*This chapter is an edited MTL

　Dangle, dangle, dangle, dangle.

　Sway, sway, sway. Legs swaying.

　The madman laughed as he sank into the creaking seat, relaxedly, vaguely, and surrendered himself to the sensation of the dragon carriage.

　There was nothing funny about it, but laughing was strangely comforting.

　If he didn't, a terribly painful feeling would build up in his chest, and if it built up too much, his head would explode and he would end up a mess.

　In order to prevent this from happening, he giggled even though he had nothing funny to say. He looked for something funny and giggled, giggled, giggled.

　But when the laughter suddenly stopped, he suddenly felt a pang of loneliness.

　Then he couldn’t hold it in any longer and tears started to spill out. He tried to stop them, but they didn't stop, and when he tried to stop them, his breathing became labored. So, in order not to suffer, he let the tears flow freely, soaking his face and clothes with them.

　Whenever he repeatedly laughed and cried so that his chest did not hurt and his heart was not painful, blue always came from somewhere and patted my head or wiped his wet cheeks with a cloth.

　That is why he liked blue. When blue was by his side, his heart felt warm and fuzzy. When blue left his side, he instantly felt uneasy, as if everything around him had become dark. His heart ached, just like when he wanted to cry, and when I tried to smile, I couldn’t, and only tears came out.

　He was sure that the sadness was from when he was not with Blue. When Blue left him, he cried because he remembered that sadness. That's why he wanted Blue to be by his side all the time. Blue would stay with him as long as he could, as if she knew that.

　That's why he liked blue.

　Green, too, he doesn’t mind so much.

　She didn't stroke him gently like Blue, or come to see him as often as Blue, but Green was hard and soft. Hard and soft, he didn't dislike it.

　He thought it was Blue who came to see him, and he thought it was because Blue was with me. Green and Blue were talking about various things, but they were busy giggling and crying.

　When they finished talking and left, Green stared at me. Her eyes are so hard and soft, I don't dislike them.

　Brown and white were scary. He hated them. He was afraid of them. They made him shrivel up.

　Brown came to see him after blue, but he didn't like brown because it made him feel sick when he touched it and tears came out. He was afraid of its angry eyes. He was afraid of his soft face. Blue strokes me to keep me from crying, but it makes me cry.

　White was even scarier. He doesn't touch it. He had only seen it once. And yet, he was scared. The eyes that were staring at him, as if they didn't see anything, were scary. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it.

　Dreams, he saw dreams.

　Dangle, dangle, dangle, dangle.

　Swaying, swaying his legs, resting his shoulders on the wind, dreaming in a daze, leisurely, the madman dreamt.

　In his dreams, the color of silver appeared, dangling, dangling, dangling.

　Silver, he didn’t know.

　His chest was hot and fluttery. His chest ached and tingled. His chest ached and throbbed. His chest was throbbing and pounding.

　He didn't know whether to be happy, sad, joyful, or bitter.

　He felt like he had liked blue, liked brown, liked green, and liked white.

　He didn't know about silver. But he didn't mind thinking about silver.

　Dangle, dangle, dangle, dangle.

　Sway, Wobble, Sway, Swaying—

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　Rem's lips were slightly pursed as she looked sideways at Subaru, who was dozing off with his head on her shoulder.

　She was glad to see that Subaru was resting his whole body on her in this way, unprotected and unguarded.

　Rem knew that the Subaru of today was not the Subaru of usual, and that this state was not his true intention, but even so, it was a supreme pleasure to have his full trust in this way.

Rem: "Subaru-kun, more this way."

Subaru: "......nn, uu…"

　While still within breathing distance, Rem pulled Subaru even closer to her body. The chair in the driver’s cabin was designed for one person, and the two of them would have to strain considerably to sit together. Normally, the smaller Rem should be the one to lean her weight on Subaru, but right now, doing so would put both of them in danger.

　With Subaru, who had been quiet since getting into the dragon carriage, half on her lap, Rem held his waist with her hand opposite to the one holding the reins and pulled on the reins as she sat back down again.

