The Two Like Family
"Felt, what are you doing here?
Haven't I already been screwed over badly enough?
What do you mean the other side won't harm the royal candidate? I almost died!
Just seeing your face pisses me off—get lost and stay as far away as possible."
Having successfully crossed the labyrinth and avoided numerous patrol guards, the two finally reached Rom's room.
But when they opened the door, they were met by an enraged Rom, lying on a huge bed, his right hand bandaged and hanging from his neck, cursing loudly.
He spewed all kinds of filthy words, revealing the image of a bad old man from the slums.
Subaru was at a loss.
He felt sorry for Felt, who regarded Rom as family, but he couldn't blame Rom, who understood death's terror better than anyone.
After all, Rom, who had nearly been tricked to death, definitely had the right to be angry and complain.
Seeing Felt bow her head nearby, Subaru instinctively reached out to silently comfort her by patting her head, but Felt slapped his hand away.
"Nice little monkey show, old stinky man. You've lived so long, but do you still not realize you have no talent as an actor? I've known you for a long time and know everything about you, for example—when Rom lies, the swirl on the top of his head actually spins the other way."
Felt raised her head and pointed to her own head.
Her words stunned the other two in the room.
Subaru quickly looked over, and Rom got out of bed, grabbed a mirror with his bandaged hand, his face pale and panicked as he said, "No way! That's a lie!?"
Subaru: "Wait, your hand!"
Felt: "Ah, just kidding. Didn't expect to show your best silly face. I'm really heartless."
Rom: "Ah—"
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After all the chaos, Felt grabbed the milk on the table and drank it all at once, then smacked her lips in dissatisfaction.
"This milk is the only good thing here. But how long ago did Rom notice we were coming?"
"About 15 minutes ago, when the guards outside disappeared."
"So that means—"
"Exactly, little brother. I felt too relaxed just now.
It looks like someone guided us right to Rom.
The patrols deliberately left a path leading straight to him.
Being constantly watched like this is really unpleasant.
Old stinky man, how are your injuries exactly?"
"Just barely able to move, Felt..."
"Don't even talk, Rom. Don't misunderstand. Even without Reinhild, the chance I'd successfully escape this place is less than 1%.
But with your fighting power, at least it rises to 3%.
Though we wasted this rare opportunity, Reinhild is so busy, so our chance won't be just this once."
"Wait! I'm still a servant of this family, okay? Is it really fine for you to loudly plot right in front of me? And why must we run away? Isn't there the option to properly negotiate with Rein-chan?"
"To be honest, it's actually Reinhild who agreed to us running away.
She said after completing studies every day, I could arrange my time freely.
Also, if I successfully escaped the mansion secretly, I'd only have to start the royal candidate process, and she would even give me a house in the Western country of Kararaki as a reward. But I really didn't expect that old butler to go so far as to hurt me badly."
"Actually, Winston the butler is also very disappointed about this, but what is Rein-chan thinking?"
"Though I'd say she might want to see us fail or crush our fighting spirit, I'm not blind.
I feel like she really hopes... Hey, little brother, your finger is bleeding.
If you can't cut apples, don't force it. You just sprayed blood on my face.
Seriously, is there really a servant as clumsy as you? How tolerant is this mansion not to have fired you yet?"
"My heart hurts, but I can't refute that. After all, today is only my fourth day working in this mansion."
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"By the way, do we really have to run away? Though studying is tough, considering the current living conditions, it's not a bad deal."
Subaru said as he watched Felt bandage his finger.
"Little brother, you're surprisingly naive.
Harsh studies and heavy responsibility are just small parts of why I'm desperate to escape.
If those were the only reasons, I might consider staying.
After all, enjoying this luxurious life just by reading books is a great deal.
But if it comes down to risking my life, then forget it."
"Risking your life? But Reinhild is here, and you were present too, right?"
Subaru asked, puzzled.
"Exactly because I was there that I decided to escape. I know Reinhild is strong, but there's a saying in our line of work: 'The thief may work a thousand days, but there's no one guarding a thousand days.'"
"It's easier to understand from an observer's perspective.
Elsa's goal was probably from the start that silver-haired girl who's also a royal candidate, right? I think her name is Emilia.
And Reinhild told me Emilia has the strongest mage backing her—a single army led by Border Count Roswaal. You saw her situation yourself.
If you hadn't interfered, I wouldn't be surprised if Emilia had died in the warehouse."
"You also nearly lost your life. The royal candidate contest hasn't even started yet and it's already this fierce.
Imagine what it'll be like once it really begins.
And since I'm supported by Reinhild, I'd naturally become everyone's target.
Maybe one day this place will be attacked."
Subaru couldn't argue with Felt's words because, having experienced death and return, he knew her judgment was completely correct.
But clearly, not everyone agreed.
"Felt-sama, don't you underestimate us too much? After all, the Astrea family has been a prestigious house for 400 years, and Reinhild-sama possesses the power to wipe out a nation single-handedly."
"Is that so? I know about the massacre 30 years ago. When I think about that, your words lose all persuasiveness."
The core members of the Reinhild faction who had come in fell silent at Rom's words, their expressions growing very dark.
Just then, Otto clapped his hands.
"Precisely because of what happened 30 years ago, the mansion's security measures have been updated and tested countless times.
Tremendous effort was put into building the shadow barrier covering the entire mansion, aerial corridors, and other facilities.
So even if Reinhild-sama isn't here, it's perfectly safe."
"I don't want to entrust my life to others.
It's better to escape to the West, far from this place of troubles.
But for now, I have no plans to run away.
By the way, didn't you ask me the day before yesterday to pick a butler? I've decided—I'll pick him."
Subaru looked at Felt as she pointed her finger toward him, wiggling it left and right, then pointed at himself and exclaimed in surprise.