The next morning, Felt and Reinhard were alone in his room. Garfiel had quickly excused himself. His absence had nothing to do with giving them alone time, the atmosphere in the room was just that uncomfortable.

“Red! Listen to me!” Felt demanded.

Reinhard flinched and looked uncomfortable. “I am listening, Miss Felt. I have listened to every word that you have said.”

“You’re listening but you don’t believe me!” Felt shouted, her hands balling up into fists.

“I… regretfully must admit that I do not, Miss Felt. Your… theory lacks balance and good sense,” He said apologetically.

“Reinhard! What if Subaru was just right?!” Felt demanded.

“Miss Felt, need I remind you that this witch tortured you with frost flowers?” Reinhard’s voice burning with suppressed rage.

Felt closed her eyes and shuddered violently. She panted for breath for a long time before finally opening her eyes. “Reinhard, believe me, you’ll never have to remind me of that. I remember it very clearly.”

“If this woman was not a witch, if she was truly the good person that Subaru has been deceived into viewing her as,” Reinhard’s voice became like iron as he reflected on Felt’s torment. “Then why did this unforgivable abomination occur? Why would any good and kind person stoop to such action as pointless torture?”

Felt bit her lip. “Maybe… it really was an accident,” Felt said reluctantly. “Maybe she really did lose control of her magic while she was fighting Lye. Remember, she cursed Subaru too! Whether she was erased from our memories or if she’s bewitched Subaru, why would she curse her greatest ally?”

Reinhard thought for a moment. “Perhaps for deniability?” He suggested.

Felt rolled her eyes. “Reinhard, who in the world is dumb enough to decide to torture somebody in public and then decide that they need to torture their own ally to convince people it was just an accident. She would have had to hate me an awful lot for this to make any sense.”

“Or perhaps she intended for you to die and for Subaru to live, as surely would have happened if not for the spirits’ intervention, Miss Felt,” Reinhard said, his voice a soft growl. “Subaru trusts you-”

Felt flinched.

“-And she may have decided that she needed to remove you from the situation before you could convince Subaru to listen to reason. Subaru has great respect for your mind and judgment. Given time, I have no doubt that you could have reached him and convinced him to reject the witch. Because she injured Subaru as well, who believes that she loves him, perhaps would have been sufficient to convince him that your death was merely an unfortunate accident.”

Felt shook her head. “Red!” She protested.

“Miss Felt,” Reinhard said sadly. “I implore you. Please use your remarkable intelligence to consider this matter logically. Do you recall that… err ‘Occam’s Razor’ that you told me about?”

“What about it?”

“Your theory requires that some powerful unknown magic has rewritten the memories of the entire world. Whereas if we assume that the witch is in fact a witch, then we need only require the witch to have manipulated the memories of a small handful of individuals that she has been in close contact with. I ask you, which is more believable?”

Felt choked on that. She scrambled, looking for an answer. “Reinhard. I need you to believe me here! Subaru is in real trouble! Now the entire world is after him and if we don’t help him he has no chance at all!”

“I have every intention of helping him, Miss Felt,” Reinhard said firmly. “I will see justice done upon this witch for her crimes against Subaru and most especially against you. I will prove to the world that this was all simply a regrettable mistake and redeem the trust of the man that I admire most.”

Felt bit her lip and went for broke. “Reinhard, you can’t kill the witch!”

“What do you mean?”

“Killing the witch will kill Subaru!”

Reinhard’s eyes became huge. “What are you saying?”

“If you kill the witch then Subaru will choose to die!”

“Where did you acquire this information?!”

“Beako told me.”

“Miss… Beatrice?” Reinhard said flatly.

“Yes! She said that the only reason the spirits didn’t kill the witch themselves was because they could tell that killing the witch would kill Subaru!”

Reinhard gave Felt a steady look. He didn’t respond right away. “Then this fact would establish that we are unable to slay the witch…”

“Exactly!”

“Miss Felt,” Reinhard said slowly. “Tell me… when did you… well, develop this… recollection?”

“What do you mean?”

“Miss Felt, this is the first time that you’ve mentioned this vital information to me,” He said gently. “Despite having no contact with the spirits for some time.”

Felt sighed. “I knew that you were suspicious of Beatrice. I decided to sit on it for a while until you learned to trust Beako again.”

Reinhard hesitated. “Miss Felt, how do you know that this… memory wasn’t implanted by the witch?”

Felt started at him incredulously. “When?! I haven’t seen the witch since I was with you!”

Reinhard looked awkward. “Miss Felt, does it not seem… somewhat… convenient that you suddenly remembered information that prohibits me from hunting down and killing the witch?”

Felt’s eyes widened. Oh no. Oh, no no no. He can’t be thinking…

Reinhard sighed. “I fear that you’ve fallen under the witch’s influence as well. She must be corrupting your memories as she did our poor friend Subaru. The wicked fiend. Not only did she torture and abuse you but now she twists your mind and memories in order to avoid her just punishment. This is absolutely unforgivable. I vow as a Knight of the Kingdom, Miss Felt, that I shall not rest until I have hunted down this witch and done justice upon her!”

“Reinhard! Why won’t you believe me?!” Felt begged with tears in her eyes.

Reinhard hesitated.

“Reinhard?” She whispered.

Reinhard sighed and looked away. “Miss Felt,” He murmured in an almost pleading voice. “I am well aware of your extraordinary intelligence. You have always been able to discern the truth of things when I could not. But now you ask me to believe that everyone in this world except for Subaru has had their memories modified by some as yet unexplained power for some completely unexplained reason. You are asking me to take an enormous amount on faith and you lack any evidence for it at all.”

Felt’s eyes widened.

“…So that’s what happened,” Garfiel finished helplessly, standing with the twins beside their carriage.

Garfiel was explaining to the twins the revelation that Felt had reached last night. The three stood beside their carriage in Mirula waiting for Felt and Reinhard.

Rem had a stricken look on her face as if she was second-guessing everything. “So… we are the ones who were bewitched?” Rem murmured.

Ram was quiet for a moment. “I received a letter from Lord Roswaal this morning. He commands us to return to the manor for a time and attend to business there before continuing our search for Subaru Natsuki. He also bids us to offer sanctuary to ‘the old man.’”

Garfiel frowned. “What old man?”

“Hey, fleabag,” A deep voice rumbled.

Garfiel turned around and saw a towering figure walking toward him.

“Gramps?!” Garfiel said incredulously. “What the hell are you doing here? How the hell did you get here?”

Rom snorted. “For one thing, I found out that the kingdom was looking for me, hoping to use me to try to get leverage over Felt. It’s not easy for me to blend in with the crowd so I got out of town. I paid a merchant to carry me in his wagon, hidden in a giant crate. It wound up costing me a gold coin,” Rom made a frustrated face. “Don’t tell Felt I said that. I’m going to replace the money I borrowed from her before she notices.”

Garfiel chuckled. “Yeah, Felt warned me about how you were.”

“Alright!” Felt said, storming out of the inn, her face livid. Her face was fixed in a snarl and her eyes were as hard as agates but tears were streaming down her face. She was rubbing her wrist as if it pained her. “Let’s get out of here!”

She was biting off curses with each step and her face was black as a thundercloud. Felt walked completely by Rom without even noticing the giant. Then she blinked and turned around. “Gramps?!”

“Hey, Felt,” Rom said calmly.

“What are you doing here?!”

“Checking on you!” Rom snorted. “And avoiding the royal guard…”

“How did you even know where we were?!” Felt demanded.

Rom looked awkward. “I… got a letter…” Rom murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

“From who?!” Felt asked incredulously. “None of us had time to send you a letter!”

Rom hesitated.

Garfield could tell that Rom was uncomfortable talking about this. “Um. So, we aren’t waiting for Red before we leave?” Garfiel stepped in before Felt could inquire further.

Felt scowled. “Reinhard fucking Astrea apparently has better things to do!” Felt snapped.

“Like what?” Garfiel said in disbelief.

Felt snorted. “Reinhard is operating on the assumption that the witch is simply getting stronger and that any problems with our memories are because she’s regaining her power to twist more people. He refuses to even consider the notion that Subaru might have been right about… Emilia,” She ended with a grumble.

Garfiel stared at her for a long moment. “Huh?! That doesn’t make a lick of sense!”

Felt shook her head violently. “I told him that! The stubborn idiot never changes his mind!” Felt grated, yanking her own hair in frustration. “Now he’s even more determined to find and kill the witch because he’s worried that her power is starting to corrupt us!”

“Then I assume that Sir Reinhard will not be accompanying you in your search?” Ram asked mildly.

“Reinhard is going to keep looking for Subaru on his own,” Felt grumbled, holding her wrist. “The big dope remains convinced that all he needs to do is kill the witch and Subaru will be fine again.”

“But Garf told us that Miss Beatrice said killing the witch would kill Subaru,” Rem murmured.

“Yeah, so we better find him before Red does!” Garfiel squinted at Felt. “Hey, shrimp, what happened to your wrist?”

Felt snorted. “I sprained it. On a stubborn head.”

Garfiel gaped. “You punched Reinhard?!”

“It felt a lot like pounding on brick,” Felt admitted.

“The first lover’s quarrel is often the most shocking,” Ram said impassively.

“Watch it, Ram!” Felt snarled.

“I… could heal that for you,” Rem offered quietly.

Felt stared at Rem for a long moment and then placed her wrist into Rem’s hand. Rem began to use her magic to mend the sprain.

