nodding with disgust written on her face.
Getting the absolute truth about Emilia’s intentions, without directly asking her with True Face, is the first victory Andromeda feels she has to earn. With a basis for argument she is confident in, the dark half-elf turns off the Authority. Her eyes lose their glow, making Emilia shake her head and blink.
“What? What did you do? That power—you have to ask before using it!” Emilia shouts.
“That’s the myth, isn’t it? Maybe it’s for the best,” Andromeda says with a neutral tone. The pale half-elf’s confusion is palpable, so Mrs. Natsuki takes advantage of it.
“You know, I just noticed what you’re wearing. It’s been a long time since you’ve worn that, huh? You’ve even tried to cover up the Mather’s crest,” Andromeda says, motioning towards Emilia’s dress. The queen looks down before sitting as if to cover up her clothes. She turns her body away from Andromeda.
“What about it?” the pale half-elf asks.
“Well, I just think it’s funny. You went through all this effort: getting dressed in the clothes you used to wear when Subaru was your knight, lying to your husband about your whereabouts, sneaking off in the middle of the night wearing a cloak that hides your identity, and even preparing this whole letter scheme to get him alone. All of it—just to tell a married man that you used to know that you’re not the same innocent girl he used to know. All for … closure, you said?”
“Yeah? What about it?” Emilia spits.
“I can’t believe you’re trying to lure my husband out.”
“... Huh? Lure him out? Like, bring him to bed?”
Andromeda snorts, putting her hands up with a wide-open gaze.
“Now I didn’t say all that. But it’s telling that you’re the one who thought of it that way.”
“That doesn’t even make sense—I don’t love Subaru.”
“No one said you have to like a guy to seduce him. You just have to want something from him.”
“What would there be to want? Subaru is weak and lacks any class. Not to mention, if anything bad ever happens to me, it’s not like he can undo it like he used to.”
The seriousness of Emilia’s insensitive remark throws Andromeda for a loop. This brutality is almost unheard of, even for the Matraich of Ice. However, if she’s saying horrible things like that, then her mind must be busy with something else. Andromeda presumes that this potential overthinking means that she’s getting through. With a small confidence boost, she continues to push.
“Yet you still find him worth the effort to doll yourself up and lie to your husband to come see. Not to mention, all this talk about love has been coming from you. If anything, it’s starting to make me think you can’t get your mind off of him. Maybe you do like him.”
Emilia slams her hand on the couch cushion.
“I do NOT like him! He’s ugly, he doesn’t listen, he breaks promises, he lies, he bottles up his feelings, he takes all the burden on himself without letting anyone help, and most importantly, I didn’t even get to learn a single real thing about him until he was using it to punish me!”
Emilia breathes hard, which is the only sound in the room for a few moments.
“Wow. It makes a girl wonder why you’d go through so much effort to come see him.”
“I already told you! It’s because I’m coming to make closure! Subaru could have had everything! He could have been married to the woman he actually loves and become King Consort, but things didn’t happen how he thought they would. You wanna know why he waited so long to confess to me? It’s because he likes pure girls like me. If I tell him that I’m no longer the same innocent girl, he’ll finally get me out of his head.”
Andromeda’s eyebrows twitch for a moment, the nonsensical logic slamming her like a ground dragon. She didn’t even know where to start with that, but there was one part of it that caught the dark half-elf’s attention more than the rest.
“You seem to care so much about what he thinks. Why would you even do him the … service … of making such closure? What’s in it for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why bother? You’ve got a husband and everything. You guys weren’t even official,” Andromeda clarifies.
“Well, I can stand to have any normal person in the Queendom think I’m too innocent to make decisions. But Subaru? People call him the Great Sage—he travels all over the world, and people come to see him. When I tell people what to do, they hesitate. It’s almost like they have something else they want to say. But when Subaru tells people what to do? They listen without a single doubt! They read about him making decisions that lead to people’s deaths, and they still follow him like his commands are the best path toward the future!”
“So it is jealousy, then,” Andromeda says.
“No!” the queen shouts.
“You want to see him because you want to make him feel like you’re a cool-headed, competent leader instead of some babbling child who learned about sex five minutes ago.”
“No!”
“Maybe you just like him because he’s got power now. I can see a shallow woman like you wanting a man for that reason, especially when all you have is Julius.”
“Why are you so obsessed with the idea of me wanting Subaru?”
“Obsessed? Most certainly not. I’m just tired of you lying to my face. If you don’t like him, if it’s not jealousy, if it’s not for approval, and it’s certainly not for closure—what possible reason would you have to be here tonight?”
Emilia goes silent, her glare remaining fixed on Andromeda.
“Now that we’re quiet all of a sudden, I guess I should make you answer for all the slander you’ve been putting on my husband’s name,” Mrs. Natsuki starts.
“Slander? What are you talking about?” Emilia asks with a frown.