　As much as possible, she maintained a position that did not put any force on Subaru. Because of this, Rem's position was quite painful, as she had to surrender the majority of the area of the driver’s cabin. Since she would spend nearly half a day in this position, it would not be surprising if a normal person ran out of strength in the middle of the day.

　In this respect, Rem's physical strength was far greater than that of ordinary people. Her mental endurance is also top-notch in the direction of patience. Above all, the fact that her own efforts were benefiting Subaru was the most inspiring factor for her.

　Rem was not told the details of what kind of exchange took place between Subaru and Emilia and what kind of distortion had occurred.

　On the day when the royal election was declared at the castle, Rem, who had missed Subaru's ascent to the castle under Roswal's instruction, was terribly surprised to see Emilia's exhausted appearance upon her return.

　She looked worn out and explained to Rem roughly what had happened at the castle, and then told her to pick up Subaru, whom she had left behind at the castle, and go to Crusch's mansion.

　There was no reprimand for letting Subaru go.

　Since it was unlikely that Emilia had forgotten that part of the conversation, Rem assumed that she had something in mind and did not bring up the subject herself.

　She simply quietly followed Emilia's orders and entered the Karsten house with Subaru. Before that, she had a short talk with Roswaal, but that part of the conversation was confidential to both Emilia and Subaru. It was also a conversation that made no sense at the moment.

　Anyway, Subaru's treatment began in earnest after entering the Karsten family.

　Unlike Subaru, Rem, who was welcomed as a guest in his mansion, was not receiving treatment, and was given the freedom to do most of the things she wanted to do. Most of that free time was spent by Rem standing by Subaru's side.

　Part of it was because she wanted to unconditionally affirm Subaru's good health and her attempt to maintain normalcy despite his exhaustion, but the real reason was a more personal feeling.

　At the Roswaal mansion, Rem did not get to spend much time with Subaru.

　She was solely responsible for assisting Ram with the mundane tasks of the mansion, and she, who was responsible for most of the upkeep functions of the mansion, had a different role to play and a different amount of time to spend than him. Inevitably, she spent less time with him than she does with his sister, which has caused her some frustration and anxiety.

　When she became aware of this fact, she felt it was extremely petty and did not want to say anything about it.

Rem: "Subaru-kun, it's going to be okay."

　Holding Subaru, who was tossing and turning in his sleep, Rem gently called out to him as she held the reins.

　Subaru, with his eyelids closed and still asleep, does not respond to her voice. He only felt a slight relief in the corners of his eyes, and he looked ahead with renewed energy.

　She had planned to spend the night trying to get to the mansion, but it might be better to camp somewhere else. It was past noon when they left Crusch's mansion, and about halfway to the mansion, the moon was beginning to hang over the clouds.

　Their pace was much slower than planned. This was the result of Rem's efforts to avoid burdening Subaru, and the fact that she had let the dragon run much slower than its original speed.

　In a couple of hours, they would have traveled the half day they had planned, but if they continued at this pace to the mansion, it would be late morning before they reached it.

Rem: “If that happened, it would be difficult to communicate with my sister."

　Their Synthesia required them to be within a certain distance and in a state of mutual arousal.

　Especially when emitted from Rem's side to Ram, the conditions for both energy and distance are quite severe. At the very least, it was impossible to report the current situation to Ram from their current distance, and by the time that becomes possible due to the distance, it would be late at night.

　—After all, they would be camping out.

　Deciding so, Rem manipulated the reins and instructed the dragon to halt.

　The speeding dragon obeyed her command, slowed to a stop, and looked up at her with a rough snort.

　Leaving Subaru on the driver’s bench, Rem easily jumped down from the bench, landed on the street, and looked around.

　The sun had already set, and the only light that filled the Lifaus Highway was from the moonlight and the Lagmite ore lamps on the dragon carriage that Rem had been driving.

　Fortunately, there were a few clouds tonight, and the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the surroundings. Assuming that there was little chance of bandit attacks, Rem quickly climbed into the dragon carriage that was being pulled by the dragon, and quickly layered blankets to create a simple sleeping area. Then,

Rem: "Subaru-kun, excuse me."