“Alright, so…” Garfiel said awkwardly. “Ram just got some instructions from the clown. He says that they need to go back to the manor-”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Felt said calmly. She looked at the twins and sighed. “Look. Nobody knows that the two of you helped us escape from Fein. You should both get back to the manor before anyone starts to suspect you. I don’t want you guys to be made fugitives too.”

Felt gave Rem a not-quite-friendly look.

Garfiel looked back and forth between Rem and Felt before continuing. “Then I guess it’s just going to be the three of us?” He asked the giant Rom.

Rom shook his head. “I don’t think I can go with you, fleabag-”

“Hey, when did that become my official nickname?” Garfiel groaned.

Rom ignored him. “It’s pretty hard for me to blend in. I left the capitol to get somewhere under cover. I can hang out here for a while until the dust settles.”

Rem looked up at Rom and cleared her throat. “Master Rom,” She said diffidently. “Perhaps you could return to Arlem with us? I’m certain that you would be welcome there. I doubt that our carriage would be very comfortable for you but I am sure that you’d fit as long as sister and I rode on top.”

Rom frowned thoughtfully.

“It’s a good idea, Gramps,” Felt added. “The people at Arlem are good folks. Just tell them that you’re my grandpa and they’ll treat you alright.”

Rom nodded. “OK. That makes sense. Here, Felt. I brought you this. I think you’re going to need it.” He handed her a bag of gold coins.

Felt frowned in confusion.

“There should be about fifty gold coins in there,” Rom continued. “Subaru gave us almost forty that night and I’ve put both our earnings in there since then.”

“Gramps!” Felt complained. “I can’t take this! You’ll need it!”

“Miss Felt,” Rem said softly. “We’ll take good care of your grandfather. You have my word. Please don’t worry about him as long as he is in our keeping.”

Felt gave Rem a hard look but finally nodded with a sigh.

Garfiel scratched his chin. “OK. So, I guess it’s just the two of us then,” Garfiel murmured. “What’s the plan, shrimp?”

Felt sighed. “Well, first of all, I think that we had better get far away from here. Reinhard is leaving to do more searching today, despite having no idea where to look and no reason to think that Subaru is even in this country. I have it on good authority that we’re both wanted by the kingdom at the moment. We better get over the border as quick as we can.”

“And then what?” Garfiel asked. “We get to Gusteko and just start going door to door asking for the Captain and trust to luck?”

“I don’t know, fleabag!” Felt said helplessly. “But we need to get out of here because as soon as Reinhard leaves, we’re a target!”

“I get that!” Garfiel said. “But… we need a plan! What are we going to do when we get to Gusteko? I mean… maybe if we made enough noise the Captain might contact us…” He mused.

“Maybe he would have at one point,” Felt grumbled, casting a hard look at Rem.

Rom looked reluctant. “I think that I might have another suggestion,” Rom rumbled. “One of the reasons I came to find you was… I… got a letter from an old… acquaintance. Someone I knew in the war… Felt, they want to talk to you about… that bonehead that you’ve gotten yourself involved with.”

“Gramps!” Felt exploded. “For the last fucking time! Red and I are just friends! …Good friends… Best fri- Look, the point is that there is nothing going on between me and Reinhard so everyone can just stop implying anything different!”

Felt glared up at at her Grandfather, red faced and panting.

Rom stared down at her expressionlessly. “Not him, Felt. The other bonehead that you’re involved with. Subaru.”

“Oh,” Felt flushed bright red.

“Hey, Felt,” Garfiel said, fighting not to laugh. “Have you ever heard the phrase ‘thou dost protest too much?’”

“Oh, just keep talking, fleabag!” Felt snapped. “You’re this close to becoming my new rug!”

“If I could perhaps get this conversation back on track?” Ram asked in a bored voice.

Felt cleared her throat and squinted up at Rom. “So who wants to talk to me?”

Rom had a pained look on his face. “Someone… powerful. Someone very dangerous. Someone who wants to talk about what Subaru has been doing in the world. Someone who claims that they can help you find him…” He sighed.

Felt looked up at him. “What do you mean, Gramps?”

Rom looked awkward. “I have… a certain resource with connections to the Demi-Human Alliance and… to the Witch Cult,” He admitted.

Everyone stared at him.

Felt’s jaw was on the floor. “Who is this person, Gramps?” Felt asked in astonishment.

Rom sighed. “Someone extremely dangerous. I’ve never known them to lie so if they say that you’ll be safe if you go see them… I believe that they’re telling the truth. But they are and remain the most dangerous person I’ve ever known. You’ll need to be very careful if you try to make contact.”

Felt frowned.

Garfiel folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t worry, Gramps. I got the shrimp’s back!” He said firmly.

“Garf!” Felt protested.

Rom chuckled. “Honestly, I feel better knowing that you’re keeping an eye on Felt.”

“Seriously, Gramps?” Felt said in exasperation. “You too?!”

Garfiel gave Felt a serious look. “Funny, isn’t it? That’s just what Grams said to me before she went off with that loser. She said that she felt better knowing that you were keeping an eye on me.”

Felt scratched her head, looking awkward.

Rom sighed and handed Felt a small letter. “Here’s all the information that you’ll need,” Rom hesitated. “Take care of yourself, Felt.”

Felt’s face twisted in sadness. “I will, Gramps. You be safe too!” She urged him.

Rom suddenly knelt down and gathered Felt in his arms. The two were crying.

Garfiel glanced away awkwardly. He looked at the twins. Rem looked guilty and Ram looked indifferent.

Finally Rom and Felt separated.

“Master Rom, we should get going now,” Rem said deferentially. The giant nodded and started to walk over to the carriage with Ram.

Rem looked at Felt uncomfortably. “Garf, Miss Felt… is there… anyway that I could persuade you to come back to Arlem with us?”

Garf’s jaw tightened. “Rem. We need to go help the Captain.”

Rem’s face was cold. “Subaru would never take on such a risk for either of you!”

“Subaru saved my life the night that we met!” Felt snapped. “Then he gave me every gold coin he had because he wanted to see me and Gramps get out of the slums.”

Rem just shook her head. “As I’ve said before: a fool. A man who assumes that good intentions and kind actions will lead him safely through the darkness. Now that same attitude and poor insight has led him to fall in love with a witch.”

“Rem, I just told you!” Garf exclaimed in exasperation. “The elf isn’t a witch! Our memories are fucked up! Felt proved it!”

“Garf! Don’t you see that it doesn’t matter?!” Rem demanded. “Whether she is a witch or not is not the issue! You can not trust Subaru Natsuki with your lives and safety. At the end of the day, he will not protect your lives if doing so puts the elf in danger. He will not protect you!”

“He did a pretty good job protecting us at the Sanctuary, didn’t he?” Felt said coldly, folding her arms across her.

Rem looked at them sadly and shook her head. “I see that I will never convince you. You’ll learn the truth as I did, slowly and bitterly. Subaru Natsuki has the heart of a chess player. He will sacrifice any piece on the board in order to protect the queen.”

Garfiel and Felt just glared at her.

Rem sighed. “Miss Felt. I implore you. Please do your best to look after young Garf. He’s strong and brave but also young and impetuous. I’ll rest easier knowing that you are there to keep an eye on him.”

Garf turned bright red. “Oh, shut up, Rem,” He grumbled quietly.

Felt glared at Rem and gave a single nod.

Rem nodded sadly. “Good luck, Garf.”

“You too, Rem. Hey, look after your sister for me, OK?” Garfiel replied.

Rem smiled at him. “Always.”

Rem walked back toward the carriage where Ram and Rom waited.

“There are a lot of ‘R’s in that carriage,” Garfiel observed as Felt quickly read the letter. “So where are we going?”

Felt sighed and tucked the letter into a pocket. “Abiate,” She replied, walking slowly away.

“Never heard of it,” Garfiel replied as he followed her.

“It’s a good ways off to the southwest,” Felt replied.

“Long walk?”

“Too long. We’ll need to buy a ride. This isn’t going to be a fun trip, fleabag. I’ve heard stories about Abiate. It’s not a good place for demi-humans to be. You’ll need to keep your head down.”

“You will too,” Garfiel reminded her. “Red eyes, remember? Somebody there is likely going to assume that you’re a mixed blood even if you’re not. And they aren’t going to take the time to double check.”

“This trip is sounding better and better,” She sighed.

They walked in silence through the dusty desert town for a minute.

“So, Red really didn’t believe you?” Garfiel asked.

Felt shook her head with a snarl. “No!” She thundered.

“I’m shocked,” Garfiel said seriously. “I mean, he knows how much smarter you are than he is. And you know how much he cares about you…” Garfiel trailed off, looking at Felt apprehensively and anticipating another explosion.

Instead, Felt’s face became stricken. She wrapped her arms around her thin body and she fell to her knees. “He said… he said that’s why he couldn’t believe me… He said that couldn’t turn a blind eye when someone he… cared so much about… was clearly bewitched,” Felt shook her head, her eyes watery. “This is a taste of my own medicine, Garf,” She whispered.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I told Reinhard what I’d figured out. I told him I was sure that it was us who’d been bewitched. He didn’t believe me. He thought… that our thoughts must be being corrupted as well now because the Witch has gotten stronger.”

“Not that he has any basis for believing that,” Garfiel sighed.

Felt didn’t even seem to hear him. “We were talking and arguing and suddenly I realized… I was saying everything to Red that Subaru said to me. It was almost word for word. I begged him to believe me. I reminded him that he knew how much smarter I was and that I could see the webs within the webs that he couldn’t. I… I reminded him how much he… he cared about me…” She whispered. “And I asked him to believe me…”

Felt shuddered and looked like she would burst into tears. “He said that he… he cared too much about me to ever forgive what the witch had done to me…”

Garfiel looked at Felt’s anguished face and his expression twisted in sympathy. He knelt down beside her and caught her in a great hug.

