Chapter Text
The sound of swords clashing rang through the air, as well as the sounds of heavy panting from two exhausted fighters.
Julius was suddenly sent crashing into a building after taking a ferocious kick in the stomach from his opponent. The knight coughed up blood and saliva, but he ignored the pain, forcing himself back to his feet. He was the last line of defense against the Archbishop.
He glanced at Ricardo, his ally who now remained unconscious in a pool of blood. Julius clutched the hilt of his sword tighter, reprimanding himself. If only he had been more diligent, maybe he could have saved his demi-human friend.
The figure the knight was fighting dashed at Julius in this moment of vulnerability. Julius slashed his sword upwards attempting to either cut the archbishop in two or stop the archbishop's attack.
However, the opponent stepped to the left, narrowly avoiding the slash, yet still having a strand of hair cut off.
"Thank you for the treat ~tsu."
In a moment Julius Juukulius, the man who had risen to become the greatest of all knights, the older brother of Joshua, the knight of Anastasia, had disappeared.
Julius using the moment of proximity pointed his blade at the archbishop. Even with the archbishop's speed, there was no way he could dodge a full-powered attack from Julius at this range.
Determination filled his eyes, his one goal being to defeat the archbishop once and for all. He called upon the power of his spirits.
"Al Clarista!"
The spirits that followed him swirled around his blade, coalescing into a brilliant light. A sword that could cut through anything formed in his hands. He aimed to sever the Archbishop's very existence.
A loud clang soon followed, the archbishop stuck out his tongue and smiled. The claws on his hands completely blocked the blow. The attack which could cut through anything had amounted to nothing.
Upon looking at his sword, he saw nothing. No beautiful light, no life from his spirits, it was simply a normal blade.
The knight felt the feeling of a contract being voided. It was as if he had lost a part of himself just now. What had happened, why was his connection with his buds severed?
"You have a bland taste, but we accept any meal with open arms!"
The enemy thrust his other hand towards Julius, about to take away the last thing he had.
Each member of his camp, as well as all his friends, flashed through the knight's mind. He had been truly and utterly defeated.
He had been too weak to save anyone in Priestella, and now he would too be defeated. He would be defeated not even being able to contribute against the witch cult.
"Move out of the way!"
Julius' eyes widened feeling the contact of someone else crash into him, tackling him to the ground.
The archbishop however was not deterred, he extended his other arm, not allowing himself to miss out on a meal when he noticed who it was.
"Thank you for the treat, Natsuki Subaru ~tsu." Then the archbishop promptly licked their hand.
"El Minya!"
A much softer and more feminine voice was heard, and pink stakes flew at him prompting the archbishop to jump backward and start running to dodge the stakes.
The archbishop, worrying that the growing disadvantage in numbers would worsen, opted to retreat for now. However, this was his victory.
Priestella had truly brought them a great feast.
Julius looked at the man in the tracksuit who was on top of him. In his eyes was a look of concern, but it was instantly brushed away, turning into an arrogant smile.
"Jeez, I just saved your ass, Juli!" The man stood up and looked in the direction where the archbishop retreated. The smile turned into a look of fury.
"Dammit!" Subaru fell to his knees, slamming his fist into the ground. "I can't believe I let that thing escape again!" He struck the ground a few more times before his hand froze, noticing the bruises forming on his knuckles. He sighed, wiping blood and dirt from it. Then he turned to Julius, smirking once more. As much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do besides push forward right now.
"Well at least Beako and I saved you before you got eaten Julius, Gluttony might still be in the city, maybe we can try to get Reinhard and the others to help track them down."
Julius slowly pushed himself up, gently flicking dust from his uniform. With a grateful smile, he said, "Thank you for saving me. It means more than I can express. However..." His voice trailed off as confusion shadowed his yellow eyes. "I'm sorry to ask this after all you've done, but may I know who you are?"
Subaru raised an eyebrow at the question, "Cut the crap, Julius, now isn't the time to joke around when gluttony is still out there running around!"