　She took the sleeping Subaru in her arms and wrapped him up in the blankets on the bench.

　With Subaru, who was probably tired from all the sitting and riding, at her side, Rem lightly turned herself around to make sure he was feeling well, and then she stepped off of the carriage to keep watch over the encampment.

　Although she was not so worried about bandits, it was not uncommon for Witch Beasts and wild dogs to take advantage of the lack of dragon cars passing by at night on the road.

　Having encountered such cases several times in the past, Rem understood that these opponents were much more dangerous than humans. However,

Rem: "You're here tonight, though, so I don't think you need to worry too much."

　Reaching out, Rem caressed the face of the ground dragon as it lowered the tip of its nose toward her.

　He had spent half a day with her, and though it was only through the reins, he had spent a lot of time with her. She had grown attached to it in his own way, and it had listened to him well for the trip. The fact that he was disciplined and correct, she couldn’t help but admire the duchess's family for the dragon.

　The fact that Rem was a «Demon» which was a higher biological existence, had nothing to do with her understanding of the ground dragon.

　Among dragon species, ground dragons were remarkably friendly with humans. They were a part of daily life for most people, and were heavily used due in part to the gentle nature of the ground dragons themselves.

　Flying dragons and water dragons, however, required special training and growth from an early age, so their numbers are more limited than those of the ground dragons.

　Although they were friendlier to humans compared to other dragon species, their quality as a race naturally set them apart from other beasts. In addition to the fact that there were almost no wild animals that didn’t know of the ground dragon’s power to attack, the ground dragons themselves had a habit of being very nimble to danger.

　They would not attack if there was a large number of magical beasts or a group of bandits, and they could almost always detect such a group in advance.

　Therefore, there was no need to worry about camping out with the dragons.

Rem: "Take your time and rest."

　The dragon and herself were more than enough to be a nightwatch.

　Rem glanced up at the sleeping place and patted the dragon as it sniffed at her and sat down on the ground. Then, she rested herself against the hard skin of the seated dragon, draped the blankets she had brought out over her body, and went on guard, her consciousness fading.

　If they set out in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, they should be able to reach the mansion by late tomorrow morning.

　She would have to take the reprimand for bringing Subaru back and for not having achieved her goal. Above all, she was the only one who could protect Subaru right now.

Rem: "But if I could return Subaru-kun back to the way he was, I would..."

　Emilia was probably the only one who could. That was what made Rem's teeth itch.

　For Rem, Emilia was a very difficult person to deal with.

　Roswal welcomed her as a guest and now treated her as if she were above him as a king’s candidate. In fact, both Rem and Ram were instructed to treat her as such.

　Rem has no objection to treating her higher than her master, Roswaal. Ram, who was a Roswaal supremacist, seemed to disapprove, but Rem was not as strong as her sister in this regard. Of course, she was not so foolish as to show it on her face or in her words, so it was just a matter of Rem sensing Ram's feelings.

　It was a dissatisfaction that she was not normally aware of, and that strongly affected her sense of empathy.

　For Rem, the complicated feelings she had for Emilia were due to her origins, independent of Roswaal.

　—The fact that Emilia was a half-elf. In other words, she was a half-demon.

　In her head, Rem understood that she herself was not to blame. However, it was also true that there was a part of her that could not fully accept this on an emotional level.

　It was not Emilia's fault. However, the existence of the half-demon was too big an influence in Rem's life to be taken lightly.

　It was difficult to choose whether to treat her favorably or maliciously.

　As a result, Rem was determined to be concise in her treatment of Emilia and not deviate from their relationship  as a guest and servant.

　Emilia, too, was determined not to deviate from their relationship as a guest and servant. Emilia, perhaps sensing this attitude, did not say anything that would be considered too much of a bother to Rem.

　The days passed with such a relationship between them, and she thought that nothing would change regardless of the outcome of the king's election. Because of her role, she had only a small chance of being present by the end of the king's election. Considering the position that she had imposed on herself, she had warned herself that it would be unnecessary to hold strong feelings, whether favorable or unfavorable, toward Emilia.