Felt covered her face. “This is all my fault, Garf! This is me being given a taste of my own fucking medicine!” She shook her head. “The Gods want me to know how Subaru felt when I turned my back on him!”

“Hey!” Garfiel pulled Felt’s hands away and looked her straight in the eye, her expression was hopeless. “Hey, come on! That’s all behind us! You and me, we got our heads on straight now! We know what’s going on here! We’re going to find the Captain and work this whole thing out!”

“How, Garf?” Felt moaned. “It’s just us trying to help Subaru and now he has Reinhard and the whole kingdom looking for him! Hell, the other kingdoms will probably try to help hunt him down too!”

Garfiel snorted. “The Captain against the whole fucking world? I know who I’m betting on!”

Felt actually chuckled.

Garfiel and Felt wore the brown hooded robes that Ram had provided for them during their escape. They had paid a greasy merchant who smelled like rancid pig fat to give them a ride to Abiate. The merchant was fairly surprised by their request since few people ever wanted to go to Abiate, but it was a stop on his trip to Garkla so he agreed to transport them.

However, he had charged them the full price for a trip to the much further away Garkla.

The merchant’s covered wagon contained a group of people, none of whom seemed to be interested in talking to each other.

Felt and Garfiel sat in the very back, their legs dangling out of the wagon as they watched Mirula slowly recede in the distance across the sands.

“So how long is this trip going to take?” Garfiel muttered, dragging his heel through the soft sand and leaving a line behind the wagon.

Felt thought about. “Probably a few days. This wagon doesn’t move too fast.”

Garfiel sighed. “Normally, I’d suggest you climb on my back and I’ll just run there but the sun beats like a hammer out here.”

“Yeah. We don’t want to be out in that sun for long,” Felt agreed.

“Get your filthy hands away from me!” A woman shouted.

Garfiel and Felt turned around and saw a woman in a brown hooded cloak standing by the driver’s seat. The fat merchant with an ugly scar of his face was leering at her.

“Hey, Felt,” Garfiel growled. “We’re fugitives anyway. What do you say to hijacking this ride? I think smacking that merchant around would put a smile on my face.”

“We shouldn’t attract attention, fleabag,” Felt warned him.

“I’m warning you! Hands off!” The woman shouted.

Garfiel looked at her imploringly.

Felt rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s go and do our good deed for the decade.”

Felt and Garfiel stood up and started to quickly walk up to the driver platform, stepping around other passengers who couldn’t be bothered to do anything about the distressed woman.

Garfiel starting moving quickly, trying to protect the woman but before he could close the distance the woman physically picked up the extremely fat merchant and flung him twenty feet away.

The man landed on the sandy ground with a ponderous crash. The earth dragons came to a halt looking at their moaning master in confusion.

“Touch me again and I will remove your reason for wearing a loincloth!” The woman sounded more annoyed than frightened. Her hood had fallen back revealing long blond hair and ruby red eyes.

Felt stared at the woman, open mouthed. “Priscilla?!” She gasped.

It was early evening when Subaru and Emilia found themselves in the mayoral palace in Kocytos.

Although this was ostensibly an emergency political summit to discuss averting a war, it had also somehow become an upscale party. Nobles and dignitaries from all over the region were in attendance.

Subaru and Emilia stuck out like sore thumbs. They had no finery to wear, nor had there been any time to locate some for them. Emilia and Subaru simply took off their robes and came to the party in their old clothes, Emilia’s white dress and the clothing that Subaru had originally gotten from Reinhard.

Subaru and Emilia made no attempt to mix and mingle and their faces were stony. The locals all stared at Emilia with a mixture of wonder and fear. Subaru realized that not a few identical glances were directed at him. Some looks crossed the line into open hostility and muttered curses but no one dared approach them or say their insults too loud. Subaru and Emilia’s reputation as powerful and dangerous figures was too well established for anyone to court that kind of trouble.

“How did this happen, Mili?” Subaru grumbled. “After everything that we’ve been through, somehow we’re right back where we started: at an upscale party, murmuring vacuous pleasantries to ignorant people.”

“I know,” Emilia murmured. “And what’s worse, everyone here is looking at us like we’ve caused the entire mess.”

“Yeah,” Subaru muttered. “If I hear the term ‘Fire Witch’ one more time, I think that I might punch someone.”

Emilia looked at him sadly, “Welcome to my life,” She murmured, taking his hand. “But at least most of the people here are ignoring us. And we need to remember that this night is important to Anri,” Emilia’s gaze flickered to the immaculately dressed princess as she held court out on the floor, charming and negotiating with the heads of numerous minor houses.

Anri and Radu’s plan was straightforward. Ideally, she wanted to negotiate with and discourage the other great Houses from taking any hostile action against her but if that couldn’t be done, she hoped to persuade a number of lesser Houses to take her side in the conflict. Anri was clearly attracting a large amount of favorable attention from various nobles. The lesser Houses viewed Ithil as a rising star in Gusteko since Anri had overthrown House Griest for all intents and purposes. They all listened intently as she proposed a new vision for Gusteko, a more open, inclusive society where trade would raise the standards of living for all.

Subaru could tell that the nobles had misgivings but they were still listening.

This is just like the royal selection announcement, Subaru thought. I know those faces. Those nobles want to believe what Anri is saying but they need some proof. Anri will need to demonstrate that she has the power to carry out her designs before they jump on the bandwagon. You’d think that winning a war against the most powerful House in Gusteko would be enough…

Emilia and I should think of some way that we can help Anri prove her influence and power.

“She seems very good at this,” Emilia murmured.

Subaru chuckled. “She’s certainly better than us! She’s been practicing for this her whole life! We only practiced for about a month before being flung into the deep end of the pool. We had no idea what we were doing!”

Emilia smiled at him fondly. “I wouldn’t say that. You did amazing at those parties. Everyone adored you.”

Yeah, funny what magic can do, isn’t it? All you need is a little witchcraft and you too can wow a nation…

Subaru sighed and stroked his chin. “Maybe we should try to do some networking ourselves before the summit actually starts,” He mused. “I might be able to feel out some of the Princes,” He glanced at the heads of three of the Great Houses that Radu had pointed out to him earlier. They were standing out on a balcony talking to one another.

“Subaru, don’t do anything that would embarrass Anri,” Emilia warned. “We don’t want to make things worse.”

“Worse than an impending declaration of war?” Subaru asked incredulously. “Honestly, I’d be really impressed if we could find a way to make things worse!”

Emilia looked unsettled. “I wouldn’t put it past us!” Emilia warned.

Subaru sighed. “Thanks for the confidence booster,” He muttered.

Emilia kissed him with a faint smile. “I won’t be much help making nice with the Princes. I think I’ll go over to Anri and see if I can play her ‘tame demi-human’ as a visual aid for her inclusive trade speech,” Emilia murmured, walking away.

Subaru walked over to the balcony.

Before he got out there, a hulking figure in garish red armor stepped out in front of him. He had long scraggly red hair and a mouth full of misaligned teeth. “You,” He growled.

This is Vlad an Voivode, Subaru thought. Radu said that this is the asshole who ordered Arlem village massacred and then tried to manipulate the two kingdoms into war. I can’t be nice to him.

Then again, from what I’ve heard from Radu, Vlad doesn’t listen to other people and he doesn’t change his mind so trying to negotiate with him is a fucking waste of time anyway. I just need to get by him and focus on the Princes that I might actually reach.

“Yeah, me,” Subaru said impatiently. “Got a problem with that?”

“You butchered my men at Arlem,” Vlad snarled. “And you burned the better part of my army alive at the Valley of Winds!”

Subaru patted the man’s shoulder with a patronizing air. He took delight in the shocked and outraged look that flickered across Vlad’s face. “Wow! I’ve sure killed a lot of people you knew! I’m guessing that this is the part where you threaten that you’re going to do something about that. I say ‘threaten’ because we both know that you aren’t actually going to do anything about it. I’m pretty sure that you’re a lot easier to kill than a troll or the Acolyte Knights I already fought,” Subaru’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “So why don’t you just get lost before I decide to splatter you all across the room.”

Vlad’s face was bright red and he was breathing through clenched teeth. Then he walked past Subaru and stormed off.

I’m sure that somebody is going to say that I could have handled that better but I’m not so sure. Vlad looks stupid in any case. The angrier he gets, the worse his thinking will become. He might even become a millstone that his allies have to carry.

Subaru saw the other three princes standing in a row on the balcony, staring at him. As soon as they realized that Subaru was looking they all turned away and stared out over the countryside.

Subaru walked out onto the balcony.

“Evening, gentlemen,” Subaru said calmly. “Lovely night, isn’t it?”

Patrick turned around just to sniff at him. “I don’t speak with witches,” He said turning away again.

Don’t get angry, Subaru told himself. That’s an in, just follow that thought.

“You know,” Subaru said in a friendly voice as he walked up to stand beside Donar. The princes glared at him but they didn’t walk away. They probably think that leaving right now would look like fleeing. “I’ve been meaning to ask you guys something. Why did I get the whole ‘Fire Witch’ title anyway? There was no magic used on that army at all. I told the Siros soldiers to coat the tall grass with sesame seed oil and we started the blaze with fire arrows. That’s all.”

Argus gave Subaru a withering look. “Do you really expect us to believe that ‘sesame seed oil’ burns like that?!”

“I was a little surprised by how fast it burned myself,” Subaru admitted with a sigh. “I’d read about this strategy in books back home but I’d never actually seen it done. Anyway, I’m telling you the truth. I think Anri even brought the soldiers who set the trap here. They’re available to testify, in case you wanted to hear from them directly.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Subaru saw Donar frown.