Subaru then noticed something in the corner of his eye: "Ricardo!" He ran over to the wounded demi-human, not caring about the blood that leaked onto him. "Beako, Julius can you two heal him, he has lost a lot of blood, and his hand is completely severed." He looked at both Julius and Beatrice with desperation in his eyes.
"What kind of disgusting nickname is that and who do you think you are ordering Betty like that?" The spirit held a suspicious glare at him, one that told Subaru that if he made the wrong move consequences could happen.
Subaru let go of Ricardo and stood up to approached Beatrice, a cold sweat was forming on his face. "B-Beako, come on we need to help Ricardo, if we don't he will die!"
Subaru then turned to Julius, "You also have a water spirit, can't you do something to help him too?"
Subaru's fear deepened when he noticed Julius look down in shame while minya crystals formed behind Beatrice and aimed at him.
Subaru stopped and held his hands up in surrender, why was this happening? Julius is treating him as a stranger, and Beatrice is hostile towards him. A grim thought surfaced in his head.
There was no way that could have happened. He then remembered the brief contact he had with gluttony when pushing Julius out of the way. Panic started to set in.
"Beako- Beatrice, Julius, do you two know who I am?"
There was no response, there was only one explanation for this. When he saved Julius, he was the person who was eaten by gluttony instead.
Subaru tightened his grip on his hand, as much as he wanted to mourn or feel sorry for himself. He had more pressing matters, between the archbishops, and the critically injured Ricardo. He could always figure this out later, his camp would surely help him out.
Subaru did the only thing Subaru could do in this situation, he struck his iconic pose and smiled, "Unfortunately my name has been eaten by gluttony, but my name is Natsuki Subaru, the proud knight of Emilia-tan and Beako's contractor-"
He jumped back, and a pink stake crashed into the ground right in front of him as a warning. "Betty has no patience for your foolish games, there is no chance that someone who reeks of the witch's miasma comparable to an archbishop can be either a knight or Betty's contractor."
Beatrice kept her hand raised, ready to neutralize the archbishop any moment now. Julius, noticing the look of fear and betrayal in Subaru's eyes, stepped forward on a whim and stood in front of him. "I apologize for my disrespect Great Spirit-sama, but I believe there might be a misunderstanding here, and I think we should wait until we have all the required information before making a decision."
Beatrice kept her eye focused on Subaru, "And who are you, I wonder?"
Julius raised an eyebrow, how was Subaru able to remember him? Yet his spirits could not? He shook the thought away, put his hand over his heart, and bowed deeply towards the spirit.
"My name is Julius Juukulius, one of the knights of Lugunica who had unfortunately had his name eaten."
Julius ignored the shocked expression that formed on Subaru's after hearing that, "I would gladly like to get all of this figured out, but first great spirit-sama, I ask that you help my friend Ricardo."
The spirit finally relented, the minya spikes disappeared in thin air, and she walked over to the demi-human. Subaru raised his arm to say something to her, but Julius placed his hand on his shoulder stopping him.
When Subaru turned back, Julius simply shook his head, if the great spirit turned hostile once more, he would not be able to do anything again.
The wound on the demi-human finally closed, and Beatrice turned back towards Julius and Subaru. "Now what do we do with... him?" Beatrice coldly asked.
Subaru couldn't take it anymore, he stepped closer to Beatrice, "Beako please, don't you feel the contract the two of us have?" he practically begged, looking at Beatrice for even the slightest hint of remembrance.
"Betty's contract I suppose?"
Her eyes widened in shock, Subaru smiled, she must have remembered something-
"What did you do to Betty's contract?!" the spirit let out an ear-piercing scream, and in an instant a stake fired at Subaru threatening to hit him. However, Julius reacted faster, pulling the boy out of the way.
Subaru in response felt all his strength in his legs dwindle, and he fell to his knees behind Julius. This was the first time Beatrice had ever screamed at him with that much rage, and now she attacked Subaru. Subaru would not forgive himself if he let Beatrice join the list of people who had betrayed him.
"I promise, I am going to save you, Julius and Beako."