　Yet now, her feelings toward Emilia had changed completely.

　This makes Rem's heart grow frayed.

　For Rem, who was not so much of a child as to be unable to admit her own feelings, Emilia's obstinacy was in every way difficult to deal with. And although she knew that Emilia had a past that made it inevitable for her to be that way, she was disgusted with herself for thinking that way.

　These thoughts swirled around her and seemed to explode when she conceived a boy at the center.

　Fed up with her own ugliness, Rem exhaled.

　In this soundless world, in an environment where even the source of light was vague, her thoughts naturally drifted off to other things.

　The passage of time was slow and hazy, and the tilt of the moon seemed unchanged no matter how many times she looked up at it.

　The night was long. The night alone was long and deep and cold.

　Suddenly, Rem felt the urge to crawl into the carriage sheltering behind her.

　How nice it would be to share the warmth of the carriage, wrapped in blankets, slipping in next to the boy whose face was peaceful only while he slept so deeply that he did not dream.

　It was tempting to just give it all up and do so.

　Even if she went back, what awaited her would be a harsh reality far removed from her ideal.

　Now, no matter where she went in the dragon carriage, there was no one to blame but her own conscience. Even Subaru could eventually regain his humanity from his infant-like state and share the same time with her, albeit differently than before, if she took the time to keep in touch with him.

　As for the roadside silver, the amount given to her by Roswaal was substantial. She could disappear with it and go into seclusion with Subaru.

Rem: “Fufu, it's a pipe dream...”

　Shaking her head and pressing her head against her knees, Rem chuckled at her own fantasy.

　The most important thing to remember was that you couldn’t make a choice that disparaged all of that. 

　There was no way she could leave the mansion without her sister and without Ram. She was the other half of Rem's body, and if she were to leave her in the mansion, how much of a burden would it be on her? Her sister, who was kind and sweet to Rem, would surely still forgive her. That was why there was no way she could betray her.

　Roswaal entrusted a large sum of money and an important role to Rem, who even thought of such treachery. Betraying that trust was also a thought that could not be done by Rem's fastidious character.

　And above all,

Rem: "There is no way I can leave Subaru-kun... like this, you know.”

　 If possible, she would like to keep everyone she cared about at her fingertips. By devoting herself to others, she could realize the value of her own existence—you could say that she was born with a maid's temperament.

　Therefore, the current state of taking care of Subaru was not a hardship for Rem. Rather, she feels fulfilled every day by Subaru, who cannot be without her.

　However, this was not the original Subaru.

　To Rem, Natsuki Subaru was always a person—

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　Her bangs shifting in the dampness of the morning dew, Rem slowly looked up.

　Drifting between sleep and awakeness, intoxicated by the sensation of being half-awake, Rem was aware that it was time to leave.

　During the night, nothing remarkable had happened, not even a sign of a witch beast or bandit had appeared in front of them. However, it seemed that Rem was not without fatigue. She was unable to endure the time with no change, and her consciousness almost gave way to sleepiness, so she shifted her consciousness to the aforementioned half-awake state and also spent some time resting.

　She stood up and stretched out in the cool morning air.

　It was a slovenly gesture. She would never do this in front of other people's eyes, but even if she could be seen now, it would only be Subaru, who was sleeping beside her.

Rem: "Subaru-kun!”

　Jumping back in surprise, Rem realized that there was a boy wrapped in a blanket right next to her.

　The boy, who had been snuggled up to her, had lost his support and had slowly rolled onto the grass, frowning and writhing.

　Hurriedly, Rem compared Subaru's figure with the dragon carriage behind him. He must have come down during the middle of the night, while Rem's consciousness was away from wakefulness, and rolled into place next to Rem.

　She was horrified by the fact that she did not notice this, but on the other hand, she was aware of how much she had allowed herself to fall in love with Subaru, and her face turned red even after all this time.

　While reacting in such a damsel-in-distress manner, Rem inwardly wondered if Subaru's current behavior was a good sign.