He believes me, Subaru thought. I’d guess that this has more to do with his own soldiers offering him some kind of corroborating testimony rather than my credibility but hey, progress is progress!

Donar gave Subaru a chill look. “Personally, I’m less interested in how our men were slaughtered than in the fact that they were,” Donar said flatly. “You killed thousands of good men, Subaru Natsuki.”

“This was war, Prince Donar,” Subaru said with a pleasant smile but he spoke just as firmly.

Donar whirled on him, flushing with rage. “They were not at war with you! They-”

“They were holding Princess Kairei captive,” Subaru cut him off while still speaking pleasantly. “They were holding her and when we rescued her, they pursued with intent to recapture her. Is that not an act of war against the Princess? I don’t know the precise relationship between Malcolm an Griest and the armies you provided but they were apparently following his orders to abduct the Princess again and that makes them soldiers in his war. Princess Kairei is a good friend of mine. I killed her enemies.”

The princes were silent for a moment.

Subaru saw a flicker in Donar’s eyes.

He’s wavering. He knows that I’m right but he doesn’t want to admit it. I suppose if someone killed hundreds of my soldiers because of a General’s bad decision, I wouldn’t care too much about right or wrong either.

“What are your intentions in Gusteko, Subaru Natsuki?” Argus asked.

Subaru shrugged. “I’m basically living in exile from Lagunica right now. We met Anri while she was fleeing for her life and she persuaded us to help her save her home. My fiancee and I are only here long enough to get Anri settled and go through the Grand Archives looking for a cure to a specific malady. After that, we’ll likely be leaving Gusteko.”

“Exile?” Patrick asked sharply.

Subaru carefully hid a smile and nodded. “The authorities in Lagunica are rather upset with my choice of bride,” Subaru pointed at Emilia who stood beside Anri in the distance. “I doubt that I’ll ever be able to go back there without getting executed. So, I’m currently a man without a country. I no longer have any influence in Lagunica,” He said blandly.

The three digested that. “Do you intend to remain in Gusteko?” Donar asked.

“My first priority is to cure my fiancee and rescue my spirit partners who were seized by the kingdom,” Subaru replied. “After that, I’m not sure where we’ll wind up. Honestly, after all this, I’m pretty sick of politics. Going someplace quiet and just disappearing sounds very attractive to me.”

Donar looked thoughtful while Patrick and Argus just looked skeptical.

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Donar made a face and turned to the other Princes. “If this is true,” He said in a tone that suggested he didn’t believe it yet, “Then perhaps there could be room for an accommodation with Subaru Natsuki and Princess Kairei…”

“Donar!” Patrick hissed.

“If Lagunica truly does have territorial ambitions, we’ll need to find a way to discourage them,” Donar continued calmly. “Perhaps opening negotiations with their expatriate could be fruitful.”

The others looked sullen and didn’t respond.

“Is this a real summit?” Subaru asked suddenly.

The princes looked at him in confusion.

“Is this meeting a sincere effort to find common ground and establish peace, or if this all for show?” Subaru asked bluntly. “Because, if this summit is a genuine attempt to end the fighting in the north, then we should all be working together to find solutions to our problems and discourage any hostile plans that Lagunica may have.”

The princes were silent for a moment. Finally Donar sighed. “I assure you, this summit is not simple window dressing. We are determined to find a way to restore peace and tranquility to Gusteko. If you are willing to work with us to that purpose, then perhaps I could be persuaded to welcome you as an ally…”

“Donar!” Patrick objected again.

Subaru nodded in satisfaction.

I might as well leave it here. I’m not going to get any further persuading them right now. Hopefully I gave Anri a bit of an opening. If Donar argues to take a ‘wait and see’ posture, he might sway the others.

As he was thinking, he noticed Deann and Duncan walking into the large room.

Subaru smiled at the princes. “It was nice talking to you all, excuse me, please,” He said and made a beeline for Duncan and Deann.

The princes watched him depart.

“Donar,” Patrick grumbled. “What was the point of any of that?! You know what we need to do and he’ll never agree to it!”

Donar shrugged. “He might. He appears to have more intelligence than I gave him credit for. He might be amendable once he understands the necessity. In any case, we lose nothing by making the offer. In a perfect world, we might not need to proceed at all!”

“Donar, you’re talking nonsense! Do you really believe him?!” Argus asked incredulously.

Donar made a face. “As little as I like to admit it, he makes a valid point. Our commanders were clearly in the wrong. They demanded that the princess be sent away but when Malcolm refused, they let the matter rest. At a minimum, they should have ordered their soldiers to stay out of pursuing the Princess-”

“Not about that!” Argus said dismissively. “About the fire!”

“He must think us fools to claim that he burned thousands alive with salad dressing!” Patrick sniffed.

“Agreed,” Argus replied. “This was witchcraft, pure and simple.”

“I’m not so sure. His words align with what a survivor told me,” Donar disagreed. “He claims that he saw the fire arrows and he told me that he smelled sesame seeds in the grass although he couldn’t understand why at the time.”

“What are you saying?” Patrick asked.

“If Subaru Natsuki is telling the truth-” Donar began.

“Even if he is telling the truth about everything he said, Donar, that doesn’t solve our problems!” Patrick said sharply. “Lagunica is still threatening to attack but my sources indicate that it has nothing to do with conquest! They’re willing to attack Gusteko purely to kill the witches! They consider Subaru Natsuki to be a threat to the entire world and they’re willing to go to war to see him dead!”

Donar looked skeptical. “I must admit, Patrick, I have serious doubts about this. Especially in light of what you told us about Vlad’s letter!”

The three princes paused a moment to scowl at Vlad an Voivode who sat sulking in a corner of the room.

“I can not believe,” Donar continued. “That Lagunica is willing to go to war purely for the purpose of killing two people! Even if they are witches, that’s a fantastic amount of effort for small return. To be frank, I wonder if your contact was lying to you. Perhaps this is just a fig leaf covering up Lagunica’s imperial ambitions.”

Patrick gave him an annoyed look but just shook his head. “I trust the source but rest assured that I received corroboration from three other contacts before proceeding with the assumption that this was true. Lagunica wants Subaru Natsuki and the other witch dead and they’re prepared to do what they must to achieve that end.”

“Why is Lagunica so furious with him?” Argus asked curiously. “I wasn’t aware that he had committed any crimes in Lagunica to come near to competing with the massacre in the Valley of Winds.”

Patrick shrugged. “My contacts all agreed that Subaru Natsuki has disrupted the ‘natural order’ of Lagunica. Reading between the lines, I’d say that he’s a threat to the established powers-that-be in the dragon kingdom. Now they need to kill him to dishearten his large number of supporters. They even captured his spirit partners, Beatrice and Puck. Frankly, I have no trouble believing that Lagunica will attack Gusteko in order to see him dead.”

“Gusteko or Siros?” Argus said sharply.

“It doesn’t matter, Argus,” Donar said quickly. “We can’t allow Lagunica to invade Siros, even if it would serve Kairei right. If Lagunica annexes Siros it will completely isolate the kingdom. Our only remaining trading partner will once again be Lagunica and we’ll have no choice but to reach accommodations with them under duress. We absolutely must retain access to Kararagi!”

“I agree,” Patrick murmured. “The contacts I spoke to all suggested that Lagunica wished to go to war with Siros alone and was asking for our ‘understanding’ on this matter but I don’t think that we can trust them when they claim that they have no desire to occupy Siros. Moreover, if they do conquer Siros, about three quarters of the Gusteko armies will have been destroyed over the past few months. Both Griest and Ithil will be exhausted. Lagunica could conquer the rest of Gusteko at a walk! We need to remove Lagunica’s motivation for hostilities in the north.”

“What if we eliminate the witches and Lagunica still finds an excuse to come north?” Donar asked.

“Personally, I think killing a pair of witches is a worthwhile action to be undertaken on its own merits,” Argus snorted.

“If the witches are dead,” Patrick replied, “Then we have a scapegoat for the disaster at the Valley of the Winds. That should allow the Great Houses to unify against southern aggression without losing face. We’ll be outnumbered but we understand how to use the mountains and terrain to our own advantage. We can hold off Lagunica long enough for it to tire of the matter. And Vollachia will certainly become involved along Lagunica’s southern border once the kingdom’s attention is distracted. Lagunica’s armies will be divided. We’ll be able to push them back. With any luck, we can even snatch up the disputed lands and acquire some new territory!”

“Kairei may not be so eager to form an alliance with us if we kill people she considers her friends,” Donar warned.

“She’s not the ruler yet. Radu is,” Argus replied.

“Radu is sensible and even after Kairei is crowned, she’ll realize that she has no choice,” Patrick continued. “My sources were unanimous. No one in Lagunica is interested in giving aid or comfort to Siros. Siros either joins with us to push back the southerners or it withers and dies alone.”

“Kairei is just a girl,” Argus mused. “I wonder if she’s stubborn enough to stand alone rather than align with us purely out of spite.”

Patrick shrugged. “That’s the kind of decision that spurs open rebellions. And I can’t say that I’d be sorry to see it.”

Donar nodded slowly though his mouth twisted as though he had tasted something foul. “You are resolved to proceed then?”

Argus and Patrick both nodded. “They’re already here,” Patrick told him.

“We need your vote, Donar,” Argus reminded him sternly. “This has to be unanimous if it’s going to have the right optics.”

Donar frowned. “Did you speak to Lady Deann?” He asked.