He had promised to try to love himself more, to not use his life as an easy way out. But at this moment he could not let this reality get set in stone. He grabbed a particularly sharp piece of glass, that laid on the ground from the fight, then plunged it at his throat.
Both Beatrice and Julius widened their eyes in shock at the scene. He had truly regretted doing this in front of them. However, the shard never made contact. Instead, he felt weak, and he lost consciousness falling downwards.
A soft arm caught him before he could make contact with the ground. Reinhard stood there frowning at the display, "It seems I was almost too late to stop this, but I have heard enough of the conversation to know that this boy needs to be questioned." He lifted the boy comfortably under his arm and turned towards Julius and Beatrice.
"I believe you said your name was Julius, correct? I have to apologize but I don't recognize you, but you declared yourself a knight, so would you mind accompanying me?"
Julius nodded standing up, he had hoped Reinhard would be able to remember him with the number of different abilities he had. Yet even with unimaginable power, he along with everyone else was still vulnerable.
Reinhard, with his other arm, picked up Ricardo, and he, along with Julius and Beatrice, went to reconvene with the others. Reinhard eyed the sleeping boy, then turned towards Julius. "Excuse me, Julius, but could you tell me your relationship with him, I did not arrive quick enough to hear everything."
Julius took a deep breath and responded, "I believe he too is a victim of gluttony, so I do not know my relationship with him before that, however, I can guarantee he saved my life against gluttony, I do not know anything about the miasma the great spirit-sama mentioned, but I believe he is innocent."
Julius looked down at the contradictory words, those with the witch's miasma could face execution without trial. And it's even worse when Beatrice said it rivaled an archbishop, just who was Natsuki Subaru.
Dozens of different voices were heard, causing Subaru to slowly stir. He felt tight bonds around his wrist, and he was strapped to a chair. His whip had been taken from him as well.
"Nice of ya to finally join us."
Subaru looked up and saw all the camps here, with all the members that were not hospitalized. The one who had called out to him was the purple-haired merchant Anastasia.
Reinhard stood up from his seat and approached Subaru with a disarming smile. "Please don't be alarmed, Subaru, we have just heard some rather... alarming information from the great spirit-sama and we would just like to address them with you directly."
Subaru noticed that Reinhard smiled at him, some people here held looks of skepticism, while others looked angry, but Reinhard talked to him like a human being so he felt a bit more comfortable.
"R-right," Subaru cleared his throat, "Let's get these questions out of the way as fast as possible so I can go back to Emilia-tan. Feel free to ask me anything." After saying that he let out a nervous laugh, these were all people he trusted, but for some reason, he felt scared. Like anything he says could be the deciding factor on whether he lives or dies.
Subaru had not noticed the way Emilia had shifted uncomfortably hearing that, but things continued.
Reinhard smiled at the compliance, and Felt's voice boomed out, "Let's just get to the main point already! Are ya or are ya not a witch cultist?"
Subaru bit his lip slightly at the question, of course, the miasma he emitted would make them think something like this. At least with Reinhard here, he could hopefully clear his innocence quickly.
"No of course not, I absolutely despise the witch cult, as much as all of you do!"
After hearing the response, Reinhard nodded toward the rest of them signaling that Subaru told the truth.
Reinhard turned towards the camps, "He has admitted to not being a witch cultist, and I did not sense a lie. I feel like we no longer have the right to condemn him."
However, next Felix stood up, "From what you and the purple-haired knight decided to report, he tried to kill himself when he was pressed by great spirit-sama, there is no way a sane man would ever try that nyah."
Subaru's eyes widened, they could use insanity to void Reinhard's divine protections if they thought Subaru truly meant what he said.
Felix smiled, "Or could you explain to us why you tried to commit suicide? We are all ears and willing to hear you out," he said with sarcasm; he had considered Subaru guilty until proven innocent.
There was no way Subaru could answer, one wrong word could cause the witch of envy to retaliate. The image of Emilia's dead body appeared in his mind, her heart crushed due to his negligence.