　If he was awake, Subaru's reaction was mostly just expressionless, laughing or crying. He had stepped down from the dragon chariot on his own, and now he had acted with a will of his own.

　Rem was hopeful that his broken heart would gradually begin to come together and reconstruct his personality.

Rem: "—Okay, let's go home, Subaru-kun."

　If a change had happened, surely things will be better from now on.

　It was a way of thinking that was unlike her, but it was also probably the result of being inspired by the boy in front of her. And that inner change seemed somewhat endearing to Rem.

　After picking up Subaru, who was still asleep, and getting on the driver’s bench, Rem woke up the dragon. After waking the dragon, she gave it a drink of water and then set off again.

　The wheels bite the ground on the road, and they begin to move, slowly picking up speed.

　They were roughly halfway along the road, and in terms of time, it would take about seven or eight hours to reach the mansion.

　Both her energy and stamina were better than yesterday, when she set out with only a sense of sadness. Looking at the profile of Subaru, who was still deeply asleep, Rem conveyed her feelings of anxiety to the reins and increased the speed.

　Surely, everything would turn out for the better.

　—Rem believed so.

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　—The air was strange.

　The first time Rem had noticed this as she drove the dragon carriage was when she placed Subaru's head on her lap, who seemed to be having trouble sleeping, and stroked his head by running her fingers through his black hair.

　Perhaps it was because she had had time to think slowly last night.

　Having gained some degree of acceptance of the complex emotions within her, Rem was somewhat excited inwardly by the sight of Subaru, who had snuggled up to her himself in the middle of the night.

　If that was why he had been so slow to notice such an obvious anomaly, she was too stupid to save herself.

Rem: "It's too quiet..."

　On her way along the Lifaus Highway, she had never passed another dragon car.

　Even though the road ran along the street, Rem's ground dragon was somewhat off the main road, aiming for the shortest way to the mansion. Feeling the wheels chewing the grass on her buttocks, however, Rem should have been concerned about the absence of any others in the unobstructed surroundings.

　It had been odd when not a single witch beast or bandit attacked last night.

　Before the absence of any hostile presence, she had been unable to hear a single sound, not even the buzzing of insects, which was unusual.

　A bad premonition ran through her mind.

　This kind of stillness, this kind of creature's breathlessness, was always a sign that something beyond human knowledge was about to happen.

　The sense of discomfort grew stronger as she closed in on the mansion in the Mather’s territory.

　Rem put her inner anxiety into her hand on the reins and urged the already frantically running ground dragon to go faster.

　She knew she was pushing him too hard, but now she had to find out what this uneasiness was as soon as possible. If it was a groundless fear, then so be it. She could apologize to Subaru and to the ground dragon for making them accompany her on this impossible journey, and then they could face the problem once again.

　But if this anxiety smoldering in her chest was real—

Rem: "—Sister?"

　What suddenly arrived in Rem's mind was a confusion of emotions that were not her own.

　—It was an unbearable anxiety, and Rem was impatient with the fact that it was quickly drowned out.

　His sister, who was usually calm on the surface, was actually bold on the inside. Basically, she was not likely to be moved except when it came to her master or, presumptuously, her sister, Rem.

　She felt such "uneasiness" toward Rem that it could be conveyed through empathy. And the fact that it was immediately erased means that she restrained herself so that it would not be conveyed to Rem.

　The anxiety would not have been transmitted if Rem and her Sister were far apart.

　And Rem received it.

Rem: "Hurry, we have to get there—!"

　Hurriedly, she gripped the reins even tighter, her hands turning white.

　If things had proceeded as planned at the mansion, the only people who would be in it would be her sister and Emilia. What if some problem had occurred that was beyond the control of the two of them? And if it was not unrelated to the anxiety, then...

　Rem was led by a sense of frustration. On the surface, she was a calm woman, but inwardly, she had a flaw that made her blind to the world around her when she was working too hard.

　This time, too, that fault turned on her.

　—In a time-stagnant world, Rem saw the head of the earth dragon blow off in front of her eyes.