Argus nodded briefly. “Briefly. She’s on-board but Sir Duncan absolutely demanded that Kairei and Gael be kept safe in this mess.”

“Duncan has no vote in this matter,” Patrick muttered.

Argus made a face. “True but all the same, we should avoid provoking Sir Duncan an Laertes. He is a powerful warrior. And he has vast influence over Lady Deann,” He replied.

“Strange, that he should be so determined to protect them,” Patrick mused.

“Not so strange,” Donar disagreed. “Once upon a time, Gael and Duncan were very close. They worked together on countless adventures as apprentice Acolyte Knights. Duncan was devastated when Gael became ill. I don’t doubt for a second that he’d react violently to any threat against Gael or his beloved little sister.”

“He might be bluffing. Remember, he didn’t stand up to Malcolm when Kairei was captured,” Argus commented.

Patrick shook his head. “Donar is right, Argus. Attacking us is a very different thing than betraying the Prince that your own family owes fealty to. Malcolm might get away with murdering Kairei but I doubt that we would…”

The prince’s conversation faded as they each stood there, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Subaru walked quickly over to Duncan and Deann and stepped directly in front of them.

“Hey!” Subaru said in a friendly tone. “Duncan and Deann, right? How have you been?”

Deann’s face twisted in hatred. “Get out of my way or I will slice you to ribbons.”

Subaru chuckled. “You might find that a little harder than you think,” He smiled.

“Please! Listen! I-” Anri begged.

“We have heard more than enough,” Donar said dismissively.

“There is no place for a House that fosters witches in Gusteko!” Patrick agreed.

Emilia bit her lip and looked at Subaru desperately. Subaru seemed oddly calm.

“This is not the place! This matter should be brought before the Holy King and the Hierocracy!” Radu reminded them in a grim voice.

“We’re not waiting years for Gilecomgain to die and a new Holy King to be elected to resolve this matter,” Argus growled. “The witches will be given over to us or your House will be made extinct. No root or seed will escape this cleansing. They’ll be no coming back from that!”

“All in favor of declaring war against Siros unless the witches are surrendered to us for immediate execution?” Donar demanded.

“Aye!” The Princes all said in unison.

Anri looked at Subaru and Emilia in horror. Her eyes started darting everywhere like a trapped animal looking for escape.

“Subaru!” Emilia hissed, tugging on his sleeve. “What do we do?!”

Subaru smirked.

“And against?” Donar added carelessly.

“Nay,” Deann said firmly.

Donar opened his mouth to continue, the objection was so unexpected that he was badly thrown off step.

The Princes all stared at Deann.

“What?! Have you gone daft, girl?!” Argus demanded.

It was only now that the other Princes actually looked at Deann. Her eyes were wide with horror and her body was trembling. Even Duncan seemed badly shaken.

“For a long list of personal and political reasons,” Deann said in an unsteady voice. “I do not wish to set this precedent. Only the Holy King and the Hierocracy have the right to declare someone guilty of witchcraft. I request that this matter be placed before the Hierocracy so that we may follow the proper procedures.”

Argus looked astonished then angry. “What is this?! Did you work out some deal to free your father?!” He demanded looking at Anri accusingly.

However, Anri and Radu looked just as shocked as the rest by Deann’s unexpected declaration of support.

“That’s two votes for acquittal!” Radu said sharply, his face baffled. The regent was looking at everyone, desperately trying to understand what was going on.

“It doesn’t matter,” Donar said calmly. “Deann has no influence in Sanshi. Those reprobates would never accept a woman on the throne under any circumstances. Since Deann has no claim to the throne then we will simply treat House Griest as not in attendance and therefore abstaining. That means that the matter was passed by acclimation.”

Radu looked outraged. “How many more rules do you intend to break to get your way?!” Radu snapped.

Deann’s terrified face hardened and she got to her feet, drawing her twin short swords. “Make no mistake, gentlemen. I am here. I have a voice and I will be heard. Anyone who wishes to dismiss me as a ‘mere woman’ will do so with a yard of steel through his ribs!”

Duncan put his hand on his heavy flanged mace.

“Lady Deann!” Vlad snarled. “Do you know what you’re doing?!”

“It’s no matter,” Argus said dismissively. He whistled.

The doors on both side of the council room opened and soldiers began to pour in. At the lead was a tall, handsome man in a knight’s tabard with a long slender sword belted at his waist. The man had long blond hair that looked like he spent a great deal of time combing it and his expression was smugly superior. He was surrounded by ten elderly men in long black robes who seemed reminiscent of priests. Behind them were dozens of soldiers.

“Gilbert de Ray,” Anri whispered, her face white as chalk.

“Who’s this guy?” Subaru growled.

Emilia summoned her ice sword.

“He… He’s the tenth of the Acolyte Knights in Gusteko,” Anri said in an unsteady voice. “He leads… the witch hunters…”

Subaru looked at the knight and his face twisted in rage. “Witch hunters?!” He snarled.

Gilbert made a gesture.

The priests beside him bowed their heads and began to chant. A veritable swarm of spirits began to whirl around them, bright as stars.

Emilia gasped and her sword fell from nerveless fingers, shattering against the floor.

Thin purple chains appeared out of nowhere and quickly bound the arms and legs of everyone in the room except for Gilbert and his priests and soldiers. Even the Princes were bound in chains and they looked very angry about that.

“Seal Evil,” Gilbert said carelessly. “The ultimate power of the spirit arts. So long as my priests continue to commune with their spirits, all magic within the area is rendered void. Every person within is trapped by mystic chains to be dealt with as I see fit. It even disables the filthy Authority of a witch.”

Subaru’s face darkened. He briefly stepped in and out of Reason and Judgment. “Buddy, I happen to know for a fact that this isn’t true,” Subaru snarled.

Gilbert smirked. “We’re not like you southern lizard worshipers. We know how to deal with witches in Gusteko. The witch will be burned immediately as will anyone foolish enough to attempt to defend her.”

Anri tried to leap to her feet to shield Emilia but the chains held her back.

“Burned?!” Subaru hissed.

“Under my leadership,” Gilbert said smugly. “The Hunters have greatly increased the number of witches we’ve dealt with. Since I took command last year, our unit has personally burned over thirteen Witches! One more will make it a very good day in the cause of protecting Gustekan purity!”

The soldiers murmured their agreement.

Subaru seethed. You have no idea how to deal with Witches! Beatrice told me that there hasn’t been a real Witch in four hundred years! And even if there had been, was there ever a Witch so feeble that a group of ordinary soldiers could have captured her?!

Whatever spell you’re using to suppress magic, I can tell you right now it doesn’t work on Authorities. The fact that you don’t know that means that you’ve never even encountered a real Archbishop, much less a real Witch!

All you’ve been doing was condemning innocent people that you don’t like to the flames!

“You won’t be doing that,” Subaru said in a deathly whisper.

Subaru triggered Indomitable and shattered the chains that bound him with one quick jerk.

Gilbert actually looked slightly impressed. “You must be the famous Subaru Natsuki, Butcher of Arlem and the Fire Witch.”

“Give me another minute and I’m going to add ‘Killer of Witch Hunters’ to my resume,” Subaru hissed.

Gilbert laughed. “I’ve heard all about your much tauted ‘invincibility.’ You won’t be the first man with an impressive title to fall at my blade,” He drew his sword.

Subaru scowled at him. “Do you have any idea how many arrogant bullies have begged for mercy after facing me?”

Gilbert yawned. “Don’t try my patience any further, Subaru Natsuki. The number of people in this room who will die goes up with every word that you say.”

Emilia was crying. She struggled to get to her feet but the magical chains restrained her. “Alright! If I surrender to you, will you promise-”

“Enough of this foolishness,” Subaru said in a chill voice. Subaru had reached a breaking point. The days of short sleep, the stress, the struggle, and doubts, the frustrations with Emilia curse, it all piled up on him.

I can’t… I just can’t take any more…

The Authority flickered to life deep inside of him.

Subaru grabbed Deann and Duncan’s chains. He triggered Indomitable and shattered them, deliberately leaving Emilia, Anri, and Radu still bound in magical chains.

“Deann, take Emilia, Anri, and her Uncle out of here. Go and wait where we discussed,” Subaru commanded.

A moment passed and Subaru realized that she wasn’t moving. Deann was staring at Subaru, her whole body trembling.

Subaru fixed her with a murderous gaze. “Do not forget yourself, Deann!” Subaru said coldly. “Remember what I told you…” He said in a warning tone.

Deann flinched and jerked into action. Duncan quickly leaped to his lady’s aid. Duncan grabbed Emilia and Radu and carried them from the room on his shoulders while Deann picked up Anri and ran for the door.

Gilbert moved to pursue but Subaru held out a protective hand and Gilbert grimaced. “It seems that I’ll have to deal with you before I take care of your whore.”

“Indeed. That is the way things will be,” Subaru agreed quietly.

“Subaru!” Emilia screamed, struggling helplessly in her chains.

The door slammed shut behind her, trapping Subaru in the room with Gilbert, his soldiers and the princes.

The soldiers began creeping closer to him, most of their faces set and grim but a few were grinning. Subaru was a more dangerous foe than the witch hunters usually faced but that just meant more excitement when he was finally dragged screaming to the fires.

“You’re really prepared to sacrifice your life for that half-devil witch. You are truly bewitched, aren’t you,” Gilbert mused. “How sad. If you were better at recognizing witches perhaps you would have escaped this end.”

Subaru stared at Gilbert. Then he started to laugh. It was a deep, cold laugh that rang off the rafters and filled the room. The soldiers hesitated, looking at each other uncomfortably. Gilbert’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s do it now. Emilia and my paths will finally be joined forever and whatever happens to one happens to both.