"I promise there was no malicious intent behind that."
Reinhard frowned, on the one hand, it was clear there was nothing malicious behind it, but being willing to kill yourself that easily, seemed truly insane.
Beatrice raised her hand, wanting to ask the next question, "You claimed to be Betty Emilia's knight, and Betty's contractor, is that true?"
Subaru simply nodded, and Beatrice leaned back this time having a more contemplative expression. She had panicked at her first confrontation, smelling the miasma, meeting two people who claimed to have been eaten by gluttony, and losing her contract, all of it at the same time was too much to handle.
"Do you have an authority?"
Subaru froze, everything he had worked toward in this conference room felt as if it was crashing down, he turned to the owner of the voice, and it was Wilhelm.
"I repeat, do you have an authority?"
Subaru stuttered, some of the people who had begun to believe him, turned back towards him, with suspicion in their eyes.
"Answer the question nyah." Felix held a sadistic grin, this could be the deciding factor on whether or not Subaru was an archbishop.
Subaru took a deep breath, "I do have an authority, but I am not a witch cultist. I truly don't know how I received my authority."
"Subaru you are not telling the truth."
Subaru could tell he was losing credibility. "Okay, I do have an authority, and I am not a Cultist. I'm sorry, but I can't explain who I believe gave me my authority. Please, just trust me."
Subaru winced at the weak argument he presented, but he could not risk activating a penalty and having the witch of envy squeeze his heart or worse.
Wilhelm raised his hand once more, "You truly believe you are not a Witch Cultist, yet we have been told your miasma rivals that of an Archbishop. You are clearly insane, and you possess an Authority. Tell me, has a Witch Cultist or fellow Archbishop ever called you an Archbishop or addressed you by the sin you represent?"
Wilhelm had opted to ask him a more complex question, if he truly believed that he was not an archbishop, he would not be able to lie about how the other archbishops viewed him.
"No."
"Subaru, please be honest." The sword saint interjected once more.
'What? I have never been called any sort of archbishop-'
Deep in his subconsciousness, he remembered that Betelgeuse had called him Pride. But that was due to Betelgeuse's own insanity. The question was perfect for catching someone who truly believed they were not an archbishop but were.
Subaru slumped his shoulders, "Betelgeuse had called me Pride at one point, and I had a few archbishops bow to me for reasons I do not understand, but all those cultists are insane, every last one of them. Please, you have to trust me i'm begging!"
"I see." was all Wilhelm said before sitting back down, Subaru made a good point, but now they at least had a title to associate with his face if they decided to label him an archbishop.
Emilia politely raised her hand, "Excuse me, but has your authority ever made you insane?"
The way she worded that was terrible, why did she have to phrase it that way? Subaru bit his lip to the point blood was drawn, he had faced insanity multiple times throughout his life in Lugunica. But he was clearly not insane, at least not right now.
"Would you please answer me?"
Subaru sighed, the evidence just kept stacking against him, "It has made me feel insane before, but I am not insane right now."
The meeting kept going, the group kept hammering questions at him, and Subaru had tried to answer to the best of his abilities multiple times.
"Please, I am begging all of you, just please believe me, it's all gluttony's fault, he is the reason things turned like this, he ate my name, Julius's name, Crush's memories, and Rem!" tears started to well up in his eyes.
"Rem... how do you know Rem?" Emilia asked, the kindness in her voice completely dissipated, she remembered the countless nights someone had spent crying beside Rem's bed, was it Ram? She couldn't remember right now, but the amount of suffering that person went through was unforgivable.
'You BASTARD!'" Garfiel roared and lunged at him, preparing to sock him straight in the jaw. However, Reinhard appeared in front of him, catching the punch.
"Please do not engage in combat here."
"Don't ya think you are all jumpin' to hasty conclusions?" Anastasia spoke up, "After all we still don't have enough information to actually label him either a cultist or an innocent man. Though I do admit the evidence is definitely leaning more towards cultist, there is still a chance we might be condemning an innocent man."