“Oh, you don’t know? Don’t you remember how you’ve insulted him, like, eight different times in the span of five minutes? Let me remind you, then—because not only is Natsuki Subaru a wonderful man, but he’s a fantastic husband.”
Andromeda holds back intensity in her voice, trying to keep the advantage.
“You will never know what it’s like to marry a man who listens to every word you say. To be honest, I was worried about coming here because you have threatened my family with violence before. I brought this to him, and not only did he listen, but he helped me put together a plan of action just in case your weasel ass decided to try and slither on in here. Our daughter got to see her hero, and I get to protect my family like I want to. Not only does he listen, but he makes me feel heard.”
The dark half-elf closes her eyes, memories and emotions flooding her brain. Emilia is silent with a frown.
“You know damn well why he had to lie and why you could never learn the truth about him. It was a price, on top of his life, that he had to pay so that a woman whose innocence is synonymous with her incompetence could rise to the throne. You’re only being punished for it because you decided to discard him like a worn-out tool after sucking everything you possibly could out of him. He’s kept every single promise he’s ever made to me, and because he knows about the informational advantage he has with True Face, he has vowed to never lie to me. You never saw that version of him because you are unworthy of that version of him. He wrote those books because he believed they were a great confession from the world’s biggest sinner, a confession the world deserved to hear, but the people tore his experiences apart and found fault with you. DO NOT get it confused. You deserve every bad thing that has happened to you as a result of those books.”
“Don’t—”
“I’m not finished!”
Andromeda is almost shouting as Emilia tries to interrupt. Her fists clench as she leans forward once more.
“You wanna know what? Subaru is a fantastic husband. He’s so damn wonderful that when Subaru becomes Schwartz, I sometimes feel like she’s a better wife than I am. Everywhere he goes, he is followed by thousands of people. Despite this, he makes time for his family so well that I’ve never felt secondary to his duty as the Sage. After I permitted him to peek through my memories of the century in Gusteko, not only did he accept my past, but he permanently took some of my fear away from me. Just like experiencing Beako’s 400 years drained some of the color from his hair and gave some color back to Beako, Subaru took some of my emotions to help me handle my burden. Betty and I have some of his scars, too—that’s what it means to him to love another person. Never in my life have I felt more supported.”
Andromeda’s voice is intense, switching between hostility and pride. Emilia can’t help but feel like her chest is being stabbed repeatedly.
“After taking some of my fear away, he showed me that sex actually feels good. We’ve been married for a little over a decade, yet he still makes me feel like we’re still on our honeymoon. Seven kids don’t happen by accident, and if I had been with any other man, I probably would have had none. That being said, when you’re married to a man who can take portions of the pain, if not the whole thing, of pregnancy and childbirth, seven kids are so much easier. When Subaru experiences my morning sickness, can feel my cravings, and knows exactly when it's time to head to the hospital, he makes me feel important to him. He doesn’t have to do any of that, but the fact that he does anyway just goes to show how much he’s paying attention. Hell, I’ve even had to forbid him from taking all of the pain before because I loved experiencing it with him. Subaru is the only man I’ve met on this planet who can turn pain into love, so I really am the luckiest woman on Earth.”
Andromeda’s words about Subaru are laced with a passionate warmth, a blush spreading across her face. Emilia doesn’t know what to do with herself, finding it impossible to refrain from comparing Julius to Subaru in her head. Andromeda doesn’t stop, though.
“I’ve never had to worry about the kids going missing. With the same power that he used to share the pain of giving life, he can track the location and distance of those same people he helped give life to. When he does it, I can feel his feelings about me flow directly into my chest. Everyone he tracks does—it’s the type of heat from the inside that can melt any blizzard freezing the heart. It’s a surefire way of knowing if he thinks of you as a friend. You probably haven’t felt it at all, have you?”
The dark half-elf's snide comment toward the pale half-elf makes her eyebrow twitch. Andromeda chuckles a bit.
“With Subaru, I have traveled the world because I told him it was my dream. I get to travel wherever I want, whenever I want, surrounded by my family. You talked about me being obsessed with the idea of you wanting Subaru, but in reality, I couldn’t be happier that you chose to marry someone else. Let me reiterate: you chose. So, for the final fucking time, I’m going to ask you.”
Andromeda stands up, her fists clenched. Emilia hesitates for a second, ultimately deciding not to move.
“What is the motivation behind the Queen of Lugunica sneaking out of her home, lying to her husband, getting all dolled up, and making some stupid plan to get a married man alone? What did you think you were going to accomplish by telling my husband that you finally know what sex is? Because I have quite the idea. Unless you want me to spill it for you, it better come out of your fucking mouth.”
Mrs. Natsuki walks toward Emilia slowly, pressure building with each step.
“Because I just know that a sweet, innocent little girl like you wouldn’t dare say anything vulgar.”
Those final words, that last provocation, snap something within Emilia’s mind. She flies off the couch, as if to size up Andromeda. Emilia tilts her head all the way up to greet Mrs. Natsuki’s glare.