“I could say the same to you, Gilbert,” Subaru smirked. “If you’d been any better at recognizing witches, you might have avoided your fate. Because Emilia isn’t the Witch of Pride.”

Gilbert frowned.

Subaru’s face filled with savage glee as he shouted out. “I am!”

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at Subaru in shock and horror.

Subaru felt nothing but exaltation.

Yes. This is what I really am! Subaru Natsuki, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Behold my power, you mortal fools, and despair!

Deep inside of Subaru, the Authority of Pride surged, flaring up like a newborn star as it fed on the rapture that felt Subaru having finally declared himself openly. The power grew and grew and this time it swallowed him whole. Subaru didn’t even try to resist.

The power flowed through his body and it was glorious. Subaru wouldn’t have been surprised if his body was shining like the sun.

Gilbert gave Subaru an incredulous look. “Do you expect us to believe that?” Gilbert grated in contempt. “Don’t misunderstand me, if you want to burn with your witch, it can certainly be arranged but this fantasy of yours is ridiculous.”

“The truth is often seen as impossible,” Subaru replied, feeling nothing but amusement and a distant sort of pity for Gilbert. “Especially by the foolish.”

Gilbert’s jaw dropped.

One of the junior officers standing near Gilbert drew a light sword. The officer’s face turned red and twisted in fury. “Die, you Witch worshiping freak!”

The officer lunged at the seemingly unarmed Subaru. Two of his men charged beside them.

“Stop!” Gilbert roared at the impetuous officer. “Stand your ground!”

The junior officer was too enraged to listen and he closed the distance.

Under the Authority’s power, everything around Subaru seemed to be happening in slow motion. He watched with a meditative detachment as the officer and his men charged.

This man is unworthy of my time. His form is truly dreadful. He’s overextended, his elbow joint is locked and this leaves him no opportunity to adjust. An amateur mistake.

I feel genuinely slighted by this. The Princes of Gusteko clearly knew that I was present and that I would be their opposition in this matter.

These are my foes? This is the greatest challenge that Gusteko could provide? How dare they send against me anything less than Witches or dragons?

As the officer’s sword approached Subaru’s face, he tiled his head imperceptibly to the left. A difference of just a few millimeters. A small change but enough to ensure that instead of driving his sword point through Subaru’s eyes, the officer hit nothing but air.

The officer’s face twisted from blind fury to comical surprise as he completely missed his target.

Subaru reached up with his right hand and caught the officer’s forearm in a gentle grip. Before the officer could react, Subaru brought up his left fist and smashed it against the officer’s locked elbow joint as hard as he could.

The bone snapped with a sound like a broken cracker.

The slender sword fell from nerveless fingers as the officer slowly opened his mouth to cry out.

Subaru caught the falling sword in his right hand and, in one smooth motion, ran its edge across the officer’s throat with a flourish.

In slow motion, Subaru watched as a great fountain of blood leaped from the man’s neck and then drifted to the ground.

The officer convulsively reached his hands up to the ruins of his neck as he fell to his knees, unaware that he was already dead.

Subaru eyes the other two soldiers who were still charging at him. Their commander’s death had happened too suddenly for their minds to process.

At the very least, these men are wearing armor and full helmets. I approve of men who make their just execution at my hand something slightly more than trivial.

Even had they time to strategize, I doubt not that they would conclude they had little to fear from me. Even now that I am armed, a light sword such as this is no defense against a suit of armor.

Ordinarily.

Their armor doesn’t fit very well. These soldiers were given castoff gear.

It is no shame to fall against me in combat. It is completely expected that one should fail in any challenge issued to his clear superior. However, it is only right that two gentlemen warriors should meet in respectful combat to test their mettle ere I slay them.

These men, by their weakness and foolishness, have made it impossible for my august self to respect them and in so doing they have cheated me of any satisfaction in this contest.

They will suffer the weight of my displeasure for this affront.

As the first soldier closed the distance, Subaru gently tossed his sword in the air and caught it backhanded so that the blade now pointed behind him.

The soldier’s helmet concealed everything but his eyes. Through the visor, Subaru saw them narrow in confusion.

Subaru raised his sword hilt and smashed it against the soldier’s helmeted cheek as hard as he could.

The helmet spun to the left with a loud snapping sound, almost certainly breaking the soldier’s nose and blinding him by shifting his visor. The soldier tried to skid to a stop and the other soldier crashed into him from behind. The front soldier’s back arched, the impact quite possibly chipping a vertebrae and causing his breastplate to ride up.

With an expression of disdain, Subaru’s backhanded sword flicked out and ripped the soldier’s belly wide open.

As the two soldiers fell on top of each other, Subaru’s blade lanced down into the second soldier’s now exposed back and neatly punctured his kidneys.

Subaru spared them a brief glance. The pair were screaming and whimpering. Both men were dead, it was just a question of when. Subaru dismissed them from thought.

The soldiers recoiled in shock.

From their perspective, an unarmed Subaru had effortlessly disarmed and killed three professional soldiers in seconds without even dirtying his clothes or breaking his stride.

The soldiers shrank back in a clump.

The Princes, still wrapped in magical chains, renewed their struggles to break free.

“Could it be true?!”

“Is he really a witch?!”

A few soldiers panicked and made a break for the door but Subaru raised his hand and closed his fist. The heavy door swung ponderously shut. The soldiers beat on the poor but it wouldn’t budge.

“Your manners leave much to be desired,” Subaru mused. “In my homeland, turning your back on your superior is the height of disrespect.”

“Gather your magic!” Gilbert shouted at the priests that surrounded him. “Infuse me with all your strength!” They each extended their hands and the small shining orbs spun around their wrists as the priests and Gilbert called upon the spirits.

“My compliments,” Subaru offered. “Victory is unimaginably far from your reach but if you all attacked me at once we might at the very least have a praiseworthy battle.”

Gilbert seethed. “I am one of the strongest men in this world! You will learn how foolish it was of you to challenge me! Fell Goa!”

“Pridebreaker,” Subaru said negligently.

Gilbert and his priests fell to their knees with a gasp as their spirits shot away to make a shining crown above Subaru’s head. Subaru was surrounded by dozens of spirits and he shone like a star.

“What have you done?!” Gilbert screamed as he got to his feet.

Subaru waved his hand wearily. “Will you please at least be judicious with your nonsense? Your men had the audacity to attempt to lay hands on the most exalted existence ever to stride upon this feeble world. Your actions would earn my offense if they were not so inept as to win my amusement.” Subaru paused and, being filled with a truly remarkable kind of charity, he attempted to make them understand. “Have any of you ever contemplated the meaninglessness of your transitory lives? You have all grown upon this tiny world like lichens upon the stone, paper-thin in your fragility and lasting little more than a season. Whether men consider you great or small, the stone is left unmarked and incognizant of your mayfly existence.

“Rejoice, one and all, for today your eyes have finally been opened to the truth. You have all beheld my transcendental presence and now understand what it means to encounter an emissary of the very Heavens that lay so far above you. I did not grow upon the stone, I am the stone. I am this world and so much more besides. This world and I are forever one, married under the auspices of heaven, her hand surrendered to my loving custody in the certitude that no man imaginable could tend to her needs with greater wisdom.

“All great men are well suited to their callings, are we not? I am your Redeemer by trade and your Redeemer by nature. It would not be unfit for each of you to offer your most humble gratitude that it is I and no lesser man, possessed of lesser understanding and judgment, who stands before you to lay down justice in this matter,” Subaru broadly hinted.

Subaru paused a moment. “I trust that this observation will not reduce nor diminish the earnestness of your abasement and offerings. Obviously, such matters are more properly left unsaid, had any of you the wit to understand the proper conventions and courtesies, but I am a lord among lords and my charity and benevolence know no bounds. Therefore, I shall extend my patience to you knaves who naturally possess no more wit nor understanding than you were born with. In my unspeakable magnificence, I offer you the chance to learn and to grow from my exalted example even if such growth is sadly restricted to your own lamentable natural limitations.”

The soldiers looked flabbergasted by Subaru’s dense speech, unable to even parse it. Gilbert staggered for a moment and then his face twisted in hatred. “I’ll give you a single chance, Subaru Natsuki. Give the witch to me or you’ll burn with her. And so will your gutter-born princess! How much are you willing to give up for a half devil?!”

Too fast for the knight to even process, Subaru had darted across the room and seized him by his throat. Subaru lifted the struggling knight high off the floor with one hand. Gilbert convulsively dropped his blade as he desperately tried to pry Subaru’s hands off his throat. His soldiers and priests stumbled away from Subaru in terror.

Subaru was angry. Beyond angry. Subaru was enraged and like everything else about him, his rage was as profound and inexorable as the incoming tide. His rage was such that hurricanes and tidal waves would stop instantly to pay heed to it.

“Give her up?” Subaru whispered as if ensuring that he’d heard Gilbert right. “Give her to you?”

Gilbert’s face was turning blue as he struggled pointlessly in Subaru’s grip. He beat heavy blows on Subaru’s wrist that bounced off his skin like raindrops.

Subaru’s face was cold. “I confess myself humbled,” Subaru said with faint surprise. “My remarkable equanimity has been disrupted! My boundless benefice has been exhausted! Such an act is truly remarkable as your offenses have indeed exceeded my well-reasoned expectations, albeit this is neither laudatory nor forgivable. You and your people, who up until now had been safely adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience, are now at the mercy of the boundless sea of my wrath, a great tumultuous expanse filled with dangers unforeseeable and mysteries unexplainable.”