Priscilla laughed, silencing the room.
"How utterly laughable. You let fear dictate your actions, like the pathetic commoners you are. You prattle on about being candidates, knights, or whatever insignificant titles you cling to, yet when the moment demands true bravery, you cower and choose what is convenient rather than what is right."
"I tire of this pathetic and putrid farce. Aldebaran, we are leaving."
Al stood up, "I told you not to call me that, and for all of your information, my vote is that guy isn't a Cultist." After saying that everyone turned towards the one-armed knight for any kind of elaboration, the one-armed man, however, ignored them and followed the princess out of the room.
The two left, and the discussion continued, Julius stood up earning eyebrow raises from most of the room, "I believe Natsuki Subaru is not an archbishop as well, my name is Julius Juukulius, the knight of knights, and the knight of Anastasia-sama. I am also a victim of gluttony, however, my first memory of Subaru was him tackling me out of the way of an attack; Then looking relieved to see me okay." after finishing what he said he turned to Reinhard to confirm.
Julius stepped out and kneeled in front of Subaru to be level with him. "Did you save me, Subaru?"
Subaru nodded; then Julius stood up, turning toward everyone else. "I know there is suspicious evidence stacked against this man, but I firmly believe he is not an archbishop, and I think we should discuss this more before making any decisions."
"So then how are you going to clear up all the evidence we stacked against him?" Felix sarcastically remarked and glared at Julius. The knight felt surprised seeing his friend act like that toward him, but he remained resolute.
"I truthfully do not have an answer to any of that, but I do not believe that we should act just yet."
The argument continued between every member here. Eventually, three sides had formed in this debate: those who believed Subaru was a witch cultist, those who did not know, and those who believed he was innocent. However, the side that elected Subaru as a witch cultist won in the end, and Subaru was now locked up.
A month had passed since that fateful day, and each day felt like hell. He had been woken up early in the morning, eating a breakfast that gave him the minimum amount of nutrients to survive the day and was filled with spit or bugs. He would be tortured by Felix, who tried to receive information. Scars, marks, burns, dried blood, and dirt completely covered Subaru's body; each day had become even more painful than the last.
Even on days Felix had not shown up, he had still received mental burdens from those who used to call him a friend.
He remembered the hateful glare he received from Ram, the look in her eyes telling him that she would have killed him if he was not necessary to save Rem. The usual verbal abuse contained only hate instead of the twisted love she always gave him.
He had tried to talk to Otto, believing that if anyone could save him, it would be Otto. The first person who truly became his friend and one of the people he trusted the most. However, Otto's face only held distance, and maybe even some pity for how terrible Subaru looked right now. Not even Otto could understand him.
By the time Garfiel came, Subaru had started to shut himself down. He trusted Garfiel and believed in him, but at the same time, he already knew Garfiel was the strike-first, think-later type. As much as he wished Garfiel would save him, he felt as if it was useless.
More visits happened from people he used to consider friends. Each time he felt more of his soul being drained away.
Finally, when he was alone, he looked down at the ground, only being able to ask why. Not once, not twice, he had asked the question why tens of times but received no answer.
The longer the question remained unanswered, the more he felt truly insane. Subaru had always been someone who is afraid of pain, but right now the pain was the only thing distracting him from the mental anguish. Slamming his head onto the floor became a habit, and the feeling of the chains tearing into his arms while he did became a blessing. He continued doing this until he heard a new voice.
"Excuse me?"
He briefly stopped and slowly looked up. He recognized the voice; there stood Julius. However, unlike the other visitors, there was no malice in his eyes, no hatred, but simply curiosity and maybe pity.
"Hello, Subaru. I understand this may be a bad time, but I would like to talk to you for a bit."
He had unlocked the cell and stepped in, closing it behind him. The knight wrinkled his nose at the smell. It smelled like blood, sweat, urine, and whatever slop the knights fed him; it was obvious Subaru had not had proper hygiene either.
Yet the knight sat in front of the boy and tried his best to give him a reassuring smile. "How long have I been here?" Subaru said, his voice a husk from what it was a month ago.