“Fuck you! Fine!”
The sudden curse out of the pale half-elf’s mouth makes the dark half-elf raise her eyebrows. What was once an intense, hateful glare has turned into the same kind of face a person makes when watching a play during the high-drama moments. Andromeda backs up to give the pale half-elf enough room to throw a tantrum.
“Yes, I do want Subaru back! Is that what you wanted to hear? I made a mistake 15 years ago because I thought that Julius would be the better choice for me! Puck even agreed!”
Emilia throws her hands down, practically shouting.
“I’m more pure than you. I’m more powerful than you. I’m more desirable than you. So why is it that you get to have a whole family with the man I love, while I get nothing?”
The dark half-elf finds her way back to the love seat, each word of the queen’s confession widening the victorious smile on Andromeda’s face.
“Yeah, I’m not happy with Julius! He still calls me ‘-sama,’ despite being my husband, yet tells me what to do like I’m a child. Do you respect me or do you not, you impotent, purple-haired, shallow excuse for a man?! I thought we couldn’t have children because I’m a half-elf. I thought it was my fault—but seeing your kids, seeing his kids at the parade, only made me more frustrated.”
Tears begin to flow from Emilia’s eyes like a stream. If Andromeda had popcorn right now, she’d be munching on it with eyes glued to the scene.
“That was supposed to be mine! Those children were supposed to be mine! I was the first person to meet him in this world—Fate practically dragged him to me! We were supposed to end up together, but we didn’t! And it’s all my fault!”
The pale half-elf’s tears begin to collide with the floor, some snot dripping from her nose. However, the dark half-elf doesn’t offer her any tissues.
She should sit in the consequences of her actions, she figures.
“I don’t even know why I married Julius! It’s been fifteen years, and I can’t get the man out of his shell! Sometimes, I wonder if there’s anything in there besides ‘knightly conduct’ and ‘telling me what to do.’ I’m the queen, so why do I have less freedom than I had as a royal selection candidate? It’s all because of Julius! Why couldn’t I have married Subaru?”
Emilia wipes her nose with the purple portion of her sleeve, undoing some of the shoddy sewing work that was covering the Mather’s crest. A devious smile begins to crawl across Emilia’s face as she fixes a glare toward Andromeda.
“But you know what? Subaru was always meant to belong to me. Subaru loved me first. He told me that he’d wait forever. He broke that promise, like he usually does, but it doesn’t matter. I know he still has feelings for me deep inside his chest, so I will drag them out. You can try to scare me here, but I will come back. I will remind him that you’re just a replacement for the woman he really loves. I will remind him where his heart truly belongs, and when it’s all said and done, I will remind you that my purity makes me better than you.”
The queen grits her teeth as she finishes speaking, to which Andromeda offers a few claps.
“What a performance! I’m glad we’re finally being honest with ourselves.”
“Don’t pity me, whore.”
“Oh, but you’re pitiful. There’s a lot of dragon shit you said just now, but let me correct you on one thing—Subaru never said that he’d wait forever. He said that he didn’t need your response now. He would wait as long as it takes, but not for the rest of his life.”
“What’s the difference?” Emilia snarls.
“The difference is that ‘as long as it takes’ means ‘as long as it takes for you to decide.’ He was giving you time to make up your mind, and you did. His life wasn’t going to pause just in case you felt unhappy with your limp-dick husband. Subaru doesn’t love you. He hasn’t for a long time. He doesn’t even hate you anymore—he doesn’t even think about you.”
Andromeda explains her position with a tired voice, almost as if what she has to say is something Emilia should have already known. To the dark half-elf, it was like lecturing an adult on basic addition.
“Is that why he’s not here right now? Is that why you had to hide him away? Or is it more evident that you’re scared that I’m right?” Emilia instigates with her hands on her hips, head tilted. Her lips are puffed out mockingly. It’s hard to tell from her eyes what she’s trying to do, though, because they are red from crying. Andromeda stands, cracking her neck.
“It seems you have a lot of delusions that need clearing up. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?” Andromeda says.
“What? No!”
“I don’t think you understand, Emi-chan. The idea that these Authorities require consent is a myth that Subaru accidentally started by always asking permission of his followers before using them. Such kindness would be wasted on someone like you.”
The dark half-elf walks toward Emilia, who reflexively sits down. Her smug, manic expression gets replaced by fear as Andromeda towers over her.
“I know just how to deal with you—so let’s take a trip. Allow me to show you how his feelings for you died all those years ago.”
With one victory under Andromeda’s belt, she smiles viciously. Leaning forward, she makes contact with Emilia’s shoulder, causing the woman to flinch. Andromeda’s eyes glow at Emilia’s before she activates the other Authority, Mind’s Library, through her hand.
For both half-elves, the world goes dark for a split second. That is, until they open their eyes to find a younger Subaru kneeling in the snow with Beatrice.