Gilbert gasped for breath.

Subaru scowled up into Gilbert’s face. His rage consumed him. “Understand one thing, fool, and understand it as a surpassing truth from which all other incontrovertible facts and natural laws can be measured,” He hissed.

Subaru took a deep breath. “I will never give her up,” He whispered through clenched teeth. “Not to anyone! Not a lock of her hair, not a word from her lips, not a single moment of her attention will I ever yield to another!” Subaru ended with a roar. “Emilia is mine, do you hear me?! Mine! And I will never suffer another to have her!”

There was a terrible cracking sound and Gilbert’s head fell back, dangling down his shoulders at an unnatural angle.

Subaru scowled down at the lifeless body and dropped it. Subaru took a deep, ragged breath. “I was not finished chastising you. And yet, there you lie, broken. You broke without orders, without leave… This was most ungenerous of you…”

Gilbert was dead but Subaru’s anger was unsatisfied. His rage boiled up upside of him and he whirled on the princes and soldiers.

The princes remained chained in their seats, their eyes as big as hen’s eggs and the soldiers trembled against the sealed doors.

“You are betrayers,” Subaru murmured, “This was never a real peace summit, it was simply a trap. You lured my exalted self and my friends here under false pretenses. Now you will suffer the consequences.”

Argus and Donar renewed their struggles against the magic chains as Subaru slowly approached them. Patrick took a deep breath. “You should think carefully before you act if you care anything at all about Beatrice and Puck!”

Subaru froze in his tracks. “What did you just say?” He asked in a deadly whisper.

“Your spirit companions,” Patrick said calmly. He gave Subaru a sly smirk. “You didn’t really expect me to go up against a witch without some kind of insurance, did you? My men captured your spirits a few days ago. If the four of us don’t escape this place intact, my men know exactly what to do to your spirits…”

Subaru was silent for a long moment. “You’re lying,” He hissed. “You’re trying to buy time. Trying to make a fool of me…”

Subaru clenched his fist around the sword that he held and the princes watched in shock as the hilt crumpled in his hand. He dropped the sword a moment later and what was left of the metal hilt looked like aluminum foil.

“I assure you, it’s all true,” Patrick said smugly.

Subaru took a deep breath and then let it out very slowly. “Very well,” He said calmly but his eyes blazed, “Since you’re feeling so creative, I’ll indulge your story. How did you locate them?”

“I have many connections with the Lagunica government. Getting them to turn the spirits over to my custody wasn’t all that challenging. And with those Evil Sealing Stone bracelets on their arms, they were helpless,” Patrick said with a smile.

“You’re lying,” Subaru said in a cold voice. “You did not know that I was the witch before you entered this chamber. Your story is laughable.”

“You’re right!” Patrick said quickly. “I didn’t know originally! I was trying to get leverage over you to keep you out of the fight while we killed the elf girl-”

Subaru’s eyes blazed and he scowled at Patrick, seemingly ready to rip him apart with his teeth.

“-But then the spirits told me! They told me who the real witch was!” Patrick hurried to add.

Subaru glowered at him. “Another pathetic lie,” Subaru grated, “They would never have betrayed me. Never. They would have never told you that…”

“I have proof! Look in my shirt pocket!” Patrick said.

Subaru scowled for a long moment. Then he marched over to Patrick and felt around in his breast pocket until he pulled out a small pink ribbon, such as a girl might use for her hair.

“I’m always prepared for contingencies,” Patrick smirked. “That’s why I’ve lived so long.”

Subaru stood there, gasping for breath as he struggled to control his overwhelming fury. He cradled the ribbon gently in his hands but his face was contorted with savage rage.

“I took that from her. It was a little insurance, just in case you didn’t believe me,” Patrick explained.

“You took this from her?” Subaru whispered.

Patrick nodded.

“Then you’ve seen them.”

“Naturally.”

“What do they look like?” Subaru grated.

Patrick smiled. “A small gray cat and a beautiful young girl in an elaborate, red and pink dress.” He paused. “They miss you, you know,” He added.

“They said that?” Subaru whispered, his face beet red with suppressed rage.

Patrick nodded.

“What else did they say?” Subaru asked.

“Not much, honestly. I got the impression that they don’t really like me very much,” Patrick shrugged.

Subaru’s eyes narrowed. “You spoke to her then. What did she say? Repeat her exact words.”

Patrick thought for a moment. “All I could get her to say was ‘Puck and I miss Subaru.’”

Subaru stared at him.

Patrick fought not to blink.

Subaru’s eyes glittered. “‘I,’” He whispered with dangerous calm. “‘Puck’ and ‘I’, miss Subaru?” He asked, as if just seeking confirmation.

“That’s what she said,” Patrick replied. “If you harm any of us, I promise you that you’ll never see them again. Set us free, and perhaps we can negotiate for their freedom.”

Subaru stared at Patrick for a long moment.

Patrick held his breath.

Finally, Subaru began to laugh. It was a high cold laugh that echoed off the rafters and chilled the hearts of his listeners.

Subaru smirked at the princes. “I confess, I was truly frightened for a moment,” Subaru said conversationally. “But when I stop to think about it logically, your story didn’t hold up from the start.”

Subaru’s looked at the ribbon with disdain and he dropped it on the ground.

“Wait! I-” Patrick began.

Subaru’s face twisted in fury. “You, scum! All of you!” Subaru roared at the princes. The men recoiled as if the words had been a blow. Subaru had truly lost control now. His eyes were wild and his fists were clenched tight enough to draw blood from his own palms. “You lied to me! Luring my Emilia here and intending to do her harm! To take her away from me! And then… you taunt me. With false words from a sweet girl you never met! Telling me fables about my precious Beatrice! An insult to the bond we share! Your filthy mouths dirty her name when you speak it! I’ll kill you!” He roared in a voice that shook the building.

Subaru’s world went dark.

When Subaru regained consciousness, he found himself lying flat on the council room floor. His head was spinning and the Authority had returned to dormancy.

He managed to get to his feet and looked around in shock.

The meeting room looked like the site of an inferno. Bodies lay everywhere, charred to the bone. Skulls gaped all around Subaru in soundless screams. Even the bones themselves were blackened in some cases and the soldiers’ metal armor was distorted as if it had briefly liquefied due to great heat.

There were huge dents in the stone walls. It looked as though bodies had been flung against the walls with enough force to break the hard stone.

Subaru looked around with wide eyes. “What the fuck did I do?!” He whispered in astonishment. “How did I do this?!”

It appeared that Subaru hadn’t been unconscious for very long.

Subaru left the mayoral palace without much effort. Because he had killed everyone involved, no one in town knew that a massacre had even taken place.

Subaru had walked to the edge of town before the alarm was sounded. Subaru heard the horns and bells echoing through the dark city but he kept walking calmly to the grove by the pond just outside of town where he’d already told Deann and Duncan to await him if something unexpected had happened during the summit.

Subaru entered the glade with a sheepish look on his face. Duncan and Deann were standing there, struggling to break the chains around Anri without success. Radu and Emilia sat chained nearby.

“Deann! Why are you helping me?!” Anri demanded, sounding as if she’d asked this question many times before.

Deann ground her teeth. “Look! I have my reasons!” Deann snapped.

“Anri, perhaps we shouldn’t be focusing on that right now,” Radu murmured.

Emilia’s eyes brightened. “Subaru!”

Deann and Duncan jumped and spun around. They stared at Subaru with huge eyes and both laid their hands on their weapons.

“How in the world did you get out of there alive?!” Radu asked in disbelief.

Subaru sighed as he grabbed all their chains and triggered Indomitable. “Well, I… apparently killed… pretty much everybody there so there wasn’t really anyone left to stop me from leaving,” He murmured, breaking their chains.

“Are you alright?!” Emilia demanded, throwing her arms around him.

Subaru sighed. “Well, I’ve had better days,” He admitted.

Emilia led his head to her shoulder and held him tight.

“What do you mean, you killed ‘everyone?’” Radu asked intently as he threw off his chains.

“Um. Well I killed the Witch Hunters, the soldiers, that knight, and those annoying princes,” Subaru said awkwardly.

“You killed the princes?!” Anri gasped.

“Yeah,” He muttered. “That should at least given you guys a break for a bit. I doubt that their Houses will want to get involved again. They’ve seen the penalty for trying to attack you.”

Anri shook her head violently, staring at Subaru in disbelief.

“Subaru Natsuki,” Radu whispered. “Do you realize what you’ve done?!”

Subaru and Emilia frowned at him in confusion.

“You killed the heads of four houses!” Radu shouted incredulously. “Their families will now feel like they have no choice but to take revenge against House Ithil!”

Subaru blinked.

“Oh Gods,” Anri whispered in horror. “How could this have happened?! Subaru, how could you have been so stupid?! How did we go from being finally at peace yesterday to being on the verge of going to war with everybody today!”

“Hang on!” Subaru said desperately. “There’s no… evidence that you were involved in that! You have witnesses saying that you weren’t there!”

“Do you really think anyone will believe that?!” Radu asked scathingly.

Subaru’s face twisted in dismay as he thought about it.

Emilia looked at the frantic Anri and sighed. “Then just blame us,” Emilia said simply. “Tell everyone that the Witch Hunters freed you from our spell and that we killed everyone in the room in retaliation.”

Anri stared at Emilia in shock. “Emilia! I can’t-”

“She’s right,” Subaru sighed. He suddenly felt terribly tired. “This mess is all our fault. The best thing that you can do is to give us all the blame.”

Anri gave Subaru a hard look but she didn’t say anything.