"Almost a month. Though by the look of your appearance, it probably felt longer," Julius noted, wincing at just how bad Subaru looked.
Julius then asked, "Would you mind telling me your relationships with both the candidates and knights?"
Before Subaru could answer, another voice called out, "Would you mind if I also partake in this conversation?" Both of them looked back to see Reinhard standing there.
The two agreed, and the red-haired knight sat beside Julius, also ready to listen to what the captured man had to say.
"Well, where do I start?" Subaru leaned back; the chains finally stopped digging into him. "Well, I arrived here over a year ago, and the first person I met here was Reinhard. He actually saved me from the three stooges in the Felt camp; then we became friends. After that, you saved Emilia, Felt, and me from Elsa, and then we went in our own separate directions."
Reinhard nodded, taking in every detail. He frowned a bit hearing how the three members of his camp tried to rob Subaru. But overall, he was happy they seemed to have a good relationship back then. In his current memories, Emilia had fought Elsa solo, and he arrived in the nick of time. He also sensed the sheer amount of gratitude Subaru had toward him.
Subaru continued, "A few days later, Rem, Ram, and I stopped a wolgarm invasion at Arlam Village, and things were fine for a while until..."
The two knights turned toward each other with raised eyebrows when they saw a faint blush appear on Subaru's face; he seemed to be embarrassed about something. But this also meant there was still some of him inside, feeling such an emotion at a time like this.
"I made a huge fool of myself, insulting all the knights. Then Julius made sure to kick my ass for that, haha, and I was pissed at the time, but nowadays, when I think about it, it just makes me want to laugh. I was such an idiot back then."
Tears welled up at the corners of Subaru's eyes. Being able to laugh felt so great, so exhilarating.
Julius did not know how to feel. From what he had heard of Subaru so far, he seemed like a hero, and also he may have been a little jealous to know his first meeting with him was drastically worse than his meeting with Reinhard.
Subaru smirked slightly. "It's fine, though. I later realized how much I messed up; then together with the Anastasia and Crusch camps, we defeated the white whale and sloth together."
Julius smiled slightly then put a hand to his chin, "And all of this happened a year ago, when you arrived, correct?"
Subaru nodded, and then Reinhard asked the next question, "You say you arrived a year ago, where do you come from?"
"A small island to the East."
"I don't believe there are any islands to the east of Lugunica. Julius had a look of doubt on his face and was confused as to why Reinhard did not call him out on that.
Subaru waved it off, "That's not that important right now, but after that, I contracted Beako. I mean Beatrice, and along with Emilia we kicked the great rabbit's ass, and a year later Reinhard and I beat up Greed together, then I lost my name like a moron."
"Okay, so you helped stop a wolgarm invasion, defeat two archbishops, and defeat two great beasts." Reinhard recollected making sure he had everything correct, "In the span of a little over a year, you are a hero, Subaru. We need to figure out how to clear your name and get you out of here."
"Yeah, don't call me that," Subaru looked down. His losses weren't his own anymore, he had already failed at being a hero the day he became one and had his name eaten. The only thing he did was make things worse.
Subaru, wanting to shift the conversation at least for a bit, turned toward Julius. "Anyways, how's Joshua, haven't seen him in a while."
Julius, however tilted his head, that name did not ring any bells.
"Sorry, but can you tell me who this Joshua person is? The way you are speaking of him makes me sound like I should know him."
"Joshua, your brother? You don't remember him?!" Subaru asked, panic in his eyes.
Julius shook his head and clenched his fist. "Please tell me about him, and I will try to find him immediately."
Subaru told Julius everything he knew about Joshua; then after that, the three knights continued chatting. They brainstormed ideas to get Subaru out, and then the topic changed to how their memories differentiated from Subaru's.
"We could try to go to the Pleiades tower and get help from the sage," Reinhard suggested.
Julius nodded. "It would be killing two birds with one stone. We can find out how to cure both the gluttony victims and the lust victims with the sage's wisdom."