“Gods,” Radu whispered urgently to no one. “What are we going to do?! Siros doesn’t have the strength to oppose Hilde, Brokvar, Craite, and Voivode all at the same time!”

Subaru gave Deann an imperious look and she blanched.

“Griest will stand with you,” Deann said quickly. “We’re eager to establish a solid alliance with House Ithil and to stand with you against all foes,” She promised. “Between us we control the strongest armies in Gusteko. The other Houses would be foolish to attack!”

Anri looked at her incredulously.

Deann sighed, suddenly looking exhausted. “Although, I would like to see my father freed, once the alliance is solidified,” She added.

Radu looked puzzled but he nodded slowly. “I won’t turn down any help in this mess. Gusteko is about to experience a real civil war. We’ll need to make alliances with all the uncommitted houses.”

There was a stirring in the bushes. Deann drew her swords but it was only a boy leading four riding dragons into the glade.

Duncan took the reins from the boy and he vanished back into the forest. “I sent word that we would need mounts,” Duncan explained. “We need to get out of here. It won’t take long until they come out looking for us.”

Subaru nodded. “Yeah, Anri. You better go.”

Anri bit her lip. “But what about you two?”

“We need to sneak back into town,” Subaru said. “Patrasche is still in that stable and we need to rescue her. Anyway, that will probably provide a good diversion for you.”

“And after that?” Anri asked with a small catch in her voice.

“Anri,” Radu said firmly. “After all this, you cannot be thinking of granting them sanctuary! Not only have they embroiled our people in another war, one that we may not win, but your only chance of courting the neutral houses is to denounce them and pin all the blame on these wretches immediately!”

Anri flinched.

Subaru sighed. “He’s right, Anri. Just give us all the blame. We’re used to it. Hell, in this case I totally deserve it and we won’t be in Gusteko to suffer for it anyway.”

“Where are you going? Are you going back to-” Anri glanced at Radu’s hard face and clammed up.

Emilia and Subaru looked at each other helplessly. “I don’t know,” Subaru said. “I don’t know where we’re going to go or where we’ll end up. But we’ll be OK! As long as we’re together, we can do anything.”

Emilia nodded, hugging Anri. “We’ll try to send you a letter when we’re somewhere safe,” She whispered, holding the girl tightly in her arms.

Subaru hugged her next. “Be careful, Anri. Take care of yourself. We’ll be back to help you out of this mess… just as soon as we figure out how…” He added lamely.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough at this point?!” Radu asked sharply.

Subaru flinched.

Subaru thought for a long moment. “Anri,” Subaru muttered, “Come here for a second.”

Anri walked over as Radu, Duncan, and Deann discussed their escape. Anri looked at Subaru as if she was no longer certain how to feel about him.

“Here, Anri. You’ll need this,” Subaru whispered, handing her the Gospel.

Anri jumped. “But you’ll need it!”

Subaru shook his head. “I haven’t found it too useful. Maybe we just don’t have the talent for reading it. You need it more than we will.”

Emilia nodded fervently.

Anri slowly opened the book and then flinched and slammed it shut. “I can’t read it!” She whispered. “I must have lost the witch’s blessing somehow!”

“Oh, fuck,” Subaru sighed and grabbed the Gospel. “OK… ‘Book.’ Listen,” He hissed, feeling unbelievably silly. “You’re my Gospel and I am giving you to Anri. I… need Siros to be strong and prosperous and at peace for my… ‘goals’ to be fulfilled so you are going to guide Anri to make all that happen. Understood?”

The Book shuddered in his hand for a moment and Subaru gave it back to Anri.

She opened it doubtfully and her eyes brightened. “I can read it again! It says ‘The King of Pride will be visited by three witches. Each will offer him his destiny. One once pretended to love him. One was made to love him. And one knows he can offer her love. One will deceive him, one will use him, and one will consume him. The deceiver will never lie to him, the manipulator will never tell him the truth, and the one who would take all from him, will give him everything.’”

The three looked at each other in confusion.

Subaru shook his head. “You need to get going, Anri,” Subaru muttered.

Anri bit her lip. “Subaru, Emilia,” She began. “I-”

“There’s no time, Anri,” Emilia said sadly. “You need to get out of here.”

Subaru nodded. “Save it for the next time we see you.”

Anri nodded seriously and threw her arms around both of them. “We’ll be together again,” She said firmly. “I promise!”

“Promises are important,” Emilia said.

“And I must keep my promises,” Subaru finished.

Anri pulled away and mounted her dragon.

Subaru wiped a tear from his eye. “Alright! You all get out of here! We’ll distract the locals!”

Anri, Duncan, and Deann nodded while Radu just glared down at them with a stony expression. They kicked their dragons into a sprint. Anri stared back longingly until they vanished into the darkness.

“We need to get going too, Mili,” Subaru said.

Emilia nodded.

Although the city was in an uproar, the pair had little trouble sneaking back into town. The city guards were busy turning the place upside down, looking for enemies and ensuring that nobody left. They were broadly indifferent to anyone foolish enough to enter.

Subaru and Emilia entered the stable and Patrasche’s head quickly poked over the stall door with a delighted cluck.

“Hey, girl,” Subaru said, stroking her head. “Did you miss us?”

Patrasche closed her eyes with a contented expression.

“Subaru,” Emilia whispered. “Now that we found Patrasche, how are we going to get out of the city?”

Subaru shrugged as he opened the pen door. “Honestly, I’m leaning toward brute force.”

“What?”

Subaru chuckled. “There’s nobody in the city guard who could be a threat to us and we promised Anri that we’d give her a diversion. If we just break through the perimeter, all the guards will come chasing after us instead of looking for Anri.”

Emilia frowned. “Subaru, those guards are innocent people. It’s not OK to just kill them unless we have literally no other choice!” She said firmly.

“Who said anything about killing them?” Subaru replied as they led Patrasche out of the stable. “After all, dead men don’t sound alarms or tell everybody which way we went. We don’t need to kill anybody, just scare them. Then they’ll come after us and leave Anri alone.”

Emilia thought about it. “OK, that makes sense. I’ll freeze them to the ground then. It won’t hurt them much but it will let us ride past them and they’ll sound an alarm.”

“Great plan!” Subaru approved, climbing onto Patrasche.

It was well after midnight when Subaru and Emilia rode Patrasche back to the Elior forest. The dragon, who had slept most of the afternoon and evening, was still doing fine but her riders were exhausted.

“Subaru, they’re still following us!” Emilia whispered wearily, her head slumped against Subaru’s shoulder. The shouts of pursuing soldiers on riding dragons could be heard close by.

“This is all good news,” Subaru said to Emilia.

“It is?” She said in surprise.

“Yeah. If they’re this fixated on us, that means that Anri got away clean!”

Emilia thought a moment then nodded. “That is good news. But now we have to get away!”

“Shouldn’t be an issue,” Subaru replied as they finally rode under the forest trees. “They’ll turn back pretty soon.”

“I see them!” A voice shouted.

Subaru and Emilia spun around and saw a man mounted on a riding dragon, waving his torch overhead to signal the others.

Patrasche kept running but there was the rumbling sound of dozens of dragons converging.

“Subaru!” Emilia shouted. “They found us!”

To her astonishment, Subaru laughed. “This is perfect timing!”

“What-”

“Just hang on, Mili!” Subaru said with barely contained laughter.

Emilia stared at Subaru incredulously.

Emilia looked behind them and saw at least forty riders coming fast through the forest. They were clearly visible under their burning torches and they were closing in.

As Emilia watched, a black silhouette against the torch light knocked the lead dragon over. The dragon and its rider foundered in the snow. There was a terrible roar.

More silhouettes began to pounce on the other dragons. The dragons screamed in terror and began to bolt out of the forest. Emilia watched as the foundered dragons quickly regained their feet and followed, slowly pursued by the torch bearing men who’d fallen off. Packs of Guiltylowe and wolgarm pursued them.

Emilia realized that Patrasche had stopped running and that Subaru was roaring with laughter.

Emilia looked with deep frustration at the love of her life. “Subaru,” She growled in annoyance.

Subaru slowly got control of his laughter. “I gathered the mabeasts to this area when we got close to the forest. I figured this would be enough to school them against coming into the forest until they could gather a really large force. We’ll be safe for a day or two now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about that plan?!” Emilia demanded.

Subaru smirked. “Well, for one thing, you look awfully cute when you’re surprised.”

Emilia glowered at him then sighed and let it go. She thought for a moment. “Subaru… what if they search the forest and find the village?”

Subaru sighed and then rode Patrasche forward at a walk. “They won’t, Mili,” He said, trying to sound confident. “It would take a whole army weeks to search this forest. Nobody is going to order their whole army to search the Elior Forest for weeks on end unless they think that they’ll get something out of it.” He sighed. “For good and for bad, Gusteko has much bigger problems on its hands right now than… a couple of fugitive witches.”

Emilia listened to the terrified screams of the men receding in the distance.

“The mabeasts seem to be having some trouble catching them,” Emilia murmured.

Subaru shook his head. “I ordered the mabeasts to chase them but not to kill them unless they tried to stand and fight. And no, I have absolutely no idea how I was able to convey that message but it seems like they listened.”

Emilia nodded. “It’s good that you didn’t kill them, Subaru.”

Subaru sighed. “I figure that I owe them that much, considering how many innocent Gusteko soldiers I have killed in the past week. Not to mention the very real possibility that I’ve set their entire country on a collision course for a civil war…”

“Subaru, that wasn’t your fault,” Emilia murmured.

“Really?” Subaru asked incredulously. “How the hell can you justify that?”

Emilia didn’t answer.

Subaru sighed. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”