Subaru agreed as well, but Reinhard interjected, "The problem is we could be gone for weeks to months, and I worry about what happens when Felix and the rest of the knights realize you are useless."
"You don't think they would execute me, right?"
Reinhard shook his head. "I am unsure; if I were to guess, you would eventually get executed to simply put down a threat that did not benefit the kingdom, same with Wrath."
Julius looked down hearing that. "Then we would have to prove your innocence before then, and I doubt we would have enough time to go to the Pleiades tower and come back before then."
Subaru let out an exasperated groan, but another idea formed in his head. "What about Al? I haven't had the chance to speak with him, but maybe there is a chance he could remember us. We have something in common that I want to test out."
Julius and Reinhard turned toward him, confused. Before they could ask Subaru to elaborate, another voice cut in.
"What are the three of you chatting about, nyah?"
A voice full of maliciousness called out, and the three turned to see Felix standing there, fitting a glove onto his hand.
Julius stood up and opened the cell, stepping out. "Ferris, I ask you not to torture this man. We have been communicating with him for the past hour, and both Reinhard and I can assure you he is innocent."
Felix approached and put a hand on Julius's shoulder. "You are being brainwashed, nyah. I will make sure to check in on both of you to make sure he did not mess with your heads later. But for now, I need to get to work."
Reinhard stood beside Julius. "Please listen to us, Ferris," he pleaded, looking into Felix's eyes, trying to see any sympathy.
Felix looked down, and exhaled annoyed. "I hoped I wouldn't need to do this, but I had a feeling I would need help if you two were brainwashed."
Felix turned around, and Wilhelm emerged from the stairs and glanced at Reinhard. Reinhard immediately looked to the ground ashamed, a single look being all it takes to cause his heart to waver.
"Reinhard-Dono." Wilhelm said with no emotion; however, this caused Reinhard to raise his eyes and look at him.
"Honored grandfather, this is an innocent man. I ask that we try to save him. It is wrong for him to be in this predicament-"
"Wrong?" Wilhelm tapped his arm with barely restrained anger. "You want to talk about right and wrong? Do you think you can? Who was it that arrived on the battlefield late in Priestella, sacrificing multiple lives? Who is it that is defending an archbishop? Who is it that... killed my wife in cold blood?"
Wilhelm approached, grabbing Reinhard by the uniform, looking at him with fury face to face. Julius moved to step in and try to diffuse the situation. However, the one to interrupt was not Julius.
"Cut that crap!"
When the voice rang through the cellar, all of their eyes widened at the unexpected outburst.
The four turned back to see Subaru, who looked heated. "Do you feel better about yourself putting the weight of the entire world on Reinhard's shoulders? He is not perfect; none of us are. That is why we need to do whatever we can to cover for what he is lacking as well, not expect him to do everything and then get mad when he makes a mistake!"
"You-"
"I'm not done talking. Anyways, what did you want Reinhard to do against your wife? Let her just run around as a puppet killing people against her will? Would she want that? You yourself told me you regret how you treated your son who was saddled with a fate far too heavy, then you do the same shit again when you're angry!"
Wilhelm reached for his blade. If that archbishop said one more word, he knew he would not have the restraint to not cut him down.
Subaru winked with one eye and smiled. "Thank you, Julius. Thank you, Reinhard, but I think it's time for you two to go." The smile he formed looked genuine, even if his eyes still looked dead. He was happy that he had people that would listen to his story, that would trust him, and see him as innocent before being proven guilty.
"But Subaru!"
"Just go, Julius. If you stay here any longer, your lady might start to feel lonely." Subaru teased, causing Julius to cough into his fist.
Subaru turned to Reinhard, who looked dazed from the verbal abuse he had received, then frowned. He turned to Wilhelm, the man he respected the most in the world. That vision crumbled down.
Julius helped Reinhard walk out of the room, and Wilhelm followed; he had only agreed to deal with Reinhard, nothing more.
Felix played with the scalpel. "You sure caused a ruckus today." He entered the cell, ready to get to work.